Leighton Denny

As you may know, I love nail polish and am particularly susceptible to advertising and the lure of a designer polish.

 

About a year ago, my best friend who lives oop north introduced me to Leighton Denny products. She had has manicures at a spa in Sheffield and had been very pleased. My first experience of Leighton Denny was in Edinburgh and I was not disappointed.

 

I fell in love with and recommend to everyone, the crystal nail file. Best nail related purchase ever. Followed by the LD 4 way buffer.

This June, I bought a magazine with a free LD nail polish with it. The colour I chose was "Supermodel" it being an on trend neutral. I wore it the whole summer and have used up half of my bottle!!

 

It is the best freebie I have ever had and when it is finished I will definitely buy it again because it goes with everything and looks grown up as well as fashionable.

 

Very good, Leighton Denny, Well done.

 

Birthday Celebrations

It is my sister's birthday next week so she has been at home all week. This weekend we celebrated her birthday in style. On Thursday we went to Milton Keynes for a pre christmas browse, then we went to the cinema to see some films - Contagion and Paranormal Activity 3. Yesterday we went into the town centre and went for lunch at our favourite restaurant, Buddies New York Diner. There are lots of Buddies restaurants around Northampton but the original one in the town centre is the best.

We've been going there for years and my sister and I have a Christmas tradition of having lunch there on our last day of shopping before christmas eve. The food is always delicious, the service excellent and the atmosphere fantastic. The burgers are to die for and in a shock twist yesterday my sister chose a burger (unusual choice) while I went for Chili and Nachos. Which are always a good choice.

Today we celebrated with my mum and step dad, so we went to the Red Hot World Buffet. Which is always nice.

It's very friendly, good value and with an excellent choice. I alsways have Chicken Korma there because it is just the right level of creamy and coconutty. I also had apple crumble for dessert. Delish. I've eaten out at my two favourite places this weekend. And had a lovely time with my sister. Happy birthday my sister, and very good Buddies and Red Hot, well done.

The Restorative Power of Tea

I love tea. I'm British so I realise I don't really need to say it. But I do. I love the first cup on a cold morning when it warms you up and I love the cups you have at night to relax. I love the cups you make at work before starting a major project and the ones that people make you when you're too busy to look up from your desk.
When I was studying I would brew a large pot of tea and drink my way through it, taking breaks when I needed to refill it.
When I was on holiday and felt overwhelmed by the noise and the heat, we would retire to a Starbucks for an English Breakfast tea and a sit down to recover.
Tea is an amazing restorative. The first thing I look for in hotels is the tea tray (Shame on you America for not providing them).

A good cup of tea is nicer than the finest champagne. And as far as I'm concerned, it's best drunk as hot as possible. I've gone through many stages of tea drinking.
Black (after a trip to France - the love of black tea only lasted about a week, I was in France for two weeks and had to drink it black because they gave us WARM milk to go in it. This is wrong.)
Builders tea you can stand the spoon up in.
Earl Grey, Russian (Another black tea- an acquired taste - very strong), Darjeeling (All your basic Twinings posh teas).
No tea at all (I had a couple of years where I went off it after drinking about 6pints in one morning). The first cup after the break was like coming home from exile.

To make the perfect cup of tea:

1) Your favourite tea bag (none of this herbal nonsense please)
2) The water has to be boiling, actually bubbling in the kettle. (Please be careful)
3) Warm the cup or pot
4) Hot water onto the teabag leave room for milk.
5) Lots of milk (cold).
6) Sugar to taste
7) A biscuit (or several) - to dunk or not is your choice.

The aim is strong but milky. This is how I like my tea now.

Tea is essential.
When you're upset and your mum / sister / best friend sits you down and gives you a mug of tea and a cuddle, you feel that actually, things will be alright. The world isn't such a horrible place and come what may you will always be loved. This is why, most conversations in Britain start with, "I'll put the kettle on".

Very good, Tea - the national drink of Great Britain, Well Done.

Caesars Palace

This summer we went on holiday to Las Vegas. It was our 6th trip there but the first time we've ever stayed in the iconic Caesars Palace. We got a taxi from the airport and pulled up in front of the hotel (Just like in the Hangover)

Then we checked in at reception and the lady on the desk gave us directions to our room which involved walking "Past the statue of Caesar"

We stayed in the Centurion tower on the 32nd floor. The lifts to our floor were right next to Cleopatra's barge and very close to the casino floor.



We had a lovely room, a phone and a telly in the bathroom, a big tv in the main room and the most amazing beds. It was like sleeping on clouds. Big squishy, comfy double bed clouds.

They don't look very special in this photo but after a day walking around giant hotels and malls coming home to flop on one of these glorious beds was bliss.
I intend to go back to Las Vegas. And I fully intend to stay at Caesars. Because it is a fantastic hotel and because the beds are actually made of joy. Very good Caesars Palace, Well Done.

Serenity in the City

Last summer my best friend and I went to Edinburgh for a long weekend. As well as sightseeing and afternoon tea, we booked into a little salon for manicures. The salon is called Serenity in the City and lives up to it's name. After an exhausting couple of days, we headed there for Leighton Denny manicures and were not disappointed. We were spoilt before the manicures, pampered during but the best was after.

 

 

We were shown into a cosy room called the Zen room which was beautifully decorated in black and red with low lighting, the right temperature and a heated waterbed. Yes. A heated waterbed. We were given cold drinks, fresh fruit and left to our own devices while our nails dried. We stayed there for hours, had a nap and thoroughly recharged. It is one of the stand out moments of the break and when I think of it, I feel instantly calm and relaxed. I intend to return to Edinburgh soon and will definitely be revisiting SITC. I would recommend it to anyone on their way north of the border. Very good, SITC, well done.

Dexter Season 1

OH MY GOD. My sister instroduced me to Love Film and insisted I order "Dexter". I had never seen any of them before and am now totally hooked. I finished series 1 on Monday (Thanks to a bout of laryngitis and a week off work). IT. IS. AMAZING. I am now totally addicted to this show. The premise is Dexter is a blood splatter analyst for the Miami police force. He is also a serial killer. But he only kills other serial killers. He was adopted and raised by a police man who realised he was dangerous and taught him morals and how not to get caught. It's bad to root for a serial killer but the writing is funny and clever so you end up liking Dexter as a character. I can't wait for series 2 to arrive!!! If you've not seen it, watch it and if you've already seen it, watch it again!!!
Very good, makers of "Dexter", well done.