Gent's Gift Guide

I'm still having issues with my iMac which is making blog posts problematic, so please bear with me! I'm currently writing this on my phone which is far from ideal.

Anyway, I thought I would start sharing with you some of my Christmas gift ideas as no doubt you'll be wanting to get presents bought as soon as possible! I'm a little bit disorganised this year and have bought a few things but not everything, which isn't like me!!

First up is Dick Winter's boxer shorts. I have previously written about the brand and I think the marketing is so clever, but the product is also fantastic (like Spanx for men) and they are also now made in Scotland. The material feels luxurious, and I'm positive that the man in your life will love these. The range is available at House of Fraser... it's just a case of deciding which dick to choose...Lucky Dick, Clever Dick, or perhaps Old Dick!

Next up is some gadgetry...

I've actually bought this for the kids to share but I'm sure that boys, big & small, will love this...it's the BB-8 droid from the new Star Wars movie.

It's expensive at £130 but I'm hoping that my son will love it - he's a huge Star Wars fan. I haven't opened our one up yet to try it, but the YouTube videos I've seen of it in action are really cool!

I've spotted a number of gents recently with smart shoes, either for work or the weekend, with brightly coloured laces. This set from Ted Baker would be a cool stocking filler:

Then obviously you can't go wrong with some men's skincare or aftershave. 

Cufflinks are also another gift I've bought regularly for the men in my life.

Do let me know what your buying the gents this Christmas!

Review - Bartenders Stripped

The other weekend, I hosted an intimate cocktail party at my house. No special occasion, just an excuse to have a well needed catch up with some of my friends and neighbours.

You might remember from last year that I had a Social & Cocktail party; well, the guys have started a new enterprise called Bartenders Stripped.

As the name suggests, the bartenders are (nearly) naked with just a little apron covering the crown jewels!! Oh & he also had a bow tie!! I felt ever so slightly awkward to begin with, but you soon forget... especially the more cocktails you have! My guests found the whole thing really amusing & it was a great laugh. The poor guy had to put up with our chat all evening!! 

Our bartender arrived before the guests to set-up the bar in my living room (wearing his clothes!). Same format as last time... the bar arrives in a box, which then transforms rather spectacularly into a proper little bar. It's really impressive. He then snuck upstairs to strip (!) & he was back for the guests arriving.

For this party unlike the previous one, we didn't have any input for the cocktails that were to be served. On the list were:

• Woo Woo
• Sex on the Beach
• French Martini
• Pornstar Martini
• Strawberry Margarita

Half way through we had a bit of fun with a Blood Shot, which was a strawberry vodka concoction topped with squirty cream. We had to put out hands behind our back, and then take the shot glass in our mouth and down it... harder than it sounds!!

One of my friends got involved & helped make the Sex on the Beach cocktails:

 
The cocktails were delicious & really well presented. My only comment would be that perhaps rather than the set cocktail menu of 5, perhaps hosts could pick five from a list of 8 in advance, just to give a little bit of choice. I'm not a huge fan of tequila, and a few of us did end up leaving the margaritas which was a huge shame.

I personally think the parties are great value for money as you literally don't need to provide a thing for the drinks...even the ice was sorted along with the garnishes and glasses. All I had to do was provide some music & nibbles (quick trip to M&S!!). 

Bartenders Stripped would be fantastic for a hen party or girlie birthday party. Or like me, you don't really have to have a reason!! 

We received a complimentary party in exchange for a review. As always opinions are honest & my own.

Health - Starting Humira

This week I'm starting a new treatment for my Crohn's Disease... HUMIRA.

HUMIRA is licensed to achieve and maintain remission in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's Disease (it's also licensed for use in other conditions). I've been taking azathioprine now for nearly 10 years and over the last year I have had active inflammation despite my blood levels of azathioprine being in the correct therapeutic range. It's time to get this disease under control... I came back from Portugal and lost 9 lbs in just over a week. Not a good reason to be losing weight!

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HUMIRA is an injection, and I will be trained by the IBD nurses to self-inject. Thankfully, I only have to administer the medication once a fortnight. Although for the first few doses I have to be in the hospital to be monitored. There are a lot of scary side effects, and before starting the treatment I've had to be screened for a variety of infections, viruses and the like. However if we don't get my Crohn's Disease under control, I then run the risk of serious complications.

Life has been very stressful lately which hasn't been helping, but I'm looking forward to having some down time this weekend as the kids are with their dad.

I've been neglecting my blog as I've been so busy with my day job, the kiddies etc and then in the evenings I've just been so tired that I've been in bed most nights from 8 or 9pm! I'm sure once my IBD symptoms improve I'll start to feel a bit more energetic. 

P.S. Can you believe we're in November already!! It'll be Christmas before we know it!

Review - Merumaya Skincare

I've been trying out a couple of new launches from Merumaya...

The Everything Everywhere Beauty Oil contains Kahai Oil which has even more benefits than Argan Oil. The carefully blended oil can be used for a multitude of purposes, such as on the face or body (either neat or mixed in with your moisturiser), scalp treatment, tame frizzy hair, nourish nail beds, brows or lashes and can be used on hands or feet as an intensive overnight treatment.

Everything Everywhere Beauty Oil, £26.50 for 50 mL

The product absorbs really quickly, and despite being an oil it doesn't feel greasy on my skin. The oil isn't scented and if anything smells a little nutty (I've since googled Kahai Oil and discovered that it is an oil sourced from the nuts of the Amazonian Cacay tree!). I find it rather relaxing to take 5 minutes out of my busy routine to give myself a little hand and nail massage.

As well as the oil, Merumaya sent me the new Mud Marvels Mask. This mask has activated charcoal, ground volcanic ash and purifying kaolin and bentonite to cleanse and detoxify the skin. 

The mask isn't drying on my skin - sometimes masks like this can really make my skin feel uncomfortable as it dries, whereas this felt lovely afterwards. I've used it a few times now, and it's certainly drawing out impurities as I've got a few cracking spots on my chin right now! Hopefully they clear soon!!

Mud Marvels Mask, £19.50 for 50 mL

I'm not sure that these are my favourite products from the brand... I love the Iconic Youth Serum and the Melting Cleansing Balm. I've been using these skincare products for a good while now and have repurchased them both a few times. 

Perhaps with more use, the oil and mud mask will join them in my firm favourites list!

I received these two Merumaya products for the purpose of this review. Opinions as always are honest and are my own.

35 at 35 - pay off my student loan

I have paid off my student loan!! The payments were actually supposed to stop in May but the message is yet to be received by my employer so I'll be due some money back which will be nice.

It's taken me for what seems like forever to pay off the debt. The payments started coming out of my salary about 8 years ago!

I've not been doing very well with my 35 at 35 list, so at least that's one more thing I can tick off. I turn 34 in January and that leaves me very little time to tick off some fairly substantial items. Oh dear...

Fashion - AW15 Wardrobe Updates

I recently bought a few things for my autumn/winter wardrobe that I thought I would share with you.

I'm absolutely loving these boots from Ted & Muffy. They were £170, but I didn't realise that if you shop online you can get 25% off your first order with the code WEL25. They are super comfy and I wear them to work with dresses or at the weekend with jeans. They're really versatile.

Ianthe, £170

I bought a couple of dresses for work from White Stuff and Sandwich at House of Fraser, including this Shaker Jersey Dress:

Jersey Dress from White Stuff, £59.95 at House of Fraser

I loved so many of the Gray & Willow pieces, and ended up buying a few staple t-shirts along with this gorgeous jumper. I do love a sequin!

Gray & Willow Disa Woven Trim Knit Jumper, £69 at House of Fraser

I wore this travelling to Portugal in the October holidays and had to go in the full body scanner at the airport due to the sequins which set of the x-ray machine!

After House of Fraser I went to Princes Square to Cos, a shop that I love, and my favourite piece that I chose is a belted blouse. Again, its a versatile item that can be dressed up or down. It's only downside is that it's dry clean only.

V-neck Belted Blouse, £69 from Cos

Next on my fashion shopping list is an outfit for my work Christmas Party... I can't believe we're in November already!!

Memories - My Teenage Bedroom

The other day on the radio I heard the DJ asking the listeners about the posters they had on their walls as they were growing up...and it got me thinking of my own bedroom as a teenager and the celebs that I had posters of!

I was (and still am) a bit crap when it comes to taste in music, as my regular readers will be well aware of! So you will probably have guessed already that the posters I had up were rather embarrassing!

My parents let me stick up pictures all over my walls, and I ended up with Blu tac marks everywhere. I was a big fan of Hanson and pretty much had a whole wall dedicated to them!!

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My other teenage crushes were David Duchovny (I loved The X Files) and Leonardo Dicaprio. I studied Romeo & Juliet at school and I remember going to the cinema to see the adaption with Dicaprio - I think I would have been about 14 years old. Then after that there was Titanic where I bawled my eyes out and fell more in love with Leonardo.

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I've tried to find some photographs of my bedroom back then but I can't find them - they must be at my sister's house as she's storing some of my stuff at the moment. I'll see if she can dig them out next time I'm in Aberdeen!

What posters did you have on your wall growing up?