You know when you wake up with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. I guess it’s the return of the sunshine and the thought of the summer holidays just around the corner. Last year we had the best summer ever, we traveled lots, got to spend so much time together and really chilled out. I’m hoping this summer will be exactly the same, and the thought of it is making me grin ear to ear!
With that in mind, I thought I’d share with you three things I’ve been loving this month, things that have been making me smile!
Are you flipflop fan? I was chatting to someone on the school run the other day, and she was telling me all about her Havaianas obsession. Well, cue two weeks later I have two pairs, the power of suggestion is strong! A bit like my new love of the the slogan T’shirt (thanks to Instagram) but this was solved when I found a really cool place online that you can T-shirt printing all across the UK .
My eldest has already nabbed one pair of flipflops already, and I can totally see why people really love them, and collect them. I think they are perfect to stash away in your suitcase when you go away, to wear around the pool. Pop into you handbag if you need to get changed into something a little less restrictive in those summer months.
I’ve been amazed at how comfy and kinda liberating it is to wear this style of shoe, very unrestrictive! The two pairs I went for are from the You Metallic range, with slim gold or silver straps. There is a very small heel to them, almost unnoticeable. What do you think? Just a little more sophisticated I think than most flip-flops.
Do you have a sweet tooth?
I’m also loving these fruity treats from Rowntrees. I’ve been trying out the new Randoms and Fruit Pastilles with 30% less sugar over the past week – around £1.30 for the sharing pack. Now the Fruit Pastilles I actually think are an improvement on the original ones. The outside is less crystallised than the original, and for my taste that makes them way nicer. Still tasty and really fruity and there is no artificial sweeteners too, perfect.
The Randoms to me taste identical to the original version, soft, with real identifiable fruit flavours. Great for a little fruity burst of flavour, that I love in an afternoon when I’m at my desk. Some of them, have an extra bit of a fruity hit in the center, and others are more of a milky mallow fruit taste. I’ve had to hide them from my husband! They are mine, all mine!
Finally, and this is a bit of a nostalgic one for me, I am loving Swatch watches! :
When I finished my A’Levels, and before I started Uni, I worked for a year at a jewellers. It was a place of many firsts, it wasn’t until then that I really understood quite how hard retail could be I think. The manager of the store, really wanted to impart all of his knowledge onto his staff – Mr Lamb if you ever read this I will always remember you! We were put in charge of different departments so that we could learn everything that was needed to run a store of this kind, and the year or so I worked there flew by.
The first watch I ever bought myself was whilst I worked there. It was a Swatch watch (the most popular make of watch that we sold) I remember it took me so long to figure out which one I would go for, as they were all so different, and as new stock came in, I seemed to fall in love all over again with the new designs. So as I stood in the Swatch store in Nottingham Intu Victoria center last week (over 25 years later) I was filled with those same thoughts. Honestly if you have one local to you (or even if you don’t, have a look online) the watches they sell cater to every taste, from individual ‘build you own’ options, to fun, fitness, automatic, unisex, male and children’s watches. My favourites included the Skin range, the Pop swatches which are just as cool as the originals and the really classy men’s range they had.
I was there to look at the new Skin range, 12 designs, all different but with the same characteristics of being lightweight thin designs, that you barely feel you are wearing.
I had the same dilemma I had all those years ago, and narrowing it down to two seemed to take me forever. In the end I asked Instagram for some help.
The one I went for is pictured above – SkinScreen £79.50 I loved it because it was a little unusual, with the two styles of silver coloured strap, it had I think a more dressier feel because of that feature. A very low profile and ultra thin case.
Since I got it, I’ve not taken it off. I can’t even feel I’m wearing it, as its so light. It doesn’t pinch your skin or the hair on your arm as some metal straps do. It also doesn’t get in the way or feel restrictive as I’m typing. I’ve worn it whilst I did a workout, on a bike at the weekend and even doing the gardening. Its got a real barely there feel, that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before with a watch, even one that I’m used to.
So that’s three things that are making me smile…
I know the feeling! And totally agree with sweets! Do they still make swatches? Joke!