My lovely break in Spain!

Sorry for the lack of posts on here lately, I've seriously missed blogging but I seem to have so little time recently. I've just come back from a family holiday to Spain and I had such an amazing time. We stayed in Sabinillas which is a gorgeous seaside town and the weather couldn't of been better. I can't say I got a tan or anything but it was so nice to get away from the dull weather in Dublin and relax on the beach with the sun shining. In Ireland we never get the chance to wear shorts in September (unless you wear thick tights under them that is), I'm so glad I picked up a couple pairs of shorts from the Accessorize Sale. I went for a tribal print as I knew I was bringing a lot of plain band t shirts with me and it would make the full outfit a bit more holiday appropriate. I pretty much always wear tights (even with dresses) as I have a scar on my leg from a bad fall from when I was younger so I was a bit nervous about my milk bottle legs being on show. That was short lived and I didn't care too much once I realised how hot it was in Spain at the time. The weather was in the high twenties everyday which is a change to the weather we have in Ireland. It was the first family holiday I've been on since I was a teen, I was unsure if it was going to get the time of work but I was so glad I did in the end.

Casares

 Gibraltar

My week was spent chilling and sightseeing (you probably gathered that already) with my family. My highlight of my trip was going to Gibraltar, I've never seen anything like it. We had to walk across a airport runway to get in which you don't see everyday I guess. Everything was unbelievably cheap, that said I didn't buy much whilst I was there. I found a MAC counter and bought two of their new release paint pots that I was eyeing up online lately. My brother on the other hand did well and picked up Dr Dre Beat headphones for €150 which he was really chuffed with. I even spotted a couple of monkies which were super cute. I'm not going to lie I didn't get too close as I was a little scared of them, thank god for good camera lens.

Puerto de la Duquesa

Tarifa

 I didn't buy too much whilst I was in Spain which I was a pretty surprised with. I'm going to put up a little holiday haul soon to show you guys what I bought but it won't be huge trust me. I took a little break from Slimming World while I was on holiday and treated myself. We went out for family dinners every evening so it was hard to find stuff that I actually liked on the menu. I wouldn't say I scrapped my healthy eating routine completely as there was so many options on the menu, I had the yummiest Tuna salad at a beachside restaurant one of the days, it was so nice to munch away on my dinner while looking at the waves come in. There was a lovely pizzeria beside our apartment and they did the nicest bruschetta I've ever tasted. I don't eat bread anymore since I started Slimming World so getting one of them was a huge treat. I put up a couple of pictures on Instagram during the week, as us bloggers tend to do! You can check them out here, I'm really new to the whole Instagram thing and I didn't know what all the fuss was about but I love it!

I didn't do too much reading on my holiday like I thought I would. I've nearly finished The Devil Wears Prada which I'm loving. It was a great holiday read and I literally only have another 100 pages to go. Paddy actually bought me this and the sequel while we were in London in June so at least I don't have to rush out and buy that once I finish. While we're on that note Paddy and I are hopefully heading away on holidays in November to Paris. It's not set in stone yet but we've wanted to go for a while but we are both super busy with work. He's been interning for the past few months so it will be nice to get away somewhere. I've been to Paris before, it was actually one of the last family holidays I went on. I remember loving it, we stayed in one of the hotels in Disneyland and it couldn't of been better. I actually have a picture of my brother and I from that holiday in my room and it's crazy to see how different we look but I guess it was ten years ago now.

I went back to work on Monday and it's seriously like I never left. What is that about going on holidays? I'm already looking forward to planning my next holiday! I really enjoy doing these sort of posts as they are so nice to look back on and relive all the adventures through pictures. I really hope you guys enjoyed this post too.

Laura<3

Gifts from Spain & a Little Sidenote

This time last week my parents arrived home from Spain, a whole ten days of sun, good food and the beach. I'm not going to lie I was a bit jealous seeing as the weather hasn't been the best in Ireland lately. I may need to take a little holidays myself soon, I'm missing the sun it feels like it's jumped into Winter so quick.

When my parents go away they always bring us kids back a few gifts, this time was no different. They picked up most of the goodies before they even got on the plane in Dublin, only one product was purchased in Spain and you can probably guess what that was. The present I was most surprised by was Jo Malone's English Pear & Freesia. I already have another Jo Malone perfume in my collection, Nectarine Blossom & Honey, I picked it up on the way to Manchester in July and I love it. I'm so happy my parents bought me this scent as it can be worn on it own or over Nectarine Blossom & Honey to give it's own unique scent. On the airplane my Mom picked me up these two sets, Liz Earle's Beautiful Skin Kit and Bourjois 5x Colour Pop Nail Kit. I can't wait to start using both of these, the latter contains so many pretty bright shades which I'll be rocking on my nails very soon, keep an eye out for some NOTD posts soon. You all know I love Liz Earle so I'll definitely be using this little travel kit alot, all the products included are not full sized but still decent and perfect for holidays. Last but not least the folks actually picked me up two bits from Spain, first is this gorgeous owl necklace, it's quite big so I think it will dress up any outfit. The other gift was the most sought after Bioderma, I haven't ever tried this before and after hearing so many reviews I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I've used it once or twice already and I do like it but it hasn't completely blown me away. I'll use it a bit more and let you know in a future review how I've been getting on with it.  I was so happy with everything my parents picked me up they are seriously way too good, I don't think there enjoying the weather were having at the moment at all.

Just a bit of sidenote for you all, I start college tomorrow YAY! The time has certainly flown by since I announced I was going back. I'm nervous and excited about the whole experience, I'm hoping this will be third time lucky. I think I have everything sorted for going, I went a bit over board with the stationery shopping, which was to be expected I think. My Nanna got me a lovely bag in Warehouse for college, I adore it and I have a feeling I'll be using it outside of college too. Enough of the rambling I'll get back to why I wrote this sidenote to start with, as I'll be working and going straight to college from there, none of my time will be mine anymore. I want to give a 100% to college this time not like previous years so I may not be able to post as regularly as usual. I will be putting up posts but maybe only once or twice a week so I won't be gone completely, I hope you all understand.

Laura<3

Goodies From my My Mom and Dad's Holiday to Espanyol:):)

Last Friday, my parents arrived home from their Spanish holiday. Mom and Dad went to this lovely country for a week to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. I was so happy to hear they had such a fantastic time. They did quite alot in a week visiting Gibraltar to see the monkeys ( Mom was apparently terrified of them quite frankly I wouldn't blame her one bit:P) and also going on a boat trip to Africa.. The week went way to fast and they hope to go back again next year as they loved it so much.

They brought me back a couple of lovely gifts. I was surprised I got so much as this holiday was to celebrate them not to bring back gifts to us three kids!!!

Here are the fab presents I got:)

I got this lovely purse and keyrings!!!

Three elasticated bracelets in a range of colours which I love as they will dress up any outfit over the summer.

A couple of hair accessories:)

Now on to the Make up products. I don't know how my Mom does it but she always picks out products that I love. These two products are no exception.

 The new Loreal Lash Architect 4D Mascara
Wow I've only used this twice and I'm already very fond of it. Have any of your girlies tried it??

 Dior All-In-One Artistry Palette in Navy Design

Oh my god I couldn't believe it when I seen this product. I've never owned a Dior Palette and I was so excited when I seen it among my gifts. It contains everything you need to create a smoky eye including a navy eyeliner. I personally wouldn't use this palette for daytime use ( unless you used the light blue shades) but I would use it for a sultry nighttime look The colours are all gorgeous and as you can see I've been already swatching the shadows and the eyeliner. I wouldn't usually wear navy/blue eyeshadows but I'm really looking forward to using this palette.

I seriously have the best parents in the world for bringing me back this amazing stash of goodies:)

Laura<3