OMCZ | Shopping Trip

Hi!

Time for another OMCZ challenge! This month the theme is shopping trip.

Steph wrote:

The next theme has a more of an open feeling to it. No specific items or patterns to showcase. Just show us what you'd wear to go shopping.

This is inspired by the shopping trip to Birmingham organised by the lovely Nikki. Knowing what to wear on a shopping trip in the colder months can be a challenge. You want to be warm enough when you are outside but as soon as you go inside not be too hot.

What do you wear? Maybe it's your PJs for a midnight dash to the supermarket or maybe it's full on glam or somewhere inbetween?

 

I haven't been shopping since I went to Birmingham so here I am in our local Sainsbury's with Mr C doing the weekly shop!

 

Is that cakes I spy over there??

 

This is the same outfit that I wore when I went to Birmingham to meet some of the lovely PSbloggers ladies. The only difference is that in Birmingham I had on my purple jacket underneath this coat, big mistake! I was so hot at one point I thought I was going to pass out! Underneath I'm wearing a short sleeve waffle t-shirt which is just right for this mixed weather we are having at the moment. Not very glamourous but very very comfortable!

 

No Mr C, you are not having any of my popcorn!

 

Jacket - Roger + Rogers

T-Shirt - New Look

Jeans - New Look

Trainers - Converse

 

Don't forget to check out the other lovely ladies taking part!

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x

 

Steph	http://www.seeingspots.co.uk/
Sarah	http://plussizeproud.wordpress.com/
Becky Brown	www.doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com
Nikki	http://www.nattynikki.com
Leah	www.justmeleah.co.uk
Natalie	www.awheelbarrowfullofstyle.com
Gillian	www.readysteadyfile.co.uk
Mary	www.marysbigcloset.com
Hollie	Http://www.prettybigbutterflies.com
Becca	http://thegirlwiththeplait.blogspot.co.uk/
Sam	http://fattyboomtatty.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Lifestyle | A very windy Sunday

 

Hi!

 

Mr C and I love nothing more than going out for a random trip at the weekend, especially as the weather is being so kind to us at the moment!

 

These pictures were taken on a very windy day so please ignore the flyaway hair and clothes in the following pictures!

 

 

 

Yes, we went to a wedding fair. I was just curious to see what this place was like, they only hold a few weddings a year so I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about!

They provided a complimentary BBQ and afternoon tea, forget about looking at the place, it was worth going for the food and of course the beautiful scenery!

 

It was such a shame that it was so windy as there were plenty of beautiful spots to take photos.

I took this after I got home, hence the messy hair! I nearly put on a thin shirt but thank goodness I didn't! I went for this jumper from New Look, the material is quite thin so it kept me warm in the chill of the wind but cool in the sun.

Jumper - New Look (no longer on line)

Jeans - New Look

Scarf - Market stall

Bag - Kate Spade

Shoes - H&M (old)

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x

Current Favourites

Hi!

It's been quite a long time since I did a favourites post. It may have been last year or even 2013 when I did one last!

I just wanted to share some of my favourite things at the moment:

Blogs

Mrs BeBe Blog

If you haven't read Becky's blog then you definitely should. I'm in love with her style which just gets better and better with every post I read!

Just Me Leah

Leah's blog is one of my absolute favourites, she puts together great outfits, has a great sense of humour and her posts are always so well written and relatable, there have been some points when I wish I could reach in that computer and give her a hug (( )) !

YouTube

Erice Fae

I've only recently discovered Erica's channel. Her style is chic and simple and she makes fabulous look books.

Makeup TIA

Another recent discovery. Ashley makes some really lovely videos and has such a soothing voice, I could just watch her videos for hours.

Claire Marshall

Just go and watch Claire's channel, that's all.

Beauty

 

 

Garnier Micellar Water

 

I recently discovered this and it's now become a staple in my evening routine, my very short routine!

 

 

Lanolips

 

I got this over a year ago, it sat in my drawer until a few weeks ago and now I'm wondering why I left it so long to try it! I use it every morning to give my lips a hint of colour. It's also helped to get rid of the chapped lips I had a few weeks ago when the weather was really cold. This is an item at the top of my re-purchase list!

 

 

Effaclar Face Wash

 

I've been using the Effclar Duo for a few months now and it has done wonders for my skin. I decided to purchase the facewash to try out so that I could make sure my skin stayed in good condition. I will be doing a separate post with a review on this soon but I can tell you I love it so far!



Lifestyle

Fit Bit

I've become a bit obsessed with this thing!! I really needed some motivation to get moving and this is doing the trick, I think it may have to be the fact that I have a band that costs £60 on my wrist I feel like I must move to get my moneys worth! So far it has worked and I'm feeling better for doing the extra steps. Mr C and I will be doing a joint review on the Fit Bit soon.

Notebooks

I can't stop buying notebooks! Does anyone else have this problem!??

Spring Cleaning

I'm in full on spring cleaning mode now. This time last year I was still in recovery mode so I didn't do much but this year I'm on it! Over the next few weeks I'm going to tackle my wardrobes and makeup drawers, I have so many clothes that I don't wear and make up that I don't use, I'm ready for a good clear out!

Do you have anything you are loving at the moment?

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x

Beauty | My Little Box

Hi!

It's that time again! I get quite excited when I get the email to say that My Little Box is on it's way, I've been trying not to buy many clothes so any package that arrives brings a little smile to my face!

This post is just to show what was in the box. I'm going to be doing a review of the products from this box and last months superbox in the next couple of weeks!

Here is what I do with the lids of my boxes at the moment, I've kept all the boxes I've received so far!

Random nail on the wall!

Have you subscribed to My Little Box?

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x

Shop Your Stash

Hi!

It's been whilst hasn't it! I don't now why I stopped doing these posts but thought it would be nice to bring them back! Hollie from Pretty Big Butterflies originally set up this challenge last year so that people could start using they already have rather than keep buying a lot of new things!

I had a little pamper morning, I know most people have pamper evenings/nights but prefer to do mine in the morning for some reason! I decided to open up my beauty cupboard, yep a cupboard to store the overflow of items that don't fit in my drawers! I found some items that I hadn't used so decided to try them during pamper morning.

Lush Hair Mask:

My first purchase from Lush! I know I am probably last to the Lush party! The lovely Becky persuaded me to purchase this, I was sold as she raved about it and said how good it was. I have to agree with her, it is really good! You literally just apply it to your hair, leave for 20 mins and then shampoo and condition as you normally do. My hair felt silky smooth afterwards, I kind of wish I had purchased this during the winter when my hair was desperate for some deep conditioning!

 

Face Mask:

I don't even now when I bought this! I'm terrible when it comes to face masks, I used to do one every 2 weeks and then life got in the way and my routine just fizzled out. This one was ok, not as good as the Elemis Tri Enzyme mask I tried last year but my skin felt clean and looked a bit fresher after using it. I'm going to keep using it until the bottle is finished but it's not one that I would re-purchase again.

Castor Oil:

I read about this a few months ago and how good it was for Afro hair. I immediately hopped onto Amazon and ordered a bottle. Once it had arrived I the proceeded to pop it in the cupboard and forget all about it. I opened it up a few weeks ago and have been using it since then. I'm 100% certain that it has helped my hair grow and it's a great pre conditioner before I wash my hair. I'm going to carry on using it for a few months and hopefully I will soon have long flowing locks!

Foot Socks:

I saw this foot pack in B&;M and as it was only a £1 I thought I might as well give it a try! My feet are definitely in need of some TLC to get ready for the summer.

After trying these I don't really know what to say other than they are rubbish! My feet didn't feel any better afterwards, the only thing that they did was cool down my feet after spending the afternoon gardening!

 

Do you have any recommendations for at home treatments?

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x

Style | Simple and Casual

 

 

Hi!

 

The sun is back, the temperature is rising and I'm slowly ditching the dark colours for something brighter! Spring and Autumn are my favourite seasons of the year, there is nothing I enjoy more than seeing the trees blossoming and the daffodils on the ground, guaranteed to bring a smile to my face!



 

On a recent Saturday outing I opted for something casual, simple and bright. I'm really enjoying bringing back denim into my outfit, I had dismissed it for quite a long time as I was having trouble finding a pair of jeans that fitted well. I was recently sent these for review by Fashion World and even though they are not the most comfortable jeans I do love the light colour, if you do purchase these jeans I definitely suggest sizing up in them as they are quite tight around the waist, they were fine for the short day out we had but any longer and Mr C would have been taking me home in my undies!

 

 

 

The top is from New Look and I got it in the sale. This is a lot brighter than I expected but I absolutely love it, I can tell that I am going to be wearing this a lot over the Spring/Summer months.

 

Top - New Look

Jeans - Fashion World*

Shoes - H&M (Last Season)

Bangle - Old

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x

Lifestyle | An Afternoon Tea

 

Hi!

 

Back in February while perusing my e-mail inbox, I noticed a message from Groupon that immediately piqued my interest. Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while will already know that myself and Mr C love nothing more than indulging in our shared passion of good food. The offer was 50% off Champagne Afternoon Tea at the Crazy Bear. Now, I thought, that is a very good way to an afternoon off work!

 

We chose the Crazy Bear at Stadhampton  as it is the closest to us and we had been there before for a 7 course tasting menu (which was absolutely delicious!). Mr C was as equally excited when I let him know about the email, and before I knew it, he had ordered and paid for a voucher - much to my delight.

 

 From the Champagne to the Earl Grey Tea, the 4 different varieties of sandwiches, the fruit and plain scones with Clotted Cream and Jam to the 7 different mini cakes, only one word could describe it - AMAZING!!

 

 

Reception is in an old London bus

 

 

The wine bottle ceiling!

 

Yum!

Champagne Time!

What I wore

 

Feeling sleepy now!

 

Coat - New Look

Shirt - New Look

Jeans - New Look

Shoes - H&M

Bag - Michael Kors

 

I'm in love in with this coat/coatigan from New Look, I would wear it everyday if I could!

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x

Lip Products | My Collection

 

Hi!

 

 

There is always one item that I will put on everyday whether I'm wearing make up or not and that is lipgloss/balm.

 

 



 

The Lancôme juicy tubes will always be a favourite of mine, I've used them for quite a few years now and love the glossy look they give without being too sticky. My least favourite was the MUA one, I wore it for a few hours (with a few applications in between), took it off and I was left with sore lips, the next day I woke up to a rash around my lips! This one is now in the bin.



 

 

Lipsticks are still quite a new thing for me. I never used to wear them as I hated drawing attention to my face. My favourites are the Mary Kay (far left) and the MAC one (in the middle) in Riveting Rose.

 

I recently purchased the Soap and Glory Great Kisser whilst it was on sale in Boots, I'm already a fan of Smooch Operator so thought I would give this a go, if you have tried this let me know your thoughts on it? I've been using the Baby Lips each night before bed and it's great, really sinks into lips overnight and keeps them soft. It's also good to use as a base under matte lipsticks.

 

 

I recently did a review on the Kiko products, you can read that here. I've also included my favourite lip pencil from MAC in Cork, sometimes I wear this on it's own with a bit of clear gloss over it.

 

The only time I ever use a lip brush is when I'm applying red or bright lipsticks, I love getting a nice outline when putting on a red lip and I find that brush always helps.

So that's my collection and some of my favourites. Do you have recommendations for new lipsticks or glosses to try? Let me know.

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x