Lifestyle: 2016 Roundup

Where has the time gone? Seriously, the older I get, the faster time goes! What a whirlwind of a year it has been, making some beautiful memories and embracing new adventures, new career goals and finally buying our first house.

Here is a round up of my favourite moments from 2016. Here is to 2017, to many more special moments with our cherished ones, continuing on this blog, kicking some ass at work, travelling and building our cosy cottage together.

Have a great New Year everyone, let us know you're treasured moments over the past year. 

Lots of love and positivity,

Chlobo's Closet

Xxx

A thoroughly enjoyable day with these girls, at the Stratford-upon-Avon fashion show, raising money for charity. Gorgeous Obesession never fail to put on a dramatic show, with their talented make up skills! 

A great weekend away, with my oldest and bestest girlfriends, in Weymouth. For the time of year, which I believe was very early April, we had beautiful weather and even had our first barbecue of the year. Love these girls!

Family, is everything to me! I am incredibly grateful to have such inspiring, strong and brilliant people in my life, who overcome life throwing obstacles. They never fail to make me smile, encourage me to grow and strive with all that I do and pick me up when I fall. 

The mini break, birthday trip to Rome (featuring tourists at the Colosseum), was everything i wanted and more. I got to enjoy some warm sunshine, soak up the historic views and over indulge myself in pasta and carbohydrates for four days. 

A birthday party, with these crazies! 

Forever thankful to have such caring, wacky and hilarious friends! 

Another fun and eventful Btetforton proms, with the warmest British weather! A great day and night, feeling proudly British and blessed. 

Finally getting to watch one of our favourite bands; The Lumineers at the Birmingham O2 Arena. What a great night with friends, watching a fantastic performance. 

Starting off the Christmas celebrations with the best brother and sister duo. These two always have me in stitches, can't wait to continue the laughter with you both. 

Spending Christmas together, with family and toasting our new house. So excited to continue building our lives together.

Film: Top Christmas films

Anyone else slightly excited for Christmas or is it just us!? 

Chlobo's Closet is positively bursting at the seams, and not for the pretty party dresses but for the cosy nights in by the fire, with a good Christmas film. 

I think that is one of my favourite things about the holiday season. Finding out the chocolates (it is the only time of year where eating copious amounts of chocolate is acceptable and not be judged eating it first thing in the morning either) and routing out the Christmas classics.

So as it is the first day of advent, Christmas, December - or just another day tomorrow. We thought we would share some Christmas favourites with you! 

If you are not a lover of a funny, Christmas movie, well... Bah humbug. 

The Grinch

A childhood classic, reinvented from the famous Dr Seuss book and brought to life by the energetic, entertaining Jim Carey. Even the Christmas movie grinches, love this one and its a great innovator for memes. 

Bad Santa

A great role reversal of the stereotypical Santa, who doesn't care a jot. Naughty throughout and funny. Filled with chain smoking, swearing and drinking - isn't that what Christmas is all about?

The Rudolph Movie

A cheesy, children's movie with acting legends, Whoopi Goldberg and John Goodman. A story of how the famous reindeer became a legend. 

Frozen

A Disney hit, featuring snow, songs you can all belt out and a cute, talking snowman. Plus major hair inspiration. What isn't to love? 

The Snowman 

We're walking through the air. Need I say more? 

Elf

Possibly my favourite, I just like to smile, smiling is my favourite. Funny, cute, heart warming and silly. I think Buddy is literally me all over when it comes to Christmas excitement. 

Anastasia 

Based on a true story of a missing Russian princess, who ended up an orphan due to an evil, power mad Russian priest/sorcerer. Your standard animated movie, with love, sadness, hope and a happy ending. 

Beauty and the Beast's enchanted Christmas

Celebrate 25 years of Beauty and the Beast's original Disney classic, with a Christmas tale. Also, Belle's wardrobe will give you major envy - that girl has style! 

The muppets Christmas carol

A great take on a British literature piece, with your favourite childhood stars and acting hero - Michael Cane. Charles Dickens is most likely rolling around his grave laughing at this. 

Happy day of advent tomorrow everyone!

Let us know what you are snuggling up to watching?

Love 

Chlobo's Closet

XXX

Music: The Lumineers

After a heavily anticipated, couple years wait (sadly they canceled the last gig we had tickets to, three years ago) we were finally able to sing along and do some hey ho-ing with the vibrant, up beat band ; The Lumineers.

I apologise for the awful photo quality but I was moving around and quite honestly I would much rather enjoy the show, than be on my phone. Plus surely entertainers must think it is rude sometimes? Maybe that is just me.

Thousands of fans and bystanders lined the path, leading to the Birmingham O2 arena, on a mild Halloween weekend, in an all British fashion - patiently queuing. 

Upon entering the building, that is now buzzing, electrifyingly tense and excited, I made a bee line to the merchandise stand. It is part of a small ritual I now do at any music even, buy a band t-shirt. It is great to have a souvenir, a cool shirt and they sometimes come in handy for the gym or bed time. 

By this time, support act Bahamas were taking to the stage to warm up the crowd, with beautiful and witty vocals. Have a search for them and have a listen, the female vocalist was outstanding and the lead male vocalist a great entertainer and up beat performer. 

Finally the moment had come for The Lumineers to light up the stage with their passion, flare and luminosity. Performing their great hits off their first album and incorporating beautifully, meaningful and emotionally driven tracks from their recently released album. The whole show, was a hand clapping, foot stomping sensation, creating a crowd of smiles. 

Thousands of fans and bystanders lined the path, leading to the Birmingham O2 arena, on a mild Halloween weekend, in an all British fashion - patiently queuing. 

Upon entering the building, that is now buzzing, electrifyingly tense and excited, I made a bee line to the merchandise stand. It is part of a small ritual I now do at any music event, buy a band t-shirt. It is great to have a souvenir, a cool shirt and they sometimes come in handy for the gym or bed time. 

By this time, support act Bahamas were taking to the stage to warm up the crowd, with beautiful and witty vocals. Have a search for them and have a listen, the female vocalist was outstanding and the lead male vocalist a great entertainer and up beat performer. 

Finally the moment had come for The Lumineers to light up the stage with their passion, flare and luminosity. Performing their great hits off their first album and incorporating beautifully, meaningful and emotionally driven tracks from their recently released album. The whole show, was a hand clapping, foot stomping sensation, creating a crowd of smiles. 

I will always enjoy the music The Lumineers produce, with heart felt lyrics and a happy, folk-like beat, to turn a frown upside down. I love to visualise myself with flowers in my hair, in a corn field, drinking cider listening to them, that is my happy place in my head - maybe that is truly sad but one can dream. 

The show ended on a high, with confetti raining down on a dancing crowd and a deafening encore. 

A fantastic, unforgettable, fun and a great show from the band on their Cleopatra tour. I highly recommend you buy the new album and keep hey ho-ing, their music will brighten any day. 

Hey ho....

Love Chlobo's Closet

Xxx

Beauty: Winter Skin Savers

As they say in Game of thrones; winter is coming and it is, quickly. The difference  in weather also makes your skin condition change quickly too. So we thought we would compile a small, budget friendly list, to save your skin and keep it nourished through the cold period. 

The Sanctuary Body Moisture Spray £8.00, Boots

A favourite product that is a great all year rounder. Lightly spray, over your body straight after a shower or bath and lock in extra moisture before your main body lotion. I like to use this in the mornings after my shower, to keep moisture in until I come home and have my evening wash, where I like to use my heavy duty lotion. 

L'Occtane Hand Cream £8.00 

A bag friendly item, which is a perfect size,that even fits into your nighttime clutch. The smell is beautiful and keeps hands at bay from dry, scaly skin. Packed with natural ingredients, including almond oil, coconut oil and Shea butter obviously. Also doesn't leave a greasy residue, so you can go about as normal without dropping things.

Garner BB cream £7.95

A little bit in love with this product at the moment. It was an impulse buy a few weeks ago and I have not regretted it. Ticking every box and doing what it says; evening skin tone, natural glow, blurs imperfections and lines. Replace this with your foundation for a fresh, easy look and to keep your winter skin healthy or wear underneath your usual foundation. BBeautiful! 

Carmex Original Lip Balm £2.00

Carmex - the cult classic and the perfect lip saviour. Immediately soothes, moisturises and helps sore, dry or chapped lips. Pocket friendly to buy and pocket sized, what better? 

Clarins Foot Cream £18.00

So we all love to snuggle up and live in tights, jeans and onesies when winter comes and hide everything underneath them. The cold weather and daily life will still catch up with you and sneak in though. So keep your tootsies, super soft and hydrated with this foot cream. Repairs any damage, relieves swelling and tiredness. Come summer you'll be skipping with joy. 

What our your winter favourites? We would love to know?

Have a great week all, Love Chlobo's Closet

Xxx

Travel: London

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed some much deserved fun and relaxation.

I spent my weekend in the capital with my other half. mostly for an appointment with the wonderful Dr. Esho but as I was there, I thought I would make the most of it. Plus I love London, actually most people do, and who can blame them? It must have something to do with the thriving, electric buzz of the city and the captivating culture.

After a slightly long appointment in Harley Street, I requested on popping into a few shops. I have to say I am quite happy with my self restraint and only went in two shops and brought only one thing. Moving house must be making a more mature woman out of me or it might be the fact I am not a millionaire. 

After a brief ponder around Oxford street, we had some time to kill before our reservations at the Sanderson hotel. Therefore we thought we would be tourists and take a walk down to Westminster Abbey. I personally have not done anything touristy since I was little and most of the time I visit London, it is to shop or go out for the night. It was quite beautiful walking down the historic streets and over the bridge, gazing out at that iconic view. 

London is incredibly easy to get around and everything is walkable - perfect way to get your steps in. However I think Josh got to walk happy and I started to panic that we would be late for lunch and miss our booking. Plus my feet in my Louboutins were in agony, not the best choice of shoe to wear all day (sorry Christian), so I made beeline for the nearest tube. 

A few tube rides and a lot of changes later  (there is always that one line that is closed and it is always the one you really need) we managed to get within a few minutes walking distance from The Sanderson hotel. I have been so excited for this lunch, I cannot tell you. I have wanted to go an Alice in Wonderland tea party for years, they used to do one at Claridges but I never found time to go before they stopped them. I can safely say we certainly got our money's worth. We dined on a marble table, set in an elegant, quirky outdoor decking area, with a gorgeous array of plants, flowers and water displays. There was a great choice of herbal teas for our stylish teapot (I really wanted to take that home), I think we chose the Mad Hatter green tea, with mango. It was so refreshing and really morish. To follow was our delicious savouries; mini croque Monsieur's, cuccumber sandwiches, Scotch egg topped with caviar and a crab roll. They were full of flavour and actually the perfect size. We had two plates between us and they were quite filling. Then behold, a huge cake stand fit for the Queen of hearts herself, brimming with sweets and cakes, graced our presence. Marshmallows melted in your mouth, lady bird cakes tickled the taste buds and the drink me potion was like a dreamy melted solaro ice cream. Champagne helped to wash it down and I felt a huge wave of Britishness run over me and it was pure bliss. I could without a doubt take it upon myself to be a lady of leisure. The Sanderson Hotel itself is a treat on the eyes. Incredibly vibrant and quirky, the lobby holds fun and playful interior accessories, from hot red lips to swinging circle chairs. 

My parents and some family, funnily enough were staying in their apartment for a concert at the Albert Hall. I spent every year of my childhood going to the hall and as Josh had never been, I said we would meet them and show him inside. I may have never appreciated the event that was on but the architecture, design and grandeur is spectacular! It is a beautifully romantic building, that will go on telling stories, with its magnificence.

Before travelling home, we stumbled upon a Kerelan restaurant in Kensington and to my amazement they made dosa's. I was over the moon (I think you can tell from the image below), I have not experienced the pure ecstasy of a dosa since India a year ago. They made a traditional dosa, complete with Dahl, splendidly and I was so thrilled they got it as it should be. What a perfect way to finish off a great day, before heading back to the quiet, charming Cotswolds.

We would love to hear what you got up to at the weekend. If you decide to visit the Sanderson hotel, please book well in advance. 

Have a lovely week, lovely people. 

Love Chlobo's Closet

Xxx 

Travel: The Backwaters, Alleppey, India

What, a magnificent, tranquil and peaceful place, Alleppey backwaters is! On our Indian travels there, we found it hard to leave and got drawn in by its beauty and splendour, not to mention how incredibly quiet and relaxing it was.

If you have heard of the famous houseboats, Allapey is the hub of where they are kept, nestled in the heart of Kerela. The home of canals, lagoons, canoes and vast palm tree greenery.

It was very close to Christmas time when we thought we would treat ourselves to a one night stay on one. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect and I am over the moon that we did!

We boarded our cosy houseboat in the early morning and were cheerily greeted by the captain and our personal chef. Welcome beverages and fresh fruit were brought to us and I was aghast at how gorgeous and luxurious the boat really was. The pictures we viewed when booking it, looked good but I was not expecting this. The boat was a light golden brown and a straw like curved roof. Inside was decorated with a beautifully carved, glass topped dining table and a large plasma television hung on the wall (not that we were interested in that). The bedroom was incredibly quaint, laden with royal red throws and pillows. I was so excited to begin our special journey, meandering down the Keralan water grid.

As we slowly cruised down the backwaters in the blissful sunshine, listening to music (Ben E King and Rodrigo Y Gabriella I recall), sipping on rum (very Jack Sparrow) life could not be more perfect. This experience was robbing my heart and I still know to this day it can rob yours too.

The scenery was outstanding and ever so peaceful, there was no sight nor sound.  Occasionally a local would punt along in a canoe, we would go past sweet little cultured villages and gaze over rice paddies in the distance. Palm trees lined the banks as we slowly glided by.

The chef put on a fantastic spread of food, with fresh fish, rice and fruit. It felt quite bizarre, incredibly spoilt and unjust to be waited on like that, it is not like we come from a wealthy background for those types of needs or requests but all the same it was a rare and relaxing treat.

The day drifted into night and we sat with the television on in the back ground and playing cards. I can quite happily say that I did not find it hard to sleep that night, it definitely helped that the boat gently rocked me into slumber.

Come morning we had a lovely breakfast to set us up for another relaxing day, as we made our way back to base.

If anyone ever visits the south of India, I highly recommend this breath taking, romantic experience. It is one thing you will not forget and that is why it captures the hearts of so many.

I will be dreaming of you tonight Alleppey, wishing you were rocking me to sleep.

Love Chlobo’s Closet

Xxx