So our cockapoo Chip is now 6 months and not so little anymore!
As he’s getting bigger he’s even cuter if that’s possible? We’ve been getting to grips with some basic puppy training at a local class. He’s mastered sit, lie down and giving a paw 🐾 as well as getting much better at not barging through doors straightaway. We’ve mastered the class and Chip got his very own rosette!
He was super proud of his rosette!
Hmmm what’s for tea!?
Chip knew someday he’d catch that toy
He’s started settling really well and we are loving having him as part of our family !
If you’ve got any training tips or advice for puppies do let me know.
This Thursday I’m throwing back to an afternoon to remember at The Looking Glass, Sunderland.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Looking Glass for an afternoon tea themed hen party. The cafe/bar is a fantastic venue with quirky accessories befitting it’s name. Each way you looked you seemed to see something different with rabbits, mad hatters and playing cards galore!
The delicious afternoon tea had the usual sandwich selections along with quiche, macaroons, sweet and savoury scones , cakes and tea served in china pots, with real cups and saucers.
Each treat was more delicious than the last with my favourite definitely being the scones. I know there’s debate about whether the cream or jam goes on a scone first (answers on a postcard please!)
There was so much included in the afternoon tea we ended up boxing some to take home. My 4 year old was really excited to find mini battenburg and cupcakes when I got home!
I would highly recommend a visit to the Looking Glass and I will definitely be back to try more of their delicious food.
The Looking Glass is in Sunniside, Sunderland city centre.
For more information visit their Facebook page by searching The Looking Glass, you won’t be disappointed!
So this month Glossybox really hit it out of the park for me with October’s Angel or Devil edit. There were two special design boxes available with an angelic or devilish theme…. I’m thinking you can see which one I got!
The colours in the October box were just fab!
The box had 5 amazing beauty treats all of them full size and a special extra treat of a hot chocolate from Whittard of Chelsea.
First up is the Que Bella Beauty Plumping gold peel off mask, which has a gorgeous glittery sheen to it in the packet (and on your face!). I love a good face mask and this also had hyaluronic acid to moisturise and brighten your skin, a must in the autumn weather! A full size product which is RRP of £2.49
I love a good red lip during the autumn and winter and in this box we got a Lord and Berry lip crayon in Devil Red. It’s a perfect bold red and being a crayon format you can line your lips and fill them in with one product! Finishes matte and doesn’t feel drying at all. This is a full size product with an RRP of £15.
An extra treat in this months box was this delicious Whittard of Chelsea Hot Chocolate which is Sticky Toffee Pudding flavour. This was so creamy and had a strong caramel/toffee flavour. A lovely little extra for those cold nights! I absolutely love the sugar skull packaging, really went brilliantly with the Halloween theme of the box. This was a sample size worth £2, Full size worth £9 which you can purchase here
Another favourite of mine in this months box was this STYLondon palette which has 9 shades of eyeshadow in red and orange tones. There’s a lovely mix of shimmers and matte shades which make a fab statement eye- not one for the faint hearted! I love this palette the pigment is good and it’s a great size for popping in your makeup kit. The palette is worth £15 and is another full size item.
An MCO eyeliner crayon in black was the next item which is a black liner designed to give precise lines. I really liked this as I can sometimes struggle with liquid liner when I apply. This applies really well and smudges nicely as well if you want to wear it along the lash line for a smokey eye look. The RRP for this is £15.
The final product in the box this month was the Bubbletea Devils Dust foaming bath powder. This is a really good size as you don’t need loads in the bath to create the bubbles and it has a nice floral scent to it. This is full size and RRP is £4.99
Altogether the products are worth £54.48. They are all products I have enjoyed using, particular favourites being the lip crayon, eye palette and eye liner. I really enjoyed the theme this month too, Halloween is one of my favourite seasons and I am glad I got the Devil box as the colours are much more suited to me.
Another shot of the Devil Red Lord and Berry Lipcrayon
I subscribe to Glossybox for £8.50 plus postage and packing which in total is £11.75 so definitely well worth the subscription fee.
As summer has come to a close and we start into the autumn, it felt like a great time to share some of my summer faves. I actually got away abroad this year for the first time in 3 years so it was great fun thinking of cute outfits and things to take away.
My versatile little bag from River Island
This cute little bag from River Island has served me well over the summer. The perfect size to fit the essentials and casual enough for day but dressy enough for evening. I love the hot pink colour which seemed to be a theme for me this summer!
Loved these earrings that I picked up on sale in Boots for £3!
I love a statement earring and a hoop, so this summer I made the best of both! A pop of neon colour made these the perfect go to for a relaxed look. Plus they were on sale in Boots, not somewhere I usually shop for earrings.
Hask Hair masks have been my saviour!
My hair always gets really dry and frizzy in the summer so it’s so important to me to keep it well conditioned. I love these Hask hair masks, I took 3 away on holiday to counteract the sun and chlorine and they kept my hair feeling soft and my hair colour shiny.
Loving the peachy coral tones this summerI love peach and orange tones for summer, especially when you have a tan! NYX butter gloss is great for hot days when you need some moisture but also want a good coverage lip colour. Of course my summer essentials wouldn’t be complete without a good bronzer and TooFaced Sweetie Pie is still my number one. It’s a perfect mix of colour and shimmer without an excess of glitter like some bronzers do.
Staying peachy with TooFaced
Finally a good primer is one of my essentials to make sure my face stays in place! I am currently using Obsession Makeup’s mattifying primer which is a silicone based primer. I find these work well for my skin type and it gives a wonderfully matte finish for your foundation to work on.
So it’s been a busy time in our house. The end of the school holidays, an adventure to Crete and now a new addition to the house, Chip the cockapoo!
We fell in love with him way back in July and it seems like it’s been ages to wait for him to be ready to come home!
He’s a chocolate brown cockapoo and growing all the time, chewing everything in sight and generally being cute!
He came home with us a week ago now and honestly it’s like he has always been here, settled in brilliantly and starting to master toilet training like a pro!
Chip at 12 weeks
Now he’s settling nicely we can’t wait to start walking him properly once he has his last set of vaccinations. We got him lots of chew toys and different softer toys too but I think he really is ready for a few walks now.
So I’m after any puppy or dog tips you might have, please leave a comment or email if you have any special things you did with your pet!
I was really excited for the July Glossybox which was summer holiday themed and features products to get you ready for your holiday.
July 2019 Glossybox
Five products are featured with skincare, haircare and makeup, another great mixture! There are perfect sizes mixed in here for popping in your suitcase or toiletry bag too.
Manna Kadar Cosmetics Bloom Mascara RRP £23
First up a full size Manna Kadar Cosmetics mascara in jet black. The first thing about this that struck me was the twisted packaging which I like. It’s designed with a cutting edge wand for fuller and longer length lashes. I have been trying some new mascaras lately so I will give this a go and add into another post for a full review.
Omorovicza cleanser, Palmers Body lotion and Boots face mask
Next we have a skincare trio with cleanser, gradual tanning lotion and a face mask.
The Omorovicza cleanser is not one I’ve heard of before and is a Hungarian brand. It’s fab for removing make up, being a foaming cleanser I find they’re usually good for that. This one is a travel size so will be great to take when we are on holiday.
The Palmers body lotion is called Natural Bronze and it’s a gradual everyday tanner. I’ll have to try this when my skin is not as flared up with my psoriasis. It does smell lovely though and I would love to try it properly.
The face mask is from Boots and I got the peel off one. I have to say it was fun using a peel off mask, a lot of the ones I’ve used lately have been sheet masks. It was fun peeling it off and it has tea tree and witch hazel, I had a few blemishes at the time and it has really reduced the redness and made my skin look brighter. I would definitely purchase again. At full size it’s just £3.50
And finally we have haircare with Moroccan Oil. This is an argan oil product for all hair types and helps with sun damage, conditioning and styling. I use it like a serum on wet hair before I heat style and on my dry hair to keep the lengths and ends looking healthy. I really love Moroccan Oil, it really does the job without weighing my hair down or making it look greasy. I hadn’t used it in a while as I’d been favouring John Frieda Frizz Ease but I think I’ll be making the switch back!
Overall the box is worth £58 this month so well worth the monthly subscription plan of £8.50 plus postage and packing.
The sneak peek for August was a sparkly Huda Beauty lip gloss which I am really looking forward to!
So we are massive Toy Story fans in our house. Disney is a huge part of our lives and we were all mega excited to see the new Toy Story 4 movie.
No spoilers but it’s definitely different from any of the other movies and for some a bit emotional. One of my favourite things is the change in Bo Peep which has been well publicised, but I’ll leave it there if you’re still planning a visit! This post is all about some of the cool things we’ve picked up now that most of the Toy Story merchandise has dropped.
Primark Woody cushion
With a discerning 4 year old son and Toy Story mega fan, it was a great time to pick up some cute accessories for his bedroom. This cushion was only £7 from Primark and he loved it so much he insisted on using it as a pillow for his bed!
We also got some bedding and curtains for Daniels room, he’s now 4 and we wanted to make his room a little more grow up for him. Needless to say he loves it! The bedding and curtains are from Dunelm Mill and the curtains have blackout lining, perfect for little ones.
Toy Story Toddler bedding £14 , sheet £6
Toy Story Curtains £45 from Dunelm Mill
Boots UK offer
We picked up some suncream for the summer at Boots and got this free water bottle, featuring none other than Toy Story 4 star Forky. Possibly the most relatable item in the movie is Forky, the toy Bonnie makes from items in the trash. As a mum to a 4 year old we get some weird and wonderful creations brought home from nursery and I love this element of the film showing how creative children’s minds can be.
When the toys take a selfie!
Pizza Planet T-shirt from Primark
I picked up this Pizza Planet T-shirt from Primark for £6 for our family trip to the cinema . We went with a Pizza Planet theme as Daniel loves the aliens, his shirt is from ASDA. Phils is the traditional Pizza Planet logo and is from Amazon.
Toy Story 4 Fan Club!
It was one of Daniels first trips to the cinema and he sat pretty well. You can tell by our faces how excited we were!
Have you seen Toy Story 4 yet?
I’m so looking forward to the Lion King coming up now and now the trailer for the live action Mulan has dropped too it’s an exciting time for Disney fans!
My favourite live action adaptation so far has been Jungle Book so I’m hoping that the Lion King can live up to that!
IT Cosmetics Your Skin but Better CC Cream in Fair
You know what it’s like, sometimes you just need to put on a quick face to do the school run or pop out for a few errands. As much as I love applying my makeup sometimes you just want a more natural look that’s easy to apply.
For a quick makeup day I love this IT Cosmetics, Your Skin But Better CC Cream for my base.
I got a sample of this a few weeks ago and I am loving it. At first I thought the shade, I’m using the Fair shade, was too light and would wash me out. However on applying it truly is as it says, “your skin but better!” giving a good coverage and evening out skin tone.
It’s also got factor 50 SPF so no worries about forgetting that in the warmer weather as the summer goes on.
If you are suffering with facial psoriasis as I do from time to time, it’s very good at covering red patches without drying out my face so ideal if a full coverage foundation makes your skin feel dry. It really does have a hydrating feel which I’ve never had with any foundation.
My go to Primer from Makeup Obsession
Hot 🥵 sticky summer days call for a primer that’s got your base covered! I love this Obsession Makeup primer for a non sticky matte finish which keeps my makeup in place all day. I’m usually busy with appointments and work so I need a good base to get me through and keep everything in place. I don’t want to be reapplying!
My other fave is Obsessions Mega Conceal and Baking Powder. I use shade 4 in the concealer and it’s perfect for dark under eyes, something i always struggle with. The formula is so creamy and gives great coverage thanks to the unique applicator.
The translucent powder is so fine, I like to apply mine with a Real Techniques contour brush to give some control over where I apply. It really helps set my concealer in place and areas where I might normally get shiny.
One of my favourite blush palettes is this Pinky Promise one from, you guessed it, Makeup Obsession! I just love their products right now! A great range of shades depending on your mood.
Finished off with a good mascara and I’m good to go.
I’m currently working through a few mascaras at the moment so will give full verdicts on that in another post.
Getting the basics right for a quick base has been my saviour for feeling my best when I leave the house.
Let me know some of your favourites for a basic makeup look.
Don’t worry this isn’t a negative post – I was front and centre at the show a few weeks ago in Sunderland, singing along at the top of my voice!
Spice World 2019 at Sunderland Stadium of Light
It’s amazing to me that a girl group who last toured back in 2007 still holds such a dear place in the hearts of us 30 somethings that grew up with their music.
The Spice Girls were built around Girl Power and friendship, two decades on from their debut in 1996 and its still the core of their performances.
Theres been much debate over whether Posh was a spoil sport not joining them on this tour, and as much as I missed her ( yes I am a massive VB fan) I understand her reasons. However it certainly doesn’t spoil the show and I loved seeing all the old footage of SpiceWorld and photos from the height of their fame with Victoria still featured.
Geri was so emotional at the Wembley show given that last time the girls were there she missed it due to having left mid way through their world tour. Even resulting in an apology for leaving the first time around. It really highlighted that friendships, especially ones that have been as long as theirs, have ups and downs but a simple apology is sometimes all you need to weather the storm.
I was about 13 when the Spice Girls burst into the music scene, and I think theywere probably one of the first experiences Ihad of feminism.
I know there will be many people who don’t view the Spice Girls as feminist and to thatI say there’s no one way to be a feminist.
The Spice Girls pioneered a movement in the Nineties which reintroduced and created a modern form of feminism. One which emphasised that being a feminist was to be worn as a badge of honour.
The Spice Girls represent to me a time when you were proud to stand up and be a girl, unafraid to be yourself. In those five characters they created we all saw ourselves and were one or a mix of a few, you didn’t need to be perfect you just needed to be you. Bringing a generation of girls (me included) into their world and believing we could achieve anything we wanted to put our minds to.
They spread the word that women are strong and confident; that women are stronger together and friendship and loveare key to your life, something we should all hold dear .
So there will always be comments like, they can’t sing, they’re too brash, loud, annoying but for me the Spice girls will always be my firstreal experience of feminism.
Something I think in the modern world we forget, real women fix each other’s crowns.
And friendship really can last forever♾
Viva Forever 🦋
A few of my favourite pictures from the Sunderland concert!
Hask Hair masks have been my saviour!
Vanessa Kay 