Carissa from Vanilla Crush did The Reading Habits Tag on her blog and it looked like fun, especially since I've been getting back into reading lately, so I thought I'd do it on mine! I've been waiting a while to publish this post. I saw the tag back in March and it's taken me 3 whole months to publish this. Oops!

CLEANSE, TONE AND MOISTURISE | SKINCARE ROUTINE

One of the most valuable lessons I learnt about skincare growing up was to always moisturise. My mum drummed this lesson into me from a young age. She's 61 but looks 10 years younger, and always has done, so I definitely took notice of her advice.

7 DAYS LATELY | LYTHE HILL HOTEL & SPA

There's something so peaceful about waking up in the middle of nowhere; surrounded by trees and fields, with bunny rabbits hopping on the freshly cut grass, hearing the raindrops hit the window pane and the birds tweeting in the distance. No stereotypical London noises heard - no horns from angry drivers in rush hour traffic and no roaring sound from the airplanes taking off from the airport five minutes down the road. Just peace.

ADVENTURES IN EGYPT

I've been away from the blogging world for two months.  I have no excuse except the real world has got in the way. I know "they" say you have to stick at this to be successful but sometimes it's just a bit of a struggle to sit down and write when you've got so many other things on your plate. But it should be about quality over quantity, so I guess I've saved you the pain of many naff posts.

7 DAYS LATELY | AFTERNOON TEA & SUNNY RICHMOND

I'm actually writing this in the middle of the week because I'm off to Dorset on Thursday through to Sunday, so I'll be there as you're reading this! I'll tell you about everything we got up to next week but in the meantime enjoy reading this week's antics!

AFTERNOON TEA AT THE SAVOY

We entered The Savoy on a bitter cold Saturday; tummies empty and mouths watering with anticipation for tea, scones and cake.

MY YANKEE CANDLES | WILD FIG AND SNOW IN LOVE

As I write this post on my day off, I'm lying on the sofa with a candle burning. I was never a huge fan of candles but I always loved the different scents. My boyfriend bought me a Yankee Candle advent calendar for Christmas, and I'm now officially obsessed.

7 DAY LATELY | UNEXPECTED VISITOR, CONTOUR BREAKTHROUGH AND SAVAGE BEAUTY

I'm bringing back the 7 Days Lately feature to my blog! I love reading these kind of posts, so I wanted to give it a go again. I can't promise I'll do this every Saturday but I'm going to try! Hopefully it will motivate me to fill my week up with lots of fun stuff to tell you about. I hope you've had a great week!

PINTEREST | SPRING

With the arrival of March comes Spring, perhaps my favourite season of all, after Summer of course. I know I said back in October that I was excited about wearing jumpers and coats, enjoying cosy nights in with a hot chocolate but I firmly take that back. I'm officially bored of the cold weather. I long for the lighter evenings, the gorgeous flowers growing and the hope of adventure on brighter days.

G IS FOR (FEELING) GRATEFUL

Sometimes we never stop to acknowledge all the things we're grateful for. We even fail to express our feelings of gratitude towards our loved ones. It's a very British thing to have a stiff upper lip; we say sorry for the smallest things, even those that aren't our fault, but it proves a lot harder to sit down and actually thank the people, the events and the moments we're grateful for.

THE CLEANSE

The new year brings all kinds of cleanses. Juice cleanse, organic cleanse, food cleanse etc. I'm sure there's more but I've never been one for depraving myself, even for detox purposes.

ADDING TO MY MAC LIPSTICK COLLECTION | SPEAK LOUDER AND PLUMFUL

I went to Covent Garden on Tuesday, and of course I went into the MAC store and picked up two new lipsticks! I just can't resist them. One of them I've been eyeing up for a while and the other was an unexpected purchase.

SHOPPING ON A BUDGET | PRIMARK BIKINIS

I'm off to Egypt next month so I've been on the lookout for bikinis. This time of year is quite a good time to look for them because you'll never find them when the weather hots up! I'm still trying to save for my holiday so I've been shopping on a budget, and the best place to go is Primark. All these bikinis were under £10 and I absolutely love them.

MONTHLY FAVOURITES | FEBRUARY

It's that time of the month again and I've got a bunch of favourites I've been loving in February. There's a few make-up items, a perfume and a book. These posts might be everywhere but I still love them!

FRIDAY THOUGHTS

You may have noticed it's been a bit quiet around these parts this month. My last post was on 1st February - over a month ago. Since then I've been taking a break from this blog and contemplating what posts I want to write in the future.

MONTHLY FAVOURITES | JANUARY

It's monthly favourites time again! I can't believe it's February already, it seems like only yesterday we were bringing in the New Year. I've compiled a small list of things I've been loving this month, and I've tried to include a mixture. So, without further ado, here's what I've been enjoying in the month of January.

SAG AWARDS 2015

I never usually do these posts but I was looking at Vogue's website this morning, after the SAG awards, and there were so many great looks. I've picked out five of my favourites for you.

SCRAPBOOKING WITH PAPERCHASE

As you might know if you've read my Project Life post, I've started a scrapbook for 2015. I'm loving printing out my photos and being creative with them. In order to do this I've taken a few trips to Hobbycraft and Paperchase. My latest trip to Paperchase will probably be my last for quite a while (except if I want to pick up more postcards). I wanted to show you the few things I picked up for this post.

23 THINGS ON MY 23RD BIRTHDAY

I'm 23 today! To mark the occasion, I thought I'd share 23 things about myself with you. I did a 25 Facts About Me post back when I first started blogging in July 2015 but a lot of the things I included have now changed, like I now love tea. I blame my boyfriend for that change, as he brings me tea (and biscuits) in the morning. Anyway, here's 23 things about me...

F IS FOR FUTURE

source

This quote from Eleanor Roosevelt is one of my favourite quotes of all time. When I was in year 11 my head of year wrote cards to every single one of her pupils (quite an achievement!) Each card had a different motivational quote on, and this was mine. I never believed I would get good grades at A-Level or be accepted into a university, and she knew that, so 5 years later with a degree under my belt this quote holds a lot of significance for me.

REVIEW & SWATCHES | NARS DIGITAL WORLD LIP PENCIL COFFRET

This was a lovely Christmas present from my boyfriend. It was on my wishlist after I'd seen countless photos and reviews. Lipsticks are my favourite make-up product - it's weird to think that I only started wearing lipstick last year and now I don't feel complete without product on my lips (even if it's a lip balm or a nude lipstick).

I COVET | REAL TECHNIQUES BOLD METAL COLLECTION

I used to have a series, if you could call it that, called Want of the Week. I've stopped doing that now but I want to change it up a little. Instead of just beauty products or clothes, I want to include lifestyle places: restaurants I want to go to, places I want to visit, books I want to read etc. But saying that, the first in this series is a beauty product(s). It's the Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection.

E IS FOR ENJOYING THE FINER THINGS

I wrote this post a few weeks ago, before Christmastime, but reading back on it I thought it was a bit too moany and self indulgent so I deleted it. I want to start writing it again with a blank canvas and a different angle. This is one of my resolutions too so I thought I'd tell you about the other things I'm aiming for in 2015.

BOOTS HAUL | ESSIE, RIMMEL, S&G AND MAYBELLINE

I was picking up some photos in my local Boots for my scrapbook. FYI: their 1 hour printing service is amazing if you're a bit clueless about the self serving tills, like me! I never pop into Boots and come out empty handed, and this happened. I blame the new Essie counter that has been recently added!

7 DAYS LATELY | NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, HONEST BURGERS AND OXFORD STREET

Last weekend I stayed true to a couple of my New Year's resolutions by doing a few fun things and having a catch up with one of my friends from university. I feel like I walked a hundred miles, and I've actually got blisters to prove it (TMI?) From going to the Natural History Museum to a couple of pubs around Covent Garden to enjoying a burger in Honest Burgers and traipsing down Oxford Street, I covered a lot of London!

STARTING A PROJECT LIFE SCRAPBOOK

We're already one week into January and resolutions are in full swing. The gyms are busier (not that I'd know) and people are becoming more organised. I've made a few resolutions for myself - ones that are more realistic than those I set myself last year - one of which is completing a scrapbook. I was inspired by Lily Pebbles' and her video on her Project Life scrapbook. I've always wanted to start a scrapbook but I'm no good at the cutting, sticking, more arty side of things. The photo album/scrapbook idea was right up my street so off I went to Hobbycraft last weekend to pick up a kit.