Books || February Book Haul

                                     

As an avid reader I am constantly collecting new books on my travels or sometimes just on a rainy afternoon on Amazon and this month I have managed to acquire A LOT. I was extremely lucky at the beginning of the month to have a work experience placement at Penguin (an absolute dream) and they have a set of shelves where each department basically puts any books they don't need or want anymore for anyone to take and your entitled to two a day, so I definitely took advantage to get some more variety into my personal library. I've also indulged in some kindle offers and rather guiltily bought myself some books when buying presents for someone else. So here's all the books I've gotten throughout the course of February:

Work Experience:

So the following are the books I got whilst during my work experience, so are published by either Penguin or Random House

The Accident Season – Moira Fowley-Doyle – A book I'd heard a lot about during my previous work experience at Random House I had to satisfy my curiosity when I saw copies available  

Little Lies - Liane Moriarty

The Day We Disappeared – Lucy Robinson

Techbitch – Lucy Sykes, Jo Piazza

Recipe for Life – Mary Berry  - Despite this being an autobiography, which are usually aren't my type of thing I just couldn't resist as a huge fan of Mary

Him & Me – Jack Whitehall

Love Tanya – Tanya Burr – As someone who has been a fan of Tanya's for years I couldn't resist picking this one up whilst I was there

The Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files – Pittacus Lore – I've never gotten round to reading these despite reading the rest in the series since I thought these were only available as e-books so it was great to get a physical copy  

Kindle Purchases:

I know these books were all on offer around Valentines day so I decided to give into romance and treat myself

Lobsters – Lucy Euson and Tom Ellen

The Lover's Dictionary: A Love Story in 185 Definitions – David Levithan  - Having heard a little about this book, my curiosity was definitely peaked and given the low price I couldn't resist

The Rosie Effect – Graeme Simsion – I fell in love with the Rosie Project and Don Tillman when I read it so after trying to resist because I had so many other books to read I finally gave in to the second instalment of the story

Penguin Little Black Classics:

I saw these in a Youtube video and couldn't resist when I went into Waterstones, for 80p a piece and  the perfect size to fit in your handbag it would be rude not to buy a few. There are a total of 80 in the collection and for now I chose:

(No. 15) Femme Fatale – Guy de Mau Passant

(No. 33) The Beautifull Cassandra – Jane Austen – Which I hadn't heard of before so am very

much looking forward to giving it a go.

(No. 42) The Yellow Wall-Paper – Charlotte Perkins Gillman – I know this was reference to frequently in criticism for the module I did at uni on Victorian and Decadent literature and shamefully I can't remember whether I read it or not, either as a second read or a first I'm looking forward to it.

(No. 53) The Goblin Market – Christina Rossetti – I remember reading an extract in A Level English to compare it with Chaucer's Wife of Bath, but despite being intrigued by the poem have never read the whole thing, so after much anticipation I look forward to reading this.

Baking || Making Beer Bread

Bread is not something I would usually attempt to bake, mainly because it can be so time consuming waiting for it to rise and I'm someone who simply likes to have my cake and eat it too. However I am always up for a challenge and enjoy trying new things especially when it comes to baking or cooking so when I was given this as a gift I was excited to give it a go (especially since it combines cooking with drinking, always a perk).

I have only ever made bread from packet mixes but even so they can be time consuming, but this one was so much easier than any I've tried in the past. All you have to do is add a bottle of beer to the ingredients in the packet, mix together and pop in a greased loaf tin in the oven for 45 minutes. The packet does give the option to use cider if you prefer but I was a little skeptical about this adding an extra flavour to the bread of apple.

I was given the Chilli and Garlic mix and it was definitely a lot better than I expected it to be. The garlic flavour was delicious and the chilli definitely gave an extra kick to the flavour. 
Having searched amazon there are quite a selection of other flavours which sound great so I definitely think I'll be buying another to try in the future given the success and ease of this one.

-Cloee xoxo

Monthly Favourites || January

Book: 

Literary Listography: This book combines two of my favourite things, lists and books. It was so great to go through the book and look back on what I've read over the year and go through my shelves to fill it in and is something I can continue to fill in as I read more.

Film: 
Into the Woods: Fairy Tales + Musical = Winner 

T.V Shows: 
Pretty Little Liars: I have been hooked to this show for a LONG time, but finally it's on Netflix exclusively and every Wednesday I can get up ad watch a new episode (YAY)

The Undateables: I'm usually a bit a of a cynic when it comes to love, but this series on Channel 4 is brilliant in providing a look into the world of dating from a variety of perspectives.

Music:
Hozier: Hozier

James Bay: Hold Down the River

Food and Drink: 
Costa Caramel Latte: Christmas has gone and sadly so have the festive drinks (Boo!) so I've had to move on and find a new drink at Costa and this is it.

Chambord (Black Raspberry Liqueur): Perfect with a glass of Prosecco

Cocoa loco organic Chocolate & Raspberry Stars: the perfect bite size treat 

Beauty: 
Rimmel - Brow This Way (medium brown): This is just so quick and simple to use and keeps your brows in place for the day as well as giving some colour and is a lot easier than using an eyebrow pencil. 

Miscellaneous:
Yankee Candle Tea Lights - Angel Wings: I got these in my stocking for Christmas and they give such a gentle and soothing scent perfect for lighting in the evening whilst you snuggle up with a good book.

-Cloee xoxo 

Books || 712 More Things to Write

Creative writing is something I haven't done since I was in school when I basically had to. However it is something that I would like to get into again, but it is something I often find myself struggling with. As someone who often suffers from writers block I can never come up with an idea, but once I have one I can write for hours. So to get me back into the swing of things I decided to purchase this book, after having bought my sister the drawing equivalent for Christmas and seeing as she successfully got on with it I decided to branch out and take another attempt at creative writing, but for fun this time.

As the title would imply the book is filled with 712 prompts for writing ideas and guides you through various scenarios to write about and perspectives to write from. The pages inside vary between those divided into four, two or given one topic, some giving obviously short topics such as lists, personal ads or instructions. One of the great things about the topics in the book is there is such a great range, which include both opportunities for personal writing which allows you to draw on your own experiences "worst date of your life" or "how to get from your house to the nearest supermarket" as well as characters which are far removed from your own situation "the migration of Southern Floridians if sea levels have risen by three feet by 2050, at which point Miami will be underwater and uninhabitable". The topics also range throughout the book to the amount of detail which is provided for the writer from "a place from the past" to "You are a famous actor being interviewed by a bright young reporter about the movie you just made. You thought the script was lousy. You had a terrible time on set with the director. You dated and dumped your costar. You start the interview praising the film but gradually the truth slips out. Write the scene from the beginning" giving you a lot of freedom to expand the characters your creating however you wish with only a minor restriction on what you're supposed to be writing about.

My main criticism of this book would be that some of the topics provide only a small area to write in which if like me you have large handwriting or simply like to write at length then you can find yourstruggling to keep everything contained, although I guess this is dependent on the individual. Overall though I think I will find myself getting a lot of use out of this book as something to sit down with when I have nothing to do and is easy to flick through and pick a page at random. If like me you struggle with coming up with ideas or simply just want to push yourself with your creative writing then I'd definitely recommend it and it would make a great gift for any creative writers you know.

-Cloee xoxo

Craft || Simple Homemade Birthday Cards

One of my new years goal was to more craft projects, firstly because its something I love doing but don't do nearly often enough and secondly because I find it incredibly therapeutic. Another reason for wanting to do more crafts is because than receiving something handmade and knowing that someone has gone the extra mile.

Over the festive period I had a lot of extra time on my hands and was able to make my friends personalised Christmas cards and it was great to see the reaction on everyone's faces as they opened them and how something so simple brought joy to both me and them. Since I have some cards spare I thought what better than to continue this joy throughout the year with birthday cards (rather than waiting for Christmas to come back).

So here are a few ideas of some generic and easy to make handmade cards which you can easily customise by using someones favourite colours or prints and can easily be make in one long craft session for your 'card draw/box' or can easily be made last minute.

Basic supplies:

• Blank Cards 
• Glue 
• Scissors
• A Pen

Card 1 (Polka Dot):
Extra Supplies: Felt Tips/Coloured Pencils

                                                                                    

 
This card is the kind you can make in three minutes, literally. Simply take your coloured pens or pencils and randomly draw dots around the card leaving space in the middle for a message and fill this in after.

Card 2/3:
Extra Supplies: Birthday/Cake Candles, Cupcake Case, Glitter

Card 2 (Candle): Take your card and glue 1 (or more, if desired) candles to the centre of the card, add glitter and a message to decorate the card.






Card 3 (Birthday Cake) : Take the same steps as card 2,but this time cut a cupcake case in half and place at the bottom of the candle so it looks as if it is on a cake






Cards 4/5/6/7:
Extra Supplies: Several sheets of wrapping paper/craft paper

 

 

Card 4 (Candles): Cut several thin rectangles out of different sheets of wrapping paper and glue onto the card, draw flames at the top so the wrapping now resembles candles.

 

Card 5 (Balloons): This time cut 3 oval shapes out of the paper that resemble the shape of balloons, arrange these together in a bundle, draw some string on the bottom of these and add a message on the front

 

Card 6 (Presents): Cut 3 short rectangles out of the wrapping paper, they don't have to be perfect but make sure they get gradually smaller, stick these onto the card as if stacked and for decoration draw on a bow and string as if tying the presents together. 

Card 7 (Bunting): First draw some rough guidelines in pencil on the card of how the bunting will hang. Next cut your wrapping paper into small triangles that are similar to bunting, glue these onto the card in an alternating pattern. . Tidy up by either drawing the string in pen or simply erasing the pencil marks and add 'Happy Birthday'

Card 8 (Balloons):
Extra Supplies: 3 or 4 Balloons, String

 

Simply tie the balloons together with the string and leave some on the end like a tail and attach all of these to the card, add extra string if desired and a message on the front.

So as you can see all of these designs are pretty simple, inexpensive and all take under 5 minutes to make and I look forward to making more of these and giving them out throughout the year.


- Cloee xoxo

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New Year Stationery Buys

Sticking to the cliche of January and the New Year being a time to basically give yourself a kick up the bum and getting organised I have purchased some new stationery as it is one of my great loves. One of the most gutting things about not going back to school/uni is not having the opportunity to go on a big old stationary haul and treat yourself to luxurious new pads and pens, so I have done so for the new year instead.

The first item is something I find essential for starting the year is a new diary. There's always something great about sitting down at the beginning of the year/week/month and writing down all the great things you have to look forward to. I know more traditionally this would be done on a calendar but I love having everything portable and still hand written. I got my diary this year from poppyshop.com and has a beautiful print on the cover and back. It's A5, which makes it handbag portable but not to big without being too small and what I love most is despite its compact size it still has a day to day view with plenty of space for writing in your events or notes. As someone who lives by to do lists I find it important to have a lot of room to write in my diary just in case I find myself thinking of things I need to do later or make note of.

Speaking of to do lists my second purchase is something I have been lusting after for a long time (as the queen of to do lists)- a weekly planner pad. This KnockKnock Stuff 5 Days a week pad gives plenty of room for daily lists, with headers and room to put your own dates in. It has 60 pages so lasts just over a year giving time to buy a new one or room for mistakes and ripped out pages. What I love about this pad is that you can set your hopes for the week at the top and review at the end, it only gives a small space for weekend to do's as a time for relaxation and it doubles as a mouse mat perfect for use on your desk.

Last but not least is this notebook I purchased on Etsy, from Emma Frances Designs. Once again it's pretty compact and perfect for taking on the go is my blogging notebook. Inside is great quality thick blank paper perfect for just jotting down ideas or drafting out full posts as I can draw in where I want to put in photos/photos I want to take. As it cost only £. including postage it was really affordable and the design is just lovely. 

-Cloee xoxo 

Hello 2015! Lets get stuff done

For me 2015 is probably the first year where January has actually felt like the start of a brand new year properly. Having been at school/university for the majority of my life September being the start of the school year has been a more significant starter, despite it being extremely cliche this month marks a fresh start. Although I've always viewed the new year as somewhat lame and resolutions to be a bit pointless (as more often than not they're broken) I'm taking this as a chance to set myself some goals and things I'd like to achieve this year instead.

2014 was a pretty big year for me, and proved that no matter how old you are you constantly experience first times both good and bad, from turning 21, graduating university and breaking my leg pretty badly it was certainly a roller coaster year. 

Hoping that 2015 will be bigger and better here's 10 things I aim to achieve this year:

1) Get a Job 

My main goal for 2015, having graduated uni in the summer and spending a lot of time searching, applying everywhere for work experience and then not being able to search I definitely need some sort of routine and 'normality' in my life 

2) Explore London more

I live on the outskirts f London so go pretty often, but more often than not I find myself in the same d paces time and time again. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Covent Garden or Camden and they are definitely two of my places to go and just hang out, but London is huge city with tonnes to do for free or on a budget . One of my musts is to take advantage of the great number of free museums that aren't the Natural History Museum or the Science Museum.

3) More Craft Projects
I LOVE craft projects and during my time at home after breaking my leg I used crafts as a distraction and something to do on a daily basis at least seem like I was doing something productive, and spent a lot of time pinning things to do on pinterest. 

4) Experiment with my Baking 

 Baking is my favourite hobby, no only do I find it incredibly therapeutic and a great way to relieve stress, but you get a tasty snack at the end (hopefully). Whenever I'm in the mood I find myself either just making simple cupcakes or cookies, which I cook perfectly but are a save option and even if I just branch out from vanilla and chocolate that's a success.

5) Write More Often 

I decided in 2014 that I would start a blog and clearly from my lack of posts that didn't go brilliantly. Now I don't have uni essays to worry about, I oddly miss them as the main time I spent writing. So this year I'd like to write more whether its this blog or a journal or whatever. Ideally I'd like to post on here at least 50 times throughout the year (which is just once a week) which should be achievable.

6) Take a Proper Holiday 

I don't think I've taken a proper holiday since before I started university, which is slightly depressing thought. Instead I've made a habit of go to at least one music festival a year, which I love but isn't the same as relaxing on the pool side or on the beach doing literally nothing (with the exception of drinking cocktails and reading trashy books). Especially since now when going to festivals I work them so it would be nice to have no limits to what I can do and when (and enjoy the sunshine without mud). 

7) Take at Least One Driving Lesson 

This was again one of my goals for 2014, but due to constantly putting it off and then breaking my leg it something that never happened unfortunately. Despite the fact I want to work in London so will spend a lot of my time dependent on tubes, trains and buses it would be nice not to spend my weekends and evenings worrying about them too, mainly because if I had £1 for every time I'd I myself "I wish I could drive" whilst standing at the bus stop then goal one would not need to be on my list. 

8) Travel Somewhere New
I am very untravelled so would like to change this by exploring the world more, especially after seeing some friends go on great post uni adventures whilst I spent the summer working.

9) Learn a New Skill

At the moment I'm thinking of learning to play and instrument, possibly the guitar or the ukulele since its smaller, but I'm prone to changing my mind so this might not stick. Although I have always wanted to know how to play an instrument.

10) 50 Book Challenge

It is an understatement to say I read a lot, but in the past I have always had a list of books that I have been required to read so I don't think I've ever done this so why not have one goal I know I could achieve. Since I have now discovered the joy of good reads its easy to record whether I do this or not.

Minor to do's:
Here are some other things I'd like to achieve during the year but aren't big goals like the above

• Stay off my phone when with friends (Because whatever it is can wait)
• Drink more water (Because its good for you and makes you feel better)
• Re-read the Harry Potter series (Just because)
• Don't let fear and negativity control you (Be more impulsive and enjoy it)
• Do more giving (time, money, whatever you can) 

-Cloee xoxo