Category Archives: life

Purrfectly Purrfect(Box)

30th August 2016
It’s been a little while since Mae and I last received a Purrfect Box and I was suprised to see they’ve had a bit of a make over since April. The new blue box looks great and from the second it arrived Mae couldn’t wait to get stuck in!
For those that don’t yet know the Purrfect Box is a monthly subscription which costs £19.90 a month with options to subscribe for longer periods of time which will reduce the monthly cost slightly. The contents of the box are guaranteed to be worth at least £30 with 4-6 premium products inside so it’s a pretty sweet deal, especially as each box is catered to your feline’s needs and preferences. Let me know if you decide to treat your feline friend to a box. We’ve had a few of these boxes now and are yet to receive one that hasn’t been well worth the money and Mae has amassed a huge collection of favourite toys- most memorably a dolphin that we frequently find in the bath.
The latest box certainly didn’t let us down on the toy front and Mae wore herself out in the process of taking these photos…I later found her curled up on her cushion with the red chasing toy wrapped possessively around her paws- she’s a character, that’s for sure!

Also included in the box was a cooling food bowl which I think is aimed more at dogs but has proven brilliant during this latest patch of decent weather. Mae’s food bowl is situated in the conservatory which does get quite hot when the sun is out. This bowl, after a few hours in the fridge or freezer will keep your pet’s food cool for a good 4-6 hours meaning they can graze as they please without the smell (and I imagine taste) of overheated wet food!

Unusually for her Mae also loved the treats in this box- the chicken liver “pet munchies” are her new favourite thing, she’s ignoring her beloved dreamies in favour of these and she will be sorely disappointed when she has munched her way through the bag! The squeezy pudding treat she isn’t so fond of but hasn’t totally rejected so I’d class that as a win as well.

I think this is probably one of the best all-rounder Purrfect boxes we have recieved and I am delighted to be able to offer all of my blog readers a fantastic £5 discount if you choose to sign up. Simply enter the code ukb1xlvr at the checkout.

Let me know if you sign up and what your feline friend thinks!

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Posted in cats, life, Mae, review

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Insta-life lately

24th August 2016
As ever I’m so behind with what used to be a monthly blog post. In fairness life has been a little bit topsy-turvy over the last few weeks as I’ve moved back in with my parents for the for-seeable and I’ve had some big decisions to make in terms of my health, recovery and future. Everything is going to work out for the best though and I’m keeping positive…so here is a taster of some of the random things I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of months. You can follow me on instagram to see even more, I’m always looking for new people to spy on (which makes me sound a lot creepier than I really am!)
I baked cat shaped shortbread!
I’m a bit obsessed with enamel pins lately and couldn’t resist this little chap. Maturity game strong.
Ice cream chewits are back! This made my year!
Adulting hard.
This was such a good read, I’ve since devoured a couple more of his books and really rate them.
Chickpea obsessive.
Stole a cat tee from Mum.
New Nakd bars…another expensive snack addiction!
A bit of Mum & Daughter time.
Summer fruit is my favourite.
Standard Mae.
Ordered the cutest retro mirror from Etsy!
Retro snacking in the sunshine.
My constant companion lately.
Clearly re-living my youth at the moment.
Another retro revival in the form of MAC’s goodluck trolls collection.
Grumpy cat PJs from Primark!
Little creep.
Apparently I’m a Grumpy Cat Groupie
More pins. More maturity.
I have no words for this one.
Got some new ink.
Girl after my own heart.
Let me know if you’d like any more information about any of the photos, you can click on them to view full sized and hover over them to see my captioning skills.

Feel free to leave links to your life lately posts in the comments. I’m proper nosy so will definitely check them out!

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Posted in life, life stuff

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Ankle Boots for Summer with JD Williams

15th August 2016
Once again rather a lot of time has passed between outfit posts, I’m not sure anyone is actually missing them but I have missed doing them and now I have found myself living permanently back with my parents (well, for the for-seeable at least) I will probably get more chance to start snapping what I wear again. This Summer has been an absolute nightmare in terms of deciding what to wear- from heatwaves to torrential rain over the course of a few days it’s been tough to get any kind of consistency or theme going on or to plan ahead. I guess that’s the beauty of living in England though, it certainly knows how to keep us on our toes!

Top c/o George at Asda | Skirt: Pull and Bear | Boots c/o JD Williams

I seem to have skipped sandals almost entirely this year, opting instead for a mix of trainers and my ever faithful ankle boots. JD Williams recently asked me if I’d like to pick out a pair of ankle boots from their website and show how I would wear them for Summer and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to show the kind of things I’ve been choosing to wear lately.

The skirt I’m wearing was an absolute bargain at £5.99 in the Pull and Bear sale. I had only popped in to town the other week to keep myself busy when faced with a long day alone and I’m really glad I did! It’s quite a lightweight denim so perfect to wear now but it will also layer up nicely with tights for the colder months ahead. I’ve always loved the combination of denim skirts and ankle boots and I think the tan leather of these JD Williams pair goes perfectly with the cut and colour of this skirt.

The top is actually meant to be a bardot neckline but after trying and failing numerous times to get along with them I gave up and popped it firmly back on my shoulders. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but I still really like how this adds a bright and breezy component to the outfit, although typically a jacket also made an appearance later in the day.

Ankle boots in my eyes are a year round essential as they go with everything from knitwear to a summery floral frock. This is how I justify having such a large collection of ankle boots to myself anyway, and that fact I have at least another 5 pairs on my wish list…well, there IS nothing worse than cold feet no matter what time of year right?

How do you wear ankle boots in the summer? Or are they a seasonal shoe in your eyes?

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Posted in life, life stuff, outfits, shoes, shopping

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Getting Festival Ready with Essence

30th July 2016
I might not be heading off to any festivals this year, but having been to a few in the past alongside several camping trips I felt quite equipped to take on the challenge of creating a long lasting festival makeup look with the help of Essence. The folks at Essence kindly sent over a bundle of their products, asking bloggers to use them to create a water and smudge proof look to take you from dawn to dusk…
I personally don’t like to wear heavy makeup at a festival- I’m not one for glitter and face paint because after a long day I can never be bothered to remove it and my tent ends up looking like a fairy exploded the next morning. With this in mind I opted for a fairly low maintenance, speedy look which still had some bright and fun elements to it.
I used the eye crayon as an eye makeup base negating a need for primer too- it’s such a pretty peachy/gold colour and unlike some crayons I’ve used in the past doesn’t crease or wear off over the course of the day. I added some silver eyeshadow on top of this for a subtle bit of sparkle and used the dark brown eyeshadow to fill in my brows before adding in turquoise liner to my top eyelids and silver in the corner of my eyes to brighten them up. All of these lasted the duration of the day without any smudges or streaks! The eyeshadows are £1, the crayon £2.80 and the eyeliners are £1.50 so not going to break the bank if you want to experiment with bright and bold colours.I was actually really impressed with the mascara. I’m not a fan of waterproof mascaras in general as I find they can be drying on my lashes. This one by essence isn’t like that at all and I loved it’s petite size and the effect it had on my mink lashes after just two coats. A complete bargain at only £2!

Skin wise I didn’t actually test the foundation as the shade was far too dark for me (being the English Rose that I am) but if it’s anything like previous essence foundations I’ve tried then it will live up to it’s long lasting hype. The lipliner and lipstick lasted a full six hours on me which is pretty good given that I’m constantly drinking a cup of something and had lunch and snacks in that time as well. The lipsticks are very reasonable at £2.30 each…I have several from essence and they’ve all impressed me.

Whilst I’m here I thought I’d throw in a bonus couple of tips if you are heading to a festival for the first time this year…

1. Don’t forget a mirror! I did this the first time I ever went and ended up begging a compact off of a friend which was interesting to do a full face in! Even if there are mirrors in the toilets you really don’t want to be hanging round in those longer than necessary!

2. Face wipes are you friend. A quick and easy way to freshen up during the day and to take makeup off a night. Not ideal as a long term solution but perfect for a weekend in a field!

3. Pack hard workers. Unless you’re taking a gazebo to sleep in space will be limited. 2 in 1 products and travel sizes are your best friends, as are products that don’t require an army of brushes to apply.

4. Relax. Festivals are all about having fun, you really don’t need to pack your full contour kit and high end foundation…no one will be looking at your face and by the time it’s rained for six hours straight and you’re covered in mud no one will see your makeup anyway!

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Products in this post gifted to me by essence.

Posted in beauty, life, make up, review

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Throwing The Perfect Baby Shower*

29th July 2016

I’ll preface things by saying this post isn’t some sideways means of announcing that I’m expecting, but I am at that age (29, eek) where a lot of my friends are doing awfully grown up things like getting married, buying houses and having babies! Although it’s hard to imagine any of these things happening for me in my immediate future it is an exciting time and gets my brain whirring at times.

Baby showers are a fairly new “thing” in the UK and for a long time I wasn’t really sure on what I made of them. On one hand they can seem grabby or an extravagance but on the other hand I think it’s really nice way to get together with the expectant mum and share a bit of social time before the little one arrives. It also doesn’t have to cost the earth, and on that train of thought I’ve popped together this post with my ideas on how a low-key but lovely baby shower could be done.

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1. Planning: Getting everyone together can be tricky, I see less of my friends now than ever before due to the demands of every day life so start by throwing a few dates around to see when most people will be able to attend. A group e-mail should do the job. When it comes to the invites make sure you include key details like if there will be a theme or if you’d like guests to contribute food or drinks (a great way to take pressure off the planner!).
2. It doesn’t need to be expensive: Decorations can be fun and easy to make and cost next to nothing. Seek out inspiration from sites like Pinterest or from the plethora of blogs out there and raid your local discount shop for supplies! Food doesn’t have to be anything fancy, I highly doubt anyone will be expecting a sit down meal. A little buffet of party food and snacks, perhaps some home made cake for dessert should be sufficient and guests could all bring a little something, or a selection of soft drinks with them as a contribution. If you’re feeling adventurous a “mock-tail” bar could be fun!
3. Gift Wisely: As tempting as it is to go out and buy ALL the cute baby clothes ever when you find out a friend is expecting try to reign it in! The new mums I know have been inundated with things that baby will soon grow out of or end up with tonnes of bibs and socks (although I also know that you probably can’t ever have too many of those!). Consider a group gift, something practical like a footmuff for the buggy or speak to the mum to be and see if there is anything she really needs, or really wants but isn’t essential like a really pretty changing bag.
And that’s about as far as my current inspiration runs. I think I shall be referring back to this post in the months and years to come so if you have any tips and advice, or have had a baby shower I’d love to know what you’ve found worked best for you.

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Posted in life, life stuff

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