A Little Home Haul

Last night I decided to take a trip to my local B&M home store to spend some pennies on their home accessories. I don't know if you have a B&M store near you, but if you don't it's basically a discount retailer that sells kitchen cupboard staples, home accessories, toys, DIY bits and pieces, beauty items and the odd bit of furniture. I'm not a massive fan of the stock, some of it really looks as cheap as it is but you can definitely find the odd gem hidden amongst the rest of the items on the shelves.

I came out with 14 items costing just under £20.00, which is a delightful bargain indeed! I'm not going to show you all of my haul per se as some of it was for my kitchen cupboards (think cranberry sauce, Nutella and stuffing for my Sunday roast!) but I did want to show you some of the cute little home decor bits I found nestled on the shelves.

First up is this gorgeous woven wicker decorative heart that I found in the Christmas (yes, there was an aisle of it already!) section. It doesn't scream Christmas to me, which is why I've already put it on my dining room door to add a bit of Winter cheer to the room. I adore the silver heard garland that's wrapped around the heart and the tartan bow is a nice touch. This was a total steal at £2.99.

Next are two decorative pieces I bought for my bathroom. Being the daughter of a Naval Officer I am obsessed with all things ocean themed, anchors especially! This lovely little wooden anchor was 99p and looks the part sat next to my ceramic bathroom blocks from Tesco.

The Bathroom Rules sign is a little joke to remind J of the rules of the room. Having been living with him for just under a year and a half I am still surprised (read: annoyed) when I come home to find his underwear right in front of the shower door, or a sink full of shaving foam and the toothpaste without the cap on it - grrr! It's cute and girly and will look great either hanging on the front of the bathroom door or just above the bathtub. I paid £1.99 for this.

This fourth piece has to probably be my most favourite, it's an adorable Home Rule print full of all of my favourite mantras and quotations to live by. Something to stop and read every morning to guarantee a happy and fun filled day! This was another steal, at £2.99 and in my opinion it looks a lot more expensive that what I paid for it!

Finally, I made two beautiful stationary purchases, a floral notebook and pencil case ready for my upcoming management development day on Tuesday. I've mentioned before that I'm chasing a pretty big promotion at work and this day is the first stepping stone to for me to prove how well suited I believe that I am for the role. I'm a stationary addict / hoarder anyway so these two were definitely not being left on the shelf. The pencil case was 99p and the notebook was also 99p.

What's on your home with list?

October Library

Reading has always been a big part of my life since I was teeny tiny. I used to always receive books as gifts and would literally sit and devour one after the other on my beanbag throughout my school holidays. My mum's had this longstanding joke that I'd read anything and everything, so much so that if she gave me a reel of bus tickets I'd probably read them right though to the end of the reel!

My enjoyment of books stalled at university. Every time I picked up a book that wasn't Criminology related I felt guilty that I wasn't studying, but it didn't stop me from spending a good hour in Waterstones or the WHSmith book section when in Durham, there's nothing nicer than a good bookshop. In fact, I'd be absolutely over the moon if I was able to get a job in Waterstones one day!

Despite owning a Kindle and using it all the time I still adore that feeling of holding a book, a proper one, with that new book smell and engaging pages. The fact that I am no longer at university, and that I have more than just Kindle books waiting to be read has prompted me to begin a monthly post about my reads for the month, hence, October Library.

1. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn. Truth be told I'm writing this on October 8th and I've already finished this. I read it in one day, this Monday just gone! The plot is thus: Nick's wife is missing but Nick is claiming not to know anything about it despite all evidence pointing to Nick and her murder. It's such a well written book, with a vibrant plot and leaves a lot to keep you guessing what's going to happen next. I didn't even realise that there was a film version of this in the cinemas at the moment, but I've got tickets to see it tomorrow so hopefully it doesn't leave me deflated by being a rubbish adaptation! 
2. The Charm Bracelet, Melissa Hill. I own a few Melissa Hill books because the premises always sound cute and girly and the kind story I'd want to read in the bath with a candle burning. The Charm Bracelet takes place in New York City at Christmas and sees Holly try and reunite a charm bracelet with its owner, with only the charms to help her by acting as clues. I'm excited to start this, but will do so at the end of October to get into the festive spirit. 
3. Paper Planes, John Green. Everyone has probably heard of The Fault In Our Stars by now, but what about Green's other novels? I particularly enjoyed Looking For Alaska so I thought I'd try out Paper Planes. The blurb sounds like this: Quentin loves Margo, but it's always been from afar. One night she invites him on an all-night road trip of revenge and he cannot help but go with her. The next day Margo doesn't arrive at school, but she's left clues to her disappearance for Quentin to follow. So what has happened to Margo? I'm intrigued and can't wait to start reading this. 
4. The Pointless Book, Alfie Deyes. While I realise I am most definitely not part of the target audience intended to purchase a copy of this book, my final read for this month is Aflie's book and I just know that I'm going to love it! I like that this is an interactive book, you can most definitely get involved with it as each page contains a different activity for the reader (or author!) to do. It would be perfect for travelling to keep you entertained on the move! 

So that's my October Library, what's on your 'to read' list at the moment?

September Favourites

In my 3 years of blogging I don't think I've ever done a monthly favourites. I have no idea why, it's just never been a post I've really thought about writing. However, this month I thought I'd buck my own trend and share with you the four essential products I couldn't have lived without this past 30 days.

They're Real Mascara, Benefit Cosmetics - £19.50
This is an absolutely amazing mascara, it's akin to my beloved YSL Babydoll mascara in terms of lash length, lift, colour, lash thickness and longevity. I absolutely love it and I'm onto my third tube already! I think that They're Real will be a constant repurchase, buy this and you won't be disappointed!

Creme Cup Lipstick, MAC Cosmetics - £15
A holy grail nude lip colour for many, MAC's Creme Cup is my most worn lipstick of this month. It's a perfect colour accompaniment to my makeup for work, natural and fresh, and had great staying power to give me a perfect pout for working on the front counter and the drive thru. This will definitely be another repurchase come the great day that it runs out, I might even get another one when I go 'back to MAC'.  

Paris Amour PocketBac, Bath & Body Works via eBay - £1.99-£4.00
If you're anything like me then you'll enjoy washing your hands, and having a pretty little pocket hand sanitiser makes hand washing that bit more fun. I carry one of these in my pocket at work, and have just purchased a holder from eBay so that I can clip it to my skirt to make it easier to feel clean between serving customers on tills and touching dirty money. Bath & Body works have some amazing scents too, I also own cotton candy, ice cream, pink macaron and pumpkin cupcake - dreamy!

Chocolate Body Butter, The Body Shop - £5.00
What a gorgeous, gorgeous body lotion with an equally delectable scent - chocolate! This smells so yummy on the skin and is so nourishing too. I've got the smaller pot of the range, but I'm very tempted to ask for the bigger pot for Christmas so that I can continue to smell delightful well on into the New Year. Big thumbs up from me for The Body Shop.

Floral Bun Donut Accessories, Primark - £2.00-£4.00
My final favourite for this month has to be my selection of bun donut accessories that I wear in my hair to work everyday. I have a great love for all things floral, and adding a brightly coloured hair accessory to my uniform adds a bit of personality to my otherwise boring McUniform. Primark have a fab selection of hair accessories, all at affordable prices, and I can't wait to add to my collection.

Those were my monthly favourites, what were yours?