144. Lifestyle // Days Out in Northumberland - British Red Cross Open Gardens

On Sunday, my mum invited me out for the day. Usually we head to a nice country pub for a Sunday lunch, or for a drink in the beer garden if the weather is nice, but this time she suggested visiting an Open Garden. I was brought up with weekends spent exploring the incredible National Trust properties in the North East - including Wallington Hall and Cragside - so I've seen my fair share of fancy, open gardens and wasn't particularly enthused at the prospect of wandering around yet another.

However, when we arrived at The Old Vicarage in the picturesque town of Warden, West Northumberland, I changed my mind. We parked up, surrounded by other cars and families, and made our way to a beautiful, period house set in stunning gardens. The entrance fee of £3.50 seemed slightly steep to me, but considering you can spend an entire day there and the proceeds also go towards British Red Cross, it was definitely worth it.

After paying, we began to explore the gardens - first up was a gorgeous small garden, filled to the brim with flowers and herbs, and an incredible sun dial in the shape of a globe - it was pretty cool, but unfortunately I didn't manage to snap a photo. My mum loves flowers, a passion she has inherited from her parents, so she was able to inform me of the names of the flowers that I thought were "pretty". There were lots of photo opportunities for budding nature photographers, but I forgot to take my camera and had to make do with my phone - oops!

We then made our way into the orchard which was so atmospheric and I could just imagine the trees being lined with fairy lights and having small camp-fires dotted around, as well as hammocks hanging from the branches - honestly, it would have made an awesome party venue! The orchard led back through to the courtyard and the lawn area, where people were able to enjoy an ice cold glass of Pimms (for just £2 - what a steal!) and laze about on the grass, soaking up the rays.

Instead of stopping for a drink, we headed up into the rear garden, past the wildlife friendly pond, and made our way up, past the beautiful borders full of pretty plants, and were able to enjoy the stunning views of the church tower and all the gorgeous greenery beyond the house. After exploring the remainder of the garden and some of the surrounding woodlands, we decided to refuel with a slice of homemade cake whilst escaping the heat, by cooling down under a tree. 

All in all, it was a really lovely way to spend a sunny afternoon. We spent a good hour and a half exploring the gardens, as well as the local church, and think it's an activity that would appeal to all sorts of people; from families with kids who need to run around and let off some steam, budding photographers or people with an interest in plants, or just people who want to enjoy some nice weather in a relaxed, beautiful setting.

Upcoming British Red Cross Open Garden's in Northumberland:

Thornley House, Hexham on August 31st, 2014

Dilston Physic Garden, Corbridge on July 27th, 2014

143. Lifestyle // Sedbergh and North Yorkshire

I've been taking full advantage of not having to work lately; I spent a week in Portugal, five days staying with my Mum in the Lake District, and countless lie ins and lazy days. Last week, I agreed to work two weeks at my old job - in advertising - as holiday cover at the end of July, and I also have an interview next week which I'm feeling pretty hopeful about (wish me luck!) so I decided I'd best make the most of my, potential, last couple of weeks of being a lady of leisure, by heading back to the Lake District for a few days.

The first day was spent just soaking up the sunshine and wandering around Sedbergh, which is an idyllic little town, renowned for it's number of book shops. The top left picture is my Mum's gorgeous courtyard which is a wonderful sun trap, the top right picture just shows how beautiful the weather was whilst I was there, bottom left is the interior of Westwood Books, which has to be one of the best bookshops I've ever visited - it's fantastic, there are SO many books and they're at incredible prices. It was actually voted as one of The Guardian's top 10 second hand bookshops in the UK! The bottom right photo is my lovely Mum tucking into lunch in the courtyard.

On the second day, we headed over to North Yorkshire to visit some family friends in Grassington. On the way there, we passed lots of yellow bicycles in honour of the Tour de France which had passed through the area just a couple of days before, and it was pretty cool to see. The top left picture is a decorated bike outside someones house. The top right picture is in the interior of the Grassington Museum which is full of artifacts donated by the people of the town, old fossils and even bronze age implements. The bottom left photo is one of the displays inside The Rustic Rabbit which is a gorgeous boutique store in the centre of Grassington - check out the website here, they have some beautiful homewares - it's like a lifestyle bloggers dream shop! The bottom right picture is a 'Moustache Cup' that my Mum spotted in the museum - so funny!

These last few photographs just show the wonderful weather we had. Top left is the view from the house we visited in Grassington, looking out over the Yorkshire Dales. Top right is the lovely outdoor seating area at Melmerby Bakery, which we visited on the way back. Bottom right is from our drive across the Yorkshire Dales, and bottom left is the delicious lunch that I had at CoffeECO in Grassington. 

142. Beauty // A Cure For Sweaty Betty's - Sure Women Maximum Protection Anti-Perspirant Deodorant

Now, I don't know about you ladies but I am quite prone to 'get my sweat on.' Whether I'm sitting in the office, sunbathing or just on a walk, I can always feel myself getting hotter and hotter... I actually think that my internal thermostat is broken, as I'm constantly warm and somewhat clammy (what a lovely image, I know). 

Over the last couple of years, I've found that your everyday antiperspirant deodorants don't seem to do all that much for me. Sure, they smell lovely and fresh at first, but within a few hours - or as soon as I begin to stress or become active - I break out into a sweat again. Grr. So, what was the point in putting deodorant on?! Grumble, grumble. 

Imagine my surprise when I spotted an antiperspirant deodorant promising 48 HOUR PROTECTION. I bunged the deodrant in my basket and headed to the tills, hoping this would be the answer to my ever-so-slightly-sweaty-prayers. And guess what? It is.

Sure Women Maximum Protection 48h Anti-Perspirant Deodorant is dermatologically tested and claims to be formulated with an innovative body responsive technology, known as Sure TRIsolid, which not only ensures maximum wetness protection and odour-fighting technology, but contains Dimethicone, a skin moisturising ingredient, too. 

The packaging is pretty nice, with a range of different scents available, and the deodorant itself looks modern and cool - it's the perfect size to carry around in your handbag too as it's nice, short and stumpy. It comes complete with directions as well as a handy Q & A section too, where Sure explain the difference between anti-perspirant and deodorant and even contact details for who to speak to if you have any questions about sweating. Very thorough indeed. 

Sure suggest that you apply this deodorant at night time as your sweat glands are less active in the evening and, therefore, the formula has more time to work with the skin to build up a stronger level of protection. Curious stuff, eh? 

I've been using this deodorant for several months now and I've not had any problems with body odour or the dreaded under-arm-wetness in the whole time, seriously. On occasions, I haven't had to reapply the product for as much as three days - can you believe it?! Three days without applying any deodorant or anti-perspirant and my pits remained as a dry as the desert. One of my ex-colleagues even tried this product out, following my recommendation, and she now swears by it - in fact, she texted me a couple of weeks ago to let me know it was on special offer in Boots and that she'd just stocked up!

It comes in on the pricier end for a deodorant, at £5.30 from Boots, but when you take into account that it lasts at least twice as long as a normal deodorant, and that it also incorporates an anti-perspirant so you a) don't smell and b) don't sweat as much in the first space, it's a Sure-fire (pahaha) bargain.

I think right now is the perfect time to try this product for yourself - especially as we're starting to get the warmer weather and we're all spending more time out and about!