New Purchase: Pastel Nail Varnish!

Hello and welcome back! This is a shorter post to talk about two new nail varnishes which I've been loving! I was going through my nail varnish collection and realised that I didn't have many bright colours and had no pastel colours at all. One shade which I did have was Cyan Blue by Barry M (an amazing bright blue) which made me add a pastel blue to my collection.

Linked below // £2.99

Surprise, surprise I ended up with two shades rather than the one I went for, however I am very happy with the colours I got and would recommend them heavily! They’re both from the Rimmel London collection by Rita Ora and are both shades named after music festivals; Peachella and Bestival Blue. Peachella is a really easy to wear peach which is nice and summery without being too imposing if you worry about your nails clashing with your outfit. Bestival Blue is similar to a light cornflower blue shade and looks super pretty for spring/summer. Both lasted really well on my nails (I have short nails so they don’t chip as easily and had on this top coat/base coat) and were opaque with two coats.

I hope you enjoyed this post, feel free to comment below with your favourite summer nail varnishes! New posts go up on Sundays!

Stay Golden, Gracie xo

Eye Makeup Trilogy: Brows!

Hello and welcome back! This week is the third and final post in the eye make-up trilogy I've been doing and that means its brows time! I don’t do a great deal to my brows in the summer as I prefer and overall more natural look, however depending upon what I'm doing I switch between products. My brows are naturally in shape and require little maintenance, however they’re sparse through the arch which is where I focus on if I'm doing a fuller brow look. For more info, keep on reading!

£3.99 // £2.99 // £4.95

For a natural look - I go for the Rimmel Brow This Way tinted brow gel, this is really great to give some more colour and definition quickly and easily!

For a fuller look - I use a brow pencil, this one by Rimmel is a really great colour for me and lets me fill in my brows in the areas they're sparse without looking too drawn on

For a dramatic brow - I use the w7 brow twister, this is in the same style packaging and texture as the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz but for a fraction of the price, this creates a full and more dramatic look and I use it on days when I'm feeling more brave with my brows!

I also use a clear brow gel/clear mascara to set my brows when I've used a pencil/brow twister, however mine has run out at the moment

I hope you liked my little trilogy! I use highstreet/drugstore products as they suit my student budget, let me know if you have any favourite eye make-up products you'd recommend! 

Stay Golden, Gracie xo

Eye makeup triology: Eyeliner

Hello, welcome back! This week I'm back with the second post in my trilogy series which focuses on my favourite eye-liners, one for each job and a couple of coloured ones to brighten up my make-up look!

£1.99 // £2.99 // £2.99 // £2.99 // £3.99

Black pencil liner: Collection Kohl Eye-liner, this lines the waterline and tight-line really well without fading, but also is super soft and blendable so you can use it along your lash line too.

White eye-liner: Rimmel soft Kohl Kajal liner, I use this in my waterline and my inner corner to open up the eyes making them look bigger, and making me look more awake!

Black felt tip liner: Collection extreme 24 hour felt tip liner, this is a really great liner for people – like me – who aren't very good at the classic cat eye. It’s not too thick or thin and is easy to use.

Coloured felt tip liner: Collection extreme 24 hour liner, no 3, blue. I love using a coloured liner on days when I feel like injecting more colour into my look, by using a felt tip liner it’s easy and lasts all day.

Coloured eye crayon: Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer in Emerald Sparkle, no 250. I usually apply this under my eye and use a brush to smudge it out, this eye liner is a soft crayon like consistency but is also waterproof so lasts all day.

I hope you liked this post, next week I'm going to post the third and final post all about eyebrows! 

Stay Golden, Gracie xo

Eye Makeup Trilogy: Mascara

Hello, welcome back! This week I've decided to do something a little bit different, focusing on my favourite part of my make-up routine: eyes!

For me make-up is all about the eyes and I love how the dramaticness of your eye make-up can affect your whole look. I've made this into a trilogy of posts each focussing on one element of my eye make-up collection, first up is mascara, followed by eye-liner and then brows! I'm going to do a full eye shadow collection post later on in the month too.

I hope you enjoy and let’s get started!

£19.50 // £7.99 // £7.49 // £4.99

The prices for these are all for the full size versions from Boots.com and are correct when this gets posted

For length: I opt for the Benefit Roller Lash, I got this sample from Elle magazine and I really love it, however the full size is expensive for what I usually pay.

For volume: Maybelline Rocket Volum' express is my favourite, I find that you can't build this without it getting clumpy, however it's great for thickening your lashes.

My Favourite: Rimmel Kate Rockin' Curves, I love this mascara! It's a really great all round mascara for everyday but can also be layered up to create a dramatic evening look.

Great for everyday: Rimmel Extra Super Lash is a great mascara to give a casual everyday look, it has a curved brush which gives a natural curled look.

I hope you enjoyed a peek at my current favourite mascaras, let me know what yours are below and come back next week for a look at my favourite eye-liners!

Stay golden! Gracie xo

2015 Reading Challenge: Update!

Hello all and welcome back. Today I'm doing an updated ‘2015 Reading Challenge’, if you want to catch up on the two posts I've done on this so far you can find them HERE and HERE. I've been super bust with uni over the past month but wanted to do one of these posts so I've chosen two books which are two of my all-time favourites and one which I read in late December 2014. I'm just about to start One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey so look out for that one in my next update!

Waterstones // £8.99

The first book I've chosen is The Ladies Paradise written by Emile Zola. This fits the category, a book set in a different country, as it is set in France. I read this after watching the TV show The Paradise (On UK Netflix), the show is very very loosey based on the book and is set in Britain rather than France. The book follows the idea of a town getting its first big department store and follows the story of Mouret, the owner of the store, who falls for Denise a shop girl. Denise is kind of portrayed as an underdog character who gets picked on by some of the other girls in the shop, who see themselves as better than her. I really love this book, it’s a classic and is one I go back to time and again if I'm not wanting to start something new.

Waterstones // £7.99

The second book is the one I read – for the second time - in late 2014 and that is Looking For Alaska by John Green. I read this after reading The Fault In Our Stars, and it was recommended to me by my boyfriend who read it before me. I find after reading John Green that his style of writing is so captivating that sometimes the only book that can fill the gap of finishing one of his books, is another of his books! I really enjoyed reading Looking For Alaska, it was better than I was expecting it to be and I ended up not being able to stop reading it once I had started – my favourite quality in a book. If you've read other book by John Green I would definitely recommend this one.

Bought from TKMaxx for £14.99

The final book is one I read 2-3 times a year, or whenever I have nothing to read or just when I'm not in the mood to read something new, and that is, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Now I'm completely obsessed with this book, not just the story but the language used, the characters and really everything it involves! The version I have is the complete Lewis Carroll collection which includes both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, among other Lewis Carroll stories. The category I'm fitting this into is a book with non-human characters and that is simply because not only are many characters non-human but they’re also completely made up!

I hope you enjoyed this reading post, stay golden!
Gracie xo

My Wishlist!

Hello all and welcome back! 

This week I wanted to bring you an updated version of the wish list post I uploaded back in October (see that here). In that post I focussed on make-up and tools which I was after at the time, this post will be a little different in that I am going to cover things I'm wishing for from lots of different categories. There will be some make-up, clothes, a book or two and maybe even some more!

Disclaimer: all of the images were sourced by me from the website listed below the image, however these images are no way mine and do not belong to me, I simply screen grabbed them from the website.

https://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/product/view/dandelion

This is the first product I have had my eye on for quite a while now. Benefit have this listed as a brightening face powder, however many reviews have labelled it as a perfect blush for those with fair skin who want a hint of colour but don't want to appear blushed. I think the delicate pink looks perfect for spring/summer and after swatching it in store it gets the number 1 spot on my wishlist.

http://www.hm.com/gb/product/77130?article=77130-A&cm_vc=SEARCH

Next up on my list are dunagrees. Now, I haven't had a pair of these since I was about 10 years old but I loved the look then and 9 years on I'm still all about dungarees. They're not to everyone's taste, I personally prefer black over blue or white denim, but I think they can look casual or smarter and are great for summer if you don't want to show off too much leg. These ones from H&M are perfect and the cheapest ones I've seen at £30.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/elizabeth-is-missing/emma-healey/9780241968185

As part of my New Year's Resolutions I'm trying to read more books and that's lead me to browsing Waterstones quite a lot over the past two months. Elizabeth is missing doesn't look like the type of book I would usually read, however after checking out the blurb I was into it straight away. Not sure I'll be able to put it back on the shelf next time I see it!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/221457254/i-am-baymax-i-am-groot-mug-coffee-mug?ref=shop_home_active_2

The final item on my wishlist is this mug, I especially love Baymax (from the new Disney movie Big Hero 6) but I also adore Groot and I think this mug is perfect! It's from an Etsy shop called Cheezymug which stocks loads of funny mug designs. I love mugs and tea cups (check out my Pinterest board) and this would be a perfect addition to my collection!

Please comment and let me know if you have any of what I'm wanting and what you think of it. 

Have a great week and stay golden! Gracie xo

You can find me on social media if you click these links:

TWITTER TUMBLR INSTAGRAM PINTEREST

P.S. I also changed my website so it is now www.littlewildflowerblog.blogspot.com this is just to tie everything together better and I am working on updating the look of my blog as I type!

New Hair Products!

Hello all and welcome back! Today my post is going to be about some new hair products which I've bought recently and have been trying out.

I have used all of these 3/4 times so this is a first impressions type post which I hope is useful to some of you!

Working from left to right, the first product I have been trying out is the Colab dry shampoo in the scent London- I have done a haul which talked more about the product which you can read here. This scent is a really nice mix of more floral tones with a musk background which means that it's not too overpowering to use on your hair but gives a nice scent for while you're styling your hair. I like to use this when my hair is straight to add volume at the roots and make my hair less flat, a bonus of doing this with a dry shampoo is that of course it removes any signs of grease or build up too! This is the best dry shampoo I've used and is a really great price too.

The next product I've been using is the Garnier Fructis Style my curl perfecting mousse, the one I picked up is ultra strong and is 4/6 when it comes to hold. I've never used a mousse before on my hair but the more I started wearing my hair curly the more I learnt about styling curly hair and all the blogs I read said that a mousse was the way to go. This one I picked up from Superdrug not long ago and it's already made me into a mousse convert! I scrunch this into damp hair while my head is upside down which adds loads of volume at the roots where my hair is usually flat. After that I usually leave it to air dry or use a diffuser if I want it dry quickly. The only issue I have with this is the high amount of hold can make my hair feel slightly crunchy, so next time I would get a softer hold, but apart from that, it defines my curls and keeps them in shape for longer!

The third product is one which I've been wanting to try for ages and that's a cleansing conditioner! This one is Palmer's Olive Oil formula cleansing conditioner and is enriched with vitamin E and doesn't have the sulphates or parabens which are usually in shampoo and conditioner. The idea of a cleansing conditioner is that it cleans your hair without stripping it of natural oils and drying it out. This is an ideal way of washing your hair if it's naturally curly or gets dry easily. So far I'm really pleased with the results of using this product, my hair feels as clean as when I do both shampoo and conditioner but it takes less time and leaves my hair feeling softer and less dehydrated.

The final hair product I've been testing out is the L'Oreal Paris studio line salt spray, this has a rating of 4/10 in terms of how textured it will make your hair look which is perfect to add a tousled vibe to my hair when I want it to be a bit more gritty. I also like braiding sections of my hair and find that this is great to make the hair less clean and therefore makes the braids look better than when it's freshly washed. This was a really inexpensive product and is similar in some ways to the VO5 give me texture spray I used to swear by. The only difference being is that this is definitely more of a wet spray than the VO5 which was more like a mist. However, the little bottle it comes in barely takes up and room and could be put in your handbag easily if you like to add more texture throughout the day.

I hope you've enjoyed my mini reviews of the new hair products I've been trying out throughout the month of February and I hope you have found them useful! I hope you have a good week and stay golden!

Gracie xo 

2015 reading challenge: update

Hello all, welcome back! Earlier in the year I did a New Years Resolutions post in which I told you about the reading challenge I was taking part in!

I've now read my first three books and am going to tell you a little bit about each one!

For each book I've created a little collage so you can see the cover and also I've type the blurb so you can read that too if you wish. I bought these books myself and will have where I bought it from and the price under each image. Usually I shop in Waterstones since it's closest to me and has such a huge variety but I also get books from supermarkets which is usually cheaper.

Waterstones // £7.99

Title: The disreputable history of Frankie-Landau Banks

Author: E Lockhart

Which category of the reading challenge?: a book set in high school

Other books by the author: We were liars (see my review of that here)

This book is set in a private school in America and has Frankie Landau-Banks as the main character. I really loved this book and was reading it constantly when I got it. The storyline (without giving too much away) is that Frankie starts a new year of school and meets Matthew Livingston, a boy in the year above her who also knew her older sister. Soon Frankie starts hanging out with his group of friends and starts to think that Matthew is keeping a secret from her and she sets out to find out what the secret is and to get even. It's a light-hearted and funny book and is a great introduction to E Lockhart if you've not read her stuff before.  If you enjoying reading book by authors such as John Green then you will enjoy reading this as E Lockhart is a brilliant young adult author.

ASDA // £3.85

Title: Love Rosie

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Which category of the reading challenge?; a book that became a movie

Other books by this author: PS I Love You

I don't have enough good words in my vocabulary to express how much I loved this book! The characters are amazing, the style of writing is great and the storyline is funny, romantic and also a little heartbreaking! When I saw that this was by the author of PS I Love You I had reserves, because yes, that is also an amazing book but I wasn't sure if I wanted to read something as sad as that- it had me in tears from page one! But Love Rosie is completely different, I will admit that I did shed many tears while reading this (even on the train back to uni after Christmas) but the sadness is all balanced out by how funny the book is too. It's set out in an unconventional manner, and is written in the form of letters, phone calls and online chatroom conversations but that is what I really loved about this book, as writing in that way lets you really follow one character and doesn't focus too much on the setting of the story. I would urge anyone to pick up this book if they see it, it's quite chunky but because of how it's written it doesn't take a long time to read and I was obsessed with this book after the first few pages!

Waterstones // £7.99

Title: If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Category of the reading challenge?: a book by a female author

Sequel: Where she went

I have just finished reading this book and it left me speechless. I have owned this book since November but didn't pick it up to read it until the beginning of February and I'm so glad I finally did! This book was also recently turned into a movie (which I've also not seen) and so I did have the actors for the characters Adam and Mia in my head since I know what they look like from the book cover- I'm also a big fan of Chloe Grace Mortez who played Mia in the movie - but I wouldn't say that affected my reading of the book itself. What I like most about this book is how it's written. Every section of book which is in the present is followed by a section which is from the main characters point of view but telling a story from the past, this is a really great way of getting background knowledge and context in for some of the things the character herself is going through throughout the book. This is also great as it means that there are some more light-hearted sections to the story which aren't as sad as the present day sections, set in a hospital. Another thing I like about If I Stay is that the whole book takes place over the course of a few days, even though by the end of it you feel as though you've travelled a full circle with Mia, the main character.

Whether or not you've seen the movie, you should definitely read this book, it's a really lovely story with characters you can relate to.

I hope you've enjoyed this post about the books I've been reading, I am going to do a post like this every 3 books or so throughout 2015, any recommendations please comment below!

Have a great week, and stay golden!
Gracie xo

Tea time!

Hello all, welcome back! I have a confession. I love tea, and recently my tea collection has been growing and growing and so I thought that it's long past time to share!

I currently have five types of tea in my room at uni (they no longer fit in the cupboard with my food) and they all have different health benefits, so I thought I would share with you which teas I have and what they're supposed to be good for. 

First things first, I don't like fruit tea. I'm not really sure why but I've tried many and disliked them all! Because of this I stick to more herbal teas, I also like sweet tea, and therefore add a squeeze of honey to sweeten them (bottom right, from Aldi).

The first tea on the top left is Peppermint and is from Tesco (20 tea bags for  75p). I normally dislike peppermint, this is because it is a trigger for migraines and nausea in me (unusual as mint is supposed to help with that!), therefore I tend to avoid it, but as I'm getting older I'm becoming more able to have stronger peppermint flavours and have really gotten into this tea in particular. Peppermint tea is supposed to aid with digestion, help with migraines and nausea (!) and help clear your skin.

The next tea in the middle on the top is jasmine green tea (from Aldi), I really love this and usually drink it in the morning, I find plain green tea slightly too bitter and therefore opt for jasmine green tea. This really makes me feel more awake and gets my morning off to a great start, everyone knows green tea is supposed to have loads of health benefits such as helping to boost your metabolism which aids in weight loss and reducing blood pressure. Jasmine tea is also known for helping with weight loss and relieving anxiety. 

The next tea is Twingings Everyday tea, this is a classic black tea which can have milk added to it or left plain and flavoured with lemon or honey. I either drink this with honey or with milk and two sugars! Black tea (without milk) is super good for you and improves your heart health and can also help your brain and nervous system.

The final two teas I drink are a combination of plants and flowers with the aim of helping a certain issue. The first is the Dr Stuart skin purify tea available from Holland and Barrett . This tea is a combination of red clover, dandelion and nettle which aims to help improve and clear your skin. I love the flavour of this tea and also love that it is caffeine free! I've been trying to cut down on my caffeine lately and therefore love this as a caffeine free alternative. The final tea is the Twinings sleep tea, this is a blend of flavours (camomile, lavender and vanilla) which are known for helping you relax and wind down in order to get a better nights sleep!

I hope you have enjoyed this post, if you have any tea recommendations for me, please comment below! I'm always looking to try out new flavours.

Have a good week, stay golden!

Gracie xo

My Star Product of the month!

Hello all and welcome back! As a new feature on this blog I am going to bring you a blog a month featuring one product- could be beauty, skincare or haircare- which has really shone out to me and made me fall in love with it!

The star product for February is a skincare item available from not only Boots and Superdrug but also at quite a few supermarkets as well! It's the Garnier Micellar water! I've repurchased this product 4 times now and absolutely couldn't live without it! It costs roughly £5 (can be £4.95/99 depending on the shop) and if you keep your eye out it's also frequently on offer.

This product is great at removing eye make up as well as cleansing your skin, it doesn't leave your face feeling at all sticky and dries really quickly. If I am wearing make up, I remove that  all with a cleansing oil and then go in with a cotton wool pad and micellar water to make sure all my eye make up is off and give my skin a final cleanse prior to moisturising. 

However, on days where I am wearing no make up I simply wipe a cotton wool pad of this across my face and then moisturise once its dry! My skin type is mainly dry except my forehead which can get oily. Therefore I find it best for me to use as few products/ washes as possible works best for keeping my skin clear and healthy.

I hope you like this new feature, do let me know if you have a new favourite product! I will also be posting a monthly favourites so I can share with you things such as my favourite clothing items or a recipe I've been loving for the month!

As always, hope you're all having a great week, stay golden! 

Gracie xo

How I style my hair... curly and straight!

Hello all, welcome back!

This week I wanted to share with you the two ways in which I style my hair; curly and straight. I had previously done a blog about my hair in October, however I wanted to replace that one with this, to add more detail and information on my styling routine. 

My hair is long, thick, frizzy, naturally curly and also stubborn! It dries out easily and therefore I always use products to protect it when I'm using heat, as well as using a curly cream/spray and a straightening spray to help keep the frizz and natural madness at bay!

80p each, ASDA

To start off I wash my hair every 3/4 days (curly hair tends to get greasier slower, usually mine can last a day longer). My hair doesn't get greasy very quickly at all, when I do wash it I vary on my shampoo/conditioner brands. At the moment I am using the Alberto Balsam mandarin shampoo and conditioner. These are great all round and leave your hair clean, moisturised and smelling great!

L-R: Boots, £6.99 // unknown

Curly hair first!

After washing my hair I brush it to remove any knots and apply argan oil to the ends. After doing this I do 5-8 sprays of the John Frieda Frizz Ease Go Curlier 48 hour curls throughout my hair and run my fingers through to spread the product. If I am going to let my hair air dry then I leave it here, if I'm using my hair dryer I'll apply a heat defence spray too. I diffuse my hair on a low setting so I don't use a lot of heat defence but I apply it to the ends to protect them from splitting and drying out. 

Hair dryer: Argos, £17.99

The brush I use is just a regular hair brush from my local chemist. The hair dryer is the Babyliss Curl and Dry 2100W. This is a great hair dryer and has speed and heat settings so you can control all aspects of your hair styling.

L-R: TRESemme, Tesco, £3.50// 3 day straight, Boots, £6.99// unknown

To straighten my hair I wash it in the same way and then apply argan oil throughout. Next I use the John Frieda Frizz Ease 3 day straight and spray liberally throughout my hair making sure it's distributed evenly.

Finally I use the TRESemme Heat Defence styling spray to protect my hair, concentrating on the ends.

Top-bottom: GHD's, £125, GHD.com// Haird dryer, Argos, £17.99// comb, poundland//
round brush, Boots, £9.99 

To straighten my hair and get it as smooth as possible I first use a widetooth comb to make sure there are no knots left in. After this, I rough dry my hair with no nozzle attached to get it to being damp. I now attach the nozzle and - starting at the front - use my Remington Keratin therapy round brush to blow dry it smooth. I am no expert at this and practice definitely makes perfect! After getting it thoroughly dried out and as smooth as I can I switch my hair dryer to its cold setting and blow my hair in a downward motion, this helps it keep its straightness. After this I use my GHD V gold max stylers to straighten it out, again in sections and starting at the front as this is where I have stubborn flicks and frizzy sections!

This is my final hair routine! It can take a long time to do, especially the straightening, however I love both finished looks. If I want to give my hair a break or just can't be bothered with using lots of product and heat, then I usually use a hair mask to deep condition it and then let my hair air dry or sleep with it in plaits/ a bun so that in the morning I wake up with curly hair without the fuss!

I hope this has given you some ideas! Hope your week is going great, stay golden

Gracie xo

P.S. all products are bought by me and the prices were right according to the store/store website at time of me writing this blog.

Edinburgh Beauty Haul!

Hello all, welcome back! I recently went into Edinburgh to pick up some new make up and I'm so excited to write this blog and share it with you! As well as the new stuff I got a couple of old faithful items which my make up bag is incomplete without!

The first thing I picked up is something I've been in need of for quite a while now, and that's dry shampoo! I've seen quite a few beauty gurus on Youtube gush about how great the Colab dry shampoo is, created by Ruth Crilly of A Model Recommends, and decided that I should try it out. I got the London scent and the sheer invisible formula, as I have dark hair, this 200ml can was £3.49 from Superdrug. Great price!

The other thing I got from Superdrug was the Maybelline New York, The Rocket volume express mascara in black (£7.99). I haven't had a Maybelline mascara in ages, despite them being the only ones I wore for a good 3 years of my teens. I've read great reviews about the rocket mascara and decided to bite the bullet and give it a go, I can be fussy about mascara but I will definitely let you know what I think!

The rest of my make up I got from Boots, starting with L'Oreal Paris. I've been wearing the Rimmel London 25 hour liquid foundation for ages now and I like it but I do find it slightly too heavy on the skin, so I stepped out of my comfort zone (away from the Rimmel stand!) and towards L'Oreal Paris. Now. This isn't a brand I would typically try but their True Match foundation does look great and sounds like just what I'm looking for, I got the shade Ivory (N1). While I was there I decided to make the most of their current offer, 2 for £12 across the brand. Considering the foundation is £9.99 on its own I couldn't resist trying something else and decided upon the glam bronzer in shade 00 Blond Sun. This looks like a great matte bronzer for someone pale like me and for £2 I couldn't resist!

The final two products I bought were both ones I've had before and always fall back on when I'm in need. These are the Boots Natural Collection corrector stick (£1.99) and the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer (shade 1 fair, £4.19). The corrector stick is the one make up item I find hardest to get hold of, as Natural Collection is Boots' own brand it's not available elsewhere and I tend to find it's sold out. When I can get hold of this however, I love it! The green cancels out any redness (of which I have loads) and creates a flawless finish, other correctors I find tend to 'match your skin tone', something which leaves me more oompa loompa than flawless! The concealer is much raved about and for good reason, it blends really well and covers blemishes and dark circles.

The final item I bought isn't beauty related but I couldn't resist it when I saw it and it's this notebook;

I got this for £5.99 from Waterstones and it is adorable! Bright pink on the outside with gold edged pages and flowers on the inside cover, this is right up my street, and you never know when you're going to need a notebook!

 I hope you've enjoyed seeing my recent purchases and I will definitely let you know what I think once I've tried them out, until next week, stay golden!

Gracie xo

What I got for Christmas and my Birthday!

Hello all, welcome back! I'm finally back with a working laptop and here to bring you a blog post about what gifts I was given for my birthday and also for Christmas.

I recently turned 19 and with this and Christmas so close together I have been well and truly spoiled. I'm not at all posting this to brag or show off about what I got, as I've been at university I wasn't around before Christmas so all of my presents were a complete surprise and are things I've had on my wishlist for a while now. 

Where I can I am going to post the shop where the gift is from however as they're gifts I obviously don't know the prices.

I hope your holidays have been really great and that you've had a relaxing time with the special people in your life.

Left: Fleece PJ set - Sainsbury's - Christmas gift from my Grandparents

Top: Heart shaped necklace - unknown - Christmas gift from my boyfriend

Bottom: Red handbag - unknown - Birthday gift from my grandparents

Top Left: Silver quote bangle - Equilibrium - Birthday gift from my mam

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain"

Bottom Left: Nivea minis bauble - Limited edition for christmas, gift from my brother

Top Right: Handbag - Matalan//Scarf - Edinburgh Woolen Mill

Bottom Right: Nivea giftset

L-R:

Poppy jug - Christmas gift from grandparents

Microwavable dog (called Pam) - TKMaxx - gift from my mam

Alice in Wonderland notecards - Waterstones - Gift from my mam

Top: Sainsbury's recipe book - gift from my mam

Bottom: Wreck this Journal - Waterstones - Gift from my boyfriend

I hope you enjoyed this post! I am so happy to be back to blogging after a month or so off! I'm working on scheduling posts as I type so I'll be a lot more reliable from now on, thank you for reading! Have a good week and stay golden! 

Gracie xo

Disclaimer: all the images are my own and taken and edited myself. I use either my Fujifilm Finepix S2980 camera or my iPad therefore the image quality varies.

New Year's Resolutions + 2015 Reading Challenge!

Hello all, and welcome back!

Today I am bringing you my New Year's resolutions, a bit late I know, but I wanted to wait until I was back at university before getting kick started with these. I have tried to keep my resolutions short and realistic, these are things I think I can achieve by 2016 and I've tried to take one from each category - you'll see what I mean!.

My first resolution is a physical one, meaning that I will be able to see a change in myself as the year progresses. I am aiming to maintain going to the gym for 1 hour, 3 times a week. This is what I currently do in terms of fitness and it fits in with my schedule at uni as well as being a realistic amount for me to be at the gym without getting bored or lazy.

Number two is an education based resolution. I aim to work towards getting a C in all of my assessments at university. So far I have been pleased with my results in essays, however there have been times when I've gotten a D and felt envious of my friends getting B's. A pass is 40% and I am aiming to keep above 50%.

Number three is a mental resolution, this may sound a bit weird but I am aiming to think more positively and banish negativity from my mind. I am very self conscious and tend to be a panickier and pessimistic so I am aiming to work on getting more positive. This includes spending little to no time around people who can be negative and judgemental and all round trying to think see the best parts of bad moments.

Number four - the last one - is a fun goal and that is to read as many books as possible! Since the beginning of my final year of school my reading has really decreased, I've always thought the best people are well-read and therefore I want to try and read as much as possible in 2015.

This is where the title fits in, I was on Pinterest around Christmas (I am addicted to Pinterest) and found a post which was attached to this link 

(http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-Challenge-2015-36071458?crlt.pid=camp.RTlcdYOWNcmE)

This is the 2015 Reading Challenge as posted by Popsugar. I have made a list of all the challenges and plan to read a book, then note it down next to whichever challenge it fits! 

So far I have read two books, Love Rosie by Ceceila Ahern and The disreputable history of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. Both of these books have been added to my list and I will do a blog post update when I have three books I've read!

Have you guys got any resolutions and how well are you sticking to them 18 days in? Let me know! 

Good luck with 2015 and stay golden!
Gracie xo

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.