Snapshot Sunday | 2nd - 8th April 2017

Hello again

Here's a breakdown of the week in pictures. I love taking photos so I just thought I'd share some of my favourites from the week. It's not very often that I miss a day!

Kicking off the week with Sunday 2nd April I had a near on perfect relaxing day in with the tv and my laptop. Dan and I have been enjoying little walks on Sundays over the winter but on saturday I felt really ill whilst out so while Dan was at work I settled myself down on the sofa to enjoy watching the opening rounds of the British Touring Car Championships and support races on tv (Dan made it home to watch the races too). I did some orange army spotting and saw our chum Ian!

On monday I had a planned Drs appointment and did a little bit of shopping whilst I was out and about. I was soooo happy that Kiko had some of the infinity refills in. They were in the sale too!
My sister is off uni at the moment so its been lovely to spend some quality time with her. I'm looking forward to a bit more sister time next week.

 On Tuesday I wrote about my long distance friendships. I liked having a topic to write about but not sure i'm going to make it a weekly thing - more a case of if and when a topic comes up that I feel I have something to contribute or share then I will write about it. I won't force anything just for the sake of typing.

I went to see Beauty and the Beast with my friend in the evening... I absolutely loved it! I could see past a couple of annoying bits but on the whole I was totally wowed! I want to own it already so I can watch it every day!

I was looking for my favourite pair of sunglasses on Wednesday. They have "been on a break" from me for some time now and I admit it, I'm not ready to let them go so I set out on a mission to find them! Whilst on my mission I realised that they probably abandoned me because they were an option and not a priority in my sunglasses wearing life! (Jokes). Anyway all jokes aside, eyesight is so so so important to me since having both optic nerves pierced to relieve pressure that had built up. It's a once in a lifetime operation for each eye so sun protection is vital. I rest my case for having so many pairs! And I am always lusting after new *completely unaffordable* pairs!
This was also a date night for us to celebrate our wedding anniversary and I wore false eyelashes for the first time in years! I was happy with my final look.

 Thursday - Happy Anniversary Dan! Four years which is apparently linen and flowers! It's not been the easiest four years of our lives but we have taken every hurdle together. It was such a lovely day. My mum and sister came and surprised us with a "you're not lifting a finger" invite for a meal of our choice with love from everyone at their house to ours. We decided to share it with them and had a Chinese takeaway as we had already celebrated our anniversary meal the night before. We were given table linen and flowers (an artificial bouquet constructed by my little nephew, sister and mum). Dan got bright blue lillies and a huge bunch of yellow roses and daffodils. Daffodils were featured in our wedding and that little touch made me so so happy!

 Our house smells AMAZING! I arranged the flowers in the morning and they are on our mantle. I wish I could bottle the feeling that I have when I see and smell these beautiful flowers! My boy did good! I'm so blessed!

 A groggy start to the day and mega sore eyes so minimal make up (and a moody face apparently). I got some housework done and then we went on an adventure to look for a purse friendly rain/sun shelter. While we were out Dan had to stop and admire the Ferrari 458 Italia in the carpark... the noise that came out of him wasn't human I'm sure. Dan has driven the 360 modena but I think would give body parts to drive the Italia! We saw so many convertibles out yesterday! *dreams*.

Today has been quite a slow one - a pretty lovely Sunday really. I've been catching up on loads of laundry and chilling with Dan after he got back from his bike ride.

What's coming up?
This next week I have got a few exciting things planned. - It feels so odd to say I have planned stuff because generally my life is quite last minute!

I am travelling to Cambridge to go and see my friend perform in the musical version of The Full Monty! I'm having a few days there because gone are the days where I can do it all in a day! (It's going to be lovely to have some quality time with my friend and her family too)!

My friend, Serena is bringing me back because next weekend we are going to Donington Park to see the BTCC. I'm soooo ready for that!

Then... Of course It's easter!!!!! So much to look forward to! I hope that this relatively good/manageable spell lasts and I get to fully enjoy everything ahead!

For more "what I'm up to" pics, you can follow me on instagram: littlegoldendaffodil.

Have a good week everyone!

Kiko - my first time!

Hello everyone

Yet again, it's been a crazy few days for me. I think I need to start building up a bank of posts rather than give you regular as they happen updates so to speak. This weekend my sister asked me if I'd like a trip with her into the city centre as she wanted to go shopping for a birthday present for a friend and thought I'd like the trip out (Dan was awake bike riding).

We got into Nottingham and into the Victoria Shopping Centre where the first shop I saw was Kiko Cosmetics. Now, I have read blogs over magazines and watched YouTube over TV for about 3 years now so of course I have heard about Kiko and of course that meant me throwing myself and my sister into this wonderful, colourful cave of make-up, skin care and everything in between!

First hit - eyeshadows.
The display on the right hand side was full of colourful discs from luminous yellow and sparkly blues to subtle matte beige and warm copper colours. They were the infinity range. They were all on offer, as were the magnetic palettes that housed them. Not surprising every colour that I was interested in was sold out! According to the member of staff who was (not) helping us, Kiko are changing the infinity range hence why they are all so cheap now! (What better excuse to go back huh?)
Next to them were some "colour sphere" shadows. These are super high pigment and have a beautiful pay off. The ones I tried were all quite shimmery and can be used with water to create a more intense look. I bought the shade 20. Price: £5.90

It's a beautiful pewter colour which I think will look lovely either as a subtle sheen wash or built up then blended with a darker colour for a smokey eye (I'm thinking prom make up for a black or blue gown).
The water shadows look incredible! A definite dupe for Mac to look at. I didn't get a chance to sample any because the shop was so crammed I was kind of being pushed along so the general shopping experience wasn't that fun!
Best purchase "Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow" - I HAD to go and get me one of these! I have read so much about them! they have been compared to the By Terry Ombre Blackstar and at £6.90 I couldn't afford to walk by and not give them a try! I got the shade 28 and I definitely have the need to now go back and get more (probably darker) shades. I can't quite justify the £29 for the By Terry version but £6.90 for a very similar product is definitely more do-able I think!

The display of lip products was immense! I love the way that you can see the colours and ranges clearly. I have wanted an orangey red lipstick for ages but have never dared to go and get one. Well, my sister picked out THE colour that I have been longing for. A hint of orange, a lot of red and totally creamy with a nice shine. It was only £3.90 as well so not breaking the bank at all!

I've yet to try this on my lips and have a feeling it's going to be one of those lipsticks that will need a lot of touch ups but I love the colour and I think it will look lovely with a bit of a tan.

I have to admit that I found my first Kiko experience quite overwhelming. I don't usually feel too comfortable in crowded shops. The Nottingham store isn't that big so it filled up quite quickly with customers. Also, I wasn't really prepared for my trip. I am the kind of person that has to dress a certain way to shop for myself. It might seem odd but I have to be in the right mood and that includes being dressed to shop. However, I was totally happy to browse the products and help my sister make some purchases and I am really happy with my little lot! I'm gutted that they had sold out of the setting spray - just a little excuse to go back soon *wink wink*.

I must take the time to tell you about my sister now. She used to be the one out of us both that spent more time on herself. She's always had lovely hair and she can get her face made up looking stunning in no time at all. When she had her son, she got rid of a lot of her make-up. She simply lost her "me" time and focused her everything on her new baby. There is absolutely nothing at all "wrong" with that and obviously, I think she is beautiful any way but recently she has been talking to me about getting started with make up again to make herself feel good. Well, she didn't need to have that chat twice! I got her a little Ted Baker make up bag (in the sale - it was seriously cheap at £5.80) and stuffed in some basics to get her started. Since then I have gone through my stuff and sorted out what I could give to her. Well, this Kiko trip showed me a bit of my old sister. She was talking about make up and colour like she used to. She was offering advice to another customer who couldn't decide on a lipstick colour and it was just lovely to see my sister be the confident and lovely person I know that she has always been! The added advantage of Kiko cosmetics is that it is purse friendly! My sister went giddy when she saw a lipstick for £3.90 and nail polish for as little as £1.00! That's cheaper than some drugstore brands! She got herself a little basket and picked up a really bright pink nail varnish, some lipstick and eyeshadow. It was like we were teens again!


Have you got a Kiko near you? What are your top 3 beauty buys?

Bank holiday, friends, Olly Murs and Robin Hood! A new princess!

Hello again!

I know, I know, I typically blog on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but I have had some friends staying here this weekend for the bank holiday weekend (which for one of my friends included yesterday). I've also decided to add Sunday blogs too (The beauty bit) starting this Sunday!

So.... Bank holiday, what did I get up to?

On Thurdsay (April 30th) my friend, Serena drove from Milton Keynes to my house because we had tickets to go and see Olly Murs "Never Been Better" tour on Friday and she wanted to be here so she could have a slow get up take time getting ready. We didn't stay up late on Thursday because we knew that Friday would be a late night.

On Friday I found it so difficult to wake up (11am!) my other friend was en route from Cambridge to come for the concert. She arrived at my house at lunch time and we all went into my spare room/dressing room to get ready. I planned to cook an early meal for us before the concert because of travel and timings. I figured that a pasta bake would be the best bet because I could shove it in the oven and leave it to cook while I continued to get ready. Everything went like clockwork and come 4pm we were ready to head to the tram station.

Without giving too much away about the concert (because you can read and see it all on my blog coming up on Friday) it was AMAZING!! Ella Eyre who was supporting sang as if she was singing for her life with how on point she was. I tweeted her telling her how amazing she sounded and she "favourited" it! Buzzing! As for Olly, he was freaking crazy good! Ok, ok! Here you go! A sneaky peak from the concert.




All of these pictures are my own. If you intend to use them elsewhere please contact me for permission, thanks.

I was blown away! I'm not a complete Olly Murs junkie or crazy ass fan like some of the girls that were there but to look at, YES he's pretty fine and he can SIIIIING! live, he's amazing. He's got the mooooves! Stage presence, voice, looks... he has the package and I am a fan, I am just not one of "those" fans that I think are a bit creepy... y'know, the type that would literally pull him off the stage given half a chance. Yes I'd love to chat with him and have a jam session on the piano but not jump all over him - let's face it I'm a married woman and I have a brain condition lol - gotta keep it real haha. Saying that, when he laid over the white grand piano I was a little speechless and probably had the biggest smile on my face hahaha. HOT HOT HOT!!!! lol. Seriously, read my post on Friday - It will ALL be there!

Ok, *SNAP* I'm awake again - We were all absolutely shattered on Saturday so by the time it got to lunch time, we were just starting breakfast! After brunch we headed into chesterfield to find one of my friends an outfit for a hen do that she's going to. We had already booked to go to the red hot buffet in the evening so we didn't have too long to shop before we had to come home and get ready for the evening meal. Saturday was quite chilled and rather short really. My family came with us for the meal out so it felt a bit like an unofficial celebration.. Well I guess we can call it a celebration of a new princess as The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. Charlotte Elizabeth Diana - what a beautiful, regal name for a Royal baby.

Laura left shortly after breakfast (which again, was more of a brunch) on Sunday. I love how relaxed my friends are when it comes to timings. It takes me a while to "get going" in a morning and quite often it's not until quite late in the morning until I'm functioning in a recognisable human like way. They just go with the flow and have helped so, so much this weekend with washing pots and going at my pace. Love those girls so much! Dan took me and Serena into town so we could have a little beauty trip to TK Maxx... That might seem strange that I say beauty at TK Maxx but recently I have found some lovely little bargains in there. On this trip I got a two faced lipstick which I love, love, LOVE and another Ciate nail polish... I will probably blog about my TK Maxx beauty finds soon! you can get some really good stuff if you know where to look! I also got the cutest little organiser that I'm going to use for my blog posts. It's a folder style weekly organiser with post-it type sticky notes to put on and completely satisfies my inner stationery geek.

We went to see the new Avengers movie (Our way to treat Dan for putting up with a full on girly fest all weekend). I really enjoyed it... much more than I thought I would! It has made me want to watch all of the other Marvel movies! I really wasn't that into the idea at first but I am completely converted! My favourite is Iron Man but that said, if I could create my very own I would combine Thor and Iron Man - ultimate eye candy/hero combination haha. Who is your favourite? Who would you combine to make your perfect superhero?

Yesterday, (Bank holiday Monday) was a glorious sunny day so we took Serena to one of our local attractions - The Major Oak. Anyone familiar with the story, the legend, the films surrounding Robin Hood will know about the Major Oak. Serena has been coming to Mansfield for 11 years and I have never taken her to the big tree!!! She absolutely loves fairy tales and legend stories so it just had to be done on such a glorious day. (Plus she put in a request if the weather was nice). The signs say it's about a 20minute walk from the visitor centre but I don't think it took us that long to get there. It was a lovely walk. Serena was fascinated by the carvings that had been done out of felled / fallen trees along the path. I haven't been to the centre for a while (I think it's one of those things when it's on your doorstep you overlook it so to speak). It hasn't changed too much but the tree is held up more than it used to be.

Me and Serena and a big ol' Oak Tree (it's only taken me 11 years to take her there)!

Whilst we were waiting for ice cream I noticed that Serena was wearing her arrow earrings - very apt for the occasion!

 After an ice cream stop (and lots of photos), we got in the car and headed to Matlock Bath for a chippy tea. I think everyone had the same idea yesterday. We managed to get parked (eventually) and our tea in one of the fish and chip restaurants followed by a walk along the river being entertained by a group of teenagers who had hired row boats out! They were having a girls 'v' boys race and the girls were either going in circles or crashing into the river bank. The boys, on the other hand were having a competition of there own of who has the bigger muscles! It was rather funny.

 

I wanted to show Serena Bakewell on the way home but there was no parking so we just headed home. The traffic was horrendous so pretty much as soon as we got back to our house Serena had to head back to Milton Keynes.

Dan and I curled up on the settee and watched Iron Man to end a crazy bank holiday weekend. I was absolutely shattered but it has been heaps of fun with some of my favourite people on this planet!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend wherever you are in the world. What have you been up to? Leave me a comment with the most fun thing you have done this weekend.

Please don't forget to add me on Twitter: @hangoldendaff and Instagram: littlegoldendaffodil
you can also find Serena on Instagram: serenacharlotte86

Love and Hugs.

LYBS: My hometown (part two) - Mansfield In My Eyes

Hello again! 
This is part two of my link up with Let Your Blog Shine. If you didn't see part one on Monday, you can read it by clicking here. Today I am going to give you a bit of a tour of my home town in my own eyes. Mansfield doesn't have the best reputation but there are some lovely places to go and as with most towns, there are some really good spots and some really awful spots. It happens EVERYWHERE! From the many good places, I have picked out my favourite few. Here they are... Enjoy!
 
Days out.
Berry Hill Park


View of the field and pond (photo taken on 25.04.15)





My Grandparents (Dads mum and Dad) used to live very near to this lovely park and Athletics track. One of my fondest memories of going to the park as a child was with Grandma and Grandad. I had just learnt to ride my bike and we went from their house to the park. I remember Grandad telling me a story about communication towers (there's one just after you enter the park). He said that when he used to work on restoring wireless signals, he used to think they were great big climbing frames. He always had a story to tell and he always had three very interested grandchildren to listen. We always used to get warm sweets from his pocket too... he never went to the park (or anywhere for that matter) without sweets and they always stuck to the wrapper so we had to suck them until the paper went all mushy and soggy! – He was a big kid at heart really even though he always seemed ‘old’. He’d laugh at me saying that now!

As an adult I go there for picnics. It’s changed from what it was when I was little and it doesn’t quite feel the same but it’s a nice place to go and Dan and I have often grabbed a sandwich (usually from Tom, Dick and Harriets) and headed there for a change of scenery.

Rufford Country Park

The lake at Rufford Country Park.

 

I might as well keep on the theme of Parks and outings with family. Although it is not actually in my home town, it is a very short drive away from my actual home.  Rufford Country Park is somewhere else that has happy memories of family time. I have even taken friends there who aren’t from the area for trips out on sunny days. It has a sculpture park and gorgeous gardens along with historic buildings, great park land, craft/gift shops and delicious food and drink from the cafe. There’s a lake too and many, many hours were spent as a child throwing food for the ducks and running away from the geese. My favourite spot at Rufford is the ford (or what is locally known as ‘the water splash’).  The fenced area is so close to the road that you get to see the water splash over the cars and it’s almost like a game for everyone involved. On a sunny day people can be 6/7 rows deep just waiting for a car (or even better, a van) to go through just a bit faster than the rest so that the water splashes really high! There’s a bridge right opposite and if cars go through at any speed anyone brave enough to walk on the bridge gets wet! I’ve done that walk once and got drenched! It was so fun!

The Sculpture trail.

Since I’ve finished university and moved back home I have taken friends there. Hannah was the first of my uni friends to take a trip with me. Unfortunately we don’t have any photos to hand of that trip. Serena has also been (and while we were there, I phoned Hannah so she is technically in one of the photos). I’ve added a couple of photos but please take note that these photos are a few years old now!

Rufford Park will always have a special place in my heart. It’s where I have the best memories of my paternal grandparents. On the evening that my Grandma died Dan (then my boyfriend) drove me to Rufford because he knew the sentimentality of the place. I took a flower and threw it into the ford and watched it float under the bridge... That night there was a wedding reception being held there... it was almost like the circle of life in a way with the marriage marking the birth of a new life as husband and wife and me being there throwing flowers marking the end of a fabulous long life that my grandma lived. She had been with my Grandad since the age of 12/13 and Grandad died 10 years before she did so she was finally re-united with her soul mate! It made me want to get married there one day (when Dan and I enquired for our big day, they couldn’t cater for all of our guests). Maybe one day we can renew our vows there instead and have a smaller ‘do’!

 Shopping

Possibly my favourite past time and I’ve loved shopping since being a child. Well, I say that I love shopping but my love changes from time to time. I have affairs with different categories. Clothes, makeup, jewellery, specific items, household furnishings but NEVER grocery shopping! I have tried to love it but it still remains a chore! It’s getting slightly easier with the fact my little cousin has a summer job on the checkout! Anyway, my current favourite shops in town are (in no order).

• TKMaxx
• Boots
• Superdrug
• Next (clothing and home)
• New Look
• Haags jewellers – my engagement ring came from there and I LOVE the jewellery Richard stocks and has made.
• Pandora
• Martin Wilkinson Jewellers (hello Vivienne Westwood jewellery :D)

Dining

Eating out – We don’t tend to eat out in Mansfield too much because we opt for going into Nottingham or Chesterfield depending on what we are doing. However, there are some lovely places to go in Mansfield. Brown’s Bar is somewhere I really like. I went there with my mum, sister, brothers partner and my mother-in-law the afternoon before I got married. We had afternoon tea which was delicious and then more recently I was surprised with a champagne *spritzer for me* breakfast there organised by two of my uni friends for my 30^th birthday!



My birthday at Browns



 

I’ve heard so many good stories about Il Roso and The Red but I’ve not been for a long, long time so maybe they would be options for date nights (yep, we still have date nights even though we’re married).

 

My ultimate favourite place

As cheesey as this may sound I have got to say that I have two favourite places in Mansfield... My childhood home is one of the places that I have to say is my favourites. I have so many happy memories there and they continue to grow as my parents are still there and although the house has changed a little bit and we have grown up and flown that nest, it will always have an essence of home. (As well as a LOT of my belongings still being in the loft – eeeeek – I WILL clear it out!!!). And last but by no means least my favourite place is right here, at the place I now call home! The place that two old practical strangers from school became friends and fell in love then merged his love of Arsenal, bikes, cars, gaming, lego and batman with her love of music, dance, theatre and flowers, make up,  clothes and monkeys. It might not be everyones ‘cup of tea’ but it’s where we call home! It doesn’t really matter that we’re not in what is perceived as being ‘the best’ town in the world, or even in the country but what I have here is good enough for me and really, what is “perfect”?

I hope you've liked your little Hannah-made tour of Mansfield. I'd like to hear about your hometown too! If you've written a blog about it, pop a link in the comment and I will go and have a read. 

Tell me your top three things to do/places to visit in your hometown in the comments!

 

Love and hugs.