On the move...

Hello everyone...

I must apologise for my absence recently! I have just moved from a different side of the country, back to my home town of Southampton! Exciting times...

So I'll be a little quiet until I've finally sorted everything.

I'm loving putting my own touch on the place so I can't wait to share some photos of what I've been up to.

It was also my birthday at the end of July and I had a lovely time and got thoroughly spoilt! I went to afternoon tea with some friends at a place in the new forest called Rhinefield House Hotel. I really do recommend this place it's an absolutely gorgeous venue and the tea and cakes were absolutely delicious. I thoroughly over indulged! Now time to join a new gym I guess....groan...

My boyfriend treated me to a meal in the poshest restaurant in Royal Tunbridge Wells called Thackerays and it was just amazing. I felt very posh!

Be in touch soon!

xxx

OOTD MOTD: Summer BBQ...

On Saturday Paul and I had a BBQ to go at our friends house and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! In fact it was actually a little too hot and really would have been great for being at the beach for the day in a bikini! Plus the hayfever was in full swing which was not ideal!

It was a really fun day and the spread was absolutely incredible!

I thought I'd share with you what I wore and my make up for the day.



I apologise it's not a great photo! This is the worst mirror ever and I can't wait until we move so I can put up my pretty new one!

I got this skirt back in January from ASOS. It's by Mango. I absolutely love the colour of this skirt as I wear a lot of tan and golds so it's pretty much right there in my comfort zone! It has a really comfy elastic waist band and two slits up each side which was great for yesterday adding some extra breeze! The bottom is see through so there's a little jersey mini skirt attached on the inside. I actually love this skirt so much I bought it in navy too! My top is from Topshop. I really love their loose camis as they are so easy to wear with so many different things and very comfortable. My necklace is also from Topshop, which I only bought the other day in the sale for £4.50. Amazing bargain considering most of their jewellery is over £10.00. I wore my hair in a top knot which I just gathered all up in a rough ponytail and then twisted and gripped around. I'm quite surprised my hair actually stayed like this all day as I washed it that morning and it would normally just fall right out! What I'm holding in my hand are my favourite ever summer item right now....my GUCCI sunglasses...ahhhhh I love them. I bought them at duty free on the way to Mexico which was back in January so I was so happy when the summer arrived and I could put them on again. They were pretty pricey but since owning a pair of DIOR sunglasses a few years ago I made a decision that I would forever have a pair of designer sunglasses in my life!

I'm not really too experimental with my make up and I tend to go for a more natural look...mainly because I have no idea how to use eyeshadow! Sad I know! So here's a list of the products I used...

• Simple day cream - I really love this moisturiser. I have quite sensitive skin so I don't like paying too much money for fancy skin products if it's going to cause an issue with my skin! I had a reaction to the MAC primer and I was devastated! I stick to the simple brand because my skin is ... simple. That sounds ridiculous but you know what I mean!

• Garnier 5 Second Perfect Blur - I've only been using this product for a few days. I bought it in boots as it was offer for £9.99 rather than £12.99 and I've heard great reviews and it was the last one left so I grabbed it! I wouldn't say it's a good as the picture shows on the advertisement....ie all the blemishes have magically vanished after using it but it certainly helps hide them. It's also really velvety which I love and gives my skin a really nice finish.

• Chanel Vital Lumiere Aqua 20 - I've been using this foundation for many years now. I used to wear Pro Lumiere but as I got a bit older my skin changed and it was just too oily for me. Lucky for me I have a very close friend who works for Chanel so is always on hand to help! I love this foundation as, hence the name, it's water based so doesn't make my skin oily! The shade is probably a tad too warm for my skin tone but I do like a very slight warmth to my foundation. I find it lasts all day and blends really, really well. I've seen reviews of people saying it can seem to settle in dry patches, to be honest I do find this sometimes but I only ever get a dry patch between my eyebrows and it's only every now and again so it's not really an issue for me.

• Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealor - I actually have no idea what shade this is because I throw it in my bag everyday so a lot of the label has worn off! I'm not really a huge fan of this...don't get me wrong, it doesn't cake or anything like that and the shade is perfectly fine, I just don't find it particularly gets rid of my dark circles hence throwing it in my bag everyday for re application! Not ideal.

• Soleil Tan De Chanel - Another favourite! I bought this in October and it's pretty much all gone now but it has a firm spot in my daily make up routine.

• Benefit High Beam - An absolute favourite of mine and forever a re purchase. Best highlighter I've tried in my opinion. It gives such a lovely pearly glow on my cheek bones, nose and brow bone.

• Chanel Pudre Universelle Compacte 30 Naturel Translucent 2 - I've had this powder forever and it just doesn't seem to run out it's great! I just apply this with a powder brush after I've applied all my creamy products just to set everything and it's just right for me.

• MAC Gel Liner Blacktrack - I've had this for a really long time and I really love it. Once it's on...it does not budge which is amazing for a hayfever sufferer! I apply this with one of MACs angled brushes on top and bottom. I didn't do a flick, I just wanted to add a bit more definition to my lash line.

• Benefit They're Real Mascara - What can I say about this mascara!? It is just absolutely incredible! I recently did a post about this product so check it out!

• MAC Well Dressed - The first blusher I ever purchased from a MAC and now forever a re purchase. I've said before how much I love pink blush and this product seems to last a really long time. It's the perfect pink and has a slight shimmer to it too.

• Bobbi Brown Rose - To add even more of a highlight I apply this over the top of my blusher. Again, I previously did a post about this product. I love it!

• Soap And Glory Arch De Triumph - I've only recently started filling in my eyebrows and I don't know why I didn't do it sooner! I think I was worried I'd end up with a scouse brow! This pencil is really great. Though I do find myself sharpening very regularly. It has a highlighter pencil at the other end but I don't tend to use it as I've already applied High Beam and the Arch De Triumph is less subtle and a bit more difficult to blend!

• Chanel Rouge Co Co Shine 68 Candeur - Probably my favourite lipstick ever! A nudey light pink which lasts. It couldn't get better than that in my eyes! I was told this is a limited edition shade...OF COURSE! Sad times.

What did you get up to this weekend?

xxx

The last few days of 30 Day Snap Challenge

Well it's the end of the 30 Day Snap Challenge and I found it so hard!! I have been really busy over the last few days so found it hard to think about getting my phone out for photo opportunities! So here's a little collection of some photos I've taken over the last few days.

We had a murder mystery evening with work and it was really fun! A lot I the company came and it was a school theme...hence the name badge! And we were served proper school dinners!

I went back home to visit the family this weekend. My brother is getting married next summer and his lovely fiancé asked me to be bridesmaid in the cutest way! She made her own scented candles and put them in vintage tea cups with a lovely message written on the tag to all the bridesmaids! Obviously I accepted and cannot wait for the wedding! Check out bells, bows and bella for her blog!

This is our family dog Boris. He's a French bulldog and still a puppy and he's soooo cute! He's my looking too attractive in this photo though!

It has been super hot this weekend in the UK and it has been glorious! Paul and I went for a little walk to the park before we had to do the dreaded food shop and he treated me to an ice cream and oh my word!! It was amazing! It was triple chocolate by carte dor...I suggest you all try this!!

xxx

30 Day Snap Challenge Day 22

I have to apologise! I have totally let my snaps go! I have been so busy over the last few days I just haven't found the opportunity to take any photos.

On Saturday evening however, I did get a lovely quiet evening to myself as Paul went out.

I decided to go a little crazy with the chocolate! Apart from cadburys...these two are my favourites!

Milka is just incredible! And after treating myself to a giant toblerone after our holiday to Mexico...I've been hooked!

I will try to be more organised now!

xxx

30 Day Snap Challenge Days 18 & 19

It's been soooo humid here recently so my friend Amie and I couldn't resist popping to the pub after work for a quick drink. It really felt like we were on holiday it was so warm...but then came the hayfever and I was bought back to reality with a sneeze!

And I'm going to cheat a little bit with my next snap as I really didn't have any photo opportunities but I saw this on the blog for 'a beautiful mess' and I am so trying this!

I have just realise this a very alcohol related post! Oops!

xxx

30 Day Snap Challenge Days 15, 16 & 17

On Saturday I had fun being crafty! See my latest post for a tutorial on this.

On Sunday Paul and I went over to his parents for Sunday lunch. They recently bought a mini table tennis set. Once the rain had cleared we took to the garden patio table and things soon got pretty serious! The mini bats were ditched and we dug out some full size ones and a the tournament began! This is Paul and his brother taking things a little too seriously!

With it being Father's day yesterday I was having a dig around in my little box of memories to have a little smile to myself to remember him. Any photo I look at of my Dad I can't help but smile...just take a look at this waistcoat!

xxx

DIY Paper hanging hearts

Today I decided to be a little crafty. Truth is I'm a little short on funds so today's activity needed to be purse friendly so I decided to give these paper hanging hearts a go. I took a trip in to town to pick up some supplies. I went to one of the Charity shops and was served by the sweetest man! Anyway that's a little off the point but he really did put a smile on my face! I needed an old book and I chose 'The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz' which was 49p. I then needed to pick up some string so I went to this shop called Jeremy's Home store, it's absolutely amazing. Sells all these cute home ware bits and bobs, Emma Bridgewater products, cooking utensils...all sorts! If you're local to Tunbridge Wells or just visiting I suggest you check it out! I normally spend a good half an hour in there just having a look. I do love those shops where you look around and could find about a million things that you could actually do with but never knew you needed....if that makes sense! I picked up some brown string for 99p.

So here's what you need:

• Hole punch
• Scissors
• Stapler
• An old book
• String

And here's what you need to do:

• Cleanly rip a page out of the book and cut into 5 equal(ish) strips
• Cut two of those strips about three quarters of the way down, keep the longer half and throw away the smaller half
• Put the strips together with the smaller two on the top and bottom and the longer strips in between and staple together
• Curl the two smaller strips round to the bottom where you stapled and hold in place
• Curl two longer strips round also and staple all in place at the bottom
• Cut the remaining long strip to desired length and hole punch in the middle
• Thread the hearts onto the string
• Repeat

VOILA!

I think this looks really cute and it was so cheap and easy to make!

Let me know what you think!

xxx