Everything About Sarah..

2015 really has been an incredible year - it's been the best yet the hardest year I've had in a long time. I will be sad for it to end but I've got a lot to look forward to in 2016... Rome, more holidays, 2 of my best friends getting married, being bridesmaid, qualifying as a professional MUA and seeing what doors that opens and black tie ball number 2... 
2015 has been a hard year to top with the year long 3000 mile challenge and raising over £5000 for Bone Cancer Reaearch Trust, a new job, new piggies, a new found fitness, oh.. And meeting Mary Berry! 

1) Meerkat cuddles  2) Our new piggies  3) Completing my first run 4) V Fest 5) Lanzarote  6) New hair  7) New job + new found blogging friends! 8) Day at the BBC Good Food Show 9) Highlight of the year.. Our Team Bones Black Tie Ball! 
I'll be doing a mini NY Resolution post over the weekend but in the mean time, What have been your highlights of 2015?
Happy New Year 
Sarah xox  
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So as expected, I kinda failed at BLOGMAS! I did better than I expected as I got until the last few days and then it started to go down hill but there's always 2016 ;) How was your Christmas? Did you have a good one and get spoilt rotten? I love looking at everyone's What I Got For Christmas blogs as I'm a nosey sod so I thought I'd do my own as this year's Christmas was a pretty good one. 
For Christmas itself, I spent most of Christmas Eve and Day driving as we had to go and see my Mum with me and Nick together, then my Dad with us both together, then Nick's family together, then Nick drove home as he had to work Christmas day (BOO!) while I stayed at Dads.. woke up Christmas Day with the twins and co then headed to Mum's for dinner number 2 before driving home for a 3rd christmas Dinner... yeah, talk about complicated! But it was lovely despite it being rushed and not getting a huge amount of time with everyone. Plus I was utterly spoilt... 
There was o…

So a) I skipped a day in BLOGMAS as ended up in Blackpool last night straight from work, b) does 3 items count as a haul? I hope so, it does now anyway. So I posted last year about my disappointment in Make Up Revolution products but when I popped into Superdrug to pick up some items, I saw they were giving away a FREE eye pallet when you spend £8.. Mission *find £8 worth of items* ON! 
I picked up the setting spray as I've wanted to try one for a while and couldn't find a cheaper one and I also went for a bronzer as I'm currently arguing with my red tone bronzer and wanted a brown toned bronzer which was lighter. 

The Pro Fix setting spray was £5, the Ultra Bronze being just £3 so £8 worth of products got me the gorgeous Run Boy Run Eye Pallet worth £6. 
In so excited to try all 3 items and I'm sure I'll be posting my thoughts (if positive) within the next couple of days - particularly the RBR pallet as it is just BEAUTIFUL! Best £8 I've spent all day (and I …

I've not got a work Christmas party this year so on Monday night I gatecrashed Nick's pub Christmas party and went out for a couple of drinks. Even though I new it wasn't to be a late one, I was desperate for an excuse to get dressed up a little and put a little extra make up on... As you may have guessed from Monday's late night post! 
Make up..  Chanel foundation  Mac powder and bronzer  No7 Eyeshadow from the 80th Anniversary pallet  No7 brow pencil  Benefit They're Real Mascara  Rimmel Kate Moss 107 lipstick  Seventeen Highlighter  Seventeen contour pallet 


I hate going out in winter as I want to stay warm but get dressed up so I got a new rollneck jumper from Tesco and paired it with a high waisted pair of jeans from New Look. 
I got some new shoes for my birthday and haven't yet worn them so this was the perfect opportunity! They aren't the most comfortable but they look cute!
I was a bit cautious of the jumper as I have a long chest line and neck so I …

I was tagged by Paige over at shebechic.wordpress.com for the Christmas Tag! Eee just 9 days to go until Christmas!


What’s your favourite Christmas film?
Elf. By a mile. Always has been. I love The Holiday and Love Actually but Elf is just brilliant, it's so funny and a real Christmas movie. 
Have you ever had a White Christmas? Not for more than about an hour before it raining and washing all the snow away.. or it being Ice as it'd snowed on the run up to Christmas. 
Where do you usually spend you holiday?
With family - normally a few hours with Mum and a few hours with Dad. This year I'll be coming home Christmas Eve to Nottingham, seeing both families with Nick, then visiting Nick's family, he's coming home Xmas eve night as he's working Xmas day but I'll see both sets of my family again Xmas day then come home to Shrewsbury for when Nick finishes in the evening. 
What is your favourite Christmas song?
The one song that comes on the radio and gets me feeling fe…

So this is something different for me.. I just feel like I need to have one of those moments that everyone seems to have and just "talk".. First up, for those that don't know, I moved away from Nottingham last year in May and moved to Shrewsbury as Nick got relocated.. I left behind my whole life.. Family, friends, Job, everything I'd ever known.
The first half of the year was really hard and I still felt I hadn't really settled in and it hasn't been until the last few months I feel like I've finally settled and started to make friends.. By friends, I feel like I have about 2 excluding work and Nick's work friends. I recently read an article by Jameela Jamil about when she moved to LA and found it hard to make friends.. At the age of 24, I almost feel embarrassed about how hard it is to make friends, a friend of a friend who I met on a night out a few weeks ago had it spot on.. "it's not like you can go up to someone and be like"hi, wan…

Ok so it may not be all high end but for me, I'm already proud to own these items as I've never been in a position to own anything more than Rimmel or No7 or something (apart from one Mac Concealer 3 years ago in LA)!

But as you may know, I'm currently training on a course to become a professional MUA after falling in love with my new job as a No7 and beauty gal at Boots and after finding out I've passed my first set of exams and my make up brushes arriving for my practicals, I got a bit excited in Boots and spent my £50 worth of points on a variety of make up.. But after feeling I needed some items that were a bit more special, a friend who is also an MUA sent me a link to a seller on eBay in the States who sells Joblot/wholesale make up - some of which designer!

I stayed up watching 6 of their bundles which finished around 2am the other night and won a 150 item bundle for about £40. It didn't state what was in it, just said it was a mix of high street and High en…

After a couple of days of eating bread for lunch and pasta for dinner, tonight I just fancied something filling, healthy and even some veg so a short and sweet Saturday blog post tonight..

Steak, Tesco low fat (pretty tasteless but not too bad) chips, veg, steak .. Ruined slightly by the onion rings though! Mmmhmmmmm! 

I've done a big healthy food shop tonight including chicken for home and curry, lean mince for home made chilli con carne, salmon, salad, stir fry ingredients, loads of fruit and veg.. But I still really want to be careful eating over Christmas and New Year so tips and meal ideas welcome please! 
(sorry about the short post, it's safe to say I'm running out of BLOGMAS ideas!) 
Twitter/Instagram: MsSarahJack xox 
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So I'm jumping in the Soap & Glory BLOGMAS Train after, despite saying I wasn't going to buy it, I bought it *Monkey hiding his face emoji*! It was the box that caught my attention as I just thought it was so different and Philip Colbert has designed possibly my favourite S&G star gift to date. 


I've been hunting for a cool bag to store all my make up in ready for when I qualify as an MUA next year as I've already started stocking up and the brown box they're currently in is, well, a brown cardboard box! 
I've always loved Soap and Glory products anyway so I'm chuffed I've stocked up on my favourite body goodies  including (for those who are debating whether to get it), the Scrub Of Your Life, Body Butter, Hand Food and the Clean On Me Bodywash.



It also comes with one of my favourite mascara EVER, the Thick & Fast mascara as well as a miniature Sexy Mother Pucker which are perfect to chick in your handbag. 
For £30, I'm actually glad I&…

Such a lovely evening tonight hosting a little blogger meet up at work on the No7 counter to celebrate Christmas and get in the festive spirit! I host one every couple of months at work but the last couple have been a little quiet so it's a case of doing it so everyone can see each other and meet up every now and then! 


With the Christmas tree and goody bags, it's safe to say that Christmas and blogging were definitely the main topics of conversation.. It was so lovely to see Paige, Sara and Daisy and meet Sara's girly, Brodie and catch up and help them do a little Christmas shopping! 

We also had a little hair and nail station going on which gave everyone the opportunity to try out some of the new hair goodies we've had in recently or nail polishes for the festive season - doesn't Brodie look amazing with curled hair?! 

Thank you to all the ladies that came along and we're sure we'll be seeing you in the New Year for more goodies and meet ups! <3
Twitt…

It's been a while since I posted about my beloved No7 but tonight I tried a new little beauty for the first time; the No7 Beautiful Skin Energising Face Mask. Anyone know knows me knows I'm a bit useless with my skincare routine and it's a case of wipes, micellar water and a night cream and boom, done. But lately I've felt I needed something a little extra and something different as I've struggled between different foundations and finding one that stays out and doesn't look grey, as well as helping my stressed out skin which has become quite a state after a stressful few weeks/months.

I'd seen the mask on the shelf at work but never really taken notice or knew anything about it but after it was half price today and selling out, I had to give it ago myself so I bagged the last one. 

I took off my make up as normal, wipes then go over with cotton wool pads with micellar water and applied a layer of the mask. It advises to apply a thick layer but I later found…

A couple of people have asked what I do in the gym lately so I thought I'd do a mini post about the routine I did tonight as its great for a starter and it's the routine I do if I'm tired but still know I need to whoop my arse after a night at Ask Italian last night!

I was feeling a bit BLURGH in the car driving to the gym after work so I did have a can of Red Bull on the way - I don't know if it's psychological but I'm sure it really does make a difference! 
Start with an 8 minute jog at 7.5-8mph
10x 30kg Pull down  10x 20kg pulley  10x triceps dips  X3
10x 70kg Leg press 10x 35kg leg curl  x2 10x 90kg leg press  10x 35kg leg curl 

10x 15kg overhead bar squats  10x 15kg OHB right leg lunge  10x 15kg OHB right leg lunge  X2
20x abs crunches  20x toe touches  X3 
10 minute on bike to finish off with! 
It's just a pretty basic 40 minute routine that covers the whole body and something everyone can play with while learning your own weight strength, but I can already feel my leg…

This is by far my favourite purchase over the last week (excluding when I got a bit click-happy on eBay the other night *hide face monkey emoji*)! My dressing table and bedside table are constantly untidy and gathering items I should put away so when I saw this cute little jewellery holder in Next for just £6, it was my motivation to keep tidy and ensure I didn't lose any jewellery and be a bit tidier! 

It goes perfectly on my bedside table next to a Rose Gold frame due to the Rose writing - "every bunny needs some bunny". As most of my jewellery, the bits that are either the most valuable or mean the most to me anyway, are rose gold, I knew just looking at it that I needed it in my life. 
I really do love the home section in Next and I can't believe this was £6 - if you live near a Next Home or you're lucky enough to live near a Next Clearance definitely pop in if you're dressing table or bedside table needs a bit of loving! 
What's been your purchase o…

In the week I saw a tweet from Becky Sheeran from Talk Becky Talk saying she was doing a meet up in Nottingham and I immediately dropped her a message full of excitement! 
A few days later and I found myself driving down the M6 home to Nottingham ready to meet Dannica from Cabella Boutique to head up to Baresca to have tea and lunch with Becky. 
I've had such a lovely afternoon it was inevitable #talkbeckytalktea was going to be BLOGMAS Day 6. We were welcomed by Becky's lovely Mum and shown down to Becky's little tea party. The venue is so shabby chic (much better than the old bar, Dogmas - anyone from Nottingham remember?) and was just the perfect venue. We were welcomed by a variety of tea and quickly got nattering to the other girls on our table before having a little intro chat by Becky, her sister Holly and fellow Youtuber Sacha! 

The lunch served was the classic girl's afternoon tea, sarnies, scones and cakes! What's not to love? It was so lovely to chat to…

If you know me well you'll know I love a good bake and I like to think I'm a right Mary Berry (pfft, I wish) so when I get the time I like to get my weighing scales and baking tins out. Normally it's a cake of some kind, chocolate, lemon, red velvet.. But I thought as its winter I'd go a little more festive..
I tried these little beauties a couple of week ago for the first time and I added some Sloe Gin to the jam and was surprised how much I liked it. Sloe Gin is currently one of my favourite drinks and it's perfect for winter. 
Tonight I made a new batch after getting some new snow flake cookie cutters...


I cheated today when it came to the pastry as I knew I didn't have much time this evening as got some work to do so got some ready made pastry and rolled it out. I like the rough affect and didn't use a proper circle cutter and I quite like the home made-ness haha! I also find that mixing the gin with the jam before makes it runnier so it's easier t…

Going out for a few drinks with some lovely girlies tonight. I hate this time of year when you're going out and it's cold but you don't want to wear jumper and jeans. I normally opt for long sleeves & tights so I don't need to take a big coat.

I was rummaging around trying to find something different but I still ended up in my good ol' Miss Selfridge Playsuit which I've had a year or so - it's just so comfy and with long sleeves and thick tights, it's great for a few cocktails! 


I barely wear heels anymore plus Shrewsbury is so cobbley I'm always scared of breaking my leg so my trusty Topshop ankle boots with a wedge heel are my ultimate go-to pair of footwear. 
I didn't have a huge amount of time between getting home and going out so my milkmaid braids remained the same remained the same and I just added a bit more eye make up and touched up my foundation. All make up is No7 apart from lipstick which is Smashbox. Bit boring really! 

What ar…

Already struggling for BLOGMAS ideas but so loving the new No7 Gel Shine Polish in Purple Dreamer so I thought I'd do my first Winter NOTD!

I apologise that I need my nails in filling but I was really wanting to try my new polish so I put it on anyway - it's a gorgeous cool purple colour that is more blue toned for the season. I already had my ring fingers painted with the No7 Snow Wash effect polish which is super cute for Winter.

Ps - I'm so freaking in love with my Monica Vinader ring! Does anyone else have any MV jewellery? I need something to go with it ;) 
Let me know what polishes I should be investing in for over the festive season too.
Twitter/Instagram: MsSarahJack 💅🏼

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It's only day 2 and I'm struggling for ideas for BLOGMAS - Lord help me! Although I keep seeing everyone's lovely photos of their Christmas decorations all over Facebook and Instagram and of course I had to snap mine once I'd put them up this weekend...

We brought all of our Christmas Decorations last year for our first Christmas together and in the flat so I got so excited this year taking them out the boxes and putting them up, remembering each one. 
The tree is your basic 6 foot from The Range for about £50 and each of the individual decorations were also from The Range and were mainly just a few pounds each. We decided to go for individual decorations rather than baubles as that way we can build to it each year and they make the tree just a bit prettier and more interesting.


Our Snowman is from Dunhelm Mill and was around ten £10 mark and is just something simple for the windowsill. We've got quite a big window so wanted something big enough for it not to get …

I'm so sad November is over and it's always my favourite month by November of 2015 has really been quite incredible.. Black tie ball, my birthday, New Guinea pigs, family time, Good Food Show.. So much has happened and I've brought a few little treats too over the last few weeks between my Christmas shopping so I thought I'd pull a few favourites together. Also, I am going to make an attempt at BLOGMAS for the first time ever - I have no idea how it'll go so don't be surprised if after a few days there's no posts!
Favourite Candle: I may have accidentally brought like 4 new candles this month, all of which Yankee apart from this WoodWick one from Boots. I brought it on the 3 for 2 with some other bits as was desperate to try one with a long wood wick. 
It smells beautiful and sounds like a real fire crackling away. I find it smells stronger and quicker than a Yankee Candle but it's because the wick is so long.. This also means though that it goes down q…