Week in Photos - 12th November 2017

The last week hasn’t been brilliant to be honest. I’ll go into more detail further down in the post, but basically I’ve not been well and nor has our dog, Alfie. I’ve been trying to push through and get on with university etc. but this weekend I’ve had to admit defeat and just rest. It’s meant I haven’t got things done that really needed doing, but there’s no point in pushing myself and making myself more ill. I’m just not that good at resting though hehe! I always think I should be doing something or being productive, so even when I’m feeling really poorly I end up ‘doing’ stuff!

As I mentioned, this one hadn’t been too well at the beginning of this week, poor sausage. He kept being sick and has felt rather sorry for himself. So there was lots of cuddles and TLC for him. We were really keeping our fingers crossed that he would start to feel better soon, but as you’ll read further down, that didn’t happen.

I have been ‘normal people’ poorly on top of my chronic illnesses, and it really is well and truly crap. I’ve got some yucky virus and feel pretty awful. So I’ve been snuggling in my fluffy Accessorize bedroom boots (which I really need to replace, as they’re falling apart!) and my Primark Disney jumper. I’ve also been drinking lots of tea from my Tea Tourist boxes in my Bombay Duck mug – isn’t it pretty! This spiced orange tea from Spice Kitchen is so good.

Freddie looks so adorable when he’s asleep, even if he does take up the whole sofa and push me out of my seat!

Another Pink Parcel full of interesting products to try out, plus all the essentials too. I love the fact you get a selection of both beauty and lifestyle things to sample. Plus there’s always tea, because we all know tea is essential when you’re feeling crappy!

I somehow managed to drag myself into university on Friday, although now I’m feeling even more unwell so I’m not sure it was a good idea. Anyway, this was the view out of my classroom window, which made things a little better.

This month’s Birchbox is in collaboration with Vogue – the box is really pretty. Not my favourite contents I don’t think though, but there are a few things I’ll be interested to try.

Freddie has been very cuddly yesterday and today and he snuggled up in this blanket. I think he’s feeling a bit upset, as yesterday wasn’t a good day for Alfie, our golden retriever. We had to take him to the vet, who transferred him to another vet for a sedated x-ray. They then had to put him under a general anaesthetic and open up his tummy, as he’d got half a tennis ball lodged in his stomach. We then had to go and pick him up, lay him in the back of our car and transfer him to a veterinary hospital to be kept on various drips and IV medications. He’s at risk of developing peritonitis, so they need to keep him under close observation. Poor thing looked so poorly and it’s been so strange at home without him. I think Freddie is secretly missing him too.

I won this lovely prize in a Twitter competition and it arrived yesterday. I’m really excited to try out everything.

I’ve been wearing my poppy from Crown and Glory all week with pride. Watching the remembrance programme yesterday and today always make me think of my Gran and Grandad, who both fought in the war. I miss them both terribly and remember the stories they used to tell me. The things they did for our country were truly amazing.

You can check out my YouTube channel here, where I have recently uploaded a few new videos (and hope to continue doing!)

I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more, so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

If you don’t already, please give me a follow on Bloglovin here - I can’t believe I’ve managed to hit 800 followers now! Thank you all so much. I’m planning a giveaway as soon as I can get some bits together!

What have you been up to this week? I always enjoy hearing about your news and adventures!

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Party Bags & Supplies Giveaway!*

My name is Jenny and I’m slightly obsessed with planning parties! I feel like I should be in some sort of party planners anonymous meeting! But in all seriousness, I don’t know what it is, but I just love party planning…possibly even more than the actual party! I really enjoy coming up with a theme and then browsing through Pinterest for inspiration for decorations, games and foods I can serve (you can check out my Pinterest here to see all my various party planning boards!) And I love to help plan other people’s parties too – whether it’s a birthday, a baby shower or a hen party – I’ll be happy to help plan it. Over the last few years I’ve organised a Disney themed Hen Do, an Alice in Wonderland birthday and a Pamper Party. And now I’m planning this year’s birthday (Rainbow Unicorn themed!) and my sister-in-law’s baby shower. It’s all very exciting!

As much as I love party planning, it can get pretty stressful with trying to organise everything, so I’m always looking for ways to reduce that stress and make things a bit easier. And one way I can do this is by finding places where I can buy everything I could possibly need. Somewhere like Party Bags & Supplies, who offer a huge range of party accessories from filled party bags and decorations to dressing up clothes and tableware.

They sell everything you could possibly need for whatever kind of party you are planning. If it’s a children’s party you’re organising, they offer a huge range of different themed products including Paw Patrol, Pokémon, Trolls, Unicorns and Superheroes. They also offer accessories for teen and adult’s parties, and these include products for specific ages, Glitz and Glamour and Sports Themed shindigs. And if it’s something other than a birthday you want to celebrate, there are plenty of products for Christenings, Engagements, Hen and Stag Nights, Weddings, New Year and Easter to name but a few.

The website sounds pretty great doesn’t it?! Well, it’s going to get even better because the lovely people from Party Bags & Supplies have offered me the chance to run a giveaway for my readers! You can win £30 to spend on anything on the Party Bags & Supplies website, which I think is pretty awesome, especially if you’ve got an event coming up. There are a couple of terms and conditions:

·      If you have previously won a competition from Party Bags & Supplies than you cannot enter future competitions I’m afraid

·      This competition is open to UK residents only

·      The competition will run for one week, so will end on Monday 18^th September 2017

·      The winner’s full name and email address will be passed on to Party Bags & Supplies, who will contact you with your prize

·      Ramblings of a Jaffa Cat (me!) accepts no liability for fulfilling this prize, including in the event that it is not fulfilled by the company offering the prize

If you meet the conditions above, then all you need to do is fill in the Rafflecopter below and keep your fingers crossed that you win! Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you planning a party or celebration at the moment? I would love to hear all about your party plans!

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Witch Skincare Competition Wins

A while ago I received an email from Witch Skincare on my personal account, which contained a link to a competition. I go through phases of entering competitions, and because I had a few minutes to spare I decided to click the link and fill in my details. I didn’t think anything of it after that – I’ve entered so many competitions and rarely heard any follow-up. But a couple of weeks later, I received another email telling me I had won the prize! It’s always nice to get things in the post, so I was very excited when my goodies arrived a few days later. I thought it would be nice for me to share with you the products I won.

The lovely people at Witch really spoilt me! I’ve tried a couple of their products before, but there were also a few that I’m yet to try, so the package contained a really nice selection. I first remember trying something from Witch as a teenager, as I’d been told witch hazel was really good for spots. Since then, they’ve become a brand that I really trust and I always keep an eye out for any new releases.

First up was a packet of 25 cleansing and toning wipes. I must admit, I’m a bit of a sucker for a good face wipe. I know they get a lot of bad press, but I find them a real lifesaver on days that I don’t feel well enough to do my proper skincare routine. I also like to use them to get the majority of my make-up off before I do a deep cleanse. These wipes have added Witch Hazel to clean and freshen up the skin, help tighten pores (which is always a bonus in my eyes!) and help to prevent breakouts.

The next thing I pulled out of my parcel was this Concealer Stick. I wasn’t aware that Witch did make-up items, so was really interested to see this in my winnings. I’m always on the look out for good concealers, so am interested to see what this one will be like. According to Witch, this is a true multi-tasker, which has got to be a good thing if it saves you time on your routine. It covers spots and contains Witch Hazel to help blitz blemishes as you cover them. I always worry when I use concealer that it could make my spots worse, so knowing this product targets blemishes at the same time is reassuring.

Another of the products I won was this Overnight Clearing Serum. I’ve actually tried this one out before, as I received a sample in a blogger event goody bag last year. But I really loved using it, so I was happy to receive a new one! It’s an award-winning powerful, oil-free serum, which helps to prevent breakouts and reduce the appearance of blemishes and redness whilst you sleep. The Witch Hazel extract helps clear and contract pores and Vitamin B3 visibly hydrates skin. I find with some products that work on blemishes and tighten pores that they can leave my skin feeling uncomfortably tight. But this serum left my skin feeling nourished and clear.

Another product I’ve tried before and loved is their Gentle Exfoliating Face Wash. Loaded with natural micro-granules to deep clean pores, help shift dead skin cells and trapped dirt for a soft, smooth, clearer-looking complexion, it leaves your face feeling glowing and refreshed. It’s gentle but still does the job, and doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight or irritated.

The last thing in my parcel was this Blemish Stick. I’ve got a feeling I’ve tried this or something similar before, and if I remember rightly I found it really effective. It’s another of Witch’s award-winning products and is the ultimate in blemish control. With the help of Witch Hazel (which, as you’ve probably guessed, is the main ingredient in all of the products from Witch) it helps to break down excess oils in just one use and fights bacteria that cause spots. I used to apply this on spots as they first started to appear, and found it really helped to clear them quickly but without that horrible tight feeling some other products can leave you with.

So that was everything in my winning parcel! I’m really excited to try the products I haven’t tried yet and am very grateful to Witch for running the competition. I’ll definitely have to keep you updated on how I find the rest of the products. Keep an eye on my YouTube channel as I often talk about my favourite products over there.

Have you tried any products from Witch? Which ones are your favourite? Or can you recommend any other brands I might like to try out?

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Paul's Boutique Handbag

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may remember that I organised a blogger meet-up last November (if not, you can find the post here). As well as meeting local bloggers, we also had a raffle with some awesome prizes kindly donated by some of our favourite brands. One company, who gave us an amazing prize of £100 to spend at their store, was Paul’s Boutique. Now, my memories of Paul’s Boutique go back to when I was in my early teens and their handbags were a range of neon colours with cute trinkets on the zips, as you can see in my rather old photo below. So, when I was lucky enough to have my raffle ticket drawn, I was so excited to check out their website!

My retro Paul's Boutique handbag

As I scrolled through the bags, I was so impressed by their range of beautiful pieces, and was pleased to see that as well as the bright and whacky colours, they also had some more toned down bags to choose from. I was in desperate need of a new handbag, and wanted to find something that would go with most outfits. After much perusing, I decided to go for this gorgeous little number.

I’m a big fan of leopard print, and as soon as I saw this bag I knew it was the one. It’s made with soft black leather, so looks very professional, but still has a bit of a twist with the bold print and neon green trim. I was quite surprised with myself for going for the green actually, as it also came in pink (which is my favourite colour) but for some reason the green just really stood out for me.

It has the Paul’s Boutique logo embossed in gold at the bottom of the bag, with gold hardware and little gold feet on the bottom. I love it when bags have these feet, I don’t know why; I just think it makes them look more ‘premium.’ Plus it stops the bottom of your bag getting dirty every time you put it down, which is always good!

The inside of the bag has a sort of nautical blue and white striped lining, and the neon touches are carried through around the small pocket and the rim. It’s lovely and spacious, which is good for me, as I seem to carry just about everything with me! And I love the fact it has the small zipped pocket – I always like to keep valuables in these such as my phone, keys and so on, as I feel they’re a bit more secure (and it makes them easier to find!)

Smaller bag - £32.50

Unfortunately I can’t seem to find this exact bag on their website any more, as I think they’ve updated their stock since I bought it. I did find this smaller bag in the same colours though, which is think is really cute.

Ashley Shoulder Bag - £80

Or if you’re looking for a bag of the same size and shape, they do have this Ashley Shoulder Bag in beige and black snake print, which I think is a lovely update for spring.

I must admit when I’ve been looking for bags in the past, Paul’s Boutique didn’t really cross my mind. But I’m so glad to have rediscovered them and will definitely be adding to my bag collection with some of their new summer range!

Have you bought anything from Paul’s Boutique? Or can you recommend anywhere else that sells beautiful handbags?

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