3 Simple But Thoughtful Ideas For Mother's Day

Friendly reminder ladies; it's Mother's Day this Sunday. You hadn't forgotten had you, because you love your mum. However, there's a good chance you haven't quite got around to sorting something out yet, these special days have a funny way of coming around really fast! You could nip to the shop and grab the standard scented candle, bath set or bouquet of flowers but if you'd like to do something that's a little more heartfelt but simple enough to organise in time, here are a few ideas:

Home Cooked Lunch
Of course, you could easily book into one of the many restaurants offering Mother's day lunch, but if you'd like to do something personal that shows you really made the effort, invite her over for a lovingly prepared lunch. All it takes is a little Pinterest search and a quick trip to the shops, then you can whip up a meal that's as scrumptious looking as it is delicious. Putting in the time to cook something you know she'll love shows her you really care. To make it feel extra-special be sure to create a gorgeous table setting, complete it with a pot of her favourite flowers which she can take home after. There's a beauitful article on Urbanara which shows you exactly how-to create a gorgeous Spring table setting for Mother's Day.

Recipe: Festive White Chocolate and Peppermint Treats

Since it's nearly Christmas there really is no better time to make yourself some festive treats. I've been really busy since arriving back in England but these white chocolate and candy cane treats are so quick and easy to make. I whipped them up yesterday. It is after all the one time of year where over-indulging is actually expected! You can also package these up nicely and give them away as homemade gifts, you're friends will love you for it!

There isn't really a recipe, I just adapted it from something else I'd made before. All you need is white chocolate (melt it down in the microwave for 2 minutes) and candy canes (which are surprisingly difficult to find in England but if you're living in America it should be much easier). Smash the candy canes up inside a plastic bag to make small fragments.

Put the candy cane pieces into a strainer and sift into the white chocolate. This means you only get the smallest pieces in the mixture.

 Mix it together thoroughly to get an even distribution of the peppermint pieces.

Next you need to tip the mix out onto a cookie sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Sprinkle the larger pieces of the candy canes on top of the chocolate. Then, put the whole lot into the fridge for about 15 minutes or until it has set.

Take it out and break it into large chunks then try not to eat it all at once!

I actually decided to do this version after I made a Festive Chocolate Treat with pistachios and cranberries for a guest post I did for the lovely Daryl at Roots, Wings, and Other Things. The recipe and method for it (with lots of pictures) is on there from later today. So make sure you go check it out! Here's how it looks, it tastes just as good as you imagine!

Pistachio and Cranberry Chocolate Bark - Check out the link above for my guest post about this.

Packaged up nicely as a DIY Homemade Christmas Gift.

I have another very busy day ahead of me but I promise in the next few days I'll be posting pictures from my lake district trip!

Not long until Christmas now, I'm getting excited, are you?

xxx

Giveaway: China Glaze 'Let It Snow' Nail Polish Gift Set!

I was shopping on the Internet (why isn't there a button to ban yourself?) yesterday and spotted a very cute gift set including a China Glaze nail polish I've had my eye on for a while. The set is called 'Let It Snow' and features two full sized China Glaze nail polishes and a mini snowman snow globe.

The polish I've been lusting after is called 'Snow Globe' it's a very sparkly (surprise, surprise!!) white glitter polish. It looks great on it's own or over the top of another colour. The second polish is called 'Blue Years Eve', it looks amazing in the swatches I've looked at. It's a very bright blue with an almost foil like effect. It'd look great for a party.

I ordered the set for myself but felt like it would be nice to order an extra one to giveaway to one of my lovely followers. It is almost Christmas after all! So....here it is...

If you'd like to win this all you need to do is this...

How To Enter the Giveaway! (1 entry)

• Follow Ugly Duckling blog publicly via Google Friend Connect. Click 'Join This Site' tab on the left bar or click here!

• Follow this blog on Bloglovin'. To do this click here!  

Optional extra things you can do for more entries:

• Follow me on Twitter (+1 entry) @Ugly_Duck_Blog

• Tweet about my giveaway. Make sure you mention me in your tweet so I see.(+1 entry)

•  'Like' Ugly Duckling's Facebook Page. (+1 entry) Click here!

•  Post about this giveaway on your blog using the picture above and link back to this blog.(+2 entries)
• Place a link (back to here) using the photo below, in your blog’s sidebar.(+2 entries)

When you have completed your entries please leave a comment. If you do the extra entries leave a separate comment for each extra entry that you do.

The giveaway is open internationally and finishes on Christmas Day! I will announce the winner on Boxing Day, so someone will have a bonus present! Yay!

Thank you all for your kind comments and support. Good luck!

xxx

Handbag Giveaway!

I went shopping yesterday to find an outfit for my birthday night out. I'll show you that soon. Whilst I was out I saw a handbag that I loved so I thought it'd be great for my next giveaway. Here's the bag...

 

It's a lovely shade somewhere between peachy pink, lilac and brown with bright gold hardware details. The bag is pretty big; great for an everyday bag because you could fit everything in it easily including your laptop if you needed to. Or if you're like me just fill it with a load of junk! It has a detachable shoulder strap too. Pretty and practical! Actually, I wish I could keep it for myself but my boyfriend insists that I don't need anymore handbags.

With Christmas just around the corner even if this bag isn't your style it could make a great Christmas gift for someone you know!

So if you'd like a chance of winning this here is what you need to do:

How To Enter the Giveaway! (1 entry)

• Follow Ugly Duckling blog publicly via Google Friend Connect. Click 'Join This Site' tab on the left bar or click here!

• Follow this blog on Bloglovin'. To do this click here!  

Optional things you can do for more entries:

• Follow me on Twitter (+1 entry) @Ugly_Duck_Blog

• Tweet about my giveaway. Make sure you mention me in your tweet so I see.(+1 entry)

•  'Like' Ugly Duckling's Facebook Page. (+1 entry) Click here!

•  Post about this giveaway on your blog using the picture below and link back to this blog.(+2 entries)
• Place a link (back to here) using the photo below, in your blog’s sidebar.(+2 entries)
  
  

  

After you have completed your entries please leave a comment on this post. Tell me what you did and the total number of entries you've made.

The giveaway is open internationally and will finish on December 4th.

Good luck everyone, thanks so much for reading and supporting my blog, it means a lot to me!

xxx

Nice Surprises Come When You Least Expect.

Surprises are always fun. Today was a good day because it was Friday and let's face it, it's hard for Friday not to be a good day!

I had an extra special Friday today though because my work gave me a gift for no reason apart from to show their appreciation for my hard work. I was right in the middle of a very typical Friday, tired, counting down the hours until freedom and then they presented me my surprise gift. It's the last place I ever really expect to be surprised so I was pretty taken aback. It was so nice of them, don't you think?!

What was even nicer is they'd actually taken the time to get a gift I'd love. Chanel lip gloss. Yes, happy recipient :)

When you see Chanel packaging you know you're on to a winner. Anything in there's bound to be good!

Chanel Intense Radiance Lip gloss {Glossimer} - '152 Blossom'

Such  a pretty shade - Chanel lip gloss '152 Blossom'.

It's a lovely medium pink shade with lots of sparkle to it. The micro-glitters twinkle blue, silver, rose and pink. It goes on quite sheer but is very glossy and enhances the pink in my lips nicely. The sparkles are clearly visible but in the right way, they don't look over the top and the texture is completely smooth. It's actually very similar to my favorite Dior lip gloss, Ultra Gloss in Empire Pink 557. I'm really happy with it.

The silver, blue, rose and pink micro-glitters up close and personal.

I haven't yet worked out how to photograph a close up of my lips without it looking odd. Does anyone else have that problem or is it just me and my odd mouth?! Hmmm...

So, instead here is a swatch on the back of my hand. It's taken indoors without flash on the left and with flash on the right.

Swatch 'Chanel 152 Blossom' - Left: no flash. Right: with flash.

All in all it was a lovely gift, totally perfect for me and I was really touched by their gesture.It's such a lovely feeling to be appreciated and I won't lie, it's even nicer when someone gives you a gift to show it!

~Have any of your employers ever bought you a gift and if so what was it?
~What kind of thing would you most like to receive as a token gift from your bosses?

xxx 

Talking about showing appreciation, I'd like to say thank you so much to everyone who has commented and those who have followed me and shown support! It means a lot to me. My first giveaway is finishing this Sunday so make sure you've entered here!

I actually planned on doing another small giveaway when I reached 100 followers but I had no idea that would come so quickly, before the first giveaway was even done. As it is, I'm planning a giveaway when I reach 200 followers. Hoping it will happen shortly thanks to all of you lovely readers :) Have a great weekend!!