A Mini Break in Chollerford, Northumberland ♥

Hey lovely people! Today i thought it'd be nice to share my previous weekend (17th to the 19th July) with you as i had such a wonderful time! My brother, Mum, Ronald (Family friend) and myself went to stay at the lovely George Hotel in Chollerford, Northumberland, which sits right by the River Tyne. 

On our journey there we stopped at this wonderful building for some lunch. The building is a hotel, which also contains a big ballroom and a pub-like area where we had our lunch. I ordered fish & chips, and i swear it was the best I've ever had!

(The George Hotel)

(Full length mirror to capture all my outfits!)

(Beautiful 4 poster bed!)

(Nice little sofa chill out area covered in mums things and wine, so much wine!)

(Tv with radio 1 on of course!)

(A nice little desk with mirror and light. Also window on either side which provided me with pleanty of natural lighting to achieve flawless make up!)

(Power shower)

(A cheeky bathroom selfie)

When we reached the hotel mum and i were so excited to see our room, as we've never stayed in a fancy hotel before. Above are some photos i took. Apologies for the quality and the slight mess (girls just explode everywhere!), the majority of these where taken at the night time when i had a few too many glasses of wine and there was no natural lighting.

My favourite parts of the room were the huge 4 poster bed, which was so comfy i may add and the bath. Now i am a big bath lover anyway, but oh my god this one in our en-suite filled up in less than 5 minutes! And to the perfect temperature too! Both nights i was in relaxing heaven before bed.

Later on in the day we relaxed by the river side with a few pints of cider, staring at the beautiful view above. 

For both the Friday and Saturday night i ate the almost the same thing! Steak, chips, mushrooms and onion rings followed by an amazing slice of cookie bash cake, which was made from sponge, ice cream and crumbly bits of cookie. Both were absolutely beautiful.

Saturday we drove 14 miles into Hexam to have a little look around the town and shops. Above are some photos i took inside Hexam Abbey. I absolutely love the architecture and detail that has been put into every inch of this building. My favourite part for sure are the stain glass windows, they're so freaking beautiful and colourful when the sun shines through.

I also popped into Superdrug and the huge Tesco they have there. I bought a few cosmetic bits and a few items of clothing which i will show you soon in a haul post!

Later in the day me and mum wanted to check out the hotel pool and Jacuzzi. I didn't take any photos of it because i didn't trust myself with my phone or camera near so much water. 

I did however take this photo of myself in my vintage bikini, as at the time i was just thinking to myself how happy i am with myself. Like this is the first time in my life i have taken a bikini photo and been happy to share it with people. Obviously i am still going to work on getting fitter and toned, but right now i am happy with me, inside and out. Which feels so great!

Here are my outfits from both nights which i wore for dinner. On the left i'm wearing a floaty midi dress from Prettylittlething with a holey crop top from Primark on top for a bit of coverage, a light pink blazer from Newlook and my white trainers with frilly purple socks! 

On the right i'm wearing a cut out shoulder black crop top from Newlook and my flare high waisted daisy pants are from F&F at Tesco. On my feet i wore chunky black sandals for dinner, but in this photo i am just wearing my white trainers again as they were comfier for walking to the near by pub!

I kept my style for the weekend cute but comfy, wearing things that offered both of this but also looked put together.

The reason for this little trip was to obviously have some relaxing time but was also to learn about a place Ronald holds so dearly in his heart. He grew up around this area and has so many fond memories of the place, which we had the pleasure of hearing.

We all had a wonderful time, all the staff were so friendly and helpful and if your thinking of a weekend away i really would recommend The George Hotel!

I hope you enjoyed this little mini break post and please let me know of anywhere you like to visit for a weekend away!

Thanks for reading, have a lovely day!

Kim xo

♥ ♥ ♥

UNICORNS UNITE! Make Up Revolution Salvation Palette Review ♥

Hello Lovely People! Today i have a sweet little review of the new Make Up Revolution Palette, UNICORNS UNITE. Now anyone who knows me or follows me on Instagram will know i'm obsessed with anything unicorn related, whether it be cuddly toys, clothes or indeed make up. So obviously i had to feed my obsession and pick up this palette! 

Even better, i got this palette for free! On the Make Up Revolution site at the moment they're having a 3 for 2 sale on palettes, so you can choose any two you love and get your third one free! How amazing is that, i just couldn't help myself!

The palette consists of 12 magical shimmery shades and 6 matte. All are super pigmented, which is amazing for creating dramatic looks and also every day neutral eyes.

 All the eye shadows are named appropriately around the unicorn theme of the palette. My favourite shades have to be Unicorn, (of course!) such a beautiful shimmery pink, Believe, Spiritual, and Special, all beautiful shades of purple i can do so much with! Ooo and also Creature, its a shimmery black with flecks of gold in, so perfect for creating a exciting smokey eye.

(Swatches of all 12 Shimmers in palette order.)

(Swatches of all matte shadows in palette order.)

I hope you enjoyed this little review! Let me know in the comments what your favourite bargain make up brand is, i'm always looking for more to try out! 

Thanks for reading,

Kim Xo

♥ ♥ ♥

Overview Of The Past Few Months - My Refreshed Outlook On Life, Family Time & Getting Back To Blogging! ♥

Hello There! Its been a ridiculous amount of time since i sat down and wrote a new post, and for that i am extremely sorry. Its been a busy, wonderful, exciting few months for myself, which I've been enjoying to the absolute full. Today i thought i'd write a short post sharing some of the things I've been up to and plans for the future!

♥Big News!♥

So firstly I'm excited to share my biggest news and a very proud achievement. I may of mentioned my struggle with mental health vaguely here and there in previous posts, but I've never really gone into much depth about the subject. 

For the past year I've been struggling with depression and anxiety, so much so it effected my whole life. Now i may possibly do a post sharing my whole story of dealing with the illness as I've found other bloggers who share mental health stories has helped me. But today i just want to focus on the positive.

Three Mondays ago i finished therapy! I had been with First Step Since December last year, working through all my worries and problems, learning new ways of thinking and controlling my mind in a healthier and more positive way. I found the experience extremely helpful and through out the time i found myself again, piece by piece.

The picture of myself above is one i took when i got home from my last session. I felt so happy and excited for getting out the other side of depression, beaming with pride! I couldn't stop smiling for a few days afterward, to me it is a real achievement!  

My point of realizing thing were getting truly better was a couple of months ago on a walk in the countryside with my dog. I reached the top of a very high hill and i was surrounded by beauty and colour. In that moment, this overwhelming feeling of joy and realization hit me. The only way i could find to describe it to people was as if i'd found God. Obviously this wasn't the case but that is the only way i could think to describe it!

Since that moment I've felt wonderful and reinvested in the world, taking in every single second of everyday, appreciating everything. Just like i use too. Obviously i have my hiccups now and again but because of therapy and a wonderful support system of friends and family i can work through it much smoother.

Its wonderful to feel like me again and i am extremely grateful for all the love and support i received through such a hard time.

Family ♥

Family is my number one. They never fail to cheer me up on a rainy day and my younger siblings are forever making me laugh.

The past couple of months have been full of fun family days, such as many walks, movie days, trips to farms and play areas and so much more! There is never a boring day in our house, that's the fun of having a 9 year old brother and 2 year old sister! 

I watch them grow everyday, helping them learn right from wrong and always encourage them to be their selves in every way possible.

My mum is my rock and forever best friend. Our relationship seems to grow stronger and stronger and i feel i can talk to her about absolutely anything. Her strength and way of pushing through life's hard moments is something i admire dearly.

On a lighter, less soppy note! We have had some hilarious nights out together, clubbing and always drinking just a little too much.Her dance moves are something else, that's for sure! Hahaha. 

My point from this section is, love your mum. Love all your family! Don't be embarrassed or fight (i know every family needs to from time to time though, ain't nobody perfect!). Everyone gets older day by day and one day you look back at your time together. You'll realize all these little things were the big things. So appreciate every moment and hopefully, one day when you do look back, your face will be lit with the light of endless happiness! :)

♥ Future Plans! ♥

So i managed to get myself a wonderful cleaning job, working for one of my good friend's new business (Pink Gloves On) she started up. I couldn't be more happy with the job as i am a person who really does enjoy cleaning (borderline OCD) and working hard till my back aches, as this gives me the feeling that i really am earning my money.

This photo to the left is a crazy example of my daily work outfits. We wear bright pink baggy T-shirts, soon to be printed with the Pink Gloves On logo and Jenny opts for black pants but i find my crazy leggings more flattering and comfortable! Haha.



Finally to address my main matter of this post and one you may find interesting, if you do enjoy my blog is working out a schedule for blogging and sticking to it. For sometime i think i stopped because i was feeling so much better, and blogging began for me as a way of taking some distraction away from the depression. So when i began to feel better i felt as though i didn't need the distraction anymore, as when your truly happy and healthy, life gets so much busier and fuller anyways.

But these thoughts aside i don't want to have any bad feelings towards blogging, because in true fact i really do enjoy taking sometime out from a day with a cup of tea and writing a post.

Thank you so much for reading and as always i hope you have a lovely day!

Kim Xo

♥ ♥ ♥

The Balm Balm Voyage Palette Review ♥

Hello there lovelies! Hope you are all well. Today i have a review of the Balm Voyage! eye and lip palette which i purchased with my Birchbox points! It felt so great to save the points up to the point where i could completely buy something from the higher price range with out using any of my own money on top. The Balm is a brand i have had my eye on for sometime as all of their products have great reviews and super cute packaging!

How wonderful is this packaging?! The palette is based on traveling the world, hence the name Bon Voyage. On the front a variety of well known countries are mentioned featuring little photos of what those places are famous for. On the back all of the shades are displayed with their names underneath. At the top all of the women who are on the front of the palette packaging are featured inside a plane, traveling to their destinations!

When opening the palette up your eyes are treated to a beautiful array of colours for eyes and lips. The lid features a large oval mirror on top of a photo, set out to look like a passport. This mirror is such a great size as it makes it easy to create looks on the run, weather it be on a plane, in a car or on a train!

Playing on the travel theme all of the eyeshadows are numbered like seats on a plane, cool right?!

(Swatches are in same order as palette.)

Into the eyeshadows! The first two rows are more of the everyday shades that can be used to create a subtle everyday look to the classic smokey eye. All are shimmery apart from B3 & C3, which i find used lightly can be great base shades but are perfect built up in the crease and blended out too.

A firm favourite of mine has been D3 as a base colour, as its not too dark and can be built up from day to night. It also works really well with a pop of colour blended into it now we're into the Spring season!

A3 is a gorgeous high shimmer sliver shade which is perfect to use as highlight for the inner corners of my eyes. 

The next two rows are my favourite for sure! They're such beautiful pigmented shades that offer so many possibilities. I've already gone a little crazy with this bottom part of the palette creating looks inspired by mermaids and unicorns for my everyday life to nights out on the town!

B1 & C1 are another two shades in the palette that can be used for everyday looks easily, with one of the slightly darker shades in the crease and blended into the bottom lash line.

My all time favourites are A2, B2 & C2, they're the perfect shades to create magical looks. I mean i can't really express how freaking beautiful A2 is as my words will not give it the justice it deserves. For starters its a shimmery purple shade but the thing that throws it to the top of the favourite pile is that it features shimmery specks of blue!! It looks gorgeous all over the lid or simply blended in to my lash line and crease. I find it really complements my blue eyes too.

B2 & C2 look beautiful together or used with other colours. I'm not going to go into too much depth about them as i will have another look post up soon featuring the two shades! 

Finally in the palette there are three cheek and lip tints in the shades Second Office, First Office & Captain. I was a bit unsure of using these at first as i felt a certain need to keep them looking fresh and untouched as one would with any new palette but i got passed this. They are very pigmented so only a soft sweep in each colour is needed to create a red, orange or pink tinted lip or cheek. 

I find a couple of sweeps is the perfect amount to create a very bold, classic lip look. All are very moisturizing too so they are great for long wear.

Overall i think it was Birchbox points well spent! I can see this palette lasting me a long time as there is so much product to be used. I will definitely purchase more products from The Balm in the future as i suspect they are all great quality and i'd love to try more out!

I hope you've enjoyed this little review, leave me a comment with your favourite The Balm products, i'd love to know!

Thanks for reading, have a lovely day!

Much love,

Kim Xo

♥ ♥ ♥

   

'Hidden Fashion' Collective Bargain Haul ♥

Hey there! Today i'm excited to share with you another of my favourite budget sites, Hidden Fashion! This site is seriously insane! There is soooo much to choose from such as shoes, clothes and accessories etc and the best part is it all costs £5.00 or cheaper! I get excited butterflies when shopping on these kind of sites, its literally like an online Primark! 

Just a little bit of info for those of you who worry about the quality of cheaper clothes, you really don't need to, everything I've ordered is amazing quality.

This rose gold sequin skater dress instantly caught my eye on the newly added page of the site. Rose gold anything always draws the attention of my eyes, so when i saw this i was like yes! Get in my basket. The best part, it was £5.00!! For the beauty and the quality i really couldn't be more pleased, as for a dress pretty much of the same design from any well know online retailer would be at least £25 to £40.

I wore this beauty for New Years Eve and felt so comfortable and glamorous. The dipped neckline and just off the shoulder short sleeves add a sexy bit of cleavage and there's fabric under the arm pits so the sequins don't rub.

All in all a beautiful dress which i'm sure to get a lot more wear out of!

I love this mesh low cut skater dress, its so edgy and sexy! The mesh is quite thick so it makes the dress flare out quite a bit to the bottom but the slip underneath that can be seen  is more figure hugging, slightly exposing curves. 

The front and the back are the same with the low cut V, exposing some major back and cleavage action. I think this is the perfect going out dress for those nights when i'm feeling extra edgy and out there! I find it looks great with layered gold necklaces and a choker, knee high tights and black chunky boots.

If your noticing now there IS a cleavage exposing theme running through the dresses I've bought recently, this is just down to gaining a few pounds in the boobical region and actually having decent sized ones to fill dresses like this for the first time in my life! 

The blue, white and light pink marble detailing on this midi dress is so gorgeous, drawing the eye to view the whole dress not just a certain part. The material is nice and thick so it flatters the body perfectly and obviously provides a nice bit of needed warmth on these cold winter nights. I like that the straps are adjustable so i can make sure there won't be any surprise appearances! 

I love to pair it with high chunky metallic boots, a matching metallic bag and a black blazer. (I couldn't find the link for this one! Sorry! :( )

This has to be my favourite dress purchased. It so cute and vintage looking which are two of the things i love in a dress! The bright abstract roses are so eye catching against the white background and i think its just one of those dresses that can instantly make you appear put together.

The fit is baby-doll style so its naturally baggy, which is nice as it makes it super comfortable to wear for a long day and its quarter sleeves keep my arms nice and warm so a thin cardigan is only needed on top. I usually style it with black tights and chunky black boots and red lipstick of course.

Finally i just had to get this adorable Olaf jumper :') Its nice and long covering up my bum so i could wear it with leggings like a jumper dress although now its past Christmas time i doubt i'll wear it out of the house as i feel i just don't have that much 'swag', so it's designated a pajama jumper! Which is perfect really because its so warm and soft inside (I tried to capture the fluffiness in the above photo but failed so... Couldn't find the link for this either. Apologies). 

I hope this has been a enjoyable read for all you bargain lovers! Let me know in the comments if you too are a fan of this site or if you know of any other sites with the same prices, i'd love to know!

Thanks for reading, have a lovely day!

Much Love,

Kim Xo

♥ ♥ ♥