Just when you thought all the monthly favourite posts were gone, here I come creeping out of the woodwork keeping you on your toes. January has been a hellish month, with 6 weeks between payday I spend most of it debating whether or not I could afford to buy a cookie at subway, and then buying it anyway.
My first favourite this month was a candle that I got for my christmas from Benj. I absolutely must have a candle burning at all times and this one is the perfect combination of sweet and warming at the same time - it makes my room smell slightly like a bakery. The candle is the first one I've ever had from New Look and I am more than pleasantly surprised at the burning length and scent give off.
My second favourite is more beauty related and my saviour this past month. Just before Christmas I decided to get acrylic nails for the first time and boy do i regret it. I loved having them on, however when I took them off I had never been in so much pain in my life. My nails are unhealthy thin to the point I could barely use my hands without wanting to yelp in pain. After some research (I googled it) I went out and purchased Sally Hansen's nail strengthener from Boots and it has given me some hope that I will have normal nails again one day.
Following on from that, I also purchased some cuticle & nail oil from L'Occitane to help my poor nails as much as possible. It is the perfect size to just keep in my handbag ready to pop on whenever I am applying hand cream or my nails are aching a bit.
In other news I am off to Sri Lanka in just 3 months and so I have been crazy busy filling out all the forms necessary. I picked up this notebook when I was in Singapore in September from Kikki.k, and never really had a use for it until now, but I have been picking it up whenever a new list or task comes into my mind.
What have you been loving this month?
With Valentines Day fast approaching, we enter the time of year where every store is adorned in various shades of pink and every chocolate becomes heart shaped. One of the things I dread the most is trying to buy a present for guys, whether it is birthday, christmas, brother, boyfriend or father. Despite writing this I am still absolutely clueless of what to get Benjy so alas maybe I need a few more gift guides myself.
For the comic booker lover
For the bearded one
For the adventurer
For the food lover
Curry Night subscription
*Mainly just a long rambling post*
A lot of people (mainly girls) will say that a friendship breakup can be worse than a relationship ending - and it is true, girls can especially be so horrible that a fall out over something mundane can turn into WWIII. I will put my hands up right now and say that I, Eilidh, am a serial indirect tweeter. I love them. I love making the cryptic messages, and more than half the time end up making them so obvious I might as well tag the person in them. Yet as I get older and oh so wiser, I've realised that sometimes, whilst they are shit, friendships can and will end naturally on their own. The jump between high school and university can put strain on any friendship, you go from seeing your friends everyday at lunch, to having to organise nights out and dinners in advance.
This past year I've started to really see the friends that have made the effort and those who haven't. With about 90% of students working as well as studying, there has been occasions where (myself included) hasn't been able to attend organised occasions by our friends, and yet I found myself asking to meet up with people multiple times only to be brushed off with the old work excuse. It gets to a point where you have to ask if it is worth it, if it is worth constantly being put to the bottom on a persons list of priorities.
I dont react well to change, especially if I myself have not initiated it, however I react even worse to being ignored and feeling neglected. During the peak time of puberty I witnessed several friendships end, sometimes they were my fault, and sometimes I did nothing to help solve the issues and instead decided to shit stir (not even going to deny it). It was these friendships that helped me to learn how to navigate my friendships in the near future and whilst I still muck up, I am able to remember that twitter fight I had in 2013 and be like 'Actually maybe I shouldn't tweet that'. Almost 4 years on, I am starting to reconnect with old school friends, and I love seeing how we have grown up and what they have accomplished in the years we have been absent from each others lives. I spent the past couple of months of 2016 feeling like shit. I was spending time I didn't have attempting to stay in contact with friends who had made it obvious they wanted nothing to do with anybody from school, I was left humiliated after being turned away and then seeing posts on social media of them with other friends - and in turn missed opportunities where I could have been seeing real friends who actually make the effort that everybody deserves in a friendship. Even if we are only able to see each other mainly for birthdays, Christmas' and whatever dates we can fit in-between, its my oldest friend Lindsay that I know I can contact about anything and she would make the effort to see me - even for a brief couple of hours. It is that kind of friendship that I crave as I move on and start to tackle different aspects of my life, not the part time friends who can easily lie to your face.
 |
| For some reason, almost every photo I took in 2012-2014 is in a black and white filter |
This past October saw my boyfriends birthday, and to celebrate this we booked a weekend away to Amsterdam - a place that both of us had always wanted to go for slightly different reasons. Whilst the idea of coffeeshops and bars appealed to Benjy, the eccentric nightlife of the red light district and the sex museums appealed to me, particularly in the spirit of where I work being so heavily revolved around lingerie and sexual aids.
Staying a little bit further out from the centre of Amsterdam, we did have to take a 10 minute bus back and forward, however with a 48hr bus pass costing €12.50 and the transport being so frequent we were more than happy to do this. The hotel itself was based around artwork and rather modern compared to some of the smaller, more traditional looking hotels in the city centre.
Our first night there we decided to do a canal cruise, and after booking our trip during the Light Festival we managed to get tickets for a cruise focused on all the various light artwork around the city. After spending our first afternoon relaxing and having a general mooch around the city it was a perfect way to finish the night off.One of my favourite parts of the trip was visiting the Van Gogh museum, and whilst not being a massive art fan, I've developed a deeper respect from Van Gogh and his brother's relationship. Sadly photos weren't allowed inside the museum apart from one giant portrait of the man himself.
With both Benjy and I being massive fans of going out for a drink or two, it would have been stupid of us to head to Amsterdam and not visit the Bols Academy/Museum.
Greeted with a free shot upon entry, we were instructed to hold onto the bottle and leave it untouched until told. Part way through the museum, we were ushered into cubicles and filmed taking the shot, whilst various lights and parts of the room moved in order to demonstrate the effect our various senses can have on taste. With your ticket covering a free cocktail of your choice at the end of the tour, I cannot recommend it enough to anybody looking to kill an hour or two in the city.
Basically the whole trip was booked on the foundation of myself wanting to visit the sex museum, and it did not disappoint. I finally got my photo with the 6ft penis chair and watched Benjy get slightly more mentally scarred with every room we visited. We did go relatively later on in the night so I could see why the narrow staircases and small rooms could be off putting if you were to visit during peak time, as well as it being quite overwhelming if you are maybe a bit shyer when it comes to sex.
A lot of people talk about the sadness that winter often brings. As we headed into November, into the darker nights, the longer work hours and the uni deadlines, I've found myself really struggling against the autumn to winter blues. Having been in this slump for the past couple of weeks, I have been desperately trying to shake off the feelings that have gotten me in this dip.
Due to working in retail, my job hours have been hectic and add that to exams I felt constantly overwhelmed and exhausted. The week leading up to the start of my exams I was working every day, and that combined with staying up to study meant I was constantly grouchy and temperamental (shout out to my boyfriend for being on hand with revision snacks). This isn't to say I haven't enjoyed the lead up to Christmas, I've loved snacking on churros at the markets and having the excuse to wear sparkly dresses. It just meant that things I enjoy spending time doing (i.e reading, blogging, shopping) went to the back of my list of priorities.
The past month has shown me the benefit that pampering sessions can have on helping you destress. Small things like getting my nails done, booking a massage for the day after my exams or even just lighting candles whilst I revise helped give me the slightest bit of sanity during exam time.
With Amsterdam coming up and having accepted an internship in Sri Lanka, I can't wait to blog all of what 2017 will bring.
When they say the jump from first year to second year of uni is big, they aren't kidding. In the past month I have been writing a new essay every week, going straight from one to another with no breaks. This combined with working after uni pretty much everyday has resulted in everything else falling wayside. Due to this, I haven't really kept track of my most commonly used products or read any books outside course ones this month and so I thought I would do a more general overview this month.
October was a very food oriented month, with it starting off with my visit to a little baking fair which I spoke about in here. The main event in October was probably my boyfriends birthday on the 15th, and we spent the weekend watching musicals and eating copious amounts of curry and naan bread. His mum kindly bought me a ticket for my birthday to go and see Billy Elliot at Edinburgh Playhouse and bloody hell was it good. Having never seen the film I was dubious about going to see it, but after crying my eyes out I can safely say I very much enjoyed it. The next musical was Miss Saigon which was being shown at the local Odeon, this was probably one of my least favourite musicals I've ever seen. The cast were great, the plot and music just never appealed to me very much.
This was my first year working over Halloween and it was sheer hell - never before have I seen so many women fighting over the last size 8-10 in a slutty devil costume. I also got screamed at by a woman who came into the shop 20 minutes before we closed on Halloween, looking for cat ears which she needed urgently for her party that night. Top tip - don't leave your costume shopping until half an hour before your party. Dressing up for work meant I was your stereotypical basic bitch - a cat, an army girl and a bunny. Inventive.
Another plus this month was getting to see one of my old coworkers who is currently living in France for a year. We went for high tea at a little tea shop called eteaket just off George Street, and spent the afternoon blabbering away over scones and numerous cups of tea.
Aside from uni and work, this month was been full of catching up with friends and eating various forms of cake. How was your October? x
Last week I had a rare weekend off and spent the Sunday having a break from essay writing, and spent the day with my mum who popped over for a visit. I love Edinburgh, there is always something on and on this particular day there was a bake fair where all the cakes were centred around a 'boozy cake' theme.
Located down at cowgate in the Three Sister's pub, my mum and I wandered down around lunchtime whilst it was still relatively quiet. As well as some cake stands there was also a dessert pizza stall, gin stand and a fudge stall. One of my favourite things about the fair was how many of the cakes and sweets were vegan friendly / gluten free, which is handy when one of your best friends is a vegan and you're looking for bakeries to eat at.
Naturally both my mum and I sampled some of the goodies available, with my mum choosing a 'hummingbird' cake whilst I went for the mojito drizzle. This cake - holy crap. The icing was slightly sickly once you started to reach the end of your slice but I would defiently recommend all about patisserie to anybody in Edinburgh who is looking for something different.
Afterwards my mum and I went for a spot of lunch and a wander down the royal mile, before she headed home and I went back to attempting an essay. It was really nice spending the day with my mum and having a weekend where I wasn't surrounded by customers.
Did you do anything this weekend? x
If I had to pick a time of the year it would be the last couple of months. October brings autumn rain, Halloween, my boyfriends birthday and 80% of females wearing a berry lip (including myself).
September was full of uni work, travelling and spending that beautiful student loan on stuff that I don't actually need. Due to this my favourites this month has been a random assortment of things - from books and antihistamines.
The first thing I've been loving this past month is a clothing item that I purchased off ASOS. I haven't actually really worn a cardigan since school, but this grey woollen one looks so great just finishing off any outfit. I took it with me whilst travelling, which was great for keeping in my bag and throwing on once landing back in Scotland.
I had picked up the book 'Asking for it' by Louise O'Neill without really knowing what to expect and holy hell was it insane. I don't want to say it was good, because there were parts that were upsetting to read and the ending was both realistic and unsatisfying, but it was so eye opening that I would recommend it to anybody in a heart beat.
If you aren't a musical / cheesy tv type of person then this show probably isn't for you. I started watching this on the plane home and you can only imagine my delight when I found out it was on Netflix as well. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is one of those silly shows that can quickly become your guilty pleasure, and I binge watched series 1 as soon as I could.
I did only get this towards the end of September but I think it's too pretty not to put in my favourites. I have so many store cards/bus passes etc that I need a purse with lots of card slots and this one holds all my cards perfectly.
Oh look another Gillian Flynn book! I picked this one up to take to the beach in Vietnam and finished it within half an hour. I don't think I will ever forgive Gillian Flynn for ending the novella on such a cliff hanger and if anybody feels the same, lets start a petition to get a full book from it.
One of my only beauty related favourites this month has been this Barry M nail polish from the Molten Metals Collection. I own both the bronze and copper one, they go on thickly and don't take too long to dry which is a massive bonus. The only down side is that they can chip quite easily, but with a good top coat you can easily get a good couple of days out of it without any top ups.
What are you loving this month?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
