07.03.18 - five faves of february

I blink my eyes and all of a sudden it's March! Time flies when you're getting old 😂

Here are a few of my favourites from the last month...

1. Heart of Enlightened Expectation Bubble Bar from LUSH 🛀
LUSH £4.50 (LEAVING SOON - Be quick if you want one!)

I made myself a promise that I wouldn't go mad and buy everything from this years Valentines collection at LUSH as I still have a fair bit left over of last years Christmas collection. There's nothing more irritating when I go through my LUSH stash bucket and discover that there are some old products in there that I completely forgot about. These items then need chucking as they have passed their use by date. It's especially sad to throw away an out of date face mask. I recently popped into the Preston LUSH store and saw that they had some products still available from their Valentines range. I always make sure I make a visit to this store when I stay in Preston for a few days to see the boyf. The first product I picked up was this beautiful smelling bubble bar. I recognised the Rose Absolute when I gave it a sniff. Anything containing this ingredient from LUSH is a winner in my books. The meringue looking bath melt on top of this bubble bar looked like a nice little addition also. The smell is so amazing that before using this product, I had been using it in my underwear drawer to make my pants smell all lovely. This bubble bar produced just the right amount of gorgeous smelling bubbles and left my skin feeling super soft due to the bath melt addition. I have considered doing some LUSH product reviews on this blog in the future so keep those eyes peeled all you LUSH fans out there!

2. Vans Classic Black Slip-Ons (Unisex) 👟

ASOS £50

For a while, I have preferred to opt for a slip-on pump/trainer simply because I can be quite the lazy one when it comes to putting on and taking off my shoes. The amount of shoes that I have ruined or stretched from leaving the laces tied up when taking off is a bit silly. I should know better, especially as I worked in a shoe shop for almost five years - my bad! There's something about the look and feel of Vans trainers; I like the grungy skater vibe that they give. Compared to other brands, I feel that the insoles inside Vans are a lot comfier. The waffle outsole is iconic and I've always loved the thick white sidewall of their trainers. I bought myself a pair of black slip-ons so that they can go with every possible outfit.

3. My first ever 'Parmo' 🍗

Mostly found in takeouts in North East of England

It's a strange one to feature as a favourite, but last month, I finally found out what all the fuss was about. When visiting my boyfriend, Dom, he suggested we have a Parmo whilst I was up there so I could see what everyone was talking about. A 'Parmo' (or also known as Teeside Parmesan according to Wikipedia) is a chicken dish which is quite similar to the German dish, the Schnitzel. It's a breadcrumbed chicken breast that has been beaten flat and it's then covered in béchamel/parmesan sauce and topped with parmesan cheese. You can add toppings to it also such as meats, veg, sauces. Dom explained it well a few weeks ago. 'It's a bit like a chicken base pizza'. For my first Parmo, I went with the basic plain one to see if I'd enjoy it. I most certainly did! I tried a bit of Dom's as he went for all the meats topping and it was a nice combination of cheese, chicken, béchamel and meats. Next time I'm up in Preston, I'm giving the bolognese one a try.

4. Nespresso Inissia & Aeroccino 3 Coffee Machine in White ☕
Argos £119.99

As a trained barista at work, I have gradually become to actually enjoy the taste of coffee. Before I began working at my current job, I hated both the taste and smell of coffee. Now I can't get enough of it! So much so that I decided to get my own coffee machine for home. Of course, it's not the same as the machines we have at work. Even the ones we have at work are not proper barista style. Yes, the machines at work may have fancy milk steamers and the coffee tastes great, but they don't have a grinder like they do in fancy coffee places. The machine grinds the beans for you instead. It's good enough for me though! This machine that I purchased looks quite retro and nifty. Not too big either which means it fits perfectly in the kitchen at home. I loved this bundle as it came with the Aeroccino which makes both hot and cold frothy milk. I also got a pack of free coffee pods to use which was a bonus!

5. The Shape of Water 💚

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Oscar season is the best season. Yeah, Summer is sometimes okay for film but during Oscar season, there are an abundance of amazing films that celebrate a wide range of creative people. From actors, directors, directors of photography, set designers, costume designers and many more. I am yet to tick off my checklist of all this years Oscar nominated films up for Best Picture. I think I've seen 5 out of 9 so far. This one has stuck out to me as the most beautiful film both visually and musically. The performances from all the actors were phenomenal but I especially loved Sally Hawkins. The fact she was playing a mute and still continued to carry so much emotion was insane. I did feel like shedding a little tear towards the end as it was just so lovely. A lot of customers at my work place thought it was weird so it is that Marmite type of movie; you either love it or hate it. I have to say, this kind of film isn't for everyone as it's a little arty farty. That's just how I like my films. With a bit of farty art!
A big congratulations to Guillermo del Toro for winning Best Picture at the Oscars for this film. Well deserved!

What have you been loving this February? Let me know in the comments! Would be interesting if there are anymore lovers of The Shape of Water as I only know a handful of people who saw it and really enjoyed it.

Speak soon! Ciao bella...
lcm xo