A weekend at the shops

Hello angels, hope you are all well and warm on this cold Sunday! The weather really seems to have become a lot chillier over the past few days, I find myself running to the car in the morning and whacking the heating on full as soon as possible! Fingers crossed for snow though, love how pretty everything looks covered in glittery white : )

This weekend has been one of shopping for me, yesterday with best friend Clare and today with hubby. I managed to pick up some very nice bits and pieces which always puts me in a great mood! Hubby also picked up some t-shirts in Zara so he is a happy bunny too.

Today I wore my new Vero Moda dress with a simple black cardi from H & M, my black Red Herring Chelsea boots and my Mulberry.

First purchase, chain print skirt from Topshop £28. I spotted this online a couple of days ago and was glad I found it today. I love the Versace inspired chain print and the cute gold buttons down the front. I plan to wear this now with black tights and in the summer with a vest top tucked in.

Heart dress £34.99 from Mango. I am completely in love with the new collection at Mango and picked up this cute dress today. I have noticed heart print on so many items recently and love the look, probably as it looks very similar to polka dot which is another favourite print of mine. The coral coloured belt adds a pretty touch of colour.

Swallow print dress from Primark £13. For anyone who has not been into Primark recently, my advice would be have a look now! The Spring/Summer drop has begun and is full of pretty printed dresses at very good prices. When the prices are this good, is there any excuse to wear the same things time and time again??! No siree! I love the print on this dress but was wary as I was worried it would look a bit sack-like, however it is actually very fitted and looks great with tights and boots.

Floral print dress £13 Primark. Love the gorgeous blue and oversized bloom print, the dress has a black belt as well which I removed as it wouldn't lie flat in the photo! Love the pleated bodice of the dress too.

This dress was reduced to £5 in Primark! I really bought it for work but will probably wear it at the weekend as well. Love the pretty purply wine colour and sleeves.

Basic style tops from Mango, both reduced to £9.90 each. As I wear a lot of skirts, I bought these tops to be tucked in, the navy will go well with the Topshop chain skirt I thought.

I couldn't resist a bit of Lush! Lush have their Valentines collection in now which is very cute indeed, I picked up this Frog Prince bath bomb and the toad stool bubble bar. Both smell divine, can't wait to use them!

Well that's about everything for today, I am chilling now after my busy shopping weekend, looking forward to another busy week at work but guess what... only 2 weeks til half term!! : ) XOXO

Busy December days : )

Hey glitter belles, how is everyone on this chilly Sunday?? I have had the most chilled day ever which I was in dire need of! I have had the busiest week (hence the lack of posts!) so I really needed a relaxing day today!

My week was as busy as ever at work, and my weekend has been nuts too. Thursday night I went to a lovely little salon in Hamstreet for a spray tan and Jessica mani and pedi which was great. Friday night was hubby's work Christmas party which takes place at a Marriott Hotel every year. We had a great night although I did end up a tad tipsy due to the free bar that his company insist on providing for us... still we had great fun and danced the night away, which is the most important thing at a Christmas party! Saturday was my annual school trip to Ypres in Belgium, we spent the day visiting cemetries, war memorials and the afternoon at the Christmas market and chocolate shops of Ypres. A fantastic day all round, the pupils were exceptionally well behaved and made me very proud : ) So that leaves today, I was completely shattered after my busy week so I slept late, then chilled on the sofa with snacks and films! Just fabulous : )

Beautiful Cathedral, twinkly lights and back of the Christmas Market in Ypres, Belgium : )


As promised a couple of blog posts ago, I have recently bought some new goodies that I want to share with you all!

Gorgeous Christmassy Shopping bags!

Silk Ecote dress from Urban Outfitters £25 (was £58). After my successful sale rummage in UO the other day, I decided to have another look when I was at Bluewater the other day. I found this gorgeous silk dress in my size and snapped it up quick! I really like the colours and print, plus the classic style will work for many seasons to come.  Unfortunately, although the dress was available online, it sold out very quickly... you can however buy the same style in a rather nice black and wildflower print and a not-so-nice (in my opinion!) orangey shade with a kinda triangley print... (both these styles still have all sizes available)

Kimchi and Blue Startlet skirt Urban Outfitters £20 (was £40). I liked the cute print on this skirt, and thought it would work well for both work and weekend, with thick tights, boots and a classic piece of knitwear.

Blackberry bath bomb £2.75 Lush. Just because it smelt gorgeous and I do love a bit of Lush pampering!

Cashmilon ruffle scarf from Marks and Spencer £15. This scarf is so warm and cosy and looks great on.

Naughty little treat from Waitrose...

I couldn't resist buying some toffee and banana cupcakes, as well as some festive  Raymond Briggs 'The Snowman' cupcakes! I love the Patisserie at Waitrose, whenever I am shopping I struggle to walk past without giving in... 

Well that's about it lovely followers, I hope everyone is feeling Christmassy now and getting in the Christmas mood! I have pretty much finished my Christmas shopping now, I wrapped all my presents last weekend and I plan to put the tree up next Sunday! Sooo excited for the rest of December, I have so much fun stuff coming up, feeling very lucky and happy right now : ) XOXO

Lush haul

Hello Cinnamon swirls, and happy Sunday to all! I have had a lovely day with hubby, we went shopping for some family Christmas presents and managed to get pretty much everything! I am going to get everything wrapped up now so I can feel super smug and organised! We ate at Cafe Rouge after our successful shopping trip, which was yum as always : )

Today's blog post is about a two of my favourite things: nice relaxing baths and Lush! I don't know about anyone else, but I always prefer to have a bath than a shower, I just love lighting candles, using gorgeous smelling products, and having a lovely long soak! I find baths so relaxing, which is very much needed in my life when I am sooo busy!! Bath time is most relaxing and complete for me when I have some Lush products to use, I really find Lush products hard to beat. I recently added the Lush gingerbread house bubble bar to my Christmas list, but couldn't resist buying it when I was in Lush the other day! I also purchased the Magic Wand bubble bar and a couple of bath bombs, which I haven't tried yet.

Magic Wand Bubble Bar £4.95. I love the lollipop style, the gorgeous neon pink ribbon and jingle bell!

Simply swish the wand under the tap for roughly a minute... mounds of frothy bubbles will pile up instantly!

As you can see, the bath water has turned a gorgeous girly pink colour and there are lots of lovely bubbles!

After one use, the bubble bar looks pretty much the same, I reckon this will  provide me with a fair few more baths making it excellent value for money. I stored the stick upright after use to dry off, ready for its next use.

Gorgeous little gingerbread house bubble bar. I love the cute roof with sprinkles : )

I broke off about a third of the gingerbread house and crumbled it under the tap. The water turned a festive pumpkin orange shade and smelt divine! Again plenty of gorgeous bubbles!

I have been so impressed with both of these products. The snow fairy magic wand is the epitome of femininity, it smells just like candy canes and candyfloss. The gingerbread house smells like sweet gingerbread and cninamon, and is a perfect Christmassy scent. Both produce long lasting bubbles, and the scent lingers on the skin long after the bath is over! I found that they both made my skin really soft as well, which is an added bonus.

Has anyone else tried these products?? I can't wait to try the rest of my Lush haul, and I will definitely be stocking up on more gingerbread houses and magic wands to last me long into the new year!

More soon lovely readers XOXO

How to fill a Christmas Stocking!

Hello dolly mixtures, how are you on this (not so bright) and breezy Tuesday?? I feel like it should be Friday already, I have worked so hard over the past couple of days!! I've been thinking about Christmas (again) so please excuse my Christmas related post if you are a bit bah humbug about the whole thing! ; )

Christmas. Loved by some, loathed by others, I definitely fall into the former category! December has always been a special time of year for me and my absolute favourite month of the year. My birthday falls on the twelfth and of course, Christmas is just around the corner after that. I adore the month of December, and the month or so leading up to December. One by one, the shops fill with festive goodies, the television adverts assume their Christmas character, local high streets become awash with twinkling Christmas lights and wish lists are written and fulfilled. I have already written my Christmas list, revised it, added to it, and, if I'm honest, am still adding to it now! My wish list has now spiralled out of control somewhat, not because I am greedy and expect to receive everything, but because I like to give hubby a wide choice, so that I have some surprise on Christmas morning when I open my presents. I think hubby has bought the majority of my main presents now, and he is now asking for some stocking ideas for me, so in the spirit of Christmas (long may it reign!) I have put together a little stocking gift-list : )

Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a box set! I love Downton Abbey sooo much, I really want season 1 and 2 on DVD to watch over the Christmas holidays!

Chanel levres scintillantes lip gloss in Braise. I love this gorgeous reddy shade and the shimmer. I already own 2 Chanel lip glosses and know how good they are, so I want to add this one to my collection!

Urban Outfitters large peace sign necklace £14.00. I absolutely adore any jewellery with peace signs and would love to add this long chained necklace to my collection.

Lush Gingerbread House Bubble Bar £2.95 - I saw this the other day in Lush and really want to try it! The smell was gorgeous.

La Senza vintage rose pyjamas £30 (pyjamas at LS are currently buy one get one free!) I love La Senza  pyjamas, especially comfy cosy ones like these! I always have to have a new pair of pyjamas in the stocking!

And last but not least, gifts to myself in 2012... ; )

Mulberry Evelina satchel £595. Since purchasing my first Mulberry, I have been infected with the bug, and already started thinking about and planning my next bag! I really like the new Evelina Satchel, the style is gorgeously understated and classic. Evelina is new season Mulberry and also features a larger hobo bag, however I think this is a little bit too much of a 'mum' bag for me (giant, all encompassing, a bit blah...) 

The iconic Alexander McQueen skull scarf £165. I really want a classic McQueen scarf, perhaps with a twist (coloured skulls instead of white on black). Gorgeous for all occasions and seasons, and ever stylish.

Well dolls that's all for today, have you all written your wish lists?? Now it's November, are you starting to get excited?? I really am (in case you hadn't noticed!!) Sooo looking forward to all that is to come!! XOXO

What's in my shopping bags??

Hello cinnamon swirls how are you all this Saturday?? I am super happy today, hubby had a late hockey match so I decided to take a little trip to Bluewater shopping centre. I went quite late so it was nice and quiet, and I spent a blissful few hours browsing and purchasing some gorgeous new things!

Can you see that my hair is lighter?? I spent two nights stripping the very dark almost black colour out with Colour B4, before re-dying a chocolatey brown colour. I really like it : )

 What I wore: I wore some of my new Westfield purchases, I really like this sheer dotty Zara shirt, today I wore it tucked into my new skinny Zara jeans. I paired the outfit with some H & M ballet pumps, my Mulberry bag and some simple diamond stud earrings. I have to say I have been really impressed with the Zara jeans, I am not sure I have ever mentioned how much I struggle with buying jeans that fit properly. For years the only ones that have fitted me have been River Island, size 6 skinny jeans. I have dabbled with Topshop, Next and even Victoria Beckham denim, but have ultimately been disappointed as the jeans have all stretched and ended up poor fitting, which I really hate. In the past I have tried on Zara jeans but not purchased them thinking the same would happen, however, I really liked this pair so decided to take a chance. I wore them all day long for the first time today and they stayed snug as a bug in a rug! Love them : )

What's in my bags??!

I had a little wander round Lush and purchased a Phoenix Rising bath bomb (£2.95) for a bit of pampering tomorrow night before work, as well as Mask of Magnaminty face mask (£4.75). I have used this product in the past and really love it, it is so refreshing.

Jumper from Zara £22.95. I have been really wanting to tap into the snakeskin trend and this jumper is perfect! I love the grey and the snakeskin panel down the front, it looks great with jeans, but will also work tucked into a skirt. 

Bargain #1! Kimchi and Blue paperbag waist trousers from Urban Outfitters in wine... £10!  These trousers were originally £48. I really like the peg leg style, I bought lots of these this summer and think they look really good on. I bought a size small and they were still quite big but I liked the look so in the bag they went!

Bargain #2 Pins and Needles ruffle dress from Urban Outfitters £20 (was £68)  This dress looks huge in the picture but is in fact an XS and is very form fitting... I really liked the classic style and think it will work well for work but also at the weekend with a chunky cardi over the top. The polka dot dress is now sold out online but you can still purchase the claret red colour for the same price. (I tried this on also but wasn't a fan of the colour for a dress).

Can you believe the amazing bargains from UO??! Now as I have said before, I am not a very big fan of sales, I find them too messy and my OCD brain cannot handle the lack of organisation. I have never been one for searching out a bargain, I just don't have the drive or desire to do this. Today however, I wandered into UO as usual, completed my usual route around the shop, then started to look at the jewellery. It was then that I saw the polka dots out of the corner of my eye and turned to have a look. I really liked the dress and was even more pleased to see that the dress had been reduced from £68 to £30! I continued then to have a rifle through the various trousers and decided to try on the wine red colour as I thought they were a bit different to any others that I have. When I got to the till, the dress had been reduced further from £30 to £20 so I managed to get both the trousers and dress for £30! So pretty pleased with my bargainous haul : )

Well that's about it for today, hubby and I are chilling with Woody now, listening to fireworks and drinking copious amounts of tea.... good times : ) XOXO

Christmas wishes

Upon arrival home today I had a rather nice surprise waiting for me on the doormat... the Lush Christmas catalogue! Lush is a shop that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with. I love lots of their products and think they work really well, however I can't spend too long in the shop as the strong smell starts to give me a headache... all hail online shopping! I remember a couple of years ago hubby bought me 3 different gift sets for Christmas from Lush... I was a bit puzzled and asked him why, and he replied that he had seen a product in our bathroom and assumed that I loved the shop! Lucky for him I do love a bit of pampering, and the products were put to good use throughout the year.

So I have already circled a few products I want, the good thing about Lush is they sell some amazing bath bombs and soaps, perfect for cute stocking presents. As well as the Sabo necklace and Pandora charm that I blogged about yesterday, I thought I would share a couple of other items from my ever-bulging wishlist...

Tricolour ring earrings, Armani Exchange. Love the glamorous style of these earrings, they would be perfect for both day and evening looks.

Lulu Guiness top zip purse £55. I love the cute design on this, it would be a perfect home for carrying my day to day bits of make up.

Vivienne Westwood studs £60. I also like a few nice pieces of jewellery for Christmas, I love these iconic Westwood studs, a good match for my Westwood purse!

I sniffed this fragrance the over day and thought it was gorgeous. I always like to receive a perfume for Christmas so this one is definitely on the list!

Snow fairy gift set £10.95. Love the cute pink box and the gorgeous, girly products!

Just a few little bits and pieces, now I just have to resist temptation and not buy any of this stuff before Christmas for myself! Have any of you started to plan your wishlist or do you think its way too early?? I think I may be excessively early but I just love Christmas so much!! xoxo