Hair Plumage: Feathers

Writing about hair feathers makes it impossible not to break into "her name was Lola, she was a show girl, with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there...."

That aside, I've always been one to put shit in my hair. When I was younger it was braids and beads, then I moved onto extensions and now it's hair feathers.

I got these from eBay for £7,99 which included the micro beads and made sure they were high grade genuine mixed feather hair extensions. If they're anything else, you're at risk of them frazzling under heat and not lasting anywhere near as long. You'll also want to make sure you get some hair extension pliers (like these) to secure them in place. I personally wouldn't recommend using normal pliers as they can crush and fold the micro rings, making them difficult to remove later on.

The easiest and most effective way to fix the feather extensions into your hair is when it's wet. If your hair is damp and the ends have begun to dry, you'll want to wet them down so the micro bead can easily slide up the hair. Another helpful tip is having someone on standby to help but you can do it yourself too just with a little more swearing involved.

Another thing to note is to use small sections of hair that are all in the same area of your head. If you have a stray hair in there it's going to pull like hell and probably rip out when you brush your barnett next! The smaller the section, the less likely your hair will become tangled and knotted too.

So, you'll want to slide the micro bead up the length of your hair and get it as close to the root as possible. From there you'll want to slide the feather into the loop and crimp it into place with your hair pliers.

You'll also want to think about the placement of your feathers. Will the microbeads show when you have your hair up? What about if you tuck your hair behind your ears? I personally like them to be noticeable but not always obvious and blend in with my hair. I tend to place them around my face and neck.

Once they're in you can style your hair as normal and enjoy the flashes or feathery plumage you have. They last around six months and after that you'll want to take them out so your hair doesn't become dreaded and matted. They're simple to remove, just use your hair pliers to crimp the micro loop open and they'll slide right out.

I'm personally quite obsessed with my hair feathers, having had them three times over the past year. It's an alternative way to mix your hair up without having to dye it and adds some interest to your fro.

A Pamper Day The Y Spa Way*

I'm starting this year off as I mean to go on with new adventures and experiences but also taking time for myself. A perfect way to do that is to treat yourself to a spa day- especially in miserable January so when Y Spa asked if I'd review their facilities with some other bloggers I of course said "err hell yes!!"

We started off the day with Bellinis, Bloody Marys' and brunch in The Waterfront Restaurant- an amazing place to eat which I've written about before (and you can read about just here.) The chefs put on an amazing spread showcasing the buffet options that are included in the spa packages. Queue all the food porn...

From pasta salads to smoothies, poached eggs to pate- we were most certainly spoilt for choice and I couldn't help but try a bit of everything. The great thing is the food was healthy and crazy delicious, making it guilt free to feast upon. The cocktails of course had medicinal health benefits, ahem...

After eating all the foods it was time to enter the spa- armed with white robes and slippers.

The spa was a lot larger than I'd envisaged; composing of lots of areas to relax and explore. From steam rooms, salt rooms, saunas and chill out areas, there was a place for everyone to unwind and chill out. The salty steam room was one of my favourites with the ambient lighting and the lovely warm steam surrounding me- total bliss!

In the relaxation areas were pods, beds and comfy seating which made for a change from the watery surroundings. Here you could go take a snooze, curl up with a book or just enjoy some time out.

 The outside area was probably my favourite place to be. It had a Nordic feel to it with the log cabin housing one of the two sauna rooms and a decked area with seating, blankets and a fire. I rather enjoyed sitting in the sauna cabin having a catch up with the girls but equally loved the big cosy blankets next to the crackling fire enjoying the fresh air.

The Hydrotherapy pool was such a gorgeous temperature that you could easily forget that outside was a chilly day in January and was a great place to be social with the girls and take plenty of posing shots for our blogs- ha! The only thing we were missing was a cocktail and wished that there was an outside bar. Luckily the inside cafe had a vast array of drinks including bubbles so we were soon sipping away loving life!

So if the spa facilities weren't a treat enough, I was booked in for an Elemis Supercharge Facial later in the afternoon in the upstairs treatment rooms.

The appointment was for 30 minutes which I thought would be plenty of time but once my head hit the pillow and the therapist worked her magic, the time flew by and my god did I feel relaxed! The products smelt amazing and teamed with the soothing music I was in pure heaven, Afterwards my whole face felt incredible and radiant leaving me feeling very pampered and spoilt!

Before I knew it my afternoon had flown by and it was soon time to go (boo hiss boo.) The changing room facilities made getting ready a breeze with stacks of fresh towels to help yourself to and plenty of dressing table stations to get ready at.

A day at Y Spa was just what I needed to relax, unwind and feel refreshed for the year ahead. I am 100% going to be returing! It's super easy to get to, being just off the A1 and I can see me returning for a mother-daughter day and a date day with the hubby to try more of the treatments and enjoy what Y Spa has to offer. 

Countryfile Style- The 3 in Parka and Perfect Boots

Part of my country bumpkin uniform is donning a big coat and some comfy-ass boots. I don't live in the city and I don't always want to wear snazzy jazzy outfits with heels and pose with sunglasses that don't really suite me so in reality- this is what I wear. Contrary to popular belief, practical clothing doesn't have to be fucking ugly... It's true!

When I choose to dress casual, I'm still one of these girls who likes things to match or just "go" together in some shape or fashion which drives the husband mad, however I've found two flipping amazing items that'll keep me warm on winter walks, are comfy and look nice!!

Coat- FatFace

Boots- Hotter

Jeans- F&F

Scarf- Gift

Jumper- Primark

So firstly, this parka is the tits! It's from Fat Face and is honestly the warmest, most comfiest coat I have ever owned. On freezing cold days it's like wearing a duvet outdoors and I bloody love it. 

Fatface pieces are always more expensive than other shops but the quality is second to none, making it worth the money. The pockets, hood and fur trim on this coat make it super snuggly and it has a hidden secret...

The inner layer only turns into another jacket. Yup! The inner layer when un-zipped turns into the perfect little bomber jacket or if the weather is getting warm, the parka becomes more light weight with the inner layer taken out. I'm officially obsessed!

The second brilliant item is this pair of boots from Hotter. If you think Hotter shoes are just for old ladies, you can shake that stigma and read all about why they're not in this post here. These biker boots are honestly the most comfortable boots I've ever owned and I can walk for miles in them. Who needs fugly walking boots when you can wear these? Again I'm obsessed and wear these on dog walks, shopping, errands, everything!

These real leather and nubuck boots are "character leather" meaning they look better with wear and go with everything in my wardrobe from jeans to dresses, leggings and tights. The leather is also super soft so they haven't rubbed me once since wearing them- hurrah!

So there we have it. Country bumpkin can be practical, comfy and stylish too because I said so.

P.S- Thank you to my lovely sister for being my photographer for this post!

Goodbye Laydey Katabella and Happy New Year

Happy New Yeeeeear!! I hope you had the best time getting fat on cheese and wine this Christmas to wash it down with a side of cheese and wine on New Years Eve. Who's with me!? Hands up if you're going to be living in leggings for a good three weeks? There is ZERO thigh gap going on for me as you can see in the above photo. Even Harry is like wtf?

Anyway... It's rather over due that I address the fact that I have retired the name Laydey Katabella from the bloggersphere. Why? Well quite frankly it had begun to make me cringe. It reminded me of Lady Soverign and chavvy chavvy nastiness and after having it as a nickname for around 16 years (fuck) I just felt it didn't really fit with who I am now at 28 years of age. After many months of pondering on my commute home what to re-name myself as I decided on "She's A Gentry" to many people's surprise/shock/potential disappointment... A lot of friends were like "ohhh but we know you as Laydey Katabella, we like that!" Well I didn't and the new name has sentimental value too...

My maiden name was Gentry and I honestly thought I had the coolest last name ever in existence. When I got married I'd toyed with double barrelling my surname but it was such a mouthful it wasn't worth it. People struggle enough with Rayment as it is, calling me Mrs Raymond (!) Anyhow, I thought Gentry would be pretty perfect for a blog name, getting to upcycle my maiden name in true crafty style and I also love the meaning behind it too. There's also no more males to carry on the family name so yeah! I'll always be a Gentry at heart and now I feel much happier in my blogging skin.

So what's in store for 2017? Lots.

A bit of news for you all- Chris and I put an offer in on a house and its been accepted!! Excitment, scary, nervousness and real adulting are some of the emotions that have crossed our minds as well as stress but it'll be an adventure and I plan to talk about it all on here and on the you tubes. 

I also want to change things up a bit and talk/write more about real life stuff. I'm sick of making videos on "what's in my handbag" and writing about things for the sake of it. I want to be writing about marriage- the good and the bad, gaining weight and... buying your first house and other real life topics. My life isn't insta pretty 24/7 (pfft it's not even insta pretty for more than 10 minutes tops!) and I feel like recently people have become consumed in having the perfect this and that... Well I'm taking a stand and my motto for this year besides Find some time for tea and wine is to shed the sheepskin and stop following the flock. 

It dawned on me last year that I've been wasting so much energy on trying to "fit in" and be like other bloggers in order to be well liked but d'you know what? It's exhausting as well as demoralising! I'm going to concentrate my time on doing what I enjoy as when it boils down to it, that's what blogging should be about. 

Anyway I can feel myself getting a bit ranty so I'll sign off now, plus a George Michael track has come on and after a few glasses of cava it's making me feel all sad. 

Let me know what your plans are for 2017 and I'll have a chat with you in the comments.

Ooh P.S... A massive THANK YOU to Stu for designing my new blog logo an for putting up with all my tweaks, requests and general annoying-ness. You can find him here or here and he is an absolute pleasure to work with.