16/12/2015

BECCA & Jaclyn Hill || Champagne Pop shimmering skin perfector

BECCA Jaclyn Hill Champagne pop shimmering skin perfector

There was so much hype and excitement around the launch of the champagne pop highlighter from BECCA in collaboration with Jaclyn Hill that just made me want one. I'd not tried it, had only seen it on my computer, skilfully applied to the most beautiful of faces, but goddamn it I wanted one for myself. I think this has been around since about July time but it wasn't and still isn't available to buy in the UK, yet, apparently BECCA are working on it. I tortured myself for weeks and weeks with thoughts of ordering from America but the postage cost nearly as much as the item itself, mainly because of the tax, good old Great Britain and I struggled with the justification. Anyway to cut along story short I caved and ordered it at Sephora and it arrived so quickly, praise the Lord. I guess I was lucky to get one as it's been so popular and kept on selling out the minute the stocks were replenished.
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14/12/2015

Luxêmme || Cecile Bardot cut out dress

Luxêmme Cecile bardot cut out dress review fashion

At this time of year lots of us women are on the look out for the perfect LBD to wear over the festive season. Whether it be for a night out with the girls, the office party or something special to wear for Christmas day. I'm no exception and I'm a sucker for a black dress, I have rather a good collection, but I couldn't resist adding just one more!
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10/12/2015

Timeless Truth || The ultimate mask experience

Timeless truth face mask review

I love a good face mask, taking some time out to chill, and give your skin a good old pamper. This time it's Emily giving a mask a trial run. Back in June this year I attended a beauty blogger workshop in London and was given the most amazing goody bag bursting with luxury skincare items. One of those items was a face mask from Timeless Truth. I was given the charcoal brightening detox mask                   , good for congested skin. All my life I've had congested, spotty skin, but recently my skin has cleared up a lot and is a bit more on the dry side so I thought this one would be a good one for Emily to try as her skin is a little congested right now and a bit 'up and down'. 
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07/12/2015

Winter white faux fur || Style challenge with M&Co


Faux fur is bang on trend for A/W15 and everywhere right now, from the runways to the high street so when M&Co got in touch to see if I wanted to take part in their style challenge I jumped at the chance. I picked this faux fur mid length one in winter white* and fell in love the moment it arrived.
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30/11/2015

BECCA under eye brightening corrector || Review


BECCA cosmetics under eye brightening corrector review

Let me introduce you to the BECCA under eye brightening corrector. Could this be the answer to my prayers in the under eye department? I got wind of this this from the lovely Tracey at Face Up Beauty. It's been around for a little while but I missed it, story of my life! For a long, long time I used the YSL touch éclat and it served me well, but over the last couple of years, due to heavy medication the skin around my eyes had become very dehydrated and lined and because of that I found it didn't suit my needs anymore. So, I thought I'd give this beauty a go, anything that can make me look half alive has got to be good! 
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26/11/2015

Salted caramel, Cinnamon and apple puffs


This is the easiest recipe ever!!!! A big shout out and all the credit goes to Rosie from The Londoner, who put this recipe up on her blog very recently. I'm not a great baker and even I thought this would be easy to do. However, I currently only have the use of one arm and being very impatient, you know, like wanting to make them yesterday, I enlisted the help of Mr C who was actually more than willing! He does like a bit of baking.
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24/11/2015

Christmas candle selection



Christmas candles giftguide





We all love candles, right? I'm a bit of a candle addict, and this addiction gets more out of control come Autumn and Winter! In my eyes a house is not a home without fragranced candles. There's something so comforting having these fragrances wafting around your home, especially Christmas candles, they make you feel all warm and cosy on these cold, bleak nights, spreading Christmas sparkle everywhere. Can you tell I'm a bit excited about Christmas? It's those amazing aromas that go hand in hand with Christmas time, cinnamon, spices, fruits, pine, all evoking special memories and preparing you for the festivities ahead. For that very reason I thought it about time to share a selection of Christmas candles. We're putting up our tree next weekend, it takes me forever as I'm such a perfectionist but I love it, I don't mind spending all day with carols playing, something alcoholic to help you along and fragranced Christmas candles burning away bringing Christmas alive. I'm getting that warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about it!
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19/11/2015

Afternoon tea and the beginnings of Christmas


Last Friday, the day before my surgery I met up with my mum, Aunties, and cousins. My sister sadly couldn't make it as she has gone and got her dream job, so not sad for her at all in any way, but we're sad she can't now make Fridays! Anyway we were planning our usual trip to Gates Nurseries in Oakham, Leicestershire to check out their amazing Christmas department (don't tell anyone but I've already been a couple of times) and thought why not push the boat out and have afternoon tea too, especially as Gemma and Lesley are so busy with work they're not always able to escape on Friday, it was nice they could both make it. 
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13/11/2015

Short intermission, I'm off into hospital.


Image


This is a very short post from me but thought it best to do so you don't think I've deserted you all. You see I'm off into hospital tomorrow for more surgery.  I'm having an operation on my other shoulder (right one was done about a year and a half ago) and so I may not be very active on the blogging and social media front for a few days at least. 
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11/11/2015

By TERRY Hyaluronic Hydra-powder


By Terry hyaluronic hydra-powder review

We all know that as we age our skin needs a little more help than it used to and I for one will take all the help and tips I can get. I owe huge thanks to Tracey over at Face Up Beauty for introducing me to this little 'beauty'. Actually Tracey also talked about two other products as well which I picked up without any hesitation but I'll talk about them in other posts. By the way you really do need to check out Face Up Beauty as it's such an informative blog with honest reviews on skincare and a whole range of beauty gadgets and not to mention a bit of fitness thrown in for good measure. 
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09/11/2015

Blogger meetup || label m fashion fixes and my first Dirty White


Friday night saw a few of us local Leicester bloggers getting together for a bite to eat and a good old natter. Laura who writes over at Extreme Housewife had arranged it all and I was quite a last minute addition! We knew we were meeting and eating at the Cosy Club and also knew Laura had a surprise up her sleeve but had no clue as to what it could be! Turns out she'd arranged for us to visit award winning salon Danique Hair on Highcross Street where we were warmly welcomed by Keri and her team, oh and we were treated to a delicious peach Bellini to kick start our evening. Keri and the team were so friendly and gave us a masterclass in fashion fixes with top hair brand label m who were the official sponsor for LFW. Keri showed us how easy it was to achieve the nouveau knot in just a few easy steps, working with the products from the label m kit that you can buy in the salon. Keri made it look so easy and effortless but to be honest I think I'd rather pay to have the professionals do it for me as I'm useless at 'up do's'.
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06/11/2015

Doll White teeth whitening strips review

Some time ago I was sent some *teeth whitening strips by Doll White and I was excited to give them a go. 
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02/11/2015

Chunky knit and jeans kinda day


I love a jeans, chunky knit and boots combo. Last Sunday (yes I'm a little late with this post!) was THE best Autumn day. Not cold enough to need a big coat and pleasant enough to go out in just a jumper, in fact it was positively warm on Sunday and ever so sunny, hence the sunglasses. Mind you they hide a multitude of sins from the night before!!! Drinking till the early hours with friends, then trying to be a model the next day don't mix very well.
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26/10/2015

Halloween chocolate spider cakes

Halloween chocolate spider cakes

Halloween is such a fun time, no good for the waistline mind with all the sweets and cakes that fill the shelves, but it's especially great for the kids. You can make these for yourself as a treat, or to take along to a party and hey if you've got kids why not let them get involved and make some scary spider fairy cakes with a blood centre! 
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21/10/2015

Design your own wellies for Joules || Competition


I'm a big fan of Joules. I love the brights, the casuals, the outerwear, in fact everything really. They can literally dress you from top to toe with outfits to cover all occasions. I'm also a little bit proud that they come from my neck of the woods, Leicestershire. The village they are based in, and in fact have been right from the start is not a million miles away. 
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The Body Shop twin-ball facial massager


The Body Shop twin ball facial massager Oils of Life review

For the last couple of weeks I've been giving my face a good workout. No, not facial yoga, although I've given that a try in the past, but a facial massage, morning and night. I was invited for a pamper session by The Body Shop recently (you can read that here) to introduce us to some new products including the new Oils of Life range. Kirstie, my fellow blogger friend had the full treatment using the Oils of Life and had a nice little massage with this little implement. The Body Shop twin-ball facial massager to be precise. 
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18/10/2015

Spain photo diary part two || Marbella, tapas and sunrises.


Brace yourselves. Here's the photo diary part two. Not quite as much alcohol you'll be relieved to hear, but then that's because I daren't allow it in too many shots!!! This diary contains pics of our time in Marbs, plenty of tapas and dreamy sunrises. If you didn't have a nosey at my photo diary, part one, you'll find it here.
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13/10/2015

Spain photo diary part one || Fun, frolics & plenty to drink


As we fall well and truly into Autumn I thought I'd bring you a bit of warmth and sunshine through some holiday snaps from our time in Spain this September. 
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05/10/2015

Pamper time with The Body Shop || Oils of Life & Spa of the World


Last week I was invited along to a pamper session at The Body Shop by the lovely Kirstie who writes over at Kimamley Beauty. To be honest I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I've never been to a Body Shop pamper session before. I just assumed they had a room somewhere where you'd be taken to be pampered and try the latest products, I didn't bank on it being in the middle of the store when it's open and full of shoppers. We introduced ourselves to Tasha who promptly seated in from of the products.
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30/09/2015

The Bewicke Arms in Hallaton, Leicestershire || Launch night

Friday night Mr C and I were invited along to The Bewicke Arms
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24/09/2015

Tea & cake on the river with Rosie and Jim || Tea Junction



Sundays in the Autumn are made for walks and last Sunday we went out for a stroll to one of our local country parks and made a beeline for a narrowboat cafe moored there for a short time. A friend had mentioned her visit and that it would be moving on shortly so we had to had to go. I mean who can resist scones and sundaes? 
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22/09/2015

A break from your routine is the very thing you need.

Since I got back from my holiday I've been really struggling to get my act together. I just can't get into the swing of things at all. I've been back a week and a half and I'm sure most people struggle to some degree to get back on that daily treadmill, but this time I'm finding it even harder and I'm not sure why? I can't be arsed to go the gym, I'm eating and drinking for England, that should have stopped when the holiday finished, and I can't seem to find any motivation at all, for anything. I should have done at least a couple of posts by now but my creative juices just aren't flowing and I keep beating myself up about it.


I go to bed telling myself that tomorrow will be the day I get my act together and have a productive day, I have all these plans in my head and think I'll be bursting with positivity the next morning,  I'm still waiting for it to happen however. What's behind it all? I know I'm really tired, that's probably  down to my RA, I'm currently in a lot of pain so I know that doesn't help, and I don't think going on holiday later in the year helps either. I do love going in September but when you come back the nights are drawing in, especially with the rainy days and when it's wet, miserable and dark it doesn't help my mood, in fact my mind is constantly drifting to sun, sea and cocktails rather than thinking about the next thing I can photograph. 

Today, I got up a bit later than usual, mooched around a bit, 'thought' about sitting at my computer to write, but ended up doing the ironing instead whilst catching up on episodes of Holby City and drooling over pictures of London fashion week on Insta. Although today I had a positive thought and promised myself I WILL somehow get to the next LFW. The rest of the day was spent on the sofa, munching on crisps and all sorts of other rubbish that was in no way shape or form going to make me feel good about myself but I couldn't help it! I spent some time on that sofa catching up on the hours of TV I have stored on the Tivo box and came to the realisation that it's ok to sit down and do nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm not very good at doing nothing and Mr C is always telling me so. But then I got to thinking that surely it's actually ok to take a break from your daily routine, not just from the everyday things but to take a little break from the blog too. I bet lots of other do. I'm trying hard to build my blog and I do worry that if I'm not pro-active all the time, and posting on Instagram every five minutes then no-one will be interested. Then the other half of my brain is saying that no-one will miss me anyway so what am I worrying about? That's the negative missy in me kicking in, and that's another thing going on in my head since I've been back, I've been asking myself the question that occasionally rears it's ugly head, "Am I too old to be doing this blogging malarky?" and "who am I kidding, why would anyone be interested in what I have to say, it's a young un's game". I guess these thoughts come along when I'm tired, run down, lacking inspiration and unable to find any motivation whatsoever. Damn you holiday blues!

I know I'll get my mojo back, I just hope it hurry's up! I need to stop eating junk, that also may be part of the reason for tiredness and lack of energy, I need to get back to the gym and I need to blog. BUT I made a decision today, you see slobbing out on the sofa most of the day wasn't wasted, and it's that I'm not going to worry about it too much and pile huge amounts of pressure on myself. We all need a bit of a break right? I'm sure lots of people go through a blogging slump, don't they? 

Mr C is away tonight so he's not here to give me the usual kick up the arse, boost my blogging confidence and make me smile. I suppose it's a start that I'm writing this post as this just started out being a quick note to say I'm back from my hols and sorry for the delay with posting, but several paragraphs later and it resembles some kind of a post, I think.

The above quote is spot on and I'll be honest and say that blogging, and everything that goes with it has not been at the forefront of my mind just lately. It does make me sad when I think about that as I worry I won't get that excitement back but sometimes a break from your routine, be it long or short, is exactly what you need to refocus and we should definitely listen to our bodies more and rest if we need it, I'm a fine one to talk though, I just can't sit down! Hopefully before long I will be churning out the posts, crossing things off my to do list like there's no tomorrow, be back at the gym and be full of energy.


Do you have days where you just can't be bothered? What do you do to get yourself back on track? 

Don't forget to follow along on Bloglovin to keep up with posts!














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15/09/2015

Having a big hair day || Lush BIG Sea Salt Shampoo


Oh my goodness I have to tell you about this wonderful shampoo, I want to shout about it from the rooftops. At the Lush event I got talking hair to one of the expert assistants and she introduced me to BIG. I explained about my hair being oh so fine and flyaway, and that I just wanted it to have a bit of body, fullness and you know, general oomph. I was given a little pot with BIG in it and she promised I would love it. 
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28/08/2015

Benefit splurge for the holidays

Most of you have probably had your summer holiday by now, but mine is just around the corner, and I for one cant wait! All that sun, delicious food, fun, frolics and plenty of time to kick back and relax. I've been doing the odd bit of holiday shopping and found myself having a bit of a splurge on some Benefit treats, some of the things I've been wanting to try for a while. A lot of you have probably already got these in your make up bags and tried and tested them all and are not on the slightest bit interested in what I think but I just wanted to share my haul. 
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24/08/2015

Skinade || Better skin from within

Skinade* is all over social media right now and when I was offered a 30 day trial* I jumped at the chance. Skinade is a drink developed by UK scientists to help boost your body's natural production of collagen and hyaluronic acid. 

Skinade skin supplement collagen Health lifestyle

Skinade claims to help us achieve better skin from within by taking their liquid supplement on a daily basis.
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17/08/2015

Another MAC lipstick || Brave

I thought it was about time I got myself another MAC lipstick. Woah, my collection is growing, I now have two!
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14/08/2015

Lilysilk Silk pillowcase || no more sleep wrinkles




We all want to keep wrinkles at bay for as long as possible right? Although bit late for mine, they''re definitely a permanent fixture on my face :( I often give myself a fright when I look the mirror of a morning to find my face all crumpled up after a night of tossing and turning and shoving my head into a cotton pillow case, well not literally inside the pillow case, because obviously I'd suffocate but you get my drift. I can't be the only one to wake with puffy eyes, wiry bed hair with a life of its own and deep set tram lines around the eyes that take all bloody day to disappear. Can I? I'm a real attractive sight in the morning you know. 
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10/08/2015

Lush Leicester || Blogger sneak peek

Are you prepared for a Lush overload? Of course you are. We're all Lush lovers, right? If you're not there's something terribly wrong with your brain! Although I'm still fairly new to Lush if I'm honest. Anyway, last Thursday I was invited along to our local Lush store with a bunch of lovely bloggers to have a sneak peek at some of their new products. I'd not met any of the other local bloggers before and I know they're a fairly young bunch, so wasn't sure I'd 'fit' in, but there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity.
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03/08/2015

Meatcure launch & review || Leicester


Meatcure opened its second restaurant in Leicester last week, their first being in Market Harborough, and Mr C and I were invited along to the launch night and to sample yet more delicious food. I hear what you're saying "do we really need another burger joint in the city?" but burgers will never go out of fashion and there's always room for one more especially when it's a local company doing good, not just another chain.
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30/07/2015

New scent on the block || The Body Shop Italian summer fig

The Body Shop perfume Italian summer fig

Hi lovlies. Hope you're all having a great week so far? I want to tell you about, no, actually shout about, a new fragrance from The Body Shop. Say hello to Italian Summer fig. I am going to be doused in this fragrance for the rest of summer. Ok, so perhaps we haven't even had a summer yet, is it on the way? Who knows, but wearing this makes me feel like it is summer, so that'll have to do for now. I love The Body Shop and their products just get better and better, although I will admit I've not been a wearer of their fragrances since my teenage years when the smell of White musk filled my bedroom and I got through crate loads of the stuff before heading off to the roller disco. Ahh......teenage memories of long, long ago.
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27/07/2015

HD brows eye and brow palette in Vamp

HD Brows palette eyebrows


You'll have been burying your head in the sand if you've not noticed how important brows are right now. Everyone's plucking, preening and shaping to get that well groomed perfect eyebrow. Me included. I do love having my HD brow treatment at my local salon and on my last visit I decided to pick up the new HD eye and brow palette. I'd got the previous one but it's so old and manky I'd convinced myself I needed the new one.
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15/07/2015

So what is oil pulling?

Image credit

You've probably noticed that everyone's talking about coconut oil these days. It's in health food stores, online and even in your local supermarket now. What made my ears prick up was the fact people were saying they were using it to whiten their teeth, and we all want white teeth don't we, so a few months back I bought my first jar, a very large one at that, well, I thought in for a penny in for a pound! I was about to begin my oil pulling journey. 
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12/07/2015

Build a beauty blog workshop with Antonia Mariconda



Early in June I attended a blogger event on how to set up a beauty blog. It was being run by Antonia Mariconda, award winning beauty writer, blogger, entrepreneur, coach, founder of the safety in beauty campaign, the list goes on, and all round superwoman, and yes I was nervous, about meeting a room full of strangers and Antonia herself. I know it sounds really daft but I felt slightly intimidated by this woman, successful, powerful, beautiful and I'd not even met her, what was wrong with me?BUT, let me tell you, I need't have worried. 
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07/07/2015

Glamour summer edit beauty box || Latest in Beauty


Say hello to my new beauty box full of summer goodies. At last, summer is here and holiday season is nearly upon us. I ordered my first beauty box from Latest In Beauty last August and was chuffed with everything in it. I love Latest in Beauty as there's no monthly subscription involved, you just buy as and when the mood takes you. 
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29/06/2015

Grillstock Leicester Review || Meat, Music and Mayhem

I was lucky enough to be invited along to the launch party of the Grillstock smokehouse in Leicester. Bring a couple of people with you they said, and I knew just the two!! Located in St Martin's Square in the heart of the city, not too far for us to go, with plenty of parking available, on street if you're lucky, if not the Highcross multi-storey is not too far.
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23/06/2015

Royal Ascot Gold Cup || Ladies Day

I was so excited about Ladies Day at Royal Ascot. It's something we've thought about doing for a while but never got round to it, so when it was discussed again this year it was a definite go-er! We talked about going on an organised coach trip as initially we thought there may be four couples but it turned out only two were able to go so we travelled down by car in the end. 
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19/06/2015

PentaHotel Derby Launch Party

A few weeks back an email dropped into my inbox asking if I'd like to attend a hotel launch party. Err.... was I about to decline? Never. I took Mr C and Emily along with me, we spruced ourselves up and off we went.
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10/06/2015

I've joined the Makeup Revolution || Iconic Elements

Hi everyone. Hope your week is going well so far. The weather has been much better this week so I'm happy! 
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08/06/2015

Liz Earle || Botanical Essence No 1

A good few weeks back I treated myself to one of my favourite perfumes. And why not. I'll tell you why not. I would have been totally wrong not to get it as QVC, the best shopping channel had it on easy-pay. If you don't know what that is, it's a kind of instalment payment plan, which means you can spread the cost over a few paydays!!! My last bottle has about run out so I couldn't let it pass me by, I'd never have forgiven myself. I don't actually buy much from shopping channels, that's the truth, apart from some of my Elemis skincare products and other beauty products every now and then, they're all quite costly and it's great to not have to pay out a hefty amount all at once.
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01/06/2015

A journey to a new smile


Ok, some of you may not be in the slightest bit interested in this post about Mr C's gnashers, so if that's the case, we'll say our farewells here, but don't forget to be back for the next non teeth post!! I was in two minds whether to put it on here or not but hey it's a lifestyle blog and this is life, so why not! Mr C is happy for me to post it, he's not embarrassed, he just hopes it will help some people out there going through the same thing.
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27/05/2015

My first MAC lipstick || faux

Shock, horror, yes this is my first MAC lipstick, which is bad considering 99% of the planet have one or multiple MAC lipsticks stashed away somewhere. I haven't worn a lipstick for years now, well not a proper twisty up bullet one. I've steered clear of what I call a regular lipstick as I have the driest lips in the whole world and I'll be honest and admit that I've just used a cheap and cheerful version of the chubby stick for donkeys years but it's done me proud, quite rich and moisturising actually, not bad for a cheapie. I'm ashamed to say I've even stuck to the same shade for the last couple of years, you know what it's like, you find something you love and you use it forever! My god, I've looked the same every day for the last two years, very adventurous, NOT! It was that cheap I've even stockpiled, daren't count how many are in the drawer.
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20/05/2015

Tangle Teezer Compact Styler

 Tangle Teezer compact styler hair review

If you have long hair like mine you'll know what a nightmare knots, cots and tangles can be. For the last however many years I've just been using a comb on my hair, not great I know, but I just found it so easy to slip into any bag, and I really am lazy when it comes to caring for my hair! I don't often wear my hair up, in fact I never do, so no tangles from that but I get so fed up of it taking forever to detangle my hair when I've washed it (a laborious task I hate anyway) and sometimes it's a bit knotty when I get out of bed. When I used the comb, especially on my wet hair I realised I was getting a lot of breakage and it seriously took forever to un-tangle so I decided it was time to invest in a proper grown up hair brush. Hello cute leopard print tangle teezer! I debated for a little while over which brush to get. I looked at the paddle brushes but they were too bulky as I wanted a multi-tasker, one to use at home and to pop in my bag too so I thought the tangle teezer compact would do the trick.
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17/05/2015

Steve, The Christie and The Great Manchester Run

Hi guys. Hope you had a great weekend. What did you get up to? We've had a lovely chilled out one but this time last week we we're just getting back from a weekend away.
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13/05/2015

Eternal Collection || Aura Pearl and diamante ring

You may remember a little while ago I did a collaboration with Eternal collection and showed you this stunning ring and a pretty little honey bee necklace. Well, a few weeks back Mr C and I went out for Sunday lunch wearing said ring, me obviously, not Mr C, and I thought it would be a good idea to take a few photos on the way home so I could show you in more detail and it actually on my finger!
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06/05/2015

Crafty launch || Farmyard Jam & a Krispie Klucker!

New on the food scene in Leicester is Crafty. Crafty has gone from pop-up shop just before Christmas to now taking up permanent residence in the fabulous St Martin's independent coffee shop. They held their launch party last Thursday evening and kindly invited Mr C and I along to help them celebrate, how could we refuse? Everyone loves a burger, right?
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04/05/2015

Gap eyelet fit and flare dress || total bargain

Yes, as you can see I'm still trying to get the hang of this 'photo shoot' business with Mr C as my photographer, neither of us are very good at it, although I think we're getting a little better, yes, I'm very self conscious, and yes in my head I am saying "hurry up and take the goddamn shot as someones looking".
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28/04/2015

A DIY project for big celebrations


On the 15th and 23rd March this year we had a big reason to celebrate in our household. Our daughter Emily turned 18 and our son Tom turned 21 just a week apart!!! My brain is finding it hard to comprehend where all the years have gone. Where are the little hands and feet, the snotty noses, grazed knees, the tears, the squeals of delight at the tiniest things, holding hands whilst out for a walk and that heart melting smile from the most precious things in your life. They've all grown up that's what. Yet still the most precious things in our life and always always will be. The beating of our heart.
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22/04/2015

Barry M chisel cheeks contour kit



Hi guys. There's so much talk of contouring right now I felt like I was missing out but I didn't want to splash out on one of the more expensive contouring kits though incase contouring wasn't for me so I picked up the Barry M palette, so reasonable at just £6.49 and I got mine from Superdrug. 
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16/04/2015

Day tripping in The Lake District || conquering Haystacks

** Warning: take time out to read, its a long one**

So, hubby knew the weather was going to be good in The Lake District on Easter Sunday. No, he's not a weather man, his phone told him so! The Midlands was set to be a bit cloudy, so he suggested we go to The Lake District in search of the sun, FOR THE DAY!!!!!!!! Yikes, I hear you say, and yes it's a good 3 hour drive for us, but for us that's no problem, we really don't mind about taking a long drive anywhere just for the day, although when I say we, I don't actually do the driving, so of course I don't mind, but Mr C doesn't either, he's the one that always suggests these mad ideas, we've even driven to Weymouth for the day when the kids were younger and that's 4/5 hours away. Yes we are mad but YOLO and all that!!!!! :) Emily was in all day rehearsals for her upcoming show and Tom was out too so just the two of us set off early.
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13/04/2015

New gym gear || back on track



You already know by now that I have arthritis so I won't harp on too much about the fact. I was in remission for two years but the last six months have been so horrendous with pain in almost every joint.  My rheumatologist started me on a different drug with a short course of steroids two weeks ago now and it's been like a mini miracle. I have very little pain, no scratch that, hardly any pain!!!  So whilst I'm pain free I wanted to get back to doing some sort of exercise if only just one class a week to ease myself back in gently, I certainly don't want to overdo it!
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09/04/2015

Springtime goodies || happy days



A couple of weekends ago I had to go into work on a Saturday morning. It's not a regular occurrence so you don't need to feel sorry for me, I'm very fortunate in that I don't work any weekends but this one I had some catching up to do.

It was one of the first weekends Mr C and I had nothing planned since the beginning of the year and were looking forward to doing, well, nothing much really. You know, cooking something nice for dinner, watching rubbish Saturday night TV, slobbing out and not having to worry about time constraints! Pure bliss.

Anyway, I came home from work and was quite chilled out and in a good mood, which is quite impressive for being in work on a weekend! I walked in the door to find a steaming cup of tea waiting for me, and all the cleaning done!!! Result.
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06/04/2015

One Pan tricolore meatballs À la Rosie Londoner

I'm not a cook as you know but every now and then something comes over me from nowhere and I go all Delia, well Rosie in this case! On Friday I felt the urge to rustle up something good, and I'd recently read Rosie's recipe for one pan meatballs. So easy, it just couldn't go wrong, could it? Actually anything can go wrong for me where cooking is concerned!!
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30/03/2015

Nailing it this springtime

Spring is well and truly here, oooh and so are the lighter nights as of this weekend (yippee) so I thought I'd show you a few of the recent additions to my nail colour collection. 
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26/03/2015

MAC lustreglass in Venetian

Hi guys. Hope you're having a wonderful day? I mentioned a few weeks back that I recently bought myself a couple of lip glosses and saying that I'd not worn gloss for a long, long time. Not that I don't like wearing lip gloss,  I just don't think to buy it. That has all changed though. I picked up a Tanya Burr lip gloss in Aurora and was really impressed, you can read my review on that here and I had a couple of special weekends away planned in Jan/Feb, big parties, so was after a gloss but something a little more sophisticated so I headed to MAC. 
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23/03/2015

Blogger meet up at Peter Pizzeria

Last week I attended my first ever blogger meet up. Was I a little nervous? Oh yeah. I was invited by the ever so lovely Annie from The Tales of Annie Bean. I was actually in two minds as to whether to go or not as I'm shy by nature and was worried a lot of the bloggers probably knew each other or had at least met before, but no, pizza was involved so I knew I  had to take that first step out of my comfort zone and go. I'm so very glad I did! 
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17/03/2015

A Lush newbie

Have I been living on another planet? Why have I not been even stepped foot into Lush before now and tried their amazing products? I think I know the reason. I'm not a bath person. Yes, I do wash, daily, promise, but I'm a shower kinda girl. I don't know why but I had in my head that Lush sold goodies predominantly for the bather so never bothered going in when I passed by. How I managed that I'll never know, how did the smell not draw me in? 
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12/03/2015

Eternal Collection Jewellery



The lovely people at Eternal Collection got in touch with me the other week and asked if Emily and I would like to try a piece of their jewellery. They'd obviously seen that Emily had featured in some of my posts, and trust me we didn't have to think too long about it, it was a no-brainer, of course we'd love to sample some of their gorgeous jewellery!
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09/03/2015

A little Mothers Day inspiration?

Everyone loves flowers right? With Mothers Day being next weekend here in the UK I thought I'd share a purchase I made a few weeks ago. It wasn't a conscious effort to go out and buy flowers, it just happened. I was very extravagant and bought three bunches. 
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04/03/2015

January and February wrap up including Christmas! (part one)

How did March happen? I know you're all looking forward to spring right now and I sure am too, I'm kinda pretending it's spring already actually if the truth be known. I know the last thing you want to read is a post jumping back to Christmas party shenanigans, and it's probably a bit weird going back to what we did in the last couple of months rather than the last week, but you're getting it anyway. We had so much in the diary, more so in January which was really rather lovely to banish those January and back to work blues! It was kickstarted on 3rd Jan with a family meal out to celebrate our nieces 21st birthday, and Rebecca what a beautiful young lady you are growing into. Then Mr C flew off to Portugal for a week of golf. Lucky bugger, and I got stuck back into work and blogging. To be honest my heart is more into blogging right now and it's all I want to do, but somethings gotta help pay the bills!
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02/03/2015

February favourites


I've not done a favourites post before but I got myself a few little bits this month so thought why the hell not! Let's start with the total newbies to me shall we?
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26/02/2015

Bershka ankle boots

A few weeks back we headed to London for the weekend, taking Emily and her bestie, Danielle. You can read about our Les Mis trip here, it was an amazing weekend and as predicted by Mr C the girls ended up doing some real therapy on Oxford Street. We hit the coffee shop to rest our weary pins whilst they did some damage. Being the end of January all the sales were still on and I couldn't resist a sneaky little peek in a couple of shops and guess what? I managed to snag myself a couple of bargains. 
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23/02/2015

Estée Lauder Pure Colour Envy Lipstick

Hi everyone, 

A few weeks back now I sent out a tweet asking for help and advice. At the ripe old age of nearly *cough* 46 I decided it was about time I owned a red lipstick and I wanted to know the best one for my rapidly ageing, lined, wrinkly nearly 46 year old lips! The wonderful Caroline Hirons suggested I give Estée Lauder colour envy a try. So off I trotted into town. 

As I approached the Estée Lauder counter an immaculately made up young girl, she must have been all of 20, asked if I needed help. After scanning her face, and seeing not one line, or any smudged lips or smudged eyeliner in sight I felt like hot footing it out of there with the words "no thanks, just browsing!" stopping her sales patter dead. Thing is, these make up counters in department stores fill me with dread if I'm honest. Snooty sales assistants, crap lighting and every tom, dick and harry watching you, stifling their laughter as you are being made up to look like some sort of clown! Have you been there? Can't be just me. Why is it they promise you one thing and you end up looking like something totally different, the most 'amazing' foundation that makes you look like you've been tangoed ten times over, and lips and eyes that wouldn't be out of place on a drag queen! I think you get the idea that I've not had great experiences. BUT, this 20 something was soooo lovely (and beautiful) I found myself parking my bum on her stool before she could say "what are you looking for today?".

Red lipstick I told her. She didn't laugh and say "you might be a bit too old for red love", no she set to work finding what she thought was the right shade for me. 

Estée Lauder colour envy lipstick


Now you're probably thinking "hold on a minute, that's not red, that's pink" and yep you'd be quite right. You see, she started off with quite a bright red, no way, it made me look so washed out and pale, yet I do see paled skinned girls rocking a red lip so why did it look so damn bad on me? I must admit I'd not had a great nights sleep the night before, in fact I never get a goods nights sleep these days, so perhaps that was the problem, eyes bags and wrinkly lips do not make for a good red lip. We went to a bit of paler shade, still no go, then eventually I told her to forget the red and lets try a pink.
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17/02/2015

A little bedroom inspiration

I've been looking for a bit of bedroom inspiration as I'm hoping to do some re-decorating of my own bedroom very soon, and we all know the place for inspiration don't we? Pinterest of course!
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10/02/2015

Benefit Rollerlash // Review

Benefit Rollerlash mascara review
I was asking that very question myself to be honest. What's so special about Rollerlash and what is all the fuss about? Benefit sure do go 'all out' when their new products are released, with great marketing and PR, making sure us woman hear all about it, leaving us wanting to try the new 'it' product and see what all the hype is about. I wasn't one of the fortunate ones to be sent a sample so as soon as I heard Elle magazine were giving away a free sample I had to get one, so promptly sent hubby out to the shops and told him in no uncertain terms to come home without one! Lucky for him he got a copy, the last one he said, at our local supermarket. 
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04/02/2015

Tidy handbag. Tidy Mind | Let's get organised


Some of you may remember that in June last year, my birthday actually, I got my first Mulberry handbag. You can read that post here. I will always be madly in love with it. I got the bayswater tote as it can hold shedloads of stuff, and boy do I carry some rubbish around, but it has no sectioning inside, apart from one tiny pocket, and that holds my phone. It's just one big space for all your daily junk to rattle around in and I found myself getting constantly infuriated, hands fishing around inside trying to find, purse, keys, hand cream, whatever it may be. There was no place for anything and nothing had a place. I needed a solution. 
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02/02/2015

A Les Misérables treat for daughter number two

You may be totally fed up now of my various posts from my trips to London so please feel free to skip this one, shame on you, but skip if you like, I'll still love you.
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19/01/2015

Time to get my weary bones moving and my arse into gear


Happy Monday you lovely lot in that big wide world out there! Hope you're having a good one. Can't tell you whether I am or not because I was typing this last night, ha, and my crystal ball was a tad cloudy so couldn't see what my Monday would hold. 
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14/01/2015

Fuelling my candle addiction

Once the excitement, karaoke and party poppers had died down from our New Years Eve party I found some energy from somewhere, heavens knows how I mustered up even the tiniest bit, and I wrote a post about what was under my christmas tree on Christmas morn and the selection of candles I had received.
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12/01/2015

Essie Cute as a button

Happy Monday lovelies! I thought I'd try and brighten up your day with a pop of colour.
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07/01/2015

Grey suede ankle boots. A bargain.


Feast your eyes on these little beauties. Aren't they?
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06/01/2015

The other half of me..........

..........has gone away golfing. How dare he? I mean, we're practically joined at the hip for goodness sake!
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05/01/2015

New Year's Eve party at our gaff !


Well New Year's Eve crept up on us quick didn't it? 
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01/01/2015

Happy New Year

I know for some this greeting is a tad late but believe it or not we've not long sat down after a mammoth clean up session after the New Years Eve fancy dress party at our gaff. A great night was had by all and a post will follow.
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Under my tree on Christmas morn

Lots of people choose to do posts about what they got for Christmas, some don't. I'm not going to babble on about all the lovely things I had but just about the things that totally blew me away.
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