LIFESTYLE, PARENTING
Christmas is all about spending time with your loved ones but it’s easy to get caught up in all the business of buying presents, going out for the work Christmas party and generally feeling frazzled. So when The Pip Stop offered to send me a wine tasting kit to enjoy at home, I couldn’t resist. It gave me the perfect excuse to spend a lovely evening in with my husband and try some new wines that the experts at The Pip Stop recommended.
So it’s confession time. This year, I totally failed at organisation. I didn’t carry out my wifely duties. I failed at being a decent human being. I completely forgot to get Andrew an advent calendar until the last day of November, when I frantically rushed around Newcastle looking for the good Lindt one (with no nuts). Needless to say, it was nowhere to be found and I had to confess my failings to my husband. To my horror, I then came home to find he had bought me the ASOS advent calendar. Cue me feeling like a total dick!
I have always wanted to be one of those women who makes an effort with their hair. I envy those who have it within themselves to get up half an hour earlier to create the perfect do. Fact is, I can’t be arsed. To be honest, it’s not a rare occurrence for me to go to work without even brushing my hair. It’s probably because I’ve got poker straight, thick, long hair. It’s pretty well behaved, so I don’t really need to do anything to it for it to look nice. And yeah, it looks nice, but I want it to look fucking awesome. And I’m getting to the point where I am willing to try anything. So when Irresistible Me asked me I wanted to try their 8 in 1 Sapphire Styling Wand, I could not say no.
I love Christmas, it actually is the most wonderful time of year. A time of year when it’s universally acceptable to wear questionable knitwear, change into your cosiest pyjamas as soon as you get home and snuggle in front of the TV with a blanket, a box of chocolates and a glass of mulled wine. And what gets you into the Christmas spirit more than putting up your Christmas tree?
In October this year, I realised I had been blogging for one whole year. I can’t believe it! The anniversary prompted me to review my goals and refresh my design, but there is SO MUCH more I want to achieve with Hello Jennifer Helen. I have asked for some light boxes and a new camera lens for Christmas (Santa, I’ve been really good this year!) and I’ve already been sticking to a twice weekly posting schedule. I’m getting more organised, but I couldn’t have done it without some helpful stationery from PaperChicCo.
Earlier this week I wrote a post telling you all about the lovely beauty bits I got for my 30th birthday. Well, the presents did not stop there. Andrew well and truly spoilt me and decided to hook me up with some serious 2017 travel plans. Adding to our already ambitious holiday goals, it’s set to be a killer year!
November is one of my favourite months because it means BIRTHDAY! This year I turned 30, which I had some pretty mixed feelings about (you can read more about that here) but needless to say, getting a whole boat load of presents from my amazingly generous family and friends eased the blow. In this post, I am sharing the beauty bits and bobs I got. And stay tuned later in the week to see how spoilt I really was!
I was lucky enough to find myself in a Sephora recently and I realised that I have never actually tried any of their own brand make up. I’ve always found myself tempted by the big brands. But actually, with the exchange rate being so shockingly bad at the moment, brands like Tarte, Urban Decay and Kat Von D are now more expensive than they are in the UK! Lame. So I pootled over to browse the extensive Sephora Collection and I was not disappointed.
As I sit here writing this post I am feeling pretty hungover. Yesterday I went to York with 16 of my besties to drink lots of cocktails at Evil Eye and pig out at Ask (if you’ve never been there, you need to check it out – it’s in the old Assembly Rooms and is full of gorgeous marble columns) and I *may* have had a little bit too much to drink. And right now I could really do with a trip back to the beautiful, newly refurbished Ramside Spa at Ramside Hall Hotel in Durham.
There is no dress you will ever wear that gives you quite the same goosebumps as your wedding dress. My wedding dress was actually the first one I ever tried on (bar my Mum and Nana’s when I was a kid!). I knew it was the one. I wrote a whole post about finding my dress, but obviously I couldn’t really reveal any details because I posted it before our wedding. Now, though, I just can’t resist sharing with you how absolutely beautiful it is and how head over heels in love I am with it.
Featuring more incredible photography from The Twins.