Exploring Melford Hall

Over here in England a lot of historic buildings and properties are owned and/or managed by The National Trust, some are still owned and lived in by a family and when it gets to Spring they open up the estate to the public. I've been to quite a few of these properties and I still love discovering new ones like this, the architecture is so fabulous and you can see pieces of design inspired by countries all over the world that were becoming more and more popular over here. I'm always amazed by the precision and high level of detail that goes into these estates and how they could possibly have maintained them to such an amazing degree. I will never get bored of coming to places like this and even if you think it's not your cup of tea, it'll still be something you never forget.

 

Gabrielle



Spring at Ickworth House

Spring has finally sprung and being at Ickworth House yesterday in the beautiful sunshine was just amazing. I love history and being around this beautiful architecture feels even more spectacular when the sun's out. I have been to lots of places that are steeped in history and they never fail to impress me, there's something about being able to walk through history and see the way things were way back when (if you were fortunate enough to have been born into enormous wealth that is). It has always amazed me that places like this were, and some still are, actually owned and lived in by one family. I am always open to seeing things and being to places that I've never been before and what better time to do it than Spring?

 

Whilst I love visiting these places, I don't think I could ever live in something this big, just imagine the cleaning time! Although you could play one hell of a game of hide and seek.

 

Gabrielle

Tart-ing It Up

I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a food lover, I love trying new things and new places and although I don't think food has to look good to taste good, it doesn't hurt! Bearing that in mind, when I tried out a new place the other day and was presented with this I absolutely had to take some photos of it so I could remember it in future.

 Is there anyone who could actually say no to that? I doubt it but if so, more for me!

 

Gabrielle

Getting Out Of The Cold

It has been so cold and windy lately and sometimes in situations like this the only thing to do is to go into the nearest pub/ restaurant and order something hot and tasty (unfortunately Ryan Reynolds wasn't on the menu so I settled for a dessert in stead).

I absolutely love food in all it's forms and it's so much fun trying out new places and new things without having to deal with the elements outside, and if I'm being honest my hair doesn't do well in this weather, the first drop of moisture and it's all hands on deck!

 

Gabrielle

Country Cafés

I've been to a lot of independent cafés in my time, there are so many villages and places in the countryside that you might never hear about if you didn't stumble across them and I think they're so charming and the people running them are (usually) lovely too! This particular place was covered in original beams and thanks to my Aunt, who practically dedicates her life to history, I really appreciate historic touches.

 

Places like this are much more interesting to me than a soulless chain of clone establishments, after all, what good Novel starts with "their eyes wondered the crowded room and fell upon each other, the yellow light from the McDonalds 'M' shone brightly on their faces", just doesn't do it for me!

 

Gabrielle

An Estée Lauder Birthday Present

Ok so Monday was my birthday (yes, I share a birthday with Harry Styles) and I want to talk about this particular present that I received, an Estée Lauder goodie box. I was given this by my Grandmother which was very surprising because we all know grandparents can be hit and miss when it comes to gift giving but this time I'm very impressed! I love the colour and texture of the box, I almost didn't want to get rid of it but I persevered, and then inside the box is a red case. The case itself will probably come in handy for toiletry storage and travel, economising and all, and it has lots of goodies inside.

Cosmetics wise, there are two palettes, one eye shadow and blush and the other bronzer, as well as a mascara, two lip-glosses, three lipsticks and a mascara. The lip products are mostly on the pink to neutral scale and they can also be worn more naturally with a lighter hand, the formula of the lipsticks is very long lasting and it didn't make my lips dry out. I've only tried the mascara once and I only applied one layer and it seemed to work quite nicely but I'll have to try it again before I know if I like it or not, I'm quite picky when it comes to my lashes. There was also a perfume and a bottle of eye makeup remover but I haven't tried those out yet so I can't judge them. I haven't tried the eye shadows but I did try the bronzer and it would be good for going out in the evening or something more formal because it's quite intense and has a sheen to it. There were also two skincare products, a night repair serum and a revitalizing supreme anti aging cream and I used them both last night and they felt very firming and hydrating on the skin so I'll keep using them until I get a feel for what they're like after a few weeks. I have to say, I wasn't expecting this and I'm pretty impressed with it, well done Nan!

 

Gabrielle

The Best Affordable Highlighter

I haven't been into highlighting for very long and I had only used powders before but a few days ago I bought this 'Speedy Highlighter' from Collection. It's in the form of a stick and it sweeps onto the skin really smoothly like a cream, you really don't need a lot and it leaves you looking so ethereal, I'm definitely a highlight convert! I got this for £3.99 so it's perfect for every budget and it's not glittery, it just looks like a really intense dewiness on the skin. I'm definitely going to be getting a lot of use out of this product and if you're looking for an affordable highlighter, try this out!

Look at that glow, I feel like a disco ball and I'm loving every second of it.

 

Gabrielle

Adding To My Baking Repertoire

I feel like as we grow up we start to expand on what we think we can do and what we actually do. For example, being an avid and devoted watcher of the Great British Bake Off I always assumed I was a fabulous baker but then I realised I should probably try it for myself. I have to admit, this story sounds like it's going south, but have no fear because I my friend actually can bake and I'm not too shabby at it! I decided to go straight in and try bread making and it turns out I have a discernible skill when it comes to the world of baking. I have taken full advantage of this and just a couple of weeks ago I made a cheddar and onion loaf for my uncle's birthday, went down fabulously I might add. Anyway back to the point, I decided I wanted to go all professional and instead of having the flour in crumpled bags strewn about the cupboard I bought some Kilner jars so I can have them out on the worktop and impress guests with my professional looking kitchen. I think they look fab, I just need to sort out some proper labels for them and I'm good to go!

 I also decided to go all out and get some decorative cupcake cases, I'm sure Mary Berry would be thrilled!

 

 

Gabrielle

Blowing Away The Cobwebs

For some insane reason I chose today, the windiest, coldest day in months, to go to the pier. On the plus side I'm pretty sure the wind coming off of the sea was so rough that I don't need to exfoliate tonight, silver lining and all that! I do have a tendency to take things for granted and rush through situations but I thought I should take some pictures to remember how the world looked for me today. I know the sun wasn't shining and there weren't buff blonde surfers running around on the beach but I think it was beautiful (and bloody cold!).

P.s. this is a lighthouse, if your mind wandered anywhere else I take no responsibility!

 

Gabrielle



First Beach Trip Of The Year

All my life I've lived near to both the beach and the woods and sometimes I don't think I appreciated that enough so yesterday I decided to go to the beach with my Mum and my dog and just de-compress a bit. I don't know what's happened to Winter this year, it's been mostly raining here in England but yesterday the sun came out and it made the seaside look amazing. I think scenes like this are hard-wired into our brains to make us feel relaxed and I have so many memories of being here when I was growing up with my family so it's always a special place.

 And no day would be complete without a little something sweet to warm the cockles right?

 

Gabrielle

My New Christmas Skincare Gifts

Recently I've found myself being very aware of how healthy (or not) my skin feels and I've been trying different face masks and moisturisers, charcoal, oil-free, tea tree, and for Christmas I got some new bits to add to my collection. I haven't tried everything yet but the products that I've been really impressed with are from Sanctuary, I got two sets from them and one included an electric face brush which is something I had never used before so I was quite excited to try it out and I'm rather impressed!