DIY Dried Orange Christmas Decorations

First of all, I apologise for the varying photo quality in this post, winter does not offer good lighting when I'm only home in the evening!
Christmas is all about warmth and cosiness in my mind and nothing gives that extra special feeling in the same way as home made decorations, whether they be using dried fruit, pine cones, re-purposed toys, or any other item.
This year I have made several different types of home made decorations, including these which use oven dried orange slices.

The first step is to dry your fruit. You can use apples, pears, lemons or limes instead, but to me, Christmas is all about the orange! To dry the fruit you need to carefully slice it into 1cm thick slices. it is best to cut citrus fruit crossways so that you get the pretty cross section of the segments. Place the slices on a non-stick tray (or on baking parchment) and bake on the lowest heat setting for 8 hours, turning occasionally for an even bake. They may need a little longer depending on the oven so use your own judgement. After baking, leave overnight to dry out any last moisture. If this step is too daunting or time consuming then ebay have lots available for not too much money!

When dried, the orange slices will smell similar to marmalade which is pretty festive in itself! If you want to make the slices more hardy then coat with a thin layer of clear drying glue. I like to make sure that our house is filled with festive smells so I used a little paintbrush to dab a small amount of the Poppyfields Essence of Christmas (which is the best scent in the world by the way!). You can grab a bottle *here* for £5 should you wish and a small bottle lasts literally years :) After scenting the slices seal them in a freezer bag for a few hours to absorb the oil and let the scent mingle.

Once scented, simply make a small hole using a knitting needle or pencil tip and thread using some pretty twine or ribbon. Some slices may already have a hole in the centre from when drying, if so, make use of that :) Then just enjoy watching them glow like stained glass when light shines through them. If you use them on your Christmas tree, place them near lights so see them glow and also warm them slightly allowing the scent to release itself and fill the room.

With some of the slices, I threaded them, along with some pine cones that I also scented, onto some silver twine to make a pretty garland that looks really pretty along the mantelpiece or could also hang down the banisters

What do you think? Aren't they pretty? Do you ever make your own decorations?
Annie xx

Office Beauty Essentials

 When it comes to work, I'm fairly laid back when in regards to beauty. I don't tend to wear any make-up, do anything special with my hair, or worry too much if my nails aren't painted. I do, however, keep a few little beauty essentials on my desk at all times to keep me fresh and happy.

Hand cream- Top of my list of must have items no matter where I am, but especially at work. I can't stand having even slightly dry hands, so when I am sat at a desk for 7 hours a day, I need one close by. At the moment I am using the Pink Pepperpod Replenishing Hand Cream from Molton Brown which may well be the best that I've ever used...but that's a post of its own.
Lip balm- I love the Soap & Glory Smooch Operator lip balm because of its rich and buttery yet non-sticky formula and gentle vanilla scent, so I always like to keep a tub of this on my desk. I'm halfway through my third pot at the moment.
Hand gel- I am a hand gel obsessive and panic if I don't have on stashed nearby. Using phones, keyboards, shared toilets and assisting with courses in various locations all mean potential for germ spreading so I like to keep my hands sanitised. My current bottle was only 59p from Lidl and the aloe vera leaf powder makes it that little bit softer on the skin.
Perfume- I do my fair share of dashing around to different locations to assist with courses, deliver things to tutors and attend meetings, so I think it is essential to keep a bottle of perfume on the desk so that I can freshen up during the day. At the moment I am working my way through Guess "Seductive" which isn't a favourite but it is a fresh and fruity scent that gives a nice midday lift.

What essentials can you not cope without at work? Do you keep beauty bits and pieces on your desk too?

Annie xx

The Yankee Candle Christmas Style App

I spend way too much time on facebook...way too much.
Today I stumbled upon a cute little app that was added to the Yankee Candle Company page by the Yankee Candle elves to help you get to know their Christmas collection and suggest the fragrances that you might enjoy.

The app works by asking you simple multiple choice questions to determine what best fits in with your idea of a perfect Christmas (one question asks you to select your favourite Christmas film. It has to be Home Alone, right?!)

It then uses the answers you give to generate an answer as to whether you are more of a Christmas Past or Christmas Present type of style and tells you a little bit about some of the fragrances from the lovely new Festive Range that would be likely to appeal the most to you.

As a little extra incentive to give the app a play and spread the word, for fans of the Yankee Candle Company Facebook page who share the app with their friends either on Facebook or Twitter, there is also the chance to win one of 50 large jar sets of the new Spring 2015 range which I have heard tell smell beautiful.

You can find the Yankee Candle app *here* if you fancy giving it a go. I thought it was just a sweet and fun way to show people the winter collection and you guys already know how much I love Yankee Candles so I just had to share with you :)

Let me know whether you are Christmas Present or Christmas Past!

Annie xx

Costumes, Candles, Cake and Cold

I love autumn. I think it's probably my favourite time of year, especially around November because there's so much excitement in the air, the evenings are dark and cold and warm hats, coats and scarves are brought out.
There's been lots going on here in Bath lately. I really feel at the moment like I am living a truly great life :)

For Halloween I visited a wonderful friend in his cabin in the woods for a cosy gathering with pumpkin pie, dress up, The Nightmare Before Christmas, drinking and dancing and it was magical. The fake blood took a while to remove but it was so worth it ;) I think this is possibly the only decent photo of me though as it was taken before the amaretto came into play hehe

Now the evenings are dark once again, there is nothing more relaxing to me than snuggling up under a blanket or duvet with my beloved Yankee candles burning away, Christmas Cookie has always been a favourite. Its warm vanilla and sugar scent fills the house with the smell of freshly baked biscuits and when burnt with Merry Marshmallow which has a gooey melted marshmallow scent, it smells like memories of childhood Christmases. Nothing makes me happier than that!

Another reason I've been feeling festive! On Friday I spent the day with my mum baking our Christmas Cake and Christmas Puddings. I love this day with my mum every year. We get sticky, over excited and put too much brandy in everything and yet everything always turns out perfectly. Next stop is cake decoration day :D

I took this photo at around 9.30 this morning on my way to assist one of our courses for work. It shows Pultney Wier which is right in the middle of Bath, yet on this cold Monday morning there was no one about. Bah is such a beautiful place and I will never get bored of living here, but it's times like this one when it feels extra special,

Finally, taking up a lot of my time at the moment (outside of working full time and working on my college course) are the rehearsals for Snow White, which are in full swing ready for the how to begin in December. We had the photo shoot recently and that apple was so red and shiny that it didn't make it to the end of the afternoon before me giving in and taking a bite...followed by a few more... ;)

So that pretty much sums up my life recently. I have so much going on t the moment that I don't get regular chances to post but I have got some bits and pieces lined up, including more candles, decor, beauty and a couple of DIY Christmas posts.

Catch you later,
Annie xx


PS: for lots more photos of candles, cats, makeup, picturesque places, cookery and pretty stuff, find me on instagram @threelittlebuhos

Revisited: Gold FUN from Lush

In my post earlier today I mentioned a product that made me realise that I as ready to start blogging again. That was this; gold FUN. It's a product that I first wrote about around this time last year when it was released as part of the Lush 2013 Christmas range, but has been brought back this year as part of the 2014 range.

For those who haven't heard of FUN before, it is a 4-in-1 product from Lush that is able to be used s bubble bath, body wash, shampoo and soap... It also happens to look, feel and handle in the same way as play-doh!
Designed to be suitable for those with even the most sensitive skin, FUN was released as a bath product for those who are unable to use the bath ballistics and bubble bars, due to their slightly harsher ingredients. It is made using a base of talc, glycerine and cornflour which work together to make it silky smooth as well as humectant.

Now, I'll admit that during the time that I worked for Lush, I absolutely hated FUN, and I mean really hated it. In my mind it was messy, gooey and just generally not my cup of tea at all. I think a lot of this was based on the demo station for the product which was always soggy, messy and gave me a headache, especially on a busy Saturday!

However, when sorting through my stash the other evening, I found a bar lurking from last winter that had gone a bit droopy and sorry for itself so I decided to give it a real chance and have a FUN only bath so that I could use up the whole bar. I have to say that as much as I didn't think I would, I loved it. I pushed the boat out and used around two thirds of the bar as bubbles by breaking it up and swirling it under the running water. If you have ever used one of the Sunnyside bubble bars then you will be aware of the swirling gold effect in the water, Gold FUN has the same effect. It also smells like the much loved Honey I Washed the Kids soap. By using two thirds of the bar I was surrounded by mounds of bubbles so I could have easily gotten away with using much less.
With the other third I washed all over and also shaved my legs by lathering a little up and using it in place of shaving foam.

I found that after my bath I came out feeling really smooth and relaxed. I often get trouble with eczema on my legs but I found that even they felt soft and supple and whilst I still moisturised, I could have gotten away with not using any.

So, as much as I will always carry memories of children modelling penises out of Pink FUN or mixing every single colour together on purpose because clearly it's very funny when I was working in-store, I can honestly say that FUN is not the product of nightmares that I originally thought. In fact, it is everything that it claims to be, and something that I will actually repurchase regularly and very soon.

Annie xx

Remember Me? Why I Backed Away from Blogging

I've just taken a look and found that I haven't posted since July. Wow, that's a while back now! So here we are in October.
But I'm not going to say anything like "I'm such a bad blogger" or "Sorry for being pants" because stepping way was a conscious decision.
I found that I had got to a place where blogging was becoming more of a stress in my life than a pleasure. I was trying to juggle working full time, doing a college course, drama rehearsals twice a week and also maintain a social life. Yet all the while, even if I managed to achieve all of these things, I found that if I flopped into bed having not written a post, or taken photographs of my make-up, or of my latest skincare routine etcetera I felt guilty about it. And I didn't want that.

To me, blogging has always been a hobby. I love to write and I love all things beauty. So for me, using writing to share that love for beauty products is a way to relax and enjoy a passion that my friends just aren't really interested in (I have a lot of male friends!).
It's great that blogging has opened so many doors to me, and given me the chance to try new things, meet amazing people and attend brilliant events, but when it came to the point where it felt like writing about eye shadow and lipstick was causing more stress than it was relieving, I just felt like I needed a break.

So what have I been up to?

Well, I am still juggling all of the mentioned above, but I am really enjoying it.
I recently started a new job working at the City of Bath College for the Adult Community Learning department where I help to provide a wide range of courses for adults in the community who may have never got the chance to achieve what they would have liked, want to learn new skills that will help to develop themselves, or due to certain circumstances slipped out of employment and haven't been able to find their way back. I am really enjoying it, and seeing what we do, and what we help people to achieve is really satisfying.

I spend most of my weekends in Weymouth these days with my lovely boyfriend which is pretty special. It makes nearly every weekend feel like I'm on holiday in a beautiful place. I could spend hours on the sea front just watching the world go by. Believe it or not, I have even taken up sea fishing (very out of character I know!)


In short, I am happy, and back in a place where I want to blog again. But not because I feel like I have to. I am not going to try and promise myself that I will post daily, or about anything that I don't think "Oh my goodness, I need to share this!" because that is never what my blog was meant to be. I am working on a post to go live later today that features the product that got me thinking "wow, I need to blog this" several nights ago and made me see I am ready to come back so look out for that :)

Right, ramble over!

Annie xx

Nourish Golden Glow Toning Body Shimmer

Nourish is one of my favourite brands for natural, organic products. They always feel so indulgent as they are packed full of beautiful butters and oils. The Golden Glow Toning Body Shimmer* is no exception.

The idea of this product is that it helps give skin a warm, lightly shimmering, glow whilst keeping skin hydrated, balanced and helping to tone all in one go. A big ask!
The packaging is sleek and I love the simplicity of it. White and gold are one of my favourite colour combinations and sat on my white dressing table this looks in-keeping and feminine whilst also looking quite high-end.
The bottle has a pump dispenser that deposits enough product to massage into both arms and along collar bones if you press it down fully or if you press lightly you can get just a little product out.

The product itself has a rich, creamy texture and contains light reflecting particles (which are a nightmare to catch in a photograph!) and due to a combination of argan oil and aloe vera leaf juice sinks beautifully into the skin leaving it feeling hydrated and silky smooth. It has a lightly incense like aroma coming from frankincense, myrrh and neroli oils which are all known for their positive effect on the senses- in fact, neroli is a natural antidepressant as it helps with the release of serotonin. 77% of the ingredients are organic, 6.5% are natural minerals and all are cruelty free!

I really like the finish that this product has on the skin. Instead of looking shiny, it just gives a warm glow which is subtle enough even on skin as fair as mine. When hit by the sun it lights up and really gives skin a healthy, luminous look. I've had several comments about how nice my skin has been looking whilst wearing this and I have to say that I see a real difference in the mirror and in photos. Another little trick I've been using is to mix a small dab into my foundation to give a dewy, fresh finish that also stops the foundation clinging to any dry patches.

Over all, I have been very impressed with the product. I wouldn't say that it is overly toning as it simply works to tone by keeping the skin well hydrated and the addition of a little gentle marine extract, but in my eyes, that isn't the main selling point of the product. The effect on the skin is beautiful and perfect for spring all the way through to autumn . Worn along arms, legs and collar bones it gives a long lasting glow, definition and warmth. A 100ml bottle will set you back £25.00 *here* and last you through the whole season, so in my opinion it is well worth investing.

What do you think? Will you be investing in a bottle?
Annie xx