Sugarpatch

Ecotools review

2012-01-20T16:30:00.000Z

After somehow losing my foundation brush the other day between my boyfriends house and mine, and with my blusher brush falling to pieces, I decided to purchase some more. I popped in to Boots, and to be honest was quite surprised! Who knew make up brushes were so expensive? I was thinking of getting some Superdrug ones, that are about £3 a brush but they didn't have any in stock. Perhaps I'm a bit tight when it comes to spending money on makeup, but I wasn't prepared to spend £5 on a single brush, especially as I needed brushes for foundation, blush, concealer, eyebrows etc. I then spotted the Ecotools 6 piece brush set. One word. Bargain! Each individual brush cost upwards of £6, but this set comes with 6 brushes for only £16! So, here's my review (note that I don't really know much about makeup brushes so take this with a pinch of salt. I'm just stating my novice opinion :))

I am very impressed. The blush brush is SO soft. It takes a nice amount of pigment too and is really lovely. The eyeshading and the concealer brush are pretty similar, I don't even know which one is which. I think the concealer one has the white bristles with brown tips, but they are again, really nice quality and they blend really well.

The eyeliner brush I use for my brows, and has a nice sharp angle so precision is great.

The lash and brow comb is also good. My unruly brows are combed down with the bristles and the comb helps separate my lashes from the unsightly clumped together mascara.

I have to say I am really impressed with the Ecotools set. Like I said before, it is great value for money, not just because of the amount of brushes but the quality too. I've heard good things about this brand from my sister who has a couple of the brushes. As the name suggests, they're very eco friendly and are made from bamboo and soft taklon brushes.

The set came with a natural cotton makeup bag which is on the small side, so perhaps not so practical! At the moment I'm keeping my essentials in there and then I have another bag for all the rest, such as my spares/samples/things that are only used on special occasions (aka expensive!). I do like the elastic slots though because it means I can keep my brushes together. I highly recommend this, especially if you are after more than one brush and want a cheaper option that doesn't compromise on quality.

N.B. This isn't a sponsored post. I paid for the set with my own money, and even if these were sent to me, my opinions would be the same! You can read my disclosure here.

Intial Rose

2012-01-19T18:00:00.000Z

Shoes. I own far too many but I can't seem to stop myself from buying more. Why would I want to?

Despite my many pairs, the ones I reach to the most are my boots. They just seem to go with everything and are pretty perfect for the English weather. I wear boots with tights, skirts and dresses, or simply with skinny jeans and a jumper.

I picked these ADDICT-INITIAL Rose boots as my favourite from the huge selection at Sarenza. Granted, they're not the most elegant, special or jaw dropping. But I don't think shoes always have to be. These are suitable, comfortable and very me! I love the colour Fango, a lovely medium to light brown that will go with anything. I love the shearling ankle collar, the contrast of the material with the leather. The slight heel, for that little bit of extra height to make me feel that bit more confident. The satisfaction of tying laces, when you pull the cord tight to make the boot fit. A nice wood effect rubber sole to add a rustic feel.

For me, a pair of boots are perfect. I'd wear them all the time, therefore get as much use out of them as I can. That's what I think shoes are for. Not that they get the most attention, are difficult to walk in or make the most outlandish statement. Ones that suit me, that I'm happy with and that I'd wear with pride. This is my entry to the Sarenza Ambassador competition. If you want to have a go, all the details are here :)

Adrift

2012-01-13T17:30:00.001Z

I wore this outfit last weekend and it's one of my 'go-to' styles. I often wear dresses and layer my thick jumpers on top. This one is actually pretty thin, so perhaps not so suitable for winter but I love it anyway. I have a huge pile of wooly jumpers which need to be worn before summer sneaks upon us, although it feels weird talking about that now, and I doubt the UK will get much warmth anyway!
The dress is from New Look, and I picked it up last year in the sale for a measly £4. I have a similar one in black with a polka dot collar and as much as I love the peter pan collar, I find the sleeves rather annoying. I don't personally like half sleeves, especially when they are elasticated as I find them a bit too tight on my arms. The black dress I have isn't really a dress, more of a tunic as it is so short but this one seems to be a good length.

My hair is getting so long! I really like it but it does get in the way sometimes and I'm always lying on it/catching it/pulling it in some way. My boyfriend and Mum convinced me last time to get it cut, and I got quite a few compliments so I'm not sure what to do! I hardly ever wear my hair down anyway so it's a bit pointless having it long I guess, and I'd get it cut professionally this time (I'm a cheapskate and do it myself normally!) and probably get some layers cut in. A bit longer than shoulder length I'm thinking, as I'm told it makes me look older. What do you reckon? Do you think my hair is nice long or a bit too schoolgirl? I'm absolutely hopeless at decisions so a few more opinions would be lovely :) It grows really quickly anyway so if I get it cut it wouldn't take long to grow back!

Papercuts

2012-01-08T12:13:00.001Z

(Dont laugh at my attempt of a busy schedule! I hadnt added the stickers at this point! ;))
In a bid to get organised for the new year I bought a diary. I chose one that is super cute in an attempt to keep it up for longer than a month.
Its japanese kawaii inspired from ebay and I found it after the lovely Laura linked it on twitter. I also
bought some stickers from UK seller rikyandnina (here on etsy and ebay).

I got the Sukie correspondence card set from my friend Carlie who knows my love for sending post!
The pen you can see in some of the photos is from the generous Kate, and the whimsy crab paper clip
from my Grandma.

We flood empty lakes

2012-01-05T17:23:00.000Z

Bit of a special post for you today ;) My boyfriend is always the one behind the camera taking my outfit photos for me, and today we decided to swap roles. We bought the new boots today in the H&M sale reduced from £35 to £15 and wanted to show them off! He's always had good style, maybe I'll make this a regular feature if it goes down well :) All his clothes are basically from Topman and H&M, but as he says, "Where else is there to buy mens clothes on the highstreet?" Where do all your other halves shop? Hope you are all having a lovely week xo

We are golden

2012-01-02T20:34:00.000Z

Well it's that time of the year again where your dashboard and readers get full up with goals and resolutions. So heres one more to add to the list!

My 2011 resolutions can be found here. Becoming closer to God certainly didn't happen (see here) but I'm pleased with the rest! My confidence has improved so much in comparison to this time last year and I feel a big change in my self! I still need to work on my procrastination (big time) and stop worrying so much, but they are the more difficult ones I think!

My resolutions for 2012 are:

Work harder. Do more. (Spend less time on the internet!)
Earn money from art - Set up shop
Get some art published
Be happy - Change my attitude. (Happiness is a skill.)
I found this quote - "To say 'happiness is a skill' is to say that there is a way from here to there, that involves application of self, dedication and learning, with each step along the way being a step into more and more happiness."
Learn to love myself.
Keep working on my confidence.

I've also updated my goal list (the less important objectives of my year) here and I'll be changing these to 2012 ones soon! xo

So long 2011

2011-12-30T21:13:00.002Z

I wasn't sure whether to write this post. Not because I didn't want to share it, but just because, well, how do I even start to describe 2011?

It's been a good and bad year. I would say more downs than ups, so I'll get those out of the way.

2011 has been a BIG year. For the most part, I was sad. I can't really explain why, but I expect it was because I had no idea who I was. I haven't been solid in my faith with God for a long while but around February/March time was the big crash. I decided I wasn't Christian anymore. Having been brought up as one, and being pretty confident with my relationship with God before I went to uni, it was a... shock I guess. I knew it was coming, but once I had actually made that big decision of not calling myself a christian anymore, it was kind of like I was in mourning. My faith was a big part of my life, I used to be so proud of it and then it had just vanished. It was probably a year before hand that I knew something was up but after a year of hearing nothing I guess I just moved on. Actually, even now, writing this I'm not too sure. It was such a big element of life that I don't think I can let go that easily. We'll see what happens. But anyway, 2011 was pretty rough. Thank goodness I had fallen in love! February was amazing. I began a new relationship with my best friend and I am so happy with him. I can't thank him enough for putting up with me! I cried a lot in 2011 and it was nice to have someone to hug and tell me things were going to be okay. Graham, I cannot thank you enough.

2011 was a big year for my confidence too. First off, I decided to do something about it. My boyfriend helped a huge amount and I could start looking people in the eye and step out of my comfort zone that little bit more. I think 2011 has started off a good relationship with me and my confidence. I can't wait to see it grow even more. In September, I took a huge step out of my comfort zone and spoke to a professional who knew a bit more about self confidence although after a few weeks, I decided it wasn't for me. I'm pretty proud I tried though, and it's good to know that I had all the techniques and ability to do it myself. September also meant the beginning of my third year at uni. Not much to say about that, except I really need to do some work!

One thing I have realised in the past few months, is that I really need to work on my self esteem. This is a goal for the new year that needs to be worked on and I'll post my resolutions next week.

I'm looking forward to 2012, but I am so scared! I have realised I seriously need a kick up the backside, there is so much I want to accomplish but if I keep going at the rate I am (and getting sucked in to the internet all day doing nothing productive whatsoever) then nothing will happen. And good things comes to those who work hard. I think that shall be my motto for 2012.

So long 2011, onwards and upwards!

Shores of easy

2011-12-29T18:20:00.003Z

I popped in to town early Tuesday morning to try and grab a few bits before the shops got too busy! I managed to buy lots of lovely things in Primark with my christmas money, including the coat and snood in the top two pictures. I've been after a navy coat for a while, and there was a duffle style one I saw on the Asda website that caught my eye but I couldn't find it instore and I don't like buying coats without trying them on first. This one from Primark fits me perfectly, I always find it a bit difficult to get a sleeve length long enough but this one is great. I almost bought the mustard colour snood last month but put it back so I picked it up again and was pleased to see it had been reduced to £2 when I got to the checkouts; I do love a bargain! The grey jumper I recieved for Christmas, and I bought the skirt from New Look. Again in the sale, it was £7 and is from the kids section! I've been after a black pleated skirt for a while but I am rather picky with style and prices. This is actually a midi length skirt that I've folded at the top because I don't think they suit me. But if I decide to change my mind, I atleast have the option :) I hope you're having a lovely week, and thankyou Graham for taking the photos xo

It's a wonderful life

2011-12-27T21:12:00.001Z

Did you all have a lovely Christmas? I did and was spoilt rotten :) We had a quiet day on Christmas day itself with just my immediate family and our presents. Yesterday was a busier affair with my grandparents coming down, playing on the wii and the delicious roast dinner! It was so good with three meats, turkey, beef and lamb, mashed potato and roast tatties and all the veggies! Plus it means I had bubble and squeak today which I love, and wish I had both meals more often! I was spoiled this year with some new pyrex bakeware, lots of cookbooks, new camera lenses, clothes, money and smellies. Chocolate, of course, and other bits and bobs. So lucky!

I hope you all had a lovely time too, quite sad that it's over now! I get to see my boyfriend again tomorrow as he is back after being with family for christmas. I also went shopping today and bought lots of lovely new things so I'll try and convince him to take some outfit photos for you all! I'm still ignoring the uni work, but I have run out of excuses xo
(Oh and I got that cute birdseye bear as my table present! Haha)

Good luck it's Christmas

2011-12-22T21:48:00.000Z

(I apologise for the quality of photos as they were taken late evening)

The title of this post is from this gorgeous song by Tellison, go give it a listen!
My christmas spirit is starting to come back after losing it last week. I think this is because I am working tomorrow and Christmas Eve which is a bit rubbish. I absolutely cannot wait until my shift is over on Saturday so I can get in to the festive spirit and look forward to my week off!
Wednesday I was baking up a storm for a couple of gifts. I didn't actually get all the things I wanted to bake done but I make some really delicious chocolate fudge, christmas biscuits and mince pies. I packaged them up in cellophane with a doily in the bottom, wrapped them in twine and attached a little gift tag, which you can see in the photos. I've also received some christmas cards from lovely bloggers which make me happy because getting mail is one of my favourite things in the world! I promised last week to show you my handmade cards so you can see the design in the third photo down. I drew the elements and ended up piecing it all together in Photoshop, printing them out and adding glitter! The card in the photo is glitter-less though, but I added little circles of glitter in the branches.

I won't be blogging again before Sunday so I wish you all a very merry christmas! Have fun with all your family and I for one will use it as an excuse to eat way too much. Have a good one! xo

London calling

2011-12-12T19:03:00.000Z

I headed up to London for the day last Thursday as uni had planned a trip (which meant free coach!) We could spend the day however we liked, and me and my boyfriend went off to find Denmark Street. We were saving money by not getting the tube, and I'm actually really glad we walked it all. It meant I could see much more of London rather than if I was underground, and since I hadn't been for ages and have only visited a few times, it was really nice to see it all. Plus, we walked about six miles in all, which I hope justifies my KFC lunch! Our first stop was Harrods, which I had never been in to and so we wondered around there a little bit. I wasn't hugely impressed to be honest, it was like a maze and pretty busy. We visited Picadilly market which was really lovely, and visited a lot of bookshops in Soho. We got to Denmark Street where my boyfriend had fun playing his dream guitar and I was pretty happy listening to him since he is a great musician.

By this time it was getting dark (we didn't arrive in London till about 11) so we headed to the V&A. We stopped half way outside Hyde Park and had a rest, it was actually really nice just to sit down after the manic crowds and watch everyone go by! It was so also freezing, so we carried on and passed some garages (lamborghini or mclaren maybe? Who knows!) where they had some really lovely lights in the trees. I am such a sucker for christmas lights, they just make me instantly happy! We visited the Power of Making exhibition in the V&A and then it was time to get back on the coach.I had such a lovely day, and the day after I was actually missing it! I wouldn't have said London was my sort of place before, but I am itching to go back. There was so much I didn't see and so much more to explore! I'd like to go back some time in the new year, and I'll try to convince my boyfriend to come again because I had such a lovely time (Warning you now Graham!)I also picked up my first ever copy of Frankie magazine from one of the bookshops and absolutely love it :) Wish it was more local for me to pick up though!

This years love

2011-12-11T10:40:00.001Z

Can you believe christmas day is two weeks away? I think I'll pop Love Actually on and finish wrapping my presents tonight :) I've had a busy week this week, with a university deadline and a day trip to London, which I'll post about soon. It's not really my kind of place because it's so busy, but I actually really miss it. I will have to go back again soon, there was so much I didn't see.
I've finally finished making my christmas cards. I'll post a picture soon but I don't want to spoil it on here for some bloggers who I am sending them to! I've been posting little peaks on twitter here.
I had to make envelopes too and I love the look of brown paper. I actually recycled Primark bags which I had been saving up and used this tutorial to make them. I'm really happy with the way they turned out too :)
This week I need to do some christmas baking and it's my last day at uni before christmas on wednesday. I've also got a christmas meal with friend on wednesday night which I am really looking forward to. Speaking of christmas meals, the work one last sunday was amazing! So good, so posh too! We had glasses of prosecco handed to use by waiters with trays and then they even placed the napkins on our laps when we were seated for the meal. I'd never been anywhere so posh but it was so lovely. The food was really yummy too, I wasn't sure beforehand as some of the meals weren't quite up my street, but it was all delicious. xo

P.S I passed the 200 follower mark this week, thank you so much! I'll be doing a giveaway in the new year :)

Christmas lights

2011-12-02T20:42:00.000Z

December has certainly snuck up on me, I can't believe we're almost three weeks away from christmas!
I have been feeling very festive and finished my christmas shopping today. I got a lot of it online because it is easy and no stress and I made my very first ebay purchase the other day in preparation for my christmas wrapping. I bought some red and white twine, and have been making some little tags out of fimo. I'm planning on doing a lot of christmas baking to give as gifts, so I'd put the little star charms tied with the twine around the cellophane bags full of yummy treats! I made some glittery stars which you can see in the photos from cardboard, PVA and of course glitter. I'll hole punch these and add to my wrapping as well :) I am so excited to get wrapping and baking, although I think a lot of it will have to be made quite close to christmas. I have so many recipes saved in my binders on various websites, and some of them are freezable so hopefully I can get started soon.

I love December! I can tell it will be a good month. I've got my work christmas do on Sunday evening, a meal at a posh hotel which I'm looking forward to. A deadline on Wednesday and then I'm off on a day trip to London on Thursday! Is there anything I should see when I'm there? I've only ever been to London about 3 times, so I'm rather clueless! I've a busy week ahead, so I really need to stop procrastinating. Have a good weekend! <3

Midnight City

2011-11-26T16:16:00.000Z

I can't believe we're only a month away from christmas! It reminds me I really need to get my bum in to gear and buy some more presents. I have, instead, been buying some little things for myself.

I had to pop in to Primark last week to get something for my Mum, which in the end I couldn't find but found stuff for myself instead! I was going to try and cut back on my spending but I can't seem to help myself. I picked up another chunky knit cardigan which I live in these days, its certainly getting colder and I often throw these on top of my jumpers for extra warmth! I also saw these lovely shearing boots. I was a bit worried they'd rub but I have been wearing them a lot and no problems to report :) They're very much like my brogues, but I think more suitable for winter.

This I call my Mary Poppins bag. I had seen in linked on Charlene's blog a while back but was put off by the £29.99 price tag. But then I had a brainwave and used the 50% off voucher I got from H&M through the post and nabbed it at, what I think, is a much more reasonable price. Whenever I go to stay at my boyfriends (over the weekends) I end up taking a million bags because I always pack far too much. I knew this bag was pretty big, but it's never ending! So good for fitting all my things in, and I would really recommend it if you are travelling or whatnot. It fits so much in! Plus I really love the colours, but they do do it in red as well, here.

Signed up to the gym again. I'm not a great motivator but I have been going with my sister which helps. At the moment it's just a 5 week trial, but I think I might join up afterwards seeing as I get a really good discount because I'm a student. Need to lose a few pounds, but I think that's due to my diet rather than exercise. I just love the feeling you get after you've been to the gym, and seeing yourself getting better at it. I hope you all have a really good weekend! xo

Splendor

2011-11-20T16:00:00.000Z

How are you all? I've had a pretty good week, and for once don't feel stressed! I have a hand in on Tuesday and have all that work wrapped up so I feel relaxed and pleased. Yesterday I had a day off work and had such a lovely day. Every year we celebrate my Grandma's birthday and have a family day out. Yesterday we headed off to Lymington market which was lovely, then on to a garden nursery, followed by another garden centre and some crafty shops. It felt so good to have a Saturday off work and really lovely to spend it with all my family. We had a picnic for lunch by the sea which we always eat in the car because it is usually bad weather! Surprisingly a nice day yesterday, blue skies but a bit nippy. Oh and finished off the day with chinese and icecream! Pretty perfect :)

I have started my christmas shopping but feel so disorganised! I need to make some lists I think and start budgeting too. My favourite bit is probably gift wrapping so I'll be starting to gather inspiration for that. I find 'Gifted' an excellent online publication for advice with gift giving and definitely think its a great place for inspiration. I particularly suggest reading last years issue, which has DIYs and tutorials as well as gift ideas and I find to be more my sort of thing :)
I'll be posting some gift guides soon and letting you all know how I'm getting on! Rosie linked an excellent site on her blog the other day which I have cheekily purchased for myself! It's called Notanotherbill and you pay a monthly subscription to get something lovely through your letterbox. If you are an arty/graphic design inspired person I would definitely suggest checking it out! The past presents look so awesome, such a shame I didn't hear about this earlier but I'm so glad I have now! There is an offer on at the moment for 3 months for £30 and I expect I'll blog about the lovely goodies I get. A naughty early christmas present for myself there. Roll on payday!

I've got a nasty ear infection at the moment which I seem to get every year. I am always having ear problems and I think I'll have to go back to the doctors once its cleared up to get it sorted once and for all. Rubbish because I hate going to the doctors but it's such a nuisance being deaf in one ear! I'm feeling pretty inspired at the moment though so hopefully I can plan some illustrations, my 200 follower giveaway and get a start on designing some christmas cards and gift tags. I am off to the gym now (got to work off that chinese, oh and the burger and chips on Thursday, and...) oops! Not doing so well on the healthy eating front but I love food far too much.

Have a happy Sunday girls! xo

Echoes of mine

2011-11-11T19:17:00.001Z

I thought today I'd post some photos showing what I got up to today. However, seen as the only things I've done is sit in front of my computer and eat, I didn't think it would be that interesting!
I've been trying to do some uni work because it really is piling up but I'm still suffering from lack of motivation. After trying all day and achieving work that I am not proud of, I feel rather bummed out this evening but I'm hoping ben & jerrys and a call to the boyfriend will cheer me up. I have been feeling very grumpy recently. I notice when I am in a bad mood and I hate it but I can't seem to snap out of it which makes it worse! I have to thank my boyfriend for putting up with me. I am a right stressy grump at the moment and somehow he lets it ride! About this time last year I was having a pretty rough time but managed to hide it from friends so no-one got to see this miserable alter ego. But as I can't go very long without seeing my boyfriend, he has to see my dark side too :p If you're reading this Graham, thankyou and I love ya.

I don't want this to be a negative blog but university is seriously consuming my life! I signed back up to the gym on Tuesday so this should help reduce my blood pressure and hopefully make me feel better. It's a five week offer again so I'll be trying to go quite often. (Although I did fail today, the weather was putting me off and I couldn't be bothered! slacker)
I'm almost at 200 followers! Thanks so much for reading my ramblings, it means so much and there are such lovely people on here and on twitter that cheer me up. I really want to do a giveaway when I hit 200, but I want to include some handmade stuff and some of my illustrations but by the time I actually get time to do that it might be a bit late! Either way, I want to host my first giveaway on Sugarpatch and this makes me feel very excited!
After watching Brogan's youtube videos about her chatting about Fantasy Shopper, I was intrigued and am now addicted! It's a really great site which is perfect if you love styling clothes. You get given a certain amount of money and then you're free to splash out in shops and buy whatever you want, and then style them to enter into events. Sign up here and be sure to let me know if you do so I can add you as a friend!
I think that's all the updates I wanted to say. Struggling with content for my blog at the moment so I hope you don't mind posts like these. I've got to get started on my christmas shopping so I expect there will be some wishlists and gift guides coming up and probably inspiration posts because it is one of my favourite times of the year! I have some christmas meals and a work party at the beginning of December so hopefully some formal outfit posts too :) Have a good weekend! xo

November

2011-11-02T19:00:00.000Z

November. Getting fit. Hard work. Determination and perseverance. Passion. Buckling down. Fireworks. Running. Coffee dates. Thick layers. The extra mile. Cuddles. Hot chocolate. Electric blankets.

Winter winds

2011-10-31T19:26:00.002Z

Basically a whole Primark outfit today! These are some of the bits I picked up from my little shopping trip the other day. Really love the snood, its so cosy and warm! The skinny jeans are much more vibrant in real life, more of a red colour than the maroon it looks in the photos. These boots seem to be my go to for the cold weather, really should try and wear the rest of my very large shoe collection!
Just a little post tonight, I'm off to do some university work. Have a good halloween! xo

Wake me up

2011-10-28T16:00:00.000+01:00

Hi lovelies. I went shopping yesterday in town with my sister and managed to buy a load from Primark so thought I'd share! It was quite nice to have a day off but I was still thinking about how much work I had to do and how I wasn't doing it! I'm feeling very stressed at the moment. I went to the doctors and they said I have high blood pressure so that has to be monitored but there's not much I can do about it! The uni work is constant so there isn't a week off to look forward to and relax! Unfortunately, even though I have loads of uni work on my mind, I can't seem to do it. I don't have many ideas and I just need to get on with more research. The lack of motivation and inspiration isn't helpful because its making me even more wound up at myself and getting more stressed because I'm not achieving anything. I feel pretty delicate at the moment, one tiny thing can set me off and I'll just start crying, so I know I'm stressed. I'm looking forward to tomorrow afternoon because I can go and visit my boyfriend which should help calm me down. A night of cuddles, KFC and motorway cops are on the agenda! First I have to endure work in the morning, but hopefully once I escape I can have a good day. Sorry to vent! I guess third year is just taking its toll!

Okay so on with the clothes. Sometimes when I visit Primark, I find nothing and other days I leave with loads! My local Primark is actually rather shocking, usually very messy and shocking in comparison to other Primark stores I've visited. So we arrived pretty early and spent most of the morning in there!

I bought this lovely knitted navy cardigan which was £12.00. I've been wearing my brown chunky knit a lot lately so its nice to have another colour! This Disney t-shirt was really cute and a bit of fun, Im looking forward to pairing this with a skirt and some tights. Also, not bad for £6.00!

This striped jumper is lovely and soft, and is a really nice dark grey colour. The stripes are gold, and I'll probably pair this with a peter pan collar dress underneath or just pair with some jeans to stay cosy :)
These shorts are very thick and seem pretty sturdy! I haven't taken the tags off yet but I think these will look good with a pair of thick brown tights and boots. I actually bought some tights too although I forgot to picture them. They're the Supercozy ones in navy and are so warm! They feel like they're lined with fleece so perfect for winter.

I picked up some lovely wine coloured skinny jeans to add to my jean collection and this lovely purse. I didn't get this from Primark but one of those little independent jewellery shops. Its very Cath Kidston inspired and has loads of card slots which is perfect. Plus it was reduced from £18 to £10 and I think it is so me :)

I found these little owl earrings for a £1 in Primark and I also got this big chunky scarf snood thing. I've been thinking of getting one for a while, and I loved the colour and it will be really warm too.
Another thing I forgot to picture was a big turtle pendant necklace. It will be a lovely way to make plain outfits a bit more interesting. Im sure you'll see it in an outfit post soon, as well as all of these new things. I'll try and get the mister to take some outfit snaps on Sunday to show them off :) xo

Procrastination

2011-10-20T20:40:00.001+01:00

Things Katie does instead of completing her to do list thats as long as her arm:

Eat

Watch Road Wars

Check emails

Eat

Tidy room

Give up half way through

Watch 4od

Paint nails

Eat

Watch cooking channels on Youtube

Read blogs

Eat

Refresh twitter

Start cleaning

Give up half way through

Text

Eat

Procrasination at its best.

Send help! And more food.

Vintage lettercards

2011-10-19T19:00:00.000+01:00

If this scheduled post reaches you, I should be ~~scoffing~~ eating a meal with friends. Going all out with a massive dinner tonight because, well, I love food, and I need an evening off. I can feel uni is starting to stress me out already so it will be nice to relax and try not to think about work for once.

I thought I'd show you some lovely vintage postcards I found in my Dad's stash the other day. One of my projects for uni is on messaging from the Victorian age so these are perfect. I have a whole stack of postcards which are so fascinating, I found one that says they won't be in school that afternoon! Crazy how quickly their post service was, especially in comparison to today! I found these 'Letter Cards' which were hidden in the pile. I have no idea what date they're from but I'd say pretty old. They are like envelopes and when you open them up it has a concertina of photos from the town. Such a lovely idea, I would love to receive one of these today! xo

Longest Year

2011-10-16T19:34:00.001+01:00

Eek I can't believe how fast October is flying by! University is back in full swing and taking up all my time. I have a crazy amount of work already and it's not going to die down anytime soon but I guess that's third year for you. I'm trying to get back into the routine of doing work but I'm a very good procrastinator! Seen as my work has to be done on a computer,it means it's so easy to just go online and read blogs, and I'm very good at wasting my day online! Oh internet, you are such a distraction!

Anyway, once I sort my routine out for balancing uni with work and a social life, I should be blogging a bit more. Just need to adjust and procrastinate way less. I feel like I have so many things I want to achieve aswell as doing well in university and just no time to do it! I always find something else to waste my time on and seem to push the things I want to do for me to the side. Need more hours in the day please! Do you guys have any tips on self motivation? xo

All the lights are on

2011-10-07T18:02:00.000+01:00

Hey lovelies! I started back at university again this week which has been good. I feel quite inspired about my projects, I just need to get some ideas. The amount of teaching hours this year is pretty dire though, but I guess most work for third year of my course has to be done individually. There is so much work to do this year so I need to get back into the frame of mind! Four months of summer was great, but being thrown in to work straight away needs a bit of adjustment!
Anyway on to the outfit :) I took these photos last week during the crazy mini heatwave England had. It's so different to the weather today, its windy and freezing outside! I have plenty of lovely cosy knits to wear, so its not all bad. The dress is old H&M, and I havent worn it for ages. There's an old outfit post from about a year ago with me styling this dress. I'm not linking it because it's very cringeworthy but knowing my luck it will show up in the related posts down at the bottom! I actually really like seeing how my style has changed, so I'm trying to be good and not delve into my archives to delete the embarassment because it will be a laugh in the future! I didn't get to wear hardly any of my dresses this summer so I made the most of it last week. I really love the way the skirt of it looks with the jumper, definitely something I'll be doing more of in the coming months. Very simple outfit really, but I think it looks quite nice!

I forgot to mention yesterday that I did a guest post at the very lovely Kate's blog. It's about being positive so go have a read if you fancy :) Kate's blog is one of my favourite reads so be warned you might get distracted for a couple of hours! xo

Flapjack Recipe

2011-10-06T19:00:00.000+01:00

Hello! I've got a recipe to share today. I actually only tried flapjack for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I like to think they're great healthy snacks, but perhaps I'm only fooling myself when I look at the sugar/butter quantities! Ha!
I have to thank my boyfriend's Mum for this recipe. I was having a look on the internet for something easy but I'm quite picky with my flavours. I kept mine simple by just adding raisins but you can add any dried fruit like cherry or coconut. You can even add ginger and lemon zest to them if you want to make them fancy, al la Lorraine Pascale. Personally, I prefer simple recipes that are less fuss so here's a family recipe that is easy as well as delicious :)

Ingredients:
6oz margarine (you can use butter if you want)
3oz light brown sugar
3tbsp golden syrup
12oz porridge oats
Fruit of your choice

I'm afraid I didn't take any photos whilst I made these, but it's very simple.
Melt the margarine in a saucepan and add the sugar and syrup.
When it's all melted, take it off the heat and add in the porridge oats. I used Quaker oats but you can buy simple own brand product oats in supermarkets for as little as 75p. Makes for a really cheap snack if you're on a student budget!
I added in a load of raisins and mixed fruit, but just did this by eye. The mixture should look pretty evenly distrubuted with the fruit, i.e. don't be stingy!
Make sure you use a big enough saucepan because that's quite alot of oats! Stir everything together and try to get all the oats covered.
Grease a baking tin and then pour in the oat mixture. Spread it out and press down into the corners and create an even layer.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes on 180c or gas mark 4. They should be set (a little firm to the touch) and golden brown. Depending on your oven, it may take longer or even a shorter amount of time so make sure to check on them rather than think they will take exactly 20 minutes :)
Once you take them out of the oven, cut them up! They have to be cut whilst it is still hot because othewise you'll end up with one giant flapjack. I made 24 little squares from this recipe but you can cut them as large or small or whatever shape you like. Let them cool once cut still in the baking tin.
Once cooled, you can seperate them up and enjoy! I keep mine in an airtight container and then grab one out as a snack or to add to my lunchbox.

Let me know if you make them! :) xo

October

2011-10-02T11:00:00.000+01:00

October. University. Reuniting with friends. Routine. Healthy eating. Ferry trips. Working hard. Writing letters. Living more freely. Less worry. More relaxing. Scarves and hats. Boots and coats. Birthdays. Meals with friends. Crisp autumn leaves. Gorgeous colours. Family. Believing in myself. <3

In the sun

2011-09-27T15:48:00.000+01:00

Jumper: Tesco Pens: Amazon Loafers: New Look

17 Primer: Boots Jumper: Peacocks Book: Amazon

Skirt: H&M Belt: New Look Camera: Amazon

My student loan is due in next week and I have just been paid which means I can go shopping! Tomorrow I'm heading into town to splash out so hopefully we can find all the things we are looking for. H&M seem to have a lot of lovely things in at the moment so I expect I'll buy loads from there. Are we the only ones who go in to shops with a set list? We've been browsing the websites so hopefully we'll find all the things we're looking for :) I'm really loving jumpers at the moment, and Im after some more thick wooly ones which will be perfect for winter. It seems crazy talking about winter when its so hot outside; english weather doesn't know what to do!

On university

2011-09-22T18:23:00.000+01:00

On this day 2 years ago, I started university. I haven't done it the 'normal' way. I have, and still live at home and commute in. I know so many people who think I have done it wrong. I understand their thoughts, that university is your first big adventure, the excitement of moving out and when you start living on your own. I know my boyfriend thinks like this. A lot of people think that is what university is all about. And yes, I guess it is. For a lot of people. But it wasn't for me.

I started university when I had just turned 17. I got an offer from a university that was local to me. I only applied to ones that were close by. That's because I was scared. I was not ready to move out, and it was my decision to stay close to home. If I was going to university now I am 19, of course I'd do things differently. Yes I would probably move out, certainly for my second and third years. I was extremely shy and unconfident and if I had moved out I would not have adapted and grown like I would if I did now. I would have broken down. Everybody's circumstances are different.

I do not believe in regrets. I will never regret that I never moved out during my time at university, or went out for freshers because I wasn't 18, or not allowed on that first year trip to Amsterdam for being too young. I don't regret anything. I have still had an amazing time without doing it the conventional way. And I will for my third year too. I have still done things that have made me happy. I have met lifetime friends and fallen in love. So I didn't move out or learn to live independently, that's fine by me! I still have that adventure to come. It just so happened I wasn't at that point in my life when I was ready to do that. I feel I am now, and I feel excited about the prospect of moving out next year.

For those starting university now, or next year, or whenever; here is my advice. Do things your way. It is your life and your adventure. Make memories because you want to, not because you are meant to or because everyone else is doing it. If you aren't in halls, I know you may think it's harder. But I made friends perfectly fine, and so did other commuters in my course. It's a good conversation starter, and just because they may know some people already, doesn't mean you have a disadvantage! This is your adventure, so go and be happy. Don't worry about what other people think! Do things that make you smile and take lots of photographs. Go out clubbing one night and stay in drinking a cup of tea and watching iplayer the next.
This is your adventure, no matter if you are doing it the conventional way or not :) Good luck!

Carry you home

2011-09-20T19:00:00.000+01:00

There is nothing I enjoy more than having a quiet evening in. I've never been a big fan of going out partying or clubbing til the early hours of the morning, I'd pick a cosy night inside anytime, especially with someone I love. As me and my boyfriend are both students, we, not only prefer to stay in, but also save a bit of money. We go out for dinners occasionally but most of the time we chill out indoors, watching movies or browsing the internet. On Saturday night, I had a lovely evening chilling with my man, scoffing pizza and watching Doctor Who.

One of our favourite takeaway haunts, is just up the road from my boyfriend's house but we often order the pizza online. It may be calorie crazy but boy is it good. And why can't you treat yourself and sod the diet once in a while! They often have pizza offers, and their whole pizza menu looks delicious. We ended up going for the half and half with a double decadence base. Didn't last long, I can tell you!
Ordering takeaway, lounging on the bed with a loved one and watching some TV is my favourite way to relax. Perhaps it seems a bit boring, but I think it's perfect :) xo

This is a sponsored post. Please read my disclosure :)

Such Great Heights

2011-09-19T14:06:00.000+01:00

This outfit is a bit of a New Look and Primark fest I'm afraid! The dress was picked up in the sale a few months back for a bargainous £2. I love layering jumpers over dresses, I think it changes the look completely and definitely something I'll be doing this Autumn. I'm back to uni in two weeks, which means early starts and trips on the ferry, which is usually freezing! I have bought quite a few warm jumpers which are lovely, and I'll be sure to show you them now I'm doing outfit posts again :) Oh, and my nails are Models Own Beth's Blue. I'm off out later to have a lovely meal with my boyfriend, and a nice relaxing evening. Hope you have a lovely Monday! xo

Katie loves...

2011-09-15T20:29:00.001+01:00

Pink mug, pink piggy bank, pink flip flops (thanks to Sarah's giveaway!), pink fairy lights, pink bow.

...so long lonesome

2011-09-11T19:13:00.000+01:00

I was so pleased when I saw that I won a Millie Pembleton necklace from Carrie's giveaway. The hot air balloon necklace is quite a statement piece for me to wear, but I think it looks really lovely against a plain white tee. I paired these with the trousers I picked up in Cardiff from Select, although I stupidly forgot the belt! I'm staying round my boyfriends for a few days and forgot to put it in my bag, but it doesn't look too bad. I really love the paper bag waist and am certainly digging the whole idea of tucking my t-shirts in to show it off.

Hopefully I can get a few more outfit posts on my blog now I have co-erced my boyfriend into taking photos! I like them outside too, much better than my old outfit photos against a door and with a dodgy self timer. Starting to feel the blogging groove again (typical seen as I start uni again in a month!) so I'll try and post more :) xo

September

2011-09-02T11:54:00.000+01:00

Hello September. A month for a new beginning. Change. Last month of summer holiday ever. Sorting things out. Getting down to business. Hard work. Help. Speaking out. Letting go. Illustration. Websites. Choices.

Play with fire

2011-08-21T16:29:00.000+01:00

Oh blimey, I hadn't realised it had been that long since I've written a new blog post!
I've been to Devon with my parents for a few days which was lovely. I need to sort the photos out so I can show you what I got up to! I've had a pretty awful week to be honest, which is why I haven't been around much, but I'm fed up of feeling sorry for myself, so new week and a new start :)

I've been enjoying my days off work, and I've been decorating my nails as often as I can justify! Unfortunately I can't wear nail polish for work so I usually never bother because I dont like the idea of having to take it off so quickly! I really love having painted nails so maybe I'll just have to live with it (especially because I'm planning on buying some lovely colours from Modelsown when their sale goes live!) I've also been enjoying watching the sunsets out of my window this week, the colours are absolutely gorgeous, it never fails to amaze me!

My parents have gone away again for a few days so I'm enjoying being home alone. I think I'll have a nice cosy evening in and watch a DVD (probably Harry Potter!) and eat far too much Ben and Jerry's. Hope you're all having a lovely Sunday! xoxo

Back to Life

2011-08-09T15:16:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd update with some random pictures I've taken in the last week or so.
I picked up the peter pan collared dress in the New Look sale for a bargain. I probably have enough peter pan dresses to tell the truth, but I couldn't say no to £4! The headband was also from New Look, I picked up two as they were buy one get free, and think they look so sweet :) I just need to build up some confidence to wear them outside, haha! The trousers were bought in Cardiff from Select, and I really love them. I've got the bug to wear peg leg trousers, late to jump on the trend as always! The jumper I picked up yesterday from H&M, they have a lovely range in at the moment. The colour is a really nice red/burgundy, but unfortunately didn't photograph too well.
I took some photos of my bun the other day as I was trying out Spin Pins. I don't know if you've seen the adverts on TV but they basically do the job of 20 bobby pins and are just a spiral! I used two to keep my bun up, no hairbands or extra clips at all! (I bought mine from Morrisons.)

On a sadder note, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the riots at the moment. I watched the coverage last night with my boyfriend and the destruction was shocking. I really hope the riots won't continue tonight; and things get back to normal soon. <3

Organisation

2011-08-05T14:42:00.000+01:00

I don't know about you, but personally, I find seeing other peoples workspaces so inspiring. I'm often re-pinning lovely interiors and desk spaces on my pinterest boards, and browsing websites such as Share Some Candy.

Here are some photos of a corner on my own desk. I decided the other day that it would be a good idea to display all my pens and pencils, in a bid to inspire me to do some drawing. I love having them on show, it makes me feel like a real illustrator! The white pot with the flower design is from ikea, and holds some of my coloured pencils and Stablo pens. The little wooden holders are also from ikea (designed to hold cutlery) and hold my plain pencils, biros and scissors. At the back are my paintbrushes and long rulers. As with the plain brown holder, both are handmade using pots (like an instant mash potato tin!) which I covered with paper. The pink flowery mug was a more recent find, in a 99p store in Christchurch! I thought the design was so Cath Kidston inspired, I just had to get it. This one holds my Promarkers, which I received for my birthday.

July 2011

2011-08-01T14:13:00.000+01:00

Sum it up: July was my birthday month, so I was a little indulgent! I was pretty busy this month and it felt like the first few weeks were non stop, and July has just flown by. I shopped quite a bit and enjoyed our weekend break away to Cardiff.

Struggle: I'm working on a few things this week to finish off my to do list. My boyfriend has gone away for a week so I'm hoping to get loads done whilst I'm on my own. I usually spend most of my week at his house, but that means I don't achieve much which is a shame. Perhaps I need to sort out the balance a bit more so I actually get things done whilst I'm round his too.

Blogging: I posted a month summary, a catchup post, a post about my birthday trip to Wales, a post inspired my stationery and a review.

For myself: I bought alot of 'bottom drawer' things for when I plan to move out, mostly baking things, such as trays, bowls, mixers, scales etc which I'm keeping at Graham's seen as I cook there most of the time. I bought a gym membership and ordered some cute stationery. I bought a lot of clothes in Cardiff with my birthday money. I'm thinking of doing outfit posts again to show off some of my new clothes, but I'm rubbish with a tripod so I'll get Graham to take some photos when he's home next week.

My goals for July were a mixed bunch. Some I achieved, which I'm pleased with, but some will be carried on to August. Maybe one of these months I'll actually complete the whole thing! I completely forgot about my goal to take more photos, but I did take loads on my birthday weekend. I haven't finished my website either but thats a goal for this week seen as I am at home and have no distractions (see boyfriend.) I did write a letter to my penpal and I also decided to be brave and ask two bloggers who were willing to write to me too :) Laura and Kate; I'll write your letters this week! I did spend more time with my friends and family and enjoyed a lovely CDWM inspired meal at my friends this month. I lost 4 pounds thanks to the gym and have tried to drink more water. I certainly didn't achieve my goal of spending less time of the internet! Goodness knows how I'll ever be able to achieve that one. I did go to the post office by myself so I can tick off the start doing things by myself for this month atleast. I still need to focus on relaxing and not worrying so much.

My goals for August are:

- Finish my website!!!
- Write letters to Laura and Kate
- Lose more weight
- Create some journal pages/scrapbook
- Make art
- Learn to relax - Stop worrying and lighten up. Live a little.
- Complain less, smile more.
(I think these last two will forever be on my lists)

Ikea, cookies, best friends, family, Cath Kidston, Harry Potter, good weather.

Happy August 1st!

Boots Botanics Skincare Review

2011-07-30T10:30:00.008+01:00

Recently, I've been starting to wear make-up more often and consequently, I am more aware of how I treat my skin. Usually when I wear make-up I always forget to take it off at night and to be honest, I'm not too bothered. Now I'm wearing it more often, I think it's really important to look after my skin. I've noticed I have started to get more spots and blemishes on my skin recently, which is one of the reasons why I have started to use make-up more and more, to boost my confidence. I had heard a few things about the Boots Botanics range of skincare products so I decided to try them out. I ordered them online where they were on the 3 for 2 offer because it wasn't on instore. I got free delivery too because I had it delivered to my local store which was an added bonus. I bought the soothing eye make-up remover and the pore perfecting toner and deep clean mousse which are both for blemish prone skin.
I was a bit tentative at first because, quite frankly, I had no idea what I was doing!* I found the deep clean mousse fascinating because the very runny liquid in the bottle turns into foam once squirted. You don't need much either, which is great because it will last me ages. I simply washed my face with water and then massaged the mousse onto my skin. The product claims to sweep away impurities, excess oil and dead skin cells, while keeping skin smooth and healthy looking. I really loved the smell of this, it's very delicate and not overpowering at all. I washed the mousse off with more water and it definitely made my skin softer.

The second product I used was the soothing eye make up remover. I think this was probably my best product out of the three. My eyes are extremely sensitive and so when I wear eyeliner and mascara, I often leave it on instead of rubbing my eyes over and over with make-up wipes just to get it off. I dampened a cotton wool pad and rubbed my eye, expecting it to smudge terribly over the rest of my skin like it usually does with make up wipes. I was so surprised when I took the pad off and it had taken off most of my eye makeup and with no smudging at all! It only took two wipes on each eye to get off all my mascara and eyeliner and I didn't have to rub hard or try at all. It didn't leave my eyes watering or stinging; I would absolutely recommend this product again and again.

Finally, the pore perfecting toner. You have to shake this one really well to combine the liquid with the clay that settles at the bottom. You just dampen a cotton wool pad with the liquid and apply over your face and neck. I wasn't taken with the smell myself, I can only smell the clay, not the rosemary so was a bit unsure at first but the smell doesn't last on your skin unlike the mousse. It really does do what it says; I can feel it tightening my pores straight away and it also takes off any traces of product that may have been missed from the mousse. I did find this stinging my eyes a little, even though I only wiped around my eyes, but it wasn't severe and only lasted a while. It took a while for my skin to feel soft afterwards (much longer than the quick result and feel of the mousse) but my skin does feel much smoother.
Overall, I'm very pleased with these products! I also really like the packaging, it's simple, but I think it's quite elegant and 'grown up'. I bought the lot for about £7 because of the 3 for 2 offer, which I'm pleased with, and I think it's a really important to look after my skin now I'm wearing makeup much more often.

*I'm certainly no expert and this is my first makeup 'review' so don't take my advice religiously! I found these products have worked for me and my skin, but everyone is different so what works for me, might not for you. I was not sent these buy Boots, this post isn't sponsored; I was just extremely pleased with my purchases and thought I should share :)

Slight of hand

2011-07-20T12:02:00.000+01:00

(Sorry about the greyness of the photos, blame the weather!)

I love paper. Stickers. Ribbons. Tape. Pens. If you buy me cute stationary of any kind, I'll love you forever. It's definitely my weak spot. I could spend millions in Paperchase if my budget would allow. I've recently started writing to my friend who lives in London, after we lost touch when she moved there for university last year, and my love for handwritten letters has returned. The other day I found a wonderful quote on the internet but I forgot to save it ): It was saying how a handwritten letter tells you so much more than an email, it shows the hesitation of your pen on the opening line, the deliberation of each word and shake of each letter.
It's so much more personal, but you don't see it much anymore. Texting, emailing, facebook chatting is all replacing the now 'old-fashioned' idea of letter writing. It is easier, faster and cheaper. I understand that, I used those methods all the time don't get me wrong. But what happened to actually sitting down and spending time to write a letter, with your favourite pen and a fresh piece of paper?
I made my first Etsy purchase the other day from a little shop called 'Cute Creations'. (Super fast delivery, cute packaging and extra goodies!) I bought a pack of japanese memo sheets and ohhh I am hooked. There aren't many other stationary items in that shop which is a huge shame because it is based in England and is pretty cheap. Does anyone know where else I can buy Japanese stationary for a good price?
I can't stop staring at all these lovely pieces of paper. I am actually getting to the point where I think they are too pretty to write on! But of course, thats silly. They're quite small, so not great for writing letters on, but I plan to pop some in my next letter with a little note on :)
As much as I enjoy writing letters, I only have the one penpal at the moment, who I know in real life. I haven't plucked up the courage to ask anyone I don't know yet, but I'd really like to! I think, possibly, when I'm feeling brave I'll ask some fellow bloggers if they fancy sending some letters too :)

Adventure Time

2011-07-18T19:06:00.000+01:00

This post is a bit late, but I had a lovely time in Cardiff for my birthday weekend last week :) Thankyou for your messages! It was such a lovely little mini-break away with my sister and our best friends. It felt kind of weird not being home on my birthday to celebrate with my family but it just meant it was a day late! We set off for Cardiff on Friday and arrived in Margam park after about 3 and half hours of travelling. Margam was such a beautiful place, and we had some time before our Go Ape was booked so we took photos and had some little nature walks. Go Ape (which is a tree top adventure course) was amazing! I'd recommend it to anyone, and luckily, we got discount for working in the John Lewis Partnership so got 20% which was even better. I was nervous at the thought of doing my own safety ropes and such but by the end of the course I was much more confident. I absolutely loved the zip wires, although some of the crossing parts of each area were a bit scary! There is a rather unfortunate timed photo of me on Facebook looking absolutely petrified and about to burst into tears, but I have to say the camera lies! I had an excellent time. We finished the evening with a delicous carvery and, although we planned to go out in Cardiff, we were way too tired so had a couple of drink at the hotel.

Saturday (our birthday) was all about shopping! We started the day with a full english breakfast and then hit the shops. Cardiff is massive! We spent the whole day there and still didn't manage to do everything. It started off with rain but by lunchtime the weather was lovely. I brought loads of things in the sales and brought a rather large amount in Primark! Me and my sister took our cards with us so we had those to open before breakfast and it also meant we got our birthday money to spend :) The breakfast meant we skipped lunch and I had my first experience of my name being written on a cup in Starbucks :p Its the little things! Haha! For dinner we had a takeaway and some birthday cake for pud. Sunday was home time, with another full english to start and my homemade cookies for snack on the way home, which were delicious! We tried to stop off in the Forest of Dean but ended up driving through it and going north instead of south! Thank goodness for sat navs eh?

Young Money

2011-07-04T17:32:00.001+01:00

(Photo from Wales last year)

This Saturday is my 19th birthday, and me, my twin sister and our two best friends are having a mini roadtrip to celebrate! We're travelling up to Wales on Friday and have booked a Go Ape adventure for the afternoon, which I am looking forward to. I've always wanted to do a tree top adventure course when I was younger but never got the chance. We're staying near Cardiff and Saturday is all about shopping! My family visited Cardiff last year and the amount of shops were incredible. Needless to say, we'll have no problem running out of shops, but may have to watch the purse strings! I'm planning on splashing out because, well, its my birthday, why not! We're having takeaway for dinner and then heading home Sunday morning. It will be weird not being home my birthday, I've always been around family to celebrate it. The Saturday after is the family celebration, and we'll be having a BBQ with grandparents and other halfs which we do every year, and I always look forward to. I can't believe how fast it's crept up on me this year!
Anyway, these next two weeks seem pretty busy. I helped my boyfriend move into his new student house last week, and it is absolutely lovely! It really feels like a home, certainly not like his last one, and not 'studenty'. The kitchen is wonderful and I've already filled up a cupboard with my baking supplies ;) I bought a whole load of baking trays, cake tins, pyrex dishes, spoons etc and stocked up with the essential store cupboard ingredients. This will hopefully last a long time as I plan to take these all with me as I move out in the future and move into my own place. I spent a lot of money this weekend, but it really excites me buying these things, it's like the feeling I get when I buy lots of gorgeous clothes. I'm hoping to do some baking on Wednesday and I also want to make a little recipe book, so I'll keep you all updated on my baking adventures!
Do you have any recommendations of sites/baking blogs full of recipes? I'd love to find some more :)
I'll have lots of pictures to show you after my birthday celebrations, so see you next week!

June 2011

2011-07-01T22:04:00.001+01:00

Sum it up - June was my first full month of no university. I spent most of it with my boyfriend and I also started setting up my website. I started with motivation to change who I am and alter elements of my life which made me unhappy. I am feeling so much happier and content with who I am.

Struggle - Unfortunately, I don't feel like I have accomplished anything really, and it saddens me that I have nothing really to show for a whole month! I haven't completed my website yet as I'm still umming and ahhing about the layout, plus I have little motivation to work on my portfolio.

Blogging - Oh dear, a whole month off and hardly any blogposts! I posted a monthly summary, a post about change and happiness, some journal pages, a post with a DIY, a catchup and a post about my day out at the park.

For myself - I bought a new bag from bag from New Look, had a little spending spree in Primark, booked a GoApe adventure for my birthday, ordered my website domain and hosting, ate far too many KFCs and unfortunately, my car insurance!

For others - I donated to charity and bought a couple of birthday presents for friends but it seems like June was a bit of self indulgement!

My goals for June were a bit mixed and some need more than a month to achieve, so will be sticking around for July. I didn't lose any weight but I have signed up to a 5 week fitness scheme at the gym so July will be all about getting healthy! I kept forgetting to drink more water, so that will be on July's list as well as becoming more independent, and learning to relax. As I said above, I don't feel like I achieved much especially with art, so I am disappointed with that. I did donate to charity, I gave money to Shelterbox as well as collecting up my old bras for this campaign.
Hopefully July will have a better result with achieving goals! I just need to find motivation.
July's goals are here.

Sunshine, fresh sheets, sketchbooks, it still being sunny late in the evening, Grey's Anatomy, internet, my ipod, jewellery and my external hard drive.

Happy first of July! I'll try and post again soon, July seems like a pretty busy month for me :)
Katie xoxo

All I Want

2011-06-24T19:16:00.000+01:00

Despite the varying weather England is currently having, yesterday me and Graham headed off to the Common for a picnic. Armed with our meal deals and a blanket, we had a lovely little walk around the lakes and walked through an incredible old cemetery. It was so interesting seeing all the different gravestones and how nature really affects it, the amount of weathering and destruction is caused was quite surprising (for me anyway.) We stopped off at the first lake and had a nice break watching the ducks and swans (although quite disappointed by the amount of litter in it!)
We finally stopped for lunch and sat beside a boating lake which was filled with ducks and ducklings who were more than interested in what we were having for lunch. There were 4 little ducklings who were so cute, and we named them Jamie, who was super fluffy, Jake, the tiniest one and Phil and Lil who were two little ones that were always by each others side! It started to get a bit nippy so we headed back to the car, but the rain managed to hold off which was good. I really loved having a picnic, and even though the weather wasn't perfect, it meant the park wasn't busy and we had a lovely lunch without anyone else in sight. I love picnics, it's such a nice way to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and realise how much beauty nature has, as well as realising how close it actually is from the town centre. Plus, it's another one to cross of my goal list :)
I arrived home greeted by a package from the lovely Kate, with my Stolen Thunder earrings from her giveaway and some extra little bits. I'm currently munching on the Maoam, safe to say they won't see tomorrow! Thank you so much Kate :)

Big big world

2011-06-17T20:46:00.000+01:00

Eeek! Sorry I have been an awful blogger this week! Last weekend I took an impromptu 4 day stay at my boyfriends so I feel like my week has flown by! I can't believe how fast time is going lately, but unfortunately, I'm not actually getting anything done!
I've been busy trying to design my website the last few days which took rather a lot of trys to get something I was happy with! I've still got a lot of work to do but I'm done for today.
I feel like I have so much I want to do, but I never seem to do anything about it. I need to make a big list and try and sort out everything I want to achieve instead of wasting time! I hate the feeling at the end of the day when you have nothing to show for your time. Really need to sort this out!
Anyway, I thought I'd update this little blog of mine, I'm hoping things will get sorted out soon and things will be a bit more interesting :)
I'm working tomorrow and Sunday, and then taking my Dad out for a meal Sunday evening with the fam. I feel like I have so many things coming up in the next few weeks, and it's not long until my birthday in July! Goodness, things creep up so fast. Okay, so more lists to write I think :)
Oh that reminds me, I noticed the other day that I reached 150 followers which really cheered me up, so thank you all! I'm sorry this is such a random, mismatched post - I feel all over the place at the moment!
P.S Here's a lovely song that is cheering me up this week: Helena Beat

Oh Comely

2011-06-08T16:00:00.002+01:00

On Monday, I popped in to WHSmiths to have a browse for a magazine I try to find everytime I go in there! I almost gave up my search again until I turned around and saw the last copy on the shelf.
I have heard such good things about 'Oh Comely' and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I was impressed with the sheer amount of content and little amount of ads, as well as the thickness of it. It really feels like a book and it's such a lovely, relaxing read, and £4 is great value. I am guilty of spending the usual £3.80 for the fashion mags but I certainly don't read those cover to cover like this. I'm planning on asking a subscription for my birthday coming up in a month.

I also made this camera necklace yesterday. I was totally inspired by Ella and her DIY but I drew a Diana camera instead of using her template. I made it quite small because I like little necklaces :) I really love it! Thanks for the inspiration Ella :) xoxo

Tears and Rain

2011-06-07T10:08:00.001+01:00

You guys were so sweet about my journal, so here are some more pages :)
I haven't quite got back in to the groove of creating new pages but I am going to keep trying. I want to start drawing and creating, but I seem to keep saying tomorrow, or, I'll do it next week. Why? Why don't I just start today? I'm not waiting for anything. I'm going to have a productive day today :)

P.S. Do you ever wonder why you bothered in the first place? It seemed so easy to change my blog name but alas, I dont think it was. The lovely Gem pointed out she didn't get the new post, which made me realise that my readers who were subscribed to the old address wouldn't have an updated feed so I changed it back. My url isn't so bad, I wish I hadn't caused such a hiccup by jumping in and doing it on whim one evening. Anyway, hopefully this post will show up in your reader :) Fingers crossed!

You could be happy.

2011-06-04T22:33:00.005+01:00

I am on a mission.
June will be a month where I am going to change who I am.
I'm fed up of being unconfident and sad. I don't like complaining but I seem to be doing it more and more. I am not happy with my body image, I keep gaining weight and I don't like it. I am becoming lazy and unproductive. I hate wasting my days away on the internet yet that is what is happening more and more.
I am unconfident, I am a worrier and I am unhappy.
But that's okay. I know where to change things now. I know I want to change. I need to change. I don't like being unhappy, that is not who I am, but I've felt it for a while now, too long. And I'm not going to ignore it anymore, I am actively seeking a beautiful life.
Last night I made a list of all the things I want to change. Then I made a list about how I am going to change them. There are easier ones, like eating healthier and organising my time better. Then there are the harder ones. The bigger ones. Some that I have struggled with for years and will take time to perfect. Confidence and nerves. I am going to keep on working with 'Becoming Confident' so hopefully I will be presented with more opportunities I can overcome and write more of these posts.
Then, the worrying. I HATE how much I worry. I hate even more the fact that I have a reputation for it. I worry so much about the silliest little things. I need to change this. I also need to start being able to make decisions. I am horrible at them, I absolutely hate on the spot choices, and even if they're not on the spot, I still hate making decisions! I'm pretty useless.
I really want to change who I am. It will be much better in the long run. For my career, for relationships, for my well being. So wish me luck on my journey. I am lost but I will find myself again. I will come back better and stronger than before. Things will change, for the better.

May

2011-06-01T15:06:00.000+01:00

Finishing university. Alot of breakdowns. Too many tears. Thankful that I have someone to hug me when I'm upset. Grateful to have someone to listen. Guilty for ignoring things and letting them get out of hand. Losing faith completely. Realising something needs to change. April was sadness and confusion. Understanding I am a completely different person now. Unsure of my religion. Absence of happiness. June needs to be a good month. I have to sort things out now. No more sitting in the darkness and weeping. I have to stand up tall and kick what ever it is that is affecting me in the rear. I'm fed up of being a person I don't want to be. I am going to change things. I am going to change myself.

Dustbowl Dance

2011-05-29T22:36:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd show you some of my journal pages today. These were done quite a while back, from December to now. I've got a few more to show you, but I don't want to bombard you with pages so I'll pop the others in another post. These aren't my favourite, but they're certainly true to what I was feeling then, which is all I aim for my journal to be. I don't create pretty pages, I journal to write down my emotions and my thoughts, and they aren't always pretty now are they?

Tomorrow I'm working in the morning, but I'm off to my friends 20th birthday celebrations in the evening, so pre-drinks and then a bit of clubbing. I'll be wearing a sailor dress and some red heels, so wish me luck as I haven't worn heels in ages! I'm working again Tuesday evening so I don't plan to drink too much. Have a lovely bank holiday Monday!

The Burning House

2011-05-27T17:31:00.000+01:00

I recently came across this lovely site, called 'The Burning House'. It made me think what I would grab if the house was on fire, so of course, I had to do a blog post on it :)

If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities.

What first pops to mind is the senitmental things. Most of my items are things that cannot be replaced, like memories and photos. Here's the lowdown of my list:

My purse. I really wouldn't want to think about the hassle of having to replace the important things in there. I wouldn't grab it for the money, but the practical items such as my drivers license and debit card. Same idea with
My Passport. Just a practical thing to grab.
Keys. Not necessarily an important thing but one that I would probably think of in the rush seen as I always have them on me.
Phone and ipod, see above. Im practically glued to my ipod touch.
Now on to the irreplacable things.
The top notebook has alot of photos stuck into, and was my leavers notebook. When I left school, and college, I got my friends to write letters, so it is an invaluable book of memories and its nice to read if I'm feeling down.
Below this one is my prayer and quote notebook. Not that I write in it anymore, but it's nice to read my letters to God about what I once was worrying about and what made me mad. When I read it back, it certainly puts things in to perspective, how trivial my worries were/are in comparison to the world. It's also full of a lot of quotes that I find inspiring.
Top right is a photo album, mostly photos of my childhood, which are obviously irreplacable.
Lastly, my art journal. This was actually the first thing that came to mind. It's full of my feelings and my thoughts, and something I want to keep forever. It will be nice to look back on in years to come.

Of course there would be other things that come to mind; my camera and my tablet for example, but they could always be replaced. I know, likewise, with my purse, ipod, phone and passport, but these are such natural things I live with that without them I think I would feel a bit lost.
I think everyone should do a post like this, I really love looking through The Burning House, I think it's so interesting! So, what would you grab?

White blank page

2011-05-22T11:36:00.002+01:00

I have been itching to get back in to my journal.
Remember when I posted new pages, really often?
(Goodness, I cannot believe the last time I posted about it was September!)
Then life got busy, but I have been itching to get back in to it.
It's odd. I feel so inspired to create. There are some incredible journal artists out there. Pinterest is an amazing place to find new artists, and I have a few great books and drawers/boxes/folders full of material, and piles of quotes and thoughts ready to fill the pages.
But when I sit down, open the new blank page, its like I hit a dead end. I'm not really sure where to start.
It's like my head is so full of inspiration and ideas and the lovely art of others, that I really don't know where to start with my own! I have so many things I want to journal about. At the same time, I don't know how to do it. I don't know what background I want, do I want to paint it? Shall I collage it?
I remember painting page after page and just letting everything go with the flow and not worrying and creating pages that were so raw and true. Maybe, because I haven't journalled for so long, I have forgotten how to do it. I think if I dive right in, really not worry about the layout or the presentation (because that isn't what I want my life journal to be about) but just get lost in putting my thoughts down, it will come back to me.
I really can't wait to show you some new pages :) I would love to share some of my inspiration with you, just to show some of the incredible talent out there! Similar to the one I did way back then, but maybe even focus on an artist at a time. What do you think?

Nougat London Review

2011-05-21T14:54:00.000+01:00

I was kindly sent some Nurturing Hand Cream from Nougat London, which was perfect because I often suffer from dry hands. I was sent the Tuberose and Jasmine 50ml pot which retails at £7.00. I have to say I was really impressed with the presentation and packaging; it comes in a glass pot and looks very classy. The scent is perfect, I had never hear of Tuberose before so I was eager to see what it was like, and it is a very subtle but clean and lovely smell. Teamed with Jasmine, the cream smells delicate and feminine, but certainly not too overpowering.
I found that not much cream was needed to be able to cover all my hands which equals value for money, and it not only moisturises your hands, but strengthens your nails too. It contains properties of cocoa butter as well as almond and macadamia oils which moisturise and hydrate the skin. The cream is a lovely consistency and doesn't feel at all greasy when applied to my skin. It absorbs really well and very quickly, which is perfect if you experience dry hands on the go.
I am really impressed with this product, and my Mum really loved this cream too, so it would be a perfect present to Mums and Grandma's out there.
Nougat London is stocked in department stores such as John Lewis, Harrods, as well as independent fashion and gift boutiques in the UK.

The Chop

2011-05-18T20:07:00.000+01:00

Before

After

I remember when having a braid in your hair was totally cool. Seeing photos of myself with a fringe an inch above my eyebrows. Having my hair shoulder length throughout secondary school. When, aged 11, I decided a fringe was so not cool, and growing it out. Realising, about 4 years later, that my forehead is far too big to not have one. Putting a side fringe back in. Letting my hair grow long.
And then chopping 5 inches off.
I did it. I've said it for a while now, that perhaps my hair needs a trim. My Mum and my other half said I should cut my hair shorter. My lovely long princess hair! I felt like that made me, me. I loved it when people commented on my long hair. I was proud of it. Reluctantly, I agreed to have it trimmed, an inch, maybe even 2, just to make it more healthy. It started to get rather tangly, and to tell the truth, brushing it was a bother. But I loved my long hair. I kept putting off the dreaded trim. Silly right? The other day I took the plunge. I'm not sure what came over me. Maybe it was because I'd been saying it for a while, but everyone knew it wasn't going to happen. Maybe I wanted to prove them wrong. Who knows. But five minutes later, and five inches gone, I came back to reality.
Woah. That's a lot of hair in the bin.
It's growing on me. At first, I hated it. I think it's still classed as long hair, which shows how long it was before, but it just feels so... short. Mum loves it. Graham loves it. All my friends love it. Apparently it makes me look older (proved by the fact I didn't get asked for I.D yesterday) My hair looks healthier, and thicker. I guess I'm coming round.
Besides, it will grow again.
Edit: I just added the new 'short' hair photos, I guess it doesn't seem too short, maybe I'm crazy. It looks rather long in the first after photo!

Awake my soul

2011-05-17T14:03:00.000+01:00

University work is over! I can't officially say that my second year is done quite yet, as I have to go in on Thursday to recieve my final grades, but it feels so good to not do anything all day and not have to feel guilty! ;) Total bliss. I have A LOT of plans for the summer, but I'll need to organise my head a little bit before I share them here. I'll need to make a big list, I think, with goals etc, because I really don't want to waste this summer. I need to work out a balance between relaxing and having a good time as well as being productive and achieving lots!

Yesterday was lovely. We handed in our work at 9.30 and headed off to Yates for breakfast. We split up after that and me and Graham went back to his house. We re-met up with Jack, Carlie and Steve for lunch at Avondales where I beat graham at pool ;) Back to 43 then, and played on Sims 3, laughing a lot and having such a good time. The day went so quick, and we went to pick our work back up at 6.00. Home at 7.30 to a hot meal and Ben and Jerrys. Perfect.

Tinted World

2011-05-15T12:01:00.000+01:00

Hello lovelies.
Thankyou so much for sticking around whilst I dropped off the blogging radar and took an impromptu blogging break. I had fallen out of love with blogging. However, seen as tomorrow is my final university hand-in (Yes! Freedom!) for the year, and I have a 4 month summer ahead of me, I really want to get back in to the blogging spirit. Weekly features are taking a break right now, as I make my blog into something I enjoy. I'll post mostly about life, my thoughts, my art, my doings, my passions. Seen as I want my blog to be like a diary for me to look back and remember later in life, I'm going to center my blog around my life. I know I've written about things like this before. Blogging is difficult for me at the moment. Sometimes I wonder why I have a blog at all. But I think it's a good place to write my thoughts down, and share with you all the things I do, what excites me and my inner thoughts.
Sweet. Sounds like a plan, batman.

Sunday Roundup #9

2011-04-25T21:00:00.000+01:00

(l-r) Bike ride; Current read; Uni work; Lovely sunny weather!; Vintage radio; Chocolate haul.

A day late posting this, as I spent Easter at my Grandparents, and then round Graham's. We had a delicious full english breakfast, and I got a delicious bounty of eggs and chocolate goodness!
Last week I went on a bike ride with Laura, which actually made my legs feel like jelly and the saddle really bruised my posterior :p Dear dear, I am so unfit! I really enjoyed it though, definitely something I'd love to do more. Photo 2 shows my reading material at the moment, and I am crossing off a goal of reading a Jane Austen book, as well as ticking off another book for my reading list.
You can see my week has been full of uni work, here it is all over the floor!
I snapped a quick pic off my ipod showing the weather forecast on friday which got me excited, but didnt quite get past 24c! (Not complaining!) The vintage radio was gound in my Grandparents loft and I thought it was very cool! It even came with the original guarantee and documents. The final picture is my little baskets of chocolate, delicious! I actually ate an egg before I sanpped this photo too :p Cheeky!
I hope you all had a lovely easter, and have a lovely week! I'm back at uni, but hopefully it shouldn't be too bad! Love, Katie xoxo
(P.S No Points of Pinterest this week, sorry!)

Weekly thanks

2011-04-21T18:07:00.000+01:00

Bike rides - I went on one yesterday afternoon, and it was so lovely! It was really nice riding through the forest with the sun still shining like it was midday! My legs and thighs hurt so much today though, which certainly shows how unfit I am! It also makes me thankful of how close I live to the forest, I'd really like to go on long forest walks with Graham sometime.

Suncream - Very useful not to look like a lobster! I know it can be a big pain and a bit annoying, but I am thankful for it because sunburn can be painful!

Post - I LOVE getting mail :) Granted it's never usually anything exciting, but I really love getting post :) I think it would be good to have a penpal or something because I love letters, so if you know of any projects/blogs/ or if any of you want one too please let me know :)

Bedroom - I really do take my bedroom for granted, especially it's size. I mean, it's not massive but it's not small either, and I know some people have really tiny bedrooms that can only fit in a bed, so I am thankful for having my own space where I can work and spread out.

Cookery Shows - I absolutely love cooking shows. This week I've been watching Jamie at Home, Jamie's thirty minute meals and loads of River Cottage. It makes me really want to cook, and I'd love to cook a meal from scratch (its on my goal list!) Anyone got any links for easy, simple (but yummy) meals?

Points of Pinterest [Week 4]

2011-04-18T20:54:00.000+01:00

(l-r, top to bottom) - Delicious frozen hot choc, pretty inspiring summer photo, gorgeous graphic design, delicate pencil illustration, and a lovely painting by Charmaine Olivia.

Woahhh it's Monday already and I almost forgot all out Points of Pinterest! I'm trying a different type of layout this week, sort of like FTF seen as that is on hiatus at the mo! I think I prefer it, what do you think?

My weekend was okay, same old same old. Graham has gone back to Kent for the week, which in a way is good because I have a lot of uni work to get on with, and this way I won't have any distractions! I watched The Truman Show last night, what an amazing film, so so good! Have you seen it? I don't usually have set films I absolutely love (there are just too many!) but I think this definitely goes into the top 10! Have a lovely week guys, and a big hello to my new readers! See you soon, love Katie xoxo

Sunday Roundup #8

2011-04-17T15:54:00.000+01:00

(l-r) Grahams 21st chocolate cake I made last Sunday; mini marshmallows - my current go-to snack!

Me and Graham at the park on a gorgeous sunny day the other week; another pudding! Yummy icecream

University work, coding websites in Dreamweaver (yawn); oh me and Graham at the park again! haha

Only another week gone by already! I can't believe I only have one week left of my easter break, and its going to be full of hard graft as I have lots of work to do ready for deadlines!
After my trip to the Apple Store on Friday to fix my dodgy ipod, I came out with a brand new third gen, which I am now planning to sell on ebay seen as I've brought another little beauty ;) If you follow me on twitter, you may have noticed the instagram photos I keep uploading! I have upgraded to the ipod touch 4th gen, and I couldn't be happier! Its such a difference in colour and screen brightness, much lighter too. I am very hapy because one of the things I would love to do more is to take photos of life in general. I am far too shy to whip out a camera during the week and snap away in public, and I think having a camera on my ipod is much more discreet and I will definitely be taking more photos :) My camera on my phone is rather rubbish, and the many camera apps I have downloaded have such lovely effects!

Anyway, that explains the photos this week. It's so much easier to take a little snap on the ipod rather than have to set up my slr. I hope you don't mind these photos, I know they aren't as good quality but they are much easier and will allow me to bring back Sunday roundups every week :)
Have a good week lovelies! Katie xoxo

Becoming Confident - Part Two

2011-04-15T19:26:00.000+01:00

Thank you so, so much for all your super lovely comments on the last post :) You're all so sweet, the blogging community really is fantastic! It's so nice to know a lot of you feel the same way and we aren't alone!

Okay, so an update! Today was the little trip by myself, and I also had to go to doctors and hand in some registration forms for my poorly other half, and ask questions etc. I am one of these people who like to know everything before hand if I haven't been before. I like to Google map everywhere I go if I haven't driven there before because I don't like driving new places. I like to know exactly whats going to happen when I go someplace new (maybe why I like going with someone else, so I'm not on my own if something goes wrong!); things like, what should I say, where do I go? That's why I like to ask people who have been before what I have to do. But today I just had to do it myself, and the same with the Apple store. B&Q was fine, I mean I didn't have to actually engage/talk to people! Haha I sound like a recluse! But some of the comments really helped me yesterday. It does help if you plan what you're going to say in your head, and even if things don't happen the exact way you planned out in your mind, you have the basic gist of it so you're not in the deep end and you don't look silly!
I think, with more successful, independent trips like this I will be on the way to becoming confident. Obviously, it's not a quick fix thing, and it will happen gradually but I think little outings like this when I have no choice other than doing things on my own, will be really good in the long run.

Here's some little steps for you guys, rounded up from your lovely comments and my thoughts too :)

1 - Plan what you're going to say before hand.
2 - Keep your head up and don't let the world know you are nervous (AKA, fake it)
3 - Look people in the eye. Smile. Take deep breaths and stay calm.
4 - Just do it. Break out of your comfort zone. Things aren't going to be as bad as you think, and once you're done, you can feel pleased as punch that you didn't scarper and you actually did it :)
5 - Practice makes perfect. Obviously, like I said before, becoming confident will take time. But like today, after I managed the doctors by myself, it made me more confident that I could do the Apple shop too.
6 - People aren't going to bite your head off. In general, people are very nice and they won't know that you're nervous or your stomach is doing back flips. They will treat you like everyone else, and generally be pretty friendly, which definitely helps to calm nerves.
7 - In relation to 2&3 it is much easier to do this if you feel confident about yourself. Wear something that makes you feel good. Pop that bit of makeup on if it makes you feel pretty. I know that if you feel good about how you look, it greatly affects how you convey yourself to others too.

I'll pop little tips under each of these 'Becoming Confident' posts as I continue to learn on my little journey, and hope they will help you too. I'll pop back with another Becoming Confident post when I reach my next hurdle :) Once again, thank you girls for your amazing support. Love, Katie xoxo

Becoming Confident

2011-04-14T17:06:00.000+01:00

It's never been a secret that I'm always battling nerves. I am not confident at all, I don't like doing anything on my own. I will avoid it at all costs, things like phoning the doctors, doing some printing, going swimming. If I am with someone though, it is fine. I don't mind if I have someone by my side (unless it involves phone conversations, in which case I would make them do it!) But I have come to the realisation that this all has to change. I'm going to have to start being independant and I'm going to have to get over these nerves. Whenever I have something coming up, like that presentation, or an interview, the night before, I am ready to go. I think to myself how I can do it, and it's not a big deal. Even with little things, like doing something on my own, going to a store and having to speak to someone about a problem or something, well when it comes to the actual event? I bail. Completely. I find some kind of excuse not to do it, or go back when someone else is with me. It's ridiculous really. I don't show confidence at all, my shoulders are slumped and my hair usually hides my face or I look down when I walk. I don't like doing things on my own. Yet, I love my own company. It's not like I have to be around people all the time. Infact, I hate that. I have to have my alone time. I work better by myself and I prefer time on my own. So I don't understand why I always need someone to hold my hand when it comes to doing stuff out and about. I cant even get coffee by myself. I can't shop properly by myself because I feel awkward and as if everyone is watching me. I wish I wasn't plagued by nerves.

Something needs to change.
I am fed up of this ruling my life. Why can't I do it myself? I mean, it's not really scary. It's not going to kill me for goodness sake, so I don't know why I get so nervous!
Like I mentioned before, in my future career, I will be meeting new people, having skype conferences, talking to clients on the phone. That scares the bejesus outta me! I have to change. I won't be able to get anywhere in life if all I do is stand by the wall and try and not get people to notice me.
So, I'm going to change. I am going to fake it. I'm going to try and do things out of my comfort zone. I have to stop putting off the jobs that I don't want to do, and just do them.
I am going to document my little 'journey' to becoming confident on my blog. It may seem silly to you, the little things that I would be doing that seem like such a big deal to me, when maybe some of you wouldn't bat an eyelid doing it. But I want to put this out there so I don't back out. If its published, I can't keep pretending I can put it off. I know things have to change, and now everyone else does to.
So please support me on this little journey of mine :) I hope to grow as a person, become confident and be able to do things on my own without any problems at all.
Tomorrow I have to go to the Apple Shop by myself to get my Ipod fixed. Doing this on my own really scares me. I dont like the unknown. What do I say, where do I go, who do I speak to?
Then I have to drive to B&Q (a job I have been putting off for weeks because I wanted to go with someone) and buy some lining paper.
How silly does that sound? But it scares me doing this by myself. You can laugh if you want, I think it does sound pretty ridiculous, these stupid things I can't do on my own.
But maybe, you might have some tips for me? Or maybe you do the same thing, and get other people to do it for you. So please leave some comments for me about being confident. Your comments on the nerves post was so so helpful.
I think all I have to do, is act confident. Put my head up and just pretend I know what I'm doing. Wish me luck! Katie xoxo

Weekly thanks

2011-04-14T12:42:00.000+01:00

Sunshine - Well, England has lost it this week and we are back to the cold, rainy April we should be having. It does make me extra thankful for the gorgeous weather we had last week, I cannot wait for summer, BBQs in the forest, trips to the beach...

Books - I have mentioned a few times on the blog how much I love reading and a good book, for me, is a really lovely thing to get lost in on a dull afternoon.

Films - I have watched quite a few films this week and it's lovely to just lie back and watch, although when I watched HP yesterday with the sis, I couldn't help thinking about all the uni work I should be doing! Oh well, it was amazinngg so it wasn't like I had time wasted right? ;)

Good health - I think a lot of us takes our health for granted. My boyfriend has been very ill this week and it makes me feel so bad for him to see him in pain and not himself. It just makes me realise how lucky I am to have a good immune system and also in comparison to everyone around the world, especially in developing countries, we are so so lucky to have easy access to health care too.

Shopping trips - Following my sucessful shopping spree in town last weekend, it reminds me how lovely it is to be able to go shopping and find lots of lovely things. Unfortunately, I will have to limit myself with the shopping for a couple of weeks because I am very low on funds, but pay day in 2 weeks and my university grant in May should fix that!

Points of Pinterest [Week 3]

2011-04-11T18:45:00.000+01:00

This is such a lovely illustration, love the jumper! I really love grey with splashes of colour at the moment.

Another super pretty illustration, so simple too. The hair is lovely, I've actually been thinking about trimming a couple of inches off mine but we'll see!

This cutie definitely put a smile on my face, so clever :) Salazar's work is so cute and ingenious!

Such inspiring embroidery by Jillian Tamaki. Makes me want to sew again!

And finally, a really inspiring desk space.
I've hung a little inspiration wire in my room too, but i cant stop the paper from curling! Perhaps I'll have to back them in card.
I hope you have all have a lovely week. We didn't end up clubbing last night, just had a lovely quiet evening in and watched a few films. The presents went down really well, and the cake even better! It was delicious :) I'm sure I'll pop a photo up in my Sunday roundup next week. Love, Katie xoxo

Sunday Roundup #7

2011-04-10T12:45:00.000+01:00

Well it's certainly been a while since my last Sunday Roundup! I usually don't take many photos during the week, especially when my week is usually extremely boring and involves uni work and not much else. But this week I managed to take a few snaps so I thought I'd do a little week thing again :)

Because I had a day off from work on Saturday, it meant I could actually do my nails in bright summery colours without having to take it off so soon! I unintentionally matched them to my socks too, talk about colour co-ordination! The weather this week has been so lovely, and Wednesday evening, me, Laura and our two best friends went for a little walk by our house. It was really lovely light and although I couldn't capture the beauty of it, I did get these snaps of some horses.
As I said, yesterday was my day off from work, so me and the fam did some shopping. We spent so long in Primark, and I picked up these two lovely dresses, as well as new rust coloured cardigan, and a little bow detail one from Matalan. The brown brogues were also from Primark and the military boots from Shoe Zone. I was a bit unsure on both of these, but I really like the brogues and the boots I have been looking for for ages, and these were in the sale so I snapped them up.
Chocolate icecream and marshmallows as a little treat last night and then another shot of the beautiful weather we have been having.

I have been procrastinating far too much with uni work, but I am busy baking a chocolate cake today because it's my boyfriends birthday tomorrow. I am staying over tonight, and I think we are off to Wahoo with his housemates. I'm also supposed to be going to Bournemouth on Tuesday night and doing the whole pub/bar crawl thing, but we'll see! Hoepfully I can feel motivated to do some work this week, I hate how much of a procrastinator I have become.
How do you manage to stay motivated? Do you use the reward method or do you just get on with it?
Love, Katie xoxo

Azuni - Review

2011-04-08T11:14:00.000+01:00

I recently received this gorgeous necklace in the post the other day, and let me say, this is my new favourite. The necklace is from Azuni, the Love Only Twisted collection, which 'combines the traditional symbols of swallows, scrolls and twisted ropes to create a modern love story.'
At first glance I thought it looked quite thick and heavy, though in reality it turned out to be much the opposite. It was presented in a beautiful handmade silk pouch which I thought was a lovely touch. The necklace is light and delicate, and the chain isn't too heavy or thin so I don't constantly worry about it breaking!
One thing I would say is that the points on the scroll are quite sharp - this isn't really a problem as the necklace lies flat on my skin, and I only noticed this when playing with it (as I do with all similar jewellery!) Like I said, it hasn't scratched me or anything, but I would just be careful if it gets caught at another angle because the metal may well be sharp enough to make a mark.
Overall, I really love this necklace . I'd never heard of Azuni before, but I am pleasantly surprised with the quality and craftsmanship of their work. There is a lot of detail in something so small, such as the little heart charm attached, and I have received many compliments when wearing this piece :)
There are plenty of jewellery pieces on their website, both silver and gold, and in my opinion the quality is definitely up there with the well known jewellery brands.
Azuni are sharing with all my lovely readers a 20% discount when you order any piece from their website. All you have to do is call or email them, mention 'Sugarpatch' and you'll recieve 20% off during the whole of April and May :) I think there are many pieces perfect for your partners, friends and loved ones, so make sure you use the discount if anything takes your fancy!
Thanks, Azuni! Love, Katie xoxo

Weekly thanks

2011-04-07T14:36:00.000+01:00

Croissants - Haha, I guess this is an odd thing to be thankful for, but recently I have been enjoying these lovely french delicacies as a little snack. They fill me up and they're much healthier than my usual snacking on chocolate :)

Modern Family - This American TV show is amazing! It makes me laugh so much, definitely a show I put on to cheer up my day.

Friends - Another TV show I really love, as I'm sure most of you do too! I've been working through my boxsets and am currently on series 3 ;) I like having it on in the background whilst doing my work, not sure if this is a good idea or if it's just plain distracting!

Journalling - I've felt really inspired to journal again this week, and I have started doing little bits here and there to get into the swing of it again! It's been so long since I last did a completed page and I'd love to do it some more, so hopefully I'll share some new pages soon!

Car Boots - I am so glad the car boots have started up again! I really enjoy doing this every Sunday with my Dad. Sure, I never buy anything but maybe one day I'll come home with a truckload! I know it seems silly to go when I don't buy anything, I'm not sure what it is but I just really enjoy them! Maybe it's spending some quality time with my Dad or just wandering around the stalls and looking at all the different things.

Hope your week is going well! It has gone so quickly for me, but it's been really nice having some time off of university. I love lie-ins! I'll post a review for you all (hopefully) tomorrow with a cheeky discount and then I have a day off work Saturday so I'll be shopping with my Mum and sister and hopefully picking up lots of bargains :) Have a lovely few days, love, Katie xoxo

Points of Pinterest [Week 2]

2011-04-04T17:51:00.000+01:00

Happy monday! Hello to my lovely new readers, thanks so much for stopping by, and a big thanks to Bee for linking me! :)
Here are this weeks pins:

This gorgeous illustration by Lotta Niemine. I've been feeling so inspired to paint again!

This lovely print by Valero Doval. The trunk is full of really lovely neutral shades.

This spot the difference painting by Jon Klassen. My perfect illustration style!

I really love this idea. Collage has always inspired me, but this wave picture is really something! If you click the link you'll be able to see the incredible collages by Matthew Cusick, so talented!

Finally, another inspirational quote to end this weeks pins :) I haven't heard this one before, but I think it is beautiful. Hope you all had a good Monday! Love, Katie xoxo

2011-04-01T16:34:00.000+01:00

Sum it up - Thinking about it, it seems like March has been long, but at the same time, it shouldn't feel like April should be here already! April begins with my three week Easter break and will end with university deadlines and hand-ins.

Struggles - I've struggled a lot this month, with who I am, how I feel and what I believe. I am a little more positive with my faith now we move into April, but I know my journey is far from over to feel the spark and passion I felt before.

Blogging - I posted 1 FTF, two posts about life and uni work, two month summaries, an outfit post, a post about my reading goals, and started two new features, Points of Pinterest and Weekly Thanks.

For myself - A big treat for my me this month was my bonus. I bought some new books, and at the beginning of this month, I splashed out on the New Look sale, and ordered a new coat, dress and handbag. I bought a simple summer dress from Primark too, but I am going to try and wear/re-style some items I already have instead of buying new things, unless anything really takes my fancy!

For others - I've bought presents for my Mum for Mother's day, and birthday presents for my brother, sister and boyfriend.

1 - Sort wardrobe, donate clothes I don't wear anymore
2 - Organise itunes library
3 - Have a productive Easter break and work hard on university projects
4 - Balance time between friends, boyfriend, family and uni work
5 - Finish reading 2 books

Hot water, car, parents, boyfriend, money, bed.
(A roundup of each weekly thanks post, although only a small list this month as it's a new feature!)

Happy 1st of April to you guys! Let's hope the sun comes back in full force for April (but really, who am I kidding?!) As mentioned in a few posts this week, I have a family BBQ after work tomorrow, and it's the first time my boyfriend will be introduced to everyone! He'll be meeting my parents, brothers, sisters, Grandparents and my Uncle.. talk about throwing him in the deep end eh?! Sunday is, of course, the much anticipated paintballing, which I hope will be a good laugh and not a bruise fest!
Have a lovely weekend! Love, Katie xoxo

Weekly thanks

2011-03-31T16:47:00.000+01:00

As mentioned Monday, here is the second feature I'm introducing to the blog. Well, it's not entirely new, as I did a post last November too but I'd really like to turn this into a weekly thing. I think it is so easy to get carried away with the bad things, and a lot of things that are good in our lives can get overlooked and ignored. So, in order to remember the good things, I'm going to do weekly posts of some things I feel thankful for :)

Hot water - Definitely a thing I take for granted. We had some problems with heating this month, and taking a shower which suddenly turns cold is no fun! Having to boil a kettle to run a bath is such a monotonous job, and it made me realise how easy it is to just be able to turn a tap and out comes lovely hot water.

My car - this came up in November's post too. My parents have had to buy a new car this month because there's broke down unexpectedly and needed to be sold for spares and repairs. I am so thankful that my car (touch wood) is a reliable little thing, and so far, I haven't had any problems with it at all.

My parents - My relationship with my parents have been a bit rocky, particularly this past week. I know we all have problems with our parents, big or small, and they can drive us up the wall but I really would be lost without them. I feel bad now, about how I can treat them sometimes because when it comes to the end of the day, they will always be there for you to look after you, even if they make you mad sometimes.

My boyfriend - Next week marks our 2 months. I know it isn't long, but he has made a big impact in my life. I wonder how I have changed since we have been together. He has helped me grow in confidence and he makes me feel so happy, and as I don't want this to be soppy, lame-o lovey dovey blogpost, I'll just round this up with the fact I don't know what I would do without him. Funny how someone can make such a huge impact in just a short amount of time.

Money - I am pretty lucky to work for a company that gives bonuses, as I know a lot don't. The extra money this month was very useful, as I had my car tax due and also so many birthdays to pay for. My boyfriends, friends, brothers, and sister's are all coming up in the first few weeks of April, as well asMother's Day so it couldn't have come at a better time. My brother and sister's birthday is this weekend , and we are having a family BBQ Saturday and going paintballing on Sunday. Needless to say, I am very nervous! I'd like to say I'll go out there, all guns blazing and beating all the boys but I expect I'll be hiding in the corner scared to get bruised!

Bed - Finally, to round up this post is the ultra simple, but very much needed, bed. It's nice to have a place to cuddle up in the warmth and relax in at the end of the day. I am thankful because I know I take this for granted, I mean, there are a lot of homeless people who don't even have a proper bed, and I think furniture we have can be taken for granted very easily.

Hope you liked this post my lovelies! I am staying around the other half's tonight, but I have a monthly round-up post to do that I'd like to share tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get that sorted, seen as I have a pretty busy weekend ahead! Love, Katie xoxo

March

2011-03-29T14:01:00.000+01:00

March was the best and the worst. One of those months I know will be a landmark in my life. Decisions. Ignoring choices. Letting things happen. Uncertainty. Losing faith. Losing self. Important appointments. Growing up. Realising who I am, or rather, who I am not. Understanding I know so much less than I thought. Bonus. Strength in love. Anger. I leave this month still ignoring things I need to sort out. I leave it feeling unsure of who I am, how I feel. Lacking in faith, but carrying on as if everything is okay. Ignorance. Confusion. March was so good, but has shaken me so much. April be good to me, please.

Points of Pinterest [Week 1]

2011-03-28T12:37:00.000+01:00

Hello lovelies! I'm excited to share some new features I'll be intoducing to you this week :) I feel a bit despondent with my blog and lack of post inspiration, and I reckon these new features will be a good way to freshen it up :)
I am always finding lovely things online, and though I share the items in my FTF posts, I find so many other gorgeous links to artists, pictures and other lovely things which I want to share with you too.
My love affair with Pinterest is still going strong, it has showed me so many gorgeous things, and I can't recommend it enough! I have discovered some truly talented artists through it, aswell as interior style inspiration, beautiful graphic design and fashion looks. I have some invitations spare (you have to request an invite) so if you want an account and don't want to wait, let me know! :) Happy Monday! Love, Katie xoxo

Stacey Rozich's gorgeous art

These lovely, delicate paper butterfly garlands

This organic vintage print

These hilarious pillows

And finally, this sweet little quote.

Five Things Friday

2011-03-25T21:17:00.000Z

Woah, I almost let another Friday slip by without posting a FTF!
This weeks selctions are mostly books, which is actually pretty relevant to my post yesterday!
The top little cat jotter is so sweet. I found it from ecojot, a lovely online shop selling lots of paper goods. I really love the design, I've always liked white on neutral backgrounds and the book looks really durable.
Being a design student, It's Never Too Late really caught my eye because of the simple cover, particularly the lovely silhouette of the bicycle. I definitely think the cover of a book is really important, especially if it stands out on the shelf and catches my eye. I found it whilst perusing Kikki-K, a shop I often feature on my round-ups!
Sense and Sensibility is part of a lovely collection of books from Anthropologie. Again with the design, these books are so pretty and well laid out. The colours of this particular one aren't necessarily two I would put together, but is a really lovely balance.
These set of three notebooks from dotcomgiftshop is very simple but I am a sucker for patterned notebooks. I have far too many already, but the subtle colours and choice of shades really appealed to me.
Finally, a necklace from heychickadee. I think this is so so sweet! Personally, I don't think I could pull off such a bold design on my chest, I usually opt for a more delicate, smaller design. This would be a perfect gift for one my friends though.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend! Only one more week of university left before Easter break! Catch you all soon. Love, Katie xoxo

Yellow Roses

2011-03-24T12:03:00.000Z

In an attempt to achieve my goal this year for reading more books, I ordered a few off Amazon to add to my collection. Alot of the books in the pile are actually for my university work, and don't count towards my total but are cluttering up my sides just the same!

These are the three new books I ordered and that arrived last week. I had been meaning to read 'Dear John' and 'Never let me go' for a while now, after seeing the films which I loved. Of course, we all know the books are better, so I'm really eager to get started on these. The book by Joshua Harris was an impulse buy, a quite extreme look at Christian dating which I can't say I agree with, but find it interesting nonetheless. I have just finished reading the Twilight saga, so thats 4/50. I have just got back into reading this week, I hadn't read for so long what with uni work and other things happening, but hopefully, 50 won't be too hard of a number to reach if I knuckle down.

Have you bought any new books recently? Any that you would really recommend for me to try?
I hope you are having a lovely week, hasn't the sunshine been lovely! I have an extra day off today due to industrial action at university, so I am going to try and be productive. So far though, I can't say it's working! Love, Katie xoxo

Young Blood

2011-03-13T11:41:00.000Z

Happy Sunday!
I've been meaning to show you a new outfit for a while! I'm much happier drawing it then taking photos, so I hope you like seeing them like this :)
I aquired the playsuit from my sister this week as it was a bit small for her. It's from Primark, and I'm pretty sure it's still in store. Haha, yes I did find it a nightmare for toilet breaks! It was like wearing dungarees all over again! It took me about 20 minutes to de-layer before I could take it off!
The tights were from Peacocks, and the cardy and top under the playsuit are also Primark. I don't go out nowadays without an extra layer underneath in the form of a long sleeved t-shirt! Roll on summer I say!
I hope you all have a good Sunday. My prayers and thoughts are with Japan right now. Donating as little as you can will make a big difference, I can't even begin to comprehend what it is like out there. Puts our lives into perspective doesn't it? I donated here. You can also donate here, here or here. Love, Katie. xoxo

Just a fool

2011-03-09T23:48:00.000Z

Poor little neglected blog. Despite the hand-in on Monday, I still feel bogged down with work. Everything seems to be happening at once, and the workload doesn't seem lighter! What with uni work, seeing the boyfriend, work and trying to fit in time to see friends who are visiting and managing to keep up with those who I don't see too often, things just seem to be a bit manic. And I have some things I want to post on the blog too, but time isn't on my side, I do wish there were more hours in the day!

Sorry about the lack of content too, I feel like all I post at the moment is one photo and then some text below it! I hope you don't mind this format for the moment, I really do hope to be back to blogging properly soon. Also, I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but I am so so grateful to see my blog followers hit 100! Thanks so much for your support girls, and I apologise sincerely for the irregular posts! I cannot wait till Summer, not only for the new clothes, weather etc, but 4 months off uni sounds bliss. As for now, I'll slug it out and try and keep up with this fast-paced life. Hope you are all well! Love, Katie xoxo

Twistlock

2011-03-04T20:50:00.000Z

[Yes that is a toy car on my desk!]

You know what this means...
Yup! Its deadline time again. I have a hand-in on Monday so my room is a mess (not that it isn't usually) but possibly even more so. It feels like it was only yesterday I had my January hand-ins, and now it's March? Seriously!? I know I say this every month, but wow, February just flew by!
Here's hoping March treats you well :) Speak to you soon! Katie xoxo
P.S Thanks so much for all your help with the presentation! I think it went okay, unfortunately I don't think I fooled anyone with my confidence act, my hands wouldn't stop shaking! But I survived, and if you suffer from nerves, definitely read the comments. You guys were such a big help, thank you!

Nerves.

2011-02-25T17:39:00.000Z

I am a quiet person. I sit in corners, I'm happy to watch. I don't say everything I feel, I will stand at the back quite happily. My biggest fear is public speaking. I get nervous when I am in a large group of people and I have to speak. I'm such a different person around my friends, when I feel comfortable, I can chirp in and relax. But people I don't know, and in large amounts? It freaks me out.
I have a presentation to give in a week. I am nervous already. I know my voice always gives me away. I start shaking and mumbling. I get embarrassed, and I stress out and feel worried. There is no reason. I wish I wasn't such a worrier, I wish I could just be calm and not even care about it. I know that I really shouldn't. I say to myself that it doesn't matter. It's not life or death or anything like that. But when I am up there standing in front of a large group of people, I am a massive wreck. I am an introvert. I will speak when I have something to say, but I won't say it if I don't need to. I don't like putting my hand up in class, or asking questions. I'm quite content with everyone else doing that. I don't like the idea that everyone will be looking, and paying attention to me. It gets my heart racing. Even showing work in a tutorial gets me going.
I have no confidence. And you know what? I have totally gone in to the wrong career for that. Being a graphic designer will involve face to face meetings with people I dont know. Presenting a pitch to a group of strangers. Talking about my ideas with confidence, not shaking with nerves. When I think about these things, I wonder what the hell I have got myself in to. I can't imagine doing that. I'm a writer, I guess. I don't like talking on the phone. Email, yes please. Face to face? I don't think so.
I need to work on this. I feel like my confidence has grown in the past year. Not enough, but still a bit. I can do it. I need to try and remember to calm down. I can say to myself not to worry and just relax. But just by saying that, it doesn't make it happen. I wish I could really believe it. It's hindrance. But I'm going to work on it.
Anyone got any advice? How do you build up confidence? Did you use to be shy? How did you overcome the barriers?
<3 Katie

Thistle and Weeds

2011-02-24T22:52:00.000Z

Here's a little peek at what I did today. Tried and failed attempt at birds eye view photography! I'm ditching my ideas, which means a very stressful week ahead before hand-in. Let's hope my tutorial tomorrow can provide some ideas and inspiration! Hope you are all well :)
Love, Katie xoxo

February

2011-02-19T16:42:00.000Z

February is learning to relax. To stop worrying and just go with it. Jumping in feet first and not looking back. Holding hands. Watching the lion king whilst cuddling up in bed. New projects, new ways of teaching. New ways of exploring, letting go of the rules, going crazy. Kisses, lots of kisses. Eating way too much, but not caring enough to stop. Learning how much I have grown, seeing the difference from last year. Doing things on my own. A new relationship.

Five Things Friday

2011-02-18T17:29:00.000Z

Hi lovelies, how are you all? I've been feeling pretty under the weather all week, but I'm hoping to be back to normal very soon! These five picks certainly brighten my mood anyway :)

This journal is so summery and girly, I cannot wait for the summer months. The week has treated us with a few days of sunshine, and it felt so much like summer, it reminded me how much I miss it! Not long now until shorts and skirts can be worn without tights and boots (perhaps being a bit too optimistic for English summertime!) Either way, carrying around this daisy notebook would certainly but a smile on my face.
The necklace is from Yellow Owl Workshop, and I think it is so pretty. It actually reminds me of my old school emblem, so I guess its a bit nostalgic for me! I don't wear enough necklaces myself, but if I had one this pretty in my collection, I don't think I could resist!
This inkpad is just one of the things of many I could have picked out from this incredible etsy shop. So many beautiful things! If you are an arts and crafts enthusiast like myself, you have to check it out, but be warned, your shopping basket may get a bit carried away!
I picked out these stamps from another equally wonderful shop I discovered. I love the little tin they come in, and I am a lover for all things handmade, so these stamps hold extra appeal :)
This lantern from this shop is definitely something I can see me having in my room. I love white accessories, especially things with extra detail, like this lantern and its cute little swirls and cut out details. It would look perfect with a little candle in it :)

Okay, I hope you liked FTF this week! Have a wonderful weekend, I expect mine will be filled with exciting things like work, university work, and chores. Try not to envy me too much!
Love, Katie xoxo

Out of Reach

2011-02-13T23:23:00.000Z

My little break from blogging has been uneventful, but it's made me think about what I want. What this blog is for, why I want to keep it. But it's also made me ask, why do I have one, what's it for? I am seeing so many bloggers, particularly in recent times, struggling with it. The blogging atmosphere seems to have gone slightly downhill, and this is so sad. Surely blogging should be about sharing the love, uplifiting comments, and inspiring posts, but recently it seems like the bad aspects of blogging outweigh the positive. Luckily for me, I dont have any problems with my blog, be it from anons or whatnot, only myself! I think it's fair to say that we all have blogging blocks. I have been asking myself too often what is this for? I'm not really a fashion blogger, and I don't feel comfortable just posting weekly roundups all the time. I don't like the fact that it seems all I ever post are the weekly things. And sometimes I only do that because I feel I have to keep it up, you know? But then I realised, this is about me. Without meaning to sound self involved or up myself, this blog is for me. It should make me happy, I shouldnt worry about what I post, or what I think other people think of it. I mean, if they love what i love, and what I post, that is so so great. And it is lovely to know that there are people out there who take the time to comment, and read what I have written. I really do love you all!

But if blogging is making me unhappy, then clearly something needs to be done. Right? I have always wanted my blog to inspire, and I know what I have just written, that it is about me, it seems like a contradiction. But wanting to inspire people is who I am. I want to inspire people with art, with photos, with words. And I also want this blog to be about my life. My memory is so awful, and one the things I want this blog to be is a little place on the internet where I can write and post what I want. I shouldn't have to worry what other people think, because this is mine, isn't that what websites are all about? I am going to post things that make me smile. My memories, things that I won't be able to remember in years, maybe even months to come. If I document it, then it's like an online journal. And the greatest thing is, it might inspire others to do the same. I have fallen out of love with blogging, but writing that, right there, that made my heart smile a little bit. That is what I want. I want to write down the memories before I forget. I want to write down how I felt at that exact moment in time, what I did at the weekend, what made me smile. Because it's the mundane things in life we forget, and we take for granted. But maybe, years from now, I can read back through my blog and it will make me smile.
This is going to be my diary. Come along for the ride, if you want. :)
Love to you all,
Katie
xoxo

Hiatus

2011-02-04T13:58:00.000Z

Just in case you hadn't noticed already, I'm taking a little break from my little blog!
I'll see you all on the other side! :)
Love, Katie xoxo

Sunday Roundup #6

2011-01-23T16:51:00.000Z

This week has been good. I had a lovely time off university but it has gone way too quick. Although, it didn't really feel like a complete week off, because I had an hour lecture on Wednesday, but hey. I have started reading again, and loving it. I am still procrastinating, a new years resolution I really need to work on. I would have made it even if it wasn't for New Years, I am such a slacker! If anyone has any motivation techniques, please send them my way! I will be starting new projects at university this week, properly that is, so I need to get in to the swing of things so I don't fall behind.

I finished my best friend's Christmas present finally! I crocheted her a Totoro. She loves Studio Ghibli and she got me into Miyazaki's films too :) Now I'm looking at it, about to wrap it up, I wonder if it's a bit lame? My Mum said I should have put a weight in the bottom so it could be a doorstop, that would have been cool. I think I'll make her wait to open the present, does anyone else get nervous if you have made a present for someone? Or is that just me?

My room is impeccably tidy today, and I have a small pile of work to do for uni. I will probably spend this afternoon reading and listening to this song, because it's stuck on repeat. I know it's a Christmas song, but it is so lovely! I wish it didn't have the words Christmas in it, then I wouldn't feel a bit funny to the fact I am listening christmas songs in January. September is usually when I start! Haha, just kidding. Kinda. Happy Sunday to you all. Love, Katie xoxo

Five Things Friday

2011-01-21T18:58:00.001Z

Hello hello :) How are you all? My week has been pretty relaxing really, and I have bookmarked so many things this week for future FTF's! They're all lovely, I can't wait to show you guys!
The dress from Modcloth may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I love it! It reminds me of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz but it's also kind of vintage and it makes me long for summer so much!
This journal from Sukie looks lovely too, a bit too much for me to spend on an art journal but I love the rustic look of this one. I love the fact it has different kinds of paper in and little pockets for holding stuff!
I saw this bag in the shop I featured last week too, Kikki.K. I think it works so well with the journal! I love the simplicity.
The bowl from Liberty is so cute, I can really see this in my future home. Blue and white seems to be a colour scheme I am really loving, and I definitely want to see more of it!
Finally, this cute pillow from Rume. I have a soft spot for owls, and I really like the design of this one. The grey is really nice and I would certainly want this on my sofa.

Okay girlies, so are you happy it's Friday? I'm not really! I have work tomorrow and it marks my week off university. Next week I get my results from my hand-ins, meaning I have to lug my portfolio in again, and the new semester means I lose one of my days off! Ah well, I'm not one to complain, just tell me to stop moaning! I hope you all have a good weekend, and I'll see you Sunday! Love, Katie xoxo

Caught in the middle

2011-01-20T15:40:00.000Z

One littel goal I have for 2011 is to read more. I love getting lost in a good book, I love how I really forget my world, and get transported to a new one, and for the time I am emerged in the pages, my worries and my fears disapparate and it's bliss. I am pretty guilty for not reading much. These past few days I have taken the opportunity to read when I can, and I think it's safe to say, I had forgotten what it's like to get lost in a good book. I've started reading on my little commute on the ferry to university, and then before bed (which makes my bed times a little later but thats okay, right?) I want to read atleast 50 books this year. I'm not really sure what ballpark this number is in, is it pretty average? Too low, too high? I don't know really, but I think it's a good solid number. In this magic 50, I really want to read some classics. Here's my little book list for that so far: (these are the ones found on my Mum's shelf)

Not many yet, but I cant wait to get my head in some of these classics, and not because I have to, say for school or college, but because I want to. Are there any classics you think I should read?
Love, Katie xoxo

Deep in thought

2011-01-17T16:37:00.000Z

*I want this blog to inspire people and help people. Sometimes it helps if you know people are feeling the same way you do. I know I have read posts like this on other blogs and it really helped me. So maybe this will help someone out there. Its okay if you don't want to read this, I don't try and push my religion and faith in other people's faces. So you can read this if you'd like, and if not that's okay too :) But if this helps just one person, then that is amazing. Even just writing this down for myself is helping me let it all out, so I guess its win win.*

This time last year I thought things were going great on the God front. I mean, I actually felt like I could call myself a Christian. But right now, and if I'm being honest here, for quite a while, I feel like I can't. I don't really know who I am anymore. I read my devotional at night, but that's it. I don't go to church, I don't have anyone I can talk to about God or faith, and I don't read the Bible half as often as I should. I questioned God so much in the last half of 2010. I was so angry at Him, at myself, at the world. I was struggling with the big taboo topic that is so hushed up in Christianity, the one that no-one dare speak about because its such forbidden fruit. Of course I am talking about sex. Everywhere around us, TV, magazines, books, the internet. It's hard to ignore. And I was so angry, and I started to question myself, and God. I was so ashamed and angry at myself for even thinking these things. A good, innocent christian girl shouldn't be thinking about sex all the time! I felt terrible and guilty for even allowing these thoughts to get in my head.

On the outside, no one knew any better. I was still keeping up this 'image' of being a christian, and how life was so good and I didn't have any worries in the world. But inside, I was battling an internal struggle between my mind and my heart. The biggest struggle I have ever had with my faith to this day. The thing that set it all off, was boy attention. It's inevitable really, for any girl. But the thing that made me feel so angry was because I was eighteen years old. Everyone around me (I don't have any close Christian friends) were off partying and drinking and having fun. I felt so restricted, Why couldn't I go out, get drunk, kiss a guy because I felt like it? I felt like an eighty year old. All these lustful thoughts, making me feel so guilty knowing I shouldn't even be thinking these things and then arguing with myself because I felt like I was missing out on so much. I heard phrases like ' Experiment - it won't harm you' and 'You don't have to be faithful, not while you're young.' I struggled with the fact I accepted Christ in to my life at such a young age. What if I could have just waited a few years, had some fun first and then realised what life was all about? I laugh at that now, but at the time, I used to wonder what it would be like if I wasn't a christian, and all the things I could do and not feel guilty even thinking about.

I felt jealous of other peoples independence. I was having to be the good girl, feeling ashamed for having these feelings. Hiding my thoughts from God, from everyone. I turned my anger away from myself and on to the one person who truly knew what I was going through. God was the reason why I was so angry at myself, angry at the world around me. Why couldn't things be easy? I always knew that sex would come up in my life sometime. But they made it sound so easy, to just say no. I naively believed them of course. But it wasn't easy, and I struggled with it for a long time. I still struggle with it now. I'm not completely over it. I'm certainly not feeling confident with my faith yet. But I'm trying to work on it. I got rid of the things in my life that caused me to question things (certain boys) and I read things that helped. Of course this is something that will come up time and time again. But tests of faith are always good because once you're through it, you come out much stronger.

I wrote a page in my journal about this in September. I have it paper-clipped up, and I wouldn't want anyone to read it. It makes me laugh that I am about to publish this online. But I truly believe that it really does help if you know someone who has felt the way you do. You can chat to me if you want to talk, you can tweet me, pop me an email or a comment and I will be happy to talk to you or just be there to listen and understand what you feel. I'm no expert. I certainly haven't figured things out yet. But I'm working on it.
If you read this far, you are a saint, and I appreciate it so so much. <3
Katie xoxo

Sunday Roundup #5

2011-01-16T15:03:00.000Z

Hey lovelies. Sorry about the lack of posts this week! Hand-ins went well, thank you all for your well wishes, and I should find out results next week :) This week has been pretty nice really, we had to hang around all day whilst our work was marked (hand-in at 9.30, collect at 6) but it wasn't too bad. On Thursday we spent the day at various pubs and had a lovely time chilling out :)
This week also consisted of changing my bed sheets and eating a lot of chocolate, I still have a bag full to eat! Im not even complaining, I've managed to get down to my goal weight, so who knows how that works?! Last night I took some crazy pics, my hair is so long now! I love it :) And yeah, the last picture? I'm a dork!

The plan for the rest of the day is to do some art journalling, write down some ideas for future blog posts, and watch Legally Blonde whilst eating Ben & Jerry's. Sounds perfect.
Have a lovely Sunday! Katie xoxo

Sunday Roundup #4

2011-01-09T19:53:00.000Z

This week.. wow I can't believe its a week in to the new year already. I went back to university on Thursday, and this week is my big deadlines and hand-ins. I am feeling eerily calm about it all, not sure if this is a good sign that I am on top of everything or a bad sign because I have forgotten something major! Usually I'm pretty stressed right about now, triple checking everything and packing and unpacking all the work! Either way, Im not really complaining, it feels good not being stressed, and after all, I am focusing my life on worrying a little less.

We also put our Christmas decs away last weekend, although this little tree got left behind! I haven't put it away with the rest yet, he's still holding out with my christmas spirit, I refuse to believe it went so quick this year!
I still need to do a goal post, but this may have to wait till next week. My bedroom currently looks like a bomb has actually hit it, so I'm hoping this evening I can have a really good tidy and sort out all the rubbish.
I hope you all have a good week ahead of you, and wish me luck with my hand-ins, lets hope the hard work pays off! Love, Katie xoxo

Five Things Friday

2011-01-07T18:55:00.000Z

Hi lovelies! Here's a new little layout for my five things friday posts. I love this weeks picks, just little things I have found on my internet travels this week!
This bunny brooch is from tabidesigns on Etsy, and is so cute. I am a huge lover of bunnies, and if they're in teacups? Even better!
These Topshop socks are sure to keep my feet warm as England is as cold as ever right now. Nothing I like more than curling up at home, wearing some comfy socks, drinking a hot cuppa and snuggling in my bed. The pattern of these are lovely and wintry too, and the colour combo is perfect.
I recently stumbled upon a link to this online shop, called Kikki. It is gorgeous! The journals and the little bird gift tag are found in this haven, aren't they cute!
I am a sucker for soft toys, and this little piglet is adorable. It's made from surplus fabric making each one different.
Have you found any good little online stores recently? I'd love to check them out :)

Also, I feel like I'm working out my blogging funk already, which is great! I'm feeling much more inspired and motivated to create a lovely blog already :) I think just having a little time to refocus on what I want this place to be worked wonders!
Have a great weekend, love Katie xoxo

All of the Stars

2011-01-05T14:55:00.000Z

First off, let me say thank you to all my lovely readers who have stuck by me this far... I know I haven't been blogging much lately, and certainly not posting anything inspiring! I feel like I am in some kind of blogging funk lately, which lets face it, is no fun. Being bogged down with university deadlines isn't helping and as much as I want to blog more, I seem to have little time and to tell you the truth, I am not happy with my blog at the moment! I'm not taking a hiatus or a break, I'm just letting you know, that once I find the time and sort my head out about this little blog of mine, posts will be back in full force and hopefully something I am very proud of. I have a week off university after my hand ins, so I am hoping a lot of headway will happen then. In the meantime, I will still be popping back with the occasional posts, including five things friday and Sunday Roundups, so you haven't seen the last of me quite yet!

Thankyou so much for still reading this blog, and I am sure I will sort things out and create a super inspiring blog that we can all love!

Love to you all, Katie xoxo

Goodbye 2010

2011-01-01T11:30:00.001Z

Happy New Year to one and all!
Heres a little picture I drew with my resolutions in, they're pretty cliche really! Confidence is my main one, I really need to work on it! I have a separate goals list which I will write in my journal and share soon.

The ones with the stars are the most important :)

Next year, I will have a full year of posts to look back on, so it will be wonderful to see what I spent my year doing. This year I plan to blog more of the things I am doing, and my hobbies and anything that takes my fancy. I can't wait to make this a creative blog and share my passions with you all some more. Thankyou for supporting me and Sugarpatch through 2010! I started blogging regularly in May, so thankyou all for your comments and follows, it means so much! I am off to a family meal today and I am wearing my beautiful new shoes from Matalan which I'm sure you'll all see on the blog very soon!
Love to you all, and may 2011 be a great year for everyone!
Love, Katie
xoxo

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T21:07:00.000Z

Goodness me. A week since Christmas already? I can't believe it was over so quickly. Also, how lazy have I been putting off my after Christmas post? Sorry!

My main present was my gorgeous Wacom Intuos 4, which I managed to acquire early back in November to help me with uni work, but now it is officially mine! Its lovely, I just can't wait to have a proper play with it, at the moment I feel like I have no time! I also got some clothes and money, little bits and pieces, some shoes and the entire Friends boxset of course! I am a major Friends fan. I won't have to worry when they stop showing them on E4 anymore, I'm all set! I also got Wii Fit plus from my brother, which is awesome! I have to say I was a bit doubtful whether to ask for it, because I thought it wouldn't have many more extras from Wii fit, but I am so pleased with it! I love kung fu and the obstacle course ;)
Christmas day was a lovely quiet affair, as per tradition, and then all the family down on Boxing day. Lots of laughs and fun, which is just how I love my Christmases.

Played Monopoly Christmas Day - Yes I won! :p

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too. I hope to post my new year resolutions in a few days, are you doing anything nice for NYE tomorrow? I am off to my friend Grahams house, where he is cooking me stir fry and just chilling out in the evening. Nope, no clubbing or massive parties for me! Last year was probably my favourite New Years memory. A group of friends and I went down the beach and took some drink (not for me, I was designated driver!) at about 7pm. It was so cold, and we didn't even hold out till 12 unfortunately! We left at about quarter to, and I remember listening to the radio driving my best friend and sister home, with Take That - Shine blasting out, singing at the top of our voices without a care in the world when the clock stroke 12. So funny! I think tomorrow I will be wrapped up cosy in my bed though!
Bit of a rambly post today, hope you don't mind! What are your thoughts about Christmas and 2010 being almost over? And what was the best Christmas gift you gave this year?
Love, Katie
xoxo
P.S Just realised this is my 100th post!

Its Chriiiiistmaaasss!

2010-12-24T22:06:00.000Z

[via weheartit]

Ever since I finished work this afternoon, I have been wanting to shout out my blog title, Noddy Holder style. To be quite frank, I haven't felt Christmassy this week, perhaps because of work, Im not really sure! I have been counting down for so long, and suddenly now its here, I feel like time has suddenly sped up and I actually cannot believe it is tomorrow! Wow.
For me, Christmas is about family time and Jesus. Christmas is all about giving, not getting.
I wanted to create a lovely Christian message about Christmas. But seen as I struggle to put my thoughts into words sometimes, I will leave you with this message, straight from my devotional.
Christmas is all about giving, not getting. How did you decide who to give pressies to this Christmas? Do you only give presents to those who will give one back? Are you good at guesstimating how much someone will spend on you so you don't spend more on them? What are your motives for giving?
Look how God gives: He gave the most precious thing He had to everyone. He didn't pick favourites, He gave to all; He didn't scrimp on the budget, He gave the most valuable thing He had; He didn't give because we'd done so well and deserved such a gift, He gave because He wanted us to have what we needed. He didn;t give His gift under certain contractual conditions, He gave freely, knowing we would destroy His priceless gift: 'For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.' (John 3:16 NLT)
It pretty much sums up the amazing message. The Lord gave us His Son, and that's an amazing gift. Sure, sometimes, I am not afraid to admit, that even I sometimes can get a bit carried away with presents and food, and forget the real meaning that Christmas is all about Jesus. Perhaps it is because only 2 members of my family are Christian, it just seems to be forgotten. Tonight I'll be praying for tomorrow to be full of joy, love and remembrance in our Lord because he is the best present I have ever recieved.
Happy Birthday Jesus!
To all my blog readers, thankyou so much for reading my blog. I wish you all a beautiful, joyful Christmas and, whether you are a Christian or not, be thankful for eveything you have, don't take anything for granted, and have a wonderful time with your family :)
I'll be back soon with posts full of photos and good cheer!
Love, Katie
xoxo

Sunday Roundup #3

2010-12-19T14:11:00.000Z

Hello! Hope your week has been good :) It feels like last Sunday was so long ago! Like most people, I am so excited for Christmas, I can't believe its 6 days! Woah. I had my work Christmas meal, which was fun, didn't win in the raffle though!

This week has involved a lot of these. As mentioned last week, I did go back to the doctors and thankfully, the new tablets worked! Hooray :)

I've had to put this next to my screen because I have lost so much work this week, its insane! Adobe Illustrator keeps crashing unexpectedly on me, so I lose all the work I am working on. I am such a forgetful person, I only save when I'm done, but this has proven I really need to save every 2 minutes!

I also crocheted a little snowflake this week, it was quite nice making this, it relaxes me! I still have a lot of uni work to do :(

The day after I posted this post, it snowed! Yesterday we had an inch or snow or so, so not much, but enough for the roads to go haywire! I drove to work, which was a bit hairy at times but by the time I had finished, alot of the snow had melted. How exciting to think we could have a white Christmas this year!

I'd like to do a little Christmas post on Friday and what it means to me, hopefully I will find some time as I am working everyday this week! If not, then I wish you all such a happy Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your families, or whatever your traditions are. I won't be doing a Sunday Roundup on boxing day, hopefully I will be too stuffed with delicious food and busy playing with games with the family!
Advent gifts this week: Earrings, magnets, polka dot socks, polka dot tights, calendar, hat, another one I cant remember!
Have a great week lovelies!
Love, Katie
xoxo

Five Things Friday - Stags

2010-12-17T22:25:00.000Z

Sorry about the late post, I am feeling so sleepy and the day has gone by far too quickly!
This weeks FTF is stags. I have been seeing them so much this winter (not the actual animal, just inspired items!)

Pretty Picture - One of the first I posted on my Tumblr!

Tesco - Stag top (in the sale!)

Very cute Antler necklaces

Comfy Topshop Stag socks

Interesting silver antler ring

The South hasn't been hit with the second round of snow yet, just icy roads! Have you seen snow yet? Hope you have a great weekend.

Love, Katie xoxo

Sunday Roundup #2

2010-12-12T19:24:00.000Z

One thing I didnt want was to have two Sunday roundups after another! I like to have a post in the week to break it up, but university has had me keeping busy! Sorry for being a little AWOL this week, but dont forget you can find me on twitter, with my little updates.

University has now finished, and the plan is to work my socks off this week and finish all my work ready for the deadlines in January, and have a lovely relaxing Christmas. That's the plan anyway! I have been feeling pretty rotten this week too, and have been having horrible earaches! I finally went to the doctors, after putting it off for so long, and it turns out I have an ear infection, so I am on antibiotics. So far it hasnt helped at all, in fact its probably worse! I think another trip to the doctors is in order unortunately :(
X Factor final tonight, what do you all think? Personally, I think it will be either Matt or Rebecca who wins. I think I would prefer Rebecca win just because I think Matt could probably manage on his own if he didnt (like JLS and Olly Murs) I'm really not fussed though, they are both fab!

I still have a few more presents to get, I cannot believe it is 2 weeks until Christmas! I wrapped most of my presents Friday evening so they are out of the way at least. My wrapping skills are questionable mind you! I also recieved my first few Christmas presents from my best friend which I will pop under the tree soon. I couldnt resist the chocolate snowman though, poor thing has no head anymore! Haha :p

I've also started decorating my room a bit more festive, what do you think?

Advent gifts this week: Notebook, chocolate, whiteboard pens, scarf, mittens, Eyeliner, & one I cant remember!
Hope you all have a good week, heres hoping I get lots done!
Loves,
Katie
xoxo

Sunday Roundup

2010-12-05T14:35:00.000Z

Hello lovelies. I've been thinking about doing a feature/something like this for a while so I thought why not! I really enjoy reading other bloggers posts about their week and so thought I'd do the same.

As I'm sure you've all heard, the UK was hit by snow this week, although the little South coast didn't get it until Wednesday evening. University was cancelled Thursday and Friday, so I managed to get quite a bit of work done! I was looking at some photos from about 2/3 years ago when we had snow before, and I remember thinking it was a lot of snow then! (For the South at least), but its laughable compared to what we just got! The snow is all melting now which is good, because the ice was so dangerous! I had to trek to the dentist in it on Friday, which wasn't fun!

[We had about 5 inches all together]

Every year, since I can remember, instead of getting an advent calendar (never had one!) we get a bag of little advent presents to open until Christmas day :) They're only little tiny things worth about £1-3 but I love this little tradition. Each week I'll show you the presents I got, here's what I've opened so far:

[Packet of ripples, long grey over the knee socks, packet of razors, trainer shaped car air freshener, ring]

I love that little ring! Its from Matalan I think, and I was so upset when I wore it out on Friday and lost it in the snow, somewhere in my drive! Luckily I spotted it on Saturday morning before work, after spending an age Friday night in the cold trying to find it! It's a little big, but I love it all the same.

The plan for today is to watch some early episodes of Doctor Who, try and crack on with some uni work and tidy up my room! Wish me luck, Ive been procrastinating all morning!
Love, Katie
xoxo

[Excuse the weird expression! The headband is from Primark]

2010-12-01T10:56:00.000Z

Sum it up - November was a good month, although I'm really not sure where it went! (I say this every month but it's always true, time seems to be so fast lately)

Struggles - I have had a real problem this academic year with motivation. I get all my work done on time and everything, with good marks, but I never seem to get any work done when I want to. I have realised I work better at night, which is okay, but not when I have to get up at 7am for work/ to travel to uni.

University work - Got a first at university for one of my projects. I have worked very hard this year (despite lack of inspiration) and it's so good to know it is all paying off. I just have a few more weeks of intense workload and then almost a month before hand in.

Christmas shopping - I've started listing and organising my Christmas budget and started buying some of the gifts. This year I am really excited about the gifts I am giving to others :)

1 - Visit old friends
2 - Donate to charity
3 - Get all university work out of the way so I can have a stress-free christmas
4 - Have an amazing Christmas with the family
5 - Play some board games
6 - Plan some blog posts

Presents from others - Although my birthday was back in July, my best friend gave me my gifts. I actually liked it 4 months on, I had completely forgotten about it and it was a surprise when I got them :) I received a 'My neighbour Totoro' DVD (she has me hooked on Studio Ghibli now), a cute Eco Bridge pencil set and a beautiful new notebook.

Presents to myself - I bought myself a new apple wireless keyboard. One of the lovely sleek ones that make me feel oh so posh when I'm tapping away :) My other Apple keyboard broke because I spilt water on it! The keys work fine, all except the spacebar key and I cant cope without that. Funny how we're all so dependent on that one key isnt it! Its so overlooked! Anyway, after that fiasco, I was using a wireless microsoft, big chunky black thing that luckily worked with my imac from my old pc. My Dad didn't even say anything when he asked about the old Apple keyboard and why it's broken *phew!*
I also bought a new bracelet, a case for my tablet (upcoming Christmas present I have acquired early!), some wool for a handmade gift to my best friend, some art materials for university, a new pair of boots and winter coat. I bought some new jumpers as well, which will soon make an appearance on here due to the cold weather!

So a very happy 1st of December to you all! I hope you are wrapping up warm if you're living in England. The South had a sprinkling of snow last night, but tonight is apparently the night for 2-3 inches. Who knows! Each morning I peer out of my window for that pure white blanket of snow, but nothing yet! Im sure to update on twitter, so follow me there, if you like!
Lots of love,
Katie
xoxo

P.S So sorry I have been slacking with replying to your wonderful comments! University is pretty crazy this week and I am counting down the days until we finish! I appreciate every single one though, so thank you :)

Love Letter

2010-11-29T22:45:00.000Z

Hello! Here's a little interior post for you. I am finally starting to get a bit creative in my room and creating a perfect space which I love :) This shelf used to hold little things like a moneybox, earring holder, trinket boxes etc and had a long poster behind it! I have to say I was surprised at how changing this shelf has actually made the area look a bit bigger! I added a mirror (which was from my £2 mirror from the car boot, which I took off the hinges and created 3!) and cute little white touches. The 'love' sign and the candle glass tealight holders were from The Range and are what inspired me to create this little display! The necklace stand mannequin was a gift for my 16th, and the tiny chest of drawers is an heirloom from my Grandma. The twigs in the glass jar were collected from my garden (the jar from our recycling bin used to hold coffee) and then I created a little snowflake out of tissue paper and tied it round with string :) This was inspired by the lovely new online magazine I recently discovered, Gifted. Its well worth a read!

Hope you liked this little post! Im off shopping all day tomorrow (starting bright and early!) so I hope I pick up lots of great stuff :) Hope you've all had a good Monday!

Loves, Katie

xoxo