Jardim Botânico

Hello from South America!
I landed yesterday evening in what I thought was the middle of the night, it was in fact only 6pm but as we're close to the equator it gets dark early. With the help of my Brazilian bff, who I met on the plane, I hopped on a bus and headed to my pousada. I checked in and dumped my bags before skyping the world and its wife to say I'd arrived safely and much to my amusement discovered everyone staying in the pousada spoke fluent English; two groups of British boys and some American students. We stayed up sharing stories of our travels and tips on the best place to pick up a good caipirinha in town before crawling to bed and falling asleep with the sound of waves crashing beneath.

The next morning I was up bright and early, after attempting to lie in and enjoy the sound of the waves and the view of the sea from bed and failing miserably as I was itching for adventure. After realising my Portuguese is absolutely diabolical so bus catching was out of the window, we ordered a taxi to Jardim Botânico, a 142 hectare gardens in the South zone of Rio which has been open to the public since 1822. The gardens are only around 40% cultivated, the rest is rainforest which grows up Corcavado (aka Jesus' hill) and features over 6,500 species of plant, some endangered, and 140 species birds who seem completely unphased by the visitors and their cameras. 

The sun decided to hide behind clouds for most of the day, only sneaking out for a few quick moments throughout the day, but I was kind of grateful for this as my English rose skin would probably have peeled away if it had to deal with humidity and 32 degree heat within hours of arriving. It was the perfect chance to get to grips with my new camera and lens which Danny gave me as an early birthday present before I left, I feel I'm slowly getting my shooting style back..we'll see! 

xox

- note to readers : I have delayed posting all of my adventures as I sadly flew home early on 8th April to the news that N has given up on his battle with lung cancer and a rapid growing brain tumour. These posts are in your honour, rest in peace.

a boys night in

We never seem to have time to enjoy with friends and family any more, when we're not at work we're asleep or have a to do list the length of our arms so we decided to pencil a night in to our hectic schedules to enjoy with friends, the lovely people at bgo sent us a poker set and enough pizza hut vouchers to feed the 5000 so it goes without saying that we had a poker night. Dan taught me how to play the summer we got together and I miraculously ended up with a hand purely consisting of aces ( which FYI is impossible as there's only 4 in a pack and a poker hand is 5 cards) and since then he's thought I'm some kind of poker goddess. Sadly I'm not, I have no talent for gambling of any kind and my poker face is terrible. However it was so nice to have a little gathering and the boys enjoyed laughing at my lack of gambling skill. We had such a good time in fact I forgot to take any pictures...oops! 

Can you play poker? Whats your poker face like? 

xoxoxox 

EAU de VIE

Eau de Vie in Westbourne is our favourite local restaurant by miles, in fact it's so good I've been debating if I should blog about them or not, but I'm being a good little blogger and spilling the gossip as really it's just too good to be kept a secret. Eau de Vie are self confessed foodies and liquor geeks and boy does it show, there's not a cosmo or sex on the beach or glitter bomb in sight. The produce is locally sourced and seasonal and you can tell that all the staff are passionate about where they work through their immaculate service. 

We debated what to have for ages and after some recommendation from our waiter I went for a Ruby punch; a beautiful cocktail made using ceylon arrack, loose leaf breakfast tea and ruby port. You must know how much I love my cocktails by now?Well this one is definitely going on my list of favourites. Dan went for a pint of Estrella, a gorgeously light, smooth beer which washed down his main with ease.

For dinner I went for roast parsnip and fig tart with new potatoes and leafy greens and Dan went for the 8oz Barrel steak with mushroom sauce and chunky chips. Everything was cooked to perfection, my vegetables were mouthwatering and the pastry was crisp and light. Dans steak however was out of this world, it takes a lot to get me to admire meat but it was cooked beautifully it was juicy and succulent, it melted and crumbled in the mouth and was accompanied with light, fluffy centred chunky chips. 

For pudding we shared strawberry cream profiteroles and a banoffee pie and I can't fault either. 

Honestly, it was the best meal we've had out in a long, long time- If only my writing could do them justice!

Have you been to Eau de Vie? 

xoxox


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a little bit of this and that

My beloved macbook has decided that after 6 years of being best friends it's about time I bought her a present, her battery finally died last week and since then I've been pretty stuck without a computer. Luckily her new sparkly battery is on the way to me right now, it's caused a lot more hassle than I thought I've not been able to print any uni work and have had to drive for 30 minutes to Bournemouth if i want to access any journals online! This isn't my usual kind of post but I wanted something to fill the gap, it's strange that blogging is my hobby and not something I take at all seriously but i feel a real kind of devotion to it and I feel really naughty not having posted in a while. We broke up from uni for Easter this week so I headed out to see nan and we had a gorgeous mushroom soup and a cream tea by the fire, perfect treats to warm us up. I've also been loving teapigs chai tea which keeps me lovely and warm seeing as I cant count on the weather to do that. I wasn't a fan of chai tea till recently but have been trying it from all over the place and theirs is the best I've found! The last few pictures are definitely a reflection of the horrible weather, poor confused pumpkin went back in to hibernation for a few days so we've had to wake her up and insulate her cage again! 

Hurry up sunshine. 

What've you been up to lately? If you're a blogger do you feel the need to post - bet you'd be lost without a computer too right?!

xoxox 

Upton country park

We decided to make the most of the intermittent sunshine this week and took pup for a walk about Upton country park. When Danny and I first started dating we'd take her here all the time, we had our own little spot where we'd sit and put the world to rights or we'd stroll around the house and gardens dreaming of the day we own a house as nice as Upton house. The house is gorgeous but the woodland and shoreline walk surrounding the house are much nicer and full of other dog walkers, they've also just finished clearing the woodland and have made a play trail for little kids and big kids alike, my nephew's been begging to go since I told him about it! We headed out on a big loop of a walk and played in the mud, as always, chased each other around and played hide and seek.  Then we headed home for some major spring cleaning and a teeny tiny bit of revision. Lovely. Also did you notice my hair is all gone? It's so light and swishy- I wish I'd had the pennies for a colour too as my roots are showing big time! 

What've you been up to lately? Did you see any sunshine? 

xox 

Choccywoccydoodah

If you haven't heard of Choccywoccydoodah you've obviously been living on a desert island! Choccywoccydoodah create quite possibly the most awesome cakes in the history of the world, click here for proof that are also amazingly affordable too. Being the chocoholic that I am I headed straight for their Brighton Bar du Chocolat whilst I was in town, my friend Jen decided to tag along too because let's face it you'd be mad to say no to a trip here. We arrived and immediately dribbled over the vast array of cakes on the counter before admiring the amazing interiors and spending forever trying to decide what to order, the lovely waitress recommended a chocolate and strawberry shake and of course I nodded with a cheshire cat grin on my face. We also shared a milk chocolate dipping pot together complete with cakes, marshmallows, strawberries and sweeties. It was a total chocolate overdorse but my god it was heavenly, the milkshake was thick and creamy and the dipping pot was perfect for having a girly chat over, it was melted to perfection and we couldn't help but polish it off. 

Have you been to Choccywoccydoodah before? 
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xox

a brighton day trip

Brighton is one of my favourite cities to visit, I love the hustle and bustle and how in a minute you're taken from a normal highstreet to teeny tiny lanes filled with vintage shops. Before I pop off on my holibobs in a fortnight I decided I needed to see my favourite pregnant lady Lauren and one of my best friends from college who's about to finish her degree. I got taken all over the place, including the pier which was madly depressing without anyone on the rides (just lots of seagulls). We grabbed some noodles, a total brighton must, and then sat on the stony beach keeping warm from the chilli sauce we'd drizzled over them. It was then to the lanes for shopping and graffiti hunting - how awesome is the mermaid? and to the photo booth to take silly pictures before more girly chit chat over a light dinner, perfect.

Have you been to Brighton before?

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xox

my makeup favourites

I get asked a lot about my makeup so thought that I'd do a little post showcasing my favourite products, most of them are perfect for summer too...



I rarely wear foundaiton but on really bad skin days I head straight for illamasqua rich liquid foundation this foundation has amazing coverage and comes in a huge variety of shades. When I first bought this I was a little shocked by how small the tube was but it lasts me ages, especially as I only wear foundation when I really need it. I've tried double wear in the past and this stuff puts it to shame, the coverage and staying power are insane, I can apply this first thing in the morning and it'll still be there keeping my skin perfect come dinner time.

When I have the odd spot or imperfection I reach straight for fake up by Benefit, luckily I own this magical concelear in all three shades so can adapt it perfectly to my skin tone, currently i use the medium shade for concealing and the dark shade for contouring. I find this concelear hides all my little blemishes perfectly and doesnt dry my skin at all, I'm also a huge fan of benefit's boing for hardcore concealing duties.

I have a whole heap of highlighters but sun beam by benefit is my favourite, especially come summer time. It's a gorgeous golden colour, which looks stunning on tanned skin, and it blends really easily. I tend to use this on my cheekbones, along my nose and sometimes put a tiny dot just below my nose, a few dots under my brows goes a long way too. This is my second bottle of sun beam and I'll definitely keep buying it for years to come.

My all time favourite bronzer is delice de poudre by Bourjous, it gives a lovely irredecent glow to skin and can be used for contouring too. It also smells delicious, apparently chocolatey although I cant see that myself? I remember when I first starting blogging this was every bloggers fave and I can totally see why. It's the perfect shade for a subtle glow.

Eyes seems to be where I get the most compliments, be it for my long lashes or my brows...

The gods of good eyebrows, HD brows, created this amazing foxy palette. I tend to stick to this palette these days as it's really long lasting and allows me to adapt the shade depending on how bold I want my brows to be, I tend to mix the bottom two colours together. I also find the top two colours amazing as eyeshadows as they're so pigmented and long wearing. I get my eyebrows waxed and tinted at my local Benefit brow bar, they do an amazing job at shaping them and the tint helps bring out the colour in the fainter hairs.

A guy once nicknamed me posh tottie, why I'll never know, but this eyeshadow palette by Smooch with the same name is a definite winner. The pastel pink is perfect for highlighting the corner of my eye, making them appear more open, and blends perfectly with the lavender colour to give a very subtle smokey eye. These shadows are perfectly pigmented and last from morning through till the evening, if I'm out all day I tend to pop this palette in my bag incase I want to layer on some more colour for a different look and the mirror in the lid makes for easy application wherever I am.

If I'm going for dinner, or a night dancing with the girls, I have to sport a little cat flick and the only product for the perfect catflick is Abyss by illamasqua, I've probably used every liquid eyeliner on the market and this is my favourite by far. It applies like a dream and again is really long lasting. I've worn this in the day before and it's even withstood bootcamp without budging in the slightest, amazing!

The holy grail of mascaras could only be They're Real by benefit, apparently this mascara is hit and miss with bloggers but I couldn't live without it. For a more natural look I use the end of the brush and gently stroke it over the ends of my lashes, but if I really want my lashes to stand out I put a layer of this on top of badgal lash, the combo often results in people asking where I buy my false lashes from. So if they're real doesn't work for you I can only say you must be applying it wrong!





If you're going to invest in a blusher this summer it's got to be one of these two by benefit. Sugarbomb has a mix of peach, soft plum, pink & rose powders which you can wear all together or carefully pick a pair to swish your makeup brush over to create a different look. I tend to mix the peach bottom and left or top and right colours together. This blusher is completely timeless and luckily lasts ages, I think I've owned this box 8 months now and it's hardly dented.

Dandelion is the perfect pink blusher. One gentle sweep of this blusher leaves skin radiant and glowing or you can build the colour to give more of a pink pop. You can also use this blusher all over your face if you're going for a natural, glowing look. Again, the product lasts for ages and is perfect for any look.





For perfect nude lips, which is pretty much 90% of the time in my books, I head straight to Skinny dipping by smooch. This lipstick is gorgeously creamy and glides on to lips like a feather. It's the perfect shdae to match my skin too, which is a god send as most nude lipsticks make it look as if you've  just put concelear on your lips which is a massive no no in my books. You can see the lipstick in action in this post. 

I've saved the rouge coco shine 84 and cherry red moisture shine till last for a reason, if you follow me on twitter you'll probably remember me harping on about them? I am a huge fan of a red lip and spent forever trying to find the perfect shade & eventually found it in rouge coco shine 84, the perfect cherry red, it screams 50s hollywood glamour and looks perfect with a neutral face and a little eyeliner flick. It's perfectly hydrating too, the perfect red lipstick non? NO IT'S NOT. If you want the perfect red lip, head straight to the natural collection stand in boots and pick up their cherry red lipstick. I kid you not when say that they are the exact same shade, in fact I can wear the chanel on the left half of my lips and the natural collection on the other half and after a few minutes even I forget which side is which, until a few hours later when one side is completely faded and the other side is not, I'll let you guess which lipstick lasts longer? I'll give you a clue it's only £2 ;)



And here's a little face of the day using the above products, blusher is sugar bomb and cherry red on my lips.




What're your favourite makeup products? Have you tried any of the above?


xo