Wishlist (I'm back)

Dress, Bag 1, REN Face Mask, Playsuit, Nars Sheer Glow, Nike Roshe Run, Bag 2

Hello everyone!

Just a little wishlist post to ease myself back into blogging. A little update: I handed in an essay and my dissertation today, and have one essay left between me and the end of my undergraduate degree, kind of bittersweet really. Also I got a conditional offer to study a Masters course in English Studies, so if everything goes the way it should, I shall be a postgraduate student come September! I plan on using the time in between to reacquaint myself with my favourite books from my teenage years, just to put off growing up a little bit longer. 

Like most people, I got my student loan in today, however most of it has gone towards paying for previously mentioned MA course and rent. I long for the day I no longer have to pay rent (although I'll probably be eating my words in a couple of months). So this is a little wishlist for, hopefully, once I start earning a bit more money.

I saw the polka dot dress on Millie Mackintosh's style diary and saw how cheap it was, it looks stunning on - but I guess what wouldn't look gorgeous on Millie Mackintosh. The brown bag is a little different, I dress really simply, never any jewellery except a watch and only varying shades of black, white and grey. I love the detail on this bag and am in desperate need of a small one.

I love the style of the playsuit although it will never suit me as it practically matches my skin tone. I put the REN face mask and NARS foundation up because I just really want to try them, and the other clutch bag is to go with my dress for my end of year ball. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

I'm planning a few posts to publish next week once this final essay is done, let me know if there's anything you would like to see. I'm thinking book reviews, new skincare bits and some dissertation survival tips?

So, how did I do? Will you have me back blogger?

Thanks for reading :) xxxx

I'm Back!

Hello everyone! After almost a month I have decided to start blogging again. All assignments are in, and I have just submitted a first draft of the first part of my dissertation, so I have a little bit of extra time.

I can't promise I'll be blogging as regularly as before, as I have the other two parts of my dissertation to crack on with, but I will try to post whenever I can :)

Here's what I've been up to:

Online shopping as a coping mechanism, Final essay for the worst module ever, New tattoo #1

My boys, New tattoo #2, Payday treats,

Nandos and cinema date, Clean sheets, The beginnings of my dissertation.

I've been spending a lot of time with my boyfriend recently, as I haven't been in work and he's had some weekends off so we've mainly been lounging about in bed and eating a lot of crap. I've also been working hard at uni, I had deadlines right after Christmas and have pushed myself to complete the first 3,000 words of my dissertation.

As you can see I was also tattooed twice this month, once by the lovely Gre Hale from Rain City in Manchester, who did my lady in the moon. This one was a spur of the moment tattoo, Reece was getting a tattoo from Jemma Jones and Gre had some free space, so instead of waiting until March to get tattooed by him, I jumped at the chance. My mandala was done by Hexa from Precious Tattoo in Finland when he came to Manchester. After a bit of warped logic, I decided that getting tattooed by him whilst he was here and skinting myself for a bit, was a lot cheaper than a flight to Finland. I did say it was warped logic.

That is pretty much all I've been up to! I've been with my friends for food and drinks too, but most of the time I've been sat glued to my laptop with Uni work.

Thank you for sticking around so long! xxx

Christmas For Her

Benefit 'How to Look the Best at Everything' Set - £24

Paul and Joe Lip Balm and Skincare Set - £11

Sylvia Plath Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams - £8.46

Asos Pointed Backpack - £55

Chanel Eau Fraiche - £45

Make-up/skin care/fragrances are always a good pick for girls. Personally I never ever buy myself perfume as it is so expensive, so it's lovely to receive it as a gift. I've also been a little bit indulgent here and included a Sylvia Plath book. Woops. 

I also was very generously offered the chance to try out a Sanctuary set, which, when I received it (damn you Royal Mail) I thought would make an excellent gift for mums. 
  

The set arrived in this huge box, I was pretty taken aback by the sheer size of the thing! It contains seven items, I'm not sure if they are all full sized, but the body wash and body butter definitely are. The body butter is massive! 

Left to Right: Body Butter, Body Wash, Foaming Bath Soak, Illuminating Moisture Lotion SPF 15, Heel Balm, Purifying Face Wash and a Body Scrub.

Everything came beautifully packaged, and although I haven't had a chance to try out everything yet, the products I have tried are lovely. The SPF lotion is light on the skin and sinks in quickly, however it does smell a bit like sun cream. It is paraben free too.

The body scrub and body wash both smell like oranges, which is lovely and refreshing; it isn't over-powering or too synthetic smelling either.

The face wash is a clear gel-like consistency, which is light and doesn't leave the skin too dry-feeling. I do have a skin care routine I'm pretty happy with, so I don't know if this would replace my usual cleanser. It is a lovely size for travelling though, and I will definitely be taking it to London with me this weekend.

I'm unsure as to whether this whole set is available to buy as is, but I do know that Sanctuary gift sets (and individual products) are stocked in Boots, and are usually on 3 for 2. I tend to buy a Sanctuary gift set for my mum/grandma for Christmas, so I was pleased to be able to try out the products for myself.

I hope this has proven helpful! 

Thanks for reading x

Christmas For Him

Joules For Men Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes set - £14
Ted Baker Wallet and Cardholder set - £35
Clarks Desert Boots - £79
Ted Baker Socks Set - £22
Best of John Miles CD - £13.25

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and post a couple of gift guides. I don't have many people to buy for at Christmas so I'll try and be as broad as possible in my choices. Alongside this one I plan on doing one for her, and then one for stocking fillers.

These are few things I've chosen for this year. I find men really difficult to buy for! Another couple of ideas are a watch - Casio is always pretty cheap on Asos, and smellies are always a good bet!

My Christmas Wishlist

Nars Cream Blush in Penny Lane, REN Combination Regime Kit, Carhartt Hike Dress,

New Balance 420s in Grey Suede, Dr Martens Nixon Boots,

Virginia Woolf's Selected Essays, Hutton's Library Scented Candle.

I am rubbish at thinking of things that I would like as gifts, as I fall into the trap of looking for things I need rather than want. 

I think that at Christmas it's nice to have something to open, rather than receiving money, so these are a few things I wouldn't mind seeing under the tree (not including the things I have asked my sister to get me - she bugged me for ages).

I have lusted after the 420s for months but they are never in stock in my size. I'm a massive Woolf fan so these selected essays would be lovely to read whilst burning the candle (which is also out of stock everywhere). I have asked my mum for the Nixon boots, as they're a bit different from the Clark's Desert boots, and cheaper, and new make up and skin care is always appreciated.

What's on your Christmas list?

Stocking Fillers

O.P.I The Top Ten - £28.50
Owl Compact Mirror - £12
Topshop Gift Card
Lindt Lindor - £3.50
iPhone Case - £8.00
Rob Ryan Cup - £9.00

Looking at this selection, it is pretty much girl orientated, sorry about that. Although these items could easily be switched out for more male orientated picks. I put the O.P.I set in there because, although pricey for a stocking filler, it can be broken up and put in numerous stockings. Also, Lindor just scream Christmas for me. My sister and I always get a box at Christmas.

Adventure Time (featuring boyfriend).

This week is my reading week from university (read: half term - no classes) so Reece came to stay for a couple of days. He arrived at my house at 10am on Monday, after spending over an hour travelling due to shitty rail replacement coaches, and spent the day in bed as he came straight from work (he works nights and finishes at 7.30am).

It's safe to say Monday was spent watching copious amounts of South Park, eating pasta and ordering an obscene amount of pizza. Possibly over £50 worth of pizza.

On Tuesday we got up early, for us 10am is early, and spent the day in town. 

I showed Reece around the Northern Quarter, my personal favourite area of the city centre - it has the nicest cafes and shops, but it is slightly more expensive. It also has a Carhartt store (which Reece loves), so we spent a good 20 minutes in there poring over the ridiculously overpriced clothing. I kind of fell in love with a tote bag in there, but at £55 it certainly didn't make it's way home with me.

Just a note: Urban Outfitters is a bad place to go when you have been paid a healthy wage and slightly expensive taste. Safe to say a lot of money was spent (not by me, I'm skint), however I was treated to a jumper - it was on sale! Although, I am ridiculously jealous of the Herschel rucksack he bought.

On the way to finding Rain City Tattoo - Reece has an appointment next week, we took a wrong turning due to my pants map-reading skills, and found a traditional sweet shop, selling everything from American cereal and confectionery (helloo mint M&M's) to good, old, proper sweets. It was ace. And expensive, like £6.50 for a box of Lucky Charms expensive. 

Before entering Reece said 'Don't take me in here, I always spend too much money'. He did.

We found Rain City Tattoo - eventually - and then went home. I had a go at making chicken noodle soup; it wasn't horrendous. Definitely not a 'proper' chicken noodle soup, but it was tasty and took about 40 minutes to make. I may post the recipe on here soon.

Today was home time for the both of us. It was horrific. The Autumn rain finally hit Manchester, we had a bus driver with serious anger management issues, and had to catch a (delayed) train and then a rail replacement coach home.

The journey from Manchester to Huddersfield takes 30 minutes by train, an hour including getting the bus from my house to the station. Today we left my house at 3.20pm and didn't arrive back in Huddersfield until 7.15pm. On the upside, I did read the first 100 pages of MAUS  (amazing) which I have to read for a class Monday. 

I also took a creeper photo of Reece sleeping, where he looks so cute, but I promised I wouldn't post it anywhere. Spoilsport. 

It's been a lovely couple of days, and to be a bit soppy, I couldn't be much happier right now.

I hope your week is going wonderfully so far.
Thanks for reading xxx

Autumn Wardrobe

Mango coat, Vila dress, Topshop jeans, New Look jumper,

Cambridge Satchel Company bag, Fossil watch, Revlon KBS in Crush, 

Office Boots, Topshop Snood, New Balance 410

This is what I'll be wearing throughout Autumn. I chosen items I already own, or alternatives if they're not available online (damn you Primark). I dress pretty simply - a dress with tights, or tops/jumpers with jeans or a skirt (usually a H&M black bandage skirt) with very minimal accessories. It is very rare that you'll see me in a necklace, my watch is all I wear.

My footwear is pretty much a split between trainers and boots at the minute. I own 9 pairs of trainers (much to my sister and housemate's horror!) and 4 pairs of boots and pretty much live in them.

A decent bag is an essential; my parents bought me a black Cambridge Satchel Company satchel for my birthday last year and I still adore it.

Primark has some lovely jumpers in at the minute - starting at £8; this New Look one is a gorgeous alternative). This Topshop snood is ridiculously overpriced, I got one in a similar colour from Primark's mens section for a fiver. Seriously Topshop, what are you doing.

Lastly, I'll definitely be attempting a darker lip colour. After recently dying my hair a darker colour I've found wearing berry tones a lot easier as they don't clash like they did with my red hair.

What are your picks for Autumn?

Thanks for reading x

August

Jumper, Shoes, Disco Pant dupes, Bikini top and bottoms - all River Island

For this month's post I thought I'd post my picks from River Island. I'm having a bit of a love affair with the shop at the moment, after years of disregarding it because of its gaudy, sequin adorned clothing, but it has really upped its game over the past year or so.

I (may) have already bought the trousers after lusting over the disco pants for months. I wasn't sold on the shininess of the disco pants, and at 5ft 1, they would almost definitely be too long. I tried these on and it was love. They're thick, but not suffocatingly so and are really comfortable. I feel like Sandy at the end of Grease in them.

Anyway, onto the other stuff. I saw these shoes when I was shopping and had to prise myself away from them, same with the jumper. I tried it on and it's a really lovely loose knit, so it wouldn't be too warm in this summer (ha!) weather we haven't been having, but will also be lovely in winter with a vest underneath. 

I may be going on holiday in May for a week, and love anything blue and white striped. The hinge detail on this bikini makes it a bit different. Although, a white bikini may not be the wisest move ever.

Playlist for July has been:

A Toast to the future kids! - Emarosa

The Past Should Stay Dead - Emarosa

Reputations - We Sunk Atlantis

Raise Hell - Kids in Glass Houses

A Much Needed Catch-Up and Explanation

Completely unrelated photo, but how cute is my doggy?! We went walking.

I promised to post at least once, so that is what I'm going to do. I feel it's time I offered an explanation as to where I've been/why I haven't been posting as regularly. It's nothing drastic or anything like that. I have just been really busy!

A few weeks ago I wasn't feeling myself, I was down and, honestly, felt a bit shit, so I took a break from the internet and took a step back to look after myself a bit more. Then last week I just had no desire to blog, which was fuelled by a complete lack of inspiration. That paired with the fact that I haven't had a day off work since last Thursday (damn you Ikea), I just simply couldn't be bothered.

Safe to say, I am feeling a lot happier now, probably helped by the fact we've had a few sunny days and I've seen more of my friends. They are a fab bunch.

However, this week I have wanted to blog, but simply haven't had the time! Like I said, I haven't had a day off at all this week - I worked a 13 hour shift yesterday - ergo, no time. This is sounding like an extremely lame excuse, but hey ho. I am exhausted - I just spent the last half an hour soaking in the bath and then beautifying myself as some maintenance was greatly required! Hello smooth legs, clean hair, and neat eyebrows, I've missed you. 

Tomorrow is my day off, and I will be spending it with a pretty lovely guy going to see The Dark Knight Rises (FINALLY), eating Mexican food, and doing a bit of shopping, no doubt. I'm then going round to my friend's house where a group of ladies will be watching films and scoffing a ton of junk food. Although, I really must start some dissertation work soon, September is creeping ever closer.

So this is a bit of a pledge, I will be blogging normally soon - hopefully next week. I'm also going adventuring with Lydia again on Tuesday and having a catch-up as she's been in France for a week, I can't wait!

Anyway, I'll shush now. I hope you are all well, and I will speak to you guys soon! 

Thanks for sticking around!

Much love, xxxx

Liverpool Day Trip

My friend and I went to Liverpool yesterday on a bit of a whim. We decided we wanted to go somewhere new and chose Liverpool. Getting up at 7.30am was a bit of a killer though. I got the train to Manchester to meet Lyd and we went from there. It took about 50 minutes from Piccadilly to Liverpool Lime Street, not long at all.

I wore my River Island jacket (which I adore), a skirt from H&M which has cute little hearts all over it, a top from Topshop and my trusty Vans, oh and 'Cubby Cheeks' by Essie's on my nails (which I totally bought because of the name). The train journey was spent starting some dissertation reading.

When we arrived at Lime Street station we headed straight for Lark Lane, after many recommendations, for lunch. We got the train to St Michaels and walked from there. My (serious lack of a) sense of direction took us round the houses a bit - literally, but we got there in the end! 

We chose Moon and Pea for lunch, as the prices were reasonable and it looked gorgeous. I had the tomato and basil soup which was seriously delicious, and Lydia had the veggie antipasti platter. We both ate our weight in bread. It was fab.

We spent the rest of the day doing a bit of shopping (ok a lot of shopping, I have a haulish type post coming up next). First stop was a little shop on the corner of Lark Lane, that I've forgotten the name of. I didn't buy this little guy - £3.75 you must be having a laugh - but look how cute he is! I couldn't resist taking a photo.

We then headed back to the city centre and went around Liverpool One. It was a lovely first visit to Liverpool, I'll definitely visit again and do a bit more of the cultural stuff. Might leave the Tate out though - over a tenner admission? Not a chance.

Edinburgh is next on my list of places to visit. I will see the pandas!

Where do you want to visit?

I'm going to be spending the rest of my afternoon trying to get through to Student Finance. Oh the joys.

Thanks for reading x

Self-motivation Pep Talk

image source: I'm guessing Rudy Francisco(?) but I found it on Tumblr, as always

A bit more of a personal post I guess. This past month hasn't been my personal best; I've let a lot of things that wouldn't usually bother me get to me, I've had a crisis of confidence and just generally felt a bit down. July is going to change that, it is the month of motivation and hard work, because I am flat out refusing to say 'I can't do this' anymore, because I CAN, I'm pretty sure I'm boring my friends by being a mardy arse a lot of the time too.

July means sticking my nose in books and actually reading. I have read one book on my list of books I wanted to read over summer. One. How pathetic. I am also going to keep nagging the people who have said they'd give me work experience to give me start dates so I can get prepared!

This month I have been bored, which has led to wallowing and lack of motivation. I am ridding myself of envy, and having a little bit more faith in myself, because I can do this, I can live the life I want to live and be ridiculously happy doing it!

I got my second year university results and achieved a 2:1 in all of my modules apart from one, which I predicted anyway, and I am overall extremely happy. I cannot wait to go back so I'm going to start my dissertation studying next week to give myself a kick-start. I also booked my driving test today.

A bit of a ramble I supposed; sometimes I find it necessary to write things down to actually motivate myself. Plus I really loved the image of definitions, how cute is it!?

What do you do to re-motivate yourself and get yourself out of a slump? 

Thanks for reading xx

July

image source: Tumblr

Dress, Bracelet, Shoes, Rucksack

A little bit different for this month's post - I was inspired by Meg to choose my highstreet picks. I got paid yesterday, so I've made a set on Polyvore of an outfit I want to put together. I wanted this dress the first time it was in stock, but missed it; I tried it on yesterday but it was too big and they didn't have the smaller size in stock. I will try it! The other item I really want is a rucksack/backpack, not necessarily this particular one, but something similar, so if you know of anything similar let me know! I've also been tempted by the American Apparel shawl cardigan, but we shall see!

June has been somewhat of a lacklustre month, what with it being a dreaded five-weeker (my bank balance cried with joy on payday though). A few personal things also happened which weren't the best, so lets hope July is better - and warmer! I want to wear sandals and not worry about getting frostbite or trenchfoot.

Playlist for June has been:

Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too - Say Anything

You Won't Know - Brand New

Feel the Love - Rudimental ft. John Newman

The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future - Los Campesinos!

Bruises - Chairlift

Electric Twist - A Fine Frenzy

Here's to a sunnier, warmer June! x

Featured: Aesthetic Magazine

I just wanted to quickly write about a new project I'm involved in. I'm sure you've all heard of Aesthetic Magazine and one of its creators, Michelle, but I just wanted to say that I will be writing book reviews for the magazine. Me being me, I am so excited about it! I finished my first piece today, where I've reviewed two books, (hence no book review posts on this blog recently.)


I am so happy to be involved in this project as it is a blogger-focused magazine, where all the team are bloggers, from writers, to illustrators to photographers. I can't believe I will be featured alongside some of my favourite bloggers, including Vicky and Lily, to name only two.


I also submitted a photo of myself (argh) to one of our extremely talented illustrators, Katie, who will be drawing images of all of our contributors, which I think is such a lovely twist on the usual head shots you see in magazines.


I am excited (how many times can you say excited in one post Nicola?!) to see the finished product, which should hopefully be completed and printed sometime in July, priced between £4 and £5 (I think, check the magazine blog page to make sure!)


Will you be reading Aesthetic Magazine?


Also, let me know of any books centering around a theme I can review in the future - your favourite Classic novel for example. I want to hopefully review more than two books per feature in the future (if any of you read the book reviews in Elle UK - a bit like that) so let me know!


Thanks for reading x


p.s. sorry for the all text post!

Wardrobe Organisation

After reading this post on The Average Brunette (seriously gorgeous blog) I was inspired to show you guys how I organise my wardrobe. Especially as I had just finished cleaning and sorting out my room from top to bottom.


I share my room with my twin sister, so we don't have a lot of wardrobe space. We have three wardrobes - one each and then one for coats/jackets to share.

This is my wardrobe. I can fit quite a lot of stuff in quite a narrow space. The top rail houses any dresses, tops and nice jackets that I don't want to get creased. Underneath the rail I have four baskets which slide in and out. The wardrobes, drawers, rail and separators are all from Ikea.

I have hooks on the door which I hang my scarves/jewellery on. I don't own much so the door still shuts comfortably.

The top drawer holds all of my beauty stuff - make up etc. The front box doesn't really belong in there, it's from my house at uni, but it fits in there quite nicely for the time being, until I move back to Manchester in September. Behind that is a box which holds nail polishes and my daily make up bag. Behind that, in the two smaller boxes, there are little personal nick nacks that won't fit anywhere else in my room. Things like old gig tickets etc. To the right of the basket is my skin care bag (at the front) and a bag which holds the rest of my make up I don't wear as often. I don't own a lot of make up/skin care. The little separators are really handy and help keep everything organised - really cheap too.

The next three drawers are all full of clothing. This is just one, which holds my tops and skirts. The one beneath that holds trousers and shorts, and the one below that has my underwear in it.


It's a bit of a squeeze in there, but everything (just about) fits, and when I keep it organised, everything is easy to find. I'm pretty happy with it.
I store my shoes in a row under my bed. I'm not a shoe girl, so don't own many.


I now must stop procrastinating and get reading for something I'm working on for Aesthetic Magazine!


Thanks for reading x

Severe lack of people skills.

image source - google

I want to apologise for not posting much this week. In stark contrast to my previous post (oh the irony) this isn't going to be an overly happy one. My week has been crap, and I want to write about it.


The beginning of the week wasn't too bad really, but it has gone downhill. Yesterday I found out that I have been removed from the magazine team I was working on. Now, this would not be an issue if I had personally done anything wrong, but I haven't so I am, understandably, annoyed and hurt.


The issue is that the (now ex) editor has apparently decided to leave the magazine, but didn't tell anyone and has not been responding to emails, which is slightly immature and unfair on the team to say the least. However, he also helped me get some work experience at romania-insider, where I have been writing articles for the past few weeks. The founder of the magazine was not happy with this fact as he felt that he did not want any further connection to the (ex) editor. I was stuck in the middle, although I explained I do not have contact with the (ex) editor when working at romania-insider, and even if I did, I would not compromise the magazine in any way, shape or form and it has no relevance to anything at the website. He tried to make me choose between working at the magazine and continuing my work experience at romania-insider. Now, I would have an issue stopping my work experience, however it has proven to be extremely valuable experience to me and I hope to continue working there until I start back at university in September.


Unhappy with the fact I would not choose between the two, the founder of the magazine decided it would be best for me to leave. Even though I have done absolutely nothing wrong. I got caught in the middle. The founder continued to call the (ex) editor a 'shady character', which, in my opinion, is over dramatic, he just behaved unfairly, so I understand why the founder is angry.


But like I said, I have done nothing wrong in this situation. Many angry emails were sent by me and all I got was the same response - a ramble about what the editor did, nothing about my own personal actions.


I feel I was treated appallingly, and have had to miss out on what could be a wonderful project to be a part of. I wish the rest of the team well and hope it is successful, but if the creator carries on treating people the way he has been, because he doesn't like the way they work/express themselves, especially when, like me, they did nothing wrong, I can only predict a bleak future.


I do apologise for the rant, it has been a tough week and I am still upset. Please let me know what you think, even if you think I'm overreacting. I am still angry and extremely upset.


I hope your weeks are a bit better than mine, I promise to resume normal posting soon!


Thanks for reading x

Five Steps to Happy

image by Marc Johns

When I feel a bit down there are a handful of things I do to try and get myself back into a positive frame of mind. I haven't been feeling tip-top recently, but now I'm feeling more like myself again.

1. Take a long soak in the bath. I always have a long pampering session in the bath. I exfoliate my body, get my hair squeaky clean and relax. I try to make myself feel as pretty as possible. I don't think anything ever feels as bad after a long bath.
2. Cry if you want to. I'm not much of a crier. I internalise my feelings a lot of the time, but sometimes you just feel sad, and you just want to cry. I found myself crying on the train the other day, just because I needed to. Bottling up the need to cry is never good, in my opinion. I just let it out. There has been many a time where my dad has looked at me and asked what the matter was, and I've just said 'I feel sad' and cry. There's no rhyme or reason to it, just let it all out, even if that means sticking on P.S I Love You and crying over the fact Gerard Butler dies. Wallow in it, for just a little bit.
3. Play happy music. When I've finished wallowing (I don't like wallowing, I give myself an hour or two before I try to snap myself out of it) I put on happy music. For me it's Motown music, or something like Rilo Kiley, something you can dance to. Find me a person who is sad when listening to Motown, and I'll give you a liar. You just can't be sad whilst listening to The Drifters, or Otis Redding. It's impossible.
4. Sleep it off. To be fair, sleep is often my solution to everything. A good night's sleep always makes things feel better. The cliche things always look better in the morning is a cliche for a reason, after all. Even if it's just an hour's nap, or a 10 hour mega sleep, nothing can be quite as terrible after some shut-eye.
5. And if all that fails, ESCAPE. Get out of the house, even if it's to go for a walk by yourself where you stick your headphones in, walk and cry until it feels better. Just escape your sadness for a little while. It may be there when you get back, but it won't be as strong. Get out, eat nice things, jump on a train and go somewhere new. I come to Manchester a lot when I want to escape, it's my little place where I feel happiest and most content. Talk to people - even if it's not about why you're sad, just talk. I'm not often on for sharing my sadness, but sometimes it's all that helps. Escape yourself for a while. Have fun. Focus on the good things in your life. There are better things out there than what is making you sad. I promise.

This is just what I do, because most of the time, the reason why I'm sad isn't worth being sad about. It is trivial. If it's down to a person, it's their loss, if it's something else, it probably isn't that important anyway.

Thanks for reading x

Kindle Regrets

I'm just going to say it. Spending £80+ on a Kindle has been the biggest waste of money. Not because it's particularly bad, or that it is even expensive for what you get, I just don't like it.

I originally bought the Kindle because I thought it would be good for university - I could keep my set books all in one place, and there are features where you can highlight quotations etc, which is extremely useful for an English student, however, it didn't quite work out that way. 

It's quite simple really, I prefer books. For me, there is nothing quite like cracking the spine of a new book, making notes (in pencil of course) in the margin. I love turning the pages, which obviously you can't do with Kindles. I don't find them easier to read on, in fact I find them more difficult because the task seems much more clinical. There is nothing quite like the feel of a book in your hands.

Don't get me wrong, the Kindle is really good for certain things; I can download PDFs onto it, which is excellent and saves me printing off a 20 page critical essay, but it is hard to make notes on, I prefer to highlight and scribbled notes all over essays so I can easily go back to certain things. There are also no page numbers on Kindles, which is difficult when referencing books for essays.

I'd say the Kindle is good for the avid reader, as kindle editions of novels are generally slightly cheaper than paper copies, it can store thousands of books in one place, and is very lightweight, which makes it good for travelling.

I just like having books and reading from books. It's that simple really.

Do you have a Kindle? What are your thoughts - are e-readers over-taking books?

Thanks for reading x

What's in My Handbag?

I'm an incredibly nosy person, so even though I'm probably incredibly late to the party on this one, when I heard about whatsinmyhandbag.com I was pretty chuffed to say the least! I love watching 'What's in My Bag' videos on youtube, and love reading blog posts all about the contents of a bag. When written down it sounds a bit creepy doesn't it?


Back to the point. Whatsinmyhandbag is a beauty website, it doesn't just focus on the contents of bags (although that is admittedly my favourite part). You can create your own 'bag', you can also register to try feature trial sizes of products, shop from certain bags - there are links to where you can purchase certain beauty items. You can also build up a virtual beauty cabinet by clicking on products and selecting 'have this' or want this', basically creating wishlists.


It's a brilliant website, and I'm yet to explore all of it (I only joined yesterday in a state of procrastination from writing). It's just perfect for all the other beauty obsessed nosy parkers. It is completely free to join too, if you want you can use my link - it's like an invitation service - if not just go straight to the website :)


Now the juicy stuff, what's in my bag?!

I'm not one to carry a ton of unnecessary crap about in my bag, I generally just go out with my keys, phone and purse if I'm just nipping to the shops.
The bag is one I've stolen from my sister, I believe it was from Next originally, it's an Alexa-a-like, but I just like it because I like black satchel bags. All of my bags are black come to think of it. I use a black Cambridge Satchel for uni, which is my favourite bag ever. This bag is brilliant because I can use it to lug my uniform to work too. I work with food, so have to get changed into my uniform at work, which is a massive pain in the neck.


My purse was £5 on sale in Urban Outfitters and is full of crap. So many receipts/cards I don't need anymore. My glasses case is from a little Chinese shop in Berlin and cost me TWO EUROS. Best bargain. Lydia made me buy it, and I'm glad she did.
My phone is a Samsung Galaxy SII and I constantly get stick because it is massive. Most of my friends have iPhones, but I prefer my phone, even if it is huge.
Headphones and my work clock-in card - photo down because it is 4 years old and hideous.
I always have my keys, self-explanatory really, and some sort of food or drink (tropical juice from Tesco today). I've also stuck Elle in there as I haven't finished reading it.
I generally have a notebook and a book in there too (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but I've been writing and reading today, so I took them out.


Like I said, nothing exciting really, I used to carry the world about with me, but seeing as I don't go anywhere too exciting, I just take the basics now. Anything else I need, like lip balm or chewing gum, I just shove in my pockets.


Do you have anything interesting in your bag?
Thanks for reading x

Words to Live By

all images taken from Tumblr

'Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences'

At least I strive to.

edit: these prints (and others) are for sale on Etsy here