Jenna Suth

Yankee Scenterpiece Review

Wednesday, 29 June 2016

£24.99

£4.99

I'm a big lover of candles, especially in the winter when it's warm and cosy in the house and freezing cold outside. But the problem with the summer, when it never really gets dark outside here (perk of the Highlands) a candle just doesn't feel the same. There's no glow and cosiness and I feel like I'm wasting the candle just to have a nice smelling room. I've tried out a couple of alternatives like diffusers but I hadn't found something quite right until I was given a Yankee Scenterpiece.

Yankee is no doubt one of the most popular candle brands in the UK and I have them dotted about all over my house. Someone had taken note of this and bought us one of the new Yankee Scenterpieces as an engagement present. It's probably a good place to start by saying it is a fantastic present, for a couple, a Mum, a Granny or a friend.

The Scenterpiece, which is availalbe in a a few different designs, has a flameless heater which melts the wax. Because the wax all stays inside the plastic cup it's not messy and doesn't need to be cleaned up. This means its really good for mixing and matching the scents because you don't need to wait for the cup to be all used up. Just pop the lid back on and pack it away. The Warmer has quite a long cable which is handy for having it in different places around the house. We've got ours on a windowsill in the hallway and it's amazing how much the scent travels. The whole of our downstairs is soon smelling of fresh cotton after we plug it in. Unfortunately there isn't an on/off switch so it is a case of using the plug. It is a lot safer than a candle though so even if it does get left on when you nip out of the house or over night you don't need to worry the same as you would with a naked flame.

At £4.99 for a melt cup they work out as a really affordable option and the perfect little gift to buy time and time again. There's loads of scents available, most of the favourite candle scents have been transformed into a melt cup. Each cup is meant to last for 24 hours of fragrance but we're still using the one we got at the middle of April so I feel like it lasts a bit longer. I love Clean Cotton and can't wait to try some fun summery ones too!

I'd highly recommend trying out a Yankee Scenterpiece if you're a candle lover who struggles with the summer dilemma. I think I'll be buying one for my Mum sometime too, she's dropped quite a few hints!

Home Happenings: Garden Wishlist

Monday, 27 June 2016

A major perk of being a teacher is the 6 weeks Summer holidays, there's no denying that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the sun manages to come out for a big percentage of my break and that I get to spend time in the garden relaxing in the heat. One of the selling points of the house when we bought it in October was the big, South facing garden. Garden furniture and accessories haven't been high on our list of house purchases until now. It's time to have a Summer ready outdoor space.

Hot Tub

We've got a really private garden which is amazing for a bit of sunbathing and I'd absolutely love a hot tub tucked away in the corner. Where I live it doesn't get very dark in the Summer at night times so being able to keep warm and carry on enjoying the garden would be fab.

Turquoise BBQ

Obviously summer is BBQ season and a few of our friends have arranged one for the summer months. We've not got a BBQ yet but I don't think we'd need, or use, a big expensive one. Wilko has some really affordable ones and this turquoise one looks the part.

Faux Eucalyptus Tree

I'm not particularly green-fingered so a faux tree would save me the embarrassment. I can imagine this sitting on the front step fooling people into believing I can actually keep a plant alive.

Daisy Solar Lights

I bought these from Asda for my Mum last year for Mother's Day and I'm so glad they're back. They are multi coloured and are a lovely addition along the edge of the shed.

Hanging Egg Chair

I've stopped and sat in these hanging egg chairs every time I go into B&M and can imagine being curled up in one reading my kindle. From somewhere like B&M they don't have to break the bank!

Do you have a garden that's perfect for socialising? What furniture or decor would you recommend for a fun or relaxing garden?

The London Shopping List

Saturday, 25 June 2016

It’s everyone’s dream to have a sudden cash windfall, a week off work and a scheduled London break. Just me? Surely not. In all seriousness, it’s hard to imagine a place with more choice, variety and intrigue than the tourism capital of the UK. London is bursting with dozens upon dozens of quirky, fresh shopping experiences that you owe it to yourself to visit.

But what are the main few that should be on your list, and what’s the best location to go shopping? Both questions are answered here, so have a read!

Burlington Arcade - one of many choices...

Where are all the best shops located?

London is daunting for the uninitiated, and rightfully so. In terms of which shops you need to visit, it really depends on what you want. Some of the best in the city are centred in Kensington and Chelsea, offering more luxurious items at decent prices. This in mind, staying in many of the serviced London apartments in this area keeps you close.

If price is your concern, then some of the shops on the outskirts of the city can be cheaper. London is massive though, so you’re bound to find something to your taste no matter your age or gender. Why not explore!

1. SCP - homeware and accessories

You know you want these...

If you’re shopping for a new home or want to update your current one, you can’t go wrong with SCP. It’s a store that offers a ton of quirky furniture and homeware designs, from chairs to tables and random decor. If you want to add a pinch of style to your home, rather than just buying the same old Ikea furnishings, this is the place for you.

2. Mungo & Maud - for pet lovers

Pet stores are traditionally rather cramped, smelly and unpleasant. Here, however, you can wave goodbye to that notion with a shopping experience as luxurious as you can get. Mungo & Maud stock for a wide range of pets, with items like smart collars and posh food/water bowls. There are even some items for humans, but that’s not the source of this shop’s attraction.

3. Retro Game Base - for 80s and 90s kids

You’d be forgiven if you haven’t played this before...

The name of a store doesn’t get more literal than this. It’s the only store in London that’s dedicated to retro gaming, and this in mind, is worth a visit. It packs everything from Pong to PS1, and is a trip down memory lane that’s not easy to forget.

This is also a good place for the modern era of gamers to get a taste of what came before Call of Duty and Fifa. But on the whole, it’s the folks who grew up with this stuff that will appreciate it most.

4. Bloom Perfumery - for fragrance lovers

Who doesn’t love a nice fragrance or two? Fortunately, Bloom stocks smells for men and ladies, so boyfriends won’t have to be dragged around with nothing to do themselves!
The perfumes sold here are on the higher end of the pricing spectrum, but as with any smelly, they’re good quality and last ages. If used correctly, that is. If you’re spraying it all over your cat then it will run out rather quickly.

Life Catch-Up: Celebrations & Sunshine

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

1. I finally made my Thank You cards for all our engagement presents. I took inspiration from Pinterest and combined a few different ideas and made it on Picmonkey.com

2. Prosecco in the garden with 2 of my 3 bridesmaids on the day I asked them.

3. My permanent contract was confirmed and I went out for dinner with a few of the girls to catch up and celebrate. I went for cajun chicken salad and it was delicious.

4. Garden furniture was a fantastic engagement present and thankfully we've been able to use it loads so far. The sunny weather fairly cheers everyone up.

5. Rory, my lionhead rabbit, is quite the greedy little rabbit. He eats out of the scoop before I even get the chance to put the food in his bowl.

6. A bit more sunbathing. I felt like I was on holiday sitting in the sun, reading my kindle.

7. Snapchat is handy for checking the temperature. 20 degrees is tropical for Scotland.

8. Lunch in the garden is so much tastier. I love a chicken salad with caesar dressing.

9. We went out for dinner for my Mum's birthday and we were all stuffed after our main courses. I can't resist a cheesecake so I ordered one between the 4 of us. It was chocolate fudge flavour and absolutely delicious.

10. A wee outfit of the night, quite like the pink pinafore from Primark.

11. Out walkies with my wee pal Abby. Walking my auntie's dogs has made me want a dog more and more.

12. There's been some gorgeous sunsets recently. Living so far north it doesn't get dark until really, really late... in fact some nights never seem to be dark.

13. I gave blood last week and had a bit of a disaster. Normally I'm quite slow parting with my blood but this time I was done in 7 minutes. Unfortunately when I headed to have my tea and biscuit blood started pouring from my arm. There was quite a puddle on the floor and I had to have a rather tight bandage put on my arm overnight. What a disaster.

14. Goats cheese salad, one of my favourites.

15. Makeup and hair reading for a wedding dance. Unfortunately I was suffering from a cold sore and viral conjunctivitis so had a horrible red, bloodshot eye. Thank you Snapchat for helping disguise it.

16. My fiancé and I ready for the dance. What a fab night.

That's us all caught up, not long until my summer holidays now! 6 weeks off work is a major perk.

June Primark Haul

Monday, 20 June 2016

I had a few hours to spare last weekend and what better way to spend it that having a wander around Primark? With our Summer holiday in mind I bought a few hot weather items, including my first beach cover up and a cheaper version of my current Hollister shorts. Lets not forget another Disney pyjama addition!

Bardot Stripe Dress

£13

Black Shift Dress

£13

Light Wash Shorts

£5

Lace Playsuit Coverup

£7

Lace Back Jumper

£5 (down from £9)

Monsters Inc Pyjamas

£8

Stick on Nails

£1 each

Statement Necklace

£5

Black Memory foam Trainers

£12

Outfits of the Week: June #3

Sunday, 19 June 2016

Monday

Dress: Primark

Shoes: Primark

Belt: Primark

Tuesday

Top: Primark

Blazer: Quiz

Jeans: River Island

Shoes: New Look

Wednesday

Top: Primark

Trousers: H&M

Shoes: Primark

Necklace: Primark

Thursday

Jumper: Primark

Vest Top: Forever 21

Jeans: River Island

Shoes: Primark

Necklace: Primark

Friday

Top: Primark

Blazer: Quiz

Jeans: Primark

Shoes: Primark

Necklace: Primark

NOTD: Matte Blush

Saturday, 18 June 2016

Primark Matte Nails

£1

I love the stick on nails from Primark. It's a quick, easy and cheap solution to having a perfect manicure. I bought these in Edinburgh and have since bought another set. I would normally use a different glue, like an Elegant Touch one but I didn't have any left and took the risk with the Primark glue included. I'm so glad I did. These stayed in place for a full week. That's much better than some other glues and I did everything I normally would, there was no avoiding housework to keep my nails in place. As for the colour, I love how natural and understated they are. They are quite obviously fake but nice all the same.

Money Saving Tips

Thursday, 16 June 2016

There is nothing worse than being skint! It means that you can’t go out with your friends for a drink or dinner. It means you can’t go shopping even if you find a bargain. In short, it means you can’t enjoy yourself because you have to survive on a budget. For all the students reading this, it might sound very familiar. But, what if you could flip the script? What if you can always have some spare cash in your back pocket? Luckily, it is possible thanks to these tips.

The Little And Often Method

The first tip, unfortunately, is to squirrel a small sum of money away every month. Notice the word ‘small’ because you don’t have to take a big chunk out of your earnings. As long as you start saving early enough, you will accrue a fair sum of money. And, it won’t be enough to make you miss it every month. Of course, you will miss it because it is money! But, you will thank your lucky stars you made the decision when that rainy day rears its ugly head.

Sell What You Don’t Need

Most people are hoarders. Not like that show on TV because that is ridiculous. But, most of us like to keep things that we don’t need anymore. There is a problem with this method: it costs you money. The items that you have in your cupboard or garage are valuable. After all, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And, they are easy to sell now that there are online stores like eBay. All you have to do is create an account and watch the bids rise in value. There is always someone out there that wants some old clothes or a vintage PlayStation game. Sabotagetimes.com has a list of valuable items that you may own that you don’t know are valuable.

Income Insurance Protection

Do you work or make a living of some sort? If you do, you can invest in income insurance protection. As the name suggests, you buy a policy that covers you should you not be able to work. So, if you are injured or fall ill, the policy will cover the costs. You can find out more with The Insurance Hero www.insurancehero.org.uk website if you are unsure. Obviously, this is a bit different because you have to speculate to accumulate. But, you never know when you won’t be able to earn a living. When that happens, you will need a safety net.

Cut Your Expenses

No one wants to sink to this level, but you might have to scale back your expenses. The simple logic is that you will have more money if you spend less money. And, the truth is that most of your expenses are luxury items. Sure, some are necessary, but most are of a cosmetic nature. It isn’t easy to do, but it will boost your budget by a large amount. Then, when you do see an item you want and need, you won’t have to hold back.

Money doesn’t have to be a problem any longer thanks to these tips.

Will you be my bridesmaid? - DIY Gifts

Wednesday, 15 June 2016

On the 2nd of April I got the biggest and best surprise when my amazing boyfriend got down on one knee in Brooklyn Bridge Park (you can read the full proposal story here). Since then we've had all of the engagement celebrations and started the decision making process all about our big day. With him studying for another degree it made sense to wait until that was over. I'm a teacher so we had to go for a school holiday. To be able to go on a honeymoon straight away we needed to get married in July. It wasn't too tricky...

Then it was time to choose my Bridesmaids!

You only have to look on Pinterest to see how extravagant Bridesmaids 'proposals' can be and after the amazing presents the girls got for us I wanted to ask them properly with some very personal DIY presents. I spent a long time searching, choosing and researching and I settled with a frame, glittered bottle and card.

Will You Be My Bridesmaid Photo Frame

This was the main part of the present and the one I was most excited for. It all started off with a plain wooden photo frame from B&M. Originally I thought a 6x4" size would be enough but with the decoration I had in mind I opted for a larger 10x8" frame. I bought scrabble tiles on Amazon and the seller FlyingStart was absolutely fantastic letting me choose the exact tiles that I wanted. I glued these on with a glue gun. This proved a bit trickier than expected. You have to wait until the glue is really, really, really hot. Then for the message on a heart. I bought mdf hearts and wrote on them with sharpies. I wrote 'Will you be my bridesmaid' on one side and their name on the other. I tied it up with a bit of hessian twine and glued it on top with the glue gun.

Glittered Bottle

The second DIY involved spray glue and a big bag of glitter. 2 out of the 3 girls are rosé drinkers but lets face it, this bottle isn't likely to be drunk unless it's an emergency so all 3 got a bottle. This one took a bit of trial or error. The first one didn't quite go to plan; it was a learning process. First I put masking tape around the top of the bottle to stop any glitter going on the lid. I used spray adhesive on different sections and then lightly sprinkled the glitter after about a minute. I did this in sections, tackling the front, then back, top then bottom. When it was all finished I sprayed the bottle again to hold the glitter in place. Be careful not to hold the glue too close or you'll end up with a very bubbly looking bottle!

Something Old, Something New Bridesmaid Card

The last part was the card. I got the idea from pinterest then headed straight to the Picmonkey website. I had quite a lot of fun experimenting with different fonts and getting it all positioned. The flowers took a bit more work and I ended up getting some help from Etsy.

Then all I had to do was get all 3 of them together at the same time... that's the really hard bit.

Have you been a bridesmaid? Did you get a bridesmaid proposal present?

How did you ask yours?

NKD SKN Pre-Shower Tan Review

Monday, 13 June 2016

NKD SKN Pre-Shower 10 Minute Tan

RRP £13.99

One of the hardest parts of fake tanning is being organised. Having fuzz free legs, exfoliated skin, time to tan and time for it to develop all before you plan to head out doesn't come easy. Even more of a nightmare if it's an unplanned night out! That's why I was so excited to try the 10 Minute Tan by NKD Skin.

This must be the quickest working tan ever. You apply it like a body lotion then 10 minutes later you shower and your tan starts to develop gradually over the next 4-8 hours. Sounds amazing but there's a few things that I don't love.

The 10minutes between applying it and heading for the shower are the longest and most awkward 10 minutes ever. All fake tanned up and standing around waiting.

The colour isn't amazing. I feel like this is more of a gradual tan rather than a proper fake tan. There's a definite change of colour after the hours pass but it never leaves me looking like a bronzed goddess or that I've spent a week in the Caribbean.

It's not all bad. It's still got pride of place in my bathroom ready to use. The things I do love...

Absolutely no tan stains and sticky clothes. 10 minutes and shower it off means it's not all over your sheets as you sleep through the developing time. I suppose this makes the cold, naked 10minutes worth it.
The squeeze tube and creamy lotion is easy to use and creamy, not sticky and smelly.
You can use it on your face and body. You don't need to worry about trying to match with different products. It didn't make my face feel dirty or suffocated with thick lotion.
So I had a bit of a moan about not looking like I'd been abroad but this tan is definitely natural looking, not at all orange and builds well so you can use it day after day if you want to. Let's face it, people might believe this is real!