Loungewear Life with Femme Luxe*

30th April 2020

Undoubtedly the biggest trend in fashion right now is loungewear, it might not be the most flattering of ensembles but it sure is comfortable, and very forgiving- perfect for accommodating all of those lockdown snacks!
I might be going to work each day, but trust me, the second I get home I am straight in to my comfy clothes, and this tracksuit that I was kindly sent by Femme Luxe is my new favourite thing to chill out in.

Along with the tracksuit I was sent this t-shirt which is THE perfect oversized tee, ideal for wearing with the jogging bottoms for some hard work in our poor, neglected little garden, or for slinging on with jeans. This is literally my dream fit for a t-shirt (and yet I failed to get a decent photo of it) and I’ll definitely be picking up a few more for every day wear.

Lockdown life is strange, I’m not one of those people who can sit around the house doing not a lot. I like to be busy, I like to have missions and I think I’d be going stir-crazy if I didn’t have to leave the house each day for work.
But at the same time I am enjoying the enforced staying at home on the weekends, and on my birthday. Bob and I are working our way through Vikings on Amazon prime, we’ve finally started to overhaul our garden after neglecting it last year, and I’ve done more baking in the last few weeks than I have in the last few years.
I think this can teach us all some valuable lessons about how to relax, how to take pleasure in being at home. It’s hard not to see family or friends, especially when they all live so near by, but I know, personally that I’ll enjoy every second I get to spend with them once this ends.

One thing I will miss when things start to go back to normal is the wearing of pyjamas or loungewear all weekend long. Tracksuits for the weekend, a day in leggings and a giant blanket for my birthday… there’s nothing better after a manic day at work than changing in to a fresh set of comfies and collapsing on the sofa with a g&t in one hand and some snacks in the other!

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The April Degustabox- UK vs. International*

22nd April 2020

Box gifted by Degustabox
This is a PR box, this means there will sometimes be additional flavours or products than you’d get as a subscriber, I will highlight this within my post.

My monthly food review post courtesy of Degustabox seems to be the only content I can reliably write at the moment, which is no bad thing, but I have such good intentions of being an all round better blogger!
The April edition of Degustabox had a theme of UK vs. International which instantly got my attention as I love trying foods from other countries, as ever, Bob and I wasted no time getting stuck in!

We were so happy to see Broccoli crisps from Growers Garden in the April box. We already gave them a rave review a few months ago and have been craving them ever since. This sharing size bag didn’t hang around long, so addictive! We’re yet to find a stockist near us, but if you see them then they are 100% worth the £1.99 price tag. Visit growers-garden.com/stockists to find your nearest.

Very Lazy pastes are a staple in our pantry as we love to cook but can’t be bothered with prepping the fresh products for a recipe when you know you’re only going to use a tiny amount and waste the rest. Both the Lemon Grass Paste and the Ginger Paste have already proven their worth and will be re-purchased. £1.85 per tube from Tesco.

These Percy’s shortbread sticks are pricey at £3 per box, but damn they are good! Beautifully buttery shortbread, caramel milk chocolate and dark chocolate decoration- you can’t not love these! Available at Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Independent Stores, these would be perfect as part of a hamper type gift, or just for a special tea break treat.

There’s something about Flapjack, it’s such a comfort food for me and one of the first things I learnt to bake. I sometimes find shop bought flapjacks a bit artificial tasting but I really liked these ones from Brynmor Flapjack- they pack health benefits (fibre galore) without compromising on taste, and whilst they are a calorie heavy treat, they are lovely. £1.29 each from Ocado, Waitrose, NISA, WHSmith Travel, Independent health food shops and online at brynmorefoods.com

I’ve only just learnt to love rice, and microwave pouches are now a regular feature in our food shop. We had this Peri Peri flavour rice by Tilda (£1.59) with some grilled chicken and a salad and it’s really very good. It’s gluten free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Available at all major supermarkets- 100% recommend this if you’re a Peri Peri lover and looking for a quick meal.

These popping candy Terry’s Chocolate Orange were sent along and described as coming with a Chocolate Orange Easter egg at £4 in shops. Easter has now been and gone so you probably aren’t going to find these again (perhaps until Christmas) but if you do see them and love a bit of fun then grab them for sure. The chocolate orange we know and love with a popping candy twist…good stuff!

Bob’s embracing the cider drinking life now he’s firmly established in the West Country, he enjoyed this Cripps Pink Sxollie Cider over the super sunny Easter Bank Holiday weekend. £1.80 from Sainsbury’s and Waitrose- this is gluten free and vegan friendly.

I really enjoyed these sweet piquanté peppers from Peppadew in salads. They have a quite complex flavour- sweet, a bit spicy and are a lot crunchier than I expected. At £3 per jar these would be a rare treat, but great for picnics and BBQs. Available in Tesco.

Kombucha is definitely not for me. Bob and I both tried these drinks from Remedy and just can’t get over the vinegar taste. However, for those who have more sophisticated palettes to us, we’re sure you’ll love these flavours- and they certainly came through after the initial shock. Available for £1.85 per can from a huge variety of retailers.

et me know if you’ve tried any of these products and what you thought in the comments.

If you’re new to Degustabox, it’s a monthly food subscription box that gives you the chance to try new and exciting products on the market whilst providing amazing value for money.
On a month by month basis the box costs £12.99 (with a discount for longer subscriptions) but the contents are generally worth far more than this as you can see if you do the maths.

If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim a brilliant £5.00 off of your first box (making it just £7.99!) by entering the code XOQGC at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand regularly over the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt something that I will continue to purchase long after our partnership ends. I love the monthly surprise and excitement as well as the chance to discover products I’d otherwise pass up on the supermarket shelves.

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A Girl Can Never Have Too Many Watches*

13th April 2020

Happy Easter Monday everyone! What a strange long weekend it has been, but a welcome break, and such glorious weather! Although it’s been sad not to spend the holiday with family, Bob and I made the best of it and cracked on sorting our garden out (well, he did most of the work), as well as spending some quality time in the sunshine on my beloved deckchair.

That’s not the point of this post though, the point is my new watch…
I do own quite a lot of watches, more than one for every day of the week, but that doesn’t stop me falling in love with new ones; I just can’t resist them. I was the same once with earrings, and then tights, and then shoes…now my collection of all of these things is lacking, but my time-telling wrist-wear stash is still growing, and growing strong.

The most recent addition to my collection comes from a brand called Nordgreen, who kindly gifted me their “Native” style watch in a gorgeous gunmetal colour.
I love the tough vibes this watch gives off, it goes so perfectly with my current dress style. The biggest win for the watch is how easy it is to adjust the strap size; often with this style I have to take it to the local watch repair shop to get it adjusted, but Bob managed make this the perfect fit for my oddly small wrists in seconds.
The other big win is that the straps on Nordgreen watches are interchangeable, meaning you can create a custom piece super easily (and you get a discount when you add one or two additional straps to your order.

You can also choose the watch diameter and strap width- I went for the smallest in each to create a more feminine looking piece. This watch is a unisex piece- and I’d be tempted to create a mid-range size one for Bob and I to share.

The ethics of the Nordgreen brand are admirable. For each watch purchased you can choose from one of three causes to give back to. The brand ethos is quality, sustainability and putting others first and I think they nail it. A danish brand created by lifelong friends- there is an unmistakable Scandi minimalism about their products, yet the attention to detail and craftsmanship is second to none.

What are your little clothes or accessory obsessions? And what have you been up to over the long weekend?

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The Dream Team

11th April 2020

It feels strange putting up an outfit post right now, given the current situation (and also the fact that is over 20 degrees in the house and I’m currently wearing a pair of Bob’s shorts and a vest top). But here I am anyway, justifying to myself that the reason I am posting these now is that I’ve finally grown the balls to do so. These photos date back to February. I’ve been sat on them ever since because I hated how I look in them. But it’s not about me, it’s about the dreamy dress and ankle boots, about an outfit I felt happy in before I caught sight of myself and my face. So here we go- that polka dot dress that featured in a wish list post, and the most perfect ankle boots I have ever owned, snapped up for a bargain price in the Zara sale.

This post is also about trying to gain some normality in distinctly abnormal times. None of us thought, when we rolled in to 2020 that it would turn out like this, never in a million years.

And I consider myself lucky. I have the chance to leave my house every day during the week, to go to work in a GP surgery (despite the ever rising anxiety as I step out of the front door) where I work in a desk based role, making sure people get the prescriptions they need. And I’m not singing my own praises here, far from it. I am not one of the brave and courageous NHS workers that are being (rightly) applauded right now. I am there to support my incredible clinical colleagues as they make tough decisions and put themselves out there to make sure every patient that makes contact with us gets what they need. I get to feel the fresh air each morning, and each evening, and come home each night, a little stressed out but nothing more than that.

This whole situation is really good at making you take stock about what matters. What matters is that we come together, that we all do what we need to do to get through this. None of us know what we’re doing, but if we work together we can muddle along.

It’s sad, sad to not be able to spend time with my parents, or visit my Grandad who lives just around the corner, knowing he’s alone. It breaks my heart not to be able to travel to see my cousins and my aunt, give them a hug- which whilst would do nothing to heal the grief they are going through right now, having lost a great man to this virus, it would maybe bring the kind of comfort that only family can bring. It hurts not to be able to make a journey to see those that really need to be seen before it’s too late. Some rules were made to be broken, but some, like this lockdown, are not.

It puts my own battles in to a new kind of perspective. It doesn’t make them any easier to deal with, but it does make me realise how little they matter, how what they stand for and what my mind clings on to is so trivial. It fuels that fire to fight. When this is over I intend to live life with a new perspective; I suspect so many of us are. And in some funny way, writing this post, sharing these photos and this outfit…that’s the start of that.

This is not the post I had in my mind to write. I don’t even know what this is to be honest. Just a jumble of words that have been flowing through my brain, laid out to be read, to be judged, to maybe be related to.

Happy Easter weekend everyone. Stay in. Safe stay.

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The March Degustabox- Hello Spring*

05th April 2020

In amidst all of the craziness in the Supermakets, never has a delivery of food- treats especially, been more welcomed! The March Degustabox had a theme of “hello spring” and Bob and I wasted absolutely no time at all in getting stuck in.