A Cosy Little Cottage

Our thoughtful welcome treats!

A guide to the cottage and the surrouning area. So nicely put together.

Super comfy bed!

 

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I headed off to the countryside to stay in a little cottage. With his impending deployment we thought a cosy weekend away would be ideal to allow us to spend some quality time together before he goes.  We normally stay in hotels when we go away, so a whole cottage to ourselves felt like just the change we needed.  I just wish we'd done this before; it was so nice to come back after a busy day to our own little space, instead of the four walls of a hotel room.  The cottage was absolutely beautiful; even nicer than it looked on the website! The little welcome treats were greatly appreciated, the cupcakes were amazing and the bottle of Prosecco in the fridge was a lovely surprise!  Our original plan was to be out and about during the day (Liverpool and Chester were pretty close so we visited those!), head back, get changed and venture out to a nearby pub.  It turned out that the pubs weren't as close as we anticipated and as we both were wanting a tipple, driving to the pubs wasn't much of an option! Instead we made notes of pubs we passed en route, and went for supper as we headed back.  This ended up being a much better option; snuggling up in front of the fire with a glass of wine was heavenly - so cosy and romantic! Definitely just what we needed ahead of what will be a difficult few months.  We're already planning a return visit later in the year! Can't wait!

So cosy!!

The Beauty Addictions Tag

Image courtesy of Georgina @ Makeup-Pixi3.com

While scrolling through my Twitter feed this morning, I spotted a rather interesting Tag post. I love a good tag post, especially one I haven't seen before. The lovely Georgina has started the 'beauty Addictions Tag', where basically you list what 5 beauty related items you're most addicted to; you can check hers out here. I was already thinking of mine as I was reading hers! We're all tagged so here we go with mine!

1. Mascara.

No matter how good I think a mascara is, there's no guarantee that I'll buy it again. I'm always convinced I'll find are more lengthening one, a more volumising one, a less clumpy one or one that's all three. I can tell you my favourite mascara is Max Factor False Lash Effect, but I couldn't tell you when I last bought it. I often have 2 or 3 mascaras on the go at once too.

2. Nail Polish

I reckon I have nearing on 100 bottles of the stuff. I'm sure many of you will have more, but I'm sure the fact that I rarely wear it makes my collection a bit excessive! I work with food, so nail polish is a big no-no which SUCKS. Yet whenever I'm buying things I don't need  browsing  in Boots I'll almost always pick up at least one bottle to add to my collection. 

3. Hair Products. 

Shampoo, conditioner, dry shampoo, heat protectant, texturising spray, you name it and I've probably got at least two bottles of it on the go! I get bored easily so hardly ever finish a bottle of something before wanting to try out a different brand. I've recently discovered the wonders of bumble & bumble products though, so trying to curb this addiction a little as their stuff isn't cheap!

4. Body Lotion. 

After hair products, this is my next biggest stash. I'm rather lazy when it comes to using it too, which is something I'm trying to get better at now that spring is on its way and the weather will hopefully be getting warmer; we're due a decent summer, surely!  I go through phases of using it, but I soon fall back into my habits of skipping it after my bath or shower. Despite this laziness, I still buy it and I've more than enough tubs to last me the rest of the decade year.

5. Anything Benefit! 

Benefit was the first high-end brand I tried, probably about 10 years ago. I used to use their Non-Fiction foundation  (anyone remember that? It came in a little box that looked like a book!) religiously and was gutted when they discontinued it. There was a time when everything on my face was Benefit and scoff in the face of any other brand, let alone use anything drugstore. Although my collection is much more balanced these days, Benefit will always hold a special place in my heart; Benefit got me into makeup in the first place. They're still the brand that I get most excited over new releases from, it's the first counter I'll go to in a department store and if it wasn't for Benefit, I dare say I may never have got into blogging.

So there's my Beauty Addictions! If you're reading this then consider yourself tagged and leave your link below if you do it! Oh and if you use the image above, please remember to credit Georgina, ta!

Three Years On...

Today marks three years since my boyfriend passed out from Basic Training for the Army. Three Years. Wow. I can't believe it's actually been that long. Three years since myself and a few of our closest friends & members of his family made the long journey down to Bassingbourn Barracks, near Stevenage, to see the culmination of 12 weeks long hard slog, and I couldn't even put into words how proud I was to see him in his uniform, officially becoming a solider.  I was literally bursting with pride, and as soon as I saw him after the ceremony I burst into tears. 

Three years down the line and life as a 'military wag' is tough going.  We're not living together currently, so time together is limited.  But we manage; we make the most of the time we do have together and take comfort in the fact that it won't be forever.  Things are about to get harder though as in a little over a week, he's off on his first deployment meaning he'll be away for 6 whole months. Yes, 6 months. Gulp.  I'm telling you, it's scary how fast it's coming around; I've known since September he was going, but immediately put it to the back of mind as it was after Christmas, and therefore ages away.  But before we knew it, Christmas came and went and with the speed this year as being going, March has soon come around.

It may sound crazy, but in a lot of ways, this build up to him actually going is actually worse than the fact that he's going to be away.  We're used to spending time apart, okay we're not used to spending months and months apart, but time away from each other is normal for us.  Him being away isn't bothering me too much... yet, that could change and I know some days are just going to bloody suck, but in a way I just want him to hurry up and bloody go so I can get the initial 'goodbye' over with and focus on him coming home for his R&R.  I'm assured by other military partners that this feeling is completely normal and the main thing to do while he's away is just to keep busy.  I've a few things in the pipeline to keep me going, including a trip to see Wicked next month, and a weekend away with my best friend.  Counting down to these will hopefully be much better than having a wacking great six month countdown, and hopefully will make those weeks go by that bit quicker.

This is also partly why I've made a return to blogging. There's no real reason why I stopped to be honest; I'd had a bit of a tough time in the second half of last year so I guess my heart wasn't really into it.  I still read blogs, and had the occasional nosey on Twitter, but as time went on I realised how much I actually missed it. So here we go again, I can't wait to get chatting to other bloggers again and I'm hoping that by blogging again, it'll help these next few months just fly by!

It's good to be back!

The "Me Time" Tag

What do you like to watch or read during me-time?

Aside from watching YouTube videos or reading other blogs, I'll usually find something to watch on Netflix.  I'm currently watching Community and have recently discovered another show called Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  Another recent Netflix discovery is their documentaries; I've just added a bunch to my watch list, including one on the history of Napster (oh the memories!) and one on the founder of Burts Bees.  Defnitely worth looking through their documentaries section if you haven't already.  I also really love watching stand up comedy, both on Netflix and DVD.  I love Sarah Millican, Ross Noble, Micheal McIntyre and so many more. Can't beat a good giggle!

What do you wear during me-time?

Usually some sort of leggings and a t-shirt (plus hoodie if it's cold!) or pyjamas.  The leggings in the picture are my current favourite for lazing around in.  I picked them up, along with another pair, from Primark around Christmas.  While the other pair are a bit more festive with Christmas trees on, I think I can still get away with these penguin print ones even though the festive season is a distant memory!  Primark always have a great selection of printed tees which I'll usually wear too.

What are your favourite me-time beauty products?

When I'm in the mood for a good pamper, I'll use a really luxurious bubble bath, such as a Champneys one, or a bubble bar from Lush, the comforter is my favourite. I'll also give my hair a treat with a good hair mask, like this Charles Worthington one.  I like how you apply this to dry hair then just wash it as normal whenever you're ready. A good body scrub is a must if you're going all out on the pampering, and Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush is my all time favourite, you can read my review of it here.  It just smells amazing and does a really good job of getting rid of dry skin.  I'll usually do my nails too, following the routine I talked about earlier in the week (see my nails routine here) and apply some of my Soap and Glory's Heel Genuis to soften my feet a bit; they take a right battering from being on them all day at work! 

Current Favourite Nail Polish?

This is definitely a tricky one! I tend to go for quite pale, pastely sort of colours then add a bit of an accent with a glitter polish on one nail.  I love Essie's Mint Candy Apple; mine came in a duo with their Sparkle on Top topcoat and I love how these two work together.  I'm also really loving OPI's  Matte Nail Envy, mainly because I can get away with wearing that one for work and it has really made a difference to the state of my nails.

What do you eat or drink during me time?

Definitely chocolate! Dairy Milk, Galaxy, Milka... I'm honestly not fussy.  Aldi's chocolate is also deliecious! The bar in the picture is my last remaining bar of Irish Dairy Milk my friend brought me back from Dublin.  Believe it or not, Irish Dairy Milk tastes different to ours in the UK, it's creamier and I actually prefer it. Think I need a trip across the Irish Sea to stock up again!

Current Favourite Candle?

I'm currently burning Fireside Treats by Yankee Candles quite a lot.  It's delevious smell of toasted marshmallows is making me yearn for long summer nights, barbeques and, well, toasted marshmallows! I absolutely love toasting marshmallows and sandwiching them between two chocolate digestive biscuit... delecious! Although those summer nights are still a long way off, this secent works just as well in these cooler months and I'm sure the size of this thing will last me til summer anyway!

Do you ever have outdoor me-time?

Does shopping count...?! Aside from that, then no, not really! I do like walking though, especially having a walk around somewhere a bit different. York is one of my favourite places to have a walk around; the pretty scenery and quaint little shopping streets make it perfect for a day of exploring... and shopping!

Would you ever go and watch a film alone?

I don't think I would in all honesty.  For me, going to the cinema is a social event, maybe a bit of shopping beforehand,  and always food either before or after; my local cinema has a Nando's right next door... perfect! It's a perfect opportunity to catch up with friends I've not seen in a while.  I know I could still do all of these things alone but in all honesty I'm too much of a wuss!

Favourite  Online Shop?

For me it's probably any beauty related ones; I find online clothes shopping too much of a hassle, especially if you need to return something.  I love scouring through Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and Love Make-Up, they all have brilliant offers and my basket always ends up at least twice as full as it should be!  I have to give Amazon a mention too, they have pretty much everything on there, and my Prime subscription is a God-send... when they deliver on time that is!

Anthing to add? What else do you like to do during me-time?

One of my favourite things do do when I have some spare time is to bake.  I'm a bit out of practice lately, but I do make some pretty good cupcakes! I made delicious lemon cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream quite recently and they went down a  treat! Definitely need to make those ones again! I also could happily spend hours scrolling through Twitter, Instagram, Bloglovin' and of course Pinterest.  Bit obsessed with that one!