Lifestyle

Get to know me

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Hello everyone and welcome to my very first post here! I have some really exciting ideas for this space but I thought what better way to start than to get to know me a bit better so here are a few facts about me.

My name is Kelly (in case you couldn’t tell from the title) and I’m currently 24 years old. I’ve been a blogger on and off for the past six years but earlier in the year decided to close my main blog down as I had fallen out of love with it and found I was just doing content for the sake of it. I very much fell into the “blogging made me do it” category which was not only time consuming but expensive too!

For the past four years I have also run another blog which focuses solely on history. Whilst it was a challenge at times running two blogs, I felt it was important to keep them separate because they have two completely different types of audience.

I’m obsessed with shoes and have so many pairs, some of which I am ashamed to say I’m yet to wear. I’d love nothing more than in the future to be able to display my shoes in cute cabinets for all to see. For now though, they are scattered everywhere and anywhere. I’m also obsessed with butterflies and love wearing tops with butterfly print on, inspired jewellery and always stop to watch them as they fly past too!

Talking of flying, I’m also obsessed with aviation and for quite a while, wanted to be air cabin crew. I decided against this in the end when I realised how hard the training was and how much you had to remember on a daily basis. I do however still love taking photographs of planes and attend many airshows throughout the summer months.

A couple of years ago, I bought a better camera to help me take photos and have since been learning how to use it. I’m hoping that as my blog progresses, so will my photography.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit some amazing places over the years and can’t wait to share my experiences and tips with you on this blog. Whether its days out, weekends away or holidays in some amazing countries, I’ve loved every minute of it.

I have a dog named Trixie who is now five years old and I absolutely adore her. She is a Patadale cross Jack Russell who loves nothing more than long walks in the countryside followed my snuggles on the sofa when we return. 35508636_10209415620266561_4646815144351891456_n

I’m very much a shopaholic and can be very impulsive. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve bought something, to then wonder what on earth I was thinking when I got home. This is definitely the case with make up! I’m forever buying new pieces of make up to try and yet, whilst I enjoy experimenting with make up, I don’t wear it everyday.

I’d much rather enjoy a cosy night in with a takeaway and a film rather than a late night out somewhere drinking. I’m very much that person that by nine at night, the pjs will be on. That’s probably also the reason why I own more pjs than any other item of clothing!

Cosy nights in wouldn’t be complete without my amazing boyfriend Andy, who also happens to be a great photographer, so any outfit shots you see on my blog will probably be thanks to him. 41479908_10209889031421544_4602219579794522112_n

So that is just a few facts about me that I wanted to share with you to get me back into blogging. I’m not entirely sure what my schedule will be yet as I think I’m just going to take it as it comes and write when I’m in the mood to.

I’d love to know something interesting about you so leave one fact in the comments below.

Bye for now

The Kelly Diane Report

Lifestyle

Personalised Socks with Printsfield

29th May 202029th May 2020 Kelly Diane20 Comments

AD – GIFTED

I was recently contacted by Printsfield who asked if I would like to receive a pair of their personalised socks in exchange for a review. I had a look on their website and decided that I liked the look of their products and agreed to their offer. This has in no way impacted what I have thought about the process and the product and all thoughts and opinions stated within this post of my own honest opinions.

If you haven’t heard of Printsfield before, they are an online shop where you can get personalised socks, boxers, laptop sleeves and notebooks. They say their aim is to “create happiness through their bright-coloured designs, whilst enabling their customers to personalise them with images.” Printsfield state on their website that “1% of each sale goes to their local animal shelter”.

Pink socks with black dog and white bones on

Pink socks with black dog and white bones on it

I think personalised items make great gift ideas for everyone and the fact that you can add an image to these products really caught my attention. The ordering process was really easy to use, with their website guiding you through step by step until you are happy with the creation. Once ordered, I was kept updated by email through each process so I knew exactly what was happening with my order. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the item was made, dispatched and within my hands considering its a personalised item.

Overall, I am really pleased with both the level of service I received and with the item itself. I went for the pink socks and added a photo of my gorgeous dog Trixie on them. The socks are great quality and are comfortable to wear and the image has come out really well too.

If you like the look of these socks and would like to purchase some for yourself or for a gift, Printsfield have given me a discount code, which if you enter “thekellydianereport20” at the checkout, you will get 20% off your order. If you do order some, I’d love to see what design you choose, so tag me on twitter with an image of what you choose.

Books

Book Review: The Bomb Girl Brides by Daisy Styles

27th May 202028th Apr 2020 Kelly Diane22 Comments

I started reading books written by Daisy Styles a couple of years ago when a friend gave me the book “The Bomb Girls” (2016). The style of writing made me feel I was being instantly transported to wartime Britain. Daisy describes everything with so much detail that I actually could see myself working alongside the other girls in the Phoenix munitions factory. Once I had finished it, I felt at a loss so I had a look on eBay and found that there were other books without realising it was series and I had no choice but to order them all.

I’ve now started reading the fourth book in the series called “The Bomb Girl Brides” which was published in 2018. For your interest, book two is called “The Bomb Girls Secrets” and book three is called “Christmas With The Bomb Girls” (which I’ve already spoke about, please click here).

I’d personally recommend reading them in order because you really get a feel for each character and what they have gone through. Having said that, Daisy does refer back to little snippets from past books so you can still have some understanding of the characters.

The tight knit community of the Phoenix girls is put in jeopardy with the arrival of new girl Julia, who’s angry at having to give up her place at Oxford university to help with the war effort. The girls have to learn to get along with each other but Julia doesn’t make this easy. All this is combined with the danger of being at war and of working in a munitions factory where a single spark could blow up the whole place.

There are so many unexpected twists and turns in the story that keeps you wanting to read more and more. If you are looking for a historical book which includes romance, then this series would certainly be interesting to read.

Lifestyle

Getting my own back

22nd May 202025th May 2020 Kelly Diane32 Comments

Over the last year on this blog, I’ve documented some of the tricks my partner Andy has played on me. If you haven’t seen them, I will link them below.

Each time, I’ve said that I’m going to get my own back but everytime I’ve tried, he has caught me in the act and I’ve failed. Until a couple of days ago that is when I finally got my own back for all the tricks he has played on me.

It was about 8pm and I knew that Andy was expecting an important call very soon. I quickly popped upstairs to get a sheet mask because my skin needed a bit of a pamper and I thought I could do this at the same time as reading a book whilst Andy was on the phone. Andy likes to talk and I knew this phone call would last a while, so I wanted until he was about 10 minutes into the call before I opened up the sheet mask packet and put it on. He was so engrossed in his phone call that he didn’t notice first of all and the shock on his face when he suddenly looked up and saw me with the sheet mask on was a picture, I couldn’t help but last.

The phone call lasted for another 10 minutes and how he managed to keep serious throughout, I’ll never know. Once the phone call was over, he called me a few names (ha ha) and said it had been torture to see me sat with the mask on, with all him wanting to do was laugh. Its safe to say that in a small way, I got my own back!

Lifestyle

Bread Pudding Recipe

13th May 20209th May 2020 Kelly Diane34 Comments

The other day, I noticed that we had quite a bit of bread left, that would probably go to waste with just the two of us, so I started researching recipes for Bread Pudding & came across this one on the BBC Good Food website & thought I’d give it a go…

For this recipe you will need:

500g white or wholemeal bread

500g / 1lb 2oz mixed dried fruit

85g mixed peel

1 1/2 tbsp mixed spice

600ml milk

2 large eggs, beaten

140g light muscovado sugar

zest 1 lemon (optional)

100g butter, melted

2 tbsp demeara sugar

Step 1

Tear the bread into a large mixing bowl & add the fruit, peel & spice. Pour in the milk, then stir or scrunch through your fingers to mix everything well & completely break up the bread. Add eggs, muscovado & lemon zest if using. Stir well, then set aside for 15 minutes to soak.

Step 2

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 20cm non-stick square cake tin (not one with a loose base). Stir the melted butter into the pudding mixture, tip into the tin, then scatter with demerara. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until firm & golden, covering with foil if it starts to brown too much. Turn out of the tin and, cut into squares & serve warm.

This recipe was so easy to do and the bread pudding tasted amazing. I’d love to know if you have a go too

Fashion

Outfit of the day – VE Day Special

9th May 20209th May 2020 Kelly Diane31 Comments

Yesterday was VE Day, the day when the second world war officially ended in Europe, 75 years ago. There was meant to be celebrations all over the country but with the current situation, these were cancelled. I still wanted to do something special to mark the occasion, so I put on my handmade vintage inspired dress from Buttontin Retro and styled my hair and make up in a way that would have fitted the 1940s. I then sat in the garden with a cocktail and listened to the 1940s extravaganza live concert.

So here is my outfit. I love this dress because the style is so classic and it also has two of my favourite things on the print – vintage aircraft and poppies. I’ve paired it with my red high heels from Marks and Spencer and am wearing a petticoat from a local dressmaker to puff out the dress. What do you think?