Life

Hello!

It's been a while since I've done a life post and to be honest I've got so much to share it's been a bit of a whirlwind. My job that I haven't posted about much since I started it back in October has been progressing really well. There's a lot of training and it can be hard work, sometimes all I can do when I finish is get home and sleep! But I'm so much happier than I was in my old job and the people I work with are really nice.

As part of my job I will be travelling around visiting customer sites to provide things like training and assistance - cue lots of meals out that work have paid for. I have been loving trying out lots of new restaurants but I don't think my expanding waistline will be!




I've mainly been to Salisbury so far which wasn't somewhere I had been before - I stopped at Bills for food which was good as I'd never been there and their pink lemonade was beautiful! The bottle was cute to start with the but it tasted amazing and I love that they put fruit in with it too.

The food was also amazing and I had the chicken, winter coleslaw and sweet potato chips. I was so hungry but after this I was full and could have slept for hours - the best kind of feeling.

I've also been checking out the Wagamamas - salmon yaki soba is my new favourite thing! My mum does a similar meal with salmon, stir fried veg and noodles but this is also really good. It's my favourite kind of food!

I have also tried to have a walk most evenings to get some fresh air and attempt to combat the food I've been scoffing. Doing some wandering ensured that I cam across the beautiful Salisbury Cathedral. It's a shame it's always been dark when I've been there as I imagine it would look beautiful in daylight and I'd love to see inside too.

Totally changing topic me and M went to our friends for an overnight stay and I decided to make some snacks to take with us - being Harry Potter obsessed I made some biscuits using my mums owl shaped cutter, they were just like shortbread and a definite hit!


With this month's pay day I was determined not to spend my money on make up, I need to save some money and also work through my massive pile of products. I've been looking into buying a house (more on this soon!) and one thing I really want is a massive bookcase. I have tonnes of books, new and old leather type ones that I'd love to make a feature of.

The Barnes and Noble books are something that you just cannot ignore, not only do they have most childhood books available but also the classics too. I can't rave about them enough and the Alice in Wonderland book was my faovurite.....until I saw these online and had to buy them!

Gray's Anatomy is the absolute Bible for any medic interested individual. It even has plenty of anatomy drawings, some points are outdated so using this to teach yourself medicine would be a bad idea but nevertheless its very interesting and one that I just had to have on my shelf.

I also couldn't help but notice the beautiful Secret Garden book too, it had a few % off on Amazon and also there weren't many left so I panicked and snapped one up!





I love the covers as they are but the quote on the back is lush!

I'm finishing today's post with a picture of my dog after an extremely rainy walk - my parents went away for a holiday and left us in charge, the horrible weather and being ditched by my dad left him looking a little bit sad! Look at those eyes!

What have you all been up to recently?

L xxx

Christmas Gift Guide II

Two weeks ago I wrote a Christmas Gift Guide based solely on Boots, Debenhams and Space NK - product heaven if you ask me!

Not only is Christmas a time for pampering though, it's a time for personalised and fun gifts that mean something to the recipient. Here's my round up of some fun, indulgent and unique gifts.

Not on the High Street

I've been browsing the gift site for a while for a range of gifts for various occasions including weddings and new babies; it certainly doesn't disappoint in that!

This Cocktail Garden kit is a great way for a friend to get more involved with their cocktails whilst getting mildly green fingers. I for one would love to try it out and make a mojito with my own mint that I'd grown. For £13.50 its a lot of fun! Find it here.

I always love this gift too. not only does it show where you've been but it's also a check list for new places you can discover in future. I'd love one for my future property (in my dreams!) and it will only set you back £15.95. Find it here.

The Personalised Gift section is one of my favourites; there's nothing like a unique gift for making it into your friend or relative's top present for all time!

You can browse the art prints that can be personalised here, I couldn't choose a picture as there so many lovely ones to look at!

Amelia Rope

I've written about Amelia Rope before (post here). She makes a wonderful range of chocolate with a twist and creates amazing flavours with sea salt, honeycomb, nuts, rose and so much more. A bar will set you back around £5.60 but the bundles can be great value ranging from £16 to £28 for the chocolate lover in your life.

These bars really are special and I cannot recommend them enough, me and my family have shared bars and had a right giggle over the flavours and surprised ourselves with how much we loved the combinations. She uses fruits, nuts, seeds, plants and everything edible to create amazing new flavours and I believe many people would love such a treat.

You can find her site here - don't blame me if you end up buying them all!

Barnes and Noble Books

Most people love a good read, and there's nothing like a classic. I absolutely love old books and like a lot of people my aim when I buy my own place is to get a seriously big book case and fill it.

Barnes and Noble's Leatherbound Classics are the most perfect collectible books I've ever seen. Any book lover would appreciate them on their own but as the start of a collection it's a lovely present.

Image from Barnes and Noble

Each cover is different and with 113 different classics to collect you are sure to find one to suit. I can't stop staring that them and how beautiful they are!

Find the full list here

Liberty Scarves

I don't know about you but I loved watching the Liberty of London tv program, it's a lovely shop to go in but seeing all of the staff and how quirky and creative they are is fascinating to me. As a scientist most of my day is so far from the artistic creations that I used to be part of when doing art at school and working in retail so I love watching when other people do it!

When thinking of Liberty it's obvious that you will think of their scarves so when browsing and making my own wishlist of silk scarves I couldn't resist but share these lovely ones for a real Christmas treat.

CashCa Black Cashmere Scarf £105

You cannot go wrong with a simple black cashmere scarf and this one is all about luxury! 

Vivienne Westwood Blue Dyed Flag Viscose Scarf £120

I love a bit of VW for her love of the Union Jack and typical British colours, a scarf like this would look gorgeous with any outfit but I'd love it to throw on at work and brighten up my black and grey work outfits! 

Navy Liberty London Star Paisley Silk Scarf £110

The Liberty scarves are second to none when it comes to the timeless wild scarf. There are people who flock from all over the world to get them and their prints are infamous. I particularly like this one as it looks so much like peacock feathers and the colours are gorgeous. I don't think anyone would be angry for receiving a timeless classic like this. 

Frame Again*

We were contacted by Frame Again after writing the previous Gift Guide and it was lovely of them to allow us to create our own to see how the process works. Frame Again have featured on Dragon's Den but after turning down Peter Jones have built up their company on funds from the public. Their business specialises in printing and framing photos of your choice with multiple colour choices.

The best part of these frames? Not only are they able to be fixed to a wall but they are also magnetic, meaning you can fix them together back to back or side by side for a really cool effect. I've seen many images where others have tiled them on walls for a wall of photos which looks really cool, as well as sticking them together on a desk in series.

I chose to send them a picture of me and M at Glastonbury to test out the service and it was so much fun choosing the colour combinations. The delivery service was also super speedy and I received it just over a day after ordering.



The frame feels really sturdy and good quality and I look forward to getting more in future. I'd love to have a wall of them in multiple colours; they'd look great in a study, kitchen or hallway as a feature wall.

You can personalise your own Frames here for £9.99 at the moment instead of £19.99.

What do you think of these gifts? Would you love to receive them on Christmas Day? 

Let me know!

L xxx