5 Things To Do In London*

I love London. It’s less than 2 hours away from where I live and like a whole different world. I love the business, the fact there is so much to do. I haven’t been to London for ages and would like to plan a trip soon so I can often be found browsing the web planning my itinerary.

I’ve put together a list of the top 5 things I would like to do when I next visit London, and I hope this gives you some ideas If you’re planning a visit.

 The great thing about the Natural History museum in South Kensington is that it is free to visit. You can kill loads of time looking around the museums and even though I have been many times before, I always seem to find things that I don’t recall seeing before. They currently have a Coral Reef exhibition until September 13th where you can immerse yourself in the underwater world of tropical coral reefs, some of the most bio-diverse environments in the world. Tickets for this particular event start at £4.50.

London has so many shops that we don’t have in Norwich and I always take the opportunity to head down Oxford Street and visit them all. Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London and is Europe's busiest shopping street. I must end my shopping trip with a Krispy Kreme Donut – delicious!

This is somewhere I have never been but I have heard so much about and really want to visit. I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to things like this so I’m not sure how I would react. The London Dungeons have recently had a bit of a revamp and claim to be bigger and better than before. The experience is approximately a 90 minute journey through 1000 years of London's shady past. You can save money by booking in advance online which is recommended as it is one of London's most popular attractions.

To get a full view of London, I would love to go on the London Eye. I have been on here before but think it would be great to go on as the sun is setting and watch the city look beautifully lit up from the view that is high above the River Thames. Standard adult tickets start from just £19 if you book online and the experience will last just over half an hour so great if you're trying to kill a bit of time before dinner.

How nice would it be to end your evening watching a show at the English National Opera. I can picture myself having dinner then heading to get some Opera tickets in London. I really want to see The Barber of Seville which runs from 28th September - 11th November 2016 and aims to have you smiling from the moment it begins. There are even some tickets available under £20 so an evening at the Opera will not break the bank. The ENO's productions are sung in English so are great for those just getting into Opera. If you are looking for Opera tickets in London then I definitely recommend an evening at the ENO.

Let me know where you love to go in London?

*In collaboration with English National Opera. All opinions are my own, please see my disclaimer for more information.

The Ideal Birthday Gift with Prestige Flowers*

It's not often I buy flowers because I always find it a lot of hassle to pick some out and then get them home without damaging the delicate petals. I think flowers make the perfect birthday gift for those who either have everything or don't want anything in particular.

I recently received some luxury flowers from Prestige Flowers. This bouquet is the New York bouquet from their new Haute Florist range and prices start at just £40. (It's a complete coincidence that the background to the below photo is New York!)

This is a recently launched range of high quality stems arranged in house by Prestige Flowers highly trained florists. I love how these have been arranged, they are a very impressive bunch.

The quality of the flowers was amazing and they all arrived looking bright and fresh. They continued to look gorgeous for at least 10 days before I noticed any wilting.

The bouquet consisted of peach avalanche roses, cymbidium orchid heads accented with honey germini flowers and solidago. I love the neutral colour selection and imagine anyone else would also love to receive this and it would fit within most decor schemes.

The cymbidium orchid heads came in these little water filled tubes, what a great idea to add something amazing to the bouquet. These were probably the first thing to wilt which was a shame, but they were easy to pick out from the rest of the bouquet.

The flowers arrived well protected in a large cardboard box and looked great on first impression. They also came with a vase which was fantastic and a perfect fit. I read the instructions in the care guide and proceded to trim the stems and place them in water with the plant food solution.

Other available items include smaller bouquets and my favourite offer, the Birthday Bundle. There are plenty of offers available over on the Birthday Flowers section of the website.

You can even add a teddy bear, vase, a balloon, chocolates, wine or cake to your bouquet orders at an added cost to make your gift that bit more special.

Surprising someone with flowers on their birthday is the perfect gift and will always be appreciated by the recipient. It's a lovely gesture to send flowers and with Prestige Flowers it is so easy to do, you can place your order within about 5 minutes and you can even get same day delivery if you order by 3pm. Prestige Flowers can also be delivered on Saturday's which is handy for people who work Monday-Friday.

Visit Prestige Flowers today and let me know what your favourite bouquet is.

You can also find them on Pinterest, Google +, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

*I received these beautiful flowers free of charge from Prestige Flowers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

August 2015 Glossybox

Last month's Glossybox was a good'n so I had high expectations for this month's box which arrived a couple of weeks ago. I've had time to go through my box and let you know what I think of all the products. This month's box celebrates the fact Glossybox are now available in ten countries.

I'm pretty happy with the box, I just wish we could have experienced some different brands rather than ones that have been featured in the box this year already.

Emite Artist Colour Powder Blush – Full Size £20.59
This blush/bronzer hybrid was voted by us. When swatching this product it crumbled away and I was worried that I would pick too much up on my brush. I found that swirling my brush onto the product and tapping off the excess left just the right amount of product to sweep across my cheeks and leave a nice glow. This product definitely looks good for summer makeup as it does give you that summer glow and light contour. There is no way I would pay over £20 for this though, I am sure there are a lot cheaper alternatives on the highstreet that do as good a job.

Naobay Calming Face Toner – Full Size £10.65
I’ve reviewed a Naobay product on my blog before which I also received from Glossybox. I love the packaging on these products and the wooden lid makes them feel really luxurious. What I love about this toner is that it doesn’t have much of a scent as I am not a fan of highly perfumed toners. This removes trace makeup when applied with a cotton pad and is 99.13% natural so I am happy using this on my face every day.

SASS Purifying Cleanser – Full Size £7.00
This is the second SASS product I have received from Glossybox and not a product I have ever thought to buy. This intimate cleanser aims to balance your skins PH levels. I can’t say I’ve noticed much of a difference but it is nice to feel fresh ‘down there’ if you know what I mean.

MeMeMe Lipglide in Playful Peach – Full Size £6.95
When I first saw this lipglide I thought it was going to be a bit bright for me, but the colour pay off on the lips is really nice and subtle. This product is hydrating but it doesn’t last long on the lips especially when eating soon after applying this. It is a lovely colour and a great addition to any handbag.

Manna Kadar Lash Primer – Full Size £14.55
I love this product. I have never owned a lash primer before and this fulfils everything that I would want in a lash primer. Manna Kada is not a brand I have ever heard of before. I’ve been layering this under my normal mascara and I’ve found my lashes feel hydrated. I am no longer left with black dried mascara flecks under my eyes which is a bonus for me. This primer contains vitamin B12 which leaves your lashes conditioned and voluminous and I can vouch that this product does just that.

To sign up to Glossybox, visit them here.

It's Caribbean Food Week!*

As many of you know I love trying new recipes and creating foods that are full of flavour. When I was asked to create a Caribbean recipe for Caribbean food week, I couldn't wait to get creative in the kitchen and come up with something tasty. Tastebuds are tingling in anticipation as food-lovers prepare for the week that leads up to the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival.

Grace Foods, the UK’s number one supplier of Caribbean food and drink, very kindly provided me with some products to get me started. When I think of Caribbean food I immediately think of Jerk Chicken. I was pleased to receive some Jerk seasoning so I thought this would be perfect to use on some chicken skewers, great for the BBQ served with some side dishes. I got my ingredients together and prepared everything for the below recipes.

For the Jerk Chicken I used chicken thighs which I marinated in the fridge overnight in the Jerk Seasoning and the Spicy Jerk Chicken Fry Mix. The next day, I baked these in the oven until they were cooked through whilst I prepared my side dishes. The Jerk Seasoning was very spicy and you don't need too much. If you want to make it less spicy it can be mixed with some natural yoghurt before marinating.

I served this with my take on rice and beans, a traditional Caribbean accompaniment and so easy to make. I mixed my boiled rice with some garlic, a teaspoon of Creole Pepper Sauce, a splash of Coconut Water, Kidney beans, some more of the Spicy Jerk Chicken Fry Mix, and a sprinkling of paprika.

I also prepared some vegetables to go with this meal. I skewered onto a kebab stick some red onion, peppers and courgettes which I grilled for 15 minutes until softened. I sprinkled these with some of the Spicy Jerk Chicken Fry Mix which was great and worked really well with these vegetables.

 

No Caribbean meal is complete without a lovely refreshing drink to wash it down. This coconut water is delicious and can be turned into an amazing cocktail with a dash of Malibu and cranberry juice. Serve ice cold to wash down your spicy delicious Caribbean meal.

Overall the Jerk Chicken went really well with the rice and spicy vegetables. The ice cold cocktail washed the meal down a treat and I definitely needed it as the meal was very spicy overall. I loved trying out these foods and getting a taste of the Caribbean, I will definitely be incorporating some of these seasonings and spices into my every day dishes.

For more information on the range of foods used in this post, and for some amazing recipe ideas please visit Grace Foods. To find out more about Caribbean Food Week, please head over to their Twitter @caribbeanfoodwk and Facebook page.

*I was provided with some Caribbean Food from Grace Foods in order to create these recipes. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Preserving Summer Memories with Snapfish*

I recently met up with my friend Sabrina for a day out and we decided to head to Great Yarmouth. We had no real vision for what we were going to do, but decided to visit Merrivale Model Village. Merrivale is a fictional village set out across beautiful landscape gardens, streams and waterfalls. It cost us £7 each to get in and we were there a good 2 hours looking around all of the scenes.

The more we walked around, the more we discovered. Even when editing the photos I discovered more people in funny positions and more scenarios each time I looked at the pictures. I think Merrivale is aimed mainly at children, me and my friend in our mid 20's actually loved walking round here and had a really great time interacting with the scenes and pressing the buttons.

There were plenty of funny scenarios such as the above, and even a streaker on the football pitch! These little touches really made the day entertaining and there was plenty to keep our eyes busy. I took so many photos, I wanted to find a way to keep them so my friend and I could remember this great day so I headed to Snapfish to check out their bestsellers. Snapfish UK specialises in photo printing and personalised photo gifts so I knew I would find the perfect gift.

I decided to order some prints that I could turn into a lovely photo gift. I loved how Katie from The White Journal displayed her holiday memories and I wanted to create something similar with my Snapfish photo prints. It was really easy to chose the prints I wanted, and I added a white border to them to make them look a bit like Polaroids. Prices start at just 11p!

I then collaged the photos onto a plain piece of card adding some embellishments. I framed the piece and love how it turned out. It would make the perfect personalised photo gift, the only problem is I wanted to keep it for myself!

I then created a Hallmark photo mug that I could give to my friend as a gift to say thank you for a lovely day out. I chose a photo of the two of us. I picked a 'wanted' design which is fitting because we've always been partners in crime. This Hallmark photo mug was only £7.99.

To remember my day in a way that is easier to display I created a collage print. These are so simple to create as you simply add your chosen photos online and Snapfish will auto-fill the collage for you and you can tweak it however you like. I ordered a couple of these 7"x5" prints for just 22p each!

I have so many great memories from this day, thank you Snapfish for helping me to preserve and share these moments.

On a separate note, Snapfish also sell a range of personalised photo stickers and I got some little ones made with my blog logo. These are perfect for sealing treat bags full of sweets that I can give out and promote my blog at the same time. You could even pop these treats into one of the photo mugs which would make a great gift.

I had a lovely day with my friend Sabrina. We also played mini golf and walked so many miles and I'm so happy with my personalised photo gifts from Snapfish. Where have you been for a day out lately? How do you preserve your memories?

*I was provided with the personalised photo gifts from Snapfish free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please see my disclaimer for more information.