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

Little Things: Coffee and Shopping

Hello there.  I hope you're having a nice Friday evening.  I feel like I've had quite a productive and tiring week which makes me appreciate the cosy evenings at home more.  I splurged on some candles this evening to cheer myself up after a slightly stressful afternoon rehearsal.  After tidying up the living room a bit and lighting them they are having the desired effect.  It's amazing how soothing having some lit candles can be.  There must be some scientific reason for it.
Here are some little things that I've taken photos of recently but not found a blog post for.

I bought this awesome notebook recently as I've been inspired to try to write more.  This notebook was the perfect size, not too small that you feel like you'll reach the end of the page in five sentences and not so large that it wont fit in my handbag.  The print on it is awesome too.  The inside of it is the inverse of the pattern on the front.  So cool.

My fiancé bought this book to read.  I asked him how it was going and he said it was easy reading, but he's only read the first two chapters so far so I'll have to get a better review from him later on.

We went out at the weekend for pizza.  My fiancé got to have a coffee and I didn't as I'm trying to cut down on caffeine so I took a photo of it instead.

I bought these gorgeous earrings from Accessorize.  They're the colour scheme for the wedding and my fiancé liked them so I had to buy them!  I think they have an Art Deco look to them which I like.

I've been enjoying using my Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh perfume as the last of the warmer temperatures edge away.  I know that soon I'll be fully in to my winter scent, Prada's Candy but I've been trying to wear this for a few more days as I'm not ready to give up on summer just yet (clearly I'm in denial).

Little things from my week

Hi there!  I've been away this week on tour with the company which is why there's been a lack of posts.  We had a nice trip to Germany which involved lots of travelling.  It was quite exhausting but a good experience nonetheless.  I wasn't able to take my camera with me so I have lots of photographs to take for future posts, however I do have some pictures ready that I took the week before I left.

I love going out for coffee.  This wasn't mine though, seeing as I'm avoiding caffeine, so I had to make do with taking pictures of my fiancé's (sad face).  I was experimenting with using the manual focus setting and liked that I managed to capture the froth on this coffee so well

 The sun was shining and I couldn't resist taking some pictures of these leaves in the sunlight.

I love it when the sky is clear and this perfect shade of blue.

 I bought this super snuggly oversized cardigan.  It's soooo warm and comfy.  I wore it during the whole of the tour to keep warm and had lots of people saying to me that they wanted to buy something similar.

 I got this yellow rose from a friend who was watching one of our recent performances.

 Candle weather is sneaking up on us.  This was the only one I had left over from last year and I suddenly felt the need to light it.

 I'm still really enjoying making my morning smoothies.  I bought some frozen berries and they make the drink turn this gorgeous shade of purple.

I drew my first 'Will you be my bridesmaid?' card.

Looking back at these pictures I realise how sunny that week must have been!  Since I got back from the tour the weather has been mostly grey and cloudy.  More candles and bath products have been purchased to counter the gloom!  In fact, it's time to go and light one of those candles right now!

Till next time :)

Polka Dot Socks

Hey there!

How's your week going?  I'm so excited it's nearly the weekend.  I have to work on Saturday until 1pm but I am free as a bird after that :)

I was lounging on the sofa the other day and I noticed that both my boyfriend and I were wearing dotty socks.

His are Paul Smith socks that I got him for his birthday, mine are H&M!

We both love dots, here's another example of things we own that are almost the same print!

This is my dotty dressing gown and below is his dotty shirt!

Clearly we are meant to be ;)  I also have a polka dot Cath Kidston handbag.  Polka Dots are such a cute print that makes any item seem out of the ordinary and fun.  What about you?  Are you more in to dots or stripes?  Or maybe a cute flower print!?

till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

An Early Start for a Sunday...with coffee, ducks and lipstick

Hello!

I hope you guys had a good weekend.  I took my camera out for a walk with me on Sunday.  It was a special day here, celebrating the beginning of a new school year.  It was quite busy in the cafe we went to because of this but we were so exhausted from work we had gone to bed quite early on Saturday night. This meant that we got out much earlier than usual for a Sunday, so I didn't mind sitting around waiting for our coffee to arrive.

I'm having a bit of an internal fight at the moment about whether or not I should try to stop drinking coffee.  Is caffeine really that bad for you?  At the moment though I'm only having one a day so I don't think that's so bad.  They don't really serve decaf over here as standard yet which would probably solve my problem as it's the taste and smell I love more than the effect.

I really love nice kitchen ware.  This is a cute milk jug they had at the cafe.

We went for a walk along the river which is where I caught sight of this duck dunking itself in the water, so cute!

A well worn looking bridge.

There are loads of pretty looking flower baskets out at the moment.  I think it's to compensate for the harsh and long winter we have.  I love seeing a blue sky too!

I wore a dress I've had for ages.  It was a present from my Mum.  It's by Henry Holland for Debenhams and has this really cute pattern on it.

It's a really wearable day dress.  Easy to throw on and look pretty.

I don't wear lipstick very often so I like to try to make myself wear it at the weekends.  I wore my favourite Art Deco lipstick in shade 36.  I love the matte creamy texture of this lipstick.  It's richly pigmented and fairly long lasting, although I do still have to re-apply it after eating or drinking.

It's a pretty wearable pink.  Not too bright but still pretty.

I wear these pink Accessorize earrings all the time.  I got them last summer and I seem to remember that they were a really good price!

When we got home it rained and rained so heavily.  I spent the evening sorting out the kitchen and making cupcakes.  When the weather changes and the nights get darker and longer it inspires me to bake.  I suppose because it makes home feel more cosy.  I definitely want to try and keep baking and experimenting in my new much more decent sized kitchen!

The evening is drawing in once more and it's another cloudy one.  I hope you enjoyed this peak in to my day.  I'll be ending mine drinking decaf tea in my kitchen and maybe catching up on some episodes of my favourite programmes.

I'd love you to follow me on here or click on the bloglovin' button in the sidebar to follow me on there!

Till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Product Review: Body Shop Sweet Lemon Beautifying Oil

Hello!

I hope today went well for you.  My day went better than yesterday.  I even had time for a massage and a bath which almost made me too sleepy!  I got a bit moody and over-tired after that but hopefully I'll be well rested for a full on day at work tomorrow!

I thought I should do a product review as I haven't done one in a while.  I picked up this oil from the Body Shop in the sale this summer.  I've been wanting to try one of these body oils for about a year already but was put off by the price ( 18 euros over here!!).  Luckily I found one which was 4.50 in the sale, yay!  The only scent that was on offer was the Sweet Lemon one but I really liked the smell: it was fresh, slightly citrusy and not too sweet, so I was sure I wouldn't be chased by insects all summer.

I really loved it.  I get quite dry skin after washing so I used it mostly on my arms and legs straight after drying off from a shower.  I loved how it felt to use and I loved the fresh smell.  It was great to have when I went on holiday.  It's quite a good sized bottle for travelling and was great to use on my skin after a day in the sun.  I even put a little on my face when it felt really dry.

The biggest problem was that I ended up using it up so fast!  It only lasted me a couple of months.  I'd love to get another one but I can't justify paying the full price especially when I know I'll just use it up so quickly.  So to summarise, I loved the scent, I loved the feel of it and if it was 4.50 in the sale again I would totally buy another one!

Hope that's useful to someone out there!  I'd love to try one in another scent aswell sometime!

till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Today I wore...plus a walk in the sunshine

Hello!

How's your day been? Mine's been a bit up and down.  I had a nice walk in the sun to work and then an OK morning class.  Unfortunately I struggled in the rehearsals this morning which has kind of got me down all day.  I always find it hard to switch off after a difficult day at work.  I'm not very good at compartmentalising, something I've read men are supposed to be better at the women!

Anyway I've been trying to cheer myself up by thinking about some blog things for a bit.  I've also sorted out some washing and most of the kitchen.  What are your best tactics for de-stressing after a difficult day?

As I don't have room to take my DSLR to work with me you'll have to make do with some ipod snaps again!

I love this tree lined street.  I can't stop myself taking pictures of it every time it's sunny.

I think morning sunlight is just so gorgeous.

Here's my new pink blazer I wore to work today.  I took this picture whilst I was changing for class this morning.  I wore it with skinny jeans and my brogues.

Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.  I'm thinking I need to think of a treat to have after work so I can look forward to tomorrow no matter what it brings.  Chips at MacDonald's perhaps?

till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Today I wore...leg warmers and new shoes

Hello!

Hope you're having a good Wednesday.

Today was a full on day at work for me.  We were a little late for the bus and had to run for it, then we had the first ever run-through of the first act of our new ballet, phew!  Then I managed to pop out for some lunch before it was back to work for more rehearsals.  I managed to snap a couple of pictures on my i-pod though.

Here is a picture of some of my favourite leg warmers which I wore today for the morning class.

I love the pastel colours on them.  Actually I tend to wear a lot of pale/pastel colours for class.

I managed to wear my new shoes for the first time today.  I wore them with brown tights and a patterned dress.

I snapped this whilst I was having lunch.  I love purple and green together!

Now it's time to relax before another full day of work tomorrow!

till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Latest shoe haul

Hello!  I hope you are having a good start to your week.  Today I thought I would share with you my latest finds in the footwear department.....

Like most girls I have a bit of a shoe fetish, so imagine my excitement when I came across these gorgeous leather shoes by Guess in TKMaxx.

I had had my eye out for a pair of sexy strappy black heels all summer.  Once I tried them on in the shop I knew they were the perfect ones and at 35 quid I thought they were a bargain.

I love the zip detail at the back.  The zips are real which makes getting the shoes on and off a cinch!

These heels will be special occasion only shoes due to their height!

On medium occasion outings where I might be doing a lot of walking around I prefer to wear something more medium height.  I found these lovely suede style shoes today in a shop here for just 15 euros in the sale.

I thought they were a bit quirky vintage looking.  They were also quite comfy to wear and a great price too! They are by a brand named Pearlz which I've never heard of before.

They also came in red and it took me ages to decide which ones I wanted to take home.  These were my boyfriend's favourite though as green is his favourite colour!  I also thought they would be easier to wear as they aren't as bright.  I did love the red ones though, at that price I'm tempted to go and buy them too!

I hope the rest of your week goes well

Twirlybirdie :)

Sunny weekend at a stylish cafe

Hi there,

I hope you've had a good week.  I'm aching from working on our new ballet production this week.  It's such a relief to have two days off.  Today I took my gorgeous Canon camera out and about with me.  I was surprised to find it fits in to my Cath Kidston handbag really well and as the bag is so light, it's no where as near of a heavy pain in the ass neck to carry around as I thought it would be.

There are quite a lot of trees on the streets around where I live.  I think they're so pretty in the sunshine.  This street's name translates in to English as 'Lucky'.

My boyfriend was wearing some cool colours so I snapped him as we waited at the bus stop.

We went to a pretty little cafe in town.  Check out this cute sofa in a nook.  I love the colours.

These mix and match grey and yellow cushions look stylish on a sofa.

I have a thing for pearl rings at the moment.

As well as coffee and bruschetta we ordered water with cranberries in it. 

How has your weekend been?  I'm loving taking pictures with the SLR camera.  I definitely want to spend more time experimenting with photography now that I have one.

Till next time

Twirlybirdie :)