I've Been Thinking... - "Chelsea, Chelsea I Believe..."

Hi!!!

How are you lovely people? I wanted to talk to you today about all things flowers, plants and gardening - bit of a new one for me!

So, this week is the week of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

If you don't know what kind of things go on at Chelsea, then head on over (HERE) for some information. In short, it is a giant, annual flower/garden event. Designers and their teams create gorgeous gardens, those who grow plants and flowers show off their works, all the while competing to win awards. Oh, and celebrities and members of the public can all go and view them (if they own tickets booked highly in advance).

I have been watching the daily highlight shows on the BBC throughout the week and so far, I have been amazed by just how high the standard is this year. Lots of the gardens are very up my street and I love seeing the variations of flowers in the pavilion.

I thought that I might include a list of favourites from the show so far (in no particular order)...

• The M&G Show Garden designed by Cleve West, (HERE).
• RBC Waterscape Garden by Hugo Bugg, (HERE).
• Togenkyo – A Paradise on Earth by Kazuyuki Ishihara, (HERE).
• The DialAFlight Potter’s Garden by Nature Redesigned, (HERE).
• The Birmingham City Council garden (no name found), (HERE).
• Vital Earth, The Night Sky Garden, by Harry and David Rich, (HERE).

Some of those are really stunning so do have a butchers.

There is also a link to the Great Pavilion flower/plant exhibitors, (HERE).

I would very much like to congratulate everyone involved with the Flower Show this year for their wonderful works and creations.

I also hope everyone who attends the show this year (including my Auntie S and my Nan) enjoys themselves thoroughly.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post, and the lovers of all things horticultural have enjoyed this. Do have a look at all the links, some of them are crackers.

Have you been following the Chelsea Flower Show? What are your favourites? Are you going/have you been to the show? Did you enjoy this post? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? As always, you can tell me in the comments and have a chat with me.

Thank you very much for reading, see you soon!

Have an utterly fabulous day!

GingerSnaps xxx

I've Been Thinking... - How Do You Do It, John Lewis?

Hi!!!

Oh hey there! Look at me being awesome and organised with my third post of the month. Today, I wanted to share something with you that has caught my attention.

OK, so if you don't know already, I really love John Lewis. It is one of my favourite places to shop. The store is 150 years old this year, and they have made one of their brilliant adverts to celebrate.

I have totally fallen in love with this advert - I never, ever wind it on during the ad breaks (we have Sky+ - other TV thingys are available).

The song that they have used for it is so, so lovely.
Obviously, the span of 150 years has vintage/retro theme, which I love, and I also like how it still works with the current themes.
I love the span of the decades and how they have blended it to show that no matter how much time passes and how many things change, the things that matter most to us and the things that we all need have and will remain the same.

To see the advert, click (HERE).

Alrighty then, that is all for today, it might seem strange to show off an advert, but I've done it before and I think that it is only fair for the good people of the company and advertising to receive credit for their work.

Do you like the advert? What's your favourite advert at the moment? Do you have a favourite John Lewis advert (I find it too tricky to choose!)? Any questions, suggestions for future posts or comments? Let me know in the comments below.

See you guys very soon!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Shopping for Treats - Wishlisting - A Few Current Beauty Wants.

Hi!!!

Nice to see you here, thanks for dropping by! Today, I thought I'd d a bit of a different post; I say a bit of a different post because although I have never published a wishlist/wants list on my blog before, I have done a number of beauty/makeup posts. If you have been here a while, you may recognise the "Shopping for Treats" part of the title as I used it for a little beauty haul last summer. If you're interested in that, head on over (HERE).


Today, however, it is the beauty products - specifically bath/bodycare and makeup products - I'm very keen to get my paws on at the moment, that is the focus.

In no particular order...

My Current Beauty Wants.

• Raspberry Shower Gel, Body Butter or Body Lotion and Body Scrub from The Body Shop. 

When in Covent Garden recently, I popped into The Body Shop to look at their new bits and bobs and stumbled upon this range. The products smell utterly gorgeous; summery, fresh, sweet (but not sickly) and nearly edible. All the products in the range look exciting, I'm particularly looking forward to buying the scrub - it looks like jam!

To find the whole range (there are additional products), head on over (HERE).

• Bubblegum Lip Scrub from Lush is next up on my lists of  Wishes/Wants at the moment...        

I think this looks like an interesting product. It will be very good for lip care, and will also help provide a smooth base for my lipstick. I also love the idea of the flavour which sounds good enough to eat... Did I mention, after use, you can lick/eat away the remains?

Find the scrub, (HERE).

• Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Enamel in Wild Violets available from Boots .

If you didn't already know, violets are one of my favourite flowers in the world and also one of my favourite smells in the world. I am also a huge fan of nail polish. As you can imagine, this product seems pretty awesome to me. The colour of this is a really rich, deep purple from what I could see in the bottle, and the concept of a scented polish fascinates me. I would also like to point out that the Autumn Spice and Wintermint colours/scents look very nice too, and I will probably be trying them at some stage.

Find this polish over, (HERE).

• No 7 Lash Impact Mascara from Boots.

I am basically in this product for the packaging - it is red and sparkly and everything packaging should be; it almost reminds me of old Hollywood glamour. Speaking of glamour, this product promises good things and I personally would buy it in the brown shade because I think the off-black (it is never a true brown) often suits me better and will be applying one coat, lightly. But yes, mainly packaging here since I don't always like to wear mascara. Is the packaging thing superficial?

Find this mascara, in its lovely packaging, over (HERE).

• Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub from Boots.

 I smelled this in store recently and I think it is amazing! It smells sweet, familiar, a bit like pancakes (probably the maple fragrance... not blended pancakes) and just... really nice. The texture also looked great in the tub. I think it will go nicely with the rest of my collection, which I haven't been let down by so far.

Find the scrub (HERE).

That is my list for the minute, then. There is more, but I should probably try and limit it. No doubt the rest of my wishes/wants will be appearing in the next few weeks, so if you are interested in that then do keep an eye out.

What is currently on your beauty (or other) wish/wants lists? What do you think about the things on mine? Any recommendations? Do you like beauty products? Any comments, ideas or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

As always, thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post.

Have a totally brilliant day!

GingerSnaps xxx

So, To Sum It All Up - April Summary.

Hi!!!


Can you believe that it is May already? May is a lovely month, though - Bank Holiday Monday, anyone? So, I have a load of April bits and bobs to share with you today, and so I think I should probs just get on with this.

Going Out With Friends/Family.

I've been out and about with my friends and family a few times this month, and I have really enjoyed it. Not only have I had things to look forward to, but I've got to spend time with people and enjoy myself.

I went to see the Miranda Hart "My, What I Call, Live Show" tour with Elf Girl (I got her a ticket as a Christmas present last year) and my Auntie S and I know I had a really great time, and the others did too I think. It was sooooo funny and just a great experience on the whole, especially for ultimate Miranda fans like us lot!

I went to go and see Another Country at the Trafalgar Studios with my Mom as part of a day in London together. The show was great and the rest of the day was too. We went to the National Portrait Gallery and ate cupcakes in a tiny store in Covent Garden we found recently. I had a very nice, calm day.

I also went to see "Dance Til Dawn", a dance show starring Vincent and Flavia off of Strictly Come Dancing. I went with my Mom, Nan and Auntie S - love a family night out! - as we'd been to see their "Midnight Tango" show before and thought this one would be worth watching. It was amazing! Seriously, a jazz-age-themed dance fest with amazing ensemble, stars and staging = yeah!

Right, lot of links here.

To find Elf Girl and her blogs, I have linked her Blogger profile, (HERE).

 

To see mentions of my Auntie S and my Mom, see (HERE) and (HERE).

For my review of Another Country, see (HERE).

For links to Miranda's work and Vincent and Flavia's work, see (HERE) and (HERE).

For links to the National Portrait Gallery, see (HERE).

Getting More Work Done On The New House.

Yes, I know this has featured in a lot of monthly summaries lately, but it is a big part of my life right now.

We have made progress which I, personally, am happy with, and we are set to make more progress in the next few weeks.

Go us!

To find out about some recent progress with the house, head on over (HERE).

Easter and Easter Celebrations.

Obviously, Easter happened last month.

I like Easter a lot and always have fun during the celebrations. The more "interesting" parts of the day included the way I dressed myself up, making mini egg Rocky Road and having lunch with my family. It was a good day, which was rounded off by eating an Easter egg and watching TV.

.

To see a post about Easter that I wrote, go (HERE).

Enjoying Little Things/Occasions.

This month, I shared what my "wild" lifestyle/night life is like - basically it ideally involves movies, a bit of a pamper and sleep. But, I don't mind that. I think everyone, even if secretly, enjoys staying in and doing nothings which make them happy and relaxed.

I also shared my thoughts on the annual Oxford V Cambridge boat race. It's a little bit of my life that swings round every year and that I think is a great tradition. All very good stuff... especially since Oxford won!!!

To see my post on my Sunday night plans, see (HERE).

To see my post on the Boat Race, go (HERE). 

Getting Blog Admin Done!

Yes, April was the month I finally set up BlogLovin' (feel free to click the follow button on the top right!) which is something I had wanted to do since the end of Google Friend Connect when I first set up my blog in June last year! So, go me for organisation!

I also got lots of reading/writing done in April, which can never be a bad thing!

To see my necessary BlogLovin' code post, see (HERE). 

My Favourite Blog Posts Of April.

In no particular order...

"A Day In Harrogate" on Made Up Of Little Things, (HERE).

I love a good lifestyle post, and this was fun, interesting and a great insight into Rachael and her little family. It was a very sweet, well photographed post which made me smile. I also liked the personal details added.

"Living With A Blogger" on Little Winter, (HERE).

When reading this post, I found myself sitting there and saying loudly - to myself - "Oh my gosh, I do that!" and "Oh my gosh, that's me!".

If you are any kind of blogger or just have those kinds of traits, you will find this very funny (at least in parts) and almost a reality check - but it's all part of the job, right?

"Details" on Charlotte's Web, (HERE).

I liked this post, as it was like an insight into a bit of Charlotte's mind, and posts like this can spur on new interests, for example it gave me ideas for my trip to London as well as drawing my attention to Kate Spade - as long as my bank account doesn't also get drawn to it all, we'll be OK!

Sending happy thought your way for the future Charlotte, needed because (THIS). It can only get better.

"Review: Teens Titans Go!" on Chronicles Of The Red Herring, (HERE).

If you are a bit of a nerd like me, and want an honest opinion on the remake of the classic Teen Titans, then head on over to this post. It was actually a good review, even though it was on the more negative side, because I always prefer an honest opinion.

"Happy Days 03" on A Rosie Outlook, (HERE).

I like to see what makes people happy, and to get some positive energy going through the blogging community. It is always good to see what little things make other people smile, and spread the happiness.

Ta Dah! I think that's all for today. I hope you have enjoyed this post, and that April was good to you!

Did you like this post? What did you get up to in April? Anything similar to me? What do you think of what I did? Any questions, thoughts or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

Let's see what blogging brings in May! I hope you all enjoy this month of posts.

Have an awesome day!

GingerSnaps xxx