Life Update

Hey all!

It's been a busy couple of weeks but I'm planning a comeback - blogging has been the last thing on my mind whilst I've been decorating, moving and working like crazy! But I miss it and I still end up taking photos of everything anyway.

So what have I been up to?

I've been away with work again, this time to the Cotswolds - it's a beautiful place and the people were all so friendly and overly welcoming!
On arrival at my simple B&B I was asked if I wanted tea, the answer was obviously yes.....and then tea arrived in a teapot with cups and saucers and homemade flapjack. How cute!

It instantly made me feel welcomed and I loved it, staying in different places can sometimes be daunting on your own.



I even managed a walk which was great, lovely to get some fresh air after work and seeing places like the canal above. The boats were beautiful.

I've also managed to make it out with some work friends which was lovely as I've not been out for drinks for a while. I piled on my make up and went for pinks and loads of liner, not something I would do every day.

I even got to wear a new dress out, this was from Want That Trend and cost £21.95. It's perfect for nights out, the skater style is really flattering and I love the flowers too.

With all of the decorating, moving, eating and drinking it has been a bit of a task to keep up my healthy regime and exercise.
I have a lot of routes around my new house and I've been taking my dog for a few walks and have even been for a run or two. I definitely need to up my game though, sitting at a desk all day isn't doing me any favours!

I've been trying to keep the majority of my meals on track, and have been eating good breakfasts and taking lunch to work every day.
My downfall at the moment is the evenings, I normally manage to eat a fairly healthy evening meal but afterwards I always crave something sweet!



Chia seed pudding is my latest fave - it can't be as unhealthy as all of the other desserts and treats that are on offer can it??

Admittedly I made the mistake of mixing chia seeds, almond milk and chocolate peanut butter together and that's not quite as healthy! It was actually divine though, and I know that when I really really deserve a treat it's exactly what I will be whipping up!

I've started getting bored with my meals now that I've been moved back out for 2 months and cooking the same kind of things. I need to broaden my horizons!

If you have any new recipes you've tried lately and have found to be amazing please send them my way - I was even tempted to make soup this weekend because of the horrible weather!

What have you been up to recently? Have you travelled anywhere new?
What's your favourite variation of chia seed pudding?

L xxx

OOTD: Oasis Maxi Dress

Hey there!

I'm not really one for an OOTD post. Mainly as I think my wardrobe is quite boring (I love tailoring, jeans and monochrome) but also because I just haven't ever really got my head around them.
I do really like clothes but this never really reflects in posts unless I have a haul and throw them all at you at once! so I've decided to start sharing with you some of my new buys.

This maxi dress from Oasis was my first ever maxi.....that might seem ridiculous to some of you as I know a lot of people live in them but as a tall lady I find it hard to find ones that fit me. This time though, I didn't care if it fitted or not as i loved it!

Considering that my wardrobe is full of monochrome this is basically the closest I'm going to get to a perfect maxi dress for me! It's cream and black, so not quite spot on but for spring and summer I think that's even better.

I absolutely love prints like this and find them so easy to wear; you can add any colour to it in the form of a blazer, cardigan, bag or flats and instantly jazz it up for a wedding or wear it the pub for a summer evening.

Another reason why I wasn't sure about them was the way they fit me. As a curvy girl i need things to pull me in at the waist and flatter me either side of that so the black belt that come with the dress was an absolute essential. It pulls me in at the waist and distracts from the lower belly which is possibly my most hated part!

The capped sleeves are a nice detail and the V neck draws your gaze upwards towards the chest area but luckily it isn't revealing either.

Here it is on in the changing rooms:

It seems to skim over everything else perfectly and I was so pleased to finally find a maxi dress that i felt comfortable in.....now I know why everyone raves so much!!

It also *almost* fits me length wise too, it's the closest I've come to finding one that's long enough so I just bought it without thinking about it too much. It's about an inch or so too short which is a shame but as long as I stick with flats it will be fine.

Where do you get your maxi dresses from?

This one was about £40 from Oasis, I can't find it anywhere on their site or Debenhams and hadn't ever seen it there before. I think i was just very lucky to find it!

L xxx

Millie Mackintosh for Nouveau Lashes Soho Lash

Hey All

Today is my big brother's wedding day! How exciting, I'm wearing this beautiful Hybrid Dress from The Blonde Salad boutique (amazing customer service if you are looking for a great dress!). As soon as I spied it I had to have it! I love the bright lime green on it and think it'll look amazing with a tan.

I thought I'd share the lashes I'll be wearing for the big day. For ages I've wanted to try the Millie Mackintosh lashes, not only is she a beauty and always looks flawless but Tanya Burr uses them lots too. A few weeks back I took part in a challenge (I'll be posting on it soon, I've finally found a glue that rivals eylure!) that these were the prize for.

These are the Soho Lash. I wore them a few weeks back and love how they add volume and length without looking OTT so as soon as I put them on I was instantly sold for the wedding.

I love that they come with mini tweezers. I am forever losing tweezers so having them in the pack means they'll always be nearby when I need them! For once I also actually like a glue that isn't eylure. The glue dries quickly and sticks well. I always find it takes me two attempts to apply lashes.

I like that they lightly fan out and provide a more subtle volume!

On they thicken the lash line and draw subtle attention to my eyes!

Ignore the glue on them, clearly I was having a bad lash day this day! They have a soft curl and blend easily with my natural lashes.

With the glue they last all evening, are easy to apply and I'll easily get a good few wears out of them. The whole range is coming on holiday with me. I love a bit of false lash and love how these can be worn in the evening without looking too much.

Have you tried the Millie Mackintosh lashes? I'm so glad I finally got my hands on them!

Love M

xxx

Life Update

Happy Saturday morning to you all!

I would be ridiculously glad that its the weekend...but instead I have to work Saturday this week as well so I've decided to flash a few photos of my life over the last few weeks instead of a beauty post.

First up? This beauty. Apologies for the shadowed photo, lighting isn't my priority when dealing with my fave LKB and I was so excited that my mum had bought me this!
One of my Christmas presents had to go back as it didn't fit me so instead she bought me this beautiful black patent make up bag. I was very impressed with the quality and how beautiful and shiny it was anyway, (magpie anyone?) but it even came in a dust bag! I've never owned anything posh enough to warrant a dust bag before. Day. Made.

Next up is this beauty, a snap I took whilst stuck in my car on the way to work. What should have been a 45 minute journey ended up taking me 3.5 hours and I even missed a meeting at work...oops.

Nice to see some snow in amongst all the endless rain though!



Me and M had a lush night out the other week with a uni friend who came down for the rugby and then we went out afterwards. I wore a black crepe shift dress with leather panels on from M&S Limited Collection that I bought a few years ago. I've only worn it once before when I first bought it as its quite a tight dress due to the fabric and can even be hard to walk in but I decided there's no point it living in my wardrobe all year round!





Here's the three of us all glammed up and ready for the night!

I also picked up these shoes for the night out as my previous VERY trusty pair of shoes (the usual peep toe black shoe boot style) have finally given up with all the wear and tear!
I decided to replace them with these beautiful cut out shoes boots also from New Look which felt quite comfortable initially....they don't rub which is a relief but just general foot ache!



After that I've spent a lot of time eating the last few weeks. Not all that badly ( I do gym 5 times a week to combat it!) but nevertheless there has been a lot of food. For example:

 

Afternoon tea with M at a spa day we went to, not over the top amount of cakes and some decent sandwiches, yum.

The second picture shows my mums homemade 'sticky chicken' which is 1 or 2 syns on slimming world and honestly makes every problem go away. I promise to write a post about this in future as to be perfectly honest everyone needs this recipe in their lives! Perfect for chicken and salmon, for lunch or tea, for yourself or for a meal with friends its just AMAZING.




Another meal with M was at Nando's. M can get discount and so we often get the platter with the chicken and 2 sides with 2 drinks for a really good price. We do tend to stuff ourselves and however much we want to get salad we always end up getting chips to share too! Oh well.



Aside from all the amazing food I've been trying to get back into the gym. Although i go regularly my running has been suffering considerably because of the weather and persistent traffic I keep getting stuck in. I'm trying to keep it up on weekends but now I've lost my running partner to a dodgy ankle I'm flagging a bit!

I think a few quiet weeks with workouts, good food and a few good books are what I need to recover myself and my bank balance.

I've been having a hard time at work lately and sometimes find it hard to think about anything other than that and my constant lack of money. but I'm trying to be more positive about things and quotes like this one (from my beloved HP!) can help to put a smile on my face.

What have you been up to lately? Do you like my dress that I wore out?
How have you been coping with the awful weather we've been having?

L xxx

Latest Buys

When I've been doing some Christmas shopping the past few weeks I've not been able to resist picking up myself a few bits. After reading EssJays blog Mission Me which is one of my favourites I instantly fell in love with a coat she recently published about.

I was surprised to find out it was from Primark, and then made it my mission to find it in my size. I even braved Oxford Street Primark on a Saturday in Decemeber!! (never again). When I got back to Cardiff I found it in my size! I was really surprised in the difference in size between the coats. I thought I'd have got away with going one size bigger but I definitely couldn't.

It's an amazing gorgeous black double breasted coat. I love how soft the material is for this type of material and hasn't been at all itchy which I find some cheaper coats. The waist belt really pulls you in and the bottom half is a really full skater skirt style. I love this shape and find it looks most flattering on me! I was so drawn to it. Simple but classic and the sleeve detail just meant I couldn't leave it. I really love the stud detail and how they make a simple coat interesting. It does cost £32 which at first I thought was expensive but for a coat it's really not that bad!

Whilst in Primark I found myself browsing as I had a date to go on yesterday and even though I have loads of clothes I fancied something new. I was surprised when rooting through a sale rack to find these two amazing dresses and both of them were only £5!

I love the teal colour on this dress and the combination of the black lace with it. It fits great and has a soft flowing skirt. It has a ribbon to draw more attention into at the waist. It's really comfy and not to clingy!

I was instantly draw to the pattern on this dress. It's almost like a cross stitch pattern of the flowers. It drapes well when on and has an elasticated waist! I think this will be perfect for holidays and Glastonbury next year!

Lastly while picking up my nieces Christmas presents in H and M I ended up picking myself up some bits. If you've got any children's clothes to get I really suggest looking in there as there sale has some bargains in.

When in the kids section I saw these amazing tops and they looked pretty big. For only £2 each I had to grab them. The pink top is age 12-14 and the green one is 14+. The age 12-14 actually fits better. I definitely need to look in kids sections more for cheaper clothes. The tops are perfect for everyday with jeans or leggings as they cover the bum but are loose and comfy!

I couldn't resist picking up the Nars creamy concealer when I was in London. I'm sure I'll be sharing my thoughts on it soon with you!!

Have you managed to resist picking up treats when you've been shopping?

Love M

xxx

OOTN: Christmas Celebration!

Morning!!

Last weekend me and M both went out for food and a few drinks to celebrate Christmas. We don't buy gifts for each other as we'd prefer to spend our money on a new dress and a night out on the cocktails.

This year was no exception and we managed to combine our festivities with the final of the Autumn internationals; Wales v Australia. As your typical welsh girl this was a standard thing for me, but M is only adopted welsh so it was a little harder for her to cheer on the 'wrong' team but she got into it!

We spent the match time in a local Wetherspoons eating your standard beer and a burger deal and joining the local oldies with their pints at the big screen. There were a few characters there and we had a good laugh with them.

After this we went back to mine and gave ourselves an hour to change and touch up our hair and make up which was a little push but we just about managed it!

We decided to both go for LBDs as we both had new ones in our wardrobe that we were desperate to wear!
You can see them both better in the picture below:

I am wearing a black knee length dress from LK Bennett that I picked up from the outlet a little while ago. It was on sale and after trying it on there was no way I could leave it behind. It was an expensive random purchase but something that won't date for a long time and I plan on getting plenty of wear out of it!

M's dress is from River Island and has a gorgeous cut out detail in the centre just under the bra area.

This was such a change for us to go out so covered up, long dresses showing minimal skin was definitely a big change (we're normally more likely to be seen in micro shorts or body con dresses with legs and boobs on show....why not eh?!)

I curled my hair as per usual but left the curls at the ends of the hair instead of all the way through. I wore my favourite Mac lipstick in Russian Red and teamed it with a smokey eye.

M also curled her lilac hair using a hot air brush to get root volume and a large curling wand on the ends. She wore a purple smokey eye her new MUA velvet lips in kooky reviewed on the blog this week.

We both enjoyed multiple cocktails including one called Kentucky Jewel (pictured above) which was amazing, bourbon, triple sec and juice....yum!

I was surprised I didn't feel as rough as I thought I would on the Sunday as we both drank quite a bit....however I did do the cardinal sin of wearing my make up to bed!

Unbelievable!


I never do that, probably done it 4 times in my whole life now so I was quite annoyed and have been applying face masks and spot cream ever since to ensure I don't get a mountainous break out on my face, ugh! 

What have you got planned with your friends this year for Christmas?

Will you be dressing up or keeping it casual?


We just couldn't resist an opportunity to dress ourselves up and do our hair and make up!

I didn't feel very festive when December struck as it felt too far away still...but now I cannot wait for Christmas to get here and am writing this whilst watching Home Alone - the ultimate Christmas kids film!

L and M xxx

Wedding No.1

Morning lovelies!

I mentioned last weekend that I had the pleasure of going to the first of my friends weddings, and it was absolutely beautiful!
It was such a nice day and everything was exactly how she wanted it so that's all that matters.

Here's a few pictures from the big day, I hope you enjoy them!

I curled my hair with a wand and then brushed it out so it looked big and bouncy and a bit more natural than perfect ringlets. I prefer my hair to look like this and wish it looked like this always!

I had a bit of a heart attack/dance around the room when I cut the label off my dress. It was a bit of a splash out for me a few months ago when I picked it up and i was so excited to wear it!

Here it is on me:

I love the colour and style, it was so simple and perfect for the wedding I was going to.
I was a bit uncomfortable in it after wearing it for so many hours though, the material doesn't stretch at all and wasn't the most comfortable for breathing....which is a bit vital!
I'd already bought the dress in a bigger size to do up over my boobs so I knew it wasn't tight anywhere else, obviously I'm not used to wearing dresses made from material as good a quality as LK Bennett!

One of my favourite things was the really cute sweet stand! I helped myself to some nougat and jelly sweets!

They also handed out welsh cakes after the ceremony which was a really nice touch.

The bride had gone the extra mile to add lots of extra touches including making her own confetti from love stories, putting tissues wrapped up in ribbon on the church pews and flowers EVERYWHERE.

The table decorations were these huuuuuge candelabras surrounded by flowers at the bottom and there was copious amounts of wine and champagne flowing.

The bride even provided flip flops in a basket for all the girls to change into from heels! Mine even matched my dress ;)

And not only was there a sit down meal but later on there was curly fries and a bacon butty! I loved how normal that was as it was perfect for a few hours of drinking!

The venue was stunning too, huge ceilings, massive chandeliers and gorgeous decor.

This is a full length picture my friend took of me on the night, it was such a great day and I am so pleased my friend enjoyed her day as much as she hoped.

Do you have many friends getting married this year or next?

This wedding was a big budget one, I have a second wedding coming up in September which is a lower budget and I'm so looking forward to it!

What would your ideal outfit be? Are you planning your own wedding?

I'm so far away from getting married but I do love hearing about other peoples plans!

L xxx