Watch This

...just watch it. Please. Oh, and make sure you have the sound turned up, otherwise it won't be nearly as funny.


I feel like my life is now complete.

Song of the Day: Christmas Lights by Coldplay

Currently reading: Nothing! I finished Letters from Father Christmas but I haven't gotten round to picking a new book. I'll get back to you when I have.

Monday Thoughts

My hours at work are currently all over the place, hence the blogging hiatus. But anyway, my brother and his girlfriend will be coming to visit this week, plus my parents get back from Saudi on Thursday so I'm excited for that. I've been waiting until everyone's here to put the tree up and I'm starting to get a bit impatient - I'm usually one of those people who puts up the Christmas tree on the 1st of December. I've shown a lot of restraint I think! Also, I've had a disaster with my advent calender. I accidentally opened the door for the 17th on the 7th and didn't realise until the next day. So now I'll have to open the 8th on the 17th. It might not seem like a big deal to normal people but I am strange and it has infuriated me, haha.

Did everyone see the X factor final? I'm kind of glad James Arthur won because he was definitely my favourite, but I think he was going to do well without winning, whereas I think Jahmene would have benefited more from winning, I feel like he's less likely to do well on his own. Also, James Arthur might find himself restricted by whatever conditions come with being the winner of the X factor. Oh well, I don't really care that much, I never vote on shows like that anyway!

It's that time of year again where I have been gifted some extra channels for the holiday, including Good Food, which has made me incredibly happy. I love watching cooking shows anyway, and Christmas cooking shows are just the best. Everyone knows that. So I've been watching a lot of old Jamie Christmas specials! 

Anyway, it's very cold today, and I have to wait in for a delivery, so it's quite nice that I've got an excuse not to go anywhere. Nigella's on soon - think I'll watch that with a huge mug of hot chocolate :)

Christmas song of the day: Please Come Home For Christmas by Jon Bon Jovi

Currently reading: Letters from Father Christmas - I nearly finished it last night but I fell asleep. Considering reading Life of Pi next because I really want to watch the film when it's out.

Happy December!

Hi guys. I hope everyone is enjoying December so far, I know I am. I'm waiting until my parents get back to put up the Christmas tree so that's going to wait until next week, but I have decorated my room and I of course have an advent calender. I love Christmas :)


I don't think I've worn this dress since last year. It's quite short at the back and the last time I wore it I went shopping and it was unexpectedly windy. This is not a dress to wear when it's windy!

Top: Dorothy Perkins
Dress: Topshop
Tights: Sainsburys
Coat: H&M
Boots: Dorothy Perkins
Necklace: Possibly Matalan

I still super love my coat, and I think it goes with this outfit pretty perfectly, which is nice as because the coat is patterned it's hard to pair with other patterned items of clothing. Anyway, I'll be back on Thursday (probably).

Photo Friday (Monday)

New photos! These were going to go up on Friday, but I genuinely had technical difficulties. The photos wouldn't load and I didn't have enough time before work to figure out why and try again. So here ya go.







Just a few snaps of my Christmas decorations in my bedroom. Christmas fever has well and truly taken over me, yesterday at work there were Christmas songs playing on the radio all day and after work I went to the cinema to see Rise of the Guardians (which is awesome).

I've also decided that throughout December, my songs of the day are going to be Christmas songs - hopefully not obvious ones like Slade and Wizzard, but we'll have to see , I might run out of lesser heard Christmas songs that I actually like.

Christmas Song of the Day: December Will be Magic Again by Kate Bush

Currently reading: Letters from Father Christmas - I'm almost finished, it's so lovely.

This is not an outfit

It is cold today. It is beyond cold actually. So instead of taking outfit photos, I made some soup instead.

It was good.

Don't be mad

OK, so I have a confession to make.

I have officially abandoned my 30 books challenge. That doesn't mean I don't plan on reading the rest of the books on the list because I do want to, just in my own time. If I've learnt anything about myself this year it's that I don't do well in self-imposed challenges. And I don't like to speed-read.

Anyway, I finally realised that it definitely wasn't happening when I realised what I really wanted to read wasn't on my list, but I decided that that shouldn't stop me from reading. Because reading is fun, and I wanted it to stop feeling like a chore.

This is how I spent my morning.


This is such a lovely little book, perfect for this time of year (I've been wanting to read it since I picked it up in January), plus it's a really quick read. I'm already eyeing up what I want to read next on my bookshelf - it might even be one that was on my original 30 books list. We'll see.

Song of the Day: So Here We Are by Bloc Party

Currently reading: Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

Woolly Hats and Stripey Tops

Finally managed to get outside! Although not for long as it is freezing and much nicer indoors at the moment. But anyway, if you live in the UK you'll probably have noticed the horrendous weather we've had over the last week or so. And apparently, the worst is yet to come. Joy.


Beanie hats are oh so useful for the days when you really should wash your hair but can't quite be bothered. Plus they make you look a bit more casual, even when you're wearing heels. These shorts are far too big for me now but I really wanted to wear these tights and boots and both the skirts I tried before landing on this ensemble just didn't look quite right. I'm in love with this top which is weird because I got it from Select and I never usually go in there. I saw it in the shop window and had to have it. Because it's stripey.

Hat: Dorothy Perkins
Top: Select
Shorts: Primark
Tights: H&M
Boots: Dorothy Perkins

Oh Christmas Tree...

I have had such a productive day. A big chunk of my Christmas shopping is done, I dusted and hoovered all of upstairs plus had a massive tidy of my room, and I put up some Christmas decorations in my room as well. Lots of other household chores have also been done, which considering it's only Monday is nothing short of a miracle.

Then, when I sat down feeling really smug because of how much I've got done, I remembered I have a blog. Which I neglected somewhat last week (sorry).

But hey, look what I bought in Sainsburys today!

It's a real mini Christmas tree! It came with the little decorations and I love it so much, plus it was a bargain at only £6! 

So yeah, I'm now well and truly in the Christmas spirit, plus my bedroom is now lovely and festive. I'm a happy girly. I'm even tempted to do a bit of Christmas wrapping later. Or is it still too early to do that?

Song of the Day: Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran. Sigh. He sings to my soul.

Sorry

The weather has been ridiculous. Please bear with me!

Happy Weekends

I had such a good weekend. I didn't do a great deal, but when you work every weekend, the occasional ones you do get off are appreciated that much more. On Saturday I just did a bit of shopping, played some video games and then watched Harry Potter movies 3-5. On Sunday I was taken out to a local pub for a lovely Sunday lunch followed by a couple of drinks in front of the fireplace. Then more video games and the rest of the Harry Potter movies to round off my weekend. So good. 

Anyway, after a clear and sunny (albeit incredibly cold) weekend, it's now grey and windy and raining and pretty horrible to be honest, so I'm definitely feeling the Monday blues. Oh well, nothing a bit of Christmas shopping won't fix. I haven't seen all that much in the actual shops so I think this year most of my shopping will be done online. I'm excited to get sorted, I love buying people presents.

Song of the Day: Shuffle by Bombay Bicycle Club

Photo Friday

Here's to me remembering to post on all the right days this week. Go me.

I only had one tea-bag left so decided to have a hot chocolate this morning instead, it was amazing. I always feel like you're not supposed to have hot chocolate in the morning, it seems a bit indulgent. But I wanted to hang on to my last tea-bag - my emergency tea-bag, if you will - and I wasn't in the mood for coffee. Then I decided to hell with it, I'm having a hot chocolate.

Also, I think my Christmas magazine collection is starting to get out of hand, what do you think?

Song of the Day: Pictures by Sia

My go-to jeans

It's gone colder again, and it's a little bit foggy today. I'm really hoping it clears before I have to go to work because driving in fog is most definitely not my favourite thing.



Jacket: Primark
Jumper: Primark
Top (under jumper): Dorothy Perkins
Jeans: Matalan
Boots: Brantano

I love these jeans so much. The colour is so perfect for this kind of year and they're much more interesting than plainer jeans. Plus they're really comfy and I just want to wear them all the time. I wish the hearts on my jumper were the same colour as my jeans so that they matched just a little bit more, but I can live with it.

See? It's cold.

Christmas Adverts

Am I the only one who finds it irritating that the John Lewis Christmas adverts use slowed down, kind of depressing sounding versions of old songs year after year after year? Not that I don't like Gabrielle Aplin's version of The Power of Love, it's lovely. But I want my Christmas adverts jolly. And I'm probably the only one who thinks this but I think the John Lewis adverts are hugely overrated - I like them, I just don't love them, like everyone else seems to. On a related note, I feel like I'm officially allowed to get excited for Christmas now because I saw the Coca-Cola Christmas advert yesterday.

Song of the Day: Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine

Summer dresses in Winter

I super duper love this dress, but it's very light and airy and summery, but I like to buy clothes that I can wear whenever I want, and not be constricted by a certain season. So layering is awesome. Also it helps that it wasn't too nippy today!

I feel like I liked this outfit better in the mirror than I do in the photos, but I still think it works on the whole. The shoes don't exactly match really, but I have a habit of wearing shoes that don't go with the rest of my outfit. I'm surprisingly OK with it.

Cardigan: Matalan
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Dress: H&M
Tights: H&M
Shoes: Primark
Belt: Dorothy Perkins
Necklace: Matalan (I think)

Photo Friday

Did I say Friday? I mean Monday, oops. 

Don't be mad at me I had a reallllly busy few days at work and as a result I am exhausted today. However, I have the weekend off! I haven't had a weekend off since I can't even remember when. I'm going to the cinema on Saturday and out for a Sunday lunch on Sunday, but other than that, no firm plans so I'm looking forward to it. Anyway, here's a photo!

This is from when I still live in Aberystwyth. Very blurry, but I like the glow of the lights. And also I had no new photos this week. Yet again.

Song of the Day: Don't Let Go by En Vogue. Such a tune.

Oooops

Sometimes I forget what day it is, which is why I didn't post on Tuesday like I was supposed to. By the time I realised, it was getting dark and I didn't want to take inside photos. But hey, now it's Thursday and I'm back on track!


Sometimes outfits don't always seem that blog-worthy, but nevertheless, this is what I'm wearing today. I'm not sure if these boots go really, but I've been wearing them non-stop lately because they do go with most things and they're just so easy to throw on. A very good purchase from last year.

It's been a little bit milder today so I was alright to just put on a denim jacket instead of my bigger coat (although I really love that coat). I do love the colder weather though, layering is the best, so many options. Now all I need is a festive jumper and I'll be all set.

Denim jacket: Dorothy Perkins
Scarf: Gift from a friend
Top: New Look
Jeans: Dorothy Perkins
Boots: New Look

Brrr...

Obama's been re-elected! So that's good news. I don't really know too much about American politics, but I know enough about Romney to know that I definitely didn't want him to possess as much power as President of the United States gives you. The possibility of him being President actually frightened me a little bit, so yeah, I'm pretty pleased with the decision America made last night. Election campaigns always seem to last about a million years as well, so I'm glad it's over for another four years.

Anyway, it's cold. Have you been outside recently? It's so cold. Yesterday I went into town to get a headstart on my Christmas shopping. I was stopped by a paid charity worker for Shelter who asked if I'd send a one-off text donation, which I was happy to do, and he mentioned how cold he was, which made me feel really sorry for him. It's got to be a hard job, standing around in the cold, trying to convince people who really don't want to be bothered into spending a fiver of their credit. And at least the guy who I spoke to was in a paid position, it's got to be so stressful if you work on commission. It got me wondering about how charitable I actually am. Usually when I'm in town I actively try to avoid the people fundraising in the streets because I have a really hard time saying no to people, and sometimes I feel like I'm being bullied into it which I hate. I think for me to stop and listen it really depends on what kind of mood I'm in, how much of a rush I'm in, and whether I'm on my own or with someone else. I think it depends on how I'm approached as well. For instance, yesterday I was asked by a slightly miserable looking lady if I wanted to help Dog's Trust, and I said, 'Not today thanks,' and carried on walking, although feeling a bit guilty. Whereas the man from Shelter had a big smile on his face and asked if I could spare 30 seconds, and I decided that yes, I could. 

I don't really have any answers for why sometimes I'll stop and sometimes I won't, and I'm afraid that I am guilty of sometimes crossing over to the opposite side of the street just to avoid being stopped, but I don't like feeling obligated to donate or something and as soon as you stop, you pretty much are. But then again I do donate money to friends quite a lot when they need sponsoring, especially if it's Race for Life or something. I just like to give what I want, when I want, without people trying to pressurise me into it, because I think charitable giving is a pretty personal thing.

That's just a few of my thoughts on the matter anyway. I do tend to feel more charitable at this time of year as well, probably because it's cold and I appreciate the fact that I live comfortably and I'm pretty thankful for that!

Song of the Day: Classy Girls by The Lumineers

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I feel like from now until January, all I'm going to talk about is Christmas. Now that it's November, every other advert on the telly is incredibly festive, and I don't really need that big a push to get excited in the first place. I think I'm going to start my Christmas shopping tomorrow, but I also want a few of the gifts I give to have a bit more of a homemade feel to them too, so that should be fun. I'm looking forward to decorating my room this year as well, I want it to be full of cheesy festive tat. It will be awesome.

Work was incredibly quiet this weekend, everyone must have been enjoying Bonfire night celebrations. Speaking of, when I was driving to work on Saturday just before 6pm, I was getting incredibly distracted by the fireworks going off, they're a menace. And I'm not at all bitter that I didn't get to go and see any fireworks displays this year. Not. At. All.

Anyway, that's about all I have to say for today I think. My blog schedule works in theory until I forget what day it is and realise last minute that I have to post something and then just write any old rubbish. Like today.

Song of the Day: Candy by Robbie Williams. I'm so glad Robbie is back in my life.

Currently reading: I feel like I should just skip this section until I finish We Need To Talk About Kevin because this is getting ridiculous.

Photo Friday

I'm kind of cheating this week because these photos were actually taken in the summer when I was in Barmouth, but my shift at work got changed last minute yesterday so I had to go in much earlier and didn't have a chance to take any pictures. Luckily I have a huge number of photos unseen on this blog, so crisis averted.


I'm working all weekend, including a split-shift tomorrow which is possibly my least favourite thing to do ever, so I hope everyone else has more fun than me!

Song of the Day: Feel So Close by Calvin Harris

Currently reading: If you really need to ask, We Need To Talk About Kevin. Really slowly.

New coat!

I bought one of the coats I wanted that I mentioned here. It was half price so I figured it would be rude not to. So here's what it looks like! I love it.



I think I'm still going to want another coat that's a bit longer just for a bit of extra warmth when it gets colder - I have a feeling this winter's going to be really cold - but I am super happy with this one.

Also, this is what my curly hair looks like after I've slept on it, I think I still kind of like it even if the curls have gone a bit limp!


Coat: H&M
White top: Dorothy Perkins
Purple top: River Island
Jeans: Dorothy Perkins
Shoes: New Look

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed Halloween, and hey, it's November now! So pinch, punch, first of the month and all that.

Halloweeeeen

I used to love Halloween when I was a kid. Trick-or-Treating was the best and dressing up was fun. I haven't done anything for Halloween in years though, I kind of hate fancy-dress now, I'm not really sure why. Tonight I shall be at work anyway so no Halloween plans. 

Last night I made a cake. Well, kind of. I cheated, thank you very much Betty Crocker. But man is it good.


I wanted to make it Halloween themed but then I realised all I had to decorate it with were chocolate buttons. But it is scarily unhealthy so I guess that counts. The amount of frosting on it is ridiculous. It's so yummy though.

Also, I bought Empire magazine the other day because of this cover:

It's 3D which I guess doesn't really translate in a photograph but it's so cool! I'm going to stick it on my wall, it'll probably really freak me out if I wake up in the middle of the night though. They've got 5 different covers of different characters from The Hobbit and I really want them all but at a fiver a piece I think it's a bit much.

Finally, here's a link to the best celebrity Halloween costumes (apparently, some of them are a bit rubbish). I think Heidi Klum and Seal officially have all the best costumes though!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Song of the Day: Jack's Lament (from The Nightmare Before Christmas) by Danny Elfman

Current'y reading: We Need To Talk About Kevin

Halloweeny...kind of

Because it's Halloween tomorrow, I thought I'd wear the most Halloweeny thing in my wardrobe and curl my hair, as you do. I can't decide if I love or hate the hair, but I haven't straightened it all out yet so that must be a good sign.


I never usually like tops like this one but I saw it on play.com a couple of years ago and had to buy it, it's kind of creepy in a good way I think. Plus it's Alice in Wonderland and that makes it cool.


Top: Criminal Damage (from play.com) I don't think they sell it anymore though!
Skirt: New Look
Tights: BHS
Shoes: New Look

I hope everyone has more exciting plans than I do tomorrow night, I will be at work unfortunately. No Halloween fun for me, sad times.

Apocalypse

Morning. I hope everyone enjoyed their extra hour in bed yesterday morning. I definitely did. I have a delivery coming today, I don't know what time except that it will be before 3pm, so I got up at 8 and I'm currently snuggled on the sofa with a cup of coffee and watching Frasier. Bliss.

What I wanted to talk about today is that Derren Brown Apocalypse show that's been on channel 4. I missed it on Friday because I was at work but when I got home last night I watched it because I was genuinely curious to see how it would go. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, Derren Brown (that hypnotist guy) basically selected someone who he thought was the right candidate and convinced him that he was living in a zombie apocalypse caused by a meteor collision. The whole premise of this is obviously completely ridiculous, not to mention a pretty horrific thing to put someone through. I can't quite make my mind up over how legitimate I think it is, because to be honest I'm a massive skeptic when it comes to hypnotism, but at certain times I definitely felt convinced just by how genuinely terrified this poor guy seemed to be. The jury's still out at the moment though. I'm such a cynic.

My main problem with the whole thing is how Derren Brown thinks that by doing this to the poor lad he's somehow helping him live a better life and learn to not take his friends and family for granted, because he's decided that this guy is selfish and lazy and not making the most out of his life. It's so self-righteous. OK, fair enough in the few clips we were shown of him being secretly filmed at home, he did seem lazy and selfish, and I did feel a bit sorry for his mum because she said she wanted him to love her a bit more, but he certainly didn't seem like a terrible human being who deserved to actually be forced to live through what's shaping up to be an amalgamation of every zombie movie ever made. Also, he's only 21 years old, and who's honestly got their life together by the time they're 21? I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything was going to be alright through most of it, I felt so sorry for him.

Anyway, it concludes on Friday when I'm at work again, but I think I'll definitely have to watch it afterwards, maybe I'll be able to decide if I think it's real or whether I think this guy is just an actor (albeit a pretty good one). 

Song of the Day: Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Currently reading: We Need To Talk About Kevin

Photo Friday

It's Autumn, therefore it's really pretty outside.






Gross looking mushrooms growing in the garden
So I guess I just officially implemented Photo Friday which means so far so good with regards to my schedule. Autumn and Winter are my favourite seasons, not that I don't like Spring and Summer but I've never minded being cold, and I like layering and hot drinks and blankets and sitting in front of the fire. Not to mention Christmas. Also the colours of the leaves are so pretty this time of year. Unfortunately they're also falling off the trees pretty rapidly which means I'm going to have to rake them all up soon, I'm sure that will be a fun job for me.

Song of the Day: Daniel by Bat For Lashes

Currently reading: We Need To Talk About Kevin

Pink & Grey

My titles for these are so unimaginative, I'm going to have to think of a better system I think. But anyway, onto the outfit.



Haha I look so sad
Outside photos look so much better than ones taken indoors. It's a shame the weather doesn't always make it possible to do that, although I'm going to try and take them outside as much as I possibly can. I love this skirt but I've been finding it really hard to style, which is ridiculous really because it's grey and grey goes with lots of things. I was just wearing it with a white long sleeved top which looked nice but it was a bit boring. A quick root through my wardrobe to find this beauty of a jumper and voila, an instant pop to an otherwise pretty dull ensemble.



Jumper: H&M
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Skirt: Topshop
Boots: Peacocks
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...