THE LIFESTYLE EDIT: TRANSIENCE STUDIO

Today I'm excited to be featuring an interview with my super talented friend May Tremain; a textiles and ceramics designer who runs Transience Studio. As well as the interview, there is a preview of some of the beautiful pieces May has been busy making and an account of my attempt at weaving at one of workshops at Transience Studio.

THE STYLE EDIT: EMBROIDERED SUMMER DAYS

The love of loose Summer dresses continues, admittedly not in the last few days as the weather has been quite changeable,but it's safe to say this embroidered cotton dress has become a firm favorite this Summer. 

HAMPTON COURT FLOWER SHOW

I had a lovely afternoon at Hampton Court yesterday, wandering around the first day of the annual RHS flower show with a friend. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was so lovely we even felt like treating ourselves to a boat ride from the station and a delicious slice of Victoria sponge cake. There were so many beautiful flowers and displays to explore, I thought I'd share my highlights of the flower show in a photo diary post, as the photos really do speak for themselves.

THE STYLE EDIT: LEAF PRINT LOVE

Whoop whoop! There's an outfit post on the blog!! It's been a while hasn't it, but it feels so good to be chatting about clothes on here again and I enjoyed shooting this look, a lot more than I thought I would. The lack of outfit posts hasn't really been down to any one particular thing, more a combination of a few different things which left me feeling a lot less confident when it came to fashion/outfits/taking photos of myself. My anxiety has been tricky at times and I just didn't feel as comfortable as I should in front of the camera. That being said, I still feel joy from wearing clothes that express my personality and I missed that being a part of the blog. So I took my camera out into the garden, started to play around with this look and I didn't think the end result was as scary as I'd imagined and well here we are.

THE BLOGOSPHERE BLOG AWARDS 2017

Last Thursday I attended the first ever Blogosphere magazine Blog Awards ceremony, and well if you caught my Instagram stories, you'll have seen just how excited I was to be there! To be honest, I’d been bubbling over with excitement the moment I saw an email from Blogosphere’s Editor Alice Audley land in my inbox, inviting me along to the inaugural Blog Awards evening.

CAROLINE HIRONS X RED MAGAZINE - BEAUTY MASTERCLASS

Those of you who follow my Instagram stories, may already have seen this, but last Thursday morning I headed along to a breakfast beauty masterclass with skincare expert and blogger Caroline Hirons and Red magazine’s Beauty Director Annabel Meggeson at 6th@Soho. Anyone who knows Caroline or is a fan of her blog or YouTube channel, won’t be surprised to hear that she had us all in fits of laughter with her honest and feisty humour. It was such a fun start to the day but also really informative. Caroline Hirons knows her stuff and I came away with a lot of skin care tips and knowledge, which I thought I’d share with you. Here’s the lowdown:

REVIEW: LAZY GIRL DRY SHAMPOO BY SAM MCKNIGHT

Hair by Sam McKnight has been one of the most hotly anticipated hair product collections for an incredibly long time. Why the hype? Well it's all down to Sam McKnight's impressive hairstyling experience; he's styled the hair of every famous model in the industry and nearly every celebrity of note in the UK and US. Sam has styled the hair of Princess Diana, Lady Gaga, Cate Blanchett, Kate Moss and apparently Karl Lagerfeld has him on speed dial, as he's the only one he trusts to do the hair for all of his shows and ad campaigns.

BYREDO - ROSE OF NO MAN'S LAND

I completely fell in love with Rose of No Man's Land from the Swedish perfume brand Byredo back in November on a visit to the NK Store while in Gothenburg. We were at the Byredo counter for ages, sampling the beautiful scents. They're all lovely, but this scent just really stood out for the both of us. Unfortunately though, as much as I wanted to snap this up straight away, I just couldn't justify it at the time because well, ahem....I'd recently indulged in a bit of a Jo Malone haul...oops.

AN AFTERNOON AT THE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

I make no secret of my love of being in the garden. Some may think I'm a bit old before my time and maybe I am, but I embrace it as it's something I've loved since I was about 8 years old (I've always been a bit old beyond my years it seems) after a neighbour gave me my first ever packet of seeds. Mum tells me I take after her as she started growing her own fruit, veg and flowers at that age too, unfortunately though I'm not quite as green fingered as her. I've noticed over the last year or two, an increased buzz around gardening. Perhaps it's the lack of garden space in cities sparking more of an interest in growing your own fruit & veg or flowers, but more and more people are getting the gardening bug! 

THE BEAUTY EDIT: YSL VOLUPTE TINT IN BALM, NO.11 PLAY ME FUSHIA

To say that this latest lip offering from YSL has caused a stir, is quite an understatement to say the least. Initially only available exclusively at Selfridges, the collection reportedly sold out within 30 minutes. However the YSL Volupte Tint in Balm collection is available now nationwide and it is little surprise that these beauties keep selling out, everyone just wants in on the action. So are the YSL Volupte Tint-In-Balms worth the hype?

BLOGOSPHERE MAGAZINE - THE ISSUE 12 COVER REVEAL

I'd wanted to share this post with you for the last month or so, but my laptop stopped working and had to be in for repair for a good few weeks, so I'm excited to be finlly sharing this on the blog you today. From my early 20s, I've loved flicking through Fashion and Beauty magazines and over the years my magazine of choice has varied depending on my interests, be it travel, lifestyle or even gardening. There is just a particular joy of having some sofa time with a cuppa in hand and a good magazine to get lost in. Through project de-clutter, I've become a lot more selective about the magazines I purchase; it's no longer about the glossy finish but the content quality, the thought and research gone into the articles, and importantly a magazine which motivates and inspires. For me blogosphere magazine ticks all those boxes.

LUNCH AT PETERSHAM NURSERIES

Richmond is one of my favourite parts of London and a visit to Petersham Nurseries (located just a 10 minute walk along the river away from Richmond High Street), with its famous restaurant for a lunch date has long been overdue. So I booked us in for lunch as a Mother's Day gift and we spent a lovely afternoon browsing, looking at beautiful plants and antique homewares plus we had one of the best meals of the year!

THE BEAUTY EDIT: BILOU SHOWER AND BODY CREME REVIEW

It's no secret around here that I love all things beauty related and I'm always on the look out for new beauty recommendations and discoveries. The Bilou shower and body mousse range are one of my favourite recent discoveries. My beautiful niece had gifted me some of the shower products and then on my visit to see my sister and her family Germany earlier this month, I discovered more of the range. It's safe to say my niece loves this range! She was keen for me to try out the cute shower products so made a pretty display of her collection in the bathroom and now I love them too!

THE BEAUTY EDIT: PRIMARK PS PURE GLOW HIGHLIGHTERS

I've been tightening my purse strings of late after a little life evaluation. I'm saving for my very first car and a house deposit, yep things are getting serious around here. So while I've been carefully looking at what I do and don't need to spend money on, I'm gonna be honest, I love all things beauty, there is no denying that. I get joy from makeup and trying new products (there you go, it's met the KonMari criteria). So it would be unrealistic for me to impose a total spending ban on beauty products, I would inevitably feel guilty when I succumb to a little beauty purchase here and there and that's not what I want. I have been making changes though and thinking a lot harder about the products I spend my money on, there's even a beauty budget in place now to keep me in check. Exciting stuff I know, but it's gotta be done.

THE BEAUTY EDIT: LATEST IN BEAUTY - BEAUTY AND THE BEAST BOXES*

Although Beauty and The Beast has been out for a little while now, I'd either been away or the film was sold out, but this last weekend I finally got the chance to head to the cinema and spend a few enchanted hours getting caught up in the fairytale of Beauty and The Beast. 

THE TRAVEL EDIT - GENERATOR HOSTELS - LONDON

I have to admit that I'm a hostel newbie, having only stayed in a YMCA during the Girls on Tour trip to Bath with the Shoreditch Sisters. So when Generator Hostels invited me to a blogger's sleepover event to celebrate Pancake and #PublicSleepingDay, I was really curious as Generator London looked totally different to my YMCA experience and it really was.

THE BEAUTY EDIT: TOO FACED PAPA DON'T PEACH BLUSH

When it comes to a Peach Blush, I just can't resist, I have no will power especially when it came to this super cute offering from Too Faced. The Papa Don't Peach Blush is part of The Too Faced Sweet  Peach Collection although the blush is exclusive to Selfridges.

THE TRAVEL EDIT: A DAY IN WHITSTABLE

Sometimes there's nothing I love better than escaping London for a bit, to head to the coast and grab some fresh air. Usually my preference would be to jump on a plane and have a little weekend city break in Europe, but that's not possible as often as I like and there's so much to explore within easy reach of where I live. I've always wanted to visit Whitstable so when my brother came to visit and was looking for something different to do, we ended up jumping in the car and heading down to Whitstable for a family day by the seaside.

SS17 TREND UPDATES WITH HOUSE OF FRASER

We're almost half way through February and well so far it's been pretty grey, drizzly and cold, Spring isn't quite here yet, but I can't wait for those sunny days full of bluer skies and cherry blossom and a chance to ditch some of the layers and update my wardrobe with Spring/Summer fashion. There was a gorgeous display of colour, bold prints and statement accessories at the House of Fraser SS17 preview so while we wait for Spring to breakthrough, I thought I'd share my highlights with you to bring a bit of colour and warmth to these snowy days. 

THE FOOD EDIT: VICKY'S DONUTS

Now that January is safely out the way, it's time to talk about one of my favourite things.....donuts!! Not just any kind of donuts though, oh no, I'm talking about the most awesome ones found only at Vicky's Donuts. I know you may be thinking, hmm this is an interesting post to follow on from my fitness edit, but well it's Friday and as they say, a little of what you fancy, does you good.

THE FITNESS EDIT: FEBRUARY

Yay! We’ve survived January, a tough month in so many ways so hello February. I’m happy to report that January saw me make a good start on my fitness goals with a major step forward in making healthier choices with food, more of a focus on my diabetes with more blood sugar monitoring,  talking to my diabetes team about the start date for my insulin pump and…….I headed back to Pscyle! Whoop! Whoop! 

THE BEAUTY EDIT: PIXI - CAROLINE HIRONS DOUBLE CLEANSE

I have a confession to make......when it comes to taking my makeup off at the end of the day and having a good cleanse, I can be a bit....well....lazy! I know, I know, it's a poor show and really I have no excuses especially as I'm an avid follower of the skincare pro that is Caroline Hirons and her blog, but well sometimes I guess I feel so tired and find myself reaching for the skincare wipes. With 2017 however, came the goal of looking after myself more which included being kinder to my skin and having a proper evening cleansing routine. So my heart started beating a little faster with excitement when I learnt that Caroline Hirons had collaborated with one of my favourite skincare brands: Pixi, to launch her first ever skincare products. I'm already a huge fan of the Pixi Glow Tonic and now Caroline has launched her first product with Pixi: Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse. Cleansing my skin properly at the end of the day no longer feels like a chore.

THE BEAUTY EDIT: THE PERFECT SETTING POWDER FOR UNDER £3

When it comes to beauty, I’m always on the lookout for tips and recommendations from those whose opinions I really trust and value, whether it be my favourite beauty and skincare bloggers and pros to my friends and their tried and tested experience of products.

SS17 HOMEWARE UPDATES WITH HOUSE OF FRASER

Just before Christmas I headed along to the House of Fraser SS17 press day; a lovely showcase of upcoming homeware and fashion. I always get excited about a good press day, the chance to get a sneak peak at all the gorgeous things to come! Plus it's good to have an excuse to start thinking about Spring/Summer. House of Fraser's SS17 homeware collection has inspired me to update my home over the last few weeks with some key pieces so I thought I'd share my highlights from House of Fraser's SS17 homeware collection.

DIPTYQUE ROSA MUNDI CANDLE

The Rosa Mundi candle from Diptyque is my all time favourite from their candle range, the scent is beautifully fresh and floral. The candle is often released in a special edition design for Valentine's day and I reviewed it previously here.

THE TRAVEL EDIT: GOTHENBURG CITY GUIDE

Sweden has always been on my travel list. I still wish I'd caught the overnight ferry to Stockholm from the end of my best friend's street while I was staying in Riga, that one is still very much on the list. In November,  I got to tick off a visit to Sweden after a weekend away in Gothenburg. It was the perfect trip; sunny winter days with clear blue skies, the food was wonderful and it was just lovely to escape London for a few days, be able to walk around everywhere and take in new surroundings.

THE FITNESS EDIT: JANUARY

If you've caught up with my goals for 2017, you'll know like many people come January, I've set myself some health and fitness goals to achieve this year. The irony is though I don't feel very much like a warrior right now as I'm sat here with an awful cold as I write this. Suffice to say the first week of January 2017, has not been a very active one, unless you count lying on the sofa catching up with Elementary re-runs while dosed up on Sudafed as being active. 

MY NEW YEAR RAMBLINGS AND GOALS FOR 2017

Hello 2017 and happy New Year to you all! I do love New Year, that feeling of a fresh start, a clean slate to work on your dreams and ambitions with, the possibilities feel endless! For me also there's always a nervousness about the year ahead and venturing into the unknown which keeps me on my toes. 2016 was not an easy year, there were a number of health problems but January really stood out as the most difficult month.