Mother's Day Gifts ft. Ocean Loans

Mother's Day is almost here and I actually can't wait - I love buying gifts for family and friends and watching their reactions *yes, I'm that person*. If there's one person I love to treat and surprise, it's my mum even though she drives me crazy sometimes, she always puts everyone else first and Mother's Day is a day where she can relax, open presents and not worry about a thing!

So when the lovely people at Ocean Loans got in contact about treating my mum to some extra gifts this Mother's Day, I couldn't say no! I was very kindly given a budget to buy some gifts for my mum, which was harder than I thought, firstly as some gifts can be quite pricey and secondly, there is so much choice.

My mum is one of the easiest people to buy for, she loves baking, reading, Cath Kidston, penguins, bath and body products, homeware and personalised gifts so you see my problem when it comes to choosing and if I could I'd buy her everything then I would but sadly I can't. Here are my picks for Mother's Day:

- Barnes and Noble Leather Cover Jane Austen Novel Collection: The photographs above of this *mahoooosive* collection of seven Jane Austen novels really don't show how incredibly beautiful and luxurious the cover is. The cover and page edges are gold, the floral pattern is simplistic but so pretty and the feel is very fancy! My mum does love to read and I think this will be a great collection for her as not only does it contain some of the most famous novels of the regency period but it also looks stunning.

- Royal Albert Polka Dot Teacup and Saucer: Last year my mum started collecting vintage teacups as she loves afternoon tea and hosting dinner parties *she's actually used her various sets quite a lot already* so I thought I would add to her collection with this adorable mint green teacup and saucer from Royal Albert. I didn't want to unbox it as I know I wouldn't be able to put it back as it was but it looks so adorably vintage *if that is even a term*.

- Cath Kidston Hand Cream Trio: I think I have developed my love and constant need to buy more and more hand creams from my mum as she loves them too. She also loves anything from Cath Kidston so I thought a combination of the two would be perfect and they are good handbag sizes so she can use them on the go although I might end up 'borrowing' one from her!

Overall, I'm really happy with my purchases, especially the gorgeous book and I know my mum will be so surprised when she open these extra gifts on Mother's Day. A big thanks to the lovely people at Ocean Loans for helping to make this Mother's Day even more special!

What will you be getting your mum this Mother's Day? What do you think of the gifts I have chosen?

*gifted

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Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is almost here, well next weekend so if you don't have a gift then I hope my gift ideas will help! I have already posted other ideas on my blog such as a personalised canvas from Posh Canvas, my Mother's Day gift guide for all budgets and Snapfish photo gifts. Today I have a post featured gorgeous bags, pampering face masks, an amazing watch, pretty flowers and a equally spring like fragrance.

- *Talented London Large Tote (£14): I have seen these adorably cute tote bags all over social media for a while and I have always wanted one so I'm so glad I now do! The tote bags are made from 100% cotton canvas and it is part of the Cityscapes range created by Julia Gash. The range features tote bags with gorgeous illustrations from various cities such as New York, Paris, York, Yorkshire, Glasgow and many more! I wish they had a Manchester tote! The illustrations are so cute, I love the design of the tote and the fabric feels durable - the strap is cute too. I think this would be a great gift as it is cute, practical and you can use it as an alternative to a paper gift bag. I definitely know that my mum will get so much use out of it!

- *Annie's Closet Dotty Floral Messenger Bag (£14): I LOVE this bag, I think it is so cute and spring appropriate - it is a Cath Kidston look-a-like bag which is probably one of the reasons I like it and definitely one of the reasons why my mum will love it! The bag is a fantastic size for everyday, it has numerous zipped compartments and pockets and I think it would be a perfect gift. The fabric is durable, the adjustable strap is colourful and I just adore the overall design - it makes me wish it was spring now! Also I think the price is fantastic especially for the size and quality and I can't recommend it enough for yourself or as a gift!

- *Masque Bar Sheet Masks (£9.99 per pack): Sheet masks have been everywhere recently and I don't know about you but face masks are the one pamper product that I always go to as they are so quick and easy to use and face masks instantly make me feel pampered. The Masque Bar Green Tea Sheet Masks are great for minimising the appearance of pigmentation irregularities, dark spots and it soothes, moisturises and refreshes the skin. There are three masks per pack so they work out to be just over £3 each which isn't too bad and I've heard nothing but good things about this brand and sheet masks in general.

- *The Library of Fragrance Cherry Blossom Cologne (£15, 30ml): If you have been following my blog for a while then you will have seen this brand as I've included the colognes in gift guides and favourites posts for a while. I have the gorgeous Cherry Blossom cologne which isn't my favourite *that would be the lavender cologne* but it is a very close second. It smells so fresh, light and floral as you would expect but it isn't an old fashioned floral scent, it is light, young, sweet and refreshing - perfect for spring and it won't break the bank! They have so many gorgeous and incredibly unique fragrances to choose from, I can't recommend the brand enough. You can currently get two for £25 at Boots.

- *Daniel Wellington Ladies Classy St Mawes Rose Gold Plated Brown Leather Watch (£107.10): That has to be the longest product name ever! I have wanted a Daniel Wellington watch for years, I follow them on Instagram and I get a twinge of envy when I see their gorgeous instagram photos *and all the bloggers OOTD photos featuring these beautiful watches*. I have the rose gold, brown leather and Swarovski version which has to be the most stunningly beautiful yet minimal watch I have ever seen. I adore it and I have been wearing it non-stop since I received it. It came in a beautiful box as well from Joshua James Jewellery and I think it would make the most amazing and luxurious Mother's Day gift! There are so many Daniel Wellington watches to choose from and they all look incredible and they are slightly cheaper on Joshua James Jewellery.

- *Blossoming Gifts Cinder Rose Bouquet (£24): Myself and my mum love bouquets in the house all year round so a bouquet of gorgeous flowers is an easy and safe gift for my mum and I think all mums would love to receive a beautiful bouquet this Mother's Day as flowers can have such a brightening effect on a room and the occupants. I chose the vibrant Cinder Rose bouquet which features bright pink roses, subtly scented white anastasia alstroemeria and dainty gypsophila. The bouquet is so fresh and spring appropriate, it looks gorgeous on the fireplace and brightens the whole room. I adore the bright pink roses especially as they are so vivid, pretty and a bit unusual, in my opinion - also on a blogger point of view, they look so pretty in photographs #BloggerProblems - I can't switch it off, I just can't. There are so many Mother's Day flowers to choose from and in my opinion the prices are fantastic! There are also gifts on the site including cute vases, balloons, chocolates, hampers and incredible personalised gifts. I definitely have my eye on the personalised tricolore stars necklace which looks amazing *heart eyes emoji*. Also the lovely people at Blossoming Gifts have provided a discount code - you can get 33% off bouquets *only excluding the flowers by post range* using the code: BGIFTS33 and I don't think it has an end date so you should be able to use it whenever you want but the last date for delivery in time for Mother's Day is Saturday 5th by 4pm at the latest so go, go go! Also there is free standard delivery with selected bouquets and free chocolates with selected bouquets. 

Now onto my video showing closeups of the products I've featured in this post: 

What do you think of my Mother's Day gift ideas? 

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Mother's Day Gift Guide For All Budgets

Up to £10

Mother's Day is almost here *6th March* and as always I have a gift guide to help you choose the perfect gift for your mum, grandma or guardian. This time round I have split up the gifts by the price range. This first selection is all about gifts on a budget!

Tea Lights  -  Travel Card Holder  -  Colouring Book  -  Mug  -  Set Of Mini Tins -  Flowers  -  Biscuits  -  Lush Bath Bomb

Between £20 to £50 

The next price range is between £20 to £50 which contains some of my favourite products. I know my mum would love everything in this section...and I would too!

Cook Book  -  Watch  -  Cake Tins  -  Teacup  -  Luxury Body Set  -  Scarf  -  Neom Set  -  Bag  -  Cook Book

Up to £50+

The final selection is all about luxury and very expensive gifts that I'm sure every mum will love! This selection also contains a few gifts that I would personally LOVE to receive, especially the Ugg slippers, Lush gift set and L'Occitane set!

Dressing Gown  -  Shirt  -  Makeup Bag  -  Handbag  -  Lush Set  -  L'Occitane Set  -  Slippers

What do you think of my mother's day gift guide? 

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Mother's Day: Snapfish Gifts

Personalised gifts are some of the nicest gifts you can give and receive, in my opinion. If you have been following my blog for a while then you will have seen the brand Snapfish before as I have been lucky enough to work with them a few times and I have bought some items myself from them over the past year or so. I cannot recommend Snapfish by HP enough as the products always turn out so well, everyone always loves their personalised/photo gifts and the process of creating memorable gifts is so easy.

Today's post is all about Mother's Day and the gifts I have made for my mum this Mother's Day via Snapfish. There are lots of gifts to choose from including prints, posters, magnets, mugs, cards and many many more. I have previous reviewed their Acrylic Prints and the Photo Calendars and Christmas Cards, all of which were loved by the recipients. This time round I chose:

- *Snapfish Photograph Notebooks (£5.99 each): I am a massive stationery lover and I can't get enough of notebooks and my mum is the same, we use them almost everyday for notes and lists. I made two for her, one with photos of myself and my sister as teeny tiny babies which she can use at home and another with mostly holiday photos that she can keep in her bag and use at work. The photos turned out really well, even the older, more blurry photographs I used. I think photo notebooks are a fantastic and special but also practical gift for Mother's Day.

- *Snapfish Photograph Flipbook (£5.99): I chose the 6" x 4" soft flay lay custom cover photo book which includes 20 photos. I think the price is amazing and the photo book turned out better than I was expecting. The photos are clear, vivid and it is quite compact too so it would be great if you didn't have a lot of space for large photo albums. It's a flip book style so the pages are thicker than normal and it's such a nice little gift that I'm sure any mum, grandma or guardian would love. I filled this one with photos of myself and my sister growing up.

- *Snapfish Photograph Acrylic Keyring (£2.99): I didn't know what else to get as we already have wall prints and other photo gifts so I chose a cute little keyring as she doesn't actually have one. It is acrylic and the photo appears on both sides of the keyring. I chose a photo of myself, my sister and my mum in Centre Parks, as we always used to go there on holiday.

I did also order a personalised photo card for Mother's Day but there was an issue so I had to re-order and I didn't have time to photograph it - as a way of saying sorry, Snapfish gave me credit to order 50 free photos which is fantastic as that's another little gift for my mum which we can be put in our holiday photograph album. You can check out the Snapfish Twitter or Facebook for gift ideas.

Lastly, I thought I would share some baby photographs of me as I don't think I've done anything like that on my blog before and I was a pretty cute baby/toddler if I do say so myself...it all went downhill from there!

What do you think of the Snapfish gifts I chose? Have you ordered from Snapfish by HP before? 

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Joik Lavender Fields Candle

If you have been following my blog for a while then you may know that I have a slight obsession with lavender - it's such an incredibly relaxing and calming scent me so whenever I receive lavender scented products I have to photograph them instantly so I can use them as soon as possible #BloggerProblems. 

I was very kindly sent the *Joik Lavender Fields Scented Soyawax Candle (£17.50, 145g) and I couldn't wait to try it, especially as I've tried a couple of products from this Estonia based brand and I have been really happy with them. The soyawax is obtained from a renewable source, it is hand poured and soyawax burns cleaner than paraffin wax candles and lasts up to 50% longer than paraffin wax candles. 

Firstly, I love the packaging, the design is minimalist but luxe so I think even just from an aesthetic point of view, it would make a gorgeous gift especially as valentines day and mothers day are just around the corner. I've been burning the candle every couple of days since I received and I can say that it does seem to last longer than the other non soyawax candles I've been burning. 

The scent is a more earthy and subtle lavender scent which makes it fairly unique as most lavender scents tend to be overpowering or very sweet but this candle is neither. If I'm honest I do wish that the scent throw and strength was a bit better as I adore lavender but I think this is still a gorgeous candle with a deeply relaxing scent and it would be perfect for those who don't like strong or overpowering scents. 

Even though the candle wax melts slowly so you can use the candle more (it has an approximate burn time of 30 hours), it still manages to melt to the edges of the glass tumbler so there is no tunnelling or wasted wax which is fantastic. 

Overall, I love the packaging and design, it is minimal so it fits with my minimal decor/style and it smells gorgeous. There is no wasted wax, it isn't too strong and it is composed of a more environmentally friendly wax compared to most other candles. I do wish the scent was quite a bit stronger but that is just my preference. Overall rating: ★★★★☆, 4/5. 

Have you tried anything from Joik? What are your favourite candle scents or brands? 

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