Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Pretty Little Lady.


This is a post dedicated entirely to gratuitous photographs of my favourite tiny white haired lady. It's not that she's been camera shy, it's more that I haven't take photos of anything, let alone her, so here's a few to make up for that.
Dolly has had a severe case of spring fever recently, even if the weather hasn't shown itself to be at all spring-like, there's clearly something in the air that's turned my sweet kitty into the naughtiest little madam. She's demanding and super sneaky at the moment and I'm not sure how happy I am about it, at the same time though, I can't resist her adorable face or her cute meow.


'I can has eggs?'


'OK, I has eggs.'


I love it when I manage to snap slightly goofy photos of her, makes me giggle against all the people who tell me what a beaut she is.



I think I can really see that she's very nearly a proper grown-up cat now, Moon's dad even commented on how much bigger she was looking, oh dear!

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Many Layers of March.

I would definitely say the above photo is pretty unacceptable for the tail-end of March. I don't actually mind wrapping up warm but it really feels like an age since I've felt a warm ray of sunshine, or since I've been outside without three or four layers on.


Coat: Gap
Scarf: Primark
Necklaces: Gift/Found
Handbag: Yucca
Dress: Primark
Bandeau: Drop Dead
Tights: Primark
Socks: Glasto
Boots: ASOS


This dress is one of my all time favourites and never fails me, as time's gone on I have felt like it's a little short, especially as I'm into longer dresses and trousers at the moment, but these thicker tights really made up for that and thanks to my cardigan and parker, I didn't feel too exposed.


Nails: A Pink Bev Ridge and Friends polish with Black Polka Dot Polish by Nubar and Sally Hansen Black Nail Art Pen
These didn't last long as I was too excited about the Ice Cream Etude House polishes I got, but I really do love the Nubar polish, it's so simple, I can't wait for it to be warmer so I can wear it over pastelly colours again.








Despite the sprinkling of snow in Newbury, it had mostly melted after we'd polished off our lunch of bacon and egg sandwiches. So it was super chilly and definitely boot-weather but it wasn't so bad taking in a change of scenery (and it was pretty fun showing off my 'driving skillz'). We've been to Winchester before but ages ago, it does feel like it's missing a little something and despite the pretty buildings there's not as much character as it seemss. I'm sick of going places that have the same high streets as everywhere else and I feel like Winchester is missing a trick when it comes to quirky, boutiquey shops - if I'm missing something, I'd love to know.

I've since made a little list of fun places to head out on day trips, some places we've been to, some places we haven't but it's quite exciting. I'm so looking forward to the long weekend already, I'm going 'home home' to see my Mum and Gran before going to Canterbury to visit my sister. I'm leaving myself two full days for something fun with Mr Moon, I'm hoping for something Bristol/Bath way, I feel so odd that I've never been.
Have you got any fun plans for the Easter weekend? I'm umming and ahhing about what kind of Easter cake to bake.

Sunday, 24 March 2013

FlavrBox: March

It feels like I praise FlavrBox more and more with each box that arrives on my doorstep, but this box is the best box I've received in months. I enjoyed each product except for one, and that was down to personal taste rather than it being a bad item.

Don't forget that for just £20 a month, you can have lovely food samples straight to your door too, and it's definitely worth it, with each box matching or overtaking this value, pretty good I'd say. And it looks like this is the month that Flavrbox is making great leaps, with an exciting competition to name their adorable mascot. Without knowing about it, I even commented on the little guy in my last review. Sadly I can never come up to scratch with things like this so was totally stumped for a name for him and that part of the competition is now closed with Flavio and Omlet as the front runners. Why not head over to their Facebook and cast your vote, I'm a fan of Flavio, a little more obvious but I think I like that - looks like Omlet might be the one though.

So, here's what I thought of this month's box and as usual I can't wait for the next!


Like I said, this month's box didn't disappoint, four out of five great products with the prettiest packaging, a real deal breaker.


[5 Tea Gift Set, Bellevue Tea] – RRP: £7.50
This was my favourite part of this month's box, how I love fun teas! There was such a great range to choose from to, with some types that I hadn't even tried before. Although Clipper Tea has my heart, I definitely have to say that Bellevue's Rooibos stood out from the rest, and it went amazingly with a spoonful fo set honey, not something I'm usually into but it definitely worked. I also loved the peppermint tea, which I thought I would hate. I think the Breakfast was my least favourite as I didn't care much for, what to me tasted like, a herby after taste. The fact that there's such good choice and more than one of each makes this the best value for me too, I didn't feel as though once it was gone it was gone, until, you know, it was gone...


[Red Wine Vinegar, Olive Branch] – RRP: £5.99
I find myself using products that I am most sceptical about last each time and I actually wish I hadn't waited so long to try this because I know I'm going to love it on everything! As for Olive Branch, their cherry jam I got in a box a few months back was a dream and this bottle of red wine vinegar lives up to this quality too. I actually wasn't sure what to put it with so the fact it had suggestions on the bottle was really helpful, I ended up just glugging a little into the spaghetti bolognese I cooked last night and it worked a treat, I thought the sauce was a little watery but Moon liked it so much that he practically saved it on it's own - I'm going to put it down to the vinegar. After tasting it on it's own I think I'll be trying it in salads too, I was worried it would actually taste like bad red wine but it's a great and not too sharp, which was the main thing I was concerned about.


[Candied Orange Dark Chocolate Bar, Bovetti] – RRP: £3.50
I really don't like dark chocolate in the slightest, it's a real struggle to eat, but like previous bars of dark chocolate I've received, I put this one to good work, with an amazing (even if I do say so myself) Vanilla Sponge Cake with Chocolate Orange Icing and Marmalade filling, boy oh boy did it go down a treat at work. With one slice left I even brought home a piece for Moon, who simple scoffed the chocolate icing part. This chocolate definitely lived up to its promises and was both chocolatey and orangey and in the end was very easy to turn around from something I hate, to something I hope to try again.


[Chunky Red Peper Dip, Elli & Manos] – RRP: £2.80
We accidentally ended up sharing most of this with friends when they came down to watch the rugby. What a tasty little jar, I'm not sure what else to say really. I must admit I think it was a little more tomatoey than pepper, but it still tasted great and I'm pretty glad we were able to keep a little over for ourselves.


[Chipotle Salsa, Cool Chile Co.] – RRP: £4.00
This is the product I liked the least from this month's box and actually fobbed it off on a friend who thought it was delicious. I just wasn't a fan of the smokiness, and I don't think it worked well as a dip, it probably would be really tasty mixed in with a chilli but I'm sure the friend I gave it to will appreciate it more than me.

Saturday, 23 March 2013

You Don't Know Where You're Going...

Currently...

Watching... Obscure documentaries and indie films - It's A Disaster is a recent favourite.

Listening To... The 1975, Stornoway, alt-J and Justin Timberlake – all of these are making me very happy recently, with a bit of Motown thrown in you've got my perfect daily playlist.

Reading... Pet Semetary by Stephen King - I figured it was about time to get reading and start reading something I actually wanted to read (jog on, 50 Shades). I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and I blitzed through 10 chapters in an evening, even without anything happening yet, there's a great atmosphere and it has kind of given me the heebie jeebies already.

Eating... Far too many peanuts.


Weekend plans? Heading out somewhere for a change of scenery (despite the snow?!), we've only just realised that in between entertaining guests and going to and from work we've spent a lot of downtime just in Newbury so it's time to head out elsewhere for a bit, and I'm driving, eep!

Friday, 22 March 2013

First Days of Spring.


It's been a little while since we last spoke and I'm incredibly aware that my most recent posts are a toss up between actually being okay, and talking about why I haven't updated. Truth be told the reason for my absence lies in laziness and lack of energy. I wish I could tell you I've been doing lots of exciting things and snapping away but what's actually happened is that I've spent most of my waking, non-working hours attempting to read nearly every article on Thought Catalog - which is super hard because it's updated every day! - and watching Werner Herzog documentaries - I liked Grizzly Man a lot. I sure am hoping this is just a winter slump, because how rubbish has the weather in the UK been recently?!

In between getting my car, seeing my mum and seeing friends, I've not really had a lot of time to go out and take photos of fun things recently. Also, because I'm not home until the evening most days, it's dark and there's less opportunities for taking decent snaps. I'm hoping that the arrival of spring will come with me updating this space more regularly again, but I feel so out of the loop.

I mean, I actually feel a little out of whack generally too, where have the first three months of this year gone, it's practically April! We've been able to make a few more plans in the coming months so I'm hoping the new season will bring more productivity than the first part of the year has seen and what better way to see begin this new season than with a list of things I hope will happen?
1. Eat more healthily but find fun healthy recipes to enjoy – I actually hate eating for function and prefer to enjoy my food. That being said, lack of exercise (I really don't enjoy doing much when it's cold/wet outside and I'm aware how lazy this is) has left me feel a little more lumpy than I'd like and I want to fix it.

2. Do more – Not just going 'out' but also doing fun things for free like going for walks and taking in nature, something I really love doing but haven't wanted to do - do you see a pattern?

3. Keep on top of my money – March has been an expensive month (thanks, car insurance) but I hope to start properly squirrelling money away this month in preparation for my upcoming trips to Glastonbury, Paris and (eventually, yes please) Reykjavik.

Have you set yourself any springtime goals, I think that it's so much easier to make plans when the air is fresher.

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