Some little things you never knew about me...

I'm quite a nosy person, and always reads the daily papers, checks online for celebrity gossip, and always keeping a close eye on the going on's on Twitter and Facebook. So when I'm reading other blogs I like to know what other people get up to, where they're from and get a wee insight into their lives. I thought it would be fun to share a few things about me that you may or may not already know :)

• I'm still best friends with the girls I went to school with. There are 4 of us in what we like to call "Team Ina"- Carolina, Cherylina, Janolina & Kirstylina!

• I've lived in 8 houses in my 27 years of existence! My parents love to buy old or run down properties & develop them & then sell on (well that was before the recession hit)
• I used to be quite a wee ned (chav), not in a hooligan sort of way, but the fact that I wore tracksuit bottoms, hoodies, trainers & gold jewellery. And yes I have to admit I had a gold chain with my name on it & a sovereign ring ***cringing face***
• I come from a very small family, there's me, my mum & dad, my 20 year old brother, my gran, my 2 uncles and 2 aunts, 3 cousins & a baby 2nd cousin!
• I'm a huge football, and St Mirren, fan. St Mirren play in black & white stripes, which I think is to blame for my love of monochrome! I'm my boyfriend's "dream girl" because we spend a lot of time watching matches on the TV and going to games. Although things can get tense when our teams play each other!

• When I was 18 months old, I had an awful accident involving a mop & a kettle which resulted in 3 large scars, on my side, leg & foot. Thankfully I can't remember it but my scars are part of me & a part of my journey.
• The family pet is a wee, gorgeous yet very old Westie called Findlay
• The most exciting, and far away places I've been to are California, New York, Florida, Australia, Dubai, Spain, France, Turkey, Greece and Egypt! Plenty of stamps in the passport :)
• I've known my boyfriend Craig since I was 13, although we only got together last year. And now we are two Scots living in Northern Ireland together <3

• I have a weird obsession/ condition called Trichotillomania, which involvess me pulling my hair out, from my head to my eyelashes to my eyebrows. Sounds very weird but something I don't even know I'm doing & drives my family crazy!
• I have a 2:1 degree in Tourism & International Travel Management...which I'll finally get to put to good use when I start work at Belfast Airport very soon- yay!!!

That'll do for just now as I could keep going on and on, hope you feel you know me a bit better. Feel free to ask if there's anything else you want to know!

 

Caz xxx

 
 

My secret collection

It wasn't something I originally chose to collect, or had been passed down from previous generations, or even something that another family or friend collected. No, my collection started on my 21st birthday as a gift from my aunt and uncle. When I first opened the slightly worn and aged jewellery box, I was slightly sceptical and had always been told from a young age not to be ungrateful for any present and to smile and say thank you for the gift. So imagine my reaction when I opened the box and found four unusually shaped ornaments. My aunt at this point explained that she wanted to buy me a gift that I could keep and start to expand into a collection. Still I had no idea what they were or what they stood for. She began to explain to me that the "ornaments" were in fact perfume bottles, not used ones, but actual decorative ones that people collect and she wanted me to start collecting too. 

 

I have to say being 21, and at stage in my life all I was concerned with was going out, clothes, drinking & meeting boys, I didn't really appreciate them. So I smiled, gave my thank you cuddles & never thought much more of them. That was until Christmas...22 days later, when I received another bottle, then the following December I received another 2 for my birthday and 1 for my christmas, and so on. A trend was beginning to develop here!

In fact it probably wasn't until I left the family home, and had my own space that I begun to appreciate my growing collection. I then began to dispplay them on shelves, units, chest of drawers and actually grew to love them!

I currently have 19 bottles in my collection, which is displayed on an unit in my bedroom. Not sure how the boyfriend feels about this but hey ho. Sadly, however, some never made it moving from house to house, which has been 5 in the past 6 years but I'm pleased that most of my favourites are still with me :)

 

I don't have a certain style I like in particular and I love them all in different ways. Some have  delicate & intricate glass work, whilst others are beautiful colours (especially when the light hits off them), a couple of them have the vintage style atomizers (which I love) and quite a few have very sparkly jewels on them. They are all just so pretty and girly and now on my birthdays and christmas I get excited about what one I'll receive next. Even one of my friends has started to buy me them as birthday gifts too!

 

Sadly I have limited knowledge about perfume bottles, their history, and what era's so of them are from (because a couple of them are quite old). Maybe that is something I will begin to explore as my collection expands! As random as it is, I hope you like them as much as I do :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bye bye to bad hair days

I love a wee unexpected find and particularly one which has made a huge improvement to my everyday life. Yes I'm talking about my haircare routine but if you are anything like me, the small matter of what type of hair day it is can really have the deciding factor on my mood. If I spend hours getting ready (which who are we kidding it is- think time spent shopping searching for an outfit, shoes & accessories, the time used for going over in our minds if it is suitable for wherever we are going, planning a back up just incase it's a "fat day", maybe even a couple of try on's for friends or your boyfriend, and then not to mention the time spent actually putting it all together & beautifying ourselves), it can all come crashing down, for me, if I'm having a bad hair day. To me my hair is my crowning glory, the first thing I look at in a photo and sadly if it's not doing what I want it to do then it has potential to put me in a downer!

So I got really excited when I was over at my mum's for the weekend and had my standard flick through the Avon catalogue. Whether you have money or not, Avon is one of those guilty pleasures. Mainly due to the fact that it takes a couple of weeks delivery, and by then you will have been paid or won't feel as bad about the amount of "must-have's" you ordered. On this occassion my must- have buys were the Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment range which include Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo (£1.49 for 250ml), Conditioner (£1.49 for 250ml) and Leave In Treatment (£3.50 for 30ml).

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first used these products as the word oil and hair sometimes make me nervous and anxious that it will leave it greasy and in need of a good wash again. However I was so pleasantly surprised the first time I used the shampoo & conditioner in the shower. It turned out that they were both of normal consistency for a shampoo & conditioner and white/ cloudy in colour and both smelled really clean & fresh, which for me are the most important factors. I was then excited to try the oil/ serum, which I have found works best in towel- dried hair. Like with most oils, less is certainly more & one squirt was an ample amount for my short bobbed hair. Avon do however claim that it can be used on wet or dry hair, but out of personal preference, I've never been brave enough to attempt it on a dry style! 

I was, and still am, delighted with the results of this range on my hair. My hair is coloured, and always has been since I was 14, and being honest has never been in this good a condition.

My hair looks shiny, feels so soft and healthy (something that I'm definitely not used to after being peroxide blonde for so many years), and barely has many split ends, and that is just after blow drying. Usually I blast my hair with the dryer, as I find it one of the biggest chores and before it would end up massive, frizzy, curly & out of control. But after using all these products, I was surprised and so happy to see that they had somehow managed to tame it, don't get me wrong, my natural curls still make an appearance but I've seen less of them recently!

I'm also a big hair toucher, and always play with the ends, my fringe, run my fingers through it and brush it but can still leave it 2/3 days between washes!

Found it really hard to capture my hair colour & shininess in a picture but I hope you can see the condition in the photo's below:

 

Personally, as you can probably already tell, I would highly recommend this product, as there has been and still is a lot of talk and demand for Argan Oil products. However, I've not come across a whole range which is of as good a quality and value for money with the same results. I have used many variations of Argan Oil's from Sally's to Tesco but I've definitely found my favourite from Avon!

 

 

 

 

Time to get creative

Whilst I have been unemployed, I have been looking for ways to keep me entertained and use my spare time productively. I've been determined to have a routine so for when the time comes and I'm back in the working world, it won't come as such a shock to the system. That and the fact that my over- thinking mind guilts me into constantly being on the go.

I have some ideas that I am hopefully going to put into action this year, which will combine my creativity juices and desire to become self- employed but for the meantime I'm going to learn a new craft! This being KNITTING! Yes knitting....I know it might sound geeky, like something your mum or gran would do or just not very cool but it's something I've always wanted to learn to do. For my birthday last year I was given a knitted Christmas pudding hat (don't worry, I'm a December baby) and at Christmas I bought my cousin's wee boy a knitted Christmas tree hat, and after seeing what can be knitted I knew it was something I wanted to get stuck into!

Imagine, my excitement when I saw an advert for a new collection of "Knit & Stitch" magazines being brought out by Bergere De France. Look what came in the pack for 99p!!!



Included was 2 starter magazines, a how-to DVD, pair of 3.5mm needles and 2 balls of wool! Every week you get more & more patterns, 2 more balls of wool & different sized needles, although the price will go from £2.50 to £4.50 by the 3rd issue.

So this morning I popped on the DVD and got going......here's how my first attempt went this morning:

I've now learned, after much rewinding, how to complete ths slip loop (first loop to go on the needle) and casting on (base-line for whatever you're knitting). That's me for today....next is the knit stitch & purl stitch! Wish me luck x

Storage problems....solved!

If you're anything like me, it can sometimes be a struggle to find the ideal housing for your jewellery. I have moved twice in the past 8 months and to be honest I have been guilty of neglecting mine. Not intentionally of course, but simply because it was easier to have my favourite pieces in a small glass jewellery box, out on display in my room rather than going digging through the other 2 jewellery boxes, converse shoe box, and large toiletries bag which held the rest, in my under bed storage.

 

That was until I was given the most satisfying present that any organised person could ask for!

 

The Jewellery Organiser....surprisingly from Primark of all places.

 

My mum bought it for me last March in the sale for the bargain price of £1!!! So sadly I don't think I can even go back and get another one for the rest of my jewellery. Unless anyone has spotted them selling them still. Let me know!

 

The organiser is double sided, and I have posted a picture so you can all see what it can store.

 

There are 4 rows of smaller pouches at the top, 16 on each side and 32 in total, which are perfect for rings, earrings, bracelets and small chains/ necklaces. And a further 2 rows of larger pouches at the bottom, 8 on each side so 16 in total, which I have used mainly for my chunkier items like bangles, and longer and bulkier chains.

 

What makes it even more perfect is that is bright pink with pale pink spots and each pouch has a clear window so you can see all your items at a glance!

 

I had such fun filling it all up, and it felt like Christmas again as I re-discovered bits & pieces that I had stored away & forgot about! So I'm looking forward to accessorising again and bringing my jewellery back to life. Yay x

At a loose end

Where have the last 7 weeks gone.....can't believe that amount of time has passed since I wrote my first blog! And I'm sad to say that that has been the one & only since ***ashamed face***

Blogging is something I've wanted to get into for ages, and I have been inspired to do it for a number of reasons:

• One of my best friends has been a blogger/ vlogger for years & many an evening has been spent reading & watching her & becoming totally addicted!
• Also, I wanted to have somewhere to write down & document my thoughts, feelings, passions, likes/ dislikes, interests, opinions.
• But probably a huge factor in feeling the urge to blog is because of all the spare time I have on my hands at the moment and the ability I have to discover a community that I have only just scratched the surface of so far

I follow many beauty bloggers and lifestyle bloggers on Twitter but for now I'm still undecided about what path I want to go down. So for now, I'm going to find my feet and get reading other blogs. I feel like a kid on their first day of school- intimidated, excited & so much to learn! So here goes..........

Bon Voyage

It seems fitting that I begin my blogging life at the same time as I set sail on my new life in Northern Ireland!

Currently on board the StenaLine superfast ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast, which I have to say is a darn sight more luxurious than the good old Cal Mac ferries that I'm used to, sailing past the Mull of Kintyre. I've got the most nervous/ scared/ / sea-sick/ anxious/ excited feeling in my stomach and I've a feeling if I stand up I might fall over. To be fair, boats are not my fondest mode of transport however, the options to get overseas with all my worldy belongings was extremely limited, in fact once I begun packing it soon became evident that Easyjet was no longer going to be an option!

So here I am, with my wee car bursting at the seams with shoes, handbags, clothes, all of my other years of girly belongings, two chest of drawers and even a TV. Who knew a Mitsubishi Colt could hold so much?!

Tears were flowing as I said goodbye to my family this morning and the love song album that I had put in the car for my long journey to the ferry terminal began to feel like a really bad idea.

But behind the tears were smiles, smiles that have been absent for so long and have only came back over the last few months. And one of the people who has put that smile back on my face is the person I am going to go and set up home with in Northern Ireland.

Just have to find my way from Belfast harbour to Antrim first!!!