Embrace the tartan trend

Hi!

I don't know about you, but I'm really liking tartan clothing recently and I've purchased a red tartan swing dress from www.needthatlook.com which has just been delivered! I was so excited to try it on that I've taken my pictures almost immediately after I put the dress on, so excuse the lack of tan or accessories! 

The dress cost £12.49 (bargain) and is lovely. The material is very soft and the shape is flattering for my short little self! :) 

I must admit, I didn't have high expectations for such a low priced dress, but how wrong was I?! Very! It really is a great little dress. I've teamed it with black heels and bare legs but it will look amazing with ankle boots too or even with tights on. I think I'll also wear a black jacket and a statement necklace. 

You can get this dress by clicking the following link: http://www.needthatlook.com/red-tartan-swing-dress/ 

Or by finding them on Facebook. Just search for 'want that look'. 

Thanks for reading :) please leave your links so I can take a look at all your amazing blogs :)

Love Kirsty xxx

Mother's Day mental block!!!

Hi everyone!

I need your help!!! I am really struggling on what to get my lovely mum for Mother's Day. 

I don't mind getting her the usual flowers, chocolates, vouchers etc..but I feel like she deserves something really great...just like her!

So let me tell you about my wonderful mum. She's one of them people that really goes the extra mile in everything she does. She's loved by so many people it's unreal and she's a real trooper. 2 years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a biopsy, lumpectomy and then endured over a year of intravenous drugs being pumped into her body. She never complained, never slowed down, never gave up. Even when her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes began to fall out, she never lost her sparkle. She's an inspiration! 

I know everybody says they have the best mum in the world...and mine's no exception! She is amazing! And that's why I feel she deserves something extra special! 

Have you got any great ideas for your mums this Mother's Day? 

Care to share a few of them? 

Leave your comments and links :)

Thanks for reading

Love Kirsty xxx

Costly cats

Hi animal lovers,

As all of you animal lovers already know, it costs a lot of money to take care of a pet, more than you originally imagined it would! So I thought I would write this post in order to give potential pet owners an idea of just how much you can expect to spend on them. 

So let me say firstly that for those of who you don't know, I have two cats, Lily and Lola. Here they are hiding from the vacuum cleaner!!!

Both are indoor felines. They have both been spayed and micro chipped (£100 per cat). We decided to get this done incase either cat somehow got out and became lost. 

They both eat Whiskas Simply Cat Food at £4.29 a box (12 pouches which lasts 3 days). We buy 4 boxes of this each week as sometime Lily refuses to eat and we have to take the food up. We also have to mix her food with canned tuna (89p per can) every so often because the waste can become ridiculous! This ensures that she eats her pouch of food. 

Lola is more of a dry food cat, and loves her Whiskas biscuits (£2.55 per box). These last about 3 weeks. 

We put their food in separate bowls so that each cat has their own territory. They each have a food mat which stops food from making a mess on my kitchen floor and they share a water dish. All this cost under £10.00.

They have a pink litter tray that we bought from Pets at home for £6.00 in the sale, and we fill this with Catsan litter (£5.48 a bag). This may seem extreme for litter, however it is such good quality that it means we only have to change it once a week. Their litter tray is also lined with clear bin liners that we buy from our local supermarket for around £2.00 for 20 bags. We do this because the litter tray will stay in a good condition for longer. 

Nappy bags are also a must have for poop-a-scooping! These cost around 80p for 300 and last ages! 

Now because they are indoor cats, we buy them lots of toys to keep them occupied. They also have a scratching post that they can climb up on to and play on. This cost £45.00 and keeps them very happy.

Treats also keep them happy, although we don't let them have too many as it makes them sick! We get them Whiskas dentabits (£1.00) and give them a couple each every now and again.

Phew...I think that's about it for the things we buy for them...but what about other things that we have to pay for, such as replacement carpets because Lola likes to scratch  holes in them! We've also had to buy vases, candles , ornaments etc  again because they've been knocked off by our pesky pussycats! It's a good job we love them so much!

So as you can see, pets cost a lot of money! But they are so worth it!!!! 

Thanks for reading

Love Kirsty xxx

Shine Like A Celeb Body Cream Review

Hi everybody,

I hope you're all happy and well.

I recently requested a sample of Diamond Sparkle Body Cream from Shine Like A Celeb and it has arrived! I've been looking for a really good body cream with just the right amount of shimmer for a while now, and I think I've found it!!! 

My initial thoughts about the look of this product were positive. I like the little clear sample pot with the simple black lid. It looks clean and effortless. The full sized product looks even better and very classy.

When I opened the tub, I found that the cream inside was really smooth and looked as if it would glide on the skin. The scent is lovely, luxurious and smells expensive. It's not quite a fruity scent, but more of a high end perfumed smell. I couldn't stop smelling or touching my skin after I had applied the cream! It left my hand feeling super soft and nourished. It dries in under a minute and doesn't leave any stickiness. Perfect!

I love how the cream also gives a hint of shimmer without making the skin look glittery. I hate glittery skin!! It looks so tacky, however this cream is perfect for creating that slight sexy shimmer that we love. I've applied it to my hand so that you can see:

I can't wait to try this product on my legs and arms when I'm all tanned and ready to go out. It'll be perfect for making me feel more confident about my legs as I often feel that they look dull in skirts and dresses, especially in colder months. 

To buy this gorgeous body cream visit www.shinelikeaceleb.com

It's £38 for the full sized product and is totally worth it. 

Also find them on twitter @shinelikeaceleb for other products and great giveaways.

Any questions please done hesitate to comment!

Thanks for reading!

Love Kirsty xxx

Smear fear no more

Hi everybody,

This is my concluding post to the smear fear and smear fear follow up posts that I've already written. If you've read them you'll already know that I had my first smear test in October but the sample was inadequate and the lab couldn't process it or provide me with any results. I then had to wait for a letter inviting me to have another test 3 months later, which I have recently had. 

So I thought I would share my second experience with you in the hope that it might help more women to fight the fear of the smear test and to get it done.

I wasn't half as nervous this time as the last time, because I knew the procedure and what to expect. I saw a different nurse which bothered me slightly, but she was lovely and actually turned out to be more talkative and approachable than the first nurse although she was nice too.

She talked me through the procedure again and then proceeded to take the sample, which turned out to be harder than she had anticipated. Apparently I have a 'hidden' cervix, which means that it's tilted towards my back and it was preventing her from getting a decent sample, hence the inadequate first sample. It took ten minutes of maneuvering before she had to stop due to a little bit of bleeding caused by continuous swabbing. She was convinced that she hadn't got the sample  she needed and didn't want to send it, but I persuaded her to. I'm not going to lie, it was very uncomfortable but not painful. 

I left the doctors feeling doubtful and a little bit down. I was convinced that the nurse hadn't got the sample.....but I was wrong. My results came within the week and revealed that my sample was normal. I am very relieved! 

I will never ever miss a smear test, because they are so important and they help to save lives. Being uncomfortable for that tiny amount of time is well worth knowing that I'm healthy and well and if I wasn't I'd definately want to know.

So please ladies, do not fear your smear. It usually takes less than 5 minutes, and it's nowhere near as uncomfortable as you imagine. It could save your life and you could inspire someone else to have the test.

Love Kirsty xxx

Pesky Pet Problems

Hi,

I have been asked to write a post about my pets and my experiences with them, by My Pet Uk. By reading this blogpost, I'm hoping that people will be better prepared before getting a pet.

Visit their website www.mypet.guru or find them on twitter @mypetuk for news, pet product reviews and advice on all your pet problems.

'A pet is for life...not just for Christmas' 

How many times have we heard this warning before considering bringing a new pet into our homes?...a lot is the answer!!! And rightly so I might add.

My partner and I took this warning on board when we decided to purchase our first pet together. We decided to get a female kitten from our local pet centre, and keep her as an indoor cat. On the day, we excitedly went to the pet centre and chose from around 6/7 kittens, a little tabby one. We named her Lola. Here she is in the glass fronted section of the centre where we first saw her.

Cute huh? The perfect little addition to our household right? Well...sort of! We took her home, did all the necessary things to settle her in, got her a litter tray, food bowls, toys, a bed, treats etc and gave her space until she felt comfortable enough to approach us. As you can see, it worked! 

She settled in a treat at first but after a while, became very vocal and would meow all day and night (she still does this and often keeps us awake). She started to follow me around and would literally not leave me alone (also still does this..I can't even go to the toilet alone!). She scratched everything from the carpets to the bedding! She was becoming a right little handful. 

So, we had a thought. We would get her a little friend to play with...thinking that it may bring her round a bit and cure her boredom. Enter Lily! Here she is as a kitten.

She's the most gorgeous (biased I know) tortoise shell cat, with a gentle, relaxed and playful personality. Apparently tortoise shell cats are prone to being aggressive but we have never experienced this with Lily. She's the softest little thing ever! 

We bought her from a farm and the day that we brought her home, there was

carnage! Lola hated her and tried to attack her. We hadn't researched how to introduce cats to each other properly and had simply just taken Lily into Lola's territory. It was very naive of us to think that the two of them would get along instantly.

After a long while and a lot of effort (sleeping apart with a kitten each, taking a little time off work etc) the two of them finally got used to each other. 

They absolutely love each other now, and we can't imagine not having them both, however tested we have been at times.

We have had other problems with them both, including trips to the vets to treat Lily's teeth, which has cost us a lot of money! Having them both also means that we can't go on holiday without having someone to look after them. The fact they're house cats means that they aren't used to fending for themselves and can't be left alone in the house. Another thing we didn't think about! 

I'm pretty sure some people would have given up on them, but we absolutely adore them, issues or no issues, and would spend however much we had to to make sure they are both healthy and happy.

The purpose of this post is really to prepare potential animal owners for the issues that can arise once you get them home, no matter how cute they are! They do cost money, they need a lot of care and attention, and they do affect your lives. 

Also, research is key to a successful pet/ owner relationship. 

So please, remember a pet is for life, not just for Christmas or any other time of year for that matter! 

Thanks for reading,

Kirsty x

Hdbrow WOW!!!

'Never take advice from anyone with bad brows'.

I saw this quote on Instagram and instantly loved it! It's kind of true too, I would never take anyone with really bad brows seriously! Which is why I spend ages each day trying to pencil in my hideous natural brows...they are full of gaps, one is shorter than the other, and they never look neat. Until now!

Ladies...I've discovered hdbrows!!! I first heard of hdbrows on twitter, when I followed the fabulous 'Eye Brow Queen' Nilam Patel @EyebrowQueen. She had uploaded some images of eyebrow transformations and I was instantly interested. So I decided to purchase the pallet for myself and have a go!

The compact eye and brow pallet comes in 3 shades: 'bombshell' for blondes, 'foxy' for brunettes and 'vamp' for dark brunettes or black hair. Each pallet includes 4 shades to help you create your perfect smokey eye effect, brow colour and style. 

The pallet comes with a double ended brush for easy precision styling. I found that the tapered end worked best when defining the edges with a darker colour and elongating my brows, and the softer end worked best to highlight my brow bone and fill in the inner ends of my brows with the lighter colour.

I'm still getting to grips with the pallet, combining the shades differently each day to see what works best for me. The time it takes me to create the finished look is now under 5 minutes! 

Here is a before and after picture so that you can see for yourselves how the hdbrow pallet has improved the look of my brows.

The hdbrow pallet retails at £19.96 and is worth every penny. You can purchase it from the hdbrow website www.hdbrows.com ...and I highly recommend that you do!!! 

Love Kirsty