Christmas Gift Guide: For The Home

For my first gift guide for Christmas 2014 we have some items for the home which I feel 

would make some great presents for loved ones this Christmas. 

There are accessories that are suitable for all over the home.

Starting off I recommend the lovely Heat-Holders Snuggle Blanket. 

You may have read my little review here. 

This blanket is perfect for keeping warm on cold nights. 

I've been using mine whilst snuggling up on the sofa.

For the candle lovers we have AromaWorks Yin Candle.

This candle comes in  3 sizes small, medium and large. 

The candle combines the beautifully relaxing top notes of exotically floral Ylang Ylang and fruity May Chang with heart notes of Geranium, which all bring a sense of calm. The wonderfully rich, woody scents of Patchouli and Sandalwood balance out this blend giving it a sumptuous, warm, spicy base.

The candle can be used on its own or with the Yang candle that you can also purchase. 

If you know a hot chocolate lover than they are sure to love this engraved glass hot chocolate mug from Getting Personal. 

I love having hot chocolate as a daily treat for myself and what's better than serving my delicious treat in a glass mug just like from my favorite coffee shop. 

You can personalize the mug with name of the recipients which appears above a stylish design of a steaming mug and "Hot Chocolate" written in old school font. 

The mug can be personalized with the name of your choice up to 12 characters you 

can even see a preview of how the design will look like on the website. 

Another great thing is that the mug is dishwasher safe and reinforced so you wont burn yourself.

£14.99

If you love cooking and baking and want to keep your must have recipes close by than this handy book is ideal!

The My Family Cookbook is blank and ready so that you can fill it with your own scribbles, photo's, methods and grocery list.

This book is a fab way to pass down your favorite recipes generation to generation. 

This beautiful hardback red book with a simple pie design on the front slots nicely into the white sleeve so that you can protect it from spillages. 

£19.99 

Next up we have the OXO Goodgrips 3 piece trivet set.

This set the ideal solution for versatility while serving small and large dishes.

The 3 trivets come apart to be used as separate trivets or to be used side by side to accommodate large dishes or pans. The 3 rings snap together to for use of a single pot and for easy storage. 

The Trivets are heat safe up to 315°C/600°F.

 £12 (As seen in Lakeland) 

Last of all if you love a good steak than you will love this Steak Stone and Plate Set 

from Black Rock Grill. 

The steak on a stone set creates mouthwatering food for use at home, dinner parties or as a gift, which

can be used indoors or out. 

Simply heat the rock in the oven or on hob, choose a selection of tasty accompaniments and present your choice of meat, fish or vegetables on your rock to create a fab meal! 

The Porcelain Rock Set can be heated till they are sizzling hot or can be chilled till they are freezing cold and serve any desert on them.

£48.50

* I was gifted these items in return for this post

Wax Lyrical "Tis the season candle

Back in 2012 I had the chance to review Wax Lyrical's Celebration candle in time for Christmas. 

You can read the review here, this year I am able to show you another of their wonderful 

range of candles. 

This time the "Tis The Season candle which comes in 3 different sizes and is available 

as a reed diffuser as well. 

I received the medium sized candle, £12 which burns for an average of 50 hours. 

They have a fab range of scents over on their website here and not just Christmas scents either. 

What Wax Lyrical say about the "Tis Season Scent: 

" 'Tis the season to be jolly... Deck the halls with boughs of holly, and let this rich scent of sumptuous red berries and shimmering green foliage surround you.Inject some stylish ambience to any room in your home with the simple design of this contemporary medium candle jar with lid. Only the highest quality wax has been used to ensure a clean burn and maximum fragrance throw."

Diet Coke Break

We all need a break from time to time from what life throws at you. 

So why not sit back and relax with a magazine and some Diet Coke. 

Between 17th February and 30th March  Diet Coke have teamed up with fashion bibles

Look and Now, to offer a  free copy of a magazine with every purchase of promotional packs 

of Diet Coke.

Taking 10 minutes out of your busy day to flick through a magazine is the perfect way to unwind 

and spend your Diet Coke break. 

To redeem a free copy of Look or Now, all you have to do is purchase a

promotional pack, visit dietcokefreemagazine.co.uk, enter the unique code from the pack, 

choose your preferred magazine, print off the voucher and take it in store to redeem.

I was sent a rather exciting goodiebag to help me to relax and enjoy my Diet Coke break. 

I also feel I must add that Diet Coke is my favourite drink and I do drink it a lot hence 

why I jumped at the chance to receive a goodiebag. 

As you can see above I received an 8 pack of Diet Coke,  a limited edition Nails Inc Diet Coke nail

polish, a lovely Jo Malone candle and a copy of Look and Now magazine which was all

inside this gorgeous bright red Warehouse bag. 

The bag is a gorgeous bold and fiery red and is very spacious hence why it

was able to fill the amazing goodies inside. 

The Nails Inc Diet Coke Limited Edition polish is bright and bold and 

great for using to pamper yourself before a night out or in. 

I was so excited about the Jo Malone candle I have wanted a Jo Malone

candle for ages, but as you know I like to be thrifty and frugal

and didn't want to spend the £39 that this candle is worth. 

It smells gorgeous too the fragrance is pomegranate noire. 

Last Sunday before a day of work I decided to have my diet coke break 

reading the magazine and sipping Diet Coke and just having a bit of 

"me" time. 

What's your perfect way to have a Diet Coke break? 

Ways to celebrate your Anniversary

On February 4th 2014 me and Stuart will have been married for two wonderful years. 

We married in a local church and then had a reception at a hall not too far away. 

We had a 4 o clock wedding, with approx 50 friends and family members and 

then a lovely meal and then the snow decided to come making

people leave before the evening had really begun. 

Still we had a wonderful day as it was about us making our vows and

spending the rest of our life together. 

I have decided to compile a list of ideas for celebrating your anniversary 

whether you have been together 1 year or for 50 years. 

1. Write an anniversary letter 

this year I am going to give my hubby a personal letter 

2. Bake an anniversary cake together

I love this idea we can have this as dessert instead of having one when we have a meal out

3. Have a meal out at your favourite restaurant and dress up 

of course the frugal bit of this would be that you order a starter and a main

or just a main to save you £'s and still have a good time. 

4. Have a 2 meals for £x meal deal thing

We will most likely do this for valentines this year however it's a fab

idea if you want to save more £'s instead of going out. 

Most supermarkets do these deals in the past we have got them 

from Tesco, Morrison, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose.

5. Do joint gifts

This year for cotton we are doing a joint gift which after

our anniversary I'll show you.

6. Enjoy a lovely breakfast together 

Make something that you don't normally have that often 

such as scrambled eggs and salmon or pancakes. 

7. Go out for coffee and cake

If your a fan of Costa or Starbucks why not enjoy a mid morning or afternoon

coffee and cake. 

8. Go for an evening walk and watch the sunset

I love the idea of going to a lake we have in our area for a walk and seeing the sun setting.

9. Recreate your first date

10. Play your first dance song

11. Go through your wedding album together

12. Have an annual wedding anniversary photo of you both 

13. If you can afford to go away for the week/weekend or evening just for the night

14. Go and see a show at the theatre 

I hope you like my ideas if you can think of anymore I would love to know :)

Potters Crouch Festive Candles

Potters Crouch Candles offer a range of 5 different Festive scents to make

your home smell fabulous and make you in that Christmas mood. 

Each of the home-made candles are hand- labelled and hand-finished.

The drawings on the label's are as always amazing but this time with 

Christmas and festive images. 

The 5 festive candles are as follows: 

- Christmas

- Frankincense and Myrrh 

- Gold

- Plum Pudding 

and

- Festive Spice

I was sent 2 of the 5 candles to try and chose

Festive Spice and Christmas. 

The Festive spice reminds me of mulled wine with 

a zesty orange  and spicy scent  which makes Christmas come to

life. 

The festive Spice candle is their most popular festive scent. 

Then we have the Christmas candle with opulent spices blended with pine forests and rich orangey scents this candle is a festive treat for your nose. 

If you love festive candles as much as me why not 

check out potters range? Not only do they smell wonderful

but look magical too. 

RRP:£8.50 each

Autumn Tag

 As you know I am away caravanning  after spotting that Leanne from A slice of my Life 

had completed the Autumn tag I have decided to have a go too. 

The Tag is created by Georgina 
of makeup-pixi3 

For Autumn, what is your...

1.  Favourite thing about it?  That its not too hot or to cold and that everyone 

seems more happier in the preparations up to Christmas.  

2.  Favourite drink?  Hot chocolate although I need to find a low syn version so I can enjoy 

some when the nights get colder.

3.  Favourite scent/candle?  I love the smell of Cinnamon however my husband doesn't 
so I have found some candles I would love to try out like warm spice, river valley and Vanilla satin 
by Yankee. 

4.  Best lipstick?  I don't wear lipstick that often but for winter I love more darker pinks.

5.  Go to moisturiser?  I use the same all year round E45 body lotion it works wonders at stopping 
my skin from drying out. 

6.  Go to colours for the eyes?  Light browns and golds

7.  Favourite music or band/singer to listen to? I can't really answer this as I listen to all sorts of music throughout  the year. 

8.  Favourite outfit to wear (i.e. boots & a scarf combo)?  Leggings and a lovely and warm jumper 

9.  Autumn treat (i.e. a new bag or scarf that you have your eye on)?  

I want to treat myself to a lovely burgundy dress I have my eye on I could pair it with 
leggings/tights and boots. 

10.  Favourite place to be?  The local park but I like it there throughout the year, I love seeing the seasons change. 

 I tag whoever is reading this! please let me know if you do a post!

Review: Aroma-Works Products

Hi all, hope your enjoying your weekend so far. 

Today me and Stuart went the canal festival which was great

fun looking around the stalls. 

I have recently been sent some lovely products from Aroma-works. 

Aroma-works is a luxury fragrance company based in Woodley Berkshire

(UK HQ) and New Jersey (USA HQ). 

I wont go into the whole background about Aroma-works.

As you can see in the photo below all of Aroma-works products are packaged

in a lovely white box with a block colour on them to distinguish between 

the different fragrances. 

The different fragrance categories are as follows: 

-Nurture

- Soulful 

- Serenity 

- Yin and Yang

- Inspire

and

- Essential Rose

I received 4 products from some of the different categories. 

First of all I got the Soulful room mist, £20.00.

which is a complex and exotic scent with a blend of 7 essential oils.

 Soulful combines the fruity top notes of Juniper Berry and Bergamot

 and exotically heady Frankincese with warm, spicy base notes of Patchouli. 

This beautifully balanced blend finishes with a creamy caramel fragrance

 to give you a unique and wonderfully warm scent.

Then we have the Nurture Reed Diffuser, £35.

which is a rich and fruity scent, with a blend of 5 essential oils. 

The Nurture blend combines the fruity, crisp aroma of May Chang,

 the sweet, fresh scent of Roman Camomile

 and the aromatic delicately woody fragrance of Sandalwood.

Then a Medium Serenity candle, £32. 

A scent that calms and restores.

The Serenity blend combines the beautifully warm citrus top notes of 

Lemongrass with the underlying exotic, floral fragrance of Neroli 

and soft, sweet Geranium.

Last of all the small essential rose candle, £15. 

A fruity and floral blend of 7 essential oils. 

The Essential Rose brings together the top notes of sweet and spicy

 Moroccan Rose with delicate Violet Leaf and warm, citrus Mandarin. 

The earthy, rich base notes of Patchouli adds an exotic touch

 to make this a wonderfully balanced blend.

I really love how once you open the products you get a whiff of 

the amazing aroma of  the fragrance's. 

I am really impressed with the whole range, being a candle lover

I am happy to add these to my collection as well as the reed diffuser

and the room mist. 

I would 100% recommend these products for gifts or a treat for yourself. 

Review: Potters Crouch Candles

Potters Crouch Candles  offer an exciting and diverse range of candles 

for your enjoyment. 

They are even able to make your own bespoke range of candles 

for special occasions such as weddings and parties to give

an extra personal  touch to your day,

As well as memorial ones to remember that special someone.

Each candle is handmade, hand–labelled and hand–finished in their  300 year old converted

 barn nestled in the heart of the English countryside in Hertfordshire.

As you can see above each of the candles have a painted

impression on the lid giving it unique touch. 

They have a range of candles from fruits and flowers, charity one's, 

Christmas ones and fragrances of the world.

I chose to go with two from the fragrances of the world section. 

First up their most popular selling candle India. 

The candle has a subtle mixture of delicate spices and heat with exotic warm 

floral's. 

This candle provokes an Indian paradise feel to your home. 

Next up is Africa (how cute are these meerkats) 

making you think off green watering holes, hot sun and  Saharan desert blooms

this is a spicy and thrilling candle that will take you away 

on an African safari (or day dream at least) .

Out of both of the Candles I would say that the Africa one is my favourite by far. 

Review: Boujies London Maison Vive Candle

 Most of you will know by now that I love candles. 

Boujies are independent  perfumers and luxury candle maker

founded in 2009  in London’s fashionable Spitalfields market. 

Their vision is to re-discover the  natural artistry of British perfumery and develop a range of luxury fragrances, made in England and inspired by nature.  

Since their launch, their  luxury candles have been shortlisted for British gift of the year in both 2011 and 2012.    
Boujies are now sold by retailers all over the world. 

They have four collections 

- Maison Noir 

-  Maison Blanc

- Maison D'or

and 

- Maison Vive 

I was given the opportunity to choose a candle from their 

Maison Vive collection. 

Maison Vive is their best-selling vibrant range of bold fragrances.

 Each candle will fill your home with an refreshing fragrance and create a touch of luxury for every day.

The Candle Jars come in one size (300g).

As you can see from the photo's

 the jar comes complete with a removable lid so 

you can keep your fragrance fresh. 

The candle was sent in a well packaged small box

to avoid breakage and arrived within just under a week. 

I chose to go with Peony & Grapefruit candle 

which is a a pretty and sophisticated floral,  

blended with ylang, jasmin and lily resting on a sweet 

vanilla and musk base. 

The burn time of this candle is approx 35 hours

and retails at £12

All  of Boujies candles are hand-poured in England using 100% Environmentally friendly Soy wax

and their own delicious  scents. 

I was blown away by the utterly floral and exciting scent and honestly 

can say this is one of the best candle scents I have ever smelt.