5 things you need this November

The Essentials: Blankets, Electric Blankets, Candles, Hot Water Bottles and Hot Drinks

Seeing as we've arrived in November and there's a chill in air, I thought I'd talk about keeping warm and cosy in the colder months. You'll probably see a theme developing as you read, but I'm all about light and warmth right now, the season just calls for it! 

1. A blanket – If you don’t own a blanket, then I don’t really know what I can say to you, apart from GET ONE. They are so perfect in the winter, from keeping you warm in bed to keep your legs warm when you’re lounging on the sofa watching TV (admittedly I don’t watch TV, but watching it with a blanket sounds good). I actually only have one blanket that I love; I don’t even know where my other one is. My blanket was actually a present from my ex when he went to Ireland so I’m terribly afraid for the day when it has had its time, as I don’t have the slightest clue where he got it from! But it’s purple (my favourite colour) and just incredibly warm, it’s not fluffy like a lot of blankets (which I hate). Make sure you get a feel for your blanket because not all blankets are made equal! They are just perfect for keeping you cosy and warm. 

Blankets I’ve had my eye on: Fleece Blanket, Pearl Knitted Blanket, Winter Berry Blanket

2. An electric blanket – I know, you’re thinking this is overkill, a blanket AND an electric blanket? But trust me it is needed (plus I'm talking an electric UNDERblanket), if you get cold really easily like I do. Or even worse if like me, you have the coldest room in the house. You can layer yourself like a sandwich with the blanket method I have going on. I stumbled across electric blankets when I was visiting my ex’s (doesn't he feature a lot in this post) family in Ireland. Their house was seriously cold and in the middle of nowhere, so we had blankets upon blankets and then she told me “make sure you switch on the electric blanket before you get into bed to warm it up.” And I was just there like what is this contraption?! Call me dim but I imagined electric blankets to be these crinkly things you had when you went camping, I don’t even know where I got this idea from because I’ve been camping loads and never had one of them. I got given the Morphy Richards Electric Blanket (Double) a year ago and I love. I've had it out for a month, but didn't actually use it until like three days ago. If you live in the UK, you'll know that it is getting super cold. When my nephews come round, they do not move from my bed when this is on. This just a top up to adding some warmth into your life, just don’t sleep with it on all night because you will most likely wake up in the middle of the night feeling like you’re about to boil. 

For you choosing pleasure: Dreamland Double Electric Blanket, Silentnight Electric Blanket (Double)

3. Scented candles - You can just buy normal candles, but I honestly don’t remember the last time I bought a regular candle. Why buy a non-scented when you can fill your room with gorgeous smells whilst having that beautiful candlelight glow? I recently went to Primark to repurchase a favourite Sweet Vanilla & Coconut and ended up picking up Pineapple & Ginger, as well Red Berries & Orchid. I'm a lover of sweet scents and always seem to go for anything that has vanilla in it. I’m a candle whore and have tried a whole bunch, Yankee candles are obviously a favourite but Sainsbury’s have lovely smelling candles, as does TK Maxx. I actually bought the nicest candle from TK Maxx about two years ago which was eggnog scented - It was SO good, but I can't find it anymore. 

Candles I adore: Yankee Candle Strawberry Buttercream, Sainsbury's Madagascan Vanilla, For Every Body Candles (they don't seem to have the eggnog one but they do other awesome scents). 

4. A hot water bottle – Yep I have rounded it all off by coming back the topic of heat. This one is perfect for if you’re at home, at a friend’s house or at work. Obviously it depends on where you work, but I work in an office and there are forever wars about the temperature, which then results in us all working in Antarctica. So it depends on where it’s easier for you to keep one, I’ve taken mine to work because as we can tell from the above, I have enough to keep me warm at home. You can pick up water bottles from anywhere; I’m pretty sure mine is from Poundland and is like 3+ years old. 

Hot water bottles: Nordic Knit Hot Water Bottle and Cover,  Personalised Heart Hot Water Bottle Cover, Hello Kitty Hot Water Bottle and Cover

5. A hot drink – Ah to keep one’s self hydrated. Hydration is super important anyway, but of course you know during the winter you have to really amp it up. I find hot drinks are the best way to do this mainly because it keeps you warm. I am a lover of herbal teas and I'm constantly drinking green tea during the day. I buy the Sea Dyke Brand from Chinatown or my local Thai shop, but I also love camomile tea or just hot water with lemon. Find your drink and hydrate your body, it will keep your head clear and keep you warm. 

Teas I love:  Twinings Jasmine Green, Twinings Camomile & Honey

So that is it for my November needs. Is there anything you can’t do without during the winter months? Let me know, I’m always looking for things to make this time of year bearable!

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October Birchbox

I know what you're thinking, why are you so late with getting this up. But my box was late getting to me! The postman (or lady) decided I obviously didn’t want my box and delivered it to someone else (I don’t know this for sure). So the lovely people at Birchbox sent me another one, and this time it made it to me! I actually ended up with two because after I got my replacement, I also got sent another one, so I e-mailed them asking if they wanted me to return it and they said I could just keep it. I'm just going to give it to a friend haha. As it's been a while since I got it, I have used some of the products for a bit now I thought I'd comment on if they worked or whatever, rather than just give you a run down of what's in the box.

For October, Birchbox teamed up with the charity Coppafeel to give us a dose of pink and a guide on what to look out for when you check the boobies for lumps. So with that came this lovely pink pouch, which I just love because it can be re-used! The theme for this month is actually “Work It” to help us 9-5 people out there keep motivated. They actually included a 14 day checklist for things to keep you going which I thought was super cool, and in order to make you use it one of the samples was Birchbox Pink Lipstick Pen, super cute and handy. So moving on to the beauty bits we have.

The Shaveworks The Cool Fix was something I was really looking forward to because ingrown hairs are a pain and I was looking into getting Tend Skin, when this came along. But I think as this suited to preventing ingrown hairs, it didn't meet my needs as such. So will have to continue using before I make up my mind. The KMS California HAIR PLAY Playable Texture was a meh product for me, I've only used this once. I'm a bit weary of hair products that say texture because ever since I used a sea salt spray in my weave and it turned into a dry mess. So I only stick to what I know.

One thing I was super excited for was the Balance Me Cleanse & Smooth Face Balm because I really thought the eyecream I received from Balance Me in July's box was great!  I do enjoy using this cleanser, can't say I have seen any sort of improvement in my skin but it hasn't broken me out. The only thing is the smell, I know Balance Me is super natural and all, but goodness this thing just smells so funky. It only lingers for like a few seconds upon application, but urgh it is not something I am getting used to at all. I do love using it because of the tiny grains it has, my other balm is Lush's Ultrabland but it super smooth, so this is nice for those days when I want to remove the nitty gritties.

I'm always looking to add to my nail varnish collection so the Lollipops Voyage a Paris Nail Varnish was perfect for me! I own a few reds but this one is still different from the other ones I own. I love the colour as it's a very bright red. Looks gorgeous on the toes as well as the fingers! So I received Pixi by Petra Shea Butter Lip Balm in Honey Nectar as my lip product, I was really hoping for the other colour because I just knew this wouldn't suit my skin tone and I was right.

I'm super excited for my November box, I've read that the theme is based around being cosy and I'm all about that life..!

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November Book List

So it’s book time again! First things first - the October Book List. So I set myself the goal of three books and three books I did read, however The One Hundred Year Old Man has been left behind (again), I m half way through it though. I picked up An Absolute Deception in my work library and after reading two books on the Kindle I decided I missed an actual book so got stuck into that one. I’m glad I managed to read the three book target that I set myself, but I really do want to finish reading The One Hundred Year Old Man because I actually find the book interesting!

From the time of writing this I have 11 books until I reach my target and considering I’m averaging 3 books a month, I’m slightly apprehensive that I won’t reach that target. I’m not going to lie that upsets me slightly, but I really don’t have the time to read so much anymore :(

Anyway let us get on to what is on the menu for this month:

The Power by Rhona Byrne - After ‘The Secret’ last month, one of my friends who told me to read it gave me ‘The Power’ which is the next book up from ‘The Secret’ (I could be wrong). I’m so excited to read this! If you read my ‘3 things I learned this month’ you’ll know that I really loved ‘The Secret.’

Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas - So I ordered a real physical book! I don’t know about you guys but I have a huge amount of books in my ‘save for later’ basket on Amazon and I decided it was time I stopped adding to it and actually started buying from it. Considering I buy most things for the Kindle I decided a physical book was needed. I really can’t remember where I heard about this book but I’m excited to get stuck into it. 

Willpower: Rediscovering our Greatest Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tirney - This is another book that I have had in my ‘save for later’ basket and again I can’t remember where I heard about it but I think it sounds interesting. I think originally I thought it would give me some tips to stop stuffing my face, but after seeing the phrase ‘willpower decreases every time you use it’ I’m just intrigued to find out what it’s all about and you all know I love a self help book!

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - And of course this one is back on the list; I WILL get through it this month!

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3 things I've learned this month.

Credit

So I’m back with my monthly learning, I left out September because there wasn’t a lot to share and I always want these to be authentic, so I am back to share what the life has been teaching me. I have done some serious learning this month. Things have happened that have just forced me to learn and I’m kinda glad for them in a way because actually, I can’t keep on going on the way I have been, so I’ve rounded up the 3 things I’ve learned in the month of October. 

1. A problem shared is a problem halved – Well sort of. Basically I have issues when it comes to sharing personal things. I barely share good news with people for fear of it going wrong, so I definitely don’t share bad news. But this month I did receive bad news and instead of bottling it up and pretending it didn’t exist, I shared it with people because guess what? I’ve realised I am not always right and most of the time when things happen I really do need perspective. It wasn’t a situation I ever had to deal with and therefore I was out of my depth so I asked people for help. This meant talking to people face to face about what I should do, and even e-mailing them. I emailed the lovely Michelle over at Daisybutter who replied to me and gave me some great advice. But the point I’m making is I saw past the bad news as a reflection of myself and reached out for help, and suddenly the news seemed manageable rather than devastating. I collated the advice I’d been given and I’m now in a much better place to deal with it. 

2. I eat out too much – I really do. So following on from bad news day I decided I needed a treat and happily jumped at the chance to eat out when I was invited. Thing is previous day I’d gone out to eat. And would be going out to eat again. This one isn’t anything deep but I really do need to stop spending my money in restaurants and start bloody saving! 

3. Reading The Secret was the best thing I did in October – I mean in terms of my mental health and just overall wellbeing. I probably did loads of good things this month, but this book, oh man. People have been telling me for like 2 years to read this book and it was always something I was going to do one day. I was at work towards the end of September and it had been sitting in my Amazon basket for so long, and even though I had several other books to read I thought ‘I really want to read this book right now.’ This book was just so great; if you’ve read it then you probably already know how good it is. But it just reaffirmed so much of what I already know and taught me new things that just made so much sense. It teaches such simple things and I really cannot believe it’s taken me that long to read it, but strangely enough I think I read it at the right time for me. I think if I had read it at any other point in my life it wouldn’t have resonated with me so much, but reading it now I can just see how frikkin true the whole book is. Luckily for me one of my friends who had been telling me to read it has just given me ‘The Power’ which is the second one to read, what I like even more is that it was bought in India! I don’t know why but to me that makes it so much more of a special gift! 

Et voilà! Short and sweet life lessons! I for one intend to really take these three lessons with me into November. They are all things that will do me good and I’m very proud of myself about the first one!  

What have you learned this month? I hope everyone is having a good Halloween (if you’re doing anything for it)!

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Recent purchases from Boots

So on Saturday I set myself the mission of getting some things off my ‘to buy list’ so I took myself off to Oxford Street and ended up in the Boots near Marble Arch.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry

I have been looking for a deeper shade of lipstick for a while, I own a lot of deep purples but I really wanted something a bit vampy and red, after seeing ItsLinamar swatch Black Cherry I decided I’d check it out. I nearly didn’t buy this because when I got to Boots and swatched it, I though it looked similar to a lot of my other lipsticks, but boy was I wrong. I actually decided in Boots that I wouldn’t get Black Cherry but Va Va Violet, so I picked up that (or what I thought was that) instead. On my way home I decided to have a peek at my goodies and noticed that some cretin put Black Cherry in the Va Va Violet slot and I was indeed still carrying Black Cherry. I was already near my house and tbh going back was out of the question for me. Luckily for me Camden has a Boots so I decided I’d go swap it before I went home, so I walk in to Boots and of course they don’t even stock Va Va Violet. So Black Cherry and I were meant to be. When I got home and put it on I found that boy I was wrong, I did not have this shade at all. It was exactly what I have been looking for, so I’m glad I have this baby. It’s a crème finish so really is perfect for everyday. I shall most likely do a swatch and review of this a little later.

Barry M Crush

I was also on the hunt for Barry M’s Blood Red but alas I couldn’t find it. I did however want a burgundy shade and as I mentioned in this post, I have been craving a matte nail varnish. So I came across ‘Crush’ and it met both my needs, so I snapped it up. I’ve worn it already and absolutely love the shade and it’s perfect for autumn. It isn’t too dark and vampy but it being that reddish burgundy colour means it provides the autumnal feel whilst being sophisticated.

No7 Beautiful Skin Pore Vacuum Mask

The last thing I bought was this by No7. I actually heard about this from Sian in her skincare video. I was really intrigued because this is a peel mask. I remember using peel masks back in my early teens and haven’t actually touched one since. I need all the help I can with my pores, so I was more than happy to snap it up. Call me weird but I was super attracted to the word ‘Vacuum’ in the title, anything that gives me the impression that it is going to suck up my pores can stay in my book. Anyway I’ve used this twice (the first time involved me having to open the door to the pizza guy – the shame), as instructed I use it on my nose and a small bit on my forehead. I also use it on my chin. I of course was not able to peel it all off in one go (can anyone actually do that) but I did enjoy the peeling element, and upon the first inspection of my pores they looked like they had reduced in size. If anything my nose looked cleaner and there were fewer blackheads! I will give a full review once I’ve been using it for a while.

And that was my Boots round up! I managed to get 10% off this because I had loaded the offer through the Boots app, so that was a nice surprise! I also snuck into Superdrug after buying the Barry M nail varnish and saw they were doing 3 for 2, so I think I might have to pick up some more colours!

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