Aloha & a little late Merry Christmas! I've been a little quiet for the past few days as I was enjoying spending time with family and having a little break after blogging for 24 days straight!

I'm back now and thought I would start off with what I've been up to this week!

1 - Eating. A lot. This smoked salmon roulade is my absolute favourite Christmas treat. I need to find a recipe to make my own!

2 - Drink. My parents got this bottle of bollinger champagne for their 50th Birthday and we've been  meaning to open it for some time! It finally got opened on Boxing Day.

3 - Cuddles with Smudge. He loves when I stay over at my mum's house coz he gets cuddles with me! Doesn't he look cute!

4 - And of course, Santa came! I was a very lucky girl this year! I'm going to do a what I got for Christmas post in the next few days so keep your eyes peeled for that!

I thought I would also share this picture from Christmas Day. This is a large group of the family together, including both my Grans. They are both suffering from dementia so this photo is special to me.

Here are the posts you might have missed this week!

Blogmas Day 21 - Christmas Eve Box

Blogmas Day 22 - Christmas Throwback

Blogmas Day 23 - Easy Gingerbread Recipe

Blogmas Day 24 - Things I'm Looking Forward to this Christmas

xxx

Blogmas Day 15 | Christmas Wrapping

Aloha! This year I have tried to be a little more creative with my wrapping and have gone for a red and silver theme! Hopefully this will give you a little inspiration if you are looking to make your parcels look a bit jazzy this year!

I've made a few little hamper boxes this year which I'm pretty proud of. Haha! This one is for my mum. I picked up a few of these glittery little boxes in Tiger for just £2! They also come in gold and blue if you have a different theme to mine. They would be great for storing things in after Christmas as well. The red pull bows I have had for quite a few years when I went mad and bulk bought them! I've never seen the same ones since (they are super silky), but you can buy similar ones on Amazon and Ebay! 

The silver wrapping paper was from the Card Factory. I got 3 rolls for only £2. It's good quality, thick paper too, which is a bonus. There's nothing worse than wrapping paper that tears as soon as you try to cut it. Or when the edge of a cardboard box that you are trying to wrap pops straight through the paper! Grrr!

xxxx

Blogmas Day 14 | Winter Evening Routine

Aloha! Winter evenings are my favourite, especially in the month of December!

When I get in from work, I get straight into my PJ's, cook and eat my dinner, then settle down for an evening of relaxing!

Recently my favourite after dinner treat has been hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream! I really enjoy an evening with my christmas tree lights twinkling away and a hot cup of cocoa!

Another part of my routine is picking a nice candle or wax melt to burn. Just now I'm loving the Christmas scents of course! It wouldn't be a winter evening without a nice candle burning!

Getting cosy on the sofa with blankets is another one of my favourite things to do on an evening. Even better on a weekend when I can have a little beer too! Once I'm comfy on the sofa, I stick a bit of netflix on and nibble away on a little snack or two until it's time to go to sleep!

It probably seems like I have a bit of a boring life, but I love nothing more than a cosy evening in!

What do you love to do on a winter evening?

xxxx

Blogmas Day 9 | Best of the Boots 3 for 2

Aloha! I dunno about you but I am a big fan of the Boots 3 for 2 on gifts at Christmas time.

I always find something for everyone in there. I thought I'd do my pick of the best gifts under £10 which you might find handy if you have a secret santa present to buy!

Travel kit / Beauty product / Tea sampler / Ceramic mug / Sanctuary Little Bag of Joy

Twinings Tea Set £10 - This one would be good for the tea lover in your life or your office!

Starbucks Sprinkler Set £13 - I love a good Starbucks and I know a few people who would also love this, especially my boss who is a big fan of coffee!

Beauticology Travel Kit £8 - I think this one looks worth a lot more than £8. Beauticology products always smell so yummy! And this sequin travel bag is so cute!

Soap & Glory Bright and Bubbly £10 - I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like soap & glory so this is one I could add as a little extra into any parcel!

Sanctuary Spa Little Bag of Joy £10 - I've received Sanctuary Spa products as gifts quite a few times and I've never been disappointed. They always come in such pretty little bags or boxes as well! 

Will you be taking advantage of the Boots 3 for 2 this year?

xxxxx

Blogmas Day 8 | Tanya's Tarte Train - December

Aloha! A few months ago I signed up for the Tanya's Tarte train, a subscription box which delivers 9 wonderfully fragranced wax melts to your door every month. You can see my original blog about it here!

Here is what I got in this month's tarte train!

Eggnog - Rum, Advocat, Cinammon & Nutmeg. A very boozy and festive smelling one!

Vanilla Milk Bottles - Just like the chewy sweeties you had as a little kid!

Honey - Well this one is pretty self explanatory. Smells a little bit like the honey and lemon throat sweets! 

White Freesia - Again pretty self explanatory. Just like the little white flower!

Honey Moon - Another Honey scented one, with a hint of musk!

Stonewashed - This smells just like freshly washed denim & fabric softener!

Chocolate Lime - Another one which smells exactly like the sweeties! Yum!

Pink Bubblegum - I actually have this one melting right now as I type this. Smells like those bubblegums in the pink and blue wrapper (I can't remember the name!)

Fig Cherry Almond - A lovely rich scent, I can really smell marzipan and the cherry scent.

25th - This was a free extra in this months box. The scent is a secret but it smells like toasted marshmallow to me!

If you want to sign up to Tanya's Tarte Train, you can do so here. 

There are so many lovely sounding tartes that I have on my to-buy list! 

xxxx

Blogmas Day 5 | Gaga's Angel

Aloha! Today I thought I'd do a little post about my most treasured Christmas decoration. I know it sounds silly to say I have a treasured Christmas decoration but it's very important to me.

And here she is...

This angel to sit on top of the tree was bought for me by my Gaga (It's my word for granny).

What makes it even more special is that she bought it for my first Christmas, 23 years ago.

The angel has topped the tree every single year since 1992, and this year will be no different.

When I moved out, my mum let me take the angel with me so she will be on top of the tree in Mikey and I's home.

She's had to have a few repairs over the years but she's still going strong!

I plan on keeping this angel safe, and passing it down to my children eventually. Hopefully they will love it as much as I do!

xxxx

Blogmas Day 1 | Blogmas Giveaway!

Aloha Everyone! This year I have decided to (attempt to) take part in Blogmas! I'm hoping it will encourage me to blog more regularly throughout the festive period!

What better way to start, than with a festive giveaway!

Here is what you can win!

1. Real Techniques Blush Brush

2. Real Techniques Shading Brush

3. Yankee Candle Small Tumbler in Vineyard

4. Yankee Candle Wax Melt in Baby Powder

5. Yankee Candle Wax Melt in Candy Cane Lane

6. Yankee Candle Wax Melt in Vanilla Chai

7. Yankee Candle Wax Melt in Wild Sea Grass

Follow the steps below to be in with a chance of winning!

The giveaway will run until midnight on Saturday 19th December and is open internationally!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

xxxx

Alternative Advent

Aloha! As we are nearing that time of year again (where has this year gone?!), I thought I'd do a little post on the alternative advent calendars if chocolate is not for you, or if you fancy something different this year.

So here is my pick of the best alternative advent calendars!

Yankee Candle Carousel - £31.99

If like me you are obsessed with scented candles, then this is the one for you. There are lots of different scented tea lights behind each door, as well as 4 votives in the new season fragrances (berry trifle, bundle up, cosy by the fire & winter glow). It is quite pricey, but surely worth it for any yankee candle lover.

Lush 12 days of Christmas - £49.95

Now this one doesn't actually have enough windows to begin opening on the 1st December, but it was so cool I had to include it! Featuring favourites like the comforter shower gel, butterbear, and cinders, this is one I'd love to get my hands on! 

English Tea Shop - £11.20

If you love a good brew then this is one for you. Each box contains a different christmas themed tea bag, including Gingerbread Man & Candy Cane.

Bomb Cosmetics - £24.99

I like this one, it has the look of a traditional advent calendar, but it contains little soaps and bath bombs. Bomb cosmetics are a really good brand too with lots of lovely different scents so I'd imagine this one will be a (christmas) cracker *bad-um-ch*

Benefit - £34.50

This is out of stock online but it might still be available in stores. Again it only covers 12 days, but when it contains products such as Porefessional, They're Real Mascara, and Lollitint, who could complain?!

Make-up Revolution - £45

Another beauty calendar, but containing 24 full sized cosmetics, this one is pretty good value! And revolution's cosmetics are always really good quality so you can't really go wrong.

L'Occitane - £39

Again, this one has sold out online, but it might still be available in stores. I really love this one. It is super cute and I love all the products you get in it. And you know they are going to be excellent quality, and smell amazing! 

So that is my pick of my favourite alternative advent calendars for this year! 

Have you purchased an alternative advent or will you be sticking to chocolate?

xxxxx

A little slice of December

This post is a little later than usual, but here is my roundup of December!

1- The start of the month saw lots of Uni deadlines! This meant I spent the majority of my time in the library! I was so happy when the Christmas Break came around. Unfortunately it is now over, and it's time to get back to it for my last semester ever! 

2- After all my deadlines, I went out to celebrate with a group of my close uni friends! It was a great night! 

3- Before I knew it, it was Christmas day! I was so lucky to receive lots of lovely gifts! You can find my post on what I got for Christmas HERE

4- Of course, the Christmas break meant lots of lazy days spent snuggled up with Smudge! Here he is hogging the covers! 

So that was December. I would say it is my favourite month, once the uni deadlines are out the way! It was such a quick month and before I knew it, we were into 2015! 

What did you get up to in December? 

xx

Blogger Secret Santa #2

Hello Everyone! Yesterday I posted about the first blogger secret santa I took part in, so today I will show you what I got from the second one! This secret santa was run by Char at T*Rexes and Tiaras! I am not sure who sent me my parcel, but thank you so much to whoever you were! I love everything! I am so pleased that my blog obviously reflects my personality well, as everything I received is something I would have picked for myself! 

The gifts all had little messages on the gift tags about why the person had picked them!

So here is what I received! 

Irn Bru Mug - This is the exact mug that was in my room when we visited Knockderry Country House in October! I had said I wanted one in my blog post about that weekend and my secret santa obviously read it and went and bought it!

Snow Fairy - My favourite lush product of course! 

Cat Scarf - This is so cute! I've been wanting a cat scarf for ages but I couldn't find one I liked anywhere. This one is lovely and large! That's always been the problem with ones I've seen! They were either a snood or they were too short! 

Yankee Candle Votives - I received Cherry Vanilla and Apple Spice Potpourri scents, both of which I haven't tried yet! They both smell amazing and I can't wait to start burning them! 

My secret santa also included a little present for Smudge in the parcel! He receive a toy mouse and some felix cat treats! He had great fun playing with his new toy mouse on Christmas day! He also enjoyed chewing the string that was wrapped around the parcels! You would never believe he is 13 years old! He carries on like a kitten sometimes! 

Thank you so much to my secret santa, whoever you are! My gifts were perfect! Also thanks to Char for organising this present swap! 

xx

TheSundayPost

Hello Everyone! I missed posting my Sunday Post last week, but I am back this week! Here is what I have been up to in the last week!

The yankee candle sale started on Monday night! Obviously I couldn't resist putting in a little order! I will be putting up a January Sales Haul very soon so you will see what I bought! 

I was working right up until 12.30 on Christmas Eve unfortunately! When I got home, it was time to relax with a very fitting candle! 

Santa has been!! You can find my post on what I got for Christmas HERE

We spent Christmas morning with the other half's parents. It wouldn't be Christmas without me watching the snowman! 

This was our starter for Christmas Dinner. It was heaven on a plate! It was star shaped smoked salmon mousse with seafood sticks, lettuce, and my mum's homemade marie rose sauce! Delicious!

Smudge enjoyed his day too of course! Here he is relaxing after his dinner! 

As I was staying at my parent's house over Christmas, he got to sleep in the bed with me! Just look how cute he is!! 

So that's pretty much it for this week! As I type this, I am watching Harry Potter and munching on leftover turkey and duck curry! It's been a great week, and a wonderful Christmas! 

xx

Blogger Secret Santa #1

Hello Everyone! During December, I took part in two blogger secret santa's. I really enjoyed shopping for someone I didn't know, and using their blog to help me pick gifts! The first secret santa I took part in was run by Becky at milkbubbletea. My gift were sent to me by the lovely Adrienne at TheSundayGirl. I love my gifts I was sent! 

The first parcel I unwrapped were these awesome cat gloves from ASOS. They have those little things on the fingers so you can still use your touchscreen phone without having to take your gloves off! Perfect for me, as I'm always playing on my phone in the morning whilst I'm on a freezing cold bus to work!

The second parcel I unwrapped was this lovely cat purse from New Look! I have been looking for a new purse as mine is getting rather old and this is just adorable! Also it has plenty of card slots which is a must for me! 

Also included in my package was lots of yummy chocolatey treats in the form of roses and milka! I will have to get them scoffed before I go back on my diet in January! 

Thank you so much to Adrienne for my lovely gifts! 

xx

Santa has been! // What I Got For Christmas!

Hello Everyone!! I'm back after a short festive break and I thought I'd show you all you nosy parkers (like me) what I got for Christmas! Santa was very good to me this year and I am so happy with all my pressies!

Morphy Richards Soup Maker - This was from the other half's mum and dad! I had been wanting this for ages so I can make lots of tasty soups to take to work! I like that this does the cooking and the blending for you, so less washing up!

Hairy Bikers Cookbook - My auntie bought me this book as she knows I've been following the Hairy Bikers diet cookbooks recently. I cannot wait to try out the recipes in this book. There are some amazing looking things in here!

Yankee Candle Wax Tart Burner - This was a present from my other half! I recently bought the matching tea light holder and I was desperate to get my hands on this! Also I don't have a wax tart burner so this is a great present! He also bought me 10 wax tarts to get me started. I got 5 baby powers tarts and lavender, black coconut, christmas cookie, icicles and sweet apple ones too! 

Cat Cushion and Small Jar Yankee Candles - This was a gift from my best friend (along with some highly inappropriate chocolate willies!) As you can see, she knows me very well! The scents she bought me were snowflake cookie and cranberry pear, two which I've been dying to try out! And how cute is this cushion?!

Kitten T-shirt - My parents brought me this back from Thailand. It is a lovely long top which will be perfect for wearing with leggings and boots!

Sequin Love Heart Jumper - This jumper is so fluffy and cosy! I've just started getting back into wearing jumpers again so this is a perfect addition to my wardrobe.

Leopard Print PJ's - Of course you need to get some new PJ's at Christmas. These were from Primark and they are just so soft! 

Tartan Leggings - My mum knows my style so well! I've had my eye on these for ages! I already have the matching top and skirt set and the colours are so lovely so these leggings will be well worn! These have gone in the New Look sale so you can grab these at a bargain price now!

Lush Goodies - I had been banging on to my other half for ages that I hadn't managed to get my hands on a bottle of snow fairy yet! Everytime I went into my local store, it was sold out! It was still sold out when he went in to get me some so he bought me this lovely gift box which contains a small bottle! He also picked up the other limited edition shower gel, hot toddy which smells so christmassy!  He also bought me a tub of the famous Lip Service lip balm!

Teddy Bear - This bear is wearing a t-shirt with I love Ed Sheeran on it! That says it all really ha ha! 

Stocking fillers from my parents - I always get a second stocking to open at my parents' house! They bought me this beautiful travel journal which I plan to fill with photos and keepsakes from my travels! They also got me this cute cat keyring and coin purse! And of course a giant tube of mentos! 

These were all gifts from my other half! 

Nashville DVD - I had watched the first season of Nashville on NowTv but they have not put up the second season yet so my other half bought me the DVD so I can finally see it! 

Ugg Slippers - These babies finally made their way into my life! I will now have cosy toes forever more! Just love them!

Husky Sled Ride - How amazing is this! I am desperate to get a husky puppy but we just don't have room for one in our little flat so my other half bought me a sled ride so I can see them at work! You get to spend 2 hours playing with the dogs too which I am so excited for! 

And finally my auntie bought me this giant bottle of Nando's sauce! The other half and I had an argument one night over a bottle of hot sauce and she bought this as a little joke! I'm sure this will be well used in our house since I absolutely love Nando's! 

So that is the majority of my Christmas presents! I will also be writing a little post about the 2 blogger secret santa's I took part in very soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that! 

I hope all my lovely readers have had a wonderful christmas! I'd love to see what Santa brought you, so leave me your links below! 

xxx

Style Diary: Pick up a penguin!

Hello everyone! Yes I know the title of this post is super cheesy, but it's Christmas after all! On Monday, myself and all my uni friends went out to for our christmas lunch! Of course christmas jumpers were required, so here is what I wore!

Penguin Jumper- £12 Primark

Jeggings- £17.99 New Look

Knee High Boots- Old (they were about £9 in the Internationale Sale about 3 years ago)

I just love this jumper! I normally find jumpers to be very unflattering for my shape but this one is not like that at all! I've got a few more christmas events coming up in the next week, so I will definitely be breaking this jumper out again! It might even make an appearance on Christmas Day! 

Here we all are in our jumpers! Photo courtesy of the Granary Leith Facebook page! 

Don't we all look so cool? 

xxx

TheSundayPost

Hello Everyone! This is going up rather late for me but never mind! Here is what I've been up to this week! 

On Monday, I got to decorate my desk! I think I must be the most excited person in the office for christmas. That might have something to do with me being the youngest though! haha! 

This makes me very happy. From now until the 12th January, I am only working 4 full days and 2 half days! For someone who has spent the last 5 years working in retail, this is very strange, but a very welcome change! I'm planning to use this week to do my health law essay, and finish wrapping presents! There are also a few christmas nights out planned for this week!

Thursday saw the first of the snow arrive in Edinburgh! This was taken right outside my work which is right in the City Centre. It is very unusual for snow to lie on the ground in the city centre but it did! And it was blooming freezing!

I have spent a lot of this week eating chocolate! We keep getting tins handed in to work and it is impossible to say no!

This is my all time favourite pizza! Chicken and Mushroom obviously! This was a treat for the X Factor final night on Saturday!

Today I headed into town to try and get a christmas jumper for my uni christmas lunch tomorrow! I was boogie-ing away on the tram to this song! It is my favourite song right now, despite not being christmas-y at all! 

And finally, tonight after doing my food shop, I treated myself to this! Banana ice cream is my favourite so how could I say no?! It was very yummy, in case you were wondering! 

So that is about it for this week! I'm so looking forward to my week off this week! And my christmas lunch with all my Uni pals tomorrow! Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

xx

Homemade Christmas Baubles!

Hey Everyone! 

I had a couple of black glittery baubles lying at the bottom of my christmas decorations box, which I had no use for! So I decided to create something with them to jazz them up a bit! 

So here is what I made! Black glittery cat face baubles! 

I used a liquid tippex pen to make these and just drew onto the glitter! 

You could also do this with coloured baubles and a permanent marker. 

I think these are rather cute and they are now gracing my christmas tree! And they are the perfect way to make use of any baubles which don't quite fit with your tree's theme!

I'd love to see any decorations you have made! Leave me links below! 

xx

TheSundayPost

Hello Everyone! I've been rather quiet this week so sorry for that! 

Here is what I've been up to this week.

I took this photo on Monday morning whilst on my way to work! How pretty is the sky? Lots of my friends had uploaded similar photos on Monday so it wasn't just me who thought this was lovely! It certainly made a dark Monday morning a bit better. 

Coffee and cake time is my favourite time of the day at work! It's usually about 3.30pm every day! 

These are my favourite chocolates to have around christmas time! You can't beat a little treat after work! 

I had an essay due on Friday which resulted in an all nighter on Thursday night! I took this photo as it accurately reflected my mood at about 11pm when all I wanted was my bed!

On Friday night we went out for Mexican food after work as our student loans were in the bank! This was my tequila sunrise cocktail! It was delicious! 

On Saturday, we stayed at my mum's house! This little monkey was trying to pinch bits of chicken out of Mikey's pasta!

This is the candle holder I was tweeting about! I got it for only £7.49 from yankeecandle.co.uk

I'm totally in love with it! 

Today I put up my christmas tree and tidied my sitting room! It was so nice to relax watching X factor with my christmas yankee candles and my tree all lit up! 

So that's all for this week! Hope you all have a lovely week :) 

xxx

A little slice of November

It seems like just yesterday I was writing my October roundup post! But here we are at the 1st of December! So here is my round up of this month! 

1 & 2 - November saw me making a little trip north, to Aberdeen to see my best friend! We had a lovely weekend catching up and doing the things we love. I also got to meet her lovely fella! 

3- I also got most of my Christmas shopping done! I had to carry these 2 boxes home from work though! 

4- I got my grades back for the 2 assignments I completed in October! Both were very good marks so I treated myself to my favourite chocolate to celebrate!

5- Coffee was very much needed in November to get me through those dark winter mornings and coursework! This was my first starbucks red cup! 

6- The month wouldn't be complete without a picture of Smudge! 

1- My dissertation proposal was due in near the end of the month! It resulted in a very late night, and me being 2 hours late for work then next morning. Oops

2- I made my first trip to Primark in quite a few months. These cosy slippers were my favourite purchase! You can find my Primark Haul Here 

3- I also made a little trip to IKEA where I bought more candles! 

4- And finally, here is Edinburgh all lit up for Christmas. I've already been to the winter wonderland twice and I'm sure there will be many more visits to come! 

So that was November! I'm sure it will be time to write the next one before I know it! But for now it's time to get excited for Christmas!! 

xxx

TheSundayPost

Hello Everyone! As usual, this week consisted of work mostly! However, uni classes are now finished for christmas so I had a little more time to myself this week! I still have 2 assignments to go before christmas so I'll need to get onto those this week! 

Here is what I've been up to this week! 

The Christmas lights in Edinburgh were switched on this week. This is my favourite place to be at Christmas. It's just so beautiful. I can't wait for a shot on those flying chairs! 

On Monday, I was suffering from pretty bad anxiety. After work my other half took me to the winter wonderland for a little mulled cider! It made me feel a little better I have to say! 

On Tuesday, my poor little fur baby had an appointment at the vet. Last weekend I found a little lump down by his tail. This combined with hair loss on his tummy made me very worried. Thankfully the vet believes the lump is a little cyst and the hair loss is being caused by anxiety. I'm trying out a feliway diffuser in his room so we'll see if that helps with his stress! Poor wee boy! I'll be keeping a very close eye on him!

This was Smudge on Saturday. He got to sleep on my lap all evening which he loves to do! 

Today, my other half was playing squash with his brother. I gave him a lift then headed down to the beach near the sports centre for a spot of fresh air! It was a lovely crisp winter morning! Afterwards we headed over to my brother in law's house where his wife was giving me a maths lesson! I'm currently applying for graduate jobs and I really struggle with maths! Hopefully her help will help me secure a job!

Today is St Andrew's day so we had haggis for dinner followed by our first mince pie of the year! I'm planning on putting my Christmas tree up tomorrow (if I have time). 

So, that's about it for this week! Hope the week ahead is great for you all! 

xxx