NOTD : Pink and Blue Sponge

I've been playing again :) I found some beautiful photos of blue and pink ombre style manis so decided to attempt my own. I don't really think that the colours worked though, at a glance it looks as if I'm wearing blue that has been left to chip away on the ends! I think this pink is a little too weak for this style mani.

I used Barry M Blue Moon and Peach Melba, two of my favourite nail colours.

I also think that I applied too much to the sponge at one time. Next time I may try to paint the colour directly onto the tip and then dab at it for the sponge, not sure how well that would work!

What are your sponge ombre tips?

Through the Keyhole #3

As promised I am carrying on with this series, I will complete it! This time I'm going to show you my kitchen. The kitchen itself really could do with updating but as we have limited funds we have just tried to decorate it as best as we can. I quite like it.

I had the girls coming over for a sleepover when I took these photos, hence the popcorn! 

My kitchen is mainly blue with pink around the inside of the window and on the radiator. The clock is from John Lewis, I've had it for ages and still haven't gotten around to filling the photos! I can't find it on the John Lewis website any more but I have managed to track it down on Amazon for the bargain price of £6.99! 

The apron is from Primark and is more of a decoration than anything else as I never remember to use it!

My knife man was a present, I love him, such a talking point.

The white board came from New Look ages ago, the COOK letters from Home Bargains and the floral weighing scales (just seen behind the smoothie maker) are from Amazon.

The tea, coffee, sugar jars are from Next, the worktop saver is from one of the bookmen that come into my work place. The tea towel is part of a set from Wilkinson's, there are also pretty Cath Kidston esque blue and pink ones.

The camper van calendar is a gift off the mother-in-law, she knows how much I love them! 

The cupcake hook plaque came from eBay, I've linked one that I have found on there but I'm unsure if its the same seller, I am rather tempted to buy the egg one that they also sell!

The Union Jack rug is quite a recent purchase though I annoyingly can't remember where from! I'm 99% positive that we bought it from The Range but couldn't swear to it! 

And that is it, my little old kitchen! It isn't as dirty as it looks, its just old - honest! 

Shoetastic - ECCO

ECCO are a brand that I hadn't heard of until I received an email asking if I'd like to receive a pair of their boots for review. After perusing their website I decided that these were a pair of boots I definitely needed to own! The boots that I received are from the new Sculptured 65 range. This range is described as a blend of sexy and all-day. They have a 6.5cm heel, a textile lining, a leather inlay sole covered with the ECCO Comfort FibreSystem, and a moisture-absorbent circulation system.

ECCO is a world leading shoe brand that combine style and comfort. They strongly believe in their design philosophy that “the shoe must follow the foot”. They are also the only major shoe manufacturer to own and manage every step of their shoemaking process, from designing, developing and producing. ECCO’s products can be found in 4,000 branded sales locations and in over 90 countries.

They have now designed and developed a shoe that has the perfect combination where fashion meets function and comfort and can be combined with any outfit.

The boots are very easy to style and are perfect for both casual outfits and work outfits. These are my two favourite ways to wear with the boots, but they are very versatile and could be worn with a lot more, from your comfy jeans to your LBD.

The boots themselves are very comfortable and have superb grips on the bottom, they really do scream quality.

You can purchase the ECCO Sculptured 65 boots here for £115.

Sponsored Post

Week in Photos #77

Dominos two for Tuesday - Its very rare for us to have a Dominos pizza on a Tuesday, but we were both still quite hungover from the weekend as we're getting really old now and can't handle it! 

YooMoo frozen yoghurt - I was in a foul mood one day in the week so decided to crack this bad boy out! Its the first time I've tried the strawberry and I love it!

Faggots, mash and peas - I went out for a meal with the girls from work on Friday, we went to The Unicorn which is lush. I had Welsh Rarebit with crispy bacon to start and the faggots for my main, the portions there are huge though so I didn't manage to finish this.

I've received some exciting goodies this week :) The sailor hat and fake tattoos are for a fancy dress night out this Friday, the boots are my new love, you can see them in this OOTD post, my August JolieBox which you can read about here.

I picked up my new Gok Wan glasses from Specsavers which I'm beginning to fall in love with.

We've having a bit of a 'mare with our Wedding budget, its amazing how quickly it spirals out of control! As a result we're trying to make a bit of extra cash. I've put loads of clothes on eBay (you can see them here) and we did a car boot sale yesterday, we made about £30 which we were very chuffed with.

Kitty being cute and Kitty's fat lip. We don't know what has happened to her lip bless her! They had a vets appointment the other day for their annual jabs so Spencer mentioned her lip, the vet didn't know what it was but said not to worry as its clearly not bothering her, just to keep an eye on it.

Decorating is so messy! One more coat to go and that room is done, then we have to move onto the next!

We had a Chinese courtesy of Iceland on Saturday evening, they sell loads of various Chinese food for £1.50 (I think) and its lovely! 

I came home last night to find Spencer had left half his chicken shish for me, happy :)

We went drinking around our local area yesterday and had a great day. The skittle bombs were probably a mistake though :-/ I love this photo of me and my sis :) 

This sign on the toilet made me giggle!

Do you like the new way that I'm doing my week in photos? I've decided to start putting the photos into collages, which I know can sometimes be annoying as it can make the photos too small, I've made sure only to put a maximum of three in each so hopefully they aren't too small? I found a great site called Picisto which you can just upload the photos too direct from Instagram/Twitter which makes it nice and easy :) 

Review : August JolieBox

My August JolieBox arrived on Friday, I did see on their facebook a while ago that they had decided to postpone the August box so that the arrival date didn't clash with too many people's holidays. I personally thought that was a bit poop as surely a lot of people would have been away this weekend when it arrived as its a bank holiday?

This month's themed boxes were designed by Timai Hua, I received the pretty green and pink box entitled Secret Garden, it really is very pretty and I love having special boxes to add to my collection.

We also received the Jolie Magazine which I forgot to photo.

It would appear that JB are now doing a Starbucks esque thing of giving us a free song each month, love this little extra touch! I've never heard of the Nodz so this is a great way for me to discover new music, I'll download this and pop it onto my iPod.

3 x Dr Bronner's Magic Soap samples size unknown

JolieBox say : These magic all-in-one soaps loved by the A list cleans and revives from head-to-toe

I say : Receiving these reminded me that I have a bottle of this that I received in a previous GlossyBox and still haven't opened. Not looking good for these either really! I think the problem with these for me is that they baffle me by stating that they can be used for so many things, but don't actually state what! I have no idea what to do with them.

So Susan Lip Cushion - Crush

JolieBox say : A sheer gloss to tint and moisturise chapped lips

I say : This smells very strongly of strawberry, I personally like this scent but overs may find it too overpowering. The packaging is adorable, I love the pop out butterfly on the box! As the description states this is just a tint so don't expect much colour pay off, it does the job though and leaves my lips feeling great. I haven't added the sample size as the box says 3g but my little pot looks lost in the box so I'm unsure as to whether or not this is the correct size product for the box.

So Susan Wide Awake Palette £15

JolieBox say : A palette of skin enhancing colour tools to give you a warmer glow

I say : Normally I would be annoyed to see two products from the same brand in the same box, but So Susan is just so adorable that I was happy to see more! The packaging of this palette is adorable. The palette contains illuminating cream, highlighting cream and an eyebrow sculptor, though I think these would be better suited to eyeshadows as they have a shimmer running through them.

Phil Smith Dry Shampoo 75ml £2

JolieBox say : This dry shampoo blitzes oily roots and leaves hair feeling fresh and clean

I say : My hair seems to have changed recently and I struggle to find a dry shampoo that works well with it now. I look forward to giving this a good go.

Leather Hair Styling Lace

JolieBox say : A leather lace to create endless updo's

I say : I'm not the best at hair styling so currently have no idea what to do with this! I love the colour that I received though. I look forward to the tutorials that will soon be appearing on JolieBox's blog.

Overall a very good box by my standards. Well done JB! 

You can subscribe to JolieBox here for £10 per month plus P&P.

I've Been eBaying...

Hi girls :) I just thought I'd let you know that I have whacked up all these pretty clothes on eBay today! Most items start from 99p and there are sizes 12, 14 & 16 up for grabs! 

Please make my day and help a poor bride pay for her hen week and her Wedding by buying my clothes!

You can view my items for sale here.

I hope you're having a great weekend so far!

OOTD : Friday Night Meal

Check me out, a) blogging an outfit on the same day and b) being home this early! What is going on with me!

Dress - ARK Clothing

Boots - Truffle via eBay

Necklace & Shambala bracelet - Primark

I figured I'd do a 'trying to be sexy but not quite working' photo for the first showing of my new Gok Wan specs on the blog! What do you think of them? I loved them when I tried them on, ordered them all excited like a kid waiting for Christmas (who am I kidding, like me waiting for Christmas), then was really disappointed when they came back. They are now growing on me again.

The sexual new boots had their first outing tonight - aren't they amazing! I've been wanting a pair of this style boots for ages but am useless in heels so put it off. After seeing so many people saying that they are actually fine to walk in and then finding these beauts for just £18.50 I gave in. I am so glad that I did. Granted I only went for a meal tonight so didn't actually walk anywhere but they did feel soooo comfy! I felt like a giant though and almost fell down my toilet because it was so much lower down :-/

My new Primark necklace annoyed me a little, this also had its first outing. I sat there eating my faggots and one of the spikes fell off! If I'd been out dancing like a nutter this may have been fine, but I literally sat down all night! Not impressed! 

So yeah, I also had a couple of glasses of Rose with my meal and am a complete lightweight. Coffee for Leanne!

P.S. I did have red lippie on but I took these after my meal and it has all worn off :( 

Wantworthy Items #2

As usual I am lusting after loads of items that unfortunately I just can't afford to buy. I have whittled them down to a few of my favourites to share with you.

Studded Bag £12 Select ❤ ♡ Starbucks Necklace £7 Etsy ❤ ♡ Aztec Vest £12 Topshop Sale ❤ ♡ Cattitude Tank £10 Urban Outfitters Sale ❤ ♡ Squirrel Heart Tee £7 Topshop Sale ❤ ♡ Multi Aztec Shawl £10 Matalan ❤ ♡ Personalised Polka Dot Heart Necklace £8 Heidi Seeker ❤ ♡ Bird Print Pleated Dress £16 Matalan

I've pretty much convinced myself that I need some of these items, particularly the name necklace, isn't it the cutest ever? I'm planning on buying the Matlan Aztec Shawl on my next shopping trip as I am going on my hen week at the end of September, which is a week in a caravan, I think this shawl will be perfect for cosying up in the evenings.

You can view my Wantworthy list here.

Through the Keyhole #2

You may remember that a long, long time ago I started a new blog series called 'Through the Keyhole' which I pretty much failed. I did one post and then failed to do any more *bad blogger*. I've decided that I will complete this series, my house isn't very big at all so it won't be a very long series! 

Today I am going to show you living room/dining room. You can view the original post from the series here.

really should have plumped the cushions!

The living room and dining room are separated by a brick arch, which I'm not really very fond of. Ideally I'd like to paint the bricks a nice stone/cream colour but Spencer doesn't want to.

The wallpaper in the alcoves is from Wilkinsons, the paint is Cookie Dough by Dulux. The Union Jack chest is a recent TK Maxx purchase.

I really need to get some material to cover the mess in the shelf, that has been on my to-do list forever! You can see the owl print in more detail here.

The dining room table is a recent purchase from IKEA, along with the blinds in both rooms. The curtains are from ASDA. My mini John Lewis sewing machine lives on the dining room table along with all my material scraps. I really need to get a big box that I can put it all in. The wall art thing-a-ma-jig is from TK Maxx.

Our book case is from Argos. On top of the book case lives my new Meer Kat and a pretty lamp that is a gift from Turkey.

I do apologise for the poor quality of some of these photos. The sun was actually shining on the day that I took them which my camera did not appreciate. 

I hope you enjoyed my tour and as I said above, I will complete this series!