The Natural Beauty Brand I'm Enamoured With.

I'm actually really looking forward to sharing this post with you today.

Beauty has been.. 'less on my radar' more recently - dresses, pretty earrings and anything homeware seems to be much more my thing! - but what has interested me is clean and natural products that are a little more skin friendly.

I've been transitioning my routine to feature more clean beauty products that still work. And Evolve Beauty is one such brand that deliver this in abundance. They've kindly gifted me all of the products in this post but it's not sponsored - I just want to share what I think is a really fabulous brand, with superlative products. If, by chance, you've missed my lengthy beauty posts, then happy reading! ;)

Broderie And Roses.

Ooh look, another post featuring broderie.. am I getting predictable?! Don't worry though, I've got a bucket-load of photos of roses to share, so enjoy ;)

(If you didn't catch my recent post re. broderie then I'd recommend a look if you're after some inspo)

10 Things That've Made Me Happy Lately #21

one. // A couple of really good meals - venison and lemon sole (ergh lemon sole really is my favourite) at one of our favourite restaurants, Clayton's Kitchen, and a little treat c/o Caley's Brasserie in Windsor - I had a slow-cooked pork in masterstock main and it was stickily unctious and divine.

two. // The vegetables and herbs in the garden are flourishing! The lemon verbena and oregano are veracious. I can't wait to harvest some sweet, baby peas and pea shoots and toss them into some pasta with amalfi lemons.

three. // Any sort of salsa-verde-style sauce, and Waitrose's frozen tarte tatin - really wasn't expecting it to be as florally fragrant and delicious as it was.

four. // Everything at Evolve Beauty. Really.

five. // Eliza - Livid and Alone & Unafraid.

six. // Queer Eye - feels slightly contrived but nevertheless upbeat and life-affirming. F and I are late to Season 3. Bobby and Antoni are my favourites - who are yours?

seven. // Farm shop shopping and produce. I picked up about as many rhubarb stalks as I could get two greedy hands around for about.. £3 the other day. Made rhubarb and rosemary jelly to go with some roast pork and BOY. Spring really is the best. In fact, here's the recipe:

- a bunch of rhubarb (around 350g)
- a granny smith apple, unpeeled, chopped
- 1 lemon, the juice and seeds of
- 200g sugar
- 1 generous tbsp (probably closer to 2 level) sherry vinegar (or red wine or cider vinegar)
- 2 big rosemary sprigs
- 750ml water

- Bring the rhubarb, apples, lemon and water to a boil. Simmer for roughly an hour.
- Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Add sugar and rosemary sprigs. Simmer for an hour.
- Remove from heat, stir in vinegar and decant into sterilised jars. Apparently keeps for around 3 months.

eight. // Booking  a holiday?! In the most spontaneous fashion - F literally rang me up and asked, "where would you like to go next?" I said, "I've no idea.. maybe Porto?", we had a little look online and the flights were booked.. eek!

nine. // This Samoyed and Millie. I want a Millie. She looks like the roly-poly-est dog ever.

ten. // Loving Lucy Wood's videos at the moment.

What has been making you happy lately?

xx

13 Must-Have Items On My Spring-Summer Wishlist.

I can't stop with the shopping at the minute, it's terrible.

My friend and I were having a chat over Whatsapp, sharing our latest internet fashion finds and loves, and essentially I came away from the conversation with a whole new wishlist...

F's away tonight so I've been sitting in bed oogling at embellished earrings, blue and white dresses and anything rattan, bookmarking and adding things to my cart as I go. So here's a Spring-Summer wishlist for your own oogling - I hope you find something you love!

1. Blue and white dress (comes in red and white too) // 2. Navy broderie dress (currently on sale)

3. Finally! A simple, very affordable, plain, straight leg jean // 4. Affordable silk scarf

5. Floral tiered dress // 6. Floral hoop earrings // 7. Woven heels // 8. Rattan block heels

9. Lemon earrings (so cute, so affordable) // 10. White eyelet dress

11. Pinky-peachy embellished earrings // 12. Navy sun dress (the fit looks perfect on this guy)

13. Rattan knot headband (rattan: more is more)

xx

My Classic Closet: Broderie

Ah my love for broderie anglaise is both obvious and undeniable.

It's the quintessential summerwear in my eyes. I love how intricate and detailed the fabric can be, breathable, most often cotton. It's the lace for the practical - not so sugary and whimsical.

I've seen so many beautiful pieces that really would break the bank (why is £1.5K+ for a cotton dress necessary?!) but the good news is that there are plenty of options on the high street.

I picked up this classic broderie shirt dress which I adore - the shape and cut is just perfect, it's a must have for any classic closet. The pattern on this broderie blouse is unique, I've not seen anything else like it, and the quality is top notch. I also picked up this scalloped-neckline dress - the midi length and scalloped detailing is gorgeous. For those on a budget, I'd recommend this affordable broderie blouse and this detailed, strappy dress, which comes in a beautiful pale blue as well as black and white.

In case you're looking to add a few more broderie options to your wardrobe, here are some of my picks:

What's your favourite broderie piece?

xx

The Natural Beauty Brands That Really Work.

I'm actually really looking forward to sharing today's post with you.

I've felt a bit down on the luxury, super-high-end sort of beauty that used to excite me (although, La Mer, know that we are still very firm friends ;)

It's a more natural approach to beauty that's floating my boat now - I'm just more conscious of what I put on my face and skin, and I feel like there are so many better and more easily available options now.

Today I'm whittling down some of my favourite natural beauty brands, that whether clean, organic etc, most importantly, work.

My Favourite Shoes For Spring-Summer.

Shoes shoes shoes.

They've always had a little soft spot in my heart because as my weight both plummeted and surged, shoes were about the only thing that didn't change size. And in that way, I didn't feel left out or any worse about myself.

Now that the weather's warming up and heaven forbid we are in May already, all of my Spring and Summer shoes are being dug up ready for wear again. So, here are four of my favourite styles I revisit year after year.

30 Classic Dresses For Your Spring-Summer Wardrobe.

I've become a midi-dress-aholic.

And unashamedly at that, let me add!

There are so many great, beautiful and affordable options out there at the moment, my shopping baskets are positively groaning. All of which weigh heavy on my bank balance but bring heady joy to my heart!

So let me share some of my favourites from the web to inspire your Spring-Summer wardrobes - including the one I have on:

Spring Beauty 2019.

Is is that time of year already?

It's becoming a bit of a tradition to share a really lengthy (and today's really is that..) beauty post with you every Spring, and something that I love doing.

I'm really happy with the beauty products I'm using at the moment. I've found my skin has become less oily so I'm favouring slightly different skincare products. I've also taken more of a keen interest in clean beauty, and natural/organic makeup has really improved over the past couple of years.

So for the hair, skincare and makeup highlights of my Spring beauty arsenal, keep reading!

10 Things That've Made Me Happy Lately #20

one. // spending a couple of hours at a 'Guide Dog event' at F's work. Really just getting to play with the most gorgeous puppies and dogs for an afternoon. And all my favourite breeds. Ergh, I just want to squeeze something thinking about how adorable they are!

two. // finding simple, classic pieces at Uniqlo! I'd forgotten about the brand for several years but my friend recently bought the most perfect skirt there and my love was reignited. So many classic pieces and really affordable too. A few bits below for you!

three. // all the cherry blossom, magnolia and Spring blooms. Sometimes we miss out on beautiful architecture or spectacular natural wonders living out in the suburbs, but there can be the most beautiful blossom tree on even the dullest of streets!

four. // I've had such joy putting together my Spring wardrobe. Ha, 'putting together my Spring wardrobe' aka - just shopping ;) But I've especially enjoyed it nonetheless. Going a bit mad with the blue and white stripes. And very much so with broderie! Picked up a couple of really great value pieces recently so I'll share some favourite finds below (anything you love??):

five. // wild salmon and homemade salsa verde. Favourite combo of the moment for dinner. 

six. // F being so supportive with dad/surgery etc recently.

seven. // The clocks going forward and having an extra hour of light - it really lifts my mood, anyone else? (I'm assuming everyone else ;)

eight. // Notting Hill in the Spring. We spent a lovely sunny day there recently - lots of blossom, picked up a couple of lovely pieces in Portobello Road, had some delicious snacks and sweet treats, spent a while in the gorgeous Sezane store, so lovely.

nine. // featherlight Japanese sponge cake a la Castella. We've just found a new source in the form of a local asian supermarket ;)

ten. // I recently shared some of my favourite feeds on Instagram - Zoe, Sara, Hillary to name but a few.

What's been making you happy lately?

xx