A recent round-up

Lots has gone on in the past few months. It was my birthday in November and I was treated to a weekend away in Bristol featuring a concert to see my favourite band and a day out in Bristol Zoo. 

I have been getting very creative and making lots if things-jams, marmalade a, lip balms and I've also taught myself to knit. Needless to say a lot of people will be getting scarfs for Christmas this year. 

November also brought heartbreak along with it when our lovely cat Nuno passed away. He was only three but truly was our baby and were so devastated. 

But let's leave this post on a happier note and look at the photo of my diary! Yes the year is drawing to a close and I've bought my Filofax diary refil for 2014 and have noted down our wedding date! 

Super excited and hoping for a great year next year. 

wedding bells

I'm getting married!!!

 The evening when we got engaged, just before the family get-together.

My engagement ring. A white gold and rhodium plated original cluster of diamonds from 1933. This ring was his grandmothers (who kindly let him have it) who got it from her step-mother. It was originally gold with thick claws, Chris designed this for me.

On 15th November 2010, Christopher Ian Robert Tofts proposed to me.  On my birthday, in bed, just after I woke up. Bloody hell he must love me. I looked a state; my hair was ginger (hair-dye disaster the week before), I had smudged mascara all over my face, my hair was a mess and I was bleary eyed. ( a funny memory I have is that just after he proposed, I looked down at my nails and was shocked! I jumped out of bed and gave myself a little manicure before I could see people and show off my ring!)But it was perfect. I said 'yes' of course and we've now been engaged for nearly three years! 

We've been close to organising and booking our wedding before but lack of money, different ideas and the thought of organising it stopped us. But now, we're serious. It's been a crazy tough year and we've ben through a lot, and still going through but we are stronger than ever and more in love than ever. When you go through bad things it makes you realise how much you love someone and the thought of being without them scares you to death. I love Chris and always want to be with him, it's a simple as that. 

Us.

So now, I can announce that on Saturday 24th May we shall be getting married. A low key family orientated relaxed ceremony followed by a bloody big party! I cannot wait to be Mrs Tofts and share the rest of my life with the person I love the most. 

Summer holiday 2013

Two weeks of sunshine, swimming, cocktails, too much food, beach, romance & sweating. July-August 2013, Cala'n Bosch, Menorca.

All about cleansers (ft. the body shop)

Liz Earle, Emma Hardie, Soap & Glory. You name it, they are all doing it. Bringing out new cleansing products thats what. Liz has her cleanse & polish, Emma has her amazing face moringa balm. They are both great products and famous in the beauty world. But whats the one things thats wrong with them? They are bloody expensive thats what!
Liz Earles Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser retails at around £25 for A 200ml tube, which to be fair I get through fairly quickly. Emma Hardy Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm retails at, wait for it...£34 for 100ml! eeeeek. That to me is crazy money when I believe there are plenty of cheaper alternatives o the market that do exactly the same job. I'm a huge fan of Soap & Glory skincare and fell in love with the peaches and cream cleaner when it was first released. One of the first of its kind; a creamy gel cleaner that you use in very much the same way as Emma Hardie or Liz Earle and the smell is just to die for.

Whilst out shopping the other day, I found myself perusing the shelves of The Body Shop, smelling and rubbing different lotions and potions, as you do on a Saturday afternoon. When I remembered seeing the press releases about the new camomile range. I had to have it. All. The Body Shop have jumped on the band wagon and produced 3 new cleansing products; an oil cleaner, a cleaning butter and an eye make-up remover lotion. There is also a waterproof eye make-up remover but I don't need that one as very rarely wear waterproof make-up.  I've already tried the cleansing butter and I love it. A small amount warmed up in the hands until it melts deliciously then massage onto your dry face to remove all make-up and dirt from the day. You can use it to remove eye make-up too but I prefer to take a little bioderma, or the camomile eye lotion on a couple of cotton pads and gently sweep over eyes.
The camomile range feels very soft, nourishing and gentle, with just the slight scent of fresh camomile.

I bought the trio in a set (£23 instore) but all items are available online from the body shop.

The Red Arrows

A lot of people have found this very difficult the believe, but until last month, I had never seen The Red Arrows in action. Part of the RAF, the Red Arrows do flying performances which are truly out of this world.

It was Fowey Royal Regatta last month and I headed to the Red Arrows performance. I drove for about 1/2 an hour, que'd for a lot longer and paid a fiver to get to a field. But it wasn't just any field. Oh no, it was a field in the little village of Polruan and the view was breathtaking; looking down the estuary towards the sea with a birds-eye view of Fowey harbour and town. Also, the weather was just,perfect. I was a race against time but I made it with 30 seconds to spare, and The Red Arrows (of course) were spot on time. For 25 minutes I was utterly amazed, stood there mouth wide open. The 9 planes were exceptional in their routine, always keeping you thinking whats coming next. They drew hearts in the sky, flew towards each other until the last second and flew right above the crowd-noisy! From my vantage point, The planes were flying right next to me and I could literally see inside the cock-pit to see the pilots face!

I don't think I've felt as excited as I was on this evening for a long time and am definitely going to make it a tradition to go to next year, although next time I'll be armed with a BBQ and bottles of vino.

Goodbye, summer.

This summer has been one of the best I can ever remember. And it literally was, the best in 11 years I believe, in terms of weather. We've had so much sun and warmth and I feel like I've really made the most of it. I also spend two weeks of it in Menorca (which was around 40 degrees and too much for me) so I've certainly had my fair share of glorious sunshine.

But now, my tan is fading, the leaves are on the ground and the evenings are drawing in. Yes, autumn is most certainly on the way and I for one love it. I like all seasons really but I get particularly excited when autumn draws closer, although I'm not sure why. Maybe because my birthday is fast approaching, or the cold snuggly nights on the sofa. Perhaps it's the thought of Christmas only round the corner, or the cosy winter fashion. Either way, I'm looking forward to some cooler weather, wrapping up and certainly looking forward to not sweating my tits off for a few months. 

When I think of autumn in my head, colours appear. Rich colours like burgundy, plum, deep green and natural browns. It's time to crack out those darker, warmer colours of nail polish and don the beanie hats. The central heating is already on and I've started my Christmas present list. Wow, time really does fly huh? 

This time of year says to me 'make the change before the year is out', 'a fresh start, if the first part of the year went tits up'. For me it's a real positive time of year, on which anything can happen. There is nothing I like to do more than walk outside on a frosty morning and breathe in deeply the sharp, cold, fresh air and blow away those cob-webs. 

Let's make a difference before the year is finished. Lets enjoy this last part of 2013 and make something of it. Even if its been a shitty year so far, use the next 3 months to make plans for next year, to make it better and have things to look forward to. Enjoy these last, chilly three months and have fun. 

The Alex by Ikea

Standing proud in my bedroom, the Alex.

The Face Drawer-foundations, bb creams, tinted moisturisers, bronzers, concealers, highlighters & blushers.

The Eye Drawer-eyeshadows, creams, pencils, pallettes & mascaras.

The Lip Drawer-lipsticks, balms, tints, pencils, pens, and some other bits and bobs.

The Nail Drawer-everything nails.

Yes, I finally gave in and spent the dosh on the infamous beauty storage solution. Nearly every beauty blogger/YouTuber will have this little baby in their home, housing all the precious make-u and beauty related items and I am NOT dissapointed. First off, it was super easy to build-I did it myself, and that is al the proof of the ease that you need. And it is just the perfect make-up storage. I've got everything in there, from nail polishes to skincare to make-up and body care. I am in love. It's from Ikea and priced at around £90 which, in my opinion is completely worth it.