Wednesday 25 October 2017

Life Lately #136


Hello lovelies,

So if you follow me on social media, you would have seen that I got my hair cut towards the beginning of October. I decided to have a longish bob, which is the shortest my hair has been since I was a young teenager! I absolutely love it & styling it is so much fun now it's shorter. I'm quite sad I didn't do it sooner!

On 12th October, Honey turned eight. EIGHT. Oh my god, where do the years go!? I came round to visit her & we had lots of cuddles & played games before curling up on the sofa together. She's such a cutie.

Last Sunday I met up with the girls at Pizza Express for lunch before I started work. It was so lovely to have a catch up with them. I was actually planning on doing some shopping after we'd met up, but we just talked for hours & I had to head straight to work! I also managed to pick up a few bits in a charity shop before meeting them, so keep an eye out for a small haul soon!

James & I both had last Monday morning off, so we decided to check out a local pub that's started doing breakfast. Oh my god. Look at my foooood. I couldn't believe how delicious & well presented it was. Oh & of course, you can't have breakfast without a cup of tea! Next time we go, I'm going to test out the pancakes, because they looked amazing as well!

It was Mum's birthday on Sunday & I spent the afternoon with her, eating lots of food & drinking lots of tea. We also took the doggies on a very Autumnal walk, which they enjoyed!

& finally, I've started to decorate our flat for Autumn / Christmas! I'm determined to get all my shopping done as soon as humanly possible this year. I do always try to get it done & dusted before December starts, however, I want to be finished by latest middle of November. Whether this will happen or not, who knows, but I'm excited to try! Would any of you be interested in me doing a post about decorating your flat on a budget this year? I've managed to do a few Autumn DIY's & managed to pick up some cute little decorations quite cheaply.

Have you started decorating yet?
Did you have any plans for Halloween? : )

Friday 20 October 2017

What I've Been Wearing On My Nails #43


Barry M - Prickly Pear
When I was putting together this post, it made me smile. You can see I'm completely torn between hanging on to Summer & embracing Autumn with my nails! I can't seem to let go of the pastel shades & this Gelly Hi-Shine one from Barry M is a staple in my collection. I don't know if it's something people do like they do for their wardrobes, but I feel like I need to put away all my Spring / Summer polishes, so I only have the Autumn / Winter ones accessible to try & get me into the seasonal spirit!

Essie - Ruffles & Feathers
Like last year, I couldn't resist having a green polish on my nails this month. You might remember the Autumnal nail art design I did using this green Essie polish as a base & it had golden leaves on top. I absolutely loved that design so I'm definitely going to be trying it again this year.

Leighton Denny - Rosey Posey & Nails Inc - Gold Glitter 
& we're back to another Summer design. I couldn't resist adding a bit of glitter to this one though!

Ted Baker Deep Red (no name!) & Miss Sporty - Glitter Effect, Paris
& finally, I think I might have skipped Autumn & headed straight to Christmas with this design! I had these nails planned out in my head for the longest time, but as soon as I'd painted them, I instantly thought of Christmas. However, it really isn't that long to go till Christmas is here.. so in theory, I'm only a month or so ahead of schedule.. 

I'm currently thinking of what nail art do to for Halloween this year. I went quite simple last year, with a gold base & silver spider web detailing on top. I'm dressing up as a witch at work, so thinking maybe green or purple to match my makeup! Are you doing anything for Halloween?

Saturday 14 October 2017

What I've Learnt From Moving Out

Hello lovelies!

Can you believe I moved out of my parent's house on 13th April, that's over 6 months ago! Time really does fly. It feels like we've been in our little flat for ages, but at the same time, not that long at all. We are currently half way through our tenancy, then we have to decide whether to stay another year or move out. James & I are still discussing this & the we quite like the idea of getting a bigger place, so we'll have to see how we're feeling after Christmas.

I wanted to share with you a few things that I've learnt over the past few months since moving out.


It's expensive
Ok, so I had a rough idea of how much renting would be. I'd budgeted, done the maths of the rent, bills, food & living etc, but I never expected it to feel so.. annoying! Gone are the days where I used to be able to browse ASOS & add multiple things to my basket, where as now I have to ration myself in Primark to one jumper per visit & only pick up essentials when I'm literally scraping the barrel. It's a whole new ball game, but one I'm managing to keep on top of, I just would love to go out & buy ALL THE CLOTHES.

Vouchers / coupons / loyalty cards are your friends
A while ago, I sat down with Elisa (who is the master of finding deals & bargains!) & we went through all her store cards that are free & that can save you money. A lot I already had, such as a Boots Advantage Card, Tesco Clubcard & multiple coffee shop cards, however when your starting to make your space your own, having an Ikea Family Card was one of the best deals we found! You get discounts on sale items, food & on selected products. Not to mention free tea & coffee when you shop! I also got a Waitrose Card, which (to be honest, I rarely shop there, but still) means you get a free tea or coffee when you buy groceries & scan your card at the till. Makes popping to get milk a little bit more enjoyable! & finally a Nectar Card. I've never had one of these because we always shop in Tesco as a rule, but since we do have a Sainsbury's in town, it was worth getting. However, the best part of a Nectar Card is you can link it up to eBay & earn points by purchasing items on there! So I already have a nice stack of points building up just from buying random bits & pieces each month! 

You have no free time
This may sound like a silly one, but have you noticed how little I've posted since the beginning of April? It's because I literally have no time. I'm sure this is just something I've managed to do to myself, but if I'm sitting on the sofa & I spy a cobweb or something needs dusting, I have to sort it then & there! & sure enough, once I've finished cleaning every room, it all needs doing again! I barely manage to do anything other than work, clean & think about cleaning..

You do adult things, because nobody is going to do them for you
Yup. It's true. Mum is no longer going to 'drop that to the post office for you' as it's on the way to town. Your going to have to go to the post office yourself. Your going to have to ring your agency because your freezer door won't shut properly. Your going to have to do the Tesco shop with one of the scary trolleys that don't turn corners every week. I don't like having adult responsibilities.

You don't take anything for granted
When I was writing out points for this blog post, one of the first things I wrote was 'dishwasher withdrawal symptoms' & it's true. I think we get used to having all these luxuries when in fact when we move out, we're almost starting from the bottom & working ourselves up again. I don't mind doing the washing up, however I would like to put my feet up for 20minutes as opposed to standing looking at a wall while cleaning the pots & pans.

You build stronger relationships
Most of you know, I moved in with my partner James & even though we've been together nearly 5 years, we've never lived together before. Obviously this has affected our relationship, but it's made us appreciate the other one a lot more. I actually love the feeling of coming home to him at night, when he's hopefully got the dinner started (he finishes work at 6pm, I'm usually 8.30pm) & just knowing he's there is such a nice feeling. I'm kinda hoping he feels the same, when he comes home from work & I've spent the day cleaning / tidying & I'm there to jump on him as I've missed him all day. I also wanted to mention my relationship with my family as well. Moving out has definitely brought me closer to my mum in many ways. As I've mentioned above, I've been doing things I wouldn't usually do, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been there every step of the way, holding my hand if needed. I find when we do see each other (usually twice a week) we have a lot more to catch up on & it's nice to visit my doggies & have a cup of tea & cake with her.

& finally, I just wanted to write about why I decided to blog about this. At the end of September, my parents went on holiday for a couple of days, so I stayed over at my old house, with Honey & looked after the chickens. While I was there, I was totally happy don't get me wrong, but I knew I wasn't home. I was thinking about the flat & if James had remembered to put on the washing (he had, yay!) & all the bits I needed to do there. I was missing it & it felt weird to get into my 'old bed' as opposed to our one at home. Of course, my parent's house will always be special to me, however, I'm so overwhelmed by how much I missed our flat, it made me really happy to know that we made the right choice to move out when we did & that the place is extremely special to me.

Spreadsheets & budgeting really do pay off!

Tuesday 10 October 2017

Life Lately #135


Hello lovelies,

I mentioned in my last update post that I was staying at my parent's house looking after the animals. Just look how adorable Honey looks snuggled up in bed. I thought she would be getting me up at the crack of dawn, but I actually had to wake her up! The chickens were so cute as well, they all lined up in the morning for their food & went to bed obediently at night.

Charlotte organised a late birthday celebration for the 4 of us in London at the end of September. I'm going to write a full blog post on our day, so won't talk to much about it now, but we had such an amazing day. I was the only one (bar Char obv!) who knew what we were doing & it was so much fun giving the girls clues through-out the day! We visited The Shard, Choccywoccydoodah & saw The Comedy About A Bank Robbery in the evening!

Last week, we had a launch night at work for the Year Of Culture that's coming in 2019. It was so beautiful, we got out the red purple carpet & had lanturns all around the foyer. People came from all over the District to watch the launch & it truly made the building feel magical.

I met up with my girly Ricka for brunch at Bills last weekend for a catch up. We hadn't properly seen each other since the middle of May, so we had so much to talk about. 

The girls & I went to see Home Again last week & I haven't enjoyed / cringed at a film for so long! Reece Witherspoon is fantastic as always & the 'young boys' were brilliant as well. Highly reccomend it for a girls night out.

Saturday night I spent with my Grandparents. We had a family meal at their house to celebrate my parent's wedding anniversary in September (they were away at the time) so we had a long over-due catch up, was so lovely.

& finally Char came back for the weekend, so we arranged to meet up with our other friend Shez for a roast. There is nothing better than a roast dinner on a Sunday. Since moving out, James & I haven't yet cooked a roast, but that's made it seem like more of a treat when we do have it, either round parent's houses or out & about.

How has October been for you lovelies? 
Getting excited for Halloween? I've already planned my outfit!

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Our Adventure To The New Forest

Hello lovelies!

In the middle of September, James & I took a short break to The New Forest. We rented a lodge, called Forest Lodge in Ringwood. We found it using a website called cottages4you, which I only discovered as I wanted to use our Tesco Clubcard points & that was one of the websites listed. They have tons of holiday places on there, so worth checking out if you're looking for a short break.

We set off late on Friday morning, stopping at KFC for lunch (our guilty pleasure) & our first stop was the Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary. It was raining when we arrived, so we weren't very hopeful we'd see any deer, but sure enough, we found a herd just by the entrance. They are the cutest little things, with swishing tails & spotty backs! We had a walk around the forest paths as it had stopped raining & found the cutest birds, including this adorable little robin. A lot of people seemed to have been put off by the weather, so it was extremely peaceful & quiet.





After our walk, we headed to Tesco, to stock up on some meals for the evenings, as it was a self-catering accommodation. We could check into our lodge from 3pm, so we arrived just after 4, before the heavy rain started! We met a few wild animals on the way, including horses, pigs, cows & donkeys. One of the donkeys stuck her head in James' window & just refused to move, even when another car came in the other direction & had to drive into the ditch to avoid hitting it's bottom! I just love that the New Forest gives animals right of way.. amazing!





Ah guys, just look at our lodge. Isn't it the cutest place you've ever seen? I was so in love with it. It was so cosy & warm & there was nothing better than being snuggled up with a blanket, watching tv. We didn't realise before we got there, but there wasn't any phone signal & the wifi wasn't working so we were completely shut off from the outside world & it was bliss. We played a few games of Scrabble, Ludo & Monopoly & just enjoyed each other's company. The owners had kindly left us milk, chocolates & a bottle of champagne, which was so lovely of them, so we made sure to make use of the gifts! The lodge itself is about 100metres from their house, slightly higher up, next to a field of horses. They had 3 horses; Fletcher, Maverick & Marmite, who we'd see when we left each morning for our days out. We also had a resident owl who you could hear when you were drifting off to sleep at night. Otherwise, it was completely silent.






Saturday was our first full day & we decided to head to Bournemouth. I'd checked the weather & it said it was going to be bright in the morning but rain in the afternoon, so we had an early session of crazy golf in Lower Gardens, followed by a walk near the beach, lunch in Days & then we visited the aquarium in the afternoon. I can't get over how beautiful Lower Gardens was. We had a walk around after playing golf & found a small aviary of birds & there were people singing & performing around the park. It was honestly so lovely. The beach itself is incredibly sandy & pretty, just look at the clouds!







& I'll be honest, the aquarium wasn't our favourite. We paid just under £13 each for entry & we'd finished the tour within an hour. Didn't really seem worth it, except I got to see my favourites; the seahorses & I got some stunning shots of the turtles!





After we left the aquarium, it was pouring with rain, so we thought we'd go on the pier to hide in the arcades, but there was a charge for the pier. I mean, we live near Brighton & I don't know if we've been spoilt all our lives, but it's free to walk up & down the pier, so we were outraged to have to pay! We did however realise there was an arcade before you got on the pier, so we dived in that one instead. James won me the cutest dog!


The next day we headed to Poole. I was quite excited to have a walk along the Quays as it was a dry, but chilly day. It was so lovely there & we met lots of cute doggies as we walked into Poole. We had lunch at Pizza Express & then headed to the Dolphin Centre for a spot of shopping.





Unfortunately we had to leave the following day, as check out was 10am, so we packed up our bags & headed home. Saying goodbye to our little lodge felt extremely sad, we'd really come to think of it as a second home.

I would honestly go back to The New Forest in a heartbeat, it was all so perfect & I feel like we could have explored for weeks, there was just so much to see & do!

Have you ever been to The New Forest?