What's in your handbag?

So ladies, as the title suggests - what do you cart around with you on a daily basis?

I've always prided myself on my minimalism and how tidy and light I keep my bags. I also took onboard all the stories I read about heavy bags contributing to back problems. 

But then I made the classic mistake - 

I bought a bigger bag

More bag, more junk.

As this picture shows, my bag isn't too bad compared to some. However this is a good day, I quite often have my iPad and/or random items of clothing lurking around in there too. And I do have to question why I need 4 lip products! Especially as I never use all 4 of them at once, I just use whichever one I grab first. 

  

Today I took stock of what was in my bag for work.

• a glass bottle of water

• 2 x Vaseline (rosy lips & original)

• Sure deodorant 

• Impulse body spray

• Hugo Boss 'Ma Vie' perfume

• purse

• 3 x keys (car, work & house)

• 2 x tissues 

• 2 x lipgloss (Smashbox & Barry M)

• chewing gum 

• a clementine

• a mini notepad 

I've chucked all my receipts, shaken out my bag and decluttered the contents. I now feel far more streamlined and organised.

Do you carry too much junk around? Or are your bags minimal? 

Review: Lush 'Unicorn Horn' Bubble Bar

This has been on my wish list from the moment I saw it. I've seen it on so many blogs and I decided that my very unsubtle hints to Ben for Valentines Day just weren't strong enough....so eventually I gave in and just bought it myself when I popped into Lush to get something else entirely.

Its just so pretty to look at, the colours make me want to revert back to being a child and legitimately still be able to watch My Little Pony and Care Bears all day! I'm always attracted to colour and the bright candy pastel shades with the added stars just proved too much for me. I had to get it.

I've been so eager to try it ever since I got it, I was imagining my bath being filled with multicoloured swirls of bubbles and froth but I think maybe I had expectations that could never be met! Instead it was a lovely pale lilac colour and smelt of lavender, perfect for a bath just before bed.

It's nice and bubbly, and the smell is just so relaxing. It's as good as I hoped, and if Ben does happen to buy me it anyway, I certainly won't be saying no to a second one.

A Week In My Camera Roll

Here's a quick recap of what I've been up to this week through my iPhone:

On Monday as mentioned, I went for a run, and saw this beautiful sunset which made all the pain worthwhile.

Ben and I went out for Thai food, which was gorgeous. Followed by pudding at wetherspoons, because that boy is a feeder.

A quick selfie of my new HD brows once I actually put make up on and brushed my hair! 

A shopping trip to Chester with my Mum over the weekend which was lovely.

Time for tea and cake at Pattiserie Valerie.

What have you been up to this week? 

HD Brows: The Verdict

I had HD brows done after work today, and already I've noticed a huge change!

I'm really happy with them, but they're going to take a bit of getting used to. At the moment they seem really dark and pronounced, but I have dark eyebrows anyway so I'm sure I'll get used to them soon. I also look quite pale as I'm make up free in both photos, so I think they'll look better when I've got my make up on and my hair is a bit more toned down (photos taken under bright light)

So here is a before and after photo:

As you can see, the arch of my brow is much more defined now and the shape is much sharper. I had them overgrown much more than I usually would to give her more to work with, so they feel much tidier now.

I was surprised at how much work goes into HD brows, as anyone who's had them done will know it's a 7 step procedure; tinting, waxing, trimming, measuring (so they're exact), threading, powder and make up. The girl who did them was so professional and knowledgeable. I'll definitely be going back in 6 weeks to have them touched up!  

New Year New Me?!

Well, I finally got off my bum and decided to have a good go at starting my fitness training. And I have to say, I can almost see why people think exercise is addictive....almost! I got myself all whipped up to do it, and even though I found it an absolute killer, the positive mindset seems to be helping as I've been looking forward to my next session rather than dreading it!

It's made me realise how dreadfully unfit I am though, which isn't good. Whether it's because it's been so long since I did any proper exercise, or the cold weather (0 degrees, hello), or age, or the fact I've only just recovered from a bug... I don't know. It may even be a combination of all those things, but needless to say I'm determined to try, even if I end up giving up! 

I'm very lucky living where I do, and I've had some amazing views to look at while running! That sunset was worth the embarrassment of trudging along past the same people, breathing extremely heavily!

As was this sunrise:

I had my hot stone massage after work tonight, and it was amazing! Just what I needed, so relaxing and I felt really rejuvenated afterwards. It's definitely brightened up my Thursday.

Tomorrow I'm having HD brows, I'm slightly nervous as I'm not sure what to expect and am hoping they won't be too dark. I'll post some before and after photos once they're done to show the difference.

Have you had HD brows? How are you getting on with any training goals you had for this new year?

Have a good week!

Life At The Moment

I haven't really blogged much this week, I've been back at work after a week off and have been super busy, but unusually quiet in my personal life. Which makes a nice change actually as I'm usually rushed off my feet.

So my week in summary is:

Watching - The Theory of Everything
Ben and I went to see this on Monday and I absolutely loved it! I found it incredibly moving, and visually stunning. Eddie Redmayne thoroughly deserves all the credit he's getting for it. 

Reading - 'Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'

Despite its title, this is not a factual book about maintaining motorbikes! It's been on my must-read list for a while and I've finally got around to starting it.

Drinking - Whittard's Rocky Road Hot Chocolate

As most people who know me know, I love Costa festive drinks, so I ended up getting a few flavoured hot chocolate sets for Christmas. This is one of the nicest I've ever had, which is weird seeing as I don't like marshmallows (or regular Rocky Road for that matter)

Cooking - Saturday Scrambled Eggs

I haven't done much in the way of cooking really so that title is a bit deceiving, but in line with my chilled week I had some lovely scrambled eggs for breakfast yesterday which I ate in bed. Simple pleasures :)

Wearing - Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss

This is my product of the week, I actually forgot I had it and I'm loving it. I've hardly worn lipgloss for ages so this has been a nice reintroduction. 

Using - COLAB Dry Shampoo 

I've run out of Batiste and in all honesty I've stopped finding it all that effective (and I'm not keen on the smell) so I bought this 'New York' scent from Superdrug and looking forward to trying it.

So that's my week in a nutshell. I'm doing the 100 Day No Spend Challenge (with clothes) but I can't cut everything out so I've treated myself to both a hot stones massage and some HD brows next week. Naughty but nice, and something to look forward to. I've recently grown out my thick full fringe after having it for nearly a decade, so I've decided to take the plunge and try redefining my brows to make them stand out more now they're on show all the time. I'm not a natural blonde so my brows are fairly dark anyway, but I'm hoping they won't look ridiculous! 

Has anyone got any HD brow recommendations? 

Quay Hotel & Spa

Hope everyone's been having a lovely weekend! Ben and I just got back from a fab spa weekend at this place

I've been several times before on different spa breaks and love it, Ben's recently done a couple of weddings here so we decided to book a break as they had an amazing offer on, and we thought it would be something nice to look forward to after Christmas to brighten up an otherwise gloomy January. 

As part of the offer we had, our room was upgraded to a suite, which was basically like having our own apartment, as we had a separate hallway entrance! We had a huge lounge area with a panoramic view over the Conwy estuary, and a separate bedroom and bathroom.

We also got given some complimentary snacks to nibble on while watching Sky Movies.

After that we headed down to the bar for some cocktails; I had 'Quay of Love' - marmalade vodka & black raspberry liqueur and Ben had an Old-Fashioned.

After we made full use of the spa facilities; hydrotherapy pool, sauna and steam room - we went to get ready for dinner. I wore a Lipsy dress I've had for ages and some Coast heels. 

The food was AMAZING, it was a 5 course a la carte menu.

I had a whipped goats cheese mousse to start, followed by pan seared salmon and lemon and rosemary cake. Soooo good! I was literally in food heaven.

This morning we had a full cooked breakfast and relaxed in our room until check out. We had such a lovely stay and I just couldn't fault the hotel at all. It was like a little slice of heaven this weekend, I already want to be back there now! 

100 Day No Spend - Week One

So, to anyone who like me, has signed up to do the 100 Day No Spend Challenge, the first working week is OVER!

I've been putting aside £1 a day so far as an incentive and now I have my first fiver all ready and saved for the day this hell ends and I can hit the shops!!

I've been off work this week and have resisted temptation to online shop which has been difficult, but also looking at the masses of unworn outfits surrounding me has helped me hold off.

 

I've sorted out a few things to put on eBay, and cleared out 2 bags of clothes/handbags and 14 pairs of shoes to give to charity, so I'm already feeling a little lighter!

How are you all getting on?! 

  

January Blues

I'm not usually one for posting problems online. But so far, I HATE 2015.

Yep that's right, January sucks.

It's a miserable time of year anyway and a month I've never liked (who does?!) but considering its only the 4th, it's already been incredibly trying. 

I planned to try my resolution of getting fitter from today, my Couch to 5K. But I've been laid down with a chest infection since late Thursday which has now developed into full blown flu. I've been lucky to have avoided all the various lurgies that have been circulating until now I know, but it's still making me feel miserable. 

Then in saturday my bed broke, unexpectedly. Sunday, my TV. Today I shuffle out of work after being sent home and find ominous puddles of green under my car which a quick google search has shown to be possibly a radiator leak. Can it be February already please?! 

Seems it's just as well I'm doing the 100 Days No Spend challenge....I'll have no money left for clothes now anyway! 

100 Day No Spend Challenge

Having seen this floating around on Twitter via Rachel The Hat I've decided to give it a go myself.

(Image taken from Google) 

This goes live from tomorrow (5th January) and the challenge basically involves not buying clothes for 100 days, which is going to be incredibly difficult for a shopaholic like me. I tried something similar a few years ago, failed spectacularly and never lived it down. I currently own in excess of 200 pairs of shoes (and wear about 5 regularly...) and have 3 wardrobes full of clothes (not to mention the various storage boxes and carrier bags hidden elsewhere in the house.) Shameful!

So in my last post I pledged to try and be more careful with money and stop frittering small amounts away, so I guess I'm now plunging myself right in at the deep end! To make it a bit more juicy I'm going to reward myself with £1 a day in an attempt to inspire myself to keep at it! 

(Image taken from Google) 

Wish me luck!! 

2015: Setting Manageable Goals

Firstly - Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an amazing night whatever it may have consisted of.

I'm really not a big resolution maker, mostly because I'm not a big resolution keeper! So this year I've decided to try and keep things simple and rather than give myself a list of criteria to adhere to, (which will only add more pressure to my everyday life than there already is) I decided to instead imagine how I'd like to be feeling this time next year, and where I'd like to be.

Fitness - now this is a horrible cliche and one I vowed I would never make, but this year I've decided to try and keep fitter. I'm not a complete couch potato, but not far off. I have good intentions but then I get home from work and go into wind down mode, and then that's me for the rest of the evening and I feel totally un-productive. So I've downloaded an app called 'Couch-to-5K' from the App Store which claims to help you work out in small manageable chunks over a set period of time. This sounds ideal to me as I can't think of much worse than running for miles outside in this cold, rainy weather when I could be on the sofa in my onesie. My end goal is to be able to complete a 5K run by March (9 week programme) as that would feel like I'd properly challenged myself for once, rather than spending yet another year in my (admittedly comfy) bubble.

^^ The above photo is now my phone wallpaper and is serving as my motivation!

Finances - I'm terrible with money. I rarely make big extravagant purchases (well apart from holidays) but I fritter away small amounts on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Which really starts to mount up! So I'm going to try and keep a lid on some of my spending this year, while still allowing myself some treats, because frankly life would be boring if we never treated ourselves. Ben and I are hoping to move in together so I guess I need to learn to budget properly.

Putting Myself First - now that sounds selfish, but it really isn't supposed to. One of my worst faults is putting absolutely every man and his dog first, at the detriment of my own needs usually. So I've decided to make a stand, and learn how to say NO - even though it seems scary! I love my friends dearly but they are like a whirlwind of drama and energy all the time, and trying to juggle that with a full time stressful job, hold down a relationship, see my family plenty AND have a hectic social life is getting too much and I'm starting to burn out. I pack my schedule full so I have next to no time to myself as I hate to let people down, but no more! I'm going to start giving myself plenty of time to wind down and regroup, get more sleep and look after myself better, and go from there. 

This will definitely be the most challenging of the 3 goals for me, but I'm positive I can take a step in the right direction when it comes to making my life a little easier, and my purse a little fuller. 

What goals/resolutions do you have lined up?