Sunday 29 November 2015

Our Trip To Kew Gardens







Hey guys and girls hope you are all well and are all having loads of november fun.
xmas is approaching eek how quick as that came round quick hasn't it eek.
anyway today not a review post as such but to tell you about my trip to kew gardens.

So this year I won 4 tickets to kew gardens, a goody bag lunch in kew gardens £30 each person, hotel stay with dinner and breakfast,  I was so overjoyed when i had won although with my anxiety I was so nervous about going  anyway we invited my best friend amy to be the fourth person on our trip to kew gardens.

So on the 28th as I am not good with travelling on trains plus we had loads of luggage even for one night and I didn't even pack loads of clothes and still was loads of luggage haha.
Amy drove us all to kew gardens it took a few hours from my house as we took a route avoiding the dreaded m25 for those of you who know the m25 it is a nightmare.
the drive was ok but was a bit sad as chloe was travel sick again bless her.

We was running a bit late so by time we got to hotel to park we had to walk about 5 minutes down the road to kew gardens where i collected my free tickets and my free goody bag.
then we had to rush to the restaurant at kew where a table had been booked and reserved for us all.



when we arrived at the orangery restaurant we was greeted by kamila who showed us to our table with had a very white table cloth on and posh wine glasses and silverware.
kamila waited on us and checked we was happy with the food and everything.
The drinks and pudding was also amazing we was treated like vips which was unexpected.


#the other tables around us was normal tables like we used to and the one we was sat at looked like it had been set out for prince harry or prince william people around us was looking over probably wondering why ours had a white cloth, we didn't expect them to go all out after all we aint nobody famous or anything.




It was a new experience for me i am used to 3-4 star dining at harvester not 5** star treatment kamila the wonderful woman was so lovely and helpful and brought us drinks and asked if we wanted pudding I then asked to see how much was left on our £30 each tab she said it is ok you can have what you want as long as you are happy I am happy.



we didn't go over our tab though we sat for a while then went to look around kew.
But because it was getting late and we still needed to check in the hotel and get to our rooms then see what time dinner was we only looked at a few xmas lights in kew and let chloe have a quick play in the playground.


It is a shame it was cold  and had to be back at coach and horses hotel for dinner
because kamila said we was allowed to stay to see winter wonderland even though was a separate event and meant to cost extra anyway we walked through the gardens to find the exit and saw some amazing xmas lights wrapped elegantly around a tree which played music not just any music but a choir a male choir and female and it played in sync with the lights never seen anything like that before very xmasy.


Anyway we found the exit and walked back to the  coach and horses hotel.
which was a nice little walk back cold but nice,we grabbed our things from the car and
walked into the hotel where we was warmly greeted so we checked into the hotel to let them know it was from the competiton win stated names and we was then handed 2 key cards.

A room for me and amy to share, and a room for chloe and shane to share.
so we all went up to shane n chloe's room and put our feet up for a bit before dinner.
it was like a maze different floors and the doors to walk through was nice.


his room was lovely and the bathroom was amazing a bath with a shower above to use if you want a shower instead also a smaller handheld shower if u want to lay down  and wash.
So we chilled out watched tv chatted for a bit before dinner.

when it was time for dinner we went downstairs and was taken to the dining area for guests
we had the table right by the xmas tree and had these amazing seats very shabby chic.


We had our food order taken and drinks again all paid for so i choose vodka n coke and tbh the vodka n coke was nice normally vodka as a weird taste but the one they made was spot on, dinner was a bit of a wait which we didn't mind as we understand great hotels which loads of guests to feed its understandable, but the lovely gent waiting on the tables brought some bread n butter for us on the house incase we wanted something whilst we waited.
which was great you don't get that many places when you go out to eat do you?


After dinner me and amy shared a lovely rich pudding chocolate brownie with  a
rich delightful chocolate sauce and soothing creamy ice cream
then me and amy still had some drinks left so took them up with us.




then checked out our room which was the same but little bigger then shane's n chloes.
but the bathroom didn't have a bath but did have a shower.


inside the room was a lovely basket full of coffee hot chocolate free biscuits.
a very nice touch which i assume most hotels do for their guests.
oh forgot to mention in the bathroom was soap, and other little miniature goodies to use in the bath and shower, also a mini sewing kit, manicure kit etc.


Anyway me and amy chilled for a bit watched sky tv and chatted like girls do.
chloe n shane was also watching movies in there room and enjoying themselves.
so cutting out a lot of bits here our window kept making a weird banging noise so we had to use one of the cushions to stop it from rattling which was a good idea from amy.
we had so much fun giggling talking and forgetting day to day stuff.

After a while we decided to get some sleep before i knew it it was morning.
went to use the loo and think i woke amy by flushing the loo, but we woke up before our alarm which is not like us we love our sleep especially me with getting tired alot and run down.

so we chilled in bed for a bit then chloe n shane rung us from downstairs to see if we was coming down yet we was like in bit we just woke up, anyway because breakfast is between 8-10 and we woke at nine we chilled for a bit then went down for breakfast.
which was help yourself toast cereals etc with is included in stay.
but if you want a cooked breakfast it costs incase anyone reading wants to go there.


anyway again cutting out a lot of stuff we got our things ready then checked out of the hotel.
because there was money left on hotel tab we took it home in drinks with us.
packed our things in the car and drove home, the drive home was far better then the drive there as this time chloe was travel sick even though she had just ate so was happy for her not to be feeling ill on the way home and been able to enjoy the journey home.
on the way home we sung a few songs in car disney frozen let it go.
disney frozen do you wanna build a snowman and chloe's new fave song uptown funk.

anyway now been home we back to reality housework school runs and stressful times.
it was really nice to get away and have a day and night to just let go of day to day worries.
sorry this isnt a review post but will write a brief review below just now of the restaurant at kew and hotel because they was outstanding.



quick review of Orangery restaurant  at kew.


service was spot on cannot fault no wait for food at all the food was tasty.
the knives forks glasses was very clean cleaning then the places have been to eat before.
everything was just perfect spot on cannot fault anything.




quick review of hotel


Wow what can I say this hotel is amazing the staff are very welcoming and friendly.
they go out there way to make you happy and comfortable and always serve you with a smile and in a very friendly manner, even tho there was a small delay on the food the staff handled it very very well by offering some fancy bread and butter on the house whilst we was waiting for our food, the rooms are perfect clean and very well laid out not only the room layout but
the extras like the coffee machine in the room and the fancy coffee and tea.

I dunno what else to say other then I am sad i had to go home.
I could get used to staying in hotels and having a day out from normal life.
I so recommend to anyone who needs a night away from home to check out coach and horses in kew they was amazing with us.





before I go I really want to thank
the people who held the competition.
&
kew gardens
&
the restaurant at kew gardens
&
The coach and horses (kew )




social media following and website links










Thanks for reading
caroline

Have you been to kew gardens?
because I did not get to look around propley would love to know what you think of kew 
and what to look out for if and when I go again?

Have you been to coach and horses in kew?
What did you think?







Monday 16 November 2015

Love Umbrellas


Hey guys and girls, hope you're all ok, so i am back with another review.
So winter is upon us and that mean rain, wind, and even snow.
brrr makes me cold thinking about it anyway love umbrellas have been lovely and sent me a umbrella to review, yeah i know your thinking its an umbrella there's not much to talk about.
which is true to some extent however let me tell you about love umbrellas and the umbrella i have been sent to show you.






First of all Love umbrellas is a company that sell  yes you guessed it….. umbrellas.
They sell many umbrellas from wedding umbrellas to kids umbrellas, even funky designs like rainbow coloured, and pretty ones with bows, and the one I have which is a heart shape brolly you didn't see that one coming or did you if you?




Anyway the Heart shape brolly sent to me by love umbrellas arrived well packaged.
inside the outer packing was really cute packaging, once removed i had noticed the brolly was slightly bent from where myhermes couriers hadn't handled the parcel properly,
however it's all ok now hubby fixed it, i love the shape size and weight of the brolly.



Anyway I took it for a test run walking up the road to greggs which is a 3 minute walk.
the umbrella did indeed keep me 100% dry although the wind was strong out so found it hand to hold felt like I was about to become mary poppins and fly over the shops.



Not sure what else to say as of yet other then I really love my umbrella and I even love the look of many more umbrellas which love umbrella sell on their website.
The wedding ones look really cool and stylish also but even the heart shape one would make a great prop in a wedding photo with it being a heart don't you think?

So what do I think of my umbrella?





Packaging



My Umbrella was indeed very well packaged although the couriers didn't seem to handle the package that well as there was a slight bend/dent in my brolly which hubby fixed.
really loved the inner packaging and the little note from love umbrellas which was cute.

Design



Well what can I say it is a heart and who doesn't like hearts.
I really love the design and think it is nice to have a design which is unique and not generic.
after all it is good to have your own style and be unique.

Size


around 88cm in length.
Other details (taken from the website)
(Windproof and very strong - Featured on ITV's This Morning, and was the strongest of the umbrellas tested Lightweight - approx 600g Turns heads in a crowd Great choice of popular colours Canopy width 110cm and 100cm front to back) - See more on website

Price



For £19.95 some may think this is expensive when other shops sell much cheaper brollys.
But when it comes to having an umbrella style doesn't matter if you just want to keep dry,
but if you want to keep dry and look stylish  love umbrellas is amazing.
also because if many people go for normal brollys and yours is a heart you always know which brolly is yours meaning no1 can accidentally go home with your brolly.

Overall Verdict



I really love my umbrella sent to me by love umbrellas although do think some people wouldn't wanna pay so much for an umbrella, me on the other hand think because it is a large umbrella and is a unique design think it is worth the price sold at.

The design is unique and great comes in many colours white to black to red,
meaning you have a choice in style and colour and if wanted you can have sparkles added for a small extra cost which is also great if you love sparkles.

you can find out more about
what colours heart shape brolly comes in on the Love Umbrellas website.

my only downside is the way the parcel was handled by myhermes.
because of the small bend in the brolly which was disappointing.
but since hubby as fixed it I am happy and can't complain about much else other then not sure if its where it was slightly bent  or because it is new  it is a bit stiff to open.
although hubby can open it better than I can so many where the brolly is very sturdy it takes a little extra strength to open.

I am not sure what else to say but if you have any questions,
please comment below and i will try answer them

Love Umbrellas will be more then happy to help with questions and queries,
you may have also you can find love umbrellas on social media below.



Thanks for reading
Caroline

Have you shopped at love umbrellas before?
Do you own a funky umbrella?



Feel free to comment below.

Thursday 5 November 2015

Timeless Truth Travel Pack



Hello guys and girls hope you are all well and looking after yourselfs.
I am back with another review this time on a facemask which is much needed after having glue on my face over halloween with making my own scary makeup this year, also last night so I could test this product probably I broke one of the important rules of beauty, yes I slept in my makeup.


Anyway timeless truth have sent me this mask free of charge so I can test it.
please note this does not affect my opinion in anyway, all thoughts are my own.
know a few of you have been asking for a review on a facemask.


Anyway Here Goes here's my review on the timeless travel pack face mask.
If you have a questions please feel free to leave a comment after you read.




Oil Based Wipes.



The oil based wipes are for removing makeup there was only 2 wipes inside me been me and normally needing about 10 wipes to remove makeup normally i was very impressed to how i only needed one of these wipes to remove 99.9 of my makeup.



because it is oil based your makeup glides off nicely as well as making your face feel like it is soaking up all the oil making your face feel smooth if you have dry skin like myself.
Although the oil did get in my eye and stung and the oil on face can feel a bit much.



As you can see from the wipe its covered in filth yes makeup.
it has done a good job seeing as it's just one wipe I used
also in the video you can see how well its removes the makeup.


Water Based Wipes


The water based wipes are for moisturising the skin, again only 2 wipes which i was worried wouldn't be enough, i again only used 1 wipe which was great to know you don't need more.
I loved the feel of these more as it felt refreshing and made my skin feel fresh and clean.



As you can see from the video again easy to use I probably had a 1% makeup on my face still because there was a small smidge of makeup on the wipe after using it.


The Cotton Face Mask.


Where do I start ok There is only 1 mask in the pack which is ok, but if you're someone who like myself only uses 1 of each wipes and have left over you would be wanting an extra mask.
I will say been a newbie with these type of masks I needed hubby to help me, it was hard to apply well taking of the plastic was easy, but when it came to applying it to face then trying to find where to peal of the blue bit was hard because it is on your face you can't see that well.
prob didnt help i had oil in my eye from the makeup remover wipe.





Overall verdict



I am not 100% pleased with the mask if i am 100% honest,
Purely because it was hard to apply even with hubby helping me apply it,
with it been a travel pack I would expect it to be easier to apply as i found the plastic bit easy to remove. but when it came to putting it on the face then peeling of the blue layer it was hard.
however I am 100% loving the face the oil based makeup wipes remove makeup like magic.
no need for scrubbing hard just wipe over face and watch makeup disappear before your eyes, all through the oil can feel a bit heavy which is not a problem once you get to stage two the water based moisturizing wipes which make your skin feel fresh clean and awake.


so all in all I give this 5 out out 10 because the mask was the issue and the mask is the main part of the product that you would expect to be the best part, however if you are used to applying cotton masks you may have better result than me after all i am a newbie.



But the result i had was my skin feeling fresh, clean and a little more tighter.
this was a great morning boost for me a great start to my day leaving my skin feeling like it is ready for the day ahead so i am happy but just not 100% swayed into buying it again.



You can find out more on the timeless truth website


Timeless truth are also on social media




Thanks for reading
Caroline


Have you used timeless truth before?
What is the best face mask you have used before?