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LIFESTYLE: I Remember.. My Favourite Family Memory

Wednesday 30 March 2016


A few weeks back, Red Letter Days got in touch and asked me to recall my favourite shared moment with your parents. I had a long hard think but there was one particular holiday, over 15 years ago that kept popping back into my mind. They asked me to write a short paragraph for them to include in their blog post here (link to come asap), but I thought it might be nice to pad it out over here with a bit of a longer post! This post could get VERY long as it was a 5/6 week holiday so I think I'm just going to try to cut it down to specific little things that I remember.
 
If I tell you that I remember most details about a holiday that I went on when I was 8, then you've gotta assume that it was a pretty special holiday right? Let me set the scene, it was the summer of 2002, the year after 9/11 and my mum had decided she wasn't going to get on a plane again so my parents had to come up with something a little bit outside of the box for the 5 of us (I have two younger brothers). Basically, we drove to Southampton, got a week long cruise over to NYC, drove to Florida, stayed there for two weeks, and then did the same thing to get back home. It was a pretty incredible holiday and one of my top two ever (only competing with my trip to Thailand.)

 Cruises were like nothing we had ever seen before (we've been on one every year since) and this wasn't just another Royal Caribbean cruise, our first trips were were Cunard and they were like the big old ships you see in the films, white gloved afternoon tea, a chocolate on your bed each night, people wore ball gowns to dinner (of course I remember all things food related). When we arrived in America, and my parents took advantage of the three days we had in New York and of course we visited Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty. I also remember being super excited about actually eating chinese from one of those paper pots and the huge ferris wheel inside the giant toys are us.
We spent the next three days driving down to Florida. What do I remember about those days? I remember the big car my dad rented, I remember the hotels we stopped over at on the way and I also remember that there had been a shooting in America that week and that my mum wouldn't let us go to the outdoor pool in case someone shot us.

From Florida, I remember the Disney parks but not too well as there were so many of them - I would love to go back to Disney World! I remember going to IHOP for pancakes and all of the delicious crab and lobster shacks around. I remember my brother getting stung by a hornet while we were playing in the pool and I remember making a house with my brothers in the huge walk-in wardrobe at the villa we were staying in - seriously, look how american it looks!
 Two weeks later, it was the same back to NYC and back on the cruise! I remember how we were all super excited (my parents included) when we had the same room attendant on the cruise coming back, we all loved Arnold.
 Sorry for all the super blurry family snaps but I just couldn't help myself when my dad found the old album in the garage. 

I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane, Check out the other bloggers stories over on the RLD blog!

LIFESTYLE: LUSH Easter 2016 Bath Bombs

Monday 28 March 2016


Yey, I love a little LUSH round up post here on Georgina Does and today it's a few pieces from the Easter range! I have a shower but I'm all about the weekend bath bombs at Andrew house (as you might have noticed) so although the range is full of all sorts from soaps, bubble bars and melts, I have picked out my three of the bath bombs show you guys.

Before I even opened my package I was hit with a super intense smell. The mix was full of lovely cirtrus scentss which of course are my favorite but this there was also a hint of intense sweetness to it. I wasnt sure which smell came from which to begin with but what I can tell you from the get go, is that I think these are my favourite smelling selection of Lush bath bombs ever!

First I have this super cute little yellow one! I think, exclusive to the Oxford Street store (I couldn't find it anywhere online), this one is called Spring Bunny. Its smaller that their usual bath bombs but for a little guy, it has a huge scent coming off of it! Zesty and uplifting thanks to the Sicilian lemon oil, moisturising thanks to that large amount of cocoa butter within and super super cute!

Once dropped in the bath, it's quite a strong fizzer, sending out waves of yellow and white and then right when you think that it, there's a surprise pop of color in the middle. I'll leave it to you to see what it is for yourself!
Humpty Dumpty is pretty big and a little bit scary looking if you ask me, although he smells
great. It's scented with citrusy Brazilian orange oil so you know it's going to be good in my books. He fizzes away quite quickly and leaves the bath a pretty blue which I really like.

 I later found out that he was bigger than usual because you can crack him open to find a little fried egg inside - so you are able to use this one over three baths if you wanted, that definitely justifies the £6.97 price tag, although when it comes to my baths it's go big or go home, I usually just throw the whole thing in.

 Lastly, I have the fluffy egg! So this one moves away from the citrus scents but I still absolutely lovely it because it takes on Snow Fairys scent instead. Everyone says it smells like sweets but for me, its a little bit more specific, I think it smells like peardrops and I love that.

Another that fizzes away very quicky and quite loudly as well leaving the bath a very deep, lovely shade of pink!
Have You Tried Any Of The Lush 2016 Easter Range?

LIFESTYLE: Easter Eggs

Friday 25 March 2016


Happy Good Friday everyone! I don't really know what that means but you know, hope you all have a lovely day and have some super plans for the weekend! I'm looking forward for my 5 whole days off, yup I booked Tuesday off too so I could almost pretend that it's an actual holiday, I'm just not planning on  leaving the country. I am, however, planning to relax away from home and to eat alot! I'm pretty excited.

I'm Jewish so Easter was never really a big deal for me growing up, obvs it never had any religious relevance to me but I did always look forward to it because my parents always go overboard with the chocolate. Any excuse for more chocolate in my house. Since I've been abit older though, and had my own money, I seem to have developed a larger than normal love for Easter eggs. People buy them for me, I buy them for myself haha but my dad is the one when it comes to my Easter eggs. A couple of weeks ago, as he does every year, he came back with 16 of them - apparently they were on sale. LOL. But don't think that's it, they were all Nestle, so that's me stocked up on those for the year, now to get a few Cadbury's ones (and yes, I can definitely tell the difference) and maybe a couple more posh ones if I fancy. So far this year, I've already had 6 but I've got a personal best to beat (28 if you were wondering)

I am 100% sure that they taste better than normal chocolate and I have a theory for that! Yes I do. The chocolate of an egg is thin which means, at the right temperature (more on that in  minute) it has an addictive snap to it, that is why I love Easter eggs. The sound and feel of when you snap it in your hands or bite into it. mmmm SO good. Now lets discuss temperatures! Everyone who I have mentioned about the snap too has just assumed that I keep them in the fridge but that is a complete no-go for me. It might make the crack more intense but it completely ruins the flavour of the chocolate, I hate chocolate out of a fridge. I need it to be cold, but not that cold so I've found the best place to leave my Easter eggs in order for them to get that perfect crack and keep their flavour, is in my brother's bedroom because he's away at uni and his room is always cold.

So that is what I think about Easter eggs. Add me on Snapchat (xxgeorgina18) and see how many I manage over the weekend!
P.S Does anyone else use one little pointy piece of chocolate to draw shapes on the rest of it? 

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LIFESTYLE: Limited Edition Chocolate Treats

Wednesday 23 March 2016


Hotel Chocolat Easter Egg
Guys, I have a whole post to bring you up to date with how I feel about Easter eggs coming next week (yep, I thought it needed a whole post) but in the meantime, I thought it was only right for me to show you my recent gift from the guys at Hotel Chocolate. It's a little bit posher than the ones I'm used to - I rarely get posh Easter eggs because I just get through too many to spend alot on each one so this was a real treat! They've sent me one of their caramel scrambled eggs. It's a hollow caramel chocolate egg decorated with chocolate drizzles in a posh box with matching drizzled  pralines, cute. This was definitely the one for me since my new found love for anything they do caramel flavored.

The description says perfect for sharing but we all know that's not going to happen.

Dirty Martini Choctails
Everyone knows I'm a big of a fan of Dirty Martinis Chocolate Martini so I was very excited to hear that they have two other chocolate cocktails on offer over Easter! I took Georgia along with me to sample as I know she has a totally different taste to me, lets be honest, she is much more grown up that I am.

Georgia went for the White Rabbit and I had the Maltease. First thing first, they both looked pretty good - as I said, Georgia went for the grown up sounding one spiced rum, dark chocolate bitters and it looked it when it arrived! It came in such a classy little glass! It was fruity thanks to the Solerno Blood Orange and had a bit of a Terrys chocolate orange vibe going on. It was also quite thick and super smooth from to the egg mixed into it. 

Mine looked good for another reason, I felt like I'd just ordered dessert and any cocktail with Nutella and whipped cream in the description has gotta be a winner right? Right! It looks like a little kids cocktail which is me all over and it tasted really good - once I licked all the cream off with my finger (classy I know) and finally got to try it. It was rich and creamy and delicious with just a little kick. 

Available from 14th – 28th March

Easter Cupcake at Hummingbird Bakery
For me, Hummingbird Bakery do the best cupcakes. The sponge across all flavours is delicious, light and fluffy, they always look incredible and they are so generous with the frosting, I just cant enjoy a cupcake the same when I am trying to ration the frosting on each bite haha.

Every cake I've ever had from them has been delicious so I can safely say these limited edition Easter designs would make the perfect Easter treat and a pretty special alternative to another Easter Egg! For £20.25 you get a box of 6, hand decorated cupcakes or you can buy them for £3.55 each. Obvs, I picked up six including two red velvet, two chocolate and two vanilla made in a selection of designs. I'll have to admit, the vanilla ones with the sparkly chocolate toppings look delicious but red velvet are my all times fave so I'll be saving one of those for myself!

Available from 18th to 28th March.

Krispy Kreme Cookie Dough and Brownie Batter Doughnuts
So a box of the new flavours arrived for me at work on Thrusday and they certainly didnt last long - there were already two missing by the time I got from the post room back to my desk haha. I was most excited by the cookie dough one so I grabbed one of those before the swarm erupted! Luckily, one of the girls only wanted half so I shared a brownie batter one with her too! Obvs had to try both.

The toppings on both were lovely, covered in a thin layer of milk or white chocolate and sprinkled with either crunchy cookie pieces and chocolate chips or chocolate brownie chunks. Surprisingly enough, I have never had a filled doughnut before, I'm a ring kinda girl so this was my first! I was very impressed with the taste of the cookie dough one, the filling was unmistakably cookie dough and it was delicious! I'll be honest though, I was expecting there to be alot more filling in both. I kinda just assumed that I picked the wrong half of the chocolate one and that my friend, Aarti, got a half a doughnut with a whole load of filling but I had the same issue when I bit into my other one. 

The flavour of the cookie dough filling did save it for me though and I would happily buy another one just for the taste, it really is delicious!

Available February 22nd - April 17th
P.S Head over to my twitter - I'm giving away 12 Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

Things | March 21st

Monday 21 March 2016


Coconut Oil
So I was a little bit skeptical about this because I literally had no idea what to do with it and every single write up said something different! But never fear, twitter to the rescue - I tweeted and luckily for me I got four of the same replies so I went with that! Melt it into a liquid oil and apply to dry hair, leave for 30 minutes, then wash out. Easy!

I was a little bit stressed and edgy because I have silly thoughts like what if my hair doesn't like it so I washed it out after 15 minutes but even after that I felt a great improvement in my hair, it was much softer than before! So that's me set up for next time, I'll try it for the whole half hour, maybe longer and I'll let you know how it goes, I'm pretty impressed so far.

Diet Coke Freebies
Maybe you've noticed by now that I'm not really big into make up, I don't wear lipstick, I don't wear face foundation, I can live without mascara but one thing I cant go without is my eyeliner! I'm currently using the Barry M blink eyeliner pen but I got a little bit nostalgic when this package from Diet coke turned up at my door. 

That L'Oreal skinny liner was the my first ever piece of make up that was all my own, something that I went out and actually bought for myself so I was very pleased to see it again! I'm not sure why I stopped using it in the first place, I think it was because the Barry M one was just that much cheaper but with this great deal they have on at the moment, maybe its time to stock up again since theyre now the same price!

From 2nd to 29th March, you can pick up a 500ml bottle of Diet Coke and a L’Oréal Super Liner Blackbuster or L’Oréal Super Liner Perfect Slim eyeliner for only £5 at Boots. That’s a 40% saving (RRP £8.36).

Wagamama Ramen
We love Wagas! Andrew has a ramen every single time we go, but I mix it up and order something different most times although I usually stick between cha han, teriyaki donburi and the famous chicken katsu curry. As you can see, I like my rice, I think thats probably why I havent picked a ramen dish for years now!

During March though, Wagas are celebrating their ramen and thought it was about time that I tried one! They have been perfecting the dish for over 20 years now and invited me along to have one so obviously, I took my ramen expert with me! His favourite is the wagamama ramen so that's what I ordered. Along came a huge bowl of steamy broth packed full with chicken, pork, prawns and mussels, I could see why it's his favourite - there is so much in the bowl! As well as all that meat they also throw in noodles, half a tea-stained egg, menma and spring onions. I was stuffed!

 Andrew decided to be a bit adventerous this time and went for the new short rib version which features a huge chunk of meat! Look how pleased he is with himself! haha 

FASHION: New Look Denim Dress

Wednesday 16 March 2016


When New Look asked me to pick out some denim to style obviously, my initial thought was jeans - what else is there?! But I have SO many pair of jeans that I decided to do a little research before I just picked out another pair and found that there actually is more than jeans - there was tops, dresses, jackets and skirts - so much choice! So I went for something different.

I picked this out, not only because I like the skater shape of the dress but because I loved how it was styled on the site. I have never worn anything like that before, I thought it looked reaalllyy cute! 

My plan was to wear it with a grey short sleeve crop top underneath and white converse, exactly like the styling on the site but when it all arrived and I put it together, I just didn't like it the same. I wanted to stick with the same casual look and the layering vibe so I went through my crop top shelf until I found something that worked. I pulled out my white crop and switched the converse up for my favourite vans circa 2009 LOL. Yes I did buy myself a new pair recently and I have been wearing them most days actually. 

I have never layered in my life so this is a first and I actually really like it! I will definitely be wearing it like this more through the summer but maybe switching it up for something a little thicker until then!

LIFESTYLE: A Stay at The Montcalm, Marble Arch

Monday 14 March 2016

Ok so I've finally got a little post together on our recent hotel visit. I love when Andrew decides it's time for another hotel break, we spend the whole night on the phone going through hotel websites picking out our favourite room and deal and it's so much fun (we actually did the same this last night, you'll have to wait to see where we booked next). This time we came across the Montcalm Marble Arch hotel which looked lovely and also had a great deal on for valentines. Along with the room, we got a massage each, a bottle of champagne, a bunch of flowers, chocolate truffles and strawberries plus a champagne breakfast in the morning which was really great for the price! We were also lucky enough to receive and incredible room upgrade when we arrived!

We decided to start making the most of the whole day, not just starting at check in so we were up bright and early for breakfast at Carluccios. We found one quite near to the hotel, in St Christophers Place which was the most magical little side road hidden in between two shops on Oxford Street. I had to literally walk Andrew over to the alley before he noticed where I meant. We also had the best breakfast, I would definitely recommend Carluccios as everything was delicious.

I took my new case on its debut outing for this trip and it didn't disappoint! After years and years of using my old family cases I had had enough of walking around with grubby black cases - think broken wheels and handles falling off - So I got a brand new one from Antler!

It's my first with those clever wheels and I don't think I'll ever go back, life is just so much easier now that the case actually moves where I want it to! Mine is bright red, which was perfect for our Valentines day weekend but of course it came in a range of colours. Its hard and sturdy and the inside even has zip up compartments and a strap. I am just not used to this kind of luxury when it comes to cases. As you can tell, I'm pretty pleased with it.
After brunch, we were off to the hotel! The reception was so big and modern, plus it was warm which was lovely to come in to from the cold outside
The receptionist was very excited to tell us that we had been upgraded to one of her favourite rooms in the hotel so we couldn't wait to go up and see it! 

We went up into a lovely big room, it opened out with a huge four poster double bed in the middle and a big bathroom with a bath - heaven! I was pretty pleased with that, but there was more! The lady opened an adjoining door which took us into the room next door giving us another toilet and shower and a whole living room area with a sofa, TV and dining table, it really was such a treat!
We didnt have much time to settle in as we were straight off the to spa for the afternoon but made the most of our room on return - we got comfy and ordered room service for lunch! 
 I spent the afternoon in my new lounge wear from NEXT - Super soft tracksuit bottoms and a baggy V neck tee with the cutest fluffy flip flop slippers!
Of course later in the afternoon it was time to take advantage of the lovely big bath! We filled it right to the top and dropping in a bath bomb. As I said here, I also brought along my favourite shower gel plus my Toni & guy hair mask, I probably should have added that to my essentials post because my hair just cant do without it any more! The hotel had the cutest little Hermes toiletries as well!
and that took us through to the evening! It was a Saturday so all the good TV was on, we ordered a chinese, popped open the champagne and settled down for a relaxed night in our lovely room finished off with tea and biscuits! Andrew likes a good old English tea but had my chocolate digestives with an Ahmad green tea. Mcvities sent over a box of them the day before the celebrate the launch of their Ikitten app - go download it, its as cute as it sounds! 
We had a lovely sleep in that huge white bed, it was one of the best hotel nights sleep we've had actually and I wasn't too upset to get out of it either, not when it was to open the door to breakfast and two more glasses of champagne! 
I couldnt decide what I wanted so the obvious answer was to just order both right? Andrew got a fry up and I went for a plate of fruit and pancakes! Totally different for me, I usually go straight in for the eggs florentine but I just had an urge for pancakes and it paid off, they were so delicious, I loved their crunchy edges and soft, fluffy center!
We had sorted out a late check out so after breakfast, it was back to bed! P.S how cute are my F&F pyjamas?!
We had a lovely weekend and would recommend if you are looking for super value for money! We were pretty impressed with the price when it just meant a normal room but are so grateful to The Montcalm for our upgrade! 

BEAUTY: POREfessional Wipeout Masks By Benefit

Friday 11 March 2016


I'm not huge on make up but I always love a new Benefit release, the products and always new and innovative and the packaging is just something else! Benefit packaging is always so pretty and these wipeout masks, new addition to their POREfessional range, for spring 2016 are no exception. I love the POREfessional green and how each mask looks like a top secret file but I especially love the fun element of having to press the button and soak the mask yourself - you have to push pretty hard but it is so satisfying when it finally pops.

Once that was done, we gave the a little squish around to make sure the mask was fully soaked (Andrew did one with me haha not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning) and then I went ahead and peeled open the pack. As the instruction said, we put on the mask, smooth side down and then sat back and relaxed for 10 minutes. I had heard from alot of people that they really stung your skin and eyes especially so I was a little bit weary and made Andrew put it on first but we were pleasantly surprised when all we felt was a slight tingle, although there was a pretty strong medical smell to them, but that was nothing really. 

With stats like 94% said it cleans out pores and 89% said skin looks smooth printed on the pack, they had a lot to live up to! It also said they also contain mushroom extract which is known to clarify pores so I was hoping for a good result on that too. So what did we think? To be honest, we didn't see much happening in the way of cleaning out the pores and removing dirt and blackheads which was a shame but they were absolutely great for getting shine under control control, I could see a difference on both Andrew and myself as soon as we took them off. I also liked that you could use the rougher side of the mask afterwards to exfoliate the skin and wipe everything off. Maybe a little pricey at £24.50 for a pack of eight and being recommended that you use twice a week but I would definitely keep them on hand to pop out every once in a while when I am feeling particularly oily!
P.S Did you find my hidden photo of Andrew? haha
 
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LIFESTYLE: DKNY Be Electric Eau de Toilette Collection

Wednesday 9 March 2016


By now I'm sure you have all realised that I am quite a fan of the DNKY Be Delicious range all the way from the beginning! I think I've probably had at least one of each fragrance they've release which is more than can be said for me mum - she bought a couple of the the original red and green ones every single year for around 5 years!

I was very excited to hear there are three new ones of the horizon which are launching this month! The Be Electric Range but get it quick becuase its a limited edition range. Of course, again they are the iconic apple bottles but this time all three are crazy, fluorescent colours. Loving Glow which is hot pink, Citrus Pulse which is the orange one and Bright Crush which is the lime green one. These spring releases are inspired by a city that never sleeps and the optimism of exciting new beginnings.
Lets start with the green one because it is my favourite of the three! I think I like it so much because it is a really familiar scent and reminds me of my favoruite summer back when I was 15. I can't work it out for sure but I'm thinking it was my friend who wore something similar. It's funny how a smell can take you right back isn't it. It's super fresh and very light and summery. I'll definitely be wearing this one alot when it starts to get a bit warmer.

The pink has a much older smell and a more classic scent. Its not unpleasant but it's not really my style. I think it must be the vanilla and musk in it that I don't like because the grape and pineapple in the description sound right up my street.

As for the orange one, it is very fruity and also something I would wear during the summer, this one is much more summer holiday though. Again, like the green one, it takes me back to past summers because it smells just like a sex on the beach cocktail which I quite like. It has a fruitieness like the orange juice and a sweetness like the grenadine in the drink. Interesting my first thoughts weren't far off because it contains nectarine, mandarin and passionfruit. Delicious!

DKNY Be Delicious Electric Collection, 50ml RRP £37 
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