Snapshots of paradise

Good afternoon darlings,

It would be a crime to let these babies go by when the weather is so dismal outside... I think we all need a bit of warm weather eye-candy don't we!

I'm afraid that I didn't have the DSLR with me, as it technically belongs to Alex, and I feel terrible taking it away from her if I'm going to be away for a while (it's kind of her baby). The reason why there really aren't so many photos of me, (there's actually only one more in the whole bunch!) is that my mum isn't particularly good with cameras and doesn't understand the point in focussing on things...

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve, Eve! 

Lea 

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Holiday Hair

Good Morning Beautiful,

When I'm on holiday, it's all about the easiest and quickest way possible to make myself look presentable. After all, who wants to spend hours getting ready when you could be out there in the sunshine?

For me, one of the quickest routes to that is some sort of messy braid. It's especially great for the daytime when you want to keep your hair off your face and yet still look pretty.

I really enjoy the first and last inspiration in particular. I like how they don't look perfect, and they have a textured quality to them. A tip for when you're on holiday is to take a spray bottle with you and fill it with sea water, then spritz it through your ends for that beachy texture. 

It's better than any salt spray you can buy in a bottle!

Have a wonderful day everyone,

Lea

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Don't gorget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE - It's the last day!

(Images via weheartit.com)

In my home this evening...

Hey You,

As soon as it gets dark at night, I go into hibernation mode. I get all the candles lit, turn the heating up, put something cosy on and make myself my favourite drink.

I have so much to do tonight, it's Alex and I's 2 year anniversary tomorrow, so I have a few jobs I need to do in preparation.

In other news, I'm getting so excited that it's drawing ever closer to my annual holiday away with my mum; it's now decided that we're going to Cape Verde and staying in the Clubhotel Riu Karamboa. 

I've been Trip Advisor'ing for the last half hour and this seems the best potential fit for us. 

Have any of you ever been to Cape Verde? What was it like? I can't wait to get some sun and put an end to my stint of albino'ness!

I hope you've had a wonderful day everyone,

Lea

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Sailing!

Hello lovelies,

Today we're at the sailing down in Weymouth and I'm happy to report that the sun is out! I'm not sure what else we're doing today, but as far as I know there's a tour of a fort on the cards and potentially a shingle beach...

We managed to see Stone Henge last night on our trip down here, and I have to say I was really surprised at how small it was - I was expecting it to be a lot taller! I suppose it's one more thing crossed off the list of life experiences though :)

I just thought I'd mention that if you'd like to follow me on Instagram I'll love you forever :) My username is awonderful_life, I update it all the time :)

Best dash, the race has just started!

Lea

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Starbucks and London Zoo!

Hi Beautiful!

We've been up and about for a while now, we left the hotel we were staying in and checked our bags in at Victoria Coach station so we didn't have to carry them all day. It's really cheap and I'd really recommend them if you're ever wanting to do that!

We made a quick pitstop at Starbucks for some breakfast porridge which was delicious, especially with the honey maple sauce added in :) I also got a caramel cream Frappucino. I'm on my holiday in my defence! (And it only has 250ish cals in the smallest one, so I'll burn that off walking :p!!)

Now we're on a bus on the way to London Zoo and I'm so excited its unreal, I absolutely love the zoo, it's one of my all time favourite days out :D I always love the Red Pandas and the Camels for some reason haha!

Got to dash because it's nearly our stop, have a lovely day everyone :)

Lea

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Up for a snog?

Don't worry, this is not my attempt at a chat up line!

After we finished up at the Natural History Museum, (which was brilliant!) we were running a bit late for Harrods (read Pinkberry :p) so we decided to head back and freshen up. On the way I dragged Alex to Snog to get some fro-yo; what can I say? I'm addicted! It was lovely; more bitter than Yoomoo I would say, but still nice. Their toppings were definitely very interesting too. I went for watermelon and brownie with natural yoghurt and it was lovely! I have to say, call me biased, but I still do prefer Yoomoo. I'd say the main difference is that Snog yoghurt isn't as soft and creamy as Yoomoo, which is the main reason why I love it so much.

Now we're off to Brick Lane for a curry so I'd better dash :)!

Lea

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Olympic Beach Volleyball

The first event we have tickets for is beach volleyball. They were bought for us by Alex's mother as a birthday present to Alex almost a year ago now!

I have to say, this is the most random event ever! There's some very strange dancing teenage girls who are dressed in swimwear who keep running around like they're from Baywatch and I have to say that their dancing leaves quite a lot to be desired! - Hilarious to watch though! Then there's random snippets of music every 20 seconds bursting out and frankly I don't have a clue what's going on, but it's all very enjoyable!

The sun is shining and it's a great day in London, I feel so lucky to be here!

After we leave here at around 12:30, we're heading over to the Natural History Museum which I am super excited for!! Then if we have time later we're going to wander around Harrods for a couple of hours and I might even try to persuade Alex to let me stop by Pinkberry ;)

Tonight we're going for dinner with one of Alex's good friends from highschool. I think we're going for a curry on Brick Lane, so I'm told!

I hope you're all having a fun day :D

Lea

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London Baby!

We arrived in London at about 3pm and we headed straight out into Covent Garden to scope out the cute little shops. I went a bit mad when I saw the Moomin shop, I could have spent so much money in there!

Now we're sat in a bar just off Trafalgar Square with a lovely bottle of white ready to watch the opening ceremony.

What are you guys up to tonight? Are you watching the opening ceremony?

Lea

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I think someone might be a little bit tipsy!

The Holiday Shoe Dilemma - general ridiculousness!

I know I'm not alone out there with this, we're all (well, most of us) guilty of packing a silly amount of shoes for a holiday, just in case!

The problem that I'm facing though, is that I have to take so many pairs shoes! I don't know how I'm going to fit everything in!

My current total is up at a whopping 7 pairs for a 10 day stay!

Want to see how I got to that?

1. Hunters - for unreliable British Weather and for Devon/Cornwall.
2. Trainers - for running and general exercise.
3. High Heels - for night time, we're off to the Candy Bar apparently!
4. Medium Heels - for meals out, when I need to dress smartly but also need to walk a lot.
5. Pumps - for comfortable walking all day around London/Cornwall
6. Sandals - We're supposed to be having a heatwave, so I'll need something light to walk in.
7. Flats - For casual nights when heels are too much but pumps are too casual.

Okay so I'll be wearing one pair to go in, so that means packing 6 pairs. The problem is, wellies, trainers and 2 pairs of heels are going to take up a lot of room! I'm going to have to squish the others in around them!

I'm getting frustrated just thinking about it haha. Are you a serial shoe overpacker, or are you one of those amazing women who can make it a month on 2 pairs of shoes?

Lea

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Image Via Google Images.

Gloss Black Hunters

How adorable is it that there's a space to write your name and contact details?!

I was lucky enough to get a pair of Hunters as a present from my dad this week. He came up to Leeds to spend the day with me on Tuesday and these beauties arrived with him! He thought they would be great for my London holiday if the weather decides to take a turn for the worse, fingers crossed it won't!

He knew that I liked the Original Black Gloss style the most, since I feel like they go with plenty of things and tie in well with my Barbour Wax Jacket (post here), as they're more 'classic' than the bright colours, for example.

He also picked up some Wellie Socks for them, bless him he thinks of everything! He chose the burgundy coloured ones as they match the lining on my Wax Jacket.

I have to say they are the comfiest wellies I have ever owned, and they look absolutely fabulous. I love the gloss ones since they have just that little touch of glamour ;) I've also taken to wearing the socks around the house as they're the most comfortable snuggly things ever!

They came from our ever faithful hunting and shooting shop and cost £60 I believe, the Socks were £12 which is quite a bit less than elsewhere! Although they are a little expensive for wellies, they are so worth the investment and will stand the test of time. It's love!

Do you have a pair of hunters? Would you be interested in getting some?

Lea

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Olympic Makeup

No, this isn't a tutorial on Union Jack Eyeshadow, sorry hehe :)

This is the look I'm going to be going for while I'm away. I'm going to want to be out early to enjoy the day so I don't want to faff about with doing lots of intricate makeup things.

I'll start off and do my base as usual, I wish I was someone who could just throw on some BB cream and look fabulous, but it takes me some work to make my skin look good. That in itself will take me about 5 minutes, so not too long. It includes foundation, concealer, and powder to set. Then a quick contour of my cheekbones, fill in my brows and highlight whatever needs it.

Once that's out the way, these are my steps to look fabulous quickly!

• Sweep some shimmer eyeshadow across the lids and under the tear ducts, this one is Champagne by Bobbi Brown. It's easy, simple and feminine.
• Line my top lid with black liner (I'm not a fan of brown on myself) and depending on my mood, either smudge it out, or add some to my waterline if it's night time. This is the Bobbi Brown pencil eyeliner.
• A couple of coats of dramatic mascara and my eyes are good to go! This one is Bobbi Brown's Extreme Party Mascara.

• Sweep a little bronzer across the high points of my face, add a pop of pretty pink blush (This duo is great as it includes a bronzer and a blush, perfect for on the go!)
• Swipe a coat of red lipstick across my lips. I'm not someone who worries about red lipstick, I think if you do it right, it wears nicely and I've never really had that whole lipstick teeth problem. This one is Red by Bobbi Brown.

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This will take me probably around 15 minutes. I can normally get ready in full in 35 minutes including a shower, so I don't think that's too bad!

As for the nail polish, I mentioned in my last post that I'm going to paint my nails in either red or blue with an accent nail in the opposite colour. I'm not sure which way around yet though!

I'm going to invest in Racing Green for either a change or for my toes, it's completely British and has an amazing shine! As always you can get Mavala Nail Varnishes online from The Beauty Bay for £3.50.

Lea

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Olympic Inspiration!

Next Friday I'm off to London and Cornwall/Devon for almost two weeks. We're going down to see a couple of Olympic Events (Sailing and Volleyball), soak up the atmosphere and explore Devon and Cornwall. I'm not allowed to know exact details as Alex has planned it all and wants it to be a surprise, so I can't really tell you more than that! All I know is that it's going to involve lots of travelling and is going to be like one big road trip!

This is an outfit that I have put together which I would love to wear to the Sailing event. It's going to be in a large enclosed grassy area for want of a better description so I'm going to have to get practical as well as stylish. I should point out at this point that I have never owned a backpack. They aren't my thing, but we're travelling around such a lot and they have pretty strict regulations for the Olympics that I have caved, and found the least offensive one possible! It had to be under a certain size but be suitable that I could carry everything that we need, so tickets, money, cameras, phones, a blanket to sit on (just for the sailing event) and then my essential bits of makeup and a hairbrush. I'm pretty happy with what I found :D

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So! On to the actual outfit!

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Nail Varnish

I'm going to do a little post on the extras that I would finish this look off with but I thought I'd pop the nail varnish in there since it looked so pretty with the colours :D. It's Mavala Party Time and Marine Blue. I thought I'd wear them together with one accent nail - I'm not sure which way around yet though! You can get them online from The Beauty Bay at £3.50 each.

Shorts

These particular shorts are from H&M and are £14.99. I'm finding it really difficult to find shorts that aren't basically denim knickers. In my opinion, nobody wants to see that much leg of anyones unless you're a size 8 or have no cellulite whatsoever. I like my shorts to hit about 4-5 inches down my leg, just above the mid point between my knees and the top of my legs. I also like them to be a little loose around the legs as personally I'm not a fan of super tight shorts, I prefer them to be really comfy soft washed denim. The hunt continues!

Camisole

A basic white camisole; I live in these, I put them under anything and everything. They're great for layering, keep you comfy when itchy knitwear rears its head and are just all round practical. I buy mine from Primark for £2 each.

Wellies

Black Gloss Hunter Wellies - The most classic wellies you can buy, they're comfy and look fabulous. I have a post on these coming up soon!

Socks

Over the Knee Socks. I like mine to be in a cream/off white colour as I find them the most stylish and flattering, but colours can be fun too :) These are from Next and are around £5.

Jumper

Union Jack Jumper, come on, I had to get patriotic right? I got this from Primark a couple of days ago on a whim and am really pleased with it. It's not something I'll wear forever so I didn't want to spend a lot but £12 seemed alright to me :) It's really soft and has tiny flecks of glitter in the white, nothing obvious just so that it would catch the light every so often. I bought it in a size bigger, so a 12, so that it would be a little bit slouchy - love it!

Backpack

Shugon Milan Backpack in Natural. These retail at around £10 online depending on where you shop from. I liked that it was simple and plain, I might sew on a few badges that I have to make it my own :) It's machine washable so even if it gets dirty it can be cleaned and for that price I was happy enough. I was adamant that I didn't want a hideous black thing on my back with NIKE or ADIDAS emblazoned across it *shudder*.

I'm on the hunt for my last few essentials to take away with me! Are you going to the Olympics? What are you going to see?

Lea

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