A Wander Through My Week | 4 of 52

I've kept up this feature for 4 whole weeks now. FOUR. How impressive is that? (Not every, but it is for me. The little achievements make me smile.)

But where has the week gone? I can't believe that I'm writing another update. In fact, the whole of January has flown by. If we're not careful, we'll blink and it'll be Christmas again. 

22.01.2016

Let's pretend for a moment that I took this photo on Friday and not Saturday *coughs* 

Sometime last week, Hotel Chocolat mentioned on teh Instagram about their sale and their "surprise selection boxes", so naturally I had to have a look on the website and I may of accidentally clicked "buy". All this cost £12.00! What fool turns down a bargain like that?? So far I've tried the Coconut Baby Truffles and the Orange & Almond slab and they are both very nice and certainly live up to Hotel Chocolat standards.

23.01.2016

*sighs* I miss Guernsey. Their annual brochures arrived in the post and they made my heart ache. I'm definitely going again at the end of June for two weeks but hopefully *crosses fingers* I may go for a week sometime with a friend.

24.01.2016

This is what happens when you go to Waitrose and there is Red Velvet Cake reduced to 99p per slice. I blimmin' love Red Velvet Cake. It has got to be in my top 10 cakes of all time. I just wish that more places sold it. Actually, I don't because the temptation would be too much.

25.01.2016

Arrived home from work this evening to catch the end of a Sport Relief advert on BBC1 and I immediately went online to see where my nearest event was and lo and behold, there is one being held in Bath! This inspired me to text Keelin and get her on my side and we're now going to be doing a 6 mile walk because, you know, we want to challenge ourselves. 

I hate most exercise but I could easily walk for miles, so to do it for charity, it's even better. 

You can sponsor me here. Please. I'll love you forever if you do.

26.01.2016

Woke up this morning with a sore throat. EURGH. WHO BREATHED ON ME??!! I'm not surprised I got ill though as at work, you can either be in Siberian conditions or in the locker room where the heating is on full blast so it's like the tropics. Add to that the weird fluctuating temperates outside that the UK is currently experiencing, it doesn't bode well for my health.

Anyhoo, Lemsip got me through the following night of sleep. YAY.

27.01.2016

I get such a thrill opening up new pots of things. Just look at how smooth and clean the top is! Shame it can't stay like that always. [You can read my review of this in the post below.]

28.01.2016

The filters I used on this has given it a kinda Lomo and vintagey look. I likey. 

Went shopping to a shopping mall in Bristol with Keelin today and I was stood in this spot for almost a whole hour because sodding traffic made our bus home stupidly late! We went to catch the bus at 4pm and I didn't walk in the door until gone 7pm!!! What made it worse is that it was cold and windy and everyone was tired from a day of buying all the things so we weren't best pleased to have wasted an hour of our lives waiting and then waiting some more.

That's the end of this week's wander. And this months. WOW. I hope you are enjoying them so far. I know I am, even if it's because it will be interesting to re-read them all at the end of the year.

Love you lots jelly-tots!

xx

Skincare Favourite of 2015 | Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Balm

HELLO THERE MY LITTLE DAFFODILS! 

Yes, I know. January is almost over, so why has it taken me so long to write this? Because I only thought of it last week, that's why. 

I bought my first pot back in June as I knew it was a favourite amongst beauty bloggers and I wanted to see what the all hype was about. I wish I had purchased this magical pot of wonderous things earlier because OH.EM.GEE, this stuff is amazing!

At £38.00/100ml, it's not exactly budget friendly but it does come with a very handy cleansing cloth and it lasts for blimmin' ages. I'm currently on my third pot and I think I've got a couple more uses out of it before I need to re-buy. Also, I don't really mind spending the extra pennies on it as my motto is "you've only got the one skin, so it's worth your while to take care of it!" 

The reason why I've picked this as my 'Skincare Favourite of 2015' is because this:

1. It has cleared my skin up completely. Any spots I get now - especially the ones I get around TOTM - look less angry and red. 
2. It dissolves all your makeup. I do mean ALL. Some face cleansers claim to be good at removing make-up but you will still find a pesky bit of mascara lingering on your lashes. But not this one! I give it a good little massage into my eyes (don't worry - it's really gentle so there'll be no stinging) and then just wipe it off with the cloth. And it all comes off. 
3. A little goes a long way. Just put a small dollop into the palm of your hand, add a teeny bit of water and then rub onto your face. If I'm wearing a face of make-up, I will use a slightly bit more. I've discovered that if you use too much, it's too gunky when removed.

I've decided that 2016 is going to be the year when I'm going to up my skincare game even more. Lately I've become a bit obsessed with Pixi and I've started following the skincare blogger/guru Caroline Hirons for inspiration and general tips and tricks.

Oh, if you want to try the cleansing balm for yourself, you can find it in in M&S.

Toodle-pip!

xx

9 Ways To Survive the Winter Blues

I think we can all agree that January is possibly the dullest and worst month of the year. There are no festivities to look forward to (Christmas seems like a distant memory), the days are short and no-one has any money to spend because of buying all the food and presents during the previous months. 

So it's no surprise that we all get really "URRRRG" around this time of year. Did you know that the 3rd Monday in January has been named 'Blue Monday' as it's the "most depressing day of the year"? Well. That really cheers things up. 

The past few years, I have really suffered from the "blues". I didn't have the energy or the inclination to do anything at all. This year however, something has changed. I don't know what, but it has. Maybe I'm refusing to let it get to me this time. 

There are a few things that I think have helped me and I thought I'd shared them with you today. Spread a little love and joy and all that jazz.

1. Eat copious amounts of cake whilst drinking a huuuuge mug of your favourite hot beverage.
2. Invest in a daylight bulb. Best investment I ever made. I bought mine back in May, so I'm only feeling the benefits of it now. You can buy one here from Amazon and it costs £6.49.
3. Spend quality time with a small child. Even if it's just chilling on the sofa with them. Baby/toddler cuddles are the best. 
4. Binge watch your favourite TV show/Youtubers.
5. Put on a DVD of a stand-up comedian who makes you laugh until your belly hurts. My go to is Michael McIntyre. LOVE HIM!
6. Spend the entire day reading under a blanket or in a duvet cocoon. 
7. Take a long hot bubble bath until you end up looking like this:

not accurate representation obvs. unless you are a prune. 

include this into a pamper evening and you will be guaranteed to feel better.

   

     8. Get some fresh air. Even if it's the coldest day ever. Wrap up nice and snug and take a mini-walk.

     9. Have a Disney movie marathon. Need I say more? Don't forget to sing along!

What never fails to cure your blues?

See you all again soon,

xx

A Wander Through My Week | 3 of 52

Apologies for no other posts this week. I really had meant to write one - actually I've got one drafted - but I've had one of those weeks where I've been too exhausted to do anything other than vegetate in the evenings. Do you ever get like that? 

I feel fully refreshed now though as I think I slept for at least 10 hours last night. I obviously needed it!

And for once, I'm not writing this whilst watching rugby on the TV. Maybe this is a good thing as Bath have lost both their last two matches so if I'm not typing away at the same time, we will win today? 

15.01.2016

Today I needed cake and cake is what I got. I wish I could say that I made them but sadly they were bought from good ol' Sainsburys. And they were delicious.

16.01.2016

I'm not entirely sure how I ended up with 4 lipsticks in my work bag. Especially as I rarely wear them and when I do, I get told I look "foxy" (by a female manager!). *voms*

17.01.2016

How I spent my evening after a busy day at work: 

in a duvet cocoon catching up on the Saccone-Jolys. 

18.01.2016

Spent the day with Keelin and her two monkeys in Bristol and my bus home was a double-decker! I'm like an overgrown child when it comes to sitting upstairs on a bus. It was a shame that the very front seats were taken, otherwise I would've sat there and pretended that I was driving....

19.01.2016

I love Winter mornings when the sky is bluer than blue and it's cloud-free. If anything, it makes a change from the gray and damp days we've been experiencing lately. No snow in Bath yet though! Boo. 

20.01.2016

Do you remember me last week talking about the sale bargains that I bought? This was one of them. I had a proper flick through it and I can't wait to do some baking. One of the recipes that I'm longing to try is brownies, I've never yet been successful in baking them - they never seem to set for me so I end up with chocolate flavoured gloop- so I hope the Primrose Bakery recipe works for me!

21.01.2016

Tonight at Guides, they started their 'Chocolate Badge' and one thing they had to do was Hot Chocolate Tasting, so therefore, I gave myself the very important job of overseeing that! 

As I've got nothing planned for the weekend (except sleeping lots), I hope to spend the time writing blog posts. Or at least finish the one that I've half written!

See you soon!

xx

A Wander Through My Week | 2 of 52

I'm writing this blog whilst watching a Bath Rugby match on the TV. I did the same last week. I detect a theme going on here. 

08.01.2016

Quick shopping trip after work finished at 3.30pm meant that I got to walk past this beauty. There is just something so magical about Bath Abbey when the sun shines on it.

09.01.16

Popped into M&S (in the piddling rain I may add!) to get dinner means that I got to pick up a bag of giant chocolate buttons. yumyumyum. Also, why do hands look really weird when you photograph them from this angle? The more I look at it the odder it gets.

10.01.16

BLOGGING TIME! Today I wrote my Lush Haul #2 and I was extremely chuffed about the flat-lay I did for it so I felt the need to take several photos of it's aesthetically-pleasing goodness.

11.01.16

Oh, HAI THERE hair bows! I may be a teensy bit (read: a lot) addicted to buying them at the moment. Although I say this, the hair-grip one at the bottom was a Christmas pressie from a work friendly. The best thing about it is that all three are from my new absolute favourite shop - Tiger (they opened up a new shop in Bath before Christmas and when I found out I could barely contain my glee) - which means they are dirt cheap! 

12.01.16

So, this happened. WHY DO I ALWAYS STRUGGLE TO SLEEP WHEN I NEED TO BE UP AT 4:30am THE NEXT MORNING?? WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY? It's now Saturday and I'm still recovering from less than 6 hours beauty sleep that night.

13.01.16

Wednesday 14th January - also known as the day of the cheese. I finished work at 2.30pm today and I was totally craving cheese on toast (^^ this ^^), but little did I know that my mother was planning a buffet-style dinner that night to "use up bits", and this included leftover camembert and brie. I obviously wasn't forced into eating them but, hey! It's cheese! I'd be silly not to eat it.

14.01.16

Day out in town with my favourites today! This was taken in the Parade Gardens where we had a nippy and blowy picnic and it's another view of Bath Abbey. I also got a couple of sale bargains too which should hopefully be on here soon - I just need a moment where I can take photos of them and because of work and general sleepiness, I haven't had a chance. But soon. I pwomise. 

And that wraps up Week Two.  See you all again soon and have a FAB third week of 2016! (or whatever's left of it.....5 days?)

Ta-ta my lovelies

xx

LUSH HAUL #2

Before we go on, I blimmin' love a good flatlay. Such flat. Very lay. Much aesthetic. Wow.

I last had a proper Lush haul in May last year. MAY. That's almost eight whole months ago. Jeeeeeeez. That's not because I haven't been in there since (shut it Keelin. I know what you're thinking) but I only really buy one or two items and they don't really count as a "haul".

Last Friday, it was payday and I had a giftcard demanding to be spent, so I popped in after work. At the same time, I thought I may as well stock up on things I use all the time before I run out of them at the most inconvenient moment (because that always happens).

* = products I swear by

From left-right:

Floating Island | Luxury Bath Oil - £2.00

Aqua Marina | Face Cleanser - £6.95/100g*

Elbow Grease | Moisturising Bar - £5.95

The Comforter | Bubble Bar - £4.95

From left-right:

Brightside | Bubble Bar - £4.95

I Love Juicy | Shampoo - £18.50/500g*

Veganese | Conditioner - £14.95/500g*

Yoga Bomb | Bath Bomb - £3.95

A pamper evening is due soon, don't you think?

See you all again soon xx

A Wander Through My Week | 1 of 52

If you read my 2016 Goals post from Sunday (if not, WHY not? *glares*), you will remember one of them was to take more photos. The best idea I came up with, and a way of documenting my year, was to take one photo a day and then blog about them each week. 

Not only will I have memories to look back on, it means that I would be posting on here once a week. WAHEY! *cheers*

01.01.2016

Starting the brand new year as I mean to go on. My bed, snacks, a hot drink and an addictive TV show. I bloody love 'Tattoo Fixers'. I can't believe what stupid tattoos people get and that some meet strangers at a party/down the pub and let them ink them that very night. Nutters.

02.01.2016

JUST LOOK AT THIS CUTE LITTLE FELLOW!! He was one of my Christmas presents from the parents and he is one of those microwavable hotties. I'm not the hugest fan of the smell they give off - sort of a musty lavender - but it's so warm and squishy!

03.01.2016

Eurgh. Night shifts are the work of the devil and 12 hour night shifts are even worse. The only way to survive them is plenty of carbs, sugar and coffee. This is just the top of my bag of goodies. Also included were, blueberry muffins, jelly babies, chocolate moose, leftover pizza from the previous nights Dominos, a bottle of water and a bottle of Diet Coke. You wanna know what the best part of the whole night was (apart from the extra money I got for doing it)? Finishing an hour early!

04.01.2016

Hot chocolate #546 of the Winter. This one was a basic Cadbury's hot chocolate drink, topped with squirty cream, cinnamon and nutmeg. YUMYUMYUM! The highlight of my evenings are these. 

05.01.2016

*sigh* Christmas is almost over for another year. I just don't get those people who take down all their decorations before the New Year. The festive season lasts until Twelfth Night, which is the 6th January. Duh. If I had my way, the tree would be up all year round. I would be like a slightly less mad version of Mr Christmas. In case you hadn't heard of him, he's this man from the UK who actually celebrates Christmas Day every day. I do mean every day and he goes all out. He wraps himself a little pressie, has a turkey dinner, eats other festive food and watches the Queen's Speech at 3pm. If you don't believe me, Google him. 

06.01.2016

...and now it really is the end. I came home from work this evening and took off the baubles and the lights from the living room tree. Booooooo. No more coming home to twinkly lights. No more pine-fresh aroma. *sobs*

07.01.2016

A highly nutritious bowl of Lucky Charms for breakfast? HECK YEAH! 'Twas the perfect start to an almost perfect day of work. I was on my own for the whole day on my department and that's the way I like it. I can work at my own pace and do what I want (within reason of course - I don't run go wild when left alone!).

I'm so very glad that B&M Stores sell boxes of this at a reasonable price. I'm slightly addicted, as I am to pretty much most of American snack food!

Saving Money in 2016 | The Penny Challenge

This is such a FAB idea! Keelin texted me it (on Jan 2nd...I think!) and I was onto it that very night!
I am putting it all into a jar and my plan is to empty it out and pay it into the bank when it gets full.

But I'm not stopping there. Last night when I was having a wash (my best ideas come to me in the bathroom), a spark ignited in my brain that on the last day of each month, I will empty out all the shrapnel in my purse, add it up and then pop it into the jar.

In theory, this is great but when it gets to late October/early November (or whenever we hit 300/366 days - it's been a long day and I can't brain well to do the maths), it will be £3.00 plus per day and the thought of that makes me want to cry but I shall persevere. 

So my dear readers, you are joining me on this journey. Hopefully (I won't promise anything. You know me and my irregular posts...) I'll report back each month with my progress.

If Keelin and I can do it - so can you!

Hugs and kisses,
Clarey xx

Goals for 2016

Why...hello there everyone! I hope you are all fine and dandy. Personally, I currently have a slight headache and I have to be in work at 4pm for a 12 hr night-shift. YAY!!

So. 2016 Goals. Note I'm calling them goals, not "resolutions" because resolutions are something I always make but never keep, so I'm hoping by calling them "goals' I may stand a chance.

1. Drink more water.
2. Save money - I actually have a plan for this and there will be a post about it soon.
3. Worry less about what people think about me - by which I mean, actually maybe tell people I know about my blog. I don't know, it's a big step to make!
4. Have at least one screen-free day a month - this means no computer, IPad, phone or tv for the whole day. 
5. Find time to read - this links in with above.
6. Travel more.
7. Get better at photography/take more photos - in fact, something exciting (well, exciting for me!) will be coming soon here relating to this.

I like the fact that I made seven goals. Seven is a nice, achievable number. 

Did you make any goals for this year? 

See you soon xx

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ME TO YOU

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

to all my followers (love you all) and to anyone who reads this (love you too)

See you all again soon 

xx