Gifts for Mum

Hi lovelies, 

Just a quick post as I haven't had time to do my photos today so yet again I am posting something that I haven't planned in. Seems that my New Years resolution of organisation isn't going to plan. 

So instead of that I thought I would post what I got my mum for her birthday. This week it was my Mums 50th birthday and I thought I would spoil her with a few gifts   If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen the photo that I posted but here's a little more detail for you all. 

This was taken with my iphone so the quality isn't too brill. 

I'll start with the candles I didn't realise that the Mum yankee candle and the fresh cut roses tartlet are the same scent until after but yeah that's the pink ones. You can just about see the blue sampler on the left, this one is called beach walk. It's not one that I would have usually picked up but my mum mentioned that she liked orange blossom and this one has it in. 

I also bought my mum some Britney Spears curious, this I a perfume that I find myself going back to and I know that my mum really liked it before so in the days when she isn't wearing her Jo Malone she has another cheaper option. 

Stationary next, I love a bit of cute stationary so when I found these in Clinton's I was so excited. My mum loves arts and crafts and has her own little business so I knew that the diary would come in really handy. The little tapes are from Kirstie Allsopps collection at Clintons. They are good for making price tags and decorating items. 

My mum went away with my dad for her birthday and when she came back we all went to my Nans for cake and present giving. It was so nice to see how happy my mum was receiving the gifts and knowing that she had a good birthday. 

This is the first post from my phone so hopefully it doesn't look too shoddy. 

Thanks for reading. 

Xx

Mini make up ban update

• Hey Lovelies, 

I had planned to do my empties post but I forgot to bring my things to my parents house, even though I had planned ahead and organised all of my things. 

So instead of the intended post here's an update on my make up ban. I am finding it so hard, I even went into boots the other day and had to walk out because all the beautiful things were shouting me. I felt like the woman in confessions of a shopaholic when all the mannequins are talking to her, if you haven't seen the film it is a must. Anyway I had to leave. 

This week I have been mixing up my daily make up and trying combinations of other make up that I was either given for Christmas or was stashed away in my drawers. 

 If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my FOTD post, this is the make up that I used on that day. 

The new products in this picture are Benefit; boi-ing, Hoola and high beam. I love, love, love Hoola, I received this in my best of benefits at Christmas and have to say that I had put it to one side for a while. It is a matte bronzer, I use this for contouring my cheeks. Its so easy to blend so when my make up ban is over and I have used this for a little longer I will more than likely be purchasing a full size one. 

Boi-ing on the other hand I am not too sure about, I had wanted to try this for ages but because I usually use the Collection concealer I can't seem to get used to this one. I find it hard to apply especially on blemishes. Any tips would be handy. 

High beam, I have used this highlighter before as I have the TROPIcoral set. I love high beam it's such a quick and easy highlighter, you literally need just a few spots on your cheek bones, I usually blend them in with my ring finger. 

So they are the new products that I have been using, the rest are products that I have rediscovered. Bourjois has been a brand which I have been going back to for a few years. For a while I have been using the Rimmel wake me up foundation which gives such a lovely coverage but at this time of year I think that it is just too dewy. So to find this in my stash was nice, the healthy mix gives such good coverage, it also smells really fruity. 

In the winter months I tend to go for lighter blushers as I have really pale skin and anything too dark looks ridiculous (in my opinion), so I tend to stick to colours like Rose D'or by Bourjois, this shade has a subtle shimmer to it making it look like you have been out in the fresh air.

Another little treasure that I hadn't used for a while is the Bourjois smokey eye trio, I love nude colours on my eyes, it's like my security blanket I very rarely use colour (to be honest it scares me a little). I usually use the heaven and earth palette but I've hit pan on my favourite colours, so this was my next go to nude shades. For my eyebrows I used the rimmel eyebrow pencil in 002. I just use this very lightly to fill in my brows on days when I don't want the power brow. 

Mascara was an old favourite, Great Lash by Maybelline. It adds a good thickness and length to my lashes, I tend to use this and the Soap and Glory Thick and Fast which I love but have nearly ran out of, so I'm using it sparingly. 

Last but not least lips, I have been using a different lip stick/ lip tint/ lip gloss each day to see which I prefer, on this day I used the 1000 kisses by Rimmel, this shade is a deep pink/plum shade. I'm not sure what it is called as I have moved it, as soon as I find it I will update this post.          

Most of the products in this post I have purchased from Boots or have been given.

This was supposed to be a short post but yet again has turned into a rambling essay. 

I hope you've had a good weekend. 

xx

Jam Making

Hello Lovelies, 

This weekend as well as going for a family walk I spent some time with Momma Bear making jam. 

This is the first time that either of us have made jam, I was so excited. 

We used the Kilner equipment that I had been given for my birthday. 

After looking through my book we decided that we would make apricot jam, we bought the ingredients that we needed. 

Apricots and sugar, luckily the apricots were on offer, we needed 900g of each.  

All jars that we used we sterilised by washing them and then drying them at 160 degrees in the oven for 10 minutes.

 The first step was to cut the apricots in half and remove the pips. I was so tempted to eat some but we only just had enough, they just looked so tasty.  

We cut the apricots into smaller pieces,  then added 150ml of water and simmered the fruit down by 1/3. 

                                        

The next step was to add the sugar, 900g is ALOT of sugar, our little scales needed filling twice. 

The sugar was then added to the fruit, the ingredients were then boiled to 105 degrees. This seemed to take forever. 

Once the ingredients reached 105 degrees we used the funnel to pour the jam into the sterilised  jars, the funnel really helped I think the jam would have ended up everywhere without it. If you are doing this at home please be really careful because the jar and the jam are extremely hot.  

 We placed a wax seal on top of the jam to prevent any bacteria getting to it and left it to cool. Whilst waiting for it to cool we made lemon curd, I believe Momma Bear will be blogging this so go and check it out at Two Bones and a Bagel . 

When the jam was cool a cellophane seal was placed on top of the jar with an elastic band to keep it secure. 

The jam is currently sat in my cupboard waiting to be opened. 

For a first attempt at jam making I don't think we did too bad, I hope this has been helpful if you are planning on making your own jam. 

If anyone has any interesting recipes or questions about this post please leave a comment I would love to hear from you. 

Thanks for the read. 

xx

Relaxing Weekend

Hello lovelies, 

I hope your all having a relaxing weekend, yesterday I went for a walk around Clumber Park with my family. The weather was lovely and it was nice to get some fresh air.  

 I ended up very muddy after being jumped on by Ozzy, who had been for his first swim and running through puddles with Dylan. 

 It was so peaceful. This is the church at the other side of the lake we, didn't walk all the way around because Ozzy is only a puppy and gets tired after a while. 

Momma bear and Poppa bear enjoying the stroll with the dogs. Whilst me and Nellie walk behind gossiping haha. 

 

The dogs enjoyed it as much, if not more, than we did, it's nice to see them running around together and entertaining each other. I'm pretty sure Dylan teaches Ozzy his tricks.

The weather started to get colder, so after a quick cup of tea we turned around and headed back to the car. 

I love Clumber Park and visit quite often with my family and friends, it's a national trust owned park. It's kept so clean and tidy and offers so many different things.

 Over the summer it's a nice place to go for a walk and have a BBQ. They also have a campsite and log cabins which you can stay in. 

As well as the lake there are plenty of things to see. 

All in all a lovely family place I would definitely recommend visiting.  

I hope you enjoyed reading my first lifestyle post. There will be many more to come as my blog is going to be a mixture of all different things. 

Thanks for reading. 

xx

Make up ban!

Hey, 

Do not fear people I will not be walking around with a naked face! 

Recently I have had a few changes in my life; including moving in with my boyfriend, starting a job and then unexpectedly deciding to leave at Christmas and starting a different new job. 

Like many people at this time of year I am being a penny pincher (tight), and now to get to the point after the life story/ ramble. 

I have decided to ban myself from buying any make up/ beauty products for a whole 2 months!!! Yes I know lets all gasp in shock and horror. Believe me this is going to be such a challenge for mye as I often find myself slipping a lippy into my food shopping or wandering into boots when I shouldn't be anywhere near it.     

So to help me with my ban I have just decided to empty all of my make up drawers and this is the contents, well the items that I don't use on a day to day basis anyway. Personally I don't think that there is that much, others may however disagree. Instead of buying new make up I have decided that I am going to try and use some of my old make up. 

Fingers crossed I don't become too tempted or give in before the two months is up!

Let me know of any tips you have on being make up savvy? 

Thanks lovelies 

xx

Oh hey, 

Yesterday it was my birthday, I had such a good day. It started with breakfast in bed, courtesy of my boyfriend,  consisting of a bacon and brie roll and a tassimo costa latte mmm mmmm. Then my family came over and I opened my presents from my Mum, Dad and sister (thanks guys). 

After that I went shopping with my sisters and spent most of my birthday money. My day was topped of with cocktails and a nice meal out with the Mr. 

 As promised on Instagram here is my birthday haul. 

Just a snapshot of some of the presents I received/bought. The main present I bought with the money from my family and boyfriend was a new Nikon camera, I loves it. 

 This beautiful tartan scarf is from Topshop, it is so soft and warm. This will be used for puppy walks along with my Hunter wellies from Christmas.

 Topshop thick leggings/treggings. 

 These little beauty's were on offer at Boots, I recently ran out of the fab pore so was more than pleased that it was on offer. I am in desperate need for some miracle eye bag remover/disguise, I'm not sure if it's because I'm a year older or recent stress/lack of sleep but my eyes need some TLC. So I thought I would give you won't believe you eyes. I tested it on my hand in store and it seemed to illuminate my skin, I was also drawn in by the applicator tip, its little silver balls that roll the product onto your skin. I might do a review on it when I've used it for a while. 

 CAKE!!! Oh my goodness just look at these beautiful cakepops that my sissy Nellie made me. They look as good as they taste. I was gifted a big bag full of these and will be enjoying them for a few days. Nellie has also bought me a book and given me some money. Very generous big thank you to you. 

Lush YAY! I was so excited to get this big Snow Fairy cone, just as I had thought we couldn't buy the Christmas Luch things anymore my sissy El bought me this. I'm so excited to use it, in the cone there is; Snow Fairy shower gel, Shimmy Shimmy shimmer bar and Angels Delight Soap. So it seems that you can still get some of the Christmas stuff in store at Lush, there's none on line I checked.  

 Frilly socks a wardrobe staple, I bought these ones to wear with some ankle boots I bought with my Christmas money.

Stationary (WHsmiths and Topshop) my main new years resolution, even though I am a new year humbug, is to be more organised. I already had a Diary but felt I needed a note book to jot down my to do lists and blog ideas and anything else that might pop into my head. 

And last but definitely not least Momma bear and Poppa bear bought me a collection of Jam, Chutney and Pickle making tools. I am so excited, at Christmas I made my family port cranberry sauce I really enjoyed making it and eating it. I can't wait to get stuck into making more, me and Momma bear are going to make a batch of Piccalilli one weekend so expect a blog post about that soon!

I am so grateful for all of the gifts I received so a big thanks to all.

Wow that was a long one I hope you enjoyed the read. 

   

xx

Oh hey,

 It's my birthday tomorrow, Yay birthday! I'm turning 20 something (I actually forgot my age the other day ha ha) anyway I will be posting a birthday haul after I have received my presents/been shopping. 

I thought I would do a quick post about these beautiful Lush products I received from Momma and Poppa bear for Christmas.    

I have to admit I have never been a massive fan of Lush products, however this year my mind has been well and truly changed. A few years ago I couldn't even enter the shop as I found all of the different smells a little overwhelming, I overcame this when I went shopping for my sisters birthday present. 

Anyway enough about that, I am now a fan of Lush and was delighted to find these in my Christmas pile. 

From top left they are, Candy Mountain, Golden Wonder, Melting Snowman and a cheeky bath shot of Golden Wonder working it's magic oo er. 

So far I have only used Candy Mountain and Golden Wonder. 

I have to say that Golden Wonder was my favorite it was amazing, with it's little stars and colour changing, it smelt fab and left my skin feeling so soft. I would definitely give this one a 10/10. 

Tonight I have used Candy Mountain, I have to say I was surprised at how much of it I had to use to make sufficient bubbles, I may like my bubbles a little OTT though. It smells lovely, almost good enough to eat. Before using it I've stored it in my clothes drawers (in the wrapper) but my clothes have also been smelling lovely. Over all I would give this a 8/10 just because of the lack of bubbles. 

I know that these products are no longer available in the shops but if you are like me and save them for a little while this post may be useful. 

What are your favorite Lush products?

xx