A WEDDING 'TO DO' LIST FOR THE YEAR AHEAD

1. Find a Wedding Planner book, I didn't realise quite how much there is to note down! Having somewhere to hand when I'm out and about or when inspiration hits sounds ideal, I love the look of this notebook.

2. Design our wedding rings. 

3. Start trying on dresses. With ASOS (love this one!) and Needle & Thread (so dreamy) conveniently now selling bridal dresses I really need to start the process of finding the perfect dress

4. Cake tasting. Chocolate cake, caramel cake, sponge cake, red velvet... can I just have a tier of each?

5. Choose my wedding fragrance, so far it's a toss up between Ellie Saab Le Parfum and a Jo Malone cologne, they all smell heavenly!

6. Pick a lipstick, I have a feeling that choosing my wedding make up may take me a while. I'd love one to keep as a keepsake after the wedding, so possibly a Charlotte Tilbury one (that packaging!), I just can't decide on the shade!

7. Browse Pinterest, brochures and blogs for the perfect honeymoon/wedding destination. The Maldives was my ideal choice but as you can't actually officially get married there and so I'm still on the look out for other locations.

8. Research flowers for my bouquet, let's face it I'll probably end up with something simple like some gorgeous peonies & a spray of gypsophila but I want to see what will be in season and readily available - there's something quite therapeutic about looking at so many pretty floral arrangements!

9. ...Then hunt down a shop that will turn my fresh bouquet into a paperweight to keep forever - like this. I love the idea!

10. Splurge on this Love, Laughter & Happily Ever After passport holder, it's adorable!

WEDDING PLANNING UPDATES - BEAUTY

After finally deciding on a couple of potential dates for the wedding, I've been slowly moving forward with the wedding planning. Starting with a few of the littlest (but still pretty exciting!) things for me to plan, I've been gathering ideas and making plans for all things beauty related. I'm planning on doing my own hair and make up on the day and so I've been researching the best products and looking for inspiration, these are my plans so far:

Make up: 
The idea - Dewy pinks, champagnes, rose lips and highlighted skin.

For my eyes, I'm leaning towards a shimmery champagne shade like Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyeshadow in Champagne Quartz paired with winged liner and fluttery lashes. This isn't too different to my normal/staple go to look which I don't want to stray too far from. I might also smudge a little black eyeshadow over the liner a for a slightly smokey/smudgy but still defined line.

For blusher, MAC Well Dressed looks like the perfect, delicate cool toned pink for flushed cheeks, it works so well with highlighted, dewy skin and so I think it would be a great option for the day.

Lastly, I'm keeping an eye out for the perfect rose lipstick, I really want this to be something special that I can keep forever, I love the look of Charlotte Tilbury Bond Girl.

Fragrance:
It would be the dream to have a Jo Malone Bridal Consultation and to choose two colognes to make up the perfect bespoke wedding scent for me. I've heard tales of how special and wonderful Jo Malone customer services are and having the memories and customised blends would be a real treat.

Nails:
Currently, my choices are a simple french manicure, a shimmery nude like Essie Vanity Fairest or a hint of glitter on the tips. I'm currently favouriting the idea of a simple nude like Essie Mademoiselle paired with a delicate silver ombre effect on the tips. 

Hair:
For my hair, I can imagine cascading curls with small pieces pinned back and gyposophilia gathered at the back of the hair (similar to how Hayley has her hair at her wedding in The Originals!). I love the simplicity of gyposophilia, it's affordable, beautiful and bridal and would work perfectly tucked into the hair.

It's made it quite real (and so exciting!) finally noting these ideas down. Any tips, posts that you have (or love!) or advice would be really appreciated as I feel a little in the dark in all of this! 

A FRIDAY CATCH UP – WEDDING PLANNING AND COLDS

I've spent the most part of this week ill in bed, drinking endless mugs of lemon, ginger and honey teas whilst watching Netflix and wedding planning. It's actually been quite nice to switch off for a while, I've felt a little lost with my blog and with life in general and being sick really forced me to take a well needed step back. I've spent hours reading some of my favourite lifestyle blogs including CiderWithRosie, ARosieOutlook and TheLondoner (three Rosie's!) and have fallen back in love with blogging all over again.

As for wedding planning, I'm not much further on than my first wedding planning post. I've poured through magazines and holiday brochures to get an idea of possible locations and honeymoons. I've been browsing for the prettiest bouquets and dreaming of the perfect vanilla sponge cake.

Following an Ocado food delivery on Tuesday and at the joy of having a fully stocked fridge again, I've been making steaming bowls of vegetable chilli topped with jalapeño lime guacamole to help fend off mine and Alex's colds and to build our immune systems back up. I throw in as many vegetables as possible (courgettes, green beans, sweetcorn, leeks) along with a tin of chickpeas, half a tin of kidney beans, a jar of passata and a chilli spice mix. It's lasting us the rest of the week and can be topped on jacket potatoes with heaps of cheese, wrapped in tortillas with rice and salad or enjoyed in a bowl with guacamole and brown rice.

I'm finally venturing out of the house today, I'm on the hunt for a window sill herb garden and have plans to browse Topshop's make up aisles. I've popped on a few of my favourite pinks (Sleek Rose Gold blusher, Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Yu & Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pink Gold) and I'm ready to go.

WEDDING GUEST MAKE UP

I'm off to my first wedding of the year on Saturday and so having rummaged through my make up, I've pulled out some soft shimmery shades to wear that are wedding guest appropriate. I still haven't quite sorted out what to wear, but at least my make up bag is packed and ready to go!

To prep my skin I'm planning on using a good mask like Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask the night before. It's a brightening, renewing mask that contains natural fruit acids and leaves my complexion looking radiant, smooth and clear which will help me to create the perfect base for my make up.

For my base, I have a small sample of Dior Star foundation to wear on the day that I picked up from a Dior Counter. I've been matched with the shade 021 linen but I'm a little worried as I've heard that it oxidises slightly and therefore is better to go for slightly lighter shade. I've tested a small amount out and it although it's quite scented it does feels fresh and dewy on the skin and seems like a nice foundation. It also contains skincare benefits which is something that I love in a foundation.

I've opted for theBalm Mary Lou Manizer for my highlighter as it's such a pretty, pigmented champagne highlighter that lasts on me all day. Swept over the top of the cheekbones, brow bone and on the cupids bow, it brings light to the face and emits a beautiful glow.
For blusher, I thought that a golden peachy pink blusher like Nars Orgasm would give a pretty flush of colour to my cheeks whilst keeping my make up soft and glowing. See me wearing it here.

Nars Duo Eyeshadow in Alhambra is the perfect size for popping in my make up bag and gives me the choice of a beautiful metallic rose or gold champagne shade to wear (swatched here). This duo is so buttery in texture, blends seamlessly and brings light to the eye area. I'll use my Zoeva 228/Luxe Crease brush to sweep the shades over my lids for a pretty, shimmery wash of colour to my eyes.

After curling my lashes with my trusty Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers, I'm planning on applying a few coats of L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara to leave me with long, soft fluttery lashes.

Lastly, I have a few lip choices to take with me depending on which dress I choose. Revlon Sweet Tart is a pretty, sheer barbie pink that keeps lips feeling lightly moisturised, brightens the complexion and would work well with the option of my babydoll style black and nude pink dress. Revlon lip butter in Wild Watermelon (swatched here) is a wearable raspberry toned red, it feels light on the lips and is buildable to a soft red lip and I think that it would go really well with my other dress option, this Navy ASOS dress.

Have you attended a wedding recently?

HEALTH AND FITNESS

I mentioned briefly in my wedding planning post that I had started to make little lifestyle changes to be healthier after the indulgent winter months. I've also got into a little exercise routine that I'm really happy with and that has helped to make me feel so much healthier. Here are five small steps that I've been taking for a healthier lifestyle:

1. Drinking more water: I love water and try to drink at least 2 litres of filtered water a day. Drinking herbal tea is also a good way of getting water, Teapigs and Pukka make an amazing peppermint and licorice tea that really helps to satisfy sweet cravings.

2. Having an exercise routine: I get easily bored with exercise and so often switch between cardio, yoga or pilates and doing exercise videos on youtube. I've started a little routine recently that I'm really enjoying and it's something that I look forward to completing every day. It's fairly easy to do at home and not too monotonous, this is what I've been trying to do daily:

AM: 30 day squat challenge.

PM: 1. Cardio and targeted area: I like to do two Blogilates videos, one cardio and one other,
            normally targeting arms or thighs. I absolutely love Cassey's workouts, she really motivates
            you to push harder and the workouts always make me sore the next day so I know they're
            working!

        2. Later in the evening I do Amberfillerup's ab exercises, there are so many great ones to do that
            it keeps me interested and I can increase my reps as I get better.

3. Yoga: I try and do yoga a few times a week, not only does it increase my strength and help tone, it really helps to relax my mind and lets me take around 20 minutes out to de-stress. I love Yoga with Adriene videos, Adriene is so inspiring, motivating and it feels like you're working out with a friend!

4. Snacks: I've made sure that the only snacks I have laying around are healthy and good for my body as I find it too tempting to snack on junk food when it's easily available. I love snacking on nuts, fruit, popcorn and vegetable sticks with houmous. My current favourite snacks are roasted Almonds, freshly picked blackberries and apple slices sprinkled with a dusting of cinnamon.

5. Meals: I'm becoming increasingly aware of what I put into my body and so I try to fuel my body with healthy and unprocessed foods. I initially found it quite difficult to change my diet, but it's becoming second nature to me now. I eat wholewheat pasta, brown rice and quinoa and I love using herbs and spices to jazz up vegetables. I use pink Himalayan salt (which is full of minerals) and I love using coconut oil (which is antibacterial, anti fungal and contains essential fatty acids) to cook with.

For a quick breakfast or lunch, I love to make a smoothie in my NutriBullet, it blends nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit so well and lets me make the most delicious smoothies!

I still like to indulge in a few treats, I just try to make sure that they're quite healthy and good for me. Some of my favourite treats include Almond milk hot chocolates using Alpro almond milk and Green & Blacks Cocoa Powder, Booja Booja chocolate ice cream (the most dreamy, dairy free ice cream made with creamy blended cashews), Gemma's healthy salted caramel sauce and squares of Lindt dark chocolate.

A book that I love reading to learn about great foods and the benefits of eating well is Eat Pretty by Jolene Hart. I've also flicked through Deliciously Ella, it contains some great recipes and will definitely be my next cookbook purchase.

WEDDING PLANNING

There are so many things that I didn't realise I needed to do after getting engaged. I had browsed beautiful rings on pinterest before, watched tear jerking proposals and attended magical weddings but I wasn't sure where to even start after getting engaged! I insured my ring, read how to clean and care for it and then started to think about things I needed to plan for the day. I'm still not sure whether I should sleep with my ring on, how to even begin to look for a dress or when I should start to organise the paperwork for getting married! It's something that me and Alex aren't going to rush, we both want to get married on a beach, somewhere far away where we can also honeymoon and we really want to take time to save up and find the perfect location. We both want to keep it quiet low key and relaxed but even so there's still a lot to organise. Here are a few small things that I'm doing to slowly start the wedding planning process.

1. Buy Wedding Magazines: Not only is Elle Wedding magazine one of the most beautiful magazines that I own, it has a lot of great information such as flower types for the seasons, dress trend reports and travel locations. I think that I would have picked this magazine up even if I wasn't engaged as it's pinterest worthy, glossy pages are full of beautiful make up, decor, fashion and hair inspiration. It means a lot to me as it's my first bridal magazine and It's something that I'll treasure for a long time. I've also been browsing Brides magazine online which is from the publishers of two of my favourite magazines (glamour and vogue), they seem to have everything you need to know about wedding planning!

2. Invest in a nice notebook: I love making notes and writing absolutely everything down. I really love this Kate spade notebook, it's such a simple and nice design that would be perfect for noting down ideas. Some of the things I've written down so far include hair and make up products, honeymoon shopping lists (including this swimsuit, SPF and some Topshop Sunglasses), wedding ring ideas, bouquet ideas and I've also made a note to find out how to get a bouquet set into a paperweight like Millie Mackintosh did!

3. Collect Travel Brochures: One of mine and Alex's favourite things to do currently is to spend the evening surrounded by travel brochures, chatting and dreaming about possible locations and imaging ourselves on a beach far away. Some of the brochures contain wedding and honeymoon packages that help you with getting married abroad including the admin and the planning which looks so, so helpful!

4. Create Pinterest boards. I can already tell that Pinterest is going to be my best friend throughout wedding planning. I've had a pinterest wedding board for quite a while now (way before I got engaged!) and it's so useful for storing all my ideas. From bouquet arrangements to nail polish colours I've been using pinterest as a mood board and an area for ideas and things that I would like. It helps me to pin all my ideas and inspiration in one place which is so handy.

5. Starting a wedding healthy eating and fitness routine: Over the winter my normally quite healthy diet has slipped. I've overindulged in cinnamon apple crumbles, rich pasta dishes and far too many almond milk hot chocolates (my weakness!) I want to adopt a more healthy lifestyle and so I'm getting back into using my nutribullet to make healthy fruit, vegetable and chia seed smoothies. I'm drinking more water and trying to introduce a little bit of exercise into my daily routine, If you're following my instagram, you have probably seen a few snaps of my healthier meals!

DECEMBER RED FAVOURITES & A YEAR OF COLOUR FAVOURITES

December has been such a festive month and I've really enjoyed wearing red lipstick and nail polish almost every day. Here are my December red favourites:

Treacle Moon Warm Cinnamon Nights: It's been getting quite cold recently and so I've really been enjoying having hot baths filled with bubbles in the evenings. I love anything cinnamon flavoured and this bubble bath smells amazing - like warm, sweet cinnamon. It's so festive and the scent lingers on your skin, I really love the treacle moon bubble bath scents and they're so affordable at only £2.99 for a bottle.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella: I received this as a Christmas gift as part of the Nars Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret. I love the whole set but Cruella, a velvet matte pigmented blue based red, has been on my lips non stop these past few days. It's so easy to apply in pencil form and lasts well on my lips. It's such a pretty shade and perfect for the winter months.

New look burgundy velvet bow: These bows are available in a pack of three colours; burgundy, grey and black. They look so pretty pinned into the front of a bun, into the side of your hair or placed in the centre of a half up do.

Essie Bordeaux: Alex bought this for me for my Birthday in November and I've absolutely loved wearing this on my nails all throughout this month. Essie Bordeaux is a beautiful burgundy red that looks glossy on the nails and is great with Essie Rock at the Top (a gold glitter) as an accent nail. You can see me wearing it in the photo below.

L'Oreal Color Riche Exclusives Lipstick in Blake: This lipstick contains jojoba oil and so keeps lips soft, It's long lasting and is a stunning pure matte red colour.

EOS Lip balm in Pomegranate and Raspberry: EOS lip balms keep my lips feeling so soft as they contain vitamin E, jojoba oil and shea butter. This lip balm is 95% organic, 100% natural, paraben & petrolatum free and smells like berries. 

My last favourite in December and my favourite moment of this year is getting Engaged. On boxing day over candlelight Alex presented me with this beautiful ring and asked me to marry him!

So that's it, my last colour monthly favourites for this year! I've really enjoyed doing my colour monthly favourites, I hope you liked them and all my previous month favourites are linked below:




NOVEMBER BERRY PURPLE FAVOURITES/OCTOBER MONOCHROME FAVOURITES/SEPTEMBER BROWN FAVOURITES/AUGUST FUCHSIA FAVOURITES/JULYS CORAL FAVOURITES/JUNES GREEN FAVOURITES/MAYS GOLD FAVOURITES/APRILS BLUE FAVOURITES/MARCH MINT FAVOURITES/FEBRUARYS ORANGE FAVOURITES/JANUARYS PINK FAVOURITES