Christmas in The Cotswolds

Christmas really is the most magical time of the year in The Cotswolds. Our already beautiful villages, towns and cities turn on their sparkly lights, amazing local Christmas shopping events flood the streets and people are in the highest spirits. We love this time of year! Tis the season to be jolly after all... 

Love Hair, Love your eyebrows!

Yet again I am paying Love Hair another visit. Meg found this fabulous hair and beauty salon in Broadway and raved about it, see the blog here.  Since then I have booked my wedding hair and played model for their make-up photo shoot with the wonderful Stefanie from Photography By Stefanie. Today I was booked in with Natalie to have my eyebrows tinted. I have only recently, perhaps 4-5monrhs or so, started doing anything with my eyebrows bar waxing! I love playing around with pencils, powders and brushes to change the shape of my brows. But they take time and can easily go wrong leaving you with a smudgy mess and 2 minutes to wipe it off before leaving for work. Nightmare!

So Natalie suggested having them tinted saying a shape and colour would last 2-3 weeks, save you time and prevent any smudgey stress! 

 

 

I love going in to see Natalie. She's a very calm and gentle character but a true professional. She's also super talented at what she does. Aside from that I've felt part of the Love Hair culture since visit number 1 and love spending time and having treatments with any of the girls. 

 

 

Natalie used RefectoCil products to tint my eyebrows along with techniques to ensure they were perfectly even and complimentary to my face shape. She lined the brush up from my nose to the edgeof my eyes to measure exactly where my eyebrows should end. Once she had popped on and then removed the tinting solution she shaped my eyebrows. This was done afterwards to give the solution as much hair as possible to cling to.

 

 

Et voila! Before and after. A really big difference, at the same time as a subtle change in colour... Is that even possible?! I'm not sure, but I know that they look good. I also find they are taking far less time to look after when applying make-up and any time savers are a must in my book!  

 

 

I wrote this blog 4 days ago and had my eyebrows done a week ago now. They are still looking good and I'm totally sold. I've decided having them tinted is as essential as plucking my unruly brows. So I'm booking in for regular monthly top ups next year ( by the way it's only £10!!!) making it the easiest New Years resolution of all time! Also just to make life that little bit kinder on the purse, Love Hair also have a loyalty card for money off treatments (see first pic). What more could you want?!

Ian Coley Sporting

Meg's brother CJ had just got his gun license and is now taking up lessons at Ian Coley. Shooting is something we got into this year after Meg's parents bought us both a round for Christmas last year. A perfect man present ladies! So, I thought I'd tag along to CJ's lesson to give it another go and show him a thing or two. 

Prego

"Don't mention it, you're welcome"

It's the meaning of the name and coveys the total ethos of today's fabulous new find, Prego.

'Prego' was opened 2 years ago by new owners, retail entrepreneur George Davies and restauranter Barry Hancox, who spotted the potential in what was once a run down, deli/ice cream shop/cafe/sandwich bar. It has now be transformed into a little slice of modern Italy and is a strong contender on the Broadway restaurant scene. 

Our Week #9

We got to spend a lot of time with each other this week which is always a treat! On Tuesday night we attended Prego's 2nd Birthday which we can't wait to tell you about! Blog to follow this week. We got together for a very spontaneous bonfire night on Wednesday. James built an impressive bonfire and Harry brought the fireworks. Emily made posh hot dogs and we toasted marshmallows on the fire whilst being big kids with our sparklers. It was really cold on Wednesday night which just made bonfire night complete...winter is finally here and we are welcoming with open arms, cosy nights and the excuse to wear big coats and hats.

This week was Meg's second week open at Meggie's - just as good as the first! Thanks to everyone who read the blog post about the new venture. She is still so overwhelmed by all the love Meggie's is receiving. If you haven't already seen, have a gander here.

Millie: this week I went to visit my Mum and Dad whilst James was working. We popped into Stratford Upon Avon to do some shopping and went into Mums favourite restaurant Vesuvio Caffe for a coffee and cake. If you have read our blog on Huxleys you will have seen the beautiful rustic crockery they use and Vesuvio used the same! This time in a beautiful burnt yellow colour. They are made by Steelight in England. I love them!  We also went into Broadway as Dad was treating himself to a new Barbour jacket and I needed to pop into Love Hair to talk wedding plans! I am so pleased Debbie had so many suggestions for what to do with my super fine hair, it's usually a nightmare! Another thing ticked off the wedding planning list. You would think it was next week not next year! 

Meg: On Monday we spent the day with our niece Poppy, we had a mooch down Bath Road in Cheltenham. We stopped for lunch at the lovely Curious Cafe & Bistro. I'd never been before but would definitely go back again; yummy food, quirky and friendly atmosphere. I think I must've drank my own weight in chocolate milkshakes! 

On Friday night we headed to Shipston-on-Stour to visit Harry's Dad for a cosy dinner and catch up. We ended up visiting Shipston's firework display which were surprisingly impressive for a small town. After, we of course feasted on bangers and mash. A staple Bonfire Night dinner! We also got to hang out with our youngest niece, Phoebe. Gorgeous! She loved the fireworks so much she actually visited 3 different displays this week. 

Millie and Meg x

Meggie's

As some of you might of heard I've opened my own little gift & lifestyle shop, Meggie's in beautiful Painswick. I opened the doors to Meggie's last Wednesday the 29th. It's now my second week and I couldn't be happier. 

Our Week #8

Meg: What a week! For the past 6 weeks, I have been working on my new venture, cleaning, painting, sanding, buying and creating and the week finally came to open my doors to the public. I was so happy to finally open my new shop, Meggie's in beautiful Painswick. And I couldn't have asked for a better first week! I have had so many kind words of luck and support, lots of lovely customers like and more importantly, buying my stock, gifts, flowers, new followers on my social media sites... it's all been a little overwhelming but also so much fun! I've loved every minute. So a big big thank you for all the love. I hope to see you all at Meggie's soon. Like Meggie's on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & Instagram.  

Our best friends from Sussex and London came home for a visit for a night of celebrating the opening of Meggie's and to wish our friend Kate a belated happy birthday. Nothing makes us happier than spending time as a big group of friends! 

Emily: Not a lot of 'Cotswolding' for me this week but what a lovely week off! After scaring myself silly at Over Farm "Frightmare" we set off for the long 4 and half hour journey down to Gillan's Creek in Cornwall. We spent the weekend at James's Dad's B&B 'Karenza', messing about on his boat. On Saturday we went on a long walk around the coast and on Sunday we moored up at St Mawes for a roast dinner. This weekend we went up to see my Family in Ashbourne, spending the day in Tissington, a gorgeous estate near Thorpe. We went for a stroll through the village, fed the ducks and bought goodies in the Edward and Vintage of Tissington's Vintage Sweet Emporium. Created by David Westcott-Walker, this award nominated vintage shop takes you back in time post war, stacked from floor to ceiling with old fashioned, traditional and modern sweets. What a treat! I went for Royal Jellies and James went for Peach Hearts.

Millie and Meg x