Lifestyle – Page 2

8th March 2018

Feb Favourites

February was a pretty good month for me, I bought tickets to Vancouver, bagged myself a new job and finished a tonne of books. A pretty damn great month if you ask me. So it was quite hard to pick just a few things that I liked the most, but alas I have managed it and as per, there really is a huge array of things.

I’m Going to Vancouver

I feel like this is pretty obvious! Me and a few of the girls who are going to SPNUK in May decided that it would be really fun to all go to the Convention in Vancouver, and suddenly it was an actual thing that was happening. Flights book, room reserved, all I have to do is wait for the convention tickets to go on sale. But how exciting?! I’ll be going for a week so that I can enjoy Vancouver and go sightseeing around the convention. (And no doubt try to see some of the filming sites for the show, because when in Vancouver, am I right?!)

A Court of Thorns and Roses

I finally got around to picking this book up as I’ve had quite a bit of spare time while I’ve been travelling to work the past few weeks, so it took me almost no time to breeze through this book. I absolutely loved which is saying something because these sort fo YA fantasy books aren’t typically my thing. BUt it is written so well and so beautifully. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished it, I ended up ordering the other two books in the series, and pre-ordering the companion novel. This is without a doubt going to be one of my favourite books of this year, if there’s something you must read this year, I would gladly shove a copy of this into your hands. I’m planning on doing a more in-depth review of this at some point so you’ll be able to read all my complete and honest thoughts then.

9-1-1

There have been some great new shows that I’ve been watching, and this is one of them. I’m not sure what I find so appealing about it, I think it’s a mixture of how light it is and how the characters are written. Now don’t get me wrong, if I miss a few episodes I don’t think I’m gonna be that mad about it, and I’d be fairly surprised if it gets picked up for another season, but for right now, it’s a fab choice. If you like medical sort of drama’s and things like that, you will probably like this.

Ocado Gluten-Free Milk Chocolate Chunk Biscuits

Okay, so I have been raving about these biscuits to pretty much anyone who will listen. If you know me, you’ll know that I am a huge tea and biscuits kinda gal. And I’ve been really impressed with most of the gluten-free ones that I’ve tried (and trust me, I’ve tried a fair few), but these are by far the best I’ve ever tried. I think these are the most like a normal biscuit that I’ve found and they are just so delicious. They don’t crumble (that much), they’re a really decent size, (looking at you Tesco, your choc chip cookies are tiny!) and they tend not to fall apart when you dunk them in your tea, which is great news for me. I’ve made my family try them and they agree that they were great biscuits, I’m buzzing to try the rest of them.

The Play That Goes Wrong

I went and saw this show a few weekends ago and I can honestly say that I laughed throughout all of it. It is hilarious and the whole audience was in fits of laughter the whole way through. It’s really hard to explain what makes it so funny without either telling you exactly what happens or explaining it in a way that doesn’t truly show how funny it was, so I just recommend that you go see it. Tickets can go pretty cheap, I don’t think I even paid £25 for mine and the seats were pretty decent!

Olympus Pen E-PL8, Strap and Case.

So I got a new camera at the beginning of January but it hasn’t been until recently that I have had the time to really sit around and play with it and take some pictures. I’m still figuring it out because it’s definitely a bit more intense than my old camera, but I’m loving figuring out all the tricks and things, if anyone has any posts about their own Olympus Pen E-PL8 I’d love to give them a read so make sure to leave a link in the comments. I’m planning on doing my own ‘getting to grips’ post in a couple of months when I’ve had more time to play with it.

Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Bond Girl.

I’ve got a whole post going up about this but I couldn’t not mention it here. This is by far one of my favourite beauty purchases of the year so far. I saw another blogger rave about it and thought that it looked really pretty so thought I’d take the gamble, as I don’t really tend to wear lighter shades as I don’t think they suit my pale skin. But when this came I was super surprised by how stunning the colour was, I have worn this throughout the month and have had so many compliments about it. I’ll be doing a more in-depth review about it in a few weeks so make sure you look out for that.
There is definitely more things that I have loved this month, but I didn’t think you’d appreciate me rambling on and on. Let me know what your favourites of the last month have been in the comments below, or link your own posts if you have them, I’d love to give them a read!

4th February 2018

January Favourites.

January was a very long month, it just seemed to drag and drag. So what did I get up to this month? Well I continued to eat like it was Christmas, some of my favourite shows started back up, I started a new little temporary job and made some very exciting decisions (all shall be revealed in my next Road So Far Catch Up). January was very up and down for me, the fact that it dragged made me feel like I was in some kind of never ending rut and looking back, I didn’t spend enough time doing the things that make me happy. Here’s hoping that February decides to kick it up a notch!

Family Don’t End With Blood

I got this book for Christmas and it’s honestly one of the best things I opened. I’m very late to the party I know but I’m here, accounted for and ready for action. I’ll admit that I haven’t read an awful lot of this, purely because it’s something I want to take my time with. I want to savour every chapter and will only pick it up when I have the time and attention to do so. I look forward to finally finishing it – especially since Jared’s chapter is last and it will probably no doubt make me cry buckets.

Dune Boots

I have been looking for a pair of boots like this for ages but I didn’t want to pay a silly amount for them. So when I saw this pair in the ASOS sale I jumped on them. And they are beautiful. So comfortable and so soft, it might be one of my favourite purchases so far this year. I’m a little bit worried about how they’ll hold up in the rain, especially the fur, because I think they’re the sort to get ruined when wet, maybe I’ll have to invest in some protection spray, if you have any recommendations leave them down in the comments down below. The other plus to these are that they definitely go with the vibe I’m going for for #SPNUK in May! Double win!

Sainsbury’s Mug and Bowl

I love these. If you don’ know me, I have a thing with mugs. I like to have a different mug for every different beverage, which means I have a tea mug, coffee mug, hot chocolate mug and so on. (Obviously my tea mug collection is a little out of control seeing as tea practically runs through my veins!) I saw these in Sainsbury’s ages ago and I was waiting and waiting for them to go in the sale and they did just before Christmas! Not only do I love the colour of these, I love the texture. There is something so satisfying about the texture of these bits – I’m really sad that I didn’t get anymore before they sold out but they do have similar mugs in grey and yellow – now I just need to find room!

The Good Place

I’m still not 100% sure on this, which begs the question, why is it in my monthly favourites? Well I got completely up to date in the space of three days. And it wasn’t just out of boredom, because I actually found myself trying to make time to watch the next episode and stayed up late watching the last few in bed. So there’ definitely something about it that I like, but I can’ put my finger on what. I love the concept, the cast is amazing and the comedy isn’t half bad either (although it wasn’t always great). While I probably wouldn’t rewatch it, it’s definitely worth a watch. If you have half an hour to spare and you need something to watch, give this a try.

Cadbury Vanilla Mousse Bunny

I know! It’s ridiculous that you can even buy these yet, but I kid you not, we almost have an aisle full of Easter eggs at work already!! I’ve never been a huge fan of Easter eggs (except the Galaxy ones, because hello, who doesn’ love Galaxy) but truth be told, I’m not a huge chocolate lover. However, I love it when they bring out the little Easter snacks! These Cadbury Bunnies are by far my absolute favourite and I have ended up picking up a few during every lunch break, so there’s definitely no chance of me losing any weight now!
What did you get up to last month, I can’t be the only person that thought it lasted far too long? What were your favourites? Let me know in the comments below!

7th January 2018

Top Products I loved In 2017.

I tried to be a little more adventurous with the things I used this year, but alas I found myself coming back to the same ol’ bits and bobs. I’ve used all of these things throughout the year, and I’ve no doubt I will continue to use them this year too.

I’m going to get a bit of a weird one out of the way first. Cuticure Antibacterial Gel. I’ve always been the type of girl who if I have anti-bac, I’d throw it in my bag and maybe remember to use, but now, I always have a bottle on me and I’m forever using it. I’ve a big bottle of the original one on my desk, a small travel Floral & Fruity one in my bag, as well as a small bottle of the original one in the pocket of my work jacket. It dries super quick, doesn’t leave your hands feeling tacky and smells really nice for an anti-bac. I tried out a fair few different moisturiser last year, I can tell you this because of all the half-finished tubs I have sitting around my room. My favourite all over moisturiser was E-45 Cream. I started using this when I got an abscess on my face and the doctor recommended it to stop my face drying out and I really like it. It does exactly what it says on the tin, it’s thick, sinks in super fast, has no fragrance and can be used pretty much anywhere you find dry skin. They have recently brought it out in a spray bottle, which I thought would be fab because I can be quite lazy, but I didn’t find it was as thick as the cream, so I gave up with it after a while. One the subject of moisturisers, I tried the Clinique Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer as well as the Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream and I have to say they are by far my favourite duo, I’m itching to get a full size of the eye cream because it’s as close to a miracle as I’ve found so far. If you want to know more about my thoughts, I did a post about them which you can find here.
Sticking with skin care for a little bit longer, I continually found myself reaching for my Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser and Gentle Face Exfoliator. I have used the cleanser for a few years and really like it, it’s great at taking off make up as well as just giving your skin a good old clean. I got the exfoliator this year, when I decided I needed to do something about how dry my skin was, and this was recommended to me a lot, and now I think it’s the best skincare duo I’ve ever tried. My hair has been a bit of an issue over the last year, falling out, thinning, it was a nightmare, I tried so many shampoos but they all weighed my hair down or just didn’t leave me with that freshly washed feeling. However, not all was lost because I tried the Garnier Delicate Oats Shampoo and Conditioner and loved it! It’s light, nourishing, has no parabens, and smells pretty good too. This has been the hair care duo I’ve come back to time and time again and I expect it will not be leaving my shower any time soon.
Make-up wise, there wasn’t an awful lot I tried, purely because it wasn’t really until the end of the year that I was wearing more, but there were two lip products that I kept picking up all year round, both of which I have spoken about before. The Nars Lip Pencil in Tortola and Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Lipstick in Opium Noir were the stars of last year. They were both long-lasting, yet creamy on my lips, didn’t dry them out, and were beautiful shades. My aim this year is to invest in some other shades from both these brands and hopefully branch out a bit more with my colour palette. Lastly, a perfume. I got this Si by Giorgio Armani perfume the Christmas before last and I am in love with it. I love the smell and got so many compliments when I wore it. I don’t often repurchase perfume, just because I usually get given so much at Christmas and on my Birthday, but this is one I’m hoping I will add to my collection again this year because I don’t think I can be without it for very long.
So those are all the product I loved using last year and will no doubt continue to use throughout this year too. Let me know in the comment what your star products of the year were because I’d love to know.

20th December 2017

Clinique Christmas Essentials Review.

I’ve been a fan of Clinique for years! I love their moisturisers, their Chubby Sticks and have their Sonic Purifying Cleansing Brush. I recently tried some of their Pep-Start bits in the summer and I really liked them so when I saw this set as the Star Buy at Boots I had to have it, it was £30 which when you consider the moisturiser on its own is worth £24, was a bit of a bargain.

Skincare wise this set is bursting with it, most of which was new to me and some bit that I haven’t even got around to trying yet. But the things I have tried I love! I’ve tried the other Pep-Start Moisturiser and I have to say I did like it, but I much prefer this Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturiser. It leaves my skin feeling super smooth and soft, and while it says it’s the perfect base to apply makeup onto, I’ve found this blurs the slight imperfections enough that I don’t feel the need for makeup. It minimises my pores, reduces some of my redness and gives a great hit of moisture. I love to pair this with the Pep-Start Eye Cream, I find that it isn’t too thick that it doesn’t sink in, but it’s thick enough that it feels like it’s doing something. While it doesn’t magically make the bags under my eyes disappear, it does make the area look brighter and I have noticed with extended use the area doesn’t look quite so dark anymore.
The Pep-Start 2-in-1 Exfoliating Cleanser is another item I love, it’s a fine exfoliant that doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin. It buffs my skin just enough that it gets rid of all the dead skin, making my skin super soft while not making my skin tingle or red like other scrubs have done before. The last skincare item I’ve tried is the Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, lashes & Lips, which I’m a bit torn about. While it did wonders at taking off my eyeliner and mascara with little to no work, it did make my eyes sting. Now I do suffer with really sensitive eyes and prefer using my Simple Miceller water, but I can’t fault that it does a really good job. The other products included that I haven’t tried yet are the Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate and the Take The Day Off Cleanser Balm, both of which I’m excited to try, especially the hydrating concentrate because I do suffer from super dry skin.

I hadn’t really delved into Clinique makeup apart from their Chubby Stick Lip Balms before, which I still really like, so I was excited to try some of their core products and let me tell you I pretty much loved everything. My best find? The Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen. I do not do well with eyeliner, whether its liquid, gel or pencil, no matter how long lasting it promises to be, I find it always either smudges or transfers to the top of my eyelid. But this stuff is magic. I obviously didn’t have massively high hopes the first time I used it but my god am I converted. It goes on so easily, the nib is just thin enough that one stroke across your eyelid gives you a really nice subtle look, but it can be built up for something a bit more heavier if you want. I wore it to work, and it didn’t budge all day, the real test of the day being when I forgot I was wearing makeup and rubbed my eyes (which happens far more that I would care to admit) and it still looked pretty much like I’d just applied it. If you have problems with eyeliner or are just looking for a new one in general I would definitely recommend this one. Keeping with the eye theme, I also really liked the High Impact Mascara, now I’m not really fussy with mascara as longs as it’s not clumpy, separates my eyelashes and doesn’t flake and this one doesn’t move, flake, clump or anything, I was equally impressed with this.
The Pep-Start Perfecting Balm in Guava Tint was another winner. I love a lip balm that gives you a hint of colour because most of the time I cannot be bothered with lipstick. I constantly worry about it smudging or getting on my teeth and I spend the day scared to eat and drink. So I’m definitely more of a lip balm girl and this was perfect. It was super soft and hydrating on my lips, which my very dry, chapped, winter lips loved. The colour is also super pretty, it’s just enough of a colour that you can tell you’re wearing something but it isn’t super bold. Win win. The only item I wasn’t 100% convinced about was the Pop Lip Colour + Primer in Love Pop, I wanted to like this, I really did. The colour is literally my favourite lip colour and when I applied it, it went on beautifully but there was glitter in it. Glitter is a big no no for me, I think it can look great on other people, but not on me. Had this not had glitter in then this would have been a sure fire win, but alas, it will probably be something I put in a drawer and forget about but refuse to get rid of because of how pretty the colour is.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the Clinique Christmas Essentials gift set. I think it would be the perfect gift to give someone who loves Clinique or skincare and makeup in general. Unfortunately it is no longer a star gift, so it’s back up to full price, but I still think it’s worth the price tag, you can buy it here.

19th December 2017

Canvas From Photowall Review*.

I was emailed a little while back by the lovely people at Photowall asking if I wanted to review a product. Now anyone who knows me will know that I’m a sucker for a good canvas or print. When I had a look at their website I was actually super surprised at the range of prints they offered. From cartoon and Disney characters to quotes and scenic pictures.
I’m currently attempting to put some more prints up above my desk so I thought that this would be a great start. The website is so clear and easy to use, which makes choosing your print and ordering it a really easy task. You simply choose the print you want, or you even have the option to upload your own picture, then decide if you want it to come on its own or with a frame you can assemble yourself, choose the edging you want and the size and hey presto you’re done.
I chose to have this print and I decided to get it with the frame. I really like the fact you can choose what size you want, I too often find something I like only for it to be too big or small for where I want to put it. Once it had been ordered, the delivery was super quick and it was packaged really well. I was really happy with the quality of the print, it was print on a really nice thick material and the print itself looked great. When I saw the pieces of the frame, I’ll admit I was a little worried, but the instructions were clear enough that I was able to assemble it without any real problems. The only thing I’d think needs improvement, is having a picture that shows you more clearly which way around you have to attach the frame parts because I had to read it so many times, and even got my mum’s help, before I really got it. (Although, this could have just as much been my own problem because I am the least crafty/DIY savvy person in the world.)

I really loved the fact there were no small screws or a million screwdrivers you had to use, you simple placed the bracket over the holes, put the screws in and turn. Even I could do that, so I’m sure you’ll be fine too! I was a little worried about the part where you have to turn the frame inwards so you can screw the parts together, because I had visions of the print not staying attached and then I’d panic, but amazingly it didn’t. Which leads me to a slight word of caution, when you take the tape off the wood to reveal the glue, it is very sticky, so once you’ve applied it, I’d say there is very little chance of you being able to take it off to start again, so bear that in mind.
Once the screws were all in place, it was done. Super easy and honestly quick to do. I’ll definitely be ordering from this website again, I’ve already picked out a few canvas’ that I want for my wall. With an easy to use website, quick delivery, quick assembly and a great customer service team, honestly it couldn’t be easier to decorate your home with a few new canvas’ in the new year.

*This post contains something that was gifted, but all thoughts, opinions and pictures are my own.

5th October 2017

Hello Fresh Ready Box

I spotted these new boxes a few weeks ago in my local supermarket and having been tempted in the past to try out the Hello Fresh subscription boxes, I decided to give this a go! I love the fact that all the ingredients are already packaged up and they’re all fresh. Normally with things like this you have to buy the chicken to add, but literally pick up one of these boxes and you can be on your way. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that I could have the chicken stock that was included because sometimes I struggle with stocks and gravy’s because they contain gluten! Also can we just appreciate how cute all the packaging is, I’m a sucker for things like this so this gets a massive thumbs up from me!

Now I love cooking, so I had a lovely time blaring out some tunes and preparing all the food. The recipe does gives some time guides for cooking but to start with, for example when I was browning the chicken, I left it in the pan for a bit longer that it said just to make sure it was cooked. Another great thing about this, is that it can all be cooked in the same pan which means less washing up and I’m all about that life! Once you’ve cooked the chicken and taken it out the pan, you literally just add the peppers, tomatoes, chorizo and rosemary and wait for it all to soften. Then chuck in the rice, stock and parsley (keeping some to garnish the top) and then cover and just let it cook away. Everything in the box was super fresh and tasted lovely and I couldn’t get over how good it tasted considering it only took my half an hour to cook. I think next time I’d like to add more peppers and chorizo because there wasn’t enough for my liking, but the great thing about a box like this is you can add or exclude whatever you want!

Everyone that tried it thought it tasted amazing and couldn’t believe that it had come out of a little box. I will definitely be trying some of the other Hello Fresh meal boxes, and I’m definitely thinking about trying out their subscription service too. Let me know if you’ve tried it and what you think of it!

28th September 2017

M&S Gluten Free Lasagne Review.

I love a good lasagne. Key word being good. Being such a simple dish I think it’s incredibly easy to get wrong, but get it right and boy is it amazing. I’m a sucker for anything Italian or pasta based, and 90% of my restaurant orders are lasagne. Mostly though, I’m a bit naughty and if I can’t be bothered to cook, I’ll grab a ready-made one.
However, I’ve found since going gluten-free, I’ve been quite disappointed on the lasagne front. Sainsburys and Tesco I found were both a bit lacklustre and don’t even get me started on the one from Kirsty’s ready meals! (You can read all about my thoughts in this previous post.)
I was just about to give up when I stumbled across the M&S one in their Two Dine for £10 offer and I couldn’t just leave it there. And finally my faith has been restored! I honestly don’t think you’d know that this was gluten-free at all, it’s the closet thing I’ve tasted to a proper lasagne ever. The pasta has just the right amount of bite to it and isn’t too sloppy, the cheese sauce actually tastes like cheese sauce and we all know I’m a cheese fiend but I was very happy with it. As much as you can’t really see in the picture, I promise there were actual layers and they were filled with just the right amount of meat and sauce. I don’t think anything is going to live up to this, but I know where I’ll be going if I can’t be bothered to cook dinner now.

20th August 2017

Getting Ready To Go Out When You Don't Really Feel Like It.

So me and some other lovely bloggers have decided to do a little bit of a collab. Since friday there has been a blog post every day going up on someone’s blog all to do with beauty, from what to take when you travel to beauty set-ups, it’s all happening. These girls are lovely so be sure to check them all out and give them all a follow:
https://ferniex.wordpress.com/
https://missamymaria.wordpress.com/
http://www.wonderlandwarblings.com/
Now, don’t get me wrong, I do like to get all jazzed up if I know I’m going somewhere special or out for the day but there are times when I simply can not be bothered. A few weeks ago (after an 11-day stint in hospital I might add), my dad phoned me up to tell me we were going out for dinner. You don’t understand the excitement I felt at the prospect of going out somewhere, I guess being cooped up in the same room for nearly two weeks straight will do that to you. But I was tired and my body was having a particularly achey day so I really wasn’t in the mood to spend ages getting ready and making myself look all prim and proper. So I decided to show you how I get ready when I really don’t have the energy!

Skincare is something that I know I should be better at, but let’s be real, who has time to do a double cleanse when their bed is calling? Not me! But I must say that I have got better the last few months, the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish is an absolute god-send. Anywho, because I knew I wasn’t going to be spending loads of time on my skin I decided to just used a Simple Cleansing Facial Wipe to get rid of any grime or dirt that had built up over the course of the day. I don’t claim to know a lot, but I know that make up goes on best on a clean, fresh face. Then I used the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer (try saying that ten times fast!), and I just love this. I was first introduced to this tonic in a bottle and you had to pour some onto a cotton pad to use, but I must prefer this spritzer. Yes, I’m lazy, but I also find that it makes me feel so much more refreshed after a few sprays. Also can we just appreciate how good all of the Liz Earle products smell?! I tend to use this before my moisturizer and because its loaded up with aloe vera and cucumber it really helps calm any redness of my skin, of which there’s a lot. (Especially my cheeks, anyone else have this problem?)
Next I go in with a moisturiser. My skin is super-duper dry and I have been searching high and low for a moisturiser that stops the dryness but isn’t super duper thick. And this is as close to a winner I’ve got. The Clinique Pep-Start Hydrorush Moisturizer isn’t too thick and sinks into the skin wonderfully. I wouldn’t call this a heavy-duty moisturizer because at the end of a long day I find that I start to see dry patches on my forehead and around my nose, but the only thing I’ve found so far that doesn’t is E45 Cream (seriously, this is my go to moisturizer always!), but because we were just going out for the evening I knew it would do the trick. It also contains SPF 20 and we all know how important that is and considering I only have to look at the sun to become a tomato, every little helps!

Fortunately, for some strange unknown reason that I won’t question, my skin has been breakout free for the last few months so I decided to skip putting a base on. However, normally I’d reach for the Bourjois 123 Perfect Colour Correcting Cream. It has a light coverage and I find it so quick and easy to blend out. Because of the addition of the green, apricot and white pigments in the formula, it evens out the skin tone perfectly, dark circles and redness be gone! Like I say, my skin was doing okay and honestly if there’s a step I can skip, I’m going to skip it! On days like this when I was feeling tired but wanted to at least look like I had made an effort, I typically just focus on the eyes and lips. I find they’re the quickest and easiest things to do, and I can be out the door in minutes. For my eyes, if I’m in a rush or don’t have the energy to sit and blend a thousand colours to get the perfect shade, I always reach for the Maybelline Color Tatoo in the shade On and On Bronze. I find these eyeshadows are so easy to just pat on and blend out for a nice subtle colour, plus they are super long-lasting without an eye primer (yay for another step we can skip) and they don’t crease. This particular shade is my favourite because it gives a really nice bronze sheen, however a word of caution, because of the staying power of these once its on there, it’s on there so you have to move in quick with the blending.
I always curl my lashes because mine are very straight and I’ve yet to find a mascara that gives me a curl that lasts. Recently I’ve been reaching for this little Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara, I’m not particularly fussy with mascaras, but I like this one because it’s not clumpy and it’s travel size, which is a win win for me. Lastly, lips. This product is probably the holy grail for me, I find myself reaching for it again and again, that at this point it may as well just be a permanent fixture on my face. The Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Tortola, I love everything about it. The formula, the colour, the packaging, even the smell. If there was one product I had to choose to stay with me for the rest of my life, this would be it. Despite being matte, it isn’t drying on the lips and the staying power is amazing, which is great because it means I don’t have to worry about getting up to reapply. (Honestly, it lasted 2 courses and a fair few vodka lemonades before I needed a touch up!) It literally glides on like butter and with one swipe you’re done.

My hair is going through a pretty funky stage at the moment. Because of some medication I was taking, as well as an iron deficiency, my hair likes to go through phases of falling out. So my hair is nowhere as thick or long as it was last year, it kills me to look at holiday photos from last year because I yearn for that hair back. Anywho, it’s getting to the stage where it is starting to thicken up but it just needs a bit of help. I really like this Batiste Texturing Spray because it helps give my hair a bit of texture, obviously, and helps it not look as flat and lifeless as it normally is. The other thing I love is it doesn’t leave behind that tacky feel in your hair, so it literally doesn’t feel like you’ve used any product. I would issue a word of warning though, the spray comes out with a bit of a vengeance, so definitely be careful with that, you get a lot of product in just one spray. Finally I add a touch of perfume, my favourite right now is Si by Giorgio Armani which I got from my dad and step-mum for christmas and I adore it so much, the bottles nearly empty.

So there you have it, my quick and easy routine for getting ready when you really don’t want to. Getting ready to go out still makes me feel good and I enjoy doing it but sometimes the energy and effort it takes puts me off, but I find keeping the steps to a minimum helps and all in all it took me only 10 minutes which is a god send when you can’t stand in front of the mirror for ages. If you’ve got any tips for getting ready when you can’t be bothered let me know down below!
Don’t forget this is part of a collab with some fantastic ladies so be sure to go and check out all their other post’s and give them a follow to keep up to date with the rest of their fantastic content, I’ve linked their Twitter and post’s below.
Fern – Make Up, Set Up
Amy – The Make Up Travel Pack
Ashleigh

18th August 2017

Kirstys Ready Meals.

Now, everyone has nights where they get in from a long or tiring day and you can think of nothing worse than spending longer than a few minutes in the kitchen preparing dinner. This isn’t something that happens to me often, but it does happen and when it does I like to be prepared. This usually comes in the form of a ready meal, or at the very least a meal that requires little to no effort to put together. However, I think it’s hard to find a good gluten-free ready meal. So when I saw these Kirsty’s meals on offer in Sainsburys, I thought I’d give them a try out.

To start, I tried the classic beef lasagne, of which I am a huge fan. Normally what I do is make a massive portion from scratch and then freeze the rest so that when I know I won’t have time in the evenings to cook, it’s already all done for me. However, I haven’t had the time of energy to do this recently, so I thought this would be the next best thing! I cooked this in the microwave because I was lazy and super hungry, so into the microwave it went while I made myself a cuppa and got an episode of The Bachelorette ready. When I took it out, the first thing I noticed was the top seemed to be very liquidy. Now, I’m all for a creamy sauce, but this was just a bit odd. I don’t think you can really see it in the pictures above, but the whole right hand side seem to just be liquid. So I decided to put it back into the microwave in the hopes that the sauce might thicken a little bit, which it did but only the tiniest bit. You can see in the pictures below, that the sauce was really quite thin.

Like I said, I like a creamy sauce, but it was just a bit too thin for my liking. The biggest thing that put me off though was how bland it tasted. Honestly, you could barely taste there was any meat between the pasta layers, and the meat I did taste, didn’t really taste of anything. Also, the layers were so so thin, even with the little bit of meat that was left in the pot when I took the lasagne out, I would hardly call them layers. Honestly, this was a definite disappointment and I won’t be picking it up again.

The next meal I decided to try was the cottage pie with sweet potato mash. Now I love cottage pie and I also love sweet potatoes so I thought this was going to be a slam dunk. The first thing I noticed when I took this out of the microwave was the smell. It smelt really good, and after the disaster I had with the lasagna, this was a great sign. As you can see it didn’t hold up its shape particularly well, but then when do ready meals ever do that? I had a mouthful of the mince on its own first, and I was pleasantly surprised. It had flavour and definitely wasn’t as bad as the lasagne. However, when I tried the mash, the let down’s began again. it was like mush. Actual mush. I thought that maybe with the meat it wouldn’t taste too bad, but the mush took away whatever little flavour there was and the more I ate the more I found that the meat to mash ratio was way off. Having more mash that meat normally doesn’t bother me in the slightest, (I’m a huge mash fiend) but at least make the mash taste good! While definitely not as much of a let down as the lasagne, it certainly wasn’t great.

This was probably the best meal of the three, although it still wasn’t great. The mash was okay but not great and to be honest I thought they were a little stingy with the portion size. (Then again that may just be because I always have a massive pile of mash!) The beef was quite tender which was really nice because I find beef in ready meals can be really tough sometimes, however there wasn’t a great amount of flavour. The best thing about it was the gravy, and mixed with the mash made it much more enjoyable. It’s very basic and didn’t have a lot of flavour (which seems to be a recurring theme here), but I was happy that the beef was soft and that the mash didn’t just taste like mush.
Would I buy these meals again? Short answer: no. While it was great to see gluten-free specific ready meals on the supermarket shelve, I just wasn’t very impressed and to be honest would have preferred to spend the extra time making something home-made!

15th June 2017

TV Shows I'm Looking Forward To Watching.

It’s always around this time of year that all my favourite TV shows start ending. Scandal, Supernatural, Greys Anatomy, the list goes on. But it also means that new shows will be starting soon. I always like to have a watch of the trailers to see if theres anything that looks like it’s worth keeping an eye out for; and I have to say, this year there’s a fair few.

Will & Grace

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS! This is going to be epic, I just know it! Will & Grace ran from 1998 – 2006 and boy was it a ride. Following Will, a gay lawyer and Grace, a straight interior designer, we saw them navigate through relationships, breakups, children and family feuds. I honestly can’t wait to see what they’ve been up to. If the short produced before the US elections is anything to go by, it’ll be ‘as if we never said goodbye’.

The Resident

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m all about the medical dramas. I honestly just cannot get enough of them and this looks to be right up my street. Following a young intern and a rough around the edges resident who show’s the good and the bad in day to day medicine. Drama and hot doctors, what more could you want?!

Deception

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEKCP4slr28
Okay, this definitely gives me a Castle vibe, but it intrigues me. We see Cameron Black, a world famous illusionist whose career takes a turn when his secrets are revealed. He’s looking for the people who exposed him, finds himself in the middle of an FBI investigation, and thinks they could both help each other. I love magic, so I think the dynamic of this could be really interesting, or it could be a huge flop, I can’t wait to find out.

Dynasty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxacuu_vg8Y
I can tell right off the bat that I will know whether I’m going to get into this before the end of the first episode. It has that Gossip Girl vibe, but there’s going to need to be a little bit more to it to keep me involved. Hopefully, this hasn’t been one of the trailers that has all the best parts in or that gives away the whole story before you’ve even watched the show. Fingers crossed.

The Good Doctor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYlZDTru55g
What was that I was saying about medical dramas? I think this is going to be so interesting because it follows a doctor who has savant syndrome. This is a really interesting take on the normal medical dramas, and I’m hoping that it will be as good as the trailer looks.

For The People

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGhtrRX_NSg
Shonda Rhimes, can she do it again? Probably. This looks like a cross between How To Get Away With Murder and The Good Wife. Both of which I got bored half way through and stopped watching. However, you can’t say no to Shonda, so I’m definitely going to give this a go. It looks like it focus’ more of the lawyer side of things than personal relationships, however, with Shonda’s track record, I don’t think that will last long.

Ten Days in the Valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2203m9WpnU
This looks a little bit creepy and a lot good. A television producers daughter gets kidnapped in the middle of the night and we follow her as she tries to continue working as well as deal with the investigation, however it’s heavily implied that things may take a surprising turn so I can’t wait to watch this!!

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