I Accidentally, On Purpose, Bought Christmas Decorations... In November

Don't get me wrong, I'm a full believer in Christmas is in DECEMBER - and having Christmas shoved in my face from November 1st definitely gets on my nerves, BUT...
I simply couldn't resist today. 
And I feel like decorations are different, I won't be putting them up yet - I've just got them in advance so the tree can look better.

Each of these were only £1 each from the one and only, Hobbycraft.
I've always loved it in there and every time I go in for one thing and end up buying almost everything...
I only went in for Fimo and a box for my Secret Santa!

I saw this cat and said "My mum's gonna kill me if I buy Christmas Decorations already", but the temptation was too much and I bought it anyway. And then 3 more... and I'm still thinking about all the others that I could buy, but the little Christmas Kitty couldn't be lonely!

Both of these were my second two favourites - there seems to be a theme of badgers around me recently! I love the gingerbread man, but I am not a massive fan of the bow, so there may be a bit of DIY and me changing that or I might even try and make my own felt decorations!

And I thought the Polar Bear, although not the best decoration, was really cute and christmassy which is why I bought him too. For some reason I can't find the others on the website but you can buy the polar bear! 

I am also eyeing up the Penguin, The Reindeer, the Christmas Pudding and the Small Deer.

AND! To finish off my early Christmas blog post, on my hour walk home I got myself a Costa Hot Chocolate.

Unlike Starbucks they actually have Christmas Cups;

STARBUCKS ARE SO RIDICULOUS, OMG, THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS, NO CHRISTMAS CUPS, THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!

*eyeroll*

Do people not realise there are more important things in the world than the design of a cardboard cup?

But look, it's a little penguin, how cute!

But now I'm back to anti-christmas mode, as it is still November. 

*excuse my french, but I feel this*

Is anyone else in awkwardly early Christmas mode?

What have you bought so far?!

May x

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Manicure Monday

Oh no! I got home from Centerparcs late today, sit down to relax and watch The Hunt (which is absolutely amazing, by the way!) and then I suddenly realised I hadn't done any Manicure Monday nails!
Well, I tried to quickly do some and despite the fact that they're not the best they're done now...
and it must be Monday still somewhere in the world, right!?

I used so many random polishes that I can't possibly name them all as I don't even know what half of them are,

but the blue background is Barry M Gelly Nail Paint - Huckleburry (402)

I don't know why it happens, and it's really very annoying, but the quality of the picture is terrible and actually - they look better in real life, which never normally happens for me.

I attempted these for Nail Pornography's weekly competition; Nails of the Week.

Each week the girls choose a theme and you can create nails and submit your photo for the vote which commences on a Thursday at 11:59pm - and the winner is crowned on Saturday.

This week's theme is Woodland Creatures.

This links to my nail blog, which you should go and have a look at and give me some *constructive* advice if you haven't had a look already!

I was going to do Squirrels after my weekend away in Centerparcs - which I might redo anyway - but I thought the badger was cute and fitting, as we re-nicknamed my boyfriend badger after our weekend away.

I got the inspiration for my nails from this image on Pinterest but unfortunately the link to the blog doesn't work so I can't credit the illustrator of this gorgeous picture!

I know I could've done so much better but, time is ticking and I'm almost out of Monday!
I'll update you soon, hopefully with new and better nails for the competition!

But now it's 01:50am here and I need to get myself some beauty sleep!

What do you think of the design?

May x

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Charity Shop Books

I know of many people who will go to charity shops religiously while shopping to see what they can find; Jimmy Choo, Levi Jeans, Rayban Sunnies.

They may be last seasons but who doesn't love a bargain on designer?

Well, I don't. I cannot bear the thought of digging through hundreds of rails and piles of old toot just incase I find something that may possibly be worth it because the fact is, it seems very unlikely I will actually find anything. I'm not really a big designer person myself and I'm quite happy with my High Street clothes.

However! I recently went into a charity shop to give in a bag of old clothes and saw at the back a massive section of books which caught my eye. After I handed the bag to the lady I went to have a little browse. Hundreds of books from any genre you can imagine, and almost all of them for £1!

Well, I really can't go wrong can I! 
Especially as part of my Day Zero Project is to read 50 books...

Unfortunately I am one to judge a book by it's cover, despite the popular quote, but this time I thought - I'm gonna spin the stand and grab whichever 3 I land on first. So here they are...

Bernadine Kennedy - Old Scores (RRP £5.99)

Cecelia Ahern - P.S I Love You (RRP £7.99)

Xandra Bingley - Bertie, May and Mrs. Fish (RRP £6.99)

I was excited when I grabbed P.S I Love You, I absolutely adore the film and it makes me cry every time but it really is beautiful and I'd love to see whether the film or the book is better.

As for the other two, well, I've never heard of either - or the writers.

One is a life abuse story and the other is from the war - I feel like a middle aged woman! But as I said, I need to stop judging books by the covers! Has anyone else read these?

I will update with reviews whenever I read them!

And the best thing about it is that I can take them back for charity afterwards so they can continue to make money for the British Heart Foundation.

Does anyone else use charity shops for books?

May x

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Autumn Haul and Vodka Treats...

Autumn is here. It's cold, it's damp, it's foggy... and I have no warm clothes.

So I've thrown out half of my old wardrobe that's tatty and unworn and I'm starting again.

Every time I shop, New Look is my go to shop. Their prices are affordable and their clothes are always fantastic quality and it is where everything is from in the haul except the vodka and the nail varnishes.

Rust High Neck Jumper | Mustard Boxy Jumper | Burgundy Leather Look Skirt
Yellow and Blue Check Scarf | Salty Caramel Popcorn Vodka

Essie 'Tassel Shaker' | Essie 'Not Just a Pretty Face'

I've gone for the classic autumn colours here; orange, brown, mustard, burgundy... It's my favourite time of year as far as clothes are concerned because it's cold enough to cover up but not too cold that I can't still wear tights and skirts.

This is a close up of the scarf and necklace that I bought.
The necklace was to match the leather skirt, pictured above, but I can't find it on the internet any more, despite the fact it is still in stores.
And scarves are my kryptonite... I can't resist a cute one and they always make a cute autumn outfit look even better!

Oddka Vodka is fairly new in supermarkets here, so when I bought this I was excited because it sounds so unique.

I haven't tried it yet but I'm planning on making cocktails with it, so keep your eyes peeled for some great autumn cocktail treats!

This skirt is my new favourite item in my wardrobe. It can be worn both day and night and the colour matches almost anything.

The glitter Essie is from a brand new Luxe Effects range and will be in an upcoming blogpost for a manicure I will be doing.

The earrings from this image I bought purely for the pair in the middle - and then a friend complimented them and asked if they were from Pandora... WINNING!

No, they're £3.99 from New Look!

I also got these totally amazing Harry Potter socks from Primark, I couldn't resist! 
For only £2.50, why not let your inner Harry Potter geek out!?

What are your autumn staples?

May x

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Day Zero Project: Graduate Uni

I have been a bit slack on my Day Zero Project and to be quite honest I think I was way too ambitious with what I thought I was going to achieve in 1001 days. However, I am going to keep it up as more of a bucket list and tick things off as I go...

One that I am now able to tick off is that I have finally graduated;
I now have a BA Honours Degree in Photography!

As many of you who read my blog will know, I absolutely HATED University and I honestly wish that I had never gone and had gone travelling instead... but if that were the case I wouldn't have the friends that I have now so for that I am grateful.

When I started at Anglia Ruskin in 2012 I was on crutches after having my hip replaced, so for my graduation I decided that wearing heels was a must to show how far I had come. I absolutely loved the heels that I bought but on the day, the worst nightmare happened, they broke! I'm so glad that it happened after I had walked on the stage as I was already so nervous about it!

As a family, we had a lovely day at the graduation and then went for a few drinks in Revolutions (showing them the student life!) and then we went for a lovely meal in The Cambridge Chop House - which by my standards was definitely a 5* and was absolutely amazing, I definitely recommend it to anyone who will be visiting Cambridge!

So, I finally did it - I am finally a graduate and now I have to grow up in the real world...

Or, I think, fly off around the world!

I'm excited for what's to come.

May x

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Autumn Walk 1.0

I finally bought myself a polaroid and today I went out for a walk in the beautiful orange and gold countryside in my home town to practise with it... It's safe to say the practise is definitely needed. The Instax210 is a beautiful looking polaroid, very big and the wide angle photos make it more versatile.

 But I really struggled with the lighting in the photos and these were actually taken an hour before sunset so there was plenty of light but the camera still kept forcing the flash, making it seem like a late night walk rather than an early evening one.

I love pictures of autumn and although these aren't terrible photos, they weren't anything like I wanted.

I wish these would've come out in the golden colours that I could actually see.

I think I'll have to go out again into the countryside but with my digital camera next time,

and save polaroid practise for another time!

But at least I finally have one!

May x

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Silent Sunday #1