Thursday
Top Books of 2015
For the first time ever, I managed to achieve my goal of 50 books. In fact, I ended up reading 53 books which is amazing for me! I've had a look over these 53 books and chosen my six favourites.
Top Outfits of 2015
Every year, I post fewer and fewer outfit posts. It's a real shame because I love outfit posts and finding interesting locations (WHY did I take none in Paris or Berlin?) but I just never seem to have the time. Hopefully that will change this year. I'm going to put it at the top of my list of priorities!
January: I love Snoopy! I bought this jumper in summer 2014 and was just waiting for it to get cold enough to wear!
February: I must find this Gerard Way sweatshirt because I absolutely love it and I think I've only worn it twice.
March: For the first time since I started the blog, I went a whole month without an outfit post. I did post these outtakes though!
January: I love Snoopy! I bought this jumper in summer 2014 and was just waiting for it to get cold enough to wear!
February: I must find this Gerard Way sweatshirt because I absolutely love it and I think I've only worn it twice.
March: For the first time since I started the blog, I went a whole month without an outfit post. I did post these outtakes though!
Wednesday
Top posts of 2015
I'm not going to start this post by saying "Wow, this year went so fast" because, let's face it, everybody does that! Instead, I'm going to keep it simple: Here are some of my favourite posts from 2015. Enjoy!
101 in 1001 XXXIII
As you can imagine, December has been a pretty hectic month! Somehow, in between all the frantic running around, I managed to squeeze in a lot of my 101 in 1001 goals!
#61 See 5 shows 1/5
After a good couple of years of meaning to visit it, I finally got round to seeing The Book of Mormon. I took Myles and we both absolutely loved it. Hilarious! Unfortunately, it was only when I wrote this post that I realised I didn't blog about it. I did vlog it though!
#66 See 10 exhibitions 1/10
Top of my list of exhibitions to see was The Crime Museum Uncovered and, oh man, was it amazing!
#61 See 5 shows 1/5
After a good couple of years of meaning to visit it, I finally got round to seeing The Book of Mormon. I took Myles and we both absolutely loved it. Hilarious! Unfortunately, it was only when I wrote this post that I realised I didn't blog about it. I did vlog it though!
#66 See 10 exhibitions 1/10
Top of my list of exhibitions to see was The Crime Museum Uncovered and, oh man, was it amazing!
Tuesday
2015 goals reviewed
I thought 2015 had been a bad year but, actually, when I looked at my goals for this year, I've pretty much achieved them all. Guess sometimes- or most of the time, perhaps- the perception of how well you've done is negatively biased. It's easy to think that things haven't gone to plan but this is why goals are so important: when you revisit them, you can see how much progress you've really made.
What I Got For Christmas 2015
I know there are a lot of people who don't like these posts but there are also a huge amount of people who do. I shouldn't really have to put a disclaimer in here but I'm going to anyway: The reason I'm posting this is because I'm really happy with the effort my family have put into these presents and I want to share that. Not because I'm boasting (because, seriously, how many other bloggers are going to read this and go "Wow! I wish I had that book about social class!") but because I'm in love with and very excited by the wonderful gifts I've got. Deal with it.
Monday
OOTD // Vivien of Holloway Tartan Skirt & Gypsy Top
One of the many blogs I abandoned over the years was called Becky's Vintage Wardrobe and, as you may imagine, was dedicated to my love of vintage clothing. My absolute favourite brand for reproduction vintage clothing was Vivien of Holloway and I had a whole wardrobe filled with their dresses. I loved that they were true to 1940s and 1950s style but available in a wide range of sizes and hard-wearing.
Sunday
Fourth Blog Birthday
On 27th December 2011, I sat at my laptop and started a blog. I'd had several blogs before- including one dedicated to my teenage angsty heartache- but they'd all fizzled out after a couple of months. As I wrote about my concerns for finding nice clothes to wear as I started out on my teaching career, I fully believed that this new blog would go the same way as all the others. After all, I was beginning my first teaching position in a week's time, and I'd be far too busy to keep it up.
Saturday
Christmas Break at CenterParcs
I hate nature. Like, hate nature. Born and bred in a busy suburban town, the darkness and quietness of countryside freaks me out. For a while it's been a joke between me and Rich that a trip to CenterParcs would be the worst possible holiday for me. So what did we decide to do before Christmas? Go to CenterParcs, of course. No, I don't know why either. I think it was my idea too, which just makes the whole thing even stranger.
Friday
Merry Christmas!
It's Christmas at last! I don't know about you but I literally spend all year looking forward to Christmas! In fact, when I was a kid, I would always use my wishes to wish that Christmas would come faster.
Bloglovin' // Twitter // Instagram
Judging by the number of book-shaped presents under the tree, I'll mostly be spending my day reading and, of course, stuffing my face.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
Thursday
Christmas Eve 2015
This year, I had my Christmas Eve outfit picked out weeks in advance. I bought the accessories super early and spent time identifying the perfect dress to go with them. I knew I wanted a fitted silver, sequinned dress. Unfortunately, that's surprisingly difficult to find in plus sizes. Eventually I found this one from Asda but when I went to buy it on payday, it had completely sold out. Gutted isn't the word. I tried everywhere to find a suitable replacement but couldn't find a thing I liked. Instead I settled on this red lace Primark dress that I bought for Christmas two years ago.
Tuesday
Christmas Nails // China Glaze Fairy Dust
It's been over a year now since I first got my acrylic nails and it's insane how much they've changed my life. Seriously. Before I got my nails, my dermatillomania was spiralling out of control. In fact, I'd just finally opened up about it to my doctor after suffering for 15 years. Then, suddenly, I had these nails and it was physically impossible to pick my skin. At first, I found this really distressing but I very quickly lost those compulsions and now I'm (almost) entirely scab-, pick- and scar-free. In fact, my doctor's said that next time somebody comes in with dermatillomania, he's going to recommend they get acrylic nails!
Monday
Sponsor Shoutout // Have The Town
This December, I'm sponsored by Kirsty of Have The Town, which has a lovely festive look for Christmas! Have The Town is one of those blogs (like my own) which is about anything and everything, with bits of fashion, beauty, travel, books and everything in between! If that wasn't reason enough to check it out, let me give you three more reasons.
AMAZING TRAVEL POSTS
Kirsty's travel posts are certainly not your run-of-the-mill blogger clichés. Sure, she has trips to Rome but there's also Pirate Mini Golf, outdoor screenings of The Little Mermaid and the Guinness Factory. Anyone else reckon she should write an alternative UK travel guide?
SHE HAS HAD THE MOST AMAZING LIFE
Working at Walt Disney World? Living alone in Florida? US road trips? Kirsty's life is like a checklist of everything I wish I could do but am far too scared to! I just want her to tell me all about her adventures!
SHE'S NOT SQUEAKY CLEAN
Unlike so many bloggers, Kirsty doesn't act like a Disney Channel child star. She's not afraid to blog about all those things that us adults do. Like pub crawls! I absolutely loved her tips on surviving The 12 Pubs of Christmas pub crawl.
If you like your blogs varied with a super-cute, witty blogger at the helm, Have The Town is the blog for you!
To find out how you could be featured in a post like this, check out my sponsorship page.
Bloglovin' // Twitter // Instagram
Sunday
Review // The Library of Fragrance Marshmallow and Paperback
I'd seen The Library of Fragrance in Boots and was intrigued by the concept. The idea behind The Library of Fragrance is to appreciate all those everyday scents that we take for granted and find a way to make them wearable. As well as usual fragrances such as rose, vanilla and jasmine, they also stock more unusual scents- fireplace, leather and tobacco, for example. So that I could experience The Library of Fragrance myself, I was sent two such products to review: Marshmallow and Paperback.
Winter Wonderland 2015 // LDN Secret Santa
Every blogger knows that the best thing about blogging is the wonderful people you meet. This is largely down to those brave bloggers who take it upon themselves to arrange events and meet ups, one of whom is the incredible Lauren at Blonde Vision. As @LDNMeetUp, she organises absolutely amazing events in the London area, and earlier this week ran the second of her annual Secret Santa meet ups at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.
The event works in much the same way a usual Secret Santa does- you're given a name and have to buy that person a present without revealing who you are. Lauren used a fantastic site called Draw Names that meant it was totally random and not even she knew who we were partnered with. Another huge benefit of this is that it wasn't reciprocal so I had no idea who was buying my gift (and still don't!). However, Lauren's Secret Santa had a little twist.
Saturday
Sponsored Video // My Memorable Christmas Moments
Once the Christmas advertising campaigns hit the screens, you know the festive season is upon us. This year, Littlewoods have released a beautiful advert with a piano arrangement of OneRepublic's Counting Stars and the hashtag #MakeTheirChristmas, which you can use on Twitter to share your own Christmas stories.
This hashtag has got me thinking about how people have made my Christmasses in the past, and my memorable Christmas moments. I've chosen a few of my most special Christmas memories to share with you here.
Crime Museum Uncovered and Murder Mystery with BGO
As weird as this sounds, murder is one of my great passions in life. Not actually murdering, you understand, but reading and researching the crime. I'm just fascinated by what turns people- ordinary people by all accounts- into killers. It goes without saying, then, that I've always been fascinated by the Metropolitan Police's Crime- or Black- Museum. A teaching museum only accessible by those who work in crime, it contains artefacts from some of the most famous crimes in London's history. In October, the Museum of London allowed these items to be viewed by the general public as they opened their Crime Museum Uncovered exhibition. It was top of my to-see list, so when Joe Blogs invited me to London for a Murder Mystery event, I figured I'd combine the two for a murderous day out in the capital.
Friday
FF CL
Bloglovin' seems to have fixed itself after weeks of being buggy, which means I suddenly have loads of posts from weeks ago to catch up on. This will probably be a longer-than-usual FF post!
Lucy's trip to Brisbane looks perfect!
I really need to try the Moschino Fresh perfume!
Sara's glasses collection is the stuff of dreams! Just look at these Miu Miu cat eye glasses!
Gillian's written a great post on how to rock Secret Santa.
Bloglovin' // Twitter // Instagram
Wednesday
Best Christmas Candles 2015
As much as I say I love candles, what I really mean is "I love Christmas candles". I stockpile them from September onwards and then as soon as the new year kicks in, I completely reject them. This is the reason why I have a dedicated candle cupboard in the kitchen, yet still buy approximately 87 festive scented candles at the end of each year.
With so many candles, and a Diptyque-induced divorce imminent, I figured I'd put them to good use and write a round up of the best Christmas candles of 2015.
Monday
Christmas Tree Farm
Top of my list of things to do this festive season was to buy a real Christmas tree from a Christmas tree farm. In fact, what I really wanted to do was find a Christmas tree farm where I could choose my own tree to cut down but Rich assured me that wasn't possible. What do men know, eh? I found an incredible farm just 30 minutes away where it is, indeed, possible to cut your own Christmas tree- Crockford Bridge Farm.
Sunday
OOTD // Tartan Dress & Christmas Cardigan
Saturday
My Christmas Wishlist
For the past couple of years, I've shared my Christmas lists and both times I've felt the need to preface my post by explaining why I put so much stuff on them. I'm not greedy, I just really like surprises and I figure that if I have a really long Christmas list, I never know which items I'm going to get. Awkward intro over, let's take a look at what I'm hoping to find under the Christmas tree this year.
Friday
Thursday
Winchester Christmas Market 2015
Every year, I pop back to my university city of Winchester to visit the Christmas Market and it's one of the highlights of the festive season. This year, we decided to head down a little earlier than usual but this turned out to be an odd decision as it just didn't feel like Christmas.
Wednesday
My favourite Christmas decorations
I'm having a right 'mare with my tree this year. I've been working on it for a week and just can't get it looking "right". Since I'm still battling it, I thought I'd bridge the gap before a full-on Christmas tree reveal post (Is that a thing? I'm making it a thing) with a peek at my favourite Christmas decorations.
Monday
My Christmas Traditions
Those of you who have been reading a while will probably know I am a huge Christmas fan. When I was a child, my wishes would always be something like "I wish it was Christmas now". I'd start writing my Christmas list in September and would have a little running countdown to Christmas Day in my diaries. Part of the reason I love it so much is that it is steeped in traditions, both old and new.
CHRISTMAS EVE CHRISTINGLE
This is my ultimate Christmas tradition. Every year, for as long as I can remember, my whole mum's side of the family has gone to my grandparents' church for the Christingle service on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately (for me, at least!) last year my grandparents went on holiday over Christmas so I dragged my little brother along. This year, they've moved and my little brother will be spending Christmas at Butlins with my mum. I flat out refuse to have a Christingle-free Christmas so, although Rich may be coming with me (and hating every second of it), I'll go alone if I have to!
From the blog: Christingle 2014 // Christingle 2013 // Christingle 2012
Sunday
Review // Lush Christmas 2015
The release of the Lush Christmas collection really heralds the start of the festive season and it's always super exciting to find out the new releases. Unfortunately, this always mean retiring a few and I'm gutted that this year three of my favourites- Christmas Penguin, Christmas Eve and Melting Snowman- have been relegated to the retirement home. We do, however, have some really incredible new products so swings and roundabouts!
Victorian Festival of Christmas at Portsmouth Historic Dockyards
Ever since the year I met Rich, I've wanted to go to the Victorian Festival of Christmas at Portsmouth Historic Dockyards. I'm a big fan of Victorian history (I actually once considered studying Victorian history at uni) and a total Christmas nut, so it seemed like the ultimate festive day out for me.
Friday
Friday Favourites CXLVIII
Thursday
Charity of the Month // National AIDS Trust
As many people will know, December 1st marks World AIDS Day- a day to show support to those living with HIV and AIDS, remember those who have died and to unite in the fight against the virus. World AIDS Day runs alongside the National AIDS Trust so it made sense to support NAT throughout December.
Wednesday
Review // Nivea Caring Micellar Water
After trying the much-hyped Garnier Micellar Water, I was intrigued to try other brands. Nivea stood out to me so I picked up a bottle of their Caring Micellar Water to give it a go.
Tuesday
My Christmas Plans 2015
This Christmas is super exciting for me because it's my first year being able to drive and working part time. It's amazing how much more I can do now that I have the freedom of going wherever, (almost) whenever I like! Most of these I could do with public transport but there are a couple of things that would have been almost impossible before.
OOTD // #MyStyleMyDress with House of Fraser
Jersey dresses make up about 90% of my wardrobe. They're just so easy to wear and super versatile, so it's fitting that House of Fraser decided to use this grey jersey dress for their #mystylemydress campaign.