Oxford Day Trip

Last spring, Helen and I popped over to Bath for a day trip. This year, we decided to do arrange another day trip and settled on another historic city- Oxford. I'd never been before, and Helen had only been for one brief visit years ago, so we were excited to explore. Unfortunately, neither of us thought to do any research before we went so, once we arrived, we weren't really sure what to do.

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Imii's guide to a Disneyland Paris day trip is super helpful!  How good do Siobhan's Oreo Squishy Squares look? Look how pretty Jordan is! Look at her! 
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Nails // Bright Pink

When I got my nails done last week, it was a bright sunny day and I was feeling really optimistic. Last time, I'd been set on Essie Mod Square and decided against it, so this seemed like the perfect time to try it out. Unfortunately, when I got to the salon, I couldn't find this particular bottle anywhere so had to settle on a different pink shade.

Vienna Kaisergruft

Don't worry- this is the last Austria post. You can all breathe a sigh of relief! When we checked into our hotel in Vienna, we were given a map with all the local attractions. Quickly scanning through the list, I saw something called the Funeral Museum which was located at Zentralfriedhof- Central Cemetery, which happens to be the 9th largest in the world. Of course, I got really excited, until I discovered it was a 20 minute drive out of the city centre. Since we were only in Vienna for one night, I didn't really have time so, instead, Rich suggested the Kaisergruft. To be honest, I wasn't really listening to him when he discovered it so I didn't know what it was. Something to do with emperors was my best bet. Still, I didn't have any better ideas and it was a 5 minute walk from our hotel so I agreed to go.

A night at the movies with Gracewell

I don't go to the cinema very often. In fact, I think the last time I even visited a cinema was when I dragged Myles to see The Fault in our Stars a couple of years ago because I was off work and bored. Bless him, even though he was a too-cool-for-school teenage boy, he still came along (although I had to pay for the tickets and lunch!) This idea of movies bringing together friends and relatives of all ages is the premise behind Gracewell's Night at the Movies campaign.

OOTD // 70s Keyhole Dress

I took a risk with this dress and man, did it pay off! When I saw it on ASOS, I wasn't sure about the silhouette. It was listed as a babydoll dress so I thought it may look a little shapeless on me and I was worried about the high collar, but I loved the print, the sleeve:skirt proportions and, of course, that cute keyhole detail at the front. In the end, I took a chance and bought it, fully expecting to return it. How wrong I was!

Review // Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

As soon as I started devoting more time to my eyebrow maintenance, I began thinking about brow products. Of course every beauty blogger raves about Anastasia Beverly Hills so I popped a couple of bits on my Christmas list. I quickly found out that there is a good reason why these products are so popular! Rather than jumping in the deep end with Dip Brow, I decided to start with baby steps and experiment with my Brow Wiz pencil first.

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Olivia looks adorable in her Kate Spade outfit!

36 hours in Vienna

To be honest, we probably should have visited Vienna first. After the absolute joy that was Salzburg, following it up with a busy, lively city where everyone smokes- even inside the restaurants- was quite a shock! We definitely made the right decision when we decided to stay for only one night in Vienna. 

Petersfriedhof and Catacombs

When researching things to do in Salzburg, it crossed my mind to look up cemeteries (because that's the kind of thing I do on holiday) and discovered Petersfriedhof- St Peter's Cemetery. This small graveyard, the oldest in Salzburg, is in the grounds of St Peter's Abbey and dates back to 1139. It was also the inspiration for the cemetery scene in The Sound of Music so it was at the top of my list!

Review // Panorama Original Sound of Music Tour

The whole reason I wanted to visit Salzburg was to visit the locations of The Sound of Music. Two years ago, I bookmarked this post of Erica's all about the Panorama Original Sound of Music Tour because it sounded so amazing. Once our trip to Austria was booked, I pulled up the link and bought two tour tickets with high hopes. As our trip got nearer, my excitement built up but the reality was even better than I could have imagined.

48 Hours in Salzburg pt II

Our second day in Salzburg was possibly the best day of my life. Not only did we get to explore the city itself but we also experienced The Sound of Music tour, which was absolutely wonderful.

OOTD // Folk embroidered dress

If I lived in Austria (and you better believe I'm doing my best to convince Rich to get a transfer to his company's Vienna branch), I would take outfit photos every day. It's so incredibly photogenic everywhere you turn and, as Salzburg has such a small population, it's really quiet too. None of this waiting around until everybody has left the shot! These photos were taken in a little courtyard next to St Peter's Archabbey, just outside a restaurant that is reputed to be one of the oldest in the world. History everywhere you look!
Dress- Missguided Plus at ASOS Curve
Bag- H Butler c/o House of Fraser Leggings- Evans
Boots- Missguided

48 Hours in Salzburg pt I

Oh, Salzburg. Where do I even begin? I'm surprised I'm back home writing this because I would have very happily stayed there if I could. I've never felt as comfortable or as at home in any other city. Salzburg forever has my heart.

Review // The Play That Goes Wrong

I'd heard brilliant things about how funny The Play That Goes Wrong is including- and I quote- "the funniest thing I have ever seen". I couldn't resist hype like that now, could I? After weeks of anticipation, Rich and I finally saw it this weekend and oh my God, it genuinely is the funniest thing I have ever seen.

London Transport Museum

I've wanted to go to the London Transport Museum for a long time. I'm not even that sure why. Maybe once I saw something on TV about it and it inspired me. Whatever the reason, I'm very into social history. Keep your monarchs and your battles, it's all about the common folk for me. So an exploration of the way people have travelled around London for the past 200 years? Yes please!

Review // American Idiot

American Idiot was the album that got me into rock. It was released at a pivotal point of my life, just a week after the event that changed everything. Overnight, my whole personality changed and Green Day were the soundtrack to this transition. I was completely obsessed with them (until I discovered My Chemical Romance a couple of months later!) and the album insert is to this day covered in clay fingerprints from the repeated listens in my sculpture class. Although I'd moved on from Green Day by the time 21st Century Breakdown was released, American Idiot is still an album I hold very close to my heart, so I was eager to see the musical. My brother mentioned that he was going to see it in Manchester so I tagged along without really knowing anything about the show at all, other than the fact it was based on the songs of the album.

Blogosphere Tea Party

Anybody who has been blogging for ooooh all of five minutes will be aware of Blogosphere Magazine- a print magazine written for bloggers by bloggers. Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the Blogosphere Tea Party in London and mingle with some fellow bloggers.

Review // Lush Beautiful Shower Gel and Karma Kream Hand and Body Lotion

Every Boxing Day, I stock up on half price Lush gift sets. Part of the fun in this is that I get to try products that I probably wouldn't have bought individually and these two- Beautiful Shower Gel and Karma Cream Hand and Body Lotion- are two such examples.

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I'll be bookmarking Lucy's guide to Manchester for future reference.

Review // Lush Baby Face Solid Cleanser

If I'm honest, I didn't need another cleanser. But then Baby Face popped up in the Kitchen and it was only £4 so I figured why not give it a whirl? Boy, am I glad I did! Yes, it's got a really creepy face but trust me, it's worth it!

First Eyebrow Threading Experience // Shavata Brow Studio

My eyebrows are my babies. Thankfully I was too scared to pluck them as a teen so I completely avoided the single-strand look of the early 00s and still have my full, bushy brows intact. A little too bushy perhaps, so I get them waxed at a Benefit Brow Bar every few weeks. This makes me sound a lot more put-together than I am. In reality, I only realise it's time to get another wax when I resemble a werewolf and have somewhere important to be. 

Nails // Essie Jazz

I was adamant that this time I was going to have bright pink nails- Essie Mod Square to be precise. It was a lovely sunny day, spring has finally sprung, I have no more work. A bright, happy colour just made perfect sense. Then I saw Essie Jazz and, well, you know me. I can't resist a good nude nail! 

Do bloggers need to be positive all the time?

Positive vibes only. Committed to spreading positivity. Just say yes. Everywhere you look as a blogger, you see the message pumped into the air- whatever you are, be positive. Of course, positivity is great. Being happy, helping other people, being kind to yourself- all of these are things that will enrich your life, but do we really need to put positivity above all else?

Review // Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Foundation Primer

When I was in Liverpool last month, my little sister Millie was colour matched at NARS. The sales consultant asked her what primer she uses and when Millie mentioned Porefessional, was told that it was really dehydrating. Now, I know that the consultant wanted to make a sale but it made a lot of sense. My skin had become increasingly dry and I had a particularly flaky patch on my cheek which was only getting worse. I was also using Porefessional daily. As much as I absolutely love it, I figured it wouldn't do any harm to try a new primer. After researching the best primers for dry skin, I asked Twitter to vote on which one to buy. Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Foundation Primer (phew!) was the winner so I headed into Boots and snapped one up.

101 in 1001 XXVI

I'm doing so well with my goals lately! I won't be able to meet them all but I'm definitely achieving more than I thought I would, and still almost two years left!

#17 Visit my brother in Manchester I think we can all accept that this goal is well and truly met by now, right? I'm actually going back next week too so I can tick it off for April as well! This time, we didn't really do much so I didn't take any proper photos or have any posts to share. Instead, take a look at the gorgeous aesthetic of Selfridges cafe!