Trash, Treat or Stash: Firmoo Eyewear edition

Here is a special edition of Trash, Treat or Stash, my review series. I was asked by Firmoo to review their service and products in return for a pair of new glasses. As I was in the market for some, I jumped at the chance and put their business under the magnifying glass. Here's how they did!
I misplaced my glasses when we were in Argentina. This meant many hours squinting while trying to read my book, I knew it must be bad when Nick stopped asking me to read the signs in the distance as I couldn’t read them until my nose was virtually touching them. And he always used to be the blind one between us.

So when I got home I was faced with the task of finding a replacement pair.That was why I was so curious when Firmoo asked if I would be interested in writing a review of their services.

I had been reading a few articles recently pointing out that online shops like Firmoo are able to offer a much better deal on frames and lenses than those on the high street. Yet I had avoided using the online shops as I like try on the frames to see if they’ll actually suit me.

Choice: Using Firmoo's website turned out to unexpectedly simple. It took me a long time to look through their online catalogue as there was so much choice. They have so many styles and a wide variety of colours.
Ordering: When I'd decided on the pair that I wanted it was time to start ordering. The order form was clear, easy to complete and had lots of information for the tricky little bits like filling in your prescription details and sizing.
Waiting: I remember laying on the grass having a picnic when I received a text to say a parcel was on its way. I was a little confused as I wasn’t expecting my glasses to arrive so quickly, but the next day, there they were waiting for me.
Prettiness: First impressions were great. I loved the old map case that the glasses came in and a tiny screwdriver on a key ring so if I ever have any spectacle SOS moments I should be able to fix them straight away. As soon as I opened the case I knew I’d made the right choice. I picked these tortoise shell frames as I loved the shape and wanted to try something different other than the thick black ones I'd had in the past.
Usability: Well, I'm not squinting at the screen as I write this which is always a good sign. I spent yesterday afternoon recovering after a busy weekend, curled up on the sofa reading a new book with my new glasses and I fell even more in love with them! The only negative comment I would say is that I find the lenses difficult to keep clean and find that they keep steaming up!

Overall: All in all I had a really positive experience shopping with Firmoo, I loved their range, found the service was simple and quick, and all of the frames are at an amazing price. My hang ups about ordering online rather than going to the shop is that you don't actually get to try on the glasses before you buy them. I got around this by using their online visualiser tool which lets you upload a photo of yourself and then dress yourself up in the glasses. I also went into another opticians to try on a few styles that were similar so I was pretty clear in my mind that they would be right for me.

If you want to check out their service, Firmoo offer a 'First Pair Free' program, so why not try it out here?






Follow me...

Back in England Goals 1/5

Last Friday I shared with you 5 goals that I had given myself to achieve in the next couple of weeks. 5 goals doesn't seem all that much, but they all seem like big, grown up, adult goals.

I'm happy to report that the first one is achieved and I have a brand new, sparkly, blue Iphone 5c. So long Rilakumma phone, you've been good to me!

There's something incredibly satisfying checking off a goal, isn't there?!

Follow me...

The Mysterious Nazca Lines

After Machu Picchu we were definitely ready for a bit of a rest and Nazca proved to be the perfect place for this.

In the West of Peru and surrounded by desert it's a toasty change to the chilly heights of Cusco and the surrounding areas.

We went here on recommendation from Nick's parents who had done the same trip as us nearly 30 years previously and I'm so happy that we did. Nazca is infamous for some mysterious, ancient pictures that have been drawn in the sand out in the desert that can only be appreciated from above.

We stayed in Hospedaje Brabant. The rooms were bright and clean, the staff were really helpful and friendly and they had a lovely roof area where you could relax. Stupidly I forgot to pack my hiking boots when we left, and it wasn't a problem for them to send my boots to me on the bus and did it straight away.

We only had one night here, so we got straight into it by arranging our tour to see the Nazca Lines. We decided to go with the company Aeroparacas as we really liked the sales rep, the price was reasonable and it was one of the recommended companies in the Lonely Planet. If you are ever considering going to see the lines I would definitely go with this company.

Having the afternoon to relax, we decided to go to the Nazca Lines Hotel. For just a few dollars you can buy entry to the pool and have lunch. The sun was shining and it was the perfect place to be while Nick went to watch his football match.

Lots of companies rely on the tourism that the Nazca Lines brings to the town, but this hotel is incredibly important in the history of the lines. The archaeologist Maria Reich who dedicated her life to exploring and understanding the lines actually lived permanently at the hotel. She really was amazing how much she sacrificed in her life for her passion, and the fact that she still visited the lines when she was very ill and old.

We spent the afternoon at the poolside, then signed up for the hotel's evening talk in the observatory which talked about the believed link between the lines and the stars.

It's amazing that today people still don't really know what the lines were about. Whether they were just nice pictures for the gods to look at as they peer down, but they believe that it was something to do with water. The settlers at that time would have needed water, and they think the lines all point to water sources.

The next day I was really excited after the build up. We went to airport early and were soon on the tiniest plane I've ever been on, flying high in the sky. The lines were really impressive, and I have no idea how they've stayed so prominent for so long. They're all in the shapes of animals and humans. My favourite was definitely the hummingbird and the hands. See if you can guess what they all are, there's a tree, a whale, a spider, a hummingbird, and a man with odd hands!







When we got back to the hostel we called Nick's parents and thanked them for the recommendation. We were amazed to find out that they had done the same presentation in the observatory, but there's had been done by Maria Reich herself!

Although the tour is inconclusive as to why the lines are there, I still loved seeing them. Whether they're just pretty pictures for the gods or lines leading to survival, they're pretty impressive!

Follow me...

Weekend in Photos, hikes, picnics and world cups

Yay! Nick arrived in Sheffield on Thursday, so I showed him the delights of Sheffield town centre. We watched the world go by while enjoying a drink in the Forum. Afterwards, we headed back to my dad's house to watch the World Cup game and sadly England didn't win.

Not allowing the football results to ruin our weekend, and as the sun was shining my mum and I decided to take Nick for a walk in the Derbyshire Dales. It's a really beautiful drive out of Sheffield with some amazing pubs along the way.

Using this cute little book my mum has which recommends walks and tearooms on the way, we planned to go to Monsal Head. We parked up the car there and took a 3 mile route into the valley, across the river and back up the hill.







We ended our afternoon sitting in the garden of The Packhorse Inn and eating some delicious food. The best thing about it was drinking cider with the sun shining down on us.


I was excited to get home though as I had baked a belated birthday cake for him. It was a chocolate and peanut butter cake stuffed with peanut M&Ms, maybe if I get the chance I will share the recipe with everyone here. it was really fun to make and even more exciting to see his reaction as he cut into it! hope that you love my infantile cake decorating!


Saturday, we were still blessed with nice weather, and as I had treated myself to a skirt perfect for picnics. It seemed wrong not to make some sandwiches and go through the old village and sit by the brook wearing my skirt.



In the evening we met up with Caroline and Ari for some Chinese food and spent the night chatting over the loud music in The Cremone on London Road.

Sunday was sunny yet again, we went to see my dad as he had had a minor operation on Friday. We spent some time in the garden before having dinner and some drinks with everyone last night.

Phew! Now today Nick and I are all about getting everything in order for the next few days as we are going to Norwich. Looking forward to meeting up with some friends from Korea and exploring a new city.

Follow me...

Back in England Goals

I have given myself these 5 goals to achieve in the next month. I think the first one is definitely going to be the hardest but hopefully I have something lined up, I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket though! Nor do I want to tempt fate by talking about it too much on here!

Cleaning and sorting is easy when you don't have a job to go to and have lots of time to fill, exercising too. It's just the motivation I lack!

And I desperately need to come off my Pay As you Go phone as it costs an arm and a leg to do anything on it! The days of my Rilakkuma phone are numbered!

Wish me luck!

Follow me...

Jump For Joy!

Today Nick is coming to Sheffield for his first time!

It's been a long 2 weeks since I last saw him!

Follow me...

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu was somewhere I always thought I’d never have the chance to go and was the milestone of our trip, 3 months down and 3 to go! Trekking in the Colca Canyon helped me make the decision that I definitely didn’t want to do the Inca Trail. This is the 4 or 5 day hike on the old route to the ancient Inca city high in the mountains. It costs a lot and can be quite strenuous at times.

We were torn as to whether to do the Jungle Trek, which includes biking and rafting through the jungle before doing a short walk to enter the ruins or whether to do a DIY hike. In the end we decided to do it ourselves as it was a lot cheaper.

We did a 2 day and one night trip. We arranged transport and accommodation from a travel agent near the San Blas plaza in Cusco. The guy who worked there, Frank, was really nice and helpful and insisted that we called him Frank the Tank, even though he was really puny!

We were picked up bright and early on Saturday morning from Cusco and took the 6 hour trip to Hidroelectrica, stopping once for lunch at a small town Santa Teresa. The views from the bus were amazing but the roads were pretty hairy at times, and terrifying when we met a lorry coming the other way!

Hidroelectrica is a one street town of huts selling food and drinks. The main draw is the train to Aguas Calientes, the little town at the foot of the mountain which Machu Picchu perches on top of.

We took the 8km walk along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes. The walk was amazing to start with, we were in good company with a couple called Tim and Elishka and it all seemed pretty easy. Unfortunately, as the afternoon wore on, the grey clouds rolled in and it started to pour down with rain, I had forgotten we were in the middle of the rainforest. The rain came down unrelentlessly and when we arrived at Aguas Calientes my waterproof coat had been pushed to its limits and was now soaked.





We had a couple of hours to get some dinner and see the town before we went to bed. It was a 3:45am start in the morning and I was hoping that my clothes would dry as I didn’t have anything else to wear the next day.

Sunday morning, in damp clothes, we grabbed some breakfast then headed to the entrance for the hike to the top of the mountain. It was pitch black and stupidly I hadn’t packed my torch. Despite being pretty early, we were in no way first in the queue and had to wait until they opened the gate. Hundreds of people poured up the mountainside, desperate to be at the top to see the sunrise.

I found this pretty challenging. The steps were made of stone, were wet and slippery and really uneven. The rain carried on falling and the darkness added another hurdle. I have to say, I didn’t find this part much fun, as you can see from the photo that Nick took half way up. I do not envy the Incan people who had to run up and down those stairs four times a day to bring water to the settlement!


We did get to the top but unfortunately the cloud that was dropping big, fat, raindrops on us was also hiding the sunrise from us. Doh! We arrived just in time to see another bus load of people arrive, looking immaculate after their 10 minute drive up the hill, it was a little disheartening after my crawl up the mountain side.

When we first entered the cloud and fog were so thick that we couldn’t see our hand in front of our face. Not quite what we were expecting. The guide kept promising us, half an hour and the cloud will lift. Half an hour later it was still hidden. I started to get a little worried that we would never get to see the postcard view of Machu Picchu and had to take solace in the llamas that were dotted around.



Another half an hour, no luck, then just after our tour finished the cloud blew away and we finally got our first glimpse of the ruins from afar. It really was amazing and just so much more than I had expected. We sat on a ledge for a long time and watched the cloud blow over it and then it would slowly reappear through the mist. This definitely made it worth the struggle up the steps.







One of my favourite things, which you can’t really grasp from the photo is how calculated everything was, no stone has just been placed, it’s all planned and has a special meaning. For example, the stone below is the exact shape of the sihouette of the mountain behind it. Something I would have just walked past if I hadn’t have known. I also loved the fact that Dr Dre came with us! Nick laughed at me when I pondered aloud whether Dre would have already been here.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back down the hill to get to Hidroelectrica to take our bus back to Cusco in time. This time I bought a bus ticket!

Follow me...