Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
I have already started making a list of things I want to do this summer with Cal and the girls so I thought I would share it with you all (and keep it as a reminder to do these things!)
Go to a pub garden for Sunday lunch
I normally get 9/10 Sundays off so I love going out for a late lunch on a Sunday. I love having a roast (because I don't have to make or clean up afterwards) and sit in the pub garden enjoying the weather. Fruit ciders are my summer, winter, spring and Autumn drink so I'd never say no!
Go for walk round random villages
Even before I moved to the village we live in now Cal and I have always loved walking round cute little villages. We love old buildings, churches and manor houses so if a village has any of these Callum and I will walk round.
Go crazy golf/driving range
I went crazy golf for the first time last year and loved it! I wasn't the best but I enjoyed playing it so much. I then went to a driving range for the first time after that and enjoyed that even more. I was actually not that bad at the driving range so I really want to have another go this summer. We have a giant golf course just half an hour away in Milton Keynes so I want to drive down as soon as it is warmer outside and give it another go.
Go for a picnic in Emberton /Wickstead park
We are very lucky that Wickstead park is only 10 minutes away in the car from us so when the weather is good we normally go there for the day and take some food and lay down in the sun. You can either have a lazy day in the sun or walk round the ground and play on the rides. It has so much there is something for everyone. I really can't wait to go back and if we want a change of scenery we can drive a little further to Emberton Country Park in Olney which is super pretty and right next to the village of Olney which is nice to walk round.
Go to the Zoo!
I love going to the zoo on a sunny day and we live not far from the Hamerton Zoo which is surprisingly bigger than you would have imagined. They have everything from Meerkats and lions to camels so definitely worth the money.
BBQ in the garden
I have been to many BBQs over the years but I have never hosted one myself so I really want to host one this year in our garden. We have a big enough garden to host all of our close friends and family so hopefully we don't burn down the house... I will let you know how that goes.
Go for a weekend away at a English seaside
Although I have gone down to the seaside many times over the years, I have never spent more than one day there so I would love to spend a weekend somewhere. I am someone who is easily pleased so spending the weekend laying on a beach and playing the penny machines sounds amazing to me.
Transforming my garden into the secret garden
I really want to become the new Charlie Dimmock this summer and transform my garden from boring to colourful. I am going to watching lots of old Garden Sos and Garden Rescue shows for some tips and inspiration. I will blog the process once it is underway.
Hopefully keep my house plants alive for longer
Not much more explanation needed really.
Ahh being back from holiday is always bitter sweet. I missed my bed and room like crazy over there but being back at work makes me crave the feel of being in a different country.
I went back to Barcelona with Cal at the beginning of the month which was amazing but I have the holiday blues now I am back at work :(
Anywho I picked up a few goodies over there to try out and I have not been disappointed. I'll start with the first items I bought, a bargain pack of three Clinique lipsticks for £30 at the airport. Considering Clinique lipsticks can range from £16-20 each I think I done well with my purchase. In the pack you get three colours; Sweet Pop, Bare pop and Cherry pop and these are all colours that I would wear so I am really excited to try them.
Next I ventured into a random Spanish makeup shop and really wanted something to bring back with me so I purchased a lipstick for only 5 euros which is crazy cheap. The make of the product is called Etnia and the brands website is all in Spanish so I can't even tell you anything about them but I will let you know how I get on with it in case I make a try back to Spain for some more!
Lastly in Barcelona I came across a shop very similar to our Superdrug and Boots, which sold Revolution palettes for 4-5 euros. which is amazing! I controlled myself and only picked up two (but I could have walked out with them all). The palettes are Salvation and Iconic Pro which I am so excited about! I already have some favourite shades which I can't wait to use.
I picked up the foundation she used on me which was the Mac Studio Fix Fluid in NC15 and a Cremesheen Glass Gloss she used on me in the shade Delight. Both I have used everyday since purchasing them tbh! The only annoying thing about them is that the foundation didn't come with a pump, what foundations now a days don't include pumps??
I'm sure most of these products will crop up in a makeup look or favourites post soon so this won't be the last time you see them. I'd love to know what other Mac products you think I should I try out!
The first product I used everyday is the Lush Ultrabland Cleanser to remove my makeup and the cleanse my face first thing in the morning. This product is great to quickly and thoroughly clean your face and get all the dirt and makeup off. I forgot about this product for a good few months when I turned a little lazy and got obsessed with my miscellar water, but when I was packing for my holiday I couldn't not take it. Since using it I have become obsessed with the product again because it has little gritty particals in that really work the dirty on your skin so you can feel the product picking up the dirt.
After I have took my makeup off I used the Lush Kalamazoo Face and Beard Wash which I have recently become to love. I took it on holiday as it was a good size pot to pack which wasn't going to weigh me down and I have ended up really growing to love it. I never used to feel like it did much to my skin before but since using it on holiday, I really see and feel a difference in my skin when I don't use it. It leaves my skin really soft before I've even used any moisturiser.
Lastly to put moisture back into my skin before I apply my makeup, I used my all time favourite moisturiser which I finally got back in my life, the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising lotion. This has been my holly grail for a few years now and I finally have a bottle of it rather than a tub which I am very happy about! I have mentioned this moisturiser a lot of times on this blog so I won't blabber on too much about it but it is the best moisturiser I have ever used as it leaves my skin hydrated all day.
And that is my simple no fuss skincare steps, have you tried any of the products?
I have already mentioned my love for this product in my Simple Face Of The Day post but I thought it deserved its own post too because it is so amazing. Now I am a person who is easily pleased I will admit it but no product has made me fall in love as easy as this CC cream.
The product claims to cover redness, dark spots and is anti-fatigue. I can honestly say that it definitely does the first two without a doubt. I have spoken before on here about the problem I have with my red cheeks, although my skincare currently is helping my problem greatly this CC cream also covers any red skin I still have perfectly. It also gives my skin a lovely glow which I find my current stash of foundations do no compare to. I am prone to have dark bags underneath my eyes from time to time and this CC cream completely covers them and doesn't crease in my eye wrinkles which is a bonus!
The glow I get with this CC cream as well as a few swipes of my W7 chubby contour stick give me the best bronzed (but not fake tanned looking) face and since starting using this product, I haven't reached for anything else. I find this product lasts all day on me and I still have the same glowy skin at 6pm as I did at 9am.
It has a super light weight texture for the coverage that it gives which is the best combination in my opinion. I never feel like my face is caked in product but I also never have the fear that my patchy skin will still be visible after applying it. I find that using this product is actually making my skin better, every time I take my makeup off when I am using this product my skin is still hydrated and even.
I don't want to harp on too much about this product but it definitely is a winner for me. I know I am a little late to the party but am I ever not? I plan to repurchase this product once I have used up the tube, which wont be too long the amount I am using it at the moment.
Have any of you tried the Bourjois CC cream? What did you think?
The first item I was hunting round Barcelona for all weekend, I tried duty free at Luton and had no luck, I then went in every Sephora shop and still couldn't find it anywhere. It is the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Cream, which I wanted in the lotion form but it just wasn't anywhere in Spain apparently so I opted for the cream over the gel. It was on offer as well at 25 euros so bonus. I love the packaging of Clinique and previously has a smaller version of the lotion, so I'm sure I'll love the cream too and write a post after I've fallen in love with it.
Next is a Lush product which I wasn't expecting to pick up in Spain. Call me naïve but I didn't know Lush was that big outside of the UK so this was a nice surprise to find. Although there are hundreds of Lush shops in England and I have one quite close to me, I still picked up this Lush Hottie Massage Bar as standing on the Metro how ever many times a day and walking miles were killing our backs and shoulders. We didn't use it over there in the end so I have it home now for next time our back decides to play up.
Next is another product I can easily get in the UK but it was only 12 euros over there when it is usually £12 in England and I have wanted to try this BB cream for a long while now so put it in my basket. It is the Body Shop All In One BB Cream in 01 which adapts to your natural skin tone. I have mixed feeling about this product right now, it is not at all what I expected and I definitely think I need to use it more to decide whether I like it or not.
Lastly, probably my favourite pick up is the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream. Now yes I know this is everywhere in Boots... but they never have any light shades! I go in every Boots near me and its 'warm beige, cool beige, light beige, rose beige' maybe some people don't have beige skin?! Maybe some people have lighter skin... Anyway I picked up the Ivory shade and I have wore this everyday since coming back and I am in love. I am picking this over all my foundations at the moment and still getting the same coverage. I will do a detailed post for you guys as I cant rave about this product enough!
And those were the few bits that I picked up while away, most of our money was spent on presents and paying to get in places and see things. Hope you enjoyed guys :)
Hello lovelies! A few exciting things have happened over this bank holiday and I thought I would write a post for you telling you all about it, its not really a surprise because it is in the title but ... It was my birthday on Thursday!! I am officially 21 so I guess I should book a ticket to America to go buy some alcohol, you know just because I can.
On the Tuesday night me, my family and my boyfriend went out for a meal to celebrate my birthday, we had the meal two days before my birthday because for the last few months Cal had been planning a surprise for my birthday with my family and he wanted to tell me at my birthday dinner, I knew he was taking me away some where so I wanted enough time to get prepared and pack so I planned the meal a few days before we left. To be perfectly honest I thought he was taking me to somewhere in England, my first thought was Cambridge because he knows how much I enjoy it there. He was a little cutie and made a moon pig card with lots of hints to where I was going (even though I didn't get any of them and thought it was Newcastle...) and it turned out that he was taking me to Barcelona!
I am not ashamed to admit that after 5 minutes of 'really? are you kidding? are we really really?' that when It sunk in we were going there I cried, much to Cal's shock. Then another thought hit me, what am I going to take to Barcelona?! That will come in another post don't you worry.
We travelled there for what equalled to 3 days (one morning and evening and two full days) and now that we are back I plan on resting in bed until I am back at work Wednesday. There is so much to do there I was knackered by the last day! We stayed in this holiday in a really quite area in the Inner City called Tryp Condal Mar which was so lovely. Silly me was too busy exploring to remember to take photos of the hotel or even our rooms but trust me it was amazing.
The hotel was a 10 minute walk from a big shopping centre called Diagonal Mar (which we took full advantage of) and the metro. Every day we left the hotel around 9 and went to the metro to travel to our first stop. We got a 3 day travel card which was 20.50 euros each which is really good. With only a Barcelona map and a tube guide we travelled everywhere!
Since Cal had planned and paid for this whole trip we definitely had to visit the FCBarcelona Stadium for him which he loved. Even I enjoy walking round the stadium, and sitting on the balconies and walking by the Pitch. Cal also got a photo with a picture of Messi so he was extra happy.
We went to see the Cathedral and two of Gaudi's houses which are so cool. The only annoying thing we found with these places is that the queues to go in them are ridiculous! We weren't prepared to waste our days in queues to see one thing, we were happy seeing the outside and then moving on to another place. Sagrada Familia is definitely worth a visit, the building is amazing and it is right in front of your face when you walk out of the metro.
We went to two museums while we were there, Museu d'art Contemporani de Barcelona and Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge, and although the buildings where amazing to look at, the art didn't really appeal to us. At both museums though there was other great things to do, at the contemporary museum there were stalls outside selling clothing and jewellery and lovely little things for presents and at the national museum there was a huge shopping centre Arenas de Barcelona which had loads more shops.
We also visited the Zoo which was a lovely trip and we got a few photos there (well Cal did because I was too lazy to take photos all holiday) but as you can see from the photos, most of the animals were sleeping which was annoying! I guess the heat was too much for them which I can understand.
One morning and one evening we took a stroll down to the beach which was lovely, it was really quite and peaceful and the only people we saw was runner after runner first thing in the morning. I can imagine it being packed during the summer and I would like to go back to sit on that beach in the sun, but then again there is too much there to just sit around for hours.
The place we probably visited most and spent the most time in was a stop on the metro called Jaume. It had everything we needed there, the cathedral, street after street of shops (mostly Mango, it was ridiculous how many Mango stores we walked past on the same street!), the market. I did find a Body shop and a Sephora there which made me extra happy and I will do a post on the few bits I bought.
On our last night after dinner in our favourite restaurant in the Diagonal Mar centre ( the best steak house ever) we went to the arcade to get rid of a few of our last change and ended up finding a bowling alley at the back. We played a game to end the night (which I lost badly) and then went to leave to go back to the hotel when Cal stopped to play on a grab machine (you know the ones that you use the grip to pick up a cuddly toy and it always lets go after a second), he used a few euros and didn't win anything. Then we went to leave again and he spotted a minion one and wanted to have one last go, so I found a euro at the bottom of my purse and... he won me a minion! It was the best way to end the holiday as he has a thing of buying me cuddly toys. Even before we got together he got me a Boo toy from monsters ink and a Olaf toy from Frozen. So now we have another minion to add to our collection. Meet Little Messi!
And that I think is it in a nut shell, I think we did more but I cant remember names and the weekend feels like a blur now. It was the best way to celebrate my birthday and I think me and Cal will go back at some point, to cover the places we didn't get time to go to this time. It is so easy to get around there with the metro and we had no trouble there what so ever. I definitely recommend Barcelona if you are a person who likes to go exploring all day instead of sitting around by the pool on holiday. We did go when it wasn't so hot that you were sweating all day so it might be a little more hard work in high heats but the views and experiences are worth it.
The only thing I found we were a little disappointed about was the nightlife over there, although we didn't want to go crazy and get drunk in a Spanish club, we wouldn't have minded some bars or restaurants to drink in in the evening. Although some nights we were so tired from walking we went to bed at 9, they were 12 hours days I think we were allowed haha.
I plan now to soak my feet in the foot spa all day and eat lots of white chocolate eggs (yes I have white chocolate eggs!!) and try and plan something equally amazing for Cal's birthday next year, wish me luck! :)
On the Tuesday night me, my family and my boyfriend went out for a meal to celebrate my birthday, we had the meal two days before my birthday because for the last few months Cal had been planning a surprise for my birthday with my family and he wanted to tell me at my birthday dinner, I knew he was taking me away some where so I wanted enough time to get prepared and pack so I planned the meal a few days before we left. To be perfectly honest I thought he was taking me to somewhere in England, my first thought was Cambridge because he knows how much I enjoy it there. He was a little cutie and made a moon pig card with lots of hints to where I was going (even though I didn't get any of them and thought it was Newcastle...) and it turned out that he was taking me to Barcelona!
I am not ashamed to admit that after 5 minutes of 'really? are you kidding? are we really really?' that when It sunk in we were going there I cried, much to Cal's shock. Then another thought hit me, what am I going to take to Barcelona?! That will come in another post don't you worry.
We travelled there for what equalled to 3 days (one morning and evening and two full days) and now that we are back I plan on resting in bed until I am back at work Wednesday. There is so much to do there I was knackered by the last day! We stayed in this holiday in a really quite area in the Inner City called Tryp Condal Mar which was so lovely. Silly me was too busy exploring to remember to take photos of the hotel or even our rooms but trust me it was amazing.
The hotel was a 10 minute walk from a big shopping centre called Diagonal Mar (which we took full advantage of) and the metro. Every day we left the hotel around 9 and went to the metro to travel to our first stop. We got a 3 day travel card which was 20.50 euros each which is really good. With only a Barcelona map and a tube guide we travelled everywhere!
Since Cal had planned and paid for this whole trip we definitely had to visit the FCBarcelona Stadium for him which he loved. Even I enjoy walking round the stadium, and sitting on the balconies and walking by the Pitch. Cal also got a photo with a picture of Messi so he was extra happy.
We went to see the Cathedral and two of Gaudi's houses which are so cool. The only annoying thing we found with these places is that the queues to go in them are ridiculous! We weren't prepared to waste our days in queues to see one thing, we were happy seeing the outside and then moving on to another place. Sagrada Familia is definitely worth a visit, the building is amazing and it is right in front of your face when you walk out of the metro.
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| The Cathedral |
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| Sagrada Familia |
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| Sagrada Familia |
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| Sagrada Familia |
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| Gaudi's house |
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| Gaudi's house |
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| Museu d'art Contemporani de Barcelona |
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| Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge |
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| Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge |
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| Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge |
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| Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge |
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| Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge |
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| Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge |
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| Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge |
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| Museu nacional d'art de Catalunge |
One morning and one evening we took a stroll down to the beach which was lovely, it was really quite and peaceful and the only people we saw was runner after runner first thing in the morning. I can imagine it being packed during the summer and I would like to go back to sit on that beach in the sun, but then again there is too much there to just sit around for hours.
On our last night after dinner in our favourite restaurant in the Diagonal Mar centre ( the best steak house ever) we went to the arcade to get rid of a few of our last change and ended up finding a bowling alley at the back. We played a game to end the night (which I lost badly) and then went to leave to go back to the hotel when Cal stopped to play on a grab machine (you know the ones that you use the grip to pick up a cuddly toy and it always lets go after a second), he used a few euros and didn't win anything. Then we went to leave again and he spotted a minion one and wanted to have one last go, so I found a euro at the bottom of my purse and... he won me a minion! It was the best way to end the holiday as he has a thing of buying me cuddly toys. Even before we got together he got me a Boo toy from monsters ink and a Olaf toy from Frozen. So now we have another minion to add to our collection. Meet Little Messi!
And that I think is it in a nut shell, I think we did more but I cant remember names and the weekend feels like a blur now. It was the best way to celebrate my birthday and I think me and Cal will go back at some point, to cover the places we didn't get time to go to this time. It is so easy to get around there with the metro and we had no trouble there what so ever. I definitely recommend Barcelona if you are a person who likes to go exploring all day instead of sitting around by the pool on holiday. We did go when it wasn't so hot that you were sweating all day so it might be a little more hard work in high heats but the views and experiences are worth it.
The only thing I found we were a little disappointed about was the nightlife over there, although we didn't want to go crazy and get drunk in a Spanish club, we wouldn't have minded some bars or restaurants to drink in in the evening. Although some nights we were so tired from walking we went to bed at 9, they were 12 hours days I think we were allowed haha.
I plan now to soak my feet in the foot spa all day and eat lots of white chocolate eggs (yes I have white chocolate eggs!!) and try and plan something equally amazing for Cal's birthday next year, wish me luck! :)
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