There’s been a bit of a gap since my last Sampling Beauty post. For various reasons, including a holiday, an international house move, a new job and basically just not having the time or energy to even think about adding new products into my beauty and skincare regime.
Because of this, these picks were actually my May/June selections! Here’s what I got from Love Me Beauty and Feel Unique: Continue reading…
Last week I posted this photo on my Instagram…
I walk past this building on my way to the train station in Zwolle where I’m now living and it’s not as if you can miss it!
On the weekend, I decided to go and check it out and found it to be Continue reading…
It’s a known fact that the only shopping I like to do is online and is either for my house or for gifts for my family/friends. I can spend hours and hours browsing for cute things for my home and I love finding unique, quirky gifts that are a bit different from the usual high street purchases. So, when the team at UncommonGoods.com got in touch and asked me to write about some of my fave items from their lovely website, I absolutely said yes!
A US-based site but happy to ship internationally, UncommonGoods is such a perfect go-to for me right now Continue reading…
Just 7 weeks ago on 12 June, I received the signed contract for my new job in the Netherlands. Yesterday I moved here from the UK and tomorrow I start my new job.
Whilst 7 weeks seems like a long time to pack up your life and move to a new country, it really isn’t (I also lost out on 2 weeks to a holiday that was already booked, so it was really only 5 weeks). There is so much to think about.
Moving house is never stress-free, whether you’re moving out of your parents’ and into your own home for the first time, whether you’re moving to a new town or country, or whether you’re just moving to a different house or flat nearby. 
I’m an Army kid so we always moved a lot when I was younger and, even as an adult, I haven’t stayed too long in any one place. Although it’s something I’m more used to doing than most, it still comes with its stresses and worries. Here are my top tips for how to manage a house move and how you can make a house move less stressful: Continue reading…
After more than 7 years (the longest I’ve lived anywhere in my life), I moved out of Birmingham this week. When people ask where I’m from and I say ‘Birmingham’, it’s always met with the response: ‘but you don’t sound like a Brummy’. And yes, whilst that is true, it doesn’t and won’t ever stop this great city from being my hometown.
It’s the city I know better than any other – from the 8 years I spent at boarding school in nearby Bromsgrove, coming in on the train to go shopping, to the cinema or to hangout with friends, to the 7 years I’ve spent back here in my adult life (living in Moseley, Acocks Green and then the city centre), it has always felt so familiar and felt like my home. 
These are the 3 things I love most about Birmingham: Continue reading…
From my various social media accounts, many of you will know that I recently spent two weeks in New Zealand to catch the British & Irish Lions on tour.
Whilst the number one reason for going was to support the Lions and watch some rugby, we also planned a huge travel route to see as much of the country as possible.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may recall that I’ve been to New Zealand before but it was on a pretty limited budget (I went after my fresher year of uni). This time round, I have a full-time job so I’ve been saving like a crazy person for nearly two years.
After scrimping on going out to eat the last time I visited New Zealand (a backpacker’s budget allows for very few restaurant meals), we made the most of it during this trip. Continue reading…
On Friday, I flew out of Gatwick on a 21.45 flight, bound (ultimately) for Auckland, New Zealand.
Nearly 28 hours later, with a stopover in Dubai and a refueling stop in Melbourne, I arrived in NZ on Sunday lunchtime.
I have done this journey before with Malaysian Airlines but flew via Kuala Lumpur and stopped there for a 3 day visit. I also did that trip on my own whereas I was with my parents this time.
Here’s a real-time look at how I spent those 28 hours… Continue readng…
