Monday 30 April 2012

Update and Giveaway Winner!!


I've been missing in action for the past few
days, and I can honestly say that I've missed blogging so much!

I've been down in London at a Competition Appeal Tribunal concerning Tesco and the price fixing of cheese - it's more interesting than it sounds, I promise.
Since I was there, I decided to stay on an extra day and fit some shopping in. My mum caught a train down and we spent the afternoon getting lost in Harrods (I also managed to fit in a quick visit to a couple of other shops :p). We had a lovely time, bought some lovely things and ate some amazing food.

Speaking of which, my new absolute favourite snack of all time was discovered in Harrods!

This is the Berrytwistmoo - strawberry and natural frozen yoghurt swirled together, with strawberries and white chocolate drops - I can't tell you how delicious this was! It tasted so creamy! And here's the best bit, the frozen yoghurt
comes in an around 100 calories, so it's a guilt free treat! - I'm definitely going to try to make this on my own at home, it's just too good to pass up :D


This is the general idea for what I wore to go shopping, I don't have a full length photo as my mum is just appalling with a camera. I had my skinny jeans on the bottom with some snakeskin flats. You can see all
of the things I'm wearing in my previous haul here.

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And now for the exciting bit - the winner of my Yankee Candle Giveaway!
The winner was chosen at random by an online random number generator. There was 23 entries, as number 1 was just a lovely comment rather than an entry.


As you can see the winner was the 10th entry, so that's Lola from LolaStarHearts!

I'll be doing another giveaway soon, so keep your eyes peeled!
I can't wait to show you some of the exciting things I bought, so I'll see you soon!

Lea
x


Tuesday 24 April 2012

Bits and bobs haul


I've had an odd day today, I got some work done and saw some friends for an hour, but it seems to have been very long and also quite short all in one go. Isn't that odd? It's probably just me!

Anyway!

I've accumulated a few exciting things in the past couple of days so I thought I'd show you :D

I got my hands on all but one of the Mavala Delicious Colours collection. I don't have the purple colour, but not because I couldn't find it, I'm just not that into purples at the moment - I'm sure it'll change again soon though! I'm loving all of these colours, they're perfect for spring/summer and look really cute on short oval nails!

Do you remember the pink shirt I showed you in this post? Well I went back and got the same one in blue! The pattern isn't as prominent on this one but I love the colour <3 I also picked up another one of the bra sets as I find it so comfortable and flattering under clothes - plus it's super cute and who doesn't love cute underwear?

I also picked up these socks, not so exciting I know, but I don't like to wear slippers as the stairs in our flat are quite steep and I'm afraid I might slip. So cute socks are my footwear of choice for protecting my tootsies!

One of the most gorgeous scents, it's so refreshing and sweet but you can really smell the sugary vanilla. It's just like a lime milkshake!

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Okay, so I know you're going to judge me for this one, but I love Disney so I'm going to put it in anyway :D


One of the presents that Alex bought me for my 20th was an Xbox Kinect, and while I love it for the fitness aspect, I'm also guilty of the odd hour here and there (about once a fortnight, don't panic ladies! I've not gone all die hard butch on you) on a normal game. I really don't like any kind of violence based games, they go against my personal morals, but I can really enjoy a bit of adventure every now and then. I guess I'm still young at heart ;)

I'm off to London tomorrow, a while ago I wrote that something I was supposed to be doing was postponed, and it's finally rolled round again. I'm super excited and hopefully I'll get some time in on Saturday to do a bit of shopping/sightseeing :D

I hope you all had a lovely day,

Lea
x

Tonight is the last chance for you to enter my Yankee Candle Giveaway! The winner will be chosen at random from the entries that were submitted before midnight tonight. If you want to enter, you can find it HERE.

Monday 23 April 2012

Slimming into summer progress [1]


I found this on weheartit.com (can you tell I love that site? :p) and really loved it! I've set it as my background on my iMac so I'm reminded by it whenever I look at my computer :D.

I've also decided to set myself a small goal to try to fulfil each week and I thought this list was a good place to start with ticking things off! This week I'm going to try to go on a walk (weather permitting) every single day.

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So do you remember that I said I was going on a diet/health kick?

I had my first weigh in this morning and I have lost 4lbs! Now I know that's a lot if you're aiming to lose weight the healthy way, which I am (1-2lbs a week is average), but I think it may have been the drastic change that shocked my body a bit, I'm now expecting it to level out at around 2lbs a week fingers crossed!

I thought I'd do a quick summary of how I've been doing during week one:

*I've been eating 1200 calories a day and have been using the 'MyFitnessPal'
app to keep track of the calories. I absolutely love this app, scanning foods in makes it so quick and easy to keep track of what you're eating.

*I've been sure to eat three meals per day that are the recommended portion size (you'd be surprised how much difference this makes!) and one snack. I've been eating them at the allocated times and no later than 8pm.

*I haven't gone hungry at all - if I was hungry, I ate, I just made better decisions about what I was putting into my body. My meals have all been healthy and included lots of fruit, veg and whole foods.

*I've drank a lot more water - you'd be surprised how many calories are in drinks. I don't like water on it's own but I mix in 2 cap-fulls of cordial and it's fine. I think this is because theres the option on 'MyFitnessPal' to keep track of how much water you've been drinking during the day, so it's made me more conscious.

After this week I'm feeling more energised, much less 'sluggish' and bloated and I've noticed a difference in my skin. It's clearer and smoother so I'm obviously super happy about that! :D
I'm actually really enjoying pushing myself into making good decisions about my life, not just in the food department, but also exercise and my motivation to get things done. It means I can truly have the weekend off and not feel guilty :p

I'm off to have my lunch now, but I'm also going to have a little pampering session since I have an hour off for lunch (I got up extra early today to start work). I got some exciting things in the post today which I'll show you later :D

Have a lovely day everyone <3
Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Yankee Candle Giveaway HERE (ending soon!)

Sunday 22 April 2012

Haul part 2


I finally got round to taking these pictures for you, so I'll just jump right on in and get on with it! You'll have to bear with me regarding the prices, I've taken them off, but I can remember it within a pound or two :D

Top and Hoodie - New Look - Around £15 each. I got the hoodie in a 14 so it was nice and baggy and I've worn it so much in the past few days. It's so soft and comfortable!

Trousers - H&M - £14.99

Jumper - River Island - £15. (Sorry about the creases, it had been in a bag for a day and a half :p) I never usually shop in River Island as I find it ridiculously overpriced for what it is, but I was on the hunt for an oversized jumper and I thought why not. I couldn't find one anywhere for love nor money so I went for this in a 16 and it's supper flattering on, since it's a 16 the arms are a little long, but I actually love that look! It's also unbelievably soft and comfortable. You really have to see it on to get the full effect so I'll take a picture and show you when I'm wearing it. I'll pair it with jeans, a white cami, some dainty jewellery and some snakeskin flats probably :)

Vest top - Primark - £6. This is one of my favourite purchases, I love how bright the colour is and I love the cut of it. I wore it today and paired it with my neon green ToyWatch, some bright bracelets and silver Converse.

I didn't actually buy this myself, Alex came home with it as a present for me. It's from Pull and Bear, obviously I don't know how much it was, but how amazingly cute is it?!
I have a massive thing for owls and I really do think that I'm the luckiest girl in the world when I'm with Alex :p nawwww how cheesy haha <3


I bought a couple of cheeky things today while we were out and about so I might show you those soon :D
Also... EXCITEMENT! Uh Huh Her are playing a gig about 200m from my house tomorrow night and I have tickets! I don't know if any of you are familiar with Uh Huh Her, but its a band made up of 2 women, one being Leisha Hailey. Now if you've ever watched The L Word you'll know that Leisha Hailey plays Alice (!!!)
The L Word is a TV series that revolves around the lives of a friendship group of lesbians living in LA. It ran for 6 seasons and is a HUGE part of lesbian culture. Whether you're gay or not, its absolutely fantastic, (you'll even see Jessica Biel playing one of the main characters amongst a lot of other familiar faces) and maybe you'll have an answer the the eternal question - which I'm not telling you, but you'll know if you make it to the end of season 6 :p (Personally I think it was Nikki)
I can't even tell you how big a deal it is for an LGBT girl! I'm so excited! Eeee!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend,
Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Yankee Candle Giveaway HERE (ending soon now!)

Thursday 19 April 2012

Slimming into summer

(Image via Weheartit.com)

It's that time of year again, and this time I'm on a mission! We're hopefully going on holiday to somewhere sunny in September before I go back to Uni (for the final time eek!) and I want to rock that bikini! I thought if I started now there's no need for any panic dieting!
I'm hoping to lose around half a stone so it's definitely manageable - I just need to keep an eye on what I'm eating. I also want to get back into the habit of eating three meals a day at a reasonable time with one snack in between, this way hopefully I'll feel more energised and ready for the day!
So!
Wish me luck!
Are any of you on a weight loss journey for summer? I'd love to know :)

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Yankee Candle Giveaway HERE.

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Haul Part 1


I went shopping on Monday and really had quite a splurge. I'll do the clothes in another post as there's quite a lot hehe!

A little overview, I know lots of people are touchy about underwear but I don't really see the problem with it - we all wear it :D!
Primark:
Underwear sets £4-5 each
Shoes £5
Two ring sets £2
Large bag £10
Small bag £6 (I think)
Purse £5
Boots:
Nicola Lashes £6
Mavala Nail polish in Rocco Red £4
Bourjois lipgloss in shade 51 £7
Hair City (Leeds city centre):
18 inch hair - £60
WHS:
Dawn French, A Tiny Bit Marvellous £7

Topshop lipstick in Brighton Rock - £8

Topshop Nail Ring - £5ish (I think). The nail varnish here is the Mavala Rocco Red.

H&M Bracelets - £5 - how cute is the colour and elephant for summer?!

New Look earrings - £5 - they are actually really light which surprised me, I thought they would be heavy. I can't wait to wear these with a low v-neck white teeshirt and jeans - I think they'll really pop!

Lush Dream Cream - £10. This is the best cream in the world for eczema, it's beaten any prescribed creams I've tried, I really recommend it.
Mint Julips Lip Scrub - £5 - smells and tastes exactly like After Eights, what's not to like? :D
Cosmetic Warrior Facemask - £5 mark, this mask claims to soothe and prevent blemishes as well as give the skin some good restorative therapy.
Moon and Sun Toner Tab - £2.50 - love these, use them every other week :D

The swatches: Brighton rock on top, Bourjois 51 on the bottom.

And finally... PINK LEMONADE TEA! I cannot tell you how delicious this is! It's a really sweet tea, and I mean sweet, if you don't like tea - I bet you'll like this one. It's great hot, but I have some chilling in the fridge now and it's just as good with ice!
Whittard have some great instant teas, this was £5 and a well spent £5 at that!

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Yankee Candle Giveaway HERE.

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Keeping sane around exam time

(Warning: this is a wordy one!)


Although Alex has graduated from University with her Masters and is now in the big world of work, I'm younger than she is and so am still in education. I'm a second year law student at the University of Leeds and that wonderful time of the year has rolled around again - exam time. They're not for a month or so yet, but revision has officially commenced.
I personally find it quite hard to work at home, I find that I get distracted or tell myself that I've 'done enough for the day' so I go to the library to work instead. While this is much more productive, it can also be quite soul destroying to spend so much time in a library (10-6, 5 days a week)!

There's plenty of posts around on how best to revise, but I feel that it's a really personal thing. So rather that focus on how to revise I thought I'd do a post on how to make the slog a bit more bearable!

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The most important thing to me is to make things bearable by having small breaks. I like to go for a walk outside for 15 minutes, blog, read something interesting, have a look at an online shopping site - anything that takes your mind away from work. Make sure it's not for too long though or you'll lose motivation, I like to take 15 minutes every 2-3 hours with a longer break for lunch.

And speaking of lunch, make sure you eat! I used to forget about food and would end up dashing to the union to buy whatever fatty unhealthy food I could get my hands on because I was famished. Now I make sure I have something healthy for lunch that is already on me, so if I get really hungry it's already there. If you're on a budget, make something at home and bring it in, I do this half of the time and then splurge on something extra nice a couple of times during the week. I also like to drink either juices or water while I'm studying, it's a good source of vitamins/minerals and won't bloat you up or send you on a sugar high which you then have to come down from. By maintaining a healthy diet it will help to boost your concentration while maintaining that beautiful glow that we're all striving for ;).

Another big tip is to make sure that you are comfortable, this sounds like common sense but as I'm writing this I can see a girl sat a few tables away from me who is wearing a tight dress, false eyelashes and heels. She may well be comfortable for all I know, but she certainly doesn't look it!
I still do my makeup properly as I do every morning, but I leave chunky, noisy jewellery at home and wear layers so that I can adjust to the temperature nicely. Today I'm wearing jeans, flats, a white v-neck teeshirt and a peach American Apparel style zip up hoodie. To freshen up during the day I have small box with my beauty essentials in (I find it easier to see what I have with me in a box).


I won't list everything, but in a nutshell I have things to freshen up my makeup if I'm starting to look a bit faded/melted/patchy. Lip products, hand cream and nail glue incase I break a nail.

Alongside all of this I make sure that I have my headphones with me and some pretty stationary to make everything that bit more exciting :p.

If you're still reading this I'm amazed, but thank you! If you're due some exams - good luck and remember to take it easy and not panic!

Lea
x

Sunday 15 April 2012

And then there's the butterfly...


`You may observe a Bread-and-Butterfly. Its wings are thin slices of Bread-and-butter, its body is a crust, and its head is a lump of sugar.' ...
Taken from Alice in Wonderland.




Today Alex and I went to Tropical World in Roundhay in Leeds. I was super excited to discover that they had a Sloe Lorris which is one of my favourite animals, and we even spotted a meerkat who was quite the cheeky chappie! I was also really impressed by the butterfly rooms, some of them were so big they were more like bats!
Entry was around £3.50 per adult, so it was such a cheap hour of fun and I'd like to go back there again at some point. The gardens next to it are beautiful too and were packed since it was a beautiful day, I'm sure I'll be visiting them one day this summer <3

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, what did you get up to?

Lea
x

Dont forget to check out my Yankee Candle Giveaway HERE.

Friday 13 April 2012

Wonderfully whimsical

I was browsing weheartit.com and came across some pictures that managed to sum up some of the things which I would like to achieve this year. They're not groundbreaking things, just some little anecdotal wishes. But things that would make me happy all the same <3

To go on holiday, I love to walk along the beach at night and see this kind of thing, I think it's magical.

We all know these turrets don't we? :D The happiest place on Earth and I can't wait to go back <3

To sit somewhere warm in the rain and drink something delicious and just watch the world go by, knowing I don't really have to be anywhere or do anything better.

To have some lessons in piano, I already play but haven't in a year since I haven't had room for my instrument so far. I will soon though and I'm so looking forward to it <3

Do any of you have any whimsical wishes? Sometimes it's the little things isn't it?

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Yankee Candle Giveaway HERE.

Thursday 12 April 2012

5 Random Things In My Room


I thought I'd do something a little different for this post, as you can tell I'm still getting used to this whole video thing and I'm learning about editing properly. Now that I have a good idea of just how ridiculous I sound and look on camera I'll try recording them on Alex's SLR :D

Let me know what you think?


Lea
x

Dont forget to check out my Yankee Candle Giveaway HERE.

Saturday 7 April 2012

Short hair?


I had a bit of a lazy day today, we slept in and then I spent the afternoon reading Catching Fire in the bedroom :D I love a good book series and The Hunger Games series really is so worth all the hype!
We nipped out tonight and I picked up the third book in the series and a couple of nice drinks to enjoy tonight while we watch The Voice and BGT. This Pina Colada Caribbean Twist tastes so good over ice, and I also picked up some Mojito mixers, yum! I also got the latest Elle Decoration magazine, I love interior design and am itching to get my hands on our new place. I'm excited to finally have an entire home to decorate rather than have to fit all the things that I love into one small room!


I also embraced my short hair today, (which has recently gone shorter!). I've had extensions for years but just recently I'm using clip ins as a break from my permanent extensions. While it's been a good break in one way, I also find that the clips can be quite painful and so I've decided on a little break from them until I get them done properly again. I know this sounds silly and you'll be thinking that surely my hair must have grown in all these years since I've been wearing extensions, but no! My hair's growing limit seems to be my collar bones and unfortunately I've had to accept it - no amount of good treatment is going to coax my hair into growing!

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you've had a lovely break so far <3

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Yankee Candle giveaway HERE.

Friday 6 April 2012

The Royal Exchange, John Stape and Estee Lauder


On Wednesday night I went to see Saturday Night and Sunday Morning at the Royal Exchange in Manchester with my Mum. It was a fantastic building that was a perfect mix of old meets new and had plenty of lovely bars/cafe sections and even a restaurant. The play itself was good, the way they got props in and out was really interesting, and the audience got to see them close up outside the circle before and after the performance which was a nice touch.
If any of you watch Corrie and remember John Stape - the man who played his character was in it, and between him wafting his arms around and running in and out of the circle, a naked woman in a bath, women in underwear running around and the lead man talking (sometimes a little incoherently) very consistently and quickly it all got a bit confusing from time to time, but that all added to it. My mum and I had quite a good giggle to say the least!


Now I'm back in Leeds and Alex is back from Vienna which is lovely, and I was lucky enough to receive a little present from her <3 I've had my eye on this Estee Lauder fragrance for a while, it's quite a classic yet sexy smell and it's a great alternative to my usual sweet daytime fragrances or my Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. I've been wearing it for the past 2 days and it's just so gorgeous! It does smell differently on different people though, (my mum tried it and it was really pungent on her). If you get near it, I'd recommend giving it a spritz and seeing what you think :)


Tonight we went out to the dog racing as a one off bit of fun and we actually really enjoyed it! We played £1-2 bets on the races, drank pints of Coke and ate burgers with onions - it was a really fun night!

I hope you've all had a lovely evening and a good start to the Easter weekend <3

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Yankee Candle giveaway HERE.



Wednesday 4 April 2012

Who are your SATC girls?


Last night I went out for dinner with my girlfriends to an Italian near where my parents live. These girls are some of the best people in my life and I love them to death. They have all been there for me in tough times and helped me in their own individual way, and I like to think I've done the same for them too.
As usual it was a great night filled with laughter and reminiscing about past memories, and making new ones.
If I had to allocate a character to each of my girlfriends and I from SATC I think it would be...


Megan as Miranda - she works so hard and still pulls everything together - it scares me how efficient she is!
Danielle as Charlotte - she's just like her, always looks for the best in people and strives for perfection - and never gives up on love no matter what.
Leanne as Carrie - always looks fabulous, is attracted to the wrong kind of man every once in a while but I know she'll get a happy ending in the end.
And well, Me as Samantha - I've always been the upfront one and I'm not afraid to go out and get what I want! :D

What about you girls? Do you have a SATC friendship group?

Megan
Danielle
Leanne
And me of course, Megan took this when I wasn't paying attention!

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I spent most of today having lunch with my Grandad which was lovely, everyone who knows me knows that my Grandad means the absolute world to me <3
Now I'm going to have half an hour with Catching Fire and a fruit tea before going to get ready to go out. (I finished The Hunger Games last night and went out to buy this today, I loved it!)
Tonight I'm going to the theatre with my mum to see Saturday Night and Sunday Morning which I'm excited for :D

(I just had to snap this, how cute does he look all curled up in his furry blanket?!)

I hope you all had a lovely day,
Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Yankee Candle giveaway HERE.