Friday 22 August 2014

From the concrete, who knew that a flower would grow...

Well hello everybody, I hope you are all well. What a week it has been. As usual it has flown by (I know, but I have to say it every single week!) and it has been full of mixed emotions.
Firstly, exciting times for Coco Cami, my blog has reached *drum roll*over 1000 followers on Bloglovin. I am truly astounded and I want to thank each and every one of you who takes the time to read this. When I started out blogging, I never thought I would get this far and it means the world to me. I adore fashion, beauty and food, so in having this blog I get to write about and photograph all of my passions and share them with you regularly. You are the best *reaches for handkerchief*. In all seriousness, the past few months have not been the easiest for me on a personal level, I have gone through a time of what can only be described as upheaval in my life, moving home unexpectedly and facing more than a few difficult times. I don't want this to turn into a sob story, but I genuinely cried when I saw the blog had reached such a milestone, because it has given me a real focus in life during a time when I have felt like a ship cast adrift in the night. Phew. I hope that did not come across as too deep or dark, all I mean to say is that whatever you are going through, never give up. 

Or to quote Winston Churchill:

'If you are going through hell, keep going'


I also saw a quote on Tumblr yesterday which I feel warrants inclusion here:

‘Perhaps the butterfly is proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness and become something beautiful’






Head to toe Primark, except for bag from Forever 21 and chain necklace from H&M.

Anyway, yesterday I was in the mood to celebrate the progress of the blog, and as luck would have it, a dear friend of mine was in the mood to celebrate too, having just found out that her daughter had done amazingly well in her GCSE’s, so a massive congratulations to her. With festivities in mind, she reserved us a table at our favourite local restaurant, The Wro,  and we headed out for a delicious lunch. I had an amazing bowl of Penne with pine nuts, Parmesan, roasted peppers and crème fraîche.
Meanwhile she opted for the tasty looking fishcakes accompanied by a beetroot slaw and fries and her youngest daughter who joined us had a lovely French bread pizza with fries. Then, it was onward and upward to the realm of heavenly desserts. My friend resisted (massive respect to her!) the temptations on offer whilst I deliberated agonisingly between the chocolate torte, sticky toffee pudding and liqueur coffees. In the end however there could be only one choice. The warm chocolate brownies, with a chocolate spoon and vanilla bean ice cream. Oh my goodness you guys, words cannot describe how exquisite this dessert was. The combination of the rich, warm brownies and the cool ice cream was heavenly, and the chocolate spoon was made from the silkiest chocolate I have ever tasted, which proceeded to melt over the entire dessert. Luckily, a silver spoon was also provided alongside the chocolate one, or things could have got messy!
After lunch, we went to the park and I went on the swings too...! It felt really good to laugh and be silly and it reminded me how great it is to be carefree and just let yourself go. I realise that at times I take things too seriously and dwell on things, when I should be enjoying life and every moment of happiness that it has to offer. Thank you very much to my lovely friend and her daughter for inviting me to lunch and cheering me up immensely!
I hope that this post has not been too heavy in tone, but I just want to express how much having this blog truly means to me, and I could not do it without all of my lovely readers. If I could sit down for a coffee and a gossip with each and every one of you I would, but instead I can at least share things with you here.


 Penne with crème fraîche and pine nuts

 Fishcakes with fries and beetroot slaw.

 Chocolate brownies with vanilla bean ice cream and a chocolate spoon.

http://www.thewro-lounge.co.uk/


 Tranquility in the park.

Chilling on the swings!


To end this post I want to include a quick review for a hairbrush which I was kindly sent by the lovely Lisa of JW PR. Even though I did not purchase this product, the opinion expressed is my own and honest. Thank you very much Lisa, it was so kind of you to send this out to me and it has not left my handbag since I received it! The brush in question is the Denman classic styling brush. It is a cute and fun gold hairbrush with an eye catching illustration on it. I know it is bad for your hair to backcomb it, but I always do to get a little bit of added volume. I have found this brush amazing for adding volume to my hair and I spray a little Batiste dry shampoo in first, leave it for a moment and then backcomb it at the crown. The volume it gives your hair is amazing and the brush is small enough and light enough to carry in your handbag, which is what I have done with mine since I got it! The brush is widely available from Boots stores and supermarkets and retails for under £10.

Thank you all for reading this rather long post. Let me know how you are and what kind of week you have all had. I love to read your comments and I follow back my followers.
Until next time, I wish you all a great weekend!

Camille

xo

 The Denman classic styling brush, which I was sent for review.

The brush gives your hair great volume!


A breathtaking sunset to end a week of ups and downs!

60 comments:

  1. Love that scarf and the chocolate brownies look amazing.
    xx, Jodi
    http://highheelsandtutus.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, have a great weekend!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  2. You look gorgeous as always sweetie and yummy food!!! Congrats on your milestone xxx

    Blonde of Carbs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, that is so kind of you :) I love your blog!

      Have a great weekend!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  3. Wow! Congratulations, hun! You deserve each and every one of your followers. xx

    Zoe
    http://thatszoe.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, that is really kind of you :) I love your blog!

      Have a great weekend!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  4. Love your hair!!! Thanks for sharing this post :)
    xxx
    Mariana
    http://www.themstudio13.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for reading and commenting on the post, I hope you have a great weekend!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  5. Congratulations on that wonderful milestone Camille....you deserve it & you're totally looking great!!!

    Rebecca
    www.redtagchiclosangeles.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Rebecca, that is so kind of you to say. You are always looking great too :)

      Have a lovely weekend!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Thank you so much, I love your blog too :)

      Have a great weekend!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  7. Congrats on the followers, what an amazing total :)
    You look gorgeous in the photos, I love your scarf and I really need to get myself some white jeans.
    Your dessert looks heavenly too! How cute is the chocolate spoon?! I now really want a chocolate brownie haha

    Louise / www.asseenonlouise.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for this lovely comment, that is so kind of you :) the jeans were £13 in Primark and the scarf was £4 from Primark, so real bargains! The dessert was way too good, I am already craving it again!

      Have a lovely weekend!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  8. Love your outfit. You look great

    style-mepretty.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, I hope that you have a great weekend :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  9. Beautiful pictures! I love the scarf!
    www.alessandrastyle.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, I hope you have a great weekend :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  10. Thank you very much sweetie :) have a great weekend!

    Camille xo

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love your scarf ! Those brownies look so goood !

    Ellabellablog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, the brownies were delicious and the scarf was a bargain from Primark :)

      Have a great weekend!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  12. I love your style - still can't believe those shoes are Primark... I need a pair! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, that is so sweet of you.Primark seem to have some amazing stuff lately :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  13. you look lovely! speaking of which, that dessert ain't bad either aha xx

    britishmermaid.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, that is so kind of you :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  14. All of the food looks devine, glad you enjoyed it and congrats to your friend's daughter on her results!

    whatkatiewatched.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, that is so kind of you! The food was really good, I want it all again now :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  15. Lovely scarf and yummy food!
    XO
    Jeanne
    http://fashionmusingsdiary.blogspot.fr

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, that is so kind of you :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  16. Congrats! You totally deserve the attention!
    xo
    styleontheside.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, that is so sweet of you to say :)

      I love your blog!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  17. Congratulations!!
    That desert looks amazing. Ive been looking at the denman brushes for a while now, i may give it a whirl. I have thin hair so i tend to backcomb my hair a little tut tut. I love batiste too for volume, and the tropical scent is amazing.
    You look so beautiful. Great blog chick

    Aimee-Leigh ¦ www.aimeeleighmakeup.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much that is very kind of you to say and yes I would definitely recommend the Denman brushes, they are really good for adding volume to your hair :) I love your blog and you are beautiful!

      Have great week!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  18. That penne looks awesome!!! :)
    www.wingmeadream.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, it was delicious. I already want to eat it again!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  19. This was such a lovely post to read :)
    Love all the photos too and that dessert looks delish!

    http://amyscornerblog.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, that is so kind of you :) the dessert was far too good!

      Camille xo

      Delete
  20. Replies
    1. Thank you very much, so sweet of you :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  21. Great Look, very stylish

    FOLLOW MY BLOG / Maybe we can follow each other!!!
    http://rimanerenellamemoria.blogspot.de

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much and of course :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  22. Replies
    1. Thank you very much, so sweet of you :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  23. Ombre Hair♥
    http://thatsmehanelore.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. love your look! i reaaally wanna eat all that food too

    from helen at thelovecatsinc.com // blog sale

    ps. win raybans and beauty goodies worth £300 on my blog! click here.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love your hair! And the food looks so delish! X

    hailandharmony.blogspot.ie
    // BLOGLOVIN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, so kind of you :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  26. Great photos!! Would you like to follow eachother on GFC? Let me know on my blog and I will follow you right back on both GFC and Bloglovin!
    xx
    Annie
    www.the-lostangeles.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, I will follow you with GFC too :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  27. Oh girl! what a beautiful post
    you look stunning! and everything looks great!

    hey, lets follow each other :)?
    i am already following you and I'll be waiting you in my site!
    Have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for this kind comment, I will follow your blog :)

      Camille xo

      Delete
  28. Thank you so much, have a great week :)

    Camille xo

    ReplyDelete
  29. Such a massive congratulations! That is amazing news!!!! :D. I am so unbelievably happy for you. So sorry that you have been having a hard time lately, i hope this this milestone of good news is the beginning of more :)
    Thank you for following me on bloglovin, i have followed you back :)

    katielouise-x.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for this lovely comment, it has really made my day. It is so nice to know that I have other bloggers supporting me and best of luck with the future of your blog too! :)

      So kind of you and thank you again!


      Camille xo

      Delete
  30. Thank you very much and of course, I will follow you right now! Best wishes :)

    Camille xo

    ReplyDelete
  31. Congratulations dear! You look gorgeous and are so inspirational! Let's follow each other on Fb and G+ :)
    Kisses,
    www.chiclyyours.com

    ReplyDelete