Cupcakes & Cashmere Book Review

When I was looking on Amazon to spend a voucher I received for Christmas I found myself stumbling upon Emily Schuman's book, Cupcakes and Cashmere. The author runs a popular blog of the same name and having recently discovered it it's fast become one of my favourite blogs, full of yummy recipes, beautiful fashion and styling, and expert tips about home decor - it's definitely saved in my bookmarks folder!

If you've been with me for a little while then you'll have read about the whirlwind that I'm about to embark on for the next 6 months, and the only thing that will keep me going while I trek through the mountainous pile of work I have to complete is the possibility of finding my own house at the end of it all. Buying books like Schuman's allows me to escape from this for a little while into a world of domestic bliss, dreaming about how I am going to decorate, where I'll buy my knickknacks from, and where I'm going to keep my house rabbit when I get one. In short, if there are any other perfectly girly and sophisticated guides to life available on Amazon I am sure I'll be purchasing them soon. For now you'll find me tucked away devouring this beautiful 'guide for defining your style, reinventing your space, and entertaining with ease'.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone thinking about buying it, but you'll honestly not be disappointed with the content. The book is organised by season and covers style, beauty, at home, and entertaining in each chapter, it's incredibly easy to read, you can easily put it down if you have to answer the phone or let the cat in, and come back and pick up where you left off. In a nutshell, the advice Schuman gives in the book is incredibly practical, and she covers a range of topics to suit all budgets and tastes. I found myself particularly enjoying her guide to creating the perfect brunch, her tips for taking a spring/summer wardrobe into autumn/winter, and especially her beauty must haves for each season. 

What really sold the book to me was the gorgeous colour photography, the bright, fresh images on each page. It reminds me of a coffee table style 'how-to' books, and while Schuman's book is far from being something I want people to leave coffee rings on, I feel like you can just go and pick it up, soak up an idea and act upon it, you simply don't want to leave it lying unopened. Everything written in the book is achievable, yet the reader doesn't feel as though Schuman is dictating the way in which they should live their life, more like she wants to provide tips and tricks to enhance your way of living. I know I'll definitely be diving in and out of it this year in order to have a little wardrobe makeover, and even try out some of the delicious recipes.

You can find Cupcakes and Cashmere in most reliable book retailers, RRP £12.99. I found mine on Amazon where it is slightly cheaper. 

Do you enjoy guide to life type books? 

What have you been reading lately?

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10 Things I Can't Bare To Live Without

I love getting to know other's bloggers' personalities through their posts and style of writing. We can all type out our thoughts about the latest beauty product, but we're not all reviewing machines, we're human too! So here is a little insight into the material things in my life I can't bare to live without!

A Good Moisturiser - When you have skin as dry as the Gobi or the Sahara there's always one base layer you're never going to forget, the insurmountably important moisturiser stage that happens pre primer. I'm a big fan of heavy duty (but not heavy weight) moisturiser and to date I have not yet found the perfect one. However my current go to is Benefit's Total Moisture Facial Cream. I haven't found the time to fork out £26.50 for the full sized version yet though, I might save my Boots points for that, but I do like buying the £10 kits of the travel sized versions of all of Benefit's skincare. This moisturiser smells amazing, so fresh and luxurious.

Mascara - If I only had to apply one product to my face it would be a good mascara. I love brushes with plastic bristles, I think that they work so much better, clump less and really coat each lash individually. Full marks to Benefit's They're Real, I need to buy another one.

Perfume - Coco Chanel once said that A woman who does not wear perfume has no future (or something like that) and I am a great believer is smelling as nice as you look. I like my perfumes to be sweet, along the lines of Prada's Candy, or Jack Wills' English Velvet - yummy!

Taken from the HD Brows Website

Brow Filler- Does anyone else feel like they don't look complete without their brows filled in or treated? When I started to fill in my eyebrows it was like I was seeing my face for the first time, it was amazing. I'm not fussed on what works and what doesn't, stencils, eyeshadow, brow shadow, gel, pencil - I've tried them all. I mostly like to use a small angled brush and my HD Brows kit, or light to medium brown shadow.

Taken from here.

Candles - Candles add a bit of character to a room I believe, as well as making your space smell lovely and feel relaxing. As I love sweet scents, I'm a big fan of Yankee's Chocolate Bunnies, Red Velvet Cupcake and Vanilla & Lime, but my all time repurchase has to be Jelly Belly's Toasted Marshmallow...mmm, I love it so much. 

Taken from here.

Chocolate Milk - This is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine that stems from when I used to live in Saudi Arabia and chocolate milk cartons were cheaper than water in the shop at SR1, which is something like 17p. I was a teenager at that point, and forgetting to eat lunch when you're spending hours in the sunshine in a pool during the summer holidays means that you can drink all of the chocolate milk that you want! I've tried to cut down on my addiction now though, it's not the same spending £1.09 or £1.75 on a bottle of Yazoo or Frijj :'(

My Book Of Lists - I cannot survive without list making, I literally need it to breathe. Sounds strange, but I hate feeling that I might forget to do something so if I write to-do's for the day, or things to pack, lists of things to achieve that week and even lists of things to do for the entire month. Sign me up to Listmakers Annonymous now!

Books/Kindle - I've always been a bookworm. My mum used to sit me in a box when I was little, give me a book or two and I'd stay there all afternoon, no crying, no boredom. I've not been reading as much as I'd like to lately because I feel guilty when I don't read anything that's related to my degree what with coming to the end of it and all. I have a massive list of 'must-reads' for the end of June though! 

Handbags - I'm such a bag lady. I have too many to carry, and am constantly coveting more, namely a Mulberry Bayswater or a Michael Kors Tote at the moment! 

Taken from here.

Hope - This might be a little bit of an odd thing to be unable to live without but if you know me, you know that I don't give up on things easily, if at all. In fact the only thing I have really given up on in a detrimental sense is any sort of a weight loss programme...but I am slowing getting back on it, -5lbs this Christmas! I didn't give up on my degree when I hated it so much, I haven't ever given up on my long distance relationship despite going through some difficult times, and I certainly don't want to give up on my dreams. That sound's corny, but it's true. As long as things are relatively attainable I see no reason why people should feel downtrodden if something doesn't quite go right. One of my favourite sayings is a Chinese proverb - 'Fall down seven times, stand up eight'. Always hold on to hope! 

What kind of things can you not live without?

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It's A Dangerous Love Affair - Bumble & Bumble

My new found love for Bumble and Bumble can only really be blamed on Boots and other #bbloggers. Both my local Boots in Plymouth, and the Boots I visit in Eldon Square in Newcastle now stock Bumble and Bumble products, as well as the renowned Ojon products that I haven't yet delved into. I've heard a lot about how good Bumble and Bumble products are, I'm always envious of other girls' glossy hair and wishing that I had their super healthy looking locks. It was a mini blessing when I forgot to bring any shampoo or conditioner with me when I recently took a trip to Bristol, so, armed with a gift card from Christmas, I purchased the miniature travel sized versions of Bumble and Bumble's 'best selling pair' (their words, not mine!), the Gentle Shampoo and Super Rich Conditioner.

I absolutely loved using the Gentle Shampoo and Super Rich Conditioner. My hair's not in the worst of conditions, but it certainly needs a bit of a boost every now and again. I was so thankful when I finally got round to having my hair cut, and snipped away the dead weight on the ends. I forgot how much I love going to a salon for an all out hair pamper treatment! My hair is in the last stages of a L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss colour, so I class it as chemically treated and am always on the lookout for a perfect shampoo/conditioner duo to keep it in the best condition that I can. The Gentle Shampoo is specifically tailored towards dry, damaged, chemically treated, coarse or afro textured hair and is perfect for injecting moisture and adding a lovely shine as it cleanses. The Super Rich Conditioner is also wonderful for chemically treated, dry or coarse hair as it detangles and gives hair a bit more 'oomph' (for want of a better word!) as well as softening the hair too. I stepped out of the shower and honestly felt like I'd been to a salon. My hair was the cleanest and most soft it's been in a long while. I didn't even need to use much shampoo or conditioner as the formula lathers well, and it doesn't feel like your weighing your hair down by using a lot of product (I've been guilty of using too much shampoo/conditioner in the past, it takes ages to rinse out!).

I'm very tempted to save my next haircut for a Bumble and Bumble salon, I'd love to see how it measures up to my usual love of visiting Toni & Guy. I can see me definitely purchasing the full sized versions of these products, a dangerous love affair for my bank balance indeed!

Bumble and Bumble Gentle Shampoo and Super Rich Conditioner are available priced at £18.50 for 250ml, and £5.50 for 50ml each in most larger Boots stores and online on their website.

Have you ever tried any Bumble and Bumble products?
What's your favourite shampoo/conditioner duo?
Have you entered my giveaway? Enter here!

Confetti Letters on HelloCotton

I'm finally excited to say that my HelloCotton account has been completed! It was still linking posts to my old URL and looked like I hadn't blogged for ages, but the fabulous people over at HelloCotton have sorted that out for me, and Confetti Letters now has a proper page amongst all of the other fabulous blogs out there - yay!

If you're an avid HelloCotton user and would like to follow me on there, click on the button on the side of my blog page.

I'm off to discover some fabulous new reads <3

Inspiration For The Weekend - The Perils Of Overthinking

Found on Tumblr, if it's you let me know.

I always enjoy writing my little inspirational weekend posts because they enable me to put finger to key, reflect on the previous week and offer my own mind a small piece of solace directed towards the wider internet. This past week has been the most over-thought seven days of my life.

I know for a fact that I am incredibly guilty of listening to the wrong part of my cranial thoughts, I create situations in my head, work out how I'd handle them and then realise that they don't even exist. In fact I probably even drum up problems that don't even exist too, and this has slowly been getting worse and making me more paranoid about absolutely everything, more insecure about my relationships with people, and generally leaving me with the belief that everyone is out to get me. It's really not a nice feeling, so why does my brain continue to push thoughts to the forefront of my mind, twist situations into huge problems and make me think that I have to cocoon myself behind a comfortable cloud of projected happiness and okay-ness?

Found on Tumblr, if it's you let me know.

My problem is control, I need to feel in control of absolutely everything to do with me and my life. If someone's talking about me, I want to find out why and sort it/them out. If everyone's drunk I want to be less drunk so I know what I'm doing. I always like to plan things, I'm overly organised, far too punctual and get angry if something falls out of schedule or doesn't quite happen how I imagined. I realise now that this is actually quite debilitating, especially as I'm about to enter the craziest, most whirlwind 6 months of my life. I have just under 28,000 words to write for various modules at uni, exams to take, a room to pack away, goodbyes to deliver to friends I've made in my uni city, find a 'proper' job, quit my current job, find a house, create a career etc etc... How much of that can I physically control?

Found on Tumblr, if it's you, let me know. 

I have realised over the past 7 days that I really just need to stop over thinking and learn to let go. That's not going to happen overnight, but if I can find something else to control and occupy my mind then I can hopefully start to feel less discomfort around people I don't know, or in situations that may present themselves too me. If you have ever experienced anything I am describing then perhaps you have your own little methods of dealing with your anxiousness, feel free to share them with me. I have decided that I am going to try out these methods:

• Switch off all electronic devices (except my Kindle) at least an hour before I go to sleep.
• If I begin to feel myself drift off into unchartered over-thinking territory I will concentrate of thinking about the positives of the day and make a list in my head.
• I will make more of an effort to get to know someone by finding all about them, in a nice, moral, manner. 
• I will reserve one night a week to properly unwind, I'm talking candles, face masks, baths, the lot.
• Breathe in, breathe out, breath in, breathe out. Repeat. Infinitely.

Hopefully combining these methods will help to de-clutter my head, and make me feel more alive. There's nothing worse than feeling left behind, or sheltered from the rest of the world. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy blogging, and the #bbloggers and #lbloggers so much. Oh and why I tweet constantly. Twitter is a wonderful platform of expression and it's refreshing to communicate with complete strangers who share a passion, and offer support for each other. Thank-you for that.

Have a brilliant weekend <3 

Essie - Aruba Blue

Excuse the slightly messily painted nails, but how beautiful is Essie's Aruba Blue? I spied it in Boots the other day and left it on the shelf, continued about my day and then decided I absolutely needed it. I absolutely adore just how blue this colour is, it reminds me of my leaver's ball in dress at the end of my 6th form. Essie describe it as a 'frosty sapphire' and if you catch it in the right light it looks almost metallic.

It applies well, with Essie's signature wide brush and not too runny/gloopy formula, and has such a high sheen that I didn't feel it necessary to use a topcoat. (I hope it lasts all weekend without chipping though, we shall see!) You don't even need that many coats, 1 gives you a lovely blue hue, but I always like to use two coats to really bring out the colour on the nail.

My new favourite polish? I think yes! My only qualm is the price, why American brands feel it's necessary to match the dollar to pound exactly, i.e $8.00 for an Essie polish in the USA, £7.99 for the same polish in the UK. I know I could have found it cheaper online, but I wanted it there and then, my patience is not the best (unless I'm ordering with Amazon. I accidentally forked out £49 for a year's worth of next day guaranteed delivery!).

What are your favourite Essie shades?
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