Halloween Inspo

If there's something I like better than shopping for myself, it's shopping for my friends.

There is nothing better than finding them something which they love. Something that makes them go uuuh aahh and makes them feel like a million bucks.

With Halloween coming up (it's this Saturday!) and not enough time in the week to go shopping, I'm bringing you some scary inspiration which can all be delivered straight to your door, or office.

So you don't get caught out wearing your sheets as a costume.

Hopefully it will help you find that perfect scary outfit this Halloween, and if not... well you can just enjoy a spot of window shopping.

Grab a cuppa (make me one too whilst you are at it? Milk, no sugar) and let's get stuck in?

We all like to look a little sexy on Halloween (even if we don't like to admit it). Nobody said scary had to be ugly. So I'm bringing sexy back.

Soaring, Flying & Racing

My brother and I have always been very competitive.

It's a healthy brother-sister rivalry which has followed us into our twenties and into our life goals.

We always strive to out-do one another and win, which makes for a very fun game of Monopoly (ehem Jonathan stealing money as banker...).

When we are not on opposite sides we make the best team and plot the most wicked pranks to play on our dear father Mark or plan the best ways to win - you want to be on our charades team at Christmas!

Day 1 of JoBro's visit was jam-packed with activities. Naturally. Gotta keep the boy entertained!

RWC 2015

It's been 5 years since Jonathan has been in England.

5 years!

And you would never know. He looks and sounds as British as I do.

Ascot Autumn Races

We landed back in England early in the morning and there was no time to rest.

I was a zombie at work that day, surviving only on a few hours sleep.

Nikki arrived that evening and my body almost forgot about the tiredness. We hadn't seen each other in over 3 years when she let me crash at hers in Montreal for almost a week during my North American road trip, so I was more than happy to return the favour.

On Saturday morning everyone was up far too early for a Saturday. Showers could be heard being switched on, there were shoes and dresses flying everywhere as we all  I scrambled to get ready.

We were off to the races!

Last Day at Home {Spain}

Tuesday was our last full day at home and I planned on doing much of what I'd been doing for the last few days: nothing.

It was bliss to be woken up by the sun streaming through your bedroom window, to hear palm trees blowing in the wind and birds chirping in the trees.

We still had our summer sheets on at home. It was warm enough to sleep with the windows open only to be offered warmth by a light throw, or a table cloth as Tom likes to call it.

Waking up this way isn't everyone's cup of tea. I know my brother & Tom would both prefer to have a blacked out bedroom so when you wake up (at noon) it still feels like the middle of the night.

I was horizontal for most of the day.

Banus at Sunset

When I'm at home, I am guilty of not venturing outside the vicinity of our family home.

I have a pool, the sun and a sun lounger with my name on it.

My family monopolises my attention (which I love!) and it's hard to get me outside of Calahonda.

After all, I come home to relax, unwind and forget about the outside world.

Once in a while, I get out just to stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed at sunsets like these...

m

{Lazy} Margaritas

This is my favourite cocktail of all time. 

A perfect marriage of refreshing, boozy, sweet and sharp. 

They remind me of home-made lemonade I used to get when I was little. 

"When life gives you lemons..." grab Tequila and salt hey?!

Cymru am Byth!

I am ridiculously proud to be Welsh

Wellies & Doggies

There is something you should know about pugs.

They are sneaky.

Blondie B Brownies

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Blondes have more fun.

This also applies to brownies.

I'm all down for normal regular gooey chocolate-y brownies, but Blondie brownies are goeey and chewy and oh-so-satisfying and have the texture of brownies without the over-indulgence and richness of chocolate-y ones.

These are a magical experiment that turned out so much better than expected!

Over the Knees & Cauliflower Cheese

My feet and legs are always the first thing to get cold in the Winter. 

I wear 4 layers of socks under my boots to keep them cocooned like little pigs in blankets trying to squeeze out as much warmth as possible but my little toes never seem to warm up!

It's that awkward time of year in between seasons. It's not quite cold enough to bring my Winter coat out of hibernation, to have the heating on full blast and sleep in my onesie but my toes are telling me the cold is coming!

My bottom half is screaming Winter and my top half is trying to hold on to the last few dregs of Summer. 

So it's the perfect time to début my new boots.

Key To My Heart

I have been lusting over these over the knee boots for the last two years.

Skinny Mocha Frapuccino

Iced Coffees are one of my many obsessions.

No matter if it's Summer or Winter, I will order one, make one or buy one pre-made.

But I recently found out iced coffees also come with a latte calories - bet you didn't know that did you?

This recipe is dairy and sugar free - and it's even good for you!

Blog Make-Over

It's time for a make-over.

A digital one, that is.

I sent my blog into the hot digital oven and came out with a delightful bake with even layers, crisp images and delightfully bright colour arrangement.

Home Sweet Home

Guess where I am?

I'm snuggled up in my brand new house with a good mature glass of red!

Just Be Yourself, Be Happy

My life has been hectic the last few months and I really haven't been feeling myself.

Commuting from Winchester to Marlow everyday has been really getting me down and I didn't feel myself. I haven't felt like I was properly living. 

My life was drive, work, drive, work, drive, work, drive...

Although I love my job, there are a million other things I love doing too! 

Full-time Job + Commuting + Social Life = Not a lot of Time for Anything else!

(P.S: Don't you just love this photo by Aaron Courter?!)

My Blog has been Broken!

Hellooo

I have been off radar for a little while (unless you follow my Instagram, in which case I am sorry for the overload of photos!) but not through choice of my own.

You see my blog broke. Like completely down, couldn't post anything, freaking-out, it wouldn't work, I broke it.I thought I'd seriously broken it. Somehow managed to block post from posting!

I frantically tried to find solutions to what was wrong. I had no idea! I trawled the internet for a diagnosis, I considered switching to Word Press (which was a lot more complicated than I was expecting) and kept asking and asking and asking why my posts wouldn't post in the Blogger Help Forum - which is useless by the way.

So unhelpful! I had a couple of guys reply, saying that I should see if my web browser was too old and I should probably upgrade or try a different browser - eehhh duh! Don't you think I tried that?

I tried so hard to talk to someone from Blogger but there was nobody I could contact! How ridiculous is that? I felt so helpless and alone.

Then today I had a light bulb moment.

Bloglovin'

My blog is my own personal virtual diary. It's a place I can fill with my very own stories, pictures, recommendations and recipes.

When a lot of my family and friends don't live in the same country - blogging is the easiest way to tell them all about my latest going-ons without having to text them every 5minutes or update my status on Facebook. Especially when I don't have time to FaceTime them on a regular basis.

Not everyone will want to read it and I've had mixed reviews, but that's okay. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Through blogging I've had my eyes opened to a whole new world.

I've always loved writing, but I've become addicted to writing my blog and addicted to reading other people's blogs.

People are so fascinating and it just goes to show everybody is different. I love reading other people's views, recipes and recommendations on life, love, fashion, beauty, food and a whole bunch of other topis!

Gibraltar Airport (Sorry Malaga!)

If you've never been to Gibraltar, flying out of their airport is a pretty good way to see it.

The big Rock stands tall and proud at the edge of the water, looking down at all who passes the border into the tiny piece of land.

The impressive back-drop is inhabited by Barbary macaques, i.e: really really naughty monkeys (even naughtier than the ones I met at Longleat!) and is enriched with tons of history which dates back  to the year 711!!!

It also has one of the scariest airports to fly to/from in the world!

So when your other half is terrified of flying - what better airport to depart from?

n

Steak on the Stone at El Coto

Part of the fun for being in Spain for Easter was that both my parents and his parents were here

My parents because they lived here - I'm sure you're tired of hearing about how I grew up in Spain and I'm not really British but I'm Spanish and I'm a mixture and a little bit Welsh...

Blah blah blah

His parents, because his dad was addicted to golf - his mum loved it too! But she also liked the sun!

So we spent most of our weekend flitting between his parents, my parents and even bringing them all together for a big family dinner - scary, I know!

But they all got on - maybe a little too well!

On Saturday night his parents took us to El Coto - which also just so happened to be my first gambas pil pil of 2015

Sailor Stripes and Mulberry

The weather in Marbella is scorching.

Not a cloud in the sky!

It's just the right warmth for an Easter Sunday stroll to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and rosie my cheeks.

Just the right weather that convinced me I needed a new pair of wedges (any excuse!) to match my new sailor stripes

Extensions by Pepi

My hair doesn't grow
Mi pelo no crece

No seriously, it gets to about shoulder-length and it decides to just stop.
No en serio, me crece hasta los hombros y ya nada, mi pelo decide detenerse

I'm so jealous of all my school friends who seemed to have sprouted mermaid hair over the last 5 years, whilst mine... well, mine is still the same.
Tengo envidia de todas mis amigas del cole a las que le han crecido una melena de sirena en los ultimos 5 años, y yo...pues, sigo igual.

I go through phases of liking my shoulder-lenght hair, easy to manage and style, cool in the summer.
Hay periodos cuando me encanta mi pelo corto, facil de manejar y en verano, no me entra tanto el calor.

Then wishing I had long beautiful Blake Lively hair, her cool Californian-style curls just flaunting themselves at me on the red carpet.
Pero otras veces tengo una ganas de tener el pelo de Blake Lively: su melena rubia con rizos largos a lo California de las cual presume en la alfombra roja.

I get so bored of waiting for my hair to grow! Thank god for miracle extensions!
Me aburro esperando a que mi pelo crezca! Gracias a Dios existen las extensiones!

j

Longleat

After feeding the penguins we had the rest of the day to explore Longleat

We left Penguin island and I found a door that caught my eye

Now I'm not one to be attracted to doors but this one was special...

The door that leads to the Secret Garden

March of the Penguins

I made some new friends today. 

40 to be exact.

They are small, round and walk a bit funny.

No, they are not OAP's

But PENGUINS!

d

My First Valentine

Around this time last week I was lucky enough to have the very perfect Valentine's day with someone I care very much about. 

So what do you need for a perfect Valentine's?

Isle of Wight

I'm causing mischief in the Isle of Wight today

Last Day in Punta Cana

Our last day was mostly spent at the beach.

It was so hot we kept running in to the sea to cool our sweaty bodies off, but even then you didn't feel cool!

The sea was so warm it was like a hot tub!

njkf

JoBro's 21st

This post is a little overdue but the amount of photos I took in Dominican was ridiculous! It's taken me until now to get through them all but here goes...

On the 11th January 1994 this little guy was born.

My baby little brother has been a pain in the ass ever since he was born.

But he's my pain in the ass and nobody is allowed to have a go at him except me!

Jonathan's been lucky enough to spend his birthday in the most exotic holiday destinations and this year was no exception!

Having been out the night before, we woke up the sleepy bear singing Happy Birthday with home-made musical instruments and banging on his door. 

This helps soothe sore head - obvs!

The Pirate Ship Bucket

There was one new thing at the Iberostar which I was most exited about trying. 

The only problem is, I was about 15 years too old!

I don't know what it's proper name was but I called it the bucket. 

Next to the adult pool was this awesome pirate ship water jungle. I would go as far as saying the coolest pirate ship ever!

But you gotta keep an eye on the bucket at the top!

Yup!

AWESOME RIGHT?!

We were apprehensive at first

Scared almost

This was so embarrassing! Little kids spent all day playing under the bucket and three twenty-something year olds couldn't hack it!

C'mon guys! Let's get to it

Later that afternoon, on the other side of the pool side. In the adults pool JoBro joined in a swimming competition.

The Iberostar has a habit of turning every normal competitive sport into a crazy game. 

So it means that when they advertise a swimming competition what they actually mean is you have to swim, do jumping jacks, swim some more, hop around with a ball between your legs, down a glass of beer and pretend your iron man. 

Nothing the brother can't handle!

It was tiring just watching the guys do it!

Unfortunately JoBro didn't win - he was up against Mr Cross Fit on the right who bombed the entire competition. 

 

The parents said he was a winner in their eyes

Aww

Dinner at the Hard Rock was entertaining. 

The music was old school. Songs my parents and Pat actually knew and could sing along to - which they did at the TOP of their voices. 

Unfortunately Nanna couldn't make it tonight. She was feeling a little tired so we ordered her room service instead and left her with a film on tucked in to bed. 

 

 

 

 You don't have to book the Star Rock Cafe - it's first come, first served and a la carte. Basically a spin-off from the Hard Rock Cafe, if you hadn't already guessed!

Embarrassing the kids is optional, but very encouraged!

JoBro walked off twice but he came round when the waiters brought house shots over.

After a couple rounds of pool in the Star Rock Cafe we got a little bored of the old tunes. Mostly because they kept playing the same songs. 

But Pat's little feet were still tapping to the beat. So we waltzed through the lobby to find the live house band playing. 

Being the gentleman he was, JoBro asked the lovely Pat to dance and boy did they have a blast!