LA Exploring

The Blonde B is in LA!

It's my first time on the West Coast of America.

It's day 1 in and I am already in love. I have had such an exciting day I couldn't wait to share it with you all!

Sunshine Walk

I do love travelling and living out of a suitcase but sometimes I just crave getting back into a routine - getting back into a normal sleeping pattern, sleeping in your own bed, catching up on all your emails and checking in with the family.

Duvet days are great and it is exactly what I crave when I am exhausted, but when the sun shines in this country you need to make the most of it.

jb

Puggy Therapy

The thought of "animal therapy" to me at university was ludicrous.

Why would I want to play for puppies and kittens for an hour during my exams?

This was the welfare team's idea of keeping our stress levels low during finals. Needless to say, I didn't go to any animal therapy classes and I still passed my exams.

Thing is you don't realise the impact a dog or a cat has on your life until they are no longer there.

That's why we like stealing this little munchkin as much as we can.

Trenza de Chocolate y Almendra [Chocolate Almond Braid]

It's my first weekend back in the UK. The sun is shining, Wales kicked France's butt last night and I passed out at 10pm giving me 10 hours of blissful solid sleep.

Oh and I just made these gooey chocolatey trenzas again.

I am getting crumbs all over my laptop but it's oh so worth it!

Working from Home Home

I am writing this at 35,000 ft in the air.

I'm on my way to Malaga and it feels so good to be flying home.

It feels even better knowing I will be spending a week here with work.

Cosy Club, Wales

We couldn't leave Wales without popping into Cardiff.

The hub of Welsh life and a great destination for shopping.

It was such a horrid day. The wind was howling and it was pouring with rain. Lucy had joined us from Swansea and we just wanted to slip into somewhere cosy for some brunch...

m

Gemelli's

Jade has been one of my best friends for 24 years.

We used to spend our summers playing in my paddling pool, mostly naked.




n

JoBro's Birthday

Dear Jonathan,

Happy 22nd Birthday baby brother!

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.