A perfect Sunday to a perfect week.

Hey... Can I just say how nice it was to have the clocks go back and gain an hour. Sure many would have spent it in bed but I got up early and got a few jobs done. I also woke up thinking wow, what a great week! :)

In case you missed it, see earlier post, I got a new job last week and I'm still beaming about it. As you can see I did have some celebratory chocolates (from my lovely mum) but I've devoured the lot as they're my absolute faves!

So Sunday was a great way to end a great week. I headed off to sunny or not so sunny Skegness to visit one of my best friends. It was a pretty steady drive down. I've loved driving ever since I got my Mini Cooper Automatic and I love singing along to my iPod :)

Arriving at Abi's, we decided to hit the shops...After my retail therapy the day before, I wasn't quite done with the spending it seemed! I picked up the above shoe/boots and considered them a bargain! Very comfy!

Later we went to the cinema to see the very long titled PG comedy film. It was actually really good. Worth a watch for sure! Of course no cinema trip is complete for me without popcorn and an ice blast. YUM.

We got back to the best Sunday roast :D Her mum is a great cook! And then chilled with a film- 'The Heat'. The more I watch that film, the more I love it.

As the title suggests, it really was a perfect Sunday to a perfect week.

x

Sonya Skincare: Aloe Refreshing Toner

Hey so I thought I'd share with you a really nice toner that I've been trying over the last month. Sonya's Aloe Refreshing Toner is really gentle on the skin (all the usual properties of using a Aloe product) but also very effective at removing that last bit of tough make-up and/or dirt that your cleanser or face wash missed!

As it says on the packaging, it is a alcohol-free product so is kind to skin and doesn't dry out your face like some toners tend to do. I love the benefits of the white tea ingredient giving your face some extra radiance and I love the smell! The scent is really pleasant and it reminds me of another of my favourite toner's: this Michael Todd one. 

I truly feel like this helps my skin to stay clean, fresh and moisturized. At £26.84 it is an high-end toner but a little bit goes a very long way. I haven't even used a 1/4 of the bottle so far and I've been using regularly for around 3-4 weeks now. I would highly recommend it.

You can purchase the product here.

* Please note: As with all the products there is an unconditional 60 day money back satisfaction guarantee. 

Give it a try and tell me what you think :)

Mini Haul! I couldn't resist :)

Hello! So after what has already quite possibly been the most exciting week EVER... (I'm off to Skegness shortly to see a good friend too yayyy! :) Please see here if you missed my news this week!)...what better way to round it off than with a bit of retail therapy. Well earned retail therapy too! So, with one of my best friends, Gina, I hit the shops! After we had a cheeky Nando's, of course!

In no particular order...below are my purchases!

We rather randomly chose to venture into Pulp. Quite an alternative store but I do have a secret love for their quirky designs, especially their Iron Fist heels! When I saw this handbag, I immediately liked it. I love horror and gore very much and the skeleton design really appealed to me! When I saw the price there was no question, I had to buy it. It feels really soft and the quality is brilliant value for money! I like that it has a variety of zips and compartments inside and I reckon it'll replace my everyday bag (the zip has broken on my current River Island one!). Love it! :)

Next up is one of my holy grail products. I did a review on the Elemis Tan Accelerator a while back, here, and I use it regularly. I get nervous when my tube starts to feel empty and this is possibly something like my 10th bottle! I got my fix from John Lewis. J'adore! 

I didn't mean to buy a candle, honest! :P I blame Gina for taking me into the Yankee Candle store...but as soon as I got a whiff of this gorgeous melon scent...I was at the till paying! It was burning all evening last night and I loved the fragrance...A LOT! Yummy. 

When I heard the Queen of blogging had a range of products out in Superdrug I had to go and have a peek! Yes, I'm a bit behind time but this was literally the first shopping trip I'd been on in ages! I love Zoella. She's such an inspiration in so many ways. I was tempted by all the products but it was the bath fizz bar that I ended up buying. I love how you can break off the pieces like a chocolate bar! I can't wait to pop some into my next bath!

Now, this is a purchase that I set out to make. After doing my Clean9 Detox back in August I've managed to maintain my slim figure. Which is great, but also means that my favourite jeans are a bit loose around my waist! So, I needed to get a belt badly! I purposely chose to buy one from Topshop as they cater well for petite figures :) I really like the flower design and the fact that my jeans will now no longer need pulling up every 2 minutes! Result!

 

And last but not least, Lush. Need I say anymore? Haha! Well actually I was very good indeed because none of it was for me. I bought The Comforter bubble bar (a lovely blackcurrant/ribena selling bar), along with the fab Golden Wonder bath bomb for my Mum's upcoming birthday. This bath bomb is my absolute favourite. It's also only available around Christmas time, so I better stock up soon! I picked up a second Golden Wonder for my Grandma's birthday. Everyone should experience the joys of a Golden Wonder! :) I won't spoil the surprise!

So there we go...I'm not sure of the damage to my Debit card but hey ho...this week was certainly worth celebrating and indulging! :P

Exciting times: Do more of what makes you happy!

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been away for a week or so, but I've literally been focusing on the above motto. I've been trying to strive towards making myself happier in life and taking advantage of all the good opportunities on offer. Sounds a bit deep right?...Well let me explain a little.

From the outside, over the past year or so, the people I've come across and met would probably describe me as quite a bubbly, confident and clearly happy person...And whilst I'd love to say this has always been the case, it hasn't!

I hid my sadness pretty well and quite possibly convinced my friends and even myself to some extent that I was enjoying working life. Of course work wasn't my entire life, but it was sadly a good 90% of it. A lot of work and not much play. Teaching is commonly known for it's work-life balance issues so I just accepted it.

I had a pretty rough start to teaching and my NQT year was traumatic to say the least. But it is true what they say, whoever they may be, the bad times sometimes do make you stronger. I could have quite easily chosen to give in. To quit the profession that I'd trained for for so long. My mum even thought I was going to have a break-down at one point. And I was close. But somewhere along the lines something switched inside me and I hardened up and starting seeing things more positively...things were going to get better!

And they did, sort of! I passed my NQT year anyway and that was a nice achievement. However, deep down I knew I still wasn't happy.

Little did I know a smile was just around the corner. In summer this year (2014) I was approached by a friend/acquaintance about a possible business opportunity. It was in the health and nutrition marketplace, which appealed to me immediately and the second income was also of great interest! Above is a picture of one of my business cards! Needless to say I joined the company called Forever Living Products and I haven't looked back since! If you're intrigued to find out a little bit more, I did a post a while back that you can have a read of: My new business venture or check out my website www.ellie.flp.com.

This business has been my reason for getting up in a morning with a big smile over the last couple of months and it continues to make me happy. I love being my own boss and taking charge of my business, whilst also being a part of a bigger team of people that have now become my friends.

And quite ironically the business is allowing me to become more confident with literally smiling, as the extra income is paying for me to have Invisalign braces! Something I have been wanting, FOREVER (another unintentional pun!)

But the happy just continues to get happier...

My Dad always says...if you aren't happy then moaning about it won't help. You have to go out there and change it. If you always do the same things then nothing will change or get better.

Cutting the fine details out, I went and dramatically changed my future this week and got myself a new teaching job. I received the letter for a interview on Monday at 10am, was doing the interview by 9am Tuesday and by 12:30pm that same day I was given the job! WAM, BAM, OVER THE MOON!

Start date: January 2015. Part-time Nursery teacher. 5 minutes drive from my house. Perfect.

Another motto that I swear by...It's true, you don't know how life will turn out. There will be ups and downs but there's only one person that can make things happen and change it...and that's YOU!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week. I know I am!

:)
Smile more, it's good for you.

Tweet: @ellie1989 

Lipstick: Flawless by Sonya

Hey so I thought I'd share with you my new favourite lipsick! It's the Shade 406 Watermelon by Sonya. The first thing that appealed to me was the lovely pinky colour followed by the nice subtle vanilla scent it has about it. 

As the product is Aloe Vera based and all natural it is very kind to the lips and moisturizes very well indeed! Another note-worthy fact is it's great staying power. It lasts much longer than I ever cared to give it credit for!

At £16.64 it's an upper-end lipstick but based on it's longevity and lipcare, not to mention lovely packaging I wouldn't expect the little tube to be anything less :) Also it comes in 12 great shades!...I already have my eye on the Cherry Red ;)

You can see the full range of lipsticks and other makeup items from the Flawless by Sonya brand here.