Monday 27 October 2014

Filofax Madness! (Blogtober #16)


A few months ago I got a Filofax when it was reduced at John Lewis and I hadn't used it since I bought it. But recently I decided to start using it after I watched a few Youtube videos of people decorating their planners. The planner I have is the Patent Pocket Organiser in the colour Lemon and it's lovely! Yellow is one of my favourite colours and this is such a cute shade.  
I had a few washi tapes lying around in a drawer somewhere but that wasn't enough. So over the last few days I've been to a few different shops and stocked up on craft supplies and stationary. First I bought some stuff from Wilkinsons and Paperchase.


Now I have loads of pretty washi tapes all in different colours and patterns. I bought some coloured paper as well to make my own dividers and pages with. As well as a few other bits and bobs, like pens, post it notes, stickers, zip pouches, mini pegs and a tape dispenser.

Then  on Saturday I went to Hobbycraft and went a bit crazy in the stamp section, I nearly bought everything! I got three different types of alphabet stamps, which was probably too many but it's good to have options! I also got a few stamps with pictures on them.
This is some of the stuff I bought.


You can never have too many post it notes, so I got a few from the brand La De Dah with different patterns and words on. After buying the coloured card from Wilkinsons I decided to get some patterned ones to make my dividers more interesting.


I'm really enjoying decorating the pages in my Filofax, even though they're not that exciting so far because I'm still thinking about what I want to do with them. But I made this little insert today and I thought it was really cute! And now I'm going to try and make a few more, maybe something inspired by The Fault in Our Stars?

Monday 20 October 2014

I've started knitting! (Blogtober #15)



I've wanted to learn to knit for a while now, since I started cross stitching in the summer I've been thinking about it. But I didn't want to start right away. After I finished a few cross stitches and I was improving at that I thought I'd give knitting a go. I tried knitting when I was about 15 and I was never very good at it, I think because I didn't really know I could find lots of help online and I chose a gross coloured wool to make a scarf (baby pink and yellow) so I wasn't that bothered about it. But this time I chose colours I actually like and hopefully when I've finished my scarf I'll want to wear it.

So on Saturday I went to John Lewis, mainly to try on watches for my birthday but I also had a little nose around the haberdashery department. Which was great! I chose the colours of yarn I wanted to use and then the woman working there was really helpful and showed me what needles I needed and how to get started which I wasn't expecting at all. It was so helpful and she was really nice!

It's safe to say I've got off to a bit of a rocky start, knitting is really hard! I've probably done about 5 rows and then pulled it all off the needle and started again. About three times. But I'm sticking with it now, no matter how horribly it goes. It's only my first one and it's just practise really.


This is how much I've done so far, it looks a lot better in the photo! There aren't many wholes in it, it's just a bit uneven. And when I say "a bit uneven" I mean "very uneven".
I'm just going to keep going with it and see how long I can make it. Then I'll make a blue one and then a green one. Then I can open my own Etsy shop! (I'm kidding).

Have you missed me? (Blogtober #14)


Long time no see!
I may have stopped blogging for a bit, lets pretend that didn't happen.
I've had a funny sort of week, which hasn't been very interesting because all I've done is work.
I'm hoping I'll get back into the swing of things with blogging and write about some interesting things.
All I've done over the last week is work, do more of my current cross stitch project, drink tea, started reading a new book, watch the new episodes of American Horror Story and I also went to John Lewis to try on watches for my birthday. While I was at John Lewis I bought some wool and knitting needles. I'll write more about that in another post...

(Art work found on Pinterest, I think it's by Vanessa Van Meerhaeghe)

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Saltwater (Blogtober #13)



I didn't write anything yesterday and I haven't really got anything to write today, just something I wanted to share.
I found this poem online last night at about 2am and I thought it was beautiful.

"Saltwater"

Everyone who terrifies you is sixty-five percent water.
And everyone you love is made of stardust, and I know sometimes
you cannot even breathe deeply, and
the night sky is no home, and
you have cried yourself to sleep enough times
that you are down to your last two percent, but

nothing is infinite,
not even loss.


You are made of the sea and the stars, and one day
you are going to find yourself again.  

-Finn Butler

I don't know who Finn Butler is, I wasn't able to find much about him online but he is very talented and I hope I come across more of his poetry in the future.

Sunday 12 October 2014

Another short post (Blogtober #12)


I've never been so tired in my entire life. Well that might be an exaggeration but today I was very tired. Nearly falling asleep at work kind of tired.
But after work I finally got to have a nap! Then I had pie and mash for dinner.
Now I'm going to do a little bit of cross stitching, I've nearly finished the ones I'm working on. I'm making Christmas ones at the moment, so they'll definitely be ready in time!
I think I'll watch a film on Netflix as well, but I'm not sure which one. I can never decide, it always takes me ages to pick a film and then I end up staying up really late.
Hopefully I find something quickly.

Saturday 11 October 2014

I don't want to miss a day! (Blogtober #11)


I haven't had a chance to blog about anything today, not anything interesting anyway.
I thought I'd just write a quick post to let you know why. I have worked aaaalll day today! It was really busy and I don't think I sat down at all, but I really enjoyed most of it. It was just the last hour of my day at work that seemed to go really slow.
So now I'm off out for a well deserved drink with my friends. I just can't decide what to wear. We are going out clubbing but I don't really own any clubbing clothes, the only suitable outfit I have I wore last time. And I don't want to be an outfit repeater! But I bet I'll find something decent to wear in my wardrobe.
Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with something interesting to write about!

Friday 10 October 2014

Birthday Wishlist! (Blogtober #10)

It will be my birthday in exactly one month! I'll be 21!
So I've put together a little list of things I'd like for my birthday!


SUSHI
I would like to go out for sushi on my birthday, or for a chinese. I'm not that fussy! Well actually I am, but I haven't quite decided if I'd like sushi or chinese. But it'll probably be sushi.

I've been looking at Olivia Burton watches for a few months now, they're so beautiful. Very classic designs in really lovely colours. Some of them have floral patterns on the background of the clock. My mum has said she'll get me a watch because that's something I can keep, because 21 is quite an important birthday.

JEANS
I haven't seen an actual pair of jeans I like yet, I just really need a new pair because all mine are cheap and horrible. So I think I'll treat myself to a pair of nice jeans as a birthday present to myself. Maybe a pair of Levi's.

I wish I had somewhere to store a few cross stitch things so I can cross stitch while I'm out. Somewhere that has space for thread and needles and stuff. This little travel sewing kit is so cute, I love the map pattern on the outside and inside is stripy. This would be perfect for carrying a few cross stitch bits in.

ER is one of my favourite TV shows. They showed it again from the beginning on Sky about a year ago but it stopped around series 7! So I haven't seen past that and I really want to. But the box set is still really expensive! So I might have to save up for this and buy it for myself one day.

I've seen quite a few embroidery and cross stitching books I'd really like, there's loads on Amazon for quite cheap. This one looks really cute, it's got lots of different techniques of embroidery not just cross stitching and all the patterns and designs are cute little ones.

This is such a simple necklace and I really love it. I have another necklace from Orelia that's very dainty and pretty, I think it would look lovely layered with this one.

WASHI TAPE
I wish I had more craft supplies, especially washi tape. On my birthday I'd love to go to a craft shop and just go crazy and buy loads of different arts and craft things and start making stuff.


If anyone feels like treating me, my birthday is on the 10th of November, here's some ideas of what to get me!

Thursday 9 October 2014

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza! (Blogtober #9)


Today I had plans to go shopping and go out for lunch. I was going to take myself out for lunch at Wagamamas and have yaki soba and maybe some duck gyoza. But the universe was against me today so I didn't go.
I've got a cold so I don't feel very well, my hair and makeup just wasn't going right, I didn't know what to wear (nothing felt comfy), I hate getting the bus and then it got really windy and rainy. 
So instead I've ordered myself a pizza and cookies from Dominoes! I thought that was an ok thing to do because I would have spent about the same money on getting the bus and food at wagamamas and it's probably just as unhealthy. 
Also, I can eat my pizza in my trackies and watch films on Netflix! Even though I really want to watch the new episode of American Horror Story, but I just can't find it online!
My pizza just got here! So I'm going to eat it all now and enjoy it!

Wednesday 8 October 2014

What's in my Bag? (Blogtober #8)


I carry a lot of crap in my bag. Like most women probably! But it just builds up and I end up carrying nearly everything I own. And now I have a bigger bag I can carry more, which isn't always a good thing.
I really like seeing what people carry in their bags so I thought I'd show you what I carry in mine.

My bag is from Warehouse but I bought it from ASOS. I love that it has a zip on the inside as well as the magnetic snap closures, I feel like all my stuff is a bit safer with the zip. When the zip is opened the bag is a bit wider as well. The straps are also quite thick and it's comfortable to wear.


This is all the stuff I carry in my bag. You can fit quite a lot in this bag, there's a lot of space inside. I wouldn't put too much in it though, I wouldn't want it to break. My phone isn't in the photos because I take all my blog pictures on my iPhone. It's an iPhone 5, so everyone knows what that looks like!


I have a pair of sunglasses from Topshop, which I should probably take out now the weather is getting more miserable.

This is the book I'm reading at the moment, Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews. I've read it before, when I was a lot younger so I thought I'd reread it now because I might appreciate the story more.

I use a coin purse to carry my bank card, ID and change. I also use it when I go out so I don't have to take my bigger purse. In my bigger wallet I keep all my loyalty cards and receipts. Sometimes I only use this purse so it'll have everything in it including money, ID and my bank card.
The coin purse is from Claire's accessories about 8 years ago! The wallet is from John Lewis and is the brand Disaster Designs.

Obviously I carry my house keys! The keyring is from the car we had when I was really little. It was a Mary Quant Mini and it was absolutely beautiful.

I carry a small deodorant and my favourite texturising hairspray with me just in case I need them. You never know!

I carry my Oyster card/student card in this card holder. Even though I'm not a student anymore... It's from John Lewis and it's one of their 150th anniversary prints.

I also have my glasses and glasses case. That't not very exciting. Oh, they're from Specsavers.

Last thing I have is my makeup bag. Which is also from John Lewis. It's the brand Catseye, but I bought it about a year ago. And here's everything I have in it, which isn't a lot.


First I have my Bare Minerals Matte Foundation, I use this for touch ups when I'm out/at work.
I have a Rimmel transluscent Stay Matte Powder for the same use.
I have a red Dr Balm lipbalm as well as a Barry M lipstick in Everything's Rosie. I bought it for the name but it's also a really pretty colour!
I also have a Real Techniques buffing brush.
The contents of my makeup bag changes every so often, depending on what makeup I'm wearing that day or where I'm going.

Other things that were in the bottom of my bag that I didn't show: receipts from Waitrose, cinema tickets, Baskin Robbins napkins and 15p. Exciting!

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Music Addict (Blogtober #7)



I listen to music every chance I get.
In the shower, when I get dressed in the morning, when I walk to work, on my break at work, when I walk home from work, in the evening when I'm sitting on the sofa, lying in bed before I go to sleep, on the train, on the bus, in the car. You get the idea! I listen to music a lot. I thought I'd share some of my current favourite songs, these are constantly on repeat on my Spotify/iTunes!

1. Bad Idea by Candy Hearts
Or any other song by Candy Hearts, they're one of my favourite bands. I really like the singer's sweet but punky voice. The lyrics for all of their songs are great and they're just really fun to listen to.


2. At Your Door by Big Harp
This song is in the closing scene of one of my favourite films, Stuck in Love. The whole soundtrack for this film is amazing but this is one of my favourites from it. It's such a great love song. It has a really long intro but the music in this song is just perfect. I like the mix of the man's husky voice and the woman's gentle voice.


3. I Want What You Have by Willamette Stone
Even though this isn't a real band, it's still a great song! All the songs from this fictional band are. If you haven't seen the film If I Stay then you need to. Adam is one of the main characters of this film as well as the lead singer of the band. The actor Jamie Blackley who plays Adam recorded all the songs himself, as well as the rest of the band members. Even though they aren't a real band you can still listen to their music on the official soundtrack.


4. Half of My Heart by John Mayer
I wrote about this song about a month ago, saying it was my favourite song then and it still is now. I love a bit of country now and then and this is my favourite country song right now. 


5. Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
It pains me to say that I like an Ed Sheeran song. I've never understood the hype around this man and I've never liked any of his previous songs. But when I heard this song I fell in love, it really is beautiful. 

6. Mess is Mine by Vance Joy
The first song I heard by Vance Joy was Riptide, which was very popular over the summer. Definitely one of my summer songs, so I thought I'd give the rest of his album a listen. And I was not disappointed! His music reminds me of Mumford and Sons and Of Monsters and Men.


7. Chocolate by The 1975
One of my favourite bands at the moment, I'd love to see them live! This was the first song I heard of theirs, but it wasn't till I listened to the whole album that I really fell in love with them. But now this song is in a trailer of a film I really want to see (Love, Rosie) so I like listening to this song because it gets me excited for the film to come out! 


8. Caffeine Kiss by Thee Acquainted
Thee Acquainted are one of my favourite bands at the moment. They're a young married couple that make cover videos on YouTube. I've found so many great bands and songs through them and their videos (Thinking out loud and Half of my heart) but this is the title track off of their EP. Their names are Arielle and Jacob and they're both incredibly talented musicians. 


9. Voodoo Doll by 5 Seconds of Summer
Perfect for when you need a little dose of pop punk! The lyrics are quite funny and it's just a really easy song to listen to and sing along to. It's kind of hard not to! And I have to do it in the accent as well! 

I've been listening to these songs a lot recently, maybe I should listen to something else? But then again, maybe not!


Monday 6 October 2014

Do more of what makes you happy. (Blogtober #6)


On the one day I actually can have a lie in I end up waking up early. Not only am I waking up early, I'm waking up early with a cold! Not only do I have a cold, it's raining! Pretty heavy rain as well. So it's cold, wet and rainy outside. And I'm cold, sniffly and tired inside. What a miserable day I have ahead of me. And I have to work this evening until 9pm, which also sucks. But apart from all this rubbish stuff, I've tried to fill my day with nice things, to make myself feel better.

I'm wearing my favourite cosy jumper.
I've listened to some of my favourite music.
I've had three cups of my favourite tea.
I had leftover pizza for breakfast, YUM!
I've been catching up on different Youtubers vlogs from vlogtober.
I did some more of my current cross stitch project.
I did some online shopping, I bought two mugs from John Lewis which should get here tomorrow.
I'm wrapped up in a blanket.
I've been creating a birthday wishlist, because my birthday is next month.
I've scrolled through pinterest, looking at lots of lovely photos and quotes.
And now I'm writing this blog post!

So even though I feel tired, ill and now my nose hurts from all the sneezing and nose blowing. I've done some lovely things today so that's made me happy. I just wish my feet weren't so cold!

Sunday 5 October 2014

Rest Days (Blogtober #5)


Even though it's the weekend, I still have to work. I have a part time job in my local Waitrose and Sunday is my main day to work. Today I worked from 10 till 8 rather than finishing at 4 like I normally do because we were deep cleaning our store.
It's safe to say I am absolutely shattered! But we got a lot of work done this afternoon and we all got pizza when we finished.
I hope everyone out there reading this had a lovely Sunday. Either relaxing, spending time with your family or working like me!
But now I'm relaxing on the sofa, watching Our Girl and drinking my favourite tea.
I've got a busy week of extra shifts coming up, as well as my Art Journaling class tomorrow, which I should write a post about at some point and a few errands and jobs I need to do. So let's hope it's a good week!

Saturday 4 October 2014

Candy Kittens are my favourite kind of kittens! (Blogtober #4)


Another food based post! I think you're starting to get to know me quite well here!
But this one is quite a cool one. Have you heard of Candy Kittens? They're a relatively new company, Jamie Laing of Made in Chelsea began his gourmet candy brand in 2012 and recently they started selling them in Waitrose. More specifically, the Waitrose I work in!


And here they are on the top shelf in the sweets aisle of "my" Waitrose. It is my Waitrose, I work there, therefore it is mine!

I've tried two of the four flavours of Candy Kittens. The ones I have tried are Eton Mess and Peaches & Cream. The two other flavours are Apple & Elderflower and Sour Watermelon.

Both are really good! They have a very chewy texture, similar to those big flat strawberries you can get in pick and mix. 
They are made using natural flavours, colours and fruit juice. They're also gluten free, which is great! But they aren't suitable for vegetarians though, which is a shame.


This is what they look like, they're shaped like little cat heads! All of them have a two tone colour, which is different depending on the flavour. As well as being branded with the CK logo. 

Eton Mess is my favourite flavour, they're just like a creamy strawberry flavour. They're great!
The Peaches and Cream ones taste exactly like that, like real peach as well. Not like a synthetic peach. They're really sweet and creamy.
The only thing wrong with these is they're so good I can't just have a few. I have to eat the whole bag...

Friday 3 October 2014

Are My Eyebrows "On Point" Yet? (Blogtober #3)

This time last year I didn't do anything to my eyebrows. Maybe every now and then I'd pluck the stray hairs but that was it, I was never very good at that either.
But over the last year, since I began training as a makeup artist I've really enjoyed doing my eyebrows.
I finally understood what every makeup artist/beauty guru/girl who fills in her eyebrows was on about when they said it makes such a difference when you fill in your eyebrows. But it really does! It can completely change the way your face looks and change your makeup look as well.


The products I use to fill in my eyebrows are pretty cheap and nothing exciting. But I wanted to share them on my blog because it's something I love!

I have two pencils that I use to fill in my eyebrows, depending on how I want them to look.
My favourite pencil to use is the Eylure Brow Pencil in dark to medium brunette. It's a cool toned dark brown and you can get really precise lines with it. It's great for adding extra shape and defining your brows, as well as adding fullness and colour. I also have the Essence brow pencil in brown , which is a slightly warmer brown.

To set my eyebrow hairs in place I use the Maybelline Brow Drama in either medium brown or dark brown. Depending on what makeup look I'm going for or how dark I want my brows. It does a good job of adding colour and texture to your brows as well as keeping the hairs in place.



Here's some examples of what my eyebrows look like, as you can see I keep them quite natural. I focus most of the products in the end of my brows to give them more definition and shape. Now my eyebrows aren't anything amazing or super sculpted and defined like some people. But I really enjoy filling them in now! It's really satisfying when I have a good eyebrow day! It's the little things!



(Every time I see this online it makes me smile!)

Thursday 2 October 2014

Two for Tea? No, Just One! (Blogtober #2)

I have always said I hated tea. Like the normal tea kind of tea that you have with milk and sugar. But I love iced tea! It's one of my favourite drinks, if I go to a restaurant or cafe and they do some kind of iced tea I will always get it. My favourite places to get iced tea from are Bill's and Costa. Bill's put fresh mint and sliced peach in theirs and the Costa one is just really sweet! But Both of them are really good!
I tried to find a hot peach tea to try, that I can make at home. But I couldn't find peach tea ANYWHERE. Literally anywhere. So I went for something else instead.


I have three different flavours of tea that I'm trying out and they're all from Twinings. I have Lemon & Ginger, Cranberry & Blood Orange and Blueberry & Apple.
I've had the lemon one for about a week and I've had one everyday which I never thought I'd do! It's quite spicy so I've been putting a teaspoon of honey in it. But yesterday I bought this Agave Nectar which I can use instead, it does basically the same thing as the honey but is less sugar and calories. At least I think that's true...

I've only had a few cups of the fruitier ones so I don't have a lot to say about them, but I like them so far. Especially the Blueberry & Apple one, it's really sweet which I like. Both of them have a slightly tangy/sour taste to them as well which is a bit weird.

Another thing I want to get now is a few cute mugs and cups to drink my tea from. So I've been doing some mug shopping on John Lewis. These are some of my favourite ones that I've found. 

1/2/3/4/5/6
Here's the links to all of these mugs on JohnLewis.com


I bought one yesterday in Waitrose because it was cheap. So this is the first mug in my collection, I've never bought a mug for myself before! I'm growing up!

Wednesday 1 October 2014

The Beginning of Blogtober! (Blogtober #1)


As everyone will know, today is the 1st of October and for this month I want to try something new with my blog. I'm going to do "Blogtober"! I've seen people on YouTube do "Vlogtober" before and I thought I'd do a similar thing here on my blog.
So for the next month I'm going to try and post everyday, but it may not be everyday as I'm still quite new to this blogging thing. I've got some ideas for upcoming posts and all sorts of things I want to write about.
Hopefully I'll get my posts out on time, lets wait and see!
So you'll be seeing a lot more of this face in October. And reading a lot more of my words. I'm looking forward to it!