Mobile Montage - December

Snacks - Shower Gel - Snow
Christmas tree - Oh Christmas tree - Me (Bryden)
Egg on Toast - Living Room Members Card - Christmas Party Oufit
Christmas Nails - Cal's Own Pizza, Heaton - Ghost World
Christmas Jumper - Christmas Pj's - Oreo Cheesecake (Made by Claire!)
Me, again... - Christmas Nails - Food at Sky Apple Cafe, Heaton
Food at Sky Apple Cafe, Heaton - Party Times - Christmas Dinner.

Hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you all well into the New Year!
Bryden x

Tis the season to make a bucket load of pom poms!

Being too cheap to spend £1.50 per pom pom bauble I decided to make my own (DIY post coming soon!). I ended up spending £7.00 on my wool and saved myself about £30 on decorations! After about 13 hours work and a very messy floor my tree was complete and I am over the moon with it.




All decorations made by me apart from the Gingerbread man and the Deer - They're from Wilkinsons.


I plaited some wool to make my 'tinsel'. Easier than it sounds.. Turned out to be a two man job because the ends kept tangling up.




Even made myself a little pom pom wreath with the extras.

What do you think?!

Bryden xx

So many nail varnishes and all I want to wear is red, red, red...

Like the title, I have so many nail varnishes in a variety of colours but as soon as it hit November it seems like all I want to wear is shades of red. I must have gotten into the Christmas spirit a little earlier than usual and suppose if there was ever a good excuse for wearing red nails then Christmas would be the best excuse in the world!

It's also made me realise how many shades of red I actually have! Guilt setting in about wasting my money on shades which are more or less the same was made worse when I actually found two Nails Inc. varnishes in the same sodding colour! GRR.. I'm hoping these were a freebie in a magazine. Mind you who buys two magazines to get the same colour varnish which will last forever anyway?! Obviously me if this was the case...

Anyway! Moving on to the favourites... I seem to be wearing these on rotation, sometimes even changing my colour every day if I'm bored.


Left to Right - China Glaze 'Long Kiss', Ciate 'Kitten Heels', Nails Inc 'Tate', Deborah Lippman 'Razzle Dazzle', OPI 'The Spy Who Loved Me' From the Sky Fall mini collection.


Left to Right - China Glaze 'Long Kiss', Ciate 'Kitten Heels'


Left to Right - Nails Inc 'Tate', Deborah Lippman 'Razzle Dazzle', OPI 'The Spy Who Loved Me' From the Sky Fall mini collection.

My favourite out of all of them is China Glaze 'Long Kiss'. This was one of my first varnishes from China Glaze so the bottle looks a bit bashed up - The product is still perfect inside and I must have had this since about 2007! Beautiful rich colour. Perfect for wintery days.

The Deborah Lippmann one is a love/hate. It's a very rich and dark berry with pinky/fushia-y/red glitter inside. It's beautiful in the bottle but I always feel a little disheartened when I apply it. I love the colour and the glitter as it gives a lovely texture but it's kind of dull once its on the nails. In the bottle it is so sparkly but on the nails it's a massive dull let down. I just feel for something that should be a night out/party varnish it's been pushed into my office wear category (Read as: Safe) and it should've been more than that.

Another varnish of note is the OPI 'The Spy Who Loved Me' which is a bright red with gold glitter running through it. Given to me by Claire for my birthday (Thanks Claire!) it's became one of my most worn shades at the moment. All I can say about this is - Christmas in a bottle!!

What are you wearing on your nails at the moment? Are you in a red nails phase at the moment too? What's your favourite red varnish? Let me know as if I overcome my guilt about too many red varnishes then I'm up for buying a couple more!! 

 Bryden xx

Eating Out: Dining in the Dark at The Living Room.

If you're a regular reader of our blog,or if you scan through a couple of pages of posts, you'll see that we both really love food. So we were obviously delighted when we were invited by The Living Room in Newcastle to sample their new menu; except this wouldn't be normal dining, oh no, we were 'Dining in the Dark'!


We arrived at The Living Room a bit curious and puzzled about what lay ahead. It was explained to us that we'd be sampling a range of dishes from their new menu whilst blindfolded, then between dishes we'd answer a series of questions and would compete against others in an attempt to be crowned the Dining in the Dark champion. 'Easy' we thought, WRONG! So, it turns out eating blindfolded is difficult, very difficult. You drop your cutlery, you can't find your plate, you end up with food all over your face (that might just have been me) and god help you if you need a drink from your wine glass.








We had arrived straight from work and had major hunger pangs, so had to resist the urge to hungrily stuff the food into our faces (our usual approach) and instead take time to smell and take in the flavours of the dishes. Holding back clearly paid off and it was announced we'd come out on top and we were the winners of a (totally real, obvz) gold trophy!



Despite our difficulties with feeding ourselves, we had great fun and tasted a lot of delicious dishes. Our favourites included- The pork and chorizo burger with a smoked paprika aioli on a brioche bun, Moroccan spiced lamb with apricots, dates and almonds served with giant cous cous, Venison 'shepherds pie' with chestnut Savoy cabbage and the Basil Grande Eton Mess.




'Dining in the Dark' isn't something The Living Room offer to customers at the moment, but they said it's been so successful at the nights held nationwide and they'd consider holding other nights in the future. If you get the chance, definitely give it a go. We've eaten at The Living Room before and were really impressed with the food (they also make some mighty fine cocktails).

Did anyone else attend one of The Living Room's 'Dining in the Dark' evenings or would you try it?


Claire
x

Now my life is sweet like cinnamon

 

Finally, I've gotten my grubby hands on a Cambridge Satchel! I had been wanting one for a fair few years and after seeing their new Google Chrome advert I found myself lusting over satchels on their website.

I didn't get it for full price though and I managed to find this one listed in their clearance section due to some wobbley stitching on the back (you can't even notice it!).  I opted to get mine blind embossed with my initals 'S B'. 

I'm absolutely over the moon with it!

 Bryden

A guide to surviving a hangover.

Here at Trebles and a Mixer, we're fond of partying. Sometimes we party a little bit too hard and can need a little help to get us feeling back to our normal selves. So if like us you've been hammering the tequila shots too much or maybe you've just been working hard and burning the candle at both ends; here's a guide to feeling a bit crap.
Firstly I know everyone says this, but drink as much water as you can before you go to bed and continue to get as much of the wet stuff down you as you can when you wake up. As much as it's the last thing you want to do, try and eat something. I'm a big fan of a bacon sandwich when hungover, the combination of protein and carbs seems to sort me out a treat (veggies- try an egg and hash brown sandwich instead).



Next, get yourself in the bath. This will probably make you feel worse to begin with, but it will make you feel a million times better in the long run. If you're anything like me, you've just woke up with your hair resembling a birds nest, panda eyes and the club stamp has transferred from your hand to your forehead during your slumber; you need a bath! Drinking alcohol severely dries out my hair and skin, so I use the following products to start feeling human again.



No 7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser
I love Liz Earle, but I find this cleanser a lot more moisturising in my hungover time of need. It gets rid of any traces of make up, even waterproof mascara. I always stock up on this when the £5 No 7 vouchers are going round.
Dove Purely Pampering Body Wash- Shea butter with warm vanilla
I recently picked this up and I'm really impressed. It makes my skin feel so soft and moisturised, that sometimes I forget to follow up with body lotion.

John Frieda Full Repair Deep Conditioner
I don't treat my hair very well on a night out. There's the heavy styling before I leave the house and then copious amounts of backcombing and hairspray throughout of the night. This stuff is great at transforming my locks from straw back to hair.

If you don't have to leave the house feeling this rough (lucky you!), you might want to spend the day giving your skin and rest and go without make up. I, on the other hand, like to put a little bit of make up on. It makes me feel less of a gross tramp that I am in reality. Here's my current skincare and make up favourites for those rough times....



Clarins HydraQuench Cream
No surprise that I would include a Clarins product here, is there? But, this is an absolute god send, it moisturises my skin beautifully. It sinks in straight away, leaving no greasy feeling. I do however think it smells like oven cleaner, but I can get over that.
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm
I can never decide if I entirely love Beauty Flash Balm or not. I think it's because there is so much hype around it I was expecting actual miracles. Having said this, I use this every time I'm feeling a bit rough. It calms my redness and makes my face feel less puffy, creating a nice dewy base for your foundation.

Avon Calming Effects Foundation- Ivory
I recently ordered a number of sample sized tubes of foundations from Avon, this was one of my favourites. I would say it's a light to medium coverage (but buildable) with a dewy finish, ideal of perking up tired looking skin. I always stay away from foundations which are matte when I'm looking less than great, they just end up making me look more tired. I'm still on the hunt for a good BB cream for these hangover moments, if anyone has any suggestions? (Bryden recommends the Ginvera Green Tea BB)

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer- Fair
Excellent at covering up eye bags and any blemishes that I have as a result of knocking back too many tequila shots the night before.



Topshop Blush- Neon Rose, Flush and Head Over Heels are all favourites
These cream blushers are excellent at adding a bit of colour back into my pale face.
Revlon ColourStay Finishing Powder
I use this shimmery powder as a brightening eyeshadow and to highlight my face. It helps me look a bit more alive when I'm actually dying on the inside.

No 7 Lash Adapt Mascara
This is buildable without clumping, allowing you to put as much on as you need to look bright eyed once again.

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil- Dark brown
I look horrific without my brows on. That is all I have to say.

Korres Lip Butter- Pomegranate
This adds a subtle hint of colour and is really moisturising.

Now that I don't look like I've been dragged out of the gutter; I always try to put some clothes on, sitting round in my PJs all day makes me feel worse at times. I usually stick a loose fitting dress on or team a baggy top with leggings. Comfy socks are a must!



If I'm lucky enough to have a day off work I will now adopt the following routine- FOOD, FILM, NAP (repeat until necessary). These are my top choices for your hangover viewing pleasure-



Clueless
A classic. If you don't like this film, we can never be friends!

Me without you
Nice easy viewing; but if you're feeling a bit over emotional in your hungover state, you might shed a few tears. I really enjoy some of the outfits in this too (maybe a future 'Screen Style' post?).


Where the heart is
This is pure cheese. Natalie Portman plays a white trash girl that gets left by her deadbeat boyfriend at a Walmart and ends up living there! My friend Kaite and I watch this religiously when we're feeling rough, I have seen it so many times!

So there you go, my guide to getting over feeling crappy. If this doesn't work for you, remember....

Resolve is your best friend.
Claire x

Disclaimer: I am not an alcoholic (I promise!), neither do I encourage binge drinking. If you are going to go out and get drunk, please do it in a responsible manner. Nobody wants to be the messy one,it's not cute. This post is light hearted fun, all opinions are my own. If using solutions like Resolve, read the instructions first, OBVZ!

Urban Outfitters A/W 2012

A few weeks ago,we were kindly offered by Urban Outfitters to go down to their Newcastle store for a tour of their Autumn/Winter collection, which is split into two sub collections- ‘A Modern Beat’ and ‘Tarot’.
‘A Modern Beat’ features this seasons trend of the androgynous, teddy boy and beatnik style. Key details include- studded collars, zips, novelty knits and stripes. The idea behind this trend is ‘boy meets girl’; which Urban Outfitters have covered really well, mixing girly, mod style dresses with tough biker jackets and slim cigarette pants with feminine detailed shirts. Think Alexa Chung and the girls from The Like and you’ve got ‘A Modern Beat’. While big designers such as Marc Jacobs, Sonia Rykiel and Marni have all featured this style in previous and current seasons; Urban Outfitters offer a more affordable option.




In contrast to the sleek and tailored look of 'A Modern Beat', Urban Outfitters second collection- ‘Tarot’ offers a more relaxed, thrown together, bohemian appeal. It was explained to us the aesthetic idea behind this collection is the image of the ‘well travelled woman’. As with ‘A Modern Beat’ layering is key, but his time the look is created using uneven hems, mixed with decorative lace and tapestry, all topped off with jewellery featuring mystical symbols and precious stones. There’s a strong gyspy style, but with a more sophsiticated feel of the 'boho’ looks of Sienna Miller and pals in the 00s. Abbey Lee and Mary Kate Olsen were used as muses when putting together this collection and it’s easy to see why.



In addition to the UO house collections, there are also a variety of designer labels. These vary from store to store and meaning some of the pieces are exclusive to the Newcastle store alone. Labels available include Mink Pink, Evil Twin and Cheap Monday; but the supply is always updating and evolving.







One of our favourite aspects of the collections and UO in general is how well put together the wall and table displays are. Shoes, handbags and jewellery are all displayed alongside clothing garments to give a good sense of how the collections can we worn. UO has one of the best ranges of accessories on the high street, from a covetable range of shoes and handbags, to an amazing array of jewellery and even make up.







Urban Outfitters are determined to set themselves apart from other clothing stores in the way that they offer so much more than dresses, heels and shoes.As well as female and male clothing departments; UO also have homewear and media departments(featuring books and music), as well as showcasing both regional and nationalart. Currently on display in the Newcastle store are pieces by Prefab 77.











The only complaint we have is that we wish that some of theclothing came in larger sizes, as some items must be no larger than a size 12/14. Having said that, If you’re looking to update your wardrobe for the upcoming colder climates we would definitely recommend checking out what UO have to offer.

Bryden & Claire x

Disclaimer: All opinions are our own. This is not a paid review but were lucky to be gifted an item each from their collection. Many thanks to Charlie from Urban Outfitters for this opportunity and the lovely Ash from the Newcastle store for showing us around.

A rough guide to travelling- Part 1.

This post is to become part of a series of posts, which are a bit different to the stuff we usually write. Just before Bryden and I started Trebles and a Mixer, I spent three months travelling around Australia. Recently the lovely Carla announced that she was going down under for a number of months. I had planned to write a list of must visit places for her, but thought 'why not turn it into a blog post?'. Three months sounds like a relatively short time to go travelling, but my god do I have a lot of stories to tell!



To start, I hadn't planned on going to Australia. In fact, I'd never even really considered it. But back in Spring 2010 one of my friends from work had planned on going over to work for a year and had persuaded another of our friends to spend the Summer there. One drunken night before they left, I was asked "Why don't you come too Claire?". Me? Go to Australia? In less than a month? For three months? Go a hot country when I'm this pale? I don't look good in shorts, what would I wear??




Once I'd sobered up, done what I do in most confusing situations and gone over the pros and cons (and called my Mam of course!); it was decided- You only live once, so why the hell not! In little under a week I went from resigning myself to a Summer of working to booking flights and applying for a working visa!




I'm going to make this a sort of guide to travelling and Australia in general, so I'll split it up into various sections over a number of posts with photographs to keep it interesting!



Pre-Travelling.
We booked all our tickets and visas through an agent before we went. You can of course do this on your own separately, but this meant we got all of the boring, important stuff out of the way leaving us to get excited about the actual trip. You can also book various trips through these agents, but I would recommend leaving this until you get there. You'll find better offers and get a better sense of where and what is good from talking to fellow travellers. I have a confession to make- I never read a guide book before i went or the entire time I was there. In hindsight I should have at least flicked through one to get a geographical sense of the area I would be travelling in. Most people travelling the East coast of Australia like we did either travel up the coast or down, because we had no idea where we were going we ended up going down, up, up a bit more, down a bit, then up again before we finally figured out where we wanted to be! So yeah; if you buy a guide book, don't just carry it round for 3 weeks before dumping it in a hostel book exchange- read it!


The next dilemma you'll have is- WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR???!!! I'd say try to limit yourself to a number of key items which are interchangeable with each other and will be suitable for a variety of weather conditions. I went from being too hot in shorts and a vest top up in tropical Cairns, to freezing my butt off and wishing I had my winter coat with me down in freezing Melbourne.


I took a suitcase with me, which was a bit of a controversial choice and earned me a lot of mocking from my friends. But who was laughing when we walking for miles to hostels or transport stations, me that's who! Whilst they were struggling under the weight of their rucksacks like tired little turtles, I was trotting along with my suitcase gliding behind me. Smug much? I knew we hadn't planned to really go out into the wild bush and would be spending most of our time in cities, so a suitcase worked out well for me. Also, I didn't have to pull out all of my belongings just to find one item of clothing which was buried deep in a rucksack. But I guess it's just personal preference.


One mistake I made was going with an almost full suitcase, thinking 'I won't buy any clothes over there'. Of course I was going to buy clothes, I was daft to think I wasn't. When travelling to various places, you'll be constantly packing and un-packing your belongings; bare this in mind when deciding what and how much to take with you.


If I was to go travelling again I would probably take the following-
2 pairs of shorts
2/3 skirts (which can be worn with tights if visiting colder climates)
2/3 dresses
1 pair of jeans (bear in mind these drastically add to the weight of your bag)
Various tops ranging from vests and t shirts to shirts and blouses, casual to smart
A hoody or a cosy cardigan
A jacket for covering up on cool nights (I took a denim jacket with me which was ideal for nights out and wearing with my hoody underneath in colder places
Leggings or sweat pants/jogging bottoms (for travelling and sleeping in freezing air conditioned rooms)
Bikini or swimsuit (buy this before you go,so you'll have time to find one you like. Don't do what I did and and think 'I'll get one when I get there' and end up having to buy the worlds worst bikini at Target Country at a town in the middle of nowhere)
Tights and socks
Underwear (obvz)
A large scarf (good for covering up when too cold and for a number of other uses, such as a barrier between your head and that less than desirable hostel pillow)
A few accessories what you can use to dress up casual clothes (don't be tempted to take too many, if you're anything like me you'll pick up various trinkets on the way)
Shoes and bags will obviously take up a lot of room in your luggage and will be a pain to carry. I would take a pair of sandals or trainers for the daytime (something you'd be comfortable walking miles in) and then a dressier pair of shoes for the nighttime. Personally, I really wouldn't bother with heels. A small rucksack is great to take as hand luggage. When taking smaller trips to remote places we'd leave our suitcases/large rucksacks in storage at the hostel and just take the essentials in a smaller bag


When it comes to make up and cosmetics, just take the essentials. Leave things like shampoo etc at home, just buy a bottle when you get there (the last thing you want is shampoo exploding all over your stuff on the long haul flight). I didn't even take a hair dryer with me, luckily my friend took her GHD straighteners with her. Most days it was too hot to have my hair down, so a hair donut was an absolute life saver.


If anyone has any tips or questions about travelling or Australia in particular don't hesitate to post them below!


Claire
x

August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born.

Let's be honest; the great British Summertime hasn't been that great has it? It's either been unbearably hot and sticky, or we've had apocalyptic style flooding! I can't wait for the Autumn months, when I can actually cope with dressing myself in the morning for the day ahead. I've even started stock piling various Autumn/Winter items, ready for when the temperature drops.

Dress- Primark, Loafers- Deichmann, Coat- Topshop (old) via ebay, Belt- Primark, Bag- Matalan (old)

We've got another post coming up soon focusing on Autumn/Winter fashion, if you're like me and you can't wait to start piling jumpers and scarfs on. Does anyone else have any A/W essentials already?

Claire
x