Currently | November 2018

It's been a few months since I last sat down and wrote a 'currently' post about what I've been doing and enjoying lately, so I think it's about time I rectified that with a fresh post.

Let's start with what I've been reading lately...

Reading

Over the last few months, I've really found my reading mojo again, and have been devouring books like there's no tomorrow. During September and October, I managed to read seven books, which may not seem like a lot to some people, but it was a lot for me; I can't even remember the last time I read so many books in that space of time- probably more than a decade! To compare, last year, I only managed to read that many books during the whole year! I've read some fantastic books this Autumn, including Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen, and The Extinction Trials, and The Extinction Trials: Exile by S. M. Wilson. Surprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them, especially The Day of the Triffids and The Light of the Fireflies, which have to be two of the best books I've ever read. Would anyone like me to blog reviews of any of them? 

I haven't read much at all this month as I've been so busy and uninspired, but I've just finished reading Desert Flowers by Paul Pen, and it was another one of those books that I just couldn't put down. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

Watching

I haven't watched a lot of new movies or TV shows lately, as I've been in one of those funks where I just can't concentrate on anything new. I've been enjoying the new series of The Big Bang Theory, and The Secret Life of the Zoo, but apart from watching a few episodes of Vanity Fair, that's about it for TV. I've mostly just been watching reruns of old favourites, and enjoying some of my favourite Autumn and Halloween movies like Hocus Pocus, Scream, War of the Worlds, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and Practical Magic. I also recently watched the new Jurassic World movie for the first time, and loved it, although it broke my heart when the brachiosaurus was left behind to die in the ash cloud. I don't think my heart will ever recover. I also now need a baby velociraptor! (How cute was baby Blue?!)

Listening

I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment, but I haven't been listening to a lot of music, either. I've listened to a little Fall Out Boy and Linkin Park, as per use, and have played a few Christmas tunes while I've been building some new festive playlists, but I really haven't listened to a lot else. I did purchase Boyzone's new and last ever album 'Thank You and Goodnight' about ten days ago, because I've been a big fan of them since I was nine, and old habits die hard, (hey, don't judge!) but I'm actually really underwhelmed with the album, and don't know what to think about it. They've changed their sound to something akin to R&B and I'm just not feeling it. I'm just not a fan of R&B and modern pop music. Don't get me wrong, there are some great songs on there, but it's just not wowing me. Maybe it'll grow on me?

Stitching

This Autumn, I've been working on another fun, colourful mandala cross stitch from The World in Stitches, and I'm currently over half way through- apart from the black outlines, which I've left for now because I can't decide whether to change them to a different colour. I had to put it aside about a month ago so I could start working on some Christmas designs, but I'm planning to pick it up again in the new year.

Over the last few weeks, I've stitched and finished a small retro fifties deer cross stitch, a Christmas tree ornament, and a Christmas card but you'll have to wait until December to get a look at my festive makes. (Unless you've already seen the deer on my Insta Stories!)

Crafting

I've already made a start on my Christmas crafting, and recently made a Christmas pudding pom pom wreath for the first time. I'll be sharing a tutorial for it next month during Blogmas, so keep your eyes peeled for that! I've also painted a wooden house-shaped shelf unit that I'm going to decorate with Christmas paper / fabric for the holidays, and started working on some felt Christmas wreaths, which I'm hoping to bring to the blog next month, too, but we'll have to wait and see how they turn out first.

Carving

On Halloween, I decided to have a go at carving a sugar skull pumpkin, instead of making a simple Jack o' lantern like I always do. I drew free-hand on to the pumpkin with a picture as a guide, and spent an hour and a half carving this monstrosity, with a lot of difficulty. It turns out that carving pumpkins now aggravates the arthritis in my hands, and wielding a knife just turns my hands in to painful twisted claws. (Think Phoebe Buffay teaching Joey guitar chords, and that's how my hands looked). I couldn't grip the knife properly and made a complete mess of the pumpkin, but at least I tried, right? (I think it would've been better if I hadn't! Haha!) The worst part was I couldn't use my right hand for ten days afterwards as my hand was so painful and contorted, so I guess I'll be adding pumpkin carving to the list of things I can no longer do. How will the world will cope without my 'artistry'?

Buying

With Christmas presents to pay for, I haven't had much cash spare to spend on myself, but I have treated myself to a couple of little things whenever I've earned some extra cash participating in surveys. Over the Black Friday weekend, I treated myself to a couple of Christmas cross stitch kits from The Make Arcade (this one and this one), some fifties-style Christmas bedding from ASDA, and a retro deer Christmas decoration from Paperchase. Over the last few months, I've also bought some Erstwilder Christmas brooches (reviewed here), some new notebooks from Cath Kidston and The Disney Store, and some of The Body Shop's new Peppermint Candy Cane collection, which smells amazing and I can't wait to review it for you next month, I'll be showing you all the festive things I've bought in a Christmas haul post really soon, too.

Receiving

My sister, Marie, came home for a visit at the start of the month bearing gifts from the American air force base she lives at in Germany. This time, she gave me some Halloween Peeps and Pez dispensers, a big bag of 3 Muskateers chocolate bars (they're kind of like Milky Ways), and The Balm Nude Beach eyeshadow palette. She originally gave me this palette for my birthday in July, but we had to return it as it turned out to be a used tester. Sadly, at the time it was out of stock, so I got the equally gorgeous Anastasia Modern Renaissance palette instead. She really didn't owe me another palette, so it was such a lovely surprise and a really kind and thoughtful gesture. The palette is gorgeous! I have the best sisters.

Winning

I've been a really lucky lady lately, and have won a few giveaways over the last couple of months. I won a stationery bundle from Emma of A Cornish Geek, which included a set of pastel highlighters, a rainbow notebook, a folder, and a cloud-shaped pencil case. I'm a bit of a stationery addict, so this was the perfect prize. I then won some gorgeous high-end make up from Rosie Loves Life, including the Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics eyeshadow palette, an Urban Decay After Glow Highlighter, and a Charlotte Tilbury lipstick in Pillow Talk. I'd never tried any of those products before, so I'm still absolutely thrilled with them. I've also just found out that I've won a Selfridges beauty Advent calendar from a Twitter comp ran by Navabi, and I couldn't be more excited! It's something I could never afford to treat myself to, so the news has really made my Christmas. I'm looking forward to counting down to Christmas even more now! I'll do my best to review it for you once it arrives, and will be revealing what product I get each day of Advent on Instagram, along with the contents of my OPI calendar from the 1st, so make sure you give me a follow on Instagram if you want to follow along!

Wanting

All the amazing Christmas jewellery and dresses that are everywhere right now, this retro deer Christmas decoration, the NARS and Ciaté beauty Advent calendars, the Breathe magazine journals, lots of new books, a lotto win, all the gig tickets, and a big slice of chocolate cake.

Needing

Some money so I can afford Christmas, some new ankle boots, some new clothes, a new tub of my favourite The Body Shop Vitamin E moisturiser, new white fairy lights for this year's Christmas tree, a solution for my tachycardia and the painful arthritis in my hands, a holiday, and some hair dye so I can touch up my atrocious roots.

Wishing

I had more hours in the day to prepare for Christmas and Blogmas. Time is moving too fast!

Loving

The new Peppermint Candy Cane collection from The Body Shop- it smells soooo good! You guys need to try it!

Hating

the short hours of daylight, and dark dreary days we've been getting lately. There's not been any decent daylight for taking blog photos for weeks, and some days it's barely felt like we've had any daylight at all. Roll on spring!

Enjoying

Spending the dark, dismal days and evenings working on lots of crafts and blog posts.

Eating

All the American Candy Corn, and Malteaser Buttons.

Drinking

When my sister was visiting a few weeks ago, we finally discovered a Hotel Chocolat cafe in Milton Keynes and stopped off for the most amazing hot chocolate. I'm lactose intolerant, so I couldn't add it to mine, but the cream they put on top is some divine chocolate concoction that tasted like the chocolate icing on a Patisserie Valerie cake. (I obviously had to taste-test Marie's). Even without cream it was probably the best hot chocolate I've ever had. 

Looking

forward to Christmas and enjoying lots of festivities with my family during December. I can't wait to start decorating the tree and my home for Christmas, give my family their gifts, watch lots of Christmas movies, and eat my body weight in roast potatoes and cake! Christmas is the best.

Preparing

I've been busy planning and preparing lots of festive content for Blogmas, and taking festive photos for many of them whenever there's been some decent daylight, so I'm feeling fairly organised for a change. I still have so much work to do and more photos to take, but I can't wait to share what I've been working on with you guys. There'll be a few crafts, a little fashion, some beauty, homeware, books, helpful tips and ideas, and so much more. Not long to go now!

What have you been enjoying lately?

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Currently | July 2018
Currently | April 2018
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Currently | July 2018

It's been a couple of months since I last sat down and wrote a 'currently' post about some of the things I've been doing and enjoying lately, so I thought it was about time for a catch up. 

Let's start with what I've been watching...

Watching

I haven't actually been watching much of anything new over the past few months, because I've not been in the mood to concentrate, or start anything new. Do you ever get days / months like that? I've been enjoying season two of The Handmaid's Tale, and Timeless, but apart from that, I've mostly just been watching old favourites like The Big Bang Theory, and Home and Away. I think the only new film I've watched this summer is The Greatest Showman, which I absolutely love. It's one of the best musicals I've seen in years, and I love that it unapologetically celebrates people of all shapes and sizes, colours, abilities, and conditions. It's so refreshing, and sends out such a positive message. I only wish they had featured more actors who have the health conditions- real albinos, real bearded ladies, real conjoined twins- to truly celebrate and help normalise such conditions, but I suppose finding actors with the conditions who can also sing and dance can't be easy in this ablest society. Regardless, I really enjoyed the movie, and I can't seem to get the songs out of my head.

Listening

I can't say I've been listening to a lot of music lately, just a bit of Linkin Park here, a bit of Fall Out Boy there... but I've been loving Panic! at the Disco's new album 'Pray For The Wicked'. It's full of amazing, upbeat, catchy songs.

 Reading

Since my last 'currently' post, I've been having a bit of a Frances Hardinge reading binge, and have worked my way through A Skinful of Shadows, A Face Like Glass, and Cuckoo Song. All three were fantastic page-turners that kept me gripped until the end. Hardinge has such a beautiful way with words, and her fantasy stories are so unique and original. I'd definitely recommend the three above.

Earlier this summer, I also read The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, a novel based on the true story of Lale Sokolov, a Jewish prisoner of Auschwitz who was forced to tattoo numbers on to the arms of the men, women, and children entering the concentration camps. The importance of his role earned him some protection in the camps, and he secretly used his privilege to help his fellow prisoners and the girl he was falling in love with, while risking being caught at any moment. Lale's harrowing story was fascinating and one of the best Holocaust stories I've read, but difficult to read at times, when the horrors he witnessed and friends experienced were described. Still, I flew through this book in two days, and highly recommend it if you have an interest in reading about the Holocaust.

  

Stitching

As I've been busy working on other craft projects over the last few months, I haven't done as much cross stitching as I'd like, and I'm still working on the colourful Spectrum Mandala cross stitch from The World in Stitches that I showed you in my last 'currently' post. I'm back to cross stitching daily again now, though, and I'm finally beginning to close in on the three quarter mark. I'm really happy with how it's coming together; seeing all those colours blend together is super satisfying. I'm hoping to get it finished by the end of August so I can spend Autumn working on some Christmas craft projects.

Crafting

In June, I finally finished the four felt spring wreaths I taught myself to make during the Spring, (which I blogged about here), and they came out so well it's given me such a sense of accomplishment. I've decided to make Christmas wreaths in a similar style, and as the Spring wreaths took months of work, I've already began working on them so that they'll be ready in time for Christmas. I've started making red felt roses and poinsettias to use, and next I'm going to figure out how to make felt amaryllis flowers, and possibly even pinecones and mistletoe. I can't seem to stop making felt flowers now I know how!

Painting

I haven't done heaps of painting lately, but I recently treated myself to a cheap set of gouache paints, and I've been having fun getting to grips with them. I've wanted to try painting with gouache for years, and I'm loving how vibrant the paints are compared to the watercolours I usually work in.

Buying

I had a nice little rebate earlier this year, so I've been able to treat myself to some amazing Erstwilder brooches, and lots of beautiful pieces from the Cath Kidston Alice in Wonderland collection lately. I've also been buying some Body Shop body butters and lotions, a few books, and a couple of Kimchi and Coconut brooches. I'll be blogging about most of them really soon!

Winning

I was recently lucky enough to win copies of Breathe magazine, and Breathe Special Nature Journal from Emma of The Cornish Geek (thanks, Emma!), which I'm absolutely loving. I've never read Breathe magazine before, but it's filled with inspiring articles on wellbeing, mindfullness and creativity, and illustrated with beautiful art. It's been such an enjoyable read, so I'm definitely going to be picking up future issues. 

The Nature Journal, which is designed to help you connect with nature to improve your wellbeing, is even better, with gorgeous art and illustrations on every page, and tasks to complete throughout the year. From writing down your favourite things about each season to exploring nature and recording the animals and plants you see, it's full of fun projects to help you connect with the natural world. If you love nature and enjoy being creative like I do, you'd love it, and need to get yourself a copy. I'm really looking forward to getting started on all the Summer and Autumn tasks, but it's so pretty I almost don't want to make a mark in it.

Needing

a holiday, a life, and some clothes I can wear in the heat without melting.

Wanting

Everything from the new Cath Kidston Otters and Mini Badgers and Friends collections, all the Erstwilder jewellery, some new bookshelves, a holiday by the sea, to spend some time out of the house, and my heart to calm the fuck down.

Wishing

the heat would cool down, and we could have Autumn weather already. If you haven't heard the UK is currently basking in the hottest and longest heatwave since the sixties. We've had over four weeks straight of 30'C+ weather here in Oxfordshire (it's been up to 34'C!), which is not normal English weather. We might get a week of it each summer, but that's usually it. Our houses are designed to keep the heat in and we don't have air conditioning in our homes, so it's been unbearable. I'm always overheated from my chronic illnesses, and can't regulate my own body temperature, so I feel so uncomfortable in the heat. I've not had the energy to do anything, and I feel like I've lost a couple of stone sweating from places I didn't know could sweat. I'm so ready for the weather to change, and for Autumn to begin. It doesn't sound like it's going to happen any time soon, though.

Celebrating

On the 2nd, I celebrated my 33rd birthday (man, I'm getting old!). I'm not one for parties and don't really have anyone to celebrate with any more, so I had a quiet one with a trip to the zoo, and an evening in eating birthday cake and a buffet tea with my family. I was given some lovely presents, too, which I'll be blogging about soon.

Playing

My younger sister bought me a Nintendo 2DS for my birthday earlier this month, so I've been having fun playing Mario Kart 7 almost every day since. It's been years since I last played it (on the Wii), and it's great fun. Does anyone have any 2DS game recommendations? I need to buy some new games to play on it.

Eating

I've basically been living on ice cream and all the cold drinks I can get my hand on, to survive the heatwave. Maxibons and Haagen Daaz lollies have been two of my recent faves- but nothing beats a 99 from the ice cream van!

Loving

I'm loving Insta stories at the moment. I could spend hours watching them from my fave Instagrammers every day (and sometimes I do). It's so addictive, and I love seeing what everyone is getting up to or enjoying. I began putting my own stories together a couple of months ago, and I'm really enjoying sharing little snippets from my life, like things I've been buying or crafting, and I'm having fun getting creative with it. It's definitely my favourite platform to use right now- although, I don't post every day because I haven't always got anything exciting to share. It's not easy coming up with interesting content when you're housebound and have no life!

So, that's what I've been doing and enjoying lately. What about you? 

What are you loving right now?

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Currently | April 2018
Currently | October 2017
Currently | May 2017

Currently | April 2018

It's been ages since I last wrote a 'Currently' post (like more than six months ago), so I thought it was about time I put a new one together and updated you on some of the things I've been doing and enjoying lately. Today, I'll fill you in on what I've been reading, watching, buying, making, loving and much more.

Shall we start with the books?

Reading

Since the last time I did one of these 'currently' posts, I've worked my way through the Me Before You series by Jojo Moyes, Me Before You, After You, and Still Me, which I absolutely adored (although, After You wasn't the best). I reread a little of Little Women, A Christmas Carol, and Carrie, and most recently finished How To Stop Time by Matt Haig, and Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, both of which I really enjoyed. I've now moved on to A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge, the author of The Lie Tree, but I've only read a few chapters so far, so I couldn't tell you much about it yet, except that I'm hooked already. I'm really enjoying reading again at the moment, so if anyone's got any book recommendations, let me know in the comments! I read a bit of everything. 

Watching

I haven't watched many new films or TV shows lately as I just haven't been in the mood to concentrate on anything new- plus I've misplaced my Amazon Fire Stick remote so I haven't been watching Netflix in bed as much. I've mostly been enjoying The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Timeless, and Home and Away, and I've got in to watching The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie in the middle of the night because I haven't been sleeping well. I used to love both shows when I was a kid. (FYI, I watched reruns in the nineties; I wasn't alive when they were first out! I'm not that old!) I've also enjoyed watching Little Women (the BBC series), The Miniaturist, Suffragette, The Cloverfield Paradox, Belle, and re-watching The Theory of Everything and Beauty and the Beast (live action).

Listening
I'm currently obsessed with Fall Out Boy's new album, 'Mania', and have basically been playing it on repeat since it came out a couple of months ago. It's such a catchy album, and it's full of great tunes; I'm hooked on every single one. I particularly love 'Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)', and 'Bishops Knife Trick' and haven't been able to stop playing them this week. I also love Panic! at the Disco's new song 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)', (the music video for it is pretty epic, too) and I can't wait for their new album. It's like 2005 all over again!

Wreath-making

Lately, I've been getting handy with a glue gun, and have made a garden of felt flowers and leaves to add to the Spring wreaths I'm currently making. I've taught myself how to make felt roses, daffodils, tulips, pansies, and their leaves so far, and they've turned out surprisingly well, so I'm pretty darn proud of myself for it. Once I've embroidered faces on to the pansies, I should be ready to start putting the wreaths together... unless I decide I want to make yet another type of flower. in the meantime. I'm finding it really addictive. I've also been breaking out the pom pom makers, and have made a shed load of pastel-coloured pom poms for the Spring wreaths,



Making
In addition to making felt flowers and pom poms, I've also made some polka dot fabric hoop art using the loveliest pastel polka dot fat quarters, and wooden embroidery hoops from Hobbycraft. All I did was frame the fabrics tightly in the hoops, and blanket stitch some felt on to the backs to finish them. They're so quick and easy to make! I then turned the left over fabric in to bandannas for my dog, Rosie, and made her a few others as well. You can see her modelling the mint green one on Instagram here.

Stitching

I'm currently almost half way through a rainbow-coloured spectrum mandala cross stitch from The World In Stitches, and I'm really enjoying stitching with all of those colourful threads. Well, you know me and anything colourful! Moth to a flame. It's the same design as the spectral mandala I made last Summer (which you can see here), except the colours are reversed, with this one edged with red and the rainbow bleeding inwards to purple. The colours are so beautiful and cheerful, and I think it's going to look so pretty when it's finished. If you fancy giving the spectrum mandala cross stitch a go yourself, you can find it on The World in Stitches' Etsy shop here.

Painting

I haven't done a lot of painting lately as I've been too busy crafting, but I have bought a couple more Johanna Basford canvases to paint this Spring. I really need to get back in to it soon because I miss it.

Wanting

To own all the Lindy Bop dresses, Erstwilder brooches, Sophie Conran for Port Meirion Colour Pop crockery, and Too Faced's Life's a Festival make up collection.

Needing

Some new ballet pumps, sandals, ankle boots, clothes I can wear in the heat without melting, and to dye my hair. My roots are getting ridiculous, and the greys coming through are depressing me big time. There's no way I'm getting old already. No way at all. *Cries.*

Wishing

I could have a holiday, and go on some more concert adventures. I also wish my tachycardic heart would go back to normal already and let me sleep, and the back and joint pain would give me a break for a little while, but that's probably too much to ask.

Having
Blood tests, blood tests, blood tests, kidney scans, DEXA scans (bone density scans), yet another new anti-inflammatory drug that weakens the immune system... Don't worry, though, I'm fine! I'll try to do a proper health update to fill you in soon.

Buying

I've treated myself to a few new bits and bobs lately, including some Lindy Bop tea dresses, four Erstwilder Christmas brooches in the sale, some books, craft supplies, the Urban Decay Heavy Metals palette (oh, it's so pretty!), and a Cath Kidston Park Wildlife fox ring dish and fox and rabbit crockery.

Loving

The sunshine that has finally put in an appearance after a long dreary grey winter and given us the hottest April in something like seventy years. I've not been able to go out and enjoy it, sadly, but I'm appreciating the sunshine flooding through the windows, having some decent light for blog photos for a change, and the obligatory ice creams. (By the way, Haagen Daz's Vanilla Caramel Brownie ice cream is amazing)! It's helped to lift my mood, even if I have been melting in the heat. I'm not crazy about the heat, so I'm glad it's cooled down again this week

Missing
Rosie, who is away in the kennels this week while my parents are on holiday, as I haven't got the pain tolerance to look after her single-handedly for so long. I feel so guilty leaving her there when I'm home, but needs must. The house is far too quiet without her, though, and I don't like it. I can't wait to get her back this weekend.

Seeing
Fall Out Boy live at the O2 in London a few weeks ago. It was the third time I've seen them live, and they were phenomenal! I'd go as far as saying it was one of the best gigs I've ever seen! I wish I could go back and experience it all over again; it was over waaay too soon. If you'd like to read about it, I blogged about the experience here.

And that is basically what I've been up to lately in a nut shell.

What about you? What have you been enjoying lately?

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Favourites | June and July 2015

I'm a little late with my July Favourites post, but better late than never, right? Considering I skipped my June Favourites altogether, I can at least say this is an improvement! Ha ha!

I didn't have enough to feature for June, so I'll be combining my favourites from June and July for today's post.

June may have been uneventful, but July was a good month for lovely things. It was my birthday at the beginning of the month, which brought presents and a little extra cash to spend how I wanted. Let's just say, it didn't stay in my purse for long!

Wearing / wardrobe newbies:

Evans Flamingo PJ Set: I got myself the cutest flamingo-print PJs from Evans during the heat wave at the end of June. I needed some nightwear I could wear around my family in the 30'C+ heat without melting, and this set has more than paid for itself. It's so comfy, too!

Scarlett & Jo Dress: My parents gave ms some money for my birthday, which I spent on the gorgeous red and black Scarlett & Jo prom dress I'd been eyeing up for months. It's so beautiful! It has a plain black top with a mesh insert and capped sleeves, and a floral polka dot skirt with a light tulle petticoat underneath. I haven't actually worn it properly yet as I've been living in my PJs a lot lately, but I feel like a million bucks in it!

Dorothy Perkins Dress: The floral-print denim dress is from Dorothy Perkins, and was another piece I bought during the heat wave. I needed something light and comfortable to wear on a day trip to London in the sweltering heat, something with sleeves so I wouldn't have to wear a cardigan to cover my arms, nor roast to death wearing one. (I'm still self-conscious of my upper arms, and hate baring them in public). Thankfully, I found this short-sleeved denim smock dress in time, and it just so happened to be on sale for the bargain price of £12! The denim is light and airy, and the dress loose without looking too over-sized, so it's comfortable to wear in the heat, and it looks cute, too. It was perfect for my trip to London last month, and I've worn it several times since.

Accessorising:

Sass and Belle brooch: I treated myself to the cutest wooden swallow brooch from Sass and Belle last month. I still can't believe it was only £1.50! I think the quality is excellent, especially for the price, and it looks awesome with so many of my swing dresses.

ASOS Curve harness: Speaking of awesome jewellery, I finally got my hands on the mood-stone body harness from ASOS Curve, which I'd been coveting for months. It was so worth the wait! I wasn't sure what the sizing would be like, so I ordered the biggest size (M/L), to be safe, but it's generously sized so I think the S/M would've been better. It can be adjusted a little around the neck and back, though, and I think it looks amazing on. I'll admit that I'm ever so slightly obsessed with it.

Beauty Loves:

♥ I started using Garnier Start Afresh Cleanser and Toner in June, which I've been really impressed with so far. My skin is already softer, cleaner, and clearer, and those are results I like- especially since both products are so affordable. Expect a review soon!

♥ I've been keeping The Body Shop's peppermint cooling foot-spray close by during the muggy summer days, and it's been a God-send on my hot, tired feet. It's easily one of my favourite Summer staples.

♥ Lush Emotional Brilliance liquid eyeliners are among my favourite eye make up products, and I'm particularly addicted to my newest colours, Healthy, a vibrant apple green, and Motivation a striking light teal.

♥ I know I've already mentioned my Lush eye jewels a million times but I adore them! The colours are gorgeous, they're long-lasting, and my little palette reminds me of Trivial Pursuit. I'll be reviewing them in the next week or two, and I promise I'll stop talking about them after that!

♥ I treated myself to a new bottle of my favourite nail polish of all time- a Barry M classic nail paint in bright red. It's been my favourite for well over a decade, and I never get bored of wearing it.

♥ And I also tried some Mavala nail polishes for the first time in July, after my parents gave me a set for my birthday. I'm particularly loving 'Milky', a coral-orange, and 'Vegas Pink', a deep magenta.

Watching: About a month ago, I saw the film 'Little Women' for the very first time, and instantly fell in love with it. It has to be one of the loveliest films I've ever seen. I'm not sure how I'd never seen it before but I now count it as one of my all time faves. If you love period dramas, Christmas, general loveliness, and your sisters, I think you'll love it, too. After watching Little Women, I had an urge to rewatch 'Mermaids' (another film starring Winona). It's a classic and worth watching for Cher's wardrobe alone!

Reading: I've been too stressed to concentrate on reading much, lately, but I'm making slow progress with 'Little Women'. I've only read about 100 pages so far, but I'm really enjoying it. And not just because the copy my sister gave me for my birthday is gorgeous.

Listening: There hasn't been a lot of music blasting out from my speakers this Summer, since I managed to break my iPod last month. It slipped out of my hand, bounced off the glass bathroom scales, and shattered. I'm so gutted! I feel like I'm missing a limb!

Colouring: You'll probably have noticed that I'm hooked on adult colouring books at the moment, and in June and July I did a little colouring-in almost every day. I spent hours colouring away at My Magical Oasis, which is one of my current faves. (Should I admit to owning five adult colouring books now? Probably not, but who cares?!) Colouring-in has been distracting me from my physical pain, and also from the stress of other health issues and medical appointments, so it's been a welcome outlet for me lately. It helps that it's full of pretty pictures to work on. (Review here). Plus using Crayola colouring pencils is strangely enjoyable; it reminds me of childhood!

Creative writing: I've also been working my way through a creative writing book called 642 Tiny Things To Write About. It's filled with creative writing prompts that can be completed in a couple of paragraphs or less, and I can never just complete one at a time. I've lost many happy hours filling out page after page after page. (Review here).

There are many other things I could add to this post, but I think I've rambled on enough already, so let's stop here. If you've made it to the end, thanks for sticking with me!

What are your favourite things right now?

Bookshelf Tour Part Two: DVDs and CDs

Last week I gave you a peek at the books on my bookshelf, and today I'm back to show you the DVDs, CDs, and trinkets that also reside on the shelves.

If you didn't see last week's post, here's another look at what my bookshelves look like. Every last gap is crammed full of the books, DVDs, CDs and trinkets I've collected over the last fifteen years.

Let's start with the DVDs. I'm not sure exactly how many are in my collection, but I think I have over 300. I've been buying them since I was seventeen or eighteen, when the videos started phasing out! (I'm showing my age here)! I've never gone out of my way to collect them; the collection has just built up from years of treating myself to a couple of bargain-priced films here and there. I don't buy them often anymore.

I've loved movies for as long as I can remember, but who hasn't? There's nothing better than curling up on the sofa with a movie after a busy day. I don't have a particular preference about what I watch; I enjoy watching a variety of genres from chick flicks to musicals and disaster movies to horror.

I own quite a few rom-coms, but show me a girlie girl who doesn't! In my opinon, every girl needs You've Got Mail, Practical Magic, Letters to Juliet, Julie and Julia, and The Family Stone in their collection! 

Above this shelf is a framed photo of my Mum, my sisters, and I in a pretty frame I bought at Paignton Zoo. I'm the one in the white dress, and I was about seven. The other two photos are of my best friend and I back in the nineties. The photo on the right is one of my favourites; we were eleven and drinking Hooch at my sister's eighteenth birthday party back in 1997!

I have even more chick flicks, nineties teen movies, and musicals on this shelf. Basically, your typical girlie movies. I'd recommend The Book Thief, Walk the Line, Australia, and Meet Me in St. Louis if you've never seen them. 

This shelf is mostly dedicated to films from the eighties and nineties; the films I grew up watching like Steel Magnolias, Uncle Buck, Corrina, Corrina, Labyrinth and My Father the Hero. They're all awesome!

Above it are all of my Lost box sets. It's probably my favourite TV series of all time, thanks in part to Sawyer and Sayid being so easy on the eye! Yeah, I'm a perve!

Here's another random selection of chick flicks, musicals, and everybody's favourite dystopian book adaptations.

This shelf is mostly awesome disaster films, and a few slightly-creepy horrors. I'm not a huge fan of horror movies, but give me a dystopian, post-apocalyptic, or zombie flick and I'm so there!

These are just some of my Christmas DVDs, and I'm not even sorry! I'm a self-confessed Christmas enthusiast, and festive films never fail to get me in the festive spirit. I have to watch Santa Claus the Movie, Home Alone, Christmas With The Kranks, and The Muppet Christmas Carol every year!

This cube is mostly disaster films, action movies, and Leo Di Caprio films. Titanic is my favourite movie of all time, but I'm sure with three Titanic DVDs on the shelf (four if you count the unrelated TV series), I'm sure you'd never have guessed... Explanation? I had to buy second and third copies after each edition began skipping all the time from being watched a thousand times. I've never purposefully collected them.

The shelf at the bottom is home to my Harry Potters, and a random selection of thrillers, horrors, and musicals. It's also where I keep a bunch of random CDs and blank discs.

All of the shelves are double stacked, so there are even more DVDs hidden behind all of those shown above! If I showed you them, too, we'd be here all day. A lot of the films hidden away are beyond terrible, but there are also all of the Sex and the City and Friends box sets; a bunch of Disneys; old classics like My Girl and Hook; and a few music DVDs.

As for CDs, this is only some of my collection. I have others in the loft and in the car, and my sister has a bunch of them I'll probably never be given back. I don't buy CDs as often as I used to; unless one of my favourite bands has released something new; I generally download most music these days. I prefer buying the CD so I can sit and read the album sleeve during that special first listen, but it's just easier , and usually cheaper to download, and it saves on space. I haven't really gone through or played any of these CDs for years. Most of them are actually quite old.

It's been a while since I last discovered a new band or artist. I've just been listening to the same favourites on a loop for the last couple of years! My favourite bands are Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Boyzone, Ronan Keating, Evanescence, Panic! at the Disco, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, and Snow Patrol. Lostprophets used to be one of my favourite bands, but I doubt I'll ever listen to them again thanks to that sick fuck.

There isn't much room left to spare on the shelf, but most of the little gaps and edges are occupied by little treasures like ornaments, trinket pots, and mini teddy bears. I think all of the knick-knacks on the bookcase were presents; they're not things I tend to buy for myself. I have several Just For You bears and ornaments that were given to me as presents in my late teens / early twenties back in the noughties when everybody was obsessed with them. I still think they're cute, but to be honest I got bored of Tatty Teddy a long time ago.

I bought these Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing canvases from Camden lock market in my early twenties. The stall sold wooden hand-painted canvases of movie scenes and movie icons in both colour and black and white, and being a typical girl, I just couldn't resist these four. The Dirty Dancing ones came in a set, the Pretty Woman one was flying solo, although if there had been a set, I would probably have bought it because I just adore that film!

This heart-shaped polka dot memo board is currently filling a gap on the wall above the shelves. One of my sisters bought me it from Sainsburys last year. I've never actually used it as a memo board; I like it just the way it is.

And... that concludes my book shelf tour! If you've made it through all of that, thanks for sticking with me!

If you'd like to see part one of the bookshelf tour, you can find it here.

Do you have a DVD collection to rival mine? What are your favourite films?