This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

Another week down, and boy are we ready for it to be over...but we made it and it's the weekend so, we couldn't feel better!! The last seven days have zipped by packed full of delicious dinners (Rita's review to come next week), G&Ts, hangovers, minimal sleep and as little work as possible! Here's to two blissful days of freedom pretty much filled with the same again but trading the work for blogging!

If you need me, you'll find me right about here...

So when we haven't been day dreaming about dreaming in bed (yes it does make sense!), this week the Mice have mostly been...

Failing to Recover from one almighty hen weekend and believe me it has taken ALL week!!

I posted about one of my good friends last year who I thought needed a bit of 3BM love. Well she's not only back in business but about to get married in a mere matter of weeks!!

So off we trundled, all packed up and raring to go to give her single life the almighty send off it deserved!

The plan was a booze-fuelled weekend full of hangovers, bike rides, lots of laughter and a huge side of silliness with, of course, a light sprinkling of naked men!!

And....that we got in an abundance!!!!

Our base for the weekend was the land of the dragon, the one and only Cardiff! After a four and a half hour drive, we eventually arrived to the madness...and the party did not stop from there on in - we're talking 9am Bloody Marys, cocktails, cocktails and a few more cocktails and a set of Bristolian Butlers in just an apron and quite randomly trainers (?!) who had reams of party game up their...aprons... Plus, how could we forget a surprise stripper who we all initially suspected was a burglar but just went with it!!

And as for the rest - well, what happens on Winny's Welsh weekend stays...on the blog to haunt everyone for a lifetime Hahahaha!!!! Enjoy....

All in all, one hell of a weekend crammed full of amazing memories with a group of fabulous girls. Roll on the wedding...I literally cannot wait!!

Puckering up at every opportunity to apply my new Urban Decay Naked Lip Gloss which I'm officially a little bit in love with!

Now, finding the perfect lip gloss is no mean feat! I'm sure the majority of us were all victims to the 90's Juicy Tube craze...thick, sickly sweet, neon pink gloss that was so sticky it practically glued your mouth shut! Absolute social suicide if you didn't have one of these bad boys to hand...however I'm pleased to say our tastes have matured somewhat over the last decade! 

So when I laid my hands on Urban Decay's new Naked Glosses I couldn't be happier! Sleek chic packaging (ensuring that it looks right at home in your Celine, Givenchy, Sophie Hulme, Prada the list is endless), a killer colour palette and an all round winner when it comes to the essential lipgloss checklist. Long lasting - tick, not too thick or sticky - tick, no glitter in sight - tick and super nourishing - tick!

For me it really does tick all those boxes and what's more it's packed full of vitamins, oils and filling spheres (not going to get all science on you, but let's just say, that apparently 86% of users in trials found noticeable improvements in wrinkles and fine lines)! Finally, a gloss that makes you look younger whilst gifting you with the most kissable lips...perfection!!

If I haven't sold it enough already try it out, you can buy it online here for just £14! 

From now on I'm totally a Naked girl...only when it comes to makeup brands of course!! 

We haven't left you with a Friday song for a way too long, so we thought let's kick this weekend off with some crazy but loveable Pamola Faith...

Have a fabulous one 

The Mice x 

Hen-Tastic House...

Feeling like you need a break but can't afford an expensive hotel and flights abroad? Fear not we have another addition to 3BM's little black book of UK getaways! We've blogged about our top 4 tried and tested properties, written a Mice Advice for unusual escapes, had a guest post on a Scottish retreat and today we bring you a review of the perfect country hideaway for large groups/parties. Believe me, finding a house to rent for more than eight people, not too far from London that doesn't cost an arm and a leg is a challenge!  

The task in hand was to organise a hen weekend for one of my best friends along with her two sisters. We were given clear instructions that it had to be close to Suffolk and not too far from London, sleep a guest list of nineteen and the weekend had to entail some surprises! The hen was swiftly taken off of all emails (much to her annoyance) and off to work we went!  

After weeks of searching, discounting hundreds of options for being located in Devon, Scotland and locations too far afield, and falling in love many times, only to be disappointed when we discovered our dream holiday houses would completely blow our budget, we got within spitting distance of another only to have it snatched away at the last minute by another party! When we were just about ready to throw in the towel, one of the Hen's sisters struck gold...Scaldbeck House. 

This beautiful home is set in Morston in Norfolk, a two hour drive from London, less so from Suffolk and a short hop, skip and a jump from the coast. With nine bedrooms, a separate out house (AKA the perfect party house!!) and beautiful interiors, it seemed to be ticking all the boxes. I immediately sent an email to the owner, and waited with bated breath, praying our dates were free and we could all afford to stay...thankfully my prayers were answered and before I knew it, I had us all booked in!

A few months later and we were pulling up to the beautiful residence with a super fun-filled weekend ahead of us. The owner, James, and his wife popped in to see us, explained the BBQ and a few key essentials for the weekend and very kindly left us a scrumptious home-baked lemon drizzle cake and a welcome hamper. We were then left to our own devices with lots of exploring in the 9 amazing bedrooms and wowed by the number of fridges, dishwashers and toasters one house could hold!  

A Sainsburys delivery, some bunting hanging and lots of BBQ marinading later, we were eagerly awaiting our guests' arrival in the outside courtyard, catching some glorious rays with a few glasses of cava! 

The next morning we thought a large plate of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and bucks fizz would ease the hazy heads in the largest of our dining rooms! Although the table didn't seat eighteen we made it work no problem....again there is no shortage of chairs in this house! If that didn't do the trick then the arrival of two beauticians from the local salon Beauty-Next-the-Sea certainly did!

Bang on time, the girls arrived and set up in the out house - they had thought of everything...massage tables, towels, blankets, assortment of oils to pick from, every nail colour you could wish for, relaxing music and they'd even drawn up a timetable so we knew when to drop by for our pampering slot. The girls were lovely, still friendly and bubbly even after four hours of repetitive treatments and very understanding to a few last minute tweaks in the schedule - a bride's prerogative! They were also an absolute steal with an OPI manicure costing £10, a back massage £19 and an Elemis facial £25!

As we each had our thirty minutes of pure relaxation, us bridesmaids and some helpers were busy preparing an afternoon tea fit for a queen!  

Before you could say Vera Wang, our chef for the night Will Going had arrived (flowers for the table and all) with his waitress Geanette. I would definitely say that hiring a personal chef is a must for anyone organising a weekend for a large group, as it takes the stress and panic out of at least one night. You can truly relax without constantly thinking of timings, quantities and washing up!

A quick change and a G&T later, the door bell rang once again and in walked Chris, a fireman from Cambridge who was our butler in the buff for the next three hours! You can't have a hen weekend without a naked man can you....?!

After much heckling of the butler (and Will the chef for that matter!), we chomped our way through delicious canapes of quails eggs, lamb shoulder with tatziki sauce, asparagus wrapped in Parma ham, smoked salmon on rye bread and honey and mustard sausages from a snazzy bread chest! All the while our butler ensured we were topped up with prosecco, gin cocktails and wine...perfection!

Dinner was just as delicious, we had a menu of pan fried chicken breast with pea and mint puree, herb crushed new potatoes, seasonal veg and a tarragon cream sauce. Followed by a lemon posset for puds...everything was devoured and enjoyed by all!

After waving goodbye to the butler and the chef, we were once again left to our own devices with an abundance of games and wine to amuse us! Its safe to say there were a few sore heads the following morning but without a doubt a great weekend had by all. Thank you Scaldbeck House...we loved you and wish you were our own...one kettle, toaster and dishwasher just doesn't seem enough now?!