2015 Goals Progress | April

Can I just start this post by expressing how flabbergasted I am that it's time to write the first 2015 Goals Review?! It's May on Friday...MAY! It'll be Christmas soon. I definitely had a cushion covers haul for you today but that'll have to wait until next Wednesday now ;)

Anyway. If you're new around these parts, this is the first of the quarterly updates I do throughout the year where I pretty much review and re-familiarise myself with my resolutions. You can see my January post here.

So let's see what the damage is this time...

1. Be more online.
I have started to Tweet a bit more. If you'd like to follow me, you can @MystNeonLights I'm always up for a convo. I've also started to use Twitter to contact brands more. For example, when a package arrives late I'll Tweet them and usually the problem gets solved quicker then when I contact them via email. My Instagram still gets sorely neglected and I still suck at following other bloggers on Twitter. Need to work on that.

2. Be more confident.
I've worked so hard to be more confident recently and I think I'm kinda getting there. I'm not second guessing myself as much and I'm not over thinking things as much either. I've just got a 'get on with it' attitude at the moment. I'm definitely losing sleep over less things these days anyway. Having a job and meeting new people has really pushed me to be more outgoing. I just spent an entire weekend with 8 people who before only a few months ago I didn't even know. A year ago that would have scared the life out of me. A good calming technique I've been using is asking, 'what's the worst that could happen?' and usually it's something not bad at all.

3. Buy a coffee machine.

Nope. I want one so badly and I'm always eyeing up the prices but there's just no room in the kitchen for one. It'd be in the way :( I think I'll have to wait until we've got a new kitchen for this one (or when I've got my own house lol).

4. Save Up.
Lol. Nope. So much to pay for.

5. Go to more places.
This is probably my most successful goal so far. Since January I've visited Liverpool, Amsterdam and Chester. Pretty good going to have visited a new place almost every month so far ;) I also spent Easter in Fleetwood with the family but I've been there before.

6. Do more cooking.
I've done more food shopping. Does that count? And we've bought a new cooker. I've so far mastered Bernard Matthew's Turkey Burgers, Richmond's sausages and curly fries. My ambitious pasta plans are yet to happen.

That's it so far folks. I'm pleased mostly with the confidence goal and the visiting places goal. I just want to do more this year. I'm going to try and focus on the social networking goal over the next few months.

How're you getting on with your 2015 goals? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading,
Leanne x

Photo Diary | Chester | 26th - 27th April 2015

I'm a day behind schedule this week... better late than never though, eh? I haven't taken many pictures day-to-day this week so I thought I'd just make this a Chester Photo Diary.

My friend turned 23 last week and to celebrate 8, of us went on a girly weekend trip to Chester. We went shopping, ate awesome Italian food and drank lots of vodka!

I had never been to Chester before and I have to say, it reminded me a lot of York except the streets weren't as narrow. There were loads of quaint vintage shops and boutiques which mingled along the high streets. And there's a big mall there too with all the normal shops like River Island etc. I spent a ridiculous amount of money... there will definitely be a haul soon.

We went to an Italian restaurant on Saturday night called Convivo. It was so gorgeous inside and the food was lovely. I had spinach and cheese ravioli with a tomato sauce.

Then we went to all of Chester's finest bars and clubs ;) We started in the Slug and Lettuce; taking advantage of the 2 for 1 cocktails. Then we went to The Botanist where you could buy cocktails in a watering can. Then we wound up in a club called Cruise which reminded me a lot of Tiger Tiger in Manchester. Not my normal scene but we did have a really good night. 

I think I returned to my room about 5:30 on Sunday morning and I was up again at 10:30... believe me, I'm still recovering. We stayed in a Travel Lodge and didn't have to check out until 12pm which I thought was really great. We wandered around Primark for an hour and passed the time until we could go to The Mad Hatter's Tea Rooms for some dinner. 

I didn't actually have afternoon tea, I ordered the soup and sandwich with traditional lemonade which was so nice and refreshing. The decorations were ridiculously cute, they had crazy mirrors, bunting and fairy lights everywhere you could look. I'd definitely recommend you pay it a visit if you find yourself in Chester.

Afterwards we killed the last hour by the canal. It was such a sunny day so it was lovely to chill for an hour before the journey home. Some people hired a pedalo boat and had half an hour on the canal but I was pretty happy just sitting in the sun. 

Overal, we had such a good weekend. I'd absolutely go back again to see more things and for the shopping. There was so much to see and just not enough time to do it all. It's a really convenient city to visit too because everything it so close together. 

I hope this was interesting! let me know if you've ever been to Chester and what your thoughts are!

What's your most favourite city that you've ever visited? 

See you next time, 

Leanne x

China Glaze | Red-Y To Rave

I finally cracked open my China Glaze Baby Beats nail polish set this week and the first one I tried was Red-Y To Rave. So today I thought I'd show you some pictures and tell you what I think so far.

The name implies to me that this is a bright shade of red but it's definitely orange more than anything. It actually reminds me of Pool Party, also by China Glaze, which is only marginally darker. I really thought it was going to dry to an interesting shade of red. 

I'd been wearing the polish for about 3 days when I took these pictures because I'm hopeless and kept forgetting so that's why they're a bit chipped. 

I took the above picture quite far away from the natural light and the picture below right infront of a window so you can see the difference that lighting makes. 

It took me three coats to get an even and opaque finish which is pretty standard performance for China Glaze. It also dried to a satin finish, I'd say. 

although I'm not a big fan of the colour orange I am quite fond of this polish because it's such a bright, summery pop of colour. If I saw someone wearing it I wouldn't be able to stop myself from commenting on it. That's what draws me in with nail polishes... I love the interesting ones. 

I currently have Violet Vibes on my nails which I'll review for you soon :) 

China Glaze Baby Beats Collection - £12.95

Have you tried any colours from the Baby Beats collection?

What is your favourite?

Thanks for reading, 

Leanne x

DIY Nail Polish Display!

Two days of my Easter holidays I dedicated to this project. I Googled images of nail polish holders around dinner time and by the evening I'd been to B&Q and began constructing this little work of art. When I've got my mind set on something I just have to run with it.

First off, I can't sit here and make out like I made it all because I didn't, my Dad pretty much built it and I just whipped the paint on. Nevertheless, today I'm going to show you how it was done!

I bought door architrave to make it from because it was the only suitable thing really. I didn't want just basic blocks of wood and this was much prettier looking. It cost around £14 for a pack of 5 of which I only used 4. 

First thing was measuring the space I wanted it to go. Then I cut 2 planks of architrave into equal lengths to fit that space; these would become the shelves. I got 8 shelves out of 2 planks of wood. 

Then I cut the two end pieces which I made 2cm longer than the shelves so the side pieces could sit on top of the ends. If that makes sense? If you scroll down to the penultimate picture and look at the corner you'll understand what I mean. You can cut the corners diagonally so that they blend together but with the engraved wood it was too much effort lol. 

Then I got really mathematical and tried to space the shelves within millimetres of accuracy from each other. But I failed so I kinda winged it in the end. Then I marked where each one was going and screwed the shelves in down the side that wasn't going to be visible. That made life so much easier. If your's will be visible from each side you might have to persevere and glue both sides. You'll need a really even surface to work on in that case. 

I used a hot glue gun to attach the other side of the shelves. The glue dries really fast and burns like a mother if you get it on your skin so handle with caution!

For extra strength I used Evo Stik and coated the corners. This is also pretty handy for filling in any cracks that you may have as it's quite thick. You don't have to be super neat because you can sand the glue down when it's dried.

I left it over night to dry. 

In the morning I sanded the whole thing down. All the corners, edges and shelves felt as smooth as a baby's bottom once I'd done with it. 

Then I began painting it. I used B&Q's finest undercoat (no expense spared) and just kept lashing it on until I felt happy with it. 

The picture on the left shows the 2nd coat and the right shows the 3rd coat. I was pretty happy with it after the third coat so I left it there. I didn't use paint over it in the end because I quite liked the 'shabby chic' effect the undercoat gave. 

All that was left to do is tack it up to the wardrobe and colour co-ordinate my nail polishes!

Considering the ones I was looking at online cost around £40 for pretty much the same thing I'm really pleased with my £14 bargain. And the fact that I can say 'I made that!' (Well painted it).

I'd really love to hear your opinions and whether you're going to make one yourself. I can imagine that everyone will make really cool ones to match their own room!

Thanks for reading everyone :)

Leanne x

P.S. Let me know if you'd like to see a nail polish collection. I'm feeling really inspired now I have them all on display haha!

Photo Diary | 11th-18th April 2015

Back to work for me today :( I've had two weeks off over Easter and the thought of going back is doing nothing for me. However I placed an eye-wartering-ly large SheInside order yesterday (I think I needed something to persuade me to actually go back) so at least I have something to look forward to!

Anyway, after that slightly depressing intro, today I have my weekly photo diary for you.

For most of the week I sported Maybelline's Pink Slip on my nails. It lasted really really well considering I didn't use a top coat and I was busy all week. On Monday, I spent the day making my nail polish holder which I promise you'll see on Wednesday, I know I keep going on about it. I'm going to show you some pictures and how I made it. I could even write a nail polish collection post if that's something you'd want to see. 

There's Hector keeping me company while I drink my first coffee of the day! He's always so yellow in the morning. 

On Tuesday, I went to Chester Zoo for the day with my friends. I haven't been to Chester Zoo since I was in year 7 at school.. that was 10 years ago. That was a sickly thought because I remember it like it was yesterday. I had butternut squash soup and a salad sandwich for dinner and we sat outside in the sun... it was glorious. 

On Wednesday, my sister and I went shopping and I bought pretty much all of Primark (Haul anyone?) and some nail polishes which you'll have already seen in this post. Then I went to watch Sigma in the evening... they were really good but I forgot to take pictures!! 

Anyway, Thursday brought us day drinking. If you're familiar with Manchester, we went bar hopping down Oxford Road... it really reminded me of my Uni days when I'd think nothing of skipping a lecture to sit in Footage with a cider. They were the days. 

I painted Hector's nails red because he loves to be trendy. Look how cheeky his face is!

Last but not least... work has officially commenced on my bathroom! How excited am I?! Buzzin.

I'll keep you posted with updates!!

Thanks for reading everyone,

Hope you all have a lovely week :)

Leanne x

Nailing It.

 A nail polish obsession has been born. I've always been one to paint my nails but I recently made a nail polish stand (I'll write a post on how I made it and what it looks like soon) and since I've had them all on display and in neat lines I just can't stop buying the stuff.

I have quite a few new shades to show you from various different brands so let's crack on!

First, Superdrug had Barry M polishes on 3 for 2 so I picked up; Guava, Damson, Vintage Violet, Pomegranate, Chilli and Blackberry. I'm absolutely obsessed with these nail paints and I'm determined to have the whole collection one day! 

I entered the dangerous realm of Nail Polish Direct and saw this China Glaze neon collection of mini polishes. I always miss out on the collections so I ordered this straight away. This set includes the colours; Red-y To Rave, Daisy Know My Name?, Violet Vibes, Glow With The Flow, DJ Blew My Mind and Treble Maker.

China Glaze Baby Beats Mini Collection - £12.95

Then I was drawn in by Flip Flop Fantasy and Heat Index both are £3.95 each. I stupidly didn't realise that I already own Heat Index so I'm putting this one away towards a future giveaway.

Last but not least I bought some Maybelline Colour Show polishes. These are a very reasonable £2.99 each and they were also on a 3 for 2 offer. I picked up; Pink Slip, Love Lillac, Noite De Gal, Burgundy kiss, Ocean Blue and Berry Fusion. 

If you haven't seen already, I've written a review on Pink Slip, you can see that here. I'll be working my way through the rest soon so let me know which colours are your favourite!

Thanks for reading!

Leanne x

Photo Diary | 2-11 April 2015

So I did my fair share of beverage drinking over the Easter break and it seems that's all I managed to get pictures of. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this week's photo diary.

When we broke up at work for Easter we had a staff night out in Manchester. We went to Lammar's in the Northern Quarter. I have actually been there before and I really enjoyed it... especially the 2 for 1 cocktails. The bottom, right picture is of my friend and I, I wore a basic black top with a paisley print skirt which you can see in this haul. 

You all know about my love for coffee drinking so you can imagine my delight at discovering Kenco's new variation. It's a coffee house roast and I can only describe it as flat compared to the normal coffee. It's nice and tastes lovely but it's not as rich as what I'm used to. I like strong coffee and this isn't really strong at all. 

Next up is a picture of my latest celebrity infatuation. I'm such a teenager. But Keegan Allen, I'm waiting for you, pal.

On Easter Sunday my friend and I went to a UV party and by golly did we dress appropriately. Glow sticks, tutus, leg warmers; the works. It was lots of fun. 

On Bank Holiday Monday, my Mum took us to Fleetwood for a few days. Fleetwood is right next to Blackpool so we walked around the shops, up and down the front. We also went into Clevelys and took a ferry to Knott End. In Clevelys I ordered a ham salad sandwich which came on the biggest muffin I've ever seen. Muffin goals! We also drank Pimm's and Rekorderlig. The weather was an absolute gem, the sun shone every single day. 

In Fleetwood there's an outlet shopping centre which, in honesty I don't really rate... I don't recognise many of the shops on there. However, they do have a Hallmark which sells discounted Yankee Candles. I only found one fragrance that did anything for me which was Sweet Strawberry, I'm burning it now and it's lovely! 

Who doesn't love a bacon and cheese bagel? 

I have discovered a new passion in life which is colouring in. So I took myself to Tesco and bought some fancy Crayola felt tips and colouring pencils. 

I payed a visit to the Trafford Centre with my friends for dinner and some retail therapy and I finally went to Giraffe. I ordered a kiev and mash potato with a Mango Mamma smoothie (I think that's it's name) and it was delicious. I'd definitely go there again. 

***

That pretty much sums up the first week of my school holidays!

Hope you enjoyed reading, 

Leanne x

Maybelline Color Show | Pink Slip

I hope you guys like looking at nail polishes because today I bought six new shades to show you! All from the Maybelline Color Show range which makes a change (Barry M fiend over here) but they were all £2.99 and on a 3 for 2 offer which I couldn't refuse.

First up is Pink Slip which is a metallic/foil effect rosy pink colour. It's not rose gold, it's definitely just pink but it's still very pretty. 

I only had to use two coats to get full coverage which is an absolute doddle compared with some of the China Glaze polishes I continue to use. It dried to a really nice shiny finish and I didn't feel the need to add a top coat. It did remain tacky for quite a while but after 15-20 mins I could fully function as a normal human being again.

I can definitely see me wearing this throughout the spring and into summer as it's a nice fresh colour which reminds me of Easter eggs and budding flowers. Especially blossom trees. 

Maybelline Color Show Pink Slip - £2.99

Thanks for reading! Keep your eyes peeling for the next five shades I picked out....

Leanne x

Thoughts of the day

• I took a week off over Easter to recuperate from life. Both work and keeping up on blogging were getting on my nerves (for want of a better phrase) so I just didn't do any. But I'm ready to get back on the ball again!

• My little bathroom is getting well on it's way now... hopefully I'll be able to show you that work in progress.

• I'm mid-way through season 4 of Pretty Little Liars. I've been continuously watching it for about two weeks now and I've nearly caught up. I love Toby, my heart just melts for him.

• Hope you're all having a lovely half-term break or had a nice few days off over Easter :)