A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a lovely event in London - a spring celebration in honour of Pandora's new spring/summer jewellery collection. Held at the beautiful Bourne and Hollingsworth Buildings in Clerkenwell, the garden theme was in evidence as soon as I walked through the door, perfectly in keeping with the whimsical designs of the new jewellery pieces, all inspired by gardens.

The main event of the evening was a terrarium making workshop, which turned out to be pretty difficult, but a lot of fun. It was such a great idea too, as it meant that all of us bloggers immediately had something to bond over and talk about. I met some lovely girls, including Layla from Sprinkles of Style, whose blog I have followed for years now. It's so nice when you finally meet someone in person who has become so familiar online.

We also enjoyed champagne and canapés, although you had to grab them quick as there was a lot of soil flying around! 

Finally, terrariums complete, we were able to sit back, chat, and admire the jewellery. Floral designs are quite dominant in the collection, as are butterflies and four leaf clovers. I can definitely imagine layering the delicate pieces together to pair with pretty summer dresses and blouses. I was even given a ring to take home with me, which will make a beautiful addition to my jewellery collection and which I know I will wear often.

I had an amazing time at the event so thank you so much Pandora for inviting me! Do check out my video to get a flavour of the evening, and if you fancy shopping any of the jewellery, you can find it here, with a little more information on the inspiration behind the collection here.

Are you a fan of Pandora jewellery? And will you be picking up any pieces from the new collection?

Kate x

Happy Friday all! It's not long now until the big day, and Mike and I took a trip out this week to buy our Christmas tree from a nearby forest. It definitely got us in the festive spirit! Of course I took the opportunity to vlog the occasion - this is as close to vlogmas as I was ever going to get this year!

When it comes to decorating the tree, I've stuck to a colour theme for the past few years - mostly gold, silver and white, with a few touches of red here and there. I always really like how this combination turns out. If you want to see, you can watch the video on YouTube, or right here.

Is your tree up yet? And how have you decorated it?

Kate x

Well hello there! It's been a while, and things are looking a little bit different around here! As you'll probably know if you follow me on Instagram, I've had a couple of breaks away recently. One was to sunny Cyprus, the other to beautiful York. I vlogged the York trip, and shared it on my YouTube channel a couple of days ago. I've delayed posting it here until now, as I've been busy giving my blog a new look and template. I'm not quite finished playing around with it yet, but I'm loving the change so far, so I hope you like it too.

So what is this new look all about, I hear you ask. (Or maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anyway!)  Well, my trips away provided the perfect opportunity to sit back, reflect and take stock of the past year. As a result, I've found my mind jumping ahead to new year goals a little earlier than it usually would. When it comes to my blog and online presence, I've made some achievements I'm proud of in the last twelve months, but I really want to up my game in 2019. I won't go into too much detail now, partly because I haven't got it all figured out yet, and partly because I might do a proper blog post on it closer to the end of the year. But essentially, this explains both the new template and my absence for the past few weeks.

I'm still hoping to get some lovely new content up for you in December, but please do bear with me if consistency is sketchy for a little while longer. It has never been my strong point, so I hope it won't make too much difference if I take a little more time now to work on my goals, rather than jumping straight back in to the same old habits. After all, if I'm going to hit the ground running in 2019, then I'm going to need a solid plan, right?!

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy visiting York with me! Click here if you prefer to watch the vlog on YouTube, otherwise, here it is!

Until next time!

Kate x

A couple of weeks ago, my husband Mike and I treated ourselves to a night out in Harrogate, one of our favourite towns in North Yorkshire. It's only about an hour's drive from us, but we decided to stay overnight just to make it that little bit more special.

I've tried to capture a little bit of the town here, (some of it through our dirty car windscreen - apologies for that!) and it is well worth a visit if you ever find yourself in this part of the world. It has some lovely boutiques, art and antique shops as well as a great selection of the higher end high street stores, and loads of restaurants and cafes too. Betty's Tea Room is particularly famous, although we didn't eat there this time as we have been many times before. I also love looking at the townhouses here - they are beautiful.

Architecture and town amenities aside, this vlog also features food, (amazing pasta at Galo's Kitchen, totally recommend!) my outfits and a mini Get Ready With Me. You even get to see a tiny glimpse of Mike! 

You can watch the video on my YouTube channel or right here. If you enjoy it, I would love it if you subscribed for more vlogs as well as fashion and beauty content.

Until next time!

Kate x

Despite being a beauty lover, I've never been tempted to subscribe to a beauty box. I've always felt that they can be a bit hit and miss in terms of what's included, and the thought of ending up with a lot of sample sized products I'm not really bothered about, for the privilege of paying a monthly fee, just isn't something that's ever appealed to me. These days, though, the subscription box market has expanded to different areas, and lately, I've found one that I really like. It's called Scent By Mail, and if you're as obsessed with scented candles and home fragrance as I am, chances are you will like it too.

Scent By Mail has been recently established by a lady called Lauren who has spent many years working in the home fragrance market and has a huge passion for filling her own home with scent. Working with 40 of the world's top brands, Scent By Mail aims to select a variety of seasonal fragrances each month, including scented candles, reed diffusers, scented sachets and more. They also offer a variety of options when it comes to buying from them. You can choose from 3, 5 or 7 piece boxes, on a rolling monthly subscription or a 3, 6 or 12 month plan. You can also buy one off boxes, or you can choose any of the above as a gift for someone else. I was sent the 5 piece Scent Enthusiast box*, which  arrived looking beautiful, and smelling even better. So what was inside?

I'm a huge Yankee Candle fan, so I was thrilled to find one in the box, especially as it was a scent I hadn't tried before. A Calm & Quiet Place is new for 2018 and contains jasmine, patchouli and warm amber musk. All of these are favourites of mine, so it's no surprise that I've found a new candle obsession with this. I rarely burn candles in my home office while I'm working, but I've been doing that with this one and I'm loving it.

This is so pretty to look at, and there is something really addictive about the heady, sweet scent of it. It actually reminds me of a perfume I used to wear years ago, although I can't exactly remember what that perfume was, if that makes any sense! This is a brand I have heard of but never got around to trying, and I think that's one of the nice things about a subscription box like this, as you get that opportunity to become more familiar with different brands as opposed to just sticking with what's tried and tested.

Speaking of becoming familiar with different brands, this is one that was completely unknown to me, so it was interesting to find it in the box. It's absolutely gorgeous - a beautiful combination of tuberose, violets and amber which really fills the room with scent. Apparently, this is one of Shearer's bestselling fragrances and it's not hard to see why.

This requires a set up with a dish for the wax melt and a tea light underneath to melt it. I don't have one of these, so haven't tried this out yet, although it smells beautiful through the packaging! 

The final item in the box is something a little bit different - a scented sachet which you can slip into your wardrobe, linen cupboard, underwear drawer or anywhere you like. A delicious combination of patchouli, sparkling tea and fruity notes, it's another addictive fragrance and I'll definitely be keeping this on a shelf in my wardrobe to make my clothes smell incredible!

Although monthly subscription boxes have never really been my thing, I've absolutely loved this one and I'd definitely consider getting another, either as a treat to myself every now and then or as a gift for a friend. Prices start at £13.50, while the 5 piece box like mine costs £20 per month plus £2.95 for postage and packaging.

*Gifted item. All opinions, as always, are my own.

How often have you seen #eatclean beneath one of my Instagram posts? That's right, never. As much as I like healthy food (I enjoy my avocado on toast as much as the next blogger), I'm definitely no super clean eating, dairy free, sugar free, gluten free vegan goddess. I like my red meat too much. And, for that matter, a nice, crusty white baguette. And chocolate. And the occasional glass of wine. And chocolate.

It's probably also worth noting that I have a naturally skinny body type, and it's hard to feel motivated to cut a lot of things out of your diet when you know you'll end up looking like a walking skeleton as a result.


 
That said, I'm always careful to keep things as healthy as realistically possible, and when it comes to adding the stuff that's good for me, I'm a lot more likely to make the effort. Particularly - and I'm not sure if I should admit this - when that good stuff is likely to improve my looks as well as my health. Yep, I'm vain and shallow, what can I say?!


When I heard about Beauty Elixir*, a supplement powder created by Alchemy Super Blends, it sounded right up my street. I don't usually take supplements, except for multivitamins occasionally if I've been feeling a bit run down, but the nice thing about this one is that it's completely organic and made from superfoods. There is nothing more annoying than taking something that is supposed to be good for you and wondering if some of the ingredients are actually bad for you! With Alchemy Super Blends, you are literally getting powdered berries and plants, and nothing else. The Beauty Elixir contains baobab, acai, goji berries, camu camu, pea protein and wheatgrass - in other words, the perfect cocktail of anti-oxidants, Vitamins C and E, beta carotene and iron to promote collagen production, protect skin and encourage healthy hair and nail growth. The Alchemy team was also kind enough to send me sample packs of their other Elixirs - Morning*, Sport* and Energy* - which all contain slightly different blends.


Another thing I really appreciated was the little cards included in the package which offered suggestions of recipes to add the powders to. I've had the morning shot a few times, and while I can't say it's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted, it's certainly drinkable, and it's great to know I'm giving my body a nice dose of goodness to start the day on! The Alchemy website is also a good source of other healthy recipes for smoothies, juices, porridge, energy balls etc, all of which enable you to integrate the powders into your daily diet.

The Alchemy Super Blends Elixirs are a great way to supplement your diet in a natural way and I will definitely be using the Beauty one to make sure I'm looking my best this summer! Have you tried any natural supplements?

Kate x