Favourites | January 2016

It's been a while since I last did a monthly favourites post, so I thought it was about time I put a new one together. I've been enjoying all sorts of things these last few months, so you can expect to see some fashion, beauty, food,  creative hobbies, and entertainment faves in this post.

First up is the latest addition to my novelty bag collection- a robot bag from Accessorize, which has to be one of the kookiest bags I own. My Mum thinks I've lost the plot, but I think it's really fun, and it makes me smile because it's so damn cute and quirky. It's definitely not the most practical of bags, with just enough room for a phone, keys, lip balm, and a small purse, but who wants practical when you can carry a robot bag around? If you like the sound of an impractical robot bag, you can still get it on sale for just £10.50 here.

I haven't used a lot of new beauty products lately as I spent all of January in bed with the flu and I've just caught another cold, but two products I have been enjoying are Korres' Bergamot Pear body milk, and L'Occitane's Cherry Blossom hand cream. They both smell amazing, and have been keeping my hands super soft and well nourished all month. I'll review them both properly soon.

Over the last couple of months, I've gradually been working my way through my Yankee Candle stash. My favourites have been Snowflake Cookie, Christmas Cookie, Cranberry Ice, Sugared Apple, and Red Apple Wreath, which have all smelt ridiculously good. I'm currently loving Orange Splash, a candle my sister gave me for my birthday last year that has a gorgeous orange-citrus fragrance (funnily enough). I'm not sure why it's taken me seven months to use it, but it's been worth the wait and I'd definitely repurchase it once it's finished.

Watching (Movies): A Long Way Down, About Time, The Grey, Interstellar (amazing movie!), Insurgent, We Bought A Zoo, Life of Pi, Mockingjay Part 2 (at the cinema), plus loads of old faves.

Watching (TV shows): The Big Bang Theory, Daredevil, Fringe, Home and Away, The Supervet. (I haven't been watching that much TV, but now I've got Netflix there are loads of shows I want to binge-watch).

Reading: I've only finished one book so far this year- Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller, which is one of the best books I've read in years. (Review coming really soon!) I'm currently reading The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton.

Listening to: Panic! at the Disco's 'Death of a Bachelor' album on repeat, with a little bit of Fall Out Boy's 'American Beauty / American Psycho' album mixed for good measure. Both amazing albums! 

I've spent quite a few hours de-stressing with the adult colouring book 'The Menagerie', which is filled with beautiful, intricate animal pictures. I can't tell you how many hours have gone in to that hippo so far, but it's been keeping me busy for weeks, and I still have so much left to do! Would anyone like me to review the book once I've completed a few more pages?

Another creative book I've been enjoying is '642 Things To Write About Me' (recently reviewed here). I've written in it almost every day since I bought it in December, and I'm loving it. It's not just challenging my creativity, but it's prompting me to stop and think about my thoughts, feelings, opinions, and all kinds of moments from my life, before exposing them on paper, which I personally find far more challenging than writing meaningless fiction. It's a fun kind of challenge, though, and the book is well worth a purchase if you love to write.

The weekend before last, I began a colourful new cross stitch project, a patchwork-style 'home sweet home' sampler from Riverdrift House. It's so bright and cheerful that it's been so much fun to work on so far, and it's super easy, too, as it's all colour-blocked in simple lines or patterns. It might not be much of a challenge, but I'm finding all the continuous stitching really therapeutic, which is just what I need right now. I can't wait to see it all come together because I think it's going to look awesome when it's done. That's something I never thought I'd say about a 'home, sweet home' cross stitch sampler! 

I found Pocky sticks in Tesco before Christmas, and I had to get them to see what all the fuss was about.  I don't understand why people are obsessed with the chocolate flavoured ones as the chocolate is disgusting, and tastes very synthetic, but the strawberry flavoured ones were amazing. They taste like strawberry Mini Milk lollies in biscuit form. I wish I'd bought more than one box!

I can't stop wearing my bespectacled French bulldog brooch whenever I go. I'm surprised I haven't pinned it on to my pyjamas yet! It's easily one of the cutest brooches I've ever owned, and it goes with everything. I don't know who made it, but I bought it in a little art shop in Cheltenham called the Cheltenham Collective. (P.S. It doesn't actually have a discoloured stripe down the middle, it's just the way the light hit it).

And last but by no means least, is this gorgeous green polka dot 'Lola' dress from Dolly and Dotty. I've blogged about it in a haul post already, but I'm still crazy about it, so I had to include it today. It's so beautiful! I've worn it a couple of times already and feel amazing in it whenever I wear it. I've even taken photos of me wearing it (!), so I'll tell you more about it in an outfit post later in the week!

What have you been loving lately?