Little Primark Amsterdam Haul

In just under a week I am going to Amsterdam - eek! I'm really super duper excited, and what do you do just before you go away? You go shopping of course! So that's what I did today. I had a list of things that I had to get, but I was sorely tempted in Primark - they have got some fab stuff in at the moment! However, I was quite well-behaved, so this is only a fairly little haul for you today.

The main thing that I had to buy was boots, because I don't currently own a pair of good boots for autumn and winter and I thought that I should really get some before I am flung into the unknown in Amsterdam. According to my sister, New Look is the best place to go for good, reasonably priced shoes, so that's where I went. I tried on many pairs (I'm really picky about shoes) before finally settling on these gorgeous brown Chelsea-style boots. They are really comfy and they will go with everything and they were only £25! I can't wait to wear them in Amsterdam!

I then went to Primark, where my main priority was jeans. I love Primark jeans, I normally buy two pairs a year and then just wear them to death. I know I probably should buy better quality ones, but Primark ones always seem to fit me really well and I like them, so there isn't really much point! These are just your classic navy, super high-waisted (of course) jeans. They were also reduced to only £8! My only slight concern is that they are very thin, more like jeggings than anything else, so I hope I don't get too cold!










There were quite a few sale rails in Primark (which made me very happy), where I picked up a few cheap tops.

First of all, I got this pineapple top which is just so so so me! Its fun and easy to throw on and I think that everyone should own at least one slightly silly top. And for only £1, are you really going to say no?

I then bought this one that is black with a nice pattern on it and the words 'Wild Dreamer'. I want to start building up my collection of shirts like this because I think that they are quite nice to wear tucked into a skirt with a cardigan in winter for something that is slightly more formal looking while still being super comfy. And when it is only £1, you're basically making money.

Lastly, I bought this amazing sparkly top. Its so glittery, its almost holographic! I think that this would also look really nice tucked into a skirt, maybe at a party, but other than that, I don't really know when I would wear it. Oh well - it was only £2!

I then bought something which I am soooooo excited about! Everyone knows that bomber jackets are a really big trend at the moment, and I have been feeling really out of it because I haven't had one. But this, this combines a bomber jacket with one of my favourite things in the world: a cardigan, to create this amazing cosy bomber cardigan! Its quite cropped, and I like that its black and white because it means that I can wear bright colours underneath it! It too was on sale for only £5!



Then, because it was on my list which I had begun to stray from, I bought this really nice soft beanie. I don't actually think I've ever had a beanie before, but I really like the colour of this one and I'm sure it will keep my head warm. It was £2.

Now, a couple of boring things. I was getting quite low on socks, so I bought this set of colourful little trainer socks, because those are my favourite type to wear. I really like the range of colours in this bunch and for 7 pairs for £2.50, you could do a lot worse.

Lastly, I bought some hairbands because you can never have too many, and I had been getting very low. Every time I'm in Primark, I always buy some hairbands, because Primark ones are my very favourite!

So that's all, and now I'm really to start planning some outfits ready for Amsterdam!

See you soon!

Following my dream early

This post is a bit of a follow-up to one that I wrote a few days ago on doing what you love the way you love. In that post, I talked about how I write because I love it, but I write the way I want to and the way I love (i.e. on this blog).

But since I wrote that post, I've been feeling like a bit of a hypocrite. To explain this I'll need to confide something in you. When I'm older, all I want to do is move to the seaside and open my own wedding dress shop where I design, make and sell all of the dresses. That's my dream. That's all I want to do from the day I leave school for the rest of my life.

And obviously, that involves quite a bit of sewing.

Now I love to sew. I've been sewing for as long as I can remember, and its one of my favourite things to do to relax or just for fun. I would say I'm quite good at it, and its the one thing in life that I can call 'my thing'. My thing is sewing. I'm not so great at sports or anything musical and to be honest, I don't really enjoy academia that much. But I love to sew.

My plan is and always has been to leave school after A Levels, get a job in a wedding dress shop or somewhere that makes wedding dresses or things like it while maybe doing some part time courses on couture fashion. I'll do that for a few years, gaining experience, learning skills and saving up before moving to the seaside and getting my own little shop.

But now, now I just want to start.

I do textiles in school and its fine. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hate it, there are definitely things in it which I enjoy and love to do (mainly the practical work), but I just don't get the thrill out of it that I wish that I did. I think that its mainly because with the course I'm working on there's a list of things which I have to do, things that I have to have ticked off to get a certain number of marks.

And I just can not stand being forced to do something that I don't want to do. For example, I'm required to show how I have used computers to aide my design and manufacture. I don't want to do this, I'm not going to use the samples I make on my final piece and its not going to benefit me in any way whatsoever. So why should I do it? So I can pass an exam and get a qualification.

And that's all.

So instead of sitting on my bum and whining about how my school work isn't going to help me in my future and how I just want to finish school so I can get started on the grand plan, I'm going to do what I love the way that I love.

I'm going to get a folder, a really really nice folder and its going to become my wedding dress folder. And if I'm ever bored or have a sudden burst of inspiration, I'm going to go to this folder and fill it with research and designs and thoughts and just anything that comes out of my head that I want to go into the folder.

I'm going to buy sewing patterns and attempt to make wedding dresses, because I can't fail, I can only learn. If I have any spare money, I'll put it aside and save it for my future business fund. I'm going to start following my dream now. I don't care if it's early - is it ever too early?

Because that's what I want to do, that's what I love. For the first time in a while, I am so excited and inspired and passionate about textiles and sewing, and that's the way I want to be forever. If I start my career negatively what am I going to do in 10 years time? 20 years? 50?

And of course, I'll be bringing you all on this journey with me (you're not getting away that easily!). And maybe, just maybe, in 10 years time when I'm a supremely famous wedding dress designer (it will happen), I'll look back on this and on my very first wedding dress folder and smile at where it all started.

See you soon!

October 2016 Glossybox

I have recently taken out a Glossybox subscription which I am super duper excited about! For those of you who don't know, Glossybox is a beauty service where every month you are sent 5 beauty treats ranging from high end brands to high street heroes, the most raved about products to the most under appreciated. I had my September one and loved it and now I am writing a post on my October box that arrived today!

Fair warning, this post contains spoilers. If you don't want to see what's in the box, stop reading.... NOW!

So this month was actually a special collaboration, which meant that there was 6 beauty products in the box instead of 5.

The first is this mystery shampoo. It is meant to be a miracle worker but they aren't releasing the brand name until next month. I haven't tried it yet, but it is meant to be 'the biggest breakthrough in ten years' - I can't wait for my hair to get some loving!

The next thing in my box is this buttery lip cream (that's the technical definition, not mine!). I've got to say, I absolutely ADORE the packaging, I think that it is so bright and funky and cute. It is made from cardboard however, which I don't think is going to be very practical - especially considering the amount of spillages that happen in my makeup! As for the colour, it's a really really pale nude. I don't have anything like this and am keen to try it but I just don't know whether its going to suit my skin tone. It's from a brand called Trifle Cosmetics and is normally £12.95.

The next thing is probably what I am least excited about. It is this Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate sample. As I am a teenager I don't think that ageing skin is my main worry at the moment, but I think that delaying it wherever possible can't be a bad thing, especially as it is meant to smooth, soften and brighten skin! The full size bottle is normally £25.

The next is something that I have never tried before but am immensely excited to. It is a cream blush and lip duo, by the brand Universal Beauty Cosmetics. From what I understand, it is just meant to be a very natural subtle little bit of colour on the cheeks or lips, and I think that it would be fab for a quick top up when you're out and about and need a little skin wake up. The price is normally £15.



The next is a facial exfoliator which I am very excited about because I have been looking for a good facial exfoliator since my last one ran out and I haven't remembered to replace it! It is by the brand Bee Good, which is already making me super excited because I love all scents with anything to do with bees or honey or honeycomb or honeybees - they just smell so blummin' wonderful! It's also environmentally friendly while being very me friendly and I cant wait to use it. It is normally £10.50.

The last little treat that I got in my box was this PS...PRO thick eyeliner. I've never used an eyeliner quite like this before, it looks like a sharpie and a highlighter pen have been mixed together and the result is both terrifying and fabulous. I'm going to need some serious nerve to use it! I think that this is the brand that is normally sold in Primark (think, not certain), which means that by default I love it as it is only £3!

So far I am absolutely adoring having a Glossybox subscription - it's like a little bit of Christmas each month! I would really recommend it to any beauty junkies out there, or maybe just a beauty novice like me - it's only £10 a month (+P&P)!

See you soon!

Do what you love the way you love

When I was little, all I wanted to be in the whole wide world was an author. I wanted to let my imagination flow freely and pour the contents of my very messed up head onto paper. I wanted so badly to live in a world of characters that I have created, and to spend every single day going on adventures with them. I wanted to sit at a desk every single day for the rest of my life and write the thoughts in my head and share them with the world.

This was never a problem in primary school. In fact, it was very much encouraged. At least once a month we would write stories, creating beginnings, middles and endings. Pretty much everyone else would groan at the idea of having to spend a week planning and writing a story, but I relished it. I particularly loved handing it in and finding out what my teacher thought, because that was to me how I was sharing my stories at that time.

Every day after school I would rush home and write stories (admittedly, I don't think I ever finished one), and illustrated them too. It was my hobby, and what I loved to do above everything else.

When I went to secondary school I was so excited to do 'big-girl' English, and write even better stories, getting A*'s in my GCSEs and A Levels before graduating from one of the top universities with a degree in English.

Boy, did I come back down to earth with a bump.

As you will all know, English in secondary school in very different to literacy in primary school. It's all about writing essays and non-fiction pieces, and there doesn't seem to be any link to creativity and fun at all.

But still, for a few years, I stuck at it, attacking each English lesson with gusto, determined to hold onto my dream. And, I've got to say, I did actually enjoy it. I liked (and still do like) picking apart texts (especially Shakespeare and poetry), understanding exactly what the writer wanted to convey in the prose. I've never been a fan of the language side of things, but I enjoyed English literature.

Then in the past two years, I've just hated it. Well, maybe not hated, that's quite a strong word, but I haven't really enjoyed any of it. I don't know whether it was changing teachers, from ones that I really liked (and swotted up to a lot) to one that I just didn't really connect with so well, I don't know whether it's the texts that we've been studying, or simply that I just don't enjoy the subject when its about writing the best possible essay to pass an exam.

But something else has happened that I believe has completely changed my perception on English - I started this blog. In my earlier years of secondary school I think that I clung to English and everything about it so hard because it was all that I wanted and the only way I could really get my creative side out. But when I started this blog, suddenly I have an outlet for all of my creative writing, somewhere to spill my weird and wonderful thoughts, and I don't need English so much anymore.

I remember (yes that's right, time for another anecdote), when I was in year 6 and one of my friends was moving to Australia. We all went round her house as a kind of leaving do (before going to see Arthur Christmas in the cinema) and painted our hands and made a hand print on this big canvas. Beside each of our hand prints we wrote our name and what we wanted to be when we grow up. It was a really nice idea and a nice way for this friend to remember all of us.
I went home after this party and showed my sister a picture of the canvas, and she said to me that she bets not one of us will ever do what we have written on that canvas.

I wanted to be an author, and was so sure that I would become one. I have so many diary entries about how passionate I am and how I never should let anything stop me. Today when I thought about this, it made me really sad. The only thing that I wanted I've already failed at and I haven't even left school yet. But that's when I realised: I already am an author.

Sure, I'm not a very good or even frequent writer. My little posts on makeup or rants aren't going to win any awards for outstanding literacy, but I am still here, doing what I love, the way I love. I share my writing with the world and maybe even a few people enjoy it. And I bet that if you'd told ten year old me that, she'd have been happy.

That's the message that I want to try and get across to you today. There's a countless number of clichés about following your dreams and never giving up, but what I honestly think is wayyy more important than that, is following your dreams the way that you want to follow them.

There's no set path to achieve what you want, no specific way, so why should you have to take the 'conventional' route? Yeah probably getting an A Level and a degree in English may have helped me to become an author, but that's not what I want anymore. I am writing now because I love it, and I am writing what I want to in the way I want to. I don't care about English in school now (well I do obviously, because I've got to study it, but you know what I mean), it's not important to me, because this blog and this writing, this makes me happy.

Do what you love the way you love.

What I'm trying to say is, if you love dancing but hate your dance class, dance alone in your room to your favourite song and love it!
If you love singing but can't stand doing exams, then don't do them! Upload a video of yourself to YouTube, it worked for Justin Bieber!
If you love to read, but hate having to read all those old classics because that's what's going to give you a wider knowledge then screw that! Read whatever you want, even if it is just trashy romances the whole time!

And let me tell you something. Since I've been at secondary school, I haven't written a single story. I just haven't had any in me. That is until this week, when I started to write a story for the first time in years, all because I have found my inspiration again through this blog.

Do what you love the way you love.

If you don't, you will slowly find your enthusiasm and passion and drive being chipped away until you can't stand it anymore. It's only by doing what you love in the way that you love that you'll be able to do it forever and love it forever.

Autumn Charity Shop Haul

In a few weeks time I am going to Amsterdam and I have been looking forward to a good ol' Autumn shopping trip for a while. So today when I was in town, I popped into a few charity shops and ended up going the teeniest bit mad - but the way I see it, can you ever spend too much money in a charity shop when it all goes towards such a good cause? Yes, you probably can.

If you didn't already know, I love charity shops and am always popping in and out of one or another. I think that they are a great way to find a huge range of clothes, most of which you wouldn't even think of trying normally from some really good brands, all of which are wayyy cheaper than their original prices and you're helping out a good cause! I mean, what's not to like?

So I started my little charity shop tour in Age UK, which is actually one that I don't normally visit and haven't ever really found anything in before. However today was completely different.

The first thing that I bought is this beautiful coat. I'm one of those stereotypical teenagers who has a supposed phobia of coats. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I hate having to wear yucky school coats which look so weird over a blazer and absolutely must be black (anything else is a hang-able offence). I also find that when I go to buy myself a nice winter coat, they are so blummin expensive, and yes I know they're worth it, but I just can't afford it! So charity shops are the perfect solution! Around this time of year they start getting out all of their nice winter coats that were donated at the end of last year, there is such a huge selection of all different styles, colours and sizes you are sure to find what you want. And then take away the huge £100+ price tag and everyone's a winner!

I am absolutely in love with this navy coat that was originally from ASOS. Though it may not be the warmest thing is the world, it is so beautiful. You probably know that I am obsessed with fifties fashions and the iconic nipped in waist with full circle skirt and that is exactly what this cost it. It has a really nice thick waistband with loads of decorative buttons, and then a really full bottom half, that I think may actually be padded to make it stick out more. It's elegant and glamourous and would look so nice over evening wear to all those parties which I'm always getting invited to, and best of all, it was only £15! Similar here.

I then bought this grey coat. This particular style does have a name, but I don't know what that is, so I'm just going to call it grey. I really like this style of coat, I think that it's adapted from a male coat, but to fit a female. It reminds me of a tweed jacket or something like that, and although it's quite different to what I normally wear, I really like it, and I think it's nice for more everyday wear. It is by a brand called Weekend by MaxMara, which I did some research on, and similar jackets are in the region of £250! Turns out that this is 100% wool, but only cost me £10! Now THAT is why you go to charity shops! Similar here.

I then bought this blazer which I am so happy with. I've wanted a blazer for a really long time, I think that it's just something that is so useful, to make a casual outfit more formal or to wear to an interview, or anything really. I just don't own very many formal clothes at all. This is quite a small, cropped one, which I like because I like to wear a lot of high-wasited things, be it jeans or skirts, so I think that this is the best style for them. The only slight problem that I have with it is that the arms may be slightly too short, but I can always roll them up or pull the sleeves of tops down to fold over them - oh the possibilities! It was originally from Zara, but I got it for £6! Similar here.


So then I went to Helen and Douglas House, which between you and me, is probably my favourite charity shop for one reason, and that is because it never smells in there. You know how most charity shops have a smell that it takes a couple of washes to get out? Well I've never had that with Helen and Douglas House, so there's a recommendation for you!

The first thing that I bought is probably my most unsure purchase of the day. I really liked it on the hanger, but it's quite different to what I usually go for and I didn't try it on in the shop. It's one of those situations where it just looks completely different when you try it on at home. The colour doesn't really suit me, because it's brown like my hair and I don't really like turtle neck jumpers. But the thing I like least about it is that it's really scratchy although it doesn't feel like it from the outside. I'm sure that I will get some wear out of it, but it's probably the thing that I am least happy with from today. It was from a special M&S collection called Indigo, and was only £5, so it wasn't the worst thing to happen in the world - at least that money is going to charity! Not very similar here.

I then bought this shirt/blouse which I really really love. I was a little hesitant when I first saw it, because I was a little worried that it may look slightly old ladyish, but it's actually really lovely. I didn't try this top on either, but luckily is fits really well. I was a little concerned when I bought it, because it seemed quite sheer, but once I actually put it on, it didn't look sheer at all which was a nice surprise (normally it's the other way round!). It's just very nice and floaty and I'm trying to build up my blouse/shirt collection at the moment because I think that they, like blazers, are always useful to have around. It's from a brand call Aquascutum which I've never heard of before, and I cant find anything resembling this on their website so nothing in common really here. It was only £5, and I think I'll be getting a lot of wear out of it, especially by the time next spring rolls around.

The last thing that I bought from Helen and Douglas House was this hat. I cannot tell you how badly I have wanted a hat for so long now, I just love 'em. I think that they're amazing, because there's always a type you can wear whatever the time of year. In winter you can wear beanies or earmuffs, in summer it's all about the trilby... Every time I go round to a friend's house and they have a hat, I spend more time with that hat then I do with my friend. This style of hat is, to me, just so very autumnal, and I love it! I am so excited and I can't wait to wear it around in Amsterdam! Watch out world, here I come in a super cool hat! This is an own brand product by Helen and Douglas House, but they're pretty much standard, you can find them anywhere. Mine cost me £6. Similar here.

I then popped into Scope, which I feel is one of the slightly lesser-known charity shops out there. Every single time I've been in there, I've always found something beautiful that I love and this time was no exception!

I saw this skirt and just instantly fell in love! You guys know what I'm like about my midi skirts, I feel like it's pretty much the only thing I ever talk about and this new addition had got to be my very favourite of my entire collection! It's very long, so long that I think it's borderline maxi, and is a beautiful pearly baby pink. I don't really wear a lot of pink, I don't think that baby pink really suits my colouring, but I will make an exception for this skirt. I love the pleats, though I'm not sure how I'm going to keep them it! The only thing I don't like about it is that it's quite summery, so I'm going have to wait a few months before I can wear it! And actually now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure my friend has the same one, and another friend has a similar one - lets hope we don't all wear them at the same time because that would be embarrassing! I got it for £4.50, and it was originally from Next. Similar here.


I am incredibly happy with all of my wonderful purchases, I can't stop smiling! My favourite has got to be the skirt, but I've got to say, I'm loving my grey jacket more and more now I know it cost around £250 originally! I would really recommend checking out some of the charity shops in your area, you may be surprised by what you find!

See you soon!