Alternative advent calendars

Over the last few years the trend for alternative advent calendars are really seemed to pick up. Chocolate ones are becoming old hat. Arran Aromatics* have brought the perfect one for beauty fanatics. What a fabulous treat it was!

Filled with 25 gorgeous smelling miniature body lotions, candles, soaps, bubble soaks and shower gels, it's the perfect daily treat. The calendar retails at £40 but it has a value of £60, making it great value for money. I can't wait to light the candles - the grapefruit one smells amazing! Available both online and John Lewis, you best be quick treating yourself to one as only 1000 are available.

Another advent calendar is a tea one from Victoria Mae Designs*. Oh my gosh, the smell when I opened this package was intense. I wanted to gulp them all down at once!

Priced at £19.50, 25 gorgeous teabags come packaging in a cute little brown box. All the tea is sourced from a local British tea company and comes in handmade paper pouches. A lovely little treat to start each morning with in December.

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5 ideas for a cosy evening

I don't know about you but now the nights are getting darker and the air is getting colder, I'm looking to hibernate. Once I get home after my commute into the city, I'm straight into my snuggly pyjamas and locking up for the night. Staying home doesn't have to be boring, use the time to have concentrate on making your soul feel happy.

1. Films and chocolate. Could there be any better combination? I love nothing more than popping my favourite film or boxset on - Peaky Blinders may have been watched about four times over the last few weeks - and snuggling under the duvet with a good box of chocolates. My favourites ones of late have been these delicious Lindt limited edition orange lindor truffles*. I may or may not have scoffed a whole box as I was drooling over Cillian Murphy with a cup of Tetley's new Super Fruit Boosts cup of tea*. Even with a razor blade sewn in his hat, he's still a babe.

2. If you can't face going out on a Friday night after a long week at work, invite your BFF round for a slumber party. Order in your favourite takeaway, get under the covers and prepare to chatter the night away. Sometimes the best tonic is your friends. They are just as weird and wonderful as you are.

3. I live for long, bubble filed baths with a bit of Craig David on Spotify to take away my troubles. Light your favourite candles, grab your most gorgeous smelling hair mask and warm up your vocal chords for an evening of bath singing and soaking. You'll get out feeling refreshed and ready cosy up in fleecy pyjamas.

4. Ban technology for the night - yes even the addictive Instagram - and switch off. I promise you'll sleep so much better and make a start on that pile of unread books on your shelf. Get lost in a world of make-believe and before you know it it'll be time to enter the land of nod.

5. Pop to the supermarket and stock up on marshmallows, squirty cream and Cadburys hot chocolate to make yourself the hot drink of dreams. Pile those fluffy balls of goodness sky high and sip away your troubles. There's nothing a good cup of hot chocolate in front of the telly can't solve. We all deserve a treat in winter time.

What do you do to make the dark nights seem less daunting?

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Review: Dressed by Angels exhibition, London

One of my favourite things about London is that there's always something new going on. Be it a pop-up restaurant, a temporary sculpture or an interesting exhibition like this. Dressed By Angels got in touch to see if I wanted to pop along to their new costume exhibition. As a film and TV buff I said yes please!

Running until January 3, the exhibition is celebrating a staggering 175 years of the costume retailers Angels with over 100 different costumes. That's seven generations of one family. I actually used frequent the fancy dress show in Shafteburys Avenue for my old job finding bits and bobs for photoshoots. But I had no idea the costumer provided some of the most iconic costumes seen in television and film.

The highlight of the exhibition for me was coming face to face with Sharpe's jacket. Oh how I loved Sharpe as a kid. I watched it religiously and have such a soft spot for the hunky Sean Bean and his Sheffield accent. I've been trying to persuade my boyfriend to buy me the boxset for years... The Only Fools and Horses Batman and Robin outfits were a hoot too.

I spent the whole time wandering around exclaiming to my friend 'LOOK AT THAT ONE'! It amazed me just how many of the costumes were in such high profile films and shows. They featured in multiple Oscar and BAFTA award winning films as well as numerous Oliver and Tony award winning shows.

All made in London too. Incredible. It's well worth popping along to for a lazy afternoon marvelling at the insane detailing of the costumes. Tickets cost from £10.80. Try and spot your favourite show!

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Mulled Wine Festival, Covent Garden, London

Are we all in the Christmas spirit yet? No? Drag yourself along to London's first ever Mulled Wine festival on Covent Garden's Piazza. You know it makes sense!

Even if you don't like mulled wine, there's 11 different stalls offering various concoctions. From mulled cider to mulled jelly shots. It's a £10 entry charity donation to Connection at St-Martin-In-The-Field or you just have to check into Yelp app on your phone for free. I'm personally looking forward to sampling the mince pies from MeatMarket. It's running from 12th November to 14th November.

I'll be going on Friday night so might see one or two of you there!

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Exploring the UK: Tain, Ross and Cromarty, The Highlands, Scotland

On our final day in Scotland, we decided to stay a bit closer to where we were staying and explore the town of Tain and the surrounding areas.

You can't visit Scotland without a trip to a whisky distillery can you? Luckily Glenmorangie was a five minute drive - if that! - from where we were staying in Tain so we had one on our doorstep. I'd been on a tour around a distillery before in Illinois so I had an idea of the process. But it was interesting to find out what separates Scottish whiskey apart from the rest. There's a reason why it's so sought after! Generations upon generations have worked at the distillery and it's such a fine art to make sure it's perfect. I always find the process of making alcohol fascinating - something you never really think about when you're ordering your voddy and diet coke in a nightclub.

After a couple of samples of whisky, we headed back to the town of Tain to find out about the history. We met a very enthusiastic lady who had moved up from Devon 30 years ago at the museum - she was a fountain of knowledge! Tain is pretty famous all over the world for it's production of silver. Who knew?! We marvelled at some pretty expensive artefacts before heading out to the St Duthac Collegiate Church to learn the story of medieval pilgrimage. King James IV of Scotland actually made 18 pilgrimages to this shrine.  As someone who doesn't particularly believe in God, I have a soft spot for religious buildings and often seek them out. St Duthac has the most amazing stained glass windows and is said to be one of the finest preserved medieval churches in the Highlands.

After exhausting ourselves with history, we got ready for dinner and headed to Tarbat Ness Lighthouse to watch the sun go down. Definitely one of the highlights of my trip. There's something therapeutic about climbing the rocks, breathing in the sea air and watching the sun set. I'd been promised there were seals in this part of the world so imagine my excitement when we caught them bobbing along in the water! In the summer they clamber on the rocks above so guess that means I'll have to plan a trip back.

Time flew and it was time to make our way over to Portmahomack for our dinner reservation at The Oyster Catcher. A seafood restaurant in what I can only really describe as someone's living room. The menu changes as they use local, seasonal, fresh ingredients with lots of emphasis on seafood. It was honestly one of the best dining experiences of my life. We had endless courses, good wine and quirky yet excellent service. I'm still dreaming about my lobster confit now.

It won't be too long until I'm back in The Highlands!

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Review: Haymarket Kitchen #takeonthetiger Burger Challenge, London

If you've been reading this blog regularly, you'll know burgers are what makes my world go round. As a result I've turned into a bit of a burger snob and am constantly trying out the next big thing. You can never eat too many burgers right? So when an email pinged in my inbox asking me if I was willing to undergo the #takeonthetiger challenge at the new Haymarket Kitchen in the uni favourite Tiger Tiger, I obviously emailed back a hell yeah!

I like to think I'm a greedy little monkey and can stuff my face with a whole array of different dishes without even flinching. But when this burger arrived? I did a little nervous gulp. It was huge, literally a monster! Filled with a juicy beef burger, succulent chicken breast, gooey cheese, crispy bacon, hot chilli sauce and a crunchy onion ring. Pretty spectacular right?

If you were still feeling peckish, the burger came with a side of yummy chips, a shot of Jack Daniels and a bottle of beer to wash it down. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. Tuck into some delicious pancakes for dessert if you're feeling brave enough!

So how did I do? Well I managed to scoff every single bite. Just. I have to be honest and admit I dissected it to eat it bit by bit. There was no way I could eat it like a normal burger. I'm so glad I decided to have an very early, light lunch that day.

For £25, the burger isn't the cheapest in the city but for two drinks as well, the price point isn't too bad. It's a really fun challenge to take on with friends - so easy to get competitive! It's not the best burger I've tasted but certainly not the worst. To be honest, you pay more for the novelty factor of the dish so it's worth doing.

Thanks for letting me tackle the burger Tiger Tiger!

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Learning your self-worth

Confidence is a funny old thing. We often get our confidence from other people. Someone compliments our dress? We beam with pride. Someone notices we've lost a little bit of weight? Suddenly the soup diet seems worth it. But really everything is subjective. Different people like different things. That's what makes life worthwhile. You're never going to be everyone's cup of tea so why bother?

Your self worth isn't based solely on the number on the scales or how you look in a body con dress. Happiness isn't based on if you can fit into a size 8. It's based on what you can get out of this wonderful life we've been given. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to lose 20lbs and get back to my pre-20 year old weight. But I've also discovered the delights of the London food scene. So alas I'm not sure if that's entirely possible. We place far too much of our self-worth in other people. We thrive on how people perceive us. When really all that should matter is how you perceive yourself. No one should dictate how we feel inside.

We should strive to be the person we want to be. If people have something negative to say? Cut them loose. Don't get me wrong, it's hard. It's bloody hard. After being bombarded with magazines telling us what we can do to loose that stubborn five pounds and how life is much better when you're skinner, it can take it's toll on anyones confidence. Most people don't actually care what size jeans you wear, it's all in your head. So get that little gremlin out of your head. Start acting like a queen bee and soon other people will start treating you like one.

You should be proud to be you.

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Celebrating Diwali Festival with Sainsbury's

Indian cuisine has to be one of my favourite type of dish to eat - it's ranked at the top with Caribbean. I like my food to have a bit of a kick! To help celebrate the Hindu Festival of Light Diwali on November 11, Sainsbury's invited me down to have a curry masterclass with Masterchef winner Dhruv Baker and show off their range of Indian ready made dishes. How could I resist?

Sainsbury's has a whole range of different, delicious Indian ready made dishes. From crispy onion bhajis to spicy chicken biryani, the range is all made by hand in one factory. Amazing right? I know I'm guilty of assuming any type of fast, convenience food is mass produced without a care in the world. But Sainsbury's try really hard to ensure their food is of a high standard. As always, it's so interesting to hear the process behind how the dishes are created and how passionate the chefs and product developers are.

After sampling the yummy Taste The Difference Chicken Biryani above, it was time to save some room for one of Dhruv's dishes. This I was looking forward too. After stuffing myself on many poppodoms as I watched the demonstration, I very nearly didn't have enough room to sample his curry. But of course, I took one for the team!

The okra and baby aubergine curry was fantastic. Usually vegetarian curries are a let down. But this was rich and creamy with just the right amount of spice. The unusual okra really gave it a certain something. I may have had two helpings of this before squeezing in the mango sorbet.

Thanks for such a great evening Sainsbury's!

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OOTD: Purple glasses

Outfit:
Khaki trench coat: Primark (similar)
Blue soft jeans: George At Asda* (similar)
Orange bird print chiffon shirt: River Island (similar)
Grey leather ankle boots: Office (similar)
Red and navy checked scarf: Accessorize (similar)
Purple cat eye glasses: London Retro*
Black leather Bayswater: Mulberry

As a glasses wearer since the tender age of 11, I appreciate a good pair of specs. I like to have a few on rotation at once. After all you wouldn't wear the same t-shirt everyday right? They have to stand out, have a slightly retro shape and thick rimmed to get my seal of approval. That means the Bakerloo frames from London Retro tick all the boxes. I'm on my third pair of glasses from the brand and I really can't fault them at all. The delivery is always impeccable and they have such a gorgeous selection of glasses.

November is looking to be a busy month. Just how I like it. I've got a good chunk of freelance work scheduled in, lots of fun events planned, exciting things happening with the blog and of course, Christmas shopping to start. The dreaded C word has started to take over my life. How on earth is it that time again?

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Exploring the UK: Loch Ness, The Highlands, Scotland

Another post about my trip to Scotland! We arrived at Inverness Airport around 11am and after picking up our hire we drive into the city for a city bite to eat before meeting our friend. After stuffing our faces at The Filling Station - similar to Frankie and Bennies - we hit the road in search of Loch Ness.

Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area but thanks to it's sheer depth, it's the largest one in volume in the British Isles. Safe to say, it's pretty impressive to see in the flesh. It's most famous for its mythical sea creature that's said to loiter in the water - the Loch Ness Monster. Known affectionately was Nessie, there have been many reported sighting over the years. Sadly she stayed hidden whilst we were there!

While we were there, we hopped on a Jacobite Cruise* to help us see the loch in all its glory. We boarded the boat at the Clansman Harbour before being take on an hour long cruise around the loch. Despite a drizzly day, it was brilliant. The information on the loudspeaker was top notch - they even threw in some traditional Scottish music for good measure! The boat sailed over the ruins of Urquhart Castle so we could have a closer look and learn about its turbulent history.

A great way to see the sights of Loch Ness!

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