Living room update/wishlist

So it wont be long until my new sofa arrives, very exiting! I've been wanting to replace our current sofa since we moved in. The current sofa was one I bought cheap just so we had a sofa to move into our first place but it was always the plan to get a new one when we could. When we (when I say we I mean I) picked out the new sofa, I decided that of course, it would need some new cushions. I also want to add a few more bits into the living room to make it feel less 'just moved into' and more homey. Especially as Autumn and Winter are just around the corner and I would love to have a nice cosy living room to snuggle up in. 

Naturally I went to Pinterest, I love looking around there for inspiration. I've created a new living room board dedicated to this little decor project. I'm actually being very restrained with this board and rather than pinning every single thing I think looks pretty, I've mostly just been pinning pieces I can actually buy. I like seeing it all in one place, its so much easier that way to see what will actually look good together. It's also much easier now that I am buying for a house I live in so you can picture how everything will look in the space, before it was hard buying furniture before we even knew what kind of place we were moving into. 

The theme is going to be a little bit shabby chic. I already have a TV stand and coffee table that I'm happy with, the new sofa is really going to be the new bit of furniture. Colour scheme I'm going for will be mostly neutrals with a little bit of duck egg blue. Again the furniture already in the room is white so they will pretty much go with anything.

Having said all of that I thought it would be cool to share some ideas/my wishlist for the living room update. 

One thing I found that is top of my wishlist are these scrabble tile canvases for the wall. I came across these and pinned them. However when I clicked the link I found that the item was now unavailable! ARGG! I cant seem to find them anywhere else either and I NEED these. I'm tempted to maybe try and DIY something similar but also a bit put off that idea as I know what my crafting skills are like! Maybe if I can find a tutorial somewhere...It would probably be a lot cheaper to do myself.

Another thing I love is this chunky knit throw from Dunelm. I love the knitted pattern and its nice to have something to get cosy under. I also found these knitted cushions, which I think would look lovely with the throw. There's one in duck egg and one in cream, of course I will have to have both colours! 

Another one from Dunelm is this lamp. I'm not 100% sure on this one yet but I do want another lamp and this one is gorgeous. Another lighting option is a Himalayan Salt lamp. These are said to have many benefits, you can read more about that here. Other than the benefits, these lamps look beautiful. My mother in law had a couple in her living room and they make the room look so cosy. It gives off more of a glow rather than a harsh light. I can only have one or the other due to the limited space so though decisions to be made! Which do you prefer?

So thats just a few things I've found so far. I welcome any more suggestions or ideas! And if anyone knows anywhere I can buy the scrabble tiles please tell me! Or even how to DIY some..I'll give it a go!

xxx

Why Autumn is the best season

While most people are mourning the end of summer I am super excited that Autumn is finally on its way! By far my favourite season. Here's a few reasons why...

Bonfire night

Cosy jumpers

Autumn leaves

Halloween!

Cosy nights in 

Hot Chocolate

Cute pets in Halloween costumes

Good TV!

Fireworks

Fresh air

Scary movies

Pumpkin carving

It's not freezing cold yet

Christmas is just around the corner!

Halloween treats

Scented candles

Autumn Fashion

No more hot and humid days

Toffee Apples

Long walks

Goodbye sticky summer weather, hello crisp Autumn mornings!

What are your favourite things about this fabulous season?

xxx

My current (budget friendly) skincare routine

My skin has been all over the place lately. I was pretty lucky through my teen years and didn't get many spots at all but boy I'm paying for it now! My skin type has definitely changed over the years and my skin care has also had to change as a result. Gone are the days when I could just use a bit of moisturiser. Over the last month or so I've established and actually stuck to a routine that seems to work for my skin. My forehead, the most problematic area, has pretty much cleared up! This is partly due to me just leaving my spots alone and not picking at them... pretty gross I know but we're all guilty of it! 

I'd seen a lot of hype about the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water so decided to try it out for myself. One thing that drew me to this product is that it contains no perfume or other nasty ingredients. This makes it perfect if you have sensitive skin like me. It's a really gentle product to use and it removes any make up residue really easily. It doesn't sting if you manage to get it in your eye, a big plus for me as I literally always manage to get everything in my eye. It's also great for removing eye makeup as it's not going to irritate sensitive areas of your skin.

Next I move on to toner, I'm currently using Tea Tree Toner Water from Lush. This also contains mainly natural ingredients. Tea Tree is antibacterial, which helps keep spots under control, which is the main reason I started using this again. This also contains Grapefruit water and Juniperberry water, these are rich in vitamins and also antiseptic. You can either use this product on a cotton pad and wipe, or you can spray it directly onto your face. I prefer to use the cotton pad method as I feel like this helps to wipe away and leftover cleanser or makeup. 

Next I use a tiny bit of Vaseline Intensive Care Moisturiser. I have quite dry skin on some areas of my face and this works much better than any moisturiser I've used that is specifically made for use on your face. For me this is the perfect balance, it isn't to greasy but it's not so light that my skin just instantly drinks it up. I only have to use a tiny amount and that gets the job done. It absorbs quite quickly and leaves my skin feeling smooth and soft. 

The last part of my skincare routine is to dab a bit of Newtons Labs Spot Zapping Gel onto any spots. I actually found this product in Home Bargains and decided to just give it a try. I've also found it on Amazon so you could purchase it online from there. I'll admit wasn't expecting great things from this product but It's actually pretty good. When used in combination with the other products in my skincare routine it's managed to clear up my forehead and also keep further breakouts under control. Although this isn't a magical product that will get rid of spots over night it certainly has helped mine to heal and has helped to prevent them coming back. As well as applying the gel to spots, I also dab a bit between my eyebrows every day as this is the most problematic place and this gel helps to prevent spots breaking out in the first place. After all prevention is better than treatment! 

And that's it! The whole thing only takes a couple of minutes which means I'm more likely to stick to the routine! I do this twice a day, in the morning before I apply my makeup and at night after I shower. I think, for me at least, natural products are the way forward. My skin just seems to get along so much better with products containing less perfume, colours etc. And if you're having problems with your skin it might be worth looking at switching out some of your current products for more natural options. It's worked well for me! 

xxx

My Favourite Films

I love nights cosy in with a good film and some snacks, cant have a film night without snacks! While I love definitely watching new films, there are some films that I could (and have) watch over and over again. Here are my favourite films...

Into the wild - This film straight up made me want to leave society behind and go and live off the land in the wild. I quickly got over that feeling (no WiFi in the wild) but this film still left me feeling inspired. While this film doesn't have the happiest ending (I wont go into it too much, no spoilers here!) its still an amazing feel good film. Definitely one of those films that kept me thinking about it for a couple of days and those are my favourite kind. It's so simple yet so brilliant.

Forest Gump - There was a time when I probably watched this film like once a week. I actually haven't seen it in a while, after all there is only so many times you can watch the same film over and over again, even if it is a great film. I love that this film has a bit of everything, which is probably why I managed to watch it so many times without getting tired of it. It's funny, inspiring, sad and happy all at the same time. Get ready to feel all the feels. I'm not going to lie though I kind of hated Jenny.

The Notebook - Of course I had to put a soppy chick flick in this list. I don't often cry at films but I cried at this one...loads! This also made me want to go back and live in the 40's, I just love the style back then. This is definitely a fab film to watch if you're having a girls night, just be prepared to feel all kinds of emotions.

The Polar Express - This is by far one of my favourite Christmas films and I just had to include a Christmas film in my favourite films. After all it is my favourite time of year! 

So there you have it, my favourite films. There are tons more that I love but these are my absolute favourites. Writing this has made me want to go back and watch them all again, I'm definitely due another film night soon! What are your favourite films and why?

Meet Tommy!

A couple of days ago I made a post about Teddy, our new kitten, who we adopted a few weeks ago. Well since then we have welcomed a new fury member to the family! Meet Tommy!

We picked Tommy up yesterday and he's already settling in well. Tommy is about 13 weeks old , a similar age to our other kitten Teddy. I decided that I wanted to get Ted a buddy as he seemed a little lonely and its good for him to have company while we're out of the house. It just seemed nicer to have a pair!

Most kittens are adopted from around 8 weeks and I specifically didn't want to get one so young as he would be a lot smaller than Ted and I was worried that he might unintentionally hurt a smaller kitten. So when I saw that Tommy was available I thought it would be perfect! He is a little smaller than Ted but he will soon catch up. Tommy was in a similar situation to Ted, the family he was living with had just had a baby and didn't want to take care of him anymore. Poor guy! But hes come to us now to be spoilt rotten!

The two have been getting on a lot better than I expected at this early stage. We have had some fights, mostly just play fights, nothing vicious. But they seem to both be getting used to having each other around. They are chilling on the windowsill together as I type, probably the most relaxed they have been since Tommy arrived yesterday. I'm sure they will be running around again causing chaos together very soon!

xxx

10 things I would tell my 10 year old self

In about 6 months I'll be turning 20, scary right!? Recently I've been reflecting on what I would tell my younger self, knowing what I know now. Here's what I came up with!

1. It's OK to get into trouble. I was always to scared to do anything slightly risky when I was younger because I was so scared of getting into trouble. I would like to let my 10 year old self know that getting into trouble is not the end of your life. You'll get over it and it will be hilarious to look back on later in life.

2. Experiment more. Stop playing it so safe! Wear blue eye shadow all over your eyelids and rock those neon leg warmers (they were so cool). Sure you will cringe when you look back a photos in a few years time but everyone needs that awkward experimental phase, plus you wont get away with those questionable choices when you're older so make the most of it!

3. Your boyfriend is not that important. We all know how heartbreaking it was when you split up with your boyfriend. Even though your 'boyfriend' was usually a guy who you asked out, then didn't speak to for 2 months before deciding that he just wasn't the guy for you. Yes at the time it was the end of your life but in 10 years you literally wont even remember all of your 'boyfriends' names.

4. Learn a skill. Since you're a kid and you have loads of time on your hands, learn something, join a club and get really good at something! Then when you're an adult you'll have a really cool talent, maybe you'll even be able to turn it into a career. I'm saying this because I am so bad at literally everything

5. Learn your times tables young lady! Yes its boring but you will thank yourself when you're older and you can actually count in multiples. This is a skill I have never mastered and to be honest I probably never will.

6. Its cool to have your own interests. This is something I'm only really learning now and its hard not to follow the crowd and try to fit in. But you will learn that differences is what makes everyone interesting and the older you get the more accepting everyone else becomes. So just do you! 

7. You'll always be shy and a little bit awkward, embrace it! While I am no where near as shy as I used to be I am still not exactly outgoing. When you're younger being shy is always seen as a negative and you're always pushed to be more outgoing. At the end of the day it's just a part of your personality and while you do gain confidence s you get older, its not something you 'grow out of'.

8. Your chubby cheeks will be with you for a few more years yet, live with it. I had chubby cheeks until I was like 15, even now they're there. I remember a time when I thought my puppy fat would never disappear. 

9. Don't force yourself to be 'into' things that you aren't 'into', give it time. I never really used to be that interested in things girls my age were interested in and it always made me feel a bit left out. I wasn't all that into beauty or High school musical or . But it's important to realise that you don't have to love everything that everyone else loves. And just because you're not interested in something then doesn't mean you wont gain an interest later on, I am now OBSESSED with all things beauty. 

10. Enjoy being 10 and good luck! The next few years are going to be emotional, hard and at times just plain confusing but everything works itself out in the end. 

*Insert embarrassing photo of 10 year old me here*  

Those eyebrows though!

Comment below with what advice you would give your 10 year old self!

xxx

Meet Teddy!

It doesn't feel like it but its been so long since I last posted! I seem to have been so busy and also so tired lately. This week though I've had a much needed week off work and managed to catch up on a few things, like sleep and cleaning! One reason I have been a bit busier than usual is earlier this month we adopted a new member of the family, no not a baby, a kitten. Meet Ted!

We adopted Ted from a lady who had just had a baby and wasn't able to take care of him anymore. He was 12 weeks old when we picked him up (although we think hes actually a bit older, either that or hes just a big cat!) Hes about 16 weeks now and he is growing so quickly! Why cant he stay a cute baby forever! 

He certainly has a lot of energy, which is great when you're playing with him, not so great when hes jumping around the bedroom at 5am. Like all kittens he is very curious and is always getting into trouble. He managed to knock the TV over, we now have a lovely crack across the top of the screen. 

He has tons of toys but seems to be more interested in playing with things like paper and bottle tops.

As we live in a flat he lives indoors. I wasn't sure about keeping a cat inside at first but after reading up a bit, its actually quite common. If you are considering having an indoor cat, you do need to bare in mind that they need more attention and entertainment than a cat that roams around outdoors. We play with Ted and he definitely gets lots of love and attention and he seems pretty content living indoors. If I do move to a house in the future, I will probably let him out to roam around but its not possible while we're living in a first floor flat.

Hopefully I'll be back with more updates on Ted soon! Follow me on Instagram to see more of Ted (@eloue8)

xxx