Quinoderm Facewash

I've never been one to suffer really badly with my skin and spots.

Obviously at school I had a few, hitting my teens in particular produced the odd outbreak here and there but it was expected and I really did get let off lightly I think compared to some of the other kids I knew.

But recently though - yep ever since I hit thirty - I seem to have taken a step back in time, and my skin really wants to be a fifteen year old girl again because I keep getting patches of spots on a certain part on my face and chin - nothing too drastic, but nothing that I really like either.

It's so annoying, but I'm putting it down to an increase in the amount of make-up I'm using at the minute...not that I step out every day looking like a beauty pageant contender or CoCo The Clown or anything, but I reckon going from pritty much zero foundation to a slight facial covering nearly everyday must be answerable to some of my spots.

It's not the best really.

But then Quinoderm very kindly sent me a sample bottle of their Antibacterial Face Wash and I couldn't wait to try it out and see if it would rid me of my latest spotty skin infestation.

Quinoderm have recently repackaged all of their products, and I really like the eye-catching purpley colour of this one.

They assure customers that their acne-fighting formula is still the same, and is still as effective at preventing spots.

Fingers crossed...

The product claims to be "dual action" in that it both cleans and removes dirt from the skin, and is antibacterial and germ killing.

And I found this to be very true - I was left with lovely clean, fresh skin.

The product itself is a bright blue colour and has a slightly clinical, but not unpleasant scent.

I poured out a generous blob, as advised, and massaged it into my wet face gently, focusing on the problem areas - chin, forehead and cheeks.

I then rinsed and was very pleased to find my skin wasn't dry at all - which I kind of expected as it doesn't take much for my flakiness to show itself I assure you.

Instead I was left with a smooth, soft, very clean feeling face.

I used the product both morning and night for about a week and honestly, even after day two I began to notice a difference in my spottyness.

After a week, the spots were more or less history.

Fantastic.

I'm certainly a fan of this and will be using this bluey, spot killing treatment regularly.

I mean, who at 30 really wants a spotty face

*product sent for an honest review

Pink #rainbownails

Wow, these weeks are sure flying by - it's time for all things pink this week in Kelly's brill #rainbownails.

I've been looking forward to this week to be honest, because a while ago I bought a very lovely pink Barry M Hi-Shine polish and haven't had an opportunity to wear it yet (see here).

I really love that it is named "Dragon" too and it retails at a reasonable £3.99.

The condition of my nails has improved so much now after having acrylic nails on for such a long time, so I knew I wouldn't need coats and coats of this to cover up the dents and roughness of my nails - and I was correct - one coat was enough, and although I did like the very subtle baby pink colour this gave me, I wanted something a little bit darker.

So I opted for two coats.

Perfecto.

The polish is fairly thin, but not in a way that it is dripping all over creating untold amounts of mess, and it dries to leave a beautiful, glossy finish.

And it's very pink - which I love...what more can I say.

Now, when I signed up for #rainbownails, I had every intention of getting all creative and producing some little fantastic mini-masterpieces on my nails (ahem!), but I now have to hold my pink tipped hands up and admit defeat.

I just can't do it.

I have attempted cute little white flowers, dark pink zig-zags - everything - on this lovely pink background and everything looked horrid and just had to be removed, and the painting started all over again from the beginning.

No more!

I have decided that less is most certainly more in my case and that it is more than likely that from here on in, this weekly project is just going to be my excuse to trial out lovely nail polish and make sure I have cute looking nails, if only for a few days.

It certainly will not be an occasion to show off my arty skills - because I have none.

I'm just rubbish!

But - arty or not, I still love my pink nails

Inspired By Mum - A Mother's Day Competition

Naturally, with Mother's Day just around the corner, any concept or idea that gets me thinking about my amazing Mum even more than I do is always going to be a winner in my book.

I mean Mum's are just the best aren't they.

And my Mum is the total cream of the crop - to me she is anyway!!

Raising myself and my sister on her own must have been a nightmare at times but we never felt as though we missed out on anything or went without things, but being older now, I know my mum obviously sacrificed a lot for us.

I don't think I've ever really thanked her properly for that.

Thank You Mum.

I am who I am today because of you.

xxxxx

So when House Of Fraser contacted me to ask me to have a think about my Mum's style, I immediately thought classic, un-fussy and "less is more".

Growing up, one of my Mum's fashion "rules" was to tell me to never wear more than two colours at once and to keep it simple.

Although I do regularly break the colour rule, I just love the concept of dressing simply, because this "less is more" approach does work.

The impact a classic pencil skirt and heels can make, teamed with a plain t-shirt and statement jewellery is amazing.

Simplicity at it's best.

And that all comes from my Mum.

I choose this outfit to feature as I love the sweetheart neckline of the simple pencil dress, and I think the polka dot design jazz's it up a little.

Totally breaking my mum's "two colour rule", but sticking with her simple, classic style, I added red court shoes, a red clutch and bright red lips.

My Mum's style given my own spin.

Obviously the days are still majorly chilly - I'm sure I've even heard rumors of snow arriving in my neck of the woods today - so I chose to team my outfit with this absolutely beautiful White Summer Coat from Jaeger

I mean can you get anything that oozes simple sophistication more than this?!

It would work perfectly with the outfit, it is white so goes perfectly with the dress (just three colours to cope with Mum!) and I just know my Ma would adore it.

Just as I adore her.

Happy Mother's Day Mum - You really are the BEST

Sport Relief, Milk & A Fashion Designer

I'm a little sad that I'm writing this post the way I am really.

I didn't want to have to say that rather than putting in my last minute prep training for my previously planned Sport Relief run (here), I'm not actually taking part in it at all.

I don't know why the training never really got started or the sign up never actually happened but the day has come around so fast and I just didn't organise myself properly at all.

Rubbish really aren't I.

But I will do loads better next year, and I am making sure that I'm donating during the lots of activities we have organised with the kiddies at work tomorrow to get some cash across that way.

Whilst we're talking all things Sport Relief, milliner Stephen Jones has teamed up with Cravendale and has designed some pritty high fashion, haute couture cycle helmets especially for the day to raise money in their own way.

The beautiful Jodie Kidd and her husband have officially modelled the helmets, which were unveiled today

The helmets are quite imaginative, drawing inspiration from each of the Sport Relief events - running, swimming and cycling and they all include intricate handcrafted acrylic sculptures which give the effect of huge splashes of fresh Cravendale milk.

Imaginative Stuff.

The talented, thirty-year-defined-skills of Stephen Jones are usually reserved just for the heads of royalty, Rihanna or Lady GaGa, however, after today, Britain’s most famous hat maker will most likely be receiving commissions from the who’s who of the cycling world too due to these cycling creations.

The idea behind the unique sporting headgear came about in a bid to raise awareness of Cravendale's limited edition Sport Relief bottles, which will be helping to raise over £250,000 through donations being made for every bottle of milk sold.

The crazy-marvellous cycle creations will be on display at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London on Sunday 23^rd March - pop along and have a look.

And grab a pint or two of milk whilst you're at it.

Milk and Fashion look set to really contibute to Sport Relief this year

Yellow #rainbownails

So as the song continues, yellow is the nail colour of this week for Kel's #rainbownails project.

And do I have a yellow polish?

No I do not.

Could I find a yellow polish?

No I could not.

So gold is the new yellow.

That's surely fine, acceptable and "with" the rules though...right...?

I mean we use the description a "Golden Sunshine" ... a "sunshine" is yellow, "golden" is gold...

Yep, that's good enough, and close enough for me!

So here it is, this weeks effort:

And when I say "this weeks effort", I do realise I am using the term effort in the loosest possible term.

I'm a big gold nail polish fan and it is usually my "go to" polish for my tootsies - I think it's a really good "go with anything" colour to look good with all of those different, toe bearing, summery sandals.

My gold polish of choice is actually one I've had for ages - 17 Fast Finish...but the shade name has long since rubbed away from the bottle it's that old.

It covers really well - just one coat was sufficient, and it gave a really good thick layer of polish, and with a slight shimmery sparkle to boot.

Nail art wise, well, I've simply got nothing this week I'm afraid.

Just plain, understated gold.

Note To Self: I Must Do Better

Barburrito And Amigos Beer ~ A Match Made In Heaven

Did you know that "Burrito" translates to "Little Donkey"?

Did you know Amigos Tequila Beer is Aztec design inspired?

Nope me neither.

It's just fab the kind of information you can pick up having bagged a (very) last minute invite to a fabulous Leeds based event on a Sunday evening isn't it.

And the location for all my info gathering?

Non other than Barburrito on Boar Lane, Leeds.

Now I love good food - who doesn't - so I knew that this event would be right up my street, but...dare I even admit it... *gulp* up until this point I had never tasted a burrito before.

Not ever.

But what a place to start.

We were made to feel so welcome from the second we stepped through the door.  The atmosphere was really laid back, relaxed and friendly.

I loved it - it was just the place you could come and sit with friends to enjoy a drink and a meal - no stuffiness or formality.

Right up my street.

When it comes to alcohol, I must admit that I tend to be more of a gin and tonic - vodka and coke - cocktail kind of a girl, with beer never really featuring on my list of "must drinks".

Until Sunday that is.

The lovely Amigos Lady (aka Kate) who collaborated the event with the equally lovely Barburrito's Stephanie, plied us with bottles and bottles of the stuff, not that I'm complaining though - it was lovely.

A slice of lime popped down the neck, and we have a contender for my new favourite beverage award.

Really refreshing and very more-ish.

It's certainly changed my "beer perception" anyway.

So with bottles of Amigos in hand, we were presented with taster bites of all of Barburrito's fresh ingredients and were encouraged to taste everything, whilst picking out our favourites and attempting to guess key ingredients within each one.

I was totally rubbish at this, which I put down to being too focused on enjoying everything to concentrate properly.

But what was undeniable was the freshness and quality of everything.

I couldn't pick a favourite, it was all spot on - even the mouth burning, hottest of the hot, hot salsa was amazing.

! Y U M !

Next up, we had the Burrito Making Masterclass Practice Run, with rice filled burritos...which was slightly messy but lots of fun.

There were even step-by-step instructions - thank goodness!

I never realised how hard it would be to make a burrito properly.

And to think, Barburrito employees have to make one burrito every twenty-five seconds to meet demands...

Let's just say it took me a tad longer to assemble mine....

But...

!Ta - Dah!

I eventually did it.

Not bad eh.

And then it was time to take our burrito wrapping skills behind the counter, with proper ingredients and actually make "the real deal".

I crammed some amazing things into mine, folded with relative ease and then sat down to enjoy.

It was delicious

And let me tell you - totally enjoy this I did!

Not a crumb left in sight.

It was lovely to listen to Stephanie talk abut Barburrito too.

It was clear to see just how passionate and informative she is - she certainly knew her stuff and answered every question thrown at her fully and with absolute ease.

The food at Barburrito was fresh and fantastic - I'll certainly be back with the Husband and Child in tow.

And whilst parental duties may mean a beer will be out of the question, I do see Amigos featuring in my very near future too.

Burrito's and Beer are definitely the best of friends!

PokerStars Poker Tutorial

A friend of mine is preparing for a bright lights holiday to Las Vegas soon, and it made me sit back and wonder how I'd get on in the Gambling Capital of the world.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the odd "little flutter", not at all.

I always have a go at the lottery, fingers crossed hoping the next millionaire to be made will be me - (oh how I wish yesterday's UK Euromillion's winner was me) but that's as far as my gambling expertise goes really.

I've been to the races once but that was more of a ladies day out kind of a day - we focused on the dresses and the alcohol more than the gambling, and when we did place a bet, I just followed everyone else's lead, and I didn't win a thing.

I wouldn't even know where to start putting on a proper bet in a proper betting shop.

Even bingo - I'm not really any good at that to be honest either - there is just way too much seriousness going on in those bingo halls for my giggly self to be putting up with.

There were many an evil look directed my way the whole evening that's for sure.

So back to all of the Vegas talk...

I do think I'd still like to go, despite my lack of gambling know-how.

You never know - It could be a case of beginners luck and I could end up wiping the floor with everyone!

Which isn't as crazy a concept as it may sound...

I remember once, on holiday in Spain, oooh it was quite a lot of years ago now actually, my now brother-in-law and family friend gave me an extremely quick, extremely brief lesson into the art of poker playing.

And I went on to win every game after that, and they wished they'd left me Poker-Ignorant.

I really enjoyed it - naturally - I won, but I do just think it was simply beginners luck.

I must admit, I would love to be able to play properly though - just to give the boys a bit of a shock at being beat by a girl who knows exactly what she is doing.

Who said poker is just for "boys nights" anyway!

This video from PokerStars gave me a real beginners insight into the game Texas Hold 'Em - which I am told, is a really popular version of the game for the newbie like me.

Poker is quite complicated initially, with a lot to remember, but with instructions like these - step by step, informative, fully explained and illustrated -  I reckon I could certainly give the boys a run for their money in no time.

I'll be Vegas ready in no time after all

**This post is sponsored by Spreaditfast**

Book Review - Linked Through Time

I've been seriously neglecting my reading commitments lately.

It seems whenever I have even two minutes to myself and pick up my kindle, my body has other ideas and I just end up falling asleep for a quick snooze.

Not good when I have three books that I must read and about a dozen others I want to read.

I need a kick up the bum and I figured that the best way to kick-start my reading regime would be to share a review of a book I have previously read and very much enjoyed.

Linked Through Time

Jessica Tornese

The story focuses on a 15 year old girl – Kate - who, after bumping her head during an accident whilst on holiday at her Grandparents farm, becomes linked back through time, and actually becomes her Aunt Sarah when she herself was a fifteen year old girl.

How will this spoilt, work - shy, technology loving girl cope with her new life of farm labor, living as part of a very large, fairly poor family, 40 years ago.

Also, now living as her Aunt, it is very important that Kate can uncover the truth behind her Aunt's tragic death during the August of her fifteen year, before time runs out...

Before Kate herself suffers the same fate.

The plot explores love, an aspect of unrequited love and believable family conflict - it is a really enjoyable read.

The characters are all very well developed, and you really get a feel for them and an understanding of how they are feeling and exactly what they are going through.

Each chapter left me wanting to read more, and I just couldn't put it down - hence why I finished it in less than two days.

The book also concludes with a real cliffhanger - I only hope there will be more to come.

"Linked Through Time" is a must read

~ 5 * ~

I hope you enjoy

A Harvey Nichols Deal Just In Time For Mummy's Day

I reckon every blogger lady - or quite a few anyway - loves a good old browse around Harvey Nichols.

I have only been a few times myself, but loved it.

And how could I not - I mean all of those beauty items, set out so perfectly - totally tempting me - I've not been able to leave once yet empty-handed.

And what would tempt me even more to part with my hard earned cash?

Well throw in an amazing freebie and I reckon I'd buy everything in sight.

So when I saw this amazing offer being launched by the Harvey Nics people tomorrow, well, I just had to write a tiny post to get the info out there.

I'd certainly want to know about it.

So if you spend £135 on beauty, skincare or perfume in store, all in one go, an amazing gift will handed over, free of charge - obviously whilst they last that is.

I know £135 seems quite a lot of cash to splurge out all at once, but with Mother's Day fast approaching, buying for lovely Mums, Step-Mums, Sisters, Mum-in-laws...yourself...all adds up and I reckon £135 could be exceeded in no time.

Especially in Harvey Nichols!

And....

This lovely, treat-crammed bundle could be all your very own!

The contents easily exceed £200 and come in this lovely pink bag designed by illustrator Darren Wall.

The goodies included are real treats, by lots of well known brands, and I really really really wish I could get myself to Harvey Nichols and justify a huge splurge just to get my mitts on this.

But I can't.

I have a poorly, crumpled car sat in my drive that needs me to pay out lots of pennies for it to be fixed.

:(

Anyone want to feel all sorry for me and send one of these my way? ....No? Ah well...  :)

Red #rainbownails

"Red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blueeee."

The rainbow song from everyone's childhood...the one that sort of confused us all when it was time to sit down and get all "Proper Science-y" and we realised that real rainbows were in fact quite different to the song.

I mean they don't even have any pink in them!

Anyway, it's this little song that forms the foundations of a bit of a bloggers weekly nail art project that was brilliantly set up by Lovely Kelly (Adventures in Tea and Cake).

And today is part of week number one.

Red

I'm not very arty at all and my nails are still far from being in any sort of a good condition, but I still wanted to join in.

Yet I can't see my creativeness being all that exciting to be honest.

However - here I am, right at the beginning, Week Red, with this slightly messy effort.

I love red nails - the brighter the better - red is nearly always my "go to" colour, so this was a good start for me.

Art wise, well, I fail miserably but red polka dots is still different and a little "out there" for me.

And I quite like 'em.

A few coats - three to be exact - of this "Diva" red polish on each nail, and two coats of this much thicker grey colour called (I love this name!!) "Angel Wings" on my ring fingers, to add a little bit of variety.

Then keeping with the red theme, I added a few red dots to the two otherwise red-less nails.

Simple but still quite effective I think.

Both of the polishes are quite old now actually, and I dug them out especially for this project - they were both from Collection 2000 - and are both "fast dry" - anything to speed up having to wait around for polish to dry.

They cover quite nicely - the red was quite thin in consistency to be honest, which was maybe something to do with it's old age, and it took more coats of it to help my nails look anywhere near half decent than the grey did.

The polish left a real shiny nail behind, and they are a great addition to have in any polish collection.

Check out #rainbownails

Mobile Sparkling Rainbows

I think it's quite fair to say that I have been known to be a tad partial to a bit of *sparkle* in my time.

I mean, a little bit of "bling" never hurt anyone now did it.

So when I saw this really quite unusual case for my iPhone on the Mobile Madhouse website, I just knew it had to be mine, and being the kind people that they are, Mobile Madhouse sent me it to have a little look at.

It is just so pretty and really eye-catching.

The back of the case is mirrored, and then sectioned off into these little rainbow, bead-filled segments which really catch the light and throw off some amazing glitter ball type shimmers.

 The tiny crystal-beads move about too so they have turned my phone into a sort of muted down, mini maraca.

Fab!

Everyone who has seen it has commented at how different and unique it is - which is just what I like.

Plus it fits on my phone perfectly and is really lightweight whilst still managing to make my phone feel a whole lot sturdier than before, which is partly due to the screen protector that was sent too.

And I must add, it was the easiest, most fuss-free screen protector I have ever used.

I always make a right old mess trying to fit them perfectly,  smoothing them down bit by bit but they never fail to look just terrible - I end up throwing them away.

This one however had clear "How To" instructions and I ended up with zero air bubbles, zero stress and a protected screen...one protected with a cover so thin it really doesn't feel or look like there is one on at all.

And all this for the very reasonable price of £5.99

I think Mobile Madhouse are quite great.

They stock a whole range of phone cases, tablet cases and mobile accessories too.

All are reasonably priced with free UK delivery.

Take a peek and see if they have some "sparkly rainbow" equivalent to suit you

*mobile case sent to be tested and given an honest, impartial review

Ringtons Tea Is Calling - A Little "Thank You"

I think it goes without saying that us Yorkshire ladies (and gents too no doubt) love a good cuppa and a slice of cake.

I'm usually a coffee drinker to be honest, but at Christmas my lovely Grandma gave me a really cute box that was styled out like a little wicker hamper and it was filled with all sorts of lovely treats - hazelnut chocolates, ginger biscuits, cherry bakewell biscuits, caramel wafers, fudge toffee and some lovely tea, all from her regular tea delivery people - Ringtons.

Now, I've always thought it quite posh really to have tea delivered to your door, complete in it's own little van, but Ringtons are a really convenient service, and judging from my Christmas goodies they're a whole lot more than tea too.

Their biscuits are bloomin' fantastic - the stash I had didn't last too far past Christmas morning I must admit, and the tea - oooh it's very yummy - it has even managed to steer me away from my beloved coffee, which is quite a task in itself.

Anyway, in April, myself and some lovely blogger ladies are off on a little road trip

Y - A - Y

I can't wait

Naturally, getting a group of us Yorkshire Lasses together means that there will certainly be some cake eating going on.

And where there's cake, there has simply got to be some lovely tea.

Combine the two, we have a fab Afternoon Tea in the making.

And the amazing people at Ringtons have offered to help us stock this with some lovely goodies and have sent a box crammed full to take with us and devour.

We have sweet things:

And drinkable things:

I'm very tempted to begin digging in now actually, but obviously I wouldn't do that...there are too many goody-loving bloggers who'll know where to find me if I do.

:)

Thank you again Ringtons - we'll let you know how we get on with everything.

Well, I'm very much in the mood for a lovely sweet, strong cup of tea now for some reason.

The kettle's certainly calling my name

*goodies provided for our enjoyment and honest review

My Wedding Scrapbook

I've been thinking of sharing the details of my wedding on my blog for quite a while now, and well, why not - my wedding was after all, an ideal, perfect wedding.

Ideal for us at least.

Now, to get the full picture I'll have take you back a little - about a year or so before our actual wedding day in fact, to mid 2010.

We decided to get married, mainly because family were hinting at us to get it sorted - after eight years together, I think they were getting a little impatient with us.

 So, I scoured every supermarket I could, and bought every wedding magazine I could lay my hands on.

I had notepads crammed with ideas, pictures, clippings and doodles - I knew exactly what I wanted and although we were on a budget, we were having the works.

I found a not too expensive, quite massive, full skirted "princess" dress and had the Vivienne Westwood sling backs with the blue heart on (as my something blue) to wear with it.

I had an evening hotel reception party and the ceremony in a stunning stately hall complete with beautiful grounds all booked, with a registrar sorted, organised and marker penned in.

The £900 photographer's deposit was paid, the florist had been consulted, the reception drinks, food and entertainment were all decided upon - even the kiddies sweetie bar was fully designed, right down to the correct, matching sweet colours.

We had two best men, four ushers, six bridesmaids and four page boys.

Even my hen night was all arranged - with an initial list of fifty ladies having to be painfully whittled down to a more acceptable number.

You could say, I like to be organised.

And then, very unfortunately, I became very close to loosing my job and finances, which were already limited, became so unsure that it was a case of either plough ahead with the wedding plans and hope things worked out, or be a tad more sensible, loose the deposits we had already paid but not waste any further money by cancelling everything.

And that's what we had to do.

We cancelled the wedding.

I tried to be very pro-active and positive, but having to sell the things I had already bought - including my beautiful dress and shoes - to try and help our possibly worrying financial situation - well - that was quite emotional.

And then my supposed wedding day came - it was a sad day - and then it went again - and I was fine.

I figured that these things happen and I'd get my wedding day I was sure.

And then one evening during the second week of July 2011 we decided to just do it - to just go and get married.

We would elope!

We told no-one and booked, very much in secret, a lovely little chapel - The Mill Forge in Gretna Green, Scotland, to wed us in less than a months time.

We posted invitations to our immediate family on the Saturday morning before the wedding, so that our parents, siblings and grandparents would receive them on the Monday morning, hopefully around the same time we were due to get married.

They basically just said - "Surprise! Guess where we are! Guess what we're doing right now!"

We drove up to Scotland on Sunday 14th August and had a lovely hotel room for the three of us the night before the wedding, and before we went to sleep we deactivate all of our social media and turned off our phones.

I think we were partly scared of the Wrath Of The Family once the postie did his rounds and everyone realised what we were actually doing, and partly, we decided that because we had come so far to keep the day just about us, we really should keep it that way for as long as possible.

And then the day arrived.

I was so nervous I couldn't eat a thing.

I had a hairdresser come and pamper me a little bit, and then I dressed and waited nervously, until, at 10am on 15th August we finally said "I Do"

I wore a simple, but lovely Monsoon wedding dress that I found at a bargain price, brand new on eBay and teamed it with some sparkly flat sandles.

The Husband and My Son wore smart grey suits with pumps and they looked lovely.

We had a fab photographer - Northern Lights Photography - travel all the way from Bradford for us and she took some amazing shots of the day - for an amazing price too.

My beautiful son gave me away

He was the ring bearer

And he was the best man

He was just perfect

Afterwards, we had a small table sectioned off in the hotel restaurant just for us, with an absolutely beautiful wedding feast set out.

Once we had eaten, we changed out of our wedding clothes in a little hotel side room, drove all the way back home, and my son went to sleep at Grandmas.

Me and the New Hubby had a coffee in our living room whilst we faced the music from our families

..... E E E E K ....

Then - we went to the cinema and spent our wedding night watching Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

It was an amazing day

We realised that all of the stress of booking things; the drama of having the correct table plan; of having the huge wedding party and not wanting to offend anyone plus the horrible financial strain of that one day just really wasn't worth it.

It wasn't necessary.

We had a beautiful wedding for the fraction of the price, and the only thing I stressed out about was thinking the false lashes I had on didn't suit me!

We absolutely had our ideal wedding.

And what made it ideal was simple:

It was the three of us

It was perfect