Quote Time!

'Be who you are and be that well'

- Saint Francis De Sales

Enjoy

Jessie-Lou
xxx

Double Dating

I haven't done a lifestyle blog for awhile now, so I wanted to share a few of my life happenings. 

One of my closest friends has just finished her last year of university and is finally home (YAY) as was very lucky to get herself onto a graduate programme. So to celebrate her homecoming, new job and a chance for me and boyfriend (G) to meet her new boyfriend (B).  We all decided to catch up over a curry at one of my favourite restaurants, Spice Fusion. 

As this was both their first time enjoying the spice fusion experience. We took a little longer in deciding our dishes and had a good catch up / get to know over drinks, poppadoms and dips (yum). After a careful decision (or my case a pick of which two curries I wanted ) we had ordered our sides, mains, naans and rice  would be soon decorating our white linen table cloth.

Once we finished our delicious meal, we decided we didn't want the end night and headed to our nearest cocktail and wine bar called Oliver's. I had only seen this bar from the outside, but my boyfriend had been there for a works party and said we would love it. Oliver's is an old converted house, with individual rooms instead of being open plan like most places. The front two main rooms hold the bars, with little side rooms candle lit and big plush leather sofas inviting you to sit down. We opted to sit in the front room in the huge bar window sipping cocktails, perfect after dinner drink.

After a lovely meal and a catch up we have penciled in another double date into the diary (as we are all busy bee's).

Jessie-Lou
xxx

Dreams that last a lifetime!

Everyone has dreams and wishes some more so than others, some for material goods, and others for adventure. 

Well for me it’s a little bit of both. I’ve never been one to go off travelling for months on end as to be honest the thought of not knowing what might happened scares me to death. Yet it doesn’t mean I don’t want to see the world and my mine dream is to visit New York, find adventure in New York and spend ridiculous about of money in New York.  I did start planning a trip however life got in the way and it was postponed. I then got to together with my lovely boyfriend and other plans were made instead yet New York is still a constant dream in my mind (my screen saver at work is the New York skyline – I know very sad).  I have just recently finished the ‘I heart’ series by Lindsey Kelk and her first book ‘I heart New York’ left a big desire to visit (maybe not run away but still explore).  Like any girl I love shopping and all my friends that have visited NYC and told me to take an empty suitcase as shopping is a must and you will come back with more than you ever planned and maybe a huge dent in your salary or savings.  But for now I will continue to shop the high street and dream of American brands and prices and keep staring at my screensaver maybe if I stare long enough I will finally get my act together and book the trip of my dreams.

Not only do I want to visit New York I also want to visit one of the romantic cities (Paris) preferably with my boyfriend for a weekend break, if not I’ll take my best friend as that is a love of friendship that will always last. I want to dress like a Parisian, an image of us cycling with berets with French bread comes to mind but probably will be on foot with one large map and limited high school French to get us by.

However not only do I want to take adventures around the world I want to make my own adventures here in the Uk from exploring my very own city (London) to buying my first house (years to come) getting my first car and my dream job – not sure which is going to be the hardest one to achieve out of those last two as two failed driving tests aren’t making me feel hopefully on passing my third.

Do you have any Dreams, if so please share them!

Jessie-Lou
xxx

My week in pictures - Week #6

Week #6

Barry M Tangerine| Barry M purple| Homemade peanut butter cookie| English Rose candle

Paloma Faith first album| Paloma Faith New album| Flake birthday cake | Watching the England game at home

No7 Beautiful skin Cleanser| Anchor ring| Gilmore Girl Fest| Lip Scrub from Lush 

Guess ring| Nine West shoes| New look Top| Heart shape lipstick from Avon

Outfit|  Nude Lips| Piggy Gingerbread| Snacks at my desk

Enjoy!

Jessie-Lou

xxx

Sunday Soundtrack!

This hasn't been posted for awhile, as I recently sold my iPhone (which was also my iPod) and I haven't updated my new phone with music till last week. Here are my top played tunes from last week.

1. Paloma Faith - Play on 
2. Nickelback - Rock Star
3. Black Stone Cherry - White Trash Millionaire
4. Paloma Faith - 30 minute love affair
5. Lostprophets - Rooftops

Enjoy

Jessie-Lou
xxx

Late for work!

I'm not usually someone who wakes up late then has to rush to get ready, but on those days I can't live without these products to get me ready and look respectful.

10 bronzer and highlighter by benefit perfect to give a glow with one simple swip to each cheek. I got this for my birthday in March and it's still going strong.I need to purchase another before this one runs out.

I keep my eye make natural for work, but on days i'm rushing my SLEEK palette does the trick and lasts a whole day without the need of a primer.

Finally I can never leave the house with lipstick or lipgloss so my crystal liptint by topshop is perfect as it can be applied easily without a mirror (so can be applied whilst running out the door) and gives a nice natural finish to my simple (rush) make-up.


Jessie-Lou 
xxx

Quote Time!

This week its going to be a litle different as I couldn't find a quote I liked, so decided to put one of my favourite lines from a song.


'I tattoo the times we had on my memories' 


My legs are weak - Paloma Faith 

Jessie-Lou 
xxx

Glossybox May Birthday edition

I'm very late in posting my review on the May Glossybox ... but better late than never. I knew this month was the birthday edition and I was very excited to see what was going to be inside this box. Within my pretty pink box contain a birthday balloon, noble shower gel, fake eyelashes, Berber oil treatment, an glossybox compact mirror and two samples of Lolita Lempicka.

 To start with I sampled the perfume, I'm usually very fussy when it comes to perfume but these two samples were amazing. They complemented me well with a sweet floural scent. My favourite had to be si lolita and I will be purchasing this as my summer scent.

 The shower gel by nobel leaves the skin feeling refreshed with the British summertime scent it portrays it also reminds me of a similar scent by Molton Brown. I use mine at the gym as its nice and small to fit into my gym wash bag and leaves you feeling clean. The gel foams nicely over the body and not much is needed.

 I haven't tried the eyelashes yet as I already have long lashes and wear glasses so will be saving these for a night out and contact lenses. But they seem very simple and easy to wear. I shall givethem a test run and post what i think. 

 The Berber oil is very similar to what I have used in the past. The only difference is that this can be used on both wet and dry hair. I found that it doesn't leave the hair feeling sticky to touch but soft. Lastly, the compact mirror, no girl can be without one of these in their handbag.

Two face masks by Apivita with orange extract these left my skin feeling amazing and soft and the fragrance was refreshing but not overpowering.

This one will now live in my gym bag as you never know when your gonna need a touch up, especially after a good work out.

 Do you recieve Glossybox, what did you think of your box?

 Glossybox is £10 a month with £2.95 for p&p and you will recieve 5 different samples each month. To order your very own Glossybox please visit: http://www.glossybox.co.uk/

 Jessie-Lou 
 xxx

My week in pictures - #5

Week #5 


I'm sorry that my pictures for week 5 got deleted when I got my new phone. I tried to save a couple yet not enough to post, so they will be appearing in this weeks picture post. 


Jessie-Lou  
xxx

Go, go gadgets

I recently have been paid and have been wanting an ipad or android tablet for awhile now so I can blog more easily on the go. I first started looking at the ipad as that is what everyone seemed to use and rave about. Yet when I saw the price tag that idea went qkuickly out of the window ( maybe one day I'll own an ipad).

So I then started to look at Android tablets, I recently upgraded my phone from an iphone 3 to an sony ericson xperia which is andriod. I then spent endless hours reading reviews on the blackberry playbook, samsung galaxy tab and the zenithink tab. My boyfriend's friend also has a zenithink pad and I explained to him what I wanted it for and he told me this would be perfect.

I then had to find one, I started hunting and came across some through amazon. Many were being shipped from Hong Kong but I was lucky to find a UK seller. Then I just had to wait for it to arrive (felt like a very long week). But it finally it arrived on Friday just in time for the weekend.

Can't wait to be able to blog on the move now.

Jessie-Lou
Xxx

Handmade Jewels and special offer

The Commissioned bracelet| Pink birds| Guess ring

Last night I was being nosy on twitter (I love looking at pictures people share) when I came across Daisy Does Jewellery an online boutique. Not only does she sell beautiful handmade pieces but makes pieces on commission (perfect if you want something a little different). The picture that was shared was of a beautiful commissioned bracelet with the initial J with pink stones and flowers and I knew instantly that I wanted that bracelet in my life and I hoped they did more bracelets like this.

I contacted Daisy via Twitter and she sent me more links to her commissioned pieces and I saw personalised bracelets, best friend charm bracelets, colourful items and statement pieces and that's when the idea to get my close friends birthday present made for her (I can't give to much away just in case she reads it).

After having a look at the different designs (still stuck on what I want) I found her other selection from British themed jewellery to vintage style, and Parisian theme. I'm a typical girly girl and love anything pink and feminine and this beautiful pink bird necklace is so cute (I must own this) and it would look amazing with a black top or dress as will make it stand out. If your also like me and have small fingers I find that buying rings is a complete nightmare and I tend to put it off till now. Daisy Does offers beautiful rings that can be adjustable. My favourite one and one I will be buying on pay day is the colourful 'Guess' ring.

I love this site as you get a personal feel from Daisy as you can tell she loves what she does and wants to share it with you. Meaning all her jewellery is special yet won't cost you the earth to buy. I love the quote from the lovely lady herself 'Champagne Lifestyle ... on a lemonade budget! Daisy x.' Exactly what every girl wants and now I can keep myself in lovely jewellery and not feel any dread when I see my bank account!.

To top it all off the lovely Daisy heard I was writing this post and has offered 10% off to any of my lovely readers who quote BRITGIRL. 

Please go visit her site and take advantage of the discount she has given.
http://www.daisydoes.net/

Enjoy

Jessie-Lou
xxx

Heart Biscuits

These are so simple to make and very yummy they go perfect with ice cream or with a fruit compote. Can't wait to have these for my pudding tonight. Yummy.

Heart Biscuits

Ingredients

50g Caster Sugar

110g butter (I used soft margarine)

175g White flour

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with baking parchment (if you don't have any just grease your tray well).

2. Put the flour and sugar into a bowl and rub in the butter until you have a fine breadcrumb mix.

3.  Gather the mixture together and knead it lightly. 

4. Roll out to 5mm thick and cut into rounds with 6cm cutter or into heart shapes. 

5. Arrange on the baking tray for 10- 15 minutes or until pale brown.

6. Remove and cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy!

Jessie-Lou

xxx

Chewy Cookies

I have once again been busy baking this weekend and instead of cakes I decided to make cookies and this recipe is so simple you will be making them all the time.

Chewy Cookies

Ingredients

200g Soft Margarine 

200g Caster sugar

300g Self Raising flour

50g Cocoa powder

1 teaspoon Baking powder

150g Chocolate or nuts (I used a whole cooking bar of chocolate in my cookies)

1. Preheat over and have temperature at 180c or Gas mark 4. Grease a baking tray well and set to one side.

2. Place margarine and sugar into a bowl and beat together. Do this until soft and fluffy.

3. Sieve flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into creamed mixture.

4. Add chocolate to the mixture and mix until a firm dough appears (this can be tough but keep at it).

5. Shape into small cookies with hand and place on greased baking tray well spaced out. 

8. Bake for 10 -15 minutes.

9. Cool on a wire rack and then enjoy.

Jessie-Lou

xxx

Quote Time!

My friend sent me this quote today and had to share it with you all.

'Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart'

-A.A Milne - Winne the Pooh.


Jessie-Lou
xxx

Make-up Haul

Make up Haul

Face Masks

The other day my mum and I took a trip to our local shopping center and I couldn't help but pop into Superdrug to see what I could find. Didn't think I would be leaving with a bag full of goodies but very glad I did. I love Superdrug and even more so as they have 3 for 2 on all make-up so I couldn't resists and filled my basket up quickly. 

I had heard a lot about MUA and its amazing prices so had to add some eye shadow and two lipsticks to the collection. The shades I picked from the eyeshadow collection I don’t have at home and for £1 I couldn’t find any reason in not buying them.  I unfortunately couldn’t find the eye primer by MUA so I think I will have to do some more hunting and hopefully be able to pick one up soon.

I also added more nail polishes to my ever growing collection and you can’t beat Barry M, they are cheap (£2.99) and coat nicely and come in so many beautiful colours I will slowly have them all. This time I picked up two shades, Silver Lilac and a pretty pink glitter shade.

My local Superdrug has only recently brought Accessorize to the collection of cosmetics available. I recently had heard about their new range for the summer and the packaging is what made me buy it, its very girlie and summery and haven’t seen packaging like this before that doesn’t make the product look cheap. I couldn’t decide two shades but in the end I pick shade 5 smitten but now I wish I picked up a couple more as they are so nice.

I also noticed the eyeshadows across many ranges that were a merge of colours and couldn’t decide which shades would be best but in the end I picked from the accessorize range and bronze and pink eye shadow dome and green and gold merge eye shadow.

Recently I have noticed my lips getting very dry so I picked up softlips lipbalm in French vanilla. It is only a small tube but very effective and leaves my lips feeling soft rather than greasy.

Finally I picked up some facemasks for 10p such as bargain and one for 49p. At the weekend my boyfriend is away so will be treating myself a pamper night with facemasks and good girlie films.
Individual posts will be done shortly on what I think of each product and my honest opinions of them.
What is the newest product you brought and where from?

Jessie-Lou
xxx

May Empties

May Empties

For a while now I have wanted to do a post like this but hadn't finished enough products to do a good enough post. But finally I have finished a handful of products so I wanted to share what I have finished and whether I’ll be re-buying them.

Clinique Facial soap -I got brought this for my birthday and have been using it for years and I think it is the best product I have used on my skin to help prevent spots and keeps my oily skin at bay. I was very sad when it ran out and have not been able to buy new one yet. But luckily I do have a sample size in my travel bag so have been using that for the last couple of days. My mum use to work for Clinique so she was the one who recommend this for me and my skin type and think I will be soon buying the three step routine to see if this can improve my skin.  I will be buying this again.

Radox Shower Gel - Eastern Spirit -I brought this when it was on offer in boots and to be honest I’m not a big fan of the scent. I left my skin soft but the scent did linger for a couple of hours. But all other Radox shower gels I found very nice and tend to buy most Radox shower gels as they suit my sensitive skin. Yet I won’t be buying this particular shower gel again. 

They’re Real Mascara- I mentioned before I finished this but thought it deserved to be included in this post. I loved this mascara so much it made my eyes very defined and lasted a good day at work without flaking or smudging.  I will be buying this once I have finished my current mascara.

Jessie-Lou
xxx

May Favourite Purchases

Fifty Shades Series

Sleek eyeshadow Palette| Maxfactor Duo lipstick

River Island Dress| Silver N7 nail polish

Sorry this post is a little late in appearing (oops). May has been a strange month for me as I have had very little money yet seem to have brought loads of make-up (boots vouchers have helped). I have to admit I wanted to buy some new work clothes yet when I went to my usual shops I was very disappointed and couldn't find anything that suited me or that was in my price range. I’m hoping June and July will be more promising as I’m in desperate need of a summer wardrobe (any suggestions of places to get nice summer clothes please leave a comment).

Maxfactor Duo Lipstick – I heard about this from another beauty blogger (fleur De Force) and she posted her views on this shade and I fell in love with it and I wanted to add it to my grow collection of lipsticks. I love that you can wear each shade individually, combined or be fearless and wear it as a statement. I tend to wear mine combined as not very confident in wearing the separately on my lips.

River Island Dress – I brought this in a charity shop the other weekend and I love the retro colours. I feel very 80’s in it and it has been lovely wearing it the sun and its long enough to not have to wear leggings with it.

Fifty Shades Trilogy – I love these books. On reading the first book I was shocked and understood why it has been dubbed ‘Mummy Porn’. But I have to admit I love these books, I think they have been very well written and the characters are brought to life you feel their pain, confusion and love and it is continues throughout each book. I have now got three of my friends hook into the trilogy and like me they are finding them gripping and we love getting together to have a gossip over what we have read.

N7 Silver top coat – This is one of the limited edition shades to the summer collection and I love it, it sparkles so much and so far I have worn it over a coral pink shade. I will be adding the gold from the summer collection to my ever growing nail polish collection at home.

SLEEK eye shadow palette – I treated myself to this palette back at the beginning of the month as my friend recommend this to me as a cheap selection for everyday wear as I had been looking for natural tones. I picked my palette up from my local Superdrug for £7 and I love the tones inside very natural but the darker shades are perfect for Smokey eyes or evening make-up.

Jessie-Lou
xxx

Charity shop hunting

The other weekend myself, my mum and my boyfriends mum visited Rochester home of our cathedral and Castle for lunch and a look around the shops. It was a lovely hot day so my mum and I took my boyfriends mum to our favourite tea room for lunch. It is a size of my living room so can get crowded but the food is amazing and decently priced. I picked the tuna jacket potato with salad which went down a treat.

After a lovely lunch we walked down the cobbled high street, (the setting of many of Dickens classic stories). My mum makes her own bags so we had a wonder round the material store and I saw so many lovely pieces of material that I would love to make it cushions or curtains. After my mum found what she needed we decided to have a look round the stores. I wasn't looking for anything in particular but window shopping is still nice.

Rochester is full of charity shops, trinket stores and vintage stores. I tend to visit Rochester at least every other month to see what bargains I can find. The first charity shop we visited was the Delmza (newest charity shop to the high street) and I was instantly drawn in to this fabulous blue polka dot skirt. Unfortunately it didn't fit but I did see a gorgeous classic hat in navy with a big bow at the back (very 'Pretty Women').

We passed the rest of the afternoon looking round the charity shops and came out with bags full of wonderful bargains. After we couldn't shop anymore we stopped in for a coffee and a cake and a look over what we brought and to decide if we should go back for items that we didn't buy the first time. I also decided to book my tattoo so I had it designed and quoted for me and now its all set for the 4 August and I cannot wait.

These are my fabulous bargains and I love this dress so much and its so comfy.

Jessie-Lou
xxx

My Week #4

Week #4

First Scottish note|Lemonade|Fifty shades book 2

Stylist front cover|Glamour Magazine and free gift|yummy British gingerbread man|Homemade banana and walnut cake

Sorry not a big selection of pictures this week.

Jessie-Lou
xxx

Birthday Cake

A lovely lady at work turned 40 and I decided to make her a chocolate birthday cake to celebrate. 

For my yummy chocolate cake you will need:

125g Softened butter

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt 

2 eggs

1 cup of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

150g icing sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teapsoon softened or melted butter

1-2 tablespoons warm water

1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Lightly grease and flour 23-cm cake tin

2. Cream butter with sugar and icing sugar. Sift flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a separate bolw.

3. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture along with remaining ingredients - beat well

4. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and bake for 40-55 minutes or until cooked

To make the topping:

1. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder together.

2. Add melted butter to warm water

3. Gradually mix into sugar until smooth paste is formed (if a paste isn't forming add more icing sugar till it thickens up)

Enjoy (sorry I didn't get a photo it was eaten to quickly)

Jessie-Lou

xxx

Banana Walnut Cake

This bank holiday weekend I've been making lots of cakes as I have been seeing family and wanted to take pudding. This has to be one of the easiest cakes I've ever made and it tastes so good.

125g Butter

1 cup castor sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed banana

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 quarter cups self-raising flour

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 cup water

Topping:

50g softened butter

2 tablespoons self-raising flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Lightly grease a 23-cm square tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  

3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

4. Add banana and vanialla extract and beat well.  

5. Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda and add to creamed mixture with water.

6. Pour into prepared tin.

7. To make topping, rub butter into flour, add remaining ingredients and mix well. 

8. Place topping over cake mixture and bake 40-45 minutes.

For more toppings you can add pecan nuts instead of walnuts or add nuts in the banana so its combined into the cake as well as on top. 

Enjoy

Jessie-Lou

xxx

Maxi Dress LookBook

Maxi Dress - Warehouse

Flipflops - Warehouse

Name Necklace - Tatty Devine

Chubby stick - Clinique

Bag - River Island

Jessie-Lou

xxx

Daily make-up Routine

I love make-up so I wanted to share my daily make-up routine with you.  I only usually have about 10 minutes in the morning to do my makeup before having to run out the door to catch my train to work, so I try and keep my makeup simple.

To freshen up after hopefully a good night’s sleep I use my Clinique facial soap to freshen and wake me up. It’s also great on my sensitive skin.  I always moisturise especially with this hot weather we are having (or had) as my skin is prone to becoming dry very quickly. I use simple daily moisturiser and it leaves my skin feeling hydrated yet not greasy.

Depending on how much time I have I will use a primer I currently have been using my BB cream as a primer as it has a SPF30 which is great as it gives added protection in the sun. My foundation is Clinique (liquid) I use very little of this for my daily routine as hate my face feeling heavy for a day at work (evenings is a different matter).  I use to use a Rimmel blusher but found that it was too pink and on my birthday I visited the lovely ladies at my local Benefit counter and I came away with an armful of goodies one being the best blusher (in my opinion) I have ever tried. 10 – a bronzer and highlighter in one and gives me a perfect summer glow for day and evening. I also use a bronzer highlighter (also from benefit) this gives my skin the extra glow it needs and lasts all day which is great especially as I sit in an office all day so my skin is limited to the amount of vitamin D and fresh air it gets (well within working hours).

For my eye shadow I tend to keep it natural for the office, I have recently treated myself to a new eye shadow palette by SLEEK and my favourite shades are the shimmer cream with either a darker shade for the corners (creating smoky eyes). I wear eyeliner on my top lid rather than the whole eye as I find by the end of the day its run and smudge onto my cheek (never good). I recently started using Soap & Glory mascara which is great for an everyday wear but its still not ‘They’re Real' by Benefit (as of pay day I will be re-buying).

Finally but no means least Lips; I love lipstick, lip tints etc never been a fan of lipgloss as I find the texture to sticky but I am trying to overcome this. My lip stick does depend on my mood and outfit so if I’m wearing bright colours I keep my lips nude but if I’m feeling down or the weather is bleak Hot pink or red shades are at the ready to brighten me up.

So that is my daily routine.

Jessie-Lou
xxx