One thing I love about winter is cosying up in layers and layers of clothing to keep out the December chill. So when I came across SnoodyDo, I fell in love with their simple but stylish scarf, glove and hat designs, ranging from skiwear to everyday fashion wear. 
As I was browsing their website, my flatmate happened to glance over my shoulder and saw a knitted hat she liked, and so when SnoodyDo generously gifted me this exact hat, I knew it would make a perfect Christmas present for her - after taking some crucial blog photos though of course! The Pippa Knitted Hearts Bobble Hat is made of 80% lambswool so it's super cosy - just what's needed during this time of the year! 

Let's first of all talk about how cute the packaging is! It's no secret that I - along with many others - am a sucker for some pretty packaging and this simple, rustic paper bag style package doesn't disappoint! You almost don't have to worry about wrapping it up if you're giving it as a gift!

As you can see, the pattern on the bobble hat is super cute and I can tell you now that the quality of the material feels amazing! This particular hat retails at £24.99 but prices are from as little as £14.99 (or even lower if you manage to pick up a sale item!) For the quality of the products, I think the price is so worth it, especially if it's something that's going to be worn a lot (which it really really should be).

And here it is in all it's glory! Please excuse my bathroom background. I'm a little bit sad that I gave it away as a present but hey, there's always time to buy an extra one for myself! It fits so well and as someone who isn't usually a hat person, I think it looks pretty good! Have you ever heard of SnoodyDo? Let me know what you think!

I received an invite recently to a Christmas-filled evening at a relatively new bar & restaurant in Cardiff called Locke & Remedy - situated in a beautiful building in the heart of Cardiff just seconds away from Cardiff Castle. What with it being December, I felt like now was the time to get really into the Christmassy mood, and Locke & Remedy definitely facilitated this!
We were treated to unique cocktails - many of which were classics with a subtle twist - so I was really in my element! Of course what I was really looking forward to was trialling their limited edition Christmas menu which on paper looked delicious. I can confirm that it tasted even more delicious in real life! Locke & Remedy specialise not only in their cocktail-making but also in their mouth-watering burgers and wood-fired pizzas. They decided to put a Christmas twist on these for the festive season, smothering the pizzas in cranberry sauce, maple bacon, pork & sage stuffing, parsnips crisps and more. Every bite was like a mini Christmas dinner each time! The burgers were made of spiced buttermilk-fried turkey breast with a bacon-wrapped pork & sage patty and a gorgeous cranberry mayonnaise. I was absolutely stuffed by the end of the night!


To make the night even more special, my brother (who I brought as my +1) and I were asked if we wanted to try out some cocktail making ourselves. I had done this once before but I was so excited to try it out again! We decided to make a Sailor Hydration cocktail, which consists of rum, vanilla vodka, pineapple juice, lime juice, caramel syrup and a garnishing of mint leaves. I'll tell you now: cocktail making is much harder than it looks! They make it look so easy - I am completely in awe of the bar staff! FYI, the cocktail I made was DELICIOUS so with a bit of training... a new career path perhaps?

I met some wonderful bloggers on the night who I hope to keep in touch with and see at other events in the near future! If you're in Cardiff, I guarantee you won't regret visiting Locke & Remedy for a few cocktails (or speciality ales if you prefer), or even stopping by for a bite to eat!

In the depths of one of Cardiff's hidden gem shopping arcades lies a beautiful boutique - a shop which could easily be mistaken for a dainty little bakery with its array of cupcake-shaped products on display in the window. Miss Patisserie is in fact a Cardiff-based company specialising in bath and skincare products, and I was thrilled to attend their blogger event last Sunday!

I'd walked past the store multiple times yet never ventured in - and since visiting on Sunday I keep asking myself why not! The shop is set up to look so elegant and stylish; it almost feels as if you're stepping into a spa. I was greeted by the aromatic smell of bath products and skincare, complemented by the sleek product packaging stacked up perfectly around the store. 
I was given a goody bag of samples to take away with me, but as I walked around the store, I knew these weren't the only things I was taking home! I can't go into details about what I bought because there might be a couple of Christmas presents in there, but I did treat myself to a peppermint-scented massage bar. As you may have guessed from my Christmas wishlist, I have a real love of mint-scented body products at the moment, and this massage bar is perfect - not too overpowering, and not artificial at all.

Before I left, I was given a hand treatment by the lovely owner of the store, Charlotte. She talked us through all the products she used, tailoring each step to our preferences and skin types. I'd already made my purchases by the time I had my hand treatment, but I know I'll definitely be back to pick up some body scrub when I run out of my current one!

I thoroughly enjoyed the event and would urge anyone in or visiting Cardiff to take a trip to the High Street Arcade and check out Miss Patisserie - you won't be disappointed!

My first ever wishlist! Now I must admit, this is mainly for the benefit of my family and boyfriend (HINT) but I also love reading other bloggers' wishlists to find inspiration so hopefully some of this will rub off on you too! Seeing as my blog is all about student budgets and bigging up high street pricing, I'm also going to leave links to student/external discount codes (also for the benefit of friends and family - Mum, ask Dan for his student discount!)
1. Urban Decay Naked Palette | Feelunique.com | 10% student discount | RRP: £38 Every girl's dream eyeshadow palette! I went for the original Naked palette over Naked 2, 3 and Smokey because I feel it reflected the colours I tend to go for the most. Since receiving the Naked Basics palette from my beautiful friends for my birthday in September, I have had serious Naked cravings. The pigmentation and colours are just like no other!
2. LIB Get The Gloss beauty box | Latest In Beauty | RRP: £15.95* I received my first ever Latest In Beauty box last year for my 21st and I absolutely loved it! I love that it came with sample sizes of luxury beauty products that I'd never normally be able to afford, and it was in this box that I first discovered Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish, which I still love and occasionally treat myself too. The Get The Gloss box contains a load of products I've been wanting to try for ages! *Look out for Latest In Beauty's daily codes throughout December - enter the code (e.g. 1st December = DAY1) and you get an extra surprise product when you spend over £10!
3. Salt & Peppermint Bark | Lush | RRP: £5.95 4. Christingle Body Conditioner | Lush | RRP: £16.50 These are two products I had never heard of before I attended the Lush Cardiff Christmas event (which you can read about here!), but I was able to try them on the night and they left my skin incredibly silky smooth! They also smell incredible, both of them boasting a gorgeous minty smell. They're both Christmas products so if I don't receive them as presents, I'll definitely be looking out for them in the sales!
5. Urban Outfitters Marble A4ish Notebook | Ohh Deer | 10% student discount | RRP: £6.00 This is quite possibly the most blogger clichéd thing EVER but I will hold my hands up and say I love the marble effect. I also probably already have way too many notebooks but I love the look of this one and think it would make a gorgeous gift.
6. Piss Off Postcard | Ohh Deer | 10% student discount | RRP: £0.75 Ohh Deer do so many different postcards (as do Paperchase if you're not already spoilt for choice) and I think these are a great gift if you're on a budget: you can buy a few of these for less than £1 each, along with a frame from somewhere like Wilkinson, and they look great stood up along a windowsill or shelf. I particularly love this "Piss Off" cat one - it's basically me every morning.
7. Origins Shining Stars | Boots | 10% student discount | RRP: £25 I love this gift set so much! I've been wanting to try Origins products for ages and I feel this is the perfect gift for any beauty lover looking to dip their toes into the world of higher end skincare. While I love my drugstore skincare, I do think it's really important to look after your face and occasionally splashing out on skincare products can really be worth it. I personally think this is such a great price for all of Origins' hero products in one set.
8. This Works Black Spice & Cedar Candle| TK Maxx | RRP: £12.99 Let's be honest, I love pretty much any candle but I just wanted to highlight the amazing range of candles TK Maxx has! I think it's so underrated. Although I haven't actually smelt it, I thought this candle by This Works sounded amazing and the simple packaging makes it look so much more expensive than it is. 
9. Mink Shimmer Velvet Cushion | Dunelm | RRP: £12.99 Who doesn't love a decorative cushion? Okay, probably most men but the opposite is true for most women. I love this one from Dunelm as it'd go perfectly with the decor of my room at Uni which has a slight boho vibe to it. Dunelm do great little gifts for the home and most of it tends to be so reasonably priced too!
That's all for now! What's on the top of your Christmas list this year?!