What I Love Wednesday

These are my 5 favourite things of this week. Hopefully this will become a regular feature.

1) Sweet Pea Candle

£1 at Primark

I stumbled across this candle in the home ware section. I liked the packaging so picked it up to have a sniff. It smells A-MAY-ZING! I didn’t even bother trying the other candles as I liked this one so much. I decided that I should stock up on this particular scent as it’s only a small jar but when I returned just a few days later they had none left!! I’m keeping my eyes peeled so that next time they refill the shelves, I can snap a few more up.

2) Yop Strawberry

These are on offer in Tesco at the moment, 2 for £1.50
I love yoghurt so having it available in a bottle that I can sip on is brilliant news to me.

3) Thor

I went to see this at the weekend with my boyfriend and his brother. I love films based on comic books (I know, I’m like a 12 year old boy) and really enjoyed this one, would definitely recommend it!

4) Etsy.com

Although it’s been around for a while now, it’s a recent discovery for me. There are definitely some things that I have my eye on. I may even put some of my handmade jewellery on there.

5) Made in Chelsea

 

I absolutely love this show, much more my cup of tea than ‘The Only Way Is Essex’.

Ollie is definitely my favourite person in the show. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

A Shopping Rampage

Recently I have been on somewhat of a shopping rampage, buying up beauty and hair products like they’re going out of fashion. So I thought I’d give you an insight into my collection and let you know what I think of some of them.

Some of the products that I have bought recently have been on my wish list for months, some I have bought simply because other bloggers have recommended them. I’m such a floozy for a good review.

One of the first products I bought was the ‘Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish kit’. Everyone in the blogging world seems to be raving about this cleanser and for that reason I’ve wanted to try it out for a long time. I haven’t used it yet but am very excited to start.

Next on my hit list was ‘She Laq’ by Benefit, another product that I have wanted for a long time. I wear gel eyeliner on my lids, pretty much everyday. I also use an eyebrow pencil everyday. Although both my eyeliner and eyebrows tend to stay put, I would feel much better knowing that they were protected by something. My only fear with this product was that once applied, it may look wet/crispy (No one needs crispy eyebrows). So I asked the very helpful Benefit girl if my fears were justified. She explained that, as long as I didn’t put it over layers and layers of eye shadow that it shouldn’t go ‘crunchy’. She also showed me that by mixing a little bit of the product with ANY powder eye shadow, it would form liquid eyeliner! A really handy tip that I shall be trying (I’ll let you know how it works out).

I then ventured into Superdrug with the intention of browsing the shampoo aisle. Browsing however did not satisfy me and I came away with 4 things.

I feel the first thing doesn’t count as it’s a staple in my hair collection and I had run out, which is why I bought ‘Batiste Blush’. I love the smell of this particular Batiste and it’s definitely my favourite one.

The next product I picked up was a detangling spray from the Superdrug kids range for just 99p. Anyone who knows me will understand my need for this product. I have long hair with lots of layers, it’s full of peroxide and has half a can of hairspray emptied onto it on a daily basis. Because of this the ends are in terrible condition, it tangles and knots far too easily and is such a pain to brush through. I’m hoping that by using a detangling spray, the experience of brushing my hair won’t be so unpleasant.

The next 2 products were inspired by Zoe whose blog you can read here. I purchased The ‘Volumising Mousse’ and the ‘Firm Hold Hairspray’ from the ‘James Brown Scandalous’ range. Originally I only planned on getting the mousse but this range is on offer in Superdrug at the moment AND I am running out of hairspray so I thought, what the hell, lets get both!

First impressions? The packaging is gorgeous but I’m undecided on the smell. It smells almost like cupcakes but I do find it a little bit overpowering at times, especially with the amount of hairspray that I use! That said I have used the hairspray everyday since I bought it. I have tried quite a few hairsprays on the market and this one is quite possibly the best. I’ve also used the mousse a couple of times and it is fantastic for volume if applied to damp hair and blow dried!

If you want a detailed review of the Liz Earle Cleanser and the James Brown Range then I’ve left some links below to some of my favourite bloggers who have done just that. I feel like there is no need for yet another review on the same products and these girls can say it far better than me.

For James Brown Scandalous range:

Zoe's Blog

Zoe's YouTube channel

For Liz Earle Cleanser:

Sarah's YouTube channel

Sarah's Blog

Two Little Ducks - 22!

I realise that this post is rather late as my birthday was last Tuesday. However I have been celebrating my birthday in all sorts of ways over the last week and I thought I would sum it up in this blog post.

On Tuesday I awoke to a cup of coffee and a pink bag of presents from my lovely boyfriend. One of these gifts may seem quite random, lets see if you can guess which one; a Cath Kidston clip-on Blackberry case, ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest’ by Stieg Larsson and the box set of Meerkat Manor Series 1.

I love Cath Kidston. Literally, anything they make I will buy. They could sell Cath Kidston Bin Liners and I would buy them.

I have got the first 2 books in this series (which my boyfriend also bought me) although I have only read the first one. BUT I absolutely loved it and would recommend it to everyone.

I know this may seem like a very strange thing to buy someone, unless they were a wildlife fanatic which I am not. However, I absolutely love this show. I cannot get enough of it. It’s like a soap opera but set in Meerkat world. If you haven’t seen it yet then seriously you need to check it out. Another marketing point - its narrated by Bill Nighy (who I also love).

So after all that excitement, we drove up to Ashbourne (a little town outside derby) with the sole intention of browsing the charity shops. This may seem mad but we had been told that this particular town had very good charity shops and anyone who knows me, knows that I simply cannot get enough of them. So it seemed like the perfect trip to take on my birthday.

While we were there we had some lunch in a café/antiques shop. It was a very sweet little place with antiques scattered around the eating area. You could actually buy some of the tables and chairs that people were eating their lunch on.

I saw some lovely things in a few of the charity shops but didn’t buy anything from them. To be perfectly honest (I know this may sound like I am a complete nutter) the trip revolved around one purchase. A beautiful, Cath Kidston walking umbrella (I told you I’m obsessed)

I’ve wanted one for quite a while but could never justify spending so much money on an umbrella that I would probably only use a few times each year. Also it’s so large that you can’t just pop it in your bag, so it currently lives on the parcel shelf in my car (they match). It was a treat to myself on my birthday.

That evening we went to the cinema to watch Arthur. I absolutely loved it and laughed so loud for most of the film (embarrassing Matthew horribly). I am such a fan of Russell Brand.

The day after my birthday I headed out to town with my sister who treated me to a lovely lunch. We had a browse round the shops, though we were both so full from all the food that we moved at a rather glacial pace. She got me some lovely little gifts including a gift voucher for my favourite haberdashery!

Later in the week, the boyfriend and I went out for a drink and a meal with some friends. It was really fun and I got some lovely gifts from them including chocolates, some bath/shower goodies, Starbucks Coffee and a wine stopper in the shape of a monster - something that I have wanted for a while (a wine stopper in general, not necessarily in the shape of a monster) .

Then on Friday we headed back home to see my parents and little sister, a picnic with friends and a drink at the pub. More gifts included make-up, money, a ‘Me to You’ bear, a tea set, a purse, a home-made tea cosy and a Cath Kidston top. It was a lovely day and we were very lucky that the rain decided to hold off for most of the afternoon.

So much thought and love was put into each gift given to me and I am so grateful to everyone for my birthday gifts and birthday wishes. I am a very lucky girl.

Bring on my next birthday!

"Living in a caravan... I could get use to this!"

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog. I’ve been off on my holidays and celebrating birthdays all over the place. But I’m back now and have so many posts that I want to write, so expect to hear from me more frequently over the next few weeks!

For now though, I’ll write about my holiday. Warning; this post is long and full of pictures!

It was a holiday obtained by collecting tokens from the local newspaper. It worked a bit like a lucky dip. We entered using the tokens (kindly given to us) and wrote down a few places and dates of our preference, they picked from what they had available and that was that. We were assigned to a caravan holiday park in Paignton, Devon between 2^nd and 6^th May. We didn’t expect much but were excited to have a few days by the seaside. We managed to get 2 extra days added on when we phoned up to confirm the booking. So when Sunday morning came, we packed up and set off on the 4 hour drive down to Devon. I was well equipped for the journey with the new issue of Elle, a huge Evian bottle and a bag of Werther's Original tucked inside my satchel.

Once we arrived at the caravan park, we got our key and headed up to our new home for the week. Now maybe my expectations were a little high, maybe my mum and dad spoiled me with our caravan holidays in my younger years but this caravan was NOT what I was expecting. It was rather small and the décor was very dated. Overall, it was a bit….disappointing. Its not even like it was a dodgy caravan park, they had some lovely caravans (some even had decking and picnic benches!) It appeared to be just ours that was not up to scratch. So we sent the boys down to cheekily ask for an upgrade, explaining that we wouldn’t mind paying a bit more. Luckily, they agreed and the new caravan was MUCH nicer.

So we unpacked and made it look more homely, with a few magazines and our own mugs. We then settled down in front of the TV with a Dominoes and some wine. As it turned out, the rest of the holiday followed a similar pattern! Some days we took it easy. We watched The Only Way Is Essex and Jeremy Kyle and listened to Karl Pilkington pod casts. Other days (when we were up, showered and out of the house before 12pm) we explored the local area. Our first day of real exploring entailed visiting Paignton Zoo, where we witnessed some rather randy baboons and a very lonely elephant.

Later on in the week (the one day that the sun was shining) we visited the beach, where the boys accidentally assaulted a couple with their Frisbee.

But one of the best days by far was when we went to Torquay, a much bigger town with much better shops. I bought some lovely things from H&M and Primark. We also came across a little shop selling goodies from across the pond! I picked up some Welch’s Grape Soda and some Milk Dud’s.

On our last night we decided to dress up and go out for dinner. We couldn’t decide where to go so drove around until we found somewhere. How glad I am that we did. As what we discovered on that night will stay with me for a long time, resurfacing each time I go out for a meal.

You could barely see the building, hidden behind the stone wall that surrounded the car park. The only thing visible was the name ‘Bistro 46’. It was raining and we didn’t want to walk far, so quickly headed towards the restaurant to see what food they offered. The menu seemed to please everyone so we went inside and took our seats. The walls were covered in African souvenirs and fairy lights. The tables had tiny cactus plants at the centre. It was only small but the atmosphere was cosy and we were hungry.

All 4 of us had a starter, main course and desert. In fact, everyone in the restaurant did (except the guy that was throwing up outside – nothing to do with the food). The food was the best I have ever tasted in my life. 2 of the other couples felt compelled to thank the chef and explain how amazing the food was upon leaving, as did we. I whole-heartedly recommend EVERY person who ever visits Brixham, Devon to go to Bistro 46. I promise, you will thank me for it.

In other news, it’s my Birthday tomorrow!! I am really excited as I love birthdays, especially mine!! My boyfriend is taking me to a little town outside Derby that has a reputation for amazing charity shops (my love for charity shops is on par with my love for him) and we’ve just bought a Rocky Road cake from Tesco to enjoy tomorrow evening. Sadly I don’t get to go home tomorrow BUT my sister is taking me out on Wednesday to a ‘treasure trove’ that she has discovered (so excited to see what it is) and I am heading home on Friday for a weekend of fun with my girls including a picnic (fingers crossed for good weather) and a vintage fair! I shall post whatever goodies I find over the next few days and my next post will have all the goodies that I have discovered over the last few weeks. So check back soon!