December: Lately I've Been Loving

I always use my last lately I've been loving of the year to share some of the things which have made me happy this year.

It's always such an honour to be a Beauty Shortlist Judge (do check out the winners of the Awards on Tuesday 2nd March 2021). I've been putting some amazing products through their paces and am sure I've found some winners!

(I never stop pinching myself) I'm so grateful to be a Love Lula Accredited Blogger. I've discovered some amazing brands through the program, some of which I've bought again and again.

I think my day was made when my quote was used on the inside cover of the fantastic The Strange Case of Jacob Boyce by Tom Gillespie. I took part in the blog tour - see HERE and I was made up and then some when the author sent me a signed finished copy! Day, if not year, was made!

Being able to go for a short holiday in July was so joy giving! We spent time on the Isle of Wight (on my bucket list) and I met Pascale from Blue Labelle at her shop in Ventnor. Unfortunately, there was no touching and trying any products due to COVID-19 but it was so, so good to meet her! I've loved her products for so long (she also took a photo of me which she shared on her instagram of me masked-up!)

We also loved those beautiful Isle of Wight sunsets! We also managed a short stay at The Pig Hotel at Brockenhurst (second visit). Truly gorgeous!

I've been really lucky to be able to read lots of great books this year (my final Top Books September to December 2020 is upcoming) and try lots of new to me beauty products. I'm sad that my fav green beauty box - Skin Organics Clean Beauty Box (reviews) has come to an end but I'm sure founder Paula will go on to curate more joy for us next year - looking forward to seeing what she does next! 

January - Nourish

March - Meditate

May - Spring

July - Summer Vibes

September - Sunset

November - Ambiance

I also by chance bumped into an old friend on the bus and it was great to make a connection again. For me, 2020 has been about the joy in the little things. What have you been loving this month/year?

Bramley Products: The Pig Hotel Toiletries

I first tried beautiful Bramley during our first visit to The Pig at Brockenhurst, in the New Forest way back in 2016. I was so excited to try such a lovely range. I've since received the product(s) in a Skin Organics Clean Beauty Box and in a Perfume Society box and so, it was nice to revisit the range once again, including the new Hand Sanitiser Gel at our recent visit back to Brockenhust in July (the bottles are fully recyclable or re-usable).

The range was originally created by Chloë for the guest bathrooms of the Beckford Arms in Wiltshire in 2009 (they now can be found in over 500 hotels, pubs, restaurants and shops). Of course, we can buy too in the online shop, plus you can find a list of stockists HERE.

Formulated using their unique apple seed oil and organic apple extract with 100% natural botanicals and essential oils. The range is fantastic - beautifully scented and lovely to use. Check it out HERE. The Pig Hotel very generously supplies a whole range of minis for your enjoyment (including a mini of the newish Hand Sanitiser Gel) - there are also plentiful large sizes dotted around the hotel for you to help yourself to - to keep yourself safe, and other guests.

The 50ml products all cost an affordable £4 each making them an ideal treat or easy to pack for holidays. Award Winning (Beauty Shortlist Mama & Baby Awards - Editor's Choice 2019) Body Wash with Grapefruit, Lavender & Sweet Orange Essential Oils is a delight (it also appeared in the Skin Organics Clean Beauty Box). It smells glorious and instantly calms and relaxes. Use it in your morning shower to enliven both the body and mind or in evening to calm and relax.  Their Shampoo with Lemon, Mandarin & Rosemary Essential Oils is also a Mama & Baby Award Winner 2019 which gently cleanses all hair types (that scent!) Follow with the Conditioner which is scented with the same luxe essential oils. It'll nourish and smooth (you can leave it on for 10 minutes or so, for a more intensive pampering treat).  The Body Lotion is scented with Juniper, Sweet Orange & Bergamot Essential Oils and absorbs instantly onto warm skin leaving it beautifully scented and nourished. 

Talk about #bathroomgoals I had a lovely deep bath with bubbles courtesy of Bubble Bath scented with Geranium, Lavender & Sweet Orange Essential Oils. And relax!

The latest product in the range is their effective and beautifully scented Hand Sanitiser Gel which also starts at £4 for 50ml. There was one of the minis awaiting in the bedroom for guest's personal use. The sanitiser is formulated with 60% alcohol with aromatic Rosemary, Spearmint and Peppermint Essential Oils and is gentle on the skin (it's one of the nicest ones I've used so far!)

What are your favourites from Bramley?

July: Lately I've Been Loving

In July we had the pleasure of fitting in a mini break - four nights on the Isle of Wight (had been on my bucket list) and I got to meet Pascale, at Blue Labelle which was amazing! We also had two nights at The Pig at Brockenhurst (our second visit). The sun mainly shone, weren't we lucky! Here's my July loves:

I got my hair done! Yah! Huge thanks to Lexi at Bruce Masefield Hair - I feel "normal" again!

Discovering The Ghost Family Haunts on Instagram, under the #SmallBusinessSunday hashtag and buying some of their The Ghost Family Flame soy wax melts. I've since placed another order (patiently awaiting) and joined their Subscription Box! See my initial musing HERE.

Revisiting (first tried Bramley Products when we had our first visit to The Pig, Brockenhurst) so it was lovely to revisit the range.

Meeting Pascale at her Blue Labelle Boutique in Ventnor was a real treat (even masked up haha). Currently you can't browse the shop but it was nice to see it and meet the maker! Of course, I had to have a teeny buy..

We stayed four nights at The Little Gloster, a restaurant with rooms. It's closing at the end of the season so was only catering to the guests in their three rooms. It was lacking in the buzzy atmosphere we were expecting when we booked but we still had an enjoyable time, and those sunsets! 

These are my two top dishes from my stay - IOW Tomato Gazpacho and a white & dark choc entremet dessert - amazing!

Of course I love these beauties..

I bought a lovely bag from Joli in Cowes which is made of old sail cloth (it was a shop I'd found during internet searches before our trip). I'm very pleased with it!

On a wet and windy day (the only bad day of our hols) we stopped by Pure Wight Soy Candles (I'd bought from them online before). It was great to meet the maker and see the shop. I picked up some soy wax melts in Seaside and award winning Lavender & Lemon.

We had two lovely (and very sunny) days at The Pig at Brockenhurst, where we've stayed once before (our room was The Hen House which was gorgeous - the bathroom was upstairs!). We enjoyed lazing about, nice meals and drinks & cocktails and I loved exploring the veggie garden again and that chocolate mousse with raspberries and garden flowers was divine! 

I took part in the Blog Tour for the fantastic The Secret of Creek Cottage by Tina M Edwards and was kindly sent a signed copy (I do love a signed book!). See my review HERE.

The little promo card found it's way onto my kitchen pin-board!

What have you been loving in July?

Summer Holiday Snippets

I'm just back from my summer holidays which were amazing! I'll be doing fuller posts but this is a little snippet. Back to work tomorrow..and reality!

We started off in Harrogate staying at Ascot House Hotel which was a short stroll to the centre of town.

Setting off the next day we headed to Bray where we were dining at The Fat Duck which was a once in a lifetime (amazing) experience. We stayed at the very exquisite and gorgeous Clematis Cottage which was right on the River Thames (and fed the ducks and swans!) 

"G&T" 

 "breakfast cereal with a difference"

"sound of the sea"

Next day we headed to The Pig Hotel at Brockenhurst in the New Forest. This was one of my favourite stops. The Kitchen Garden is simply amazing and I enjoyed walking around it. The bedroom and bathroom (Tamworth) were gorgeous as was the food! 

Next stop was with my Aunt Mary in Par, near St Austell. We ate at Sam's on the Beach at Polkerris and had a very sunny afternoon in Fowey.

We then had five nights in Port Isaac, a lovely little village and home to Nathan Outlaw's Restaurant and Fish Kitchen.  We stayed at The Bay Hotel, a local B&B.

Fish Kitchen

Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

Our final night was in Birmingham where we had the real pleasure of meeting Elijah Choo and Andy Millward and we dined at Purnell's.  It was one of our holiday highlights!

Hope you've all been having a great summer!