Book Haul

Booooks! Can you imagine how excited I was when these arrived? I love opening the Amazon packaging and smelling a good book or two (or eight, in this case). Half of them are new, half of them are used. I prefer new books, but they can be expensive, so I settled with used Sophie Kinsella ones. They were all around £2, including P&P. I don't normally read books like the Sophie Kinsella ones (I normally read dystopian, action types), but I read Twenties Girl and really enjoyed it, so thought I'd buy some more. They're also loved by many, so it's highly likely that I'm going to enjoy them too. As you can see, I bought Twenties Girl even though I've already read it. The version I read was from the library and I wanted my own copy. That's another reason why I bought it used - I'd already read it.

The top four books are new. The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes was £3.99, The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern was £1.99 (Bargain! This was on offer. I think it's back to £3-4 now), The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was £3.86 and A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen was £3.86. A Street Cat Named Bob is a real life story about a cat. You may be thinking 'whaaat?', and I agree, it's very different to anything I've read before, but that's why I bought it. I don't like to stick to one gender of book. I was sceptical about The Help by Kathryn Stockett because it was so different to anything I had read previously, but I ended up loving it. Also, A Street Cat Named Bob has loads of positive ratings and reviews, so it can't be all bad!

If you're a book worm like myself, stay tuned for my 'Favourite Books of 2012' post. The Help is included, as well as another 20 books! It's going to be a long one.

I'm currently reading The Fury, which is really good. I probably won't finish it in time for the post, but I'm sure I'll mention it in another post at some point. 

If you would like to stay up to date with the books I'm reading and lusting over, you can visit my profile and become friends with me on Goodreads. I seriously love that site. I think it's the best site I joined in 2012!

Buddy Update

We've had Buddy for over three months now, and there's been a lot of development since I published this post, so wanted to tell you about it! He was a good dog when we got him, but he's an even better dog now. 

When we first got him, he was okay on the lead, but would pull now and again. You do not want a dog Buddy's size pulling! We bought him a Halti lead and now he's an amazing walker. What a Halti lead does is guide the dog's head in the other direction if he pulls or is focused on something (another dog, cat, scent etc). Having your head turned away from what you're doing can be annoying, so to make sure that doesn't happen, he walks nicely. The Halti lead goes around the dog's nose, so a lot of people think he's wearing a muzzle, and therefore assume he's aggressive. A Halti lead is definitely not a muzzle! He can open his mouth all he wants. Also, Buddy is the furthest from aggressive. That's one thing we didn't have to correct. Since we've had him, he's never growled or gone for another dog.

The next thing we needed to correct was him chasing the cats. He previously didn't live with cats, so wasn't used to them. In the first couple weeks of having him, he just wanted to play, so chased them. We gradually introduced him to them and now he's fine. He even sleeps with them.

The other thing I mentioned in my 'Meet Buddy' post was that he was chasing Jessie, and Jessie kept growling at him. He then thought Jessie was playing, so would go to play with her, which made Jessie growl even more. It was one big circle! After a while, Jessie stopped growling and would spend a lot of time under the table to keep away from him. Now, they are the best of friends. They don't stop playing! It can be quite annoying actually because they're so noisy. Because of Buddy's size and strength, he could easily hurt Jessie, but he's so gentle with her. The other day, he let Jessie have his bone, which was the cutest thing.

For a while, we put him in his cage at night because we couldn't trust him (due to not knowing his personality and habits). We've been leaving him out of his cage recently though and he's been good as gold. He usually sleeps in the chair in the dining room or next to my dad. You would think he would take up most of the bed, but he doesn't. I think our cats take up just as much room because they stretch out!

I'm so glad he's living with us. Because of how he looks, he could have easily ended up with a scumbag who only has a dog to 'look hard' and train to be aggressive.

This is what Buddy is currently doing:

Hanging out with Jacks!

Christmas Sale Purchases and More

I went shopping today! I felt like I hadn't been in ages, but it was probably just a few weeks. It was so quiet it town, considering the Christmas sales started yesterday. In fact, it was quieter than it normally is throughout the year! There was no one in Lush and there were no queues in Primark - Shocker! I'm always quite level headed when it comes to shopping, and the Christmas sales are no different. I feel so guilty at the thought of wasting money (so I try to justify everything haha). Quite a few of the items you see below are for birthdays, Mother's Day, even next Christmas! Here we go...

 

Of course Lush was on the agenda. They didn't have any of the Christmas bath bombs though, so I'm not sure what's going on there. They had loads of everything else. Anyway, I bought my first bottle of Snow Fairy shower gel for £3.12 (the prices I'm giving are after the 50% discount), 2 Magic Wand bubble bars which were around £2.50 each (these are for birthdays!), a Rocket bubble bar for £2.50ish (which smells like Parma Violets! I wish I bought another one now), a Santa's Sack bubble bar for £2.09ish and a 200g chunk of Mr Punch soap for £3.75. Once I got home, the Mr Punch soap smelt different to me, so I'm going to try and swap or sell it. 

I then went to The Body Shop. I think this was the first time I've bought stuff in store. I normally buy online because of all the amazing discount codes. I was buying my mum a bottle of the Vineyard Peach shower gel, which was half price at £2, and once I smelt it, I had to buy a bottle for myself. It smells delicious! The Ice Blue shampoo, Cranberry shower gel and Cranberry hand cream were also down to £2 and I bought them for my dad for his birthday. The Cranberry products... oh my. They smell good enough to eat. I may have to keep them!

 

I'm always underwhelmed by Boots' Christmas sale. I know people love it for the Soap & Glory products, but I've never tried or been interested in them. I do love Boots Extracts though, and thought this mango gift set was a bargain at just £5. One Christmas present for 2013 down ;)

 

I can't go shopping without visiting Primark. These two items were not in the sale, but they were cheap anyway. The large cosmetics bag was £4 and the slippers were £3. I also bought a pair of ugly moccasin slippers because I knew they were going to be super comfy. They also have a rubber sole, meaning they won't get disgustingly dirty on the bottom!

 

I spent a small fortune in H&M. I don't regret it though because they're items I always wear. The pink, mint green and yellow garments are cardigans and were £9.99 each. I think I have every colour of their cardigans now! The lilac garment is a lightweight jumper and was £14.99, which is pricey for what it is, but I bought it in the heat of the moment! The teal and black tops are scoop necked and long sleeved, and cost £7.99 each. Again, I have a variety of colours of these and wear them most days. The quality of them is amazing and they last so well.

 

After my sister and I got back from town, our dad informed us that he was going to Tesco. I couldn't pass up a trip to Tesco. I found these boots for just £15, and they weren't even in the sale. I love them. I really hope they last. My other boots from Tesco didn't last very long, but that's because the soles weren't durable. These soles are rubber and chunky, so finger's crossed!

 

I've also bought a couple things from the online sales, and they're all things I've had my eye on for months. The coat is from New Look and was £35 down from £55. I wanted a more formal coat, so I'm hoping this is nice enough to keep. From Superdrug, I bought the Remington Pearl hair dryer, which was £24.99 down from £38. I rarely blow dry my hair, but I do blow dry my dogs after I've bathed them, and a hair dryer is always useful to have. The one I currently use is really old and I'm always scared it's going to explode because it has sparked a couple of times! I chose the Remington Pearl one because I have the Remington Pearl straighteners and the Remington Pearl conical wand, and love them both. To receive free delivery, you needed to spend over £25, so I added a little chocolate truffle to my basket which cost 29p haha

This bedding was the first thing I bought in the sales. It's from BHS and cost £22.50, down from £45. It's not to everyone's taste and I'll admit that it's quite garish and in your face, but I'm drawn to it! I was looking at it months before the sales, so I think it was meant to be. If the design gets too much for me, I can flip it over and have a simple, floral pattern :) I also found a £5 off code which worked on sale items. To redeem it, you had to spend at least £25, so I also bought a mug.

I would love to see what you've bought in the sales, so link me up!

Blogger Secret Santa and Christmas Presents

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. A few of the presents I unwrapped yesterday were from a Blogger Secret Santa. Emma from PurpleeeRose organised it, and it must have taken a lot of work to pull off, so thank you for taking the time to do so, Emma! It was so exciting to participate in and I can't wait to be part of one next year.

These are the beautiful gifts I received from my Secret Santa (who I guessed as being Emma herself. Thank you so, so much! I love everything!):

 

Love! I couldn't have asked for better presents. I love mugs and Cath Kidston, so fell in love with the mug straight away. I also love The Body Shop, so was happy to see a body butter and lip butter from them. Before yesterday, I had never actually tried a shea butter scented product, and I don't know why - They smell amazing. The bunting made out of book pages and lace is the cutest, most thoughtful thing ever. The book pages are even sewn! This is currently hanging above my wardrobe :)

And here are my other Christmas presents.

The main present I received was a memory foam mattress topper from my parents, which I received a couple weeks early. It may be boring, but I really wanted one! My parents also bought me the large Galaxy box, which contains three large Galaxy bars.

From my sister, I received the Stitch mug (Stitch is one of my favourite characters), a My Blue Nose Friend and Lindt chocolates (A favourite of mine, along with Galaxy and Milkybar).

My friend also bought me a mug (I can't get enough) and My Blue Nose Friend, along with a hanging heart decoration and loads of thoughtful bits and bobs, which were in the mug.

I received a Nivea gift set and chocolate from one of my Aunts. Beauty and chocolate - Of course I'm going to like it ;)

I also received money, which will be perfect for the sales.

Speaking of sales, I'm going Christmas sale shopping tomorrow. I've already bought a coat, hair dryer and duvet set online; all of which I had my eye on before the sales, so yay.

You'll be able to see my purchases soon, along with a couple of book posts.

Merry Boxing Day! I've only been doing uni work today though. However, I've finished one of my assignments! Woo!

Affordable Home Decor Haul

Hello! This was meant to be up at the beginning of the week, but I kept buying things...

 

Hanging hearts - Store Twenty One via QS - £4.99

I love these hanging hearts! They're meant to be photo frames, but I thought they'd look pretty with prints in. Of course, Cath Kidston patterns were the first ones I thought of. The middle heart just contains a pattern I found on Google images.

 

Photo box - Store Twenty One via QS - £1.99

I have some photos which have become very special in the last couple of months, due to the people in them passing on. I wanted to keep them somewhere safe, so thought this photo box would be great for that. I would like to get a beautiful photo album, but in the mean time, this will do.

 

As you can see, I've become obsessed with hanging decorations! I bought them to hang on my beauty chest of drawers.

The small silver heart can be found here for £1.75, with 65p postage.

The white metal heart can be found here for 99p, with 39p postage.

The robin ornament can be found here and costs £2.50, with 75p postage.

And the white metal birds can be found here and are priced at 99p, with 39p postage. I don't know if other people are normally sent two, but I received two. Because of this, I'm giving one away as part of a present.

Apart from the robin, they are all from the same seller, so if you are ordering more than one, you can combine the postage.

 

I also bought this hanging decoration. It doesn't go with the colour scheme of my beauty corner, so it's on my wardrobe door and contrasts beautifully with the turquoise. You can buy it here for £2.49, including P&P.

100 pearl berry lights - Primark - £7

I am so happy with my lights from Primark. I've wanted some fairy lights for a while, but didn't want tacky ones or normal Christmas tree lights. I love that these are round and look like little berries. I have a very wide window, and 100 of them are the perfect length. These are only around for Christmas, so I would buy some soon!

I hope you enjoy your weekend! My next few posts will include my favourite books of 2012, a book haul, Secret Santa/Christmas presents, and, of course, a Christmas sales haul!

New Look Christmas Party Competition

Here is my entry for the New Look Christmas Party Competition! I would say I have a slim hourglass body shape, and because of this, I feel like most dress styles suit me. I could have chosen an in-your-face dazzling dress, but I wanted to choose something that I would buy and wear myself, and feel comfortable in. I think this dress (which you can buy here) suits my style the best. The colour is festive and would contrast against my auburn hair well. The belt would also emphasis my waist, showing off the curves I have. I then chose these shoes to dress the outfit up. They're sparkly and black, so can be worn with anything! I chose the bag because the studs contrast against the feminine lace on the dress. Also, because it's black, like the belt and shoes, it ties the whole outfit together. I then thought the pearl stacked gold cuff was pretty and would go well with the other snippets of gold in the outfit.

Affordable, quick and simple Christmas present idea - Handmade vouchers

My dad is not a materialistic person, so buying presents for him is difficult. This year, I've bought him a t-shirt and designed a mug (I drew a wolf onto a plain mug with a Sharpie). However, I wanted to give him something else as well. After him saying "No, you don't need to get me anything" a countless amount of times last night, I suggested meal vouchers, and this intrigued him. When he would like something cooked, he can hand me a voucher and I'll cook it for him. He's already said that he would like some more of these for his birthday! I'm thinking about doing a variety next time - meal vouchers, car wash vouchers, cups of tea vouchers etc

You can get the printable (gift tag) designs I have here. You can make yours look a lot better than mine though. I only had paper to print on. You could print them on card and make the message on the back a lot more decorative.

Merry Christmas!

Nails of the Week: Illamasqua Creator

Illamasqua's Creator is so different to anything I have in my collection - It's black! I really do like it though. Surprisingly, this is opaque in two coats, has a fairly smooth finish, and doesn't stain.
Even though I adore this polish, I would never pay the £13.50 price tag. I bought it for £3.50 with an ASOS code. As an affordable alternative, I would suggest buying a plain black nail polish and adding a glitter top coat. 

Once this starts to chip, I'm going to add a flakies top coat (I have Nubar 2010 and GOSH Rainbow), which should look amazing.

Also, I've just bought the Models Own ASOS Exclusive nail polish. It looks so pretty! I used to dislike glitters, but now I can't get enough of them. I'm not a fan of really chunky monkey ones though - I like them to apply evenly and be opaque within a few coats.

I think I should limit how many nail polishes I buy in 2013...

ASOS Treats

Nail polish and socks are my weaknesses. Mugs are too, but that's for another post!

Thanks to yourvine.com, I had a £10 off code for ASOS. My sister also had one and kindly gave it to me (Yay!). With the first code, I ordered Essie Beyond Cosy (£9.95) and some cute Oysho socks (£5.99). With the code, these worked out to be about £3 each. With the second code, I ordered my first Illamasqua product - Creator nail polish (£13.50). I ended up paying just £3.50 for this, with free next day delivery.

I must admit, I wouldn't pay full price for these items (I don't like paying over £6 for a nail polish), but they are incredibly beautiful, so I'm glad I was able to treat myself to them for an affordable price. How gorgeous are the nail polishes?! I don't own any similar shades, so they were completely justified purchases ;) Both of them will be perfect for the Winter. Also, the Illamasqua nail polish came in a box. Fancy indeed!

Stocking Filler: ChapStick Hot Lips Kit

Another product that entered the trolley while food shopping the other night was this cute tin of lip balms from ChapStick. For £3.50, you receive a patterned tin containing cherry, strawberry, and apple lip balms. There was a variety of designs to choose from, but I settled on this pretty floral one. I think it would make a great stocking filler or extra present for someone. I may go back and buy a couple more! You can buy them from Tesco and Asda, but I'm not sure where else.

Enjoy your evening!

Treacle Moon's Limited Edition Warm Cinnamon Nights Shower Gel

While food shopping in Tesco the other night, I ended up in the beauty isle, like you do. I always have a quick look at the Treacle Moon products, and I noticed that they have a limited edition shower gel out for the colder months. This shower gel is called Warm Cinnamon Nights and costs £2.99 for 500ml. Before this, I had never tried or owned a warm, spicy product. I prefer fresh, citrusy scents. However, this smells delicious, especially when lathered up. It's really hard to pin point what it smells like. If it didn't say cinnamon on the packaging, I wouldn't have guessed it was cinnamon. I think it smells like warm, cooked fruits. A festive orange scent is also coming through. Anyway, I really like it and will definitely be trying similar smelling products! I've been wanting to try a gingerbread scented shower gel for a couple of months now, so that's next on my list!

I hope you've had a good weekend and are enjoying your Sunday night. I met my aunt, uncle and cousins for the first time this weekend, so it's been a busy one!