I did it. I joined the instagram club and took myself off to do a photoshoot with some pumpkins. I'm not even sorry, I actually enjoyed it. Okay so it wasn't the cute little pumpkin patch I imagined it to be but I had a lot of fun and took some fab photos with my pals and my friends little girl. Its her first Halloween so we had to do something special! I enjoyed it so much I'd happily go 'Pumpkin picking' again next year, even if they are already picked for you ha!



Since the start of October when photos of perfect girls holding perfectly round pumpkins started to appear on my timeline, I knew I had to get in on the action. It wasn't all that easy to find a pumpkin patch in the Midlands though, there doesn't seem to be that many at all. After what seemed like hours we did eventually track down Pumpkins R Us just down the road in Kenilworth. I'm not sure how you'd get here without a car as it's out in the stick but lucky for me most of my friends drive!


It's not the prettiest place for a photoshoot I'll admit, but do you think that stopped us from taking 4000 snaps? Spoiler - it didn't. And we weren't the only ones. There were dozens of parents carefully placing their children and even new born babies on top of various sized pumpkins just to get that special shot. I would usually judge parents for doing weird shit like that but it's exactly what we went there to do. I also made my friends take a million photos of me too, I mean if you don't put it on instagram did it even happen? 



In between our mini photoshoots we did actually pick up a few pumpkins. As tempting as it was to go for a giant one we were all very boring a chose a nice selection of teeny weenie pumpkins that will probably take us about 5 minutes to carve. I also picked up the cutest striped pumpkin and Sophie grabbed a handful of miniature ones for the baby. I think she was pretty chuffed with her little pumpkin haul even though I'm sure she had absolutely no clue what was going on.


If you just can't resist doing a little autumn photoshoot of your own, Pumpkins R Us are open from 10am until 7pm everyday, but be warned it gets really busy. We arrived around midday on sunday and by that time it was already rammed! I do think it's well worth a taking trip this halloween though. Whether you've got kids or not it's a bit more fun than rummaging through a supermarket crate trying to find the least bruised pumpkin in the pile!

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Birmingham, UK

PUMPKIN PICKING AT PUMPKINS R US

I'm sorry but what happened to September please? That month came and went quicker than my last paycheck! But in all seriousness I cannot believe how fast this year is going, time flies when you're having fun, right? So what fun things am I doing this month to keep me happy? Last month I wrote down my three keys to happiness and now here are my October keys...


Something to look forward to

I had so much to look forward to this month, but I do feel like most of it has already happened now. I've done so SO much fun bloggy stuff in the last few weeks and I don't want it to end! From fancy cocktails at my fave Dirty Martini, to picking out goodies at the new Beauty Outlet, and having a little get together at the Prezzybox Jingle Mingle, I've done it all. 

I've also just booked quite a bit of holiday off work so I am excited to start filling that! I do also have a very exciting trip half planned at the moment that I'm hoping to book in the next week or so! I will reveal all soon!

Something to be proud of

Whilst I was planning this post earlier today I did have to think long and hard about this one. What am I proud of this month? I haven't really done anything major but the more I think about it, the more I am just proud of me right now. I'm getting on with things, I'm smiling more, and I'm crying less. Of course I have down days but they are just so few and far between now. I have moments of just pure overwhelming happiness and its amazing. I'm doing okay.

I've also started exercising more. I know I know, pick your jaw up off the floor, but its true. I've even started jogging(!!!) I'm not going to become a gym bunny anytime soon but I am starting to look after myself a lot more and having the motivation and willpower to do that is something I never really thought I'd have.

Something to do

Well where do I even start with this one? I am just so bloody busy right now. Sometimes it's good busy and sometimes it's just flat out boring, but I have no time for anything either way.

College is eating up a lot of hours with studying, and I'm spending as much free time as I can meeting up with friends, so relaxing isn't exactly something I'm specialising in right now but thats okay.

For the first time in a long time I feel like my life is full and that I am getting somewhere. I've had a bit of a shake up lately but I'm feeling good. I know I am going to live an amazing, beautiful life and I cannot wait to see how it all turns out.

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Birmingham, UK

MY KEYS TO HAPPINESS - OCTOBER

If you haven't guessed I'm a beauty fan by now you obviously haven't been paying attention. I love makeup, and skincare, and haircare etc. But I especially love it when all those good things don't cost a bomb! Let's be honest, good products can sometimes be a bit pricey, but do they have to be?


I buy beauty products from budget, mid range, and high end brands. I like to mix it up a bit and if I'm truthful, I can't always see a massive quality difference between cheaper things and the much more expensive. There are some products I have to spend a bit of money on; eyeliner, lipstick, and usually eyeshadow, but the rest I'm pretty flexible with. 

So when I was given the heads up about a brand spanking new Beauty Outlet in Resorts World Birmingham I had to get myself down there. The store only opened a few weeks back but I've already seen so many of my fellow bloggers and beauty addicts spend a small fortune in there.


The shop stocks everything from well known brands such as; Real Techniques, Rimmel, and Barry M, to lesser known brands that I had not come across before. It also sells a mix of high, mid range, and budget beauty. Although cheap and cheerful is what it does best, you can find a decent range of more expensive Stila and Clarins goodies which start at about the £5 mark.

I was also quite surprised to find a good selection of vegan products for sale. Now call me ignorant (and I probably am) but I didn't even know makeup could be non vegan, I mean what is in regular makeup that vegans can't have? Who knows, but it's good to see companies trying to cater for everyone's needs for once!


Now I'm not massively into nails (as I'm sure you can tell by the photos) so the huge polish section didn't impress me as much as it probably should have. Don't get me wrong, I do like to have pretty nails but once they start to look a bit sorry for themselves I'm usually too lazy to clear it up. Someone who is big on nails however is my sister. Every week or so she's wearing a gorgeous new colour, so imagine her surprise when she found her favourite gel varnishes in store for just £5! That girl dropped about £30 on the spot!


I think I swatched pretty much every lipstick, sniffed every perfume, and stuck my fingers in every eyeshadow before finally deciding on some treats. I was in there well over an hour playing with various products - it really is just so easy to lose track of time (and money) in these kind of places. Think of it as a casino for beauty addicts! 

It's a great place for beauty fans looking for a bargain and also anyone just starting to get into beauty as you can pick up your whole makeup bag for less than £20 in there. I was lucky enough to be treated to some goodies to take away with me so keep a look out for a haul and various product reviews coming soon!

What is your all time favourite budget beauty product? 

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* I was gifted products in exchange for a blog post. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I would never promote anything I didn't love.


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Birmingham, UK

A BARGAIN BEAUTY PARADISE!*

I've always wanted to be one of those women who goes for brunches and lunches with their girls on the weekends. I've seen it in films loads and that is the life I want. So when I was asked to try out the Dirty Martini Bottomless Brunch in Birmingham I knew this was my time to shine. I was going to take my Mom for nibbles and drinks and we were going to be sophisticated ladies. We were definitely not going to get drunk...


*The Bottomless Brunch was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

GRACE HOLDING A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE

The brunch itself includes a lovely selection of treats including; Cheese & bacon arancini, beef & cheese sliders, buttermilk chicken, vegetable sushi, vegetable spring rolls, halloumi & hummus wrap, wonton & paprika crisps, and sweet potato chips. The miniature treats were presented in a birdcage, similar to how you would expect afternoon tea to be served - but more fancy. It was all very instagramable.

GRACE AT MOM CLINKING CHAMPAGNE GLASSES
THE DIRTY MARTINI DRINKS MENU

The food was actually pretty delicious, once I eventually stopped taking photos if it that is. Although small, the Beef sliders were incredibly tasty. They were topped with a sweet smoky (BBQ maybe?) sauce that really finished them off beautifully. I even enjoyed the sweet potato fries which I'm not usually a fan of. I wasn't massively impressed with the Sushi, but then again I've never really been into anything like that. 

The Bottomless Brunch will set you back £25 a head which I thought was a little pricey at first, that was until I realised you each get 4 Martinis and unlimited Prosecco!!! Now alcohol does not come cheap in Birmingham City Centre, especially in a swanky little cocktail bar like Dirty Martinis, so I think you get a lot of booze for your buck. And let me tell you, they are not stingy with that Prosecco either, oh no, they whiz round every few minutes making sure everyone's fizz is filled to the brim!

DIRTY MARTINI BRUNCH BIRDCAGE HOLDING THE FOOD
A CLOSER SHOT OF THE MINIATURE FOOD ITEMS

So what pretty little martinis can you expect on the Brunch menu? You'll have the choice of 5; a Passionfruit Martini, a Blood Orange & Vanilla Martini, a Mango & Chilli Martini, an Espresso Martini and a French Martini. Between us, mother and I tried them all. Moms favourite was the Blood Orange & Vanilla Martini (Absolut Mango Vodka, Briottet liqueur de Mangue, and lemon & mango juices) whilst I fell in love with the French Martini (Absolut Vodka, Chambord and pineapple juice). 

GRACE'S MOM HOLDING A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE
GRACE & MOM

So would I go back? Honestly yes. We were treated to a very boozy afternoon surrounded by lots of lovely ladies and gents doing the exact same on a quiet Sunday. Although fairly new, the brunch seemed to be very popular, and those not nibbling on mini burgers and wraps were taking full advantage of happy hour which runs all day on a Sunday. 

We stayed long past our designated time, which didn't bother the staff, and left very merry* indeed. It's definitely something I hope to do again in the future, maybe for a special occasion or as part of a girly weekend, afterall it really is a treat.

Where is your favourite place to brunch?

*absolutely pissed as farts


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HUGE MURAL OF A WOMAN INSIDE DIRTY MARTINI BIRMINGHAM. THE WOMANS LIPS ARE LIT UP WITH A NEON LIGHT

Pinterest image, text states "Birmingham Boozy Bottomless Brunch"    Pinterest image, text states "Birmingham Boozy Bottomless Brunch"

Birmingham, UK

BIRMINGHAM'S BOOZY BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH*

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