Hot Hot Weekend!

Well hello

Wow it has been hot this weekend! Now, don't get me wrong, I like the sun, but it has been unbearable! So hot and humid! But, even though the temperature was around 26-30 degrees all weekend, we did mange to get out and do some fun things :)

Shirt - George @ Asda

Shorts - FF @ Sainsburys

Dress - George @ Asda

Shrug - George @ Asda

Flip flops - Primark - but personalised by me :)

On Saturday, Mike and I headed into London for a preview event for Dea London's Autumn/Winter 2013 collection. The venue was the rooftop of their studio in Dalston and, oh my, was it hot! I met some lovely bloggers I have been dying to meet - you know who you are! - got very sun burnt, and managed to win myself a custom made coat from the new collection! 

Lovely ladies - Carmen, Becky, Me, Kim, Emma

Enjoying the catwalk show

My prize - Me with designer Jelena Fehmi

The coat from Dea London's AW13 collection I am getting

After the event, we all gathered for some lunch, before all heading off home. It was lovely to chat to these ladies, and I can't wait to see them again soon!

Being a tourist on London Bridge!

Then on Sunday, the four of us headed down for the church service, but this week, instead of being in St Martin's Church as usual, we had a wonderful outdoor service at Eynsford Castle. 

It is an English Heritage site that sits right behind the main high street. I have to say, it was my first time visiting the ruins, and it was beautiful! The children loved exploring the ruins and had fun with some of the other children there. 

It was interesting as it was a 'Together Service' which brought together the 3 different church groups from the village, so we had a mixture of things going on. The best bit, by far, was the story that Rev. Gary told, and then it was acted out by puppets for the children to listen to! The song was brilliant and Mike and I were singing it all day!

But I think the highlight of the weekend for me was getting my gorgeous baby back from my parents on Sunday afternoon :)

As we knew we were going to be out most of the day on Saturday, we didn't want to leave Lulu at home in the heat on her own, so on Friday, after she had been poochied at the groomers, I dropped her off at my mum and dad's. We all missed her so much, and it wasn't long before she was making herself comfy laying on Mike whilst we watched the tennis. And on that note.......Well done Andy Murray!! We were so happy when he won! That last game was so scary!! It seemed to go on for ages.... But he did it!

Hope you all had a great weekend :)

toodle pip!

Beka x

My Hair Care Routine

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I have had long thick hair ever since I was little. When I was a baby, I had beautiful blonde hair, but by the age of about 9, it had become brown. I went through a period from about 18-20 years old of dying it. Sometimes dark red, once black, and mostly just a darker brown. I grew out of that phase! I have had a few different hair styles, short, long, bob, and all over the place! I am finally at a place where I am happy with my hair, length and colour, and now I have found a hair care routine that works!

My hair isn't naturally straight, or curly, but in between. It has always been dry, and I do like to use straighteners and curlers, so it has been put through a lot! Last year, I went for the Ombre look, which I am still loving :) And it is at a length I like too. Nice and long so I can do lots with it.

So here is what I use on my hair. I wash my hair every 2-3 days. If I do it more, it goes really dry and is a nightmare! First up, Shampoo!

This is the TRESemme Salon Silk Shampoo for dry and frizz-prone hair, which is what I have! I got this a while ago as it was on offer in Wilkinson I believe, 2 for £5. I will wash my hair with this, rinse it our, then use some more, only a little, and wash it again. 

I then use the TRESemme Luxurious Moisture Conditioner for dry or damaged hair. I bought this aaaages ago, but I always felt my hair would get greasy after like a day if I used conditioner, so I stopped using it. I started again about a month ago, and it is so good! I don't get that greasy feeling at all. I will put this on after my shampoo, and leave it on whilst I wash my body, then rinse it off at the end of my shower.

Because my hair is so thick, it takes forever to dry, even with a dryer! So I try to let it dry naturally for about 15-20 minutes, then spray the TRESemme Heat Defence Styling Spray all over, and brush it through. Then, starting with my fringe, dry my hair with my Vidal Sassoon hair dryer. I don't dry it completely, mainly as I spend about 20 mins drying it, then I get bored/my arms hurt! It's only normally the back underneath that I leave, but I tie it up to go to sleep and it leaves my hair with a lovely loose curl the next day.

Do you stick to the same hair care routine? 

toodle pip!

Beka x

Five Question Friday - Felicity

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Another week, another lovely blogger has agreed to answer my questions! Yay! This week I got to ask some questions to the gorgeous Felicity @ Felicity Hart

1. What is your best feature and why?

 I always think that my best feature is either my eyes or my hair as I have kept it long ever since I was a child.  My fiance might disagree with me on those though! 

2. What is the one essential item in your wardrobe that you couldn't live without?

I couldn’t live without my steel boned corset.  It was a birthday present from my sister many years ago and is an old fashioned black corset that gives me a super waist.  The only downside is I can’t really wear it under clothes as you can see the steel boning outlines through it.

3. Do you prefer Designer, Vintage or High Street?

I have to say, I prefer the high street but it is probably because I haven’t got a massive amount of designer clothing.  I have a Tiffany necklace and that’s about it.  High street clothes are more accessible and you can buy more for your money. 

4. What is your favourite outfit that you have worn and why?

I don’t know if this will count, as I haven’t worn it yet (only tried it on) but my favourite outfit that I will be wearing in the future is my wedding dress!  I feel like a princess in it and just need to set a date and get the wedding all booked up as it is sitting in the bridal shop storage.  Other than that, I love my new paper dolls dresses from Simply Be.  They are so young and trendy and I wish they had things like that when I went to my school prom.

5. What is your favourite meal?

Up until recently I would have said my favourite food was Italian – Spaghetti Carbonara to be precise (the most fattening thing on the menu!) but recently I have been steering towards Mexican food. It is sooo tasty!

Mexican food is definitely my favourite :) Nothing better than home-made Fajitas! A big thanks to Felicity to taking part this week, and for giving me some lovely pictures to use in the post. If you haven't already, check out her blog Felicity Hart, she is fabulous!

See you next week for another blogger and some more questions :)

toodle pip!

Beka x

I finally got round to it!

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Well, I finally did it. I have recorded, edited and posted my first YouTube video. I have been wanting to do this for a while, and I am so happy to have done one. 

I'm still new to this stuff, so please be warned! I tend to waffle, and Mike informed me that I say 'umm' a lot......it is my first video :) Please let me know what you think in the comments under the video, and any suggestions of videos you may like me to do. Thanks!

toodle pip!

Beka x

Superdrug Haul

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I popped into Superdrug the other day to repurchase the brilliant Collection Lasting Wear Concealer, and ended up getting this little lot....

First up.......

So, the main thing I went to purchase, the concealer, I have had this for about 2 months, and I use it every day! I have dark circles under my eyes, and with the added shadow of my glasses, I look tired if I don't use it. I got it in Shade 2 Light. I found this is quite light, but after I put my glasses on, it looks good, and really brightens up under my eyes.

So, as I picked this up, I noticed a massive FREE sign above it. Always good! The offer was spend £3.99 on Collection items and get a Hot Looks nail polish free :) So I picked up this one...

This is called All That Jazz and is a dark metallic grey colour. I really like it as I do like dark polishes, but I don't always like to wear black. It retails at £1.99, so a nice little freebie :)

Then I headed over to the MUA section as I needed a new blusher as I am hitting the bottom of my current MUA one. So I picked up this one....

I really like the one I am using at the moment, but I find it's not dark enough, so this time I went for a slightly darker pigment. This one is called Bubble Gum and was £1.

Top - my current blusher

Bottom - New blusher

I have never had or used a bronzer, so I saw one for £1 by MUA and thought I would give it a go. I got the lightest shade, as I have quite light toned skin anyway. This is Shade 3.

I will give it a try over the next few days and let you know how I get on!

Lastly, I picked up some Facial Cleansing Wipes - Cucumber. I left my other ones at my parent's house the other day, and I have used these before and really liked them.

And I really like the smell!

Thanks for reading :)

toodle pip!

Beka x

Voucher Codes

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I love a bargain! You know that, but I also love discounts. I have got into the habit now of, before I buy anything on line, I open a new tab and do a quick search for on line discount codes or current vouchers for that company. Quite a lot of the time, I find something, and it saves me a bit of money, and that is always good!

Just for you guys, I have collaborated with the lovely people at lovemyvouchers.co.uk to include a voucher code widget on my page. You will find it on the right hand side, under the little blurb about me :)

toodle pip!

Beka x

Retail Royalty Challenge

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I was contact a few weeks ago by someone at MoneySupermarket.com asking if I wanted to take part in their Retail Royalty Challenge. To mark the Queen's birthday, they have designed a challenge where they give a blogger £30 towards a registered charity of their choice. We then get to spend it on something that the charity needs, from food, to clothes, or sports equipment.

My chosen charity was Mind, The Mental Health Charity.

Why have I chosen this charity?

I have lived in Sevenoaks for nearly 2 years now, and I found it hard to make friends. There are a few mums at the school that I would chat to, but not really go for a coffee with them. I don't work, so I have not been able to make friends that way. To be honest, that is one of the reasons for starting this blog was to chat to anyone who may want to listen, and make some friends. In March, I joined a group on Facebook called Sevenoaks Mums Network. It was a great place where people were chatting, selling/buying things and asking for advice. So, as I was looking through the posts on there, I noticed one for a Mum's Support Group on a Monday evening. It had been posted by one of the ladies that run it, so I emailed her just asking if there were spaces, and she said I was welcome to go along and gave me the address. So, Monday evening came along and I headed to the address she gave me. As I was driving down the road, I could not see a house with that number on! So I gave the lady a call, and she said I was right outside, and I looked and there was Mind - Sevenoaks Area Centre. So I went in and was greeted by some lovely ladies, had come tea and biscuits and a good old chat! And I now go every week! It's a great way to have a chat with friends, listen to their problems and just get some time away. I have found it so useful and enjoyable, and made some good friends. 

So, when I was approached about this challenge, I knew where I wanted the money to go. Mind, and especially the lovely ladies that run our Monday night group, have helped me so much, and I am so grateful. So I decided to give the money towards us :) I found out last week that the ladies that run the group actually buy the biscuits/treats out of their own money. They were happy to do it, but I thought that that would be a good way to use the money. So last night, I gave them the £30 and explained what was going on. They were so pleased and really grateful. So for a good few months, we can put the money towards some lovely nibbly bits to have whilst we chat :) I know that this may seem like a little thing, but what the group does for me, and the other ladies that attend, is invaluable.

I want to say a massive thank you to MoneySupermarket.com for letting me take part in this challenge, and for enabling me to show my appreciation for the great things that Mind does, not just for me, but for everyone that they help.

 If you want to check out them, and what they do, please visit them at http://sevenoaksareamind.org.uk/

toodle pip!

Beka x