October in Pictures

Firstly, where did October go?! It flew past so quickly and I can't believe we are now in November. I thought I would share with you some photos of what i've been up to during the last month as it involved a visit to a cute little vintage village, a halloween party and some homemade biscuits. 

At the beginning of the month, me and my partner decided to spend a spur-of-the-moment afternoon visiting a gorgeous little village in Wiltshire with our dog, Ralph. It was like stepping back in time with a vintage bakery, small village church and local shops. We stopped for a delicious afternoon tea in a tiny tea shop and spent a few hours taking in the glorious scenery, which Ralph thoroughly enjoyed! The following week, I put my baking head on and decided to bake some butter biscuits as we had some friends to stay. Now i'm not the best cook in the world but I decided to try out a recipe from my new cookbook and whip up a batch of biscuits which thankfully, went down a treat! Finally, to round up the month nicely, we were invited to a halloween/bonfire party with friends. I decided to dig out my cat ears from the previous year, draw on a couple of whiskers and away we go. It was a great evening with lovely food, halloween cakes, pumpkins, fireworks and sparklers. 

After a great October, I'm really looking forward to what November will bring! My diary is looking very full with lots of fun things including birthday extravaganza's, christmas lights, more fireworks and a mad hatter's tea party...all of which I will be sure to share with you!

I would love for you to let me know what you've been up to during October?

Cath Kidston Wish List

I have been gone for a little while but I am back!! I have been a tad busy with uni work and unfortunately I just did not have the time to sit down and create some blog posts. However, i've settled down on a rainy afternoon, sipping a gingerbread latte..(thank you Starbucks!) and decided to embrace the festive season early by creating a christmas wish list.

I had a lovely little Cath Kidston catalogue posted through my door the other day and couldn't resist all the lovely goodies being advertised for christmas. So I decided to make a christmas wish list of the products that caught my eye and share it with you guys!

1. Kentish Rose Small Paris Tote £48

2. Mini Dot Clasp Purse £12

3. Lattice Rose Compact Mirror £8

4. Mushroom Cardigan £80

5. Big Spot Skirt £35

Let me know what is on your christmas wish list and don't forget to leave your blog links in the comments, I would love to read them.

Tuesday Thrills #3

*Attention: to fully appreciate this post, snuggle up warm and grab a cuppa!*

It's Tuesday which means it's time for Tuesday Thrills number three!

I haven't actually been up to anything specific over the past week so I thought this was a great opportunity to start embracing Autumn.

Its become considerably colder over the last couple of weeks, misty mornings and dewy trees, so I think it's safe to say Autumn has made an appearance. 

I personally love Autumn and here is a little list which sums up why:

Autumn is a great time to wrap up warm and also a great excuse to buy some new wardrobe goodies. It's a great season to embrace and to me it symbolises the start of the end of the year. I look forward to the spooks of halloween, the sparks of fireworks night, spending nights in with friends, open fires, hot chocolate and preparing for christmas goodness (which is definitely my favourite!) 

Ahh it's going to be so good!

So here's to a warm and cosy Autumn which I hope you all enjoy!

Boots Haul

I am a huge lover of drug-stores and could easily pass away time testing make-up samples, trying on perfumes and browsing the shelves for the latest hair products.

Earlier this week I took a visit to Boots and after scanning the beauty aisles, my basket soon started filling up with products and goodies which I just had to share with you.

First in my basket was the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. I have been hearing great reviews about this foundation and I love the idea that it can brighten up your skin making it more radiant and fresh looking (which is needed when your half-asleep in the mornings!).

I have only used this product once so far but from what i've seen, I think this might just be a regular in my make-up bag. It is medium to light coverage, easy to apply and leaves a dewy finish to the skin. Perfect!

Next I picked up Hair Xpertise Argon Oil which I have been dying to try for a long time. I was drawn to using Argon Oil as it is formulated to replenish dry and damaged hair. I try to look after my hair as much as I can as it is prone to dryness and split-ends after years of hi-lights, so I decided to take the plunge and buy this product in hope that it can restore my battered locks.

I am also in the process of growing my hair and if your hair is anything like mine (barely grows an inch for months) then you'll probably share the same enthusiasm as me when you see this product; Lee Stafford Miracle Hair Growth Shampoo and Conditioner. 

I first purchased these products a couple of months ago and loved them! It didn't make my hair grow miraculously over night unfortunately, but the condition of my hair had certainly improved as it became more stronger and fuller in appearance. So I have decided to buy these beauties again to help restore the condition of my hair.

As it was a 3 for 2 offer on haircare in Boots. I couldn't only stop at 2 products, so I also purchased Lee Stafford Hair Growth Leave-in Treatment to work alongside the shampoo and conditioner. 

This product is designed to be spayed onto the roots of your hair before drying which will go to work in restoring and stimulating hair growth throughout the day. 

I'm very excited to see if the Hair Growth collection will work it's magic and I shall let you know how I get on with the Lee Stafford range and the results I get in a couple of weeks time.

Lastly, I purchased Batise Dry Shampoo XXL. Dry shampoo is amazing but I find I can sometimes go a bit crazy when applying it to try and 'plump' up my hair, making it look cakey and powdery (not a good look). So when I saw this product I just had to give it a go. My hair is rather fine and this product is great for adding extra 'oomph' to the roots, either after washing it or day-old hair. It smells really fruity and you only need a quick spray of this product to get volume and freshness. 

So there we have it, my drug-store haul! I would love to know if you have used any of these products? What's your favourite drug-store buys?

Tuesday Thrills #2

I was really pleased with the great response I got from my first 'Tuesday Thrills' post last week and thank you for all the good luck wishes and encouragement you sent me for starting university (my first week went really well and I think I may have even made a friend or two!)

For those who have no idea what 'Tuesday Thrills' is all about, its a post I created where every week I will be posting about delightful, exciting or new things that have happened or will be happening in my life. 

Now I understand that it can be a little boring just reading about what i've been up to, so my aim is to try and pass some of these thrills onto you in anyway I can. 

On Sunday I ran a half-marathon for the first time in my life and I can safely say it was the hardest thing I have ever done! I am not and never have been a natural runner (the type who can put on a pair of trainers and run gracefully non-stop for 10 miles) so I was terrified as I was approaching the starting line thinking I had 13 miles to tackle. 

I decided to run a half marathon to raise as much money as I could for The British Lung Foundation which is a foundation very close to mine and my family's hearts. Thank god for Beyonce and Rhianna blasting in my headphones as I think it would have been quite torturous without them and I certainly couldn't have reached the finish line without supporters cheering me on! Half way through the race I could have easily given up, my legs felt like jelly and I had no puff left in me but I kept going and...I did it!!!

(Pinterest, 2013)

The quote above is very true in whatever circumstances you seem fitting. Something which may seem like a huge mountain to tackle does have a finish line and with strength and determination you can get to the top! 

So if you have something big happening in your life-maybe a new job, moving away or tackling exams, just keep going as after every milestone you pass, you are one step closer to where you want to be.

I admire anyone who has ever ran a race, raised money for charity or tackled something huge in their lives, it's a great achievement and it's certainly not the easiest thing to take on. But it shows great confidence and you should be very proud of yourselves :)

Shoe Haul: Flats

Over the past couple of weeks I have invested in a couple of pairs of new shoes! Seeing as we have now crept into Autumn, I thought there is no better time to purchase some lovely new flats to keep my feet nice and warm.

I live in flats and I love how easy, cute and effortless they look when added to any outfit, so I thoroughly enjoyed shopping for some new shoes to add to my ever-expanding collection.

(Excuse the scuffs, I wear these ALOT!)

My first item were these gorgeous bunny face flats from ASOS. Now I have been craving a pair of Charlotte Olympia Cat shoes for ages, but with a price tag of £465 they will have to stay firmly on my wishlist. So when I found these similar cuties for £25, I had to 'proceed to checkout' immediately-especially when I saw them in two colours! I know they aren't entirely similar (to start with they have 'bunny' faces instead of 'cats') but they tick all the right boxes in my book. I have worn these almost daily and they add a great finishing touch to most outfits. I particularly love wearing mine with black tights, a skater dress and chunky cardigan.

Unfortunately I can't find them on ASOS anymore, but they have a gorgeous pair in a 'panda' style here.

My next pair are these gorgeous red ballet pumps from Primark. I was instantly drawn to these as I love the vibrant colour and gold embellishment and couldn't resist a price tag of £6. I have yet to wear these  but I plan on teaming them with a black dress, chunky necklace and red cardigan for a subtle colour match.

Primark are great for shoes and I can never resist buying a couple of pairs, so I treated myself to another set of ballet pumps. I get easily bored of always wearing black shoes so I wanted a pair of shoes which are subtle but add a little colour to an outfit. These berry coloured slipper pumps come in at £5 and caught my eye straight away. They are really comfy to wear whilst being lightweight on your feet and I love to team these with black skinny jeans or chunky tights for an on-trend autumn look. 

In my opinion, a girl can never have to many shoes so I'm sure I will be on the look-out for even more!  

I would love to know what you think of my new purchases. Are you planning on getting some new shoes for the Autumn season? 

Tuesday Thrills #1

I have decided to create a little weekly post called Tuesday Thrills! Every Tuesday I will be posting about delightful, exciting or new things that have happened or will be happening in my life. 

Now I understand that it can be a little boring just reading about what i've been up to, so my aim is to try and pass some of these thrills onto you in anyway I can. 

I thought I would kick-start my Tuesday Thrills off with a boost of friendly encouragement. Tomorrow I will be starting at a brand new university where I will be studying full-time for a whole year...and I don't know anyone. (gulp!)

Ask me a couple of months ago how I felt about this and I would have shouted from the rooftops with great excitement, but now I know I start tomorrow, it's a completely different story as i'm a tad nervous to say the least!

I will be training as a teacher and I am delving into the complete unknown. But instead of being scared to start this new chapter in my life, i've decided to hold on tight and jump straight in!

Jennifer DeDonato, 2011 

The quote above seems very fitting and i've read, re-read and read it some more. 

Don't be afraid to take the first step into something unknown-a new school, new job, even a new relationship-because if you don't give it ago, you will never know what is waiting for you on the other side. It could be a great sense of achievement, an overwhelming feeling of happiness, maybe even a new friend!

You never know unless you try, and that is the motto I will be sticking with when I wake up tomorrow morning. 

So if anyone else is stepping into the unknown, go for it! It may just be the opportunity you have been waiting for.