LUSH valentines collection 2017

I was super excited to receive a box of valentines goodies from the folks at LUSH this week. The timing was perfect as we're mid way through moving house, so a relaxing bath was more than overdue.

If you know me, you'll know I love LUSH more than anything, not only are they 100% cruelty free and masters of making bath time as fun as possible (pun intended), they actively try to support social causes through their products. Each valentines day the bath/body/shower gods at LUSH have done a feature on love, aiming to highlight that anyone can love anyone no matter their sex, gender, race, religion, hair colour...need I continue? this year's LUSH valentines campaign features the gorgeous Darren from LUSH Newmarket and his partner Joel.

Lush will always use any opportunity to present a broader and more realistic image of what love looks like, always using LUSH staff and real couples

And on top of a fantastic campaign about Real love, they've of course released an amazing selection of limited edition products for valentines, here's a few of my Lush valentines favourites....

You can find the full Lush valentines range here 

The kiss Lip scrub 

Packed with sugar for exfoliation, cocoa butter for softness and sicilian mandarin oil for an uplifting and refreshing scent, $9.95

The kiss lip balm

This beautiful pink lip calm is packed with fair trade shea butter, from a womens cooperative in ghana. It's also got organic jojoba oil, agave syprup and organic illipe oil to leave your lips silky smooth and shiny sweetly, $9.95

Bubble bars 

Ladybird

Packed with peppermint and geranium oil, this little ladybird crumbled under the bath tap with help you fly away from your troubles. All in one it creates enough bubbles to fill the bathroom, or if you're feeling savvy she's enough for 2/3 baths, $8.96

Love struck

Nothing says love in 2017 like the heart eyes emoji, right?! This cute yellow bubble bar is filled with refreshing citrus and geranium and leaves the bath a perfectly sunny yellow, $8.95

Bath bombs

Cupid (bottom left)

A bathtime bouquet of calming rose and bergamot. If you want subtle sweetness this valentines this fizzy pink number is for you, $6.95

Over and Over (top right)

The ultimate pick me up, this gorgeously uplifting bath bomb rocks away in the bath leaving a pink and yellow swirl behind it. It's perfect for those who don't like sweet scents, as it's packed with lime and fennel, great for lovers of the brightside bubble bar! $8.95

Rose bombshell

My absolute hero piece of the 2017 collection, perfect for lovers of Rose Jam but with a little lemony kick. It's not only a beautiful scent, this bath bomb is multilayered and fizzes away to leave beautiful petals floating in the bath...how romantic! $7.95

Loverlamp

A silky white bath with little red hearts, perfect for however your valentines plays out. Beautiful organic cocoa butter mixed with vanilla absolute and brazilian orange oil. LUSH say it's a cleansing climax guarunteed,  $7.95

You can find the entire LUSH valentines collection 2017 here

Remember they're limited edition! 

Have you tried any of these products yet? Which are your favourites?

xo

ubud monkey forest

Ubud Monkey Forest is a nature reserve and temple complex in the heart of Ubud, Bali. The Monkey Forest lies within the village of Padangtegal, which owns it. The village's residents view the Monkey Forest as an important spiritual, economic, educational, and conservation center for the village. 

For just 40,000 ($4 AUD) you can spend a morning getting lost in the forest surrounded by families of local monkeys. Beware though, they're super cheeky and will make every effort to get into your bag or to climb up you to grab a banana, which you can buy in the forest from the guides. 

Aside from the monkeys, the main reason most people visit, the forest is home to a huge species of trees and an array of hindu temples built in the 1300s. I love the bridge pictured above, and the massive tree which surrounds it. 

Tired after a fun-filled day at the Monkey Forest? Relax in one of the 7 Best Value Hotels to Relax in Bali listed by HotelsCombined. 

Address: Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali 80571, Indonesia

Open daily 08:30-18:00

Phone: +62 361 971304

monkeyforestubud.com

Plug and play with vividwireless

One of the hardest things about moving 1000's of miles from home is missing friends and family, you can no longer pop round your mums house for a cup of tea, or wander to the local pub to meet your old school friends on a sunday afternoon, luckily though we live in the 21st century and it's easier than ever to get online to keep in touch....if you've got the internet!

When we first arrived in Australia it was so hard to decide between internet service providers, as a blogger and expat being online and having a speedy internet connection is so important, we unfortunately aren't in a fibre optic suburb (hurry up Australia!) and struggled to get internet fast enough to Skype home or stream our favourite youtubers so were really excited when Vividwireless got in touch to see if we wanted to trial their unlimited 4G wireless broadband.

Vividwireless have made getting online and staying in touch easier than ever, with their simple 'plug and play' wireless modem. Simply go online to http://www.vividwireless.com.au/coverage to check your address gets coverage, grab a modem online or in store (Harvey Norman and Good Guys both stock them), activate your modem and get surfing!

We unboxed our modem, plugged the power cable in to the wall and were streaming youtube within a few moments. I was a little skeptical at first, surely a 4G modem wouldn't be anywhere near as good as cable internet? It's safe to say we were both pleasantly surprised, we've managed to watch hours of youtube, stream movies on Netflix, Skype home and upload 100's of photos without even the slightest bit of buffering.

Vividwireless initially launched here in Perth in 2010 with WiMax network aiming to provide straightforward pricing, simple internet activation process and easy to understand terms and conditions. In early 2016, Vividwireless expanded its wireless internet services using LTE technologyto Australia’s five capital cities; Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Plans start at just $29 per month for 10GB through to unlimited for $89 a month (fair usage applies).

I am honestly so happy to have found Vividwireless, I never would have believed that the plug and play modem would have provided us with such a stable, high speed internet connection but it has!

Have you tried Vividwireless before?

xo

Taste of Perth 2016 #electroluxlovesfood

Last year we wrapped up in coats, hid under ponchos and fought our way through the tents at Taste of Perth, this year was a little bit different....

The awesome team behind Electrolux Chefs' Secrets invited us to a cooking masterclass with Robert Murphy of Bistro Guillaume- learning to cook from one of the head chef's at an awesome Perth restaurant...count us in!  

Luckily the weather held up for us this year, but it was still pretty chilly, so wrapped up in shirts and scarves we head down to Perth just before lunch to see what we could learn.

 

This year is the first time Perth has been able to experience Chefs' secrets, so I wasn't too sure what to expect. We were greeted into the tent with a glass of aperol and given aprons and menu cards. 

After a quick brief and hand wash we were split into teams and set to work preparing our meal- Lamb with Zucchini Flowers, Smoky Eggplant, Salsa Verde, Mushroom and Brussel Sprouts....

Before we knew it everything was ready to be plated up, it was great to learn some tips and tricks on food presentation...

Everyone tucked in to their meals, accompanied with a glass of wine paired to the meal. Once we were done we were surprised with a plethora of dessert and a quick Q&A session with Robert Murphy...

It was such a fantastic session and we both left feeling so inspired to be more creative in the kitchen. 

Sessions are only $12 per person inclusive of all food and drink, which is a total bargain!

Once we were done we set out to explore the rest of Taste of Perth, ws we'd gone on the Sunday the judging for  'Best in Taste' dishes had already been done-  Wood Fired Chicken from Manuka Woodfire Kitchen, Chocolate Fondant from The Shorehouse and Roasted Fremantle Octopus from Bib & Tucker. Challenge accepted....

 

Wood fired chicken

Chocolate Fondant 

Roasted Fremantle Octopus

 I also couldn't resist joining the (very long) line for a curried pumpkin Bao from Perth foodie favourite Lucky Chan's, it was worth every second I queud for. 

Adequately full up we decided it was time to sit down and soak up the atmosphere, a little birdy had told me the magnificent folk from Custard & co (arguably Australia's best cider) had made up a batch of mulled cider- perfect to warm us up...

We had a fantastic afternoon learning new cooking skills, tasting amazing new food and drink and enjoying the winter sunshine. Thank you so much for the invite Electrolux- we can't wait to come back next year!

Did you get to Taste of Perth this year? What was your favourite dish?

xo