An Oxford Wedding

Last weekend I went to my cousins wedding at Steventon House Hotel in Oxfordshire and just thought I would share a few photos of the beautiful day! (Not all of these photos are mine - some were taken from the venues Facebook page). 

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Coley xxx

IT'S OK

Rarely a week goes by that someone doesn't ask me 'what job do you want to do?' or 'what are your future plans?' and frankly I am fed up. People need to realise that IT'S OK to not know where you want to be in 2, 5 or 10 years time. If you do know what you want, then you're the lucky ones. And still don't feel like you have to stick with that plan no matter what! I must have changed my job aspirations maybe 5 times (at least) since sixth form. And I'm still no closer to knowing. I've wanted to be an Interior Designer, an A&R Scout, a Journalist, a Diplomat, Intelligence Officer... the list goes on. All these jobs are so different from one another but I can't help having different interests! I love music and the arts, I love writing, and I'm also interested in the law and intelligence. So sue me? IT'S OK.

I want other young people to know that it's ok to tell people you don't have a clue what you want to do. Whether you're going to College, University or straight into work, choose something you enjoy. And if you enjoy a lot of things, your other interests can still be hobbies. Don't choose a career because it'll be easy to get a job or it pays well. You'll regret it. Life is too short to be rich and miserable.

Spring Wishlist

There are so many items on my wishlist this Spring. If I had endless money I would snap these up right away, but I don't (cry). Let me know what your favourites are and which ones you think I should get :)

First up are the most beautiful rucksacks I think I have ever set eyes on by Grafea. I found Grafea whilst browsing on Instagram and have been after one of these bags ever since. I wish I could buy every single colour but I've just picked out these 3 for now as I think they're perfect for Spring. Unfortunately, they're £180 and on a student budget that isn't quite feesible, though I will definitely be saving up for one. Check out their website here and search for their Instagram to see more wonderful colours and designs. What colour would you choose? Let me know in the comments :) 

I've been looking for a new lipstick for so long and have read so many reviews on other blogs looking for inspiration. I don't tend to wear lipsticks too much but I just really fancied a nude/pale pink that would look quite pretty and natural. Lots of people have been suggesting Nars or Mac so I will hopefully be testing some of those of soon, but first of all I want to try the Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Desirable. 

 If you've tried it, let me know in the comments below what you thought, or suggest something similar you think I may like :) 


Next up are some Nike trainers. I'm so bad at motivating myself to exercise so I thought buying some pretty new trainers would be the perfect way to get me running (right...?). Nike trainers have such a good reputation and I loooove this peachy/orange/pink colour. Just can't resist these!! 

So those are the main things I am after this spring but I'll leave some images of other items I've got my eye on below :) 

Yellow Lamp

I'm about to do some shameless plugging for my wonderful sister who is just setting up her own Art business! She is super talented so you should all go check out her work on her new Facebook page: Yellow Lamp. 

She does all sorts of amazing work! My personal favourites are the watercolour animals which make such cute presents and are perfect for Easter :) Looooook how cute: 

 I, and I know she, would muchly appreaciate it if you take a look. Also, if any of you are interested in buying or requesting anything, just drop her an email on Facebook! Keep an eye out for new work she'll be adding in the next couple of weeks. Thank you, you lovely people :) 

Alexandra x

London Marathon

Yesterday, Sunday 13th April 2014, my boyfriend took part in the London Marathon and I am beyond proud of him!

I absolutely love London and it was the perfect weather (for spectators!) to enjoy the day. I travelled down with his parents to support him and cheer him through the inevitable pain. We made our way to Cutty Sark first of all which was around the 7 mile mark and managed to see him amongst the huuge crowds. It was such an overwhelming and emotional moment that I hadn't anticipated and I almost got a little teary. The crowds were so supportive, creating an electric atmosphere for the brave runners. I felt so proud seeing him go past. 

We then decided to wait for him at the 17 mile mark (South Quay) where we expected him to hit the notorious 'wall'. Luckily we saw him again here and cheered him through the pain. Ben said that seeing us around the course kept him going so I'm so happy we got to see him and help a little :) 






He was running for VICTA - Visually Impaired Children Taking Action - and has raised so much money for such a worthy charity. As a spectator, it was such an amazing experience and fantastic day out. I almost feel inspired to have a go myself (emphasis on almost). A big fat congratulations to all those inspirational people who took part in the marathon yesterday; you're all superstars!  

Current Favourites

These are just some of the products I have been enjoying over the past couple of months. I try to include a variety of things each month or two; beauty related products, items for the home, food, clothes etc. or whatever I am particularly liking :)

 

So let's start with this amaaaazing foundation; Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation (bit of a mouthful), in the shade Opal (no.15). I have always struggled finding a foundation for my skin tone and type, until my wonderful sister introduced me to this! My skin is oily/combination and this works wonders. It lasts all day but doesn't clog up my pores, and I find I have less blemishes than ever before which I have always struggled with. It's a high coverage foundation so I wouldn't recommend it if you are just looking for a light foundation, as this will probably cover you up too much (my sister even uses it just as a concealer!). But for my problem skin it seems to work. It's a nice consistency and blends really well covering all redness and blemishes. Unfortunately, they currently don't have a huge variety of shades and I find that I really have to work this one down my neck to blend the colour. I'd say it's neither a matte nor shine finish but somewhere in between. I buy it in Boots for £15.50 for 30ml so it isn't the cheapest of foundations, but you get what you're paying for - I'd rather pay that little but extra knowing I'm going to get a quality product. One last thing I have to add is that Vichy specialise in skincare products rather than makeup, so I feel it is better for my skin than other high street brands. Give it a go if you're in the market for a new foundation and have problem skin like mine!

 

 

 

Next up in my favourites is a collection of candles. I received all of these as gifts for Christmas/my birthday and have been using them almost daily since. I will start with Blush from Lily-Flame. This I such a beautiful scent. It almost reminds me of men's aftershave but sweet and feminine at the same time (if that make any sense at all!). I burn it for a couple of hours at a time and find the perfume will last for hours after in a room. I use this one in bedroom and it's just so relaxing. I know it is available online if you search Lily-Flame, or at John Lewis and other retail stores for £6.00 for this size candle which they say lasts for 20 hours.

 My other favourite candles at the moment are both by Yankee Candle. These are Vanilla Lime and Clean Cotton. Vanilla Lime is very sweet as the most powerful scent is vanilla, but the undertones of lime add a bit of a kick. The Clean Cotton is quite different! I tend to use this once I have just changed my sheets to give that extra clean smell when getting into bed - it's so refreshing and always reminds me of my mum's house. Both are equally nice and if you've used Yankee Candle before, you'll know that they last for ages.

 

 

Thanks for reading & I'll try to keep updating me favourites so you can get some inspiration! :)

The Wood Norton Hotel

On New Years Day, I was fortunate enough to be invited on a trip with my boyfriends family. To celebrate his dads birthday, we all went to The Wood Norton Hotel in the Cotswolds. I rarely do this sort of thing so I thought it would be nice to share my experience with you guys and give the hotel a quick review! 

As you can see, the exterior is beeaautiful! The hotel is set in such a lovely area, with stunning views over the Worcestershire countryside. Broadway, possibly the prettiest town in existence, is only about a 15 minute drive and well worth a visit if you get the chance! It has a lovely little selection of shops and boutiques, and plenty of places to stop for a bite to eat. 

Bar area.

Anyway back to the hotel! On arrival, our rooms were not quite ready so we sat in the lounge area and had a drink. When I say lounge area, there are more like 10 (small) lounges you can choose from; each with a roaring fire and ample seating. 

As it was my boyfriends dads birthday, he had (quite rightly) booked himself and his wife one of the main suites in the hotel. Obviously, this isn't cheap! So for the rest of us, our rooms were in another building situated just behind the main hotel.  Our room had a huuuge King sized bed which I honestly could have slept all day in. It was probably one of the comfiest mattresses I have ever slept in, and I don't usually rate hotel beds very highly! The en-suite had a bath with a small waterfall shower as well which was pretty powerful! 

My boyfriend and I met back up with his parents for a couple of drinks in the bar around 7pm. Now, I'm not a huge drinker and usually stick to cocktails or sweet drinks that don't really taste like alcohol. But be warned...all cocktails were £8.50. I guess that was to be expected in the area and type of hotel we were in but I still thought that was a bit extreme considering the usual size a cocktail is, and so instead opted for Southern Comfort with lemonade and lime (equally delicious!). Our table was booked for 8pm but we had to order what we wanted from the menu whilst in the bar. It was a five course meal, with quite unusual (for me anyway) dishes. My boyfriends younger brother and his friend who are 16,  couldn't find anything on the menu they really liked and so luckily they were allowed to order from the bar menu which had fish and chips etc. If you are planning on going to this hotel with children, the bar menu is muuuch more suited to you! 

Anyway, the amuse bouche was a shallot veloute (basically thick soup) which I thought was fairly nice. For a starter, I had pancetta wrapped monkfish with oxtail; quite an odd combination. I love monkfish but had never tried oxtail before so was quite intrigued. I did like it, but I wouldn't have put the two together, and you really only need a mouthful of oxtail as it is just so rich. Between the starter and main we had a lemon sorbet which was not very sorbet-like, but nonetheless very nice. For my main, I had a fillet of halibut with a haricot bean salad and celeriac puree. The halibut was unfortunately slightly dry but apart from that it was a tasty and nicely presented. Finally, for desert I had a lemon meringue parfait which I think was my favourite part of the meal. Definitely recommend this. All in all, the meal itself was nice but as a first timer in the five course meal business, I don't think all the fuss is quite necessary. The service however, was very good! The waiters we had, who were all quite young, were friendly and attentive and good meal without good service, is a meal not worth having in my opinion, so that made all the difference!

Before bed we ordered breakfast to our room. I wouldn't usually do this but breakfast shut at half 9 and I don't think anyone fancied being up and ready for then when our beds were so comfy. So anyway, I ordered a full English which had; 1 sausage, 1 piece of bacon, eggs of your choice (scrambled all the way!), black pudding, mushroom, tomato and baked beans. We also had a bakery basket with toast, mini croissants and pain au chocolate! It was really quite nice sitting in bed eating breakfast, which I never do at home, and I couldn't fault the breakfast. Although a full English isn't that hard really anyway is it? 

We had booked a later checkout at 12pm, rather than the usual 11am which gave us plenty of time to leisurely get ready and make the most of our lovely room. Although I have just remembered one last complaint... Our room was absolutely boiling, evening on a cold January day, so we had to leave our window open over night. That in itself is fine as it did the job, but the noise in the morning gave me such a headache. I woke up to the sound of what I think must has been bin or some kind of work men, shouting and going about their work at about half 7/8. I wouldn't usually mind, but you come to a place like this to relax and I was so looking forward to a lay-in in that bed. 

Anyway, overall I had a lovely time and am SO grateful I got to join them on this occasion. The hotel itself is lovely, I just had a couple of bad experiences which let it down slightly It's the perfect base to explore the Cotswolds as there is so much to see and do, and is lovely if you just want to relax and unwind. However, if you're looking for a family hotel, I do not think this is it. Couples, friends, business trips - yes! 

Sorry this post is very long and a bit boring so thank you if you stuck with me and read it all or even just parts of it! I unfortunately could not get my camera to work so the only photos I have are from my phone and pretty bad quality, so apologies for that also! 

Love & hugs,

Alex 

xxxx