Short stories | Books

I have always enjoyed reading and love a good thriller but I just feel recently I can't find book to keep me engaged the whole way through, I have lost count of the book that are only half read but the problem is I really, really want to read. 

I'm not sure if I mentioned this but I got a kindle for my birthday which is so unbelievably handy because it's very lightweight and silm for my commute to work, I often carry small(ish) bags that I definitely couldn't put a book in. Also I have found that the kindle editions of the books are far cheaper, most of them are 99p so I make a massive cost saving. This meant I really got into reading on my commute because I had a specific amount of time to read the novels and I wouldn't have to worry about it. But when I was at home I realised that I do actually miss holding an actual book, I'm the girl who likes to break the spines of a book which I know is a little controversial but I just do.I was casually browsing Daunt Books on Marylebone when I noticed a few collections of short stories and thought this might be a really easy way to get into reading again.but when I am at home I get distracted too easily and some books really demand your attention so I struggle to get properly into them.

Admittedly I picked up the Season of Spirits purely for the cover and then noticed it was a series of short stories. The book is brilliant some really wonderful ghost stories but they are older so they a certain level of creepiness that modern books lack these days because it's all so graphic and in your face where as older stories develop and eerie feel in a slow brooding way. It was absolutely fantastic and I will actually lend it to my dad to read because I know he will enjoy it too. The next book I bought was Sleep No More, this one is a little bit more a slow burn, it's a collection of murder stories but there are a couple which are pretty good!

I was reading an article online recently when it mentioned adult book from Roald Dahl, when I say adult I don't mean adult adult, I just mean not children's books that Dahl is so famous for. I have only read maybe 2 or 3 of the short stories from Kiss Kiss and they are actually quite dark and the first half are all about wives who get their own back, in different ways, on their own husbands. The second part is just a selection are really weird stories but very good. I actually downloaded this my kindle because the previous two short story collections really opened my eyes. 

I think if like me you struggle to get into a book or you are busy and have to keep putting it down, then you really should explore short story collections. 

Back to Blogging | Life

And all of a sudden it was 11 months later and I am writing again for the first time. It's crazy to think that after all this time I am back and I actually want to blog! You could tell in my most recent posts something was a little off, I was kind falling out of love with it all and I just couldn't find the motivation. Sure I used my brand new home as an excuse and it was a good one because I got so out of my routine I struggled to form it again.

I would love to say I have been off travelling the world but the reality is, we got a new home, we got a dog, my job has been a massive struggle mentally and nothing felt good! In fact, I got really down and the crazy thing is I didn't need to be, I had all these wonderful things in my life but I just couldn't be bothered to write anything or commit any real time into blogging. I felt like I had to be constantly mindful of what I was saying because social media is such a minefield these days and if you say anything you're seen as negative or you are showing off, often you simply cannot win. This completely made me turn my back on blogging because I just couldn't see the point in writing anything.  

Recently I have thought often about my blog because I need something to distract my mind a little however I think I want to change my blog into conversational pieces. I think I am done with writing about beauty stuff, I want to use my blog as an outlet I can have a discussion on which hopefully someone will find interesting at the very least. Notice how I am saying "I think" a lot because in all honesty I don't really know how I want to evolve my blog, that said every now and then you may see the odd beauty post from me because it's still a massive interest of mine. But I don't want to get into a habit of constantly buying new things because it's all a bit unnecessary isn't it? I think blogging is a great thing but often people can get swept up into buying items/products they think they need just because they need content and I just don't want my blog to be about products anymore, I want to have a real voice again and I won't get that from writing about a bloody lipstick. 

I want my blog to become simplified, I don't want to post things because I feel like I just have to, I want to post things that I am genuinely interested in or passionate about, I may even start writing more commentary on the retail industry because it's something so ingrained in me that I definitely can talk a lot about but I know this may lead to people not even wanted to read it anymore, but as long as I am happy writing again then surely that's all that matters. I never started this blog to have a career carved out of it, I just wanted to write so I think I will.

Anyway, that's enough talking basically I'm back and I have some new content and I hope I'm back for a while at least!

Work FOMO | Lifestyle

Ok so we have all heard the term FOMO right? It's that feeling you get when you don't really wanna go out but then all your pals are going out and you don't want to miss out on the things that might happen when you aint there. It's that anxiety you get when you think something else is happening in your absence and usually it's a term that is used are friends or social gatherings or events even. I get FOMO a lot but my problem is't necessarily related to my pals but it's actually associated with work. I get this overwhelming sense that I am missing out on too many things which actually limits the amount of time I take off work and certain days I choose to take off. 

Holiday Handbag Essentials | Fashion

Soon I shall be sunning myself on holiday in Valencia and it has been a LONG time since I last went on holiday so I am really bloody excited. Today I thought I would share with you what I have in my little holiday handbag. Does anyone else have a little bag they only use for their holidays? 

Mini House Tour | Home

As you may already know, me and the boyf recently bought our first home together and it's just been so amazing! It's taken me a while to figure out this type of blogpost because I wanted to take lots of pictures but sometimes the lighting isn't right or sometimes we have the clotheshorse up so it's hardly that pretty. Instead of showing you a room by room tour, I thought I would share little snippets of our place. 


The Living Room and Kitchen
We have an open plan living room and kitchen which is really handy for use because we quite like having a chat when one of us is cooking. As our coach house is a newly built property it means everything is neutral colours and we really wanted to find a way of adding fun colour without it being too drastic, so we added yellow but with grey to compliment the harsh yellow shades. 

This little coaster is one of the rose quartz ones from Anthropologie the colour looks a little odd here but I am still trying to figure out the camera on my phone. The side table was bought from Home Sense and it's actually taken me a little while to love this table but now it just seems to fit perfectly. 

Black and chrome in the kitchen, I mean it just makes sense doesn't it? The Kettle and Toaster are from Morphe Richards and have little rose gold accents on them so it adds just a dash of colour in. 

The Bedroom 
We have kept things very simple in the bedroom, it's probably the most neutral of ours spaces just because I love white bedroom furniture so I definitely had a but more influence in this room. 

Personally I would rather inject a bit of colour with flowers and I just love having roses by the bed, I'm such a flower person anyway! Also, that little book under my rose trinket is from 1808 - it's filled with verses and poetry about different life stages.

The boyf actually has two guitars and we have the acoustic one in the hall way, music is one of his biggest passions so I definitely wanted to make them a bit of a feature in the house. 

Ah, my pride and joy sitting on top of our wardrobe, I have always wanted a Fortnum hamper and for Christmas one of my work partners gifted it to me and I just love it. I used it to put the bedding in and it just looks lovely sitting up there. 

I haven't taken pictures of the bathroom purely because we don't have any natural light so every photo has a yellow tinge to it and they just look odd coupled with the rest of the pictures above. Our bathroom is tilled floor to ceiling basically and has a giant mirror which is a bit of a pain to clean but I adore our bathroom so much! 

There we have a little snippet into our new home!