Sunday Summary #72

Despite not much happening this week I have been a busy bee with holiday preparation and constant list making of what we need to take, birthday planning madness and doing the 30 Day Shred. It is now less than two weeks til me and my boyfriend go away and while I am excited, primarily I am trying to get together everything we need. As its self catering we need to pack everything from washing up liquid to bubble bath. We are now driving up and the car is going to be pretty rammed! The weather has been beautiful this week and we bought all barbeque stuff anticipating a hot weekend and its been cloudy and chilly - boo! Eating inside was the answer and we occupied our evening with the Britains Got Talent final. It was a great show considering I am not much of fan usually and the egg moment was so utterly random. I'm pleased Attraction won as they have worked so hard although I though the majority of finalists were worthy. 

I've been obsessive about getting birthday gifts sorted this week as its my boyfriends Mum's 60th the Saturday before we go on holiday and then its his nephew's 1st and niece's 3rd birthdays at the start of July. One of our presents to his nephew is for when he starts nursery which is before he is 1 so we've ordered the present and will probably take it to his Mum's meal and then give him the rest of his presents on his birthday. Our friends little boy will also be 1 a few days before his nephew so we've had lots of cards and presents to find. WHSmith were running a 3 for 2 on virtually everything in store so we made the most of it, getting DVDS (Gangster Squad for me and Django for him) along with books for his niece and lots of baby toys for the 1 year olds. I also got my boyfriend to choose all birthday cards as they were included too. It seemed silly not to make the most of the deal. It was so hot we popped into Costa too and they were running their BOGOF cooler deal so it was a bargain filled shopping day! 

I am still on level one of the shred but seeing such a difference in a crazy short amount of time. I don't get time to do it everyday so when I do I push myself. I have always had toned legs but you can see a difference in them too which is surprising. I've never done level two as I haven't done it for a prolonged length of time but I must just do it this time and see how much more I can improve my body. 

My hayfever has been unbearable this week - the heat just makes it so much worse. We slept with the window open on Wednesday night and I woke with the worst pain in my nose and couldn't stop sneezing and my nose just kept running uncontrollably. In desperation I went to Boots on my lunch hour and bought nasal spray and throat syrup. They did work but on Friday my eyes were streaming (ruining my make up!) and my nose was still running although the pain had stopped. I'm on the hunt for local honey as its worked previous years as much as its made me hate honey I know it will help. 

 Disclosure Settle - Sainsburys 

I can't remember how much I paid but it was the cheapest pre-order and the deluxe edition. I've been waiting incredibly impatiently for it to be delivered as I adore Disclosure and its so nice to see them suddenly become popular. The album is amazing and so perfect. They've even hit Number 1 which is huge for a genre of music which has struggled to get noticed in recent years. My favourites include What's In Your Head, Help Me Lose My Mind, Confess To Me and When A Fire Starts To Burn. My favourite track they've released is probably You & Me.

 Rimmel items - Fragrancedirect.com

I finally took the plunge and ordered from here as I'd been a little skeptical but seeing so many positive blog posts appear and they had items I wanted swayed me. The items were pretty cheap for Rimmel but they came packaged very cheaply considering one item was a glass bottle I would have thought they'd put more care into it. The Scandal Eyes mascara was half in a shrink wrap package that had been ripped off and it just looked slung in. The invoice looked unprofessional and dodgy but these are only little nitpicks. I think they could work on some areas to improve customer service.

 Long necklace £3 - Primark 

I simply got this for the opal looking beads. I love opals and couldn't leave this. I love long necklaces and have such a collection I hardly know what I have but this will be a nice addition.

 Multi ring pack £2 - Primark 

I love dainty rings and this was an instant must have purchase the second I spotted them. There are two rings with dangling charms of a cross and hamsa hand, while the others are a star, evil eye, buddha face and triangle.

 Multi ring pack £2 - Primark 

I only bought this pack for the rings at the top that have dangling charms of a boat wheel, anchor and swallow. I think the bottoms ones look chea especially the blue band, the flat hear and single stone. They might look ok stacked so I'm undecided but they were so inexpensive it doesn't matter.

 Sheer butterfly sweater £10 - Primark 

There was only a handful of these left and no wonder they're so pretty! I sized up as I like this kind of thing loose plus being sheer it'll be floaty. I haven't tried it on yet but I'm hoping it looks cute with denim.

 Paisley denim ankle grazers £13 - Primark 

I'm not sure what I liked about these in Primark as I'm not sure now they're home. They look really big but I grabbed them so hopefully it's just the way they are meant to be.

 Butterfly sandals £10 - Primark 

These are my favourite because not only do they have butterflies on but they strap up round the slimmest part of your ankle which means they don't cut you off and make your legs look chunky ( I steer clear of this like the plague!) They look so cute on and will be so flattering because of the colour. Bring on the sun!

Food containers and water bottle - Sainsburys 

Part of healthy eating demands you have plenty of food containers and cute ones at that! I first spotted the pink ones as I've noticed a new brand called Sistema in several supermarkets now. This was the first water bottle I'd seen that I liked, would hold a lot of water and not leak. I've never found a bottle that doesn't leak! This one twists up and down so I should be leak free. My boyfriend also pointed out how big it was it'll make it easier to drink more as I'm usually good but at work I measure my drinking by how many bottles I get through a day, so with this I can aim to finish this everyday and it'll be enough. The two part container is for my salad as I've noticed certain items go soggy quickly (iceberg lettuce) and some leave a lot of water in the bottom (cucumber, tuna). By separating them it should help as I'm not fussy about items getting mixed together. I got the cute little ladybird and frog container because I couldn't resist and they'll work for fruit.  

I've had such a chilled Sunday with my boyfriend and we got the Wii out as he bought a new game a few weeks back and then we had our usual Mario Kart tournament. I think every home should have a Wii as they are such fun! I haven't got a May Favourites post as I have only one new product to rave about! I'm going to do a double one with June, we're nearly halfway through June which is quite frightening really, this year is just speeding by. 

Hope you've all had good weeks 

Sunday Summary #49

So the best week of the year has been and gone, hope you had a lovely time with your loved ones. I had a wonderful few days, resting and being ridiculously full. I was very pleased with my Christmas presents, now I'm older I don't expect so much from my Mum but she always does well. She got me some stuff I'd really wanted. My boyfriend did well also and got me some lovely surprises. My oldest brother got me a Swarovski crystal duck! I've wanted one for so long but to be honest never thought seriously about getting one. I hadn't even told my Mum I wanted one so he made an excellent choice picking it for me! I nearly died when I opened it. He got me other lovely things too but it was definitely one of the best moments of Christmas Day for me. I now want the rest of the ducks, I have a thing for ducks and have loads of rubber ducks in my bathroom and my brother also got me china union jack one too. I was so full from my Christmas Day lunch I didn't eat another bite all day, I can't eat as much as I used to which is disappointing but probably good for the waistline. I was a bit surprised to find my work trousers felt even looser after Christmas, considering how full I still felt, it was very odd indeed. I didn't get much chocolate this year which is nice as I've still got loads of Easter chocolate, I used to be such a chocoholic and now I don't eat it too often or as much. I'll add some photos of my favourite Christmas presents below as I've enjoyed seeing shorter posts of gifts received.

New Year next and I can't wait to see it in with my boyfriend. Last year he was miles away with friends and I expected him to be away again this year but he is staying home. I really love the thought of opening the New Year with him even if we're just on the sofa! We've got Bucks Fizz, sky lanterns and a DVD to see the New Year in. I'm hoping to watch Michael McIntyre as I've heard its hilarious and there's nothing better than a good comedian. We'll be making wishes when we let our lanterns go and I'm hoping there'll be fireworks nearby :)

I'll be so sad when New Year is over, January can feel like such a drag. Planning lots with my boyfriend and friends to keep me busy and give me nights out to look forward to. Also need to attempt a frugal shopping month as I've treated myself to so many goodies this month. Christmas is always such an expensive month because I always see so much I want besides all the presents I need to buy. I save during the year for Christmas so it isn't too bad an impact on my bank balance but I still feel odd treating myself to so much! I really would like to get a new bag in the New Year and am debating between another Cath Kidston box bag (new shape) and a Pauls Boutique satchel or oversized. If not I'm sure Topshop or Accessorize might come up trumps. I often see nice River Island bags on other girls but when I look I never see one I like.

 My boyfriend got me Mouse :) loved The Amazing Spiderman and needed Gruffalo's Child 

 Minnie Snow Globe from a friend 

I love Russian Dolls and stationery sets so my friend thought this would be perfect for me, the box is really sturdy so once empty I can use it for storage 

Another very me gift! I adore Snow Fairy and Hello Kitty + Liberty Of London = Yes please! 

 The flash hasn't picked up the crystal so well, but if you've seen Swarovski in real life you'll know how incredibly well they catch the light 

Mum got me this frame, I can't wait to put a picture of me and my boyfriend in it!

 I only have a couple of Me To You ornaments but I really wanted this to commemorate this year with the Olympics and just feeling so very British. I love Union Jacks and this will look so iconic in any place

I burst out laughing when I opened this present! Marie is a favourite Disney character of mine and this top is brilliant. I love Marie's fierce face and the words and seems true as my girl cat is very feisty and stubborn sometimes 

I do love Disney and I fell in love with this the moment I saw it. I went back a few days later and they'd sold out. Fortunately my Mum obviously found one somewhere and snapped it up. I only have a couple of Disney Traditions ornaments but I'll never say no to another.  

My boyfriend got me this beautiful snow globe.  

He also got me this, which not only I love because its Disney and Tinkerbell, but it's called "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, HE LOVES ME!" Very appropriate I think :)

So my favourite gifts are very ornament, Disney, sentimental items, I'm all about memories and I know in years to remember who bought them for me will be lovely. I was truly spoilt and I really appreciate gifts that someone has thought long and hard about the type of present I'd like to receive. 

Last night me and my brothers took Mum out for her birthday with my boyfriend and my older brothers girlfriend. We've got such a nice pub up the road from us its perfect to just pop up there. The food is incredible and they have my all time favourite drink - Glitter Bomb - I die. I so wish Goldschlager was more readily available in the UK but alas. I wore my beautiful high top wedges, seriously the best invention EVER. Mum asked me why I was taller than her and I explained and she was like what! I forgot I had "heels" on, they're so comfortable and when I was a little tipsy lady walking home I was fine (even if it was just down the road!). They are quite sturdy so you remain relatively steady on your feet. I was so excited to get back home for Mum to open her presents. Me and my boyfriend got her a limited editon Disney watercolour painting of Snow White, her favourite. Needless to say she was happy with all her gifts and I've got some extra bits for her coming in the post. She loves vanilla and the Body Shop had loads of vanilla products reduced so I added them to my order. Will post my sale bits separately as its not all arrived yet but I haven't bought too much this year because I've found the sales to be a real disappointment. It was my one year anniversary with my boyfriend today and we had such a chilled day at home. I made him bacon sandwiches and scrambled egg for breakfast followed by a three course meal (although we didn't manage dessert as we were so full!). We watched Friends with Benefits again, its very funny with one liners and I love the way Mila and Justin bounce off each other and are so believable in their roles and emotions (which is obviously the sign of good acting!). I truly can't believe it's been a year together officially, it's gone so fast!
Anyway I hope you all have a wonderful time seeing the New Year in.
Hope you've all had great, festive weeks!