Friday 30 December 2011

Christmas Is Over

You know the festive season is over when you've just got out of the bath smelling like a totally new person from all your new smellies, you're drying your hair listening to the new cd you were given (Ed Sheeran) before you put your snuggly new slippers on and clothes you got from the sales, parfaite.

Going to do a post about my sale pieces i got this year which seemed to dominate from H&M. I love their collection at the moment so feminine and chic.

I've decided in my annual new year clearout to stick to a base colour palette of clothing and accessorize around that otherwise it makes it so hard to pick an outfit that all goes together.

At the moment i'm loving plain colours, especially anything in the pale pink/nude colour spectrum as this image demonstrates below.




Sunday 25 December 2011

Happy Christmas, Proper Crimbo, Joy Noel etc

Happy Christmas everyone it's finally here. I have one baby asleep in her bed absolutely zonked from all the excitement, a happy Mr man playing Golden Eye Reloaded on his Xbox and i'm just going to write a quick blog update before I settle down with my new Kindle and read a lovely relaxing book.

Ok so above I have already mentioned that this year Mr Lilly Belle got me a Kindle for my Christmas present and not only is this a generous gift in itself and I am thrilled but it was the actual thought behind the present...ation of it that had me speechless.


Instead of just wrapping the generic Amazon Kindle box it came with in festive wrapping paper with some kind of snowman or reindeer face on it he went above and beyond the creative call and set a total present enigma.


It began with him saying the usual things like "don't come upstairs" or don't go in such and such room and the reason for this was that he was making something??? Having no idea what i left it a surprise or more likely he managed to keep it a surprise as he was dieing to tell me what he was up to lol.


He had been a bit later home from work towards the end of the week and turns out he had been scouring book shops and charity shops far and wide searching for a GIANT book. 


With this giant book he cut out the middle and made a secret hole for the kindle to go in so when i opened the book thinking that was my present inside was the kindle. The idea was he wanted to give me a book inside a book. AMAZING!


Not only was this a great idea to do with any book but he was beginning to give up on the idea until he came across a book "(The Vogue Sewing Book) that was perfect as me being a sewer myself made it even more credible that the book was my present! 
Was so impressed that he spend so much time and effort on my thoughtful present and making it special there was also the sweetest loveliest message in my card and I was a bit emotional tbh.


At first I couldn't help feeling sad when Kindles first came out because i thought it might lead to the extinction of paper books. I love the smell of books and the whole turning the page physicality, nothing beats getting stuck into a good read and the escapism it brings.


Weighing up the pros and cons I decided I did like the idea of the Kindle especially when you run two business's from home and have a little toddler space is valuable so the fact that it can hold thousands of books is a big winner for me! Also i think it's a great idea for people that travel a lot perhaps commuters that have lengthy dreary journeys on trains etc. So all in all you really can't fault it on practicality so I am now a Kindler and proud.







Friday 23 December 2011

Picture Friday Christmas Special

It's picture Friday time again and this one is going to be a bit of a christmas special this week as it's only .... Christmas eve eve YAAAAAAAAAAY!

Here's a selection of my favourite pics for the festive season.

 Beautiful Mantle Place, love the use of giant pine cones!



Traditional lovely idea for stairs this would work perfectly in my parentals house as they have stairs like this.



Love this simple idea of placing the tree on a little table, saves ripping the presents trying to cram as many as possible under the tree... we've all done it!


Look at this visual feast of festive biscuits, scrummy!


And lastly if I could be blogging from anywhere in the world right now it would be here or anywhere else with snow, bring on the snow!




Wrapping Rant And Christmas Cocktails

Isn't it a good job that sticky tape isn't sticky and annoying and while we're on the subject isn't it great that wrapping paper comes on rolls so it springs everywhere when your trying to lay it flat and lastly, welldone to myself for buying the most awkward shaped presents ...bravo. Merry Christmas, rant over!
On the plus side here's a link to some amazing looking christmas cocktails to add a modern spin on the usual predictable egg nog!
 http://www.refinery29.com/winter-cocktails-to-learn-on-vacay

Amazing Gaga Hair Bow - How Cute?!

Had to share this you tube hair tutorial with you because I LOVE bows they are my favourite things hence why my logo has a bow in it. 
Totally going to try and do this, so will blog my attempt pics soon <3
Merry Christmas one and all!







Happy Christmas Eve Eve

Eeeeeeek how quick is the festive season going this year?! I can't believe the christmas weekend is already upon us and today uber excitement as our tickets came for Paris.

Definitely time to start planning the itinerary for our little mini break. We're staying at Disney Paris and having never been as a child looking forward to seeing what it's like. 
I've got my fingers crossed to see a little bit of snow but nothing too chaotic to disturb our plans.

My daughter being nearly 3 is at a funny stage of toddlerness where one minute she's a tough cookie, fearlessly ready to take on the world and other times well.... she's a bit unsure lol.


Her latest obsession is Mickey Mouse so hopefully she loves it all. 

Planning on doing a bit of sight seeing too in Paris and hunting down some local fabric shops so looking forward to that.




Friday 16 December 2011

Inspiration, Motivation... Picture Friday Is Born

Ok picture friday is a new concept for my blog whereby I am going to share with you my favourite images from the week!

Let you in on a little secret it's actually 12.25 pm so technically it's Saturday so great way to start picture friday but hey ho I won't tell if you don't?!


Oh and happy Christmas eve to the power of 7 EEEEEK!


You really can't go wrong with denim and lace anyone can pull this combination off wether young or old from babies to ladies it is so cute and feminine. Team it with smokey eye makeup for a Sienna Miller sexy/girl next door look.



Pearls and sparkles ... look at these vajazzled shoesies...whoever made these has clearly never heard of the less is more theory not sure if I could justify a place to wear these but they are still beautiful to look at.





Following on from shoes... this is what every girl need in her life! Best invention EVER!




And lastly, if i could be blogging from anywhere right now this is where i wish i was blogging from today, bliss!



Tuesday 13 December 2011

Primark Bargains - Arrest me now because this must be a steal!

I've always been known as a bit of a bargain hunter when it comes to me and my clothes and let me tell you now... no wardrobe is ever big enough! Is it girls?
It started when I was younger I used to love going to Seconds Ahead because they always had designer clothes in there really cheap. My bargain hunting career then took a promotion when it found TKmaxx wow oh wow! I love TK it is my fav shop ever i love prowling the rails finding little gems... t-shirts for £3 skirts for £5 love love love!   <3 <3 <3


 So in true bargain queen style had to share my latest primark bargains with you as I think you'll be pretty impressed I spent a whopping two WHOLE pounds on two items of clothing a lovely floral ra ra style skirt £1 and also a pink strappy vest dress thingy-ma-bob which was also £1, lubbly jubbly.


Get down to your local primark and check out the bargain rails they might still be in your local store.
I'm loving nude colours and chiffon at the moment very feminine.



Friday 9 December 2011

Amelia Lily Leopard Fur Ears Headband

Love it or hate it you've got to admit X Factor contestant Amelia Lily's leopard print fur ear headband is causing a bit of a stir here in the UK. 
People are going crazy for it and on the otherhand it's also driving people crazy. Personally i think it's cute and fun and shows she doesn't take herself seriously, i think people also forget the fact that she's only 17 i dread to think what I was wearing at 17 lol.

I decided I would make a version of this ever popular headband and it's so snuggly to wear in the cold that it's definitely a winner from me.

So if you've tried endlessly to track down one of these beauts ..look no further!





Thursday 8 December 2011

DIY Christmas Decorations

Got a bit of a challenge here for everyone, i challenge people to make their own christmas decorations this year!

So what if they look more shabby than chic the whole point of christmas is family and being close to loved ones so what better way to bond than getting the prit stick and coloured paper out and making a big old glitter bomb explosion in your living room/kitchen etc.

I have been doing a bit of reasearching and found some brilliant DIY tutorials on various websites and blogs for my fav christmas decs i'm going to be giving a try this weekend.

Would love to see pics of yours if you decide to take up the challenge of making these too <3

This year i'm going to try and make the following...








Wednesday 7 December 2011

Birimingham Frankfurt Christmas Market


On monday we went to the Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market and if you've never been before it's well worth a visit.

We decided to go on a weekday to avoid the crowds and chaos and it was such a lovely day out. My favourite part of the market is how traditional it all is. Handmade toys and jewellery, personalised biscuits and the best chocolate you'll ever taste!

The market is like walking onto the set of a christmas film, all the stalls are in quaint little wooden cabins and it has an amazing atmosphere. There is even a carousel for little ones along with German beer, German mulled wine (Gluhwein) and grilled sausages (white or red) red is a bit spicier and yummy!
All round a great family day out we might even go back and get some more choc and see the christmas lights in the dark.




Poinsettia Christmas Brooch


Perfect for all those christmas parties/work dos you may have coming up...

Handmade Christmas Poinsettia Red Green Flower Brooch Hair Clip

The brilliance of this item is that it can be worn as a combo, brooch or a hair clip for pretty decoration and simple elegance. Flower is made from 100% Cotton.

Size of Flower is roughly 4" x 4" 



Babyliss Waving Wand Review - Amazing


Mr Lilly Belle very generously got me an early Christmas present and I am so thrilled with it I had to write a review immediately! 

I saw a you tube video on this curling want but couldn't find any blog reviews so thought I would add my review and pics for other people who might be unsure and wanting to by this.

For ages I've been looking for a method of curling my hair but keeping the length and I've finally found it. Before whenever I've used rollers or ghds to curl my hair the hair always used to spring up and I ended up loosing all the length of my hair and looking like a Victorian doll, not a good look. 

The curler I have discovered is called Babyliss Waving Wand and I love it! 
The temp goes up to 200 degrees and you can choose how hot you want it, another feature I love.

Here are some pics of the look i achieved with the wand, it's a cross between bohemian and mermaid is the best way I can think to describe it but you keep the length!! Hallelujah!





And while we're on the subject of curly hair my daughter Lilly who is 2 has the curliest hair really gorgeous ringlets and we have no idea where they come from as i have naturally straight hair and so does her daddy. 

We think it might be my mum as she had curly hair as a baby so now we can be matching lol.




Visitations To Saint Nic

We took Lilly to see santa for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it's safe to say she was petrified, can't really blame her who knows what is hiding behind all that white beard lol.


Look at the amazing decorations of the elves making the toys!

It was so funny before we went we prepped her as you do... telling her father christmas will want to know what you want for christmas you'll have to tell him what you want. When he said what's your name are you going to tell me your name she clung to me and said noooo and I said go on Lil whats your name and she shouted out "I want a present" it was like nervous tourettes ... made a speedy retreat after that but she got her tea set as a present lol.

After that we saw some beautiful reindeers and went on a lovely little walk.