November. What a whirlwind that was. I was in my element zooming around the countryside, largely with work, loving every minute of it. For someone who has an office-based role, I’ve done a damn good job recently of not spending much time actually in the office! We also got a new bathroom at home, which meant for three looonnng weeks we were trudging backwards and forwards to Mum’s house to shower (my work trips were timely, I was sending home texts that said “just had a lovely bath” – meanie, eh?!). Make sure you find yourself a good plumber like Valley Service if you plan on doing a bathroom renovation like this, as it is super difficult being without a bathroom so you want to make sure it is done as quickly as possible! Additionally, some homeowners might also want to consider sourcing an experienced bathroom remodel company to help them. That should speed up the process even more as they will be able to get on with the job. Perhaps that’s something we should’ve considered. Finally, the most important thing when you get a bathroom remodelled is to make sure that you have a home warranty plan to protect you from having to pay a lot of money if anything goes wrong with the plumbing or electrics. You can navigate to this resource to find out about one home warranty service and how they can protect you from high costs and slow services. Anyway, on a negative note, my blog suffered a little bit, I hope nobody noticed too much – for a wee while there I was posting once a week, that was about all I could manage without going cuckoo! Eek. As for December and Christmas – I’m in complete denial, I haven’t done anything, no planning, no present buying: Nothing. I’m not sure I’ll start for another week or so either, there’s too much happening! (more…)
My favourites
Lou Loves – October Favourites
Here’s my round up of things that have been been spinning my wheels since we last chatted! I’m not full on into Christmas shopping mode yet, but, if you are, then everything I’ve mentioned in here are great gift ideas for beauty or foodies in your life! I love nothing more than finding the most recent, Best Kitchen Gadgets – some of the things I have found have been so useful, and such a life saver! A few people have also been asking me what kitchen gadget I use to make zoodles – keep reading, all is revealed!
Vanilla & Almond Macaroons from Little Bird Organics: These morsels are raw food at their best and bliss ball lovers will totally goof off from the first mouthful. I discovered these on a trip to Little Bird’s Unbakery in Kingsland, Auckland during Sugar Free September. I was desperate for a sugar free treat so I bought two packets, Vanilla & Almond and Chocolate. Long story short: We got hooked (hubby prefers the Chocolate ones). I actually bought this packet as a thank you present for a friend, except they taunted us so badly we had to eat ’em… and I had to go buy some more. These are delish with a cup of tea/coffee. Price around NZ$11.00, available from organic shops, or online at Little Bird Organics. I’m so obsessed with these I’ve been playing around in the kitchen trying to recreate them. I’m getting close. One more batch and I’ll nail it. Brace yourselves.
My MAC Christmas
A few months ago my friend Karla, who travels the world with her job on cruise ships, sent me a text that said:
“Hi de hi I am in New York in ten days. Shopping here I come. Off to Macy’s. Let me know if you have a wish list x”.
Seriously?! Aggh. What a good mate (she’s done this before, I call Karla my Makeup Pimp). After getting over mini heart palpitations I sent back a very enthusiastic email with an image of my wish list that I designed in Polyore. Polyvore, for Pete’s sake (if you haven’t heard of Polyvore but you are creative/like shopping then check it out – you can create neat design boards). Choosing what to get was like all my Christmases had come at once. Is anyone else like me: The option to buy is just as exciting as having bought?
I knew exactly what I wanted: I’d done hours of beauty research ahead of Karla letting me know she was going to Las Vegas last year (I’d received a similar heart attack inducing text). I had to draw a line in the sand and demonstrate some self constraint on that makeup haul, so it was a no brainer this time that I’d get everything that didn’t make the cut in Vegas. Easy. (more…)
Lou Loves – September Favourites
There’s been lots of love for beauty foodie products this month!
Retinol Reface from Indeed Laboratories
Retinol is a derivative of Vitamin A and is widely considered to be a super-hero ingredient in the battle to combat the onslaught of aging (damn those fine lines). Indeed Laboratories didn’t stop at biffing one kind of retinol in this product, they biffed in three. I’ve been using this Retinol Reface every night for the last six weeks and I’m really happy with how it’s dealing to my fine lines, crow’s feet and wrinkles (that said, I reckon the combo of all the skincare I’m using at the moment is the dogs ‘you know what’). What I also like is that it is also quite moisturising and I’ve had no skin irritation (that said, it takes a lot to wind my skin up). Be warned, typically with retinol you get a bit of redness and perhaps some peeling – so brace yourself (I didn’t…). Pop on a pea-sized amount after cleansing and use only at night (make sure you use a sunscreen during the day, you’ll be more susceptible to sunburn). This is a definite re-purchase for me. Where to buy: Farmers $44.99 (I got mine with 15% off, love their sales).
Book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Makeup Geek Goodies – Review
I was pretty excited recently when Makeup Geek finally restocked their ‘shelves’ (theoretcial shelves: They are an online store). I’ve been wanting to get their Creme Brulee and Peach Smoothie eyeshadows for a while, but they are constantly sold out: Clearly a sign of serious popularity! They were back in stock recently so I leapt into action, snapping up these along with a few other coveted goodies. I was super pleased I did: They were out of stock again a few days later! (Note, at the time of writing this blog post they were in stock again).
Here’s a quick run down on these two highly sought-after eyeshadows, a Z Palette, Makeup Geek’s Enchanted loose pigment, as well as a couple of eyeshadow brushes that I got at the same time.
My Holiday Makeup Bag – a Sneaky Peak
I love reading ‘What’s in my makeup bag?’ articles from other bloggers so I thought “why not do one of my own?”
If you follow me on Facebook you’ll know that I just can’t pack light in the makeup department. I try: But I really struggle….Well, I’ll have you know: I dug really deep packing for my holiday to Rarotonga and challenged myself to be sensible! Here’s what I packed. Note: I’m mindful that whilst I may have packed light for me, the makeup I’m taking on holiday is probably still the contents of a lot of people’s entire makeup collection! Oh well, a girl has to have a passion in life.
Beauty Products I Buy – Time and Time Again
In the six months I’ve bought several replacement beauty items for the third if not fourth time and it occurred to me that in both instances these are products I won’t can’t be without. I figured this was a good rationale for a blog post, right? Here’s the beauty items I buy… Time and time again – and will continue to do so! (more…)
Lou Loves: My favourite things – August
I’ve got a real medley of favourites this month. I’m going to branch out a little beyond beauty and food as I often find there are things that really spin my wheels and I’m keen to share, but they aren’t beauty and food related. But I reckon you’ll be OK with that. Right? (more…)