Lifestyle - My Highlights Of 2013 ♥

You could say this year has been a mixture of disappointment and but definitely more excitement, and without a doubt its been a bit of a whirlwind with me feeling all sorts of emotions but I survived the year and I will be ending it on a high spending it with some of the people who have made it more worthwhile than ever and I absolutely can not wait to welcome 2014 with open arms.

  Getting Married.

I had been with Daz over 7 years when we met a teenagers at 17 and despite up and downs and all the things that come with building a relationship, we decided to make that commitment of spending our lives together forever, we got married on the 24th September in front of close family and friends in Cyprus and it was truly one of the most happiest days off my life, I could not stop smiling the whole day.
You can read all about my wedding day - link -
I can't wait to celebrate our first wedding anniversary in 2014


Our Holiday To Cyprus

Of course we got married here but we also spent 2 weeks here with family and friends making unforgettable memories, it was one of the best holidays I have had and I can't wait to go back, we stayed at Nissi Beach you can read my all about my holiday - link - Many days were spent by this pool and beach and we did a few trips including a boat trip along the coast and a red bus tour where I learnt a few things.

Cyprus will always hold a special place in my heart and I really wish we could go back next year if we weren't saving for our own house - but you never know.

My Hen Party

I loved this night so much and we literally partied for 8 hours when we went out we were having that much fun, you only get married once - well I hope so.
All the girls had such a good night and it meant so much to me that I got to spend it with the people who meant most to me,
They all put the effort in and made all the stops to make sure I had an a amazing time.
You can read more about that night - link -


Nights With My Girls

I feel lucky to finally have a bunch of lovely girls in my life, I had to make a few decisions this year when it came to a few friendships and I'm glad I did the right thing as its made more room for other friendships to grow and I couldn't know a nicer bunch of girls.
We have done lots of fun days/nights out this year - here's to plenty more in 2014 - I love you girls.


Summer 2013

I really enjoyed Summer this year and got to enjoy plenty of the sunshine we had and had many days out, although I didn't get to enjoy it much at weekends because I was working at Jane Norman every Saturday.
We did get to celebrate mine and Daz's 7 year anniversary - we found matching coke bottles that day and thought it would be fitting to put them together to mark our 7 years on the spot we used to meet at every weekend.
I spent my 25th Birthday at the beach in Formby with a few friends and my fiance, even though the sun hardly kept his head out the clouds for long it was still a fun day.
I also discovered the best burger place in Manchester called Almost Famous.
I  definitely can't wait for Summer 2014


Concerts/Meeting Inspirational People

This was the year I got me meet Andrew McMahon when he did his solo tour at The Ruby Lounge, I was a huge fan of his band Jacks Mannequin since seeing them first play in One Tree Hill and went on to see them twice in Manchester, hes a pretty inspirational man and he is so nice.

I also got me meet my favorite Author - bottom right pic - when she did a book signing in Manchester at Waterstones when me and Rachel Crawford went, her books are impossible to put down and she makes me want to write, I can't wait to read her new releases in 2014.

2013 was also the year where I got to see Bruno Mars live In November and also Jimmy Eat World in September and I relived my teenage years at Blink 182.

2014 will see plenty of new concerts including Lee Evans and Mcbusted, Maroon 5, Jack Whitehall, Sarah Millican.

Spending More Time With My Blogger Girlys

I am glad I joined the world of blogging otherwise I would not of met these beauties who have grown to become closer friends of mine.
We have seen each other more this year than last and this year was also the year I helped Rachel and Caroline organize the Sheffield Blog Meet Up which meant meeting new bloggers and new faces.
I hope to keep writing on here in 2014 and hopefully make more memories with these girls.

This year has been full of good memories and ones I do no regret as you shouldn't have any regrets.
I'm hoping 2014 will bring better things and more good luck.

Happy New Year x x x

Lifestyle - A Day At The Nottingham Christmas Markets & A Few Purchases ♥

On the 7th December me and my girly's Rachel from Through These Brown Eyes all took a trip down to Nottingham, I had been here just two weeks before to go and see Bruno Mars so I took the two hour journey down after a bit of a nightmare morning, my train to Manchester was cancelled and the next one I got gave me just 2 minutes to get on the train to Nottingham in time, when I was at long last on the train the ticket lady came round and I found out I had bought the wrong tickets so lucky me had to buy new one's, you can say my morning didn't go with a bang, but that's my life and the bad luck it attracts all the time, but its not all bad, there are times when life well and truly does surprise me with something good happening.

We all met up to actually swap Christmas presents, I was short of one as I'm still waiting 3 weeks later for it, hopefully it comes in time for Friday if not, well I will raise hell.

We had a walk round the Nottingham Christmas markets and it was so festive with all the Christmas music and the smells of all different kinds of food.

We stopped for Mulled Wine for a catch up and when we got to the bar it resulted in me thinking the guy behind the bar had real elf ears.

I hadn't even had anything to drink either.

We had the traditional Christmas markets hot dogs, I had a salted pork barm as I'd already had a hot dog earlier in the week at the Markets in Manchester.

After lots of hustle and bustle we decided we needed to sit down before our legs dropped off, and settled in a pancake shop where I think we stayed a little too long after we had a good old gossip.

It wasn't long before we were in the shop next door which was calling our name, it resulted in us all buying the same tartan dress and me buying a "Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal Jumper" which I later discovered read "Merry Christamas Ya Filthy Animal" you can imagine how annoying that was and its been sent back and I have had to pay for the postage too, but I suppose £2.60 is better than losing out on £10.00 altogether on a Christmas jumper that wasn't spelt right.

Things happened in three's that day.

It was still a really good day and I enjoyed catching up and having some girl time, we even rode the carousel at the end which was fun, you'd never guess I was 25 would you?

These top gifts are what I bought, Christmas has well and truly broke me this year so I didn't buy a lot, this plaque was bought for my grandad, when he gets it, he will understand it, this was only £3.50 off the Christmas Markets.

The other plaque was bought for only £5.99 and it fits perfectly in our little home because our cat is our baby, this was also off the Christmas Markets.

The two items below are what I bought, I really wasn't flashing the cash that day but I'm a little mad about tartan and plaid prints at the moment so I couldn't say no, its a shame about the Christmas Jumper though.

| Tartan Dress - £10.00 | Plaid Jumper - £10.00 |

Have you visited the Nottingham Xmas markets or your local Xmas markets this year??

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Miners: Fresh Faced Powder ♥

* Miners Fresh Faced Powder - £3.99

Powder is a must in my make up bag when I apply my make up, I have the most annoying skin that turns shiny after like an hour so I have tried and tested countless powders, I did blog about the 17 Miracle Matte Pressed Powder  - link - back in April which is also a favorite product of mine.

I was sent these powders in three different shades from left to right - Translucent Ivory - Soft Sand - Warm Honey, the Soft Sand was perfect for my skin tone and I honestly can't tell you how fab these have been for my skin.

They are from Miners Fresh Skin range which also features the Fresh Faced Foundation I blogged about - link -

If you like your make up matte like me, then these are perfect, you sweep these powders over your face after applying foundation for a fresh look and they are absolutely brilliant when it comes to blending in your make up to give you an overall fresh faced healthy look.

The powder in these little compacts give you just the right amount on your powder brush, I always find with the Rimmel brands I have to keep sweeping my brush over and over to get an even amount on my brush before applying it to my face.

I rarely ever spend over £4.99 on a powder because I believe the quality of a product is more than just a name.

These are only £3.99 and I have been using mine for well over a month, powders normally last me up to two months or so and I love them - the only thing I would change about these would be that I'd add a mirror for touch ups on the go.

Have you seen these before or tried them?

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Hair Treats For Hair Straighter Addicts ♥

I wanted to introduce you to a little bit of heaven in my life which I bought a few months ago from my local home bargains store, here, 

It was only £1.99 and they sold out quick because they were gone the next day when I thought I'd go back in and stock up.

I straighten my hair every two days, it used to be every day but my hairs at that length now where sometimes bed hair looks better than when its poker straight.

However I avoid getting my hair cut often otherwise it will never grow, but this isn't the best idea for everyone though as everyone's hair is different.

This little savior in a pot is my solution to inject some TLC into your hair once a week, you can use it each time you wash your hair if you think your hair needs it and you suffer with a lot of breakages when straightening or styling.

I try to use this treatment at the end of every week, the texture is cream like and smells lovely like all Lee Stafford products.

You are meant to scoop out the equivalent of an egg size but you may have quite long hair so use more if you need to on your ends.

Leave it on for about 5 minutes before rinsing off and applying your own conditioner as normal before finishing.

The secret to this treatment is the ingredient Pathenol, this is what gives you your glossy locks with added elasticity to make your hair stronger and  more moisturised, the silk extract also helps to prevent breakages and split ends.

I have been using this treatment for a few months myself each week on my hair and I have noticed I loose a lot less hair when washing or blow drying and it has really helped make a difference, their heat protection spray is also a favorite of mine and I found using the hair growth treatment when my hair was shorter really helped to speed up my hair growth. I always rate Lee Stafford as my number one hair care go to brand, 

Have you used this hair treatment before or anything else in the Poker Straight Range?

What did you think of it?

OOTD - Peplum Dresses, Nando's & Date Night ♥

* White & Grey Peplum Dress - Pussycat London 

Hi lovelies, I can't believe its 10 days till Christmas, I am so excited like I'm sure the rest of you are.

This is an OOTD from a few months ago and I don't know why I didn't put it up sooner, its been lying in my drafts for a few weeks

Me and my Husband went on our first date night out since we got married at the end of October and we grabbed a Nando's for tea before having a few cheeky drinks that night in Manchester, we danced to cheesy 80's music in TV21'S after far to much rose and desperado's, but it was a good night and I had two compliments on this dress that night from two lovely girls, which is always nice to hear - I am forever complimenting girls on there outfits when I'm on the loo's - does anyone else do that?

I have said it other blog outfit posts that I absolutely love peplum style dresses, they flatter my figure perfectly as I hate my hips and this one from Pussycat London is a perfect wardrobe staple for a date night or a few drinks with the girls, grey isn't normally a colour I wear often but I think this dress looks really nice with the added white crochet lace detail, its also made of a stretchy cotton material which is really comfy and there is a concealed zip at the back section too.

I hope you have all had a nice relaxing weekend anyway - today has been spent in my pj's all day.

I had a few of my girls round yesterday night and we ended up getting a Chinese and watching Home Alone 2 at 10.00 o'clock at night, we were chatting that much we didn't even see the film finish and it was after 1.00am before we realized what time it was.

Truly Polished Christmas Tag ♥

The lovely Fay from Truly Polished has tagged me in her very own Christmas post so I thought I would join in and pop a festive post up on my blog.

1. Sign that Christmas is coming?

A sign Christmas is coming for me happens to be when all of the Christmas adverts on television start,

This year my absolute favorite advert was the Bear & The Hare from the John Lewis advert, it was such a clever and lovely story and it really tugged at my heart strings the first time I watched it, not only is the song beautiful but I always look forward to the John Lewis adverts every year.

2. Favourite Christmas song?

Without a doubt - I wish it could be Christmas every day by "Wizzard" its such a classic Christmas song and i'm instantly taken back to my childhood every time I hear it.

3. Favourite Christmas movie?

I am a cheat as I can't pick just one, Home Alone 1 & 2 are my favorites along with the film The Grinch & Elf, not only are they all funny, but they are the sorts of films that I could watch all Christmas long, I make it a tradition to watch at least one of these films every single Christmas.

4. Opening presents... Morning or afternoon?

Definitely morning, me and my husband are the biggest kids and as soon as we wake up we go and sit under our tree in our pyjamas and take it in turns to open our presents,

We have been extremely organized and we all have our presents ready and wrapped under our tree ready to open on Christmas Day.

5. Smoky eyes and sequins for Christmas dinner or tacky jumpers all the way?

Tacky Jumpers, I always do make a bit of effort with my make up but my day is normally spent in front of the television recovering from eating to much Christmas dinner.

I have a Christmas jumper for this year which I bought from Nottingham it was one of them "Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal" one's but I have had to send it back for an exchange because Christmas was spelt wrong, it was spelt Christamas, how I didn't notice it when i bought it from the shop I don't know, and how someone spelt it wrong I will never know.

6. Christmas eve plans?

This year will be spent going out with a few friends and my uncle who's a few years older than me, he's practically my brother, we will be going to a local pub for some food and a few Christmas drinks, but not to many.

7. Favourite Christmas food and drink?

Turkey dinner with all the trimmings every time, mince pies and snowballs and bucks fizz all make my Christmas day the more worthwhile.

8. Favourite Christmas memory?

I think the memories in particular I treasure happen to be all the Christmasas I spent with my mum before she passed away nearly 4 years ago, now I always make sure I spend it with those who I love the most.

9. Who are you spending Christmas with this year?

This year will be my first Christmas with my "Husband" so we will be visiting his parents and my in laws in the morning and then we will be going to my grandma's and grandads in the afternoon for Christmas dinner and to relax and watch all the Christmas television.

I like to keep every year traditional, when me and daz finally have our first house together we will finally host Christmas day at our place.

10. Top of your wish list this year?

The same this which is on my wish list is the same but I won't get it till we have our own place, I really want a Pug, our landlord won't let us have a dog, plus we have quite a small place anyway and I think its just big enough for me, Daz and our kitty cat Jimjam.

11. What's on your plate?

All the traditional Christmas foods, including the one's which are probably bad for you.

12. Must have nail polish for Christmas day?

My favourite nail polish this year has been ORLY in "Star Spangled" I got it free in Cosmopolitan in last months edition and it is a gorgeous glittery red shade, it is such a festive shade, I think I also want to try and have a go at nail art this year and do the "Candy Cane" pattern on my own nails, its so pretty.

13. Favourite Christmassy scent?

My favourite Christmas smells are normally from my Yankee Candles, my favourite Yankee candle this year has been "Christmas Memories" & "Merry Marshmallow" which smell incredible.

14. What is at the top of your tree?

A nice shiny silver star, I know some people love the traditional fairy but for me it is normally something sparkly.

15. Boxing Day?

This year we will be having my in laws and Daz's parents and brother over for the day, they live in Oldham so it will be nice for them to come down to where we live for the day, I used to love boxing day as a child, it was always the day I got to spend playing with all my new presents..

16. Best thing about Christmas?

The best thing about Christmas for me is everything that comes with it, I love it when it snows too but that is normally quite rare in good old Manchester, I love the Christmas films and most of all the times spent with family and giving presents, I love giving presents more than receiving them, the looks of peoples faces is priceless.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and what my plans for this Christmas are,

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year.

Styling Your Hair With Uevo & Creating Up Do's ♥

* Uevo Design Cube 

Like some of you girls, I love wearing my hair up, I have really long hair which can be a nightmare to style so sometimes an up do is always a nice change from my typical hair down style I go with quite often.

 The only downside to up do style's is the little flyaways I get on the front and back sections of my hair that also sometimes frizz because of the weather.

I sometimes use hairspray but I hate that rock hard effect it leaves you with sometimes and its a nightmare trying to brush it out all the time.

A few months ago was given the opportunity to try this styling product out and I've been trailing it for a month or so, and I've actually really enjoyed using it.

The quirky design of this styling wax is unlike anything I have ever seen before and I absolutely love it.

Uevo is available in 10 different colours and offers different holds and styles to suit your hair.
I was given some professional advice about my hair beforehand and was told which product would be suitable for my hair, which I thought was really helpful and it certainly helps to have a second opinion.

My hair does get quite greasy if I put to many products in so I was told the orange cube would be best for my hair type, it is the lightest of the collection and it looked like more of a cream that a wax for me, 

It is perfect for running through finished styles to prevent frizz and set a style while adding a healthy looking shine.

It is a luxurious product too so I think its one of them products you could easily incoperate in your every day styling routine as you don't need to use that much.

The most popular styles I achieved using this product the classic sleek bun.

I used a small amount of this product and ran it over my style to prevent any fly alway hairs sticking up so it didn't look to messy.

The product isn't sticky either, I know when using wax products some you have to wash your hands straight afterwards, but with this it didn't really matter and it smells lush.

The second style I used it for was for my husbands work's do last night at event city, it was quite a fancy event so I went with a classic curled side pony with some back combing and a side sweeping fringe I saw in November 2013's issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine,

I curled all my hair with thick curling tongs from the mid section to the bottom and ran some of this product through my curls to hold them before back combing the top section and pulling it to the side I then used this product on my fringe to keep it looking sleek, before wrapping the ends of my fringe around my ponytail and securing it with kirby grips.

You can see from the photo my fringe has a healthy shine to it from the product, the up do stayed in place all night long, despite the heat and the fairground rides we went on.

Uevo can be bought online here from the Hype Park Hair Shop as they are the only UK suppliers of this product.

I've have never honestly been a huge fan of using anything to on my hair after styling because I always assume it just makes your hair greasy but I think I have officially changed my mind now after trailing this product and I think I'm going to use this more often when styling my hair ever day.

Have you ever used these cubes by Uevo before?

Have a Very Yankee Christmas ♥

If there is anything I love at Christmas its burning festive scents, and getting in the Christmas mood,

Yankee candles I personally think are the best candle brand, I always buy buy a big jar if I particularly love a scent, you will see from my room tour back here that Summer Scoop was my ultimate favourite Summer 2013,

The wax tarts or samplers are the best to buy if you want to try a scent out first or are quite new to Yankee candles and they last a fair while, I always break my wax tarts up into four pieces and burn each for about 4 hours, the stronger scents I can sometimes get another day out of.

The large jars like the ones pictured above aren't the cheapest candles to buy but I think they are worth the money personally , some stores sell them for £19.99 but you can get them for a better price of £17.99 from Scented Candle Shop, the large jars can burn for up to 150 hours sometimes less, that's the equivalent of burning you candle for four hours a day for 37 days,
If the big jars aren't you thing you also have the option of buying the small jars which are £7.59 or the medium jars which are £15.59.

I seem to have gone on Yankee overdrive this month because the day I received these candles my husband treated me to the Yankee Candle Advent calender which I came home too Friday night as a nice surprise - I think he picked up on my addiction and has now commented that we should open our own Yankee Candle Shop (a little exaggerated there)
So I will be happily burning my jars and tea lights every night this month.

Last Christmas a few of my favourite scents were "Red Apple Wreath" and "Christmas Eve."

 This years new favourites have been replaced by *"Christmas Memories" which is a very strong smelling Yankee candle, I can still smell it when I come home two days after burning it for a few hours, it is a mixture of Christmas Spices and Gingerbread Biscuits and is definitely a candle for you if you like strong smells, this is top of my list now as my favourite Christmas scent.

I also love *"Snowflake Cookie", which smells just like biscuits with a hint of sweet icing, perfect for those who have a sweet tooth, personally I don't think it helps my cravings though ooops!

I also purchased Merry Marshmallow last week, my dad bought it me as an early xmas pressie because I kept saying I wanted it, I posted a photo on my instagram page, this smells like vanilla with a hint of creaminess, plus marshmallows happen to be my favourite sweeties.

I do love the design of Yankee Candle Jars and I think they look great accessorised in your home or placed on your window sill, and there is something really cosy about having them on at night when you sit in a dimly lit room with a flickering candle.

All these candles can be bought from the Scented Candle Shop in different shapes and sizes such as wax tarts, candle samplers, tea light sets and the small medium and large jars.

They make the perfect gift for Christmas and Yankee candle gift sets can be purchased too if your stuck on what scent to buy someone - why not surprise them with a few.

My order came a day after placing it which I was excited about, god knows what my poor postman thinks when he has to carry these heavy boxes around in his bag till he gets to my door,
They came extremely well packaged in the box with plenty of bubble wrap which is a must because they are glass.

25% offer on selected fragrances this Christmas as well as each month so even more of an excuse to buy yourself a Christmas scented candle, there is an array to choose from.

The video below shows you what candles Scented Candle Shop have of offer if you love a festive inspired video.

As well as Yankee Candles Scented Candle shop also sell a range of different candle brands, accessories and holders, diffusers and bits and pieces for your home and car.

You can visit them here,

What are your favourite Yankee Candles??