Saturday 25 August 2012

Wedding Blog #1: Our First Year

So if we've worked out our dates correctly, Craig and I met one year ago today! What better time to start my wedding blog?

When I met Craig, I'd been single maybe just over two months. As is always the way when you hear these stories, I wasn't looking for a relationship when I met him. I wouldn't say the break-up I'd gone through two months earlier was a particularly bad one, but the whole experience did make me want to be a bit selfish and have some me time for a while, going out with my friends without worrying about anybody else. The night he approached me, we just talked a lot and had a laugh, then he asked for my number when I had to leave. Although we were going on regular dates, I kept things more on a friendly level at first, as someone else who I had known longer was also asking me on dates. To keep things as simple as possible, I kept things on a friendly level with both of them for a few weeks while I was figuring it all out. We got very close, very quickly, so it didn't take too long for me to realise who it was I wanted to be with. After all of our dates, we would sit in the backseat of my car at the beach and talk for hours. We never, ever ran out of things to talk about. We could tell each other anything. I always used to cringe when people said this, but he really became like a best friend as well as a boyfriend. Within two months of getting together, he'd told me he loved me and that he was going to marry me. It sounds insane, and to be honest, it freaked me out a little. It was a good three or four months until I could start telling him I loved him first, or until I could start talking about marriage properly. I was really scared, and now I'm not actually sure why! It was a lot to take in, in such a short space of time. It's funny to see how people respond. One friend of mine freaked out when I told her this story, and she vowed she could never, ever get engaged or move in with someone so quick. I told her to wait until she meets the person she wants to be with for the rest of her life. I take great pleasure in teasing her now because merely weeks after she told me that, she met her current boyfriend and moved in with him within three months. She now completely understands where I'm coming from. I always know that people who criticise our relationship just don't understand, and won't understand until it happens to them, so it doesn't get to me. My parents got engaged after six months. They've been together 27 years, so it definitely proves that it really doesn't matter how long you've known each other before you get engaged.

I got my engagement ring in May. I don't know where this rumour came from, but I definitely did NOT run out and buy my own ring. I have no idea why someone would think that, but just to clear that up.. lol :) I did pick out several rings that I liked, and Craig then used those ideas to buy me the ring he ultimately decided on. It was really important to him to go out and choose something himself, and I'm really fussy so I had a hard time letting him do this at first, but in the end and after looking at literally millions of rings, I let him take control of the ring picking! I knew when he was going to give me it because he was a nervous wreck all day, which then made me nervous, and for some reason when I'm nervous I laugh so we laughed all the way through his little proposal/ring presentation haha. It's white gold with 7 little cluster diamonds, so it's very sparkly, just the way I wanted it! He did really good!

Our engagement party is in seven weeks, so I'll be back with another wedding blog soon focusing on how we celebrate our engagement :)

Friday 24 August 2012

Montagne Jeunesse Dead Sea Mud Spa


Recently I was sent a sachet of Montagne Jeunesse Dead Sea Mud Spa, which is a clay-infused fabric mask, something I've never tried before. I have dry skin so I was a little skeptical about using a clay mask as I assumed it would be more suited for oily skin, but I decided to try it anyway. The texture of it was slightly watery but it quickly settled on the skin. The mask is meant to be a once-a-week spa-like treat, and it definitely felt like a luxury to use as wearing the actual mask kind of forced me to sit down and take ten minutes out while I let it get to work. After washing it off, thankfully my skin didn't feel dried out but actually soft and pretty refreshed. The clay kind of had a 'cooling' effect which I liked. I would definitely use it again, I am thinking about making it my weekly skin treatment inbetween facials. What I also like about this brand is that it's suitable for vegetarians, against animal testing, and BUAV & PETA-approved. Find out more at montagnejeunesse.com

Thursday 23 August 2012

I'm Back!

I was gone way longer than I intended to be! It's been a crazy few weeks with moving and working and now finally we have the internet set up so I can get back to updating.

So, I guess I'll tell you a little about where I've been and what I've been doing! We've settled into our new home well. I've always said that I would never live with anyone unless I'm engaged to them, so this is the first (and only) time I've moved in with someone. Everyone told me to be prepared for disagreements - the first week was the worst! Especially as it was also an incredibly stressful week at work as well, next time I have to do this, I know to take the week off! But overall, we've actually adjusted pretty well. The apartment block we live in is very secure and has designated car parking spaces, plus I we live a short walk away from university and the town centre, so it's pretty much perfect for us. The flat itself has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open plan kitchen and living area.

As for work, it has been an interesting experience and honestly, it's flown over! I'm glad I got involved with the company to give myself something to do over summer, and I feel I've learned a lot. It turns out I can actually work flexible hours for them when I go back to university too, which is really good as it's always helpful to get some work experience and extra £££!

That's all I've been up to! Look out for some new posts in the next few days!

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Short Hiatus

As mentioned, we moved into our new home on Saturday! We're still trying to find our feet so there probably won't be much in the way of updates this week as I'm working quite a lot as well as unpacking and decorating. We haven't properly sorted our internet connection out either which makes it harder. I will be back to making updates ASAP!

Thursday 2 August 2012

Ten Day Make-Up Challenge Day One: One Make-Up Product You Use Everyday

 
One make-up product I use everyday is Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Before I worked for Urban Decay over the Christmas period last year, I had never used an eyeshadow primer, and from the training I went through provided by them, I discovered what the fuss about primers was. This is one of Urban Decay's most popular products and it's not really hard to see why. A tiny bit goes a very long way, you just need to squeeze a little of the product on your finger and dab on your eyelid and under the eyes, then anything you put on top of that stays put all day. Because of this, my tube has lasted me ages even though I use it everyday. You can buy this for £14.50 from Debenhams

Wednesday 1 August 2012

August Shopping Haul

Once a month, I go to the Metro Centre for a girly shopping trip and make a day of it as there's so many shops and places to eat. I think going out shopping too much gets a bit boring when you keep looking at the same things all the time, so I limit myself to one big monthly trip to do some girly bonding time :) Since moving day is three days away my mam kindly bought us a kettle, cutlery, food containers, all the towels we'll ever need (hand, bath, tea) and a vase so I can take the beautiful flowers Craig sent me the other day..

How pretty are they? I'm not going to post pictures of my new homeware as I don't think people are particularly interested in the colour of my towels haha, but you may remember the other day I set a goal of replacing my current products with organic ones. Today I wandered into Boots to check out their Botanics range, as they've had a bit of a make-over recently. I love the new packaging, much better than it was before. I was interested in trying a few products, but what I decided on trying today was the 100% Organic Rosewater Toning Spritz.

There are a couple of reasons I bought this, and the main reasons were: no animal testing, 100% organic, no parabens, and I've been reading everywhere that rosewater is really good for your skin. I'm excited to use it, and of course I will be reviewing it at a later date. It's on offer for £3.32 at the moment (I bought it using my advantage card points today, which was an extra bonus!), which personally I think is really good for an organic product which I tend to find are usually a bit more expensive than other brands.

I have also become a bit of a fan of Ikea, it has literally everything!! I have to show you a picture of a display they had of the perfect wardrobe..

I reeeeeally want this! It's not pictured, but on the right side of the wardrobe the mirror opens into a jewellery stand too. This is my dream! Even if you're not that interested in interior decorating, it's funny how Ikea's little show rooms can get you so excited about furniture.. or is that just me?