Five Fave Things - May 2018

Back in Feb I did a Five Fave Things post, as May has just ended I thought I would do another one letting you know what I am currently loving.

1. TRESemme Keratine Smooth Shampoo, Conditioner & Mask
I am a bit of a junkie when it comes to hair care products and I am forever on the lookout for something new to try out. Just recently my hair hasn't been in the best condition which is down to the colour effect that I had put in last year and my almost daily use of straighteners. Over the last few months I have tried a couple of new ranges but nothing seemed to deal with the dull and dry ends until I found the TRESemme Keratin Smooth range. I bought the shampoo, conditioner and mask on a bit of a whim as it was on a half price deal in Boots. To be honest I have tried this brand before and wasn't overly impressed with it so I wasn't expecting great things but the price and the promise of smooth frizz free hair was enough to tempt me into trying it out. All I can say is wow, this has worked wonders and although the dry and split ends are still there they are far less visible and my hair looks and feels in far better condition than it did before. This is one range that will be a definite re-buy for sure.

Image from Google search

2. Converse
I am a huge Converse fan and currently have several different pairs on the go. I practically live in them both for work and at the weekends, I find them so comfy even when I am walking for long periods of time. I bought this very pretty pair last month (link here) with the idea of putting them away and saving them for our holiday in November. The problem is they are far nicer than I thought they would be and I am desperate to start wearing them now, especially as the warmer weather is here. They are going to look so nice with pretty Summer clothes. Maybe I will just have to buy a second pair in a different colour to put away....watch this space!

3. Holiday Planning
Yes the planning for Florida is still going on and we have now started working on an itinerary which is quite exciting, especially as we now know that we will be meeting up with our friends Shaun & Caroline and Gareth & Laura while we are there. A couple of weeks ago we reached the 180 day mark which meant that we could start making our ADR's (Advance Dining Reservations) for the Disney restaurants that we want to eat at. So far we have secured bookings at Crystal Palace, Garden Grill and the Sci Fi Diner. Just a few more to try and then we will be done until its FastPass time!

4. Water

Yep good old H2o has made it onto my list of things I am loving right now - bet you are all surprised that its not gin!!. I don't know if its the warmer weather or the fact that I am trying my hardest to keep on track with Weight Watchers but over the last few weeks I have been making sure that I get my full daily quota of water in me. My Weight Watchers #winning bottle is perfect for when I am on the go and for at work as it shows how much I should be drinking each day as its divided up into hourly portions to make it more manageable. Mostly I am just having it straight but occasionally I will add a shot of squash or some fruit to flavour it up a bit. I used to drink a lot of diet coke and the like but I now find if I have too many fizzy drinks that they upset my tum so I am trying to avoid them wherever possible.

5. British Summer Time
I absolutely love this time of year, its something I have said many times before and I am sure I will say it many times again but I am a true Leo and a Summer girl through and through. Being able to be outside and not have to be bundled up in layers and layers of clothes is absolute bliss to me, I love the feeling of the sun of my skin and of wearing lighter looser clothing. Getting home from work is a joy as it means I can throw open the windows to let in the light and air rather than pulling the curtains and whacking up the heating. We don't have a garden but we are lucky enough to have a little outside space where we have some plants and flowers and where we can sit when its nice enough. With the exception of Christmas time I would be more than happy if it was BST all year round.

Thanks for stopping by and reading, please feel free to leave me a comment or give this post a like.

Love and hugs, Jane x

Five Fave Things - Feb 2018

I thought I would use this post to share with you a few things that I am currently loving, the idea for this post came from Penny over at A Penny for Them, she has a fab blog so why don't you pop over to take a peek and say hello? Anyway I think I might try and make this a regular monthly post, let me know what you think?

1. Crochet
There has been a bit of a flurry of new babies recently so I have been busy creating crocheted blankets to gift to them. I follow a very simple pattern called C2C (corner to corner) which is basically the same stitch repeated over and over again which creates a triangle shape. Once you have reached a width that you are happy with you carry on with the same stitch but instead of increasing at the start and finish of each row you decrease to fill in the opposite side of the triangle to create a square blanket. I started making these blankets about a year ago after getting frustrated with the more traditional granny square style crochet. I had seen a friend use this pattern so I found a You Tube video by Bella Coco and hey presto within a very short time I was up and running. I am now very confident in using this stitch so I am planning on trying to teach myself something new in the coming months.

2. Vlog Watching
This is something I mentioned before in one of my Florida planning posts and its since become a firm favourite in our house. Tom and I don't watch much television at all as there is hardly ever anything on that we want to watch. We are not into reality type programs, soaps or crappy Saturday night tv (in fact anything with Ant & Dec is an absolute nono for us - don't hate me!! lol). There is the odd series, documentary or film that we will flag up but other than that we tend to just have music on in the background. We started watching Florida vlogs last year and have now built up quite a list of people to follow, at present our faves are The Tim Tracker, That Florida Guy, Damian & India, See Shaun Vlog, Krispy S'Mores, L&R Dreaming and Louandhan. There are also a few new additions to my playlist that we have yet to start watching, just waiting for current selection to finish before we start
getting to know Joe and Donna, The Reeves Family Adventures and Will & Lelly. I follow most of these people on social media too and what a lovely, friendly and helpful bunch they are.

3. New Camera
I had been hankering after a new DSLR for quite some time and I had my eye on the Canon 750D although I had been a little reluctant to take the plunge as it was somewhat out of my budget. I did some research and was considering a cheaper camera but I kept coming back to this baby time after time. Originally I had seen it vastly reduced in the lead up to Christmas but of course afterwards it went back up in price. Anyway I had been watching online for a deal to come up and lo and behold last week Currys came up with an offer that was too good for me to resist. I have yet to give it a good try but my first impressions are that I love it! Now I just need to find a good tutorial on how to get the best out of it, could do with some better weather too!

4. Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish
I am a bit of a skincare junkie and over the years I have tried loads of different products, from High St chemists to high end designer brands you name it and I will have probably tried it. Like a lot of people I was rather taken with wipes and micellar waters, being so quick and easy to use they fast became somewhat of a staple bathroom product for a while. However I started to notice that my skin was looking a little dull and tired and I realized that whilst wipes and waters may be quick and easy they are really not good for your skin (or the environment) and neither will effectively remove all the daily grime and make up that can build up. I decided that I needed to invest a little more time into my skin so I reverted back to a routine that includes using a cleansing balm to get rid of make up followed by a cream cleanser to remove the last of everything (FYI on days when I have little or no make up I don't bother with the balm). At present my fave cleanser is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, its something I have used in the past and I have to say I now have a whole new love for it. Thanks to the naturally active ingredients my skin is looking and feeling so much better, its radiant, hydrated and nourished. Yes this kind of routine takes a little longer but its totally worth it to have a happy and healthy face.

5. Life
This one feels like a bit of a cliché but as I am getting older I really do feel like I am starting to appreciate everyday life a whole lot more than I ever did before. Life is not always a bed of roses nor is it full of the perfect Instagram shots but on the whole I am healthy and happy and I have a fabulous husband by my side who loves and supports me in everything I do. I used to get upset and stressed over the smallest things but not any more! I now try not to let things get on top of me or stress me out for no reason. Things that I have no control over or people that cannot be kind or supportive are not worth the energy and upset they can cause. Life is too short not to be happy and whilst I appreciate that we cant all be happy and jolly all of the time I do try to find something positive in each day. I refuse to let other peoples negativity get me down anymore, this is MY life and I will live it doing the things that make me happy.

Love and hugs, Jane x