Girly shopping day in Southampton!

HELLO I am back with a bang and a brand new haul post to prove it! I went shopping in Southampton with my lovely mum and sister and I spent a teeny weeny bit too much! We shopped til we dropped (well I did at least) and we had a yummy lunch at Ed's Diner. I have always loved that place ever since we first visited the Leicester Square one about six years ago.

Anyway! I have come here to share with you all my latest buys because if you're like me, I love seeing what people have been buying and what is in the shops at the moment, such good inspiration.

 I picked up these three bath and shower gels by Imperial Leather in Boots. I have a massive sweet tooth so automatically they were right up my street! I got marshmallow flavour, fruit salad flavour and sherbet lemon flavour. Three of my favourite sweet shop favourites!

I picked up these three bowls in TK Maxx for £1.99 each. I love how colourful they are and I really think they were such a bargain for a price too.

I popped into Lush as I hadn't treated myself to a few bath treats in a while. 

This is an exclusive bath bomb and all the money from the sales goes towards raising money for equipment to tag endangered hen harrier chicks. Not only was drawn to it because of the cute bird design but its also got the nicest cinnamon-y and citrus scents to it. 

This one here is called Dragon's Egg and it is my absolute favourite bath bomb so I just had to pick it up. 

I'm a little late to the party but I am not a little obsessed with the film Frozen. I love it. Its sparkly bright blue and smells so fresh and clean I can't wait to get using this. 

This is Intergalactic. Once again I was drawn in my the bold and bright colour and its sweet fragrance too. I can't wait to get using this one.

I picked up this black and white stripe t shirt in Primark for less than £5. It's such a classic staple and I could wear it with jeans or a skirt or under dungarees. 

I got this shirt in Primark too as I love the autumnal colours in it. I think it would look great with jeans or even over a dress. 

It's so soft too. It's got a lovely and cosy flannel feel to it. 

I got another striped shirt from Primark this time long sleeved as it's such a great item to always have in your wardrobe. 

I picked up this khaki green jumper as I loved the dark colour this was such a bargain from H&M.

I also love this dotty detailing at the bottom corners.

I got this white lace crochet as I loved the detailing. H&M

I love how different this is. 

I picked up another white lace cami top from H&M this time with the detailing just around the top and the bottom.

The detailing around the bottom seen here. 

I love the blue and white stripe on this and the lace up front is a bit different and I feel quite like a sailor wearing it!

I got another blue and white stripe and the cloud and rainbow thunderbolt decal on the corner. 

I love the band tops they do in H&M so I picked up The Doors one. 

In New Look they had a great sale which I fully took advantage of. I picked up this white denim dungaree dress. 

A white crochet double strap dress which is so beachy and casual perfect for the summer time. 

I'm so into the double strap detail with having one off the shoulder. 

I got this black and gold cami top with this gold jewel detailing around the top and across the back straps. 

This is the back of the top.

I got this white dress with black hearts on which I thought was quite cute. It has a button up detail down the front and two large pockets too.

I also got this grey knitted dress which I thought would be fab for the winter time. 

It's such a thick knit so will definitely keep me warm! 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Lots of love, A x

My Degustabox review!!

Hello hello I am currently sat in my local hotel bar using their internet and wifi (I did buy a drink so I'm not a complete freeloader okay!). Basically at home our internet and router and everything isn't working so it's all been a bit of a nightmare for me over the last few weeks! 

Anyway! I was incredibly lucky to have received another lovely Degustabox in the post containing some scrummy items! 

These Say Yes toasted bread chips are sour cream and onion flavoured and they are the absolute bomb dot com. They are so flavoursome, crunchy and tasty! I'd definitely recommend these for a yummy savoury snack! 

To the right is a soft drink by a brand called Little Miracles which contains green tea, which is so good for you and full of antioxidants. Ginseng which is a natural energiser. Pomegranate and acai which are powerful superfoods which are super tasty and agave nectar which is a natural sweetener. So tasty and so much better for you compared to a coke or something. 

I got another Little Miracles drink too. I love the colours of this one, I'm really loving orange shades at the moment. This one contains lemongrass tea, orange juice, ginger, ginseng and agave nectar. I loved this one as it had a nice sweet and tangy mix! 

These are called Fru Snax and the pink one are strawberry slices with raspberry yoghurt coating. The purpley blue packet is fig slices with a cherry yoghurt coating. I actually really liked these considering I didn't think I would. I'm not a big fan of figs but I was very pleasantly surprised! 

I also got these yummy Weetabix breakfast shakes. I loved these, they are so convenient as I'm terrible at remembering to have breakfast so this was such an easy way to get all my nutrients, fibre and protein in one.  It came in chocolate or vanilla flavour. 

The left one is called Blackcurrent Beautie Jele and it contained vitamin C, B1, B2, B6 and B12. This is so so good for you and crammed full of vitamins and nutrients so is excellent for boosting your immune system, helping with tiredness and fatigue and also is so good for skin hair and nail health too! 

Next to this is a product called Taking the Pea. I love the pretty packaging especially the cute pig cartoon angrily eating a pea! There is only 140 calories per bag and it's so convenient to just pop in your handbag and snack on, on the go! 

An old favourite makes an appearance in the shape of a bottle of Lambrini. This is sweet alcoholic beverage with only 241 calories per 100ml and after drinking enough of it who's really countin ha ha! Plus it's 5% alcohol. 

Next to that is a bottle of sparkling apple juice by a company called Newtons. My parents loved this one and said it was so nice you wouldn't even know it wasn't proper cider, and that says a lot coming from a West Country couple! 

These snack packs are by a company called Tasty Little Numbers and I recieved chilli beef con carne and chicken tikka masala. These are so nice and I took the chilli con carne to work one day as it's only 200 calories it's a perfect low calorie lunch. 

I'm trying to find the retailers for so many of these products as I loved them so much! I hope you liked this post as much as I enjoyed sampling it all. All my love,

As always. A. X 

Berry smoothie bowl breakfast

Sometimes I skip breakfast. Other times I go all out there's no real inbetween. I'm either running so late I end up necking a lukewarm cup of tea like giant shot, straight down in one, or leisurely dicing up exotic fruits and vegetable to make into a delicious smoothie.

Today is my day off and I have spent it relaxing and sorting out things at home. So I made myself this yummy smoothie bowl breakfast and it must have taken me less than five minutes to prepare and it only used four ingredients! 

Using my breville active blender I popped a frozen banana (as it helps thicken the mix) a handful of diced strawberries and a small splash of coconut milk and some oats into the blender until it was smooth. I poured it into this bowl (which was a complete steal from TK Maxx for £1.99) and put two leftover strawberry slices on top et voila! It looks and tastes so impressive. 

What's your favourite breakfast time treat? 

Thanks for reading, lots of love. A x

Me and my princess nails

Hello my lovely little gumdrops, how are you enjoying the final day of July. If I'm being honest I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed that it's the end of July already. We're flying through this year and I just want to slooooow it down a bit as I feel I haven't made the progression that I'd have hoped! 

So I come to you with a post today that fills my heart with glee, a nailsy type of post. Like a good old fashioned Kittens in Top Hats type of blog post too. I decided to go full on Barbie Princess with my nails settling with a baby pink hue with a pink glitter polish over the top. I used a set of oval false nails I picked up in Superdrug too as I love the look of longer, rounded nails at the moment. 

I feel like princess peach! 

These types of posts always include the claw shot. 

The colours I used. The pink base is this lovely Kate Moss for Rimmel London colour called 227 New Romantic. The top glitter colour is by Barry M and it is 264 Pink Iridescent. 

I hope you liked this post and this look as much as I do! Lots of love as always, A. X

The 'My Hogwarts Story' Tag!

Hello you, yes you! How are you on this fine Thursday afternoon? I am halfway through a week off from work and I am loving life. I have had a lot of lie ins and I have spent time with my family, friends and managed to catch up with some tv shows, emails and finished the book I was reading finally! 

So the very lovely Flo from Love From, Florence Grace kindly tagged me to take part in the My Hogwarts Story tag. If you haven't visited Flo's blog yet I urge you to do it now, she's one of the loveliest people I know and I love her ambition, drive and all round girl power! Back to the tag I am a massive Potterhead I've read all the books and seen all the films hundreds of times too! So here goes! 



Are you pure blood, half blood or muggle born?
I am definitely a pure blood wizard through and through!

Which wand would choose you and what is it made of?

10 1/3 inches, Holly wood, Thestral tail hair


Your wand is made from Holly wood.

Holly is one of the rarer kinds of wand woods, and is protective, it works good for those who may need help overcoming anger issues and carelessness .Holly wands often choose owners who are absorbed in some dangerous and often spiritual quest.

Known wizards or witches that have wands made from holly wood:

Harry potter

The core of your wand is Thestral hair .

Thestral tail hair is one of the srongest core and can produce great magic. But to use it efectively you have to wittnes death .

Known wizards or witches that have have wands with Thestral hair:  
 
Albus Dumbledore's ( the Elder wand)

Did you take an owl, cat, toad or rat with you?

By default I think I would have taken a cat simply because I have a fear of birds, toads and slimy creatures give me the creeps and I don't like rats. If I could have taken a dog I so would have but I suppose the cat is the closest to it!

Where did the sorting hat place you?

I am queen of the Hufflepuffs and proud!

What house did you want to be in?

Gryffindor because they are brave and have all the adventures!

Which lessons would be your favourite and least favourite?

My favourite would be something like charms, potions or transfiguration as I think it would be so cool to be able to to do proper magical spells! My least favourite would definitely be herbology. I'm definitely not a gardener let alone magical screaming ones like a mandrake!

What would your patronus be?

A dog. Fiercely loyal and protective. 

When confronted with a boggart what shape would it take?

Probably a bird, I have quite a big fear of birds. 

Do you partake in any school sports clubs or magical hobbies?

I think I'd watch the quidditch matches from the sidelines but I wouldn't play. Or a magical chess club, very cool I know!

If you have free time where would you be hanging out?

I would be satisfying my sweet tooth in Honeydukes, sinking a few butterbeers with friends in The Three Broomsticks or in Zonko's joke shop. 

You are most likely to get a detention for what?

Probably for forgetting to do some homework, or messing around in the corridors!

What career do you want after leaving hogwarts?

I would open my own pub and be a landlady like Madam Rosmerta. 

I'd like to say a big thank you to Danielle for creating this tag it has been so much fun and a big big thank you also again to Flo for tagging me! 

If you are a big Potter fan like me I hope you take part in this tag too! Consider this as an open invitation for you all to take part. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. All my love, A. x

Degustabox!

This month I recieved my very first Degustabox subscription box as the ever so lovely people working there asked if I'd like to review one. Basically if you haven't heard of the degustabox before it's a subscription box of new and exciting foods and drinks to try so naturally I jumped at the chance! I'm a big foodie and love trying new things so was very excited to give this a try. 

This is the degustabox. It comes in the giant brown box and I couldn't wait to crack it open and delve in. 

Undoing the top to reveal this nicely packaged insides. I love the little sticker reading 'open me, eat me, enjoy me!'. I love the writing too! 

Cram packed full of these yummy treats I couldn't wait to try them all out! 

First thing I saw was the giant can of coconut water. Which I am obsessed with by the way! It's so scrummy and is so much more hydrating than water it's the perfect drink in the summer. I love that this can is so much larger than normal ones too. 

I also recieved this lime zest flavoured fizzy drink called Zeo which was really nice especially as I love lemon and lime flavours! 

I also got this peach and grapefruit flavoured Zeo which was really nice and sweet too. 

I love these! So I was really excited to try the milk chocolate with caramel pieces flavour like this one seen above. 

I also got this apple and blackcurrent enhance shot which you squeeze into a glass of water. 

I've tried these delicious multigrain Melba thins with some dips and houmous and they are so nice. 

I've wanted to try coconut sugar for ages and am very intrigued by this one with ginger flavourings added to it as well. 

These are so yummy and perfect to pop in your handbag when you're on the go. The brioche is soft and sweet and the chocolate filling is really nice and smooth inside too. 

These ones are very similar to the ones above but rather than a thick chocolate cream in the middle this has chocolate chips. 

I got this collagen and vitamin c drink which I'm really interested in. Collagen is great for skin and improving the look of tightened skin and vitamin c is so good for boosting the immune system so this is the ultimate pick me up drink! 

These are so so tummy they are very similar to the salt and vinegar snack a jacks you can buy but I think the flavour is nicer on these. I'm now just trying to find these in shops!

I'm so interested in trying these. I love the flavour of cinnamon and the tagline of 'crunches like a biscuit and tastes like a cake' has totally drawn me in! 

Hopefully you'll all be able to see some more recipe posts from me in future I'm trying to become more domesticated! Thanks for reading this post I really hope you liked it. All my love, A. X