Holiday Accessories

Um, did I mention I'm going on holiday in 5 days.....???!! So excited to be heading off to Sardinia.

Normally a pre-holiday shop would consist of buying a load of new Summer clothes but seeing as we're heading into Autumn and all the shops have bought in their Autumn/Winter Collections this is a bit of a no go. I decided to just update my summer wardrobe with some new accessories and a new bright red bikini!

Anyone that follows me on Pinterest will see that I have a massive crush on anything with a neon vibe. H&M have just bought out a load of neon styles and I tried some on but just don't feel brave enough to rock that look in full. A little pop of neon is definitely the way to go for me!

Green Ring - Aldo 
Nude/Peachy Earrings - Aldo 
Leaf Necklace - Aldo
Pink Flowers (on a clip) - H&M
Bracelets/Bangles - H&M

I think I picked all this up for around £30 (proper pricing when I do the August Shopping Edit post).

I'm going to start putting some holiday outfits together today....watch this space!

Love,

Places to go........ The Pier House, Westward Ho!

New blog feature alert!! I'm lucky enough to usually be able to eat out once a week and lately I've been trying to make sure it's somewhere I haven't been before. Just thought I'd give my thoughts on the places I've been.....

Last week I was in Devon seeing Scott's grandparents for a few days and we wanted to take them out for dinner. We had a scout around online and found The Pier House. 

Now ordinarily I would show you some photo's of the food that we ate, but well....I didn't take any because it was horrible!! I felt embarrassed and initially thought that I wouldn't blog about it but then thought I'd be honest with you - it's just my opinion afterall.

For starters I had Prawn Cocktail (£5.95), it was quite literally the biggest starter ever but the quality left a lot to be desired. Frozen prawns with iceberg lettuce and a blob of tasteless marie-rose sauce on top, hmmmm. I wish there had been less of it (a lot less) and that it had tasted better.

For main course I had Crusted Cod Fillet (£13.50) with braised leeks, new potatoes and a white wine and dill sauce. The "crust" was parmesan and crab. Overall this wasn't too bad. I didn't like the crab and parmesan crust (this is just my preference) but the cod itself was cooked well. The leeks were very well braised and the sauce a strange orangey colour which was off-putting. I didn't try the potatoes.

I think the worst part was watching Scott trying to get through his main. He had ordered the Hake "special" and if by special they meant burnt-to-a-crisp, then yep, it certainly was special!! He didn't want to make a fuss in front of his grandparents but if it had been just us it would have gone back to the kitchen. It was so bad it made him gag. Granny had a steak (she asked for it well-done but what came out of the kitchen you could have used to re-sole your shoes) and Grandad a gammon steak. The portion sizes again were HUGE, so we didn't get desserts.

So what did The Pier House get right? It's in an amazing location, pretty much anywhere you sit you get a wonderful view of the sea and the decking outside is lovely. The service is also great, the waiter we had was attentive. 

Would I go again? Yes, but not to eat! I would go for the location and maybe a low-key dinner like Scampi and Chips (£9.95). I'm not sure I trust the chef there with anything more complex than re-heating frozen food, harsh? Maybe, but fair.

View 

Love, 

Product Review - Benefit Hello Flawless

Lately I've been finding that my skin has a little "extra-shine" than normal. In the summer months I've been trying to steer away from using foundation every day and have been using BB Cream instead. I like the BB Cream I use but just need a little extra coverage, which is why I bought "Hello Flawless" by Benefit. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now so thought I'd do a little review.

I generally really like Benefit products. The packaging and marketing is great but as we all know the product has to step-up too. I find most times Benefit products do exactly what they say on the tin, and Hello Flawless is no exception. 

I like the fact that it comes in a variety of shades to suit all skin-colours. I bought "Champagne" which suits mine perfectly. I love the fact that it has SPF15, I think all products should these days,  and it comes with a little instruction booklet and two application methods, brush and sponge.

I use my larger powder brush to apply Hello Flawless first thing and then use the sponge/smaller brush it comes with for top-ups throughout the day.

If you're in the market for a powder you can carry with you to keep shine at bay, I would fully recommend this one. On the skin it's light and doesn't feel "cakey" at all, and it's also really easy to apply, you can't go wrong with it (trust me, there's many "fail" stories I could share!!).

Do you change your "base" make-up products depending on the season? What do you think of BB Creams?

Love,

Happy erm.....Friday???!!

This is the Friday round-up on Sunday... because, well I've just been too busy!!

1. On Monday I headed to London with my Dad, we were staying in Euston and as a treat he took me to Searcys Champagne Bar at St. Pancras Station. It was amazing. I believe every home should have one of these buttons!!

2. I went to the Olympics on Tuesday morning to see the Mens 3m Springboard Semi-Final. It was unbelievably cool to be part of it all (bigger blog post on this to come!). I won't know what to do with myself later on tonight when it's all over. Boo.

3. My boyfriend and I cycled approx. 22 miles of the Tarka Trail in Devon on Thurs morning. I haven't been on my bike in literally 3 years (if not more), it felt great to get back in the saddle and re-introduce my body to cardio post-op.

4. Actually experiencing some "summer"!! This past week it got HOT, amazing. We're now back to rain, standard.

5. This weekend I headed up to Nottingham to see my godson, Harry (and obviously the rest of his family.....). At 16 months he's still super-cute which is reassuring! I had a lovely time playing with the kids, catching-up with Anna (Harry's Mum) and watching the Olympics. Anna and I decided to sign ourselves up for the Crossdale 10k in Keyworth, nr. Notts, 6 weeks to go! Eek.

What are your highlights from last week? My two-week post-op recovery period is now over, back to work tomorrow!

Love,

The Shopping Edit - July 2012

 

1. Gold Butterfly Earrings, Warehouse £62. Quicksilver Jeans, TK Maxx £12.99
3. Polka Dot Top, TK Maxx £14.99
4. White Billabong Hoody, TK Maxx £16.99
5. Neon Hilly Sports Top, TK Maxx £12.99
6. Black Capri Trousers, Warehouse £36
7. Grey & Yellow Top, Warehouse £17 (Sale)
8. Stripy Pyjama Bottoms, Tesco £6 (Sale)
9. Black Pencil Skirt, Tesco £7 (Sale)
10. White Vest Top, Marks & Spencer £17
11. Stripy Blue Jersey Dress, Marks & Spencer £45
12. French Connection Jumper, TK Maxx £16.99


My total for July is £209.45, which is great - I have £40 to carry over! I've highlighted in pink the items I'm planning on using for work. I like to clearly separate work and play clothes, there's very little cross-over for me. 


I wore the Stripy Blue M&S dress for a meeting the other day and got lots of compliments, it's just one of those dresses that fits really well and is super comfy. Definitely feel like I could run around all day in it.


The French Connection Jumper has the cutest back, I just have to show you!

Bows! I love them.


Have you made the most of the Summer Sales? 


Love,

The biggest steak I've ever seen.....

To help with my recovery,my lovely brother Rich offered to cook me dinner the other day. 


This is what he showed up with!!!

Quite literally the biggest T-bone I have ever seen, each one weighed approx. 600g!!! So we embraced our inner caveman, and despite the rain - popped them on the BBQ.

Now, I don't eat a lot of red meat but these were soooo good. Simply prepped with olive oil & seasoning and served with grilled veg, perfect.


Rich bought these monster steaks from Ruby & White Butchers on Whiteladies Rd in Bristol. If you're interested in quality meat from farmers whose produce is ethical, sustainable and full of flavour, Ruby and White's is the place to be. 










Love, 

P.S. This is not a sponsored post, just my opinion.

Happy Friday!!

Here we go again!


1. This Friday beats last Friday hands down. Last Friday I was having my appendix removed, enough said.


2. Olympics Fever!! I'm off work for two weeks so have watched sooo many different sports, I'm addicted. Come on Team GB!!

3. The return of Schweppes.... lately this little monkey has been going off for days on end. He decided to come and hang-out with me on the sofa for a few days this week though. I felt privileged ; )

4. I got bored one night and spotted some scary looking bananas. What to do? Make banana bread, of course!! This was actually seriously yummy. I added some questionable dark chocolate I found in the fridge, it worked out well. Banana and chocolate, what a combo. Find the recipe here.

5. Last but by no means least, it's the Bikini Dream Team Finale photo shoot this weekend! Whilst I won't be stripping off given my current condition (it wouldn't be pretty), I will go and support the other girls and celebrate what we all achieved. If you want to catch-up on what's been going on, you can here.


And that's it folks. A pretty cool week, all things considered!


Love,

The Shopping Edit - June 2012

Yikes! I haven't done one of these for a while...... and I now have two posts about shopping to blog. I used to call these posts "A few of my favourite things...." but well, that seems a bit silly as there's always going to be more than a few items here!


The reason why I do this post is mostly for me, to keep me accountable and on budget. I set myself a shopping allowance of £250 a month, this has to cover clothes, shoes, accessories, jewellery, sportswear.... Hopefully it's interesting for you too! I like to think I'm a bit of a bargain hunter so this might give you some ideas.


This is what I bought in June.

1. Nike Running Leggings, JJB Sports £24.99
2. Pink Puma Sports Top, TK Maxx £12.99
3. Turquoise Bubble Necklace, Ebay £15.81
4. Stripy Umbrella, New Look £9.99
5. Lacy Skirt, Zara £39.99
6. Nude Vest Top, Zara £15.99
7. Coral Statement Necklace, Banana Republic £23.99 (Sale)
8. Grey Vest Top, Warehouse £7 (Sale)
9. Sandals, Accessorize £25 (Sale)
10. Black Top with Sheer Panel, H&M £12.99
11. Leopard Print Top, New Look £16.99
12. I also bought some underwear that was on sale in Debenhams. This came to £40.80.


So my grand total for June is £246.53, on budget (just)! Look out for these items on up and coming style posts.


Love,