Dear February,

You have been royally pants.

The worst of all the February's I've ever experienced.

So to combat that, I went shopping.

And spent all the money. 

Retail therapy is a temporary fix, but hey, every now and then its okay to splurge right? It certainly perked me up for a while :-)

So, with that being said I hope you enjoy seeing all the bits and bobs I've picked up, including some items from my favourite stores, & Other Stories, COS and Charlotte Tilbury! 

(PS. THREE WEEKS UNTIL BALI BABY, YES!)

Jumper: & Other Stories. Jeans: ASOS. Boots: Daniel Footwear. Coat: ASOS (similar here). Backpack: ASOS (similar here). Necklace: Vintage.

A couple of weekends ago I drove up to Birmingham. It's my place, you know? Great shops, food and more food.
Where I live, the shops are beyond disgraceful and being just under an hour away in the car, I'll find myself there on the regular.

This particular weekend was a little different though, I went to meet Ally for the first time.

Ally writes over at and from our casual tweets I kinda just knew we'd get on well.
So when she asked if I might fancy a coffee I said yes. Because, I did. I did fancy a coffee with her.

Saturday rolled around and I didn’t even really feel nervous to meet a total stranger for the first time.
It was a funny one, because unlike other internet friends I’ve made *creepy internet weirdo alert*, we hadn’t spoken all that much, really – we were pretty much going in cold. That probably should've been scary, right?

It wasn't.

She helped me pick my first ever pair of trainers (because she's cool FYI) and laughed at me whilst I tried on backpacks for Bali. She explained how Benefits Hello Flawless Foundation is the best thing since sliced bread and then we ate, ALL the food.

I'd suggested - my absolute favourite South East Asian restaurant housed in Selfridges food quarter - purely for it's completely incredible Crispy Duck Salad...best ever in the world, in case you were wondering. (Ally agrees)

And it was just the loveliest of days, that made me so very grateful to the blogging world. For introducing such a wonderful person to my life.

That's my favourite thing about blogging. That I've made the best friends through this community.

Ally is totally brilliant, witty, intelligent and not to mention a little easy on the eye, fellas. And simply saying yes to a coffee, means I've gained another wonderful friend.

She took these snaps for me too, 'cause she's good like that. And it turns out that these Daniel Footwear boots are the comfiest platforms I've ever had the pleasure of feet-meeting. And that opting for pastels in my wardrobe sometimes is okay.

Here's to many more Crispy Duck Salads, Ally. I suppose you're sort of alright..kind of.

Shop my look here:

It's been a pretty long time since I last published a daily makeup routine on my YouTube channel. I have to admit they're probably my least favourite to film...When it comes to make-up I'm pretty awful - as in, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I simply wing it (pun intended, oh Megs - you're so hilarious) and hope for the best.

Regardless, it's something I'll get asked to film fairly frequently - probably so you can all have a bit of a laugh at my face on a weekday evening. Whatever gets you through the week, ladies and gents!
;-)

So here it is, my latest made-up face! Enjoy...

You can find all the products I used linked below!

Before I start I would like to say how much respect I have for the foody bloggers out there. Cooking and photographing at the same time is really bloody hard. It took me ages – I even contemplated a nap half way through the process. Hats off to you, ladies and gents.

That being said, since 2015 rolled around I’ve tried to introduce my body to a healthier lifestyle - and a huge part of that has been . A purely organic, locally sourced fruit, meat and veg supplier who deliver boxes of goodness to your doorstep on a weekly basis. My delivery driver, Bryan (yeah you heard me right, you have the same driver every week!) delivers me a which contains 3 recipes worth of ingredients (including seasoning) to rustle up a weeks’ worth of lunches, aka. soups. To say it’s the highlight of my Tuesday wouldn’t be a lie and I’m not ashamed that my life now heavily relies on happiness in vegetable form. For £12.50 a box it's great value for money and you can choose how often you'd like it delivered - be it weekly like me or perhaps fortnightly. Affordable and good for you don't usually sit in the same sentence, but Abel and Cole have it going on.

So...I thought it would be quite nice to share a few recipes here and there – I’m absolutely no domestic goddess, cooking is not second nature to me, so these posts will mainly be here just to show how simple, quick and easy it can be to make your own (really frickin’ good) food.

Today? We’re making Roast Butternut Squash and Cardamom Soup.

You'll need:

Ingredients:
2 Small Squash
1 Can of Coconut Milk
150ml of water / stock
1 Lime – Juice and Zest
1 Bulb of Garlic
3 Cardamom seeds
Dash of Olive Oil
Pinch of Salt and Pepper
Oven 190 degrees

And here's how you make it:

Take the tops and bottoms off your squash and cut each in to quarters, scoop out the seeds and put them to one side.

Next grab your garlic, peel off the papery layer and using a sharp knife chop about 1cm off the pointed end. Pop both the squash and the garlic on a baking tray, season with salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil.

Place in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees/Gas mark 6.

Whilst those babies are cooking grab your cardamom pods, bash them with the bottom of your knife and release the little seeds. Use a pestle and mortar (if you have one) or like me, the bottom of a glass to crush the seeds in to a powdery form - then slice your lime.

Wash up what you can whilst you’re waiting and then grab your garlic out of the oven – it should be soft to the touch. Leave it on the side to cool slightly and put the squash back in until it’s super squidgy (it shouldn’t need more than an extra 20 minutes).

Using a spoon, scoop out the squash from its skin. Now, this is the point where if you have one you can chuck everything in a blender - mine broke, so I’m going for a big pot and a hand held blender stick!

Once you’ve done that pour in your coconut milk (don’t worry if it’s slightly solidified, it will break down really easily), your crushed cardamom and lime juice. Blend until smooth then add in your water/stock – I used vegetable stock in mine. Blend it all up again and hey presto – YOU’RE DONE! Make sure you give it a little taste and add extra seasoning if you need it, perhaps another cardamom pod if needs be.

It makes me 3 really generous portions and tastes SO good.

If you give this recipe a whirl, share your snaps using #CookingWithMegs on social channels – I’d love to see your results!

Also - If you're interested in finding out more about Abel and Cole you can visit their and you can also follow I have delivered weekly!

I'd love to know your thoughts on this type of post from me and whether it's something you'd like to see more regularly? :-)

Happy Souping!

All sportswear: George at ASDA

I'm no fitness guru - In fact up until recently I've avoided exercise at any cost.

I was super active when I was younger - ballet, tap, jazz, 2 hour work-outs 4 days a week and then after college? I just stopped.

A few years (nearly 10 - dear god) down the line and there's one thing that sticks in my mind: I'm at my happiest when I'm actively trying to be healthier. I just don't have the natural hunger for it like some people do. I have to really try.

I watched my beautiful friend Carly Rowena in this amazing Top 5 At-Home fitness tips video. Besides being an absolute babe (and one of the nicest ladies on the internet you'll ever see/meet) Carly really highlights how simple it can be to get fit in a non-pressured way:

Off the back of Carly inspiring me to get a little more motivated with exercise I thought it might be quite nice to share some of the things that've helped me along the way to being healthier, too:

1.) Cost is a biggie right? 

When trying to introduce a workout in to our daily routine we don't really want to spend a fortune on sportswear. But at the same time it's quite a nice little incentive to have some gym wear that makes you feel good.

ASDA are pretty much gods when it comes to supermarkets - with one of the best home-ware sections I've witnessed and unbeatably comfortable onesies; they're now knocking it out of the park with crazily affordable sportswear.

Their activewear range is unreal. With neon pinks and limes (hell yeah 90's) and near enough every item under £10, it's basically the perfect destination to dip your toes in the 'let's give this fitness thing a whirl then' pool. 

2.) Finding the motivation to do it alone. 

So many of us sign up to the gym with our friends and think 'We can make this fun, together - woo!'. But the truth of it is, 9/10 we'll use them as an excuse not to follow through with it. If they're poorly, or have a date, or booked their hair appointment for that evening, we'll say 'ah, I think I'll give it a miss too' - just because we can.

If you're just relying on you, it might be hard to find the motivation, but it makes you feel so great when you do follow through with actually going. Taking that hour in the evening to just be by yourself, a little break from the world where you can listen to your favourite music and completely zone out. It doesn't have to be a chore, we can treat this as the much needed time out we all need from our day-to-day lives. And like Carly rightly said - add it in to your diary; set a reminder on your phone and make it part of your planning for the week.

3.) Eating healthier 

Makes me feel so much better about myself and in turn gives me the energy I need to find motivation to get my butt working out. Since introducing organic foods in to my diet and hopping on the juicing bandwagon I've never felt more ready to tackle my fitness. It doesn't have to be about losing or gaining weight, just simply feeding your body with the goodness it needs to run the best way it can. And boy does it prove it's worth. 

4.) We don't have to be gym freaks.

The thing I struggle with the most is not particularly enjoying exercise. When I look on the internet for any inspiration it feels like every girl out there is just eating chicken and broccoli and living in the gym. 

Which is totally fine but that is never going to be me - and sometimes I'll get a bit bummed and think what's the point?

But actually? It's just about doing what makes you feel good and trying your best to be the healthiest version of you that you can. 

I can use my Yoga app and work out at home for half an hour - that's just as good as paying for a gym membership and feeling validation from others seeing me workout. 

Don't get me wrong, we need to push ourselves, but do what's right for you - what's working for someone else might just not be your bag and that's totally fine..

In a nutshell, I'm taking fitness in my stride. Baby steps to making it a more frequent thing in my life and enjoying doing it slowly but surely. I'll never be a fitness fanatic, but I'm learning that it can be part of my life in a fun, simple way.

What about you? Is fitness something you find important? What are your top tips for keeping motivated?

**This post is sponsored by ASDA but as always all opinions are my own :-)

Rodial are a high-end beauty brand famous for their luxurious skincare. But today, I’m here to talk to you about some of my top picks from their rather snazzy makeup range. This is a good one guys, let's get cracking.

Rodial Instaglam Compact Deluxe Illuminating Powder RRP: £52
First up is my favourite of the bunch. Highlighter is in my top 5 make-up staples. Brightening up even the dullest of dull complexions (i.e. mine) - we can't all have naturally glowing skin, some of us have to fake it to make it, it really is a god-send.
Focusing on the areas of your face you want to accentuate – a light brush of this bad-boy over the cheekbones, the cupids bow and down the nose gives the perfect natural candle-lit glow and the fine pearl formula ensures an even, silky application.
At £52 it’s certainly one to be adding to your birthday or Christmas list (or like me: 'I’m heartbroken so I can buy myself everything I want ever' list) But, with magnetic packaging it’s basically bullet proof. dropped hers on the weekend on a laminate floor and the robust packaging kept it tightly in place – not even a scuff on the outside and perfectly pressed glowing powder on the inside. Perfect packaging pays, guys.

It's absolutely stunning and is the perfect versatile product suiting any skin tone. I mean, you can see from the pictures above what a lovely finish it gives.

Rodial Instaglam Retouch RRP: £25
Eye brightening products are something I can’t be without - yeah I'm one of the lucky ones with dark, dark circles under my eyes.
With a twist to activate application of the instaglam retouch it means you don’t get wasted product. And with a sheer finish, it helps to even out the skin tone to create a natural finish without being cakey under the eyes. It also contains hyaluronic acid which helps to plump out any fine lines and smooth the areas of skin its applied to. Basically, it's everything you could hope for in a eye-brightening product.

Rodial Eye Sculpt RRP: £34
One of my favourites from the collection, and one I’ve used every day since it arrived in the post is the eye sculpt. A versatile product that can be used as a base eye shadow, blended in to the crease of the socket to create definition, an eyeliner to shape the eyes or even on the brows to fill in sparse hairs. It’s the BOMB. The pigmentation is unreal, so you only need the teeniest amount and a little goes a long, long way – meaning it’s going to last an age and is nice and compact to carry around in your handbag – big brownie points here ladies! I'm wearing it under the lash line and in my brows on the pictures above!

Rodial The Foundation Brush RRP: £40
This foundation brush is like tiny, beautiful hairs of silk brushing against your skin achieving the most even, flawless finish with liquid foundations. I've been using Real Techniques brushes for a few years and having used this beauty with my top 3 foundations over the past few weeks I'm totally blown away. IT IS GORGEOUS - it's made with synthetic hairs, but it means you'll get minimal wastage of product as it wont be soaking any of it up!

Rodial Instaglam Highlighter RRP: £25
Lastly, the instaglam highlighter is a more affordable option to the compact illuminating powder. This is a great product to have alongside a contour powder. With the fine brush applicator, you can get in those nooks and crannies of the face that you want to make pop. Just a dab in the corner of your eyes, the centre of your forehead and the bridge of your nose will help you achieve a super natural sparkle. It's a bit of a steal really.

So that's it! What do you think? Is Rodial a brand you've looked to for make-up before? I'd love to know what your favourites are too :-)

PS. I'm wearing the Rodial Glam Lip Balm on my lips (but that's a post for another time, it might even warrant a stand alone review of its own!)

A few weeks ago Zoe shared a where her hair (and face, obv) looked phenomenal. She'd pulled her loose waves back off her face and framed it with a glorious French braid.

Now, I am terrible at styling hair. Mine will either be straight, curled or scraped back in to a bun to wash off remnants of the days make-up - but when I saw how lovely it looked on Zo, I wanted to give it a try, you know, just to see.
Surprisingly, it was mega easy. Without following a tutorial or even tweeting asking for tips, I'd managed to achieve a pretty decent braid - Woohoo!

I popped a picture up on instagram and got quite a few requests asking me to film a tutorial for it.

So here you go, folks...

Thanks so much to Zo for the insipiration. It's the perfect easy updo that suits pretty much any occasion, be it work, going to the gym or even an evening out. It takes two minutes and stays put all day!

I hope you enjoy it - and if you do have a go at recreating it I'd love to see the results! Use the hashtag #hairbymegs on or so I can see and I'll be sure to share them :-)