Life: Blogger's Secret Santa!

If I haven't mentioned it before, I LOVE CHRISTMAS. I'm like a little kid at this time of year, and nothing makes me happier than Christmas trees, lights and presents! I'm more into giving presents than receiving them myself - there's just something so satisfying about watching someones face whilst they open something you've specially picked out just for them - but when I was contacted to take part in a special blogger's Secret Santa by the girls at Workwear Express, I couldn't say no!

As well as receiving this snuggly Christmas jumper in the post, I was also sent another little treat - an old fashioned santa sack - lovingly picked out for me by my Secret Santa. I was set the same task and was asked to pick out a jumper and another gift, and was lucky enough to be sent the same jumper as I'd picked out! Thank you so much to Branded 3 and to my Secret Santa for making Christmas come early this year...

I hope you're all enjoying National Christmas Jumper Day and have spent it snuggly and warm in your own festive attire ready for the big day in a week's time!

What are you most looking forward to this Christmas?

Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin' to keep up to date with more of my posts :)

Always, Alice x

Life: The #wrenfamilyfavourites Event With Linda Barker!

 A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a lovely little event at the Wren Kitchen HQ not far from where I live. And who would be there? None other than Linda Barker herself!
It was a lovely opportunity to catch up with some familiar faces (Charlotte from Styleaked in particular, what a babe!) and also meet so many new gals with the prosecco flowing and cake on the table!

We were there to have a little nosy around Linda Barker's collaboration with Wren - which is bloody amazing btw - and having just moved into my first home, it was right up my street as I've been going absolutely interiors bonkers at the minute! We were also treated to a live baking demonstration as part of the Wren Family Favourites competition and campaign, with Linda playing the part of Mary Berry and she did so well! We got to sample some of the yummy cakes she had made, which were inspired by recipes sent in by members of the public for the #wrenfamilyfavourites campaign. On offer was a chocolate and vanilla marble cake, a peanut butter banana bread and I got to tuck into my first mince pie of the year!

As for Linda's kitchens, I need one in every colour and style please. Thanks.

I want to say a massive thankyou to everyone at Branded 3 for putting on such a lovely event and for providing with the most amazing personalised goodie bags (personalised mixing spoon, so CUTE!). It was such a pleasure to meet Linda Barker who was probably the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and it was lovely to meet so many local bloggers too!

Always, Alice x

(Click the Wren link above to find a hilarious video of the evening featuring a verrrrrrry goofy your truly!)

Beauty: HUGE Lush Haul!

It's that time of year again - when my bank balance is at an all-time low but my bath game is strong. Of course, I'm talking about my massive annual Lush haul where I go absolutely bonkers and get sucked in by all the Christmas goodness and buy two of each. It's a hard life.

Whilst visiting Liverpool at the beginning of last week and to the dismay of my other half, I couldn't resist but have a browse in their store and after fighting through the crazed Christmas shoppers, I came out with a VERY full bag.
The first thing I picked up was the Salted Coconut Hand Scrub (£7.95 for 130g) after having my eye on it for aaaaaages. Working two jobs throughout Autumn/Winter has really taken it's toll on my skin - especially my hands - so I'm excited to give this a go. It smells a lil' bit like Playdough, but after using it once I can already see a massive improvement and my lizard hands are super soft!
The other non-Christmassy thing I added to my collection was the Experimenter bathbomb (£3.95). I'm a little late to the party with this one, and although I'm not keen on the smell, I think it will look AMAAZING.

Now on to the good stuff...

It wouldn't be Christmas without a Butterbear bathbomb (£1.95), he's so CUTE! No bells and whistles with this one but it smells so good and with the little beads of cocoa butter inside to nourish the skin while you bathe, it's definitely one of my favourites!
One of the newbies I'm excited to try out this year is the Bah Humbug bubble bar (£3.65), which also smells friggin' amazing! Its powerful liquorice scent might not be to everyone's taste but I bloody love it, and I'll be stocking up on more before they're all gone...

I couldn't leave behind the adorable Peeping Santa bubble bar (£3.95), which smells so fruity and yummy! He got a little bit squished in the midst of my crazed shopping spree around Liverpool ONE but he's still in tact and I can't wait to pop him in my bath!
I went a little bit Rose Jam mad, picking up the new Rose Jam bubbleroon (£3.75) and the Rose Jam shower gel (£9.75 for 250g). It's a scent that I really didn't like last year but I thought I'd give it another whiff this time  around and I'd even go as far as saying I prefer it over my beloved Snow Fairy! I always cringe slightly handing over so much money for so little product when it comes to the shower gels but a little definitely goes a long way - I'm still working my way through a 500g bottle of Snow Fairy I've had since last year!
They're both full of rosy goodness to perk you up and make you feel gorgeous, which is just what I need right now, and the scent lingers for hours, which makes 6.30am shower time all the most pleasant!

I love love LOOOOOVE sweet cinnamon and anything festive scented, so I took no time at all in tracking down the Yog Nog bath bomb (£3.95) and also The Magic of Christmas reusable bubble bar (£5.95). They both smell so bloody Christmassy and wonderful and I'm that weirdo who wishes they were available all year round! I loved the Yog Nog soap offering last year but the bath bomb is much more up my street, and The Magic of Christmas bubble bar has to be my fave thing from the whole collection! It smells so warming and comforting thanks to the cinnamon stick it is presented on and the Star Anise in the centre and it's so shimmery and pretty that I almost don't want to use it!

Last but not least is an oldie but goodie - the So White bathbomb (£3.65). I'm a little disappointed that they haven't released the shower gel equivalent this year as it's my all time favourite Lush scent but I can still get my fix from this little ball of sweet apple scented goodness!


What is your favourite thing from Lush?
Let me know in the comments and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin' to stay up to date with more of my posts :)

Always, Alice x

The Sunday Post: Things That Made Me Happy This Week #23

 What made me happy this week...

-  I started my Christmas shopping! Me and my other half went to Liverpool and spent A LOT. All for a good cause though and I can't wait to give out my gifts on the the big day!

- Whilst in Liverpool we also went to see Mumford and Sons! They're one of my favourite bands of all time and it was one of the best gigs I've ever been to - if you've never seen them before, get on it, they were amazing! Can't believe it was nearly a week ago, WHERE IS THIS YEAR GOING?!

- Me and the girls had a lovely night in at mine, where a lot of wine and pizza was consumed. What better way to spend a Saturday night?

- I've really been getting in the festive mood and the town where I live looks so adorable and Christmas-sy! We've put up all the cosy Christmas lights up at work, it's our staff Christmas party tomorrow and there was a massive Christmas festival in town today too. I love this time of year!


What made you happy this week?
Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin' to stay up to date with all my posts :)

Always, Alice x

Life: Back To Blogging.

As you may or may not have realized, I've been a bit AWOL recently and for the last couple of months Always, Alice has been SERIOUSLY neglected. 

Without making this sound like one of those 'I'm back and I'm going to be the best blogger there ever was from now on..." posts, instead I wanted to share with you what I've been getting up to in my absence and welcome my little space of internet back into the blogging world!

For starters - and most importantly - I MOVED HOUSE!

Me and my other half had been on the hunt for a place of our own for a while and we finally found the perfect place! Gone are the days of spending every waking moment within the same room and having to eat all of my meals in bed (gross.) and now we have so much space to fill! It's been nearly a month in our first home and I think we're finally on our way to being settled in and everything is looking super cosy and ready for Christmas! You don't even know how excited I was to buy my first ever Christmas tree...

I can't wait to share little snippets of our home with you, so watch this space!

I finally got round to booking my first driving test and unsurprisingly, I failed. Rather than being absolutely gutted though, it's given me so much confidence and I'm ready to pass my next one! I need to develop a sense of direction before then though but fingers crossed!

I haven't had much free time in between working mad hours at my 2 jobs and obviously moving house - but I've had some pretty fab days and nights out recently that have made the back-end of 2015 really exciting! Most recently, on Monday I went to see Mumford and Sons live in Liverpool after a spot of "Christmas shopping" in John Lewis and Charlotte Tilbury and it was such a great night! They're one of my all-time favourite bands and it was probably one of the best gigs I've been to yet. I also managed to snap up some Coldplay tickets for their tour next year and I literally cannot wait!

And despite not posting anything to my blog for a while, I've still been fortunate enough to attend a couple of blogging events, including the #wrenfamilyfavouites event with Linda Barker at Wren Kitchens HQ!

I'm not going to make any promises to myself that I know I can't keep but I will try my very best to write more posts and get back to what I love doing! 

What have you been up to recently? 

Let me know in the comments and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin' to keep up to date with more of my posts!

Always, Alice x