Lifestyle Archives - Wander & Luxe

Blog Highlights Reel of 2019 – Wander & Luxe

December 12, 2019

As we draw closer to the end of 2019, I thought it would be fun to put together a blog highlights reel for Wander & Luxe. It has been a big year for me in terms of blogging. I have learnt so much about this craft – I honestly never knew it was such a complex industry. I have published some posts which I am very proud of and have enjoyed sharing with all of you. I attended events, met wonderfully interesting people and started to work with brands that I really love. Wander & Luxe is still very much in its infancy but I am dreaming big … because that’s who I am. So here’s to celebrating the year that was and making 2020 a stellar year!

Bound for Australia

Kids Wall Stickers – Creating a Toddler Girl’s Room

October 1, 2019

When Stickerscape reached out and asked if we would be interested in trying some of their kids wall stickers, I jumped at the opportunity. We moved into our home 3 weeks before Mackenzie was born. Just a few months prior we had relocated from Australia to England. We had no furniture and just basic home wares, which meant that our little girl was never given an Instagram worthy nursery. She recently turned 2 and is quickly becoming a ‘big girl‘. So I thought it was the perfect opportunity to create a beautiful toddler bedroom with some kids wall stickers from Stickerscape.

Product Review: Expandable Wireless Speaker, POW Mo

September 25, 2019

I was recently gifted the Expandable Wireless Speaker Mo from POW Audio to review. As we were heading to Portugal on our family summer holidays, it was the perfect opportunity to test out the travel bluetooth speaker. We rented AirBNBs whilst in Portugal and during our travels we have found it is not common place for them to have speakers or stereos. Personally I love to listen to music whilst we are on holidays when we are relaxing or getting ready. So, what did I think of this new expandable bluetooth speaker from POW Audio?

Product Review | Klorane Quinine Keratin Fortifying Spray

July 25, 2019

Earlier this year I was asked by Escentual to partake in a 3 month trial of the product, Klorane Quinine Keratin Strength Fortifying Spray. This spray is a thinning hair treatment said to strengthen hair which has suffered from thinning as a result of things such as stress, seasonal changes and post pregnancy.

Klorane Quinine Keratin Fortifying Spray

Photo Credit – Escentual

Podcast Interview: Just Say Yes

July 22, 2019

Interrupting this broadcast for … my very first podcast interview! Recently I have become a huge fan of podcasts and listen to then regularly when walking. So when Ros Jones of ActionCOACH asked if I would like to partake in her podcast series, Bold Business Bits, I jumped at the opportunity.

Love Letters Jewellery Collection Launch by Esme Louise

May 24, 2019

I was recently invited to the launch of a new jewellery collection, Love Letters by Esme Louise. Esme reached out to me on Instagram and I felt that our brands perfectly complemented each other so I was eager to attend the party. Esme Louise is an independent jewellery brand based in the north of England and she describes the brand as ‘young, luxe with a touch of sass‘.

Review: Yorkshire Heart Vineyard and Brewery Tour

April 29, 2019

A vineyard in North Yorkshire you say? You must be joking! But this family run business halfway between York and Harrogate in North Yorkshire is breaking all the rules, and winning awards for their produce. When we first arrived in England, I was surprised to learn about English wineries – when you think of wine country you most certainly don’t think of the UK. But this little gem in Yorkshire is proving us all wrong.

Yorkshire Heart Vineyard

Master Distiller | Distill your own Gin at Spirit of Harrogate

April 16, 2019

Last year I was lucky enough to win Runner-up Best Dressed at York Races – you can read all about that experience in ‘Fashion at the Races – How I (almost) won best dressed‘. The prize was an overnight stay at Hotel du Vin, Harrogate and a ‘Distill your own Gin‘ experience at the Spirit of Harrogate. Given we are living the expat life, we booked in the experience and night away months in advance once we knew my parents were coming to stay and that we would have a reliable babysitter.

9 Reasons I Love Living in York, UK

February 11, 2019

Let me share my secrets about why I love living in York. This week marks 2 years since we started this crazy adventure which is expat life in England. It is somewhat hard to believe and it has absolutely flown by. When we first landed in the UK we spent a couple of nights in London to catch up with friends and buy some winter woolies before making the 5 hour plus journey in our rental car to Scarborough, North Yorkshire. A quaint seaside town which was hugely popular in the 70s but is now filled with casinos, arcade games and rock lollies. A great place to visit on a sunny summer day for fish and chips and some ice-cream, but after about 3 days I had seen and done everything there was to do in Scarborough. We started researching online for places to live and we had been told good things about York. I found a couple of apartments which looked fabulous and booked viewings to check them out.

York Minster

9 Books on my Reading List for 2019

January 14, 2019

I have always been a bit of a bookworm and love having books in our home. I only packed a few books to bring over to England and already our collection is piling up again (although I am doing my best to gift them on to friends and family to avoid too much clutter). And that’s why I am also considering signing up for Kindle Unlimited – you can get a 30 day free trial here if you are interested! I’m not a fast reader so I can easily take a month or two to read whatever is on my nightstand, but nonetheless I have a list of books waiting patiently in my Amazon cart for me to push the ‘buy now‘ button. These days I quite like reading books which will give me inspiration and ideas and then a bit of chick lit for good measure. My fave books of last year were Million Dollar Blog, Lean In and My Not So Perfect Life. This year the list has a similar-ish look and feel, so here are the Top 9 that I am attempting to read in 2019: