Happy Easter!

Hi folks, just wanted to make sure I did a quick post today to say Happy Easter! At the grand old age of 27 I still recieve Easter eggs from both my mum and my nan. I think if I didnt there would be sulking! This weekend i took the epic journey from down south to up north to Bolton, where my friend Amy lives. Its her Birthday so we are off out in Liverpool tonight, Ive never been there before so am really looking forward to it! Hope your all doing something fun this Bank Holiday!

Jewellery Hooks Tutorial

I recently found this lovely piece of driftwood on my local beach and was wondering what to do with it. Then I came up with the idea of using door knobs and turning it into a jewellery hanger.

Items Needed....

Piece of driftwood

Door Knobs

String

2x Hooks

Drill

Saw

 

What to do.....

1.    Drill 5 holes evenly spaces along the piece of driftwood, the same size as the thread of the Door Knobs.

2.    Using a slightly bigger drill piece, widen the end of the hole in order to place the nut discretely, that will hold the door knob in place.

3.    Thread door knob through hole (I used a selection of different ones as this fits in more with my style, but you can use whatever takes your fancy!)

4.    To tidy up the back, and so that it can rest flat against the wall, I used a saw to remove the excess thread on the door knob.

 

5. Finally screw a hook at the top of each corner of the piece of driftwood, and using a piece of string (I went for a thick rustic looking piece), cut it to length and tie it on to the hooks. You can then use the string to hang it.

I was really pleased with the results of this, and it’s something a bit quirky! Would love to know what you guys think?

Book Club: Amy & Zach by Sarah Louise Smith

 

The Blurb

Meet Amy & Zach

Flying home to the UK from the US for her sister Libby’s wedding, Amy has some major issues with her homecoming.

She is furious with Zach, who should have been travelling with her, but after he dropped a bombshell the day before she left, she hid his passport and flew alone.

Now, can she act normal when she meets Libby’s fiancé Tim?

After he finds his passport, Zach heads for the UK to surprise Amy. He wants to apologise to her and finally meet her family. He has kept his secret for way too long and knows he has a lot of explaining to do.

So, how did Amy and Zach get to this point? What is Zach hiding anyway? And what's going on between Amy and Tim?

How well do Amy and Zach really know each other?

The Review

I was looking for a new book to get my teeth into, and this one came up as a recommendation whilst browsing Amazon. The blurb didn’t blow me away, but with a lack of anything else interesting to read I thought I would give it a go. This is Sarah’s first novel, and I was pleasantly surprised.

The book tells the story of Amy and Zach’s relationship, going through their first year together and is narrated by both characters going back and forth from Amy to Zach. Previous books that I have read that have been narrated like this, I have found hard to follow or get engaged in. However in this case it was really well done, it kept the story moving along at a good pace and I felt really connected to both characters, it was great to get both perspectives. There was no repeating of the story, they just seemed to pick up where the other one left off and this flowed really well.

It starts off with Amy travelling back to London for her sister’s wedding. Amy has been gone for a year, living in Boston, finding herself, finding love. Zach shows up in London in a big and unexpected way and we flash back a year when Amy moved to the US to ‘start over’. The book is mainly set in Boston, USA but as Amy is from the UK there is a fab contrast between the two countries.

This story of their relationship is creatively weaved with complex relationships with various family members and you can really understand how they are feeling and why they act the way they do. I wouldn’t say it’s a fairy tale love story, it’s a story of a couple who face real issues that anyone can relate to.

The book as a whole was really charming, funny and entertaining, there are some great little surprises and twists. I couldn't help but smile, laugh and gasp whilst reading. My only criticism would be that I wanted a bit more detail in some parts but I think that’s just me getting drawn in and liking to know everything!

Once I started I couldn’t put this book down, I really want to meet my own Zach now. It’s a great story that really has you cheering for the couple to have a happy ending. The ending was lovely but I wanted it to continue, I wanted to know what happened next and feel there is more to be told....please write a follow up Sarah!

Topshop Goodies...

I know I’ve raved about Topshops range of make up before (see here) but I am truly impressed and have made a few more purchases since!

In the past I’ve always tended to find that when brands who are good at what they are known for venture into a beauty range, it always tends to be a massive disappointment. That just can’t be said when it comes to Topshop.

 

My latest purchases have included their precision eye liner and a couple of their makeup brushes. I always wear black eye liner and keep an eye out for new ones to try. Topshops precision eye liner in black is now definitely of my faves. It really stands out, doesn’t smudge all over the show and is easy to use. I also quite like the white packaging.

Next up is their brushes, I’m always wary of buying brushes as poor quality ones as ones that bristles fall out of and make application a painful process, do my head in! For this reason I tend to stick to MAC brushes as they are a trusted favourite. However I decided to be brave and have a go with Topshops brushes, purchasing their eye liner brush and their Kabuki brush. I’ve been using their eye liner brush for a while and its fab as the bristles haven’t splayed out so I can still apply my eye liner straight and it’s the perfect width.

The Kabuki brush I use for applying blusher and bronzer and it’s a lovely big soft brush to work with. Over all I will definitely be venturing out and investing in more of Topshops make up products in the future.

Liebster Award...

 

 



To my complete surprise Claire from Claire Does Beauty contacted me today to say she has nominated me for a Liebster Award. I’m really honoured that she would think of my blog, so massive thank you Claire! (If you haven’t already, go check out her blog!)
 

I have to admit as a relatively newbie to the blogging world I was a bit dubious about this so I had a little Google. By the look of things this award has been doing the rounds for a few years, and is kind of like a chain letter. This initially put me off but then I look up the meaning of Leibster. It’s a German word that means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

The idea is once you accept your award you have to nominate 11 of your favourite bloggers who have less than a certain amount of readers. The number seems to vary between 200 – 3000 followers, so I have decided to just ignore this part and nominate a few of my favourite bloggers that I would love others to check out. Blogger awards are also such a great way to learn more about your fellow bloggers so I knew I had to participate.

The Rules

1)    Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2)    You must answer the 11 questions that the tagger as created for you.

3)    You must create 11 of your own questions.

4)    Choose 11 bloggers and link them in your post.

5)    Go to their page and tell them.

 

11 Things About Me...

1. I am trying to teach myself Ukulele using You Tube videos, not that successful so far!!

2. I have a desperate need to travel but am useless at saving = vicious circle!

3. I failed my driving test 13 times before I finally managed to pass.

4. My guilty pleasure TV show is Keeping up with the Kardashians

5. If I don’t write things down I WILL forget it

6. I hate Mash Potato.

7. Huge fan of 80s films such as the goonies, lost boys etc

8. I can touch my nose with my tongue

9. I worry way too much about EVERYTHING!

10. The sun instantly makes me happy and rain instantly gets me down

11. I collect things with Dinosaurs on them

 

The questions I received from Claire...

1.    What is your biggest achievement in life so far?

Ooooh this is a really hard one! I think my biggest achievement is that I’m happy and have no real complaints! I’m also a huge dreamer with lots of things I would like to achieve in the future, so watch this space!

2.     If you could be anywhere in the world right now where would it be?

Anywhere tropical with plenty of sunshine, cocktails and my friends! Anyone else UK based fed up of this never ending winter?

3.    What is the one thing you couldn't live without?

Tea and Toast!

4. Describe 5 words that best describes you?

Kind, caring, worrier, impulsive, dippy!

5. What is your signature scent? (If you have one)

Giorgio Armani Black Code

6. What would your dream job be?

A travel writer or a writer that travels... I would love to be a full time writer and travel round the world, my two favourite things.

7. What is your pet hate?

People who stand up your backside in queues, personal space do not invade!

8. Who is your favourite band or singer?

This varies completely on my mood and what’s happening, right now I am having a blast from the past with The Offspring album playing in my car. Reminds me of my teens and always gets me jumping around!

10. What inspired you to write your own blog?

It encompasses a few of my loves! I love writing, beauty products, being creative etc and it means I can focus on all these things in one place.

11. Who is you're role model?

My Mum. Cliché I know! She has MS and can be really poorly with it. Yet she still acts as a rock to us all, no matter how much pain she is in.

My questions for my lovely bloggers

1.    What’s your one can’t live without product?

2.    Favourite smell?

3.    Who is your favourite author?

4.    Something new that you learned recently?

5.    If there was a zombie apocalypse and you had to hit the road to escape, what 3 things would you take with you?

6.    If you were an animal what would you be?

7.    What's your biggest fear?

8.    Having a bad day, what’s the one thing guaranteed to put a smile on your face?

9.    What’s your favourite joke?

10.  List the three famous people you would snog, marry, and avoid.

11.  Shoes or handbags?

The Bloggers I would love to nominate

1. Rosie at A Rosie Outlook

2. Callie at Student in Scotland

3. Daniela at Oh Ella Bella

4. Elsie and Emma at A beautiful Mess

5. Natasha at A Design Rookie

6. Laurina at One Year of Fashion Fasting

7. Lauren at Laurens Place 743

8. Becky at Becky Bedbug

9. Georgie at Style Princess Diaries

10. Rosa at What Rosa Wants

11. Jennifer at Art Style Love 

Obviously you don't have to take part if I have tagged you, and if I haven't tagged you then please take part if you feel like it and post me the link to your post in the comment box below:

 

Monday Motivation! #9

I found this the other day and its really played on my mind! It makes me want to make the most every day and thats what im determined to do! Hope you all appreciate it too!

Candle Making Tutorial...

 

I’ve got lots of tiny jam jars and was wondering what to do with them for a while, until I thought they would make cute candle holders. Here is a step by step guide to how I did it

Items Needed...

 

Jam Jars

Wax

Cord

Sustainers

2x Saucepans

Glue dots

 

What to do...

1. I’ve got loads of old candles that are gathering dust so I chopped up the wax into small pieces.

2. Boil water in a saucepan, place another smaller saucepan into the water (use one you don’t mind getting wax on). Put the wax cubes into the smaller pan to melt.

 

 

3. Cut cord to length desired, add an extra inch (this will make sense later) and attach to sustainer disk. I purchased both of these items on eBay – cheap as chips!

4. Dip the cord and sustainer into the melted wax and then allow to dry. This helps to make cord straight and stay in place.

5. Warm up jar with warm water, this will help the wax stick to the sides of the jar and not lift.

6. Place the sustainer and cord into the jar. I used a glue dot to hold sustainer in place. Then wrap the other end of the cord around a pencil that will balance on top of the jar to make sure the cord stays straight

7. Pour wax slowly into the jars.

8. Allow to set over night.

 

I love these little candles and think they will make fab gifts for my friends. Let me know how you get on if you have at making some of these!