French goodies

Whenever I go back to France there are certain things I always like to bring back with me. Nothing is really essential, but with my super sweet tooth it's nice to find some Poulain cooking chocolate to bake with, for example. This time was no exception, and I went over the top indulged once more. Sadly, this is not all of the sweet loot, but since I intend for it to last into the Autumn, I figure it's best to pretend the rest doesn't exist. Hopefully it will stay hidden in the back of the cupboard for a couple of months.

Onto the bathroom goodies. I have been a fan of Bourjois shower gels for years, they're nicely fragranced and not too overpowering. My favourite is by far "deshabillez-moi" but it's not available evrywhere, so this time I got different ones.
The hair oil is a new one for me, but I felt like my hair needed a bit of a break, as the water is very hard where my parents live. It works a treat, and I'll definitely be using it regularly.
My bedside table doesn't have much from France apart from the tissues. The packaging was just too cute to leave them behind in the supermarket.
What about you, what are your favourite goodies to bring back from your travels?

holiday?

Holidays back home in countryside France don't always feel like a holiday, I think I might have mentionned it here or there already. This year after some soul-searching and many discussions with my better half I decided to spend only a week. And that turned out perfectly for both the Toddler and I. We had great weather as well, which always helps, because the Internet is soooo slow and the shops soooo far there's really not much else to do but use the pool and get a bit of a tan (oh, and eat, of course!).
On to the question of home again then. As an expat of many years now, I feel like the UK is now my one and only home. Of course, back home will also always be that, but say, for example, I cannot use the Secu anymore (French equivalent of NHS) and here is where I work, pay taxes, live and bring my baby up. So when relatives "back home" ask me if, by now, I've gotten used to living in England, I am not sure how to respond or make them understand. Like....yeah, silly, HERE is where I feel like a foreigner now!
Anyway, enough with the rant. This is the holidays, and now that I am back home to the UK, I intend to make the absolute most of it. Top of my list since the weekend has been to make a list of summer goals, and I think I have something good to work from. Stay tuned, more coming soon if I stick to my schedule. Which I fully intend to do ;)

my little summer box

"Girls just wanna have sun". If you opened your June box without beaming out a big smile,  hats off. June really should be all about the sun and summer but here in the UK it's been pretty dire. That might be why I have lagged behind in my monthly review of the Summer Box. Well, that and having a perfectly awful time (can we say that?) dealing with other silly worries but let's not tarnish the happy place that is this blog ;)

So, Summer it was for June. On the beauty side, first, some eye glitter glue. I'll be honest with you, I have no idea what it really does, how to use it, and don't intend to use it anytime soon. This might actually be the first box item I will throw away / give out. I guess it's just not my thing anymore, been there, done that, kinda thing.
Next we were treated to a Ciate nail varnish, which I proceeded to try on straight away, and I loved it instantly. Mine came in an off-red colour, slighltly orange and perfect for the season. The next goodie was My Little Beauty's beach hair spray. A light coconutty spray to get you that bit closer to looking like a surfer girl. Unfortunately My Little Box didn't provide the secret recipe to actually having the perfect surfer body to accompany the hair. Shame, hey?

On the lifestyle goodies side, we have a Bikini swinsuit pouch. I can see this being practical when you have a wet costume to carry around, or simply just to have a spare bikini if you need a quick change. Then there is a summery white vest with a season-appropriate message: "girls just wanna have sun" - ideal was hanging around in the sun. So, sun, please hurry up and come and shine on our corner of the world!
On top of that we had a super lucky month with an extra goodie - Aqua Fizz iced tea from Kusmi. The brand needs no introduction, their teas are gorgeous, and I can't wait to try this one. Hopefully we will have a nice hot weekend this week, perfect for a BBQ, fruit slald and some refreshing berry and hibiscus iced tea!

Not long now until the next box arrives - I can't wait for the July instalment. And the holidays, of course. I am definitely counting the days now, even if the summer will be fairly quiet.

3 things to smile about #2

I totally fell in love with the sofa.com Chelsea showroom when we visited a couple of weeks ago - I mean, just check out those cushions. And the room. And those floorboards. The relaxed atmosphere was super welcoming too, and there were many more things to look at than we anticipated. Well worth a visit if you need new comfy seating for your house. In the end we left empty-handed at the time, but soon put an order in for an Izzy, kinda like the velvet one in the first picture, just in a lighter colour. We can't wait to see it in our new house!

 Next up, my budding, very modest first steps into the world of pottery. The Art teacher at my school had the brilliant idea to do a quick after-work introduction to pottery for staff, and it has been the most relaxing way to end Wednesdays for the past couple of weeks. The results, well, I don't think I'm quite there yet, but I had high ambitions and brought Pinterest pictures along with me to inspire me. Anthropologie are selling the most beautiful things this summer as ever, and I've tried to recreate some of the colour schemes I saw in the shop the other day. Sadly I don't have a finished product to show you yet. Fingers crossed the glazing will all be finished before we break up.

And finally, this beauty last week. Definitely brought a smile to my face.

Saint- Tropez

 ♫ Do you St Tropez ♫

 

Glamour here we come!   What better way to celebrate the start of summer than a quick visit to the Mecca of the French Riviera? With Saint-Tropez only a stone's throw from our holidays we couldn't not go and see it, if only for a few hours. Getting in and out of this tiny fishing town took way more time than we thought, but at least we got to take in the views, and the rough coastline leading into St Trop' was very reminiscent of those old Bardot clips from the 60s. As soon as we started strolling in the streets the best thing was the jasmine scent everywhere. Our visit must have coincided perfectly with the blooming season, the perfume was just so stong and intoxicating, it was magic.  Not so magic though was the town itself, such a let down! It seemed to be all about the bling, but then what did I really expect in such a place?
Still, we found comfort in those delicious ice creams shaped like flowers, and my basil with lime flavour was to die for.  And that Dior house was grand to see. Sadly, as far as I can see,  that's it for me and St Tropez.