Thursday 29 December 2016

December & November Favourites


Printing Photos
Earlier in the year I purchased a voucher on Groupon to get 200 photos printed & sent to me. I've wanted to fill up this photo album for the longest time. I don't know about you, but I am guilty of taking hundreds of photos but never getting them printed. I'm going to try & keep up to date with them all now & do a batch every couple of months. I love looking through albums & bringing back happy memories.

Dachshund Purse
Can you get a more perfect purse? I'm so in love with it. Plus, it has a decent amount of sections for loyalty cards & random receipts which I always seem to have tons of in my bag!

Maybelline Mascara
I think this mascara has featured in my favourites before, but I had to mention it again as I went off it for a while & have just rediscovered it again. I have no idea why I stopped using it. It's seriously the best drug store mascara I've found.

Primark Matte Lipstick
I bought this lipstick back in Spring & put it at the back of my draw to save for the Autumn / Winter months as it's a very dark red shade. I forgot about it till the other week when I re-discovered it in my lipstick draw & got so excited! It's so perfect when you can't be bothered to do a full face of a makeup. A touch of mascara & this on your lips & your good to go! I reviewed this lipstick back in March if you'd like a read.

Ted Baker Nail Polish
Ah doesn't this colour just scream Christmas? I've been obsessed with it this past month (as you'll see in my next nail art post) James kindly got it for me for our anniversary at the beginning of December & it looks so perfect with a glitter top coat.

Ted Baker Body Spray
Ah another amazing present from James! This body spray has to be one of my new favourites. It's very sweet & reminds me of Spring, but I love it for that. Even though I love more sultry perfumes, I always go back to the sweet, spring scents.

Worthers Originals
Right, I blame Elisa for this one.. She brought some Worthers into work last month & offered me one & oh my god. I hadn't had one for years & now I'm obsessed again. What's so amazing about these though is they have gooey middles. I mean, c'mon. They are seriously the best.

Netflix
Ok, so Netflix is my life now. Haha, I'm kidding, but seriously.. how did I ever survive without it!? James & I have a few series we've been hooked on; Stranger Things was the first. It was really scary but addictive & then The Big Bang Theory which James had never seen but I'd dipped in & out of over the years. I'd love to hear what you've discovered on Netflix & what we should watch next?

Music

Events

At the beginning of November, Gemma & Ollie revealed they were expecting a little girl! I can't actually wait to meet her. We've got lots of excitement ahead with the baby shower in January too & then Gemma is due in March!

Grandad celebrated his 89th birthday last month. I can't believe he is that age, he still seems so young to me!

James & I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on 1st December. It feels like forever, but also no time at all!

This year's panto at work is Aladdin & I can't begin to tell you what a lovely cast we have had. Every year, it feels like a new family join us, but especially this year, as sometimes as staff members you don't feel apart of it, but they've all been so lovely, it'll be sad to say goodbye to them all.

& of course a highlight of these past two months has to be Christmas. What I love most about Christmas is to James & I, it's not just one day. We move from family member to family member, but we celebrate with each & everyone of them & it's like starting Christmas day over & over again. It's the best time of year!

How has your December been lovelies?

Saturday 17 December 2016

Life Lately #119


Hello lovelies,

In my last post I mentioned that panto prep was well under way. We officially opened last Friday night so we are now a week into the shows. It's absolutely manic at work, especially as Star Wars started Thursday & we also have Moana showing too (which I'm seeing today & am so excited about!) Have you seen either film yet?

My parents went to see the panto last week, so I stayed at home & watched Christmas films with Honey & Harv - they looked so cute by the tree.

Oh & just look at my friend's fur babies! When we got out all the Christmas decorations & put up our tree, we found these two little jackets of Honey's. After a good 10 minutes of trying to cram her fluffy slightly tubby body into them, we decided it would be best if they went to a new home.. : ' D

Last Sunday, it was my "tea lady" Christmas meal. We went to a curry house this year for something a bit different & it was so nice to catch up with all of them. I hardly get to see them over the course of the year as we are all so busy, so it was lovely to spend some time with them & stuff myself with curry before work! We also did a secret santa, thankyou Sarah for my present!

On Monday, Mum & I went to my Grandparents' to decorate their house for them. They are in their late 80's, so not too fussed about Christmas now, but we made the house look extra festive! Just look at Harv, stretched out on the sofa. He really does know how to make himself at home!

On Thursday I met up with my friend Ricka & we went for lunch at a local pub. It was so lovely to have a catch up before Christmas & swap pressies!

& finally yesterday was Christmas Jumper Day at work, so I wore my new addition to my jumper family this year, my grey festive Dachshund jumper! Just look at it! I'm seriously obsessed with it : )

How is your December going lovelies? Have you done all your shopping?

I'm finding it so difficult to juggle work, blogging, socialising & staying healthy at this time of year, it all gets a bit much sometimes, but Christmas Day is a week tomorrow which is so exciting! I can't wait : )

Monday 12 December 2016

Christmas Outfit + Accessories For Under £40!


So, you've completed your Christmas shopping, bought enough lights to guide a plane onto a runway, put the tree up & arranged plans with your family for Christmas Day. You've written all your cards & bought enough sherry to last you till next Christmas, but is there something your forgetting..?

Oh yes, that dreaded Christmas work meal that everyone is going too. You need a new outfit, something that will stand out & make your colleagues do a double take when they see you in something other than your work uniform..

One problem, you're completely broke. You spent your last £1 buying two rolls of wrapping paper in Poundland to finish wrapping the annoyingly huge present you got for your dad. But wait.. you can get a new playsuit for a tenner, a pair of shoes & bag for £20 & a few accessories for under £40?! Surely not..

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So, let's start with this playsuit. £10. Yup, that's right, £10. What makes it even better is it's velvet. My absolute favourite thing to wear at this time of year, it just screams Christmas. I am in love with the halter neck style & it isn't too low cut for a meal with work colleagues (& potentially your boss!) you don't want to go to boobie! 

Now if we move on to these boots. Depending on what your doing after the meal, heels might be more appropriate but I love how a pair of boots look with playsuits. Especially ones that are as glittery as these. Plus you can never go wrong with boots for comfort compared to heels. I also wanted to include these tights. Primark tights are simply amazing. They are so cheap & as I always ladder mine, you never want to invest anymore than a few quid on a pair.

As well as being obsessed with velvet at this time of year, I had to include this fluffy clutch bag which has also worked it's way into my favourites. Just look how pretty it is! Alongside this bracelet, it will add a bit of sparkle to the outfit.

Oh & finally this gorgeous nail polish is only £1.50 & will make a beautiful top coat on top of a dark berry polish, or just on it's own to match the boots. I just had to include it!

What do you think about this outfit?
What are you wearing to your Christmas meal this year?

Thursday 8 December 2016

Lush - So White

Hello lovelies!

A few weeks go, I reviewed the Pumpkin Bath Bomb & the Autumn Leaf Bath Bomb from Lush's Halloween collection. I mentioned that I had also purchased the So White Bath Bomb & the Never Mind The Ballistics Bath Bomb (review of that one is coming soon!) But today I thought I'd share my thoughts on Snow So White.


This bath bomb has been around for a few years now, but I've never picked it up before. If I'm honest, I think it's because of it's design. It's literally a plain white ball, with a green leaf on top. I mean, if you can choose something as adorable as the Santasaurus or as glittery as the Golden Wonder, then why go for something like So White. How wrong could I have been..

Lush describes So White as follows;

"Snow White had a tough time of it. If you too are likely to spend Christmas day evading evil stepmothers, stroppy mirrors, not to mention cooking and cleaning for seven singing men, you certainly deserve a dip in the bath. Crisp, apple-scented waters, as pure as the driven snow, fizz and foam, while bergamot oil and rose absolute restore peace and calm. At the core, a heart of fruity, uplifting neroli oil and orange flower absolute is sure to revive your (Christmas) spirit."

Now I'm pleased to say I won't be faced with any mirrors (as I plan to stay in my PJ's for the majority of the day with no makeup!) or evading any evil step-mothers, but I would love to find an excuse to use this bomb again on Christmas day!


Lush describe the scent of this bath bomb as appley & I couldn't agree more. Apple scents are my thing right now (as you can probably tell by my addiction to buying the Fizzbanger every time I go to Lush!) It's just such a lovely scent & completely relaxes me.

Right onto the actual bomb. When I placed it in my bath, it literally fizzed around in a small circle, producing little white bubbles. As I say, at this point, apart from the scent, I wasn't too impressed. It just seemed to be swirling around, with not much else happening. Until.. it got to the middle!


After a while, I started to see some yellow coming through in the water, followed by green & then blue. It's going to seem silly to say this, but the water all of a sudden went from a normal white / clear colour to bright green! It was amazing.



The best part was the colours & patterns it produced at the end.. just look at how pretty the surface of the water was!


I seriously can't recommend this bomb enough. It seriously shows you can never judge a book by it's colour, but in this case, a bath bomb by it's plain exterior!

Have you tried So White?
Which Lush products have you got on your wish list this Christmas?

Sunday 4 December 2016

Life Lately #118


Hello lovelies!

A few weeks back I met up with Gemma, Ollie, Cathy & Boop at Nandos. It was so nice to catch up with them over dinner. Gemma & Ollie had just got back from holiday so I hadn't seen them for a while. Gemma's little bump had grown so much! Almost 3 months to go!

Last Sunday, I organised for the girls & I to go to the Christmas market in our local town, followed by a roast at the pub. The actual market was quite small, with a few Christmassy stalls & a food hall, where we had a catch up over a hot drink & a Rudolph cookie. We also saw a pug in a Christmas jumper.. need I say more!?

The roast after at the pub was so delicious too. They sat us right next to the log fire, where we nearly fell asleep after our meal!

Our pantomime this year is Aladdin, so we've just put up our lanterns at work. It's so pretty in the evenings when people are coming in & out to the cinema & we're counting down the days till opening night! It really does feel like Christmas when panto starts!

On Thursday, James & I celebrated our 4 year anniversary together. He totally spoilt me with flowers, a pamper kit & nail varnish. My treat to him was lunch at Giggling Squid, which is one of our favourite places to eat. It's a beautiful Thai restaurant - I'd highly recommend their Sleeping Honey Duck & Chicken Satays if you get the chance to go!

James has started his new job working at the Royal Mail sorting office at the beginning of the month, so is currently working 3-10pm Monday - Saturday, so after lunch, he headed off to work. I'd arranged to put up our Christmas tree & decorate the house with mum, so we spent the evening together, enjoying some festive music while putting up the decorations. I've started vlogging a bit this month too. Last year I vlogged Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & Boxing Day, but I've decided to film throughout December this year, when we have fun things going on. I'm not promising anything, but hoping they'll be a video up at the end of this month!

Finally, yesterday we visited James' mum & husband Barrie to help put up their Christmas lights & have a catch up. We had brunch at this beautiful tea room in the local town. I was so impressed, I'm thinking of holding my birthday there. I'll keep you updated ; )

How is your month going so far lovelies? Have you put up your Christmas tree yet?