It's Always So Nice To Come Home

After a lovely train journey through Stoke-on-Trent, where I had 2 stints on placement from college, (you usually only ever got one), and which holds so many happy memories, Lichfield Trent Valley, Nuneaton and Rugby admiring the stunningly beautiful countryside and the canal boats, we arrived home about 4 o'clock. It was still sunny weather so we had a coffee/tea outside on the swing seat.

Bliss.

 

We hadn't got anything suitable in the freezer to cook from frozen, so we had chicken kebabs delivered; lots of yummy salad too.

 

But I took the Jubilee chicken crown, from Sainsbury's, out to defrost and had that this evening with home grown potatoes cooked with mint  and green beans.

 

 

Now, my bean plants were massacred by snails earlier in the year, and the potatoes, well...this portion is half of the total from a potato grow-bag. So, on the one-hand, a pretty poor show, but, on the other, tasted bloody lovely and got me out of a tight spot.

Result!

 

(Mr B is up in Brum working and having to stay overnight, so am on me tod, not that I am not feeding him!)

Zxx

My Little Manchester Treat

 

Hastily taken photos of the new, limited edition palette, by Bobbi Brown and Katie Holmes.



 

A pretty fair colour match even though this was taken in electric light.

 

 

Sharon really took her time with trying out the cheek/lip colours out on me with no pressure put on to buy, which is always nice! These 2 colours are not available in their regular range.

I think this will be a good travel set and a good starter set of BBs' items for me to try - some matt eye colours, some with a very fine glimmer and a glittery brown one. There is also a brown eye pencil.

 

I've also got a foundation stick which Sharon used on me and that I have fallen in love with! I think it will be my lifetime quest to find the perfect foundation; the colour suits, it feels great to put on and blend and seems to have great staying power too! I think that's Winter 2013 sorted then!

 

Was also given a sample pot of Vitamin Enriched Face Balm, that I tried under the foundation. This moisturises and works as a primer too. If I hadn't got a new bottle of MACs prep+prime sitting at home, I think that may have gone in my bag too!

It is gorgeous!

Z xx

 



How To While Away Too Much Time

Watching the men climb off the top of a tall building to clean the windows.



Oooh! It's a bit high up innit?!



Do you think that's his chamois left on the ledge?

Just to show the rest of the way down

 

Haircut

 

My twice-yearly cut 'n' colour by Kerry.

My 'looked-forward-to treat' each time I visit this wonderful city.

Z xx

The Emerald City

photo by Mr B

Actually, it's Media City UK, (as seen here), where most of the BBC moved to, in Salford.

 

It is sometimes lit with more green lighting, hence the title.

Z xx

Mr B had to scoot off to work early this morning; before breakfast had officially 'opened', but managed to get an orange juice and a couple of croissants.

 

Cue a couple of hours later and I got myself down to breakkie. Hurrah! The waffle machine was working again! (It wasn't yesterday and broke the last time we stayed here too!)

I'd been on the look-out for this Real Techniques fine liner brush for a while; they didn't stock it in my local Boots. Found it in the big Boots up here yesterday. There was a 'buy one get one 1/2 price' offer on, so I also bought the new, just out, miracle complexion sponge too. It was the last one left on the rack. Not tried these shaped sponges before...am intrigued as to how well they work. Anyone tried them?

 

Mr B brought back their duo fibre brushes from Ulta, in the USA, before they were released here in the UK. I haven't used them much as I've been wearing mainly mineral powder base since he got them and I don't find them to my liking for that. Now we are moving towards colder weather, I shall be trying them out with liquid foundations and hope they are better with that.

I think if you are younger and only need lighter coverage of any type of foundation, you will find them really nice to use, but I need something a bit more heavy duty!

Some people have mentioned that the eye brush is scratchy, but I haven't noticed that with mine.

 

*****

 



 

They do an amazing Sunday Lunch deal at the Mal, but, only fancying a sarnie, I popped down to the restaurant to see if it was possible. Did I want it in the room? After getting a bit freaked out at breakfast because it was so busy, I opted for room service and this is what was delivered!

 

Not quite a sandwich, but so totally wonderful, all the same. It just isn't the same doing a small joint of roast beef for two as having a couple of slices off a huge joint.

And, of course, eating in the room meant 2 little kitties managed to share the yumminess too!

X xx



Mancunian Architechture

 

New next door to the old. Quite a mix; I much prefer the old, so beautiful, so much detail.

 

A  very long walk by the canal and around the Northern Quarter, followed by iced coffees, vanilla chai cake with frosting and beetroot and courgette cake at Oklahoma.

Totally yummy!

Z xx

Yay! We've Arrived

 Up in Manchester for a few days with Mr B and the cats.

snapped by Mr B on the way back from buying cat food

And you all know about me and fire engines in Manchester!!

(But what a fun idea for a Hen Night!)

Zxx



Star!

Yes! I know!   I just can't help it! 

(wearing my best Courtney Stodden impression T-shirt)
(I just loved that girl in Celebrity Big Brother)

 

My gorgeous 'star' brooch, found at the Vintage Fair today.

Isn't she a beaut?

The Italian Shop, (not café, as I previously wrote), where we had cups of coffee and scrummy ciabatta sarnies with fennel salami. I never thought I liked salami but theirs is delish!

 

More types of pasta than you can shake a stick at.
(And I don't even like pasta!)
Z xx

Last Saturday I Filmed This. This Saturday I'm Going To The Vintage Fair (now with added 'boom arm')

Forever mentioned in  the likes of "Heat" and "New!" magazine, the vision that is Peter Andre visited Northampton last weekend to plug his 2 new fragrances. 



 

 I must admit, I am not a fan, but he did seem to be a genuinely nice guy; yes, there were a lot of screaming girls, but quite a few blokes ready to shake his hand too.

 

 

It was a total surprise, didn't know he was going to be there; and there I am in the thick of it all, 'boom arm' out with me camera, not batting an eyelid!

Whereas yesterday had to cancel my appointment with the nurse for a blood pressure re-check, 'cos I was I was getting into a bit of a state! (Yeah, bet that was good for the ole BP!)

 

 

Hurrah! Another of Trevor's Vintage Fairs and then a trip to the Italian Café.

Woop! Woop!

Here's to the weekend!

Z xx

LFW

Just a little nod to London Fashion Week here.

Mr B filmed these T-shirts in Munich last year; I think he may still regret not buying one!

I Wanna Meet My Blogging Mate!

Cam Poe this is for you!

 

 

I saw this when grocery shopping yesterday and thought "I know, I'll open this tomorrow whilst thinking about my bloggy mate."

We were going to meet in Brum today, but Life gets in the way. Cameron Poe had left me a comment about the new Galaxy chocolate a couple of posts ago, saying I must try it.

 

Having looked back at the comment, it was HONEYCOMB Galaxy, not caramel!

Still, sure this'll taste yummy and we will get to meet up some time!

Z xx



FOTD or NOTD?

Foot of the Day?

 

 

Nail of the Day?

 

This is what I wore on my footsies for yet another dental visit today!  This was my annual 'check up' and hygienist appointment. Clean bill of health but a filling needs re-doing.

Lunch in the park again. Yay!

 

 

Varnish colour achieved with one coat of yellow, Brick Road by Leighton Denny followed by 2 coats of Limoncello by Borghese. This looks such a wonderful colour in the bottle, but when it dries on the nail it is a very watered down version, which is a shame, because who wants to bother with a base coat, top coat and 3 coats of colour? Mih!

 

 Sandals and nail varnish from various past shopping sprees at TK Maxx.

Ditsy Belle #31 - Perfume

I think I may need to term this a wardrobe of smells!

 

A small selection of Jean Paul Gaultier smellies.

OMG! I love this man. Such fab bottle designs. Bloomin' brilliant! And I do like the perfume too, though I prefer the Classique scents to the Fragile.
 



 

A couple of Cliniques' lighter, more summery smells. I have used their Aromatics for years but these, Happy in Bloom and Happy to Be are much easier to wear. A moment of madness in the (as then) new Selfridges in the Bullring in Brum saw me walk away with this rather stunning Jo Malone perfume, Pomegranate Noir. Ooo, I've just had a little spray - shame you can't get scratch 'n' sniff blogs! I feel it is a very 'grown up' perfume! Then there is a burst of Naughty Alice by Vivienne Westwood.

 

 

Again another buy from Selfridges, the Stila Jade Blossom is gorgeous. They are real flowers on the bottle, so each one is unique. The Playboy bunny ears bottle just makes me smile. Can't really remember the smell...will use it tomorrow just to remind me. Loverdose probably has been one of my favourite perfumes since Aromatics. Love , Love, LOVE it! Love the smell, love the bottle design and how it feels in your hand when you use it. Plus, it looks pretty neat too.

 

 

I've uploaded this tiny picture I found on ebay, as I think mine is still packed up from the refurb. This was the first perfume I bought when I moved up to London and started working. It is also one of the few perfumes that I have finished and replaced. But I think it has since been discontinued. Shame. Goodness knows how I came to pick it; I think I was just walking through Jonny Loulous on Oxford Street, tried the tester and was hooked!

 

This being the second post of the evening and the final one of the month it struck me I'm glad I finished on nice smelly perfumes and not smelly bins!

 

Thank you for such a fun idea Bianca, it's been great!

Zxx