walking on sunshine

Today I woke up full of cold and generally feeling crappy so I decided to make my nails more summery as it was officially summer on 1st December here in Australia. I decided to use the Ciate mini in Speed Dial from the ever so cool advent calendar. I can be quite picky with nail varnish and I think some of the more expensive nail varnishes can be a bit crap (OPI and Essie) but I really liked Ciate and thought it went on really well and looked good after only 2 coats.

I used to live in gold jewellery but recently I've found myself loving silver jewellery again. The absolutely lovely Faye from The Bohemian Collective gave me this above knuckle ring as a leaving present and I haven't taken it off since. I've teamed it with this beautifully simple ring that I have borrowed from the lovely Sian and Emma who I am staying with.

 

When I was packing for Australia I knew that I would want to paint my nails but I wanted to pack as little as possible. I got the Instant Nail Polish Remover from Savers for £1 which is an absolute bargain and it works so well. I also bought this nail file buffer block for a cheap way to keep my nails looking nice.

I'm now going to spend the rest of the day celebrating that I have finally got my iPhone to work and browsing Pinterest. I don't know why it's taken me so long to finally sign up for Pinterest but I'm so pleased I finally have.

 

Shop The Bohemian Collective | Tweet The Bohemian Collective | Facebook The Bohemian Collective

 

 

walk away or try harder

I love blogging for so many reasons but the main one being the people that I get to meet. I met Laura at the very first #ldnbloggermeet that I organised and we have been great friends ever since. Last weekend we went for a 4 day break to Cornwall. Laura is one of the kindest people I know and she was lovely enough to buy me this infinity bracelet. I haven't taken it off since; it's been in the swimming pool and in the shower and it's still looking as good as new. Thank you Laura for the lovely gift.

sleep less, dream more

I literally love my room and if I see something pretty I can't help but buy it. A little while ago I was reading Faye's blog and saw a post on these lovely scrabble cushions made by Stacey and I had to put in an order. Mine arrived the other day and it now has a permanent place on my bed. Last orders for these amazing scrabble cushions is tomorrow (14th!!) so put your order in quickly if you want one too.

 

I also treated myself to some new bed sheets today. I have been after something floral for a long time and I found these in Primark for £15, which I thought was a total bargain.

 

Once again I have been pretty busy which includes a serious lack of sleep. Next weekend I have made no plans and I am going to keep it that way. I'm planning a day wrapped in my new duvet set surrounded by candles with a few good films to watch. Any good film recommendations to add to my collection?

 

 

a light heart lives long

A little while ago I posted about Yankee Candle samplers [here]. The candles I bought in the previous post cost £1.75 each from Clintons. I have now found the same size candle in Asda for £1 each. As they are a bit of a bargain, I thought I'd share it all with you.

tidy thinks tidy thoughts

My life is a bit chaotic at the moment. I have discovered a huge amount of clothes I need to sell, friends I haven't seen in ages that I need to meet up with, photos I need to print and a laptop that has so much shit on it I'm scared it's going to break. Okay, so it may not sound chaotic by some people's standards but I am an absolute freak when it comes to organisation and I don't like having such a big to do list.

My friends and family think I'm proper weird. I like to be spontaneous in real life, not think too much about what lies ahead and just go with it but when it comes to my belongings I like everything to have it's place. My friends and family also find it weird that I will not use the calender on my iPad/iPhone to write my plans down. I don't know what it is but I like my plans to be written down in writing in a book. I haven't had a nice diary this year, and I have always wanted a Filofax so I put two and two together and treated myself.

This is a pocket size Filofax in lavender which I bought from a shop on eBay. If you're going to buy a Filofax from eBay I would highly recommend buying from this shop. There was a slight mix up and the wrong Filofax was sent to me but there was great communication from the owner and the problem was quickly resolved. I'm excited to finally have a Filofax in my life. Who'd of thought stationary could make me so happy.

wake up kid, we've got the dreamer's disease

I have been full of a cold and conjunctivitis the last few days and feeling extremely run down. I can only blame myself. If I haven't done anything for a while then I feel like I need to make loads of plans with everyone I know. It wouldn't be as bad if this was just a big night out, but it's not. I don't have one large group of friends that all know each other and they live all over the place. This is the end result of about 3 months worth of travelling all over the place, late nights and early mornings. I seriously need to learn how to balance everything.

The last time I was feeling run down I decided to give my bed a make over.

Duvet and Pillows in Air Force Blue - Marks and Spencers

Lights - eBay

Dream Catcher - Vegas

Keep Calm and Carry On Cushion - Past Times

Union Jack Cushion - Past Times

Fern and Striped Cushion - Being Little Shop

Glow in the Dark Stickers - Paperchase

Syd the Meerkat ♥



no one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky

I absolutely love candles, especially Yankee Candles. I usually treat myself to the larger candle, but they are pretty pricey. I was shopping the other day and decided to buy some of the sampler candles instead for £1.75 each.

Twitter is great for chatting to other bloggers, but also finding new shops. I discovered Ditzy Doll on twitter and I bought this beautiful bird cage a while ago. It's been on top of my book case for a while and so I decided to put it to good use and put my candles inside.

I don't think Ditzy Doll is selling the bird cage still, but their site is well worth a visit.

time turner

I absolutely love Harry Potter so I was really excited to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tours. It really is an amazing place and I would highly recommend going. You can read about my day and see some pictures here on my other blog [the-travelchain]. I spent about an hour in the gift shop alone, it's brilliant! I treated myself to the Time Turner necklace with is in the Prisoner of Azkaban. I think it's so pretty!

wallpaper rose

I absolutely love the Jen Tee's on Wallpaper Rose. I have tried to buy some in the past but because they are so popular, they were sold out. When I saw on twitter that they were back in stock, I put my order in quickly! I decided to go for the Burgundy and Burgundy Marl tees. I also have one in Navy too. They are sold out at the moment, but if follow Wallpaper Rose on twitter you can be kept up to date when they're back in stock :)

wired

I really love both the nail varnish and these beautiful above knuckle rings that I got for my birthday so I thought I would include them both in this post.

Nails: I've never had a glitter nail varnish before and I really like it. I can't wait to try some more designs out with it. I still had my O.P.I Samoan Sand nail varnish on and painted over the top.

Above knuckle rings: I first met Faye at #ldnxmasbloggermeet as she was one of the brilliant sponsor. Since the meet we have stayed in touch and Faye is now a brilliant friend of mine.  I ordered the Simple Above Knuckle Ring for myself and when the order arrived, I was surprised with the Slashed Above Knuckle Ring as well. I absolutely love both of the rings and I am sure I will be making more orders soon which will include the Key to my Heart necklace and the Titanium Quartz Teardrop ring. Faye's jewellery is such high quality and absolutely beautiful! I would highly recommend checking out her website.

Contact Faye on Twitter here - Facebook here - Blog here and Wired Jewellery website is here.

I can be alone, yeah. I can watch a sunset on my own.

A little while ago I bought a new iPod. My old one broke because it went for a swim in my bag after my drink decided to leak everywhere. Absolute rage! I bought this iPod cover and I actually love it! It's from eBay and cost only £1.99 including p+p. I've also been eyeing up this Gameboy iPod cover as well.

I have decided that once my contract is up, I am going to get rid of my iPhone. It's slow, doesn't pick up wifi and generally annoys me every day! When I first got it I thought it would be good to keep in touch with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and emails but I think it can sometimes be a bit much! I'm going to go back to an old school brick phone. The type that costs £10 and can only be used for calls and texts. I would love to have a flip phone, I've never had one before!

I decided to get an Ipod Touch because I thought it would be useful for when I go travelling. As there is a camera on the front as well as the back, I can use it to Skype with my family and friends. I also like that I can still use the internet but I don't have to have a contract to get online. I can pay for wifi or find free wifi spots.

I have to admit - I hate iTunes. It is so much effort to upload music. But it did mean I got to go through all my music. I still have so much to add but I rediscovered Kate Nash. I have fallen in love Merry Happy from the Made of Bricks album and the bonus track hidden behind.

lace bow

I have had a good start to the weekend. When I got home from a slow day at work, I found this lovely necklace had been delivered :) I bought it from Jaymie's shop which is full of wonderfully creative jewellery.

I bought my first O.P.I nail varnish on my recent trip to Norway. I am a fan of simple nails and I love this colour: Samoan Sand.

I like them both very much and so I thought I'd team them up :) I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

feeling festive #5 - jumper

(top to bottom: black jumper from Primark, red and white jumper from Forever 21 in Vegas, beige jumper from Primark and red jumper from Primark)

I never used to be a fan of jumpers, but this year I fell in love. They're big, comfy and so warm. Above are some of the jumpers that I find myself living in. I am sure I will be spending Christmas day wrapped up in one of my big jumpers. Do you have a favourite jumper?

harry potter by jaymie

I think you'll agree, Jaymie O'Callaghan is a very talented lady! If you have read my blog for a while, you will know I am a huge fan of Harry Potter! When I saw this in Jaymie's shop, I had to buy it!

Jaymie is such a lovely person. I was lucky enough to meet her at the first #ldnbloggermeet and I hope to see her again soon! Jaymie has recently become a full time freelancer and self employed and I am so excited for her, I know she will do so well!

Jaymie's blog is amazing and a true friend that I have found through blogging.

feeling festive #2 - decorations

As it's finally December, I thought it's an appropriate time to blog about decorations! One of my favourite sites is Ditzy Doll. The items are vintage and pretty. A little while ago I bought these Christmas decorations, and I just had to show them to you.

The Christmas Shop is full of pretty things and well worth the look, along with the Lovely Home shop. Sarah also has twitter and is so lovely to chat to. Have you got any special decorations this year?