Saturday afternoon PYO

This afternoon was spent at our local PYO fruit farm strolling through strawberry rows looking for the biggest and most red berries, getting lost in a maize maze and suppressing squash envy! We got caught in a downpour so headed back to the shop to pay for our bounty - multi-coloured courgettes and strawberries - and waited for the rain to pass with a cup of tea and slice of delicious chocolate cake in the fruit shop tea room. 

Once the rain had stopped we headed back to our car past the petting zoo where we saw the cutest Pygmy goats who were super friendly, I could have taken them all home with me! 

Feeding the littlest Pygmy goat

Getting up close with the camera

Big smiles for the camera!

Home Bargains baking essentials

With a new series of the Great British Bake Off just around the corner, I've been inspired to flick through my baking books and make notes of the next recipes I want to test. Unfortunately it's been ages since I last had both the time and energy to get weighing, mixing and decorating, but I've made up for it by stockpiling pretty cupcake cases and cake toppers, so when I do finally get round to it my cakes will be the best dressed around! 

Home bargains has always had pretty bake-ware and accessories but recently I've noticed they have a large range of Wilton products for unbelievable prices. I haven't previously bought much from the Wilton range as I've found it a bit expensive, but i know it is popular with bakers and I've had my eye on some flower shaped cupcake cases for a while. My luck was in last week when I called in to my local store on my way home from work and I picked up a few things from both the Wilton and home bargains ranges which I thought I'd share. 

The tulip baking cups were a bargain at 49p. There are 24 cases in the pack and they are good quality cases which should keep your cupcakes perfectly formed as they bake, unlike those thin white ones you get in cake mix boxes which fold all over the place as soon as you put the mixture in them, leaving you with some oddly shaped creations. 

The food writers were 59p and look like they will be easy to use and quicker than icing pens for when you're running short on time. As they are festive colours I won't be using these until Christmas time, but I will look them up online and see if they have good reviews. 

The other cupcake cases were from home bargains own range and I think they were 39p. The last thing I need is more cupcake cases (I'm on the verge of becoming a "collector" of them!) but with such cute prints I couldn't resist.

The red bags were 59p I think, or maybe 79p, I can't remember exactly. They are paper bags which are perfect for packaging up your homemade sweet treats to take to work or on picnics or to give as a gift. They also come with stickers to seal them.

The vintage dream cupcake sets were 99p each. I have a few similar sets from Poundland but these are far prettier so I just had to get them. Plus the ones from Poundland are all holiday-themed, which means this purchase was okay as these can be used YEAR ROUND. If that isn't reason alone to buy them I don't know what is...at least that's what I keep telling myself!

Has anyone else found any baking bargains recently?

P.s. Lakeland have their summer sale on at the moment and there are some reductions on gorgeous bake-ware, including a 3d carousal mold. I'm consequently trying to avoid the website....for now!

NEXT summer sale goodies

Last Saturday marked the biannual 5am feeding frenzy that is the NEXT sale. I have to admit to quite enjoying the early morning trawl around next - but don't get me wrong you won't find me queuing the night before, even I won't prioritise securing a front of the queue spot over at least a few hours of sleep beforehand!

I had arranged to meet my boyfriend just before 5am at the store (it was his first experience of the madness and I had already shown him the things I wanted to pick up!) unfortunately I forgot to set my alarm that night and didn't wake up until 6.30 am when I noticed I'd missed two phonecalls from him - I had inadvertently stood him up, oops! (I felt awful but luckily he had seen the funny side of it and had even picked up everything I had pointed out to him a few days earlier, I was very impressed!) by the time I got to the store it was nearly 7am and the crowds had left so I had a leisurely browse without being nudged or getting in someone's way which i preferred (I just need to convince the bf to do the early shift next time too haha). I haven't actually got round to photographing the clothes I bought, but here are some of the other things I picked up:

The printed bed sheet is so pretty, it's a pale lilac colour with a rose print and comes with a matching pillow case. I think it will look fresh with a white quilt cover on top and makes a change from boring plain sheets. This was reduced to £5 from £10.

I also bought two candles, one was fragranced in 'just pink' which is NEXT's signature scent which is floral and feminine and was just £2 down from £5. I can't remember the name of the second candle but it was white and again smelt lovely. That one was reduced to £3 from £9.  

The l'eau Rose gift set seemed like a bargain at £4 from £10. It contains a 30ml edp spray, a roller ball and a solid fragrance. The scent is floral but also quite fruity which I didn't expect. The lightness of the fragrance makes it a great scent for summer. I also bought a 30ml boxed edp for £3 which will make a nice gift. My only complaint is that the scent seems to fade quickly but. At. That price you can afford to reapply it throughout the day.

I needed some new black heels for work and these were only £16 from £32. I had tried them on before the sale and they looked nice on so I was pretty pleased to spot them in my size on sale.

I also wanted some new navy loafers as I wore my last pair out. These are so comfy. They were £20 from £40. 

I also bought a bird feeder for just £3 but I've already put this I'm the garden.

I didn't buy a lot from the clothes department but did get a nice navy suit for work and a t-shirt. I did pick up some other things but unfortunately had to return them as they didn't fit...too many sweet treats at work I think! Nonetheless I was pleased with my little haul and look forward to seeing the new autumn collection filter in (and not just so I can start planning what I went to get in the next sale haha).

Primark Haul

I'm not sure where the past six weeks have gone. Work has been incredibly busy and by the time it gets to the weekend I just want to rest, but I can't help but feel I'm not making the most if the weekends. I'm hoping to get a holiday booked this week though so that is exciting and after that I can look at booking some weekends away. I'd like to spend a weekend in London in June or July, there is always lots to do and I would like to get tickets for ZSL's Zoo Lates event this year. 

I did go to Birmingham for the day a few weeks ago, mainly to use up some free tickets for the Sea Life Centre which were about to expire, but I also managed to fit in a quick Primark visit! Here is the haul I came away with: 

I love the pattern on this dress and it will be perfect for taking on holiday. It looks a bit shapeless in the picture but it's actually a skater style which goes in at the waist and then flares out, so it is quite fa flattering fit. This was £15. 

The rest of my haul was pretty much from the home ware department, except for this large wash bag which I'm currently using as a make up bag as it fits my mirror and moisturiser in too so it's great for travelling. I think this was £3.

Behind the wash bag you will see my new laundry hamper! I think this was £3 or £4.

I also brought a bath towel with the same rose print as this laundry bag, which was £6. 

And a sweet floral print tea towel which was £1. I think this is too pretty to use as a tea towel so I might make it into a cushion like I did with the blue floral tea towel last year.

And lastly I picked up this candle. I don't often buy candles but this smelt lovely, the tag was missing so I can't remember the scent but I think it contains jasmine. The glass jar is pretty and matches a trinket holder on my dressing table. This was £3. 

I also saw some cute garden lights but I had ran out of time. I'll be in London for work next week though so I will see is I can fit in a cheeky primark trip then!

Nails of the week - sparkly French manicure!

Having spent a little too long on Pinterest yesterday I found plenty of inspiration for using the new nail varnishes I bought as part of gift sets from the Boots 70% sale which I posted about a few weeks ago. (I've also got a bunch of ideas for decorating a pretty Easter cake, Pinterest is seriously addictive!)

I used my Chanel nail polish for the pale pink base, and a No7 glitter top coat for the tips. I really wanted to do a slight glitter gradient on the tips but it was a bit too tricky with just the one glitter polish, I think I need to invest in another fine silver glitter varnish to use first, and then layer the very top with the larger glitter to get a gradient effect. I do like how they turned out anyway though, a modern twist on the Classic French manicure!

Valentine's Day 2014 Gift Ideas!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, the shops are filling up with pretty gifts and gorgeous floral bouquets that any lucky lady would be thrilled to receive.

Here's what would be on the top of my wishlist (other than being whisked away to the Bahamas for a week or two!)

1. Limited Edition "With Love" Gift Set by Sanctuary Spa, £22

2. Valentina EDP 30ml, £39.50

3. Silver Heart Pendant, £40

4. Rosé Bubbles & Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles, £25

5. Rose Gift Bag, £25

6. Rose Pillar Candle, £11.20

What would be your perfect Valentine's gift?

Boots 70% Sale Haul including Sanctuary, Soap & Glory, No7 and Champneys

Last Wednesday I headed out bright and early before work to take part in the legendary boots 70% sale where all of their unsold Christmas gifts get discounted! I've been every year for about 6 years and manage to stay stocked up of my favourite beauty products at a fraction of their usual retail price. In previous years the sale was 75% off but still who can pass up 70 % off Brands like soap & glory and sanctuary which never have more than 1/3 off! Clearly It wasn't just me who thought this as by the time I arrived at the store shortly after it opened there were already crowds of people with huge ikea-sized bags full of gift sets! I was lucky that there was at least one of each product I'd wanted following my trip in my lunch break the day before and was done with my little haul in 20 minutes. My mum had also headed out early and between us we got quite a stash! 

The products above are just my part of the haul and two gifts! I've been told by my boyfriend, who had the day off work and was asked to accompany my mum, that he'd never seen her move so fast as she dashed around the store haha! I don't think we bought an excessive amount though I would imagine it should last us a year or so (until the next sale!) and many of the items I would buy full price if I had to anyway, so it makes sense to take advantage of such a bargain! 

So, here are some of my favourite things a bit closer up:

This sanctuary Mande Lular set was reduced from £18 to £5.40 and contains a 500ml bath Creme, travel sized body polish, body soufflé and a body brush. The bath Creme alone retails at £10 and I love sanctuary products, they're not tested on animals and are paraben free. 

This No7 set contains treats for pretty hands and toes! This was reduced from £20 to £6. It was definitely the glitter varnish that drew me to this set, I'm a magpie for glitter varnishes and sequinned cardis! ( I have three grey sequinned cardis that are all very similar....how many becomes too many?!) The colours in this set are great for winter so I might put this set up until then, but the sensible part of me thinks I should return it as I have glitter nail varnish, hand cream and foot cream aplenty....

I've needed a new blusher for a while and although I've seen some gorgeous palettes in the new ss14 make up collections they're all pretty expensive, perhaps one for a birthday wish list. The soap & glory powder trio was reduced from £20 to £6 and each powder retails for £10 or £11 each so that's a huge saving. My only complaint is that they are fixed in the palette so you can't pop it in your make up bag (perhaps the perfect excuse to indulge in one of those aforementioned palettes?!) my other s & g purchase was the face time set which contains a range of skin-care products. This was £7.50 from £25 but I think I might return it as I'm not sure I really need it. 

I probably don't need more nail varnishes but the colours in this Champneys set caught my eye. The sparkly grey is great for evenings and the blue and pink match the colours in all the shops so I think they'll be very en-trend for spring. They were reduced from £12 to £3.60 so at 60 p a varnish you can't go wrong! The little pink box is full of travel sized miniatures which are ideal for taking on holiday. This was also reduced from £12 to £3.60.

I was initially a little sceptical about this bronzer as I don't usually have the right complexion for it, but it's actually very subtle and gives more of a warm glow than a bronzed look, and it's so pretty which may have swayed my decision a bit! This was reduced from £16 to £4.80.

My mum picked up these miniature perfumes for me for £4.50 from £15 and they're handy to pop in your handbag.

I forgot to add these two goodies to my haul above too. The cupcake book is by Rosie's Pantry and has some delicious recipes including banoffee cupcakes and rose water cupcakes. This was reduced from £6.50 to £1.95. The cocoa butter set I originally glanced over, it sounded nice but I knew my mum had already got me the sanctuary treats so I resisted! That evening by chance I came across a beauty blog which raved about this exact kit, so back I trundled the next day in my lunch break in the hope of finding some left. I was in luck and picked up two sets and I can't wait to try it out. I like cocoa butter and sugar scrubs so I have high hopes for this. It was a bargain at £3 from £10.

And finally, I bought the above Champneys bag for my mum. I forgot to add it to the main photo above but it contains three full sized products and three travel sized ones. This was reduced from £50 to £15. And that's all from my mammoth boots haul, phew!

2014

I can't quite believe how long it has been since my last post, work has been hectic and the weekends are just flying by. Christmas seemed to pass in the blink of an eye this year, although it was lovely all the same. Some of the festive highlights were a day trip to Paris with my mum, a trip to pick out a gorgeous tree from a farm, making a wreath and a delicious Christmas Day feast. I was also very lucky to receive some lovely Christmas presents, including the Modalu Somerset Handbag and Dior Addict Eau Sensuelle.

Modalu Somerset 

For the New Year I headed up to London and rang in 2014 with my mum, dad and boyfriend at Somerset House. It was great to have a clear view of the fireworks without having to queue for hours but it was still a long wait from when we arrived at 8pm, I was half asleep by midnight!

Now we're halfway through January and I still haven't made any resolutions or really thought about the year ahead. I'd like to get healthier but that won't be easy whilst work is so stressful, sometimes only chocolate will do! Ideally I'd like a new job, but I think I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place as far as that goes for the time being. I'm still training so opportunities are few and far between, although I wouldn't oppose a complete change in direction it would be a big decision to make.

In the meantime however I'll be posting about my January Sales haul, (I'm thinking February would be a really good time to impose a spending ban!), my spring/summer make up and fashion wish-lists and reviewing the many beauty products I picked up in the legendary Boots 70% sale!

Happy 2014 :)