Tuesday 28 July 2015

Win With Mainline Menswear*: Leeds Festival Tickets and Hunter Wellies

Fancy getting your mitts on two tickets to Leeds festival, and two pairs of snazzy Hunter wellies?
Of course you do! Read on for more details, and how you can enter to win!

Hunter Boots Festival Competition

The Prize
The prize consists of two tickets to Leeds Festival at Bramham Park from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th of August, and two pairs of amazing Hunter Wellington boots!

Fancy joining The Libertines, Mumford & Sons, Metallica, Bastille, The Maccabees, 
Jamie T, Limp Bizkit, Lethal Bizzle and many more great musicians, plus tons of comedians, DJs and celebrities, for a day of fun, frolics and dancing, in the heart of Yorkshire? 

Then it’s good news for you that dreamy Wellington boot and outerwear specialists Hunter, have teamed up with Mainline Menswear* to give you a chance to win two tickets to the festival – plus we’ll kit you out in Hunter wellies just in case that Yorkshire weather is a bit wet! 

How to enter
It's super simple to enter, all you need to do is click the link below, and enter your Name, Email address and contact number in to the entry form, and keep those fingers crossed!
One lucky winner will be chosen at random.
The winner and their super lucky friend/family member/partner will then be making their way to the Leeds festival in August, to enjoy the amazing music, comedy acts and entertainment on offer. Complete with a swish new pair of Hunter wellies each, and a boot bag and care kit to keep those boots in tip top condition!


The competition will run until midnight on Sunday 9th August, so get entering!
 Good luck!

Love Laurenx

Want to connect?

Saturday 25 July 2015

Lifestyle: A Peek In To My Life #6

It's been far too long since my last 'Peek in to my life' post. So I thought it was about time for an update on the things I've been loving, along with what I've been up to.
 If you missed my previous post, have a nosy here.

Let's get started...
As you may know, if you are a regular keep calm reader, me and my boyfriend are box sets addicts!
We go through so many different series, from comedy and drama, to fast-paced action, we love a bit of everything!
Our latest re-obsession is How I met your mother. We are both totally addicted to this show.
We have already watched it from start to finish twice before, and we've come full circle again, and have just finished series nine. 
If you have never seen How I met your mother, you are missing out. I'll give you a little peek into what the show is all about!
The premise is the telling of the story of how Ted Mosby meets his wife. The story is told by 'future Ted' to his future children, although the series is set in the present day. 
(Well.. sort of. The present day was 2005 when the series began!)
You follow Ted and his best friends, Marshall, Lily, Robin and Barney, through the highs and lows of their twenty-something years, living in New York City.
From bar fights and one night stands, to weddings, parties, too many nights out and everything in between. 
It's a funny, witty and damn right silly show, which never fails to make me smile!
Give it a watch, you'll love it.

As I mentioned in my last peek in to my life post, I am a bit obsessed with Nakd bars. 
Well Nakd have only gone and done it again with their 'Nakd nibbles'. 
They are amazing! If you are partial to a Nakd bar, you will bloody love these nibbles.
I am addicted to the Salted caramel and Toffee treat flavours. 
They taste very chocolatey, and have a lovely chewy texture, almost like actual toffee!
Try them now, you'll thank me later!

I found this mascara hidden at the back of my beauty drawer, a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't stopped using it since!
I love the curl and lift it gives my lashes, which makes my eyes look bigger, and my lashes more defined. I also love the wand, as it's easy to manoeuvre and coats my lashes with ease. 
A winner in my book. 

Fitness: Country Walks
I usually work out at home, in my bedroom. But as it's been so hot and sticky lately, I have been taking full advantage, and getting outside for some much needed fresh air.
I have been loving going for long, country walks in the woods.
I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful, picturesque area, full of amazing walks.

To be honest, I have never used a lip liner before. I have never really had the need or time for one, as I usually just pop my lippie on and head out of the door. 
(To be even more honest, I was worried that I'd end up looking like Ronald McDonald...)
But, I received this beauty in a gift set as a Christmas present from my sister. 
So I thought I would give this whole lip liner malarkey a whirl. 
I am in love with the colour, as I think it's the perfect nude shade for my lips.
It gives them a subtle hint of colour, which can be built up or left as a natural tint.
It also pairs beautifully with my (raved about a million times!) favourite Elizabeth Arden lipstick in 'Desert Rose'.
*The picture above is how the shade looks on my lips. 

I hope you enjoyed this 'A peek in to my life' post. What do you think of my current loves? Do you love going for long walks in the summer? What have you been up to lately?

I'd love to know, leave me a lovely comment below.

Want to connect?

Love Laurenx

Sunday 19 July 2015

Recipe: Frozen Yoghurt Bars

I'm not much of a cook. I can chuck things in the oven, whip up a tasty salad, and I do make the best sweet potato fries (if I do say so myself...) but I'm not a domestic goddess by any standards.
I love to bake. I'm quite good at baking cookies, rocky road and frosted cupcakes, but they aren't very healthy, scrap that... they aren't healthy at all. Pretty tasty though!
So I have been trying to incorporate some healthier recipes, in to my culinary arsenal.
This one is a simple, easy peasy, can do it with your eyes shut kinda recipe.

Let's get started...


You will need:

400g of fresh fruit
I went for strawberries, but blueberries, raspberries or cherries would all be amazing too!
500g of yoghurt
 I opted for the Yeo Valley 0% fat natural yoghurt, but Greek yoghurt, or flavoured ones such as honey, peach, or raspberry would taste great!
Method:
First up, prepare your baking tin or sheet, by lining it with non-stick baking paper.
Now, quarter and slice your strawberries.
Then add the yoghurt in to a large bowl, and pop your chosen fruit in.
Set a handful of strawberries aside for later
Mix until all your fruit is coated with the yoghurt.
Then pour your yoghurt mixture in to the baking tin, and smooth the top with the back of a spoon, or a spatula, until the mixture is evenly spread across the tin.
Grab those reserved strawberries, and sprinkle them on top.
This will make your yoghurt bars look super pretty!

Pop your tin in to the freezer for around five hours, or even overnight if you wish, until it's set.
Once your dessert is set, take it out of the freezer.
Using the edges of the baking paper, grab each side and your yoghurt block should slide out of the tin easily.
Then slice the yoghurt block into bars and enjoy! I made six large bars from my recipe.

The cold creaminess of the yoghurt, combined with the sweetness of the strawberries, makes the perfect cool summer snack!

Each large bar, based on my recipe, only has 69 calories!

I hope you enjoyed this 'Frozen Yoghurt Bars' post. What do you think of these tasty bars? Will you be recreating them at home? What's your favourite go-to summer snack?

I'd love to know, leave me a lovely comment below.

Want to connect?

Love Laurenx

Monday 13 July 2015

Devon Delights #2: Beautiful Braunton

It's time for another Devon Delights post! I was so overwhelmed with the positive feedback and lovely comments, on my Devon Delight introduction post - a huge thank you to all you lovelies!
If you missed my first post, have a nosy here.

I love living in North Devon. It's such a beautiful area; I really relish the peace and quiet of the countryside. 
Myself and the boyfriend often venture out on day trips to nearby towns and villages.
Last weekend we had a lovely day out in Braunton, which is one of our favourite places.
So I thought I would share with you, some snaps from the day, and the delights of Braunton.
*Warning, this is a rather picture heavy post, I may have gotten a little bit snap happy...

Let's get started...

Braunton is a lovely, little village just outside of Barnstaple.
It's a bit of a hub for surfers, with three of the South West's surf beaches nearby, along with surf shops, and the museum of British surfing.




There are some amazing restaurants and café's, dotted around the village.
A firm favourite of ours, has to be Squires.
It's an amazing family run, fish and chip restaurant, nestled in the heart of Braunton.
They have won numerous awards, including the British Seafood Industry's Fish and Chip shop of the year title. It's clear to see that they are passionate about serving fresh, wholesome food. 
There's not a soggy chip in sight!
Squires is so much more than your average chip shop.
Their menu caters for all appetites, serving everything from succulent salmon fillets, and home-made steak and ale pie, to juicy burgers and the classic British favourite, cod and chips.
They also have a great selection of vegetarian options, from veggie burgers and grills, to cheese, onion and mushroom baps.

I went for the 'Famous Award Winning Cod and Chips' which comes with mushy or garden peas, and either tea, coffee, or a soft drink for only £9.20, and the boyfriend chose the burger and chips.

After waiting for around twenty minutes, we were each presented with our overflowing plates, and after taking a quick snap for instagram (shameless plug) I tucked in.
The fish was succulent, and melt in your mouth good, it flaked apart as soon as I cut in to it.
The batter was perfection, light and crispy, with a pleasing crunch.
As for the chips... they were amazing! Lovely and crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.
All in all, it was an amazing lunch.
I would highly recommend Squires if you are ever in the Braunton area.

Squires also offer a delicious dessert menu, including a white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake, Knickerbocker glory, honeycomb fudge sundae and chocolate fudge gateaux.
I would have loved to sample one, but I was far too stuffed from my delicious fish and chips.
I will definitely have to save some room for next time!
After lunch we had a little wander around. I made a beeline for the fresh fruit stall, I'm a sucker for fresh watermelon, and picked myself up a huge slice for £1.00.
I also treated myself to a new pair of flip flops, because 1. I wore boots like a fool, and it was boiling! and 2. They were super cute okay...

If you like surfing, a laid back atmosphere, quirky shops, amazing restaurants and the cutest fruit stalls, you will love Braunton, it's definitely worth a visit!

I hope you enjoyed this 'Devon Delights' post. What do you think of beautiful Braunton? Have you ever visited the area? Are you a sucker for fresh fruit too? 
I'd love to know, leave me a lovely comment below.

Want to connect?

Love Laurenx

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Food: The Cracking Egg Company

I was recently contacted by The Cracking Egg Company*, who offered me the chance to sample some of their hard boiled eggs.
I love eggs, as they are so versatile. I'm always adding them to salads, slicing them on top of toast, and I'm also partial to an egg salad sandwich.

So I thought I would share with you, my thoughts on this egg-cellent company!

Let's get started...
The Cracking Egg Company have created a new twist on your classic hard boiled eggs. 
Their eggs are coated in a special wax, which keeps them fresh for 4 -6 weeks, compared to regular boiled eggs, which only last about a week. 
They also don't need to be refrigerated, which is a bonus.
They taste just as fresh, and delicious as a traditional hard boiled egg. 
You simply peel off the shell, and enjoy!

Each pack of two, comes with a natural seasoning sachet, which is great for adding a sprinkle of flavour to your eggs.
I love how each egg is a different colour. From vibrant red and cool blue, to gorgeous green, with each colour corresponding to the flavour sachet provided.
Green - Sour cream and chive
Blue - Salt and pepper
Red - Sweet chilli

These eggs are perfect for lunch on the go, picnics or even as a quick snack.
I love that Crackin' eggs have taken all the prep work out of hard boiled eggs.
You can simply pop one in your lunch box, peel and you're good to go.
No more faffing around with pots and pans, and waiting for the water to boil!

Eggs are a great source of protein, and have a low GI.
Each Crackin' egg comes in at only 60 calories, which is great if you are watching your waistline.

I would highly recommend The Cracking Egg Co, with their stand out shells, they add an element of fun to your lunch-box!
I hope you enjoyed this 'Cracking Egg Co Review' post. What do you think of these 'cracking' eggs? Are you a big egg fan, like me?
I'd love to know, leave me a lovely comment below.

Want to connect?

Love Laurenx