IN SEARCH OF A PERFECT SMALL CARRY-ON

I'm in search of a perfect backpack that I could bring with me on the plane as a small bag. I'm usually flying with Ryanain and if you buy the cheapest fare ticket, small bag is all you are allowed to bring with you. Even if you add 20kg check-in luggage, the small bag is going to be your only companion on board. It measures 40x25x20cm and if it doesn't fit into baggage size frame in the airport, you can get extra charged. It's kinda tricky to find a bag on the market that would fit these measurements, I don't think many manufacturers (or any, tbh)thought of that and it's really frustrating. I'm not someone who travels with a small handbag or everyday backpack, it's just not enough for me. I always have couple of cameras, sometimes my 15inch laptop, souvenirs or little gifts that I could easily pull out the minute I reunite with my friends' and my brother's little ones, so I want all of 40x25x20cm, no mm less. To be honest, I haven't travelled for what it feels like million years, as we are still in the middle of pandemic and lock-down, and I am struggling to remember all the stuff I usually carry in my travel backpack. Maybe it's not the best time to look for that perfect backpack after all... But hey, as they say, prepare sledge in summer!

 

So what am I exactly looking for? As I said, it cannot be smaller than 40x25x20cm, I'm gonna be a maximalist about that :) I am also looking for a lightweight bag, with as little unnecessary pockets (they call it organization) and zips as possible. The bag has to have some safety features, like hidden zips, maybe hidden pockets as close to my body as possible, etc. It also has to fit my 15inch laptop and have enough padding to protect my cameras and other stuff sitting in the bottom of the bag. I've researched a wide range of brands, starting with very cheap ones, finishing with expensive ones. I read a ton of reviews on the internet and watched Youtube videos, that mainly helped me eliminate certain backpacks from my list. 

 

I settled down on 2 brands - Samsonite and Pacsafe. Both of them are not cheap, so I secretly hope I am not gonna like any of the backpacks I chose. I purchased them off Amazon as they had the best prices. They fit my bill the best, but I have some doubts, as they have features that I love, but they also have features that I don't think will work for me. These backpacks did not have many reviews, so I am gonna review them myself for myself and you. 

 

I hope this will be helpful, so stay tuned. And if you have any suggestions for brands or certain backpacks, leave your comment down below.

WHAT I GOT SO FAR FOR MY MOM'S FREE ADVENT CALENDAR

It's been a while since my last check in about my Advent Calendar For Free project, but here I am again. I didn't find any exciting free stuff in spring, so I didn't really have anything to report on. I think in spring I only got a really nice The Body Shop soapstone oil burner for my Mom's Advent Calendar. I used my £10 value TBS vouchers to cover this purchase. It would be cool to add fragrance oils, but we will see if I can find anything. Oh, before that, back in winter I got her sterling silver earrings from ASOS and used my Asos vouchers to pay for it. In case you never shopped on ASOS or didn't know, if you sign up for their A-list programme, you get 5 points for every £1 spent and once you accumulate 500 points, you get £5 voucher to spend on their website.

My Mom broke her foot couple of weeks ago and I thought I would get her food supplements for bones and joints to help her recover quicker. She was quite happy about this idea, so I went to Boots, got her 2 different kinds of food supplements and I grabbed a free pack of Centrum vitamins, as 3for2 offer on vitamins is pretty much a permanent thing at Boots. I would like to add a pill box to this gift, but again, I will see what I can do. 

I was browsing the other day on ASOS Outlet and found this gorgeous Christmas jumper. I really fell in love with the colour as I think this colour should really suit my Mom. I know, the applique is kind of childish, but at the same time I find it tasteful and definitely not over the top. And hey, it's Christmas after all, it's ok to dress a little bit merrier, even for Moms 😉 I have to admit I cheated a little bit on this one as I was £1.40 in vouchers under the price of the jumper, but I will get another voucher soon which will cover the price difference 😁 

So far so good.

Today I came across Bareminerals promo code for a free cosmetic bag and free shipping on all orders on their website. I was looking for a cosmetic bag to put compact mirror and lip gloss in it, so I knew I could not miss this opportunity. I do not shop for Bareminerals very often, but I knew my Mom runs out of her eyebrow products probably once or twice a month so I got her eyebrow pencil (which was discounted!!? and will not be included in the advent calendar) and snapped a free cosmetic bag! Success! I have no idea how big this bag is though, but I hope it's big enough to put the stuff I mentioned earlier on.

 

By the way, the promo code is MYBAG 👍

I think that's all I got so far. At the moment I have a £5 Topshop voucher and £10 Amazon voucher in my Advent Calendar bank. I found these vouchers on www.vouchercodes.co.uk while shopping on Topshop and H&M online stores, so always check discount codes websites for offers and promotions before paying for your online purchases. All I had to do to get my vouchers was spend £50+ on one order. Really simple and easy.

Bye for now! 😊 

CHANGE OF PLAN

I know I said I'm gonna start getting make-up and skincare bits half way through 2018, but at the moment there's an amazing Soap & Glory offer going on in Boots, which I could not resist. Spa of Wonder box for only £30??!! That's insane as the value of the box is £78 and you get full size products with it! 

The content of the Spa of Wonder box:

1. RIGHTEOUS BUTTER 3-in-1 Body Wash
2. SCRUB OF YOUR LIFE Body Buffer
3. RIGHTEOUS BUTTER
4. CLEAN ON ME Shower Gel
5. SMOOTHIE STAR Body Milk
6. FACE SOAP & CLARITY Facial Wash 350ml
7. BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL Radiance-Boosting Mask
8. THICK & FAST HD MASCARA in Black
9. SUPERCAT Liquid Eyeliner in Black  
10. SEXY MOTHER PUCKER Lip Gloss in Plums Up

What I was thinking of doing, is keeping lip gloss, body butter and shower gel for my Mom, as technically I paid only for about 4 products, the rest ones I got for free. That's pretty awesome. 

If you are making an advent calendar for a friend or sister who's into face skincare, there's another super fantastic deal going on at Boots - No7 Star Beauty Collection Box for £39 (value £143). 

The content of the box:

No7 Protect and Perfect Intense ADVANCED Day Cream SPF 15 50 ml e 1.69 Fl. Oz.
No7 Protect and Perfect Intense ADVANCED Night Cream 50 ml e 1.69 Fl. Oz.
No7 Protect & Perfect Intense ADVANCED Eye Cream 15 ml e 0.5 US Fl. Oz.
No7 Protect & Perfect Lip Care 10 ml e 0.34 US Fl. Oz.
No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser 200 ml e 6.7 US Fl. Oz.
No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover 100 ml e 3.3 US Fl. Oz.
No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask Dry/Very Dry 100 ml e 3.3 US Fl. Oz.
No7 Skin Illuminator Nude 30 ml e 1 US Fl. Oz.
No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara Black 7 ml e 0.23 US Fl. Oz.
No7 High Shine Lip Gloss Sparkling Rose 8 ml e 0.27 US Fl. Oz.
No7 Muslin Face Cloth.

 

You can easily split the content of the box between two of you and have a win win situation 😊

THE ADVENT CALENDAR FOR FREE 2018 IS HAPPENING! :)

I have already started my hunt for free stuff and if I am gonna be that lucky, my Mom's Advent calendar will be ready by February 😂. 

 

I've been looking for a compact mirror for myself for some time now and I came across one that I really liked on Claire's website. I would have bought it anyway, but I noticed that at the moment Claire's online shop has a Buy 1 Choose 1 Free offer and I got one for my Mom too. I think she has a compact mirror that my brother brought her from Rome, but it's always nice to update your make-up bag, right ladies? 😊 I will probably combine it with some other make-up items and put it in one calendar door, but we will see. I decided to start my hunt for make-up pieces in summer, as I do not want to keep it lying around for too long. It's not food, I know, but still.

I was also looking for a nice gift for my niece, who is currently recovering after a difficult surgery, and I found one on Claire's website too. I'm really happy about it although I am still waiting for it to arrive. So yeah, I bought something for my niece and got something really really cute for my Mom again 👍😀. Two down!

Depending on who you are looking a gift for, you can get some nice jewellery, toys, make-up, stationery, jewellery cases, bath bombs, etc. that are on the same Buy 1 Choose 1 Free offer!  

 

MY FREE ADVENT CALENDAR PROJECT FOR MOM 2018

Long time no see guys! But I'm back! 😊 I'm back with a project that will hopefully take all next year. 

There's a little (well, actually quite a big) scandal going on at the moment about an advent calendar with the name of a big Youtube star on it. I bet you know what I'm talking about, but in case you don't, I'll try to explain in one sentence. Basically what happened, is that one celebrity released her lifestyle advent calendar with 12 doors full of cheap, poor quality crap (confetti, 7 stickers, cookie cutters in 2 doors, pom pom, the tiniest notepad, etc., and ok, there were 2 tiny candles and room spray that half of people did not like the scents of), and charged £50 for it. Now, it made me think about the money we pay for things in the UK and wonder if I could nail and make a good value advent calendar for my Mom for 2018 for £0. Yes, you heard me right, for NOTHING! So that's my project for the next year and please don't tell my Mom 😉.

How I'm going to achieve it? Let me share few ways of doing it. Probably the most common way of getting stuff for free is shopping 3for2 deals. There are always 3for2 deals happening in Boots or Feelunique, so I will definitely get her vitamins and make up bits. Some clothing shops have the same deal on lingerie, accessories or homedecor, which is also handy. 

Another way of getting free stuff is getting retailers loyalty cards and collecting points towards your goal. At the moment I have £10 on my Accessorize rewards card and I am already browsing for nice pair of silver earrings. No luck so far... I also have lots of points on my Boots Club Card, but I don't think I'm gonna use these points for this project. I believe most of the stores have some kind of loyalty program going on, all you need to do is join the club. 

Next thing on my mind is employee benefits. It's something that your employer may offer you or not. I've been using employee benefits for less than a year now and not being a very big shopper I managed to save under seventy pounds. The ways of saving money as an employee benefits member is by purchasing discounted gift cards, vouchers or getting cashback for your online purchases from retailers. I have to say, getting cashback is quite a long process and you don't get much back, but it still puts some cash into your pocket. Every time you purchase a gift card or voucher, put a note down how much you saved, so that you know how much you can spend on a gift.  

Another way of getting free stuff is by making it yourself. Technically it's not gonna be a free free stuff, but you can make little DIY projects from materials you have at home. For example, knit a Christmas tree decoration or take a hole punch and make confetti (I wonder if that Youtube star was punching confetti herself all year, maybe that's why her calendar is so expensive! 😄), or make a macrame bracelet.   

These are all my thoughts about my project so far. If you have any suggestions on how to get free good quality stuff please leave a comment down below. I will keep posted every time I come up with a good deal or two😊.

Welcome back guys! 😊

PHOTO ALBUM OF SEVILLA

Hot, colourful and vivid city in the south of Spain. It is zigzagged by narrow streets with small independent full of curiosities shops. If something caught your eye in one of them, grab it straight away as you might not find the shop the next day. Prepare yourselves for sign language as locals do not speak English or any other language but Spanish. Watch out for cyclists as they are the most important traffic participants. Always have your EU passport as it allows you free entrance to some museums and other objects. If you are a shopaholic, have in mind that Zara and Mango are Spanish brands, which means that it is way cheaper in these shops in Spain. I have to admit that I found Sevilla cosier and more impressive than Barcelona. Although both cities have a special creative and artistic atmosphere :) 

THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLA

PLAZA DE ESPANA

 

 

ROYAL PALACE

POPULAR COSTUME AND ART MUSEUM

 

BULLFIGHTING MUSEUM AND ARENA

GIFT GUIDE #2. SOUVENIR GIFTS FOR GIRLS.

This post was not planned at all so it appears here very unexpectedly. I was not prepared for it, therefore, I found only one suitable picture for it. That's a shame cos now I think it could have been useful for some of you. 

Before going on holiday to Lithuania I knew for sure that I would want to spend it in my Mom's homestead with her girlfriends. Yes, HER girlfriends. She has quite a bunch of them, they all have extremely different personalities and I am the only daughter for all of them :D, so I wanted to surprise them, spoil them a bit and pamper. I wanted the souvenir gifts to be unexpected, useful and pleasurable:

So, the list of gifts:

1. Plastic red baskets (Wilko, the link is to another colour).

2. Notebooks "Thoughts of An Absolute Genius" (Wilko). Every bottom of the page of this notebook has pictures of glasses like mine, so I thought this would be kind of personalised gift and would remind a little bit of me.

3. Fridge magnet with views of the region I live in (Waterstones).

4. Soap and Glory body scrub (Boots).

5. My favourite Thorntons chocolates.

6. And, of course, tea for girls Pukka Womankind.    

I wrapped everything in Paperchase tissue paper and secured the package with a sticker. It is a perfect gift for a cousin or grandmother :)

That is my recipe for a souvenir gift for girls :)