HAPPY NEW YEAR!! (Prezzies Galore)

Hello lovelies xxxx

Well, I've had a very relaxing Christmas and New Year break and I hope you did too, with good health and mucho happiness. I have to say it's quite refreshing to get back into a routine after lots of slobbing about in pj's, watching Christmas movies and eating copious amounts of chocolates, and which we did a lot of over the break. I can't believe that here we are, already nearly in the middle of January.

I can't quite pack away the Christmas bedding I got from Asda, just one more wash I keep saying to myself, then on the bed it goes again. Its a pretty one, very Cath Kidson-esque :) 

There are often some great bargains to be had not long before Christmas, and I found a lovely little selection of discounted treats to help me get in the Christmas mood and ready for the party season. I hadn't purchased any new make up for a little while and as a fan of Benefit, I couldn't wait to snap up this little selection box that was on offer.

Their eyebrow zings found its way into my cart too, oops a daisy... But oh my, after trying so many different eyebrow pencils and shadows to define my eyebrows, this has to be the best eyebrow kit I have ever tried. It is a little pricey, but when you add up all those little pencils....;) 

Next up I found some perfume that was reduced, I was a big fan of CK ONE back in the day, and couldn't wait to try CK IN2U. Its a lovely light and refreshing scent, perfect for every day wear.

I'm all for a little highlighting and also love rose gold accessories. When I saw this YSL limited edition Touche Éclat Or Rose highlighter at half price, I fell in love with it straight away. It's a rose gold version of its former self and the highlighter works great to add a little radiance and sparkle on the cheekbones, temples and brow bone. 

One item I had ummed and ahhed about for a little while was a personalised Claireabella jute bag. I just didn't know if was 'me' or not. However every time I went back on the website and had another browse, another think, I yearned for one more and more. Before Christmas they had a £10 off promotion on their 'Selfie' Jute bags. Well I had to go for it and got busy personalising it.

Ha ha I love it and so glad I took the plunge. It's very tongue-in-cheek, very sparkly and very pink! It's also a great size and perfect for days out and weekends away. I had originally picked a light pink which although still looked great, I really love a bubblegum pink so I just topped it up with a bit of an acrylic paint I already had and it turned out fine.

I was more than happy with my little pre-Christmas haul and as ever, I do believe Christmas is all about the presence and not the presents....but who doesn't love a little surprise or two under the Christmas tree and Santa I have to say was very kind. 

 I felt very spoilt having some extra prezzies to open up on Christmas day! One prezzie that really floated my boat and I was considering purchasing myself was some much needed Lancome face cream. Yes, sounds a bit boring but when you get to my age....well, you know what I mean ;) I had tried a sample of the night cream and I had just loved it. It felt suited to my skin but more than anything was like silk going on. Think this shall be my forever cream and I have my mum to thank for that lovely prezzie! 

She also treated me to some lovely candles, and vintage style rose melts for the bath. 

As I have mentioned above I am really enjoying this rose gold phase and it doesn't seem to be disappearing any time soon. I was delighted to open up this little package from the husband! 

It really is pretty, a Michael Kors crystal circle pendant. I have found I can wear the sparkly side for evenings and the plain rose gold side for day wear. I love it. 

It goes beautifully with some of my rose gold inspired pretties...

Here are some other lovely Christmas treats that came my way...

My brother got me the cute hottie pug, it comes with a microwaveable soothing lavender sachet inside and I've used it lots already. The lavender scent is just lovely and relaxing. He said he got it as he thought it looked a bit like our border terrier, Bertie.

 I'm not sure Bertie agrees ;) 

I have been a big fan of Lily-Flame for many years, in fact I don't think there is ever I time at home where we don't have a least one Lily-Flame candle burning. I just love their individual, pretty scents. My Daisy Dip was nearly all gone and one of my favourites, what a lovely surprise to have a replacement. 

The Mindfulness book, also from the bro is very funny. Penguin released a set of 8 books with the same old fashioned illustrations but rather more modern subjects! The vintage style scrap book/photo album is another much loved gift.

Talking of that lovely Lily-Flame candle I found a lovely mini set just before Christmas, its called the Girly (Pink) Mini Set. So me and these are delicious just to look at.

Well, you can never have enough candles can you...

As for little treasured items I think this is my favourite, from the children.

And most useful gift I received...

Buying for teenagers can be quite difficult, but I knew that Miss. Poppins would love this retro styled Polaroid Camera. Oh dear, I couldn't help but get the pink, luckily she didn't mind..I hope she'll share it ;) 

So, some lovely Christmas treats came my way. I do like a sale or two as well and as I had some money/vouchers I thought I'd have a little browse at the sales and see if there was anything I could find. Well as I was enjoying the lovely night cream my mum gave me I couldn't resist getting this set that included not only the day version of my night cream, but some little extras too. In the sale, and cheaper than it would have been to just get the cream on its own. Perfect buy and as is the night cream, the day cream is just as nice. 

Now then, I am a woman who loves slippers, cosy, comfortable pretty slippers. My Ruby & Ed velvet bow ballerina slippers are my all time luxury slipper. They even had their own blog post here and shall we say are quite well worn.

Ok, *very well worn.

*Ashamed face

I fell in love with them at first sight and have worn, and worn, and worn them. Can you tell, ha ha. I did have a little look online to see if I could get some new ones but as I had purchased these in a sale previously I couldn't really justify the expense, especially for just slippers. They do look and feel so luxurious though. 

Well, well, well. Look what I found in the sale at half price from The Lovely Room 

Oh aren't they lovely. My new cosy slippers, and I really like the plum shade. The underneath look all new and everything.

 (Note to self - do NOT go outside in said slippers)

So a Happy New Year to you and I'll leave you with a Home Bargains pretty I picked up, a lovely little desktop 2016 calender. Perfect to inspire me and a bargain at only 99p.

X

My Pretty Christmas Gifts

Hello lovelies :) 

Although I am somewhat playing catch up in blogland, I thought, if like me you enjoy nosing at other people's pretties, then you may like a 'nose' at some of the lovely gifts Santa and others left me under the Christmas tree.

We all know Christmas is not just about the presents, but they do make a lovely and welcome addition to Christmas day don't they. So without further ado here are some of the lovely, special gifts from loved ones and of course, Santa himself ;) I love them. 

I thought I'd start with a big one. 

Oh my, I just love my mum who knows me so well, and always, always picks the perfect gifts for me. On a visit to my home a while ago, she could see our fire surround had a 'half painted' look to it - (due to running out of paint) and not a good look by the way. She discreetly asked what colour I had used, and I replied Annie Sloan "Old White". Now I do love to use AS paint - though it has to be said, occasionally on some pieces of furniture it and I do not get along, but mostly we do. However it is in my opinion quite pricey, especially for a thrifty person like myself who likes to spend her pennies in the wisest, thriftiest way possible. I was more inclined to live with a half painted fire surround and work myself up to going on a little Annie Sloan spree some time soon and after I'd saved some pennies up. 

Well, I was over the moon unwrapping these little beauties.  

Yay that surround can now get finished.

I am a big fan of Mark Jacobs 'Daisy' perfume and was delighted to unwrap this scent that I don't have for my 'Daisy' collection. Again from the lady that knows me so well.

The bottle is gorgeous.

Sticking with a Daisy style theme, this lovely necklace was worn as soon as I opened it. I love it :)

As was my (floral) Christmas jumper and I couldn't wait to get cosy in it. 

Of course, there had to be a little Cath Kidston surprise ;)

I'm quite well known in my little family for seeing little pretties before Christmas and giving a little hint here or there. I fell in love with this 'candy floss' pink raggy bath mat and hoped santa would be kind :) 

He was. It's the prettiest thing, perhaps too pretty for wet just got out of the bath feet to be stamping on. The raggy texture is just the loveliest thing to run your hands over.

 And its perfect for my our pink, girly bathroom.

Being a wordy person who loves inspirational quotes and sayings dotted around the home, I especially loved this East of India flag, perfect for next to my bed.

And for the kitchen diner.

Being someone who rarely wears foundation these days and if so, only for special occasions, have found this Maybelline one the most suitable for my skin type. It has a lovely silky soft feel to it and gives a lovely glowy look. I'd run out a long while ago and thought nothing of it. It was a nice surprise to get a nice new bottle. (Extra gold star for the husband remembering the exact colour shade) 

These had been on my wish list for a while and although I have a pink pair that I have had for a number of years, I find this brand has a certain shelf life and my pink ones were definitely past their sell by date. I pondered and pondered about what colour to go for and being a colour person thought it had to be a big bright colour. However my practical side won and even though not a 'fashion' boot per say many fashionistas can be seen wearing them about town as well as the muddy fields. As I like to wear mine about town too, I thought black gloss a good choice and would go with everything. A lovely treat from Santa.

I love pretty scents and these Morris & Co scented drawer liners smell delicious, too nice to be hidden away so am thinking of other plans for them. 

Being a Downton Abbey fan, I love this set of 3 signature soaps. Just lovely. 

These cosy boots were bit of a bargain, so Santa tells me...

I love notebooks, and this was a lovely sparkly number along with a pretty pen.

I indeed had some gorgeous gifts. 

Oh I have to share the present we got for Miss. Poppins, our ever growing up teenager. Buying for her was proving a challenge as ideally I didn't want to be buying items beyond her years but also knew she probably was a bit too old for play dough. She loves her music and singing, and enjoys uploading various songs on her ipod/iphone. She had mentioned she fancied some sort of music system that could play music in her bedroom. 

I saw the perfect, drool worthy, delicious thing, and I thought she'd love it. I know I do, I really do. 

Its a lovely Emma Bridgewater radio, in the Sampler hearts print, and perfect as it has a dock to pop her ipod/iphone in and listen to her music. It has DAB radio and an alarm clock feature. I have to say the dock is a good quality one judging by the music we can hear blaring out of her room. 

Isn't it pretty.

Do you think she'll share?

No, I thought not either. *sad face

It can be hard buying for teenagers, but this got the thumbs up and was a reasonable price too as a pre-Christmas offer.

I hope you have enjoyed your little moochy at my prezzies. Family, friends and Santa himself have truly spoilt me and I love everything. Please feel free to leave a little comment if you would like to know where anything came from, I'll get back to you asap. 

I have it on trust from Santa he'll know, well, he knows everything, doesn't he...

X 

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty

I don't know about you, lovely peeps, but I definitely feel a bit down in the dumps at this time of year. Christmas is over and done with and the buzz of a new year has for me now passed. February has always been my tricky month ~ bit of a nothing and depressing month. However thoughts of spring and sunshine keep me going and I find this time more than most I need to have pretty things in my life. So to begin with, I took off the chine cover and got sewing. I have had this lovely vintage bicycle Ashley Wilde fabric for a while, and knew the large print would be perfect for a comfy, over sized cushion cover. 

 
It is going to be perfect for when the sunshine is out, friends gather round and a spare seat is needed. The extra large size makes it a lovely floor cushion. 

Next a teeny little shop was in order, im a big fan of dotcomgiftshop and well, they always do such great sales! I couldn't resist this little lot, and one or two prezzies in there for other people too :) 

 I just had to have this oh so pretty toilet roll, ha ha not to be used mind, purely for display purposes only!!  

If there was toilet roll made with me in mind, that would most certainly be it ;) Of course some of my bestest pretties can be found in charity shops and I loved this little floral mantle clock ~ only £2, a pretty bargain indeed!

It really is so sweet and a little kitsch too. I adored this pretty floral posy, a pound well spent, and in the dreary month ahead, they shall certainly put a smile on my face. No need to water either! 

This lovely bracelet had to come home with me too ~ well they do say one (wo)mans trash is another (wo)mans treasure! 

Next it was on to Paperchase for a little mooch. They had a great sale on and I just love this shop.

At £2.40 (sale price) I could absolutely not leave these pretty winged heart cases on the shelf. I have visions of me baking pretty little heart cakes for Mr. Poppins on Valentine's Day :) 

And then it was to Sainsbury's and with me thinking and longing for sunshine these little items made their way into my shopping trolley. Ooppps!  

   

The napkins are so cute....urrr though looking at my already collection of paper napkins I didn't really need any more. Oh dear, I'm beyond help I think, I probably need to join some sort of napkins anonymous group! 

I adore the paper honeycomb decorations, oh.so.cheery.

Having a desire to make something pretty, I gathered some ingredients.

One project is still a work in progress but I managed to finish this little raggy heart. Off to be gifted I think, and such an easy make, anyone can bring a little sunshine into their lives :)

To help the inspiration/mojo at this time of year I love to read pretty books, and I am really enjoying Vintage Home. It was from the works so cheaper than RRP and one of my favorites to perk me up a bit. 

Also this little man, I only have to look at him and I grin from ear to ear. Oh how a dog truly is a (wo)mans best friend.

Not sure he's too happy about having a floral bed, but it deffo suits him!   

So I shall continue to dream of sunny day's, when the heart doesn't feel so heavy and the hats and scarves can be replaced by flowery flip flops and floaty dresses.

However, I am indeed realizing that although that big ball of heat may not be in the sky, you can carry sunshine in your heart and be grateful for the here the now, family and friends in your lives. So, although February is my wobbly month, I truly am going to do my best to see the prettiness in everything.  

Oh, and these certainly help, probably the best thing about this time of year ;) 

   

X