Insta-Week

I've been getting very excited about Christmas - counting down the days!

I felt very privileged to be a part of Pretty Green Tea's Career Inspiration series. The lovely Daisy is running a series all about helping get people motivated and inspiring them in their working lives. I work as a Marketing and Communications Executive with a company called Squareknot - but it wasn't an easy road. Hopefully my interview with Daisy can help inspire people who struggling to decide what to do after University, check it out HERE if you fancy a read.

I AM COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS TILL I GET TO GO BACK HERE! This is where I spend Christmas with my wonderful family. My parents have a place hidden high up in the mountains of Switzerland. Isn't is gorgeous? The snow-capped mountains and glistening, glittery trees make it the perfect winter wonderland where we spent the days skiing and the nights eating mince pies, drinking wine and playing cards. Is is the holidays yet?

I reviewed this amazing NKD SKN self-tan mousse, see what I had to say HERE. I absolutely loved it! It dried straight away, left a gorgeous bronzed colour to my skin and didn't have a nasty tell-tale smell - it was one of the most perfect tans I've tried. And it gets better - if you fancy some holiday-inspired skin you can get a massive 45% off NKD SKN with my unique code - LETTERS45 - it's soon to run out so make sure you make the most of it!

A wee #tbt to the first time I visited my parents new home in Switzerland. This is at the local brewery where the whole village gathers on a Friday evening and fill up their glasses from a tap directly from the brewery. People bring tankards down and sort themselves out for the weekend. Such a nice Friday tradition!

My first Christmas card arrived! Woooo!

There was a new blog post as well, Wandering Weekends. I donned my new favourite trousers, in a monochrome look with a splash of red and wandered through Glasgow Green until we reached People's Palace. We then spend a few hours immersing ourselves in the history of Glasgow and searching for bananas as the rain knocked on the glasshouse. Have a wee read HERE.

Wandering Weekend

While a way a Saturday exploring the city...

My sister is a bit of a history geek and she won't mind me saying so, therefore when she came to visit we decided to soak up a bit of history and explore Glasgow's People's Palace.

It was gloomy day so long boots and wooly jumpers were calling.


I spoke about how to dress up my new go-to trousers HERE. But, leather trousers are also a great daytime alternative to jeans. Worn with matching black, over the knee boots, they become an amazing autumnal treat that can be paired with oversized jumpers and fluffy cardigans. They easily turn an everyday outfit it to a look that instantly seems more polished, styled and chic. If you hadn't already gathered - I love them.

The best bit about the weather getting chillier is that it's an excuse to through on as many layers as possible and fully bundle yourself up against the elements. I opted for a cosy knitted jumper - another item that I wear constantly - a big chunky wraparound tartan scarf and gorgeously textured jacket. Throw on a slick of red lippie and some big gold rings and you're all set to go exploring.

We strolled through Glasgow Green to the People's Palace and Winter Gardens.

The magnificent red-stone building has an elegant glasshouse attached and was opened way back in 1898, intended to be a cultural centre for the people of the East End to give them some relief from the awful overcrowding in this part of the city. They could come to read and wander round the picture galleries. You could even spy our Glaswegian ancestors attending a concert in the Winter Gardens in a grainy black and white photo.

Now it's filled with a range of historic artefacts to show how Glaswegians lived in their city from the 18th to 20th century- including photos and quotes collected from people throughout the ages. It's amazing to see everyones stories and I loved the memories covering the walls in the peoples own words.

And there was some amazing tales, such as the soldier who was shot and survived, and as you can see the bullet went through his bible and hit the metal mirror behind, ultimately saving his life. We also discovered an beautiful collection upstairs by "Fred A. Farrell - Glasgow's War Artist". The collection was hauntingly beautiful and sobering , humbling you with sketches and watercolours.

We also had some fun, playing at being donkeys and following the dance steps at The Barrowlands Ballroom!


After we went for a walk round the Winter Gardens.

It was lovely wandering around the exotic plants and palm trees as the rain pitter pattered on the glass outside. It was like a secret garden filled with curious delights - like the wire birds, chirping at you filled with greenery and the cute, mini, Japanese gardens hidden in amongst the large leafy wonderland. We even spied some bananas hiding high in the trees as we relaxed under graceful iron frames. The large red-sandstone of the museum loomed behind the bushes and made it look even more grand.

It's the perfect place to take an afternoon wandering around and learning a little bit more about Glasgow.

Coat - Primark
Scarf - Primark 
Jumper - Forever 21
Trousers - River Island
Boots - New Look 
Bag - Mango
Ring - Forever 21

REVIEW: NKD SKN

I am an absolute convert to this tanning product - I've found my tanning soul mate!

I was lucky enough to be sent a bottle of NKD SKN self-tan to try and as you may have gathered I absolutely loved it. Hailing from the luxury tanning brand, Vita Liberata this is a tanning product that so easy and simple to use you simply can't get it wrong.

Making sure to exfoliate first I got ready to transform my milk-bottle legs into bronzed-holiday pins. I tried out the Tinted Tan Mousse in Medium, and it was a really lovely, airy mousse that felt gorgeous on the skin. It dries almost instantly and the colour comes up straight away - meaning it's easy to see which bits you've done. Because it dries pretty much instantaneously there is no worries about smudging it on clothes and it is pretty much scent free, with no tell-tale smells.

It left my skin feeling so soft and silky and I was delighted that there was no horrible sticky residue, it feels like you're not even wearing anything on your skin. The colour was gorgeous and bronze, perfectly reflecting a sun-kissed holiday glow - rather than an orange Oompa Loompa.

The next morning some did wash off in the shower, but it left a gorgeous bronze tint on the skin.

I have been completely convert to NKD SKN and here's a little treat for you lovely readers! When you buy NKD SKN online you can use my unique discount code LETTERS45 for an amazing 45% off! How lovely is that! I would thoroughly recommend trying it out and I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do!

**** This product was sent to me for review purposes

Insta-Week

It was a week of treats and getting excited for snow and Christmas!


The December issue of Glamour was just filled with a couple of lovely treats! There was a little freebie nail polish and I picked up a fabulous Nails Inc in Hanover Square. It's a gorgeous shade for this time of year, a deep red/purple colour that looks stunning paired with autumnal layers. It's a complete bargain when you think that it's really worth roughly £11! And to top it all off they even threw in 20% off H&M too. What more could you ask for.

Let's get excited for the ski season! This was a wee #tbt from last year when I was working at the Ski and Snowboard Show down in London. Wasn't it nice of Earls Court tube station to cheer up everyone on their way as well! I'm so excited to head to the mountains at Christmas time, spend the day whizzing down the slopes and the evening wrapped up with steaming mugs of mulled wine - "skiing is a dance and the mountain always leads".

I was nominated by the lovely Sophh-Skii for a Liebster Award. It's a great way to reach out to bloggers in the community and connect with them. It was such a fun post to do, as it was completely different and meant I got to answer some lovely little questions about myself. I then nominated another group of bloggers to answer some of my nosey questions! Check out my two favourite lipsticks, my Disney preferences and loads of other things HERE.

I am so excited to try out this NKD SKN fake tan. As most of you know I enjoy a little bronze glow and was therefore pretty pleased when this promise of summer skin arrived through the letter box. I'll let you all know how it goes when I try it out so keep your eyes peeled. And not forgetting the most important part - you can get a massive 45% off with my unique code LETTERS45.

So now we've got excited about snow, let's get excited about the main event - Christmas!! When the red cups arrive the countdown is officially on and guess what it's actually only 37 days! Woooohoo. And you have to admit a Gingerbread Latte is just glitter, tinsel and Christmas cheer all blended up and put in a Christmas cup of excitement.

Well he's a keeper ain't he! I'd just arrived home from a very relaxing, but also very boozy, spa weekend to be treated to some pretty flowers to put a smile on my face. Everyone say "awwww".

Friday nights call for dinner and gins and that's exactly what we got up to! Stripey dresses were made cosy with oversized slouchy cardigans, big glasses of wine were chinked and tapas style dinners were savoured and of course this all led on to a few gins after. Check out the post all about the evening HERE. It makes me wish for the weekend all over again...

Drinking and Dining

My favourite little photographer came to visit again and what better way to spend a Friday evening than by drinking and dining the night away...

This is a little stripy dress that I usually wear to work, but after a day in the office I couldn't be bothered getting changed into a whole new outfit so just decided to switch it up and dress it down, taking away the office-y elements. It's such a nice cut and is slightly heavier material, which means it falls exactly where you want it to. The way the stripes switch direction in a little triangle at the waist nips you in perfectly and is a little bit of an optical illusion, highlighting your waist.

On top I popped on my big cosy red cardigan - its the most glorious wintery woolly hug! It is perfect for wrapping up yourself in and going out an getting matching rosy cheeks in the wintery weather.


And the accessories! I saw this bag ages and ages ago and kept putting off buying it, but eventually I decided it was time to treat myself! And I'm so glad I did. It's actually a really dark green colour, which is an amazing alternative to navy or black for winter and makes it just a bit different. The bumpy leather is completed with the gold zip detail and makes it pretty perfect! It's from Mango and I'm not sure why, but I always seem to think of Mango being a bit more expensive, but really the bags were no more expensive than any from River Island etc. And I have to say I think I love it more!

Add on some chunky-wooden-heeled boots and a little gold chain and you're good to go!

We sauntered down to Ashton lane. Isn't it pretty?! It's a little cobbled street hidden in the Westend of Glasgow absolutely bursting with places offering you all sorts of food, wine and cocktails. A little weekend haven I think!

We had booked a table on 5pm at The Grovsnor, and after a mix up with times - which wasn't my fault I'd like to add! - we were finally seated. It maybe wasn't the best start as the staff weren't particularly apologetic, but we did eventually get seated. I have to say though it's a gorgeous venue. Once a vintage cinema it has all been refurbished into a buzzing bar and restaurant. There's big comfy couches, retro napkins and menus and even a piano just waiting be played.

First off big glasses of wine were ordered - cheers!

As part of the deal we then got three 'small plates' tapas style. I went for a delicious crayfish and avocado salad, some crunchy fishcakes and feta-stuffed peppers. They were all individually pretty good, I'm just not sure I went for the best combination! It was a great place to sit and gossip though, sinking back into big comfy seats and catching up on all the chat.

But we moved on to a brand spankin' new bar The Research Club. Tucked in the corner of Ashton Lane up a few flights of stairs you'd hardly recognise the bar from what it used to be. The bar is an island in the middle, surrounded by exposed brick and distressed wooden features, it's a really relaxing atmosphere to sit back and have a good ol' natter. It was quite quiet for a Friday night, but it didn't really need to be busy and had a lovely atmosphere anyway.

So what else was left to do but wash the night down with a few G+T's!

Cardigan - Misguided

Dress - H&M

Boots - H&M

Bag - Mango

Necklace - DKNY