Monday 28 July 2014

Kawaii Club Monthly ~*~July~*~ a.k.a THE BEST BOX EVER!!

Hello Lovelies!


Today I'm super excited to review the latest kawaii club box. As you can see in the title I really loved this box!!


I think from this picture, you'll know why I said it was the best box ever! It was full of Rilakkuma items, and even better two of these were on my wish list!! So here we have a Kiiroitori fan, a Rilakkuma ice cube tray, water bottle, cosmetic band, a pair of Harajuku pink sun glasses and a glasses case.


Ice cubes! These are so cute and were one of my wish list items, it looks like you may be able to use these for cooking too? I need to translate the back of the card, but they certainly work well for ice cubes.

 

Drinks flask! This was my other wish list item, and I'm very pleased to report it doesn't leak either!! (The woes I've had with that!) It's also got a little strainer in it which is handy for keeping ice cubes under.


Rilakkuma Cosmetic band! This si super handy for keeping my hair out the way whilst doing make up in the mornings.


Kiiroitori fan - How cute is this? It's perfect for the super hot weather we're having at the moment.


Pink Harajuku sun glasses! These are pretty cute, and in my favourite colour too.



For some bizarre reason I didn't take a photo of the outside of the glasses case - but here you can see the cute little cloth and inside the case - this is mega useful for me as I have to wear glasses (Boo!) and it's nice to have something cute to keep them in.

So there you go, that was July's box, and I lovev all the items in it, I can only hope that future box have lots of Rilakkuma items too!

Ta-ta for now
X

Wednesday 23 July 2014

My favourite things about summer!

Hello Lovelies!


I'm guessing that most of you are having ridiculous hot weather right now? Here in the UK it's been humid, hot and thunderstormy for the last few weeks. Normally English summer consist of grey skies and rain, with the very rare sunny spell that usually lasts a week, but it seems this year we've been lucky!

With all the good weather this got me thinking about what my favourite things about summer are:


Summer shoes, specifcally, Jelly Shoes. With out a doubt I love these - I used to have a pair when I was younger and re-invested in some for our holiday! These are really comfy for all day wear too! I love the way the sparkle in the sun shine.


Summer clothing - Yay for pretty dresses and not needing 10 jumpers!


Summer foods - BBQs, ice cream and icey sodas! Bring on the fun!




Being able to go outside with out getting soaked! Going for walks with Harry in the woods near our home, with out getting covered in mud and take the motobike to work instead of the car.


 Harry's also just learnt he can swim and he loves this too! It's pretty cute to watch him sploshing about.


And lastly, because its warmer Harry's been napping a lot and he just looks so adorable!

What are your favourite things about summer? I'd love to know - leave a comment below!

Ta-ta
X

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down!

Hello Lovelies!


A few days ago a friend posted a question asking 'How do people seem to stay happy?' Now, this got me thinking, moods can be affected by just about anything good and bad (and I'm quite prone to bad luck at the moment!) and we all have our ups and our downs, but what can we do to cheer ourselves up when we're feeling blue? This is my list of things that make me smile even when the worst is going on!


My family! My Husband and Harry always manage to cheer me up, so do my parents, sisters, extended family and friends too.


Rilakkuma. I don't know what it is about this little bear and his friends, but his chubby little face makes me smile. Sometimes the animation shorts are fun to watch too if you want to take your mind off things.


Reading a good book, manga, playing a video game or watching something so awful its funny.


Window shopping - or online window shopping. You don't even need to spend anything! Just have a look around and see what you can find, there's always something to look at.


Crafting and baking. These always cheer me up, I love making new things and planning them out can help take your mind off other bothers.


Food! I love stir fry and fresh fruit (especially watermelon and mangos) and the good news is unlike most comfort food they are pretty kind to your waist line!



These are just a few things you could try to lighten your mood, but take a moment for yourself, even if its just a nice hot bath or a quiet walk. But try and remember, bad times, are just times that are bad, it won't last forever!

Ta-ta for now
X

Monday 14 July 2014

The Briars - Paignton ~ Guest accomodation

Hello lovelies!


Today I'd like to tell you about the hotel we had the pleasure of staying at during our almost not holiday to Paignton.


Our holiday almost didn't go ahead as on Sunday when I called the original hotel (The Weary Ploughman of Goodrington sands) we had booked into over two weeks before, they had no recollection of us every booking, despite me having a booking reference. The manager told us that they had a problem with their caterbook system and they'd had other guests turn up with no booking in place and no rooms available. They also told me that they didn't have any rooms available, except for 1 night and then we'd have to move to another hotel along the road, which seemed rather pointless and awkward and we declined this option. I won't ever try too book at this hotel again as they didn't even try to warn their guests that they'd had a problem with the booking system, there was no message on their website, no nothing, and I'd suggest that if you do book with them, or anywhere else you call to confirm your booking! So with less than twelve hours to sort something we frantically began looking for somewhere to stay else we'd have to cancel our holiday altogether, and it wasn't looking good as nearly everywhere was fully booked until we came across The Briars.


We had a read up on all the excellent reviews on trip advisor, looked at the photos in the gallery on the website and booked a sea front view through Expedia, and I'm so glad we did, we totally lucked out! In my honest opinion loosing our original booking couldn't have worked out better. 

The Briars is run by the lovely Malcom and Mandy. Malcom appeared on arrival just as we parked the car and helped us with our bags (poor Malcom, he ended up with my giant bag!) We were shown to the cosy lounge, with huge comfy sofas, filled out the paper work and told that the lounge was for free use, there was a bar in the next room and that the  dining room was downstairs.


We were then shown to our room - this was the view!!! It was absolutely stunning. Mandy showed us the tea and coffee making facilitates (with tasty biscuits!), the hotel help book and explained that breakfast was between 8:00am and 9:00am. I also noticed the towel bale on the bed tied up with a ribbon that matched the colour scheme of the room which I thought was a lovely touch. The bed was super comfortable and it was lovely to be able to look out on the sea front every morning.

This was our room

They also thoughtfully provided two bottles of water that we could re-fill during our stay from the water machine in the dining room and that they provided fresh fruit through out the day there too.

The dining room

The dining room was so bright and warm. I wish I'd taken a photo of the breakfasts Mandy made, I've never eaten so well! There was also table in the dining room with fresh fruit, yoghurt, cereals, jams and juice that you could help yourself too. Malcom then took any orders for toast and cooked breakfasts which were always perfect!



The location of the hotel was ideal, although we hadn't originally planned on staying in the town, we were very glad we did and because of the location we didn't touch the car for the entire time we were there as everything was with-in walking distance - It's literally across the road from the sea! (Also it's in prime view for the bike meet that happens on a Wednesday evening - more on that later!)


I really can't recommend the Briar's enough and I'd love to go again. Malcom and Mandy are some of the loveliest people I've met and I'd like to thank them for our stay!

I'd highly suggest you check out their website and give them a try for yourselves!

Thursday 3 July 2014

REVIEW: Herbal Essence Bee Strong Shampoo and conditioner ~*~ Neutral/Negative ~*~

Hello Lovelies,


Today's post is a review of some Herbal Essence's Bee Strong shampoo and conditioner. Unfortunately its not a good one, and I don't like doing bad reviews but I'm quite annoyed with this product after my expectations! So on to the review!



I'd recently seen the Bee Strong hair care range advertised just about everywhere, it's said to make your hair stronger and softer and was fragranced with honey and nectarine. This was the selling point for me as I love the scent of honey, and luckily for me they were recently on offer in my local super market. Upon getting them home and testing them I noticed that I couldn't smell the honey at all, all I could smell was the nectarine and something else, definitely not honey. Now, I like nectarines but this smelt really artificial, and not particularly pleasant.



The shampoos consistency was pretty standard, but a few minutes are lathering it in to my hair I could tell something wasn't quite right, it felt like it had stripped all the moisture from my hair and turned it into straw!!



No worries I thought, the conditioner should fix that. The conditioner itself was like butter, really thick and odd. Again I applied this to my hair and left it a few minutes before rinsing it out. and then rinsing it out again. And then again. I don't know what it is with this but it was a mega pain to rinse out, it left my hair feeling very heavy and greasy and not at all nice. It also didn't smell great either.


My hair is still wet in this photo but you can see it looks rather greasy, it did get a little better after it dried but not much. I did persevere and try twice more with it but it just doesn't work for me and I've gone back to my regular shampoo. I have to say I'm really disappointed in this all round, the scent was odd, it dried my hair and if anything I noticed more hair fall after washing with this than before. I really wouldn't recommend it as it's quite expensive too!!

Ta-ta for now
X