A Cabin In The Woods

Hello lovelies,

For my birthday in the middle of January, James & I booked a night away in this beautiful cabin. I'd been desperate to go away since the end of last year & when I found this place, I knew it was the one!

I booked it through Airbnb, which I'd heard good reviews about from a friend who had used it last year to book some unique over night stays when they travelled around the country for their honeymoon. It takes a bit of sifting through the website (think of the sale rack in Primark..) but I really did stumble over a gem when I found this cabin!

The cabin we booked was in Pulborough, a large village about half an hours drive from our house. I didn't want to go too far, but also somewhere that I hadn't really had a chance to explore. To be honest, we could of been absolutely anywhere, the cabin itself is very secluded, down a track about a half mile of the main road.

When we arrived, it was around 3pm, so we quickly dumped our stuff & headed out for a walk while there was still some day light. James & Misty, who own the cabin, were in constant communication with us, so they knew exactly what time we were arriving. They left the heating on for our arrival, a personalised message on the chalk board in the main living space & we found a bottle of processo & chocolates in the kitchen! We were so surprised & slightly over-whelmed by how amazing everything was. 

They had also left a welcome guide, filled with lots of local walks. The cabin itself is on a bridle path, so it was well signed & we were able to navigate our way across some fields towards the local pub.

We headed home & cooked dinner & enjoyed a night infront of the tv on the sofa, lit up by fairy lights.

I can't stress to you enough how beautiful this cabin really is, the pictures don't do it justice. We had such an amazing stay, we're definitely thinking of booking it up again in the Spring.

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Lush - Never Mind The Ballistics

Hello lovelies!

So I'm extremely excited to talk to you about this new bath bomb I picked up just before Christmas called Never Mind The Ballistics.

This is how Lush describe it-

"These aren’t ingredients for anybody else except for yourself. Lime and sweet wild orange oils are fresh and peachy on the nose, exciting the senses and shaking up your mood. There’s no time for apathy in the bath, so this anarchic bath bomb fizzes and rolls and spews colour with no holds barred energy. Fair Trade cocoa butter melts alongside fresh bananas to soften both the water and your skin. God save the clean; this deserves a replay."

  

Doesn't it just look like a giant gobstopper? Haha! I think that's why I was drawn to it, the colours are just too pretty.

Unlike the majority of the Christmasy scents Lush released, this one was surprisingly sweet compared to others in the range.

This is one of those bath bombs that I find impossible to describe the scent of, however it was delicious! I'm a big fan of Lush's sweet scents, so this one was perfect for me.

It also had a very unique texture to it, unlike other bath bombs, it felt like I was holding a bath melt. It had quite a waxy, smooth surface, compared to the normal powdery feel of a bath bomb.

I have to say, I fell in love with the bomb as soon as I put it in the water. It started fizzing around immediately & started producing pink & yellow bubble trails on the surface of the water.

Just look how pretty it is!

Only downside is this bath bomb is now unavailable & I'm really hoping they re-release it at Christmas again this year as I'd definitely buy it again!

Did you try any of Lush's Christmas range from last year?

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Life Lately #121

Hello lovelies,

The girlies & I met up for a catch up a few weekends back to discuss baby shower ideas for Gemma's up & coming day! We are so excited & plans are coming together nicely. I can't wait for her little one to be born.

We had a staff meeting at work on Tuesday morning & I had a gap between the start of my shift, so James & I went for breakfast at Bills. I've mentioned this restaurant hundreds of times on my blog I know, but they honestly do the best breakfasts ever. Just look at those pancakes!

Last Thursday we had a short downpour of snow! I'd just arrived at work & suddenly the sky opened & we had a snow shower! It only lasted a few hours but still, it was most exciting! Elisa & I thought we'd be trapped at work forever.. luckily we weren't.. ; )

Thursday was also my last day at work before 5 days off. On Friday, James, Allan & I moved our furniture into storage. We were kindly offered some furniture which had been hardly used (including a sofa, 3-doored wardrobe & bedside cabinets) just before Christmas as a friend of the family was moving into a rented house, but bringing her own furniture. As James & I are currently looking for our own place, but not yet found anything, we put all the furniture into storage. It took all day to move it from the house to the storage area, but it's one step closer to being in our own place!

On Friday evening, we had a meal at my grandparents to celebrate my birthday. Mum brought the most amazing cake for me, it was called Freddie The Frenchie. Isn't he just the cutest!?

Saturday morning I'd arranged a pottery painting session in town with my tea ladies. It was so lovely to catch up with them all & to obviously paint with a cup of tea & some cake! I decorated a bowl for Honey, which we get to pick up in a few days time.

Saturday evening I'd organised a pub trip with my best ones in town. It was so much fun, despite the fact I've been put off orange licquer for life..

Sunday morning the girls & I went for brunch at Joanna's Tea Room. I tried it out in December with the family & loved it so much, I had to book it for the girls to try as well. They have chandeliers, pink tea cups & endless supply of cakes. What more could you want? The original plan was to go for a short walk while we were there, but due to the rain, it was a walk to the duck pond & back!

Finally, on Monday, James & I travelled to this adorable little lodge we'd booked for the night. It literally was half an hour down the road, but right in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to do a full review post about it in a few weeks, but oh my goodness. We are already looking to book it up again in the Spring / Summer. It was so perfect.

How has your week been lovelies?

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26

Hello lovelies,

I've been thinking about this post for a while & how I would write it this year. I wrote a post entitled 25 a few days before my 25th birthday last year & I wanted to come back to it now, as I'm turning 26 tomorrow. So this will basically be like a new year / update over the past year post.

In that post, I reviewed my whole 25 years on the planet, so I just wanted to address a few points over the last year that I wanted to accomplish & what has changed. I'm pleased to say quite a few things have changed & some have stayed the same.

So let's start with James.

We'd just celebrated our 3 year anniversary (& have now celebrated our 4th, yay!) & he graduated university this year which I'm so proud of him for. I wrote in that post that I was excited about being in a relationship which wasn't going to be long distance anymore & I can safely say, it is soooo much better. I do still appreciate having my own space sometimes, but getting to see him most days has been amazing. I also mentioned about the possibility of us moving in together in 2016, which when I think about it now, was quite premature. We're both at a point now where everything is falling into place & I'm so glad we've waited a while before jumping straight in to living together. Hopefully though when I come to write my '27' blog post, we shall be living in a house together!

Work.

So this is a tricky one. So much has happened over the past year that has made us a bit unstable at work which I won't go into, but I will say, I'm still in the same job, which I wouldn't class as a bad thing at all, I still love what I do & I also had the confidence to branch out a bit more last year with a few opportunities that boosted my confidence. I attended a conference in London (which I was so chuffed at myself for going to) & it also opened my eyes a bit to a world within work. That probably makes no sense to most of you.. but just a few inspirational words & speaking to people in the same position as you can really change your perspective on things.

Friends & family.

Lots of exciting things have happened last year with my family & friends. We had two engagements, a wedding & a pregnancy announcement! All very exciting for the year to come. My family also have once again been so supportive & caring as always.

Because life's too short to say "I'll do it tomorrow."

This was the quote I used to finish my blog post last year & how right could I have been. I've really pushed myself over the past year to do things I would normally have said no to, just because I didn't think I could do them. & yes, some of them are the smallest achievements, but I'm so so so proud of myself for doing them. Here's a few that made my year;

I organised a Disney party.

This was one of my favourite things about 2016, my birthday party. I planned the whole thing & it was honestly one of the most amazing nights. Plus I got to wear a princess dress!

I went to Crufts.

Like I said in my post last year, I wanted to do things that have been on my list to do for the longest time & Crufts was one of them. I got to cuddle a Chihuahua & a Pug!

I went to a football match.

Ok, so it was a charity match played by YouTube Stars, but it was still a big thing for me to travel to Southampton & be in that environment. I actually loved it so much!

I went abroad with my best friend on holiday.

Yes, yes I did. I still can't believe I did it. I managed to go on a plane, stay in a new place & managed to relax all while miles away from home.

I got my ear pierced.

This is something that I've wanted since I was 18 years old & never had the courage to do it, until this year! Thanks Gem again for doing it!

So, in conclusion, 2016 was pretty good for me.

I managed to visit new places, do things I never thought I would do & I met lots of new people. There's a few things I want to achieve this year, but mostly I just want to continue with what I'm doing. 2016 was definitely the most positive, confident year I've experienced in a long time as I was completely knocked in confidence after leaving college & it takes a while to bring that back up again. I want to travel more, book things because 'why the heck not' & just live life to the full. I've already got a few exciting days out / weekends away planned & I honestly can't wait to see what 2017 has in store for me : )

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West Wittering Beach

West Wittering Beach; my favourite place.

James & I took a trip to West Wittering Beach on 2nd January this year. New Year's Day in the UK was one of the most miserable days for weather. It rained all day so we decided to stay in & play games instead of venturing outside.

I've mentioned West Wittering before on my blog & how it holds such special memories for me.

Every year my parents & I would drive to the beach for a long walk with the dogs on New Year's Day. It would take us about an hour to travel down, but we'd take flasks with hot drinks in & treats & water for the dogs. We didn't used to do many things as a family, so this always felt extremely special.

I chose to have my 16th birthday on this beach as well. Mad right? Who wants to go to the beach in the middle of January... 

It was such a beautiful day, slightly chilly but not very windy compared to previous years. We wrapped up with hats & gloves (well, I did James forgot his..) & walked along the sea front.

& as you can see, I was extremely excited by all the dogs that were there & I was constantly trying to take sneaky photos of them all. Just look at that excited little pug!

It's hard for me to put into words how special this beach is to me, but I think we all need that one place in our lives where we feel safe. The place we go back to when we need to clear our heads & re-evaluate life. The place that we call our home.

& this is mine.

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What I've Been Wearing On My Nails #37

Barry M - Pit Stop & Purple Glitter

Pit Stop is one of my favourite shades by Barry M. I love having a pastel shade on my nails at this time of year with a glitter top coat.

Ted Baker - Red & Collection Bedazzled - Razzle Dazzle
This nail art design perfectly sums up what festive nails are to me! Just look at them! I'm obsessed.

Leighton Denny - Rosey Posey & Collection Bedazzled - Razzle Dazzle
I have to admit, I'd never heard of Leighton Denny before spotting this beautiful shade on the front of a magazine last month. I am seriously so impressed. I'm going to definitely be picking up a few more shades from this brand.

Nails Inc - Savile Row & Collection Bedazzled - Razzle Dazzle
These are the nails I chose for Christmas Day. You can never go wrong with a dark red & a sprinkling of glitter.

What do you like wearing on your nails this time of year?

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Life Lately #120

Hello lovelies,

A week before Christmas day, James & I attended our friends Christmas meal at Gail's house. We all bring an element of the Christmas dinner to the evening. This year James & I brought the Yorkshires, along with some wine & a bottle of sherry (which I quickly discovered I'm the only person that's a fan of it! Yay me!) We also did secret Santa (thankyou jack for my lovely candle) & played a few games.

The next day we went to see our panto Aladdin at work & it was genuinely one of the best pantos we've put on. I adored the way the story played out on stage & all the characters were brilliant.

On 19th December, it was our work Christmas meal that I'd been planning since the beginning of the year! We went to the same place as last year, a local pub with live music in the evening. We had a late sit down time of 8.45pm, just so the last people on shift could come too & the food was delicious as always. We had a 5 course meal; starter, pallet cleanser, main, pudding & tea & mince pies to finish.

For Christmas this year, James & I split ourselves across all our families. We started with Christmas Eve at James' mums, where we had a full Christmas dinner in the evening, followed by a few games & we watched Finding Dory while we waited for midnight. It's tradition in their household to open a small present at midnight & then wake up around 9am for the rest of the presents. On Christmas Day, we headed to my grandparents' for lunch. We don't have a massive family, so 8 of us on Christmas Day always feels like a lot of people in one place! It was so nice to celebrate with them all. Finally on Boxing Day, we headed to James' dad's for round 3! Auntie Jules was down as well, so we spent the day playing games & consuming a lot of alcohol!

Scary thought coming up.. Lily turned 1. Yup that's right, 1. How has a year of this little ones life gone by already!? We had a party for her on Saturday in the local barn, filled with lots of balloons, bubbles & cake.

& finally, New Years. James' birthday is in fact New Years Day, so we celebrated with a few fireworks & a games day, followed by curry in the evening.

Oh & yesterday was my final day of holiday before I headed back to work this morning. We decided as it was a beautiful sunny day to go to West Wittering Beach. Before James & I met, it was tradition for my parents, the dogs & I to go to the beach for a walk on New Years Day, but we haven't been able to do that for a few years, so it was lovely to go & visit the beach as it holds so many memories for me. Although it was freezing, it was so lovely to see all the doggies running around in the sea & lots of people wrapped up in their new winter clothes. It has to be one of my favourite places ever.

How has your New Year lovelies?

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