Hello! It's my birthday on Friday and I've been having a little look online for present ideas (and ideas for things I'd like to buy with any birthday money I get)! So here is a little birthday wishlist!

1 - Kate Spade Watch. I've been keeping an eye out for a nice watch lately. Because my rings are white gold, I want a silver face. This has been pretty difficult to find but this Kate Spade watch is pretty much exactly what I'm after!
2 - Spectrum Brushes. I've had my eye on these brushes forever. They are just so pretty!
3 - Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette. I've got a bit of a thing for eyeshadow at the moment and would love to add this to my collection.
4 - Mac Mineralise Skinfinish in Cheeky Bronze. This looks so pretty. Almost too pretty to use! After getting my make up done at the Mac studio in New York for my wedding, I've started lusting after more Mac products! I'll definitely be adding this to my collection as I'm desperate need of a new bronzer.
5 - Kate Spade Bag. I really need a new bag for work and I'm regretting not getting a Kate Spade whilst in New York. I'd like something like this one!

Our Wedding Day - 20th May 2017, Belvedere Castle, Central Park, NY

WARNING: This post may be very photo heavy!

On 20th May 2017, our wedding day finally arrived!

After 2 whole years of planning, it was finally time to say I do.

Being the control freak that I am, I was determined that nothing would go wrong.

But as everyone had told me, something always does!

We made the decision to flee the country and get married in Central Park, New York.

Planning and paying for a wedding in the UK was getting too stressful and every man and his dog wanted a say in how the day should be.

And let's face it, the photo opportunities!

We headed out to New York on Wednesday 17th May to give us plenty time to get everything organised and deal with last minute admin things out in NY.

You also need to attend the City Clerk's office to get your marriage licence, then wait 24 hours from its issue for your ceremony to take place, so if you plan on having a NY wedding, make sure you get there a few days before!

The first few days we were in NY, it was super hot! Like 32 degrees and baking sunshine! So you can imagine my upset when on the morning of the wedding I woke up and it was raining! Thankfully the rain stayed away for the rest of the day but it remained overcast. This was probably good for my photos because I'm terrible for squinting in sunlight!

Mum and I had booked in to the Mac make up studio on the morning of the wedding so we were up bright and early and on the subway to Lexington Avenue. I honestly spent days in the run up to the wedding looking for MUAs in New York. I just so happened to mention this to a lovely girl on the Chanel counter in Harvey Nichols Edinburgh, when buying foundation and she recommended I try the Mac Studio. They were absolutely amazing on the day. My make up was perfect from morning until I went to bed and everyone commented on how good it was. It even survived the disaster that was yet to come!

After getting ready in the apartment with my family and bridesmaids, the cars arrived to take us to the ceremony. All was going well until we hit a MASSIVE traffic jam in the midtown tunnel. I could see the driver's SatNav was saying we'd get to the venue at 4.05pm. My wedding was meant to be at 3pm! This obviously set me off shouting, crying and panicing! My bridesmaids were having to make a few calls to Mikey in the back of the car and we somehow managed to pull some strings and get the wedding moved to 4.30! It was honestly the most stressful moment of my life. I thought I was going to pass out haha!

We arrived at Central Park and made our way up to Belvedere Castle for the ceremony, which was short and sweet - just how we wanted it!
We were pronounced man & wife to great cheers from our family and friends!

After the ceremony and group photographs, everyone headed down to the Tavern on the Green for a drink whilst our photographer did a shoot with just us. Our photographer was the amazing Ricky at Yodog Media. I found him on Thumbtack - I'd highly recommend him!

We then headed over to Central Park South to Sarabeth's - A celebrity haunt (there were none in on our day though). We had booked the garden room for our event. We had a private bar and our own toilets. The room was perfect for our group size. And oh my word, the food! We got to put together a menu from their event menu and I have to say, we did well. Most people had filet mignon for main and my dad said it was the best steak he's ever had - and he loves his steak!

After many a drink (we had a free bar until 10.30!) we headed to Times Square because I wanted photos on the red steps ha ha! This led to a rendition of Flower of Scotland by the wedding party which was filmed by a lot of tourists! I was secretly quite sad we didn't go viral ha ha! We then moved on to an Irish bar called Playwrights to finish the night!

It really is true what they say. Your wedding is the best day of your life. And to get married in New York made it even more special for us! We had the time of our lives and we'll definitely be going back soon (hopefully for our first anniversary haha)!

Life Lately | I'm back!

Well hello, long time no blog. Actually very long time, no blog.

So what have I been doing for the last 16 months?

Well mostly working and wedding planning and sleeping off stress at weekends!

My job is pretty full on and coupled with wedding planning, I had no time to do the things I used to enjoy.

But I'm back now and ready to give this blog my attention again!

So here is a little round up of what has happened since my last post in May 2016!

In September 2016, we lost our beautiful cat Smudge after a short illness. We are still not 100% sure what happened but we suspect it was a brain tumour. I couldn't bear the thought of him undergoing a post mortem so we'll never be 100% sure. After 13 years of purrs and cuddles, it broke my heart to lose him. I'm ready to get another cat now but we are waiting until we have bought our own place (we live on a busy main road just now so I would be too scared to let a cat out!)

Over the last 14 months, I've been on a fitness & diet campaign (known at the time as the wedding shred!) I've actually got really into my running and I'm planning to start running in proper organised events soon. I joined slimming world and lost a total of 3 stone from March 2016 to May 2017. My diet has been pretty poor since but I've managed to maintain my weight! I'll write a proper post about this soon!

 

Easter weekend was very busy! My hen do was on Easter Saturday. You might not be able to tell from this photo but I was so unwell all weekend. Long story for another post! On Easter Sunday, I finally got to see Ed Sheeran when he played the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. Best gig ever!

On 17th May, we headed to New York!

Oh, and on 20th May, we got married!

I'll do some posts on our wedding day and our time in New York and Mexico soon!

It's true what people say, it really is the best day of your life!

So that's pretty much all I've got to report from the last 14 months! Probably seems like I've not really been up to much ha ha!

But it's good to be back :)

xx

Wedding | Here Comes Bridezilla...

Aloha! I can't quite believe that today marks 1 year since Mikey and I got engaged! It's gone so bloody fast and it feels like we've hardly got anywhere with the wedding planning!

I'm trying not to be a bridezilla. It's not a pretty attitude to have really. But sometimes it feels like no one understands what I/we really want from my/our big day.

We said when we got engaged that we weren't going to rush into the wedding and if we were engaged for 4 years then it didn't matter! However, I soon started buying wedding magazine after wedding magazine and the date was about to be set as October 2017. We started looking at venues and that's when people really started sticking their oars in. 

I wanted a nice, small DIY wedding which would (hopefully) allow us to cut some costs. I was going to bake our wedding cake and put my new stand mixer to good use! It was all going to be great. Until people started saying 'oh no, I don't like that venue', 'oh you can't possibly do a DIY wedding' etc etc etc.

So I threw a major bridezilla tantrum and told everyone we were eloping and they weren't invited.

It started out as a bit of a joke, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it.

And that's when Mikey suggested New York.

So on 20th May 2017 we will be getting married, on the terrace at Belvedere Castle, Central Park, NYC.

We've decided against going solo though and we will be inviting close family and friends and then having a big party back here a few weeks later for those who can't make it.

Now I just need to keep the bridezilla at bay whilst I deal with all the other planning details!

There's really not enough hours in the day!

Judging by how fast the last year has gone, I'm sure our wedding will be here in no time at all!

xxx

Food | Topolabamba

Aloha! Anyone that knows me at all knows that I absolutely LOVE Mexican food (& Drink), so when my other half mentioned he had walked past a Mexican restaurant in Glasgow that we hadn't yet tried, I had to go check it out!

Topolabamba is located at 89 Vincent Street in Glasgow City Centre, just a stones throw away from Central Station & the main shopping area. Their menu is a mix of classic Mexican dishes and street food (think Mexican tapas). The restaurant is really well decorated and had a great atmosphere (we visited on a busy bank holiday Monday!)

We opted for the express lunch menu. You pick one thing from each column for only £9.95 per person! Pretty good deal if you ask me! I didn't take pictures of all the food because I was so hungry and excited to eat it, but I went for Chicken Tinga Tacos, the Barbacoa Beef Quesadillas and the salt & chilli fries! Mikey had the Chorizo Taquitos, the Barbacoa Tortas (Which was huge btw!) and the rice!

And to drink? Well it had to be a beergarita! I've not found anywhere since being in Mexico that serves these so I was so excited to finally have them back in my life! If I closed my eyes, it was almost like being back at the beach, dipping my toes in the Caribbean sea (ahhh, bliss). 

We both absolutely loved our meal at Topolabama and we will definitely be back soon!

And Edinburgh people, don't worry, Topolabamba is opening an Edinburgh restaurant very, very soon!

xxx

Fashion | Primark Haul

Aloha! I'm back again with another little Primark Haul! I had a cheeky little bonus in my pay packet this month so I decided to treat myself to some new things!

Here is what I bought!

Workout Vests - £3 each

Sports Bra - £3.50

Sports Socks - £2.50 for a 3 pack

As I've mentioned before, I've been going to the gym in an attempt to get in shape for my wedding! I was pleased when I saw that Primark had some offers on their workout clothes! I picked this lovely orange colour as it goes with my new balance trainers that I bought recently! And the black top will make me look slim right?

Cardigan - £6

Blouse - £5.50

It wouldn't be a trip to Primark without me buying a black cardigan! I go through them like nothing on earth! I also spotted this nice black blouse. I was drawn to it because of the unusual gold chain detail on the front. 

Pop-up Storage Bin - £3

Invisible Footies - £2.50 for 5

Bum & Tum Shaper Tights - £3.50

Lace Boxer Briefs - £1 each

Hair Ties - £1

I bought this storage bin to replace my old laundry bin which is falling to bits! I liked the pattern on this and my utility room is black and white so it will go well with it!

These tights are just the best! I've had them before but all my other pairs now have holes in them so it was time for a replacement packet! I like these because I don't have to spend the whole day pulling them up!

I'm sure no one really wants to see what pants I bought but T

these were reduced to £1 each! I'm going to have a proper clear out of my underwear drawer now that I've purchased quite a few new pants recently!

And of course, it wouldn't be a trip to Primark without coming out with socks and hair ties! (even if you don't need them)

I also bought a special little something whilst I was in Primark, but I'll save that for another post!

Primark have some lovely products in just now! I'm gutted I'm not going on holiday this year so I can buy lots of pretty new summer clothes!

xxxx

Fashion | Gymwear Haul

Aloha! I recently joined my local gym as part of my attempts to get in shape for my wedding! I know I've got just over a year to go but knowing my track record, it could take a while!

Anyway, I didn't really have much of a gym wardrobe so I decided to have a little spending spree in the hope my gym clothes might make me look like I know what I'm doing ha ha!

So here is what I've bought! 

New Balance 'The Perfect Tank' - £22

I bought this because it matches my new trainers (which you'll see later in this post). It's super soft and comfy to wear when working out!

Adidas Climachill Tank - £9

I bought this from Very but I can't see it on their website anymore! This has climachill technology so it is nice and breathable, and keeps you cool!

Adidas 3 Stripe Leggings - £25

Because you can't beat some adidas leggings for looking great at the gym!

Puma Graphic Sports Bras - £25

These were again from Very but they don't appear to be on the site anymore. 2 sports bras for £25 was a bit of a bargain I thought! They have the same ones but in plain colours here for £38.

USA Pro Skull Leggings - £10

These are unfortunately out of stock everywhere now (I had a hard time getting them).

I saw these on xameliax's snapchat and I had to track a pair down for myself. The sugar skull print gives me the motivation to get in shape for our honeymoon (we're planning to go to Mexico).

Sweatshirt - £5.99

Trainer Socks £2.99

Both of these are from Decathlon. I was in there killing time one evening, whilst waiting for Mikey and decided to have a browse of the running section. I needed a sweatshirt as it's still bloomin freezing in Scotland on an evening! This one was a bargain and keeps me nice and cosy on late evening runs. I also needed new trainer socks so these were an essential!

Sports Bra - £5

This was a Marks & Spencer sale find! It's a little bit tight on me but I'm sure it will fit better once I lose a little bit of weight! For only £5, you can't really go wrong! It definitely keeps my assets in place!

Running Leggings - £11.99

These were a gift from my mum for Easter and are again from Decathlon. She bought this plain white tee to go with them too! These are made of a super super soft material and feel so lovely! 

New Balance Running Shoes - £32

And now for the main event! I couldn't resist buying myself some offensively bright running shoes! I'm keeping these as indoor trainers only because I don't want them to get all dirty haha! These are super cushioned inside and they are so comfy! I wish I had shoes this comfy for everyday wear!

So that's me all kitted out for the gym! Now I just need to find the energy to go! Haha!

xxx