Autumn is in the air...

It seems as if autumn has well and truly blown in and while I love summer I can't wait for warm cardigans and jumpers, snuggling up in bed with a hot drink and watching DVDs while it rains outside. And I know it's too early to mention it but Christmas is my favourite time of year so of course I'm already mentally planning decorations for my university room and making a list of things to buy for my family when I come home - if I have any money left! (Positive thoughts, people.)

But while I enjoy my last week at home I'm imaging Halloween parties, bonfire night sparklers and warm soup huddled up in my duvet. These are just some of the things I love most about autumn, but I also can't wait to crunch leaves under my feet and take lots of photos of Bath while wrapped up in scarves and watch the leaves change colour, which I can't believe I'm saying it, but the trees along the path to my old college already are!

What are your favourite things about autumn?

Mine is definitely pumpkins. They epitomise autumn for me in all their orangey goodness.

Seeing as autumn's not really hit Milton Keynes yet, all these photos are from previous years.

  

Trees in the park while I was sat on the swings there back in November. Swinging is a past-time which I think I'll end up doing even in my 80's. It's too much fun!

Two collared doves in the tree in my parents garden. They were very sweet, nestling together in these branches for a long time. I managed to get a lot of photos, but sadly only one of the pair has been visiting the garden since :(

Fallen leaves on the grass. I remember it was freezing that day too!

Autumn in the back garden, with the sunlight dipping behind this tree. 

Orange berries poking through my neighbours fence, which brought a lovely pop of colour into the garden. I love all the hues of orange, red and brown that are about at autumn time. The colours go well with my red hair :)

And one of my favourite photos, this leaf which looks like it's been cut-out and landed on top of the tree stump in our garden.

I hope you're all having a good start to the week!

xxx

Thoughts from the Week

If you've visited my blog before you'll know how much of an advocate for Etsy I am. I love the wide variety of things you can buy from bath goodies to jewellery to vintage hats and coats. I also love how nice each seller is to their customers. I've bought quite a few things from Etsy now and each time I've been given cute note-cards with the shops name, little extras such as sweets and even badges, magnets and gift cards if I wanted to use the things I'd bought as gifts. 

So this morning I was very happy to wake up to my latest Etsy purchase from the ever wonderful, Spooky Boutique!  I recommend everyone to check out her Etsy store, as she makes all kinds of things with a spooky theme from lip-balms, solid perfumes and hair accessories to artwork and stationery and she's always very sweet with her packaging and extras; this time round I got an orange sweet, a purple novelty spider ring and a free badge with the slogan, "Sugar, Spice and all things Green!" Can you sense a slightly macabre theme to her work yet? 

The cute packaging my solid perfume and hair-clip came in. The stripes on the bag remind me of a  humbug sweet! You can also see the purple novelty spider ring (my last one was neon orange) and of course her bright pink note cards advertising the shop.   

Cherry flavour solid perfume stick. I love the packaging! There are several other flavours to choose from and this one smells lovely. I'd not tried solid perfume before, apart from snagging a sample whilst in Lush with my friend, but I'm really pleased with this. Great for the daytime as the smell's not overpowering; just light. And the best thing - completely cruelty free! All of the cosmetics on Etsy are mostly vegan/vegetarian as they're all handmade.

My new hair-clip featuring a Victorian skeleton :) I haven't had a proper hair-clip for a while and thought this would come in handy both for Halloween parties and dress-up and during the day as it's nicely sized and looks sweet, I think. It's also a blessing as my fringe is forever falling into my view and it's going to be a huge help on a windy day like it has been recently.

I also recently bought an Alice in Wonderland handmade purse for my money, receipts and cards from Simbiosis. She makes lots of different purses, laptop sleeves, bags and clutches.

I'm a big Alice in Wonderland fan ever since being read the Jabberwocky as a kid.

I also recently bought two voodoo head knitted key-rings, with some birthday money, which I thought were very sweet, and I was happy as I was this persons first Etsy customer. The key-rings are from minxcreations based here in the UK and they make lots of other knitted creations including crochet cakes and felt key-rings and toys.  

And I still have a lip-balm to come, but it hasn't arrived yet.

Have you ever tried Etsy?

What's your favourite online store for second hand or handmade treats?

Hope you're all well and looking forward to the weekend!

This time next week I shall be blogging to you from Bath ;D

Take care!

xxx

Treasures!

So while on holiday in Devon I was spoiled by my Grandparents and was very grateful for all the lovely things they bought me and thought I would show you just a few things, as well as my huge pile of things I have to take to university - and I still have to buy more before I leave! 

New books, including two crime novels that Nan was getting rid of so gave them to me. I got the first book in the True Blood series and Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan, another vampire/supernatural novel. The third one was half price with the other purchases called The End of Everything by Megan Abbot.

Eyeliner in black and a mascara. Again, very impressed with the mascara. The wand has lots of tiny bristles rather than the standard applicator wand so it didn't cause any clumpiness, which is what I usually get, and it looked a lot more natural than my other mascaras which tend to really elongate my lashes and cause them to clump together. The eyeliner's I have used before and they go on really smooth - These two were part of a free gift! 

This camomile eye make-up remover was the second part of the free gift and this is brilliant! Normally I struggle with eye make-up removers. They either take only a little off or just sting and irritate my skin. This one took it all off and left my eyes feeling nice and calm, not irritated. 

The second free gift. A Vitamin C Spray and Serum. Meant to lift tired looking skin after too many late nights or a tough week. I tried this already and the smell is gorgeous. Orangey. The spray is really refreshing and the serum is just rubbed into the skin. Both of them are really good if you're skin's feeling tight and tired. It lifted my complexion almost instantly. 

Body Shop eyeshadow in Sapphire. The marble side creates a lovely smokey look.

Eyeshadow in Sage.

The Aloe skin range is the most gentle skincare range I've come across. This is the moisturiser and it also has an inbuilt SPF 15, so I'm happy as I've not had one with an SPF before so hopefully I won't burn as easily in the summertime!

And the facial wash. I've not used this yet but it's a part of the Aloe range so it should be as gentle :)

Just some of the uni things I have to take with me! :O

That's all for now but I've got some more similar posts scheduled.
How is everyone's week going?
Last night I went to the pub with some friends and had a drink but apart from that it's been all about getting things reading for moving day on the 24th - wish me luck!
Hope you're all ok and enjoying your weeks!
xxx

Back Home!

Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of photos this time in Devon but I did get some photos of Paignton Beach and the seagulls and a few different ones on the journey down there. I'm sorry I've been a bad photographer but I assure you that in 2 weeks' time you'll be inundated with lots of photos from Bath as I leave for university on the 24th of September! It's all come around so quickly :D

This was my room for the week, courtesy of my lovely Grandparents who'd even redecorated it with a new bed, blue walls and a long, full-length mirror.

Me at Paignton Beach with the pier behind me. I was wearing a star-patterned dress by Dorothy Perkins, and the necklace was a birthday present from my Uncle.

These seagulls calls carry so far across the breeze! I do have a soft spot for them.

This was the sky on the car ride down to Devon. My Grandparents came and picked me up this time around. The views were so pretty.

Paignton Beach. It was quite overcast, as you can see, but it was also a really humid day and sure enough there was lots of rain today which would explain the humidity. There were lots of gulls and I think I saw an arctic tern, though I can't be sure. Has anyone else spotted terns in Devon?

Enjoying my music in the car!

Happy to be here :) I made full use of the full length mirror!

The lovely beach, and a flying gull.

I miss Devon already!

I hope everyone's had a good week.

xxx

10 Years Ago Today

I was just 11 years old when I came home from school and saw the images of the World Trade Centre on fire, after a plane had crashed into the North Tower. It felt like seconds before another plane smashed into the South Tower and the world seemed to stop. I remember being scared and unsure about everything. At my age I'd not heard of the Twin Towers before and suddenly I was watching them crumble before my very eyes. I kept thinking to myself, but what about all the people on the planes and in the tower? It was only when my Mum started to cry it all seemed to dawn on me that this was no freak accident.

I'd not seen or heard anything so gruesome apart from the things I'd come across in history lessons happening in the world, after studying them at school and suddenly something so dreadful was happening in my timeline in front of me. There were shocking images of people falling from the buildings and ash clouds that seemed to stretch on forever, and people, crying and running. I sat down and felt frozen and terrified. My Mum was crying and I kept saying, "Why?" over and over. When you're as young as I was when it happened you don't always understand all the details that lead to the events of 9/11 and as time wore on and war erupted in Iraq and Afghanistan I began to learn more and more about it all.

Even though 10 years has passed I think the events of that day will still be fresh in everyone's minds, and I just hope that everyone who has been affected by these atrocities, including those innocents caught in the crossfire while war has been raging, those trapped in the towers, the poor people trapped on those hijacked planes and those brave people who tried to take back the plane that plummeted into a field in Pennsylvania will never be forgotten. It is a sombre day but one in which aid workers, soldiers, and civilians will never be forgotten.

Photo from Wikipedia.