How I Get Into The Christmas Spirit! | Lifestyle.

I bloody love Christmas and I don't just mean December 25th I mean literally the entire build up. If there is one thing I love doing it's getting into the spirit. I feel like it's very easy to not feel Christmassy especially when you're working and there's a lot going on. Even I have found it difficult in the past to get into the mood where I am just so excited. But I refuse to ever let a year go wasted. So these are what I do to get myself into the spirit and I usually start mid-November (once my birthday and bonfire have passed).

Bath Christmas Market | Travel Diary 2016.

Ahh, Bath glorious Bath. Having spent 3 years visiting Bath on and off to see Alex while he was at university it quickly became one of my favourite cities. I love the atmosphere when I'm there especially around this time of year because the first time I visited was 3 years ago at Christmas. We were definitely going to attend a Christmas market this year and why not Bath seeing as the last time was years ago. This weekend was the perfect time because we both had the weekend off and we really wanted to get into Christmas from December 1st. I, would definitely recommend Bath because it is so pretty and there are so many shops! We did pick up some presents and mooch around the stalls (there are so many!). The parking is affordable too especially for a city and we enjoyed a traditional lunch at Mission Buritto, and of course not forgetting a mulled wine mm. We had such a lovely day and I mostly love my little Christmas tree charm Alex bought for me from one of the stalls.

An Autumnal Walk In Waggoners Wells | Lifestyle.

Being an absolute lover of walks Alex and I decided to go to a place called Waggoners Wells which is a woodland area with about 3 lakes that join up. We timed it perfectly because there was no one else there and the entire floor was covered in orange and brown leaves and I literally mean covered. It looked so beautifully autumnal and the air was chilly- the best time for a walk.

Bruges In Outfits | Fashion.

Outfits in Bruges.

If there is one thing I don't like doing it's wearing the same clothes over and over again. Over the years I have learnt how to 'smart pack' that ensures while I am away I am not packing far too much clothing yet managing to look like I have. 

I would say the main key is to pack more upper half bits than lower half. I tend to recycle two pairs of jeans and then have a new top for each day. What I tend to do before going is lay out on my bed my outfits so I can visualize. This is a great way to stop you over packing because you can see the outfit and you can also see where you can wear one pair of jeans/trousers on more than one occasion. 

My 24th Birthday In Bruges | Travel Diary 2016.

As I sit here writing this I feel incredibly sad that I am. I feel as if I should be in Bruges right now instead of sat on my bed writing about my time in Belgium. On the flip side I feel incredibly happy because I'm filled with plenty of amazing happy memories. Our time in Bruges was short and sweet but at no point felt too fast paced or as if time flew by in a blink.

Declutter Your Bathroom - My Current Top Bathroom Essentials 2016 | Beauty.

It wasn't until moving day I came to realise just how much stuff I had acquired in my bathroom. I had so many half used bottles of shampoos, conditioners, hair serums, body creams, hair mousses and the list goes on! I even had products I know I had bought well over 3 years ago that I just thought 'I'll keep that because I never know when I will need it'. It doesn't help a lot of the stuff was handed down to me from my mum but I never got round to using everything/finishing it off because more and more kept piling up. I would often also get half way through something before wanting to try something else which resulted in half used bottles laying around taking up space.

My first step to de-cluttering was to throw anything away that was at least 1 years old. Even if it was somewhat new. Have you ever looked at the back of a beauty product and noticed a small tub like symbol that has a number in it, usually there is a 12M or 24M? Well, that number is I guess what you could call an expiry date and the M is months. That little number is telling you when you need to have used the product by or have thrown away. So, that is the first step you need to take to decluttering- just bin it if it's old. If you haven't used it by now you're not going to so stop telling yourself you will. 

Hello Autumn.

You've had your summer holiday, you've worn shorts and skirts, lived in flip flops and complained about being too hot. But then all of sudden the temperature drops, there is a smell in the air and it's the most wonderful time of the year. For me Autumn is all about those cold days, long chilly walks, bobble hats and scarves, coats (my winter obsession), endless hot drinks, Halloween, my birthday, bonfire night, lazy days whilst it rains outside, crunchy leaves, dark nail polish, berry lipstick, boots, cosy knit jumpers, oh my word the list goes on but I am all about Autumn. Then the lead onto Winter, when it becomes all about red nail polish, red lips, Christmassy outfits, lush bubble baths, endless Christmas films and Christmas music on repeat, mulled wine, Christmas markets and present shopping for the people you love. oohhh my I'm just too excited!!!

I am a sucker for photography when it comes to Autumn. I just had to start off Autumn with some images I took outside I couldn't help myself it just looked so pretty.

My Weekend In Photo's | Lifestyle.

Being our (Alex and I) first weekend together in forever we wanted to make the most of having two whole days together. As nice as it is to chill out and have duvet days it's so much better going out because it's rare we get the time. 

On Saturday 15th October after booking our weekend away to Bruges for my birthday in November (woooo!!) we decided on the Devil's Punch bowl for a long walk.

Sunday Fun Day In The New Forest | Lifestyle.

Having a day off together is very rare for Alex and I so when they do come around we love to make the most of them. We decided on this very fine Sunday that we would go to the New Forest as we haven't actually been together. We woke up early enough to make the most of the day but late enough to call it a lye in. Listening to music and getting ready we headed out around midday. The sun was shining and the temperature was lovely. Firstly we stopped in a small little town called Lyndhurst. We strolled around and then stopped for some lunch at The Greenwood Tree. We had bacon and brie panini's and a scone with cream and jam each. 

Feeling very full we then drove into the New Forest. We stopped off at the side of the road and wondered off onto the green where we saw plenty of horses. It's so amazing to be surrounded by animals that's not at a zoo or something similar. We drove on and ended up stopping again this time to walk around a wood. We jumped, ran and skipped, climbed trees and kicked pine cones to each other. I felt like a child again and it was so fun. Carrying on our drive we stopped at the side of the road to look at some donkeys when one came over and stuck his head into the window. It was hilarious and I loved every moment because I love donkey's. We had one more pit stop at Pig Bush for one last walk before heading home. It was such a great day and I would recommend the New Forest to anyone who just wants a lovely day out that consists of nature, a good walk for exercise and the animals really do make it something that more spectacular. Not to mention priceless.

Collective Haul | Fashion.

We are all too familiar with that very beaut of a day formally known as payday and if you're anything like me you've more than likely spent it all. In all fairness ever since I got back from travelling I haven't really been able to spend any money so of course I made the most of my first disposable pay check. 

My partner Alex, and I had our first week off from work since we both started working which was primarily to redecorate his room. But we did manage to get out and about and do some shopping as well as a few date nights- my favourite. So, these are all the goodies I gathered within that week and a few pieces I have bought since pay day. Boy, it felt good to buy some new clothes.

Now, when it comes to shopping I have (thankfully) got out of the mindset of just buying what I like because I like it in that moment. I give items more of a thought now. Have any of you heard of the term 'capsule wardrobe'? Well, this is now my way of living. I ended up putting back so many items because I thought, 'will I wear this in 5 years time?' and the answer was more than likely no. In turn I also ended up saving money which is always great because it's money that can be spent on slightly more expensive pieces that I know I will still wear in 5 years time.  I tend to go for a lot more neutral colours now as well. 

On with the haul.

Firstly, this gorgeous pair of Kurt Geiger's. I have honestly wanted these shoes for the past 2 years and when I saw they had dropped from £160 to £79 I had to snatch them! A few weeks passed and my extremely generous partner offered to pay for them as a treat- isn't he a gem.

A Day In London | Travel Diary 2016.

I absolutely adore London. If there is ever an excuse to go, I am there. Alex and I had wanted to go during our week off from work but sadly never got the chance. Luckily, I did have a reason for us to go which was work related - I had to go to the DKNY flagship store to get some clothing for uniform (£800 worth all for free!!) So, hooray we were going. 

Being my only day off this week, we decided to get the 9:14 train as to have some form of a lye in (still up at 8am). The first thing we did in London was pay a visit to DKNY on Old Bond Street. I got sized and given a bag of clothing which was incredible of them. Then we went to Fortnum and Mason for a look around- we did end up buying Hugh (Alex's father) his birthday presents! With a little bit of shopping on Regent Street next stop, my favourite Liberty! We mooched around and I got colour tested at Nars. By this point we were getting hungry and it was around 13:30 so we headed to our favourite lunch spot Bone Daddies in Soho. We have been previously and seriously the ramen is amazing! I had the Spicy Miso ramen and Alex had Tonkotsu ramen.

Alex's

Natural Deodorants | Review.

Now, this isn't going to be the most glamorous blog post but it's something I wanted to address because I'm forever harping on at the people around me about the importance of using natural deodorant. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick a.k.a THE Best Lip Product | Review.

I am going to let you in on my best beauty secret yet! Prepare to receive the most compliments you can imagine because this product seriously kicks ass. 
In my last haul I mentioned that I had picked up 3 shades of the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipsticks in the colours 'Nude-ist', 'Don't pink of it', and 'Cool Brown.' Since wearing this product every day to work I have been inundated with compliments and I've even had them compared to Mac and Kylie Jenner's lip kits!

Mini Boots Haul | Review.

Hello everyone!

I hope you've all had a relaxing or productive Sunday. I certainly kept busy with laundry and clearing out my room ready for moving day. It's amazing how much you can hoard away and then it comes to moving and you've all of a sudden got 10 bags going to charity- where does it all come from! Aside from that I took a walk down to Boots to stock up on some of my skincare bits and a few treats. Yesterday, I went to Winchester with Alex and his parents and I found some lip products I really wanted to try however, all of the shades I wanted were missing or had been opened.. (come on girls). So, I waited until I could pay a visit to my local Boots and hooray they had all 3 shades and to my happiness the 3 for 2 promotion was still on . It's always nice to treat yourself at least once a month for all your hard work.

I'm forever trialing out new body creams making sure to try something different whenever I run out, but on this occasion I repurchased the 'Norwegian Formula nourishing body lotion with nordic berry' because I just love it so much. It's very lightweight and rubs in so quickly with no sticky feeling after. It retails for £5.29 which is so affordable!
To remove my makeup I always used to use my trusty Bioderma H20 water but it was so difficult to get hold of in the UK so when Garnier released their Micellar water I was keen to try it out. I've used nothing since because it just works so wonderfully. It's non irritant and removes my makeup thoroughly so of course I had to stock up when I saw it on promotion for £3 down from £5. I'm going to do a blog post in the upcoming future of my skincare routine and regime. 
Next on my list was my skincare. My skin is a tricky one because most products irritate it or break me out. I've been using the Boots Simply Sensitive range for years now after I was using their Boots Botanics range neither of which irritate my skin. My skin type is combination, oily t-zone, sensitive and prone to acne. I really rate this product line, its ridiculously affordable both toner and face cleanser retail at £1.99 each so I would definitely recommend them. 
Last but not least I bought 3 shades of the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet matt lipsticks which claim to last 24 hours. They are beautiful colours and I cannot wait to trial them.

A Day In The Life - My Weekend | Lifestyle.

For Christmas last year my partner, Alex and I bought his father a ticket to go Gliding at Lasham airfield. It was always something I had heard him mention he would love to do so Alex and I made it happen! Luckily, the ticket could be used at any point within a year of purchase. He decided to wait until our 4 month travels had come to an end as he wanted us to be there with him on the day so we could all enjoy it together. 
The weekend commencing the 23rd of July just so happened to be the first weekend Alex and I had off work together (yay-such a rare occurance) so it was done, booked and ready to go.

Saturday, July 23rd.

Alarm set for 9am I was up and ready to go by 10am. We got there nice and early and it was such a beautiful day- timed just perfectly. Being that his flight didn't take off until 11am we sat in the beautiful sunshine with ice creams watching everyone else take off. Then, came his turn. Alex, his mother and myself were invited along with to the runway so we could watch him take off. It was such a cool experience for him and we thoroughly enjoyed watching the gliders in the air.

After the flight, we headed back to their home for a yummy lunch and we all enjoyed an iced coffee sat outside in the beautiful sunshine. It was honestly such a wonderful day, and it was just so lovely to all have a nice time together.

Sunday July 24th.

'One day you'll wake up at 11:30AM on a Sunday morning with the love of your life and you'll make some coffee and pancakes and it'll be alright'. This was an ecard I read on Instagram on my Monday morning commute to work. I loved it so much because on this very Sunday Alex and I did just that. We got to enjoy a much needed lye in and then enjoy a coffee and some pancakes sat in the garden. We spent the entire day together just the two of us and it was wonderful. The recipe we used for the pancakes was one of Jamie Oliver's. If there is one thing we love, it's a good pancake and we have spent many years trying to perfect them. However, it seems Jamie Oliver got there first and we would totally recommend his recipe as we use it every time.