Tuesday 27 May 2014

Bleach London | Silver shampoo & Reincarnation mask | Review

Recently there seems to of been a rise in hair care products which have taken the beauty world by surprise and stormed onto the scenes. I still don't fully understand the hype around bumble and bumble, thier products are quite pricey and although I'm no stranger to splashing the cash on my hair, I still have (some) limits. 

One fairly new brand that has caught my eye a lot has been Bleach London. Known best for their edgy colourful semi-permanent hair dyes are more the kind of brand I want to try out. Plus I was so excited when I saw they had now brought out a few extra products to their range, including a hair mask and a silver shampoo. Surely if this brand doesn't know how to look after my bleach blonde locks (although at the moment my hairs more a lilac colour) than who will?

Bleach london silver shampoo

Silver shampoo 250ml 
£5.00 
I typically use a silver shampoo nearly every wash. I like to keep my hair bright and vibrant and quite like the over toned look some shampoos can give. I do however understand most people just want to keep their hair fresh and vibrant looking and keep yellow brassy tones at bay.

 I found this shampoo gave my hair a fresh brighter look but didn't add any blue tones to my hair what some silver shampoos can. I am also very impressed with the price at just £5.00. Although this can still be seen as a higher price for a bottle of shampoo, when compared with other silver shampoo's on the market it actually rocks up at one of the cheapest. 


Reincarnation mask 200ml
£6.00
This was the product I was most intrigued about my trying. Firstly the size of the tube is pretty large for the £6.00 price tag. I also love the silver metal tube packaging as I feel this gives it a professional salon look.

The product was very thick and typically a lot thicker than the hair masques I've tried recently or in fact any hair mask I've tried. The directions state to apply to pre shampooed hair comb through and massage in, then leave for 10 to 20 minuets. 
The simple fact it told me to leave it on for up to 20 minuets was so refreshing. I'm sick to death of buying hair masks where the packaging states 3 minuets is enough! How a product can work its magic my hair in 3 minuets is beyond me. 

So I popped this on and left it for 20 minuets. The product took a little longer to rinse out due to the thick texture but that's really not something I'm going to complain about, in fact any excuse to spend longer in the shower is always a bonus. After my hair felt noticeably softer and revived. I was surprised at how little product was also needed too, so this will last me a good while. 

Have you tried any of the Bleach London products?

Sammie

Monday 26 May 2014

Twist and Shout | OOTD

Woohooo it's the bank holiday, this means one thing...time for a BBQ! Thank god the sun has finally made an appearance. How bad has the rain been Friday and Saturday and how British am I been right now, complaining about the weather. 

I thought I would share a quick few snaps of my new favourite ASOS dress which I wore last night for my cousins wedding and I thought I'd check your verdict on the new lilacy toned hair. I was actually convinced for a while the lilac colour hadn't come out at all but looking at myself in picture form (vainest sentence ever) It clearly has. 

P.S The little blurs in the photos are a result of me been lazy and not cleaning my camera. 


Dress: ASOS (recently bought this week although I can no longer find it so similar here)
I found it...It's here!
Shoes: Office (old)

Hope your all enjoying the bank holiday

Sammie

Saturday 24 May 2014

Gusto Cookridge Leeds | Review |

Although I would never consider myself a "food blogger" it's far from a secret that I do love food and love finding new restaurants to share with you. Actually I think I say this at the start of every food post. This week I was invited to Gusto in Cookridge Leeds to review their new summer menu change with my blogging buddy Jess. I had heard from friends over the few days prior just how good this place was, or a few said that they had heard good things but  had never been, so I was very eager to see for myself what the place would have in store. 

Upon arrive we was greeted and given a little overview of the restaurant, over a cocktail. I ordered the elderflower and thyme Martini, what was defiantly a summery outdoor cocktail and perfect after been stuck in a hot office all day. 

I'm really loving the growing trend of using herbs in cocktails more and more as opposed to just a sprig of mint in a mojito. It's good to see a restaurant that has just as much emphasis on the drinks as well as the food. 

Gusto restaurant

Gusto restaurant

Gusto restaurant

Gusto restaurant

Gusto restaurant

Gusto restaurant

Gusto restaurant

Gusto restaurant

Gusto restaurant

The restaurant to me has a very homely feel, which defiantly fits in well for it's suburban location. Although don't be fooled although it's not a city centre based restaurant it is defiantly worth the extra little effort to get there. 

To me the homely feel to the restaurant was apparent as soon as I sat at my table. With the open plan kitchen to my left, sky windows above and bay windows leading out onto a out door patio to my right and a more intimate seating with classy pictures and flower arrangements at the top, it felt like the whole home was covered. From garden to living room with the most cosy dining area taking centre stage. The most eye catching point in the restaurant were the elegant blue lights draped around an olive tree in the centre. I didn't really want to take too many pictures of the restaurant it's self as obviously it's a little strange to other diners. 

Since you've scrolled down this far and are still reading, I best get talking about the food.

Seared tuna steak, 
marinated in balsamic and soywith a fennel and orange salad and green gazpacho £18.95
Despite gusto been an Italian restaurant with an amazing range of pizza's & pastas (all pasta's can be as a starter or main course) I decided I would opt for something a little extra special and choose the seared tuna steak. 
I was expecting a thin steak with a thin streak of pink running through the middle, what I actually got was a very pleasant surprise. A thick fresh tuna steak lightly seared on a bed of crisp well dressed salad. This was fresh, seasoned well and cooked amazingly. I do feel it's a little risky for restaurants to serve a meal like this so lightly seared but it was divine. 

Side order:
French beans with shallots £3.25
We decided to share a few side plates with our meal. The French beans were seasoned well and cooked beautifully not too crisp, no too soft and I found them a light ideal summer side.

Side order:
Baked rosemary and garlic roast potatoes £3.25
The garlic and rosemary potatoes were lovely and crisp with light fluffy insides. With little sprigs of rosemary coating each potato. 

Desert:
Vanilla panna cotta with fresh raspberries £4.95
Ok so I will admit the first thing I did here was give my plate a little wobble. It passed the test. This traditional Italian desert was light and cream, I loved the extra touch of the fresh raspberry's and the chocolate biscuit crumb on top what gave the dessert an extra depth of texture. 

The Cocktails:
Elderflower and thyme Martini. (Beefeater Gin, Apple juice and Elderflower liquor)

Basilico - Award winning cocktail (Appletons V/X gold rum, apricot liquor, Amaretto with lemon and fresh basil) 

Vanilla Berry Fizz (Chambord black raspberry liquor, vanilla syrup and Prosecco)

Overall I would defiantly recommend a trip to Gusto. The restaurant has a warm welcoming feeling and it's defiantly competes with the more well known city centre establishments. Been seen as a more Local restaurant means they are able to deliver a more personal service, whether this be a birthday meal to an engagement. 

I may have also seen a few sneak previews for their Great Gatsby Ball theme night on the 10th July what looks simply incredible.

Sammie

*Meal provided free of charge. All views remain my own*


Monday 19 May 2014

Boots Haul #1

I love a good old trip to Boots (if your from the USA a drug-store). In fact who doesn't. Some people might love clothes shopping or a trip round Harvey Nichols, but for me come pay day there's nothing I love more than a little boots haul. 

I could spend hours browsing the make up, then the skincare studying all the products, checking out what's on offer and what's new in. 

I did promise myself a little spending ban this month, but make up is a female essential, right? I thought I'd share with you some of the make up bits I picked up. I did throw in the odd skincare product and maybe the odd hair product but I thought I'd share with you the beauty side. 




Rimmel - Scandaleyes waterproof gel liner - Black - £4.49

Rimmel - Scandaleyes waterproof gel liner - Emerald - £4.49
I've surprisingly never used a gel eye liner. I don't have the steadiest of hands and I have always preferred simple pencil eye-liners. I've been trying out quite a few eye-liners recently and none of them seem to have much staying power. Since these were on offer I thought I would try out a gel liner. I'd heard a few good things about the Rimmel ones so I picked up these. I choose a simple black and then I couldn't resit the emerald. I'm usually always sporting some kind of blue or green eye make up so in fell the 2nd purchase. 

Maybelline - Baby skin, instant pore eraser - £7.99
This has been floating around for a while and cause a bit of a hype following it's releases not long after the Benefit porefessional. Now I'm not expecting this to be a dupe for the Benefit primer but I needed a primer and although I am a big fan of Benefit and have tried the porefessional (and fallen in love with it) I thought I'd try out the "cheaper version" before splashing out again.

Seventeen - Poreless flawless primer - £5.99
So whilst I was looking for primers a second one fell in too. *Butter fingers* I am really looking forward to using this. I'm not sure about the packaging, for a primer typically I like a squeezy tube but I'm quite glad there's something a little different to try. 

Seventeen - Phwoarr pain concealer - fair - £5.49
My late nights mean concealer is a must if I want to look somewhat human. 

L'Oreal Paris - Glam shine stain splash - milady - £7.99
Ever since purchasing the Bourjois velvet lipsticks I've been on the lookout for something similar in a more purple shade. I came across the L'Oreal Paris glam shine lip stains and thought it would be worth testing out.

Rimmel - Lasting finish nail varnish - Fancy a dip (blue) - £2.99
Last but not least I picked up some more summer shade nail varnishes. I am completely loving the "fancy a dip" blue shade for summer. 

Rimmel - Lasting finish nail varnish - No tan lines here (orange) - £2.99

Rimmel - Lasting finish nail varnish - Wedge of lime (green) - £2.99

Sammie

Stepping into Summer ft La Redoute

To say I shy away from outfit posts I'm not doing bad this week. 2 in 3 days you lucky little things. Well actually no your probably quite the opposite, if your looking for fashionista style post, instead you got me. I don't mind come on over. We can pretend were fashion bloggers together. It's rather a lot of fun.

I kind of feel weird posing about for outfit of the day style photos, a small resemblance in my mind to parading around my mum's shoes a child. Ahh shoes. However the main purpose of me stood in this rather "scenic" canal archway is to show you my gorgeous new jacket. Plus it was quiet enough for me to pose about in. Let's be honest playing photo shoots is always fun. Ignore the bad hair, I was going for grungy looking hair. Honest. *rolls eyes*

Jacket - La Redoute*
Shorts - Topshop (old)
Sun glasses - RayBans (similar)
Necklace - eBay

I'm in love with this jacket. It wasn't something I would usually pick up but I've found it so practical for the weather recently. It's easy to throw on for our unpredictable British weather and I love the pink biker style. I wore it a few weeks back to my little trip to Pizza Express teamed with high wasted disco leggings and some chunky summer heels and I think I loved that outfit a little more. Sadly I never got round to taking the photos then. I have found so many outfits can be easily styled around this jacket. 

For the hot summers day we finally had over the weekend I decided to team it with some simple shorts *who wears short shorts* and comfortable vans shoes for a stroll along the canal (and maybe a stop over in a beer garden or too). I've since been eyeing up these gorgeous tailored shorts hoping the weather is going to remain just as glorious. 

Hope you all enjoyed the sunny weekend.

Sammie

Oriflame The One | Celebrity make up artist tips |

As you may of well seen from my previous outfit post, Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited to the Oriflame make up event with celebrity make up artist Gary Cockerill as part of the launch of their new collection The One. I was rather excited for this event for a few reasons.Firstly I got to catch up with lots of my favourite blogging ladies. Secondly I actually knew of Gary Cockerill (he's rather well known for working with Katie Price and Kelly Brook) and was rather excited to meet him. Plus Oriflame has been a brand I'd been curious about getting to know more about for a while ever since trying one of there mascaras last year and falling in love with it. 


The event was hosted at the Living room in Leeds, which is a stunning restaurant and the event room upstairs was perfect for the intimate event. Arriving at the event I was greeted with a glass of champagne and had a chance to mingle whilst everything was been set up. I actually still can't believe I was early for once. 

The event started with an introduction from Garry how he began his career and my my is it fascinating, from the coal mines to celebrity make up artist I was very captivated by his story. Plus he won some extra brownie points with me since he's a Yorkshire lad. 

We was all given an incite into how Oriflame began. I was very surprised to see Oriflame is such a worldwide established brand and been running for years. I first heard of Oriflame last year when I was lucky enough to try out there very me mascara which has remained my favourite for a long time. I previously thought this was a completely new brand, launch but in actual fact this brand is big stuff across the globe already. Oriflame is more known to some as the "Swedish Avon", however don't be fooled, Oriflame's products are very good quality and can easily compete with more high end brands, despite the prices been Avon equivalent.

Gary gave us his insider tips and tricks on three lucky ladies. 

First up was Yuna where we was taught how to create the perfect lip. One of the best tips I picked up here was to a apply a highlight just neatly above the cupids bow and a darker contour powder below the bottom lip to create the depth of thicker, poutier lips.  A second tip is not to take lip liner and lipstick all the way to the edge of the lips depending on your lip shape as this can create a down turned smile "miserable" look (I'm sure this will make sense to most of you) 

Second up was Ellie and this time it was all about eye-lashes. Here I was finally taught how to use eyelash curlers properly. Yes I am one of those who simply squeezes them hard on my eyes to the point it makes some people cringe. In actual fact lightly squeezing the curlers a few times repeatedly on the lashes works much better and is kinder to the lashes. 

Finally the tutorials ended with eyes on the gorgeous Steph. As the new The One range features a selection of cream eye shadows we was shown how to apply these more professionally. I must admit I do love cream eye shadows but I typically apply these straight onto my eyelids with my finger in one quick swoop. Now although there is nothing wrong with that cream eye-shadow typically crease, the top tip to prevent this is to prime the eyelids with a foundation or primer (use what's left on your make up sponge or brushes) then apply a lighter coat of powder eye-shadow in a similar colour as a base to build on. Not only will this not crease but will help the shadows sit longer and not smudge. 


Big thank you to Orimflame for inviting me too the event.

Also a thank you too The Living Room for keeping me topped up with champagne and the gorgeous nibbles. 

Have you tried Oriflame (full product review coming soon)

Sammie



Saturday 17 May 2014

Oriflame Event | Outfit of the day |




 This week has been a little hectic, Despite writing out a blogger schedule (yep I've become a scheduler) I've not stuck to it in the slightest. This week has been a pretty fun week and I've tons of fun posts coming up over the next few days. Thursday was the opening night of Roxy Lanes (the sister bar / bowling alley to Roxy Ballroom) and Saturday I've been mingling with celebrity make up artist Garry Cockerill at the launch of the Oriflame "The One", make up range. 

I thought I'd share I quick little outfit post from Saturday. I've really not got the hang of posing at all, however I couldn't resit the stereotypical blogger "fake wave". Also ignore my hair, no I'm not growing the blonde out I'm just extremely lazy at booking hair appointments. Big thanks to Kel for taking my outfit photos and I doubly need to thank her for the minion cupcakes she baked me after I sulked I couldn't find a minion birthday cake. I was so amazed when I saw the cupcakes and very touched at how thoughtful it was. 



Top: Primark (AKA Primarmie)
Shorts: Topshop
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell claw Lita's 
Necklace: Primark 
Watch: Daniel Wellington 

Sammie
x


Wednesday 14 May 2014

Omar Khans Bradford | Review

So last week me KelHayley and Jess headed over to Kels home-town of Bradford in the search of a delicious curry. We defiantly found just what we was searching for at Omar Khans

Heading over on the train from work was a little chaotic during rush hour, I don't often get trains I always seem to get lost in the train station and can never find the platform I need. Luckily I made it on the right train and arrived on time. Is now a good time to mention I like trains. I can never say that without sounding like an utter nerd or Sheldon Cooper. It seems to have the same raised brow looks as when a fat person admits to liking pies. 

Anyway's we decided to meet in a bar for cocktails (despite all ordering beers) then it was time to head of for food to Omar Khans. It was safe to say by this point I was starving and not to mention freezing cold (It was a cold rainy day and I had worn a cami top and open toe sandals) so I couldn't wait to get tucked into a good old curry. 

Omar Khans Bradford

Omar Khans Bradford

Omar Khans Bradford

Omar Khans Bradford

Omar Khans Bradford

The evening started with a simple beer, obviously a bottle of Cobra for me to go with curry. Have I mentioned before just how classy I am?

To start with I had the Mechli Pekora £3.95. Which are white fish pekoras seasoned with cumin, thyme and pomegranate dipped in a gram butter and deep fried. I always choose fish pekora's in Indian restaurants for starters, I always find them light yet satisfying and these were certainly good. For the portion size and deliciousness £3.95 was excellent value. Although the portion did seem large for a starter (who's complaining..not me) i found it a nice size as it wasn't a heavy starter and everything was seasoned well. I couldn't taste any pomegranate but this didn't really bother me at all as they were cooked amazingly. 

Moving on to the main course I read the menu closely. They didn't have my go too choice of  Chicken Balti so I had to step outside my comfort zone. I probably moved one whole step away from this and opted for the Chicken Masala £6.95. This was a very tasty dish and fully of flavour. I'm not saying I know Indian cooking in fact I haven't a clue but I would of preferred the dish to have a little more sauce as I found it quite dry. Especially with the accomplishments of rice £2.50 and garlic nan bread £2.95, it would of been nice to make the dishes a little more saucy. 

Overall I really enjoyed the meal, the staff were friendly and the place offered excellent value for money and I would return. My only criticism is I found the nan bread very sweet although when I pointed this out I literately got thrown a "if looks could kill" look by my friends so maybe this was just me. 


Have you tried Omar Khans?

Sammie

Tuesday 13 May 2014

Monthly Shoe Wishlist


Converse All Start - East Coaster (Pink) 
Schuh - Junior - £30.00
I've been recently feeling excited for summer. Browsing for holidays, drinking brothers peach melba cider in beer gardens and last week I actually left the house without a jacket on! Yep summer is starting to peek through the pesky clouds and this year I'm more excited than ever. Although I don't particularly know why. The ultimate summer shoe has to be the timeless converse. I've nearly always purchased white converse and it's taken many years to realise white converse don't stay white for long. This year I thought I'll finally decide to step away from "white" and opt for a more pastel colour. I love these pink converse although I'm thinking maybe more a powder blue colour would also be nice. 

Vans - Palisade Vulc Shoes (Blue/Lilac)
Vans - £40.00
I bought a pair of these slip on vans about 2 years ago and I am crazy about them. (yes we are still talking about shoes). Every time I dig them out I think to myself "why do I not wear these more". There perfect for the summer for throwing on for trips to the park, BBQ's and of course beer gardens and holidays. There the perfect holiday day time staple for doing pretty much anything in. Since my current pair are boring old black and white I'm thinking this year I'll opt for something more fun and I love the tie die blue and lilac tone pair. 

New Balance - Womens U410 Suede/Mesh Trainers
Footasylum - £54.99
Trainers. Again. Ohh Sammie. Well again summer is all about just simply lulling about and having fun. Heels and nights out are swapped for day time events and everything becomes a little more casual. In my eyes anyway. I really feel as though my trainer addiction is becoming more and more justified with every grey cloud that passes. 

What are your favourites this month?

Sammie

Monday 12 May 2014

TGI Fridays | The secret burger

TGI Fridays cocktail

TGI Fridays secret burger

TGI Fridays secret burger



So after I sulked about having to cancel my birthday plans I did still end up taking a little trip to TGI Fridays. This was the top of my list for two reasons. Firstly I really wanted to try the "secret burger" I had heard about on the blogsphere and twitter for the past week and secondly, I know TGI's celebrate birthdays. It did cheer me up having all the staff singing happy birthday and obviously the free slice of chocolate fudge cake defiantly did. I doubt TGI's had previously witness any other 23 year olds sat grinning away as much as me when they sang happy birthday to them, but news flash it was my birthday and I wanted a little fuss. 

White Chocolate Martini - £6.99
Grey Goose vodka, Frangelico, BOLs Creme de cacao with vanilla syrup and chocolate bitters.
This was a very strong cocktails and one that I would typically sip. I think I saw white chocolate a jumped right in and ordered this. I must say it was far too strong and had to give this away. I think even on a day where I'm feeling 100% (I've been feeling very Ill all week and drinking wasn't the best idea) I wouldn't of enjoyed this. It didn't seem to be too well thought out and defiantly didn't taste of white chocolate, the balance of ingredients seemed way out. I wish I had looked through the menu more as the Red Velvet cocktail sounds delicious. 

The Secret Burger -  £11.99
I'm guessing: A beef burger on a bed of tomato and onion, topped with beef chilli, cheese, Jack Daniels BBQ sauce and crispy onions.
So firstly just how do you order this secret burger? Well listen in closely, when the lovely waiter or waitress comes to take you order you simple say "I'll have what Jacks having" feel a little uncomfortable for a few seconds then feel a sigh of relief knowing the whole thing isn't made up. This isn't on the menu by the way. Secondly you then panic as to how much it is actually going to cost. I can now confirm it costs £11.99 which is one of the cheaper burgers on the menu. 

The burger itself is a thick juicy burger and didn't disappoint. However I really wasn't expecting the beef chilli. The cheese was gooey and melted and the crispy onions were a good touch and added flavour. I wouldn't be TGI's without their famous Jack Daniels sauce neither. It was a good burger and I was super full after eating just half of it. 

However I feel the "secret burger" could of been something a lot more creative such as adding something not seen before like spare ribs. In fact ordering "what Jacks having" could of been anything. I feel this is such a good idea but nothing exciting was delivered. I was also a little disappointed there wasn't a blue cheese burger on the menu. There are more adventurous burgers on the menu. The "Bruce Lee" burger topped with spicy Asian slaw and crispy noodles does look more unique and something I'd not come across so to compare this with the "secret burger" I felt a little disappointed. 

Happy Birthday Fudge Cake - AKA chocolate fudge fixation - Free on birthdays 
Obviously deserts always taste better when there free. However this chocolate fudge cake was seriously good. Since I was so full the staff kindly boxed this up for me to take home. However it didn't mean I miss out on the celebration as they had kindly stuck a candle in the box for me to blow out which I was super happy with. The fudge cake was a very large slice (not complaining) so this mean one thing. Fudge cake for breakfast this morning! 

Over all the food was tasty, good value and the staff were excellent. I would defiantly take a trip back to try more of their hand crafted burgers and delicious cocktails.

Have you been to TGI Friday's

Sammie

Twitter
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Sunday 11 May 2014

Birthdays and growing up (Thought on life)




So if you follow me on Twitter (@LilBlondeSammie) you may have notice I happened to mention a few times...It was my Birthday! Depending on when your reading this it was on Sunday the 11th May. In which I turned the grand old age of 23. 

Now at 23 you may have though I was going to have some sophisticated birthday when in actual fact I spent the whole day sulking at how miserable it was (due to the fact I had to cancel my actual birthday plans due to been rather ill). In fact I've never truly grown out of the "it's my party and I'll cry if I want too" attitude, hence why the birthday cake has a lot of holes in the top of him. As yes I did moan the candles were wrong and Percy looked less less a pig and more like hedge hog so I had to rearrange them. In fact this was after I had already glumly walked around 3 shops looking for a cake sulking that none of them had a minion birthday cake. 

Now before every one thinks what an absolute brat I sound like, I think today has been more the renationalisation that I am in fact growing up. 23 is a weird old age, I'm technically still young enough to do a lot of things but then it's mixed with the feeling "should I start making more long term life plans?". I've friends who have now started family's, bought houses or been travelling and yet what am I doing? Sulking over birthday cake like a child. 

I've been thinking over the past few weeks, what am I doing with my life? What actually makes me happy? What do I want to gain from the future?

After a long hard thing I've come to the realisation I don't actually have to do anything. (Well done Sammie...a long hard thing and you came up with that). In actual fact I enjoy the little things in life, going out with friends, socialising, laughing and generally been happy. Is been content such a bad thing?

I feel the main things that keep me going are simply having something to look forward too. A blogger event, pay day, meeting up with friends etc. I don't have to set crazy life goals as things change all the time. Plus I change my mind so frequently then most goals feel futile from the start. 

To clear my mind I have decided to plan things to enhance myself instead. I really don't mind any more that some friends may seen way ahead of me in the life game with their mortgages and starting family's already. Although the fancy holidays..humm a little jealous. I've decided all I really want to start doing is to prepare myself for what ever the future hold. I feel basic steps will help me feel better about my little stuck in rut feeling I seem to experience every other month. 


  1. Start my driving lessons again. I spent so much money about 2 years ago on my driving lessons and then I ended up stopping my lessons when a few things changed and I moved back to working in the city centre. I still don't feel I would use a car but been able to drive is obviously invaluable. I'm not pressuring myself to pass but taking the steps to learn again is something I feel I need to do. 
  2. Join a gym. A bit of weird one, but even though I'm not a gym person or very fit for that matter I love the well being feeling from going to the gym and doing some simple exercise. I have no goals for weight loss or any targets but for me going is actually something I'm looking forward to. 
  3. Start saving. No one has any idea what the future holds. However it's a no brainier that lots of things we want to do often cost money. I've always had a second little job (I love it and I don't see the point in giving it up) so I've decided to simply start saving this money. I typically earn anything from £50 to £120 a month from working a few Saturday at a bar near me and since I never really notice the extra cash each month, it now seems a no-brainer to put this in a separate account and save it. I've been looking at into touring American next year or Inter-railing around Europe so at least whatever I decide then I won't have to worry too much about starting to save. 

(Images from Pintrest)


Sammie
x

Saturday 10 May 2014

Birthday wishlist

So it seems like forever since I've posted. I'm sure it's not just me but all bloggers who get a little edgy when they haven't posted in a while. I'm going to say I've had good reason although one is that I've been living it up over the bank holiday a little too much, the 2nd is I've been I'll since Monday and yesterday the doctors confirmed I've got a kidney infection. 

So although my 23rd birthday on Sunday is now not something I'm looking forward too at least I can still wish for a few goodies to make the day a little better.  Although If I'm honest the main thing I want is to feel better. The doctors did warn me, I may be put on a drip if I don't perk up soon and although been admitted to hospital when the party's over can be somewhat rock and roll, spending the day there doesn't appeal to me so much (look at me moaning). 

Anyhow there some amazing blogger events coming up over the next few weeks I don't want to say too much about them now but I'm very very giddy for one in particular.So at least I can promise some exciting posts coming in the next few weeks.  



Frozen on DVD - £15.00 ASDA direct
Do you wanna build a snowman? 
Errmm yes! But what I really want is to curl up on the sofa and watch Frozen! Since I'm trying to save for a few summer holidays a few nights in are needed and what better way then with a Disney DVD. I'm such a massive child at heart still and I love my Disney films. I did think Disney films took a big down hill turn a few years back but they seem to be back and more popular than ever recently. I always find it adorable how no one ever seems to grow out if Disney, c'mon admit it, hands up if you cried at Up?

Jimmy Choo Flash 40ml - £23.80 Click Fragrance
I love perfume. Perfume is always on my birthday, Christmas list and the additional unwritten list of any friend who is passing duty free. As much as my favourite is Dior Addict it not really a summer scent. The two scents I've been loving for the summer are Jimmy Choo Flash and the Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Delight edition. When I saw this amazing deal on Jimmy Choo on Click Fragrance I knew this was of straight to the top of my list. 

Nike Internationalist trainers - £67.00 JD sports
Shoes. Obvious choice for me. I've been loving trainers for a while and when I saw these I squealed a little. I love the red and blue colours and I will obviously wear these with everything. Right?

P.S Obviously your all dying to know when my birthday is.. Its Sunday 11th May (everyone scrambles for a pen to mark the date on their calendars)

Hope your all well.

Also since I can't keep a secret some of the events you can keep your eyes peeled for feature "bloggers on a boat" party and a exclusive bowling match between 2 well known (one I've loved for years) Leeds bands. 

Sammie


Thursday 1 May 2014

Cocktails and Ice-cream


There was a time on my blog last summer when I attempted to make featuring different cocktails on my blog a regular feature. However this habit died quickly when I came to the quick realisation drinking cocktails and taking my camera on a night out results in either very poor pictures or a lost camera. 

However on my recent little trip to Arnside I realised that although I still love cocktails (I think you all know that by now) I actually enjoy making them. We didn't have any shortage of alcohol on the trip. In fact I think we had more than the local shop (and possibly pub). Vodka, gin, tequila, rum, blueberry rum, watermelon vodka, raspberry vodka, Malibu, baileys, champagne, wine even limes, mint and grenadine. We had thought of it all. 

Since the lovely people from Drink Stuff had sent us over a cocktail making kit and some amazing cocktail glasses I was in my element. The first creation was beer margaritas what the lovely Kel whipped up. Containing, mint, limes, tequila and of course you guessed it beer. My favourite creation was the summery punch which contained fresh strawberry's, errrmmm then alcohol. Lots of that. If I'm honest other than the researched beer-garita recipe we didn't have a clue other than chucking stuff in. What usually tasted nice. Or maybe we just drank too many.

Although the cocktail making kit came with a cocktail guide book with scrumptious cocktails we had a better idea. Stealing the local bar man. Yep you heard me, we kind of borrowed the bar man from the pub to come make us all drinks. Bless the poor boy. Although he defiantly approached the cocktail kit more professionally than us. If your like me than if you can't taste the alcohol then it's a good cocktail. These were those kind of cocktails. 

The following evening after a day of nursing hangovers, an attempted beach walk and a trip to local pub to check if the poor boy had it made it out alive, we decided to put the array of cocktail glasses to a different use. Although the mason jar had been my glass of choice for the weekend I decided it was time for a Margarita Sundae. With fresh raspberry's, Kels home-made white chocolate flapjack (seriously yummy), ice cream, toffee sauce and whipped cream it was delightful. 


Sammie

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