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?

New Year's Resolutions

Hi everyone!

As tomorrow is the start of a new year, I thought I would do a post of things I hope to achieve in the next year, (im hoping that seeing them on screen will help me stick to them!)

I have the usual:

• Lose the post-Christmas bloat (and the rest!) and ditch the ready meals/takeaways and cook from fresh.
• Drink more water (this is a resolution EVERY year)
• Establish (and stick to) a good skin care routine
• Starting driving lessons (finally!)
• Save Money - and stop squandering it on things I dont need and wont use - mini trampolene anyone?
• Burlesque lessons as mentioned in a previous post

The actual resolutions that I REALLY, REALLY hope to achieve this year are mostly more creative or crafty related (surprise, suprise!) and I am determind to follow these through:

• Learn to knit (again) -  I remember being taught how to knit when I was really young, but I didnt keep up to it, so sadly its a forgotten skill.

• Begin a correspondance Writing Course. writing (properly) is something I have been wanting to do ever since I can remember, mainly the creative style of writing - I was forever starting to write 'books' when I was young, only to discard them half finished to start a new story!                                        

•  Homemade Presents - making homemade gifts is something I really love and enjoy doing, and Im hoping that next Christmas, the majority, if not all, of the gifts I give are homemade, as I think they really show the thought and effort behind the gift, which, to me, is what gift-giving is all about. Who wouldnt like to recieve that?

• Learning New Crafts - (kind of important for the Homemade Presents resolution!) Inspired by Kirtie Allsop, and fellow bloggers, I really want to try my hand at soap making and bath bombs ect, among other things, so watch this space!

There are a few other skills that I would like to get under my belt this year, but I dont want to try to achieve too many things at once, the cost would be astronomical (and this post will go on forever!)

What are your resolutions/hopes for 2011?