Little things: Angels and Hearts

Hello!  It's nearly Friday!  That thought cheers me up.  I am really struggling with the weather lately.  All day long yesterday and today it has been completely overcast.  It's cold outside and gets dark early which makes it a struggle to get any sunlight.  I feel sleepy all day, especially since I've had to stop drinking caffeinated coffee and tea.  I'm surviving on scented candles, hot baths, and (caffeine free) hot drinks.  I recently finished reading The Great Gatsby during my many bathing sessions and am on the look out for something as good to read next.  Any suggestions?

As soon as any sunlight peaks through when we're at home I try to grab my camera and take some pictures in the natural light.  These two cuties were bought by my fiancé as Christmas presents for angel loving family members.

This is the heart shape cutting hole punch we bought to make our heart bunting.  I also used to to punch out a patterned paper heart to put on a home made birthday card.  I think it will be getting used quite a lot!

Reams of home made heart bunting!  Wedding decoration preparations are well and truly under way!

My fiancé's favourite colour is green, in case you couldn't tell.  We went out for our weekend lunch date (sushi as usual) and I really liked the colour of this jumper which I couldn't ever remember him wearing before.

 The trees have lost all their leaves.  So sad!  Since then the branches have even already been snow covered.

I was given this as a Christmas present last year.  You follow the instructions and make a little fabric heart cushion.  There was enough fabric and trimmings to make more than one heart so I made another one this weekend.

The pattern cutting process.  

The finished heart.  Super cute!  I think I might use it as a pin cushion.

Even though I'm a fully grown adult I still can't resist having a chocolate advent calender!  The countdown to Christmas definitely seems to go by quicker than it used to!

Till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Life Lately: Heart Bunting and Shopping

Hello!  I hope you are having a lovely relaxing Sunday evening.  The day was completely misted over here.  The fog was so thick you couldn't even see things that weren't directly in front of you.  It was very atmospheric.  The damp mist made up a bit for the clouded over sky and zero degree temperature.  We went out for chips and tea, then it was time to stock up on my candle selection as I'd become perilously close to running out.  How would I cope with the gloomy evenings without them?

Ah red wine jeans.  Finally.  I was craving a pair of jeans in this colour last year but never actually managed to buy any.  I spotted the perfect pair in Mango a few weeks ago for only 25 euros (!) but I was not in the mood for trying clothes on!  Typically they all sold out in my size really fast and weren't in the shop again for ages, so when I stumbled across them again I snapped them up straight away.  They are the perfect fit for me and have already ventured outside in them many times.

As I had run out of body butters an emergency shop for replacements had to be made.  I ended up buying two just in case I had a bad reaction to one of them.  I picked the Organic Surge Sweet Blossom Body Cream, and the Alba Botanica Hawaiian Body Cream in Kukui Nut.  They both smell delicious though I've had more success with the Organic Surge cream on my sensitive skin so far.

We bought this heart shaped hole punch to make heart shaped bunting for the wedding!

Bunting being created by the fiancé on my sewing machine, once I had taught him how to use it!

My latest candle stash.  All Bolsius candles as these are the cheapest scented candles they sell at our local department store.  I got vanilla, cranberry and sugar and spice scents.  Just looking at lit candles makes me feel warm and toasty inside.  A lot of shopping seems to be featured in this post, perhaps I should have called it 'Shopping Lately'!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and have a great start to the week!

Till next time

Twirlybirdie

Life lately: Coffee, Tea and Candles

Hello!

I hope you are having a good week.  I can't believe it's already going to be Friday tomorrow!  I'm really looking forward to the weekend.  I have to work on Sunday next weekend so I'm going to enjoy having two days off as much as possible.
Life lately has been busy thanks to work.  Taking photographs in daylight has been tricky as since the clocks changed it's getting dark before I get home.  My fiancé has just bought a new device called an LED ring flash which might help with photo taking in dark light so watch this space!  For now I've been continuing on my obsession with candles to banish away the gloom.

I love putting tea lights in these pretty glass star shaped candle holders which I got from a friend who was getting rid of some things.

The awesome four tea light holder came with the flat we are living in!  The white large candles are vanilla scented ones from my previous candle shopping trip I wrote about last week and the smaller ones on their own are sugar and spice scented.  Yummy!  Scented candles are such a good way to keep the flat smelling nice.

My new grey throw found it's way on to our sofa whilst the other sofa throws were in the wash.  It matched up well with this grey cushion I bought a few months ago.  I've been noticing how well grey goes with pretty much anything!

We went out for sushi and I drank tea seeing as I'm not allowed to drink coffee any more!  Of course I had to make do with taking pictures of my fiance's instead!

Despite missing drinking coffee I have found that not only is my skin less irritated but I've been feeling less anxious as well.

I had been fancying wearing some new hoop earrings so I made these with some green beads I've had lying around for a while.  I quite fancy making a few more in different colours!  I always seem to get in to hooped earrings more in winter.

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Busy Week and cosy house treats

Hello!  As you can tell from the title my week has been busy.  In fact it has been so busy that the theatre have given us the morning off as they think otherwise we might not survive till the end of it (the première is on Saturday night)!  Excessive tiredness can mean the show looks worse and worse instead of better and better so a bit of rest will hopefully give the show the energy lift it needs.
Last weekend (the last chance I got to take any pictures) was grey and miserable (no change there then).  Naturally I cheered myself up with a mini shopping trip (no change there either)!  The main objective was to get things to make my home feel cosier.  I was actually only heading out for candles but managed to come back with leg warmers, fluffy booties and a throw as well!

My new lovely grey throw and some vanilla scented candles.  We went especially to a shopping centre out of town that sells these candles quite cheap, about 2 euros each.  So I wanted to go there to stock up before my candle obsession makes me poor!

These slipper booties are from Next.  They are actually for work (essential to have warm comfy footware for between rehearsals) but I couldn't wait to slip them on as soon as I got home.  They are so warm and comfy and have been serving me well at the theatre so far.

I couldn't wait to slip on these soft fluffy legwarmers either.  They are also for work and stretch to cover my whole leg.  Warm and comfy to warm up in for ballet class.

This isn't something I bought but these are the curtains in our bedroom which I think work really well with the grey throw I bought.

When we got back from the shops I snuggled up in my cosy throw on the bed with a cup of tea to watch episodes of our favourite TV shows on my fiancé's laptop.  The perfect way to beat the winter blues.
How are you beating the misery of the colder weather?  I cope much better if it's sunny outside!

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

January favourites

Hello!

February has arrived, hurrah!  The long dark and lingering month of January has finally abated.  I am already looking forward to spring.  Haha.  Prematurely I know but anyway...
This post is about things which got my through January.

On clearer days the sunrise is still beautiful and has that blue-tinged wintery glow

Candles, candles, candles.  Always scented, they cheer me up and make the dark mornings easier to cope with.  My engagement ring is a no-brainer.  It's too big for my ring finger right now though and I can't wait to get it re-sized so that I can wear it everyday.

My skin went a bit dodge around Christmas time so I went back to using this Garnier Fruit Energy Gel scrub.  My skin is much better now and I really think it's down to this.  I really liked using this but I wanted to try to find something without sodium laureth sulfate in it so had stopped using it for a little while.  Right now it's working so I'll be sticking to it.

I really love the idea of rubbing some fizzy Vitamin C into my skin.  I've been using the Body Shop Vitamin C daily moisturiser religiously for a while and I can't find anything better than it for the price (well actually I got it half-price in the sale).  Paraben-free and SPF 30 makes it a winner.

Honestly I don't know what the Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver does but I've also been reaching for it nearly everyday.  I notice it seems to really protect my skin on those cold wintery days when it's been reaching -15 or colder.  It sits on the skin and provides a tiny amount of coverage with it's subtle iridescence and it smells yummy.  I definitely feel like it's an extra layer of winter protection that my face is appreciating right now.  I imagine it's sealing in the moisturiser.

At Christmas I treated myself to this Prada Candy perfume and I've been putting it on every single morning before I leave the house.  It's warm, sweet scent is just what I need to combat the blues on winter mornings.

I've been using my Joik Chocolate face mask once a week to help sort out my stressed skin.  It's a lovely way to indulge in 15 minutes of relaxation and after I use it my skin feels matt and soft.

Has anything helped you to beat the January blues?  I'm sure February will bring with it some more favourites to add along side these!

Till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Life lately, Sequins and Pretty Cards

Hi there!

How are you?  I've been feeling anxious recently so I've been trying to find ways to take my mind of things this evening.  I even managed to take advantage of my anxious energy to get out the hoover!  Anyway I thought I would share some random photos I've taken recently.

We got some of the nicest cards I've ever seen since after we got engaged!  I didn't even realise people sent cards to people when you got engaged before!  The sun was out and they were sparkling so I took some photos.

Aren't they lovely?  We've had a few more through since then too.  I feel like it's my birthday!

I took some more photos of these earrings because the sun was making them sparkle and I'm obsessed!

My fiance moved some things around in the flat and it looked really nice.  This table used to be in the bedroom but is much more suited to this little nook here.  It's a very decorative light stand.

I bought some new candles because we went to an out of town store where they are cheaper.  I bought three random different scents because I couldn't pick just one!  They've been smelling great in the living room.  Particularly the large vanilla one.  They also seem to be quite long lasting which is great.

I thought the candle looked pretty on the table too.

This awesome sparkly skirt from Dahlia arrived in the post.  I got it for half price in the sale.  Now I just need somewhere to wear it!

I hope your week is going well.  I'm looking forward to the weekend although it will most probably all be spent indoors now that the temperature has dropped to below minus 10!

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Good morning!

Hello!

How are you?  I'm feeling a little sleepy.  I was restless last night, thinking about old mistakes I've made and how I can move forward in my life.  I've made myself some toast and coffee and got up early to sit down and start writing a blog post.  Like many people I am Not. A. Morning. Person.  Since the weather got really dark and I started to feel like a real life vampire I've been following a ritual of getting up in the mornings and lighting candles.  The candle light hurts my eyes much less than a bulb!

This little pink one is my first ever Yankee Candle!  It's called Pink Sands and I bought it because it was on offer.  Normally I wouldn't buy such an expensive candle but I really do love that the scent is so strong and powerful.  This has quite a strong floral scent.  One day I'd love to test some more of these out!
I also have brought out some fairy lights that I found recently.  They are red hearts and make me feel cozy.

 

Then I drink my coffee and lose myself in the internet reading blogs and pretending that I don't have to go to work for as long as possible!  After that it's time to try to lure my boyfriend out of bed with the promise of coffee and try and get ready for work as quickly as possible!  I also make sure I drink a glass of water and take some vitamins with my breakfast.
Do you have any rituals that make it easier to wake up in the morning?  I could really do with some ideas!

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Candles and grey eye shadow

Hi there!

Sorry I've been quiet for a week or so.  I was feeling run down for days!  My brain was sooo foggy.  In the end I just had to be nice to myself and do as little as possible apart from the dancing that I had to do for my job.  Luckily I managed to feel much better by the time I had to do a show last Thursday but after that I had a little crash again.  So I'm taking it easy once more.  I've been preoccupied with trying to calm down my system and stop it reacting so sensitively to everything.  I've been drinking lots of tea, lighting lots of candles and having a few baths.

These pictures were taken last Sunday morning when the weather was much brighter than it has been this weekend.  It's horribly grey and overcast.  I've been keeping up trying to drink probiotic yoghurt drinks in the morning.

I had some of my home made banana bread for breakfast.  This time I had smaller bananas which made the bread slightly less moist.  I also added 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon but I didn't notice any difference in the taste so next time I might try adding 1/2 teaspoon.

I thought it would be nice to see some more of the Too Faced eye shadows in action.  I used the two darkest shadows in my Too Faced Palette; the darkest grey all over the lid and the black shadow a little bit on the outside edge of the top lash line.

I kept the rest of my face natural apart from some blusher and mascara.  I'm obsessed with make-up being relatively subtle and natural at the moment.  I've always gone through fazes, not so long ago it was a black eye liner obsession which I would do every day.  Then I got sick of that and now I like to do something quite subtle and natural for the day time.

I hope you're having a lovely autumn.  I've been gathering up any candles I can find lying around the flat to cosy up the evenings!  I need to go and get myself some scented ones for that extra luxurious feel.

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie