House Of Florrie Rose Gold Watch

To be honest, until recently I wasn't really a watch person, I found then awkward to wear and I could just use my phone for the time but now I love wearing them as they act as a practical accessory so I don't have to get my phone out all of them time and it adds an extra detail to my usual basic but classic and minimal outfits. Like pretty much every blogger on the planet, I'm obsessed with rose gold, I would have everything in copper/rose gold if I could and I think during the festive season it is perfect!

I was sent this incredibly beautiful watch from the generous and lovely people at House Of Florrie; I chose the stunning *House Of Florrie Pearl Rose Gold Expander Watch (£75) which I cannot stop staring at! The watch features rose gold plating and an iridescent mother of pearl sub dial. The watch comes in one of the most beautiful boxes ever - when products look this good, it makes photographing them ten times easier *no editing required*.

This watch is from the 'pearl expander collection' and there are two others in the collection including pretty gold and silver options. All three watches have an elegant 1920's inspired design that looks so classic but the rose gold plating gives it is a contemporary and on-trend look. One of my favourite details about the watch (as well as the pretty box, rose gold finish and design) is the unique mother of pearl sub dial. I own a few watches but none of them have a sub dial feature which makes it look very luxe and expensive!

It has a expandable, stretchy bracelet/strap so you don't have to worry so much about choosing the correct size, if you are buying it as a gift because it can fit a range of wrist sizes. Although I have ridiculously tiny wrists and all watches are too big on me so I will have to get this one adjusted very slightly to make it fit more snugly on my wrist.

I think this watch would make a heavenly and very luxurious gift this Christmas and I can't think of any one of my relatives or friends who wouldn't want to find this stunning gift under the tree on Christmas day! I adore the rose gold finish, unique and almost vintage design and the mother of pearl sub dial as well as the beautiful presentation box which could be used to store it while you aren't wearing it. Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5!

What do you think of this watch? Are you giving or hoping to receive a watch this Christmas? 

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Men's Christmas Gift Guide

I've already published my Stocking Fillers Gift Guide which went down really well so today's post is my roundup of a selection of gifts for him, whether's that is your brother, dad, husband, cousins or friends so I hope you like the gifts and this post gives you some ideas for this christmas season...I want to keep all of these for myself to be honest though.

*Smartphone Projector (£18.99)

The first gift is one of my favourites and I've been using it so much! It's a cardboard smartphone projector which is perfect for the colder months as you can have a cosy movie day in bed! The projector is suitable for use with all iOS and Android smartphones so it should work with all iPhones (I have an iPhone 5C and it fits well). It comes with instructions printed onto the box and it is a little time consuming to put together *I'm more used to putting together Ikea wardrobes...* and it takes a while to get the distance/set up right but it is a little DIY project on Christmas day and will mean that you can watch movies and embarrassing christmas home movies over Christmas Day and Boxing Day instead of the awful TV!

Last year I only read about six or so books but this year my goal was 30 which seemed almost insurmountable at the time but I'm now on my 72nd book which I'm really proud of and one of the publishers that I've loved is Pushkin Press; their books are beautifully published and so unique! So I obviously have a few books in my gift guides this year as I think books can make lovely gifts.

First up, these two incredibly beautiful books from Pushkin Press, *Triumph and Disaster and *Genius and Discovery by Stefan Zweig (£9.99 each). I have to be honest and say that book covers definitely affect my interest and catch my attention and I think it's important for Christmas gifts to look the part. I adore the metallic, foil detailing on the books, especially the copper shade *heart eyes emoji*. These dramatised historical studies of some of the most poignant moments in history are so interesting and will make a unique Christmas gift or stocking filler. I'll have full reviews next month or in the New Year (my current TBR is huge!).

The majority of the people in my life love food, baking and cooking so cookbooks are great and safe gifts to give; however they can get a little repetitive but in comes Hoxton Street Monster Supplies to the rescue...you can probably tell by the store name that this isn't your usual cookbook. The Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Cookbook (£13) is a unique cookbook designed for the living, dead and undead alike, it's full of interesting halloween and monster filled recipes such as Classic Kraken Crumble, Boiled Bile Jam, Dragon's Egg Tarts and so many more amazingly macabre recipes - I love it! Also I adore the illustrations, cover and it's a fantastic price; there are so many stocking fillers on their site too and I want them all!

My dad is awful to buy for, he's so picky with everything so I always just end up buying him aftershave which he likes but it's not very interesting so I think this gift set from Crabtree and Evelyn will be the answer! The *Crabtree and Evelyn Indian Sandalwood Traveller Gift Set (£24) contains travel sizes of their hair and body wash, shave cream, after shave balm and cologne in the heavenly 'indian sandalwood' scent. I adore the scent, it's woody, masculine and musky but it's different to all of the generic men's scents. It's presented so nicely and it would make a perfect Christmas gift for dads, brothers, friends and the men in your life who travel.

I think for most men, skincare and grooming products on the whole are a little confusing or feminine and I know my dad wouldn't know what to buy so I'm always the one to choose products for him and he does actually use them. The Chambers & Co Balm For Active Feet (£8, 60ml) which is perfect for dry skin. It contains carrot oil, hemps seed oil, vitamin E and more fantastic, natural ingredients. The *Chambers & Co Balm For Active Hands (£8, 60ml) also contains great ingredients such as aloe vera, coconut oil and almond oil. Both would be fantastic as men's or womens stocking fillers or as part of a hamper - perfect for this time of the year when your skin needs a little TLC.

Food is also a go-to gift but it's usually chocolate, coffee or hot chocolate but this is much more unique but just as practical and yummy! The *Easiyo Yoghurt Maker (around £18) is a quick and easy to use yoghurt maker that uses packet mixes (£2 each) which makes up to 1kg of yogurt per packet. I have the 'forrest fruit' and 'greek style with honey' flavours, the first is amazing. The yogurt maker is so simple to use and you can have smooth, creamy and delicious yogurt in between 8 to 24 hours depending on how quickly it sets. I think it would make a great family gift as it's something parents/guardians and children could make together! There are also so many yoghurt flavours to choose from and they're vegetarian, gluten free and contain natural flavours and colours.

This final gift is probably my personal favourite and all of my friends, family and neighbours that have tried it have loved it too so it would be perfect for share the experience with over the Christmas season, parties and New Year! The *Immerse Virtual Reality Headset (£39.99) is a virtual reality headset in which you place your smartphone and you can play and explore virtual worlds (via free apps you can download from the app store) as well as 3D movies and videos. I've downloaded a few apps and the best so far have to be the Jurassic VR and Haunted Rollercoaster apps - the jurassic one is amazing as you are in a jurassic park like environment with dinosaurs roaming around! The headset is so easy to use and I love the experience of virtual reality; the only negative I have is that the headset is a little heavy with a phone in it and there aren't a tonne of apps right now but I'm sure that will change soon. My grandad, aunties, friends, parents and neighbours all loved it, it's a great talking point and everyone wants to try it (they're all impressed by it!).

What do you think of the items in my gift guide? Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? 

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Ultimate Stocking Fillers Gift Guide

This post is going to be a long post, so maybe grab a snack and a coffee! There are some amazing and gorgeous stocking fillers in this post, most are great for women and teens but there are also a few gifts for children, men, colleagues and secret santa recipients so hopefully there should be something for everyone, including a couple of cute personalised gifts. 

First up, one of the most seasonal gifts, the *Elegant Touch House Of Ho Ho Ho Christmas Nails (£8.99 each). I was kindly sent a few in various cute and festive designs including: Deck The Halls and Snow Globe, both of which are so pretty and christmassy. I think they'd make perfect gifts for teens and anyone interested in beauty. I was also sent the equally pretty *Elegant Touch Nails (£6.99) which are a slightly cheaper option but the designs are adorable - I have Polar Opposites and Let It Snow designs. I hear nothing but amazing things about this brand and their false nails so I can't wait try these in December. 

Chocolate is usually a really safe gift to choose for secret santas, colleagues, friends, neighbours...basically everyone, I'm also a fan of chocolate *wink wink*. Morse Toad (best brand name ever?) have a range of personalised greeting cards with chocolate in them as well as little stocking fillers. I was able to choose a couple of products and I chose the *Morse Toad 'Merry Xmas' Chocolate Christmas Card (£10.50) which comes really nicely packaged and has Merry Xmas in chocolate within the card. I chose the 'add your own image' option so I have an old photograph of myself and my best friends  from years ago so we can all cringe and share the chocolates! I also picked up the *Personalised Chocolate Stocking Filler (£2.75) and I opted for the 'Ho Ho Ho' message which would be great to add to a secret santa gift, as part of a foodie hamper or as a little christmas morning stocking filler. 

I love Green People skincare, I've tried a few products and I cannot recommend them enough if you have sensitive skin. They have brought out a few products where 15p from each Refresh Gift sold will go to support the work of the Butterfly Conservation, so not only do you get a little treat for yourself or a stocking filler for mums, aunties, friends or secret santa gifts but you are also contributing to charity! 

The packaging is gorgeous and I know that isn't everything but during the festive season, it's worth finding pretty gifts for friends and family. The *Green People Refresh Shower Gel (£5.50, 30ml) is 82% organic, it's a special edition product and it contains sweet orange, ginger, aloe leaf juice, amara flower water and more natural ingredients. There's also the *Green People Nourish Hand Cream (£6.50, 30ml) and it contains ho wood and red mandarin. I think hand cream is a really safe gift and it's always needed especially at this time of the year. Lastly, the *Green people Indulge Night Treat (£8.50, 30ml) which is an organic facial night cream that contains raspberry and apple. As I said, I cannot recommend Green People skincare enough! All three products are suitable of vegetarians and vegans *round of applause*. 

Now onto a couple of snacks, I've always had food as a stocking filler because opening christmas presents is hungry work! The snack of choice for my stocking fillers post are these moreish *Rocky Rice Bars which come in Chocolate, Strawberry an Orange flavours. I used to have these kinds of bars in school as a snack and I still love snacks like these. All three are so yummy, moreish and perfect as a snack and on the go. The chocolate is my favourite but the strawberry is great too! 

Burts Bees and Crabtree and Evelyn are two of my favourite brands when it comes to gifts and I've bought various sets and products from both brands for friends and family. First up, the *Crabtree and Evelyn Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy 'Feast For The Senses' Christmas Cracker (£6) which contains three mini hand creams in the scents: spiced earl grey, festive fig and rose pineapple. The Crabtree and Evelyn hand creams are fantastic and all three scents are amazing, especially the spiced earl grey hand cream. I love the Christmas cracker packaging, it's adorable and so festive. 

Next up is another gift that comes so beautifully packaged, the *Burt's Bees Treat From The Bees Set (£7.99) comes in a honey pot style glass jar with a metal handle - it could definitely be re-used for jewellery, mini soap or tea lights (it would be perfect for tea lights). The pot contains the vanilla lip balm, peppermint & vitamin E lip balm and their classic hand salve. I have the Burt's Bees Original Beeswax lip balm which I adore so I cannot recommend their lip balms enough. My mum, aunties, friends and cousins would love this little but luxe festive gift. 

Mini's are a fantastic option for stocking fillers as they are inexpensive but most brands have some minis, including more expensive or luxe brands such as Moroccan Oil. I've tried a few Moroccan Oil products including the amazing hair oil and I love these minis. The *Moroccan Oil Moisturise Repair Shampoo (£6.25, 70ml) and Conditioner (£6.75, 70ml) are perfect stocking fillers - I love their products, as they are perfect for my dry, frizzy hair and they smell AMAZING! I also couldn't recommend the Moroccan Oil dry shampoo enough too. 

Sticking with the haircare theme, the *Tangle Teezer Lulu Guinness Compact Styler (£13.50) which would be perfect for friends/family who love beauty/haircare or who have thick, long or tangle prone hair. Additionally this particular brush would be great for anyone who loves Lulu Guinness prints/designs - they have a lot of other designs to choose from including Hello Kitty. Another Tangle Teezer brush that would be a great, practical gift is the *Tangle Teezer Finishing Brush (£15) which I've been using constantly as it's amazing for taming frizz!

Toys and plushies would also be great for childrens stocking fillers or fans of the characters; there are so many to choose from including Marvel and comic book characters, Star Warz, Wizard of Oz and Christmas characters. They're from Hallmark but they can be purchased from Amazon. I have the *Batman Itty Bitty (£6), *Scooby Doo Itty Bitty (£5.99) and the *Snoopy Itty Bitty (£6). They are all so adorable, soft and utterly cute! 

They next few gifts would be ideal for work colleagues, secret santa gifts or stocking fillers! Let's start with some gorgeous stationary from Flying Tiger Copenhagen; I have a few items from them and they're fantastic as is the price. They have so many fantastic little gifts including the *Ballpoint Pen and Propelling Pencil Set (£2), Gold Triangle Paper Clips (£1 for 30) and a cute Leather-Look Notebook (£2), all of which would be perfect for work colleagues or any students in your life. 

Next up, a foodie gift! As well as socks, gift cards, bath products and chocolate, foodie gifts are a really safe bet. The *English Provender Sweet Tomato & Chilli Chutney (£1.90, 325g) and the *English Provender Apple, Pear & Fig Chutney (£1.90, 325g), would be great Christmas stocking fillers or as part of a hamper - they're really inexpensive too. 

The final two items are two of my favourites as they're so pretty, for different reasons but they would both make lovely gifts. I am constantly making lists, especially to-do lists and this *Busy B List Pad (£7.99) is perfect; I adore the design and I know I will get so much use out of it and if you know any stationery lovers or list makers then I'm sure they will too. 

The final item in my stocking fillers gift guide is the *POP Book (£5.99) which is an app created by Fujifilm, whereby you can create a photo book using Instagram, Facebook or the photos on your phone. The app is really easy to use although for me it did crash a few times and I kept having to start over again but that might just have been my internet. The book is really well made and it's 10cm by 10cm, so it's a great pocket/stocking filler size. I filled mine with photos from our trip to London and the Harry Potter studios in August. It would make a lovely gift for anyone! 

Phew, there are all of my stocking filler gift ideas and I couldn't recommend them enough especially the Burt's Bees Pot, POP Book, Itty Bitty Plushies, Tangle Teezers (not even for a present, just for yourself!) and well...just everything in this post! Thank you so much to all of the incredibly lovely brands for the wonderful gifts! 

What do you think of my stocking filler gift ideas? Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? 

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Father's Day Gift Guide 2016

How is it June, JUNE! Where has the year gone, I feel as though I had so many plans for 2016 but the year has gone by so quickly, so 2017 watch out, I'm coming for you...Father's Day is almost here and if your dad is anything like mine then you'll probably be dreading buying gifts. My dad is so difficult to buy for, he always just wants the same aftershave every time but I want to get him something new and unexpected so I hope these gifts will fit the bill.

*Great Maps by Jerry Brotton (£12, sale) 

My dad doesn't read as much as I do but I think he'd definitely be interested in this book and lets be honest, it looks gorgeous and it's massive! The book comprises the history of maps, from ancient maps to google earth. I've been flicking through it and it's so interesting - both my dad and myself adore history so I think this will be perfect for him as it's a book you can dip in and out of. It also looks gorgeous on the bookcase; I think it will be a great father's day gift for dads, guardians or granddads who are book lovers or who love history.

*SugarSin Caramel Fizz Jellies (£2.10, sale) 

I freakin' love the packaging - the teal blue and copper is a gorgeous combination so aesthetically it would make a great little gift. The jellies are all natural, gluten free, palm oil free and they are vegan which is amazing and to be honest as soon as I saw that they were vegan, I had to eat them...sorry dad. I didn't expect to like them as much as I do, they are a little unusual but they are so good. I was surprised at how sour they where which I LOVE. My dad won't be getting these as they are now mine, oops #SorryNotSorry

*Noble Isle Fireside Body Lotion 

I have tried a few minis from Noble Isle and I have adored them, especially the body lotions and the shower gels. They all feel so indulgent and luxurious so they'd make perfect gifts. The fireside scent is heavenly; so masculine and musky! Noble Isle have some fantastic gifts set too and The Inside Man has a massive 40% off Father's Day items so you can get a great deal on gifts - go, go, go!

I think my dad will love all of those gifts, especially the book! He is really picky to buy for so clothing, music, dvds and chocolate is off the list so I am a bit limited - I wanted to get him something he doesn't have but also something that he could use all of the time and MenKind came to the rescue! 

*Victorinox SwissCard Quattro Multitool (£15.99)

My dad is one of those dads who has two tool boxes, who knows everything about DIY and who is always asked to do little (or massive) DIY jobs for family members and around our house so I thought, what better gift than a portable and super compact multitool from the makers of the famous swiss army knife - Victorinox. It has ten features including: a nail file, ballpoint pen, ruler (cm), ruler (inches), letter opener, tweezers, toothpick, stainless steel pin and a quadruple screwdriver - the latter I know my dad will love and use the most. You wouldn't think that so many little tools can fit into such a thin and compact credit card sized item but they do. 

I think it is a fantastic, high quality and super useful Father's Day gift and it's really compact so it should fit into a credit card slot because you never know when you will need a four cornered screwdriver right...it's definitely not my thing but I know my dad will be really happy with it. I have the black one but it also comes in red too: it comes nicely packaging and it looks a bit more expensive than it actually is. MenKind have so fantastic gift ideas and products that would be perfect for Father's Day such as mugs, speakers, kitchen and BBQ gadgets, sport related gifts and some lovely personalised gifts - I think personalised gifts are some of the nicest and most thoughtful gifts you can give/receive. There is a personalised BBQ tool gift set that I know my dad would love and the weather in England has been so nice over the past few weeks that it may be time to dust off the long forgotten barbecue, although now that I've type that, it will probably rain for weeks, sorry everyone! 

*Grow Me Snore Ease Seed Kit (£3.99)

Annoyingly I completely forgot to photograph this last Father's Day gift but I'm going to mention it anyway. My dad is the worlds worst and loudest snorer, it's just a fact so when I came across this on the I Just Love It website, I knew it was perfect for him. It's a cutely packaging eucalyptus seed kit and eucalyptus is supposed to help reduce or stop snoring. It's a great price and a cute little gift for Father's Day.  There are other variations of seed kits from this brand too including a sunflower, coffee bean, lucky clover, basil and beer hops kits.

I think all of these gifts would be great for Father's Day and I know my dad will love them! I have a few other Father's Day gift guide posts on my blog already including one featuring some fantastic American Crew products. Now onto my super short gift guide video:

What do you think of these Father's Day gifts? What will you be treating your dad to this Father's Day?

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Doodle a Poodle?

In 2015 adult colouring books seemed to appear out of nowhere and became the 'it' relaxation product and I have always wanted to get one but I didn't know which to buy as there are quite a few. I was very kindly sent two doodle books from Michael O'Mara Books and I was excited to give them a go!

They are both quite unique as it isn't just a colouring book but it shows you different techniques to use to add texture/dimension to the pre/half drawn illustrations or to replicate the illustrations shown. Also unlike traditional colouring books, this one encourages creativity rather than just colouring in patterns. I love the names of both books, they are cute, fun and so colourful.

- *Doodle a Poodle Book (£7.99): First up, my favourite of the two, the Doodle a Poodle book which contains cute and unique illustrations of various dog breeds for you to colour in, finish off and replicate as you want - either using the techniques shown in the beginning of the book or however you want. The chihuahua, corgi and dachshund pages are my favourite. It would make a great gift for dog lovers and doodlers alike!

- *Colour a Cat (£7.99): This is a bit of a controvertible opinion but I don't actually like cats, probably because my granddads cat was such a grump and always scratched everyone but I think this book will appeal to so many of my friends and fellow bloggers! As with the previous book, the illustrations are created by Hannah Rollings and they are so cute. The american shorthair, persian and rag doll are my favourite pages in the book. A perfect addition to a cat lovers home!

Overall, I love both of the books and I have found it to be quite a relaxing process, especially as I am currently doing a digital detox. The size of the books is great too as they aren't tiny. I love the illustrations and the design of the books but try as I might I still cannot draw but it is a fun and almost calming process. Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5!

Here's my not so mini wish list:

Have you bought any adult colourings books? Have you tried either of these? 

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