It's quite a daunting thought to commit to saving for a house, initially we were both a little overwhelmed by the prospect of maybe not having holidays or being able to splash out over the next few years but as we continue to fork out thousands each month for rent and utilities it was a no-brainer, we desperately want a place to call our own!

We're in the very early stages of saving but I did a lot of research on the best ways for us to save and looked into all the options available to us so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and findings you with incase you're in a similar position or hope to be in the future.

JEROME RUSSELL BBLONDE MAXIMUM LIGHTENING SPRAY

If there's one thing you guys should know about me it's that I am always changing my hair colour. Over the past year or so I've been various shades of blonde and ombre but now that autumn/winter weather is creeping in it's got me in the mood for something very different altogether.

Now, I knew that I didn't want to go even blonder right now - let's wait til next summer though, eh - actually, my goal wasn't to drastically change the colour of my hair but to even it out ahead of a whole new shade that I'm aiming for this season and the Maximum Lightening Spray* seemed ideal!

You use the spray after you wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo and after three applications you should see a gradual lift, even more so if heat is applied after use. Now, I can probably guess what you're thinking, yikes, a lightening product + heat = fried hair and I'm not going to lie, I spread out the three applications over a couple of weeks as the thought of frying my roots didn't appeal to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how soft my hair feels after using, although bear in mind I did only spritz this product closer to my roots and kept it entirely away from my ends.

I noticed a visible lift in colour after one application and this product by Jerome Russell definitely helped to even out the colour, giving me a much better base for my next colour which I'm very excited to be having done by the lovely Holly at Leo Bancroft's salon in Weybridge. I shall keep my plans under wraps until Tuesday 20th but if you follow me on Pinterest you can probably tell the gorgeous shade that I'm hoping to achieve *insert smiling devil emoji here*.

The BBlonde range is so extensive and I definitely recommend it if you're thinking of going blonde this season, however, if you're looking for something less intense then the Lightening Spray is the one to go for to enhance highlights or keep your ombre looking fresh. Team it with one of their awesome toners - either a natural shade or be daring and go for a pretty pink - for a completely finished look!

*PR sample

My Blogging & Beauty Space

 



Being super tidy and organised never came naturally to me until about a month or so ago, when I decided to spend a decent amount of money on revamping my bedroom. I live at home with my parents and brother, partly because rent around Surrey costs a very pretty penny but mainly because I love living at home and have a pretty sweet deal here.

This means my bedroom is the one place in the house I can truly make my own and as we live in a small Victorian cottage-style house, I have to make the most of what I've got! I've worked hard over the last couple of months to really do some research and pull together a room that I can relax in and blog in too, so creating a work space that can also double up as a vanity table too was the most important task for me.

Let's talk technical. I've been lusting after the Alex drawers from Ikea for a long time so of course they were a key feature to my workspace, I purchased two of these to sit either side of the desk. The table top is the Linnmon table, also from Ikea.

The large mirror, lined with fairy lights helps open up my bedroom and of course comes in handy when I'm doing my make-up and hair each morning. As the Linnmon table top is so big, I've styled the table in two halves; on the left side, I've got all my everyday beauty products, kept neat and tidy in containers and drawers. These acrylic storage devices are from Homesense and my make-up brush holder is actually a plant pot from Ikea.





The right-side of my desk is primarily blog based. I don't like to clutter my desk up so I just keep my iPad, a notebook and in this case, the latest ASOS magazine which I was flipping through for inspiration to hand. My blogging camera lives on the shelf in that empty spot next to a collection of concert and show ticket stubs and I keep my laptop tucked away in one of the drawers.





I wanted to use the wall space above my desk for a gallery wall and these are two of my favourite purchases! I custom-ordered the gold foil print which features lyrics from one of my favourite Echosmith songs.



I used Pinterest - a lot - to get inspiration for my workspace area and I hope in turn this post inspires some of you guys, so let me know in the comments below and don't forget you can automatically pin any images on my blog instantly to your Pinterest, just hover over the image!

Homesense Haul

How have I never been to Homesense before?! This is what I asked myself again and again as I lugged a wheely-basket around the Farnborough branch today. After visiting - and falling in love with -  Ikea for the first time last weekend to kit my room out with new furniture, I now needed somewhere a little closer to home to pick up a few accessories and finishing touches. So, here's my Homesense haul!











The first piece I fell in love with is the framed pin-board. I have been thinking so long and hard about which inspiring quotes I want to feature on my bedroom wall and 'she believed she could, so she did' is one of my all time favourites. When I noticed this quote was featured on this adorable, gold-framed board I just had to have it.

Next up is the white, vintage-looking 'L'. If you ever watched MTV's The Hills all those years ago then you might remember how Lauren Conrad had an 'L' and an 'A' up on her wall in her apartment and ever since then I've wanted one. This one was a bargain at £9.99.

Since buying a new, bigger make-up/work space for my bedroom I needed something to organise everything. I think I actually may have squealed with excitement when I saw the section in Homesense which housed a whole wall of these cosmetic trays/drawers so I went ahead and nabbed three - picking one up in the sale. They ranged from £9.99 up to £14.99 and came in all shapes and sizes.

Finally, I picked up this adorable weekly planner. I work a full time job along with blogging in the evenings and at weekends, so it's really important for me to be organised all of the time as I rarely have any time to plan and shoot last-minute blog posts. This weekly planner comes with little sections Monday-Sunday, post-it notes in various sizes and an envelope section where I can store any little notes that I might make throughout the day. The weekly planner cost £4.99.