Wednesday Wish List

Here are a few things on my wish list this week...

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

I'm in love with Cath Kidston's new Forest Animals and Hedgehog prints; they might just be the cutest Cath K prints yet! I'm not sure if you can make them out, but the Forest Animals print is made up of hedgehogs, foxes, bunnies, owls, snails, toadstools and flowers, like a Cath Kidston Animals of Farthing Wood. The hedgehog print is adorable, too, and follows a similar style, so the two prints compliment each other perfectly. As an animal lover, I'm a little bit smitten with both; I want every single last piece! 

Cath Kidston owl brooch

Their new owl brooch is adorable, too. I may or may not have ordered it last night before it could get away... I'm hoping that there'll be some brooches in the Forest Animals collection- a Cath Kidston hedgehog, fox, squirrel or bunny brooch would be awesome!

1 // 2 // 3

These floral skater dresses from Lovedrobe look so pretty, especially the black rose print number. I may have also ordered one of those last night... It was on promo; how could I refuse?

1 // 2 // 3

I'm head over heels in love with Hell Bunny's Hermeline pieces. Look how gorgeous they are! The print is made up of some of my favourite things- sunflowers, bunnies and foxes (along with deer, squirrels, and roses), and it's pretty much the most perfect print I've seen in my life. And look, the dresses have sleeves! I need them all in my life, but I can't decide which one to buy first.

1 // 2 // 3

I'm also smitten with the pretty pink and turquoise floral Peacock print; it's so summery and cheerful. The two dresses and skirt are all to die for, and perfect for wearing in the Summer sun. Y'know, if it ever makes a reappearance in the UK this Summer.

UNIF fruit pin sets

These two fruit pin sets from UNIF Clothing are ridiculously cute.

Face Your Cheers Flats

And last but not least... pink Care Bear shoes!! Hell yes!

If you'd like to see more of the pieces that I'm coveting each week, check out my style wish list boards on Pinterest.

What's on your wish list this week?

Mini Haul | July 2016

A couple of weeks ago, I treated myself to a few little bits and pieces, so I thought I'd do a mini-haul, and show you what I've been buying lately.

As a self-confessed Cath Kidston and stationery addict, I couldn't resist treating myself to a new notebook and sticker pad in the Cath Kidston sale a couple of weeks ago; I'd been eyeing them both up for months. 

I already own a few Cath Kidston notebooks, but I couldn't resist the Guards and Friends design, which features beef-eaters, the queen's guards, and police men on the front and back cover; it's so adorably British! Inside, there's also a character or two in the corner of each page, and the pages are thin-ruled. which I find are perfect for writing lists and ideas in. They're probably my favourite notebooks to write in, and they're so inexpensive at £6 each. This one was on sale for just £4, which you can find here.

The sticker pad is filled with page after page of cute pastel-coloured labels and stickers. Twenty pages, to be precise. There are two different sheets of designs, one floral, and the other floral with little birds, and they're all so pretty. Each page features seven stickers, so there are fourteen different designs in the book, and one hundred and forty labels altogether. Not bad for just £4 (on sale)! They'd be perfect for journaling, scrapbooking, planners, snail mail, gift tags, labelling... all kinds of stuff. 

I also bought the cutest Queen's guard money box to give to my best friend's little boy for Christmas, but I've already packed it away in the present stash.

I took advantage of The Body Shop's recent 40% off promotion, and saved a few pennies on a few of my essentials. I bought a pot of the Vitamin E moisture cream, and a bottle each of the satsuma body puree and shower gel. I've been using all three products religiously for well over a decade, and I couldn't (okay, I could, if I had to but wouldn't want to) live without them. All three products are amazing, give me super soft, clean-feeling skin, and smell incredible, too. I've yet to find a beauty product that smells better than The Body Shop's satsuma range; I don't think such a thing exists, but if it does, I don't want to know about it.

I treated myself to this fun tutti frutti juice box bag in the Accessorize sale after coveting it for months. It was reduced to £17.50 (originally £35), and I saved a further 10% using code RWDAW15, which brought it down to £15.75! Talk about a bargain. The bag is so cute and colourful and surprisingly roomy for a little bag; I can fit my purse, phone, camera, medicine, keys, and lip balm inside with room to spare. It's so different to any bag I own but fits in nicely in my novelty bag collection, and will go perfectly with so many of my Summer clothes. It doesn't appear to be available online any more, but it could be worth checking in store if you want to get your hands on one.

And I also picked up some new red and pink nail polishes from Boots and Superdrug, since it's been ages since I last bought any new shades. I hunted down a bottle of my favourite nail polish ever- Barry M's Bright Red (the colour is so classic), and came away with three new Sally Hansen salon manicure polishes to try. Clockwise from bottom left: Frutti Petutie. New Flame, and Aria Red-y? They were on promo for £4.99, and I have to say, I'm really impressed with them so far. I may have to go back for some other colours soon. Knowing me, I probably will!

What have you been buying lately?

Turning Thirty One

On Saturday, I turned thirty one. I still haven't quite got my head around the numbers, but my age isn't bothering me like it did when I turned thirty and freaked out so badly, I got trapped under a toxic fog of depression for a couple of months. After making it through a full year as a thirty year old and discovering there really wasn't anything to worry about- even without all those things society says we're supposed to have by thirty- like a husband, babies, a house, and a respectable career- being thirty-one doesn't worry me in the slightest. It's just another year of my life to live, grow, and make as many memories as I can before the counter resets in a year's time. I've decided that it doesn't matter that I don't have the picture perfect life we're made to believe we should have, and its absence shouldn't stop me from appreciating the life I have now, so I'm happy to live the life I've got and see where it takes me. There are plenty of years ahead of me for life to happen naturally, and I'm certainly not dead yet. Turning thirty-one is no big deal, and the next year can be as exciting or unremarkable as I want it to be. We'll see where it takes me!

For now, here are some photos and snippets from my birthday, including a mini haul of the birthday presents I was given by my family.

Colourful presents and cards from the family.

My  parents gave me this colourful, floral print pair of Rocket Dogs. They're so pretty. I don't often wear trainers these days, but I know they'll come in handy for running around after the dog.

This beautiful set of Mavala nail polishes was also from my parents. The five shades are all gorgeous, and so wearable. I first tried Mavala nail polishes last year, and I've come to really like them because they glide on like a dream, and usually remain chip-free for several days. They're a little pricier than many, but they're totally worth their price tag.

My  Mum also gave me this flamingo cross stitch kit. It's so cute and colourful! It's different to anything I've made before, so it'll be fun to try something different for a change. Plus it has flamingos on it, and you guys know how much I love all things flamingo.

My  older sister gave me this adorable Cath Kidston cottage sewing basket, which I knew I was getting because I was with her when she bought it. I've wanted a Cath Kidston sewing basket house for years and had been coveting this one for months, but at £58 I couldn't justify the purchase. It's a lot of money for a sewing basket. I was planning to buy it after it was reduced to £34 a couple of weeks ago, but the sister kindly got it for me instead. It's beautiful, and I finally have a proper place to store my cross stitch supplies, instead of haphazardly squeezing everything in to a couple of tiny cheap wicker baskets. It'll make a cute prop for blog photos, too.

She also gave me this beautiful copy of The BFG, which was one of our favourites books growing up. I have to admit, the illustrations inside and on the cover are so beautiful.

My  little sister gave me a Sega Mega Drive games console, which is loaded with classic nineties computer games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and Columns, along with two separate games we played to death when we were little- Aladdin and The Lion King! Oh, sweet Jesus, this is amazing! I didn't even know this console existed! (FYI, she said she got it from Argos). If I had, I would've bought it in a heart beat; I loved the Sega Mega Drive growing up!

When I was nine, my sisters and I were given a Mega Drive for Christmas (1994), which was the best present ever because until then we only had an ancient Commodore computer which we played on an old black and white TV. It took about an hour and a half for the games to load so you had to clear your day if you wanted to play with it. In comparison, the Mega Drive was the coolest thing ever, and it kept us amused for years. We used to fight over whose turn it was to play on it all the time. We were all addicted to The Lion King, but I also had a soft spot for Aladdin, Golden Axe, Sonic, and Maui Mallard. It was awesome! With so many old favourites to play again, I have a feeling I'll be addicted to this console in no time! If I disappear from the blog for a few months, you'll know why!

Some of my birthday cards. The banana card is brilliant, and oh so true!

I decided to spend my birthday at my local zoo, The Cotswold Wildlife Park, so Marie and I headed out around half eleven, and she treated me to a ticket. It's one of my favourite places and only a few miles from home, so it makes for a fun, easy day out, and I don't even waste any spoons getting there. Yay! The weather was grey and drizzled at times, but we had fun wandering around just the same, chatting, eating ice cream, and looking at all kinds of weird and wonderful animals and plants 'til mid afternoon. We got caught in the rain towards the end and got soaked trying to find the car (it took us about ten minutes to find it!), but we really enjoyed our visit, and it was a great way to start off my birthday. I'll be blogging about my visit properly really soon, once I've got through all of the photos I took.

After The Wildlife Park, I was in agony and exhausted, so I soon changed in to my PJs, and went for a lie down. I took a couple of selfies before I crashed. This is 31 year old me in my PJs, with hair damp and frizzy from the rain, and hair dye stains along my scalp and hair line as I'd dyed it the night before. My fringe has grown past my chin, and I'm in dire need of a hair cut. Most of my make up had come off in the rain, revealing a face covered in a gazillion freckles that have grown in size, multiplied and darkened from spending so much time in the garden with the puppy over the last few months. My eyebrows are unkempt and in desperate need of some TLC, awfully shaped thanks to over-plucking them when I was twelve, and had no idea what I was doing. (Why did I do that?! Why?) They've never filled back in. Thirty-one year old me has dark circles and a few blemishes, but no wrinkles just yet. I'm told I don't look thirty-one, and I definitely don't feel it. I don't feel old, and I don't feel like a proper grown-up yet. I have no current plans to change who I am or 'act my age'; and judging by my birthday and the presents I was given, I've started to grow back down instead. I'm okay with that! Me, old? Pah!

A couple of hours later, my Mum put together a 'party tea' or a buffet, if you prefer, so I crawled back downstairs and ate junk while watching Mrs Doubtfire with my Mum and little sis. I felt about five! If you can't eat junk unapologetically on your birthday, when can you, eh?

We  finished with the most delicious gooey chocolate birthday cake from M&S, which was so large I had a slice on Saturday, Sunday and Monday! Bad for my body, but oh so delicious.

After I'd had my fill and the movie had ended, I couldn't bare the pain any longer, so I crawled back upstairs and in to bed. I vaguely remember watching Avatar and trying to blog, but I was so shattered I napped on and off and fell asleep pretty early.

My birthday was hardly rock 'n' roll and I couldn't celebrate with a few drinks (thanks to medication) or a night on the tiles, but I had a good day just the same. If Saturday was anything to go by, thirty-one won't be so bad after all.

Wednesday Wish List

Here are some of the pieces on my wish list this week...

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12

I want all of the beautiful, patterned Eloise dresses from Lady Vintage- especially numbers 5, 7, and 11.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

These novelty brooches from Collectif are all super cute.

Zatchels Strawberry Print Satchel

I'm obsessed with this amazing strawberry print Zatchels satchel. It's perfect.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

I love ASOS Curve's current collection of short PJs. I want them all!

1 // 2

These swallow print circle skirts from Hell Bunny are gorgeous.

1 // 2 // 3

I love these Hell Bunny and Voodoo Vixen cardigans, too.

1 // 2

I need these two polka dot dresses from Scarlett and Jo. A girl can never have too many polka dot dresses.

1 // 2

These two lace dresses from Truly You and ASOS Curve are to die for.

1 // 2

I adore this ruffled playsuit from ASOS Curve, and paisley embroidered skater dress from Alice & You.

1 // 2

And these two novelty bags from Modcloth are amazing.

If you'd like to see more of the fashion pieces I'm coveting each week, check out my style wish list boards on Pinterest.

What's on your wish list this week?

Photo Diary | June 2016

June was quite a quiet month for me. Apart from a couple of hospital and doctor's appointments, I think I only left the house once- last weekend when I tagged along to Oxford with my sister to do a little shopping. I wasn't really able to get up to anything exciting, but whenever I had the strength to get out of bed, I mostly hung out at home, cross stitching, wrapping up presents, and trying to train my hyperactive puppy not to be a hell hound. I failed. 

As it was a quiet month, I didn't take heaps of photos, but I have enough to turn in to a little round-up post. I take so many random photos that never really warrant their own post, and aside from sharing some of them on Instagram, I never know what to do with them. So, what do you do with photos that don't fit in anywhere else? You put them in a monthly round-up post, and decide to make it a monthly feature. Hopefully next month I'll have more photos to share, but here are the handful I took in June.

1. New red and pink nail polish purchases. // 2. A pretty door in St. Giles, Oxford belonging to St. Cross College. // 3. Alice, The Mad Hatter, and Absolem butterfly Tsum Tsums- holiday gifts from my sis. // 5. St. Mary Magdalen Church, Oxford. // 5. Silly Disney gifts from my sis- an apple flavoured Simba lolly, and Minnie Mouse Pez dispenser. // 6. Martyrs Memorial, Oxford.

1. Cheerful blue nails. // 2. Wrapping Father's Day prezzies. // 3. Pretty rose from the garden. // 4. Progress on my Home Sweet Home cross stitch sampler. // 5. Rosie sitting on the granite bench in the garden. // 6. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum Tsum Tsums.

1. Putting a birthday parcel together for my best friend. // 2. River in the sunshine. // 3. Wrapping presents for my best friend in colourful tissue paper. // 4. When CT scans of your body look like woodland animals... // 5. Rosie turned six months old! // 6. Passing over the river.

You can keep up to date with all my latest snap shots on Instagram here. 

What did you get up to in June?