Little Ivy Rose & Co – Pokemon Wax Melts*

I am so excited to talk about something a little different on my blog than usual! I don’t think I’ve ever spoken about wax melts on here before, but candles have definitely come up in the past!

I LOVE candles and have especially fallen in love with burning wax melts since I started working from home in 2020 due to Covid. These days I burn wax melts when I’m working from home, or having lazy weekends at home with Dane. I don’t own as many candles right now, but they tend to get burnt when I’m too lazy to burn wax. I just love my home smelling gorgeous no matter what time of year! I tend to burn a wax tart both upstairs and downstairs, usually with the same scent burning, but sometimes I do mix it up to make my own unique scents. I recently tried one of the wax melts I’ll be talking about today alongside with a scent (by another brand) that smells like Lush’s Yog Nog and the house ended up smelling like a lemon meringue! It was so good and I want to do it again!

Today’s blog post is all about Little Ivy Rose & Co and her amazing wax tart store! Tasha’s candles not only smell gorgeous, but they’re definitely aimed at people who love their characters, such as Pokemon, Disney and Harry Potter.

The Pokemon themed wax melts were all kindly gifted to me by Tasha as a thank you for supporting her and her Etsy since it opened towards the end of 2021. This being said, I’m still going to mark this post as gifted, as I did mention to Tasha that I was planning on writing a blog post all about Little Ivy Rose & Co on my blog as soon as the chance came up! Apart from the descriptions of each wax tart scent, all words are my own and items that are gifted will be marked with an *.

Before I really talk about Little Ivy Rose & Co and the gorgeous smelling wax melts I was sent, I want to share a little bit about Tasha and her business first!

Little Ivy Rose & Co began in April 2020 making wreaths, but in December 2021 Tasha began to make candles and wax melts, which is when I discovered her! I discovered Little Ivy Rose & Co around the end of 2021 on Instagram when her sister (PokieMix) was advertising Tasha’s candles on her stories. I saw a Snow Fairy dupe (Winter Fairy) and knew I had to check her out! For anyone that isn’t aware, I LOVE the smell of Snow Fairy, so whenever I hear of good dupes of it, I’m all over that. I want my house to smell of Snow Fairy all year around. 😛

I really wanted to pick up one of the large Winter Fairy candles but due to spending so much over Christmas and a huge collection of candles and wax melts waiting to be burnt, I had to leave it. Unfortunately due to that, I missed out on snagging this candle. If this is still available when I’m paid next, I may need to order one to burn whilst me and Dane have lazy days together, as he loves Snow Fairy too!

Just before the start of 2022, Tasha announced she would be bringing Pokemon wax melts to her store, which I was super excited about! I’ve always wanted to try Pokemon themed wax melts before from sellers on Etsy, but just never gone for it. There has always been a few scents I’ve loved the sound of and a newer one especially, all of them will be spoken about on today’s post!

One of the wax melts I’ll be talking about wasn’t gifted by Tasha originally but was actually bought for me for my birthday in January (thanks Sacha!). I’d always planned to talk about this wax melt in question, but now it’ll be down as gifted seeing as I have a brand new one to burn! 😀

Each pack of wax melts comes with six cubes. I found each cube gave me between 8-12 hours worth of burning time, which is pretty good in my opinion! So, overall for one pack you’re looking at between 48-72 hours of burning, which is really good in my opinion for the cost of them! Each packet costs £4.00, which either way I think is a decent price too for how much burn time you’re getting!

There are a range of scents to choose from and there’s definitely something for everyone. There isn’t just Pokemon either, as mentioned previously in the blog post, there’s also Harry Potter, Disney princesses and none themed wax melts too. I love how there’s something for everyone as everyone’s taste in scents differs. I much prefer food and sweet smells myself, whereas some cannot get enough of floral scents.

Image taken from Little Ivy Rose & Co

As all the wax melts I will be sharing today are Pokemon themed, I wanted to share all the Pokemon scents so far below (ones in bold are what I’m talking about today).

Pikachu (Lemon Sherbet), Bulbasaur (Fresh Cut Grass), Charmander (Woodsmoke & Leather), Jigglypuff (Candy Floss), Snorlax (Lavender), Meowth (Dark Opium), Wobbuffet (Midnight Jasmine), Squirtle (Cypress & Sea Fennell), Psyduck (Seychelles), Ponyta (Amber Orange), Slowpoke (Birthday Cake) and Eevee (Chocolate Orange).

Enough chatter, let me share with you these gorgeous scented, kawaii wax melts!

Pokemon Pikachu Lemon Sherbet Wax Melt* – £4.00 (link)

Juicy lemon and lime and a splash of sweet orange and hints of red fruits, strawberry and raspberry followed by a fizzy tongue twisting sherbet.

This wax tart is so delicious and I’m sad it didn’t last me very long the first time owning it, as I just couldn’t stop burning it! This Pikachu wax tart smells of lemons, but refresher sweeties type lemon which is sharp but still sweet smelling. The throw of this is amazing and can leave a room smelling amazing for hours, it’s definitely one I recommend if you want to try something with lemon in and especially great to gift to someone who loves Pikachu. Due to the wax tart being lemon scented, as well as Pikachu inspired the wax melt is of course yellow.

I’m sure I speak for many when I say one of the reasons I love wax melts and candles is due to some scents giving you nostalgic and happy memories (as well as some cringe worthy ones you’d rather forget!) when you smell them, which is definitely something this wax melt does for me! I remember as a child/early teenager me and my dad would go to arcades to play on the 2p pusher machines and they usually had prizes them in such as keyrings and sweets. We always tried to win both of them but one day I remember we both came home with a small bag of lemon refreshers that lasted us ages! This is exactly what this reminds me of. It’ll be one I’d burn throughout the summer, as this was usually when we visited said arcades.

Pokemon Jigglypuff Candy Floss Wax Melt* – £4.00 (link)

A sweet candy floss accord with sticky sweet sugar notes and hints of strawberry, raspberry, vanilla and sherbet.

I’ll be honest straight away when I say out of the three wax melts here, the candy floss Jigglypuff scent isn’t the strongest of the bunch when smelling it in the packaging. That being said, this isn’t a bad thing as I know a lot of people who dislike strong wax melts and candles as they find they get headaches from them. Plus it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the same once it is burnt in my wax burner, which it honestly wasn’t! The throw of this one was so creamy and sweet and one that Dane really loved! It reminded us both of Bonfire Night in 2017 when we bought candy floss to eat whilst we watched the bonfire. As Dane loves this scent so much, it’s definitely one I’ll burn when we’re both at home together!

Pokemon Snorlax Birthday Cake Wax Melt* – £4.00 (link)

A mouth watering birthday cake depicted here by a blend of fresh fluffy sponge encasing whipped double cream and fruity strawberry jam.

Not going to lie, this is my favourite scent out of them all and one I’ve been really excited to try since Tasha announced it on her Instagram around the end of January/beginning of February. About a month ago me and Dane went to Homesense (because, why not…) and I took to having a nose at the candles, as you do. I bought one for my mom but left without one myself, which I was a tad gutted about as they had the most AMAZING birthday cake scented candles! So, when Tasha announced the Slowpoke birthday cake wax melt, I KNEW I had to get one! This smells like everything I imagined it to and because of that, I am in love!

As it states on the description, it sounds like a strawberry vanilla cheesecake type cake and it definitely reminds me of that! In the packaging the wax melt is very strong scented and even more so when I burnt it in my wax burner! The throw lasted hours and really did perk me up on a miserable, stormy day! It reminds me of the summer and having ice cream and sweet treats whilst exploring a countryside town. I already know I’ll be buying some more of these for myself, as well as other for their birthday’s!

So those are all the wax melts I was sent and have tried from Little Ivy Rose & Co to date! There are so many I want to try though at the moment including Ravenclaw Blueberry & Vanilla and Disney Meeko Biscuits (which I inspired Tasha to create!).

If you really like the sound of what Little Ivy Rose & Co are offering but don’t know where to begin when it comes to burning wax melts, don’t panic, Tasha got your covered!

So, what do you guys think about Little Ivy Rose & Co? I personally love them! If anything it’s really encouraged me to use more of my wax melts now I’ve gone through a big chunk of my stash.

Although I’ve popped the Little Ivy Rose & Co store and Instagram page throughout the post, I’ll pop them below too:

Store

Instagram

I want to say a massive thank you to Tasha for being so lovely to me the past couple of months since we started talking on Instagram. Our love of candles and raccoons has really flourished and I’m so happy I got the chance to write about her on my blog today!

Any scents or themes you like the sound of more so than others? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time guys, have an amazing weekend and stay safe and well. 🙂

HUGE Shop Small UK Guide – Christmas 2020

Can you believe there is only 18 days until Christmas? Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I’m awful this year and I’m not done. I usually have all my gifts bought by now, but alas I still have my parents to buy for.

This year I wanted to do a gift guide, but not my usual one aimed at the geeks, otaku and kawaii fans, beauty, fashion etc etc. I wanted to instead focus on small companies/independent artists/businesses who need our support more than ever due to COVID and it’s affects from lockdowns here in the UK.

First of all, I’m only speaking about the UK as with a Twitter poll a couple of weeks ago, it’s what you as the readers voted for. However at the end of the post I will mention who you can shop small with all over the world too.

I’m going to add all sorts of categories here, not just geek, kawaii, otaku related. I’ll be talking about beauty, home, geek, Japan related, food and more! I want to try and talk about as much as I can, so when you need ideas for Christmas gifts you have lots of choice. I will also mention the last date to order for Christmas too if you’re in the UK. Please bear in mind with the COVID situation and Christmas on the horizon, Royal Main is struggling a little, so if you want to order, order as soon as possible!

Let’s get started! I really hope you guys enjoy this post. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Geeky/Kawaii

Image taken from Jennifairy Illustration

Jennifairy Illustration – Creating cuties to make you smile. Enamel pins, stickers and keychains, all inspired by cute animals, video game characters and more.

Last date to order for Christmas – 14th December. However, if order after this date it could still get there but that can’t be promised. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Jennifairy Illustration is an independent artist/store I have spoken about on my blog since 2017 and I knew they were one of the first places I wanted to speak about today! Jennifairy has a range of products – enamel pins, stickers and keychains. Her style is incredibly cute and kawaii and the designs make me smile whenever I see them, both on her store and in my home. If you know someone who loves cute animals and certain characters from popular video games, then they will love to open a cute design from Jennifairy. Christmas wise you can pick up some gingerbread friends or even a Christmas Pikachu, with a Santa’s hat and a cup of coffee. There are loads of different designs to choose from, there is something for everyone.

Image taken from Littlest Spook Shop

Littlest Spook Shop – We put the Oo in spooky! Cute spooky ghost prints, mugs and other items to choose from!

Last date to order for Christmas – Currently Littlest Spook Shop is looking to close 9th December.

Halloween isn’t just once a year with Littlest Spook Shop. I discovered them around Halloween this year and I love their spooky ghost designs. They’re so damn cute and spoopy and I’m down for that. I regret not ordering some of their Christmas cards this year to be honest, but there’s always next year. If you know someone who celebrates Halloween all year around then a print (or two!) from Littlest Spook Shop may just be for them! Not only do they sell prints but they also sell mugs, tote bags, enamel pins and patches so that spooky friend or family member can show off their love of ghosts and all things spooky all year around! The Always Cosy Club spooky print shouts out to me so much. During the colder months I’m like that little ghosty.

Image taken from FoxLeap

FoxLeap – Kawaii designs inspired by Disney and Japanese characters from films and video games.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.

FoxLeap is an independent artist/store I love buying enamel pins from. They’re adorable and there is always something in the store I want to pick up, including the Jiji enamel pin which I may need to order myself as a treat for writing this post. 😛 There is something for everyone when it comes down to FoxLeap including designs inspired by Disney (especially The Lion King series!), Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Wolf’s Rain, Okami and more. Anyone who loves enamel pins will really love to receive a FoxLeap design and honestly they probably already know of FoxLeap’s existence. Not only do they make and sell enamel pins but they also sell prints, t-shirts, stickers, enamel pin flags, tote bags and more so there is plenty to choose from!

Image taken from NaomiLordArt

NaomiLordArt – A freelance artist who creates adorable prints inspired by animals, magical creatures, witches, Goddesses, Critical Role and more!

Last date to order for Christmas – Orders will be shipped until the shop closes for Christmas on 20th December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Guys you know me I love kawaii animals, especially foxes and that is something NaomiLordArt does so bloody well! I mean, look at them cute seasonal fox designs! I feel anyone of any age will love a little stocking filler that involves one of the many designs that NaomiLordArt has on offer. Plus if you and your friends are fans of Critical Role, she’s drawn all of the gang and put it onto a print, which you can find here. I feel NaomiLordArt would be perfect as items to gift children, teenagers and anyone who loves prints and stickers. I’ve gifted my best friend goodies from there before that were surrounding Star Wars and Harry Potter. There are also RPG class animal stickers and prints too, so if you play in a D&D group and are taking part in a D&D themed Secret Santa, these would make perfect gifts alongside some dice.

Image taken from GIPHY

Japanese Snacks

Image taken from Something Japanese

Something Japanese – UK based online shop that sells the best things from Japan! Chocolate, Candy, Collectables, Otaku Goodies and much much more.

Last date to order for Christmas – December 21st. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Something Japanese is a store I have bought from for about five years now and they are really good! I especially love to pick up the Japanese snack boxes from them as they’re always an amazing price for how many Japanese sweets and treats you get. I ordered the Halloween one and it was amazing and I’ve ordered the Christmas Japanese Candy Box too. This might make for an amazing gift to someone who loves Japanese sweets and treats and who may also miss Japan or want to visit Japan. COVID has prevented travelling to Japan for a lot of people and I know a lot of my friends who missed out on their trips this year. This would make for a nice treat to open Christmas Day. Something Japanese does sell other items too and separate sweet treats so make sure to check that out too.

Image taken from Tofu Cute

Tofu Cute – A UK kawaii shop that sells all sorts of cute and unique Japanese snacks, plushies, accessories, stationery and other goodies.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.

Tofu Cute is a store me and my boyfriend often order our Japanese sweets from as they’re great prices and they always seem to have the goods that Japan get at the same time. Not only do they stock sweets but also drinks as well! We’ve bought many bottles of ramune and Pokemon fizzy drinks from Tofu Cute and they’ve all been enjoyed! Think my favourite thing I’ve ever bought from Tofu Cute are the Melty Kiss chocolates. They’re to die for and would make an amazing gift for someone’s stocking this Christmas. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Home

Image taken from Cushty Co Twitter page

Cushty Co – Handmade home fragrance. Scented soy wax melts beautifully crafted with sprinkles of glitter and careful colouring. Vegan friendly.

Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 14th December – Store will close at 5pm. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Cushty Co are my go to for wax melts and I’ve ended up buying so many this year! Their autumn/Halloween collection being my favourite to date. If you know someone who loves burning candles and wax tarts like me, Cushty Co are a great place to check out. They do LOADS of different scent varieties and three different sizes of wax so the choices are huge. They currently have their Christmas/winter scents in stock and I have all of them! They’re absolutely amazing and if you know someone who loves Christmas and wishes it could be everyday, then some of the Christmas/winter scents will be right up their street. Not only do Cushty Co sell wax tarts, but they also sell room sprays too, which I’m yet to try. If you know someone who loves Lush then they’ll love Unicorn Dreams which smells exactly like Snow Fairy and Nightfall which smells exactly like Twlight.

Image taken from Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty

Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty – Lovingly Custom made 3D printed Bubble Baskets.

Last date to order for Christmas – 17th December if ordering a pink, black or ombré bubble basket. 14th December if ordering a custom colour. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I recently decided to buy myself a bubble basket from Books Baths and Beauty as I’ve wanted one for over a year now and as my bathroom was redone in the summer, I’ve finally been indulging in bath products and having bath cocktails more. It arrived over the weekend I’ve used it a few times since. It’s really good and if you’re like me and use bubble bars, shower gels and more to create bubbles, then this is for you! They’re made with a 3D printer and are sturdy and amazing! 😀 If you know someone who loves taking baths and using the same products as I do, this will be perfect for helping them create lots of bubbles! Teenagers will love this, as well as mermaids.

Image taken from GIPHY

Beauty

Image taken from The Bath Bae

The Bath Bae  –  Handmade bath treats to make you glow inside and out. Vegan and cruelty free!

Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 21 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 48 or Tuesday 22 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 24. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I recently made my first order with The Bath Bae and honestly – I have zero regrets. They focus on bath bomb products in various different varieties and scents so there is plenty to choose from! So far I’ve only tried the bath cubes and they are amazing, perfect for anyone of any age. You can pick up bath sparkle, sparkle rocks, bath cubes and bath soak. These would make great stocking fillers for teenagers and anyone who loves a good soak in the bath. My favourite scent from them so far is Oh So Slushie, which reminds me of Tango Ice Blast slushies from the cinema.

Image taken from Happy Melon

Happy Melon – Handmade beauty products made in small batches and packed with cuteness, colour and yummy fragrance. Cruelty free!

Last date to order for Christmas – Restock this Sunday (13/12/2020) and as items sell out quickly, there isn’t really a last date to order for Christmas.

Happy Melon is a brand I discovered this year and bought from during their last restock. If you know someone who loves their beauty and bath products and for them to be as colourful as possible, Happy Melon is a good indie brand for this! They have a wide variety of products including bubble bath, lip sugar, perfume oil, bath soak (snuggle soak), sugar scrub and more! One of the bubble baths I own is a Lush Snow Fairy dupe (Sabrina bubble bath) and it’s one of my favourite products to use after a long day. Plus a little goes a long way and this stuff lasts AGES! One of the products I am excited to try soon is the Pop Kei Snuggle Soak, which smells just like Tango Ice Blast slushies! It would work so well with the slushie bath cubes from The Bath Bae. Again this is a great brand for teenagers due to how colourful everything is and maybe even children too due to how colourful and sparkly the bubble baths are.

Image taken from Hex Bomb

Hex Bomb – Divine handmade gothic beauty products for dark sweets hearts. Creator of the first black bath bomb! Cruelty free and vegan!

Last date to order for Christmas – 21st December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Hex Bomb is a brand I have always wanted to try since the Black As Your Soul bath bomb came out. I’m yet to try it still and plan to buy it in the near future! I’ve mentioned some colourful and kawaii beauty indie brands so far, so I wanted to through a gothic, dark brand in there for good measure. I love me a dark bath, it reflects who I am inside and this brand would be perfect for any goth friend or relative out there! Not only do they make bath bombs but Hex Bomb also sell shower gel, soap, scrub, lip balm, perfume oil AND even wax melts for your home. If you aren’t sure what to buy that gothic beauty in your life (because Hex Bomb have a lot of variety!) you could always pick up one of their gift boxes which contains a variety of products. If you want to see a review (or two) of Hex Bomb make sure to go and check out my great blogger friend Raiin Monkey’s blog posts here.

Image taken from GIPHY

Honourable Mentions

Geek/Kawaii – Quirkory – Due to being based in Italy, they didn’t qualify for this shop small post. However, I couldn’t not mention them! They sell enamel pins, stickers and prints inspired by Japanese video games and cute animals.

Geek/Kawaii – Claire Likes To Doodle – The reason I didn’t mention my friend Claire and her store is because she got a post allllll to herself recently! Which I am going to link here. 🙂

Geek/Kawaii – 1 In 100/One In Hundred – A local Brummy like myself, Alex over at 1 In 100 has some amazing designs on her store and you can buy items from clothing, badges, keyrings, stickers, prints, stationary and more. I keep meaning to pick up some of her Japan inspired prints. Check them out here and here.

Geek/Kawaii – Chibi Shibby – May have bought a Christmas present from one of my favourite artists… 😉 Shibby recently reopened her store and has filled it was gorgeous kawaii goodies! There’s also some Christmas related goods in there too.

Geek/Kawaii – Lunaticgumis – Due to being based in Gran Canaria, they didn’t quality for this shop small post. However, I am planning to write about them on my blog very very soon! 😀 They sell stickers as well as amigurumis (Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures). They stock Bee and Puppycat designs WHICH I LOVE!

Geek/Kawaii – Taiyakiblue – This store is joint owned by tattooists senseoftheterrific and tubbybeartattoo. They stock clothing, prints and even some keyrings and pins made out of resin. They’re both inspired by geeky/kawaii themes such as D&D, Studio Ghibli, Dragonball Z, Moomins, Adventure Time and more. I’ve purchased a Christmas present from them and plan to buy prints in the future! I love their style so much.

Bath – Bath Bake Love – No restock until after Christmas where there will be lots of enchanted teasers for the New Year Wonderland and plenty of goodies in January!

AND THERE WE HAVE IT! My HUGE shop small Christmas shopping guide for the UK!

What do you guys think? I wanted to try and cover as much as I could and I like to think I’ve done that quite well. In the future I may pop up with some of these after Christmas, just as good shopping guides throughout the year for birthday’s and more!

Honestly guys, I hope you enjoyed this post today as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m off work for the week and the first thing I knew I wanted to do was to write this post.

Are there any small shops in the UK that you feel I should know about? Make sure to let me know and I’ll take a look for next time!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend. 🙂

Fall for this Autumnal Home Décor

So, before I begin, I should probably introduce myself. I’m Hayley, a professional freelance Copywriter and Content Writer who absolutely loves blogging (and home décor, as you’ll soon find out)! Therefore, when I came across Nat’s tweet explaining that she needs guest bloggers to fill in for her whilst she’s on holiday, I jumped at the opportunity. I enjoyed reading her clothing wish lists, so decided to do something similar for homeware, because who doesn’t love a fancy cushion or two? Just me? Anyway, I’ll stop rambling now and get into the post:

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Whilst I’m going to miss the warmer weather and bright evenings, we’re now officially on the second day of Autumn, so it’s time to embrace the new season with open arms. The beautiful orange leaves, the cosy clothes, and copious amounts of hot chocolate definitely make it easier to say goodbye to Summer (plus, it’s almost Hallowe’en).

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit of a home decoration enthusiast – any opportunity to give my home a fresh, new look is welcomed in my books. I always think that changing seasons are perfect times to add little pieces that reflect the weather, either through using different colours, patterns, or even textures. The best part about this is you certainly don’t have to break the bank to do it!

Before I began writing this post, I got thinking about what I associate with the season because it’s always useful to have a ‘theme’ which will ensure that all the pieces look good together. I’ve compiled a little list below which helped me to find the items I included, so, should you want to look for more yourself, you’ll have something to refer to:

– Rustic wood
– ‘Earthy’ tones (think burnt orange, brown, mustard yellow)
– Leaf patterns
– Rough textures

So, let’s take a look at some pieces you’ll fall for this Autumn (get it… fall? Okay, sorry).

Yankee Candle in ‘Brilliant Autumn’

How much more perfect could the name of this candle be? It’s a must for any Autumn lover who wants to bring a little bit of the woodlands indoors. To me, there’s nothing cosier than having some beautiful smelling candles burning on the coffee table whilst you relax on the weekend! Plus, it’s a gorgeous orange colour that will complement the other items in this list (any other home décor enthusiasts will agree that this is very important).

Image taken from fragrancedirect.co.uk

Item: Large Yankee Candle (Brilliant Autumn)
Shop: Fragrance Direct
Price: £14.50

Cosy blanket

When updating your home décor, you can’t go wrong with a big, fluffy blanket. The neutral ‘mink’ tone of this one from Wilko means that you can mix ‘n’ match it with a range of different colour schemes throughout the year (because, let’s be real, the UK is chilly around 80% of the time). I personally love the soft ‘waffle’ texture on this as it prevents the blanket from being too plain, but it won’t clash with other patterns!

Image taken from wilko.com

Item: Waffle Throw (Mink)
Shop: Wilko
Price: £16

Burnt orange cushions (bonus points if they incorporate a tartan pattern)

Dunelm are currently selling these statement tartan cushions in a perfect earthy, burnt orange shade (though they do offer lots of other colours if you’d prefer to mix it up). The tweed texture also gives it a lovely rustic feel that provides your home with instant cosy-factor fit for a pub in the countryside. Cushions are a great way to instantly change the colour scheme in your living room as they’re much larger than some of the other items on this list, but still relatively inexpensive!

Image taken from dunelm.com

Item: Tweed Woven Cushion (Terracotta/Orange)
Shop: Dunelm
Price: £14

Wicker hearts (or any shape you want)

Sometimes, just having random little knick-knacks in your house can make it feel more like a home. You can grab this set of three wicker hearts for under £10 on Amazon* (bargain!), and have them delivered next day if you’re a Prime member. The adorable gingham ribbon and rustic wood texture also give it a little extra bit of detail that screams ‘Autumn’.

Image taken from amazon.co.uk

Item: Large Rustic Wicker Heart Decorations
Shop: Amazon
Price: £9*

Cute Mugs

Whilst these are more functional items than decorative ones, they still make the list, because what else are you going to drink hot chocolate from whilst you sit in your newly-decorated living room? I’m a sucker for anything with a cute animal design plastered on it, so I just had to include these Fairmont & Main bone china mugs from Amazon. I love how autumnal the design is, from the range of beautiful colours, right down the leaf print. Ahh, let’s get the kettle on!

Image taken from amazon.co.uk

Item: Fairmont & Main Bone China Mug (Orange)
Shop: Amazon
Price: £4.99

So, there you go – updating your living room on a budget is easy (and fun)! What will you be adding to your home this Autumn? Let us know!

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Psst, if you enjoyed this post, you can find more of me (and my company, DTM Copywriting) here:
Website (including my blog): http://dtmcopywriting.co.uk/
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: @dtmcopywriting
Email: hayley.andrews@dtmcopywriting.co.uk

*Please note that prices on Amazon are subject to change.

I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to Hayley for writing this post! She was such a joy to talk to via Twitter and email and was so professional and lovely at the same time. It’s made me so excited for when I come back from Fuerteventura to have a mooch around the shops for some lovely autumn editions to add into our home this year!

What items do you like buying as the season changes from summer to autumn? Please make to sure to let me and Hayley know in the comments!

Until next time take care all and I hope you’re doing well!

Wish List Wednesday – Yankee Candle and Yankee Candle Simply Home

I haven’t made a wish list Wednesday post for quite a while! So I thought, what the hell. I may as well make one! 😛 I didn’t know what on Earth to do one about mind, and then I realised I hadn’t had a nose on the Yankee Candle website for a while. Until now! I don’t need any new Yankee Candle’s anytime soon, but it doesn’t hurt to look, does it?

Blueberry Scone – £21.99 (link)

The delicious aroma of English scone with sweet blueberries, rich cream and a hint of vanilla.

I’ve been after this candle for years now, and I wish I had bought it last summer when I was eyeing it up in the Yankee Candle store near me. However, I left it and Dane bought me Hazelnut Coffee instead. I’d love to pick this up soon to light whilst I’m having chilled evenings over the weekend.

Vanilla – from £1.80 – £21.99 (link)

A pure vanilla fragrance that is both sweet and subdued, sugared yet creamy

This is a new candle from Yankee and it’s one I REALLY want! Vanilla scents remind me of my mom and when I was little, as that’s what she’s always loved, alongside lavender scents. I haven’t smelt this yet, but I can’t wait to! I don’t know where I’ll find it anytime soon to give it a sniff but I can see me buying it as soon as possible.

Strawberry Lemon Ice – £21.99 (link)

Refresh your home with the cool scent of just-picked strawberries and strips of lemon peel crisped in ice.

This sounds absolutely delicious! I haven’t smelt this one, but it’d be really nice for the summer to burn over the lighter evenings when cooking dinner for me and Dane. Or whilst we chill out and play games. I love Yankee Candle’s Sweet Strawberry candle, as well as their Sicilian Lemon candle, so I can only imagine I’ll love this!

Coconut & Vanilla Bean – £14.99 (link)

Breathe in the sensual scent of creamy coconut and pure vanilla whenever you want to feel warm, wonderful and contented.

I love this collection, and this is my favourite smelling one from the collection. However, I have always stopped myself from buying it due to either having too many candles at the time, or saving money. I’d love to pick this up soon mind… But we shall see! It’s a gorgeous creamy smelling candle, not for people who dislike coconut! The vanilla bean in here does mask that a little though.

Coconut & Lime – £22.75 (link)

What a happy combination! This uplifting marriage of coconut and lime makes every day feel brighter.

I have smelt this one before, but I wasn’t as keen on it as I was with the previous coconut scent. It has a nice tarte scent to it which reminds me of some sort of dessert. This isn’t at the top of my list, but for how big the jar is, and it being a two wick candle I’m pretty sure it would be a nice change from the usual Yankee Candles.

So that’s my Yankee Candle wish list… Now onto the Yankee Candle Simply Home wish list!

Blueberry Cheesecake – £13 (link)

This deliciously fragranced large candle from Yankee Candle Simply Home is inspired by one of our favourite desserts! With the scent of mouth-watering blueberries drizzled over creamy vanilla cheesecake, it’s the best candle to satisfy your sweet-tooth.

I LOVE blueberries! I also love cheesecake, so I knew I would be in love with this candle! I really want to pick it up, especially for £13. I think the next time I’m in Asda I’ll pick one of these bad boys up. 😛

Peach Smoothie – £13 (link)

Summon up the feel of a lazy summer afternoon with this must-have Yankee Candle. The juicy, peachy tones will add a relaxing feel to your home, and in a large glass jar this candle features 110-150 hours’ burn time for a long-lasting appeal.

I’ve bought these before as a little wax tart, and it is a gorgeous scent! It has an amazing throw, and is a light and creamy scent which is perfect for if you don’t want anything too heavy.

Strawberry Shortcake – £13 (link)

A real summertime favourite, this scent will bring farm-fresh strawberries and shortcake into your home any time of year. Featuring a signature glass jar, the large design offers 110-150 hours’ burn time.

Like the Peach Smoothie, I’ve also had this candle as a wax tart and again it has an amazing scent, as well as a lovely throw. This is is really tarte and reminds me of the dessert itself.

Tangerine & Vanilla – £13 (link)

Make your home as fresh as can be with this gorgeous large Yankee Candle Simply Home jar. With ripe tangerine and a hint of sweet vanilla, it’s a strong, delicious fragrance that will embrace you as soon as you walk through the door.

Anything with vanilla in it sounds amazing to me, and tangerines and vanilla just sounds like a yummy summer pudding. This would be especially nice to burn during the day in summer time.

Shea Butter & Vanilla – £13 (link)

Wonderfully soothing this deliciously scented large candle from Yankee Candle Simply Home is fragranced with musky blend of shea butter and sweet vanilla. Perfect for when it’s time sit back and relax. Go on – you deserve it!

This sounds really lovely! The sort of scent I would burn during the day and into the evening on rainy days.

I’ll be picking up the wax tarts of all of the above that I haven’t tried yet, just so I can give them a go before plunging into the £13 large jar.

So that’s all from me and my wish list! What candles do you have your eye on at the moment? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time, take care all and hope you’re having a great week.

The Love/Hate Tag!

I love a good tag post. I find it helps readers get to know the writer of a blog a lot better than most posts will. I recently found this one on Tarnya’s blog sweetallure and I thought it would be nice to give it a go myself! I’m currently lying in bed on my day off, working on my blog, and relaxing. I have YouTube on to keep me company, my Red Raspberry Yankee Candle burning, and a hot cup of Ribena. So I’m prepared!

The Rules:

The tagged person must share a total of 20 things; 10 things they love, and 10 things they hate.

They must nominate 10 bloggers to complete the tag.

10 Things that I Love:

1. Bubble baths. No matter what time of the year or whatever time of day I love bubble baths. They’re warm and comforting, and great if you want to relax and pamper yourself. I mostly use Lush bath bombs and bubble bars in my baths but sometimes I like to change it up and use The Body Shop products, and sometimes just supermarket and drugstore brands. I’ve always loved baths, ever since I was a little girl. I once spent two hours in the bath just playing and being in a world of my own. I don’t do that anymore, but that just goes to show how much I’ve loved them from a young age.
2. Food. I love food. Seriously if I love anything more it is definitely eating. Bacon, melted cheese, pizza, chicken, ham sandwiches, Marmite on toast, maple and bacon sausages, Yorkshire pudding, Japanese food, oh you name it and I’ll probably love it. As I’ve already said I especially love Japanese food and I love Yo! Sushi for it’s buffet style Japanese cuisine. Katsu curry is my favourite, followed by chicken ramen.
3. Beatrix Potter. If there has always been one thing I have loved since I was a young age, it has been Beatrix Potter and all the wonderful stories she has written. My favourite is probably The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse, due to the whole town versus country theme. Of course, my favourite is the country and I can totally relate to Timmy Willie. I recently visited The World of Beatrix Potter in the Lake District and it was amazing! I would love to go again, and I’m sure I will if me and my boyfriend are that way in the future
4. Duvet days. Seriously who doesn’t love them? I just love staying in bed all snuggled up with something to watch on my iPad, or a game to play. Can’t beat it
5. Gaming. I’m a nerd, so I love playing games, whether they be console, hand held, or even online games. I’ll play them! I’ve recently 100% completed South Park: The Stick of Truth and I’m currently lusting after Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
6. Anything salted caramel flavoured. I love salted caramel, I know a lot of people do but I loved it before the hype! I know a lot of people who also hate salted caramel due to the thought of it tasting salty, but I really love that. One of my friends bought me some salted caramel chocolates from Thornton’s and they were amazing! I would love some more. I recently picked up a salted caramel hot chocolate powder from Whittard and it is delicious
7. Pole dancing. My fitness is pole dancing. I used to do it years ago for about a year but had to give up for personal reasons. But since June I have started again and I’m so pleased that I have! I feel fitter for doing it, and it’s just fun to get out of the house and go and have fun doing that for an hour with some of the girls in class. I hope in the near future that I can start going twice a week, and buy my own pole to practice on at home.
8. Photography. Although I am far from being professional, I love taking pictures especially of animals and nature. I’ve owned my Nikon digital SLR for three years now and it is my pride and joy. I love going to animal parks, and fun places so I can take plenty of pictures.
9. Foxes. My close friends and family know how much I love foxes and I have a small collection of fox related items in my room now. My mom recently bought me some fox vanilla room air fresheners from Avon, and they are incredibly cute! She’s already seen an umbrella, a draft excluder, and a huge foot slipper that she’s craving to buy for me. I love my mom too! 😛
10. Nendoroid figures. Gorgeous and kawaii Japanese figures by Good Smile Company and ones me and my boyfriend collect like crazy, and have done so since Christmas 2014. I bought him his first one for Christmas, which was Mikasa from Attack on Titan, and he bought me my first one for my birthday at the start of the year, which was one of the characters from Penguindrum. Including that one I have two, but my boyfriend has a whopping eight figures and his collection is STILL growing!

10 Things that I Hate:

1. Rude people. If there is one thing I cannot stand it’s people who are rude for no reason. Hey, if I’ve been rude to you then fair play. But if I’m just being nice and casual, then you have no reason to be that way with me. Due to my experience in customer service, I hate seeing fellow customers be rude to the staff when out and about. I just want to tell them to stop.
2. Animal abuse. I don’t think I need to explain why. I just hate seeing it on TV shows, and reading about it. People who abuse animals are appalling and disgraceful human beings.
3. Crap coffee. I love coffee, so when I buy a coffee whilst out and I’m excited to drink it for it to taste awful I feel really sad. Once someone made me a coffee and the coffee machine clearly wasn’t set right, so the coffee was too coarse. I mentioned it to the member of staff and they sorted it for me. The coffee they made me as a replacement was beautiful! I hate coffee like Mellowbirds though. That’s not coffee, that’s just wrong.
4. Bad drivers. Urgh. Just URGH! I like to think I’m a really good driver, so when someone is a bad driver near me I hate it so much. Little things like not signalling annoys me, and speeding unnecessarily too. It always happens when there isn’t a Police car around.
5. Fake duplicate items from China. As a Nendoroid figure collector, me and my boyfriend have been victims to buying fake figures. Well, once. Since then we’ve been really careful and researched as much as possible before buying. There were loads of fakes flying around Hyper Japan and it annoyed us. There are also loads of fakes around eBay, but if you know how to shop for the figures, then you can avoid getting fakes. But I just hate it. People charge hundreds for fakes and a lot get away with it.
6. Food. I love food, yes, but I also hate food. I have a lot of food phobias, and due to some of my allergies I’m also allergic to a lot of fruit. It sucks when it comes to bananas as I love the smell, and I used to love the taste but I can’t eat them due to my allergy. My mouth swells and feels like it’s on fire, which sucks. So I have to avoid banana unless it’s artificial. With my phobias I can’t eat some foods due to texture, or sometimes even smell and look. It’s horrible and it can restrain me from eating a lot, but I hope over the years I can get better, especially when I have my own children.
7. Selfish people. I’ve dealt with my fair share of selfish people over the years, and only recently got away from them, which I’m happy about. Selfish in the sense you do favours for them, and never get any back. Selfish that you have to do what they want to do, and forget whatever you want to do. Selfish that you’ll help them in dark times, but they won’t help you. I just HATE selfish people and they can all go away!
8. People who walk their dogs without a lead. There is nothing worse than this. I’ve heard of dogs, cats, and other animals being attacked for no reason by dogs that don’t have a lead on. One of my friends cats recently had to be put to sleep after being badly injured of an attack from a dog that wasn’t on a lead. The only time dogs should be let off a lead is when in a dog friendly park. I’ll never ever do this with my own dogs, it’s just not worth the risk.
9. Bullies. If there is one thing I hate in this world, it’s a bully. I was bullied terribly throughout school, college, and even at times in university. I don’t know if I just have that face and personality, but I was bullied and over stupid things. It sucked, it depressed me, and I skipped school because of it. Now I’m older if I see anyone going through what I went through and I feel the time is right, I open my mouth. No one did for me, so I will for others.
10. Fake glasses. As someone who needs to wear glasses I still get annoyed when people wear those cheap, fake glasses from Claire’s to look “hipster” and “cool”. No. It really isn’t cool having to wear glasses. It’s expensive, it sucks needing to wear glasses because you can’t see without them, and it also sucked being bullied for being a “four eyes” at school when it wasn’t even your fault!

Tagging:

ALL OF MY READERS AND FOLLOWERS!

I would love to see what 10 things you love and hate!

So that’s the love/hate tag! Did you like finding out what I love and hate? If so what did you like finding out about? Do you agree with them, and what do you love and hate? Make sure to let me know in the comments, or over on Twitter @maybeecoffee.

Until next time all, take care and I hope everyone’s weeks are going well so far!

July Pay Day Haul

Okay so I said I wouldn’t be spending any money due to a voluntary spending ban, but I ended up spending… But this being said I don’t feel I spent much when I was out and I wrote my wish list post a day before pay day, so I didn’t know I would earn as much as I actually did.

So with a few extra pounds burning a hole in my pocket I bought a few things on a shopping trip with my boyfriend and our friend Sophie (hello!). My mom also owed me some money and offered to pay me back in a few items I wanted to pick up, so she kindly ordered said items for me. Oh and a couple of things my boyfriend kindly bought me. So I did save some money in that sense.

Before we went on our shopping adventure, I received the goodies my mom ordered for me in the post, the first one being Neal & Wolf’s Daily Cleansing Shampoo in a huge 950ml tub! I remembered testing this shampoo out two years ago and I loved it. I just can’t believe it has taken me that long to order a bottle to finally use. I’m also really impressed with how quick Neal & Wolf shipped my shampoo as well. I ordered it Thursday late morning/early afternoon and it arrived first thing Friday morning! I was so happy that I would get the chance to use it Friday (as that’s a regular wash day for my hair), so happy in fact that I dropped Neal & Wolf an email to thank them on their awesome customer service. It was packaged really well too, which I was glad about. I’ve used this a couple of times now and after use my hair feels smooth and looks fresh and clean. I’m so happy that I finally have this shampoo, but now I’m just wanting to try out more of their range.

The next thing my mom offered to order for me was some Lush goodies as she knew I was after a new body scrub, as well as a new face scrub. I knew I wanted Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub, but was umming and ahhing over Ocean Salt Face And Body Scrub. I tried a sample of it from Lush the last time I visited one of their stores, and I did really like it. So I ended up caving in and told my mom to order both.

Since having these I’ve of course used both and I have never loved a product as much as I love Rub Rub Rub. I used it on wet skin and it has left my rougher parts (top of arms and thighs) gorgeously smooth! I don’t want to talk too much about it as I really want to review it soon. As for Ocean Salt I can’t really praise it as much as Rub Rub Rub, not because it’s a bad product but just because I don’t feel I’ve used it to it’s full potential yet. That being said I used it on my face as a scrub, at the time I was suffering with some bad breakouts, but a day or two after using Ocean Salt, they appeared to go away. I put this down to the vodka ingredient in Ocean Salt. I didn’t find this too rough on my skin, which is strange considering I have sensitive skin. However, due to this I’ll only use this as a once as week treat.

Our first stop on our shopping trip was IKEA, mainly because we wanted to get it out of the way. My friend needed to pick up some frames, whilst me and my boyfriend just wanted to have a quick mooch around. Whilst in the frame section my boyfriend suggested I pick one up for a picture we had drawn of us at Hyper Japan (you can read all about that here and here) and I was worried it wouldn’t fit in the frame, but alas as you can see it fits perfect. It was only £2 as well, which was a complete bargain!

A couple of other things I decided to pick up were some small candles. I picked up some scented candles… Which I now regret because 1. I forgot that there is a Yankee Candle store where we went shopping, and 2. IKEA candles are bloody awful! I picked up a pack of chocolate fudge and peppermint candy. These came in three packs of each, but I gave three to my boyfriend, two chocolate and one peppermint. I’ve so far only burnt the peppermint ones (which is why one is missing from the picture above) and as I said, these just aren’t very good. They’re great if I don’t wish to light a Yankee Candle, or have anything with a strong throw burning, but I expected SOME scent. So IKEA, very disappointed.

Whenever I go to the shopping centre we visited, I ALWAYS go into the Yankee Candle there, and more often then not I leave with something, usually something big. This time, like always I left with a large jar candle. This store are amazing when it comes down to Yankee Candle exclusives and they always stock them, and even more of a range than the official store which I think is great. Oh and can I mention that they don’t charge £21.99 for large candles either? I’m disgusted that Yankee Candle have put the prices up on their large jars. It isn’t right!… Mini rant over… So I made sure to sniff every exclusive jar they had in store and I wasn’t going to buy one and to be honest, if I had a lot of money I probably would have left the store with at least five candles… Oh yeah! I was tied between Blueberry Scone, Cotton Candy, and Hazelnut Coffee. My boyfriend was asking me which I liked the most, as well as which I didn’t have a scent similar to already, which was definitely Hazelnut Coffee. So with that choice made he took it off of me and made his way to the till. It was really lovely that he bought me a candle, as he was the one who said, “you should save your money Nat.” but alas, it was so sweet of him to buy this for me. I’m not burning it until I have used up all the IKEA candles I bought. It smells so rich and delicious that I cannot wait to use this in the autumn. Roll on September!

This isn’t beauty or fashion related, I know but meh not everything can be! I’ve been after this game for years and with my and my boyfriend playing Lego Jurassic World at his house recently it’s made me realise just how much I miss playing the Lego games. So I decided (if it was the right money) to pick up Lego The Hobbit. I loved the trilogy and I especially loved playing Lego The Lord of The Rings. Plus I’ve wanted this game ever since it came out. Since buying it I’ve been playing it loads, and it’s a definite chill out treat after work, as well as for lazy days in bed.

I didn’t buy anything from Lush whilst I was out shopping, as I had already picked up what I wanted a few days prior, but I did know that I wanted to grab a sample of one of their coal facial cleansers. I gave Dark Angels Facial Cleanser a go in store and it was really nice! With Lush I always try before I buy if I can, as I’m allergic to some of the ingredients they use and I don’t wish to spend a lot of money to find out not long after I’m allergic to said product. This felt lovely after I used it in the store on the back of my hand, and as of yet I haven’t tried it out on my skin, but I will soon and will make sure to update.

I do just want to say the staff at the store I visited were lovely! We had a good natter about all the new products that will be hitting all the Lush stores and online for Summer tomorrow! A huge majority of these new products will be from the Oxford Store (can read about my experience there and see my haul here) too! I will be making a small order of products I didn’t manage to pick up in London. I cannot wait.

Finally when I popped to Asda to grab some dinner for me and my boyfriend, I decided to pick up a new album for my car, as quite frankly my music at the moment is really boring me. Plus I wanted something relaxing. I listened to most of this on Spotify before I picked it up to make sure I liked it, and I loved it. Very chilled music that I can listen to whilst I write for university, for my blog, or if I just want something mellow in the background whilst I chill out. It was only a tenner and when we got to the till my boyfriend was lovely enough to buy it for me. Total sweetheart! I now have this album on my iPod, as well as in the car and it’s a definite must have if you like chill out music.

At the moment of writing this post, I haven’t been able to take pictures of the actual products yet due to them not arriving, but as you can see I’ve edited a lovely image of the two things I bought from eBay. The first one being a new case for my iPhone 6, which I should be getting today! I like to have a wrap around case for my phone whilst I’m at work to protect it that little more. It was only 99p with free postage so I’m pleased at that. It’s The Fault in Our Stars themed, which is a book/film I adore.

The second thing I bought was something I wasn’t even sure I would bother bidding on. But alas I bid on the last 10 seconds and won! I’ve been after a new piece from Black Milk Clothing for quite a while now. I bought my mermaid leggings about a year ago and they weren’t cheap at £35, but I was content with that, considering they cost a hell of a lot more from Black Milk Clothing themselves, not to mention how much the shipping costs! So every week I had a good look through eBay to see what I can snag for a bargain in my size, and I found this dress. It’s a thermal dress and will be perfect for autumn and winter when it’s chilly outside. I managed to snag this beauty brand new with tags for just under £30! I’m so pleased with how much I got it for and I know I’ll enjoy wearing it when it arrives. I already have the idea to team this up with my Jake Dr Martens boots (can read about those here) and depending on what happens, I may even wear this dress to my graduation. But we shall see. I can’t wait to do a look book with this dress though already.

So that is my haul from pay day! I didn’t spend much and I’m really pleased about that. I won’t buy much more this month now and although I should really save money, I don’t feel like I made any ridiculous purchases, which I’m pleased about.

Has anyone else bought some lovely little bits and pieces for themselves since pay day? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all.

Things I Love About Spring

Image taken from weheartit.com

It’s been spring officially for a month now and I always forget how much I love it until it comes around late March.

Thanks to plenty of early shifts at work, weekends spent out and about with my boyfriend, as well as my curtains being able to stay open for longer due to lighter nights, I’ve began to notice loads of things I love about spring, which I thought I would share with you this evening.

ALSO I realise this post is very LATE coming up on my blog today, but I’ve been rather tired since finishing work this afternoon. However now I’m wearing my new onesie (which I will be posting about next week!), watching Goodnight Mister Tom, texting my boyfriend, and having a cup of tea I’m ready to get this post written and posted on my blog.

So I hope you enjoy it, I know I’m going to enjoy writing it!

Image taken from weheartit.com

The sound of rain, especially light and heavy rain.

I just HAD to include a picture from Bambi here! Something we have been seeing the past few days is rain, and plenty of it. We were told we were going to be getting some lovely weather for Easter and whilst it hasn’t been so bad it’s just a bit rotten at the moment, which is a bit of a shame. This being said, I do rather like the sound of rain, both light and heavy especially. I’m one of these people where if the weather isn’t too cold outside whilst it’s raining, I’ll open the window so that I can listen to it whilst I do whatever I need to. It’s just a relaxing sound and before now I’ve listened to those hour-long videos on YouTube of where you listen to sound effects whilst trying to sleep. Some of my favourite rain related ones are the sound of rain whilst in a car and in a tent. As well as how lovely it sounds, it’s good for all the new spring plants and flowers that are growing through beautifully!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Still being able to drink hot chocolate throughout the day (especially the evenings!) due to it still being chilly.

I love hot chocolate and as I work in a coffee shop, I have hot chocolate on tap, however I want it, whenever I want it. I don’t drink it every shift I work as that would take away the treat of having a hot chocolate in the first place, but when I do have one, it’s yummy! I especially love mint hot chocolate and honeycomb hot chocolate. I treated myself to a naughty mint hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, it was amazing!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Burning candles, although that is acceptable throughout the year.

I love candles, especially my Yankee Candles! I received a large Sweet Strawberry Yankee Candle at the start of the year for my birthday from my boyfriend and only since the start of this month have I been burning it. It’s lovely to pop on a candle and watch it burn into late into the night, there’s just something nicer about burning a candle in the spring, than there is in the winter and I don’t know why! My boyfriend shares my love for yummy candles, and he’s owned two apple scented ones since the start of the year, so whenever I go to his for the weekend he burns his yummy Apple candle by Lily Flame. Can’t go wrong with candles, no matter what season!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Cherry blossom trees.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always liked something about cherry blossom trees. I don’t know why but they’re just so beautiful and symbolise spring perfectly. Cherry blossoms only last until the end of spring, which is a real shame as they’re so gorgeous and add something bright and colourful to the season and especially to the UK. On my drive to and from work, as well as wherever I go really I drive/walk past loads of cherry blossom trees at the moment. Some are a light pink, some are a dark pink, but no matter what they’re all beautiful! My two apple trees sprout beautiful white blossoms every spring, which makes me happy and as we’re growing a cherry tree in the garden now, we’ll eventually have some gorgeous pink blossoms of our own. I intend to go out with my camera and get snap happy whilst the blossoms are around. Cherry blossom trees are my favourite trees!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Lighter, thus later evenings.

A year ago I would have thrived off of this due to being able to go to the pub any night of the week (especially the weekend) and due to it not getting dark until nearly 10pm I’d be able to sit outside in the beer garden with people getting drunk and laughing my head off… Although I still want to occasionally go out and enjoy the lighter evenings in a beer garden with my friends, I don’t wish to get drunk, just merry. As well as that this past year has taught me that there is more to life than going out every weekend to get drunk. I’m 24 now and I’m not getting any younger, I sound rather soppy but I’m getting to that time in my life where I would like to start settling down, getting what I want from life and making the most of it. Now instead of going out every weekend to get drunk, I spend it with my boyfriend, and sometimes even our friends where we’ll go out somewhere nice for the day and in the evening too. With the weather picking up a little and the later evenings, it means late walks and merry pub outings will be occurring. As well as all those things I love the view from my window from the late afternoon until it finally gets dark, it’s just gorgeous and I can’t really put into words how much I love it.

SO those were all the things I love about spring! Well, the ones worth mentioning anyway! As well as all those I also enjoy new baby animals being born, Easter, being able to wear my spring clothing, and finally the joys of pollen soon taking its toll on my nose, throat and eyes (I hate having hay fever)!

So, what do you love about spring? Let me know in the comments!

I’ve really enjoyed writing this post and sadly it is a day late, but better late than never eh?

Well I’m off to write some more blog posts up, I’ve got a long night ahead of me. 😉

Until next time all, take care and hope you’re excited for the weekend!

Lily Flame Wish List

To me autumn and winter is the perfect time to light a candle in the evening after a long days work whilst you’re relaxing or even doing some work. If they’re scented, it’s even better!

I’ve made posts before on my blog about my Yankee Candles (you can read those here, here and here) and whilst I own various other candles too (but nor nearly as many as Yankee Candles) I still crave more and Lily Flame are candle company I’ve been lusting after for quite some time.

Charlotte’s over at makeupbycandlelight.blogspot.co.uk recently wrote a post about her Lily Flame candles and it reminded me how much I’d been craving a couple of their gorgeous scents for quite a while now!

I discovered Lily Flame in The Oasis Market in Birmingham, they had some festive scents in there at and after Christmas and I was going to buy a couple of tins but I didn’t really have much money so I left it.

Then this spring whilst looking around Waitrose I saw some of Lily Flame candles for sale and fell in love with Fairy Dust. I was incredibly foolish and didn’t pick it up and alas when I went in during the summer, it was gone and I haven’t seen it in there since.

However thanks to the internet, I will still be able to pick it up, maybe even off of eBay for a bargain price but upon looking on the Lily Flame website, I found they have quite a few scents that I have searching for in a scented candle for quite some time now.

So I thought I would share with you my wish list of Lily Flame candles!

FYI these are in the order that I found them on the website. 🙂

Coffee Galore; Freshly Roasted! Warm and welcoming freshly roasted coffee. So strong you don’t even need to light it; just leave the lid off!

Coffee Galore – I love coffee, the smell, the taste, everything and being a barista just makes it sound so funny as at times I rather enjoy making people drinks with coffee involved too. I’m that person at Christmas who eats all  the coffee chocolates out of the selection boxes because I’m the only one who likes them. I can only imagine this candle to smell creamy and delicious and one to burn whilst working and I’m pretty sure it would smell gorgeous in the morning or early afternoon too! I’d want to smell this before purchasing but either way, yum!

Fairy Dust; Invisible & True. Of all our candles, this is our most popular. A difficult scent to describe; based on a fine fragrance, It’s Powdery, Warm, Sparkly and Magical. In short – Fairy Dust!

Fairy Dust – I can’t even describe the smell of this candle to you! It’s just so unique and different and definitely reminds me of something I would have liked the smell of as a child. This is something I would burn at any time of day, but probably more so when I’m feeling a little blue and need a pick me up. This is by far number one on my wish list as it’s one of the first candles EVER that I have fallen in love with and have craved to smell again. I can see me buying myself one of these in the New Year.

Splash; Cool, Cool Water. A flowing oceanic scent. From the bottom to the top, refreshing, cool and clean.

Splash – This candle sounds very fresh and more of a scent you would burn during the summer time. It sounds like a manly scent, which I like! I love water and I really miss going on holiday to enjoy jumping into the cool swimming pool or even the ocean to venture under the water at whatever is down there. I’d light this whilst doing some work or playing some games on my PS3 as it’s a rather relaxing scent. Plus I really need a holiday and with no money I guess my memories and the scent of this candle will have to do.

Vanilla & Honey; Almost Too Much to Bear! Beautifully warm and intoxicating – the emphasis is on the sweet honey.

Vanilla & Honey – Oh my could this candle sound anymore amazing!? I know it isn’t exactly a Christmassy scent but to me this would be perfect for me for Christmas. It’s warming and yummy smelling and sounds like ice cream! I’d light this quite a lot I reckon which in itself isn’t a good thing but if it stopped me from eating ice cream and anything like that, then surely it’s not such a bad thing?! Now reading about it, it’s making me rather hungry for some ice cream… I may have to buy myself some tonight, naughty Nat. 😛

Smile!; Spread a little Sunshine! This has become an instant hit – A fresh, sophisticated raspberry scent. With a label that makes you squint if you look at in bright sunlight! Blimus!

Smile! – This is definitely a summer scent but I wouldn’t care! I love food smells and strawberry, banana, apple and blueberry are definitely up there, with raspberry not far behind them! This would be burnt during summer evenings no matter what I was doing or what mood I was in. It sounds delicious and the name of this candle just reminds me of Lily Allen’s first single. I really do wish Lily Flame would do a blueberry or banana candle as I can never seem to find either of those flavours, which sucks.

Apple; From a West Country Orchard.

Apple – As I just mentioned just on the Smile! candle, I love apple scents and this one I can imagine smelling fresh, crisp and fresh! I’ve only ever owned one apple scented candle and it smelt amazing! It was only a £1 from my local pound shop and when I went to buy another, they’d all gone and said they didn’t plan to get anymore. I was gutted, absolutely gutted! However seeing as Lily Flame offer their Apple candle, I may have found a replacement. I love the smell of apple throughout the year, but mostly during the spring.

Lily Flame’s candles come in tins (as you can see) and cost £8.50 each, although I have found them cheaper on places such as eBay and in a couple of shops. Their burn times lasts for 35 hours which in hindsight doesn’t seem all that long for nearly £10.00 worth of candle but as I don’t burn candles all that often and when I do not for that long, I find it’s well worth the money.

Have you ever heard of Lily Flame candles? If so which scents tickle your fancy?

If you hadn’t heard about Lily Flame candles before this post, would you think about buying some?

Let me know any replies you have in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed this post, it was fun to quickly get written up before I have to pop out!

Until next time, take care.