First Wedding Anniversary

Aloha Bloggerinos,

Today is mine and Matt's first wedding anniversary. How time flies! This time last year I was enjoying the most magical of days and today we had a great time remembering it.

To celebrate, we gave each other lovely leather bound books that on each page have titles like "Our funniest moment together" or "Where I see us in 10 years". The idea is that you write your thoughts on each page and then the recipient has a brilliant keepsake. I gave Matt a black one with "My Beautiful Groom" on the front, and he gave this white one.

I loved reading it and even shed a little tear. I will treasure it forever.

The silver plaque says, "Louise Alexandra Watson", which is my married name, although I still use my maiden name (Pentland) for most things.

It was so funny and heartwarming to read Matt's answers and we were pleased as punch to see that some of our answers were the same.

Matt bought me a really gorgeous card with some pretty sentimental words inside. As it's a bit personal, it hasn't made it onto the blog, but look at all those kisses inside. Ahhh.

Later on, my chum Charly (my Maid of Honour for our wedding) popped over with a card from her and one from her parents (thanks Dawn and Robert!!). I just had to share Charly's card with you all. She made it on moonpig, it's so personal and such a great idea. I really appreciate it. I may even frame it!!

I love that she included Darcy in the card, because she was a big part of our wedding day (I was 11 weeks pregnant) and an even bigger part of our marraige.

Also, during the week, a surprise parcel arrived!! My friend Faye (click on her name for her blog) had made me this beautiful pressed flower arrangement in a shabby chic heart frame. What's really special is that the petals and leaves are actually from my wedding bouquet- yes, Faye was the lucky lady/lady who jumped high enough and caught it on the night.

I was so touched that she a) remembered our day, b) took the time to hand make us a gift and c) used my bouquet- it has so much meaning and stands very proudly in our hallway.

I feel so privileged to be happily married and also blessed with a little girl. I know so many of my friends who would love to be, and a few who are trying for babies and struggling, so I am all too aware of how lucky I am. I'm very grateful of my life.

So dear Bloggerinos, please do raise a sparkly glass, Happy First Anniversary GlitterFamily!!

Toodlepip!

xx

Lou's Reviews :: Hensmans Hair Salon

Aloha Bloggerinos,

Good old twitter. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a snazzy little tweet from a PR Company, asking if any Beauty Bloggers lived in Northampton. Hello!! I do! I do!

They asked me if I would pop on down to a swish salon called  Hensmans and tell my Bloggerinos my honest, unbiased opinions on my experiences there.

So that is precisely what I shall do. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let's begin.

Hensmans hair salon is located in central Northampton, ideal for those arriving on public transport or if you fancy a spot of shopping afterwards.

On arrival I was pleasantly ushered over to a plush lounge area, where I perused a magazine. The atmosphere was really relaxed but not in an 'everyone-must-be-uber-hushed-and-well-behaved' fashion.

After a few minutes, a rather lovely chap (steady on, I'm married!) called Gavin came over and I was led downstairs to a quieter area of the salon to discuss my treatments and have a chitchat.

Whilst we went downstairs, I had a quick nosey around and was surprised to see that there was such a variety of ages there. I usually find salons cater to a certain age groups, like young trendy salons or ones more preferred by the blue rinse ladies, but here there was a young boy, me and an elderly lady. I mentioned this to Gavin and he said this was a great part of the job and of course all the staff cater their conversations to their clients, so it makes for a more varied day.

So, the treatments. I had a seah head massage, a luxury conditioner treatment, a wash and a blow dry. Yum.

After a bit of basin time, the conditioner was applied. Yes, it looks like something that came out of shrek's nose, but I promise you it was delightful! All smooth and rich, mmmm. Gavin told me that there is the option to apply heat the to hair which would open up the cuticles slightly and allow for a deeper conditioning experience. Fortunately, my hair isn't super dry (although I have just had it ombred- ooopsie) so this wasn't really necessary. There are also different strengths and formulas of conditioner, so there'll be something for everyone. Hurrah.

The seah head massage was huh-mazing. After Gavin applied aromaoilum (which I oh-so-hilariously described as 'hair lube'...why do I say these things!?!), he worked his magic. A seah head massage is 14 step treatment aimed to relax and sooth. What more could a girl ask for?

Being the snazzy little (or not so as the case may be) blogger I am, I asked for some info about the 14 steps. For all of you that are interested, I will be writing all 14 steps in the Extras page, which is coming very soon!

In a nutshell, it was fabulous. To reaffirm this, let me just tell you something- I am NOT a tactile person. I struggle to hug chums, I hate shaking hands and kissing on arrival/departure is a chore for me. That being said, I not only coped with the massage, but very much enjoyed it.

And look! My drink was bought to me on a little silver platter, fancy.

After pinging back to reality from my swishy massage, we went upstairs to the busier area, so I could have the oils and conditioners washed out and my hair blow dried. I don't think it's customary to have all this upstairs downstairs business but Hensmans wanted to show me all of the salon, so don't fear, you won't be moved about so much if your visit!

Upstairs was bustling and busy, a stark contrast to the more subdued downstairs area.

With squeaky clean hair, it was blowdry time. I asked for something with body and movement.

Gavin used Moroccan oil as it defrizzes and reduced drying time, the flatliner for a sleek finish and grip mousse for extreme hold and volume (although I must say, it was very light and not at all 'crispy' like some mousses can be).

As I was reviewing these treatments, I was a very lucky girly and they were given to me complimentary, but should I have paid for them, I believe the whole experience would have cost around the £40 mark. I think this is reasonable for a luxury treat. It would even be quite nice to book something like this as a present for a Mum, Sister, Chum etc.

This is the part where I have to apologise for my camera. Macro setting, yes yes yes, regular setting, yuk yuk yuk. I'm working on a new camera, phewf!

Anyway, this was the final result. I loved it. It was gorgeous and bouncy and I kid you not, my actual hairs felt strong. Hmmm, sttrrrronnnggg is a good word isn't it?!

Gavin and Hensmans Hair Salon get a great big 10/10 from me. If you are ever in the area and fancy giving yourself a treat, pop in and enjoy.

Would you like to see more spa/salon treatments and experiences reviews on Sprinkle of Glitter, or are you all about the products? If it's a resounding 'yes', I shall do more for you :)

Toodlepip!

xx

Sleepy Baby

Aloha Bloggerinos,

Bank Holidays are just so exhausting!

What did you do?

Toodlepip!

xx