Down By The Water

I'm finally going swimming tomorrow. I love swimming - it's not that I'm very good at it: it just happens to be one of the only exercise-y type things that I enjoy! There is a pool located quite close to where I live, but there's always been a reason (excuse) not to go: cost, time, not being able to see where I'm going without my glasses... But not this time. I can't wait. I love the water, and the steam room afterwards! Going for a dip in the sea would be even better though...

 

 

Introducing The Book Section

The photo above shows one of the piles of books in my bedroom. My mum sent most of this pile over from Ireland recently, and I'm gradually starting to make my way through it. And the book by Danny Wallace is on loan from my friend Sarah, who knows how much I love his articles in Shortlist! There has never been a time in my life when I have not have not been reading at least one or two books. My parents read to me every night when I was young, and as soon as I could read on my own I began to devour books at a very rapid pace. Reading has always been one of my greatest passions.

I love the fact that I can escape to a completely different time, place or situation depending on which book I choose.

I love the feeling I get when I read a book that is impossible to put down.

I love being able to read a book and then discuss it with other people, especially my mum.

I love relaxing with a book before bed. It always helps me to sleep.

Sometimes I love how fast I read, but sometimes it makes me sad that I finish books that I love so quickly.

There are some books that I love, simply because they remind me of the time that I read them first, and what I was like then.

There are some books, like the Anne of Green Gables series, which are so precious to me because they offer me comfort. Reading one of them is like being wrapped up tight in a blanket on a cold night with a warm cup of tea and nothing to worry about.

I love browsing in second hand bookshops for hours on end.

Sometimes I love reading something which challenges me; at other times, I love reading something funny and distracting.

I love bringing books with me no matter where I go: I completely understood the Gilmore Girls episode where Rory brought a book to a party in case she got bored!

So far I have shied away from discussing books on this blog, but it feels wrong not to include something which is such a huge part of my life. So I have decided that from now on, as well as my fashion based posts, I will write little reviews of the books I am reading. Books are definitely something to be shared, and I like the idea of having a record of the books that I've read which I can easily look back on. And if I can introduce somebody to a new book to fall in love with, that would be wonderful.

Do you love reading too? I'd love to hear what you think.

Five of My Favourite Things: Keepsakes Edition 2

A tiny old measuring tape whose mechanism no longer pulls the tape back in fully, but which has lost none of its charm.

These two pretty wall hangings, which belonged to my grandmother.

Another picture which used to hang in the little bedroom that I slept in at my grandparent's house when I visited.

'Isle of Wight: A Stitch in Time'

Such a pretty box, with four tiny compartments!

Five of My Favourite Things: Brooches

Although I often forget to wear them, I love brooches. I have built up quite a collection, mostly passed down from my relatives. These are five of my favourites. When I do remember to wear them, I usually attach them to the lapel of my coat, or use them to pin the front of a low cut dress together. Out of the five shown here, I love the deer brooch best, because of its elaborate, delicate details.

Favourite Music: Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa Carlton is one of my favourite musicians. I still listen to her album Heroes and Thieves, released in 2007, repeatedly and the songs have become like family to me. If I'm feeling sad or scared, Heroes And Thieves makes me feel better. When Rabbits On The Run was released last year I was very excited, and the album more than lived up to my expectations. It has a magical, dreamy sound, with incredible songs such as I Don't Want To Be A Bride, Dear California, Get Good and Carousel (below).

The songs are woven with beautiful lyrics like 'It's hard to know what's good for you, I know she let you down, but the fever breaks when it's too much to take, so you can put your weapons down' (Carousel), 'Don't need no golden ring, it'd be no match for the love you bring, from London to Tennessee, we could catch a train to another life, on a whim under the moonlight, I promise you, will you promise me?' (I Don't Want To Be A Bride) and 'Are the echoes coming back to you, is wisdom seeing patterns on a loop, like a blanket around you, you were weaving colours, when I saw you, put your velvet on in moonlight, or have you lost your constellation eyes?' (Get Good).

Rabbits On The Run is definitely worth a listen, as is Heroes And Thieves.

My Favourite Perfumes

I have always loved perfume. As a little girl I enjoyed making my own perfumes and potions, and as I got older I developed a liking for scents such as Angel by Thierry Mugler and Ghost, and wore them religiously. Perfumes that I have worn evoke a multitude of memories, and therefore become very special to me.

Today, I have a variety of favourite perfumes. Over the years my tastes have changed, but these are the ones that I still can't get enough of. I recently discovered that most of my favourite perfumes are at least partially vanilla or musk based. Obviously I have had a perfume 'type' for many years, and I hadn't even realised!

pureDKNY Scent Spray, whose signature is a drop of vanilla in water, is simply divine. I don't think any other perfume I've worn has ever attracted so many compliments.

Apothia Velvet Rope Eau de Parfum is 'inspired by an icy cold, dry vanilla martini spiked with absolute jasmine and a twist of grapefruit. Pure white musk heats up the background of this super-sexy scent.' It really is a super-sexy perfume. I usually save it for dates with that special someone.

Body Shop Vanilla Eau de Toilette is a very sweet perfume and I find that it lingers exceptionally well. It also has notes of coconut, which I love. I've been wearing it for years, and it brings back lots of good memories.

Love, Chloé Eau de Parfum is my newest favourite, bought for me by my sister for my last birthday. I fell in love with it immediately: it is a very ladylike perfume which leaves in its wake a gorgeous, powdery scent which is at once flowery and musky.

Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb Eau de Parfum is definitely one of my signature scents. I love its extremely floral scent. I started wearing it at the beginning of a new chapter in my life, and I think it will always carry memories of that time and remind me of how I have changed and grown since then.

Givenchy Ange ou Démon Eau de Parfum is a an oriental floral, and a perfume I have worn for many years. It is a heady and seductive scent, and it reminds me of hot summer holidays and nights out.

Five of My Favourite Things: Keepsakes Edition

This tiny plastic Dalek sits on the chest of drawers beside my bed. He is very important to me, and he hasn't tried to exterminate me. Yet.

This pretty paperweight is from Venice. My sister gave it to me before I had been to Venice, and now it reminds me of three very special holidays in one of my favourite cities.

I found this beautiful little dog brooch in an old wooden box that belonged to my great aunt.

This old pill box is tiny and tarnished, and it's one of my favourite keepsakes.

This milk carton keyring is from the Yummy Breakfast Keychain set at Kidrobot. Half the fun is that you never know which one you're going to get! I can't bring myself to use this one: it's just too cute. The website is full of yummy things like a plush pizza slice and a plush ice cream sandwich!

Five of My Favourite Things: April

1. My new Topshop ballet flats in Apricot. I always love a pretty pair of flats, and these are as girlie as they get. Now I just need some warm, dry days in which to wear them!

2. Joy the Baker Cookbook. No explanation needed. I want to make everything! Especially the honey mustard roasted cashews. And the giant mint chocolate chip marshmallow cubes. And the baked chili cheese fries. What is not to love about this book?!!

3. My Ferrero Rocher easter egg. I didn't even know that these existed before last Sunday! Yum, yum, yum. In fact, I've surprised myself with my constraint. Why do I still have some of the egg left? This situation must be quickly remedied.

4. The Closed Circle by Jonathan Coe. I just finished The Rotter's Club, and wanted to read the sequel immediately. So far, so very good. The Rotter's Club is set in the 1970s, and The Closed Circle follows the same characters, now middle aged. I'm finding it hard to put down.

5. My new New Look dress, a lovely gift from my sister which arrived in the post this morning. It's got tiny shoulder pads and the gathered sections are very flattering.