Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a super day!

Round up post: Sale sale sales!

It seems like everywhere is having a sale at the moment, and it’s not even Christmas.

 

• La Senza’s sale has started, so go go go now and you might be able to snap up some bargains. I managed to get two bras, four pairs of knickers and something nice for the boyfriend in the bedroom for only £40.
• River Island’s sale started online earlier in the week and there was tons of stuff when I had a look.
• New Look’s online sale has started.
• Topshop’s online sale has started – but there really isn’t very much left in the bigger sizes.
• Republic’s online sale started earlier in the week as well and there was a lot of stuff left even just yesterday.
• HMVs online sale started, and I bought that Star Trek box set. Embarrassing geeky moment.
• Finally, NailsInc online sale started, apparently, and there’s up to 70% off some products.

Have you seen any good bargains in the sales yet? Will you be braving the masses just after Christmas? I know I most certainly won’t be!

Little online shopping.

Crafted Bootcut Jeans from Republic £34.99 £25
These fit ok. Might need a belt after they’ve been washed, but I just find it so hard to buy jeans that I’ve started to settle for anything.

Crafted Boyfriend Jeans from Republic £34.99 £25 
Similar story for these badboys. I have to add that before, these jeans were in the 2 for £50 offer so really, I didn’t save any money as I had planned to buy these last week.

Converse Pink Low Tops from Schuh £32.99 £25 
I’ve probably wanted pink low tops forever and finally had two excuses to buy them – I needed shoes to go with the boyfriend jeans and they were only £25! I was tempted to get another colour as well, but decided against it.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Movie Collection from HMV £13.99 
I’m a loser, please forgive me. I love The Next Generation, there’s just something about Picard. And all four films for only £14 (which I think I may have also gotten student discount on somehow, even though the card was supposed to have ran out about 4 months ago), I know I couldn’t resist!

A little online sale shopping never hurt anyone when I got paid a couple of days ago. Have you bought anything in the online sales yet?

Five Quick Ways To Warm Up

Without turning the heating on!

See the full sized image by ourdarkesthour here. 

It has been absolutely freezing all over the UK for over a week now and I’m getting sick of having to turn on the heating. It costs a lot of money, and only warms up certain parts of the flat and it can seem a bit pointless to have it on for that reason. Here’s five quick ways to heat yourself up with out spending money on the heating:

1. Layer it up. Just wearing a t-shirt and cardigan? Add a vest underneath the t-shirt and then a jumper under the cardi. You might be a bit bulky, but layers are brilliant – I was doubtful of them until I had to walk home from work at 2 in the morning in –5 weather. Two t-shirts, two cardigans and my jacket made sure I was pretty toasty.
2. Make a nice hot cuppa. Whether tea, coffee or hot chocolate is your tipple of choice, it doesn’t matter – just make it nice and steamy. It gives you something to warm your hands on and warms you from the inside out. If you’re having a hot chocolate why not throw in some marshmallows, chocolate and make a cheeky splash of your favourite alcoholic drink; you’ll quickly forget about the cold.
3. If you’ve got a significant other on hand, it’s time for snuggles. Cuddles, kisses, blankets and duvets – share your body heat!
4. Sure, it might only be about 5pm, but it’s never too early to go and lie in bed and watch DVDs or have a read of a book.
5. Finally, cook something. Make some cupcakes or cookies – the oven’ll heat up the kitchen and you can exert yourself out while baking, no doubt. Plus you can eat the scrummy foodstuffs while they’re still warm for a little bit of extra heat.

How have you all been heating yourself up over the past few days?

Driving Home For Christmas.

 See the full sized image by *racheal here.

University is finished until February (re-sit of exam pending), I’m not back in work until the 30th of December and I’m just relaxing. It’s nice to be home and able to sit in front of a nice warm fire and watch some rubbish television.

The rest of this week is going to be spent wrapping presents, catching up with old friends and just not worrying about anything. Total bliss. It’s going to be really nice. Won’t be much in the way of blog posts this week except silly little things like this.

I hope everyone has had safe journeys in the horrible weather we’ve been having recently.

Film Review: Nativity

I’m normally quite “Bah, Humbug!” about Christmas. It’s cold, wet, slippy and dark. I don’t like winter, and this is turn makes me dislike Christmas. I could go on and complain about the comercialisation and lack of tradition, but I shan’t, as today I’m talking about the film Nativity.

British Comedy Family Christmas film sums it up nicely, I would think. I was a bit sceptical about it, but after the bad week I’ve been having I hoped it would cheer me up a wee bit. Which it did.

It’s just really quite funny, and not just because the children are adorable and silly. The whole thing is just so… quaint. I’ve never heard of anything of the adult actors before (except Alan Carr, Ashley Jensen and Ricky whatshisface), so I didn’t know what to expect from the two lead actors.

The film is just brilliant – it’ll put a smile on your face if you’ve had the worst day ever – even if it is for only and hour and half. You’ll probably need to take a tissue with you – there’s a couple of slightly weepy moments. This isn’t for anyone who doesn’t like kids though – it’s likely to be packed with them since schools are getting out, it’s Christmas and parents don’t know what else to do with them.

Has anyone else seen it? What did you think? And! Will anyone be going to see Avatar?!

I am a big fat failure.

I had that exam today guys. Remember. Finance? Yeah. It really hasn’t gone very well and I expect to be resitting it in January. Boo. But we’ll see. No proper post today, just stare at the cheese kitty for a while. I’m going to sob in the corner and have a nap before work.

Ultimate Student Want: Livescribe 2GB Pulse Smartpen

I have an exam tomorrow and I’m absolutely panicking about it – I really don’t think I will do well and it’s my own fault. My notes are abysmal, badly organised and I can barely remember the lectures. I was browsing Amazon the other day looking for my new diary for next year and this bad boy popped up: Livescribe 2GB Pulse Smartpen.

Wouldn’t studying and revision be so much easier if you could take notes, record the lecture and have a digital copy of everything you had written? This is exactly what this pen gadget does.

“Capture everything: The Pulse smartpen records audio and links it to what you write. Missed something? Tap on your notes or drawings with the tip of your Pulse smartpen to hear what was said while you were writing. The Pulse smartpen automatically captures everything as you write and draw. Transfer your notes to your computer, organize them, and even search for words within your notes. Find what you want in seconds. Transform your notes and audio into interactive movies and upload your creations online for everyone to see, hear and play. The 1.3 oz. anodized aluminum Pulse smartpen records audio and links it what you write. The 2GB of memory can hold over 100 hours of recording. Actual time may vary. Requires Windows XP with service pack 2 or Windows Vista.”

I’m considering saving up for one of these. At the moment they’re priced at £119.99 – a bit more than you’d pay for a standard pen, obviously, and you have to buy pad refills and ink refills. But I think the positives most definitely outreach the cost. Unless of course anyone would like to buy it for me or send me it to try out?

I can dream, can’t I?

Review: Blistex Intensive Moisturiser

Sorry about the flash glare.

Winter, still.
Sadly, it’s still winter. Sadly. Winter means chapped lips for me. Yucky horrible chapped lips. I tried to take a picture but I just cannot work my camera at the moment so you’re going to get a small blurry… thing.

Chapped, cracked and dry. I feel sorry for my boyfriend when he has to kiss me. I’ve been persevering with Vaseline and Nivea Creme for the past couple of weeks, but it’s just not cutting it anymore. I needed something made for dry lips. Unsurprisingly, I was in Tesco and came upon this little packet.  And it’s on offer at the moment – only £1.59. Check your local Tesco.

Size matters.
The first thing I thought when I popped open the box was, “is this it?”. I wish I was joking. I knew that it was only going to be a small product, but I underestimated how small. The problem is the applicator takes up a lot of space, giving the illusion of a bigger product.

Look how small that is compared to my hand. And I have small hands, girls. If you don’t believe me, here’s another size comparison picture:

There it is next to my BlackBerry curve with nasty finger prints. It is tiny. I think I’ve for my point across though.

Promises.
”A rich and penetrating formula, combining Shea Butter, Camphor and Allantoin for extremely saturated, refreshed and gorgeous lips."”
It’s not lying. You can smell the Camphor a mile off. It smells so incredibly… menthol that it puts me off a little bit. This also goes on to add a menthol taste should you, heaven forbid, accidentally get some inside your mouth. Which is something you really do not want to do. Thus, the camphor also creates a slight tingling sensation due to it’s likeness to menthol.

Application.
”Use the applicator tip to gently massage all over your lips. Reapply frequently during prolonged exposure to cold or sunny environments – it’s the best way to achieve soft, smooth, gorgeous lips.”
Of course, that really means apply often so you have to buy more since it’s such a small tube. But I digress. The actual product is a white cream that is neither thick nor thin – but it does not look like it should be on the lips. It’s not something I would want to apply in public for fear that I wouldn’t rub it all in properly and would end up walking about with big white blobs on my face. The applicator itself is actually no use whatsoever. It’s plastic, unwilling and due to trying to rub the product in with it I just ended up squeezing more than I needed to out of the tube. On a side note – when the product has been absorbed right it glitters a little bit from being so shiny – definitely not a product to force on the boy.

And?
I bought this product on Saturday and started using it late in the afternoon, applying it every three hours or so that night. I used it all through the day on Saturday and once this morning before I finished writing this post. As with any lip balm, my lips are most certainly softer after I use this cream. However, my lips have been much less dry when I’ve waking up in the morning. I imagine if I keep using this for another week (which I will), that my slight problem will be totally eradicated and I can switch back to normal chap sticks.

So?
I’d give this product 3/5 – points lost today for the smell/taste and the applicator. There is nothing wrong with the effectiveness of the product, I just dislike the smell (and the camphor) as well as the ridiculous applicator. If I had to buy another lip remedy, it probably wouldn’t be this product.

Getting ready to gear up for a New Year.

See the full sized image by chanmelmel here. 

A New Year, a new you?
2009 is coming to an end, apparently. In fact, it’s less than three weeks away. If I’m honest with myself, that’s a little scary. This year has gone by so quickly and I don’t like it. It’s been a year of up’s and down’s, personally and within the wider world. I’m ready to leave it behind– however, I won’t forget it. Some amazing things have happened this year, and I’ve met some amazing people.

A list.
The fail safe option for me, for anything if you didn’t know by now, is a list. What does this have to do with New Years and 2010? Well, for one, I’m going to make a full list of promises. Not resolutions. Promises are more meaningful than resolutions, I think, and thus I’m much more likely to want to keep them. Secondly, I’m going to actually use 2010 to do the things I want to do and become the person that I want to become.

For me.
2010 is going to be all about me. I’m going to stop trying to please other people and bend to their whims. Everything I do next year is going to be 100% me. This is why, for the next two and a half weeks I’m going to be compiling my list of promises for 2010 to be posted on this blog on the 31st of December 2009. At the end of every month I’m going to look through the list and tick off all the things I’ve done. And let me promise you, this is going to be a long list. Hopefully, by this time next year I’ll have done everything.

I would love to know what you guys are planning to do next year, what you might be promising yourself or even you’re good old fashioned resolutions.

Friday Finds #9

 
YouTube Special!

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve done a FF – I’m very sorry, but I don’t have a lot of time to trawl the internet – I tend to go on my few loved and trusted sites and blogs. This week I’ll be doing a YouTube special on Friday Finds, just to mix it up a bit.

Not the original video, but this one let’s me embed it, which is my criteria. Anyways, I’m sure everyone has actually seen this video by now, but I just wanted to watch it again to be honest! Isn’t it absolutely adorable!

This is actually the first video in a set and will take about an hour to watch, but it’s just so interesting. We’re all slightly fascinated with drags queens (and their make up!), and this video series shows the complete transformation. It’s just absolutely amazing to watch.

I was sneaky with this one and I’m not sure if it’s going to play. Just is case it doesn’t you can click this link and go straight to YouTube. It’s a teaser for Glee which isn’t showing here in the UK for a little while yet, but I’m so excited. Plus, Don’t Stop Believin’ is a bit of a feel good song!

I hope everyone’s feeling well, exams are going well and that you’re all just generally having a good time. Have a nice weekend!

Review: treaclemoon Vanilla Shower Gel and Body Scrub

It’s turning into the story of my life – I was in Tesco late after work and felt like treating myself to a little something. This time the little something was treaclemoon that vanilla movement bath and shower gel as well as the body scrub. My Tesco are doing a money off offer at the moment – both products are only £2 each instead of the normal £2.87 or so.

The above is the only photo I have, I’m afraid – I tried to take some pictures of the products on the back of my hands but they were just too blurry to use. I’ll try as best as I can though with what I’ve got.

bath and shower gel
The bath and shower gel is quite lovely. It has a fairly thick consistency and doesn’t try and run off your skin the first chance it gets. It makes up into a nice lather on the skin and smells gorgeously sweet – but I wouldn’t call the smell vanilla. It is really quite nice though. My skin felt quite hydrated as well, which I didn’t expect and there was absolutely no flaking.

body scrub.
I’m a bit picky about my body scrubs and I will admit it. One of my favourite scrubs I’ve used was actually the Pink Grapefruit one from The Body Shop, however I hated the Raspberry one from there. I like a lot of grain so I can actually feel it working. When I initially popped a bit of this on my hand, it looked disappointing – there didn’t seem to be very many grains and I wasn’t expecting very much. But, I was surprised. There must be magic in that scrub, because it was absolutely wonderful. Not too grainy that it hurts, but enough grains that my skin felt really invigorated and fresh and new. However, the smell was once again, not exactly vanilla, but a sweet smell. Maybe it is vanilla and I’m just confused?

Verdict.
I like these products. They’re good value for money, especially the massive 500ml shower gel, and they smell yummy and fresh. The scrub does exactly what it says on the tube and I was pleasantly surprised with the shower gel. I’d probably buy the shower gel again, and the scrub too, unless I can find something even better. You can read more about the products here on the treaclemoon website or pop into your local Tesco.

Book buying.

I’ve been buying books again. Even though it’s the run up to Christmas, I was lucky enough to gain enough points through doing online surveys to get £20 worth of Amazon vouchers. Lightspeed Panel is the best site for this, I’ve found. If you can’t see where to join, just Google “lightspeed panel sign up”. I’m going very off topic though. I would rather wait until my books have been delivered before I do this, but I just love talking about books!

 The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde (£2.16)
I never saw the film of this when it was out a couple of months ago, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not interested, which I am. I’m trying to read my way through a few classics as well, so I had to start somewhere.

 
Dracula
by Bram Stoker (£2.16)
I first read this when I was about 11, I think. I vaguely remember it. As such, it’s about time I go back to the roots of vampire fiction and read about vampires who don’t sparkle in the sunlight or have outed themselves to the world.

 
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte (£2.16)
It’s the last of the classic must reads I bought. It was a very split second decision, but I suppose as a female I have to read this book?

 
Tropic of Cancer
by Henry Miller (£4.98)
This is, surprisingly if I’m honest, a book which I don’t think a lot of people my age have heard about. Sure it’s smutty and dirty (if you couldn’t tell from the cover), but it’s got to be some book if it was banned in Britain for ages, right?

 
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger (£3.82)
I had wanted to see this film when it came out, but had no one to go with, sadly. So I’ll read the book first, while I wait for the DVD to be less than a fiver.

 
Dead As A Doornail
by Charlaine Harris (£4.37)
I have to admit, I’m quite embarrassed with myself for succumbing to these books. I already have the first four, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts. I read the first three fairly quickly, but I’ve been taking my time with the fourth one due to a lot of work and an exam in a week. I’m buying the fifth one in anticipation, you could say. Though this is most definitely not a classic, I’m still excited to read it and I don’t care what anyone thinks.

This was the book haul I managed to get with £20 worth of vouchers – I had something ridiculous like 35p left over at the end, which I put towards my diary for next year. I ordered my diary separately though, as I actually ordered the books yesterday.

Moleskine Weekly Notebook 2010(£8.80)

I normally take a quick trip into WHSmith for my diary and usually get an A5 sized piece of work. This year though, I’m wanting to really try and get more use out of my diary, so I’ve went for the pocket size, which is slightly more compact. I’ve also chosen to go Moleskine because I really want to see if all the hype is really worth it. Plus, red is a pretty colour. Better than a boring black.

Hopefully all these books will keep me going while I wait to go back to university. My only exam this semester is on the 16th, next week, and then I’m not back in classes again until the middle of February. Ergo, I have a lot of time to fill!

Has anyone else been splashing out on reading material? Or have you got your diary for next year sorted out? I’d love to see it!

The extent of shopping – a full haul.

You might remember on Tuesday I made a little collage of things I had bought and how I planned to wear them – now I have pictures of everything I have bought for myself this week… sans the printer of doom which was refusing to work for a while there. I apologise for some of the pictures – flash and me just don’t mix. I’ve tried as best as I can to fix them in PhotoShop first.

 
This is a beautiful bracelet from Accessorize which cost me only £8. Isn’t it just so sweet and ladylike? I am worried though that it’s going to break if I put too much pressure on any of the joints, so I haven’t actually worn it out of the flat yet.

 
This is the second bracelet which I bought from Accessorize and it’s on my flash exacerbated pasty white arm. It’s gold link with a creamy white ribbon and it was only £5. This feels a bit stronger so I’ve been wearing this all day today.

My new favourite shoes from Primark. I normally buy nothing but tights in Primark but these caught my eye and I fell in love. They’re very Zooey Deschanel, don’t you think? They were about £12.73 and they are so so so comfy to wear. The shorter heel also means I’m not a giant. I liked them so much in fact…

That I went back and bought them a dusty rose pink today! I really do love them. They come in grey, but I probably won’t get those… probably. Again about £12.73 - £13 on the label (VAT is going back up very soon… as a side note there).

This was the Miso cardigan from Republic which I included in my collage. It was £19.99 and you can see it online in other colours here.  

Not even PhotoShop could save this picture. Eeeek. But you can see the ruffle detail sort of. It was £14.40 after student discount (£16 for you not students) and comes in loads of colours.  You can see a much better picture here.

Another flash disaster, oh my. Anyways. Here is the dress I have also bought for the staff night out. It shows a lot of boob though. I’m going to have to put a wee tack into the fold over yoke with a needle and thread to try and remedy that though. It was £25 and you can get it on ASOS here.

I’ve spent a lot of money this week – luckily I only have a few more presents to buy for Christmas. And it’s loan day on Monday. Now I’m going to spend the rest of tonight reading about Bonds and Shares – the joys of being an accountancy student! I might post Friday Finds tomorrow – on a Saturday! I hope everyone’s well, has had a good week and have an even better weekend.