Happy December, we are in the final month of the year, it's scary how quick these past few months have gone.
This year is the first year we are sending Holiday Cards as a family of three! We were going to last year but our cards went missing in the post on the way to us and the replacements would have arrived too late for us to send them out to family and friends. So this year I made sure to order our cards with plenty of time to spare. I didn't get round to writing them as early as I normally do but they should be hitting doorsteps from today!
It's really hard to get a picture of Bella looking and she won't behave at all when we plan to take photos so the picture we used for our cards this year was one my sister just happened to snap of us on Christmas Day last year and has become our favourite family photo.
I stuck to a traditional red and green theme to match our pyjamas we were wearing in the picture and I loved the effect of it making it look like there is a twine tied gift tag on the cards, and followed through on the envelops with the same twine effect.
Sending personalised cards has become a little tradition now, you can see all my past Christmas Cards here. Which one is your favourite? I still love then one I sent with a picture from Prague on!
Our little girl turned one earlier this month, how did that happen?! It seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home to live with us.
Now you all might think I am crazy (my friend's all think I am, they told me so) but I decided to have a little party to celebrate Bella's 1st Birthday. Really it was just an excuse for us all to eat cake, but I wanted to celebrate because no one know what life has planned for them, so I believe we should celebrate as much as we can in life and I certainly won't have the chance to throw a first birthday party for anyone else anytime soon.
Bella had her own cat cake made with tuna and LOVED chasing the balloons around the house. We thought as soon as she managed to pop one that would be the end of that but she doesn't care in the slightest when they burst. She's still playing with them now.
My sister made the sweetest cake for the party and even moulded a little Bella for the top, which I cannot bring myself to eat haha!
This past year Bella has brought so much joy into our lives every single day and we couldn't image life without her.
I have been thinking of doing a monthly favourites post for a while now and finally decided to take the plunge. I love reading and watching them on Youtube and while I'd love to a video as I think they are way more personal and give you a better feel for the products, I don't think you'll find me in front of a video camera anytime soon haha!
So each month, the towards the end or like this at the start of the following month I am going to a share a round up of my favourite things from the month, anything from beauty products to snacks and books! If you guys enjoy them that is. So let's see what I was loving in January shall we?!
I have loved Philosophy's 3 in 1 shampoo, bath and shower gels for a long time now, but they would normally be out of my monthly budget and are more of an indulgence. I lucked out and found these on the clearance stand in Boots for just £5 each!! I almost ran to the tills I was so excited. I hadn't tried anything from the Grace range before but I am loving both of these fragrances and these were a special treat for some pampering during the end of these winter months. I haven't ever tried using these as a shampoo before but I might try out the Pure Grace on my hair as it has such a clean fresh scent, and for anyone that wonders if these bubble up, I can confirm these will give you a very bubbly bath.
I think this has to be my top fave from January! I received this gorgeous painting of our baby Bella Boo from my best friend for Christmas, she always gives the best gifts and she knows me SO well. It was my favourite gift I opened on Christmas and I literally couldn't stop looking at it all day. I currently have it up in our bedroom but once we decorate the living room later this year I might move it down there so all of our guest can admire it too!
Let me start by telling that for Christmas Bella got a fluffy polar bear basket and she is obsessed with sleeping in it and I have been super jealous of her because it looks so snuggly. Step forward this super soft and fluffy pullover from Abercrombie & Fitch, I have found my very own polar bear equivalent! I hadn't purchased anything from A&F for years but I had been seeing lots of their pieces pop up in my Insta feed so decided to check out their site and found this cozy piece on sale. I went with my true size as it was the only size left in this colour, I would size up if you want it to be more oversized though.
This adorable ring holder was another gift I received at Christmas from another friend, I seriously have the best friends! It couldn't be more perfect for sitting in my dressing room with its gold details and cute little pink ears! All my favourite colours in a cute cat form.
You will have seen this scarf all over my Insta feed and blog this past month. I cannot take it off! It is super soft and warm for all this cold weather we have been having and its neutral colour means it pairs with just about anything. It also now comes in a cute pom pom version too! You can save 20% off your purchase at Ily Mix with the code 'fiveminutestyle'.
So my last fave for January is this fragrance from Philosophy, called Amazing Grace. I had spotted this on the clearance shelf in Boots with the shower gels but at the time decided I didn't need to pick up anymore perfumes right now. After I got home and use the shower gel I decided I needed to snap this up too as it was such an amazing price. Luckily when I went back the next day it was still there so I treated myself with some of my Boots Advantage Cards pints, so it didn't cost me a penny, which makes it that much better hehe! This scent has such a beautiful feminine feel to it and it's got an extra special place in my heart now as the first time I wore it was to say my final goodbyes to my Nanny. Scent always evokes such strong memories and emotions for me, and now Amazing Grace will remind me of my Nanny (in a good way) whenever I wear it. Does anyone else find this with scents? There is still a shower gel that if I use it, it will remind me instantly of a holiday I took to Portugal over 10 years ago!
I hope you guys have enjoyed this post! Let me know if you want me to do more of these in the future for you all?!
My favourite thermal PJ's are currently 50% off find them here.
Happy 6 Months Bella.
Happy Friday Reader's! I hope everyone in the USA had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday.
I feel like I have been MIA this month but the past couple of weeks has been filled full of friends and fun, including are little baby girl turning 6 months old.
Tonight I'm off to the see the Christmas lights get switched on in my home town and have my first glass (or two) of mulled wine this year, I can't wait!
Boy am I glad it is Friday and I can spend the weekend at home. Our little Bella Boo got spayed earlier this week and she did so great at the vets but yesterday she got sick and had to go back for blood tests. We are so thankful that they came back clear but Bella is still not herself so we are keeping an extra close eye on her while she heals and hopefully she'll be back to her bright little self soon. Please keep her in your thoughts. Happy Weekend Everyone.
It's the time of the week to smile again. I love that autumn is now in full swing and there are pumpkins everywhere, even Bella has been enjoying having them around the house.
This weekend I am checking off baking my favourite apple pie on my Fall To Do List.
I know that you may have seen Bella make an appearance on the blog a few weeks ago, but I felt it was time she got a proper introduction to you all.
Bella arrived with us a month ago when she was one day shy of 12 weeks old. We had only been in our place for 5 days so we can't imagine life without Bella here.
I had a tabby cat growing up that I had begged for, for my eighth birthday and 14 years later when we lost her I was devastated. I knew I would have a cat again one day and later that year when I saw Ellie Goulding's 'Your Song' music video, I fell in love with the little kitten and announced that I wanted a kitten just like that and I would name her Bella.
And now here we are and life really is wonderful with her in my world.
Her favourite toy is her flamingo Betsy and she has a thing with baskets (she decided to curl up in my new croissant basket just the other day). She learns too quickly and can already get just about anywhere she wants in the house, she has even learnt to use the drawers in my closet as a step ladder to get to where she wants. She loves to knock down all the cards around our fireplace and pounce on them and she sits on the window sill and watches us any time we are out in the garden. She is a true girlie girl and likes to spend time in my shoe basket in my closet too and she has taken a particular liking to my basket bag.
If you follow me on Instagram you'll know how obsessed I am with Bella, she has taken over my insta-stories (sorry, not sorry) and she even has her own hashtags #BellaxSS#sslovebella.
I'm pretty sure that everyone that has met Bella has loved her even her Granddad who likes to pretend he's not an animal person!
She has completed our little family and brings such joy to the our home every day. She is full of mischief but all is always forgiven (even when she had a little accident on the bed). I'm pretty certain she has also become Sean's number one girl in the house. You'll be seeing Bella round the blog every now and again and she'll be up to trouble on my insta-stories on an almost daily basis haha!
