Do More Of What Makes You Happy

I love this quote and as we're nearing the end of January I thought it would a great time to say goodbye to those January blues and hello to all the super fun stuff which we can do in February!!

There seems to be a preconception these days that fun things are expensive things. Shopping, afternoon tea, champagne lunches, pamper days. The list goes on!

Why do we now live in a world where we must fill our time with doing everything to 'fit in' with the crowd? Social media. That's why!

Whilst social media is a great for many reasons, it can also act as a way to prove ourselves within our friendship groups. This shouldn't be the case. Our spare time is all about having fun and as they say, the best things in life are free!

So get out there. Do more of what makes YOU happy! Don't try to fit in with the crowd. After all were all unique and we all have our own lives to lead!

Today I've been reflecting on what makes me happy and what I'll be doing more of this February!

1. Exercise
This doesn't have to mean joining the gym. Take a walk everyday after work/school. Take the stairs rather than the lift. Do some exercises in the ad breaks on TV.
Exercise has been known to release endorphins, making you feel great about yourself. Not to mention it also improves sleep.

2. Pamper nights
We all love a pamper but we don't need to be spending hundreds of pounds on expensive spa days. Why not invite your friends over and ask them to bring 5 beauty products each. Clear a space in your bathroom and set up your own Spa! It's a great way to try new products before your purchase them!

3. Learn something new
Ever wanted to learn a new talent but just not been able to afford the lessons? These days You Tube opens us up to some many opportunities of learning something new. Whether it's a language, a sport or even just learning about another country, it's a great way to keep our brains working! All for free!

4. Bake
I'm such a lover of popping out to the local cafe and ordering a freshly made cake! There is something about homemade cakes which just isn't the same as any you buy in the shops, so why not make you own? I think were all guilty of owing a load of recipe books but never actually using them! So get your apron out and get baking!!!

5. Spend time with people you love
For me, this is the most important. I am at my happiest when I'm surrounded by the people I love. Last week we spent the evening with my family playing the game 'Boggle'. Some people may think this is boring but I actually really enjoyed going back to my childhood and having a giggle!

I hope this has inspired you to think about what makes you happy and start to do more of it!

Let me know what makes you happy!

Love Charlotte x

Lush Sale Haul

Relax and Unwind

Last year I tried to avoid the sales and limit myself to just one sale splurge - LUSH! I loved all of the Christmas Lush products and every week since they launched bought something new from the range. In the end I obviously ran out of weeks and so had a number of bath bits which I still wanted to try.

I had heard that the Lush sale is amazing (they did have some problems with the website on Boxing Day but I have to say their web team are brilliant). All of the products were 50% off which meant that I got double the products for the amount of money I spent!

Some of the items in the photo above were actually presents, so what did I get in the sale?

• Luxury Lush Pud Bath Bomb
• Blue Skies and Fluffy White Clouds Bubble Bar x2
• Drummers Drumming Reusable Bubble Bar
• Christmas Hedgehog Bubble Bar
• Snow Fairy Gift Set

I paid around £24 for these products including postage which I think is a steal. If you missed last years sale then set your alarm for Boxing Day 2015!
My favourite products are the snow fairy shower gel (I had heard that the scent is too much but I think you either love it or hate it - I love it!) and also the Hedgehog (pretty much because he is so cute!).

Lush products are so pretty that I try to display them so they're on show! They also make my bathrooms smell amazing! I keep mine in a plain white bowl which I bought in M&S - It holds around 8 Lush products so is a great size. With the Christmas and Birthday overflow I have also been keeping some of my products in a glass jar- they look really pretty when they catch the sunlight and you can remove the lid to freshen up your rooms!

Hope you enjoyed this post. It's the last Christmassy blog which I will be doing until we get back to the festive season!

If you love lush as much as me and have some lush blog posts then please comment with the links as I love to read them.

Love Charlotte



Birthday Haul

I'm not getting old... I'm getting better

Last week I turned 28 and celebrated getting one year older with a trip to the beach! Typically it rained, so my idea of walking along the beach hand in hand whilst eating fish and chips actually turned into eating chips in the shop and running back to the car in the pouring rain!

When we were finally back in the dry I blew the candles out on my cake and opened some of my presents. You all seemed to love my Christmas haul and so I though I would post a quick Birthday haul too! My birthday is super close to Christmas and so I usually tend to get vouchers and money to spend throughout the year along with some lovely gifts. 

So, in no particular order, here are a couple of pressies I received.

The Sanctuary Shower Gel and Body Creams

I love this set! I tend to go running on my lunch break and so these teeny tiny shower gels and body creams are just a perfect way to relax in the shower before going back to work. At this time of the year Boots usually have the Sanctuary products in the sale - a get time to stock up for the year!

GHD Air

I have been meaning to buy a new hairdryer for a while now as I find the one I use currently takes a long time to dry my hair. To be honest I have no idea what to look for when buying a hairdryer but luckily my Mum did her research and found the GHD Air. I've since watched You Tube reviews of it and I have to say I am really excited to use it! It claims to give you a 'more powerful and efficient blow dry'  whilst giving softer, shiny results and removing frizz. That's a lot for one hairdryer so I will let you know how I get on with this. If you have tried it then let me know.

Tanya Burr Lashes - Everyday Flutter

I am so excited to try these lashes! I used to have really long lashes but I find with stress at work I tend to pull on them throughout the day which causes them to fall out. I think I will save these for a night out or a trip away - an occasion where I need some extra flutter!

Zoella Fix Bar

My friend bought me this as she knows how much I love to watch Zoella! I also received a lot of Lush bath bombs for Christmas and my birthday (I have 21 to get through!). The thing I love about this product is that it comes in a wrapper. This means I can pop it in my bathroom cabinet and save it until I need a relaxing soak without worrying that the product will get damaged.



Lush - Unicorn Horn

I was super excited to open this present! As soon as I saw the packaging I was hoping to find the unicorn horn inside! My friend actually bought this for me when it was first released and so it didn't come with a product label but I could straight away recognise the Lavender scent. This is a bubble bar which means you can break bits off it and use in more than one bath. I will probably get three uses out of this and save it for an occasion where I need a really good nights sleep! 

The White Company Shower Gel Set

This set contains 4 good sized white company products. These will add a little bit of luxury in my bathroom and once I have used them I will probably fill them with cheaper products (we all do that right!!). My favourite scent is the White Lavender. I often find it really hard to switch off at night so Lavender products are a must have for me.

Emma Bridgewater - Notebook and Pen

I have mentioned this many times before but I love making lists! I also love Emma Bridgewater so this little set is perfect for me!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Apologies for the quality of photos here - we have had a super wet and windy weekend so any form of natural light in my house was impossible to find!

Love Charlotte



Dress Like A Celeb - Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton turned 33 yesterday and for those of you who don't know, she is my number one style icon!

To celebrate Kate's birthday, I'm dedicating my weekly 'dress like a celeb' post to her. Ok, so we don't all have royal engagements to attend. Likewise we can't all afford LK Bennet shoes, but Kate's style is actually really affordable.

You'll often see Kate reusing outfits. Her style is classic yet timeless. This makes it easier than ever for us to recreate her royal look (I mean come on.. who doesn't want to wake up looking like a Princess!).
Kate often sticks to neutral colour in her casual looks.Think navy blues, olive greens and beige's. These colours immediately give a smart appearance which is why no matter what Kate wears, she always looks like Royalty.

I have so many favourite Kate outfit's but the outfit I have chosen to recreate is my all time favourite. It's classic, doesn't date and can be recreated at an affordable price.

Bag - Long Champ, Selfridges £45
Top - French Connection £25
Jeans - Topshop, True Blue Joni Jeans £36
Shoes - Dune £35
Watch - New Look £17.99
Ring - Debenhams £22.99

This is such an easy look to recreate and many of us will already have some of the staple pieces in our wardrobes.
I love the colour of these Joni jeans.Joni jeans are great because they're high waisted so they not only pull your tummy in but you can also get away with wearing shorter tops without baring your belly! I'm also really loving this New Look watch, it's only £17.99 but turns an outfit into instant glam.

Let me know if you recreate this Kate look or any others. I couldn't quite end this post without adding some more of my favourite Kate look, so enjoy!

Love Charlotte

 

 

Christmas Haul

Is it still the season to be jolly?

 

In a bid to cling on to the festive season for as long as possible, I thought I would share with you some of my lovely Christmas presents. So grab a mince pie, a glass of your favourite tipple and put your feet up for the next five minutes.

I was really lucky in the Christmas present department this year - perhaps I was extra good throughout the year! Anyway, this is by no means a list of my favourite presents, just those which I've yet to find a safe place for!

Long Champ Bag
This has been on my wish list since the Summer and I have to admit that before this, I hadn't heard of the brand. Luckily my friend introduced me to the wonderful world of Long Champ and the rest as they say is history. At first I was unsure what colour to ask for (it was between black, white or navy). I opted for black as it will not only go with everything but when you have an expensive bag, the last thing you want is to constantly worry if it's getting dirty. For me the black option was an easy answer!

Stella Mccartney Perfume
My favourite fragrance of all time was Stella in Two Peony. Unfortunately they discontinued this a couple of years back but The original Stella is a close match. The top notes of Peony, Rose and Amber make it a really light fresh scent to wear.
The only thing which is a slight negative to this product is the price. I have been able to buy this previously in boots for £35 for 100ml. Stella has recently been relaunched, as has the price tag at £45-£50 for 50ml. In my eyes this is completely worth the money but if you've not tried this perfume before then it's worth testing a couple of times before purchasing to make sure your 100% happy with the scent.

Jo Malone Gift Set
I love Jo Malone - it's never just about buying the perfume, it's about the experience when you visit the shop. As this was a present I didn't think I'd experience the excitement that you do when you work with the Jo Malone team to design the fragrance just for you but I was wrong. My boyfriend bought me this gift as a present and the Jo Malone team had helped him carefully tailor the gift just for me. He chose my favourite scent (English Pear and Freesia) and bought the 30ml perfume, travel candle and bath oil. It was all packaged up as a set, ready for me to pamper myself in the bath. As always with Jo Malone even the gift wrap was scented and the bag finished off with a Christmas bow.

Nars Laguna Bronzer
Something I have been wanting to try for a while and so far I really love this product. I find the colour quite dark so I tend to use this bronzer after I've applied fake tan.
I've only been using this a couple of weeks so can't provide a full product review but will let you know how I get on with it.

White Lilly and Silk Candle
I am a massive candle hoarder (there I said it) so needless to say I got quite a few candles for Christmas this year!
This one is from Berry's and Grey which is my favourite shop in Norwich. They sell gorgeous house bits ranging from candles, fake flowers, fur throws and quirky signs. Basically if you want to make your house a home then this shop must be paid a visit! I love the scent of this candle and the cute tin it comes in. As soon as I opened the tin, the scent filled the room without even having to light the candle. This candle is priced at £10.99 and for those who don't live local, they do post starting from £2.50 I beleive.
If you havn't heard of this shop before then click here to view their lovely stuff!

Emma Bridgewater Diary
I'm a massive Emma Bridgewater fan which you can read all about here.
I spotted this diary in Boots and added it straight into my wish list. Every page has a weekly view on the left hand side and a page of lined paper on the right. Perfect for keeping up to date with blogging routines or a to do list!

Pearl Braclett
One of my favourite presents. This came from Lisa Angel who are again local to Norwich but do have a website if you fancy a sneaky peak! My Mum had this bracelet made for me - It's personalised with the Stirling silver C charm and butterfly. My love for butterflies comes in memory of my amazing Grandad which is what makes this present extra special.
Lisa Angel have a sale on at the moment - to visit them click here.

Vanilla Chai Bath & Body Works Candle
Another candle to add to my collection. I have never tried bath and body works before so when my sister visited America late last year she picked one up for me.
The scent is vanilla and reminds me very much of baking cupcakes - something which my sister and I often do together! Iv had a look online and the shipping cost is reasonable so I maybe tempted to order another!

Well that's Christmas over with for another year. If you have done a similar post then leave the link below - I'd love to see what presents you received this Christmas.

Charlotte X

New Year New You

We're a couple of days into 2015 already and no doubt there's some people out there who have already broken their New Years resolution? Hands up this would usually be me, but this year I have ditched the New Years resolutions for a 2015 bucket list. That's right, a bucket load of stuff which I want to do in 2015.

The reason for this is that there is always a negativity around New Years resolutions. We usually set ourselves unrealistic goals which we spend so much time trying not to break that inevitably we fail at the first hurdle.

Instead of this, my boyfriend (Andrew) and I have made a list of everything we want to do in 2015. Now, if there are two things I love, it's planning and stationary. So this kind of thing is right up my street!

Our bucket list is currently at about 25 things long so rather than tell you everything, I have picked out 10 of my favourites and shared with you below.

1. Eat fish in chips in the paper on the beach
2. Spend the day on a boat on the Norfolk broads
3. Sunday lunch at the Mulberry pub
4. Monthly surprise date night
5. Ice skating at Somerset House
6. Try lobster
7. Walk dogs at a rescue home
8. Visit a new city
9. Visit  Buckingham Palace gardens
10. Complete the colour run

Bucket lists are a great way to get outside and see the world. You don't have to spend loads of money visiting other countries, the best stuff is often on your doorstep!

I hope this has inspired you to do something similar. I'll keep you updated on our bucket list. We're planning on visiting Paris in February so looks like this will be the first to be ticked off our list!

Charlotte X