Picks of the week/ Weekly roundup

Fashion
My fashion pick of the week is this wonderful cardigan that we found when sorting through my mum's wardrobe. It was knitted for her by her aunt ages ago and she's given it to me! It's really cosy and great just to throw on!

Beauty
I've been striving for a dewy/  iridescent skin look lately- I think it looks very youthful. I want to buy a powder that gives me this finish (any recommendations?) but for now I've been using my clinique colour rub and the highlighter that comes in the sleek contour kit. You can see both these items in this post.

Books
Before I started my reading challenge I actually finished two books this week. One was a chick lit book called RSVP. It was okay, classic chick lit. The other was a Poroit 'Peril at End House'. I really enjoy Agatha Christie books. They're so easy to read and very entertaining!

Read more about it here

Music
I've added this section this week. Mostly because I've become obsessed by this song by Emili Sande. I think it's kinda a through back to big 90s tunes by Whitney Houston and people like that. I love it!

Film
My film this week is One Day. I'm a huge fan of the book and I wasn't keen on seeing the film because I thought it might spoil it! I saw it last night however and I enjoyed it! I thought Anne Hathaway's accent was truly awful but it didn't take all of the enjoyment away. Jim Sturgess is sweet!

From Pinterest

Money
I've been fairly good. I bought some cosmetics but nothing extravagant. I need to keep it up though!

Food
I made another banana loaf. Because I've given up chocolate I made this one with hazelnuts and rum soaked raisins! It looks crumbly in this photo but that's only because we we impatient and wanted to taste it before it cooled!

Health and Fitness
I've been swimming and cycling this week. I'm still not 100% (come on immune system, start working!) so I'm happy with what I've done. I've also given up chocolate for lent although I had an ice cream today (with chocolate in and didn't realise until about an hour later!).

So... aims for the week ahead.. pretty much the same as always, spend and eat less and exercise more!!

Hope everyone's had a good week :-)

What I bought yesterday..

So I know I am on a spending diet but I'm not very good at it! I spent £22.68 in Boots yesterday :-( I thought I'd share my purchases...
                             

source

                                                           La Roche-Posay Anthelios melt-in cream spf 50
 I'm quite serious about using sun protection and I think it's worth spending a bit more (this was £14.73) to get one that sinks in well so I'm comfortable using it daily! My job will entail working outside a fair amount so this will be important.

Source

                                                             No 7 BB cream for normal to dry skin in Fair
I got seduced by the £5 No 7 voucher. I'm not the first person and I'm sure I won't be the last! I wanted to try a BB cream and so I thought why not? The colour works well for me. I'll see how it goes and let you know! This was £7.95 after the discount so not too bad!

Source

                                                                           Diorshow New Look mascara
No... I didn't. But the lovely lady at the Dior counter gave me a free sample! I'd gone to see what powders they had and when I discovered that the one I wanted was £45 I think she felt sorry for me! Diorshow 'regular' is my 100% favourite mascara for full voluminous lashes and I'd repurchase it if it wasn't so pricey! It's strange because the thing I liked about it was the big brush. This has a tiny brush so I'm not convinced it'd be the same. I already have a favourite little brush mascara (Clinique lash power see here) but we'll see!

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Spring wish list

I cycled into town today to pay a cheque into the bank and had a sneaky look around the shops while I was there! Let me just tell you, it took every ounce of will power I had not to buy anything! I did by some beauty supplies but nothing too extravagant! I'm loving the spring/ summer trends. I thought I'd do some virtual shopping instead, sharing my favourite looks for the coming season.

Yellow

£40 from Warehouse but they have 25% off at the moment!

£17.99 from New Look

I love yellow! It's one of my happy colours (you know a colour you look at and can't help but smile!) so I'm really happy it's in fashion wise. I really want the warehouse knit!!! I like the simple top from New Look but I wouldn't pay that for what it is!

Crochet / Lace

£29.99 from Zara

59.99 from Zara

I really like the boho, hippy vibe of crochet and lace. There's loads in Zara at the moment and these are just a few I'm lusting after. I'd quite like to find a little waistcoat in crochet material. I know there's lots about but I need to find one for a good price!

Luxe

49.99 from Zara

49.99 from Zara

I saw these shoes on buy now, blog later and really liked them! I think the shape is really flattering! Also the height is good for me because I'm not great with heels. I know kitten heels are controversial but I like these! Also, I would like a semi relaxed black blazer and this one is perfect!

Jewellry

£8 from Urban Outfitters

£16 from Urban Outfitters

£12 from Accessorize

Skulls aren't normally my thing but I think these earrings are really cute! This necklace is a much more vibrant turquoise colour in real life, I love it! I think the accessorize necklace is really simple and really pretty!

So.. roll on my first payday! Or does anyone fancy buying any of these for me? Ha ha!

Cheerio!

Half- finished books

I have a bookshelf above my bed and I thought I'd show you the pile of books on top of this bookshelf that has accumulated over the past few months.

I obviously like a bit of danger when I sleep!

 
Some of these books I've started reading but never finished, others I have read (mostly the Christmas related chick lit... ahem!) . I'm really bad at staring books and not finishing them so I'm going to set myself the challenge of finishing all of these books that I've never got around to finishing!

My reading list for the next few weeks

How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran- I'm a couple of chapters into this one. It's good so far. I can't remember why I didn't finish it!

The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas- I've started this one. I was enjoying it, but it never grabbed me and more excited books came along..

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell- I really haven't read more than a few pages so far..

A Week in December by Sebastien Faulkes- Sebastien Faulkes is one of my favourite authors but there was so many characters in this that I kept forgetting who everyone was.. I just need to push on!

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert- I've read about 3/4 of this. I took it travelling with me a few months back. I haven't loved it so far but continued reading while I was away but promptly forgot about it when I got back. It'd be silly not to finish it now!

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman- I read the whole dark materials trilogy years ago but started to re-read this a while back. I got quite a way through but this was just before christmas and I think I forgot about it when new shiny books appeared!

Anyway... I'll write reviews of the books when I finish them. I'm going to try really hard to finish all of these before I find new books to read. This may be a challenge as if you haven't already guessed, my attention span isn't great lol!

What are you reading at the moment? Do you recommend it?

Cheerio!

Time for tea!

As I come from a nation famous for tea drinking I thought I'd share my favourite teas. I am rather partial to a nice cup of tea and I have a few favourites that I pick depending on my mood and what I fancy.

A pretty tea cup and plate that I recently got from a charity shop

-Clipper organic tea. This is my standard tea. 'Builders tea' if you like, though it is organic! I like to start my day with a cup of this but also at any interval throughout the day. Milk, no sugar please. Friendly and reassuring, like drinking a warm hug! Goes excellently with a plain chocolate digestive biscuit (or two...).

http://shop.clipper-teas.com/teas/everyday/organic-everyday-tea-1

- Twinings green tea with apple and pear. This is light and fruity and refreshing. After reading about all the great things green tea does for you, I tried to find one I liked and this is my favourite so far!

http://www.twinings.co.uk/green-teas/apple-pear-green

- Twinings straberry and mango tea. Some fruit teas don't taste of much but this one is really fruity. After a indecisive shopping trip a few years ago when there was an offer on these teas I ended up buying 4 of these range and this one was the only one I really liked. It's a gorgeous pink colour when brewed as well! Nice for when I don't want any caffeine.

http://www.twinings.co.uk/fresh-and-fruity-infusions/strawberry-and-mango

- Char Roobois orange and eucalyptus. This is a recent purchase actually. It's loose tea so is a bit more of a hassle but I love it! It's very refreshing, the mixture of the fruity flavours mix well with the freshness of the eucalyptus. Roobois is also caffeine free so this is another good evening drink.

http://www.charteas.com/home/shop/product/1-0-28.html

-Fresh mint tea. Another favourite is mint tea made with fresh mint (ie. mint leaves in hot water). This is very cleansing. It's nice if you've had quite a rich meal. We have loads of fresh mint growing in our garden so this one is also free!

From pinterest.

Does anyone have any tea recommendations?

HRH collection

One of my recent (but before the spending diet- don't worry!) purchases was a chain necklace from HRH collection. Before I share the chain, I want to talk about the girl that makes them. Her name is Alex and I've followed her blog and youtube channel for a while now and have always admired her classic yet modern style. Her chains are so much a part of her look and for a while I've wanted to try one to see if I could emulate it.

I decided that I'd start with one single chain as this isn't my usual style (and also the price!) and so I went with the 'Sheba' necklace.

As you can see it's a fairly heavy duty chain comprising of two types, one smooth and one textured. I'm struggling to style this so I don't look like a wannabe rapper...  I don't think I'm cool enough to pull it on its own. I think actually paired with the sheba necklace that she designed it with, it would look more of a statement piece and suit me more. So.. until I have money to spend on another necklace, I have come up with a solution...

The sheba.. restyled!

I folded it in half, doubling up the chains, separating them by texture. I prefer the necklace on me this way. I did it with ribbon, so nothing permanent so I can undo it when I want to. I also think the ribbon gives the hard chain a slightly girly-er  edge.. This necklace doubled up is actually just like her 'original cuff' necklace so maybe I should have just got that one lol!

I need to neaten up the ribbon..

What do you think? I'm looking to expand my collection now! Her stuff is really popular and when I saw on facebook that she'd restocked recently I was so tempted to get another piece. I want the ombre bracelet but I resisted because of my spending diet! Aren't you proud?! Also if anyone has any tips to make it work just how it is, I'd love to hear them!

Coincidentally, you can see my mini mannequin that displays some of my necklaces in my bedroom. It's from Hobby Craft and I just painted it black. I decorated one more elaborately and gave it as a gift to my mum a while back. 

Cheerio!

Money Monday

I think when it comes to money that there are certain types of people. Take my friend, she accounts for every single penny that comes in and goes out. I bet that she could tell you at any given time, exactly how much is in each bank account she has . Now with this, she is not a penny pincher. Indeed she lives a much more extravagant lifestyle than me but she manages her money very well.

All the moolah! From Weheartit

Quite opposite to this friend, I'm ashamed to say is me. I would call myself an ostrich. I spend money without thinking what my balance is with my head stuck firmly in the sand. I don't add expenses up and then I am surprised when I finally read my bank statement (having avoided it for a week). Now I am an intelligent person (without blowing my own trumpet lol!). I have a masters degree. It can't be that hard to change my habits can it?!

Well I'm going to try!! I know it may be slightly over the top, but I'm going to be strict with myself for a while to try and beat some good habits into me. I don't want to carry these bad habits into my adult life when my financial responsibilities extend to scarily responsible things like houses, pensions and so on..

-When I'm aware of how much money I have I don't knowingly overspend so therefore I will check my current account every day.

- To practise some self control I am starting a spending diet. I found out about this idea from the blog and then she saved. I'm giving myself £75 a month to spend.

-To make sure I stick to my spending diet, I will track everything I spend on an excel spreadsheet. I spent loads of time earlier in the year, making an all singing, all dancing one and never really filled any of it in! Not this time though!

What my spreadsheet should look like! From Weheartit

And of course I shall let you all know how I get on here. Wish me luck!

Cheerio!