Over the weekend it was my mum and sister's birthdays. I don't mean to blow my own trumpet but I was pretty pleased with the presents I put together.

For my mum I got one of the new season Chanel nail varnishes (Exception to be exact) and some walnut whips, all her favourites.

For my sister, she got one of the Fujifilm Instax Cameras for Christmas, so I put together a little make-shift scrapbook kit for her. I bought a notebook with blank pages, and relatively small, a bit smaller than A5, to fit the photos in. I then got a nice blue pen to add a note about the time the photo was taken. And of course some washi tape to stick the photo down. The great thing about wash tape is that it doesn't ruin the paper and that way my sister can take out the photos if she wants to use them for something else.

We went to The Charter Restaurant in Salisbury for their birthday lunch. I just can't resist sharing this beautiful food with you!

On another note, I'm going to work on my own scrapbook soon. I ordered some photos from the free prints app on iPhone and I'm waiting for them to be delivered so I will give you an update when they do!

Northern Tea Gift Ideas

I’ve teamed up with the guys over at Northern Teas to bring you some great gift ideas, or you might even want to treat yourself. Obviously we all want to feel fresh as we start the New Year and green tea is without a doubt the way to go. You can use green tea instead of detox teas and get plenty of the same benefits.

These green teas are calorie free and are tasty and excellent quality. They are so much better than the ones you get in the supermarket. The ones that I got sent are Ti Quan Yin, Japanese Sencha Fukujyu and Japanese Gyokuro,

Ti Quan Yin

This is a fine quality Chinese Oolong green tea that originates from southern china, and the leaves are rolled tightly into little balls. It takes 3 to 5 minutes for the tea to brew, which is pretty average for green tea. It is a pleasant, aromatic and refined tea. It is one that can be enjoyed at any time of the day.

Sencha Fukujyu

This is also known as Green Spider Leg, because of the look of the tealeaves. It has a sweet, grassy taste but it is a smooth texture. It originates in China but is processed Japanese style. It has a short brew time of 2 to 3 minutes. The leaves are neat, flat green and stalks, flecked with hints of yellow. Indulge in a cup of this at the end of the day, I know I will be.

Japanese Gyokuro

This is a variety of Ryokucha, it is picked during the first round of harvest and shaded from the sun for some time before the harvest. This gives a delightful flavour with a very delicate, pale liquor. This again takes 2 to 3 minutes to brew, and it also has neat, flat green leaves and stalks, flecked with hints of yellow. It has sweet, mild and a very smooth flavour with a pale yellow liquor. This should also be indulged at the end of the day, looks like I’ll be alternating between this and Sencha Fukujyu.

Prices vary from £4.50 to £7.50 for 50g of these teas. This is due to the origin of the teas and the quality, so it’s worth the money! These are a fantastic Christmas present, don’t forget to get your tea strainers as all the teas are loose and I’d also recommend getting a teapot to make it that little bit more special!

PS. Don't forget all views are my own, and we all know how much I love green tea so you know it's the truth!

P… is for Present

I’ve mentioned many times before that I think it’s important to live in the present moment. And as I’ve also mentioned before, there are some circumstances where I have to think about the future and take it into account when making decisions.

However, for the short term, it’s all about right now. There’s no point in worrying about what is going to happen in a year or even 10 years because whatever is meant to be will be.

As my mum told me “It will all be alright in the end, and if it's not alright then it's not the end”. And she is so right (see mum!), everything will eventually work out. Even if things are tough right now, it will all figure itself out soon enough.