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 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.

Monthly Review - March

Make Up

One of my favourite things this month has been my new mascara from Maybelline. Deep black, no flakes and great gravity defying length and volume all day long. At around £5 this is an absolute bargain.

 

Food

Has anyone else noticed that Oreo cookies have been on offer in Tesco this month...no just me then. I just have literally not stopped eating them.

Drink

We have booked our next trip to the States and the onslaught of sunshine has got me thinking of these great Corona-ritas!

 

Read

I finished Apple Tree Yard this month after a recommendation from the mothers book group.
 

Yvonne Carmichael is at the top of her, rather male dominated, profession respected by peers, friends and family. One day whilst giving evidence at a House of Commons Select Committee she meets a stranger. She dives into a passionate but rather anonymous affair. An affair that leads to a live changing catastrophic event. 

Reflecting on themes of adultery, love, trust and the values by which we choose to live our life this book is totally gripping. You know that a book is good when you can't quite face starting the next book because you are too engrossed in the one you have just finished.

 

Listened to

Hello Frozen soundtrack at the top of my lungs in the car!

Watched

About 40 billion years behind everyone else I have finally started watching Homeland and oh my god it is AMAZING!!! I have just started watching Season 2 so no spoilers please.

Blog Post

My favourite blog post of the month has to be this one from Paula at PinkBow. Her blog is grown up and I love it. The post in question inspired this one and has helped me get a little bit of my blogging mojo back.

YouTube

This video of my new home city got me all excited and I have loved watching and sharing it all this month. 

Although a special mention has to go to the musings of Anna and Lily on their 90's Kid Tag which threw me a little bit of nostalgia last weekend.

Instagram

Tweet

Excited to show you all my journey so far! x vb http://t.co/DOoXqE8b1t pic.twitter.com/jSOxsC1o5L
— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) March 3, 2014

This month I have not been good at..

Blogging! I haven't been hugely inspired to put fingers to keys over the last month to be honest but I have a few things that I would like to write about in April. So here's to a few extra posts.

This month I have been successful at...

Netball coaching. That's right this month I successfully qualified as a level 1 Coach. I'll now be looking to test lots of new things out on the girls at the club. I love that already in 2014 I have learnt a new skill.

Looking forward to

I am looking forward to our trip away to Cornwall at the beginning of April. This is the first time I will have been down there except for Newquay when I was a teenager. We are looking for something slightly different from the Cornish coast this time around specifically a little bit of R&R.