PRETTY YOUNG THING

 * Items marked with an asterisk have been gifted to me. I have not been paid for this blog post, the opinions and views are honest and my own.

1. Buy some new Christmas decorations! I think shopping for new baubles and Christmas decorations can make you feel really festive. I love going down the Christmas aisles in the supermarket gets me in the Christmas mood.

2. Wrap some presents! If your like me and haven't actually bought any presents yet you might struggle. I wrapped up some of Clints presents for his family. I love wrapping presents!

3. Write your Christmas Cards! You can easily spend an evening on the sofa in front of a Christmas film with a hot chocolate and write your Christmas cards. I saved our Christmas cards from last year so I know who to write cards for.

4. Get your Christmas bedding out! Putting your Christmas bedding on can make you feel Christmassy. Pop some fairy lights around your bed for even more festivity.

5. Decorate a gingerbread house. I really enjoyed decorating a gingerbread house last year. There's so many Christmas recipes and baking ideas to do over the festive season. The gingerbread houses are a great idea if you have small kids to entertain as it doesn't require any baking.

6. Put your tree and decorations up! I know it's still November but the easiest way to get into the spirit of Christmas is by putting your tree up. I love decorating the tree with a cheesy film on in the background.

So we've just got back from the VIP and Press Launch of the Magical Lantern Festival in Birmingham. I wanted to feature it straight away on my blog as it starts on Friday 25th November and is on till 2nd December at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. You can buy tickets online or on the day. 


This is the first time that the Magical Lantern Festival has come to the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham so if this sounds up your street i'd recommend booking tickets to go along. It's a great evening out for the whole family, wrap up warm in your coats, hats and scarves and check out some amazing outdoor spectacular fusion of art, heritage and culture.

There's lots of lovely amazing lanterns which are family friendly and you can see how much hard work has gone into creating each piece.

I think the trail is a great size, it's not too big or small and you can go round at your own pace and spend as much time as you like taking photos or videos. It's great for kids lots of different animals, buildings and more for them to point out.

There's toilets onsite and there's a few food trucks on the way round for you to pick up a snack. At the VIP event there was Churro's and Marshmellows that you could toast!!

Tickets start at £12.50 for Adults and £8.50 for kids if you book online via
*there's offers for family tickets of groups of 10+

There isn't parking at the Botanical Gardens ( blue badge holders only) we parked on the street around the corner and walked round it wasn't a long walk so you may want to check out parking or other transport before you head along!














 * Our visit to Magical Lantern Festival was complimentary. I have not been paid for this post and the views are honest and my own.

1. Get a piece of white card and cut to size, you want this to fit in your frame and this will make your background. The ribba frame from Ikea has one of those card things in so I just used this.

2. Play around with your decorations and card etc and come up with a design that you like. I love the scrabble tiles and think they look really good. You can personalise your frame to say anything. Mine says Jack which is my friends baby and I've made this to hang in his nursery. You could write Mr and Mrs for a recently married couple or you can write someones pets name. You really can personalise this so many different ways. I got my white wooden J off ebay for £1!! Your local craft shop should have lots of cool decorations and inspiration.

3. Once you have decided what your going to do you need to stick it all down. Be carefull if using super glue as I did manage to stick my fingers together. I would recommend using PVA however for heavier items you may need something stronger.

4. Pop it all back into the frame and check it all looks okay!

5. Wrap it up carefully and pop a bow on the top ready to gift to your friend!!

Some of you reading may already be in your dream job but most of you are probably in a job you don't particularly like and know what you want to do you just don't know how to get there. Today I want to share a few simple tips on how you can get that dream job. These are things that most people dismiss when applying or looking for jobs.

My dream job would be a full time blogger, I love blogging and it has created some amazing opportunities for me and I like working from home and having freedom. I live in Birmingham and we don't have a steady flow of blogger events or opportunities most blog events are in London and because of my work commitments I can't just drop everything and go to events. Blogging can be very hit and miss sometimes there's loads of work and sometimes it can be very quiet and I can't afford to not be working which is why I work part time and blog part time which is good enough for me right now.


1. Update your CV! You probably think not much has changed since you last looked at your CV but you should be updating it all the time. If you are working what skills and training have you done recently and can you add this to your CV is it relevant?  Are your references and recent employees still correct and are their contact details correct? Do you have different CV's for different jobs? If applying for a role in Social Media / IT does your CV stand out? If it's just a word document then chances are it will go to the bottom of the pile! Could you make a video CV / animated CV?

2. I know that newsletters and emails etc are annoying but set up a separate email account for job hunting and sign up for all the newsletter regarding jobs in your area/ field. It's hard to check for jobs every single day and the last thing you want to do when you get home from work is look through job search engines. Newsletters sift through and show you relevant jobs and this means you have more time to actually apply for the jobs. With the internet now job hunting is a very speedy process so you don't really have time to think about applying because tomorrow that position could already be gone.

3. Most jobs get filled before they even hit the recruitment department. Make friends with someone who works at your dream job or mention to a friend that your looking for work in a certain area. Chances are they know someone who works in that field or may know of a job going. Word of mouth is a great way to get in the door and it means someone doesn't have to sift through a stack of applications.

4. If you like to party or your Facebook page is embarrassing, then check your privacy settings and set it to private. The first thing an employer will do is check you out online. If your social media accounts are relevant to the position then you shouldn't make them private however they should be professional. For example as a blogger it wouldn't make sense for my twitter to be private but my account is professional and I wouldn't mind an employer stumbling across it. A new survey conducted by Bidvine to find out how people present themselves to others online recently found that the average profile picture is 2 years old. The Survey found that from a group of 2000 British social media and online dating users that on average a Facebook profile picture is updated every 5 months where as on LinkedIn its more like 2.1 years! Chances are this means that your whole LinkedIn profile is out of date. You are giving the wrong impression if your profile is not up to date, an employer may think you look too young for the role and dismiss you completely. 11% of the people asked admitted that the pictures used for their profiles were taken more than 10 years ago. And another statistic that I thought was relevant was 1 in 4 would not want their boss to see their current Facebook profile picture! Chances are you wouldn't want a future employer to either!! So update your profiles so that are relevant and up to date.

5. Don't let a lack of experience stop you from applying! Sometimes employers would prefer some experience however not always. Sometimes employers would prefer to teach you themselves and having some previous experience can go against you. It's harder to teach an old dog new tricks. You also don't know what kind of experience the other candidates have so you may be just as qualified as the others, this may mean that even without the relevant experience you could be the best candidate for the job. Just be positive and try and stand out and be unique. You want them to remember you!

6. Any progress is good progress, even if it's just an interview. If you've been in the same job for the last 10 years then chances are things have changed since you last went for a job interview. Do some research about the company, most now have websites and they usually expect you to have checked them out prior to your interview. Even if you don't get the job at least you will have gained some interview experience.

7. Stay positive and be patient. Chances are your not going to hear back off an employer over night or you may need to do you may need to do some training so that you have the right qualifications for the position but don't give up. Do your research and keep your head held high. Stand out from the crowd and let your show your positively.

I was so cold whilst having these photos taken today, thats devotion! It was absolutely freezing so no idea why I thought i'd wear this cold-shoulder top from Primark for todays outfit. However I love this top and i'm so glad Clint picked it from Primark. I love my cord skirt which is also from Primark, i've been wearing this so much since I got it. I wore this with my Jacket from New Look and my big grey scarf from H&M which is so cosy. We did a spot of shopping today and I picked up a new coat which I will show you soon, it's a nice cosy but practical coat with a hood! I also got some new black boots from Primark and I picked up a pair of those basic £5 ugg style boots from Primark just to wear around the house or to the shop so that my feet are nice and snug!

I am putting my Christmas Gift Guides together over the next week or so and they should be live towards the end of November/ Early December.

I'm feeling so festive and Christmassy right now, i've even got Clint to get our Christmas Decorations out of the loft, I think i'm going to put our tree up next week. I don't normally feel festive until December but this year I feel like i've started getting ready for Christmas really early, I think Clint has basically finished his Christmas shopping and i've already been wrapping presents, ITS NOVEMBER!

Anyway, I thought i'd share some really cute festive homewear bits that i've spotted recently, I don't really need anymore Christmas homewear but here's a bit of a wishlist that i've managed to compile.

I love Christmas Bedding! Both of these duvet covers are from Yorkshire Linen, I love the penguin set! I don't have anything like this and I LOVE PENGUINS! I think this is really wintery and sweet, the other set is a more subtle snowflake design, I think red bedding automatically makes you feel wintery and Christmassy. Both of these sets are a Flannelette material which is so soft and cosy, I love having flannelette bedding at Christmas time. I also love throws and blankets, I always have a throw at the end of my bed and I have a few Christmassy ones. I love this Teddy throw in Silver from Yorkshire Linen. It looks so fluffy and I love that it's silver, it would look really festive and would go perfectly with the Penguin bedding that i've picked out.

How cute is this 'Baby it's cold outside' cushion from Asda, I love the gold writing and think it would look great with the Penguin bedding and the silver throw! This polar bear cushion is also from Asda, check out Christmas at Home with Asda here.

I just love Christmas Candles and really want this Neom Candle I spotted it in M&S and made sure that I pointed it out to Clint so I hope I get a nice new Candle for Christmas. I also thought i'd include a couple of Yankee Candles as they have some amazing scents for Christmas including Candy Cane Lane.






Collaborative post

Today's post is kind of an up to date flat tour aswell as some tips on how to turn a small rented space into a home. Clint and myself have been living together for a year in our little flat and it's been great! we love living together and having our own space. Sometimes with rented accommodation you can't make all the changes you'd like but that shouldn't stop you from making it a home. Here's a few tips on how we have made our flat feel like a home and how we make the most of the space we have.

BEDROOM:

In the bedroom we have our bed and some bedside tables and my dressing table. We have underbed storage boxes which I keep some of my make up and toiletries in, these are really handy because you can just pull them out as and when you need them. I have a set of Helmer drawers from Ikea which I use to store most of my make up and everyday bits and then I have a plastic organiser on my dressing table for my everyday make up. The drawers keep the room tidy because it means most of my things are hidden away, the drawers also double up as a bedside table for this side of the bed, which saves up space. There's so many different ways that you can save space and i'm working alongside Bed Guru on their #SmallSpaceSleeping campaign. Bed Guru have just launched a collection of convenient self assembly / slot together beds and headboards called The Landmark Collection. It's such a great idea, they are easy to put together and take apart if your moving, so if like us you live on the third floor with no lift and plan on moving house, it would be so easy to take the bed apart and move it to another house. Or if you have a tight small space you could build the bed up in that small space easily just by slotting the pieces together.  To make the room abit more cosy and homely, we have some photos on our window ledge in our bedroom and I have some of my favourite books on the bedside table. I like having my make up out and on show because I really love makeup and this makes my room personal to me. The lights around the bed are really cosy and make the room feel snug and relaxing.

BATHROOM:

We have two bathrooms, our main bathroom is very tidy and we don't have much in there apart from our linen basket and I have a tiny basket which I keep my bath bombs in. In the en-suite which is the bathroom we use the most I have this bamboo unit which I keep my skincare bits and shampoos etc inside to keep the bathroom tidy. I knew I wanted to get a nice unit like this for the bathroom to keep it organised, I got this from Tiger a while ago.

HALLWAY:

In our hallway we have a closet which we store our coats and towels in, this is a bit of a mess and has random things like the ironing board and washing basket inside. We have this Kalex unit from Ikea in the hallway too which we put the wifi box on the top aswell as some candles and a little tray to put our keys. The Kalex is great because you can buy these storage boxes to go inside and we actually keep shoes inside. We also have this little white basket which has more shoes inside too. Add some photos to your hallway to make it feel more personal and like your home.

LIVING ROOM:

I think our living room is really cosy and I love it. Our tv stand is from ikea and I love that it has doors on the front, inside we keep DVD's and the Xbox. This just keeps it looking tidy but has everything inside that we need. I love the lights by the TV it makes the room look so cosy on the evening when we have them switched on, I like to have some candles in the living room too.
We also have this coffee table also from Ikea and this is really handy to pop drinks on or snacks when people come over. We didn't have a coffee table for a while because I thought the room was too small but I think it fits perfectly and it's great that we have somewhere for people to put drinks. I like this one has the little shelf underneath which is handy to keep books or just general bits and pieces.
We have another Kalex unit in the living room which we have a lamp on and again we use the storage boxes to keep random bits inside so it's nice and tidy.

I think you can make a small space really feel like a home by just adding a few things and you don't have to spend loads of money. Fairy lights make a room look really cosy and you can pick some up for a couple of quid. I prefer having a lamp on in the living room rather than a big lamp and again this creates a more cosy atmosphere, I also like to light a candle on the evening. Make your home personal, add photos or have your favourite books on your coffee table. You don't have to paint walls or have huge picture walls to make your flat feel like a home. We have pictures of us all over the flat from holidays or special occasions and I like to have fresh flowers in the living room, we also have a few cactus plants and succulents around the flat too. All our friends and family say our flat is cosy and feels like a home and I love this, I feel so comfortable in the flat and feel like we've really made it our own home.









* In collaboration with Bed Guru