Kitchen of Nutrition: Winter

What's in my Handbag?

December 13, 2016

I cannot leave the house without my trusty handbag - it's a place where I can store everything I need for the day ahead. Apart from the obvious items of my phone, keys and purse, what else do I have in my handbag?

Hand cream

I find there is nothing worse than dry, cracked and rough hands throughout these hard winter months. I slather it on every morning and every night and top it up throughout the day if and when I need it.

Vaseline

Vaseline is essential to me. I again hate cracked, dry and chapped lips which I tend to get in winter. I have also found that my workplace tends to dry my lips out because it can sometimes be so humid. I use it as a base for my lipstick to keep my lips moisturised and nourished - I also think that my lipstick looks a lot better when I use Vaseline as a base. I do top up my Vaseline quite often throughout the day but at least dry lips are a thing of the past for me.

Compact powder and brush

A definite need when I have a long day ahead as it helps to get rid of any shine on my face that the day may bring.

Tissues

You never know when your nose is going to need a blow or you go to a public toilet to find that there is no toilet roll.

Sunglasses

To help protect my eyes especially when the sun is low in the sky in winter. It prevents wrinkles as it stops me from constantly frowning and squinting when the sun is shining.

Kindle and a Sudoku book

For when my bus journey to work is dragging or I have some waiting around to do whilst I'm in town.

Reusable bag

I refuse to pay 5p for a carrier bag when a reusable bag is an option. It not only saves money but also the environment.

Body Spray

Just in case I need a quick top up of scent. I never take my actual perfume in my bag just because it is in a glass bottle and if it smashes I would be devastated so a body spray in a plastic bottle is the perfect option.

Pair of Gloves

One minute you can feel toastie warm in winter; the next you might not be able to feel your fingers.

Umbrella

Again, British weather is unpredictable so if it does rain, I am covered (quite literally).

What do you keep in your handbag? Let me know in the comments below!

Best of wishes.

Christmas

My Christmas Haul so Far (Part I)

November 18, 2016

Although Christmas is over a month away, it is never too early to begin buying items for Christmas. I have bought a couple of presents so far but my main focus at the minute is the decorations for the house. This is my third Christmas with my boyfriend but it is the first Christmas that I will actually be spending with my boyfriend and I can't wait! It is also the first Christmas where we actually have a house to ourselves so lots of new decorations are needed to make our own little Christmas. We started buying these a couple of weeks ago as I believe in buying decorations and spreading the cost over a few weeks. Early is better than late!

So far, we have bought decorations for the tree although we don't actually have a Christmas tree! We have probably done it the wrong way round but we visited the Christmas floor of Fenwicks in Newcastle and got the Christmas bug for decoration buying. That is where it all began. We decided on a red, gold and green theme as we believe these are the true colours of the festive season and decorations of these colours can be found everywhere!