Monthly Review - April

Make Up

I recently blogged about how much I'm loving pastel blue nails right now and it hasn't changed!

Read

Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter. As someone that went to an all girls school I could really relate to the school environment and saw aspects of my own personal life in the friendships that main characters Renee and Flo had. Well written, funny and emotional this is one you need to add to your reading list ASAP.

Listened to

Back at the gym and nothing keeps me going like Avicii - as loud as possible - obviously!

Watched

My love of American box sets continues this time with Suits via Netflix. Let's be honest every girl needs a Harvey Specter moment occasionally. 

Blog post

Instagram continues to be my favourite social media app and so I loved this post from Emily at Cupcakes & Cashmere detailing how she uses the app and other photo editing apps to make the most of her mobile phone pictures.

YouTube

It didn't take long for me to stumble across Estee aka Essie Button in the beauty blogger / YouTube world and I friggin love her videos. She is so friendly and natural on camera whether delivering her monthly beauty favourites on her beauty channel or letting us in on all aspects of her life via her vlogs with Partner Aslan and dog Reggie on her vlog channel.

Instagram

Tweet

LIFE | 100 things every 90s kid will remember. http://t.co/yBARYkpjuH via @bloglovin
— Nicki Kinickie© (@NickiKinickie) April 21, 2014

Some serious reminiscing here.

Success

Back at the gym and re-starting is always much harder than keeping going. Loving being back at Spin class and a new Twenty4 class on Thursday mornings that make walking difficult on Friday.

Looking forward to...

Bank holidays...hell yes to 2 bank holidays in May!

A Huckleberry Nail

One of my main blogging 'enablers' is Laura from Buy Now, Blog Later I absolutely love everything about her style and so tend to pay attention to what she is currently sporting. So it was no surprise that I took notice when I saw her wearing an on trend pale pastel blue nail in this post. She was actually wearing an Essie version but my local Boots store was out of stock so off I went around the aisles to find a dupe.

It looks like Rimmel and L'Oreal currently have a range of pastels out; Rimmel with the Rita Ora range and L'Oreal with their Perfection Color Riche Nails but again both were out of stock. 

Then I stumbled across the BarryM counter and they have a few perfect pastel shades in their Gelly High Shine range, which is already a formula I love. I instantly picked up Huckleberry in a bid to replicate the far more expensive Essie version.

I am really pleased with this polish although I think the pictures make it look a little brighter than it is because they have been taken in a blue room however, it is also definitely not a blue toned white. As usual with this formula a couple of coats gives a totally opaque, highly pigmented and glossy finish. Paired with a good base coat and Seche Vite top coat it is also long lasting.

 

The perfect shade for those looking to incorporate a spring pastel into their look. Has anyone else been loving pastel nails lately?

A Cornish Adventure

Living in the South West for over 3 years it was time for us to venture down to Cornwall. We needed a little break from crazy work schedules, master degrees, netball clubs and football clubs. So our bags were packed and we headed down to the beautiful South East coast of Cornwall staying in Polperro and visiting Polruan, Fowey and Looe. 

Driving down the road into the deep valley you get a sense of what a wonderfully remote village you are making your way into. The views are breathtaking especially with a clear blue sky above you. 

Down the narrow roads you make your way into the tiny village all the time looking for that first glimpse of the sea. 

Our lodgings for the trip was the beautiful Natal House B&B. 

 We were warmly welcomed by Jackie and Simon and in the 'Teal' bedroom we were greeted by a large comfy bed, crisp white bed sheets and a snugly duvet. The hospitality we were shown was fantastic with the cherry on top that fantastic cooked breakfast by Simon.

The River Pol outside of Natal House making its' way down to the sea.

Our first venture took us to The Blue Peter right on the edge of the harbour as our stomachs were calling for lunch. We had huge sandwiches and a portion of chips with a real Cornish ale on top. 

Spring was sprung so we enjoyed an ice cream from the famous Treleavens.

We headed to The Ship for our first drink(s) of the evening and we really loved this watering hole with its raging fire, selection of ales and a double G&T. It was finally time for dinner and it had to be steak and chips with all the trimmings at The Buccaneer washed down with a bottle of Pinot Noir...glorious!

We followed this up with a late night walk around the village...

...and another stop at The Blue Peter and my first real ale!

The next morning the sun was shining so we went for a little stroll around the harbour.

We loved seeing some of the tiny details around the village including the small blue doors on the cottages, the national heritage signs and the fishing equipment. 

The great seaside details on some of the cottages gave this little village even more personality and the little narrow streets meant you couldn't help but imagine the sights and sounds of a thriving fishing village many years ago. 

 

I couldn't leave without a photo of this gorgeous cottage. All higgledy piggledy style with its leaning walls it reminded us of something from Harry Potter.

We walked along the Coastal Path to get a better view and spring was definitely in the air.

In the afternoon we travelled along the windy lanes and found ourselves at another small village called  Polruan. A steep walk down to the harbour and we boarded the passenger 'ferry' over the river to Fowey. 

We loved this little town, with its quaint streets, sea views and food galore.

We couldn't help but imagine ourselves living in one of the ice cream pastel houses...well a girl can dream!

 For lunch it had to be a Cornish cream tea. 

We finished the day with a late evening visit to The Kitchen.  A small restaurant in Polperro run by Harry in front of house and his wife Jane the chef.

Our food was quite simply delicious in fact it was so delicious we didn't take the time to get photos. Fresh sea food, locally sourced meat cooked to perfection all washed down with a drink or two.

The great food, comfy bed and fresh sea air certainly meant we were rested and relaxed. The perfect little seaside break.

Easter Baskets

I have a few little ones in my life and being the great aunt that I am I wanted to get them a few Easter treats when we visited the homeland last weekend but I have to say the Easter aisle of Tesco (other supermarkets are available) didn't really call to me. 

A sneaky visit to Aldi and after finding a few supplies I was inspired to make these extra cute Easter baskets full of Easter goodies which in my opinion are far better than a really commercial Easter egg. 

These buckets were 99p each and I thought the kids would get to use these again for their egg hunts this weekend.

Next it was for the chocolate treats. I just love all of the bright colours. 

The center piece was the chocolate rabbit a total rip off of the more expensive version but only 75p!

 Look how cute...

I have a roll of cellophane that probably cost a couple of quid from eBay which I got before Christmas a couple of years ago. I think wrapping up gifts in this always makes them look so much more professional and like you have put a lot of effort into your wrapping when really it is so easy. 

I found these cute little tags after searching for 'free Easter printables'. 

Here is the finished product. Super easy, super cheap coming in at around £3.00 each and way more personal than any prepacked chocolate egg. I can assure you the little ones loved them as well.

Happy Easter and I hope that the Easter bunny has visited you.