DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Spa Chester Review

I've always loved travelling and visiting new places and have found that my favourite type of trip is to do short breaks away in hotels. Hilton invited me to stay in their Chester Hotel and experience the 18th Century Manor House that is set in beautiful grounds. It's located only two miles from Chester City Centre so is perfectly located to explore the historic city. They have recently refurbished and extended the hotel which includes the addition of 79 new bedrooms which is where we stayed. It has been given a new look that fits in with the history of the hotel while maintaining the class and comfort of Hilton. Facilities at the hotel include The Garden Room, a Lounge/Bar area, the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill, a fitness room and the DoubleTree by Hilton Spa. 

When arriving at the hotel we were greeted by Alice on reception who was very friendly and welcoming. The warm conversation about what we had planned for our stay and where we have come from gave a nice personal touch. We were informed that we had complimentary access to the spa which we didn't know beforehand so hadn't packed any swimwear. You can buy some swimming attire at the spa, however, I didn't see the point in this for a one-night stay. Shortly after arriving the check in was all sorted and we were handed our room key along with a couple of warm fresh cookies to take to our room. I can't think of a better welcome than that.

The room we were staying in was one of their new King Junior Suites. It was large and had a great layout that was split into different areas while still maintaining the open plan look and feel. You get a super king bed and a large smart TV with Sky that can be rotated between facing the bed and the two-seater sofa. Two well-sized wardrobes give you space to store your clothing and other items while containing some handy amenities such as a safe, iron and ironing board and robe & slippers. A tray with a good selection of tea and coffee making facilities can also be taken out of the wardrobe, making it easy to make refreshments. There's also a fridge with complimentary snacks and drinks inside but after taking the time to look around and have dinner etc we completely forgot to make us of it. The desk area has plenty of space to do any work or comes in handy to your makeup and has plenty of plug sockets which came in useful when straightening my hair. The bathroom is a decent size with a large wall mirror and a smaller movable magnifier mirror which are useful and could be good for doing makeup. I'm not able to do my makeup standing up due to chronic illnesses but I was more than happy to sit at the desk. Having some Crabtree and Evelyn mini shower items were handy and I know Andy particularly enjoyed having an overhead second shower head that he could actually fit under as he's quite tall. Our suite had a lovely view across to the garden terrace and was nice to see something different that wasn't just a patch of land or another wall of the hotel. 

The spa that is part of the hotel offers a selection of treatments and provides a "blissful oasis away from the stresses of everyday life". A relaxing range of options including wet and dry thermal suites, Watsu hydra therapy pool, steam room, sauna, Hamman mudroom and aroma room as well as an outside heated pool with waterfall. Access to this can be added for £15 per room or £25 for a family room with any treatments having additional individual prices. As part of our stay, we went for an Elemis Introduction Facial in the spa. There was a 'before' room when you could start to wind down in the comfortable seating and enjoy the complimentary juice bar and herbal tea. From here I was taken to the treatment room by the spa therapist Meg. She was really lovely and made me feel relaxed from the start and throughout the process. When I got to the treatment room I talked through my skincare regime and the type of skin that I have. I was also asked about any medical conditions and checked that the mini massage would be okay.

I lied down to a relaxing facial that helped to soothe and cleanse my skin. I wasn't expecting the head and neck massage to be part of the treatment but it helped me to relax and I came out really calm. At the end of the session, Meg recommended some Elemis products to us which for me was the Superfood Facial Wash (£25) and the Hydra-boost Day Cream (£40). Andy mentioned that he really enjoyed the facial and didn't feel like it was just designed for women. He also particularly enjoyed the head massage part of the session. We both felt that our skin was noticeably softer and more nourished afterwards plus feeling much more relaxed. You were then taken into the 'after' room where you could continue to wind down for as long as you wished on the beanbags and beds while enjoying the complimentary lemon sorbet. The treatment lasts around 30 minutes and costs £45 which I think is a reasonable price for what you get. I would probably pay that just for a head massage so the added bonus of having your skin all clean and moisturised was great. I didn't know that you are not supposed to wear makeup for rest of day post-treatment and we had dinner booked so I had to break the rules a little but I didn't feel like it changed how my skin felt after taking it off later on.

We decided to enjoy breakfast in the room as they have a good selection on their menu. You can either call up or leave your order on the door hanger the night before to have it delivered at your chosen time the next morning. There is a £5 charge if you wish to do this but that's not much to enjoy it in the comfort of your own room. Alternatively, you can go down to the Garden Room to have your breakfast. We went for a selection of items including granola, fruit, pastries and traditional cooked items with pots of tea and fresh apple juice. It was fresh and delicious, and gave the perfect start to the morning. We actually ordered not knowing that this was also complimentary as part of our review, so we used the door hanger to order one breakfast (I'm not too hungry in the mornings) but when we spoke to Alice on the reception she informed us that it was a part of our stay and since we had booked the biggest breakfast for Andy they doubled it so we had a choice. Andy preferred the cooked breakfat whereas I enjoyed the melon and granola so it all worked out well. I'd definitely get another breakfast at the Hilton in the future.

I had a lovely stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Chester Hotel and Spa, and was able to enjoy a relaxing time where I could wind down and get away from normal life to come away feeling refreshed. The hotel was set in some impressive grounds and had some of the best scenery I've experienced when going away. I had never stayed at a Hilton hotel before but have already been looking into booking our own stay as it was very well-rounded. The grounds looked so pretty as the March snow had come down quite heavy the day before too. There is also a review of the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill as we ate here as part of the overall hotel review.

Complimentary stay in return for a review.

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Winter Travel Tips with CitizenM | Collab

You may have noticed from some of my lifestyle posts that I love travelling and would jump at the chance for a getaway. I think doing a weekend away somewhere is a great way to experience a new place without having to book loads of time off. Sometimes if you have less time you often pack more things into your itenerary as you appreciate the time there more. I'd love to be able to visit some more European countries, and places like Amsterdam have so many great things to see there. Just in case I do make that trip away, I've written this post to remind myself and of course you, some tips to fully prepare for a trip.

Hotel

It's probably a good idea to pick a hotel that's close to either what you'll be doing or some form of transport link. This means you aren't wasting too much of your holiday getting to the places that you want to see. Choosing one that fits your budget is quite a sensible thing to do but don't think this means you have to have a really basic hotel. If you wanted something with a bit more luxury than your standard offering, CitizenM have some great offerings that could really make your holiday. Especially when you've had a long day exploring, it can make your Winter trip so much better to come back to a special hotel room that caters to your needs and helps you relax.  

Transport 

If possible, it would be best to book this in advance as you get the cheaper fares and then don't have to get into a panic nearer the time. It's best to look at the different options for getting somewhere as it won't always be the first one you think of. Even though flying seems like the best option, something like the Eurostar could be much easier and cheaper for getting to some cities. I found it so smooth and relaxed when I travelled to Paris using it and would definitely do it again. When travelling around the city, bulk buy tickets for things such as the metro or trams as it's often cheaper and means you don't stop at every station to buy tickets.

Packing

Rolling your clothes in your case will save you a surprising amount of space and means that you won't end up with it coming out creased at the other end. I know it can be all too easy to think you'll need to take half of your wardrobe, but if you pack light then you will thank yourself when trying to lift your case into a taxi or onto a train. Think about the amount of toiletries you take as they can often add so much weight. You can get travel mini's in loads of shops now so this is a good option (plus that I find them kinda cute!). 

Money

Keeping an eye on the exchange rates prior to travelling is always a good option as it means you get the most bang for your buck. You most probably won't get the best rate if you changed your money the day before you go, and similarly if you did it in a train station or an airport on your way. Depending on how much you are taking, there are often better rates for the more you exchange, so it's well worth looking at this so you can benefit from it. If you travel a lot, have a root around your house for any forgotten Euros too! I always come back with some and leave them in a drawer to 'remind' myself to take to my next trip and always forget too.
What are your Winter travel tips and where would you travel to next? Amsterdam and Brussels are at the top of my list for the next trip I take!


*This is a collaborative post

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York: Anniversary Trip Away!

Hey lovelies, it's been a while! Apologies for late posting but I went away with my boyfriend for our 1 year Anniversary in York!

Just want to put it out there that he is absolutely amazing (be jel) and I was so lucky to be able to go on this trip with him. We did so many things but I never took pictures of everything as I wanted to spend some quality time with him.

Anyway, here are some snaps of things we did:

 

Andy relaxing in the National Rail Museum

 A 'Hogwarts Castle' train! Clearly I was quite surprised to see this...

 Our room in the Travellodge. We did have some issues - they moved us to a different hotel and it wasn't ideal as I still haven't been 100% with walking, so they paid four our taxi and gave us complimentary breakfasts for the next day, with the catch that we had to walk back to the original hotel to receive them... We resolved the issue a few days later over email.

 

We went the Chocolate Story where we learnt about the history of Rowntrees and other big brands! Our favourite bit (obviously)  was where we got to make our own chocolate bars to take back with us. Andy had strawberry and chocolate swirls with smarties, and I went for just the swirls. It was so nice!

We also received chocolate tasters as we went around the tour, such as dark chocolate from when chocolate was first produced here, original chocolate which was like a really bitter but watery chocolate milk, quality street chocolate and a slab of dark chocolate.

 

 Cheeky anniversary picture! You can't tell as much from this picture, but Andy is 6ft 4" and I am 5ft 4" so there is a bit of height difference! This was before dinner.

 

Strawberry Daiquri in Jamie's Italian. Andy had never been before and said he had the most amazing steak and chips with coleslaw (so check it out) and I had my usual bolognaise. We are also Gold Club members so we received a little taster too!

 

Clifford's Tower which remains from the original York Castle.

 

Yes I got excited by the huge teddy bear and the Panda teddies inside! This was closed by the time we got there though (sob!) but they have a really cute tea room upstairs!

 

York Minster (a Cathedral)

 

Wasn't that hungry for lunch but had a sweet tooth...

 

Views from the YorkBoat tour.

We also visited:

York Dungeons

York Sightseeing Bus

Jorvik (Viking Centre)

We also did a little bit of shopping and Andy bought me the cutest little plaque for our new flat from Paperchase (here) as a little anniversary present.

Aside from the hotel annoyance, the trip was amazing and I'm so glad we got to escape from revision and uni work for 2 days and spend some more time together!

We are looking at going on another trip soon, so if you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know!

Laura

xxx

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Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill Chester Review

As part of my stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Spa Chester, I was able to test out the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill. The restaurant is attached to and accessible through the hotel so is perfect for when you are staying at the Hilton. It's also open to the public so if you are ever in Chester then you can go and enjoy drinks and a meal. I found it to be cosy, being in a booth we were able to look out into the restaurant. It has a number of different sections which split it up nicely and meant you weren't just in a large open room that became too noisy. You can also enjoy impressive views of the grounds of the hotel which adds to the overall enjoyable experience.

For starters, we both actually ended up going for the Classic French Onion Soup (£6.75) which had croutons and Gruyére cheese on top to add some texture. I've not had this type of soup for years and really enjoyed it. It had plenty of flavour and the portion size was just about right, without enough to enjoy without filling you up too much before your main. For the second course we both looked at different parts of the menu. Andy loves a good steak and it was the perfect place to have a few to choose from. He went for the Grilled 35 Day Aged Sirloin 10oz Steak (£25.95) that was served with pommes frites and was complemented by the Classic peppercorn and brandy sauce and on the vine tomatoes. Having it medium well-done, it had plenty of flavour without being too dry, and you could tell it was a higher quality meat. I don't eat steak myself so went for the Classic Macaroni Cheese (£13.95) that came with poached egg, wild mushrooms and herbs. The meal was nice and quite filling so couldn't end up finishing it. I think it may have been better without the egg due to the very similar silky textures and there were a lot of mushrooms, though it was still enjoyable.

As part of our meal, we enjoyed a bottle of Californian Vendange White Zinfandel Rose Wine (£22.50) which was nice to enjoy with our meal. For dessert, we ended up both fancying the Mr Coulson's Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce (£5.95). It was a lovely end to the meal and worked particularly well with the sauce. I found our experience at the restaurant really nice, the food was great and came out in good time, and we had a lovely blonde who served us and made sure we had everything we need to make our visit run smoothly. The interior was different, with dark blue walls with matching velvet-like fabric chairs which is exactly what I'd choose if I was selecting the theme of the restaurant. I'd come again for sure and would try to pick out some other options from the menu.

Complimentary meal in return for a review.

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24 Things To Do Before I Turn 24

I write this post each year about a month before my birthday and although I feel my blog has developed so much recently, I still want to create little posts like this. It's something I can look back on every year and see whether I've done some of the things I set out to do.

1. Go on a weekend away

I don't think I've ever had a proper weekend away before. Sure I've had my fair share of hotel stays in cities but they've been for a night or two and spent a lot of it going into shops I usually shop in and dining in huge chain restaurants. I'd like to stay somewhere other than a budget hotel (which I usually do because they're the best option for me) and spend the time really enjoying myself. Exploring a place properly and making the most of it.

2. Buy a house with Andy

Once we're out of our overdrafts we plan to get a Save To Buy ISA to go towards a deposit for a mortgage. We're looking to buy a 2/3 bed property that we aim to live in for at least the next ten years instead of renting a flat until we decide to move onto the next chapter. I've lived in student rented places before and as much as they're good we need our own proper home.

3. Throw a housewarming party

I obviously can't do this without having a place but I'd love to get both of our families together and all of our friends and celebrate moving out into our own space. I love a good party and I can't really go out clubbing due to my conditions so having a housewarming party is perfect as I can wear flats and sit down when I need to, surrounded by everyone that I love.

4. Buy a Macbook/iMac

Since I finished university I've had to use Andy's laptop to store all my photos on and write my blog posts on. Whilst I have nothing wrong with sharing a laptop and neither does he, we both want another device to edit vlogs on and to be able to both write blog posts etc at the same time instead of waiting for the other to finish using it first. 

5. Learn to drive

I bet everyone reading this who has read my previous posts (21 and 23) is laughing because I say this every single year! In the last few months I was owed some tax back from being emergency taxed last year so I finally bought my provisional license which is a step and a half for me. Maybe next year will be the year!

6. Go Full time with blogging

This is kind of relevant to now but I'll explain. I finished my job back in January and it wore me down. I've got a few medical conditions that means that I find it so difficult to be on my feet each day, to take public transport just to get to and from work and also to not have many days in between work to recover. I loved my job but looking back I'm so glad I'm no longer in it. In the past 9 months my body is so much better, I'm not as tired and I'm working towards turning this blog into a full time career. I live with my parents and I'm saving up towards a mortgage on a house with Andy so whilst I'm at home I have 8-5 to blog. I do earn sometimes from my blog and my Instagram and would love to turn this into a job where I can sustain myself and go towards my future.

7. Go back to Berlin

I first went to Berlin in February of 2011 and fell in love with the city. I went with my History class and loved learning about the events in Germany between 1920 and 1950 whilst also exploring Germany for the first time. It was completely different to how I had previously imagined and having only spent four days there I would go back in an instant.

8. Create more makeup tutorial posts

I am planning on doing some Halloween tutorials in photo form on the blog in the next few weeks but after that I'd really like to have the confidence to create some more makeup looks. I do class this blog as more beauty focused so having more makeup posts would hopefully make it more popular.

9. Buy some Alex drawers

So I have three Muji drawers and a makeup desk, but in my room have one box for excess makeup and one for all my hair products. My makeup desk has a drawer in for makeup and one for skincare and then on top of my Muji I have lipsticks and foundations. If I had a set of Alex drawers I could fill them with my makeup, get rid of the boxes and have a neater desk.

10. Get my eyebrows tattooed

After seeing Shannon from Shaaanxo on YouTube get her eyebrows tattooed on I went from never wanting anything done to my face to instantly wanting eyebrows to dye die for. My eyebrows are so light that if I don't apply makeup to them and actually draw them on that people joke that my eyebrows have disappeared. They're not even sparse but the colour is so faint that it's a pain having to spend a good 5 minutes per brow creating a shape, filling them in and then setting them. If they were tattooed on then I could get away with only spending a minute or two tops on them each day.

11. Hit some major blogging milestones

Over Summer I hit 26,000 combined blog followers and this was absolutely amazing. A huge chunk of this surprisingly comes from Pinterest. Maybe before I hit 24 I will hit 30,000 followers and increase my page views to 10,000 a month on Google Analytics (I don't use Blogger's stats as they're completely unreliable).

12. Finish writing out my recipe book

A family member bought me a recipe book from Paperchase a few years back where you fill it in with all the recipes you make so you don't have to buy them for every course. It took me a while to make my own up but I love having my own book to refer back to.

13. Set up my own blogging office

At the moment I'm sat in my room where my makeup desk is so close to my bed that I can't actually work at it. I'd love to move into a place where for a few years I can have my own office to take blog photos in, write posts and store all my makeup so that it's a separate space from my bedroom.

14. Create a gallery wall

This comes with moving into a house but I'm obsessed with prints of makeup and pretty things, especially using watercolour and motivational quotes. I'd love one wall in our living room to be full of everything that we love and admire.

15. Visit Santorini

This is one of the places I'd love to travel to next. It's a stunning place to visit and I can just image taking photos and using the drone there to capture some unreal footage. It seems so tranquil and it would be a lovely place to visit for the ultimate relaxing holiday.

16. Do another fundraising event

I ran fast walked the Big Fun Run last month and would love to participate in that or the Dechox event again to raise some money. I was in the Charity Committee in Sixth Form and loved doing bake sales for charity and now I've taken to other events to raise money.

17. Go to another festival

I've been to Leeds Festival 3 times, V Festival twice and Womad Festival a few times and really want to go to another next summer. Maybe after 5 years I'll head back to Leeds Fest or maybe after year I'll end up in V Fest again.

18. Try and do at least a video per month on YouTube

Before you jump the gun and think I have a beauty channel, I don't. Myself and Andy have our own YouTube Channel Landy Vlogs where we film us travelling whether it be abroad or just to a theme park. We love creating them and our Los Angeles vlogs and our most recent V Festival vlog where so fun to film, so if we could get one video up a month it would be such a good way to document each year in film.

19. Go pumpkin picking

An obvious one that will have to be done next month considering my birthday is just shy of two weeks before Halloween. I love carving pumpkins and I'd love to go somewhere other than a supermarket to pick one to carve.

20. Learn to bake something new

Ah I love baking. And cooking. But baked goods are so much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye which makes me want to bake more. And I should because I try so hard and it's so rewarding when you bake cakes for people so I definitely need to get back into it.

21. Have a strict skincare regime

I have combination skin and still at aged almost 23 I haven't found a whole routine to stick to yet. Some products are made for combination skin but don't hydrate my skin enough, or they'll target dry areas more and leave me with excess residue. I need to up my skincare game and find a routine that works.

22. Do some more DIY projects

I've previously posted my DIY Flower Crown Tutorial and it really inspired me to do some more. I'm planning on doing a post about DIY blog props and bases so hopefully I'll have posts like that up soon.

23. Invest in some more makeup brushes

I have a huge love for XOBeauty, Real Techniques, Nanshy and Lab 2 brushes and need to pick up some more. I'd love to try out some other brands out like Spectrum and Zoeva and once I've found which ones work best for me, I'll stock up on them.

24. Have a makeup clearout

I've been blogging for two and a half years now and although I've given away products that don't suit me and thrown away some products that are out of date, I need a good clear out. Although I see my makeup as a collection and don't want to throw much away, things like mascaras and eyeliners don't last that long and should be chucked. Maybe it will give me the opportunity to try some new brands out if I run low on a product afterwards.

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So You Just Got Engaged, Now What?

I got engaged over 4 years ago now and I have learned a lot during this period. Not only have I now planned 2 weddings, as the first one we fully cancelled in March 2020, but we've changed as people during this time and so has our interests. The two different weddings we planned had two different themes, decor choices, venues and much more. I've also been reading several blogs, magazines and planners to see what exactly you should consider when you begin wedding planning, so here is what we've learned.

Go online and watch some wedding videos

We went on YouTube and searched for our venue to see people's wedding videos there, then searched more broadly like 'Cheshire Wedding Videos' and so on. You may find inspiration for themes or colours, what type of venue you want (like a barn, a hotel, a teepee in a field etc). You can listen to people's vows and speeches, look at the timeline and so much more. Often people write in the description which suppliers they used too so this can be so helpful in the beginning. Look up whether the venues you're considering or have booked have tour videos online too. More venues have started doing this over the last 2 years and it really helps to save these videos and keep watching them as you plan out your day.

Set up accounts on Hitched, Bridebook etc

Here you can search for suppliers and shortlist them, message them, request brochures and read reviews. You can use their checklists to see a timeline and keep track of what you need to do, and when. Bridebook have even introduced a feature where both partners can use the app on their own phone and use it equally. A lot of the time the planning is focused on 'the bride' but you may have two brides or none. It's 2022, these wedding companies really need to modernise themselves.

Consider everything when looking at a venue

I've spoken about this before but before paying a deposit you need to consider everything. Accessibility is so important and this impacts everyone. It impacts the elderly, the pregnant person, the disabled person, the person with a chronic illness, the person who gets migraines, babies and toddlers, the person who broke their leg. It affects the families and friends of all these people too. There should be a disabled toilet, if there are steps you need a ramp, adequate comfortable seating, no flashing lights, highchairs, etc. At our wedding there will be several elderly people who have access needs, myself and at least one other disabled person who will need to use the disabled loo, neurodivergent people and multiple people including myself that are prone to migraines. I know sometimes it feels like access can have a long list but trust me, it's so worth it. If you put in the effort to provide access, the people who need it will be forever grateful.

Have a look at getting wedding insurance

This seems impossible right now, but have a look and see if getting wedding insurance is possible. We went with John Lewis who provided us two lots of compensation (if that is the right word) for our cancelled and postponed weddings. We now have no insurance because we have claimed twice so we need to look again to see if we can get it. Wedding insurance provides you money where vendors haven't shown up, vendors have cancelled, you've had to postpone your wedding and if vendors haven't provided what you agreed upon. It's so useful if you can get it.

Sign the contracts

This is so important! Your suppliers (within reason) should supply you with contracts that list everything that will be provided at the wedding. This helps you know exactly what you will be getting and gives you something to refer back to. On the off chance something went wrong and you needed to cancel or rearrange your wedding, having a signed contract makes things a lot easier, particularly if you are having to claim with your wedding insurer as they will often require contracts to be provided before paying out.

Make a wedding website

Not only can you provide a lot more information on here than in your invitations, but you can provide a lot of helpful advice too. We have made a website on Zola, where we have put down hotels within a 3 mile radius to the venue, taxi numbers, things to do in the local area and more. We have an FAQ page where we have answered a lot of common questions and some that are specific to our wedding. There is an RSVP page for those who are tech-savvy and will respond online. We have written about our story over the years as we will have known each other 10 years by the time we get married. Finally, we have added the timeline for the day so people can know what time to arrive, what time photographs are in case they want to grab a drink and chill out, what time food is and what time the evening events start. It's so useful and if you use a website like Zola or The Knot, it's really easy to add your information and customise the website design to suit you.

Book hotels in advance

You don't even have to pay for them right now. We have provisionally booked a lovely hotel that is 15 minutes drive away from our venue that at this point, we can't afford to pay for with everything else. We know we can slowly save up to pay for this but at least we have put our booking in now so we know we have somewhere to stay. If your venue does not have rooms to stay in, it's so important you book as soon as it's possible to. We have booked somewhere more expensive as not only is it a treat but also nobody will probably be staying in the same place so we can have some rest ahead of the big day. Some hotels allow you to book blocks of rooms in advance which can come in useful for your guests.

See if your venue has table layout plans

Our venue handed us a ring binder with a ton of table layout plans that are catered for the number of people going to the wedding. We took photos of all of them and so far have made two separate plans, one of long tables and one for round tables. You may have a list of everyone you're inviting but not everyone will be able to come, so having different plans you can edit along the way is really helpful. Wedding websites often have the option to make table plans out of your guest list and this has been really helpful too. The app iVow also has this as an option if you prefer to do it on your phone or tablet.

Consider the time of year

Depending on when you are having your wedding, several things need to be considered. The first is the temperature; if it's hot does the venue have air conditioning or fans, if it's cold do they have heating, outdoor heaters or even fireplaces. The second is the clothing, particularly of the Bridal Party. The people wearing suits may have to opt for a thicker material so buying a year ahead is what I'd recommend. The Bride may also consider buying something to wear around them or providing blankets for guests. We have a basket for blankets and a basket for flip flops for sore feet. The final thing to consider with the season is what your theme is and colours. When we planned for a May wedding originally we have navy blue and blush pink/rose gold but our decor was white blossom trees with pastel blue and pink flowers. Now we've moved to an October wedding we have gotten rid of the blossom trees and are looking at adding pumpkins to the decor along with changing the theme to a celestial/starry night theme.

Make specific Pinterest boards

I started off with one big board for everything and it so hard to look through. I recommend having boards for hair/makeup/nails, boards for interior decor, boards for invitations, boards for the theme or colours you're considering and so on. We also have a board for things we are DIY'ing as Pinterest is a great resource for that too. It is so easy to keep on top of when you have smaller board types.

Real or fake flowers?

I was always going to have artificial flowers as the cost of real ones was not something I wanted to spend a lot on. One thing to consider when weighing up your options is, what happens for people with allergies/hayfever? If it's only bouquets then you only really need to thing about the people holding them but if you want flowers on the tables or dotted around the venue you may run into people sneezing a lot. I ultimately went with artificial flowers so that I can keep my bouquet forever and I need to buy a lovely vase to put it in so I can have it on display after the wedding.

Wedding groups

Facebook has a ton of useful groups on it, I have some for chronic illnesses, vegetarian food, crafting and weddings. You can search by your local area, wedding themes, weddings on a budget, DIY weddings and so much more. People even sell things on some of these groups that they've used in their own weddings if you're looking for something more affordable. People ask for advice so group members can help them out, some people ask for ideas or how to budget and so on. They are so helpful and it's honestly the single only reason I still use Facebook. 

Wedding jewellery 

Don't just limit your search to high street jewellers, look online too. We found both my engagement ring and wedding ring, and Andy's wedding ring on Etsy. I have seen a lot of bad reviews from high street jewellers from wedding groups and it made me want to look into smaller businesses. Maybe look online for reviews from anywhere you're looking to buy from before you get set on rings. This also goes for other jewellery you may wear on the day, including earrings, hairpieces, necklaces and bracelets; any kind of jewellery you like. Definitely look far enough in advance and have a look into getting your rings insured in case they end up needing a cleaning or stones fall out etc. Also, don't get set on engraving your ring, mine is so thin that it can't be engraved so I had to drop that idea.

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Your Great Escape

I've always loved travelling. There is just something about exploring new places that just attracts me to it. Having been on a number of different trips over the years, from quick breaks in Berlin to a more recent trip to Los Angeles last year. I've experienced trips from a night away to nearly two weeks laid next to the pool in the hot sunshine. Short breaks seem to the right combination of time away with keeping busy. I feel like they are where I'm at my happiest when I go away, as I can get quite a bit done without worrying about trying to find things to pass and fill the time.

I've recently booked to go away to Poland for a few days which I'm really excited about. I'm not going to lie, it was a rather random booking as we thought of the ideas one afternoon and by the evening we'd booked the flights and hotel. Wanderlust seemed to strike as I was looking through Twitter and saw some photos of someone's recent holiday.

When you want to book somewhere to go away it would be great to have a quick option to do this. Cheapflights have launched a free-to-install extension for Google Chrome called EscEscape that utilises that escape button that you probably rarely use. Once installed, if you tap escape key (Esc) twice it launches a live flight search to find you the cheapest, quickest and smartest return flights to nearby destinations. It will open in another browser tab and bring up the cheapest option for a weekend break within the next eight weeks, and if you don't like the look of it, double-tap that escape key again to give another choice. Don't worry if you use Safari, you haven't been forgotten as an extension is in the pipeline.

Spontaneous trips can often be the best as you don't spend ages trying to decide where to go as you may never end up booking it. Particularly for short breaks, having less of a strict plan about where you want to go could open up opportunities to visit some amazing places that you would never have previously thought about. Spontaneity will come down to your gut feeling about the location you are trying to book, and for me, I'd say that my gut feeling is normally right, so I guess it won't be long before I book another trip away...

**This is a sponsored post

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I'm A Graduate!

You may have noticed I've been a little absent on my blog and social media the past week. It's been a busy week to say the least, because I graduated! I'm glad to be back blogging but I thought I'd fill you in on my week.

On Wednesday my family came around for dinner in mine and Andy's flat before going to their hotel (my nan stayed over with us) and we were tired from making sure the flat and ourselves were presentable. On Thursday I was up at 6am to start my hair and makeup. I originally planned on wearing my Hair Trade Extensions but it would have been too much messing around and went for straight hair. It was a small hassle to say the least when you have no idea where to collect your robes from, where you have to get your photo taken and which entrance you have to go through to graduate. My little sister has broken her leg too so we had to make sure my family had disabled access as she is in a wheelchair. Eventually, I graduated - I'm officially Laura Hadley LLB (Hons)!

After a quiet celebration with my family and Andy, we had to have an early night because it was his graduation on Friday. Luckily we weren't up as early as he had an afternoon graduation and we now knew exactly where to go to find his robes etc. At about 2:15 Andy graduated and is now Andrew Mark Smith BSc (Hons)! I'm so proud of both of us for getting our way through uni whilst dealing with some personal things at the same time.

Now for the next chapter of our lives. For now, we're both moving in with my family in Liverpool and will begin the job hunt from there. Andy knows what he wants from a career and will be utilizing his degree whereas I want nothing to do with Law as far as a job is concerned. Once we have saved enough we will be renting a house together and after that, another chapter will begin! We aren't those typical advertisements of graduates who can jump straight into a job and apartment straight from the university because these days that is a difficult job. We know that we both would love to work in the North West with dreams to tour America one day. We know exactly what we want from life and have done since the day we became a couple. Whilst we're open to suggestions it's safe to say we have it sussed. The summer will be spent enjoying a break from exams and dissertations and with a supportive family, we can slowly ease ourselves into graduate employment without the stress that really isn't needed.

I'm looking forward to the next chapter. It feels like I've been Andy's girlfriend for eternity and as soppy as it sounds, I'm loving every minute. It's not often these days you can genuinely not fault your other half. I didn't come to uni to find a boyfriend. I originally came to uni to train to be a solicitor and gain a Masters in Law. I dropped a year off so I gained the traditional Bachelors of Laws and I no longer want to go into that field. The best thing I gained from uni was my boyfriend and I'm thoroughly looking forward for us to continue our lives together.

Good luck to anyone graduating or receiving results this summer!

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Huge American Makeup Haul

So I returned from Los Angeles a few months ago and spent a lot of time editing the vlogs but I can finally show you what I bought from Ulta, CVS and Sephora whilst I was over there. Cue a warning now that I did spend way more than 1. I anticipated and 2. that most people do, partially because we won the trip over there. You may have seen on Twitter back in September that Soletrader and Adidas hosted a competition to win a 7 nights stay I won and got to bring along my boyfriend Andy who you may know as he's also a blogger.

This is the terrible photo I took in the hotel that I had to include as it was the only full photo of everything I picked up for myself. The reason behind this is, including the delays in my blog, is that my memory card broke not long after I came back and I lost everything. All my photos that weren't already copied onto the laptop, upcoming brand collaborations and photos of family. Gone. Two people looked at the card and nothing could be done so it had to be reformatted and here we are today. You may notice products such as the Makeup Eraser, Beauty Blender, ABH contour palette and many other products that will all have individual posts up as soon as possible.

 Nyx Lip Lingerie in Lace Detail, Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Color in Addiction and Passion, Too Faced Melted Matte in Feelin' Myself and Drop Dead Red, Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams in Manilla, Seoul and Moscow, Too Faced Melted Chocolate in Chocolate Milkshake.

Unfortunately I forgot to swatch the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks but they'll be up in a separate post soon anyway so don't forget to look out for that one. These swatches don't include other lipsticks I bought that are not of the liquid persuasion or the Sephora Cream Lip Stain but you can see another version of the product here. Although it's been a few months since I bought these products, I've still not had the guts to wear Nyx Soft Matte Cream in Moscow as I'm a bit conscious of wearing blue lipstick outside. I have an older post on all the other Nyx liquid lipsticks including swatches if you want to jump on the bandwagon like I did, no shame!

I've spoken in depth about the beautiful Tartelette In Bloom palette before, and if you've read my review you'll know how much I love this palette. Partially for the packaging and also due to the quality of the eyeshadows too. This was one of the items that I had planned to buy since I found out that we were going to America, so it doesn't half feel good to have it in my hands and to be using it almost everyday. They're just so blendable and it makes me want to try a ton more of beauty items from Tarte.

Spring and Summer Lipsticks posts which features Estée Edit Mattified Lipstick in On Point and Tom Ford Ulta-Rich Lip Color in Les Mepris

From all of the lip products combined, you can tell I didn't opt for just one colour. I tried to pick products that vary in colour and finish because I already have plenty of light pink and nude shades. Obviously you can't have too many lipsticks but you get the gist. I was so happy when I went into the fourth Sephora and saw the Tom Ford stand and picked up one of the lipsticks. I picked a pretty coral colour as there were only around six to choose from but I'm so glad because it goes so well with blonde hair, a tan and my blue eyes. To be honest I only picked up the Estée Edit lipstick because the news had only broken out in the blogging community about a week or two prior to my trip so I needed to pick something up.

I had heard about the mini Hourglass and Becca highlighters before so when I could pick up the travel sized versions for a fraction of the price of the full sized I went straight for them. I say this all the time but it's true, I barely hit pan on things unless it's face powders so it would have been a waste of money to buy larger sized items. From Target, I picked up the Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls for around $14 and it's one of the best highlighters I've used so far. I didn't realise until I was messing around with the packaging but underneath it has a little brush and mirror which is so adorable. Finally, I spent a long time thinking about a blusher I wanted to pick up and settled for the Too Faced Love Flush in How Deep Is Your Love. I've been using it almost daily and barely made a dent in the product and the pressed image in the pan is barely even smudged.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit was also on the list of items to pick up as I knew the Nyx and Kat Von D alternatives were out there but having heard so many good things about the ABH version I went for this one. I know a bunch of bloggers raving about the cream contour version but having combination skin I knew it wasn't a good idea to invest that much money into something I wasn't sure would work on me. I also picked up the Brow Wiz as I've been using the Soap and Glory alternative and needed something that would last a little longer.

I actually picked up three primers whilst I was away, including the Stila One Step Correct, Too Faced Hangover Primer and the Nyx Angel Veil Primer. They're all fantastic primers and I'm having trouble deciding which one is my favourite. I chose the Nyx one as it's a supposed dupe of the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer which I am yet to try. The Stila primer is amazing at evening your skin tone out, whether it be dark circles under the eyes, pigmentation issues or red spots. The Hangover primer is amazing for combination skin and makes my makeup stay on for so long. Even with using my Urban Decay De Slick Setting Spray it lasts an amazing amount of time. Now that I've tried them out I'm starting to use them for different days (or nights) out.

The item I least expected to pick up was the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Gleam as by this point I'd already picked up three powder highlighters and one mini liquid version that came with the Becca highlighter. I was not about to spent nearly £40 on four highlighters but I swatched it on a whim, maybe hoping it would be rubbish so I could justify picking something else up. It was the most pigmented highlighter palette I've swatched. It made my decision hard but Andy was insistent that I should pick up items that I wouldn't normally go for since I'd saved up for a while. This is my go to highlighter palette, with my most used shade being Crushed Pearl as it's the lightest shade. It works so well with eyeshadows too, especially in the inner corner.

Keep your eyes peeled for my other beauty posts!

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