A BLOGGERS SECRET SANTA

Hello sweets!

Recently I was involved with one of the many bloggers secret Santa box swaps. 50 of us sent our information - name, address, blog link, three likes and three dislikes - to the two lovely ladies running the swap for them to match us to someone similar. We set a budget and agreed to send out our gifts before December the 1st. 

When my parcel arrived I was so excited! My secret Santa had put a letter in with my gifts with a note on the front explaining that if I wanted to wait until Christmas I shouldn't open the letter as she had explained why she has bought me all the gifts.

Naturally I was too excited to wait so I went ahead and opened my parcel!

I got so many goodies in here I was really spoilt and my secret Santa really did her research! 

Most of my gifts were in this gorgeous Christmas storage tin as I love to bake! So thoughtful.

There were a few gifts that wouldn't for in the tin so I opened them first.

These are the makeup gifts I got - the Natural Glow Palette by BarryM which she explained looks like a great dupe for the Naked palette, she also included a smokey eye brush from H and M to create new looks. I've never used anything other than nailvarnish and mascara from Barry M so I was really excited to try this out! The colours are just beautiful - 4 shimmery shadows and 2 matt shadows with a glittery pastel pink blush. I love how these colours look on, they blend really well and there are so many looks you can create with this palette for any season or equally any occasion. 

Here is a close up of the lipstick - the lipstick was from Primark which again I have never used the colour is a stunning coral and the consistency is very moisturising and it actually smells gorgeous! Definitely heading there soon to pick up a few more! 

I have heard great things about the OPI nail lacquers but never picked up one for myself. This one is part of the shatter collection in a deep rich red colour perfect for the festive season!

I got these bright pink fluffy socks (two of my favourite things pink and keeping warm!) along with a Christmas Eve Yankee candle in a little glass holder this smells divine and I did burn it ok Christmas Eve! The nakd berry cheeky bar bevause I'm veggie was such a lovely touch again I had never tried this but I absolutely love them now and have one every day on my tea break! 

Included was this beautiful statement necklace also from H and M and mentioned in my letter was that she has noticed I love my statement jewellery and she thought this was a really pretty delicate one to add to my collection :) so sweet!

Finally I got a Nivea soft moisturising cream as like most people my hands are dry in the winter - perfect little size for my handbag and to take into the shop floor with me (working with shoe boxes all the time dries my hands even more!) and a cupcake lipgloss. One of the things I said was I was very girly and loved pink and this just sums me up completely! 

I was completely overwhelmed by the gifts my secret Santa put together for me, it was like she knew me so well to get everything so spot on. The letter I got was really lovely and I loved the personalised touch, so I would like to say a massive thank you to my gorgeous Secret Santa :

Please visit her fabulous blog http://www.zeenaxena.com/ or follow her here on twitter @zeenaxena.

Thanks so much sweets! I hope everyone else was as lucky as me when it came to their Secret Santa swaps.

Mwah x

TEE-ING OFF CHRISTMAS AT WENTWORTH

Hello!

Every year we are lucky enough to be treated to the most delicious Christmas buffet at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey by my Grandparents. 

This year was no exception and the food was superb. The displays are spectacular  and the range of food is one not to be rivaled. 

I focused mainly on the dessert table as that is my favourite part of the meal! Their sticky toffee pudding is the best I have ever eaten in my life - I don't even order it anywhere else it's that good! There is a standing joke that the first thing the grandchildren do is check to see if it's out (we still do this every year!). 

(Gingerbread mini village.)

The room is filled with Christmas scents, the whole club is packed out with families enjoying their Pre-Christmas celebrations,  and frivolity is all around. Half way through the meal we are treated to several carols by a wonderful choir and a magician that invokes the whole family and makes everyone laugh! 

It's lovely to spend time together as a family enjoying delicious food swapping presents and anecdotes since we last met, it's something we all always look forward to and being invited to the club is a real treat.

I stuck to pinks and silvers for my makeup I wanted something subtle that could take me from day to night but also with a bit of sparkle! Silver and golds make me feel festive and in a celebratory mood.

I recently came across a website called Sheinside.com that sells clothes at discounted prices - they come from china so the delivery time is about three weeks but the prices and the clothes seemed great. (Although out of two dresses and a coat I was only really taken with this particular dress, the other two items are OK).

So anywhere here is the dress - please excuse the photo I had been travelling for quite a whole therefore it is creased and there is a lot of clutter in the background of the photo but you get the jist!

I love the shape it's really flattering, is made of a really thick cotton with a jacquard print embellishment. I love the simplicity of this dress, it's so pretty and versatile. Very pleased! 

I paired it with thick black silky tights and a pair of black suede wedge ankle boots from stylist pick.com a year ago. 

Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the family together - we were enjoying ourselves too much!

I hope you are enjoying your pre Christmas celebrations! Looking forward to many more 😊

Nicola x

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN

Hi Dolls!

For my 25th birthday this year my best friend booked us a weekend away at a beautiful spa hotel in Manchester - the weekend was full of champagne, lavish food, laughter, relaxation and a good old catch up! Needless to say when her birthday came round I wanted to do a similar thing.

Whilst perusing wowcher I came across a deal for the Mercure Hotel (http://www.mercurenottingham.com) in Nottingham for an overnight stay for two with a three course meal and breakfast.

After doing a little research I thought this would be perfect - a lovely little 4 star hotel in the heart of Nottingham and it didn't disappoint! 

Walking into the lobby we were greeted with a huge wooden oldfashion stair case and huge Christmas tree.

Our room was small but lovely - squishy comfortable double bed, tv, iPod Dock and a fantastic power shower (don't know about you but that's one of my favourite parts of staying in a hotel). 

We started off the evening with a bottle if pink Lanson champagne, dressed up and went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. 

Here is what I wore - grey swing dress from Asos, monochrome bag with bee detail from Primark, black heels and a gold statement necklace from Forever21. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of us on the night but below is a photo of me in the dress before hand so you can

see how it fits - it's one of my absolute favourite dresses fits like a glove and is so simple and soft.

Makeup wise I did strong eyes using browns, golds and black and kept the lips and face pretty neutral. 

The food was delicious and followed by another bottle of fizz! After our meal we headed off to the theatre which luckily was a 10 minute walk around the corner. There we saw Dreamboats and Pettycoats which is a real feel good tap your feet kinda musical. Although we weren't too familiar with most of the songs being that it's based in the sixties we really got into the swing of it! The costumes were perfect - I love a huge skirt with Pettycoats, red lips and big hair! 

Although being perfectly central for hitting the bars and clubs after the theater we decided to head back to the room to have a proper natter and watch a few films.

After a good nights sleep (apart from all the noise from the street) we headed for breakfast and reluctantly packed up ready to catch our trains to either ends of the country.

We had a fabulous weekend and I am currently looking forward to our next weekend away (which we have already booked!).

Xx

THE SUNSHINE AWARD

Hello Lovelies!

The fabulous Rae from http://www.4evafashionprincessmonthly.com nominated me for the Sunshine Award - I love finding out interesting facts about the people behind the blogs I read, something you don't expect to find in their usual posts.

So here are the Rules

- Share 11 random facts about myself

- Answer the 11 questions from the nominating blogger gave me

- List bloggers I believe deserve recognition

- Post 11 questions for my nominations to answer

11 Random Facts About Me

1. I have five dogs, two guinea pigs and two rabbits - I love animals, I don't think I could have a life without pets!

2. I've always wanted to be a Disney princess in Disney World, Florida but I can't sing or dance really!

3. My favourite films are Audrey Hepburn films - for me she is the epitome of elegance, grace and beauty.

4. I have been in a long distance relationship for 7 years

5. I love travelling, if I could I'd constantly save up just to travel to more places

6. I adore photography - I have no training in it and don't know much I'm more of a take hundreds of photos until I find the shot I love kinda girl

7. My favourite colour has always been pink (typical girl!)

8. I am a very positive person, always look on the bright side (of life do do...)

9. I love being comfy, that's why I spend most of my time in jeans and jumpers

10. When I go to the theatre or out for an occasion I adore dressing up -  as I said before I spend most of my time in my comfys so when I get the chance 

to put on a pretty dress and do my hair and makeup I really go to town!

11. For the past three years I have been to see Phantom of the Opera for my birthday - and guess what is top of my list next year?!

Rae's Questions

1. What is your favourite make-up product to buy? 

I love buying lipsticks at the moment

2. What is your favourite clothes shop? 

Hmm probably H and M - love the mixture of styles available and the prices are always so reasonable

3. What is your favourite nail polish brand?

Has to be Barry M!

4. What is your favourite nail polish colour/name?

Very plain and simple Natural Collection French Pink

5. Are you going to any Christmas/New years parties?

No! Well sort of - this year I am going to a dinner party at a friends house for New Years Eve, I am providing the pudding!

6. If you could only wear one make-up product, what would it be?

Oooh tricky! Probably mascara - my glasses are quite thick and so my eyes can disappear behind the frames

7. Do you have any pets?

See above answer! To recap - five dogs, two rabbits and two guinea pigs =)

8. What is your favourite thing to do on a weekend?

I work a Saturday so my weekends are Friday and Sunday - Friday I take Grandad out for lunch and do his shopping every week so Sunday I like to catch up on things, relax and blog!

9. What is your favourite meal?

My Mum's Cauliflower Cheese

10. What is your favourite TV show?

I loved The Ghost Whisperer as I think Jennifer Love Hewitt is just stunning - but currently its the Big Bang Theory

11. What is your favourite film?

Anything with Audrey Hepburn

My Questions

1. Do you take your own photos for your blog? (If so do you enjoy doing it?)

2. Why did you start your blog?

3. Who/which blogger made you fall in love with youtube videos/blogging?

4. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

5. What is your go to makeup look?

6. How would you describe your style?

7. Do you enjoy going to the theatre?

8. Do you do any cooking/baking?

9. What is your favourite beauty product?

10. If you could start your own company what would it be?

11. What was your dream job as a child?

I hope you enjoy filling these out and finding out more about people! 

I am aware that lots of you have done this already so I am going to tag some new friends and anyone else that wants to do it but hasn't yet:

Lauryn @ffairsfairydust

Tash Berbank @tdotberbank

Tamsyn @peachpowxo

Lucy @homemadephoto

Please let me know if you do the tag would love to know your answers! 

xx