Big blow out....

 I wasn't really sure how to follow a blog post on hair removal so I have played it quite safe and gone for a product review. This is an amazing product for application to damp hair just before blow drying to give smooth and shiny hair, it is the Tigi Catwalk Blow Out Balm. I purchased my bottle six months ago from my hair dresser for just over £10.00, but it is available on the Internet for about £8.00. The bottle is quite small but it seems to last for ages, a little really goes a long way, on my long hair I only apply a pea size amount.

This is what tigi say about it....
To Polish and Refine
This blow out in a bottle gives touchable, glossy hair without sacrificing natural fullness. Silk and Soy combine with a blend of Dragon Fruit and Bamboo to give a straight style with long-term hydration.

TIGI® CREATIVE TEAM TIP
For the perfect blow out, smooth balm through hair and blow-dry in sections using a round or paddle brush.
Which is a pretty accurate description for what this product does! What I was most delighted about was the tiny particles of glitter in the clear balm.... so pretty! And the smell is utterly amazing and lasts for a couple of days, it always gets commented on and not just by my Other Half... which yes is slightly weird thinking back on it but I will take any compliments I can get!

As with most blow drys the more care and time you take the better the results but this is a delightful shortcut for those early morning quick drys!

Summer Preparation....

Now that summer seems just around the corner and there has been a delightful change in the weather it seems about the right time to start getting my legs and feet back into shape for shorts and skirt season. It isn't that through the winter I don't remove the hair or look after my legs it is just that in summer time I take a little more care.

The first step is a change in hair removal, throughout winter I will remove hair with a razor, it is quick and easy to do in the shower. But in summer I like the effects to be longer lasting, with summer holidays and the festival season it is always nice to not worry about hair growth especially if you are dark haired like me! So out comes my epilator...

Mine is a Philips Satin Ice (I think) HP6513 epilator, it can be purchased for £39.99 on amazon.co.uk at the moment. I have had this one for a number of years now and it is by far the best I have tried. There are a few key things that you need to remember if you are going to buy and epilator:

1. It needs to be rechargeable and have a long battery life, firstly it is unlikely that most people will have power sockets in your bathroom hence it is good if it is cordless. However it is pointless to use a cordless one if the battery is going to run out when you have only done half a leg, and as the power runs out the whole process gets more painful as there is not enough energy to rip the hairs out.
2. The wider the head the more hair it will remove in one go!
3. In my experience you get two main types of head, metal or ceramic, by this I mean the little discs that spin around ripping your hairs out. I prefer the ceramic type as I find the metal type simply breaks the hairs rather than ripping out from the root and the results don't last long this way.

OK so those are the critical things to remember when buying and epilator but how about when you use it?? I really hate that period of having to grow your hair to be able to wax, which is why I like the epilator and why I start my preparations in spring. So the key is not to grow all your hair out but start using the epilator in place of a razor before you have a shower, ideally with it running and the bathroom nice and steamy to open your pores. This way you are building up the hair removal a little at a time and don't have that horrible growing out period. After a couple of weeks you will notice that you won't need to epilate for a week then 2 and so on...

The next part of the routine is to exfoliate and moisturise, I would exfoliate twice a week with a product from Champney's called citrus glow....

It leaves your skin feeling soft and moisturised and doesn't require additional moisturiser to be applied after you get out of the shower. I think the last tub I bought was in Sainsbury's for about £9 but that was at the end of last summer. One tub will last you all summer long! Only problem I find is that when rinsed off it has a tendency to block the plug hole after a while.

On the days when I don't exfoliate I like to use a body oil from Sanctuary (available on boots for about £6)..

It is in a really large spray container, 250ml and will last forever!! it sinks in really quickly and doesn't sting freshly epilated legs as it doesn't contain any alcohol, which is handy to reduce any rash you might have on your legs.

Finally in the evening just because I am not perfect I like to use a little bit of firming cream/gel.. at the moment the potion of choice is Soap and Glory's Firminator... not noticing the results to much but then i don't like to spend too much time staring at my thighs and butt!

Once you have been using the epilator for a while and are confident with its abilities you can then start using it on the more delicate areas like bikini line and more significantly underarms! This is probably one of the greatest things, it hurts terribly at first but after a while you become accustomed to the pain and the benefits are incredible, I can go up to 6 weeks without having to remove hair from under my arms and it also doesn't leave any stubble shadow! Having dark hair that is always a hindrance to me exposing my arm pits but not if I epilate!

I hope this routine was helpful to some people who wanted to explore the world of epilation!

xoxo

006 This weeks happy list.....

Today I went exploring in the sunshine, off too the Love Food Spring Festival at Bristol Old Train Station and had such a lovely time. The festival had been running all weekend and was free to enter, we didn't buy too much as I had just done an online grocery shop and we get all our organic veg on a weekly basis from Riverford. I had meant to take my camera but I unfortunately forgot it :-( Then we went to the Arnolfini for a couple of drinks in the sunshine!!! I do love Bristol in the sun, it is such a summer city!!

Anyway on to this weeks happy list...
001 Blogging - This week I shall endeavour to be more dedicated than last!

002 Buying other people presents and watching them open them!

003 Feeding people baked good!! I made a delicious coconut and lime cake yesterday that hopefully I will be repeating mid week.

004 Killing Zombies!!! :-)

005 Finishing work at 5 on the dot and escaping into the sunshine of the city. Which will be hanging around that much longer now we are into British summer time!

Oh I shill have to carry over the clean bed linen from last week, I suck at this really but my excuse is that I get up and leave before my boyfriend even gets out of bed and he sleeps like a puppy so I can't bring myself to kick him out of the bed to get the sheets in the washing machine.

006 Saturday Matinee....

I feel that I should be recommending an Elizabeth Taylor film this weekend, but feel quite strange that she was in my last Saturday Matinee blog! So I am just going to rant about how much I loved Elizabeth Taylor, a fabulous icon on the 20th century and without a doubt my favourite...

Things I love about Elizabeth Taylor...

She was smart and sassy, quoted as saying "If someone’s dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I’m certainly not dumb enough to turn it down."which she was paid in 1960 for her role as Cleopatra.

Married 8 times to 7 different men, and still had a sense of humor about it... “I’ve only slept with men I’ve been married to. How many women can make that claim?”  “I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed too – for being married so many times.”

“Big girls need big diamonds.” - didn't she just!! How anyone can wear a 33.18 carrot diamond (krupp diamond set into a ring) on a daily basis is beyond me! What a legend! Then there was a Taylor-Burton diamond at a whopping great big 69.4 carrots that was set into a pendant... absolutely iconic.

 

1, unknown, 3, unknown

I love all of her films but if I had to narrow it down it would be National Velvet and Cleopatra as my favourites, although Cleo might just be ahead with her sizzling chemistry with Richard Burton. There was just no chance of her not falling in love with him!

It is so sad that she has passed away but hopefully she will always be remembered in her films!

xoxo

Spring Time in Bristol!!!!

 

I took this quick picture on my short commute/wander to work this morning, it was a brilliant day in Bristol today! Everyone was spilling out into the parks and squares, I even managed to quickly slap on some nail polish on my toes so that I could wear flip flops today. I love the first day of flip flops in a year, it is like learning to walk all over again! Unfortunately I made it especially tricky this morning by applying Sanctuary body oil to my legs and inadvertantly greased the bottom of my feet! What a numpty!

Anyway this is just a short blog to say.... yay summer is on the way!!!!

xoxo

Splatter Proof!!!

For a number of months now I have been trying to decide what kind of splash back to have in my kitchen. Painting it is a no no as the space is too small for the dark colour required to hide all the cooking splashes, tiles are a possibility but nothing is very straight in my flat so they would probably look a little naff, glass panels seem like a good idea and don't need to cost a fortune...

Then I saw a picture of a mirrored splash back and that had the optical illusion of making the kitchen seem twice as large... bingo! I am a little worried about getting a large mirror into place without having to remove the tap but as I ponder the the feasibility and cost here are some inspirational pictures from my Internet browsing....

1, 2, 3, 4

Not a Sausage!!!

This is bit of a random post even for me, but 3 weeks ago my hoover died and I have missed it! On Friday I finally sat down and browsed the Internet for a new one and came across what I thought was an absolute bargain on Amazon.co.uk. It was for a Russell and Hobbs 14602 Advanced Cyclonic Bagless Cylinder Vacuum, I wasn't too sure about them as a hoover/vacuum brand but I have had a kettle and toaster from the brand that have lasted me a good 10 years. Also it was the bargain price of £39.97 down from £159.99, at that price who was I to say no! When I looked up the hoover again on amazon it had gone back up to £89.99 on Saturday and is now at £81.... can't they just make up their minds?

Anyway it arrived promptly this morning, in time for my OH to bring it home and get it unpacked and assembled over our lunch hour. He tested the variable power knob and that will probably be the last time he ever goes near it!

It is a rather masculine hoover, kind of looks like a rocket ship....

See!

It is powerful, light and compact, just what I needed for my teeny tiny flat. I sadly rushed home to hoover my bedroom carpet which hadn't been hoovered for a good 4 weeks, and I was really happily impressed. My carpet is cream once more! What impressed me most is how powerful it was, 2200 watts, with an adjustable dial. I used it at half power and it managed to suck up all the hair I managed to cast in the last month, quite disgusting I know but there is very little I can do about this! 

Anyway that is enough randomness!

005 This weeks happy list.....

001 Bath - I love this city, I spent 5 years of my life going to university here and every time i return it feels like going home. Someday it would be great to move back but not just right now.

002 Clean Bed linen - One of the most simplest things that can make a person happy is just slipping in to clean bed sheets at night. I completely believe you sleep better on clean sheets. I am also addicted to high percale bedding but more of that at another time.

003 Sunshine - Over the past week I have been woken bright and early by a bedroom full of sunshine, long let the sun reign!!!

004 Ireland beating England.... It is a bit of a cheat happy task as well this has already happened!!!!

005 - Warm hair after it has been freshly washed and blow dried. An easy happy task that requires not money to be spent, however I do have a product review later in the week for an amazing product that makes it even more of a delight.

I am really loving doing these happy lists and putting effort into my blog, it is giving me something to think about that is fun a frivolous. This past week has been a bit of a chore really, on Monday I had a flexible sigmoidoscopy and it was the most frightful experience of my life. I then work over my normal hours this week just to make up for the day I had off on Monday, which was probably a silly thing to do as I was wrecked on Tuesday. Anyway that week is over and I am hoping next week promises to be much better!!! fingers crossed!

xoxo

005 Saturday Matinee....

 

 

This week it is the 1943 production of Jane Eyre that has sparked my imagination, starring Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles as Jane and Mr Rochester this is by far the best adaption of Charlotte Bronte's book that I have ever watched. As well all know I'm a big period drama buff, so I love anything in historic costume but this one is a must see. Joan Fontaine meekly plays the plain Jane the young governess, just as Bronte would have intended her to be... unremarkable, competent and reliable. Orson Welles is the best Mr Rochester I have ever seen, possibly even better than the book, he is not any obviously attractive man which I think is where many adaptions have failed in casting a man that was too good looking to play Mr Rochester. Mr Rochester is attractive in his confidence, reclusivness and presence and most importantly he doesn't try hard with anyone.

But the real show stealer is the child cast, a young Jane played by Peggy Ann Garner in a very competent and talented performance. Jane's relationship with Helen whilst at school is truly tear jerking, with Helen being played by a very young Elizabeth Taylor in a small uncredited role.

Thornfield House the home of Mr Rochester and where Jane works as a Governess is very creepy, it is quite believable that there are ghosts in the attic.

If young haven't read Jane Eyre it is well worth a watch.... pretty good if you have an English project on the book as this is a detailed adaptation.

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.....

Recently I've been shunning the offerings of lush in favour of a more simpler and lush punishing on my bath solution, and that has been the use of bubble bath out of a bottle. Now I am not saying these products are better than those at lush, just that they are a different option.

The first is Soap and Glorys, Calm one Calm All, which I purchased from boots for the princely sum of about £5 for a large 500ml bottle. It seems expensive but if you work it out as cost per use it works out about 50p a bath which is much more cost effective than some of the Lush products. The bubble bath itself is described as:

With Soap & Glory Calm One, Calm All®, just lay back in a brimming bathtub and indulge in the wonderful fragrances of fresh bubbled bergamot, strawberries and mandarin with floral and fruity mid notes, and musk, amber and warm vanilla.

I love the scent but I am not sure I agree with the description my nose doesn't detect the strawberries, and it isn;t that amazingly moisturising I still have to get out of the bath and apply some extra moisturiser. But the bubbles last and last I reckon it takes about 1.5-2 hours for the bubbles to disappear, I guess it all depends on the type of water you have, mine is really hard water it leaves white deposits on everything.

The next recommendation is a similar product from a brand called Dirty Works, which is stocked in Sainsburys here in the UK. At the moment Think of England costs £1.99 for a 100ml bottle, making it more expensive than the Soap and Glory but it achieves the same results and the same smell. The

Absolutely irrelevant luxury!

I'm the first to admit I am very materialistic, I wish I wasn't, I wish I would be content with what I have in life and I didn't amass what is quite literally junk cluttering my life and tying me to one place. But I can't change who I am and for that reason every once in a while I come across a gem of an object that after using I think how did I ever manage in life before this. Yet I know if I lost it that it wouldn't bother me quite as much as I think it will. Crazy isn't it!!!

Today's object du jour is a 4 Step Nail Buffer.... what is that??? Well I got mine as part of a manicure set for Champneys probably about 2 years ago and I have just left it in my nail drawer wondering what the hell it is. Until about 3 weeks ago while stuck in the flat I thought I would give it a go.

The above image is just a stock image from a google search but it has all the basic properties of mine, in that is does what it is suppose to. You file down the finish of you natural nail starting off at step one and moving through the sides to step 4, resulting in shiny smooth nails without the use of nail varnish. WINNER!!

I love painting my nails, I've been at it since I was 12 yrs old but one thing I have never been happy with is the texture of my nails. I have ridges and dimples all over them, particularly on my right hand from where I write. This nail buffer removes these ridges and leaves my nails looking nice and healthy. I also find nail varnish goes on top nicer and lasts longer, another WIN!

Obviously I got mine as part of a gift and I have never seen these nail buffers in any stores in the UK, but a quick google has shown they are available from amazon for about £2.99. What a wonderfully useful tool but completely and utterly unnecessary in my life!

Home sick!!!

So I'm originally from Northern Ireland and I moved over to England for university about 8 years ago and haven't left since, apart from the occasional holiday! From time to time I feel a little homesick for the emerald isle and when that strikes I like nothing better that to whip up a batch of Soda Bread!!! Yummy Yummy! For all those none irish soda bread is like a large dropped scone in England or some what like an english muffin for those of you in America.

I thought I would do my first food post on these, so here it goes....

1. What you do is mix 2 cups of plain white floor and 1 heaped teaspon of bicarb, with 1 cup of butter milk (300ml approx) and 1 egg in a large mixing bowl. I never really faff around when baking, recipes need to be simple and work.
2. What you should have in the bowl is a slightly sticky dough, turn this out onto a floured surface.
3. Using a floured rolling pin roll the dough out into a 18cm/8inch circle about 1 inch thick and cut into 4 quarters/rounds.

Et voila.... it is best eaten warm and spread with butter.

Bedroom Inspiration....

Just what I have been browsing through over the weekend, I feel that my flat needs some colour and I just haven't known what to do to contrast/compliment the brickwork. I want a serene and peaceful bedroom that makes me feel happy and like sunshine is in the room. So I have choosen a yellow and grey scheme, now all I need to do is put together a mood board and shopping list together.

004 This weeks happy list.....

 

001 Soup -I love making soup all kinds of soup, it is great to have a batch made up in the fridge to be eaten as a quick lunch through out the week. But in particular at the minute I am loving pea and ham soup, so quick it can be ready in under 15 mins! Thanks to frozen peas!

002 Cherry Blossom - It is nearly here which means spring is nearly here! 

003 Eating - Today and tomorrow I am fasting because tomorrow afternoon I have to go in to hospital for a sigmoidoscopy.... truth be told I am utterly terrified so I am planning what I am going to eat for dinner tomorrow night.

004 Friends - I have been lazy recently, avoiding my friends so I don't have to cancel at the last moment when I am felling unwell. But I am determined to rectify that this week.

005 Rugby - It has been a tradition of mine for the past 6 years or so to watch all the six nation rugby matches with a friend of mine, he has moved away recently but will be returning next weekend for super Saturday! Yay!!!!

004 Saturday Matinee....

This recommendation is more of an evening movie, in fact it is what I watched last night.... An American Werewolf in London! It is definitely an 18 film, there are quite a few gruesome bits although the makeup and prosthetics are all pretty fake maybe a little hilariously so when the undead Jack has a bit of skin dangling off his  neck it is quite amusing. But this film was the first to win an Oscar for makeup on it release in 1981!

If anyone is a fan of The Railway Children, then it might come as a shock when Jenny Agutter isn't such a squeaky clean nurse and has a rather enduring sex scene. Rick Mail as a giggling spotty youth in the secretive pub the Slaughtered Lamb up in the Yorkshire moors is also quite amusing, and you can play spot the Midsomer Murders regulars in the cast.

At  the end though I feel sorry for the Werewolf/David Keller...

Weekend plans....

I have had such a hectic week trying to claim back some element of a social life, I still have a mysterious illness that makes me crumble with acute pain and start vomiting without any warning so I have been pretty much not living over the past 4 months. But now the time has come that I am completely determined to grab my life back with both hands. On Monday I went to a tribute to a great local structural engineer, he has built some amazing buildings....

 

Truly inspirational! I then went to a pancake party on Tuesday evening, where we had to bring a savory and sweet filling. I was slightly lazy and went for a traditional lemon and sugar sweet filling, but then grabbing inspiration from a childhood favourite (findus crispy pancakes) I made a cheese and ham savory filling with spinach for added goodness. For being experimental it all turned out pretty well. The pancakes where provided by the hosts and where truthfully the best crepes I think I have ever had.

Thursday was an evening of go-karting (I could only stand on the side and watch) and cake baking as Friday was my turn to bring cakes into work. I went with the Nigella Lawson recipe for Flour less Chocolate and Lime Cake and a recipe for Blueberry and Lemon Drizzle cake. The later was a new discovery that I slightly adapted from the original recipe I found and it turn out utterly amazing, so much so that I have already written it into my personal recipe book.

Today I am off to meet some friends to watch the Wales Ireland rugby match, COME ON IRELAND!!!! It is a bit of a tradition that we go to the pub to watch the game.

But I also am feeling really motivated to finish decorating my flat, at the moment every room is a half finished project. i keep kidding myself that it is because the fire alarm people haven't been back to fit my alarms in the last 8 months (too busy!?!) but truly I have lost my inspiration and motivation. Here is what I am dealing with....

All rooms have dark beams, sandstone corbels, exposed brickwork, 15' (3.8m) high ceilings, massive arched windows or Juliette balcony doors. I have had a new kitchen fitted which basically looks like this...

And through out there is a really good walnut effect vinyl floor, except in the bedroom where I have a cream carpet. But I think I just put so much energy into the remodel that I have nothing left for painting and adding the finishing touches. Curtains seem like such a daunting task that I haven't even been to a fabric shop to start looking for a suitable material.... I figured the best way of doing the curtains was floor to ceiling, but at 4ms high and 4 m wide at least I don't really know where to begin so my new sewing machine has remained in its box.

This weekend I am determine to sort myself out!!! First step is to create mood board for each area/room.... time to get the old copies of living etc out!

I hope everyone else has a good weekend!
xoxo

003 This weeks happy list.....

1. Baking - There is something amazing therapeutic about measuring out the ingredients and mixing together in the right order, then there and the smells as it bakes and most importantly eating of the home baked treats!

2. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier, my favourite book of all time!


3. Brothers Cider - pear/strawberry I'm not picky! it reminds me of long summer days.

4. Pizza - I am not supposed to or at least i try not to eat much wheat so if I eat pizza it has to be good and worth breaking the rules for.

5. Pancakes!!!!

6.Tidy bedroom

003 Saturday Matinee

 

I am writing this slightly retrospectively based on what I watched last weekend, as I am still comfortably tucked up in bed with a cup of tea and lots of Internet browsing to do and I have no intention of crawling out of bed until at least mid-day when I really want to go and look at a possible new house. 

Anyways this weekends recommendation is a classic, I have never seen it on TV before, but I picked it up on DVD after hearing Dita Von Tease delight (I nearly wrote rave and then realise the she would never rave about anything) about it. It seemed very apt that this be my selection so soon after the Oscars as "The Great Ziegfeld" was nominated for 7 Oscars and won 3 Oscars (Best Film, Best Actress and Best Dance Sequence). On its release in 1939 the film was a biopic of the life of the amazing showman Florenz Ziegfeld Jr, depicting how he built his career/business out of nothing only to never really have it. The film lasts nearly 3 hours with a intermission somewhere in the middle and for me the first half is particularly slow when listening to his first wife temperamentally throw fits of insecurity and jealousy, a role for which Luise Rainer won herself a best actress award!

For me the highlights where the amazing costumes by Adrian "Adolph Greenberg", I am a big fan of his work he did the costumes in The Wizard of Oz and Philadelphia Story to name but a few of his creations. If you watch the film you will know there are simply hundreds of gown and millions of sequins, the time and effort that must have gone into the costumes of this film just doesn't happen in modern day films.

Then there is the 8m minute dance sequence to "A pretty girl is like a melody" it was filmed in 2 takes, included 180 performers, used 4,300 yard of silk rayon in the curtains and cost $220,000. It is AMAZING!!

The final film cost $2 million to make, a huge sum of money, but it did go on make $40 million.

It is and oldie but a goodie!

xo