Let's Chat

Shall we chat?
I feel like we should chat.
Boys look away. 
Mother Nature is wreaking havoc on my womb today. I recently enjoyed one of my occasional months off, (my body is too lazy to commit to anything more regular) and I guess I'm now paying for it with toe-curling cramps and an overwhelming desire to eat myself up a dress size. 
You know it's bad when you feel the need to share your pain with your husband at 6am...

Lush Bubble Bars

I am once again, 'with bath.' After spending almost two years in Finland without the use of a tub, I've been making up for lost time in the shape of numerous, Lush bubble baths. 
The bubble bars are my favourite products from Lush, hands down. So much so, that despite the occasional shower gel purchase, the bubble bars are pretty much all I gravitate towards. I know some of you, 'lushies' will be cursing at your screens right now, but I'm very much stuck in my bubble-loving ways. 
Plus, there appears to be a Lush store on every corner in Abu Dhabi. Not complaining, just observing. Yes, I can excuse the ridiculous mark up. Just shy of £14 for the two - ouch! It was pretty much the same in Finland so I don't really feel cheated, although I do tend to go a little wild whenever I'm back in the UK. 
Anyway, enough of my waffle. Let's crack on with why we're here:

Dr Dennis Gross

Yep, I'd never heard of it either.
I'm sure there's a few beauty buffs out there rolling their eyes at me, but hey, up until a few years ago my skincare routine consisted almost entirely of Simple face wipes. 
I'd say we've made some progress here. 

So, Dr Gross... Who is he?

Husband Fear

I wouldn't go as far as saying my husband is afraid of me, but I don't feel like there is anything wrong with instilling a little bit of fear. 
I have a look. A stare, if you will. 
Perfected from my days as a teacher, it's the kind of look that lets you know you're a whisker away from seeing me go bat shit crazy. 
My husband is familiar with the look. 
The other day, I was trying to drum up ideas for blog posts and I came up with this:

The Cage

I'm not sure how to introduce today's blog post topic, but what I will say is that insomnia has a lot to answer for. 
So, I'm just going to jump right in with what you're about to see. I designed a custom-made guinea pig cage come storage, clusterfuck of genius, on the back of a home store catalogue. 

I'm not really sure what to say in my defence, other than that I think Hamish and Ralph would be quite into the whole duplex living thing. 

Wardrobe Wants

I'm currently in the process of needing new things. Specifically clothes. There's a high chance I'm in the preliminary stages of an early life crisis and the only way to see it through is to go out and buy all the things.
Not really, but having donated three quarters of my wardrobe to the charity shop before leaving Finland, things are feeling a bit sparse. 
I've decided it's time I try to, 'adult' too. Only with regards to my personal style though. I definitely still drank two Capri-Suns today and my love of Dairylea Dunkers is well documented.
Here's what's currently sitting on my shopping wish list:

A Gloss I Can Get On With

One does not simply love a lip gloss, (or at least in my case anyway!) 
They're pesky, little things. Throwing 'glossy lips' and 'wind', together in a sentence is enough to make even the most dedicated make up junkie shudder. 
It's a love/hate relationship at best.
So, imagine my surprise when I found myself reaching for this one on a near regular basis. It borders on monumental. Have I finally found a gloss I can get on board with?

Abu Dhabi

Brace yourselves guys. I'm going to bombard you with information today.
Firstly, I'm in Abu Dhabi. A thousand, 'hands in the air' emojis. Tense words with my husband aside, we made it here in one piece and so far so good. 
Our weekend went as follows:

Home Inspiration

With any move, comes the opportunity to reorganise and refresh your life... (as well as your furniture) and, despite the fact that we haven't even begun to view apartments yet, I already have several Pinterest boards dedicated to every room of my imaginary apartment. 
Some may say I have too much time on my hands. I just claim to love me some home decor!

A Special 'Shit My Husband Says' Post

Remember when this mini-series was called Shit My Fiance Says? Yea, me neither because it's been that long since I posted anything... Anyway, it's a special one today as it's Scott's birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR EXCESSIVE! 

Seasonal Shadows

So, the blogger pants are being plucked out of my arse today and I'm determined to have a productive afternoon! 
Last night, I went out to dinner with some fabulous Dubai ladies - Stacey, Laura and Simone. There was steak, wine and cake... Need I say more? I successfully managed to, 'adult' for the duration of an entire evening so I rewarded myself with a Dairylea Dunker this morning as a small hooray! (Jumbo Tubes over the breadstick variety any day!)
So let's discuss make up. Guess what? I went and added to my Inglot collection again didn't I. Anyone else find this boring now? I briefly considered not posting about my latest purchases but the swatches made me think of spicy orange pumpkins - true story -so I felt seasonally justified!

Dubai

Hey, I'm alive, (in the literal sense of the word) although I feel as though a week-long nap wouldn't go amiss right now. It would appear that I'm 'tired' in Dubai... like all the damn time! I reckon I've only got a few more days’ worth of blaming the jet lag before I need to come up with another excuse. Maybe the heat? Anyway, tiredness aside, I'm back in the land of sunshine and it feels UHHmazing. 
I wanted to post something a little more compelling today, but I've sat here for 20 minutes trying to be interesting. The best that I could come up with was a lame joke about the fact that I've failed on two occasions to bag myself a SIM card for my phone and I’m not going to put you through that. I bet you're really glad you took time out of your day to stop by, aren't you?! FYI, I’ve also just gorged on Petits Filous yoghurts, because one is never enough. Did you know, according to their pot facts, the fastest growing nail is on the middle finger? Figures. 

MAC Margin

I've never been one to describe myself as having, 'a type' but when it comes to blushers, I go weak at the knees for a peachy pink. My current collection of 'absolutely essential purchases' are so similar in shade that they warrant disapproving glances from my husband - but he doesn't speak make up so we're all good. 
When I clapped eyes on a MAC Frost blush called Margin, I knew I didn't need it. I knew I had several very similar, if not dupeable shades sitting in my make up drawers... but I had to have it anyway. *Preaching to the choir here, you all know how this thing works!

That Time I Accidentally Asked a Stranger For Anal

There are some things in life that impact you in a positive way, like waking up five minutes before your alarm, feeling bright-eyed and ready to conquer the world. There are those that have a negative impact, such as spilling a box of sesame seeds across your kitchen floor, and then there are those moments that are truly so horrific that you struggle to understand how your life will ever be the same again...
The latter of which I experienced quite recently.
Backstory - I drink more than I probably should when I go out out. I blame Finland. No offence guys. 
Anyone who has lived in a small town with only a handful of activities at their disposal will know that sometimes, all there is to do is drink wine by the bucket. Which is precisely what I was doing on the night in question.

Ghost Spam and Politics

Today was a great day. The woman that handles our company apartment decided to tell us that our WIFI was being disconnected as of the end of September. So if you're reading this and wondering why I've been so quiet the last few days, it's because I've had all that is good in life, stripped away from me. I'm probably feeling naked and afraid somewhere. *Scary visuals
It's not all bad though, she did inform us that she'd managed to extend our electricity contract for an extra week so I'll be able to drown my sorrows in tea and toast. 
In other news, I had my faith in humanity somewhat ruffled upon discovering that this had been used to search for my blog:

Lip Plumping Without Injections?

I've always had a pretty regular relationship with my lips. Would I like them to be a little plumper? Yes, probably. Would I like them to be a little less wonky and uneven? Absolutely! But would I go as far as letting someone stick a needle in my face to achieve all of this? I'm not really sure. Needles just aren't my jam, and whilst I'm pretty okay with what mother nature gave me in the ol' lip department, I still feel a flicker of intrigue whenever I see a lip plumping product make its way onto the market.