Saturday 16 September 2017

ALL YOU NEED IS SLEEP




This post is something I began to draft several months ago, back when at work we were focusing on 'Sleep Month' - I wanted to re-visit it as I have started to get out of some of the good habits I developed. 

I wouldn't say I've ever really struggled with getting to sleep, however earlier this year I decided to focus a lot more on winding down, going to sleep at a sensible time and attempting to get 8 hours in a night. I did this by winding down an hour before when I wanted to sleep and that meant no phone, laptop or TV to give my mind a chance to really switch off. This really worked for me and at the time I found myself feeling much more refreshed. My aim is to get back into these habits again as the days begin to get shorter for the winter... and with starting a new job in London - exciting! 

I do still find it fairly easy to get to sleep at night but am waking up throughout the night a lot more often. By changing some of my habits again I want to see if this helps to make a difference. 

My tops tips that help me sleep are: 


  • Wind Down: Allow time to relax and switch off before going to bed, I found that listening to calming / relaxing music really helped with this. As the winter months approach, another thing I love to do is light loads of candles, whether thats in my room or around the bath, i just find them really calming. 
  • Bath Before Bed: This might not work for everyone but one thing I love is a really hot bath before bed, especially with a Lush bath bomb. This is the perfect chance to destress and leaves me feeling really tired afterwards. 
  • Develop a Nighttime Beauty Routine: I don't always have time to wind down with a full on beauty routine but when I do I like to have a bit of a pamper session, including using my favourite face wipes, followed by the Face Wash and Toner from Purelogical. I then use the night cream from Frezyderm and Lush's Dream Cream on my body. 
If you have any top tips for a better nights sleep, please feel free to share them with me... 






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Wednesday 13 September 2017

PLACES TO VISIT: CAFÉ ROUGE, ESHER

I was recently asked to head over to the Café Rouge in Esher to review their summer menu. This has been an exciting opportunity for me as I really love Café Rouge and have already shared a couple of my favourite meals from there on my social media - I hadn't however tried the summer menu yet so what better excuse to taste some different foods. I decided to invite my Mum along as my +1 for the dinner as I knew how much she would enjoy the experience and also have a chance to share with her something that I have accumulated through blogging - after all there's not really that many blogging related events you can normally take your Mum to right!? 

Anyway, lets talk about food.. & drinks of course...


So when it came to my choice of drink I had to go for the Gin Blooms, these are absolutely amazing, if you're a Gin fan like me that is. Some of you may have already seen a glass of the Cucumber & Watermelon Gin on my Instagram, I tried this a couple of months ago and had to share as it's got such an amazing taste. I've also recently got my Mum into drinking Gin and therefore she opted for the Elderflower Gin which has a slightly sweeter taste and comes with raspberries in the glass. 



 Excuse the slightly blurred photo but it's the only one i've actually got of myself enjoying the food. To start I had the Soupe de Saison which was with Asparagus and Watercress, not something I would usually choose to start, I would often go a little more unhealthy (Garlic Bread is my favourite) but actually this was the perfect choice, super tasty and left me will still enough room for my main and dessert.
 For my main I had the Porc Schnitzel, which came with slaw and chips. I first tried a little bit of Schnitzel when in Berlin earlier this year and decided it was now time to experience this as a meal - I was not disappointed! My mum had the Poulet Breton which is chicken that comes with creamy mash and vegetables, something I really want to try when I go to Café Rouge again.

 Another main meal which I tried and loved recently at Café Rouge was the Tagine, again not something I would normally pick but I'm really making an effort at the moment to stop being so picky and just try new things!

Dessert is my favourite part of any meal, I have such a sweet tooth. I decided to have the Chocolate Torte whilst my Mum went for the Strawberry Cheesecake. The Chocolate Torte itself was perfect, although it comes with creme fraise which I'm not a massive fan of. I'm sure if I had realised beforehand I would have been able to swap it for cream or ice-cream so I still feel like this would be a dessert I would love to have again. 


The restaurant itself in Esher has a lovely relaxed vibe, with an outside area too that would be perfect on summer days. I am very tempted to go back to the Esher Café Rouge for brunch soon, so you may just see those photos go up on my Instagram.

The staff were amazing and couldn't be more helpful and kind, they really did make the evening feel extra special. All of my meals were chosen from the Summer Set Menu, which is still available in restaurants at the moment, however the Autumn menu will be available on the website soon. 

Do you have a favourite meal from Café Rouge, let me know? 





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