Models Own chrome polish

Hello everybody!

Just a quick one today as I haven't posted in a while (work has been cray-cray!). 

I came across the new Models Own chrome range on Instagram last week as I think a few bloggers were sent pre-release samples. It was love at first site for me. So, when it came out on Monday I hunted round Boots and Superdrug stores across two town centres, and in the fifth shop which happened to be a Superdrug I found them!

I went for the indigo which was the one I lusted over most on Instagram, but I was equally tempted by the others - especially the rose gold! However at £4.99 each and with a full acrylic stand of nail varnishes at home I resisted going crazy. If there had been an offer for buying multiples I probably would have though.

Have you tried the chrome range yet? 

Home office

My home office is finally finished. It has been a work in progress over the past few months. What started off as a bright yellow babies room (previous owners) is now a light and airy work space.

The walls were in pretty bad condition, so we started off by using the Polyfilla smoothover to plaster them, then sanded it all down. We also took up the old carpet and skirting boards. After painting the walls, ceiling, door frame and radiator, we laid some 5mm underlay and then some beautiful laminate flooring (Hickory smokey classic from Topps Tiles). It was suprisingly easy to lay the laminate flooring, I would advise anyone to DIY it if you don't want to pay someone to do it for you. It was made extra easy with a laminate cutter - no sawing needed.

We bought some 'no paint needed' white skirting from B&Q and got our carpenter to fit it for us. We could have done it, but don't own any power-tools so thought it best to get a professional in.

So, we went from this...

To this...

Next job was a trip to Ikea. I had always wanted a corner desk, but couldn't find a nice white one. So I compromised with the Malm desk with a pull out panel. It is effectively a corner desk if you want it to be, but the extra bit can be stored away when not in use. This is a great space saver as this is the smallest room in the house. We also got the clear tobias chair as thought it looked really smart and the lack floating shelves.

Finishing touches includeed a small billy bookcase, new light shade, dark wood venetian blind and some pictures on the opposite wall.

Now I have the perfect space to do my work and craft in. I love this room so much. I'm pretty sure it has increased my work productivity as I'm happy to spend time in here doing my work whereas I used to be at the kitchen table with lots of distractions around.

What do you think?

Topshop Michael Kors Selma style bag

I've just got home from a bit of a Sunday afternoon shopping over at the retail park and with me is my new Topshop bag.

My new Topshop bag

When I saw it, I instantly thought of the Michael Kors Selma which I love, but I am not prepared to part with that kind of money on a bag at the moment. The Topshop bag is £40, not the cheapest of high street bags, but I justfied it to myself as I will be using this pretty much every day.

Just to compare the two... What do you think? Similar?

It has the handles that you can see in the picture, as well as a shoulder strap. It zips shut, so it is secure from pick pockets.  Inside is a mobile phone pocket and another zip pocket.

I bought the black with the gold hardware. The is also a nude pink and grey design and a black with rose gold hardware (the store didn't have this - otherwise I probably would have gone rose gold!)

You can find the Topshop bag here.

2015 month on 2 pages A4/A5 diary download

I've just finished jazzing up a month on 2 pages diary for my A5 filofax next year. I downloaded a free basic template from My Life All in One Place and adapted it with fonts and colours of my choice.

2015 month on 2 pages diary

If you would like to use my template, feel free to download it here (in docx file format) or here (in pdf).

I'm going to use a month on 2 pages to practice my doodling, lettering and drawing. I plan to put something in each day to represent either what I did that day or any special ocassions that I would like reminding of.

Grooming favourites 2014

Grooming has been high on my agenda in 2014 so I thought I'd share some of my favourite tools of the year with you.

Clockwise: Tangle teezer, Nailene ultra quick drying nail glue, Tweezerman pointed tweezers, GHD stlyer, Stylfile 2

Tangle Teezer
I don't know how I ever survived without one of these. Using a normal brush on my long hair always seems to snag and pull now whereas the tangle teezer is just so smooth and easy. My only gripe is that it is moulded to suit a right handed person and I'm a lefty, which means sometimes as I'm brushing away carelessly I drop it. Bring out the left-handed tangle teezer please.

Nailene quick dry nail glue
This year false nails have become an important part of my dressing up armoury. You can pick up some pretty decent pairs for around the £5 mark and it saves the time and expense of going to the salon for acrylic or gel nails. With this amazing glue, they even last almost as long as the salon ones.

Tweezerman pointed tweezers
I posted about these here when I got them and I still haven't stopped singing their praises. Quality really is the key with grooming products. With these you can pluck the smallest, shortest of hairs without any bother.

GHD stylers
No matter how many different hair tools I try I always come back to my trusty GHDs. They are so versatile with either straightening or curling, in my opinion they can't be beaten.

Stylfile 2
A great quality nail file and buffer in one with a couple of extra tools for your cuticles and other nail maintenance. I wont bother with cheaper alternatives any more.

Happy new year everyone!

DIY Christmas present tags

Last week I stumbled across the idea somewhere online of using your old Christmas cards to make into present tags for next year.

So last night, armed with my trimmer and corner punch I sat down and made these...

What do you think? It's amazing what a rounded corner can do.

Next year I plan to wrap most of my presents with plain brown parcel paper and then use these tags and some ribbons to brighten them up.

Week 52 manicure challenge

Wow! I've made it to the end of the challenge. In case you weren't following from the start of 2014, I set myself a challenge to blog a different manicure every week for a year. This is the final week of 2014, week 52!

For Christmas I wanted a bit of length, so added some of my trusted Nailene falsies. You can see them below with my new Swarovski stardust bracelet that my boyfriend got me for Christmas.

Now what challenge shall I set myself for 2015?!

The end.