2011 will be the year I....

♥ Make more time for blogging and bring back the Monday Summary!

♥ Buy a Diana camera and learn how to use it.

♥ Take knitting lessons, because I'm just too damn impatient to teach myself (again! because I could knit like a pro when I was 12).

♥ Make more of an effort with friends, old and new.

♥ Make time to read (and magazines don't count).

♥ Try an exercise class.

♥ Drink more water.

♥ Run the Race for Life.

♥ Maintain my current weight.

♥ Get creative - whether it's making jewellery, knitting dog jumpers or making next year's Christmas cards.

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Paris - the rest!

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A look back...

Last year I blogged a list of resolutions for 2010 and I started thinking earlier this week; I wonder how many I have achieved. Some have happened accidentally, others on purpose, so here's a little round up ready for my 2011 resolutions.

♥ Learn a new skill or take up a new hobby - not a good start - this didn't happen much at all. Must be more specific for 2011!

♥ Find the right job - this happened by accident but I'm very glad it did. I started working for my current company in an assistant PA/secretary position but when a position in HR came up I was asked if I'd like the job. I jumped at the chance, and 10 months later I can honestly say it's the first job I've had that I enjoy.

♥ Grow more confidence - I guess I have grown in confidence a little bit. I've lost weight and I'm much happier appearance wise. And meeting Jonathan has given me a bit of a boost too :)

♥ Have more 'me' time - I certainly had plenty of this when I was on my own in the Summer following my break up. It was good, but ever so scary.

Source

♥ Learn to stop worrying so much about EVERYTHING!- this definitely did.not.happen.

♥ Learn to play an instrument - I learnt to play Let It Be on the keyboard (with both hands!) which is a good start surely.. no!?

♥ Eat a little less and move around a little more - this happened in a bigger way than I ever thought possible. I am 1/2 stone less than my ideal weight always was which is just crazy. More about that soon!

♥ Shop in charity shops and buy more vintage things - I did this a little, yes. Mainly for nik naks around the house, because I'm such a failure at second hand clothes shopping.

♥ Give up some of my time to help others - honestly, and selfishly, no. This year has been very tough for me, but I'm hoping 2011 will see more time for thinking of others before myself.

♥ Learn to cook - Jonathan has taught me a few recipes and I'm slowly gaining confidence in the kitchen, but I'm no Nigella :)

Source

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No7 Protect & Perfect series: Hand Cream

I reviewed the first couple of items that I was sent from No7 a while ago and I'm back with another review - this time for the hand cream. I have had a tube of this on my desk at work since I got it and have been using it on a daily basis until it ran out just before Crimbo.

At £10.25 a tube it's not the cheapest of hand creams, and there are others that I have tried and liked which are much cheaper, however this one is pretty good too. The serum consistency gives my hands a lovely smooth finish and has made a difference to the appearance of my hands overall. The skin looks and feels much smoother.

My hands really suffer in Winter and they get very dry especially between my fingers. This hand cream is wonderful but hasn't been overly moisturising on the very dry parts, but as a general everyday hand cream you can't beat it.

The other thing I like about it is it stays put even if you wash your hands which saves on reapplying every 2 minutes.

I would definitely purchase this myself, perhaps when Winter has stopped attacking my hands, and I would definitely buy this as a gift for someone.

One of my other favourite hand creams is Soft Hands Kind Heart from The Body Shop, which I first tried when I attended an event last Summer. This hand cream smells delicious. It is so yummy! I popped to The Body Shop earlier in the week to pick up one of these but unfortunately they only had the diddy sizes left. At £3.50 for a small tube it's not too bad, and it's a good size for popping in your handbag or desk at work.

Soft Hands Kind Heart moisturises really well, leaves no stickiness and has a lovely smell. Plus £2.36 of the purchase goes to charity which is always a good thing!

Have you tried either of these products?

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Paris - up & around the Eiffel Tower.

Just incase you hadn't seen enough of my Paris photos, I'm back with a few more. We spent a lovely afternoon wandering round taking piccies of the Eiffel Tower, both in the daytime and at night when it twinkles and looks very pretty. We also spent a long time queuing to go up to the top and it was freezing cold, but worth it once we got up there. We took a million pictures so I have tried to narrow it down to share the best ones with you.

We got the lift up to the top and then took the stairs back down via a pretty window display - I had to share the Eiffel Tower shoes with you. Check out that heel!

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Untitled.

Where I go you can be sure to find 2 Pugs not too far behind. This is their usual stance when I'm using the computer at Jonathan's house; snoozing at my feet.

Today I'm FINALLY going to watch the latest Harry Potter film at the cinema. I'm a huge HP fan and I normally go to the very first showing, so I'm not quite sure what has happened this time round. I think work, Christmas and the snow has got in the way a little bit.

I have added a 'like' button to the bottom of my blog posts after Lily shared the idea - it's great for the times when you don't have time to comment or you're not sure what to say. So if you like any of my blog posts feel free to hit that button :)

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Paris - in & around the Louvre.

As you may know I went to Paris at the beginning of December with my lovely boyfriend, Jonathan. We stayed for 4 nights so we had quite a bit of time to have a wander round. It was my first trip to Paris, and Jonathan went when he was little, so we did all of the main things - went to the Louvre, up the Eiffel tower, went to Notre Dame and Arc De Triomphe, etc. It was freeezing so I'm in my coat and scarf for all of the piccies, but I promise I have different outfits on underneath :)

We spent all day wandering round the Louvre - by the end of the day our legs fell off and we were exhausted! But it was a great day.

!!

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Untitled.

Well, Christmas is over and hasn't it flown by as always? I've had a lovely few days spending time with my family and the boy, and I've got lots of lovely plans for this week as I'm not back at work until next Tuesday!

This afternoon involves everything in this picture; drinking tea, nibbling on truffles and having a mammoth blog reading/writing catch up.

If you write a blog and you don't think I've visited yet do please let me know the link and I'll pop on by.

x

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Merry Christmas (eve).

I hope you're all looking forward to tomorrow and, hopefully for some of you, a nice long festive break! I finished work at lunchtime today and popped back to the house to check if my last parcel from play.com had arrived (it hadn't), then after a quick dash to Waitrose for cheesy footballs I headed to my parents house. I've been busy all afternoon wrapping up the last of Jonathan's pressies and getting in the way while my Mum cooks a few bits and bobs.

Tomorrow my Mum, Dad and I are going to my Auntie & Uncle's house for the day then in the evening I'll be driving over to spend the evening with Jonathan and his family, oh and the Pugs of course! Jonathan and I are both off work until 4 January so we've got lots of fun things planned for the Crimbo break.

It was our work's Christmas Do last week and I got all dolled up in my Warehouse maxi dress and felt very special indeed. I thought you might like to see some photos - they're not too clear as my phone doesn't like indoor photos too much.

Enjoy the rest of Christmas Eve, whatever you're doing, and have a wonderful Christmas Day. I hope Santa brings you everything you asked for! ;)

Victoria, Lily & Lola (& Jonathan :)) xxx

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THE LAST REPAIR JOB

Yesterday my friend Pat came over and installed the water intake door to the coach. Now everything is complete and I'm ready for my first camping trip. Planning on heading to Texas with stops in Livingston, Baytown, Liverpool, Port Lavaca, Port Aransas, and Corpus Christi.

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John Frieda Precision Foam Colour.

This time last year I had blonde, professionally coloured hair which cost me a small fortune because my hair grows very quickly and I had to visit the hairdresser every 4 to 5 weeks to keep my roots at bay. Since going back to my natural colour I have dyed my hair using Nice n Easy or Loreal Perfect 10 whenever I feel like my hair lightens up. When I was asked if I'd like to try out the new John Frieda Precision Foam Colour I said I'd love to - I find home dying very messy and stressful and this sounded like a great product!

The John Frieda® haircare professionals announce another haircare first; John Frieda® Precision Foam Colour, a new permanent foam hair colour designed to deliver salon-precise results at home.

This revolutionary non-drip foam spreads easily into roots and hard to reach places, and gives 100% grey coverage, leaving you with nothing but shiny, natural-looking results. With 20 gorgeous shades to choose from, achieving a fabulous salon-quality result at home has never been easier.

This was my hair before. The lightest colour of my blonde highlights is clearly peeking through and it was time to go a dark, glossy brown.

Above is the 'after' picture. I'm really happy with the product in some ways, but not others, and I'm going to share my thoughts with you.

Likes

- The foam idea is just brilliant. There were no drips down my forehead (and all over the bathroom) and it made the whole process so much easier. The traditional formula can be a bit runny and I usually end up getting it everywhere. If you have long hair or very thick hair then you would definitely love the foam formula, as it's a much better option. You won't need to rope a friend in to help you reach the tricky places.

- The smell is amazing. I don't know if it's just me, but I thought the dye and the conditioner tube smelt delicious!! The conditioner comes in a little bottle so you can use it once or twice following the original application to keep the colour locked in, and it smells just divine! (and makes your hair very silky).

Dislikes

- The colour. I was expecting the 'dark chocolate brown' to come out much darker than it actually did. In certain lights there are some red tones to it, which I don't like at all, so I may have to reach for another bottle of something different in the near future.

I love the formula and will definitely see if there are any other colours available that I could use, but unfortunately this particular shade is not for me. What a shame!

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Bonjour!

I'm back! We had a wonderful time in Paris and managed to squeeze in lots of sightseeing. We spent hours upon hours in the Louvre, went up the Eiffel Tower and watched it sparkle at night, saw a host of impressive architecture and generally exhausted ourselves walking around!

We took hundreds of photos but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of a few that I took on my phone. I will attempt to tackle my camera at the weekend and sort through those to share with you.

 

 

 

 

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