I've found a house...finally!!

I know I haven't posted in a week or so, it's been a hectic time! Well it has been a long hard journey, but I have finally found a house for myself and my partner, plus our little family. Now having one dog makes it difficult to get a house, you sometimes have to pay double the deposit and pay for professional cleaning, which is understandable but infuriating when you have a well behaved dog. Alas, our circumstances are slightly more difficult, because we have two...puppies. The number of houses we have visited that say 'they won't let you in the door if you have a dog' or the ones that allow pets, are definitely not what we're after. I have looked in about 4 cities for houses, purely because we're so desperate to move out of our house. Our current estate agents are dreadful, yes Platinum Estates - Derby, I'm looking right at you. We have no insulation in our bedroom windows, so yes when the weather is minus 2 outside, it also is in our bedroom. They said someone would come fix it...5 months ago. After repeated harassment, there's still nothing and considering that 60% of the fittings in this house are broken or have issues, I'm hoping to god they don't attempt to take any of my £1000 deposit, or I will drive down to their offices and not act very ladylike. 

But anyway, we have found a lovely house with a lovely land lord and a lovely estate agents in Loughborough! Now I wanted to go to university in Loughborough originally, but the course didn't have my desired approach to Psychology so I decided on Nottingham. But, I loved the area, how it was close to country and still close to big cities like Nottingham & Leicester. It's a perfect compromise, and I think the best part was that we had to meet the landlord to see the house. I fell in love immediately, and am so happy with the property compared to what we're living in at the moment that I applied straight away. The house is pretty much perfect, besides the garden. Thats basically a patio area, for two dogs it's quite annoying, it would be bigger but there's a massive shed. So what made me not run for the hills, was the amount of dog walking ideas I had when I looked at the area; there's a lake down the road surrounded by greenland, there's 2 parks within walking distance, there's an old railroad that people use as a dog walking route - my new landlord mentioned as he is such a kind fellow, and finally there's a river that runs adjacent to our house about a 5 minute walk away which is also nice to walk down. Beyond that river, is a mass amount of fields. So I'm not too worried about the lack of a garden now! 

I think the best part about viewing the property was I got a feeling of, I feel comfortable here, and I started imaging my furniture and wondering how we could decorate it and make it our own. It was weird because I viewed it without Russ because he was visiting home at the time, but I knew we would be happy here, and I think thats really important when looking at a property. Realising what both of you want from a property, but also being able to imagine yourself there. Even when we've applied for other properties, looking back I've thought thank god we didn't get it because I can't imagine us living there no matter how many boxes it ticked! 

So as you can see, it's been decorated beautifully & the landlord has been living in the house for 5 years doing it up so he could rent it. Plus he is only moving 2 streets away, so any issues we have can be dealt with personally, opposed to being ignored by letting agents. Luckily through that door ^^ there's an extension, which the landlord has been using as a workshop, which we will use as a puppy room! It has patio doors that lead to the cough patio which will be perfecto for them, especially in summer. Obviously they'll be allowed in the house, but as people with multiple dogs may know, it gets slightly overwhelming when they're up in yo grill 24/7. It will be their room to go and sleep, where all their beds are, we're stopping allowing them on the sofa. It's difficult at the moment because they are still babies and try to eat every bed we give them! Hopefully after a year, they might calm down, Ella definitely has :) 

I'm so excited for this new journey of our lives! My boyfriend and I are so happy & we'll be looking to move the end of March, so not too much time left spent in this hell hole :)! I have lots of new updates to tell you all about so I'll be writing a separate post on that because I thought this deserved it's own update!

xoxoxoxo

You Deserve More Than YOU Think!

I really adore this quote from Perks of Being A Wallflower; it's so powerful, simple and honest. I think it is something everyone should be aware of and it probably holds true to most of us. We always think other people are better than us, that we could never have the things we truly want or the people we love. It's quite sad really and disheartening. I think especially women, put themselves down further than other people do, as we put so much pressure on ourselves with these ridiculously high expectations that are probably not even applicable to us or even realistic! I myself am an example of this, I keep thinking right I should diet and be slim like Victoria Secret models, well I hate what they eat, I would never be able to live off of that quantity and I really just wouldn't enjoy life without a bit of pasta or potato. So now I'm trying to incorporate more realistic goals into my life and try and just be a better me, not trying to be like them. 

So for all you ladies out there who may be reading this, just think, there is someone in your life that loves you, who appreciates just how beautiful and intelligent and witty you really are. If you have friends, then it means you are surrounded by people who care and like you for who you are, not who you are trying to be. So please, try to make yourself believe that you deserve to be loved more than you do, because as women, we are our own worst enemy, the media comes in a close 2nd with all their photoshopping! 

Another side note - I saw a video by an Australian Beauty Guru also called Lauren, and she said 'that if you can't walk out of a room knowing that your 'friends' won't talk about you behind your back, they're not your friends'. This is definitely something I agree with & I implemented a 'cutting out' system last year, where all the people I thought would be negative about me to me, or to others, I ceased communication with. Obviously, if I see them around I'm cheerful and friendly, because who needs more animosity in their lives?!  Placing trust and effort in people who value you less than you do yourself, is in the long term damaging and wasteful. It will be difficult at first, feel very weird to not be speaking to them, but soon you realise that a weight has been lifted and a tiny bit of negativity has left your life. I know that I'm happier, why not give it a try!

Thank you for reading!

xoxoxoxo

Psychology 101

What is Psychology?

I thought I would do a quick post on the main areas of study within Psychology so you can all get an idea of what Psychology students actually end up learning about! Trust me it's not all about 'figuring you out' and 'analysing you'! 

Well, Psychology is the study of the mind and of human behaviour. This can involve the very namby famby aspect of psychology such as the question "Who am I?" or our thinking processes. This could also involve looking at how children first realise that they are different from everyone else, that they are an individual <-- as you can tell from my previous post, this is more the area of Psychology I get drawn to & the only way I enjoy any of this area of Psychology! To this day, the 'only based on theory, non in reality' side of Psychology has never been attractive to me, I very much struggled to learn this stuff and I barely believed it! Sounds awful to say! 

But Psychology is actually a very scientific subject, you can also learn about topics such as Neuropsychology which is from the branch 'Biological Psychology' - basically brain structure, how areas the brain of involved in the production of different forms of behaviour, senses, memory etc, simply trying to answer the question "What does the brain actually do?" Very very interesting, and very difficult! I think to me, when I studied this module it was more 'real' biology than I had actually learnt during my whole A-Level in Biology, too much plants. 

There's also Cognitive Psychology which is more involved in mental processing, so looking into the process of memory, sensation, perception and attention. These are obviously linked to biological psychology, but come from a Cognitive perspective that focuses on the interaction of neural circuits and the transfer of information! Again very very interesting when you read about them, but my experience, I used to get a headache after about 1 hour of study & would have to switch to something lighter to ease my own neural circuit activity! 

Then you have Social Psychology which is another area I find fascinating as it involves the study of Social groups and looks at how we interact with one another. I think this area of study stood out to me so much, because it was so intricately involved in our day-to-day lives! So topics that are discussed within Social Psychology involve as I said, how we behave in groups, our ability to 'deindividuate' ourselves - which means to sought of relinquish responsibility for our behaviour if acting in a group, they also look at behaviour between groups, such as prejudice and discrimination, finally, a topic I found very interesting, was Pro-Social behaviour, it's always a topic that is taught in Psychology, always came up in exams, and involves discussing whether truly Altruistic behaviour exists, so can you carry out a completely un-selfish act without gaining and form of reinforcement for doing so, as many people think giving to charity is un-selfish, but psychologists found it actually makes us feel better about ourselves to give money to those in need, so not necessarily doing it just for them! Very interesting as I said!

Developmental Psychology is again one of my favourite areas of study! This looks at how we develop from infants up to adults. I love this area of Psychology, because this can involve, biological development, cognitive, our social development, and also we study atypical development - so when children's development does not follow the most common routes, for example genetic disorders etc. From infancy, we look at infants relationships with their parents in the form of Attachment studies, when they begin to go to Nursery and eventually Primary School, we look at their interaction with their Peers, how they mould into the person they are going to be as an adult, what factors might affect this growth? We also look at their social reasoning and the development of morals! It is very exciting field of study, as it would sort of be comparable to Paediatrics of the Medicine world, where you specialise in little people, but study everything you would for adults and just relate it back to them. 

These are the four main schools of thought in Psychology, but one other topics that is very interesting and important to mention is the study of Individual Differences. Now as we all individuals, we are all different, we might react to things differently to everyone around us, we have different thoughts which result in different actions. Therefore, in the study of Individual Differences, they take into account the  Personality of Individuals, they also look at Intelligence and how we can actually measure it - IQ is not an accurate measure, apparently. Also they look at the Self - how we perceive ourselves could affect how others look at us, and this all links back to Social Psychology and the development of a Social Identity - so where we think we fit in within Society, what groups do we hang out in? Who do we pick to be our friends? Who do we dislike and so on! 

I hope you have enjoyed this post! I tried to make it as short as possible whilst actually explaining everything and giving you a taster of what Psychology has to offer! :)

xoxoxoxo

Career Decided!

So it's been a long and tedious journey, but hopefully the confusion and depression is over now that this decision has been made...

As you may know, I study Psychology at University and I'm currently in my final year. My dissertation is based on an area of study I find fascinating and really enjoy - Children's Social Development. What is this you may ask? Basically, it looks at everything to do with a child's environment and how that interacts with their social development - mainly focusing on family and relationships in school. I have no idea why but I've always loved research involving children.. sounds a bit iffy but ignore that! I just love that you get to look at where we all start from, how influences in our early childhood affect us later in life, how those relationships we form as infants lay the building blocks for all future relationships. It is absolutely fascinating and thus why I chose to research it for my dissertation. 

Now early this academic year, my boyfriend & I realised we needed to discuss with a careers counsellor where we were going in life. I asked about becoming a lecturer and the idea of it did not scare me like I think the lady meant it to, but it inspired me. I felt excited, as if that's something I would absolutely love to do. I love my lecturers and the enthusiasm they have for their subjects, even the really annoying ones - I can't knock that they are more committed to that boring subject than anyone else! 

So I looked more into the idea, but decided to pursue other avenues so as not to limit myself. The availability of contacts in the Recruitment industry blurred my vision slightly. I was drawn in by the money and the excitement of an actual career opportunity being so easy that I lost sight of my original dream. My boyfriend was following his dream of heading into the world of tackling organised crime, and there's me thinking 'maybe I would love life working in an office' NO NO NO. 

So tonight, whilst I found myself browsing courses for Dental Hygienists I had to stop, slap myself and realise that if I was willing to look for a course that lasts 3 years to just get another bachelors degree in something I don't even understand, then I can bloody well do another 3 years studying something I love. And that's what has happened, I've now found a course that looks great back in my hometown where me & my partner recently decided to move back to. I'm finally accepting that I can live my dream, I can do what is interesting and actually make a career out of it. How do I know this? Because I've met my lecturers at University. I have to say, they do not seem like the most confident socialite bunch, but they have managed to speak in front of hundreds of students about something they love, so why can't I? I have a panic disorder, and I always get nervous public speaking. But more recently, when I know a topic like the back of my hand, I suffer no difficulty in speaking about it for twenty minutes at ease, with a bit of finesse and cracking a few jokes here & there - if I do say so myself. I finally feel comfortable doing something, I actually realised last year that I learn by pretending to teach people, apparently it helps you to understand better - who knew?? 

So yes, my chosen career is to be a lecturer of Children's Social Development. My action plan? As application dates have already passed this year, I'm going to take a year out & work my booty off to save money, perhaps do some work experience (something I need to ask my dissertation leader about) and relax and enjoy life for the first time in so many years. I think before I commit myself to another 3 years studying and working part time, I need to save some dollar, buy myself pretty things and actually sit and read my Psychology textbooks because I enjoy reading them, not because it's a chore! 

The future's looking bright & exciting!

:) 

xoxoxoxo

P.s. Now I've written this down & released it to the real world I feel like I definitely have to accomplish this now, thank the lord, some real motivation.

Reminising About 2012...

Here's the photos that I recently found on my old laptop of 2012! Unforunately during 2012, my Facebook was deleted for no reason. I was very angry... it was a serious moment, where I considered giving up social media forever! Alas, I gave back in and made a new account :(! Anyway here's my re-cap of 2012, some beautiful memories :)!

Christmas 2011... Okay so the first one isn't 2012, but I still love the memory!

Skiing with Mama 2012 - Sestriere, Italy. 

I had a slight obsession with the 'Wine' shade last year...

Great memories with these great friends :) 

I barely went out for fancy dress, but when I did - CAT!!

And this was the year I fell in love :)

Hope you enjoyed these pictures :) xoxoxo

The Random Facts Tag

Now I'm not 100% sure what this is even called, but I've read/watched various blog posts and videos on youtube of lovely people listing very random facts about themselves. I saw Sprinkle of Glitter do 20, and Ohhaiiclare did about 50. So I'm just going to keep going until I run out of ideas! I think this is a great idea to get to know people, and considering my blog is quite new, I thought it would be a way for you to get to know the lady behind the blog about dogs and life. So, here it goes... I'm also going to include lots of pictures of me from 2012 in another post, because I just found a folder full on my laptop that I haven't seen in months! Hallelujah hidden snapshots!

♥ My name is Lauren Watts 

♥ I was called Lauren after a combination of Sophia Loren & Lauren Bacall. Which I appreciate now...

♥ When I was younger I wanted to be called Victoria, I even tried to pretend I was called it in year 2 I think, no-one believed me it was tough. 

♥ I am very short - as in I am barely 5 foot, sometimes I get away with being 5 ft 1, those are good days!

♥ I love the height difference between me & my boyfriend, he's 6 ft 2. So there's a foot & 1 inch difference, on bad days it's 2 inches... It makes me laugh that I barely reach his shoulders with the top of my head. Although I believe short people rock. Hello skiing? You can nip past people, tall people - get in the way. No offence, friendly height banter! 

♥ I used to have an hourglass figure, I sort of still do but it's rounded...

♥ I make jokes to hide my insecurities, I love cake. 

♥ I really love "How I Met Your Mother" my boyfriend & I would love to find a group of friends like they have, not as incestuous but nonetheless! We are Marshall & Lily, but British..

♥ I have three tattoos! The first I got at 16 and it was a lovely tramp stamp. I was unaware of what that meant at the time, my mother came with me, it is of a butterfly and we thought it was a lovely discreet place. Now I realise people associate it with being a hoe, god damn it! I also have my dad's anniversary tattooed on my right wrist in roman numerals, and a quote from Shakespeare's 'King Lear' that says "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves" <-- Life Motto, slam dunk! Empowers me to get through the challenging days, realising that no-one can hinder my success other than myself. 

♥ I love going to see plays and the ballet. Unfortunate incident, on my boyfriend's 21st birthday whilst we were in Prague I begged him to come with me to see Swan Lake performed in the main theatre. Unfortunately after we arrived we realised it was an amateur performance and we had been ripped off, extortionately. But I'm going to see Phantom of the Opera in March with my mama & brother - Excited!

♥ I have a brother... walked into that one. He's my half brother, but does not matter any less. He is 24 and called Nico. No he is not Italian, he just thinks he is & uses it as a line with the ladies. 

♥ I have two puppies, hell yes. Ella & Lincoln, my babies. 

♥ I love the rain! Not really being outside in it, although if it's drizzling and you're walking down a street it can be quite romantic. But sitting inside all toastie whilst the rain is pattering against the window, makes me feel fuzzy!

♥ I love New York, I think it has to be my favourite holiday destination of all. Beautiful landmarks, food, people and shopping. The four pillars of an idealistic location. 

♥ I want to move to Australia! This is very umm sporadic of me. I've never been, although my mum has. But everything I hear about living there sounds exceptional. I'm aware that the price of living is more expensive over there, but the earnings are higher, the government are better, the weather is beautiful. All I'd have to deal with is the distance from my family and the spiders, I'd also have to carry SPF 50 everyday, it's something I could live with! 

♥ I have every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on VHS, yes they're in boxes in my garage because my boyfriend won't have them out on display, but up until this year, they had pride of place next to my DVD collection! Buffy hell yeah! 

♥ I am currently studying a degree in Psychology, with a particular emphasis on infant & children's development, although I do not want to work with children in my future.... 

♥ I have this long shot dream that when I venture into my chosen career, aka. recruitment. I will be able to steer my way into working for a make-up company. Preferably Illamasqua helping them recruit their team. It's a dream, that I have and will accomplish! 

♥ Secretly I would love to be a make-up artist, but I don't think I'm creative enough!

♥ I have a compulsion with buying eyeshadow palettes, it has to stop. I think I need help.

♥ I really like Justin Bieber and One Direction, not in an OMG JUSTIN! 1D ahhh, no I just like their music. Russell & I dance around to 'kiss you' in the kitchen, and it's good times, the dogs are smiling. Their songs are just so uplifting and happy! 

♥ I have a deep love for Mariah Carey. Not in a lady lady way, or in an oh my lord your music touches my soul way, more like a "I could listen to you all day every day and still appreciate your voice lady". Plus she's on American Idol at the moment and I adore it! 

♥ I can watch episodes of Bones & Criminal Minds over dinner, gory dead bodies no longer have an affect on my ability to stuff my face full of pasta. 

♥ I loveeee pasta. Any carbohydrate really. Anything bad for you. Icecream, anything with fat in it. Lord. No wonder my diets fall through on the first day. 

♥ I played the flute for 5 years, and was quite good, before quitting because it took up too much time in my teenage life. Apparently my mother believes I have a fear of failing, I believe I wanted to watch TV and chill with my homies a tad too much at 16. 

♥ I am definitely a hermit. Megan Fox describes herself as this so I am in excellent company. Basically, Megan & I just love to spend our time in our homes, chilling out and getting stuff done. Any time I have to leave the house to go food shopping, or some other insignificant venture, I am full of detest for myself for requiring these things to live. 

♥ I love Rock music, there's something comforting about very loud music. Whether that be Guns 'n' Roses, Metallica, Nickelback, Linkin Park, even Panic at the Disco rev my engine! 

♥ Alas I love listening to Taylor Swift when I'm cleaning the house, it's an enigma! 

♥ I get called weird by a lot of people. I don't really know why but whenever I work with anyone they say I'm weird. Personally I think it's just called being an individual and not talking about the same boring crap everyone talks about day in day out. Weirdness should be appreciated, not ridiculed gosh! 

♥ I love going to the gym but I get knee splints which is totally awkward.

♥ I get knee splints because my feet roll out. This means that every step I take my right foot doesn't go flat down it rolls itself in from the right to left. This basically leads to a bone moving around in my b, my spine not being perfectly aligned and just pain. It can be popped back in by a professional but I also had insoles for my shoes to stop by feet rolling. I have no idea where these went when I moved so I'm going to be stuck with painful shins wahh! 

♥ I don't do the usual student binge drink - but when I do drink alcohol, I have three drinks of choice - Strawberry & Lime Cider, A strawberry/raspberry cocktail aka woowoo or a daiquiri (preferably frozen), and finally white wine spritzers with lemonade. And that's it. Very specific, I can no longer drink jagerbombs, or vodka red bulls. It makes me physically nauseous to go near a spirit mixer, unless it's with lots of fruity juices! 

♥ I find it difficult to make friends. Purely because I have this weird definition of what a friend is, so I will explain what I DON'T think it is. It's not the person you only ever meet when you've drank an entire bottle of vodka, you're not best friends with that person. Also people you only ever see for a night out - you are also not close friends if you haven't seen this person since the last group night out. I weeded out a lot of these friends, people who wouldn't speak to you, ask how you were doing, have any interest in your life, unless there was bottle of wine in their hands. Unfortunately I found the line between what a friend is got blurred at University, and you realise when you move away, wow, there's only two people who keep in contact with me over summer?  I only had two real friends?! Crap. My mum made it really clear to me when I moved to University that I would be able to count my friends on one hand, I thought she was being rude, not in the slightest. Such a wise woman!

♥ My mother is my role model. She in an exceptionally smart and wise lady, who is very aspirational and has such integrity. She doesn't realise it herself which I think it a shame, but she is definitely the Lioness of my family :) 

♥ My favourite animal is a dog. It used to be a dolphin (exotic), but the more I think about it, my dogs put such a smile on my face, that has only happened once when I stroked a dolphin. They manage to make me laugh every day, so they win :) 

♥ I love to read cheesy romantic comedies. But I don't enjoy watching them in films, something tacky, unless it has Jennifer Aniston in it, then I'm sold. 

♥ I want to look like Jennifer Aniston when I'm 40. She is incredible. 

♥ I love riding my bike downhill, the rush and adrenaline...then it's over and I hate the idea of having to walk it back up the hill to get back home :( 

♥ I love reflecting on my life on the bus/train. 

♥ I am terrified of vomit, people being sick around me is not good, for either of us. Links back to my lack of drinking ;).

♥ I used to pierce my own ears when I was like 15, it was a weird time. Thank god I've grown out of it. 

♥ My birthday is 17th July! This year my graduation falls on this day, yay...

♥ I am a very picky eater, ever since I was little I have hated trying new things.

♥ About 90% of my days, I have to have a nap at some point. 

So I think I've written 44? I really could not think of anymore and funnily enough, I'm starving for some carbohydrates. Hello Shredded Wheat covered in Sugar! 

Have a great evening guys & I hope some of you do this tag too! 

I had so much fun reminiscing about my life and why I'm so weird :) 

xoxoxoxo

January Goodies!

Although I had decided to start super saving and be more careful with my money, I saw the sales on Illamasqua and Yankee Candle and just had to buy something. You know when you are online browsing and then suddenly you have 6 things in your basket and you are convinced you need all those things - that's what happened. I love illamasqua, most of their products are expensive, probably slightly more so than MAC, but they are amazing quality & in their sale, the majority of products were £5 so I just had to bring a few home! This does not explain my naughty behaviour previously this month, where I bought a couple of fashion things which may have been in the sale, but were not necessary purchases! But I will include them in another post because I am very happy with the quality :) and don't want this one to get too long!

So first starting off with make-up! I saw that there was free UK delivery on orders over £35, so basically after adding 4 things to my basket, it made more sense to get more items to make up to that amount to save myself money on delivery....makes perfect sense Lauren!

So in the end I purchased 6 things... I got two nail varnishes; Vice - Berry, and Stagnate - Taupe Brown. I got their light liquid foundation in 120, which is actually my perfect shade! I kind of made an educated guess as to what shade I would be, and this just melts into my skin, it's lovely! I got a lipstick in Sangers which is a very true Red. Finally, I bought two pigments, Zeitgeist - Sparkly Black and Beguile - Pearlescent White Shimmer.

Now the quality of the nail varnishes is nice, must apply two coats because the first is very sheer, but they're described as chip resistant, and I see that now I'm wearing them (although my nails are very short - stress head broke them all off!) so I wont show a picture as they do not look attractive. But these shades are different finishes also, Stagnate reminds me very much so of Barry M's Mushroom in consistently, a very thick coat, but its slightly more muted down with more purple tone than Mushroom's Brown tone. Vice is just beautiful, I do not have a colour like it, but in all honesty I'm really confused by the finish, I would say it's a matte finish, as there's definitely no gloss, but it's difficult to tell on my nails at the moment! I may update you when my nails no longer look like a child's :) 

The pigments stole the show for me! They are absolutely gorgeous, from the packaging to the products within they score a 10/10. Zeitgeist is very similar in shade to Black Tide from MAC, but obviously it's in pigment form, it's a lot more blendable I've found, but still shows of the sparkle. In my experience, the shimmer in black tide was barely existent, but that might just be my one! Beguile, is an absolutely gorgeous shade, it is amazing for highlighting the inner corner of the eye and adding to a smokey eye to add a bit of glamour. I absolutely adore it, it makes me so happy seeing it's multi-colour sparkles! Beautiful! 

The lipstick I purchased was called Sangers, it's a true blood red, a bit more on the cherry side than my other lipsticks which tend to be darker, deeper reds. So I thought I'd go against the grain for a change, this lipstick is very creamy and not at all drying like lots of lipsticks I try. It seems to have the consistency of a lipstick that would be sheer, but it has excellent pigmentation :) 

Finally, the foundation! As previously stated I purchased Light Liquid Foundation in 120, the colour match is perfect, it's a light coverage foundation that seems quite watery but works into the skin really well giving a nice amount of coverage. I haven't used it properly yet, but I've read reviews that you can apply another layer, and it increases the coverage to medium, so I think with concealer this could be a good foundation for night time. I am definitely wanting to try their Skin Base foundation, but alas only LL was available in the sale for £10, so I'm pretty content for the moment!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Finally the Yankee Candle! Sweet lord it smells like Heaven, I purchased this regular tumbler (I think) for £7.95, I think they retail for around £15? I am so happy with this purchase! It sits in my kitchen and it makes the whole house smell like I'm making cakes. Very beautiful scent, sweet and delicious, similar to Vanilla Cupcake which I also have in large, but I don't mind because I love these kind of scents!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Seriously finally now! I bought a calendar for the year, Yes it's very late, because Snapfish took 2 weeks to deliver something that was meant to take 3 days to arrive. I complained, quite a bit, and they're sending me another couple of calendars, which is annoying because the next day the original ones arrived. Lordy me! But here's the January snap shot of me & one of my best friends Rochelle whilst we were visiting our other best friend Ellie in Liverpool! 

Hope you enjoyed this post & are having a lovely day :)

Let me know if you have a love for Illamasqua or Yankee like me, I'm always in search of inspiration!

xoxoxoxo