Christmas Presents

Peppermint Treats
Whilst chatting to my mum on the phone I briefly mentioned that I was planning on making some peppermint bark for Christmas. I was just gonna look for recipes on Pinterest but she got me this awesome cookbook filled with all sorts of recipes for making bark & ways to use it in other desserts. The peppermint bark brownies are currently top of my to-do list! She also got me some gourmet treats from Williams Sonoma. The hot chocolate is utterly divine and the pretzels are that perfect combination of salty & sweet, yum!



Tom Ford Black Orchid
I've been wanting a Tom Ford perfume for ages but they're just so expensive! I could never decide whether I preferred Black Orchid or Velvet Orchid either. Luckily my mum made that decision for me & I was delighted to receive this bottle of Black Orchid for Christmas. Black Orchid smells unlike anything else in my collection. I normally go for girly floral fragrances but this is more of a spicy oriental scent. It's luxurious, sophisticated, sensual & I love it! I think I'll probably save this one for special occasions as it's just too good for everyday wear.



Real Techniques Filtered Face Set
You can never have too many makeup brushes & this set from Real Techniques has it all. You get loads of brushes, three sponges & a cute pot to store them all in. When this set went down to £35 in Boots I decided to treat myself & wrapped it up as a present from Chloe haha. Real Techniques brushes are some of my favourites so I think it's always good to have a few backups. I've never tried the pink & purple sponges so I'm looking forward to giving those a go.



Elemis Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks
My sister got me these eye masks. I love sheet masks & the hydrogel ones are often the most effective. These ones are just for the eye area & sound really good. My eyes often look puffy & tired so I'm sure they'll be of use to me. I love Elemis products & have heard such great things about their Pro-Collagen range so hopefully they'll work well!



Makeup Geek In The Nude Eyeshadow Palette
She also got me this Makeup Geek eyeshadow palette that I've lusting after for quite a while. Makeup Geek do such brilliant eyeshadows but no one really talks about them anymore. I have a custom palette that I made using their single shadows that I absolutely love & use all the time. The In The Nude palette features a gorgeous array of neutral colours. MUG's matte formula blends like a dream & their foiled shadows are simply stunning. It took me longer than most people to get into the warm brown trend but now I'm fully on board & I can already tell that this is gonna become my new everyday go-to eyeshadow palette.



Kylo Ren Funko Pop
I've had a huge crush on Adam Driver ever since the very first episode of Girls so I was super excited when he joined the cast of the new Star Wars films. Kylo Ren's relationship with Rey was my favourite part of The Last Jedi & I'm a shameless Reylo shipper. The store that Andy manages sells Funko Pops so he got me a little Kylo Ren! I love it so much & he has already earned a permanent place on my desk.



Topshop Goodies
Andy also bought me loads of things from Topshop. I was really surprised because I wasn't expecting him to spoil me at all & I love everything he bought! The only thing I asked for was some gold jewellery & he got me three long layered necklaces. The one with the stars & moons is my fave. He also got me this lovely pink scarf & polka dot wrap dress. I hate to be one of those people but the boy did good!



Rifle Paper Co. Stationery
I always treat myself to a new diary & some stationery at the end of the year. For 2018 I decided not to go with my usual Frankie Diary & ordered some items from Rifle Paper Co. instead. I'm a huge fan of Anna Bond's design style & having pretty stationery to use always makes me feel more productive. I never normally spend so much on calendars but this one is beautiful, absolutely massive & features some great inspirational quotes.



Modalu Pippa Bag
My mum is one of those weird old people who are obsessed with the Royal Family. Even though Pippa Middleton isn't technically a Royal my mum still likes to follow her fashion trends. This bag from Modalu was designed & named in honour of Pippa so my mum went out & bought one for all of us. Personally I couldn't care less about Pippa but I do really like this bag. Anything black patent & gold is right up my street. I like that it has both a shoulder strap & a grab handle. There's tons of space inside but it isn't too big & heavy to carry about every day.



Canon 70D
I've been using my Canon 650D quite happily for the last five years but I'm finally upgrading to something more professional! My mum actually bought this camera for herself as she wanted to get into photography but she was completely overwhelmed by all the controls & couldn't figure out how to use it. She knows that I love photography so she asked me if I wanted to trade my 650D for her 70D & of course I said yes! There isn't a huge difference between the two cameras but it's still an upgrade & a chance to further improve my photographic skills. It's been sitting here for the past month all wrapped up for Christmas & now I'm beyond excited to start using it!

Despite not feeling too festive this year, I actually had a really lovely Christmas. Normally I end up feeling a bit deflated by the end of it but for the first time in a little while I just felt perfectly content all day. I'm sure that has absolutely nothing to do with all the Snowballs I drank! I got such a wonderful collection of presents & I'm so grateful for everything I received. I'm especially fond of my little Kylo Ren! We watched loads of films on Christmas Day & played with some of Chloe's new toys. We always get a couple of new board games and this year we chose Monopoly Gamer & Cluedo. I put together a cracking Christmas dinner as usual but I'm definitely ready to get back to eating healthily now. I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas & got everything you wished for!

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

New Stationery For 2016

There are few things I love buying more than new pieces of stationery. I spend so much of my time working on my computer & looking at my phone but I actually much prefer writing everything down on paper. I find it quite therapeutic & it allows me to make notes freely without the confines of technology. I always used to look forward to buying new pads & pens in September ready for the next school year but nowadays I only really buy stationery at the start of the new calendar year. I've been struggling with self-motivation for the past few months but planning everything out in lists & diaries makes me feel a lot more organised and in control of my life.






One item that I buy every year & will continue to do so until they stop making them is a Frankie diary. I love absolutely everything about the way they're designed as the spreads illustrated by Sara Hingle are both beautiful & highly useful. The 2016 diary is bound in sunshine yellow cloth with grey debossed type. It comes in A5 size which fits perfectly on my desk & in my Sailor Moon backpack. As well as the spacious diary pages it also includes gift tags, tear-out forget-me-nots, sticker sheets, addresses, birthdays & a handy conversions page. You also get a pocket at the back for storing any extra stuff you need. Frankie Magazine is based in Australia so you have to import it & delivery can take a couple of weeks. I've never had any problems with customs though & it's well worth waiting for!




I started Slimming World back in September & have done pretty well so far! However one thing that I really disliked about starting was having to fill in those tiny little food diaries. There was hardly any room on the page for me to log my food properly. The concept is good as it forces you to be more mindful about what you're putting in your mouth but the design was impractical. So to ensure I continue to get some decent losses each week I decided to start a new food diary. I spent ages searching for a format that I liked & eventually I came across Lollipop Designs. I ordered their pastel weekly planner pad & it's utterly perfect as a Slimming World diary. It has six columns into which I enter my breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, water intake & syns. I also got their three good things notebook. I was mainly drawn to it because of the super cute heart design but it actually works as a great little positivity journal. It also inspired me to create a new series of blog posts focusing on three products within a certain theme so look out for that soon!




My wall calendar this year is a Slimming World one. I got this a few months ago as a freebie with their monthly magazine. Each month comes with a scrumptious seasonal recipe & I can't wait to give some of them a go! I've hung it in my kitchen for inspiration when cooking & to remind me to stay on plan when I can.






Self care is incredibly important for both your physical & mental health. If you're feeling stressed you need to make sure that you take the time to do some of the activities that nurture you. Last year I went on several self-help courses & mindfulness was something that we often touched upon. One way of practicing mindfulness is colouring. It's an easy way to calm the mind & occupy the hands. The repetitive action of colouring in focuses the brain on the present, blocking out any intrusive thoughts. These kind of colouring books are everywhere at the minute & I decided to give them a try. I spotted a lightning deal on Amazon for these Art Of Mindfulness colouring books. I only paid £8 for all four books which was such a bargain! The paper stock is fairly good quality so my pens don't bleed through the pages & they feature a lovely range of illustrations. Chloe loves colouring too so we often do it together now!



I also bought some new pens & pencils to go with my new colouring books. I didn't want to use all of my fancy design pens just for colouring in (especially if Chloe's going to use them too!) so I ordered the Staedtler Triplus fineliner pens and the Staedtler Ergosoft triangular colouring pencils. Loads of people used these at uni as they're excellent quality & draw very smoothly. The pen colours are vibrant & smudgeproof. The pencils are richly coloured with soft, break-resistant lead. They're both colouring book & child friendly so I'd definitely recommend these if you're wanting to get into adult colouring books. Plus they come packaged in these really handy stand-up cases!



My obsession with washi tape is still going strong. You can decorate so many different things with them & they also look great when used as photo props. I'm always on the lookout for bold new colours & patterns. Of course I love anything sparkly so I recently ordered some rolls of glitter washi tape from eBay. They do loads of different colours but I went for gold, silver & pink glitter. They all look so pretty! I especially like using them when wrapping presents. Glitter may be the herpes of craft supplies but that's not an issue with these awesome glittery washi tapes!

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Wrap.Me Personalised Wrapping Paper

Personalised gifts are always a great idea if you have no idea what to buy for someone. They're a really thoughtful way of showing that you care & you can be sure that they won't already own anything like it. To make your present even more special & unique, why not also package it in something personalised like this brilliant wrapping paper from Wrap.Me. There's been a glut of companies bringing out products with Instagram images on them lately but this is certainly one of the most innovative ways I've seen of using your own photos. It's not limited to Instagram either, you can use pictures from Facebook or uploaded directly from your desktop as well. Each sheet can feature up to 30 different photographs & although the design sticks to the same grid format, you can resize the size of the squares as you wish. You can also choose to have no spaces between the images or give them a white/black border.

Wrap.Me recently sent me a lovely little gift presented within some of their wrapping paper. I'm a huge stationery geek & will never say no to a new notebook! They also included an extra sheet of gift wrap so that I can actually use it myself. I think I'm going to use it for my mum's birthday present as she loves anything to do with pictures of me & Chloe. The paper has a good weight to it & the images look high quality. The grid pattern makes it easier to cut in straight lines too. By using your own pictures to create wrapping paper you can tailor it to fit with the sender, the recipient or the occasion. It'd also be great for small businesses as you could have your logo or some product shots printed on the paper. You can order a single sheet (65cm x 46cm) for £4.99 but the most cost effective way of using the service would be to buy a large roll (50cm x 3.6m) for £14.99. It's not cheap but I'd say it's worth it for a really special gift or project. Delivery is free within the UK. I think this wrapping paper is such a cute idea & you can have a lot of fun trying out different designs. Check out their website & have a go for yourself!

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Stationery For The New Year

I first bought a Frankie diary two years ago & I simply had to get another one this year. They are my favourite diaries ever & well worth importing from Australia. The 2015 diary is bound in grey cloth & is A5 which I think is the perfect size. The beautiful pages were illustrated by Sara Hingle who has embellished every spread with colourful patterns & cute drawings. There's plenty of room to write down everything you need and a pocket at the back for storing bits & bobs. I especially like the special sections for addresses, birthdays, shopping lists & working out budgets. The diary also features gift tags & sticker sheets. I just love absolutely everything about it! I always pre-order my Frankie diary so that it has plenty of time to get here & to make sure I don't miss out on one. They seem to still have some in stock so it's not too late to order one of these utterly gorgeous journals for yourself.






I love Cassey's exercise videos and in an attempt to kickstart my fitness regime this year I decided to buy her Blogilates fit planner. I went for this one over the Dailygreatness training journal mainly because it lasts for the whole year instead of just 12 weeks. I used to track my food & exercise using My Fitness Pal but I find it a pain to use if you're not eating things that are ready made. Instead I've just been writing what I'm eating & how much exercise I'm doing everyday into the planner without obsessively counting calories. When you're writing things down it's obvious whether you're eating sensibly or not. As long as I'm eating healthy food & following an exercise plan then it's bound to have a positive impact on my body. The food & workout log sections are quite small but there is just enough room to fit everything in. I really like that it has a section for progress pics so you can see the changes & note down your measurements. It was about £27 including delivery from America which isn't too bad. I just hope it'll spur me on to finally get fit & lose weight.




I've become slightly obsessed with washi tape lately. They're so great for decorating anything & everything. I hated not having any proper storage for my tapes though so I scoured the internet for a nice looking holder. I struck gold with this adorable pink deer washi tape dispenser which I found on Etsy. The seller is based in Hong Kong but my package came super quickly & they even included another washi tape as a free gift. You can get loads of other animal tape holders on Etsy including cats, ducks & polar bears! I bought the rainbow washi tapes from Amazon. These rolls are a lot smaller & thinner than most tapes but they only cost £2 and rainbow colours always look cute.



When it comes to design, typography is my greatest passion. My personal style tends to be influenced by Swiss modernist type which is dependent on sans-serif fonts & grid systems. However I still think it's important to keep up with current design trends and listen to what consumers actually want. Modern copperplate calligraphy is everywhere at the moment. One of my goals for 2015 is to teach myself this style of calligraphy so I ordered some supplies from Scribblers. I found this excellent beginner's guide to modern calligraphy and I made my purchases based off the recommendations there. I got a plastic Speedball pen holder with Brause Steno, Rose & Extra Fine 66 nibs. I also got some Speedball Super Black India ink & a pad of cartridge paper. I'm just practicing with them at the minute but I might buy a guide so I can learn the proper techniques & different script styles.

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Pen Nostalgia

Parker Sonnet Pearl Pink Gold Trim Slim Ballpoint Pen* - £58.99

I have a lot of nostalgia for Parker pens. Stationery has always been a geeky passion of mine. It felt like a rite of passage when my parents bought me my first fountain pen back in junior school. Of course, it was a Parker pen - a pearlescent purple Vector style. At the time I totally loved it. The pen made me feel a little more grown up & I enjoyed practicing my joined up handwriting. They were somehow really satisfying to write with. These days thinking about fountain pens brings back memories of leaky cartridges & those horrible ink eraser pens. Didn't you just hate it when your friends would borrow your pen & then the nib would adjust to their handwriting leading to hours of scratchiness? By Year 9 I'd had enough. I switched to biros and never looked back. That led onto a whole host of coloured gel pens & highlighters for revision. I love how I can relate every kind of pen to different times in my life.

I've always appreciated a good quality pen and I must've spent hundreds on them throughout the course of my design degree. Buying Prismacolor markers in every shade of grey & infinite amounts of Sharpies got rather expensive! I mainly work on my computer now using a graphics tablet but I still use pens to jot down ideas and sketch things out. New stationery bits excite me greatly, I feel like they're one of those small pleasures in life. So I was overjoyed when I was sent this utterly sophisticated Parker Sonnet ballpoint pen by Pen Heaven. I guess I'm technically considered a grown up now (really though?) so a grown up pen seems more fitting for my handbag. I had to write my first ever cheque the other day for some of Chloe's school stuff. Even though I had to ring up my mum to make sure I filled it in properly, in my mind it was another one of those adult milestones. It felt even better writing it out with my new Parker pen.

What I really like about Parker pens is how smooth they are to write with. I also note down a lot of info for my blog reviews so having a comfortable writing implement is fairly important to me. This pen features Quinkflow technology for better writing performance. Sonnet is one of Parker's signature collections and this slimline ballpoint is so pretty & feminine. I adore the pearlescent finish - just like my old fountain pen - and the rose gold detailing too. It has a twist opening mechanism and I always go for pens with black ink because it makes my notes & sketches easier to scan in. The pen came in this lovely presentation box and Pen Heaven specialise in luxury engraved pens so you're bound to find the perfect personalised present for any stationery lover. Do you get nostalgic about stationery?

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

New Year, New Stationery

As part of my plan to become more organised this year I decided to buy lots of new stationery to sort everything out. I actually ordered all of this stuff a couple of months ago - take that 2014! So I'm excited to finally use everything. There's loads of apps & programs you can use to organise your life but I'm a big stationery geek & I find it therapeutic to write everything down on paper. I'm finally starting to feel motivated again so I want to put a lot more effort into everything I do & become more successful in all my endeavours. My tutor at uni always said 'fail to plan, plan to fail' and I think that's a great motto to live by. I like to feel in control of things so I'll be planning every aspect of my life in great detail to make sure that this year goes as well as it possibly can.





I had a Frankie diary last year & it was so perfect that I simply had to buy another one for this year. Every single page is just beautiful & theres ample space to scribble down all your notes. It's filled with so many useful sections like an address book, shopping lists, birthdays & it even has a pocket at the back. It's basically my dream diary. Delivery from Australia took about two weeks but it was well worth the wait. I made sure I pre-ordered mine though because they always sell like hotcakes. I believe they do still have a few left in the shop so you might be able to get your hands on one if you're lucky.



When I was at uni I used to cart two whole boxes filled with pens back & forth every single day. I've always been obsessed with pens. 'Pens are my friends' (old school League Of Gentlemen reference for you there!). Nowadays I do most of my design work using a small set of black & grey pens or my Wacom tablet so my crazy collection doesn't get used very much anymore. However this means that I can streamline my pen storage & I currently keep everything I need in this gorgeous little Ted Baker pencil case. I was kindly sent this by Surfdome. I've been lusting after the whole Ted Baker bag range for ages so I was incredibly happy to receive this one. Check out their website for more similar items.



This was from the Secret Garden collection at Paperchase. I originally ordered this so I could use it as storage for my eyeshadow palettes but I had grossly underestimated the usefulness of a letter rack. I always end up with loads of papers flying about the place rather than organised in one area. Now I put any incoming bills, letters or documents into this rack & I know exactly where everything is.



To help myself plan for the week ahead I bought this dotty stripe desk pad from Paperchase. It has 52 tear off sheets so it'll last the whole year. I think it's easier to plan your week when it's been set out like this. I'll be using it to help schedule blog posts & note down all the little jobs I need to do each day. I can imagine this becoming a vital part of my everyday life!



I'm still using my pink WHSmith notebook from last year but I felt like I could do with another one for different projects. I bought this orange spot print fabric notebook from Paperchase. I'm always writing down ideas for blog posts in these. I've never gotten along with wirebound notebooks (the wire always gets in the way!) so this style is ideal for me.



I couldn't resist the cuteness of the blossom bird multi list book & doughnuts magnetic list pad. I'm addicted to making lists as I find it easier to plan things in small chunks. I'd never get anything done without them. The book has a notepad on one side & the other has lots of styles of sticky notes so you can put these up around your workspace. The doughnut pad has a magnetic back so you can stick it up on the fridge. I use it for meal planning so I know exactly what food I need to buy for the week. I think I'm well & truly prepared for the year ahead now! Is anyone else a stationery obsessive? How do you organise your life?

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'