Top 5 books from my bookshelf!

Hello all and welcome back!

Today I'm going to do a countdown of my top 5 favourite books from my - rather compact - bookshelf. At uni I don't have a lot of room for books, however that doesn't mean I don't prefer some over others.

RRP £7.99

Number one is Divergent, the first in the Divergent trilogy written by Veronica Roth. 

For those who enjoy: The Hunger Games

Others in the series: Insurgent and Allegiant

RRP £7.99

Number two is We Were Liars written by E. Lockhart.

For those who enjoy: The Fault In Our Stars

Others by the author: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

RRP £8.99

Number three is One Day written by David Nicholls

For those who enjoy: romantic novels

Others by the author: Starter for Ten

RRP £7.99

Number four is Perks of Being a Wallflower from Stephen Chbosky.

For those who enjoy: coming of age teen novels, such as The Fault In Our Stars 

Othersby the author: unknown (sorry, this is the only one I've read)

RRP £7.99

Number five is The Ladies Paradise written by Emile Zola.
For those who enjoy: classic literature
Others by the author: Unknown

Those are my top five, they've all been read and enjoyed multiple times and they'll be read many more times in the future! Hope you enjoyed this post, as always stay golden!

Gracie xo

Disclaimer: all the prices are RRP prices from the Waterstones website, these books are probably available elsewhere for a lesser price.

My recipe's: breakfast favourite!

Hello all, welcome back!

This Sunday has been pretty hectic for me as I've got a psychology essay due in tomorrow - yikes! Following that I have a 2 hour lecture and *fingers crossed* I'll make it to the gym for an hour after that, because it's all systems go I wanted to make sure I had breakfast ready to eat - quite possibly in a lecture if I'm late. 

It's times like this when I look to overnight oats (sometimes called summer porridge). This simple breakfast is something which has recently become insanely popular, and quite possibly because it's quick, easy and can be super good for you. 

The recipe that I make is a mix of a few different recipes that I found online using ingredients that I always have in, the beauty of this is that you can completely cater it to suit your diet and your life. So, here's my version:

ingredients available at any supermarket // measuring cups/spoons £1 for both, Poundland

Ingredients:

> 1/2 cup Quick Cook Porridge oats- I like ready brek as it gives a super smooth texture

> 1/2 cup milk- I like using semi-skimmed

> 1/4 cup Greek yogurt- I use non fat, but just choose your favourite Greek yogurt

> 2 tsp honey

> Cup measures and spoon measures

> A pot with a lid- any you want, I use a small circular tub so I can eat on the go if need be, but you can transfer your oats to a bowl if you have more time in the morning

> PLUS any fruit/nuts/seeds you wish to add for extra flavour

Method:

Literally all you do is add everything into your tub, stir together, put the lid on and refrigerate overnight. So so simple!

I used chocolate ready brek for this to add more flavour(I plan to add orange segments when I eat it) but you can add a whole range of things, pretty much whatever you want! Fruit works especially well, you can add this fresh/frozen/dried/pureed,nuts and seeds also work great, as does peanut butter. On my Pinterest account (Grace Collinson, @collinson0579) I've created a board called Blogstuff where I pin things related to blogs posts, you'll also find a few overnight oat variations, I find that experimenting is the best way to find out what you like.

Not the best looking but it is the best tasting!

I'm hoping to make this into a 3/4 part mini series so you can get a glance of some of my favourite things to eat, now I'm at uni I find making your own can often be the cheapest way to shop, especially if you're smart with your ingredients and have the time to make food. It's also a great way to make food and freeze it for when you're short on time- or money!

I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know some of your favourite breakfast dishes! See you on Sunday!

Stay golden, Gracie xo

TKMaxx & Homesense mini haul!

Hello all, welcome back!

Recently a huge TKaMaxx and Homesense store opened at the retail park closest to me and I am so excited about it. TKMaxx (or TJMaxx I think in other countries) is one of my favourite shops, no matter what you're looking for you can always get really great unique items at TKMaxx, usually with great discounts. I love going especially for the beauty section, this time especially the make-up was stunning, they had Chanel, Burberry and tonnes of Shiseido make up with huge discounts, if you're looking for high end makeup with money off it's the place to look first. I ended up picking up a couple of bits and thought I'd share them with you. First up: beauty blender.

TKMaxx - £4.99

 Those of you who read my last blog will know that I have been wanting a beauty blender for some time now. This one is super soft and has a domed base (great for applying makeup to larger areas) as well as a pointed tip (great for round the nose and under eyes). I soak this in water, squeeze out the excess and then take foundation from my hand and blend it all over using the sponge, I find this makes the foundation blend really evenly into the skin and gives a great finish.

TKMaxx - £2.99

I was long over due a new pair of eyelash curlers, mine were getting grubby beyond cleaning and since I'd had them for years a new pair was needed! These have really nice silicone handles which gives good grip and also have a rubber pad on the the curved section which gives a more gradual curl on your eyelashes.

TKMaxx - £4.99

This pug jewelry case was the final thing I bought from TKMaxx and is by far the cutest! Before moving to uni I had my jewelry on a set of pretty hooks on my wall, unfortunately I can't have those at uni so until I get some stick on hooks I needed another option. Inside there is a large and a small compartment with space for three rings. However, I keep all my earrings in here, I find that earrings are a difficult thing to store (suggestions?) and this keeps them all safe!

That's all I got from TKMaxx, it's my favourite shop to go in and having it so close is amazing! I hope you enjoyed this super mini haul, I'll be back on Sunday!!

Stay golden! Gracie xo