Summer Holiday Fashion…

I can always tell which season it is by the air. I know this sounds completely bonkers, but it’s true. Winter smells crisp, odourless and chilling, but recently Spring has started to take over. Spring smells fresh and feels lighter. I’ve always adored Spring for its warmer weather, beautiful blossoms and promise of Summer. I think that Spring brings such positive vibes and I welcome it with open arms following a deep, dark Winter. 

With a new season comes a change of attire. For Spring, I love throwing on a pair of jeans, Toms and pastel coloured knitwear. It’s always super refreshing to be able to leave the house with a light jacket (or even without one completely if you are lucky!) and enjoy the lighter evenings. I always start thinking about my Summer wardrobe when Spring arrives. We often escape to a sunnier climate around Easter which demands sun dresses, play suits and bikinis. This year we chose to hit up Florida for some warmth and sunshine. It’s quite tricky going somewhere warm when it’s cold here as the high streets are only just bringing out their summer essentials. I managed to pick up a couple of bits for our trip, sandals, a Playsuit and dresses, but it’s slim pickings when it’s not holiday season. Luckily for us it is twenty-sixteen and we have the entire world at our fingertips via the Internet.

I’m a super fan of Internet shopping and love scouring the web for the perfect item to add to my wardrobe. It can get quite pricey though, so I’m always on the lookout for a cheeky discount and there’s some great deals to be had if you are willing to shop around a little. 

There’s a great company called Love the Sales, which keeps you up to date with the latest sales for my favourite brands. It’s a handy website to turn to for a cheeky browse and you can save a few quid – hurrah!

When packing for Florida, I knew that I needed clothes that would be comfortable, practical and would look nice in my holiday photos. From travelling to Disneyland in California last Summer, I learnt that play suits are great for theme parks. They look nice, are comfortable and won’t show off your down undies when climbing on and off of rides.

Luckily I had purchased quite a few play suits for our honeymoon last Summer, but it’s always super nice to have something new to take on holiday and I found this gorgeous black Playsuit from Topshop.

  

I always fall in love with items from Topshop. They are great at providing unique items that are completely wearable, affordable and of reasonable quality. Their sales are always amazing too!
 

A significant chunk of my wardrobe consists of items from Jack Wills. I love their preppy style and once again, you can find some gorgeously unique items. I like that you can wear a lot of their stuff to work too and many of their dresses can take you from day to evening. They also have an array of play suits, which I adore. I literally love most items that they create from coats to swimwear, they’ve really got it nailed. They also have a fabulous menswear collection, so I kit the hubby out too! They aren’t the cheapest of brands, rightly so as their designs and quality is pretty rad. I find that their Outlet stores (online and in a few places around the uk) are super amazing as are their sales. They frequently have promo codes floating around too, so there are many bargains to be had!

   
    

The classic grey t-shirt, bikini and cute dress all came from Jack Wills and  accompanied me to Florida!

I’m also the biggest fan of sunglasses. I love them all from huge red heart frames to classic black Ray Bans. I’m not sure why I’ve got such an obsession with sunglasses, but I know that they are certainly a summer essential and I would have squinted my way through our Floridian trip without them.


What are your favourite items during the summer months?

Do you have any holiday must haves?

L x 

Via Love The Sales, all opinions are my own.

Holiday Make Up Essentials…

  
In case you haven’t already guessed, I absolutely adore traveling. I feel trapped if I stay at home for too long and love to experience what our beautiful planet has to offer. I’m not one for smothering on tonnes of make up, but I love the confidence that a slick of mascara and some concealer can give and think it’s marvellous that you can express yourself through your make up. You can create your own look and feel great. In all honesty, my ‘look’ is quite lazy and I literally put on a bit of eye make up and some lipstick before thrusting my naked face upon the world. It’s not because I think I’m too good for foundation and a full on routine, I just don’t think that it suits me and my slightly lazy make up routine. Anyway, here I am in Florida and holidays always make me rethink my make up collection. Partly because I love taking advantage of duty free and partly because my needs change depending on where we are jetting off to. Florida is mostly 28-30 degrees and sunny whilst we are here, so I now present to you my summer holiday make up essentials. Please remember that this is just what I do and may not be for everyone! 

1. A nice make up bag

You need a bag to keep all of your bits together. If you are travelling on an aeroplane, it’s worth picking up a clear bag. You can use a plastic one, or opt for a more sturdy one like this. If you sort it out before you arrive at the airport, it saves you lots of time at security (more shopping time!).

  
Once you are there, you might fancy popping your treasures into a prettier one. I used to swear by Cath Kidston bags for their durability and cute prints, but I have recently started using Maggs London bags as I fancied a change. This one is Lady Vivacious and the print is absolutely gorgeous. It looks great on my dressing table at home too. The Maggs London bags are machine washable, so super easy to keep clean!

  
2. Hand Sanitiser.

If you know me well, you will be fully aware that I am a bit funny about germs, so hand sanitiser is a MUST for me. I touch my face and products with my fingers quite a lot when applying make up and clean hands are paramount. No bugs on my face, thanks! 

My favourite sanitiser is from Bath & Bodyworks. They have a variety of scents with great names and cute packaging. I’m in anti bac heaven when I visit their shops!

3. A tinted moisturiser with SPF

Last year my face got sunburnt whilst in Streatham, London on a spring day that was about 12 degrees. Since then I’ve been freaked out about burning my face so found this little product from Garnier.

  
It moisturises your face and gives great protection from the sun. A complete gift from heaven!

4. Concealer

Everybody needs a bit of concealer from time to time, whether it’s to hide those dark circles from a long night or cover up a friend that has decided to appear. I use a concealer from Mac which I’ve been quite pleased with. 

5. Eyeshadow

I love having a little something on my eyes, just to bring them out and give a little pizzazz. I use an eyeshadow from Mac called Gleam. It’s quite natural and suits most occasions.

6. Eyeliner

Again, just to bring out my eyes, I always use a little eyeliner. I’m currently using one from Lancôme, but Mac have a great one too.

  
7. Mascara

You can’t go wrong with a slick of mascara to give you a bit of confidence and glamour. I’m currently using Benefit Roller Lash, but I also quite like Bobbi Brown and Dior for lift and definition.

8. Lips

This is going to sound utterly ridiculous, but I’m always worried about sun damage to my lips, so I wear a base with SPF from Carmex. I’ve recently started using Elizabeth Arden eight hour lip repair balm when I have dry lips and it’s great. I sometimes use Vaseline too. I hate dry lips! For colour, I swear by Mac. They have such a vast collection of colours and go on really nicely. If I fancy some gloss, I use Lancôme Juicy Tubes. They smell great too!

9. Perfume

I have been using Jean Paul Gautier Classique for years and am still so, so in love with the scent. It’s so sweet and feminine, I can’t imagine using another fragrance!

  

What are your make up essentials?

L x

Brave Enough review…

  
I am not entirely sure how or why, but somehow Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed landed up on my Amazon wish list and therefore found itself in the palm of my hands. I always have loads of books on my wish list which I use to top up my basket for free delivery. I’m such a bookworm anyway and if it saves me a couple of quid in the long run, I would call that a good result! 

I had never heard of Cheryl Strayed, but have since learnt that she has made quite a name for herself and has also written ‘Wild’. I was quite excited to see what this little gem had to offer.

The book itself is a cute size which I was relieved about as I’ve fallen terribly behind on my reading challenge. With moving house and life being generally cray cray, I haven’t been able to commit the amount of time needed to complete one book a week. Which has really saddened me! 

I managed to complete Brave Enough in two days and I think that you could easily read it in an afternoon. It’s quite short and filled with inspirational quotes in different fonts and sizes. I think it’s a nice book overall, but some of the quotes were a bit full on. 

It is a lovely little book that would make a sweet gift, but I don’t think that it is anything remarkably special (sorry!), I think that there are so many similar books that are of a higher standard. Overall I feel that it’s worth a read, but isn’t tremendously exciting.

Good points:

There are some really uplifting quotes that help make sense of our mad, mad world.

Bad points:

I don’t feel as though it is well constructed and it is quite short.

Read it if:

You adore quotes on Instagram and are quite philosophical.

Have you read anything by Cheryl Strayed?
L x

Eight things I am planning to do in Florida…

Aah, Florida, the sunshine state and home to some of the most fun places on the planet. I can honestly say that this is one of the only places in the world that I will never tire of visiting. With its’ golden weather and chilled out vibes, Florida really does own a piece of my heart.

We first went to Florida when I was a Barbie obsessed child and I was mega excited that I could get the latest Barbie (and her sisters), before they were out in the UK. This alone was pretty much enough to win me over, but after visiting Disneyworld and having a gigantic swimming pool in the garden of our rented villa, I was completely sold. 

This will be our second time visiting Florida as a couple and I’m quite excited to visit some of my favourite spots as well as discover some new treasures.

Here are eight things we are planning to get up to!

  
1. Go to DisneyWorld and Universal.

We visited Universal last time we were across the Atlantic, but this time we are going to take a trip to Disney too. I am very excited about going with the hubby to Disney as he hasn’t been to the Orlando resort before and we are meeting up with a couple of friends, one of which will go on the thrilling rides that I am too chicken to go on with him. I’m also looking forward to revisiting Universal and seeing what’s new since our last visit.

2. Go Manatee spotting

I absolutely adore animals and love seeing them in their natural environment. Manatees are native to Florida and I’ve looked up a couple of places that are good for spotting them. Fingers crossed!

  
3. Go to the beach

Florida is home to some gorgeous beaches and I think it would be a crime if I didn’t squeeze in a cheeky beach bum day whilst we are there.

  
4. Visit Brevard Zoo

This is my favourite zoo in the universe. They’ve created such a gorgeous environment for their animals and care is paramount. Last time we went we fed giraffes and birds. This time I’ve booked us in for a jungle encounter. I’m super excited!

  
5. Go dolphin spotting

To be honest, this will be quite easy as there are many dolphins that call Florida ‘home’. We spotted so many last time without really trying, so I’m quite optimistic about this visit!

  
6. Visit Sunset Boulevard restaurant

This place is an absolute dream as not only does it serve up some delicious dishes, but it also has a pretty rad outdoor dining area where dolphins swim right on by whilst you stuff your face. Such a gorgeous place!

  
7. See a shuttle launch

Last time we were visiting we were lucky enough to see a live shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Centre. It was a mind blowing experience that I will never forget. You could feel the power coming from it and the atmosphere was pretty awesome too. People come from all over to see launches and it was a great way to spend an evening. We are extra lucky as another one is happening when we are visiting this time too, so we shall check it out!

8. Shop

I love a spot of shopping and a lot of my favourite brands are American so I’m looking forward to treating myself.

There you have it, our rough plan for our Floridian adventure!

Have you visited Florida before?

L x