Life!

Well it has been a pretty long time since I've done a Life Update - so make a brew, take a seat and browse my recent happenings with me!

Of course, I've been stuffing my face with street food as that's generally what I like to do with my spare time. This time it was the Winter Social from Depot Cardiff and *finally* I was able to see all of the umbrellas in their glory!

How pretty are they?! I love the snowflakes hanging from them.

I shared a few different dishes with a friend and we had a Merry Cheesemas burger (Wensleydale and cranberries on a burger, yum!), Crab Flatbreads (also yummy with so much garlic) and finally a pulled pork bun with winter slaw. I was very full at this point but clearly i still had room for one of my favourites - Science Cream!

I'm not one of the biggest fans of ice cream but the offerings from Science Cream are just perfect, the ice cream is made in front of you with fresh cream and liquid nitrogen. The result is the smoothest ice cream in existence, so I chose Sticky Toffee Pudding on this occasion and it really did have hot sticky toffee pudding with it and a dollop of salted caramel sauce, so much drool.

I had to go home and lie down afterwards.

I've also been changing a few things with my look. By that I mean, I bought a new palette and got my hair cut - I'm not one for drastic measures!

The Gwen palette is outstanding, both outside and in. As expected the Urban Decay eyeshadows are the most pigmented and silky as always and the colours are beautiful. Our post is here if you'd like more info!

As for my hair, I had a fringe cut in! It's taken some getting used to - mainly as if my hair is a mess I usually just scrape it back but now i have to do something with my fringe....I've bought lots of dry shampoo to cope though!

It normally looks a bit fuller than this, I was going for the Zooey Deschanel look so I need to wait for it to get a bit messier and relaxed. I definitely like the change though!


I've also been keeping busy with papercutting, although I haven't shown much on the blog or twitter. My latest creation is for my bedroom and is a classic Paper Panda design, you should checkout her website. I've been planning on making this for an entire year so I'm pleased that I've finally got to the framing stage, now it's just time to decide where on the wall it needs to go!

I'm thinking a gallery wall which probably means that I will need to make a whole lot more before I can put anything up!

Another paper related hobby I've been getting into is colouring. I have a fair few books now but you always need a few topics to keep you interested. The Harry Potter one is a current favourite, though it is taking me forever to complete each page.

Lastly I've been on a real health kick the last few weeks. I'm really missing having more control over my diet and exercise, and the thought of Christmas eating filled me with dread. That and if I indulge too early I will unfortunately make myself ill, so I need to control myself and then I can enjoy Christmas Day itself.

So I've been roasting loads of veg and making cous cous with soy sauce in batch. I then pair this with tuna, chicken or feta cheese for my lunches so with a good breakfast and this for my lunch I knew I wasn't going too wrong.

I've also been trying to exercise as often as possible. M gave me her spare 30 Day Shred DVD so I've been doing it as often as I can. 20 minutes is not much to ask and I know I have at least that to dedicate to myself every day and keep my eating in check. It's haaaaaaaaaaaaaard work don't get me wrong, but I've decided to just get stuck in and not wait until January to make changes.

In an effort to try more healthy recipes I have also finally made Cauliflower Pizza!

It was a really long process to make, not only to grate the cauliflower but to dry fry it for 15 mins and then bake it for 40 mins before even adding the topping........I was starving!

It did really taste like a pizza though so I was impressed, I just wouldn't make this for myself on my own and would probably just save myself for a real pizza!

It's been such a busy few months and I'm looking forward to a few days off over Christmas with my family. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

L xxx

George Home Letter Votive Candles

Hey All

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. Today is my last day in work and I can't wait to just get home and catch up with the family and relax for a few days before jetting off to Copenhagen for New Years Eve.

When shopping in Asda the other day I couldn't resist these little letter votive candles. At only £2 each I had to grab mine and C's initials to pop by our tv! They aren't scented which made C agree I could get them and have burned pretty well. As well once the candle has burned I'll be washing them out and using them as tealight holders!

I always keep pretty candle jars to use for other bits and pieces. Our toothbrush holder in the bathroom is an old candle holder!

Are these too tacky for you or something you'd go for? For £2 each I couldn't resist!

Love M

xxx

Lush - Five Gold Rings Bubble Bars

Hey all!

Christmas is getting SO close now and I cannot wait for the festivities to start. One of my favourite things is pampering over the Christmas period, not only is it great timing for the party season but also when your skin needs a little extra help in the colder months.

A bath is a great way to start - 5 Gold Rings from Lush is the perfect product.

It's quite simple really, there are five super sparkly golden rings on a string that mean you can have 5 super sparkly bath times! 5 baths for the price of one is great value for money in my opinion.

All you need to do is crumble one of the bars under running water for a bubbly bath filled with Fair Trade sweet vanilla and the obvious super sparkly gold glitter that takes over your bathroom!

Each ring is infused with skin softening illipe butter and moringa oil to uplift, it also contains a product called benzoin resinoid which I have to say I've never heard of before.

Lush has a wonderfully helpful website though and clicking on it gives me this description:

'We use benzoin resinoid (Styrax benzoin) to deeply cleanse and soothe skin, add shine to hair, to ease muscles, and to give skin a sweet, lingering vanilla and balsamic aroma.' 


Well you learn something every day don't you??

This is what the bubble bar looks like when you crumble it under the water...





It's lovely and yellow gold and a happy uplifting colour. My skin also felt amazing as soon as I'd finished the bath and felt so much smoother and hydrated.

Although you do need to watch out for getting the glitter EVERYWHERE!

5 Gold Rings comes in at £4.95, so that's only £1 a bath - well worth the money!

What do you think of this bubble bar? Will you be snapping them up?

L xxx

Lush Rosy Cheeks Fresh Face Mask

Hey All

As I mentioned last week in our post on Cranberry face mask (you can see that here) we recently purchased a few face masks then made a morning of it trying them out.

Rosy cheeks instantly appealed to me to try out as it has a different texture to the other Lush masks I've tried.

Rosy cheeks is a great when for winter to help soothe the skin. I don't know about you but the cold wind can play havoc with my skin and make it sore and my normally rosy cheeks rosier! I love the smell and texture of this. It feels so soft and smooth to apply and doesn't dry on the skin.

The combination of Kaolin, calamine and Turkish rose oil give the face mask an amazing delicate floral smell. They also help to calm the skin as well as providing a gentle cleanse to the skin. This is a great on for more delicate skin that doesn't need exfoliation.

Have your tried Rosy Cheeks? I don't think I've found a lush face mask I don't like yet.

Love M

xxx

Hi all!

The one thing I couldn't get over with this mask was how smooth and creamy it was. Putting it on straight from the fridge was the best tip I could give you - it really holds the cold temperature and feels so cooling and soothing on the skin.

The only weird thing - if that's even the right word - is that it looks so odd on your face! It does make you look like you have extreme sunburn, the selfies we took whilst wearing this mask is not for sharing with the public! Ha they just look a little too odd, but well worth the effects.

This is a good winter treat for the skin and again the mask has been worth trying. Just need to decide which of the masks I need to try next, what would you recommend??

L xxx