Book Club - Life After Life

“What if we had a chance to do it again and again, until we finally did get it right? Wouldn't that be wonderful?”

This book was recommended to me by @acaseforbooks on Twitter. She truly knows her stuff where books are concerned and I am delighted to say that I absolutely loved it!

Life After Life explores the idea that a person has infinite lives, when they die they are reborn, and depending on the decisions they make each time, their lives can take all sorts of twists and turns.  Our protagonist is Ursula, and we meet her from the moment she is born in 1910.

Ursula dies repeatedly, in many different ways, but each time she is allowed to begin again (unknowingly) and make decisions which will alter her future each time. To begin with, it is heartbreaking reading the various deaths of a child that you have grown quite fond of. I found myself willing her away from any danger, but the inevitable always happens at some point. However, as Ursula reaches adulthood I began to feel hope with each death, as it marked a new life, and a possibility that she will finally find happiness.

“She no longer recognised herself, she thought. She had taken the wrong path, opened the wrong door, and was unable to find her way back” 

As we learn more about Ursula, so she learns more about herself. The final chapters are quite adventurous, and you might recognise a name or two from the history books! I really loved this aspect, that Ursula could change the course of history not only for herself, but for the whole world! Each life has it's fair share of good and bad, and I feel that Atkinson encourages you to ask the question, in which life is she happiest?

“Ursula craved solitude but she hated loneliness, a conundrum she couldn't even begin to solve” 

If you have read this book I would love to know which life you felt Ursula was happiest, and which life you enjoyed most? If you haven't read this book yet, I think you should! You can get hold of it here.

“You can step in the same river but the water will always be new” 

Laura xXx

Read More

Wedding Plans

Today I thought I would talk a little bit about how our wedding planning is going! I have been blogging over at Wrapped Up in Weddings if you want to hear more.

Recently my Mum and I went on the hunt for the perfect dress. The first dress I tried on was absolutely lovely! But then I tried on lots more and got a little bit confused, so we decided to stop at The Courtyard Kitchen for a cup of tea and a scone to regain our strength! How cute is this little teapot!?

I didn't find the perfect dress, but i did come away with a better idea of what I wanted, so at least I am going in the right direction.

I have been making myself a little scrap book so that I can keep track of any companies I like, as well as colours, styles and other ideas. We have been to quite a few wedding fairs which you will probably know if you have been reading my wedding blog Wrapped Up In Weddings. If you are getting married soon you might like to visit as I mention lots of fantastic suppliers I have bumped into on my travels. Especially lots of photobooth companies!  

Anyway I have been collecting everything I get from the fairs, as well as cuttings from the occasional wedding magazine I buy.  I have loved making little collages with all of the pretty pictures!

I'd love to hear from you if you are planning a wedding too, how are your plans going?  We are rapidly approaching the 1 year mark so I had better get booking things! Doesn't time fly!?

Laura xXx

Read More

DIY Fancy Brogues

You know how much I love nail varnish right? Well, today nail varnish is going to be partnered with shoes! Cute little black brogues to be precise! I like a bit of colour and these seemed a little bland, so I thought, why not!?

The handy thing about brogues is that you already have a line to follow when painting! I picked 2 of my favourite varnish colours, but the bottles were coming to the end of their lives. Then I simply painted in the lines. It took 2 coats in total.

Below you can see how they looked before:

And here's after

I could probably have painted a little bit neater, but I think they came out great! And if I get bored I can just paint over it!

Laura xXx

Read More

Healthy Smoothies - Raw Chocolate and Avocado

This is the last in my series of healthy smoothies, and it is a bit of a wild card. You may remember a little while ago I made a healthy chocolate mousse using raw cacao and avocado as the main ingredients. Well it was so delicious I thought I would modify the recipe for a smoothie. There are some fab health benefits with the ingredients too!

Raw Cacao enhances physical and mental well being, lowers blood pressure, improves circulation, helps prevent against cancer and improves digestion! Please note this is RAW chocolate, I don't think your average bar of dairy milk would have the same effect.

Avocado's are one of my favourite foods. I add them as a side to lots of meals we have. They make me feel healthy! They are a fantastic source of healthy fats, they lower your cholesterol, they protect your eyes, they reduce blood pressure and on top of that they are great for your skin too!

Coconut Oil can reduce bad cholesterol and can be a cure for arthritis and joint pains. It is good for your heart and keeps your blood sugar level under check. It is also great for your skin!

Rice Milk is healthier for your heart than cows milk, and obviously is much better for those who are lactose intolerant!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablebspoons raw cacao
• 1 avocado
• 3 cups rice milk
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

As usual, just whizz it all together in a blender.

Ok, I must admit, this one did not go down with everyone as well as the others have done. I think it is probably because the taste is so unusual, and if you are expecting to get a chocolate smoothie then you would be in for a shock! However, it is definitely still drinkable and considering the health benefits I would have this again. Maybe it could do with a few tweaks. Please let me know if you can make one that actually tastes as good as chocolate!

I hope you enjoyed my little smoothie series. Have you made any healthy smoothies that have turned out delicious recently?  If you missed any of my previous smoothie recipes, you can follow the links to them below.

Avocado and Banana

Watercress, Blueberry and Pineapple

Watermelon and Strawberry

Pina Colada (Pineapple, coconut and banana)

Mango, Banana and Goji Berries

Laura xXx

Read More

Guest Post at Caught On A Whim - DIY Cross Stitch Bracelet

I am super excited to be guest posting over at Caught On A Whim today, while Erica is on holiday. It is such a lovely blog full of wonderful DIY's. You really must take a look!

You can take a peek at my DIY Cross Stitch Bracelet Tutorial here. Hope you like it!

Laura xXx

Read More

Vanilla seeds and berries

A little while ago I decided to try my hand at making a healthy snack, after being inspired by my Graze box which included vanilla pumpkin and sunflower seeds! I think these would be great added to cereal or yoghurt in the morning as well.

Ingredients:

• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Goji Berries
• Vanilla pod
• Honey

Pour out some honey into a bowl, then scrape out the seeds of the vanilla pod and mix in.  Now mix in your seeds and goji berries. Cover a pan in baking paper and spread out your seeds evenly as above. As I used an Aga rather than a conventional oven I can't really tell you what temperature to set the oven to.  Just make sure you keep an eye on them, they probably won't take much longer than 10 minutes. Be careful the goji berries don't burn, mine were getting very close!  

One mistake which i made was to leave them out to cool on the baking paper. When I came back they were completely stuck to the paper and I couldn't get them off! Luckily, after popping them back in the Aga for a minute the honey eased up and I was able to scrape them off easily into a bowl. This time I made sure I stirred and broke them up while they cooled. It didn't take long! And I found this to be the best way of separating them.

They were pretty tasty! Next time I think I will use a milder honey to let the vanilla flavour come through more. Also, perhaps I will add the goji berries later, as they took the least time to cook.

PS. Don't put them in the fridge! The honey's consistency will change and you will end up with a bit of a gloopy sticky mess.

Laura xXx

Read More

Hair Tutorial - 80's Curls

Today I wanted to share with you the results of my attempt at this hair tutorial from The Glitter Guide. I actually first tried this for last New Years Eve party, as it was an 80's theme. It worked so well I wanted to see if I could pull it off in everyday life. I love curling my hair but I don't like the idea of damaging it using curlers or hair straighteners too often. Well this is the perfect solution as it involves no heat whatsoever!

Please excuse the myspace-esque photos. I didn't have a Chris handy to take them for me. Also, I find it very difficult to take photos of myself without making silly faces, you may notice this in a moment...

When still damp (but not too wet) simply twist segments of your hair into little buns. (You have done it correctly if you are starting to look like Bjork or one of the members of Alisha's Attic) I also sprayed a little hair spray onto each bun as I finished it. Then sleep on it! In the morning untwizzle them and seperate the hair and you should have something similar to above. But whatever you do, don't brush it! If you are in a hurry you can also do this with dry hair, just make sure you use lots of hairspray, then leave to set for a couple of hours. 

I was pretty shocked at how big my hair was to begin with! But it soon calmed down into some rather nice waves. It seems that my hair doesn't hold a curl for very long at all! Luckily I quite liked the way it tuned out in the end. One of those styles that looks naturally tousled in a boho, bed head sort of way. (even though it did take me a fair bit of time to achieve this 'I've just got out of bed' look!)

I've been looking at lots of hair tutorials recently. My hair is getting pretty long now so there seems to be lots more I can do with it, I'm looking forward to trying some more! Have you found any good hair ones recently?

Laura xXx

Read More