Today is day 6 of Blogmas (already!!!) Only 19 days to go until Christmas day.
Here is what’s behind window number five of my Tanya Burr beauty advent calender…
A lovely glittery and super sparkly nail varnish.
This polish is called ‘Glitter rain’ and is a lovely silver glitter.
The glitter is great as it adds a festive, party sparkle to your nails (great for those Christmas parties) But is a bit different from the usual gold glitter.
Great for creating a festive, frosty look! ❄
The glitter is fine with larger bits of glitter too which is great on it’s own for a simple touch of sparkle but its also great over other colours or to add a accent nail.
I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my advent calender.
Who else is loving having a little choc in the morning btw!?! LOVE IT.
So, this is of course the start of the festive decorating period, the main feature of many a room, all over the world, for the next month or so.
The humble Christmas tree makes any lounge cosy and fun, the theme for our tree is red, gold and green, very traditional and classic.
Lets take a look!
1. Lights
We have warm yellow lights for the tree.
2. Tinsel
Red and gold tinsel alternating throughout the tree adds a touch of sparkle.
3. Baubles
Green & Gold
Red baubles
Sparkly, gold pine cones
We added the plain baubles first. We have a mix of sizes, shiny, matte & frosted baubles in our colour scheme of red, gold and green.
4. Decorations
Once the plain baubles are on we added our personalised and hand picked decos. There are a few new ones, I like to pick up one or two each year in the lead up to the festive season. My mum sometimes gets me a decoration too.
5. The star on top
We have a matte red star that tops our tree. It came in the set my mum originally bought us, when we moved out, along with the plain baubles. Tim did the honours.
Day four of Blogmas is here! and today is another look inside my Tanya Burr ‘Tanya’s treats’ advent calendar.
I have combined two windows today in order to make sure that I open them in Blogmas and you guys can see what I’ve got. Basically I couldn’t wait to open it so I opened one on the first and if I do it every other day the last window would be opened on Christmas day, one day too late!
So, lets take a look inside…
So, behind window number two of my advent calendar was a lovely lipgloss.
The lipgloss is a lovely red colour with a berry tone to it. Its called ‘Cranberry melt’.
I don’t usually wear lipgloss but I’m definatly going to be trying this out over the festive period as its a great colour for the season. The gloss glides on really nicely, the colour is nice and bright but not too in your face and it isn’t really uncomfortable and sticky on your lips.
Very wearable for everyday or great for a Christmas party look!
Behind window number three of my advent calendar was a super sparkly eye liner.
The eyeliner is gold and glittery, great for adding a sparkle to the eyes. For a eyeliner novice such as myself this was very easy to apply.
To get prepared this Christmas I picked up Tanya Burr’s new book ‘Tanya’s Christmas’ Its full of recipes, gifting, gift wrapping, party, make up and just general christmas prep ideas to get those festive juices flowing.
I love this book, its so lovely to look through and so handy at this hectic time of year. Its an ultimate Christmas guide and its made me feel really festive and EXCITED for December and the big day in particular.
Tanya is one of my favourite Youtubers so I was really pleased when she released this book. I have chosen some of my favourite pieces from the book to share with you guys. Alot of them are baking ideas that I want to make in the lead up to Christmas and for Christmas day.
I hope you enjoy this little insight into the book, and who knows it might give you some Christmassy ideas too.
Letstake alook!
Make!
I love the idea of making your own decorations and this arrangement by Tanya is so simple, yet so effective!
Its using natural resources such as dried oranges (beaut smell!!) pine cones and cinnamon sticks. A lovely fragrant display that you can arrange any way that you wish. I would probably swap out the cinnamon sticks as I’m not a fan of this scent, the beauty of this simple idea is that you can put your own twist on it and make it to match your theme. I like the idea of using pine branches and holly, as well as gold sprayed pine cones.
Bake!
Lets be frank, food is one of the best parts of Christmas so, I have picked out a few of the recipes in the book.
The first couple of recipes are ones that I want to make in the lead up to Christmas.
On the left is a tear and share Chocolate orange cookie. Chocolate orange is my ultimate fave and I love a Terry’s chocolate orange at Christmas, so instantly I was drawn to this. I will be making this in the lead up to Christmas because its going to be delicious and baking always gets me in a warm and cosy mood.
In the middle picture are rice crispy Christmas puddings. I want to have a go at making these with my Nephew Noah as I think these will be really fun to make together (& I’m sure his little bro Casey will help us taste test them along the way)
On the right are Smores biscuits. I want to make these for me, my husband, sister, brother in law and nephews to enjoy on Christmas eve! Super cosy.
I’ve also chosen the ‘Chocolate brownie traybake with salted caramel ice cream’ to make for mine and Tim’s Christmas dinner dessert. Neither of us like the traditional Christmas pud so I always make us something chocolatey and indulgent and this is perfect.
Celebrate!
I love the section in the book with her Christmas traditions as well as Tanya’s viewers traditions too. These are really interesting to read, its cool to see how people spend their day and how their traditions differ from country to country.
This section is also great for those of you who want to add some new traditions to your Christmas routine and need some inspiration!
Some of our Christmas traditions include:
Christmas Lights
Christmas eve boxes
Stockings
Panto
Family word and board games
I won’t go into these too much as I have a post in the pipeline that focuses on these a bit more. I love traditions and they are very important to me, especially at this time of the year when I think it is really important to spend time with your loved ones and enjoy the simple pleasures and comfort that traditions can bring.
For those of you who love Christmas like I do, you will really enjoy this beautiful book. I grabbed mine from Amazon and I’ll leave the link below for you!
So, this is very exciting!! Well I think so anyway haha. For any of my fellow Harry Potter fans out there, this ones for you…
I have seen many photos over the years (thanks Pinterest) of Harry Potter Christmas trees, and with an extra tree in our flat this year, well it seemed rude not to give it a go finally.
I’ve got plenty of Harry Potter memorabilia to create such a masterpiece and so I set about decorating my most magical Christmas tree yet.
I already had lights and fittingly (excluding the pink ) they are red, green, yellow and blue lights, the same colours as the four Hogwarts houses.
I used two Hogwarts ties that I had as tinsel, A red and gold Gryffindor one and a blue and silver Ravenclaw one. The Ravenclaw one is actually my sister Sarah’s, so if your reading this, thanks for your contribution haha.
As I said, I used lots of different bits of my Harry Potter memerobilia to decorate the main body of the tree and it was really fun adding all my little Harry Potter trinkets onto the tree, from baubles to characters, pictures and more.
The tree topper, like many Ive seen online had to be my sorting hat that I got from the Warner Bros studio tour, it brings it all together really well.
Lets take a look…
Ron Pop Vinyl & Hufflepuff bauble.
Harry’s famous glasses.
Dobby pop vinyl & Hogwarts express ticket.
Hermione’s love potion & a Gryffindor tie.
The Gaut family ring & Dumbledore’s chocolate frog card.
Its day two of Blogmas and its an advent update. I have two advent calenders this year, a chocolate one (Cadburys of course!)
…and a beauty advent, Tanya Burr’s ‘Tanya’s treats’ beauty calendar.
Tanya’s beauty advent calendar is 12 days of Christmas so every other day my Blogmas post will focus on what I have got inside the calendar.
I love having a beauty advent and I wasn’t able to get my hands on Tanya’s last year so I was really pleased to get one, I love her beauty range.
The calendar is really nice, I love the rose gold and shiny burgundy colour scheme and cute sweet shop scene.
Letstakealookatdayone!
Behind window number one was a lovely red nail polish. I love the packaging of her nail varnishes, the large gold top and gold writing look really sleek.
The colour is ‘Festive Red’ and is a beautiful and bold Christmas red. This is perfect for the festive season.
This first post is all about the decorations. I absolutely LOVE homeware, adding those little (or big!) items that just make a room perfect, cosy & super pretty.
And what could be better than combining two of your favourite things,,, decorations & Christmas!!
Lets take a look at what I’ve got in my little Festive haul…
First up, we bought a new tree!
‘Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas treee’
Our current tree is a little worse for wear so we picked a new artificial one from Sainburys for £25. It is a 6ft green tree, not too encroaching, just right for our little lounge 🙂
Next up, some decorations for said tree…
Glitter balls
Mini glitter baubles
12 pack of glitter baubles; Mini gold star, shaker baubles.
These were also from Sainbury’s and were £6. These are so cute because they are mini and they will look so pretty when they are on the tree, contrasting with the green branches, And who doesn’t love glitter sprinkles?!?
‘Jingle bells’
Little pud!
6 pack of Christmas pudding bell baubles.
These Christmas pudding bells are super cute and look so festive hanging on the tree. I love the rustic feel to them, the little star cut out and their soft jingle. These were also from Sainbury’s and were £6.
Green glitter ball
Chunky green, glitter bauble.
This bauble is so pretty. Green is my absolute favourite colour (and not just because its super festive… although it helps haha) but also for the Autumnal feel , especially this shade of green.
Its quite a large bauble and is covered in fine dark green and gold glitter. It is then covered in emerald green sequins too. This is going to look so pretty when it catches the light.
It was also from Sainsbury’s and was £1.50.
‘We’re walking in the airrrr’
Flying snowman decoration.
This little guy is adorable and I love how he looks like he is flying through the sky! It kinda reminds me of the classic Christmas film ‘The Snowman’ plus he’s glittery!! winner.
This was £2.99 in a local garden centre.
GLITTER!
Bronze/Dark gold glitter maple leaf decoration.
This leaf decoration is quite simple but looks lovely in this bronzy/gold glitter. This is also quite autumnal but with a glittery, festive touch. This was 75p in Asda.
A letter to Santa
Felt Santa Claus letter hanging decoration
This little decoration is so cute, a little letter to Santa! Loving the festive colours too. This was £1 from Asda.
Lets move onto lights!
Gold star fairy lights
‘Twinkle Twinkle little star’
Gold star lights
These little lights are so cute. I love how they look like mini cookie cutters and I love the gold colour too, they give off a lovely warm glow when they are turned on.
Berrytastic!
Festive berry lights
These little lights are so cute. There are three different coloured bulbs, a warm yellow bulb, a iridescent white bulb and a festive, berry red bulb. These look great in our lounge, I Love them.
Red X-MAS bulb lights.
These are SO COOL. I love bulb light signs like these, if you’ve been round here for a while you’ll know we had a white ‘R & T’ version at our wedding which I still have in our lounge. I also have a red star in our kitchen from last Christmas, as red is the accent colour in there.
I LOVE to read, I would even go as far as to say it is my favourite hobby. So, I thought I would share this hobby with you guys.
So this is basically my guide to a good read. All of these books I have read and thoroughly enjoyed! Its one book for each month of the year. As I’ll explain along the way, I have put certain books and months together just to make it a bit more tailored to those months and to myself (It is my guide after all haha)
I hope you guys find this useful and are drawn to a few of these brilliant books, maybe you could pop them onto your Christmas list! You may even know someone who would enjoy one of these, or failing that they would make great stocking fillers,
Lets take a look at the books I’ve chosen…
Bridget Jones Diary By Helen Fielding.
Because we all need a bit of cheering up in January! & Bridget is a very endearing character. January is probably when most people would start writing a new diary, a new year, a new chapter.
Billy & Me By Giovanna Fletcher.
A brilliant and cosy love story, wonderfully written. You will fall in love with the setting, its characters and the story of a young couple in love.
Blood sisters by Jane Corry.
I really enjoyed this book and found the twists really keep you on your toes.
After I’ve gone By Linda Green.
This book is SO gripping. With social media being at the forefront of todays culture this novel really makes you think. (+ its full of Harry Potter references!!)
Is it just me? By Miranda Hart.
May is my birthday month and I received this book for my birthday a few years ago. It is full of laughs. Miranda Hart is my favourite comedian and this hilarious book of anecdotes and stories is just fab! Sure to put a smile on your face. Almost halfway!
The Notebook By Nicholas Sparks.
“Every great love starts with a story.” This book is beautiful, true love personified, it made me cry!! (All the feels!!) and during what is a special month for me and my husband I thought this was a rather apt choice.
“I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough..”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
“I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I’ve ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours. ”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
Lying about last summer by Sue Wallman.
Since July is the start of the summer I thought that this would make a good choice. This one is a teenage read (technically, but don’t let that put you off adults!!) It is super easy to get into and is just a lovely story about overcoming fears and letting go of guilt.
Change of heart By Jodi Picoult.
I was on holiday when I read this, hence the choice of months! and this is by far one of my favourites of all of Jodi Picoults books. It is SO gripping you honestly won’t be able to put it down, 10/10.
Harry Potter and the Philosphers Stone By J.K Rowling
Because was I ever going to do a book review without getting a Harry Potter book in there?? (NO, No I was not) This book is so MAGICAL and if your anything like me you’ll be dreaming of boarding that train to Hogwarts on September the 1st.
The Ice cream girls By Dorothy Koomson.
Take yourself back to Summer time with this seaside set novel. Heart breaking but brilliantly written by another one of my favourite authors.
Mince pies and mistletoe at the Christmas market By Heidi Swann.
This is a lovely easy reader with an awesome festive feel to it. If this doesn’t get you into the festive spirit I don’t know what will!!
Tanya’s Christmas By Tanya Burr
This is a fantastic book to get you feeling super festive, but also prepared for all the merriment. Its not a story, its more of a guide to Christmas and Christmas prep. Its full of brilliant crafty ideas, tantalizing recipes that will make your mouth water and make up, gifting and wrapping ideas to get those festive juices flowing, perfect.
These books are all quite different so I’m hoping there’s something in there for all of you guys to get your teeth stuck into,
What’s your favourite book? Favourite Author? Any recommendations?
This is just a brief post to remind you that I will indeed be embarking on Blogmas again this year.
Yup, that’s a blog a day, everyday throughout the month of December, up until the big day on the 25th.
I bloody LOVE Christmas so expect some super festive and fun ideas, craft, recipes, make up, party looks, gifting, food and SO MUCH MORE!!
Its tough but I am so excited to get stuck in and document my festivities, as well as hopefully spreading the festive fun and inspiring you guys to make the best of this time of year, because it really is the most wonderful time of the year.
Here are my 5 simple steps to having a relaxing evening.
I know this is personal preference but its just my favourite way to unwind and relax after a busy week and I thought that I would share it with you guys.
Enjoy!
Step 1:
Treat yourself!
After work on Friday I walked into town and treated myself by getting my nails done. I have only had them professionally done a handful of times and its been ages, So I thought why not!
I went to a little salon where we got our nails done ready for my sisters wedding in 2015. I really wanted an Autumnal colour as I am loving those shades at the moment.
Here’s what I went for …
A full set of acrylics in this lovely dark browny, bronzy colour.
Step 2:
Pamper yourself!
As soon as I got home I ran myself a nice hot bath. I love baths and find them super relaxing. I picked out my favourite LUSH products to add to my bath because the only thing better than a regular bath is a LUSH bath!!
One of my favourite LUSH products is the ‘Comforter’ bubble bar. I also used the Body Shop Vanilla Pumpkin shower gel, from their Autumn range, which I am loving at the mo! The bubble bar creates super bubbles and the smell of the shower gel is DI-VINE.
Step 3:
Get cosy!
I popped on some cosy, festive (I know its early, apologies but at least it is November!!) PJS and grabbed a cosy throw and snuggled down on the sofa.
…and don’t forget the cosy socks.
Step 4:
Entertainment!
Its really important to take the time to do things that you love but usually don’t have time for, read a book, catch up on your fav shows, do a puzzle, write, anything.
I opted for my current book because reading is by far one of my favourite hobbies. I also had the remote in order to catch up with a couple of the soaps that I watch.
Step 5:
Food!
Because come on, no relaxing and cosy blog post of mine is complete without it (in fact I can think of many times that are incomplete without it haha)
I made myself some indulgent loaded fries for dinner and a nice cold drink too. Time to tuck in!
I felt so much better taking some time to myself and relaxing after a busy week.
(Apologies for the state of my nails!!)
A full set of acrylics in this lovely dark browny, bronzy colour.
I opted for my current book because reading is by far one of my favourite hobbies. I also had the remote in order to catch up with a couple of the soaps that I watch.
Roseanne Byford 