Warning: This post may contain a lot of exclamation marks but not surprising as this day involved a very high-on-craft excited B.
In it's 2nd year the Handmade Fair took place over the sunny weekend of 18th-20th September 2015 and was once again hosted by Kirstic Allsopp adorned in larger than life flower crown and scooted around the fair in a decorated golf cart. This year the fair was situated on the Green opposite Hampton Court Palace, Surrey. More accessible and a bigger, organised more established event in comparison to last year- it's hard to think it's a relatively new show but undoubtedly very popular with everyone and anyone with a love of craft and being creative!
Today in the post I was sent my 2-weekly Graze box and it looks a good'un! Olives, flapjack, my fave cake- Carrot Cake (deconstructed) and a dried berry combo. Nom.
Graze are a 'mail-order' company that send you yummy sweet and savory portioned snacks. There is a huge selection to choose from online and each box can be tailored to your own likes and dislikes. There are options to 'bin'- they will not send you that product (good riddance Beef Jerky!), 'try', 'send soon', 'like' and 'love'- they will send you the snack again in a future box.
Being an online company makes it super convenient, you can track your boxes, make changes or amendments to your order, get loyalty rewards or try different one-off snack products in the extensive ranges.
Boxes are £3.99 each for 4 different snack portions, a sharing box with 5 medium sized bags (20 portions) is £15. I would reccomend choosing what goes in the sharing box as I bought the Best of British box and only liked one of the bags (sad times).
However many of the snacks are yummilicious and being a snack fiend who likes to finish the packet the controlled portion size helps with limiting what you eat.
Also good to keep in the car or bag for a panic-snack.
Click the links below, your first regular box is free (win!)
Any other fellow final fantasy VIII fans??? I never finished it and wish i owned the PC software or play station to play it. I used to fancy the pixels off Irvine - mm that sweeping ponytail and manly trench coat.
~
It's Rare Chromosome Disorder Awareness Week (7th-13th June 2015)
I watch way too much of it and fan-girl over the vloggers as if I'm 12 years old again.
But everyone's allowed their guilty pleasures and a list of new video 'subscriptions' featuring most of my frequently watched peeps has just made my evening after a long day back at work
(after half-term holiday).
Here is a list of only a few out of the many I watch regularly.
If you'd like to discover more I'd reccomend I can do another post.
Let me know in the comments!
Also what's your favourite vloggers?
Glossary for the senior readers among you.
Blog: ' a Web site that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer'- Google.
Blogger: the author of the Blog.
Vlog: 'a blog in which the postings are primarily in video form'- Google
Vlogger: the recorder/editor of that video recording.
I stumbled across Joe Sugg through a People You May Like Facebook advert and clicked on it purely because his name was amusing to me at the time- (must have had a hard day! :s) - he has that dry, sarcasm you know I love *if not, check out my Best British Sitcom List*
He does a lot of prank vids which are actually quite well-thought through and reminds me of my uni days! He also reminds me of old uni housemate who is as hilarious and like Mr. Sugg very good at improvisation!
Through him *sings- with him, and in him...in the unity of the..(stops choral singing abruptly)*
I found out about his sister, now infamous Zoella a beauty and lifestyle blogger/vlogger
Zoe Sugg is that annoyingly petite prettily perfectly popular girl you long to be or be friends with at school. Aside from this slight childish envy I have of her, her videos are great- fresh, fun and useful! Definitely a trend setter. She gives beauty/hair/skincare tutorials that are easy to follow, lifestyle follow me around type videos to nose into her enviable lifestyle as well as anxiety issues we can all relate to.
Next on my YouTube searchings I was enticed by SprinkleofGlitter 's video 'How to Look Average'
This was the start of my long term obsession, (top favourite) with this woman! I can relate to her- she reminds me of myself- I love her humour, she bursts into song mid-speaking
- she's very human and real!
Beauty, fashion, lifestyle, craft and girl problems feature in her videos.
Not to mention her little girl, Darcy known as 'Baby Glitter'.
And now to my newly found vlogger - Velvet Gh0st (or Gabriella)
A Brighton based singer who follows the familiar trend of YouTube tags, Q&A's and follow me around(s), with beauty, home-ware, fashion hauls. She recently did a cover of Ellie Goulding's Love Me like You do which is pretty good! (I like the slower arrangement of this song mashup)
I have warmed to her more after finding out she shares my same fear of the solar system!
Sweet, moorish and slightly more healthier than a dairy milk (it's fruit ok!)
Not too tough and chewy either!
Don't be fooled by the 'Low Fat' label the sugar level is sky high!
~
-Supermarkets-£4.99- 500ml-
You can't go wrong with Ben and Jerry's icecream and they have triumphed again with their Bob Marley inspired 'Satisfy my Bowl'. A banana icecream that's very sweet and sickly but oh so yum with swirls of caramel, cookie dough and dark chocolate peace sign discs.
I reccomend having a scoop with fresh pineapple!
~
-Supermarkets,
(but I get mine from Garson's Farm Shop, Esher because I am oh-so-posh)- £4.99-500ml (8 pints)-
Produced in Lincolnshire this cordial is to be diluted with water. In comes in many flavours however my favourite this month is 'Raspberry and Lemon'. Its tangy, sweet and just hits the spot! It's a great way of keeping hydrated as you do not need much to taste.
Its non-alcoholic too.
Although its quite pricey it has no sulphates or additives
(which a lot of squash has) which is good for the old innards!
-Sheppard's single, Geronimo is out now 99p-Itunes- - Buy their album 'Bombs Away!' now- £8.99- Itunes-
Sheppard are a Aussie band with a fresh, young, catchy vibe. I'm sure they'll become a Summer staple. I love their songs 'Geronimo' and 'Let me Down Easy'
- also check out their acoustic playlist on Youtube.
They sound as good as live as they do on record too. Their sound is like Walk off the Earth, a non-country Lady Antebellum and I'm sure quite a lot more: discuss in the comments!
**Ignore continuity Error**
-Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Back Spray- 150ml- £4.99
(current offer 3 for 2 on selected products)
With the weather hotting up my back has decided to 'sprout' acne or Bacne
...mmm attractive!
It was going to happen sometime, being acne free until now.
Also health-wise my genetic calender is in sync with my mum's and this has matched the time my mum had this too!
(have the high blood pressure, joint ache, arthritis...all to look forward to!)
So advised to use witch hazel by 'mum the expert' I purchased a Tea Tree/witch hazel Exfoliator scrub but this months winner is the Tea Tree Witch Hazel Back Spray. A lot easier to apply or spritz... *SPRITZZzz- what a classy word*
...morning and evening and away you go! It has also cleared up the worst of the spots- oh they're still there of course but less 'in your face'!
(although I can't see them so in my mind they're gone!)
Taking Colouring Books to the next level!
Using The Secret Garden colouring book I mentioned in my April Favourites I have thrown away the pens and got out the sewing kit.
I love sewing and have been an avid cross stitcher since the age of 6!
*'avid cross stitcher? my 'cool' rep as taken a downward turn*
There is so much more scope with embroidery- It's still very therapeutic and stops nail biting!
And with this bug page I can try out metallic threads, feast your eyes on the glittery shininess :)
**Please leave a comment if you'd like a tutorial**
I'm super excited about this new venture and hope to be meeting new feline friends.
I am a cat-lover through and through and am purrrfect for this job!
-Natural History Museum, London Shop, £16.00-
The Natural History Museum, London is amazing and really worth a visit!
(See Dippy the Dinosaur at the entrance before he gets moved in Summer 2017!)
and I recently met a friend from Uni there, with a look round the shop I found this Milk Jug
- the only one on display so of course I had to have it!
As I often live off instant tea he has been used as a water jug to fill my hedgehog's water bowl
- only fitting!
I absolutely adore the Beasties range at Magpie
Check them out here! The Badger milk jug reminds me of that lovely 'textily' woodland range.
I may need to buy the Fox jug to keep Mr. Brock (Beatrix Potter reference) company!
If your interested check out my April Favourites here and stay tuned for next month's 'Favourites' Blog post- Is it really nearly June already?? Ca-razy!
**I do not own the watermelon designs** Watermelon pattern in title by Jen Gardner Watermelon original banner from Etsy
