A very personal goodbye to 2015

Wow - that ended quickly. The last year has been an absolute whirlwind, of the good, sad and memorable kind. From the birth of my niece, to last minute travels, low personal moments, investment purchases and racking up nearly 60 hours of work a week - it has been b-u-s-y.

So as I look back with a thankful heart, it's now time to look forward with a hopeful heart bursting with positivity and energy.

Christmas in Tenerife

Sunshine, seafood, ridiculously oversized sunglasses and sunscreen - just a few of the essential components required of a Christmas spent in Tenerife. Bliss. 

If I may, let me tell you what it's like to spend Christmas Day basking in the warmth of the glorious Canarian sun..

My Blow Dry Experience: Hershesons of London, Selfridges

I'm a 'let's make a tradition' kinda girl, two of my favourite ones when travelling are ordering a huge breakfast via room service while snuggled up in flannel pyjamas. The other? Taking a long, hot bath soaked in Jo Malone 'English Pear & Freesia' bath oil (here).

So, what's the new tradition? Let me tell you and boy is it set in stone.

THE monogram scarf every girl needs

Ok, perhaps that's a little bit of a dramatic introduction but beauty requires attention! Let me say I'm a monogram freak, to the point I own mugs, notebooks, luggage tags, a hairbrush and now, my new beauty, all of which are simply stamped SL or SLB.

So, why do you need it? Yeah, well the question is why wouldn't you need it?!

Haul: how to bronze, tame frizzy locks & smell like a Parisian

There was a stage when I accumulated enough Space NK points to rival a beauty editor, my bank balance thanks me that this well and truly is a thing of the past. With a reformed attitude and in need of a few new products I popped into Space NK last week to pick up a few essentials, some of which aren't mentioned here (Diptyque candles here) which are heavenly in their own right, trust me.

48 Hours in London

London; the city of adventure, cobbled streets, angry cyclists and modern decadence. Whilst I've been in the capital a few times this autumn for business, I've yet to pop over for pleasure; thus the spontaneous bout of wanderlust was born.

To cut a long story short, I booked flights, a hotel room and on a whim wrote a romantic card, surprised Peter and summoned him to accompany me on a trip to one of our favourite cities.

What's inside my travel handbag

When it comes to traveling I always aim to be the chic, organised girl with one heck of a compartmentalised bag. Reality kicks in, I realize I own more possessions than a storage company and struggle to comprehend how I'll begin to select what makes the cut and what doesn't.

Haul: Brown Thomas & Louis Vuitton

If you've been following along on Instagram you'll know we have just returned from a short stay in Dublin, possibly one of our favourite 'easy' getaways. Whilst we were pretty laden with bags, I can't show you what's inside all of them as quite a few are Christmas gifts. Just call me Santa. 

So, without further ado..

Shopping: 5 special questions & finding your perfect outfit

We'll call it the perpetual quest for the perfect outfit. I walked into Zara two years ago and found the most fantastic shirt; it's white, is cut so perfectly, finished with elegant gold buttons and just screams luxe without the reflective price tag. Will I ever find her twin? Doubtful.

6 Winter Products You Need

Okay, so perhaps the title is a little in your face but hey I am LOVING these babies. No one is paying me to say that, no one has funded these purchases and no one but me is typing all of this. Effective, pretty & budget friendly; keep reading..

How to: Get 'the' Skinny

Weight is something we all struggle with irrespective of how we actually look in the mirror; the pressure, paranoia and sheer determination to look a certain way all too prominently exists. So, how do we 'get' the balance between living (and enjoying life), loving our bodies and also importantly learning to say no to gluttony?

Wish List: Tuesday

Confession; on my last blog one of my favourite posts to write (oh so frequently) were my wish lists. Gosh, they were such fun to write purely because I genuinely wanted everything I posted. Yes whilst I understand the feat of adulthood comes with the fact we can't always get what we want, it's still fun to dream and of course, to share.

So, let's do this!

London: My Blow Dry Experience

When it comes to hair, I have my routine down to a fine speedy art. No rollers, no curling tongs & no fancy brushes. When it comes to having my hair styled I've had more bad experiences than good, which explains why I was apprehensive to give the blow dry a shot. However, when the grease on your head is akin to that of a Sunday morning frying pan you'll consider all plausible options to rectify the slick hairstyle you unwillingly boast. 

Jo Malone: My Collection

For me, Jo Malone is essentially kryptonite to my bank balance. With her decadent packaging, luscious scents and perfectly presented stores, she's a force that's hard to resist. In a sense, it gives life to the saying 'the struggle is real' and trust me, I seriously mean that. 

Truthfully I can't remember how the love story began, but I do remember my sister-in-law's signature scent being English Pear & Freesia. I sniffed, I loved and I caved. I suppose you could say the rest is history.

Introducing, the collection: 

I also have Peony & Suede Blush which I LOVE but couldn't find for the photograph; the joys of owning too many bags. Anyway I wanted to write this post to show you some of my favourite Jo Malone scent combinations; sometimes the scent pairing from store staff can be a little stiff, I much prefer hearing what actual JL lovers layer together.

It's...the VLOG!

I'm still in disbelief that this actually happened. Yes, introducing.....the vlog. A few things went slightly w-r-o-n-g:

1. I filmed vertically, not horizontally. Duh. 

2. Despite my ability to have a full blown conversation with any human/plant/cat/inanimate object, I was unable to muster the courage to vlog in front of crowds of people. It's daunting, but hey, I do like a challenge. 

3. Positioning the camera from a height that makes me look drugged, somewhat asleep and often goofy seems to be a skill I've acquired and unknowingly fine tuned. Also, duh. 

As many old people say (mostly in reference to baking, stoking a fire and other senior related activities); nothing ventured, nothing gained. Anyway, hopefully it was viewable and somewhat entertaining. Perhaps I'll perfect the art and I'll take you along on my next travels, outside of the emerald isle..♥

The business of me

My Day

Wake-up time? 5.50am if I'm exercising, 7am if I'm not.

First thing you do in the morning? It's an awful habit, but I'm forever checking every single outlet of social media as soon as I get up. It's more a (poor) ritual.

Working day? I'll be in work at 8am and normally be on my feet mostly all day until I'm leaving at around 5-6pm. 

One activity you do everyday without fail? Either wear lipstick, or drink a ridiculous amount of water. Mostly sparkling as it's my favourite.

"A good day is...." When you feel like you've done your job well, have been productive or have had one of those eureka moments regarding something creative. All three at once is even better!

"A good meeting is...." preferably non-existent as I actually really dislike them. A good one would be when you meet with someone who's actually productive, energetic and excited about whatever is being discussed. The worst is when you meet with someone who's clearly killing an hour or two of their day and needs you present to kill that time.

Last thing you do at night? Drink a glass of water before bed, always.

And just like that, I'm back!

Firstly, hi..hugs..hello. This feels weird. I haven't blogged in what must be at least four months. Why? Well, let me tell you.

In a nutshell, work has been pretty busy i.e. working 6 days a week busy. I like it, don't get me wrong but it certainly hinders time management when it comes to blogging. My lack of tech skills and inability to renew my hosting then led to my blog slipping into the blackhole of the web and unfortunately along with it has gone every single post, picture and longwinded rambling; basically every modicum of what was The Small Town Girl.