What I've Been Wearing On My Nails #36

Models Own - Aqua Violet Beetle Juice 

I re-discovered this nail polish when I was having a sort out the other week. Isn't the most fabulous colour? It looks like a normal blue shade, but you can see glitter running through it when it catches the light. So perfect for these colder months.

Barry M - Silver Foil

I remember purchasing this after seeing Patricia reviewing it on her YouTube channel many years ago. It's still one of those polishes that I reach for, as people always comment on it.

Ciate Mini - Gold Digga

This shade just screams Autumn to me! It's the perfect colour for wearing on those cold wintery nights, wrapped up with a hot chocolate.

Ciate Mini - Gold Digga & Models Own Nail Art Pen - Silver

Ah & these were my Halloween nails this year. You might remember a few years ago I did a mixture of designs, but this year I went for spiders & webs. Sometimes I think the simplest of designs are the best for nail art. 

What have you been wearing on your nails this month?

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Primark Nightwear Wishlist

Pink Satin PJ Set 

Ok, so can you believe this set is only £10. Yup, that's right. £10. I seriously couldn't. It's one of those sets that I've seen so many bloggers rocking on Instagram in posh hotel rooms that I've completely fallen in love with them! They just look so glamourous.

Fox Onesie

Who could say no to a fox onesie? They have a load of onesies in store this year, mostly animals of the woodland variety, but I think this one is my favourite. The ears & heart belly sold it for me! 

Stag PJ Bottoms 

Deer are my favourite woodland creatures, so when I saw these PJ bottoms, I was immediately drawn to them. I only tend to wear PJ bottoms with cuffed legs (unless they have Dachshunds on & are mind-blowingly cute!) as I find other ones will just ride up your leg in the night & I always wake up freezing! Does that happen to anyone else?

Pink Dressing Gown 

Have you ever felt a Primark dressing gown? If not, stop whatever you are doing & find one! I've never owned clothing as soft as their dressing gowns. I purchased one at the end of summer, which I literally live in, it has Thumper on the hood. Its the most cosy, soft, warm item of clothing I own, so I really want another one to add to my collection!

Nude Chimise

& finally this sexy little number. How beautiful is this? I know we're in the middle of Winter but I think it will be perfect for Spring / Summer next year.

Have you got any nightwear items on your wish list this Christmas? Please link them below, I'd love to see!

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Life Lately #117

Hello lovelies,

At the beginning of the month, myself & my work colleagues travelled up to London to attend the annual Spektrix Conference at the Lyric in Hammersmith. I've never been before but felt so inspired when we got home. We had a range of inspirational talks by speakers & users of the system, plus theatre royalty from all over the country. I can't stress how amazing it felt to be apart of the theatre community & I'm already counting down the days till next year's event. The only downside was the travelling. I'm sure if you live in the south of England & regularly use trains, you'll feel my frustration. A journey that would usually take us an hour from London to home, took almost three. We had cancelled & delayed trains & eventually got picked up (thankyou to Tracey's husband & James for coming to get us!) from a station that was 20 minutes away from the one we usually would come into. Nightmare. I sympathise with you if you get trains to work everyday..

You might remember me mentioning before, that James' dad & partner Maria are getting married in June next year. They had a food & drink tasting session a few weeks ago so we drove them to & from their chosen venue. As it's about a 45 minute drive from home, we had a meal at a local pub to save us going back & forth. It was so delicious. Just look at that pudding..

Ah & straight on to another pudding.. oops! I met up with Ricka last Wednesday night & we went to ASK Italian. Ricka had never been before, so of course I introduced her to the Chocolate Etna. Oh my god, have you ever had it? It's seriously the best thing on earth.

My grandad turned 89 on Thursday! We had a family meal the Saturday before, but went up for tea & to give him his presents last Thursday. Just look at him in his hat!

James & I also went Christmas shopping last week & I managed to nearly finish buying everything! We bought dinner & a bottle of wine to celebrate! Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

Yesterday night James & I went to a comedy night at our local theatre. It was so funny! There were three acts; our favourite being a guy called Markus Birdman. If he ever comes to a comedy club near you, go & see him. We were in stitches! 

Oh just look at Honey here. She is just the cutest thing. With everything that's been going on lately, she is always there to keep a smile on my face. This time of year can get stressful or actually quite depressing with Winter sneaking in, but she is never too far away for a cuddle.

What have you been up to this month?

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Afternoon Tea At The Hickstead Hotel

Hello lovelies,

For my birthday earlier this year, James kindly bought me an 'afternoon tea for two' voucher at The Hickstead Hotel in West Sussex. After saving it for ages to try & find the right day & time to go, I finally booked it for the end of August on Bank Holiday Monday.

My Mum & I drove down to the hotel, only a short 30 minute drive from where we live & were booked in for tea at 2:30pm.

The hotel itself is beautiful & right in the heart of the countryside.

Our voucher entitled us to an array of finger sandwiches, cakes, scones with cream and jam as well as a selection of teas and coffees. Just look at this spread!

We started off with tea & coffee, before diving into the sandwiches!

This meringue / strawberry concoction was my favourite. It was one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted!

We also got to sample some macaroons, which were strawberry flavoured with a lemon centre. They were amazing too! Nothing worse than too much lemon, but this was subtle & refreshing. 

We went for a short walk around the hotel after we had finished. (I'm surprised we could still walk as we ate so much!)

You can actually see the South Downs on a clear day from the tea rooms, so we took a few snaps with the view in the background.

I'd highly recommend this hotel for afternoon tea. The food & service was amazing, I really couldn't fault it from the moment we arrived, till moment we walked out the door.

I would actually love to go & stay there, it would be the perfect place in the Winter time, surrounded by snow with a log fire.

Have you ever been to this hotel or one similar for afternoon tea? : )

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Lush - Autumn Leaf

Can you guess who is obsessed with Lush at the moment.. ? Actually, if we're being honest here, I'm always obsessed with Lush..

I picked up the Autumn Leaf on my most recent shopping trip & couldn't be more excited to try it. I mentioned in my previous Lush review post (the Pumpkin Bath Bomb) that I wasn't overwhelmed about the scent, but it was the beautiful colours that drew me to it. So many people I know that have tried this bomb have loved it, so I decided to give it a go.

It retails for £3.75, which I thought was a pretty good price for it.

Once I got the bath bomb home & could appreciate the scent better (everything is so over-powering in store, sometimes I struggle to actually work out what a product's scent is!) I actually found it a lot more appealing.

Lush describe it as a 'fresh grass' scent, which I didn't massively pick up on, but I was able to concentrate more on the colours it produced. Just as I expected, as soon as it went into my bath, it created the most beautiful colours in the water.

Pinks, greens, yellows, reds, oranges are all present & it made such a pretty swirling pattern in the water. Unfortunately, like some of Lush's other bath bombs, it left the water looking a dirtish orangey brown colour, but this doesn't tend to bother me too much.

I would definitely buy this bomb again, mostly just for the colours it produced. It was actually very calming watching the bomb dissolve in the water, it wasn't half as fast as some of the other bath bombs.

It reminded me of a very peaceful firework, travelling through the water!

Have you tried any of Lush's Autumn / Winter collection this year? Don't forget to check out my Pumkpin Bath Bomb review that's live now & make sure to check back for reviews on So White & Never Mind The Ballistics which will be coming soon!

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Life Lately #116

Hello lovelies,

Have you ever dieted? I mean like, properly dieted? Isn't the most miserable thing ever?! James & I decided to start eating better by cutting out chocolate, crisps etc, but we are seriously so miserable. I like fruit & veg don't get me wrong, but it was so hard to stick at it. We've now got to the stage of being sensible with food & not going crazy with our portion sizes & we seem to be doing well so far. I've decided I could never live without chocolate.. ever..

The girls & I had Sunday lunch at a local pub last week, which I'd never been too. It was the most adorable little place, complete with a log fire & the best roast I've had in ages. Definitely going back again soon!

Friday before Halloween, James & I had the morning together to carve our pumpkins. I've never done anything other than a scary face, so this was a new design for me! Did you carve pumpkins this year?

We also got to dress up at work for Halloween. I went as a dead child, who had come back to life as a doll. Weird I know, but I wanted to have pretty makeup, complete with a bit of gore on the side!

On Tuesday, Gemma & Ollie had a gender reveal meal at Pizza Express, where we found out what sex the baby is! I'm actually so excited to meet their little one!

I met up with Lorna in the week & we went to Costa. My heart could literally not take the excitement of finding out that their orange hot chocolates were back this year. They were my weakness two Christmas' ago & I can't wait to binge on them again this year!

Friday night, Campbell held a firework evening at his house, complete with the most amazing display. James & I were planning on going to a local display on the Saturday night, but didn't feel we needed too as Campbell's was so good. We'd had our fill of fireworks for this year.

& finally we celebrated Char's birthday this weekend. We went to Giggling Squid for lunch on Saturday & had breakfast at Char's Sunday morning. It was so nice to catch up with her (she's currently away a uni)

How has your November been so far? : )

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What I've Been Wearing On My Nails #35

Fearne Cotton -  Coral Island & Golden Touch 
I love how you can see my nails transitioning from Summer to Autumn in this post! With this first nail art design, I tried to do an ombre glitter effect. It honestly looked better in real life! I used a sponge to get the glitter stronger at the top of the nail & worked my way down to the base.

Ciate - Island Hopping
As you can see, I was still craving glitter in my life at this point, so I used one of my Ciate Mini polishes I got for Christmas last year. I love this shade. I never used to wear orange on my nails, but definitely warming to it this year.

Rimmel London - Berries & Cream
This colour is the definition of Autumn. I'm obsessed with it. I do tend to wear this shade all through the year but it comes into its own in the colder months.

Essie - Ruffles & Feathers / Models Own Nail Art Pen - Gold

& finally my favourite design that I've done over the last few months. I might even go as far as to say my favourite ever Autumn nail art. It took me ages to do the leaves but I was so proud of this one when I'd finished. I'll definitely be doing this again next year!

What have you been wearing on your nails this month?

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