Monthly Archives

January 2017

Weekly Wardrobe – floppy hat & maxi skirt

January 30, 2017

Hello everyone! There’s one good thing about all this crappy weather: it’s great for portrait photography! The misty dreary drizzle diffuses the light beautifully and makes me look amazing (even if I do say so myself) haha! Seriously though, if you’d like a nice outdoor photo of yourself, now’s the time to do it. I love it when you remember something in your wardrobe that you’ve forgotten about for a while. I can’t believe I haven’t worn this floppy hat all winter, but I thought it would go perfectly with the rest of the outfit and also add some much needed colour…..

10 ideas to help you get through the day

January 29, 2017

I’m writing this on the dreariest January day ever with rain pouring down and freezing cold hands; it’s barely surprising that we are likely to feel depressed at this time of year. Some are lucky enough to only feel low in spirits every now and then, while others suffer with melancholia so bad they lose hope of never feeling that way again. The best way to deal with those times is usually distraction. By all means, take a little time to yourself if you need it, but then I think the best thing to do is find something else to keep your mind occupied. Here are some ideas…..

Lensbaby Trio 28 lens Review – The story of the photographs at Tyntesfield Manor

January 25, 2017

This was the biggest surprise Christmas present I’ve had! I didn’t even know about this lens, so I was amazed that not only it exists, but it fits my little mirrorless micro four thirds camera, the Panasonic GM1! One of my favourite photographers is Emily Soto – I adore the soft focus effects of her portraits, but without the equipment, I’ve had to try and emulate the style in post-processing, which I haven’t had the time yet to learn properly. Now, I have a lens that does it for me, and even better, there are three lenses in one!….

Weekly Wardrobe – Pink & lilac

January 23, 2017

On Saturday Chris and I had a look round Clark’s Village in Street on the hunt for boots for each of us – preferably in the last of the January sales! We were unsuccessful, but did come away with a few things we hadn’t intended on buying! We also stopped for a quick Weekly Wardrobe photo-shoot – I’m sorry if I look freezing, because I was!….

Jonathan Creek Christmas special, Daemons’ Roost

January 23, 2017

All too often I circle programmes excitedly in the Christmas double issue of the Radio Times, only to get carried away with goings on with the family and totally forget to look at it. If you’re the same, then one of the programmes you might have missed is the Christmas Special of Jonathan Creek. I don’t normally review telly, but this one was due a mention……

Matte eye shadow palette comparisons and reviews – Boots No. 7, Ulta, e.l.f. & Hard Candy

January 22, 2017

I don’t know whether it’s my age or personal preference, but although I think shimmery eye shadow looks great on other people; I don’t feel it suits me, so I’m always on the look-out for eye shadow palettes in matte – particularly if they’re not nude colours. As make-up is usually a bit cheaper in America , when we were there on holiday in summer, I bought a few to try …..

5 Positive ways to make your resolutions and goals actually work this time!

January 18, 2017

This point of January is the most depressing time of year for me. Christmas is already a distant memory and it seems winter cold and rain endlessly stretches ahead of us. It’s easy to see why so many give up on our enthusiasm for changes and goals that we vowed we’d do at the new year. In the past I’ve failed miserably at the things I set out to achieve, but I think I’ve since worked out why they went wrong and what I need to do to fix it and make them happen….

Weekly Wardrobe – Tweed steampunk

January 16, 2017

We were invited to visit the home of the Gibbs family at Tyntesfield Manor in the year 1891. (It was a National Trust event.) Of course, we took the opportunity to go for a theme with our outfits that day! I didn’t have much in the way of late Victorian clothing, so I decided to go for a bit of a steampunk look instead. It was an early start to ensure we could get tickets into the house, so in the hour we had to wait our turn, it was the perfect opportunity to wonder the grounds and take photos….

YouTube new requirements

Should I stop vlogging?

January 14, 2017

You might already know that I had a go at Vlogmas last year (It feels weird saying ‘last year’!) on my You Tube channel. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, ‘Vlogmas’ is a You Tube challenge to put up a vlog (video log) (Just in case my parents are reading this!) every day of December up until Christmas. I reached as far as day nineteen and sadly I had to give up. Even though I use an external hard-drive for the videos to free memory space; my old laptop just couldn’t keep up. Whenever I tried to edit my videos the mouse would freeze or go really slowly and the whole thing became impossible. Well Chris has been telling me for a while I needed to upgrade, and I have been coveting the pink macbook and I have finally bought one. Hooray! I can get back to video editing! Anyway, the question is, now that Vlogmas is over and I’ve nearly caught up on editing the videos; should I carry on?

Your Best Year 2017 by Lisa Jacobs, book review

January 12, 2017

This is a productivity workbook and online business planner and I first discovered last year’s version in March. I’m very excited to actually be starting this where I should be – from the beginning! I had a quick flick-through when I bought 2017’s planner in December. Take a look at this You Tube video for my first thoughts and comparisons. I’ve now spent the last three days properly reading the book and filling everything in ready to start the year; so I’m now ready to write the review….

Weekly Wardrobe – Christmas Party

January 9, 2017

I’m back with my regular Weekly Wardrobe feature, in the outfit I wore for our village Writers’ Group Christmas party. It was far too late in the day for photos outside, so we rigged up this handmade background (more on that another day) and a studio flash set-up. It was a pretty muddy day, so I only have socks on as I wore wellies to walk to and back from the party, and just had socks on while I was there as I knew it would just be sitting round a table and no-one would see my feet anyway! I couldn’t think of any stand-in party shoes at the last minute, so here I am, authentically in my socks!

The Beauty Bargain you need to know about today!

January 7, 2017

I am a fan of Boots No 7 beauty products – on the whole they work very well for my skin, so I was pleased to spot this gift pack in the Boots January sale called the No 7 Beautiful Skin Collection. Originally £14, it’s now half price at £7, which makes this a real bargain. It contains small size tubes and bottles of Radiance Exfoliator; Day Cream; Night Cream and Cleansing Lotion. But the main one to note is the full size bottle of Overnight Revitalising Eye Balm. The same size retails normally at £12, so if this is a product you’re likely to use, then the whole pack is an absolute steal. I’ve just bought two packs! My local Boots had stacks the other day, but only a few today, so get out quick to grab this while you can! Or I’ve just found it online. On a side note, they’re also doing a three for two on Boots No 7 beauty products in their usual price range at the moment and you’ve got one more day to use the £5 off beauty products and £3 off make-up vouchers they’re handing out at the till. (You’d have to work out if the three for two is better value as you can’t use both offers at the same time.) So there you are – just a very quick beauty tip I thought you might like to know about!