100 follower Giveaway!

Hi everyone!

I cant believe I have over 100 followers! Yay!
I just want to say Thank You to every 'Follower' and all of you who takes the time to read and comment on my blog, I read and appreciate each comment, and every new follower really does make my day :)

So, with this in mind, I thought I would hold a little 'thank you' giveaway, with the prizes being things I would love to recieve myself, so hopefully you will too :)
Here is what is up for grabs:

* Cath Kidston 'Tips For Vintage Style' handbag sized book
* Handmade luxuriously softening Cocoa Butter Bath Melts (rose and lavender)
* Handmade fizzy bath bombs (rose and lavender)
* 'The best of Cadbury's Chocolate cooking' yummy recipe book
* Soap & Glory 50ml Flakeaway body polish
* Soap & Glory 75ml Clean Mary cleansing milk

*Bath bombs and melts are individually handmade by myself*


Rules:

For ONE entry:

* You must be a follower of this blog.

 *You must comment below, stating 'please enter me because..' and a reason why you would like to win

For EXTRA entries:

* You must post the above picture of the giveaway goodies, stating 'Fabulous Giveaway' along with a working link back to this page, and end date of giveaway in your sidebar.

*Blog about the giveaway in a post (you gain TWO extra entries for each, or FIVE entries if you do both!)

(Please let me know in the comments box which of the above you have done so I can check and make the correct number of enteries for you, and please leave your follower name, email address and your blog address :) 

Giveaway ends April 1st, First name randomly picked out of the hat will be the lucky winner, and  I   will announce said winner the following day :)

Good Luck everyone and thanks for entering! 

Loves, Lusts, and Inspirations #2

Hi everyone!

I thought I would do another post (and pictures) on everything that im loving, lusting after, or just finding really inspiring at the moment, so here goes :)

 Inspirations and Lust:
For some reason, I cant seem to stop buying home improvement/interior/makeover magazines, such as Good Homes, Ideal Home, Cath Kidston magazine, Your Home ect. Im so completely inspired by all the fabulous makeovers, make-and-do projects, and transformations, I'm wanting to do them all - I just need pots of money to do them, so if anyone knows what this weeks winning Lotto numbers will be, speak up! 

Im also constantly on Your Home Online, which has lots of crafty stuff too, so if you havnt seen it, I really recommend checking that out here for great tutorials, from upholstering a headboard, making a heart corkboard, to making gorgeous fabric roses :)

Im also addicted to property/makeover/crafty type programs like Homes Under The Hammer, Location,Location,Location, 60MM, ect too, so all poor Simon is hearing at the minute, is how I want to change this room, re-decorate that room, and I think he is scared that if he moves an inch, I will re-upholster him! 
Does anybody else go through phases of wanting to change EVERYTHING in their home?

Loves #1:
Im really loving the giveaways, swapsies, blog awards and just general friendliness of the Blogger 'community', I havent been blogging very long, but Im really enjoying it, and I love reading other peoples thoughts and opinions in their blog posts. Since I posted my first blog post, I have 'met' lots of great people who leave lovely comments of encouragement, praise, and general friendly chit-chat.  Love it! :)

Loves #2:
Another current 'Love', is for fruity herbal tea. Im usually a devout coffee drinker, but every now and again, for some strange reason, I have a fruit-tea-drinking phase. My current favorites in particular is the Twinings a moment of calm Cherry and Cinnamon, or Twinings fruit bliss Cranberry, Raspberry and Elderflower -  yum yum :)

Obviously, it is a MUST that any sort of tea is drunk out of very cute teacups :)

What are YOUR current Loves, Lusts and Inspirations?

Sharing The Love (again!)

Hi everyone!

Last week I was tagged in ANOTHER Versatile Blogger blog award by Joanna in her fabulous blog Lila Loves, see post HERE (so go check it out, it's a lovely read!) so Thanks Joanna!

Firstly, the rules:

* Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.

* Share 7 things about yourself

* Pass the award on to 7 recently discovered blogs that you enjoy reading

* Leave your recipient a little note telling them about their award.


As you know, I love reading quirky facts and random info in blog post's, so I thought you might too, so here is another 5 things about me (I couldnt think of 7, so I changed it!)

1. I unintentionally copy people's accents when i'm drunk :/

2. I have held a live turantula despite being terrified of spiders.

3. I am really good at procrastinating.

4. I decided to be brave, and let the hairdresser colour my hair red last year. It went ORANGE.

5. I seem to be on a never-ending search for the perfect paper to transform my sewing table, as the pattern on the one I picked turned out to be far too big when it arrived :(

Here are the fabulous people I would love to give this award to:

Kazzy at amermaidspurse.blogspot.com

Kerry at girl-in-a-tiss.blogspot.com

Maddie at thirtysomethingskellum.blogspot.com/

Amynicolax at heiress-ox.blogspot.com/

Blueberry Heart blueberry-heart.blogspot.com

Cupcakes and chanel chanelandcupcakes.blogspot.com/

Heartshapedbruise heart-shaped-bruise.blogspot.com/

Please go and check out these fabulous blogs! 

Speaking of Sharing the love, The Secret Life of A Wannabe Diva is holding one FABULOUS GIVEAWAY here , with Nars, Mac, Lauren Conrad Style book, Soap &Glory and lots more goodies all up for grabs! Quick, check it out!

Slimming World low syn Chocolate Cake Tutorial

Hi everyone!

I was given this recipe for a very quick chocolate cake fix by one of the girls at my meeting, and after trying her cake, I was quick to take the recipe! This cake is perfect if you are in need of a sweet treat, and only chocolate cake will do!

The ingredients seem quite strange, but, trust me, although the slimming world 'version' is not up to double chocolate fudge cake standards, its really nice! (And lets face it, if I didnt love all things sweet and chocolatey, I wouldnt be needing Slimming World in the first place!)
So here is the recipe:

Slimming World Low-Syn Chocolate Cake

 Syns:  9 yummy Syns or 6 1/2 Syns + 1 Healthy Extra 'b' choice for the whole cake! 

You will need:

5 Scan Bran, (available from Slimming World meetings) or All Bran
3 beaten eggs
1 level tbsp golden syrup
1oz cocoa powder
Half a mug of sweetener


Method:

1.  Soak the Scan Bran/All bran in boiling water to soften. Then drain and mash.

2.  Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a microwavable bowl.

3. Microwave on high for 7 minutes. When cooked the cake will be springy to the touch. and will have pulled away from the side of the bowl.

4. For a free topping, pile with (defrosted) frozen forest fruits and fat free creme fraiche  or, for extra Syns, top with chocolate spread. Tips - to make different flavours, when weighing the cocoa powder, add an Options sachet (the one in class tonight was hazelnut, mint is a good one, or if you want to try chocolate orange, I'd add a bit of orange essence too; or use a Cadbury's Highlights sachet, the fudge one is particularly nice) to the scales, then top up to one ounce with the cocoa powder, this makes the whole cake 10 syns.

To serve - It's nice warm or cold, to warm up put a piece in microwave for 20-30 seconds, I usually have the cake with a small pot of Ambrosia Light Custard (5 1/2 syns), or you can have it with a free yoghurt of your choice, Mullerlight Banana & Custard is good to get the custard flavour, or the vanilla one.

Enjoy!

Please let me know your thoughts if you make this 'cake' :)

Another Tag! :)

Hi everyone!

There is another set of getting-to-know-you questions popping up on blogs everywhere, and the gorgeous Danni from dannithegirl has tagged me! Thanks Danni!
I love this sort of tag, as I think the posts are much more personal than others, and makes you feel like you are getting to know the 'taggee' better, which in turn makes you enjoy reading their blog, and looking forward to new posts (at least, I do!) :)

so here are the questions:

1.  Are you named after anyone?
YES! For some reason, around the time I was born in 1985, my mum was really into watching old episodes of the TV programme 'Bewitched' (for those of you who dont know it - its an american sitcom in the 60's, and the main character is a witch called Samantha, who marries a mortal man and tries to live the life of a suburban housewife, and look after their daughter Tabitha)
When my my mum knew i was a girl, she was either going to name me Samantha after the main character, or Tabitha after the daughter. Im glad she picked Samantha!

2. When was the last time you cried?
Er, the last time I cried was probably when I was last frustrated with something/someone - for some reason if I get angry or frustrated, I get an overwhelming urge to cry - when im not even upset! does this happen to anyone else? Bizarre!

3. Do you have kids?
No, not yet, although Simon and I most definately want children, and we are hoping to start trying fairly soon - maybe I will have some exciting news by the end of this year or early next year ... I'll keep you posted!
I would like at least two kids, God willing (I think because I have lots of siblings, I cant imagine just having one!)

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?
I would like to think so. I try to be a good, loyal friend, who is there when anyone is in need of a shoulder - or in need of a fun night out!

5.  Do you use sarcasm a lot?
yes, usually when it is most inappropriate, oops!

6. Will you ever Bungee-Jump?
I already have done a 180 foot Bungee Jump! I was 13 and a local pub was holding a Bungee - Jumping event to raise money for charity. Entrants had to pay £40, be over 16 years old, or 15 with an adults written consent, so I begged my Brother (who was 21 at the time) to tell the organisers that I was 15, so I could do it. I paid with my birthday money and went up in the cage attached to the crane. I have never been so scared in my entire life as when I was at the top of that crane looking down, and the safety person was explaining how to 'fall forwards'.
I was shaking that much afterwards, I could barely sign my certificate!

7. What is your favorite cereal?
I dont eat cereal very often, but when I do I love either Muesli (with everything in) or Honey Nut Clusters with chocolate curls in, Mmm!
When I was younger, (along with every child!) I adored Lucky Charms, and I always wanted to try the American cereal you see in films:

8. What is the first thing you notice about people?
The first thing I tend to notice about people generally, is their hair, or their outfit if they are wearing something bright! Otherwise I always notice if somebody is smiling :)

9. What is your eye colour?
Greeny-hazel, but strangely, my eyes tend to go more green if my eyes are watering, or im crying!

10. Scary Movies or happy endings?
Scary movies with happy endings!

11. favorite smells?
Chloe perfume, baby powder, cherry scented anything, petrol, calamine lotion, Joop for men (the purple one) the smell of puppies, I know, im strange!

12. Summer or winter?
Both, I love summer for the heat, sun, beer gardens, summery clothes, natural tans, ect, but I love winter for Christmas, snow, frost, winter clothes, cosy nights in, hot baths and mulled wine.....

13. Computer or television?
Computer, as I can  always watch TV on the computer if I wanted :)

14. Whats the furthest you have been from home?
I have not been abroad yet, so I would say Jersey.

15. Do you have any special talents?
sadly, no :(

16. Where were you born?
Leeds, West Yorkshire

17. What are your hobbies?
Blogging, reading, WI meetings, writing, eBaying, crafty stuff, walking Lucy :)

18. Do you have any pets?
I have two pets - My dog Lucy who lives with Simon and I, and my cat Timmy, who lives with  my mum.

19. Favorite movie?
 Far too many to mention, I couldnt possiby pick!

20. Do you have any siblings?
Yes, I have four brothers, and two sisters. Their names and ages are: Gavin who is 33, Marc, 27, Jenna, 23, Rhyes, 18, Jason, 16, and Kaila, 14.

21. What do you wanna be when you grow up?
Hopefully, a professional writer and in my dreams I would have a little crafty, shabby chic style Boutique too :)

I tag:

Alice (an alien world)

Alice (pretty wonderful)

Maddie (Diary of) a 30-something skellum)

And I tag all my lovely followers, I would love to know more about you all :)

Knitting and Use It Up Challenge Review

Hi everyone!

You may remember that one of my New Years Resolutions was to learn to knit, and I am pleased to say that I now can (well, sort of!)
I went along to Leeds Market and bought some lovely chunky wool and a set of needles, loaded up a basic 'how to' tutorial on Youtube as soon as I got home (as I was too impatient to wait until I went to see my Grandma) and away I went! I was as happy as a child in a sweet shop when I had done my first few rows!

I decided that a basic knit-one-purl-one scarf might be an easy project to start me off, and although the wool is lovely and chunky, and grows quickly as you knit, I am taking my time as i'm not 100% sure what to do if I drop a stitch yet, so im going so slowly that the scarf may be ready to wear in time for next winter!

Use It Up Challenge:

I have also been using up some odds and ends of products as mentioned in a previous post, and thought I would do a kind of mini review after each product, so here are the first lot I have finished up:

                                     Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo and Conditioner
 About my hair:

I have dry/damaged hair that is subjected daily to heat damage (straighteners and hair dryer) and is also coloured on a regular basis. I find that my hair is sometimes frizzy, sometimes static and sometimes greasy for no apparant reason, so I also use endless products trying to counteract this!
I wash my hair every other day, and despite not having sensitive skin some shampoos and/or conditioners leave my head itchy and full of dandruff (despite rinsing well) so I am constantly on the lookout for products that dont, and that leave my hair clean, shiny and healthy looking!

The Review:

I used the Dove Intensive Repair shampoo and conditioner in conjunction with each other, every other day for over a month.
Because the products are classed as intensive repair, I thought that regular use of them would leave my hair dull and greasy, but I couldnt have been more wrong.
Both shampoo and contitioner felt thick and creamy (especially the conditioner) and both had a pleasent fragrance.

The shampoo lathered up really well and after washing (I massage in a small amount of the shampoo, rinse, and repeat, before moving on to conditioner) my hair and scalp felt clean and my hair was smooth and knot-free.
Whilst applying the conditioner, I could immediately 'feel' the moisturising effect, and this was still the case after rinsing. Both of the products were easy to rinse out, and left my hair knot-free.
My hair, after drying with the hairdryer, felt soft, silky and looked shiny and healthy, although a tiny bit 'flyaway'.

I wouldnt recommend using these as an everyday shampoo and conditioner if you have fine hair, as they may be too heavy for you, but definately as a weekly pamper treatment or mask, but I wholeheartedly recommend these to anyone with dry or damaged hair.

I am definately going to buy these again, they were certainly worth the £1 each that I paid (they were on offer when I bought them) and I would buy them at full price of around £2.65 each.

I hope this review helps, have you used Dove Intensive Repair?

Valentines Surprises

Hi everyone!

Happy Valentines day for those who are celebrating it, some people think its over-hyped and pointless, but I personally love it (although I dont love the way the companies and restaraunts whack prices up in preparation for it!) and although Simon and I dont usually spend a lot, generally we get each other a card and a token present, I must say this year I got spoilt rotten by Simon, who went completely mad and spent a fortune:

I watched this on TV the other week, it was in two parter episodes, and it had me gripped - it is wonderland, but not as we know it!
When I realised this was available to buy, I mentioned to Simon that I was going to buy it come payday, but he beat me to it!
Secondly, as he knows that I ADORE Lush, he bought me this Valentines bath set, which smells AMAZING and the packaging is stunning:

How cute is the print on the box?!
The set contains - Sex Bomb Bath Bomb, MMM Melting Marshmellow Moment Bath Melt, The Honeymooner Massage Bar, Sugar Babe Sugar Scrub, Its Raining Men Shower Gel, and Lust Solid Perfume. (I cant wait for bath time!)
Lastly (he really did spoil me!) Simon bought me my favorite signature scent perfume - Chloe original Eu De Parfum.

 Simon and I went out for a lovely pub lunch today, (where Slimming World Syns didnt even get a thought!) and we are having a DVD night in tonight with wine - utter heaven!

Did you celebrate Valentines Day? Or do you think its a load of soppy rubbish?

Tagged!

Hi everyone!

Nicola over at woodbankcrafts.blogspot.com has tagged me in a great list of questions, which are designed to get to know the 'questionee' better.
It was funny, I was actually mentally answering them as I was reading them, before discovering I had been tagged :)
Anywhoo, here are the questions:

What did you want to be when growing up?

When I was young, and right up til I was about 16, I always, always wanted to be a Nursery Nurse, looking after pre-school age children, but then inexplicably changed my mind, and became a student Veterinary Nurse for three years instead!

What do you most like about where you live?

I love where I live as its in Leeds, (which is a fabulous city for shopping!) and its where most of my family live, and where my fiance and I have bought our first home a year and a half ago. We were lucky enough to buy a lovely little two bedroom house on a quiet cul-de-sac, where everyone is friendly with their neighbours, and look out for each other. Its lovely :)

If you could only rescue three things from your house, what would they be?

Hmm, I thought this would be a tough one, but when it came down to it, besides Simon and Lucy, I think I would rescue my laptop, my phone and housey documents, as I think I would need them! (I was going to say handbag with my phone and everything in it, but thought that would be cheating!)

What is your favorite book?

Oooh, this really is difficult to answer as I really adore reading and have tons of books, so I decided to pick an author who I have always loved (instead of a favorite book) and to who's books I can always go back to and lose myself in, no matter what age I am, so, my favorite books are everything written by Enid Blyton :)

What is your favorite room of your house?

I love my bedroom, as its my lovely purple boudoir, but I suppose I spend most of my time in the lounge/dining room, sat at my table as thats where my laptop/sewing machine/coursework lives!

What is my favorite joke?

I dont really tell jokes, but im really childish when it comes to humour, and find the same things things funny as teenage boys, and young children, which is usually toilet humour! :/

What would you most like to change about your house?

If I could change anything, I would add extra rooms, so I could decorate each room in a different style - a Cath Kidston room, a period-style room...ect, and have rooms for specific purposes like a craft room, a library... the list is endless!

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Im not sure about this one, although I do believe its possible to be in true love more than once in your lifetime, and have more than one 'soul mate.'

Thanks for the tag Nicola, I think this is a great way to find out more about the person behind the blog :)
Here are some Bloggers I would like to know more about:

Kerry at girl-in-a-tiss.blogspot.com

Sammie at littlemisssammie16.blogspot.com

Kelly at http://www.kelanjo.com/

Milly at pearlsandpoodles.blogspot.com

Miss Amethyst at missamethystspowderroom.blogspot.com/

Caroline at www.sparklyvodka.com/
Please feel free to tag yourselves :)

Chair Makeover :)

Hi everyone!

A while ago, I was walking my dog Lucy, and I noticed two quite beat-up Lloyd Loom-esque chairs seemingly put out for rubbish in a garden.

(the seats came with them!)

Now, being me, I thought 'well, you never know unless you ask'  so I went up and knocked on the door, and politely asked the lady who answered if the chairs were for rubbish, and if she minded if I took them.
The lady said they had been there for awhile, and seemed delighted to be rid of them and she actually thanked me for taking them away!
Although the chairs looked a little beat up and scuffed, I realised that with a little TLC, they could be made to look fabulous again.
So this weekend, my little sister Kaila and I, decided to paint and re-upholster one of the chairs, for her pink-themed bedroom. This is the chair we picked:

We cleaned the chair down using warm soapy water (and a drop of disinfectant as it had been outside), and sanded it down getting rid of the all the rough edges.

We had already picked a pretty pink fabric, which was quite thick and hardwaring, similar to a corderoy type material (Lucy seemed to approve of our choice!) which was £1.50 a metre from Leeds Market, and we chose a matte white spray paint (as its really easy to get into the grooves)

First I spray-painted the chair (ensuring that this is done outside, and a mask is worn at all times) making sure that the paint was sprayed evenly. I then left it to dry overnight. (spray paint around £4.50 a can from DIY/hardware shops)

As the seat was sound, we decided to recover directly over the existing fabric, (which was actually quite pretty, so we could always remove the new covering if we decided to have a change and show off the original fabric at some point)
We layed the seat down over the pink fabric and used it as a template for size. I then cut it out and stapled the fabric to the seat using a staple gun (£4.99 from Poundstretchers) ensuring the fabric is the right way (if patterned) and is pulled taut with each staple put in.

Before putting the seat on, ensure that the chair is dry, and there are no sharp bits poking out anywhere that can snag the fabric. We added a envelope cushion in matching material as there was loads left (tutorial on the cushion to follow if anyone is interested?) and a teddy, then it was done! Here is the finished chair:

As I already had the staple gun, and the chair was free, this project only cost around £6, (and there is still lots of fabric left!) which I think is very cheap for a pretty piece of bedroom furniture for my lil' sis!

What do you think I should do with the second chair? Any idea's?

P.S - check out secretsofawannabediva.blogspot.com/ for an amazing MAC and Soap & Glory giveaway!

Homemade Vitamin enriched Moisturising Face Cream

Hi everyone!

Since I started working in a pharmacy as a Dispenser a few years ago, and became familiar with products and 'active ingredients', I realised that I paid masses amounts of money for some products that are extremely easy and cheap to make at home myself.
One of said products was a vitamin E enriched Night Cream. When I looked at the ingredients on the tub, I realised that apart from several emulsifyers, solidifyers ect, the 'main' ingredients were a basic moisturising cream, and vitamin E oil, so I started making my own.
I thought I would share this 'recipe' with you as I think it works a treat when applied  once to twice a week at night before bed,  for a much needed moisture hit for winter-dry skin.

I use:
Aqueous Cream which is a light non-greasy moisturiser, that provides a layer of oil on the surface of the skin to prevent water evaporating from the skins surface.
Vitamin A (retinol is a derivitive),which is a well known ingredient used to treat acne, photoaging (wrinkles and age spots) as well as to hydrate the skin and give it a smoother texture.
Vitamin E helps prevent acne breakouts and help keeps the skin plump and full. Who wouldn't want that?!

To make at least one massive pot of cream, you will need:

An empty pot/tub for the cream

 Aqueous Cream (a massive 500g tub is just £1 from poundstretchers, or  generally under two quid from chemists)

Vitamin E capsules (you can buy this cheaply from chemists, pound shops, eBay)

Vitamin A capsules (again, buy from chemists, pound shops, eBay)

Decant the aqueous cream into the empty tub, until it is about two-thirds full.

Pierce (with a clean sterilized needle or pin) 6-10 of each of the vitamin capsules, and squeeze into the cream.

(if you have any facial scarring from spots, blemishes ect, you can also add bio-oil, as this is good for diminishing the appearance of scars)

Take a cocktail stick and stir until the oil and the cream are thoroughly mixed.

Clean and exfoliate skin, then pat dry. Apply the cream just before going to bed, then drift off to the land of nod, and let the cream work its magic.
 In the morning, wake up to beautifully soft skin!

Although the cream is mixed well when you make it, when you come to use it the next time, you will find the oils will have settled on the surface of the cream so just mix it all up again!
(Because the cream is quite thick naturally, as well as containing the oil, I would only use this once or twice a week as a treatment, to avoid clogging up the pores, and I would only use it at night as it does leave the face looking rather, well, oily, which is not really a look  you want for the daytime!)
The following morning just cleanse the skin to remove any residue of oil, and your skin should be silky smooth :)

Have you tried any homemade beauty products?




* always check with your GP before using this cream if you suffer sensitive or inflamed skin, or are   pregnant, as some vitamins are not suitable in these instances.*