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Fantastically Wonderful Advertisers | February

image c/o weheartit.com

It's that time of the month again - let me tell you a little bit about some of the amazing ladies on my sidebar...get comfy and prepare to add a few new favourites to your list!

Polka Dot Dreams
Oh my goodness, where on earth do I start with this little place of amazingness? You know when you stumble across something when you're having an etsy stalk (we all do it, don't pretend) and you so wish you could make it because it's just so perfect? That's how I felt when  I stumbled across Samantha's shop. Okay, so not only does she sell the most frickin' gorgeous felt accessories (oh my GOD have you seen the fox necklace, I nearly died), she also makes items to order so if you had something particular in mind, she's your lady. Pretty please pop on over and say Hi - I'm bowled over by the wonderfulness of her lovely shop.

Eat Play Shop Love
Okay, this lady is one of my absolute favourites. On Charlie's blog not only will you find detailed beauty reviews, hauls, get to know me posts and notd's - but you will also find a really lovely lady. I get lost in her posts and find myself smiling at the screen like a creep with her relatable writing. You won't be disappointed if you hop on over, although perhaps have a cuppa at the ready - because you'll be there a while.

Beauty Becky
I'm hoping you all know who Becky is, as she was sitting pretty on my sidebar last month too. I'm still girl crushing pretty hard to be honest - consistency seems to be key in this little ladies book. Her posts are detailed - I always find myself wanting to buy whatever it is she's writing about and one of my absolute favourite things about it is her photography. It's so clear and fantastic quality, so if you're looking for in-depth reviews with fantastic swatches look no further. What a good egg :)

Our Little Balham Life
Oh, Nicola. How can I express my love for you and your blog in a paragraph? (not possible) Honestly, when I first read Nicola's blog I knew it was meant to be. From reading just a few sentences of a blog post you feel like you know her, and to me that's what blogging is all about. Reading this blog, you'll mainly discover what it's like to live in London, what she gets up to and some frickin' awesome food recipes. Yep, go on, tell me all how much you love it too...

Beauty & Truth
Aubry is wonderful, as is her blog. She is absolutely drop dead gorgeous, and with that very, very talented. Fancy knowing how to bake some awesome cookies? Some DIY jewellery and accessories? Or perhaps a little bit of fashion? You've come to the right place. I can't help but want to be part of this ladies adventures and go round for a cup of tea and cake. Her words and beauty just make you feel right at home.

Angel's Corner
Honesty is the best policy and I feel that's 100% what you get with this lovely ladies blog. She's packed to the brim with beauty and fashion hauls, lifestyle posts and most recently FOOD ART. How cool is that? Making art from your food, has to be one of the most creative things I've heard of in a long while! I find myself constantly checking back to see if there's a new post and they're always such a pleasure to read :)

I hope you lovely lot have found a few new gems in this bunch - they're some of my absolute favourite places on the interwebs and I'm so glad I get to share them all with you! Please do let me know what you think of them! And share the love <3

Don't forget to drop me an email if you'd like to have your advertisment on my sidebar!

Collaboration Leonor Designs + Holy Preppy

I am so happy to announce that the young and successful Spanish Brand Holy Preppy has collaborated with Leonor Designs. Me and Patricia have been working hard on our summer 2013 collection for Leonor Designs, maybe you have noticed I have been blogging a bit less, as our little company Leonor Designs is growing well.

All the bracelets shown on these pictures are made by us. 

Turquoise dreams bracelets

Circus pom pom bracelet

Hug me bracelet in black and gold

Bandidas boots bracelets

Vintage bracelets

Circus pom pom bracelets and hug me in fluor yellow, orange, green and black

If you would like to follow us on Facebook, Instagram or our blog Leonor Designs

February Favourites

L-R: Bourjois Nail Polish Remover. Rimmel Apocalips. Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser. MAC Woodwinked Eyeshadow. Urban Fudge Sea Salt Spray. Algenist Triple Action Micropeel and Polish.

Can I just be massively cliché here and say - where the HELL has February gone? This is actually mental. Life needs to slow down a little, it's going to be bloody Christmas before we know it!

So.. I haven't done a monthly favourites post in I can't remember how long. But I'm trying this thing where I become more organised in life and get things done, and it just so happens that monthly favourites is one of those things! (this month anyway haha). 
There are few products in here that probably wont be too much of a shock to you beauty addicts, but I do think I've discovered a few gems too.
Do let me know what you think of the products, and if you've tried any of them :)

Mixing Prints | Outfit Post

Following on from my last outfit post I find myself constantly reaching for comfort at the moment. There’s nothing better than whacking on an outfit that you don’t need to worry about – no your tops not going to fall down and your skirt isn’t going to ride up your bum, it’s just effortless and comfortable.

Scarf: c/o Hannah Belle. Playsuit: thrifted. Jumper: factorie. Belt: Thrifted. Boots: Urban Outfitters

Although I was a little in the mood for mixing prints – is feathers, polka dots and spikes too much? I don’t think so :) I feel oddly right with all this business and feel uber relaxed with the bagginess of everything!

Throughout winter and the cooler months as we head in to Spring you will always see me sporting a scarf. For me they complete an outfit and I’m particularly fond of bold, statement scarves that bring pieces together and help a plain top stand out.  I’m pretty much in love with this little beauty sent to me by the gorgeous Hannah of Hannah Belle. You must check out her shop filled with gorgeous home bargains & this item of loveliness was only £8.50, making it a real bargain! The mix of colours and the softness means it fits my perfect scarf checklist and it’s also going to be light enough to team with little dresses when the weather starts to warm up.

My playsuit is one of my absolute favourite’s, it used to be my mum’s underwear and I just can’t understand why you would want to wear it under your clothes – it’s so pretty! I threw this jumper over the top just to keep me warm and tucked it in to my belt (also my mum’s old one) I think it’s perfect for bringing the whole outfit together.

How do you feel about clashing prints? I’d love to see some other bloggers posts on these sort of styles? 

1 year!

Our little one turned one today! This year flew by and now he´s a toddler...This weekend we will have a birthday cake to celebrate it. I took this picture this morning, he is so adorable with his number one medallion. We have been so blessed with Matteo, he´s very social, loves to be around other kids, people and animals. But this adorable face has quite a character, he knows what he wants and will make sure he gets it. He starts walking any time soon, many people told us, that it´s going to be an exhausting time...really, even more? We enjoy being with him every day, and we are very proud to discover more and more about his developments.

I bought Matteo some flowers for in his room, of course out of reach, as these common grapes are very pretty but also toxic. They do look sweet in his blue room.

And some pink tulips and white ranunculus for mommy, flowers make me happy.

Picked up this vintage white milk glass vase in last visit in amsterdam while flea market treasure hunting. It reminded me of coral, one of my favorite things.

How I Style My Hair | Enrapture Jumbo Waver

I am completely overwhelmed at the amazing response to my Enrapture giveaway, there have been heaps of entries and it seems everyone wants to get their hands on a pair. So, I thought that it might be quite nice to film a little tutorial to show you guys how I achieved the look and how easy they are to use...

They are my new favourite thing and I’m loving experimenting with them and achieving different looks – I particularly love how they create a volumized ponytail.

Do you own a pair of these? I’d love to know how you style yours if so? And if not – good luck with the giveaway!! :D

Our favorite pile of intentional children books

Being a mom I love finding the latest favorite items of other parents and I recently came across popular books with intentions. Books that not only tell a story, are full of imaginative creativity but also have important under lining messages. I just wanted to share of latest favorites with you that are great hits with my kids.

Chalet in the Alpes

            
I am a big fan of wood painted white, so when I saw this dream chalet in the Alpes, I was sold.
We have very cold weather these days, we even had snow in the city, last time that was 10 years ago.

Love the retro bubble chair

via

Beauty Products I Can't Live Without!

This has to be one of my absolute favourite videos I’ve filmed. Picking out and selecting my beauty products I couldn’t live out was harder than I imagined. It turns out I’m probably a bit higher maintenance than I thought! I could’ve had double the products in there, but I tried my hardest to strip it back to basics and my day to day necessities. There’s a mixture of high to low end beauty bits so there is definitely something for everyone.

If any of your staples are the same as mine I’d love to know – and alternatively if there is anything you’ve spotted in the video that you’re thinking you’d like to try I’d love to know that too. It’s always lovely to hear when someone goes with a recommendation and sees results :)

I hope you all had a lovely weekend? My plans changed last minute and I ended up going to my nanny’s on the Friday night and stayed right through until Sunday evening. I really love spending time with her and we had a jolly time shopping, eating lots of food and watching a film at the cinema – a song for Marion, I’m warning you now if you’re a bit of a crier at films, TAKE TISSUES. I was literally in hysterics and was trying to conceal my blubbing by eating massive handfuls of popcorn. It was such a lovely film though so definitely worth a watch.

I also took a few snaps in my Nan’s garden for an outfit post coming up soon, so keep your eyes peeled for a change of scenery! Ooh Err, I know how to treat you don't I? ;)

Have a great weeks ladies (& gents) :) 

GIVEAWAY | The Enrapture Jumbo Waver!

Enrapture is fast becoming my favourite go-to heat styling company, my totem styler has seen my ghds are made redundant at the back of my drawers; and today I have another one of their exciting tools to introduce to you.

You know when you sometimes fancy looking like a mermaid and plait your hair the night before you go to sleep, with the hope that you’ll wake up with lightly crimped hair? Yeah – mine never looks good when I do that, it’s always a massive frizz ball and I end up putting it into a bun. Enrapture have created something so absolutely amazing I couldn’t wait to share it with you…

Before...

After...

The Jumbo Waver: Not only does it create instant volume – (the large plates can’t help but to lift up and out!) it only took me 10 minutes to style my entire head of hair. Soft, gentle, giant waves - I think I actually prefer this look to curls now!

With regards to using this it’s so simple – it has a temperature control to determine how much heat you want to apply to the hair. For example, if you have really fine hair you probably wouldn’t need them to be on full temperature to achieve the desired look. You may be able to tell from the pictures that this is quite a large tool (no, I’m not being naughty!) but don’t let that put you off – it’s lightweight and it doesn’t feel at all big when you’re actually styling your hair.

I styled mine from the roots right to the bottom – and with my hair length I had to move the waver down the selected hair piece 2-3 times before moving on to the next section. Of course, if you don’t want to do it right from the roots you don’t have to, I just like the bohemian volumised look that achieves.

It comes beautifully packaged – it feels very luxurious and expensive, with a heat resistant bag for travelling. As with the totem styler, the jumbo waver holds the waves all day. I went to the X-Factor tour last Saturday, I did my hair at 10am and still had my waves perfectly in place at 12am (when I went to bed!). I didn’t even use hairspray, I simply spritzed my hair with some sea salt spray, to ensure that extra ‘beachy’ look and away I went!

Enrapture aren’t the cheapest and these retail at £74.99 – but are currently on offer at Argos for £59.99. For some it might seem quite steep but I’m sure a lot of you have invested in ghds which hit the £100 mark! And I’d say this brand are definitely on par, if not better – it’s a real investment for any lady who longs to achieve long-lasting curls and in no time at all.

I thought you lovely ladies might be quite head over heels like I am with this product. So Argos have kindly offered a lucky reader the opportunity to win a hair styler too! This is a 3-part giveaway, I have 1 more special one coming up over the next couple of weeks so if you don’t win the others keep your eyes peeled for the last one! I know it’s a few to have in one go, but I wanted to let you guys know how much I appreciate you and I love sharing the things I love with you!

I am using rafflecopter again – I used it  for my last few giveaways and it works perfectly. Just follow the steps below, and rafflecopter will pick 1 winner at random. The giveaway will close on 10th March and will be open worldwide.

Thank you again lovelies, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fly away

wild Hibiscus flower

Ein lebendiges HALLO vom anderen Ende der Welt! Die Eingewöhnungszeit hat doch etwas länger gedauert als gedacht - aber auch kein Wunder wenn man leicht angeschlagen (ja, dreimal dürft ihr raten wer bei der Primark-Führung ständig am Husten war^^) innerhalb von 24 Stunden vom Winter in den Sommer wechselt, und das bei einem Temperaturunterschied von fast 30°C(!). Ich fange jetzt erst an so richtig zu realisieren, dass ich eigentlich ganz woanders bin (｡◕‿‿◕｡)...

view through the aircraft window:

sky is not the limit, it is just the view

Der Flug war trotz seiner Länge einer der Angenehmsten überhaupt. Ich kann die Emirates Fluglinie absolut jedem empfehlen. Service (geilstes Klo ever, mit einem Spiegel vom Boden bis zur Decke - nein, ich habe meine Kamera nicht mit aufs Klo genommen - aber irgendwo doch schade -.-°), Essen (gegrillter Lachs in Sahnesoße und Safran Reis, Schokopudding mit flüssiger Schokosoße *sabber* ) und Entertainment Programm waren einfach top!

Emirates inflight entertainment system has an iPad-like touch-screen monitor 

and a playstation-like controller :)

Wir alle lieben ja iPads und überhaupt alles, was mit Touchscreens bedient wird. Hier hatte ich das Vergnügen mit einem Touchscreen Monitor in iPad Größe herumspielen zu dürfen :D und der Controller für das Spielen von Videospielen und dergleichen sah verdammt nach einer tragbaren PSP Konsole aus xD

the cabin night lights on the aircraft ceiling look like a milky way *.*

Ach ja, was auch noch schön anzusehen war, die Nachtbeleuchtung an der Decke! Es sah aus wie eine kleine Milchstraße - hat irgendwie was von einem Raumschiff mit Glasdach zum hinausschauen *.*...

`°•.¸¸.•°` ஜ۩۞۩ஜ`°•.¸¸.•°`