Now, I was in two minds whether to write this post or not as at Christmas I was sent a lovely little parcel from Primer Spa Shop containing a soap bar, moisturiser and little bag of lavender.  As with most beauty products I like to use them a little while before I write a review so I can get a good idea of how well they work and whether they affect my skin, being the sensitive little skinned soul that I am.  However as I've sat down to write this review their website seems to be no longer available and there has not been much activity on their Facebook or Twitter pages.  However I decided to write my review anyway as I was really pleased with their products and my hope is that they are just taking a little downtime.

The first item I was sent was the Cashmere Caress Spa Soap with Lavender and it was nicely packaged in brown paper and blue string adding to it's rustic and natural feel.  This soap is completely natural and handmade with a selection of butters and oils that are great for your skin.  It even has real pieces of lavender in it giving it a lovely aroma and a slight grittiness to the soap which gives it it's exfoliating properties.  Now I'm never really a fan of soap bars as I find they tend to dry my skin out but this lathers up lovely and feels really moisturising.  Also when mixed with rose water lavender is meant to be a natural treatment for acne, as I don't really suffer from acne just the odd spot here and there I can't really comment on this but it could be a great natural remedy for acne sufferers.

The other product I was sent was the Merino Caress Body and Facial Cream.  Again it is made with all natural ingredients including calendula oil which is great for treating skin conditions such as acne and eczema.  It is a really thick and creamy moisturiser that really softens and smooths the skin.  Like the soap it has a strong lavender scent, so if you're not a fan of lavender this may not be the cream for you, but as lavender is known for aiding sleep and helping to relax and calm you this is a perfect cream for me.  I very often have trouble winding down at night and relaxing enough to sleep so this has become my go to night time moisturiser.  Now I'm not saying it's a miracle worker and makes me sleep like a baby but I have definitely noticed a difference in how relaxed I feel when I get into bed now.  As it is such a thick and creamy moisturiser, applying it at night also really gives it a chance to soak in and properly nourish the skin overnight.

Now I have discovered that they may no longer be trading I will be using both of these products very sparingly as I may not be able repurchase them.  It's sad but this is often the case with small local businesses, which is why I try to support them as much as I can.  I hope to see them back again soon but if not I'd love to hear if you have any similar recommendations for me to try once these run out.

One of my main presents I got this Christmas was a Kindle Fire HDX.  I've been umming and ahhing over whether to get a kindle for a couple of years now.  As a child I loved to read, I would read every single night at bedtime and every spare second I got my nose was stuck in a book.  I love the escapism that a good book gives you and the ability to immerse yourself into someone else's world.  As I've got older though, particularly in the last few years, I've found myself reading less and less due to the lack of time and life just getting in the way.  So I've decided I want to take some more me time and rediscover my love of books.  When I decided this I still wasn't sure I wanted to rediscover this in the form of a Kindle, being such a book lover I like to have a hard copy that I can hold in my hand, turn the pages and add to my collection on my bookshelf.  As much as I'd love to have a huge collection of books the Kindle just seems so much more practical, all my books can be stored on one device saving precious (and very limited) space in my room, it is much lighter to carry around with me than a big hardback and when I see a book I can download it instantly rather than having to wait for it to be delivered.

As one of the main reasons I decided to get a Kindle was that I'd be able to carry it around with me easily in my bag and take it on holidays with me, it'd need a little protection, especially with all the bits and bobs I accumulate in my bag that could scratch the screen.  So after a little look online I came across KleverCases on Not On The High Street and fell in love with them instantly.  I continued to look but nothing I found was a patch on them, so after a little elimination process to pick a favourite I made my order and it arrived this week.

Kindle Case, £22.36 - Not On The High Street

As you can see this case is just beautiful and completely solves my problem of not feeling like I'm reading a book.  The case is beautifully handmade and I love the little personal touch of a little thank you note and the name of the person who made your case.  The case can also be personalised with a message inside for a small extra charge, which I think would make it a great gift for any book lover.

Now I have my Kindle I just need to fill it up with lots of great books, so if you have any recommendations please feel free to let me know below or leave a comment letting me know what your favourite book is.

Hat - New Look

Faux Fur Scarf - New Look

Jumper - George

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

Boots - Topshop

I've been meaning to post this outfit for the last few days but have been busy working on another cake.  I'm making a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake and I'm hoping it turns out as well as I envisage.  It's so hard taking outfit photos in the winter but I managed to snap a few in the winter sun.  It was a little bit chilly without a coat but I wanted to show the detail on the back of this jumper.  I really like the sheer panel, I think it adds a little something.  This is one of my favourite casual winter outfits, it is just so comfy.  I love hats and really want to get some more but really struggle to find ones that fit my little head.  So if anyone could recommend anywhere that sells hats that fit small heads please let me know.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

As I was noticeably absent during the Christmas period, I thought I'd do a little post showing you what I got up to.  I was planning on doing lots of posts over Christmas but I was just super busy and never seemed to find the time.  I had lots of outfit posts that ended up in the trash can because the lighting was just way too poor and I kind of just wanted to take a little break to just enjoy Christmas and spend some time with family and friends, although I ended up waking up full of cold on Christmas day and have spent the last two weeks trying to kick it.  I'm finally on the mend now though and motivated to get myself more organised.

A lot of my time was spent baking, here are just a few of the cakes I made over the christmas period:

I'm hoping to get my baking blog up and running soon where I will be able to share my cakes more often and in more detail, especially as they seem to be taking up a lot of my time lately.

Dress - New Look

Belt - ASOS

Shoes - Matalan

I did intend to do an outfit post on this outfit I wore for a Christmas afternoon tea I went to, but as you can see the lighting wasn't great and this picture was the best of a bad bunch.  The afternoon tea was delicious though and the chocolate orange cake was my favourite, it was amazing!

Then the Saturday before Christmas this little bundle of cuteness was born, my baby nephew Isaac.  So as you can imagine not much at all got done when he was around besides a lot of cuddling, coo-ing and aah-ing.

Dress - Dorothy Perkins

My Christmas day outfit.  Again I planned to do a full outfit post for this outfit but this is the only picture where my face didn't look all red and puffy from my cold and I don't even have any shoes on. Fashion blogger fail!  Although we don't really go anywhere for Christmas I still like to dress up in a nice dress, does anyone else do this?  We usually just have a nice big family dinner and then have friends round in the evening for drinks and nibbles.

Every year I wish for snow at Christmas, Christmas is my favourite time of year and for it to snow on Christmas day would be the icing on the cake for me.  Now it didn't snow on Christmas day but as soon as I saw it snowing on Boxing day I was straight out of my new onesie and out walking the dog in the snow.  It was the perfect ending to Christmas for me.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and have a happy new year!!

In my last post I mentioned that I didn't really buy much from the Christmas market at Chatsworth but that I would share my favourite purchase with you.  There was a little stall that caught my eye immediately full of cute little pet accessories with lots of patterned collars with matching bow ties and bandanas.  Now I'm not really one for dressing pets up, although they can look really cute sometimes Riley hates it, but I couldn't resist when I saw their selection of Christmas printed collars.  The one I chose has snowmen on with a little bow tie on the front and I was so excited to get home and put it on Riley to see how cute it looked.

Collar - Ditsy Pet

Sorry if your not a dog lover then this post is probably not really your cup of tea, but as it's Christmas and Riley looks super cute (I may be a bit bias), I couldn't help but share.

After vowing to post more regularly on the blog I have been a bit busy recently, if you follow my blog you will have probably read this post all about me venturing into the baking world, so that has been taking up a lot of my time for the past week.  If you want to see what I made this time then check out my instagram.  I'm still working on getting something set up separately for it, but that will probably have to take a back seat until after Christmas now I think,  but no doubt I will be sharing some of my Christmas baking with you on here.

I did however find time to take a little trip to Chatsworth house for their Christmas fair.  I went for the first time at Christmas last year and fell in love with it, so it is now going to be a new Christmas tradition of ours.  The grounds are a beautiful setting for the Christmas fair and they decorate the house so beautifully, each year with a different theme.  This year the theme was Alice In Wonderland, although I slightly preferred last years theme of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (mainly because of all the fake snow that really made it feel like Christmas) it was still really lovely and got me into the Christmas spirit.

(WARNING: This post may be slightly photo heavy!)

If you haven't been to Chatsworth before I'd definitely recommend going, especially at Christmas.  The Chritmas fair is only on for the last two weeks of November usually but the house is decorated until January.  I didn't get any pictures of the fair outside as it was super busy and I was a little pre-occupied by all the Christmas wares on offer.  I didn't actually buy much though but I will be sharing my favourite purchase with you in my next post probably.

Where do you like to visit at Christmas to get you into the festive spirit?