The Living Room : a lazy sunday

 I've gone and named the post lazy Sunday, but as you'll see it probably wasnt all that lazy. For the past however long I've been working 7 days a week so we both decided to keep our diaries clear for the Sunday just gone and spend the day together. We headed out for breakfast at The Living room first, I've heard amazing things about this place especially from Emma and her foodie boyfriend. The Living Room is in Alum Chine, Bournemouth and offers B&B but more importantly a super cute little cafe. 

Danny went for Welsh rarebit and I went for cinamon and maple syrup pancakes, they were delicious but definitely not quite as amazing as my favourite ones at Cheese & Alfies.

We then headed straight off to get pup and take her to the beach. I dont think she's ever been running on a huge sandy beach before, we used to walk her around Upton and occasionally down through Hamworthy park which has a tiny sandy / stony beach. We spent a good few hours walking up and down Sandbanks (one of the best beaches in Europe) paddling and running and playing with other puppies, before heading off to meet baby Cayden, who was delivered by emergency C section late last week.

What did you get up to at the weekend?

xoxo

The old vicarage at Hinton : a rosie evening

 I love a good girly dinner date, nattering away over a table of good food by a roaring fire ....hello heaven! Rosie is one of my favourite bloggers and it just so happens she lives down the road, we've kept promising each other a dinner date to The Old Vicarage in Hinton Admiral and finally we did it.

''  The Old Vicarage is a family run sumptuous six bedroom hotel and restaurant set in the heart of 10 acres of stunning gardens and woodlands, bordering the idyllic New Forest National Park and just a few minutes from the beach'' 

I remember the first time I came here I fell in love with the restaurant, it's so intimate and cosy. They also have a seasonal menu, which showcases the best local produce and a well stocked bar, brownie points from me! I went for the pumpkin and mushroom linguini, which was absolutely divine. I've never had pumpkin before ( apart from the seeds) and it was cooked beautifully, definitely a pumpkin convert! Rosie went for some chickeny business with kale, vine cherry tomatoes and mash (originally with mushrooms, swiftly changed by the amazing staff for a mushroom free version).As as I am absolutely terrible I went for a scrummy dessert of caramlised bananas, viennese biscuits, toblerone sauce and icecream, I was hoping they'd still be serving creme brulee but it was off the menu. this was lovely though, and not too big either!

Both my courses came to a super reasonable £12, definitely value for money! they also do three courses for £15, which I will definitely be investigating as some of the starters sound divine.

We then had a little nosey about and planned our gym schedule for the next week or so ( we're going to be super super fit you see...) and took some silly photos in the giant mirror and then headed off home. Short and sweet.

 Like I said, little dinner dates are the best. Especially ones where we get to leave the boys at home and chat girl talk and blogs all evening. Sadly I got home and the missed calls from boy I had sat on my phone were because his van had gone and packed in and he was broken down a few miles away. Luckily he'd managed to get home by the time I did and now I get the boy of getting to up to take him to work at sillyer am until it's all fixed :(  Thank goodness my car's fixed huh!?

Have you been to any lovely restaurants or cafes lately? Link me up to any posts :)

We're waiting for Emma to get back from America so we can investigate some amazing places she's been too. Having foodie friends is amazing!

xoxoxo

bournemouth bloggers

Bournemouth bloggers finally came around today and sadly lots of people were super ill ( / living it up in the USA ...cough emma), but we still had a lovely day jus the 7 of us and have some amazing plans coming up so keep your eyes peeled! 

Possibly my first ever full length outfit, feels so weird I must resist the urge to delete! 

top - topshop, skirt - newlook, leggings - topshop, shoes - primark. 

 pretty shoes + living in the country = muddy toes 

We all met up in Aruba, which is one of the most amazing restaurants in Bournemouth with a lush view of the sea (its best in summer). I headed straight for the cocktails...as you do. 

 We had lots of blog related natter for pretty much the entire day talking about why we started and who our favourite bloggers are - mine is obviously the londoner.

Instead of goodie bags for all we had a best blog and best dressed.

Brogan won best blog and a bag full of goodies & Megan won best dressed (disco pants and a baggy jumper)

 We headed straight for Benefit as the lovely Sophie had offered us all free makeup lessons

 We had a special brow lesson, benefit are definitely the best for eyebrows and our local Bournemouth store has a specialist brow bar where you can go for waxing and tinting ( watch this space!)

I'm a real advocate for a good skincare routine, I'd say its probably the sole reason I have such nice skin, so I really fancies trying out what benefit have to offer so I picked up their little box full for £10. It seems a bargain to me and a perfect stocking filler too! Sophie also gave us all some stay dont stray and bad gal mascara to try out (although I doubt anything can beat they're real). If you want to hear me ramble on about makeup some more click here

 We then parted ways with a few girls and headed up around a few more shops before heading home

 I had to include the amazing sunset I saw getting off the train. Oh and if you're interested, which you totally arent, my car is fixed (it was the battery, like Id told them all along).

It was a really lovely day out and quite nice being only 7 of us as it gave us a chance to get to know each other. I've also got some dead exciting plans coming up so keep your eyes peeled ladies ;) 

I'm now off to scoff some nuts I got gifted ( best sample everrr?!) and watch x factor as boy is out playing golf or something equally as interesting. 

What've you been up to this weekend?

Have you ever been to a bloggers meet?

xoxoxox

the joules gilet : a love story

It's not often I fall in love with an item of clothing, but when I do it doesn't come off until it's forced off me for a long overdue wash. A few days ago a gorgeous package from Joules arrived on our doorstep and as soon as I set eyes on it I knew I was in love, so much so I'm telling you all about it now. 

Meet my beautiful higham gilet  (£64.95*) from Joules. Joules have a whole collection of womens gilets so it was a mega task deciding which I liked the most, being a sensible sally I went for the most classic which happens to be new in- navy blue, two nice sized pockets and heavy padding, perfect for winter in the country!

We went on our first outing to the shops with an orange and black playsuit on, then on a long doggy walk on the beach with a burgundy peter pan dress and wellies, then did some gardening in a baggy top and leggings and then finally today we headed to uni with jeans, an american apparel hoodie and ugg boots.  I had to collect a few pics of instagram as I wanted to show just how in love we are, I will never ever have cold sides (or boobies) again.

What I love about Joules, asides from them being beautifully British, is the attention to detail in their clothing. I definitely think when you're buying something little details make something seem so much more worth the money, like the bright pink zip, engraved buttons and floral lining - not to mention to the cute little hare logo. If you're a country girl but you're bored of boring colours and no prints, Joules is for you & I would totally recommend everyone who might be subject to the cold this winter (ahem, everyone) heads straight to Joules and buys their own gilet, it is literally aaamazing. The customer service is pretty damn good too, I know the girls in my local Joules store pretty well and they're always lovely and welcoming! I've picked a few of my other favourite things from the website below.

L : The Alana gilet (£99.95) is padded with duck and goose down, that would definitely keep you warm over winter! It's their most expensive gilet but it is super warm and has a hood and will keep you perfectly toasty when the weather turns.

M : I fell in love with the packaging on my parcel, if you love it too this Ecobag ( £9.95) would be perfect, it folds up into the tiny pouch too which makes it SUPER handy.

R: Navy dog wellies (£36.95) I don't even need to justify these, Joules wellies are my favourite as they're so comfy, totally perfect for dog walks, gardening or mucking out. These are even better as they have doggies on them, I think they'd make a perfect christmas present for country girls! ( I also highly recommend a pair of their original bright pink wellies) 

What do you think of my new gilet?

Have you ever shopped with Joules before?

What's your favourite item from their website?

p.s if you live near Newbury the big joules sale is coming up!

xoxoxox

a happy post #2

001. Being back at uni. I'm one of those horrid students who enjoys learning, oh god. It's nice being back in a classroom after a month of working non stop, although seeing all the assignments Im going to have no social life till the Christmas holidays. I've been assigned to another dementia unit for this term, which is fine as I'm pretty damn knowledgable in dementia care now ( but half sucks as it reduces my learning opportunities and I really fancy a CAMHS placement).

002. My new bike, in my last post I said about the bike I really fancied. Well I went out and got her. She's still in that new name every day phase but I love her so much and she definitely brightens the commute, although in this terrible weather we cycle to the train station instead of the whole way. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of this girly on my blog over time- If you have any name suggestions please post them below!

003. Lists. I love lists at the moment, I have a page at the back on my uni book where I write to do lists for when I get home (and then I get home and procrastinate so much that a minimal amount gets achieved) and a separate 'to do this weekend' list which keeps getting added too ( a 21st birthday and a 22nd and its moving weekend and I'm working).

004. Driving, nope not me. I can drive, in fact I started learning a few days after I turned 17. For the past few years ( apart from when I was in London) I've had to ''assist'' boy with getting to and from work...aka I get up at 6am shove all his work tools in my little car and drive him to work before returning home to bed. Well being a human being with selfish emotions I didn't really enjoy this, so I've bullied him into learning to drive. This week he passed his driving test first time with only one minor and now has his own little work van. yippee!

005. Eat yourself skinny is my new favourite blog. If you know me you'll know I love food, you'll probably also know that my fat ass used to easily fill a size 22 trouser, so I try to watch what I eat, but as a massive foodie this can be hard at times. Kelly makes loving food and watching your weight easy, she counts calories for you (not that I recommend calorie counting ladies!), tells you fat content and even features super yummy puddings.

and here's my current wishlist

001. Higham gilet - Joules I'd never really liked the idea of gilets until I tried this one on in a local store lately. Winter in the forest can get rather err nippy? In act nippy doesn't cover it, although it is quite an amusing pun as I will openly tell you the parts of me that feel the cold more than anything are my nose and my boobies. This womens gilet is SO warm, it's also the perfect colour to wear with anything this autumn.

002. Fantasy EDT - Nina Ricci I used to adore Nina by Nina Ricci so was all over this when I saw it in debenhams, it has notes of calabrese lemon and lime, caipirinha, red toffee apple, vanilla infusion, moonflower, peony petals, apple tree wood, cotton musk and white cedar. Because I'm a simple country girl I don't know what all those things are, but combined they make you smell like a princess. 

003. Floral tote - Ted Baker I just broke my favourite uni bag and don't like having to carry all my books in my vivi bag mummy bought me last year. This bag is perfect for uni, it's the right size for ramming books in and its not too expensive either, perfect! 

So that's me all done and dusted.  What've you been up to this week? What's making you smile at the moment?

xoxox