bee's photobomb: boxing day snapshots

Classic Christmas jokes / Snuggles with the cat / Forming the buffet spread / Mamabear / First plate - shit loads of bubble and squeak. YUM! / Boxing Day outfit / Watching one of my favourite films on Boxing Day / Laying Christmassy flowers on my brother's grave / Can't beat a bacon sarnie / Got to see Luke on Boxing Day / My new hat! / Part of our festive ceiling / Last year's slipper boots are still going strong!

A few more photographs from this year's festivities. Its been a strange Christmas this year but lovely all the same. Boxing Day consisted of buffet food, Star Wars, talks of the future and lots of laughs. Luke and I were busy discussing things we wish to do in 2012 and its spurred me on to write yet another list about my goals for the following year. I'll post it on here if anyone is interested?! It includes personal aims as well as aesthetic changes. Leave a comment with your own goals for next year so I can get some inspiration. 

I've been busy going through all of my gifts that I was lucky to receive and already had a few of the beauty products on the go. My LUSH face mask is a definite love and my jumpers have barely left my body these past couple of days. I've still got quite a busy time coming up surrounded by family members but I'll definitely have a whole host of different posts up soon. Again, I'll keep this short and sweet because I need to go and get ready for this evening. My cousins are coming over tonight for ANOTHER buffet and a few too many drinks. I'm rather looking forward to it because one of them has flown in from Austria. Have a lovely rest of the day. 

Happy Holidays!

For those that celebrate, Merry Christmas! 

Wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday filled with lots of happiness and love!

xox

bee's photobomb: snapshots from christmas day

Our Christmas candle on its last day / My sister's Santa socks / Christmas table / My sister in her onesie / Santa's Mince pie and Sherry / Christmas dinner - yum! / A few of my presents / Opening my goodies / I had a shit load of prezzies! / Muffin having a little sneeze / Mum's Black Lace CD - the best gift EVER! / I have to lay out my presents in an organised fashion 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I trust that you've all had an awesome day and are now suitably passed out on the sofa nursing your food babies. I'm certainly doing exactly that right now. It has been an extremely fun/odd day. We woke up mega early and ate smoked salmon with scrambled egg before digging in  to our presents. I'll do a separate post on what I was lucky enough to receive but I got some lovely knitwear, LUSH goodies, MUA goodies and some stationery amongst various other things. I thought I'd share just a few of the *literal* hundreds of photographs that I took. I'll leave it short and sweet because I've got to get back to bad dancing and peach schnapps. I'll be back in the next couple of days with other Christmassy posts. Meanwhile, I'll be spending tomorrow scoffing our annual buffet and visiting Luke! Enjoy the rest of your day xo

bee's photobomb: #xmasbloggermeet

Lyzi's cute little squashed face / Kim the drunk, haha! / Myself and Abby looking like absolute stunners / Annoying Lyzi is one of my favourite past times / 1 cubicle 2 toilets = mind blown! / Stunners fo lyf. Having fun with Abby / Forget about these drunk snaps on my camera - oh, the hilarity! / Lipsticks!

What an absolute whirlwind! I keep getting sweeps of fresh nostalgia *hello oxymoron* every time I look at snaps from the #xmasbloggermeet. It was definitely one of those nights that was so insanely surreal that it makes you question whether or not it truly happened! Although, that may be down to the consumption of a bottle of fruit cider followed by numerous cocktails and a glass of wine....Woops!!

*courtesy of MyStreetChic

The day started out pretty horrendously when my bank would only let me withdraw £10 from my account meaning I've spent over 200 smackeroonies on Christmas presents (BIG FAT FML!). This was then followed by a missed train, much to mine and Sammy's dismay, which was then followed by a wait in the rain soaked car park! We eventually got there after about a million rants on my behalf (sorry Sammy!) and took off to Park Street's Nandos for some much needed chicken. Honestly, we were starved! We were greeted by the ever lovely Lyzi, Leanne, Gemma and Vicky and indulged in a good natter over our food. I'd met the majority before but it was lovely to see Vicky as I'd read her blog for a rather long time. I wish I'd got the chance to natter to her more but surprisingly, I am actually quite shy when it comes to new people! Saying that, naturally, I spoke too much and attempted to fill any silence that tried to creep up on the table! I need some sort of therapy, granted. A quick cuddle with the gorgeous and immensely awesome Ayden (I LOVE YOU!) and we were headed to the hotel for a chill out sesh with our alcohol stash before getting ready for the night ahead.

*courtesy of JK.

It was awesome to finally meet Abby of Abbbbbzwaaa fame and to meet the beautiful Steph who is as lovely as she seems! We all sat about in our hotel room chatting about various things and we also messed about creating quite a hilarious vlog where I perfectly impersonated my bed partner for the evening, Lyzi. Honestly, I don't think I will ever stop loving that girl. She is a gem. All of the girls looked bloody gorgeous in their party gear and definitely made me want to just lock the door and weep! Definitely not the place to bring your insecurities, haha. After god knows how many mirror minutes we headed to Java in search of other bloggers and the MyStreetChic angels! I was surprised at just how many people were there and it was so awesome to look around a room and see so many faces that you're used to seeing. Admittedly, I didn't talk to as many new people as I could because I was mega scared :/ I get really worried that I come off a little mental to start with so I just mulled around hoping people would come up to me! I did, however, grab JK for a chat because I did feel as if it was my duty to save one of the few males from a sea of unruly women, haha. It was also lovely to relieve Cherry of her duties for a moment to hijack MyStreetChic's twitter and to chat to her. She only lives down the road from me so hopefully I'll be able to meet up with her again for a longer discussion in the new year. After being grabbed for a horrendously cringe worthy chat (on my behalf) with the spectacular Gina it was time to head onto the dancefloor for a fashion show from Boohoo.com. 

*photos above courtesy of Steph - don't you think the second one looks like the cover of a blogger's Christmas single?

 I managed to chat to Emma for a little bit who was looking gorgeous in her dress! I wish we'd been able to natter more but the fashion show began! Hopefully, I'll be able to meet her again at some point. It was bloody lovely to get a long natter in with the gorgeous Ayden. I love that girl so bloody much! Honestly, if they ever decide to clone humans, they need to clone her first so that I can have my very own Ayden 24/7. She is a diamond. The fashion show showcased a selection of different looks and there were a few pieces in there that I definitely wouldn't have minded to find in my wardrobe. Massive congrats to Lyzihead for winning her flowers. She puts clothes on nearly seven days a week so she truly deserved that award. (I'm only messing by the way). The event soon came to an end (why does time fly when you're having fun?!) so we headed back to the hotel with a poorly Ayden for a few hours of hotel chats. I sat in the bathroom looking after my wee nipper Ay because she was rather poorly - we now know it was food poisoning!! Admittedly, I was a little sneaky because I used her state to sit and cuddle her for a long time - haha. Taking advantage of a situation? Yes, slightly. The night ended with a mass of cheesy chips consumed in the bath (I LOVE YOU LYZI), hotel room chats, a confused self, double bed fun, a rather drunken Kim and a sick Abby. 

*courtesy of MyStreetChic

MyStreetChic, boohoo.com, all the companies that helped, that man that bought us a bottle of wine and to all of the bloggers I had the pleasure of messing about with for a couple of days. You girls are amazing! I'm spending the next couple of days over at Luke's to escape the last bit of wrapping that I need to complete before that Christmas thing or something or nothing. Hope you're all well! 

MUA Pearl Eyeshadows Review: Shades #30, #22 and #24

Before, I get started...I want to encourage as many girls/guys as possible to come to the #xmasbloggermeet next week. There's going to be a fashion show courtesy of Boohoo.com, drinks, lots of dancing, a goodie bag, a chance to meet fellow bloggers and a genuinely awesome night. A load of us girls are staying in the local Travelodge so if you're looking for anywhere to stay, come join us! There's already a load of awesome people attending but I want to see even more!! If you have any anxieties about it, don't...Honestly, once you witness the fitness that is my dancing skills you'll be wondering why you ever worried about your own ability at all! I wanna meet as many of lot as I can so please get purchasing and I'll see you next week for a whole lot of fun! P.S It's 18+ because it's in a club and Lyzi's dancing is XXX-rated PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

1 all nighter. 3 seasons of Scrubs. 6 tubs of Pringles. 5,000+ words. 4 library trips. 1 essay. 3 creative pieces. 10+ breakdowns. 1 hand in. 1 extremely happy feeling.

Yes, I am back from the merciless pit that is assignment fun! I'm now done with assignments for the year and can sit back, relax and enjoy the festivities. I've felt at a loss without blogging. I guess you never realise just how big a part something plays in your life until you're kept apart from it. Like I pretty much suggested, I've spent the majority of my time sorting out assignments in between eating more sweet potato mash than I care to admit and going off on little naughty shops for Christmas presents for myself - woops! These little trips inspired my first post back to Viva. I thought I'd do a little post on my recent purchases because it's not something I really blog  about but it's something I love to read myself. I've also included a bit of gift inspiration at the end. Enjoy!

Just lately, I've been going somewhat beauty crazy. It's a bit odd for me because, whilst I've always had my favourite products, I've never been particularly interested in buying in to new beauty trends or whatever; I'm putting it down to the hours spent watching my favourite youtubers whilst procrastinating!! My Christmas wishlist is full to the brim of beauty and fashion goods but I couldn't help but pick up a few treats for myself before the big day arrives. If you're a beauty snob, please look away now.....Click on images to make them less terrible!

MUA Pearl Eyeshadows: (swatches) L-R #30, #22 and #24

£1 each

That's right! I bought into the MUA beauty bandwagon and, to be quite honest, I don't feel at all guilty! If you know me well enough, you'll know that I always strive to find a bargain and money always leaves my pocket reluctantly so when I found out that my local Superdrug had a nicely stocked MUA counter, I couldn't say no! Luckily for me, they didn't have too many eyeshadow shades that were too close to my normal palette so I didn't go unbelievably crazy. However, I did find the beauties above! Even if you are a devout fan of high end beauty products, these little compacts would be perfect for your handbag on drunken nights out. After all, no one wants to drunkenly throw their £30 eyeshadow all over the sticky club toilet floor. If you're looking for some eyeshadow gift inspiration, I've also included a couple of sets that I've bought for the fam at the end :) 

If you were to look in my make-up bag you'd be able to tell that I'm neutral eye kind of girl. I usually wear the No7 Renaissance 25 set but this little gem caught my eye and would probably look gorgeous shaded in with the colours I already own. This shade is absolutely stunning. Its got the right amount of shimmer without looking too 12-year-old-at-a-school-disco. For £1, it's incredibly pigmented and is going to look gorgeous over the festive period and for wild nights out.

Wear with? lashings of mascara, a flick of eyeliner and a gorgeous festive dress.

On the shelf, this shade looked completely different to what it swatches like. To the eye, it looks like a sort of light plum shade that, lets face it, I would neither be able to get away with nor wear. To my surprise it's actually a gorgeous dusky pink that could probably be worn both day and night because it's quite versatile. Again, it's really well pigmented and looks gorgeous when the light picks up its shimmer. A dab of this shade in the crease of the eye could really make a smokey eye pop as well as looking good in its own individual look.

Wear with? blended in with the shade below, a sheer shirt and wavy flowing locks.

Light baby pinks have never really been my colour whatsoever but this little beauty seemed sweet enough and it's a colour that I've wanted to experiment with since becoming a blondie. I think it'd compliment golds perfectly as well as quite sultry and flirty looks. The candyfloss colour of it takes me back to childhood and days at the seaside.

Wear with? fluttering lashes, a 6os style dress and a crackin' pair of heels.

That's me done for the day! I hope you liked this post, it's just something different that I thought I'd swing your way. I love fashion and beauty so I think it's a side of me that I'll try and spring on Viva more often. If you'd like me to create any looks with these then let me know. I might do a little vlog soon with my opinions of them once I've actually put them on my eyelids! I'm off to go and start packing for home time tomorrow lunchtime. I am beyond excited. Charles won't know what has hit him when I fly through the door - kisses and cuddles galore! It's natural that I sometimes miss him more than the humans, right?! I'll be back soon with a post on my new lippies. Until then, keep smiling!

Leave me links to your favourite eyeshadows in the comment; I'm always after inspiration! Please could you also leave links to pretty/practical make-up storage too! Thank you.

look book: a christmas story

There once was a girl named Mara, whose favorite color was red. She loved hearts, red balloons, strawberries, cherries, pretty much everything red. On Christmas Day she realized she didn't have any red in her closet. How could it be?! She threw her closet apart searching for that one red sweater or that one red dress, but to no avail. She remembered something Tim Gunn once said, "Make it work." A red colored Christmas light bulb went on in her head..she put on some bright red lipstick instead!

dress BCBG, sweater Urban Outfitters, necklace Forever 21, shoes Jeffrey Campbell Pixie

The red nail polish and green sweater helped a little bit, too!

xox