Review: Muji Log Fire Candle

I had been into Muji to smell this bad boy a few times. Every time I was in London with work (we don't have a Muji in Manchester any more...sad face), I would sneak in if I had time and give it a smell.

Why didn't I buy it? Well it just smells...odd in the tin and I wasn't sure I would like the scent of it burning. However, after a recent Google conference myself and my boss decided to make a quick pit stop in Muji on the way back to Euston and I bit the bullet.

I'm so glad I did! The scent, whilst unusual, is a lovely, welcoming, homely aroma. We don't have an open fire at home so this really makes the place feel all Wintry and inviting, especially when the heating is on and you're all wrapped up in your favourite onesie. No? Just me?

I would definitely recommend this candle to anyone who wants a more unusual scent for their home or who isn't a fan of the traditional sweet candles that seem to do the rounds at this time of year.

Have you tried this candle? Should any of Muji's other candles make their way onto my wishlist?

Muji Feu de Bois / Log Fire Candle £3.50

Katie xx

Life: Amsterdam Mini Break November 2013

We have just come back from a four day visit to the lovely Amsterdam. It was our first time visiting the city and we both loved it! We stayed at the NH Amsterdam Centre Hotel, which was perfectly located opposite the Leidseplein and close to the Vondelpark.

We did most of our exploring on foot, which we always tend to do on city breaks (sore feet!!) but Amsterdam and Holland as a whole is very much a bicycle city. We found out a great fact in that there are 550,000 bikes in Amsterdam and 10% of them are stolen annually. I can fully believe it too as there were loads that weren't chained up.

We arrived around lunchtime on our first day and had a wander. Our hotel and the Leidseplein are at the end of the main shopping area so we had a slow mooch round the shops before heading back to the hotel to check in and decide on somewhere for dinner.

After deciding to venture up the Spuistraat we popped into Lion Noir for a quiet drink en route, which was a really cool bar and restaurant. It reminded me a little of The Alchemist in Manchester, but a lot less pretentious. For dinner we ended up at Humphrey's Restaurant, which is a Holland-based chain but the set, three-course menu was delicious and really well priced.

On our second night we ate at the lovely restaurant in the Dikker & Thijs Fenice Hotel, which also had a set menu. The food here was incredible but the service was a little slow. We had visited the Anne Frank Haus that day, which was unexpectedly emotional so we needed some good sustenance!

On our third day we ate a tasty brunch at Greenwoods, which came highly recommended both in our guide book and on Trip Advisor. I had the eggs florentine and the boy had a full English. Both were excellent and the choice of tea was a nice surprise.

After brunch we bought a 24 hour hop-on, hop-off ticket for the tour boat, which was 20euro each. This was a lovely and relaxing way to see the city after all of the walking we had done on the previous days. We took both the red and orange routes, which covered all of the main sites, including the Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp. We decided to walk back down to this area for dinner on our final night and ended up at the Chocolate Bar, where we were joined for dinner by the house cat! I ordered fondue, which was an obscene amount of food and the boy had a perfectly cooked burger. The bar sits in the middle of a group of other bars and restaurants at the edge of the Albert CuypStraat so you should be spoilt for choice.

Have you been to Amsterdam?

Katie xx

Fashion: The Tartan Edit November 2013

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

I've always had a tartan piece in my wardrobe, usually a casual tartan shirt. This season, to accompany the 90's trend (how old do I feel that the 90's are 'back'??), everything seems to be tartan.

I love tartan mixed with dark denim. You could layer this coat over a leather jacket, black jeans and a denim shirt or equally well over a black dress with a statement necklace for the evening. 

The scarf, which is a lovely Zara special, would bring last years black coat up to date and I don't think I'm going to be able to resist the shirt. I saw it yesterday in our recently revamped Zara store in Manchester and it is a lovely crepe material, which is a nice twist on a classic tartan shirt. 

The dress, from ASOS, is a lovely loose fit, which would be perfect for Christmas day to hide the seasons excesses! It's also in the sale so grab it quickly if you like it...

Have you bought any tartan pieces this season?

Katie xx

Make-up: Ciate Mini Mani Advent Calendar

Just a quick post today to tell you about this gorgeous Christmas offering from Ciate. This is the second year that the brand have done this as far as I know.

What a perfect early Christmas present for nail polish lovers (or for yourself!). Get yours before the 1st December to get the proper advent experience.

Photo from Selfridges.com

Have you got your advent calendar yet?

Katie xx

PS: Keep an eye out for my Christmas gift guide series starting soon...

Life: Update November 2013

I have been pretty quiet on the blogging front recently. Apologies for that. I'm not the most dedicated blogger. I get sudden bursts of inspiration and time to write and schedule posts way ahead of time and then have long periods where I just can't face it for whatever reason.

I know this doesn't lead to a successful blog but I'm just happy to put my content out there and if anyone reads it. it's a bonus.

Here's what I've been up to lately...

Salted caramel hot chocolate in Starbucks // Halloween cobweb liner // Rainbow over Manchester

Mumma Schnitzel halloumi burger // New obsession //  Award win with work

Yummy Nandos salad // Cheese and chive scones (recipe from Nouvelle) // Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes

Katie xx

Favourites: You Tubers Edition November 2013

I am an avid watcher of You Tube videos, as I'm sure many of you are too. I first got into You Tube back in 2008-ish when I started watching Lollipop26, who now blogs over at Buy Now, Blog Later.

From there I discovered the ever-growing group of beauty gurus who I subscribe to and who persuade me to part with my hard-earned cash each month on the latest launch.

So without further ado....here are my favourite You Tubers at the moment.(Note: I have tried not to include the obvious channels that we all watch and love. I'm talking about you Pixiwoo! So here are some that you might not have heard of)

Essie Button

Essie is a Canadian beauty blogger/vlogger living in London. Her videos are really relaxed and natural and she really makes me laugh with her 'hot diggidy' style.

She covers a range of high end and drugstore brands in her videos and her recent 'Brand Focus' series is one to watch.

MakeupbyTiffanyD



I have been watching Tiffany almost since she started You Tube in 2008. She is a beauty blogger and make-up artist from Altanta in the US.

Her hauls, monthly favourites and reviews are some of my favourites to watch and she is very relaxed in front of the camera. I also love her home decor-related blog posts and of course her gorgeous Golden Retriever Waylon (cute!).

Voussontbeauetbelle



Voussontbeauetbelle is the channel of Becca. She's an 18 year old fashion and beauty blogger from the UK. Becca comes across as so much older than her 18 years and is a drugstore make-up and Primark fanatic.

Her regular Primark hauls have recently led to her featuring on the newly launched UK Primark website and many shopping trips on my part!

So, there you have it. Hopefully this post has introduced you to a few new people to watch on You Tube.

Who else do you watch?

Katie xx

Wishlist: ASOS Saved Items November 2013

All images from ASOS.com

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

Another ASOS saved items post. I often wake up much earlier than my alarm so spend countless hours each week browsing the apps on my phone, saving or pinning items to buy later. Here's what's on my hit list at the moment.

There's a mix of season-appropriate knitwear and not so season-appropriate skater dresses and trapeze tops. That's what big, cosy coats are for though!

What's on your wishlist this month?

Katie xx

Life: Anniversary Weekend in Glasgow

A few weekends ago it was our second wedding anniversary so we had a trip up to sunny Glasgow to visit some friends and explore the city.

Here are some photos from my phone from the weekend...

Highlights included breakfast at the lovely Riverhill Cafe on Gordon Street by the station, a lovely Italian dinner at Amarone on Buchannan Street and one of the best curries I've ever had at The Dhabba in Merchant City. Can you tell we like our food!

We also visited the lovely West End area of Hill Head and spent an afternoon at the Kelvingrove museum and gallery.

Have you been to Glasgow? Where you you recommend we go next time?

Katie xx

Life: Summer TV Favourites

Let's start this post of by stating the obvious....My name is Katie and I'm a telly addict! I have always been a massive TV and film watcher. Even as a small child, back when there was no scaremongering about putting small children in front of screens, I used to get up super early and watch a good few hours of TV before my Mum woke up.

Then Saturday night always involved a trip to the video shop (retro!) and I would watch my film, usually something with Care Bears, My Little Pony or the Thriller music video, that evening and again the next morning.

Now that we have set the scene you will understand my current dilemma. Summer is an awful time for TV! Come September/October I usually have over 15 shows on the go at any one time. I will do a separate post on my favourite Autumn/Fall TV shows but for now I wanted to give some love to the shows that have been getting me through the TV wasteland that is the Summer.

Under The Dome


Image via BBC.co.uk

This Stephen King adaptation is coming to Channel 5 in the UK in the coming weeks. I have been watching this via CBS and I am already hooked after under 10 episodes.

The premise is that a mysterious and impervious dome falls from the sky, covering the once sleepy town of Chster's Mill. Most of the town and some visitors are stuck inside the dome and some of the towns' residents are stuck outside of it.

There are several dodgy and mysterious characters and gradually, episode by episode, we as the viewers start to get more details about the dome, its effects on the people under it and where it might have come from.

I can see this one continuing for a good few series/seasons and I will be right there with it!

Perception


Image via: TNT.com

Perception is now in its second season and it shown on TNT in the US. It stars Will & Grace favourite Eric McCormack and 90's teen movie leading lady, Rachael Leigh Cook along with a host of other stars from previous hit shows.

This show focusses on McCormack's character, Dr Daniel Pearce, who is a renowned neuroscience professor who helps former student Rachael Leigh Cook with her complicated FBI cases.

This ticks two of the boxes that I often look for in an easy to watch TV show; procedural, in that it follows the same format from week to week, and crime-based. I love me a crime-based TV show!

King & Maxwell



Image via: MoviePilot.de

King & Maxwell is another TNT drama, but this one is also in its first season. This show stars Rebecca Romjin and John Tenney as two former Secret Service agents who now work as private detectives in Washington DC.

The supporting cast in this show is great, with the quirky genius assistant and the cantankerous FBI agent, they take on cases the authorities wouldn't and often end up in some scrapes.

Again, this is easy watching and the sub-plot isn't too taxing I.e. as a viewer you don't have to remember loads of detail to keep up with what's going on.

Rizzoli & Isles


Image via: ferver-records.com

Last but by no means least is Rizzoli and Isles. Now in its fourth season and starring two recognisable faces, this is another crime-based procedural. The main attraction for this show for me is the friendship between the two main characters. They are both the best in their fields and have a friendship that most of us would 'kill for' (sorry!).

Again the supporting cast is great and the various sub-plots throughout the four seasons have been meaty enough to keep the viewer entertained.

What have you been watching this Summer?

Katie xx