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As you all know, the day of love is just around the corner. A day when red rose sales are at an ultimate high, jewellery is flying off the shelves, and restaurants are overflowing with happy couples. But what if you’re alone this Valentine’s? Your partner might not believe in the holiday, or you could live apart. Maybe you’re happily married with children and time together seems an impossibility, or maybe you’ve just not found the special one yet. Then what? Then you have a date with yourself for the night, and here are some fabulous ways to do it… 

  • Grab yourself a book (a girly romance will be perfect!), get some candles lit, whip on a snuggly jumper and settle down on the sofa for a long, warm night with some book boyfriends or in magical place a world away from your living room sofa.
  • Love isn’t just about partners! Why not settle down with a cocktail and some cute stationery? Write a note to your besties telling them just why you love them, or reminisce on some good times in a greetings card for them.
  • Whether we like to admit it or not, we all have an ultimate celebrity crush. For me it’s always going to be Bradley Cooper or Sam Claflin. Maybe you’re more of a Johnny Depp or a Channing Tatum kind of woman? Either way, rent or download a few of their movies and treat yourself to cosy night in with tonnes of on-screen eye-candy.
  • Get crafty! I find nothing more relaxing than adult colouring books, and I can also spend hours doing cross stitch. Find a craft you enjoy and spend your night getting creative. Tonnes of fun, and you’ll have something pretty to show for it at the end.
  • Since you’re not going to be spending your hard-earned cash on someone else this Valentine’s, you might as well spend it on yourself. Whether it’s a spa day, some jewellery, a salon splurge or a massive online clothes haul, treat yourself to something special – and don’t feel guilty about it!

There you have it! Five ways to spend your Valentine’s if you’re alone this year.  I’d love to hear what you’re up to this Valentine’s in the comments below. ツ
 
You know you're growing up when the time comes to leave your parents' place and get a house of your very own, right? I mean, I don't think I've ever felt as adult as I did when I got my very own mortgage. And when I bought my sofas, well, I felt pretty darn grown up. And when I picked out curtains and paint colours for my living room... gawddd, I'm so mature now. 

I've lived on my own for a few years now. And in that time, I've discovered that living on my own comes with a number of pros and cons. Let me fill you in...

Pros

  • You can slob about the house in your finest - or most grim - underwear if you really want. I once sat and played my piano in my bra and pants because, well, why not? Just gets a bit awks when someone knocks at the door.
  • Music can be played loudly without having to worry your disturbing someone else in the house. There's the added bonus of being able to sing and dance along, somewhat like a lunatic, without embarrassment.
  • You can have your friends round whenever the hell you want. Maybe even throw house parties as and when you wish, if your friends are trustworthy enough...
  • Sharing your bed, or being stuck in a single, is a thing of the past. Yes, that's right - you can fully sprawl out across a lovely double bed. Find yourself some beaut bedding and top quality duvet for plenty of nights of starfishing to come.

Cons

  • You're screwed when there's a spider lurking around. And you'll have to relocate to a different room, or ask your dad to come round and get it for you...
  • It is entirely your responsibility to clean the bathroom. And you're the only one to suffer the consequences if you don't.
  • You have no one to remind you when food in your fridge is about to go out of date. And sometimes you don't even realise until it's way too late and a peculiar smell wafts into the kitchen every time you open the fridge door.
  • There's no one to convince you that you should probably get to bed. And so you stay up for one more episode of whatever Netflix series you're watching. And one more after that. And another...
  • It gets kinda lonely sometimes. But then again, you can't just let anyone come along and ruin your spider-evading, Netflix-binging, underwear-clad routine.

What would you say the pros and cons of living on your own are?

I first discovered hair dye back in primary school when my mum started using semi-permanent boxes on her hair, and so, of course, I wanted a go as well. Since then I've been through a lot of the rainbow - blonde, red, blue, pink, brown, black, purple, highlights, ombré - but one I stuck to for a long, long time was a vivid red (all done professionally nowadays, of course), and I started to notice a number of things...


1. Wearing red on red is scary. I mean, red is an awesome colour to rock, especially on a night out, but now that my hair is red, I'm worried I end up looking a bit obsessed. Or maybe I'll look like I'm in fancy dress as a giant tomato? I dunno.

2. Evo Fabuloso is my best friend. If you don't know what this is, it's a coloured conditioner which enhances your colour (or can change your colour for about three or four washes - I used it for dip dyes when I was blonde!). I can't live without it now because my hair looks so fabulous after being washed with this - hence the name!

3. My shower sometimes looks like a murder scene. I'm quite a clumsy and messy person naturally, I seriously can't help it. So when I'm using my Fabuloso conditioner (which is very red by the way), I manage to splash it every where from the shower doors, the tiles, and even sometimes the ceiling. When I forget to clean it up (okay, when I'm maybe too lazy), my shower may look like a murder scene to whoever goes in next.

4. I don't need a Lush bath bomb to turn the water pink. My hair does that job just fine, though obviously without the glorious smell and skin conditioning benefits. Whether it be a bath or a shower, the water is guaranteed to have a tinge of pink to it. And I like it. It's kinda cute.

5. Wrapping white towels on my head isn't a good idea. Yes, not only does the water turn pink, but my towels do too. And it drives my mum batty. So much so, in fact, that she has bought me my very own special red towel to wrap around my head. She's a good'un!

6. What I thought was red is no longer red enough. When I first went to red, it was from blonde, and so I went for a subtle kind of red. My hairdresser was adamant that I would end up wanting it more vibrant, and lo and behold, I wanted it redder when I went for a top colour. And then redder. And now? I want it redder again.

7. My hairdressers are the best. No matter what colour I get, my hairdressers do an amaaaazing job. I seriously would trust them to do anything and everything to my hair, and know it's going to look fabulous. Going to get my hair done is no longer a chore, and I could happily stay in the salon all day with them. (I think my record so far is about 8 hours?)

Have you been a redhead before and experienced any of this? Let me know!
For those of you who have known me for longer than a year or so, you will know that I have been in a loooong process of totally stripping back my house and renovating it. I'm talking brand new walls, replastering, knocking down rooms, loft conversions, rewiring, a fabulous new garden (my favourite) - the whole lot.

And naturally, the renovation was followed by lots and lots of decorating and furbishing. The truly fun part, right?

I've now got to a point where each and every room has its own hand-picked colour scheme, matching (mainly IKEA) furniture and homely touches. Every room, that is, except for my office. So I've been hunting for some inspiration on Pinterest...
 

A wall of prints 

A blogger classic, right? A wall covered in various frames and prints of different shapes and sizes showcasing art, postivity quotes and anything pretty, basically. I have a tonne of prints all ready and waiting to be stuck up, and I'm even going to mingle in some certificates, achievements and personal photographs, because why not?
 

Pretty little plants 

Now that I have my own place, I've really started to appreciate the extra something botanical beauties can add to a room. I plan on adopting plenty of plant babies to stick here, there and everywhere, office included. Though I may stick to the plastic kind of plant babies... I didn't look after my last few very well. #badplantmum


Stationery heaven 

I make it no secret that I am a little bit of a stationery addict. Okay, a lot. Notebooks bring me an unnatural amount of joy, and my sticker collection is ridiculously vast. Pretty coloured pens make me happy, and binders, wallets and pencils that are cover d in pretty patterns always make for a great addition to my stationery collection. 
 

A touch of sparkle ✨

And finally, to add a little bit of sparkle to my office, I will most certainly be finishing off the look with some twinkling fairy lights. You'll probably find them draped around my desk, winding around my units and hanging from my bookshelves. Perfect for a cosy night in working.  

 
How would you decorate your office?
December is here and so the countdown to Christmas has well and truly started! This year I've decided to challenge myself by taking part in Blogmas (and I'm probably going to fail miserably because I haven't prepared very well!). For those of you who aren't so sure what Blogmas is, it's something bloggers take part in from the 1st of December through to Christmas Day, and they post daily. Posts are usually Christmassy but that's not a necessity.

To start the month off, I've compiled a list of Blogmas post ideas for those of you that may want to take part but are unsure what to post about. 

 I know, I know. There are so many of these lists floating about with similar ideas (and I swear some of them are just straight up copy-and-pasted!), but I promise I have tried my best to come up with new and different ones for you all (though with some of the classics too) as well as include ones I'll be doing myself throughout the month! 

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1. Your family Christmas Eve or Christmas day traditions 

2. Christmas crafts 

3. Party dress wish list 

4. Places you'd like to visit in the Winter 

5. A gift guide (of course) 

6. Favourite Christmas movies 

7. Winter outfit posts 

8. A nostalgic post about the presents you remember receiving as a child 

9. Yummy Christmas recipes 

10. Revealing your Christmas tree this year 

11. What you love about Christmas 

12. What you hate about Christmas 

13. A collection of Christmas wallpapers for your phone 

14. Cheesy Christmas playlist 

15. Quirky gift wrap ideas 

16. Winter makeup looks 

17. Your dream Christmas date 

18. Best places to find Christmas jumpers this year 

19. Random things you associate with Christmas which others might not 

20. Stocking fillers 

21. What are you wishing for this Christmas? 

22. Your favourite Christmas adverts from over the years 

23. Cosy winter interior inspiration 

24. Review a Christmas book 

25. Glamorous jewellery for the Christmas parties 

26. A knitwear wish list 

27. Christmas nail art inspo 

28. Gift guides on a budget 

29. Your favourites scented candles to burn at Christmas 

30. Fun Christmas games for the family 

31. Christmas Day photo diary 

32. Winter pyjama wish list 

33. Review some Christmas gift sets 

34. DIY Christmas cards 

35. Hints and tips for shopping in the Christmas sales 

36. Your favourite Christmas decor you've seen in your home town 

37. Christmas hamper ideas 

38. Decorating Christmas cakes 

39. Things that make you really excited for the festive season 

40. Favourite alcoholic drinks to have at the Christmas table 

41. Essentials for a Christmas party 

42. A list of Blogmas ideas!

Are you attempting daily posts this December? I'd love to hear if you'll be using any of my ideas, even if you're not taking part in Blogmas!

 



It's no secret that I adore a book that draws me to tears. There's something quite magical about words on paper that have the ability to stir such strong emotions, and so when multiple people recommended Me Before You and insisted I would cry my little heart out, I couldn't resist grabbing myself a copy even though I had no idea what the bloody thing was about. (And in case you're wondering, they were right - I sobbed into my pillow the entire night after reaching the end.)



It's Fridayyyy, and today I am over the moon to be part of the blog tour promoting A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab. This is a sequel to the incredible A Darker Shade of Magic, and I cannot wait to stick my nose into my nice shiny copy. In the mean time, I'll be finding out which fictional worlds V.E. Schwab would most like to live in, and I'll be ending the post by telling you how to get your hands on your very own copy! So lets find out was V.E. Schwab had to say...

"This is tricky, since, looking over my shelves, most of my favorite books don’t actually involve worlds I’d WANT to live in, but I’ll try...

1. The HARRY POTTER world

No surprise here. Who wouldn’t want to live in a world where there’s a school of magic, and a whole world beyond it. People often point out that there are dark marks and death eaters, and the way I see it, yeah, but I’m not saying I want to be Harry or Hermoine. I plan on getting through this world alive. And let’s be real, anyone who knows me knows, I’m a Slytherin anyway. I’d probably become a Death Eater just for the wicked mask.

2. The world of Holly Black's CURSE WORKERS

I’m enamored with every aspect of Holly’s WHITE CAT, RED GLOVE, and BLACK HEART, but most of all, I can’t get over the world building. Set in our own world, this alternate iteration with a mob motif involves people who have the ability to curse others, with a consequence, and even though it’s not the most pleasant world, it captured my imagination, and never let go.

3. THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS 

Look, guys. I just want to be a shadow hunter. Or a warlock. Or a vampire. I just like the world, okay? It appears to be full of danger AND hot people. You can’t blame me.

4. The world in THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR

This is an odd-ball answer, since this is one of the strangest books I’ve ever read, and I don’t know many people who even HAVE read it, but there’s a library in this book where all the knowledge of the world is kept, each category given its own catalog. A whole level for war, another for language, another for life and death, and time doesn’t even move while you're inside. All I can think of is how badly I want to spend time there, mastering one of them."


So there you have it. Four worlds that V.E. Schwab would love to live in. Let me know what you think of V.E. Schwab's choice of fictional worlds to live in in the comments below! ツ

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ABOUT ME

A twenty-something year old based in the UK obsessed with reading, beauty and random ramblings about anything and everything.

About the Posts

Beauty posts will discuss everything from make-up hauls to style ideas. They will include product reviews, skincare regimes and outfit looks.

Book posts does what it says on the tin - books! There'll be lots of book reviews plus occasional author guest posts and fun lists.

Babble posts are where things get interesting. These can be anything from my travels to daily rants to TV and film chat, plus anything else I fancy.

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