OOTD: Garden Party (in the rain)

I have a day off today, and my placement school is having a garden party! My bestie is coming in half an hour or so and we're heading there for the afternoon, which will be so lovely. It's raining though, so we'll see how that pans out!!

I'm wearing trousers today which I got for four quid from Tesco. They may be hideous but I think I like them and I'm trialling them outside the house today so I hope they're going to be accepted by people...

Blouse Topshop Trousers Tesco

Also... (as you might see) my room is done and I looooveeee it! Room tour coming soon but I need to wait until I have a large period of time free to do it properly. Watch this space!

Have a lovely day XXX

Lovely weekend and a Home Bargains Haul!!

I am beyond knackered + covered in bruises and grazes, but this weekend has been super lovely! It's not often that my days off from work actually fall on a Saturday and Sunday, so it was a super treat when I saw this week's rota and saw that I wasn't working! 

Yesterday I went to see a family friend's work at the local uni's Fine Art exhibition. This was cool, but I especially loved having the chance to visit the Textiles section. Seeing all the planning and hard work that had gone into the final products on show was so fascinating, and I genuinely wanted to buy a lot of the items I saw on show. I like sewing and have made my own clothes before, but I would love to be so creatively talented at it to make it a life path!!

Last night I visited my friend in Coventry and we spent the night at the launch night of an Irish pub. As expected it was mental, messy, and a general downright larf. Although after every night I encounter along these lines end up with waking up to a shameful Snapchat story, a massive wound (this time, my right knee was grazed and I had blood all up my leg!) and a face full of make-up...

Today we spent the day in the sunshine at a 3rd birthday party and popped into Home Bargains (absolute gem of a store) where I picked up these bargains indeed for a total of 8 quid! If that's not a round-up of a top weekend I don't know what is.

L-R: Rabbit trinket holder, Set of three floral tins, I Love... Hand Cream, V05 Give Me Moisture Conditioner, Macadamia Oil Extract Shampoo

Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion: A Review

First things first... I've been so bad at blogging recently! It's due to a combo of me being pretty busy (with nice things - my friends are slowly arriving home for summer, yippee!) and not having that much inspiration. When I come home from work most days I just veg - but I HAVE got a few post ideas lined up so all is not lost!!

Onto important stuff... this wonderful product. I ended up throwing this into my Superdrug basket last week because I'd run out of standard everyday moisturiser, and I decided to go mad and go for a gradual tan option - the sun is making an appearance but I still look like The Woman in White so some colour on my limbs was definitely necessary!

A week later (using this beast once or twice a day), in the wise words of Ricky Martin, my skin is actually resembling the colour mocha. This is a fabulous product. It doesn't smell of rank fake tan smell, and moisturises like a standard moisturiser does. I am impressed!

However, some things to bear in mind...

1. WASH YOUR HANDS! The inside of my fingers look so so ridiculous - so so orange! I will never learn.

2. If you actually want to have a noticeable tan, buy the darker version of the product - it does the job a lot quicker than the light version, and makes me feel like I've got my money's worth!

In a post to come some pictures MAY arise of the product in action - legs out is finally acceptable.

:)

XXX

SOMEONE TAKE MY BANK CARD AWAY FROM ME

So, right after I made a vow to stop spending money I don't have on things I don't need, right after I realised that I'm going to have to buy a new car in the next few months, right after I reminded myself that I am an adult and that saving money is what adults do... I went shopping.

I regret nothing.

I may do an OOTD featuring these soon which is why I've not shot the whole items, but I picked up some summer items - shorts from New Look and a pretty wee cami and dress from Primark! Woot woot for shopping success.

And this was inevitable...

Nivea Express Hydration Primer, Rimmel Lasting Finish lipliner, No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-up Remover, Treaclemoon Marshmallow Hearts Shower Gel (beyond heavenly), Seventeen Dual Sharpener, PS Love Your Nails twisty nail polish remover, PS Tweezers, Lush Eau Roma Water Toner Water (I actually needed most of these things!!)

I also got my Dad some nice Father's Day presents, treated Mum to a nice lunch out, bumped into my brother and baked a full on Bruce Bogtrotter cake when I got home, so it's all gravy.

Back to work tomorrow - maybe this time the saving can begin? nope

eBay Gems and the Last Days of Placement

It's finally arrived... tomorrow is my first day off for five weeks!!! Even though lie-ins have become a distant memory and my skin isn't pleased with me, I've had such a lovely time at a lovely school and I'm very grateful indeed to have had this opportunity. That said, the thought of not leaving the house tomorrow makes me want to cry real tears of joy. I'd like to say I'm planning on spending the day in bed with a multipack of Wotsits, but I have a 3000 word essay to write... we can't have it all!

To console myself through my sleepy last week, I spent A LOT of money online... PayPal is DANGEROUS! Although I am a firm believer that if you spend money on beautiful bargains, it's pretty much like gaining money. makes sense much?

How perfect is this CK toiletry bag? My old one has got a bit bruised and battered after various recent adventures, so I felt it was time to invest in a new one. This was £16, which probably isn't much less than the RRP, but I remember feeling like it was a bargain!

These little numbers came to under £20 I think, and considering I've been searching for the perfect t-bars for a while, I think I deserve a pat on the back for these finds! I can't wait to wear this outfit with frilly socks and a straw hat when the sun comes out.

My lovely little class showered me with love yesterday - I will miss them so much! I feel lucky to live in a rural area, where the kids are all innocent and wouldn't hurt a fly. I don't want to start teacher training properly and move to a big city!!

My bedroom is also nearly finished being decorated, and I LOVE IT! Room tour later this week all things being equal!! :)

XXXX

Perfect Half Term

As I mentioned before I left, I spent my half term week in Lourdes in the South of France with a group of ten students from a school.

It was my third time in Lourdes, and although I adored the other two times I went, this time was definitely my favourite. Seeing the students I was leading grow and experience the place for the first time was absolutely priceless, and like I was the first time I ever went, I can see that they'll be changed for life.

For anyone unfamiliar with Lourdes, it's a small picturesque town that is always absolutely heaving with Catholic pilgrims. In 1858 a young girl called Bernadette experienced 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary who told her to dig underneath the ground she was standing on. Underneath the ground, Bernadette found a stream of water that still, to this day, people find a great amount of peace of healing in. There have been 57 recognised miracles since the stream was discovered.

I was brought up Catholic, went to a Catholic school,  and spent a gap year volunteering at a Catholic Youth Retreat Centre so the story of Lourdes and what it does to people is a total norm for me. Since going to uni I've made a lot of friends who aren't religious and they (understandably!) find the whole thing a bit crazy, as it's so hard to describe to people that haven't been.

Even if you aren't a person of faith, some of the things you see in Lourdes will change you and humble you forever - a lot of pilgrims that flock there know they will never get better, but the amount of strength they gain from the place and each other is incredible. Last time I went I helped in the Baths and a hospital, and met some truly inspirational people that are never without a smile on their face - it's amazing how much a humble and solid faith can bring to a person who, without that faith, might have almost nothing.

I feel so deflated to be home and it'll take a while to adjust to normality again, but I really did have an amazing week and it was incredible to be able to experience it through the eyes of the students (we all cried a lot) and to spend it with two of my best friends too! We laughed so much and some of the in-jokes that were created this week will live on forever (OOOH YEAAAHHHH/ Je M'appelle Bernadette/ Who wants a coffee??)

On the last day we all said a prayer in front of the Crown Mary statue in the hope that we'll be brought back there soon. I'd live there if I could.

I feel like life has been put into perspective after the most perfect half term I could ask for!!

:) 

XXX