Back with our Tugu family: 3 days until the wedding!

I cannot believe it- it's now 3 days until we get officially get married! Our friends and family are arriving from tomorrow and I'm feeling this deep pit of giddiness. We've been on Lombok now since Tuesday with my parents. I thought this place couldn't be any better or have a more personal place in my heart, but it has well and truly buried itself so much deeper in just two days. The people are calm, kind, innocent and happy- their smiles are infectious and their kindness melts the hearts of anyone they meet. We have been totally bowled over by all the preparations going on around us for the wedding and literally can't believe that this is all for little old us. I want to say - stop! Don't do any more for us! Let us do it all for you- but they are so excited themselves about the wedding and this being the first European one they have done along with the love story that comes with if, having got engaged here at their home only a year ago. 
The word wedding is on all their lips - we overhear their conversations and we are emotionally stunned that such love is being created for us. Our welcome was like coming back to long lost family, as the car pulled up, Hanny, Roshan, Robbie, Dessy and a couple more new faces rushed out, we were greeted with such warmth- hugs and handshakes and jaw aching smiles. Home made floral necklaces were hung around our necks, cold towels to press our excitable faces and fresh coconuts with the flesh all scraped out as they remembered them being my 'last years' obsession.
Anyway- I thought I would share some pictures with you of our trip to date so far. We are trying to make all our days as full and memorable as possible - getting up each morning for sunrise, walking the long stretch of white sands and talking to local children we meet, I even did yoga on the beach yesterday morning- moments that are etching so deeply into our memories. We have gone on a couple of trips to a local market and on a guided trip to a waterfall where we met a man named Ubud whose wife- two days previously had just given birth to his first son. In our disbelief the proud new father asked if we would come to his village, in to his home to meet his wife and two day old little boy. Precious moments that we could never have imagined we'd experience. He was so proud he also took us to meet the villages sacred goat- the biggest goat we'd ever seen and treated like a King! The village children chased us around- laughing and coming to hold our hands- they very rarely see white Europeans and this was such a novelty for them and a blessing for us. We have documented it all though video too and cannot wait to share this exotic paradisaical place with you.... But for now, enjoy and speak soon!  

Emi and Ports xxxx 

Wedding shoe dilemma!

So I have ummm'd and ahh'd about this for a while and want your advice! I have my first dress fitting imminently and I need to have some shoes to try on with my dress so that the length can be altered accordingly.

There are going to be two bits to our wedding, the marriage bit -which is going to be in an 11th century Buddhist temple just off the beach but open to all the elements and then the dinner/ dancing party bit on the beach after. So, I thought it would more sensible to wear a heel to start with and then maybe some embellished sandals or even some foot jewellery for the second we hit the beach.

I am tall anyway so I don't need a big heel and I don't want to be lumbering down the aisle holding on to my daddy's arm for dear life, probably sweating from all the heat and crying with all the emotion (painting a stunning image here). 

SO, I was thinking a kitten heel sandal style. At the end of the day, no ones going to really see my shoes as the dress will cover them anyway, but it would still be good to wear something nice! I'm only doing this ONCE after all.

Colour wise I was thinking silver as my engagement ring's platinum and any other jewellery I wear will be either pearl or silver. Saying that, if I did find some other shoes that were turquoise (my most favourite colour!) or gold, I wouldn't disregard them!
So, here's some current options... There's not that much in the shops at the moment as we're still in the midst of Winter but here goes:




Arial Art Deco by Rachel Simpson. I love these, I think they are so pretty and the detailing reminds me of fish scales which is very apt for the beach environment. They are leather too so hopefully my feel wouldn't sweat quite so much. They are £132 which is a little high, considering I will only be wearing them for a short while.

Hibiscus by Jimmy Choo These are very pretty, but for me they are unfortunately out of my price range at £525 and they don't have a back, which I know seems silly but I am just destined to fall out of something if it doesn't hold my foot in place!



Ridge by Jonak. These are £72 . 50, but via the website you get £10 off your first order which makes them very appealing. I think these are very feminine and being leather's a bonus too. They also come in gold.

Another pair of sandals by the same brand - Aorsade sandals by Jonak, £75. I think these are lovely too.  I just think they might be missing something, but not sure what exactly.

Gwynitta by Christian Louboutin at £495. Perfect if I was 5'2 but not at 5'8, unfortunately not practical at all with the beach environment, even though owning one of these red soled delights would be an almighty treat!

Elegant party heel by Boden. These are £110 which I think is quite expensive for what they are. I like the heel height but not to sure on the rest of them.

Heloise sandals by Dune. I think these are beautiful and such a good price at £59, but the heel's WAY too big for me unfortunately. They also come in a muted gold too which I really like.



Starfish white sandal by Aspiga, £75. I think these are so fitting with the environment and I love the beading on them. I don't think they are "bridal" enough but I would definitely love to wear them before and after the wedding as they're so unique!

Barefoot sandal from Passion Flower Jewellery So delicate and beautiful. £49.13 from Etsy.

Mckenzi bare foot bridal sandals. I love the colour and design of these and as my bridesmaid's are wearing a mint green this would actually be lovely. £53.64 from Etsy.



Arianna Cherry Blossom barefoot sandals. They are made with pearl and crystal flowers. At £145 these are expensive, however I do think that they are utterly beautiful and something you would keep forever.

Barefoot wedding sandals. I love these ones, the tiny pearls are so pretty and feminine. However these are $140! I am tempted to try and make some myself.

Pearl beaded handmade shoe clip by Rachel Simpson. I figure, if I do get a pair of plainer shoes I can always add something like this on? Although the £65 price tag's a lot!

I am still non the wiser on what I should go for, so please do let me know what you think! If  you know of anywhere else I should look I'd be so grateful to hear and in the mean time I'll keep looking.

Emi x

Goodbye creasy eyes!

Over the last few months I have been trying out a lot of new products and really trying to establish a good make up routine priot to my wedding, incorporating- exfoliating, moisturising, priming and then make up etc! It's something that I think I have more or less got used to now and I know my skin looks and feels a lot better for it. . . even though sometimes it feels like a very long winded effort!

Soap and Glory "It's About Prime" eye primer

The one thing I had never really thought about was eye primer. I definitely fall victim to an oily eye lid and frequently end up with that line of creased make up which I then proceed to rub off in a "well it's nearly the end of the day, who cares" type attitude.

However, recently I purchased the Soap and Glory "It's About Prime" and I can honestly say this has saved my creasy eyes and also acts as a darn good highlighter! It comes in two shades- a dark and a light- I went for the bright light one as it works well with my current pale complexion. It has a shimmery tone to it and glides on to the eye lid really easily. I leave it for about a minute before putting eye shadow over the top, to save it being rubbed off.

Primer on skin

Once primer has been rubbed in

The packaging reminds me of Benefit, but without the price tag. It's bright and sterdy and holds it's own well against my other high end products. I bought it in Boots for £8 and I can honestly say I will buy this again and again. Even after a long day in work followed by a sweaty gym session my eye shadow was still perfectly in place which I couldn't quite believe!



Eyes after about 6 hrs wearing the primer

At the moment I am still trialling the Smashbox face primers- I currently have 3 that I've been swapping between but I'm a bit indifferent at the moment, so if you have any tips or other face primers that you recommend  (that work especially well in heat!) I'd be very grateful to hear!

This soup deserves an Oscar!

A few Sunday's ago we found ourselves wondering around Richmond's Whole Foods, mouths wide open, eyes fixed and stomachs rapidly rumbling at the bakery section. However, being only 2 months (OMG!!) now until we both say 'I do' we are on a strict no sugar, no carbs, (no nothing!) diet.

 

On entering the store we made our way downstairs to the "healthier" section and of course the cat food, remembering this was the one and only reason we had found ourselves within such a dieters hell in the first place. No sooner had we got downstairs something caught my eye, a soup stand with a friendly looking couple handing out cups of thick green soup- well, this must be healthy I thought to myself. Never ones turn down a freebie- even a healthy one- Ports and I both accepted the green goodness - and in just one sip I was blown away.

Being a type one diabetic and finding a soup that isn't loaded with sugar and added sugar is borderline impossible! I spend endless lunch breaks in supermarkets shaking my head at the sugar content in soups. Even the 'green soups' are loaded with sugar - their excuse, to flavour and preserve- but in the name of health- this is NOT HEALTHY!

However, let me introduce you to Soupologie -the Gwyneth Paltrow of the celebrity world! The guy who created them, Stephen, deserves a soup oscar and in my opinion, he should be the one pioneering healthy eating within schools - not Jamie bloody Oliver.

 

These soups are filling, tasty, rich in everything good- oh, and there's only the natural sugar to contend with - which - even at there most 'sugary' is such a minimal amount that I needed NO INSULIN for! For me this is a revelation as pretty much everything pre-packaged these days from soups to salads, these days come packed with nasty added sugars. To be able to buy a soup that I dont have to think about how much insulin I'm going to have to give myself it a bit of a dream!

There are over 20 different soups to choose from which are all free-from meat, gluten, lactose and sugar, so they literally cater for every one.

I was expecting such a health tick-able soup to be very expensive- especially buying it from Wholefoods, however, they are very reasonable for all the benefits they provide at £2.99 each (this will obviously vary across stores).

I am so thrilled that I can now have soup for lunch as many times a week as I want and not have to worry about any crazily high blood sugars afterwards, or having to give myself a ridiculous amount of insulin.

For further information on Soupologie and where you can pick one up, follow this link