Healthy Lifestyle

BODYSHOP HAUL

Published on November 11, 2018November 7, 2018 by simplycarinaxo12 Comments

Good morning beautiful souls,

I recently purchased some new Bodyshop goods, products I haven’t tried before. I thought about doing a first impressions post, but then decided to try them out a little first before reviewing them. So without further ado, here’s what I thought:

Waterproof Mascara –

I’m going to be blunt – I hate it and definitely will not be repurchasing this again! Saying that I like the brush, it makes for a an easy application and creates good lash length. However the product itself leaves me with dark circles under my eyes quite quickly and removing it at the end of the day is practically impossible without ripping out half of my eyelashes!

Lipgloss –

I didn’t need a new lipgloss but this beautiful shimmery metallic rose tone just wanted to be bought haha. The application brush is a works really well and the lipgoss has a nice consistency and sparkle to it without being uber shiny and sticky which I hate.

Vitamin E Face Cream –

I’ve been really enjoying this face cream as it is nice and light and doesn’t feel like it clogs up your skin. The reason I picked this though is because it has an SPF 30. It’s important to remember to protect our skin from the UV rays in autumn and winter too when the sun and sunburn aren’t as obvious! I use this every morning and am very likely to repurchase!

Primer –

I’m going to admit I one of these people who doesn’t really pay much attention to primers, I mean I understand what they do, but as to whether my makeup is really smoother or stays on longer, I really couldn’t tell you. Saying that it does make the application process easier and does seem to soften and even out the skin well.

Have you tried any of these products?! I’d love to know 🙂

VEGAN CAMP OUT 2018

Published on August 26, 2018September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxo9 Comments

Good morning beautiful souls,

Last weekend I went on my first proper solo trip! I went camping, to a festival all by myself and I’m glad I did! I get huge travel anxiety so this was a big deal for me, but I coped! Woohoo! I didn’t have a panic attack and best of all I had great time and met some lovely people! The festival I was attending was the Vegan Camp Out Festival at Newark Showground. With this being a very new festival (only it’s 3rd year running) I’d say it’s still a learning curve for the organisers too, but considering the number of attendees more than doubled from last year, it went down super well, there were no major hiccups and everyone had a blast.

I departed lunchtime on Friday with far too much stuff (but hey I was only used to going camping with the car where you can chuck as much as you like on the back seat aha, so considering this I think I managed to reduce my camping kit considerably!). Jessica kindly helped me carry all my things to the train station and from there on I just about coped; luckily I had a direct train and once I arrived in Newark it was a just a taxi ride from the station to the showground and a little walk to the campsite.

It was soo windy when I arrived that being by myself and with a brand new tent (which I hadn’t practised putting up beforehand) I really struggled to set up camp. Luckily some kind stranger next to me asked if I needed any help and together with the tips of two passing guys who had a similar tent we eventually, after what felt like hours, managed to erect it although I was a bit dubious as to whether it would stay up with the way the wind was knocking it around. Once I had my sleeping mat rolled out and the fairy lights put up though I was very happy with my spacious but cosy home for the next 2 nights (I had a 4 person tent all to myself which was rather lovely I’m not going to lie).

Before going to the Vegan Camp Out I’d joined a Facebook group created for all the lone travellers, so that we could interact and arrange somewhere to all camp together. However I also knew that my experience would be ruined if I were to be kept awake all night by loud neighbours haha so I decided to camp in the designated Quiet area. I had been nervous about plonking my tent amidst strangers but before going I by chance ended up making friends with a lovely girl named Molly via Instagram. She was coming to the festival with her boyfriend and they decided to camp with me for which I was very grateful. About three hours after I got there Molly and her boyfriend Will finally arrived and set up camp next to me.

After settling in, we decided to check out some of the talks and went to listen to guitarist Jona Weinhofen’s personal vegan story, before ALF (Animal Liberation Front) founder Ronnie Lee took to stage and gave a very motivating speech about why we should not just be passive vegans but take to the streets and become activists. Having spent a good 9 year in prison himself for being an animal rights activist this guy’s passion for animals and their welfare is seriously inspiring!

Later in the evening I met up with Sam (a guy who’d messaged me from the Facebook lonelies group a day or two before the festival). We went to listen to the reggae legend that is Macka B and then sat down to chat the night away. Okay, okay you got me, we didn’t actually chat the night away. I mean I would have loved to, it was so lovely just chilling and chatting and Sam was super nice but I was literally yawing like every 2 mins come 12pm haha, so we called it a night.

The next day Molly, Will & I went to some more talks and workshops, including one by founder of the Carnisim Debunked website, which were all very informative and thought provoking. One of the talks held by Earthling Ed had such a huge crowd I only just managed to squeeze in at the back, but I’m glad I did – it was amazing hearing him talk in person, what a guy!!!

We treated ourselves for lunch and had some vegan pie & mash (I went for the mushroom one) which was so yummy and went off to listen to more talks such as by Peter Hammarstedt a Sea Shepherd Captain.

In the afternoon we decided we wanted to go to the screening of Dominion. Watching Dominion was so difficult, not everyone made it through the whole film. It was very harrowing to watch – it’s a stark & emotional reminder of why we as vegans do not eat animal produce! Hearing the cries of anguish from mothers and calves being separated, bearing witness to the thousands of animals repeatedly abused, watching as foxes are skinned alive for their fur, seeing baby chicks get conveyorbelted into a shredder just because they are male, having hidden cameras reveal the disgusting dirty & cramped conditions farmed animals live in….. the list of unnecessary, inhumane cruelty we inflict is truly endless, terrible and heart-breaking!

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PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE, START DOING SOME RESEARCH TO INFORM YOURSELVES MORE ON THE IMPACT ANIMAL AGRICULTURE HAS ON ANIMAL WELFARE, OUR EVNIRONMENT & OUR HEALTH! IT’S SUCH AND IMPORTANT TOPIC!

Here’s some sites to get you started:

Carnism Debunked – Plant Proof – Must Watch Informative Vegan Documentaries

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Well after a difficult afternoon, we went back to our tents to rest a little more before having dinner. I’d brought most of my food for the weekend with me (far too much in the end aha) and so I made an avocado salad sandwich but joined Molly and Will by the food stalls to treat myself to some vegan Churros for dessert. Annoyingly they ran out of chocolate sauce, 2 people in front of me?! Say what?! But they were just as tasty with just sugary cinnamon!

In the evening we went to see the last bit of Simon Amstell’s show on the main stage and have a good laugh. Molly and Will went back to their tent after this and I headed off to find Sam and hang out with him and some other lonelies grooving away to JME! After JME it was time for the afterparty, but I was pretty tired by then and knew I had an early enough start the next morning so I made my way back to my tent. Sam came back with me to my tent (I was forcing my leftover booze on him as I did so not want to have to carry it all the way home again aha) but instead of going back to the party straight away he stayed a while and we talked a bit more which was really nice as I felt like we’d just clicked really well. Eventually I did go to bed though and Sam went off to continue the party, well into the early hours of the morning apparently (I’m so glad I’d listened to myself and did not sleep in the lonelies area of the camp as this had apparently been the afterparty of the afterparty area where I would have got 0 sleep).

Anyway I woke the next day to a grey sky and chilli morning which made getting out of my toasty sleeping bag rather difficult. I had hoped both mornings to be up and awake to join in on the morning yoga sessions, but totally failed both mornings, preferring my cosy lie ins aha! But this morning I couldn’t lie in too long as our taxi was booked back to the station for 11.30am (following the horrendous queues for taxis to the festival we made sure to book on Saturday for Sunday, and I’m glad we did otherwise who knows how long we’d have had to wait!). I’d packed my things together quite quickly and was having my breakfast by the time Molly & Will woke up and in the end our tents were all dissembled quicker than I thought, which was good though because it meant we could still go to one of the morning talks before leaving. I was also a good call getting up earlier as it started to rain and so we just about had everything packed away before it got too wet!

Once we made it to the train station the last leg of my trip began as I had almost 4 hours to wait for my train home. It wasn’t too bad though, I read my book (The Handmaid’s Tale), drank coffee and before I knew it 4 hours had flown by and I was on my way home.

I apologise for this essay of a blog post, but I guess I’m not good at being short and precise aha, so you get the long winded ramblings of my weekend adventure! I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about what I got up to and might even be inspired to check out some of the links 🙂

MY FAVOURITE LOW SUGAR COCKTAIL

Published on April 27, 2018March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo8 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

Now that the weather finally seems to be improving I’ve been feeling the cocktail vibes more and more and am ditching the red wines. However as summer and bikini season are approaching I thought I’d share with you my favourite low sugar cocktail so that you can still enjoy a drink without worrying about your waistline too much.

I’m not sure what to call it yet, maybe Bitter Breeze or something…

Well here it goes. You will need:

A lime
Gin
Diet bitterlemon
Fresh mint
Ice cubes

First pop your ice cubes into your glass – next add to your strength liking gin and bitterlemon (for this glass I used 2 shots of Bombay Dry Gin with ca. 300ml of bitterlemon) – squeeze in half a lime – decorate with another slice of lime and fresh mint.

Et voila – one Bitter Breeze at the ready – now sit back, relax and enjoy!

LONDON BOUND

Published on January 24, 2018September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxo7 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

Yesterday my dad and I were London bound to go on a coffee crawl. The aim of this trip was to do some research for dad’s coffeehouse which is currently closed for renovation.

The day didn’t start well as I left the house a little too late and then saw that as it was prime time, rush hour traffic was soo bad that I didn’t think I’d make it on time and would be faster walking. So off I set on my quickest power walk getting more and more panicky by the minute as time kept ticking on. I ran in bursts, my heart started pounding and the closer I got to the train station the more I felt like I was going to die aha. I can laugh now, but I felt terrible thinking I was going to ruin this fun day for dad and myself by not arriving on time. However I eventually did get to the station with about 6 minutes to spare; I was wheezing as I collected our tickets from the machine and when I sat down to try and catch my breath the sweat dripped down my face as the same time as relief washed over me – I had made it! I had made it! Phew!

So after that nightmare of a start to the day we settled down into our seats and I began our journey with a much needed nap. Once feeling more recovered I got out my kindle and began reading Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven until we got closer to London and we went over the plan for the day. At 11.45 we finally pulled into Kings Cross and set off to find the first cafe on our list.

Disclaimer: In the end everyone’s tastebuds are different and everyone has their own preferences – this is just my opinion of these coffee shops.

Coffee Shop no.1 – Attendant

I liked the decor of this cafe, especially all the greenery, and the staff were friendly enough, however I was rather disappointed with the coffee. Dad’s flat white was ok I think, but the filter coffee I had ordered was the last dregs from a batch brew. When I inquired about it not being a fresh V60 (which is what I would expect it to be at £4 a tiny cup) the waitress just told me I could have a fresh cup if it wasn’t hot enough as she was about to brew a fresh batch, so obviously I wanted the freshest coffee not the last dregs and asked to please have a fresh cup, but she just told me to try it first. I was rather annoyed at this but couldn’t be bothered to complain so just drank the coffee which tasted ok but wasn’t hot and had coffee grind left in the bottom which a filter coffee shouldn’t have either, at least not the amount that was in my cup. Later on in the day I saw numerous other coffee shops have ‘batch brew’ on their menus but they were not disguising this by naming it filter coffee and they had a far more reasonable price margin for a cup, between £2.60-£3.

Coffee Shop no.2 – Ozone Coffee Roasters

This was my favourite coffee shop, it had a nice vibe with an open kitchen and brew bar in the centre of the cafe like an island and the scent of fresh coffee being roasted downstairs wafting across every so often. They had the biggest variety of coffees to try here from Filter and Aeropress to Siphon coffee. However when asking for more information on the coffee the waitress wasn’t overly friendly and didn’t seem to know much about the coffee they serve which was a disappointment, simply saying ‘Yeah it’s not too acidic I like this one’ isn’t very informative. In the end Dad and I chose the Aeropress coffee and the filter coffee. We preferred the flavour profile of the Areopress coffee which was a bean from Ethiopia and had flavour notes of strawberry and praline, it really did taste like strawberry chocolates! What we weren’t too keen on was the coffee being served in glass jugs with glasses to drink out of. Dad prefers a nice porcelain cup, it felt too much like we were on a coffee tasting course, which to be fair on this day I guess we kind of were.

Coffee Shop no.3 – Fix Coffee

We didn’t stay here long. My stomach needed a coffee rest so dad just had an espresso which he described as far to acidic to be used as an espresso bean. The place seemed nice at first but wasn’t the cleanest after further inspection and again not all the staff seemed to know their coffees, which when you are serving more than your average espresso based drinks, you should really know so that you can advise and answer customers queries. This was probably my least favourite place.

Coffee Shop no.4 – Catalyst

After a short tube ride and a bit of a detour we eventually found our next stopping point. I tried a long black/americano here which I tasted great. The flavour was good and smooth no bitterness and they also roasted they’re own coffee beans in this little corner coffee shop. The only vegan thing they had was some bread, but it did come with delicious homemade jam which I thoroughly enjoyed. This was probably my second favourite coffee shop after Ozone.

Coffee Shop no.5 – Curators Coffee

And last but not least coffee shop no.5 where I couldn’t drink anymore coffee. So dad ordered a filter coffee which was a fresh V60 but had a steep £5 price tag on it. We could see their brewing station here and it surprised us that they as so many others have a massive gap between the filter and the jug they are filtering into as this is quickest way for coffee to loose it’s temperature when using the drip filter method. Anyway, that coffee lacked lingering taste and dad thought they might have used too little coffee for the amount of water, unless that was the taste they were going for. but the ratio for us, I tried a little sip, was too weak, so sadly a disappointing last cup of coffee.

Leon’s @ Kings Cross

After walking half the way back to Kings Cross to avoid the ridiculously busy oxford circus tube station and getting on at Regents Park instead, we eventually collapsed in Leon for a bit of food whilst waiting for our train home. I had a yummy vegan kale and beetroot falafel salad whilst dad enjoyed some rice and meatball dish. As we ate our food it seemed like we had only arrived in London an hour ago let alone 6! Time had flown by so quickly we only got to about half of the coffee shops that were actually on our list! However it was a great and informative trip all the same. I realised that in general these supposedly more geeky coffee shops with various brewing methods on offer sadly didn’t actually seem to be that informed on coffee (at least the waitressing staff) and in general there just seemed to be a bit of coffee passion lacking which was a shame. We have some good ideas of what we want to add and alter I our own coffee menus for the reopening and are excited to share our passion for coffee with the public again very soon!

Platform 9 3/4

Anyway all in all I had a nice time coffee crawling through central London and checking out how other cafes do their thing. To top it all off Platform 9 3/4 wasn’t busy so I could finally get a photo hehe!

Any other coffee geeks and snobs out there?! Have you tried any of these coffee shops? I’d love to know!

MATE DATE AT THE BOHEMIAN

Published on January 12, 2018January 12, 2018 by simplycarinaxo1 Comment

Good evening beautiful souls,

On Wednesday I went to Newcastle to catch up with an old friend from uni. My friend Rachel was doing dry January and so we decided to meet up over lunch in Newcastle instead of over drinks as we usually would. I was excited to see what Newcastle had on offer regarding food because with my biggest new years resolution being to eat a vegan diet this was a great opportunity to try out a new restaurant I wouldn’t previously have given much thought. After some browsing I decided on The Bohemian which had great reviews. It took us a couple of minutes to find (google maps aren’t always helpful aha), but once we found it I realised I’d walked past it many times before as it was just past one of my favourite pubs in Newcastle, The Fourth. It has a cute vibe and is a mix of restaurant, bar and record shop. I didn’t look at the records this time round but will definitely have a browse next time I go!

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Once in and seated we were lucky to discover that The Bohemian was participating in the Newcastle restaurant week and so we got a special three course menu for £15, not a bad deal at all. After some deliberating (I’m actually glad we had a restricted menu as all the choices sounded so good) I went for the Shredded Peking Jackfruit, with hoi sin sauce, pancakes, spring onion and cucumber for starters, The ‘Greek’ Pizza for mains and the Cointreau and chocolate tart for dessert. Wow it felt like I was splashing out, I mean I never order three courses when I go out!

I really loved the starters, the peking jackfruit was ok on it’s own but wrapped up in the pancake with the spring onion and cucumber and dipped into the hoi sin sauce was an amazing combination!

The Greek pizza was also scrumptious; on what seemed like a homemade stone baked pizza base the vegan cheese was perfectly melted and flavours fantastic. Now I’ll admit vegan cheese can definitely taste different and isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the vegan mozzarella on the pizza tasted fab to me and I really enjoyed the pizza as it had been a while since I had a freshly made stone baked pizza.

After starters and mains I really was rather full, however I still managed to polish of my dessert! The chocolate tart served with a fruity sorbet was the perfect combination of light and tart with creamy and heavy chocolate – heaven.

So if you haven’t been able to guess – I would highly recommend The Bohemian in Newcastle. If you ever try out this restaurant do let me know what you think – I’d love to know!

Love Carina xo

MINI GETAWAY – DESTINATION EDINBURGH

Published on December 8, 2017September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxo8 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

I have been savouring my last two days off relaxing in gorgeous Edinburgh with my sister. For once I was lucky enough to find a really cheap first class ticket from Durham to Edinburgh and I enjoyed the finer things. Well, I tried to; I kinda messed up the first class thing never having been before and missed out on half of the breakfast I could have had. Oh well, I’ll know for next time. I still enjoyed my croissant and chamomile tea whilst gazing out at the ever-changing scenery and listening to the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

It was a peaceful journey up, and I arrived with plenty of time to have another cuppa in a cute cafe near Haymarket before going to find the German consulate to get myself a German passport. Once that was all sorted I got on the bus google maps told me would take me to my sisters, however here was me failing at my finest because I didn’t think to check in which direction I would have to get the bus and so of course I soon realised I was half way out of town going in the wrong direction. The bus driver made my day though when I told him what I’d done and he gave me a free day ticket before letting me off to catch a new bus in.the correct direction. So a good hour later I finally found my sister.

We spent the whole afternoon relaxing at hers, but it felt nice to just chill drink tea, eat good food and really catch up. We don’t get many chances to spend quality one on one time together so it’s always nice when we do.

Today after athe relaxed start to the day we wandered around Edinburgh almost freezing ourselves to death it was so icy. But it was lovely all the same as the sun was out. Once we got to the Christmas market we treated ourselves to some delicious mulled wine to warm us up. It was yummy, and I decided to keep the cute mugs too. I love walking through the Christmas markets, they always make you feel so festive. It’s good I didn’t have much cash on me either because there were so many cute stalls with beautiful goods, I’m always especially attracted to the handmade wooden things, from tree ornaments to bowls.

When we’d seen most of the market and with still over an hour to spare till my train home, we popped into costa so I could finish this blog post. I bought a large Americano and was thoroughly disappointed, it came in what looked like a soup bowl with two handles and did not taste grear either. I swear I am spoilt with coffee now aha, since getting used to good coffee, its difficult to not compare coffee to my dads nowadays. Anyway after a short but sweet stay, I am now on my way back to Durham, but sadly not in first class.

Here are just some photos from my brief time with my sister in Edinburgh, enjoy!

Hope you’ve all had a good week!

Love Carina xo

HALLOWEEN MAKEUP TUTORIAL

Published on October 26, 2017October 26, 2017 by simplycarinaxo11 Comments

Good evening guys,

Halloween is one of my favourite times of year in part because I love dressing up and having some fun with face paint! So with only 5 days till the 31st here’s an easy skull inspired makeup look – hope you enjoy!

You will need:

White face paint – black face paint – a little dish of water – black liquid eye liner – black pencil eye liner – dark grey/black eye shadow – white eyeliner – black mascara – makeup brush – beauty blender/sponge

Fresh faced – make sure you have washed you face and moisturised it before you begin.

Start by wetting your makeup brush to dilute the white face paint and apply all over your face and down your neck. Use the beauty blender/sponge to pat out any brush strokes and blend the paint into you neck.

Next use the black face paint and apply similarly to your normal contour lines (as well as encircling your eyes in black) before blending in with your sponge. Tip – do one contour line at a time and blend in with sponge; if you paint on all the lines first they will dry very quickly and prove difficult to blend!

Once the basic contouring is done, keep layering on the colour till you have the depth you want before setting in with dark grey/black eye-shadow. Next grab your black liquid liner and paint on the nose bone or rather lack of and go on to blend your eyes into their dark surrounding with your pencil liner. Use it to fill in your eyelids and darken your waterline. Now it’s time to use your black mascara to define and darken your eyelashes.

And last but not least take your liquid liner again and draw on the stitched up mouth – start with the horizontal line before adding the smaller vertical lines. Remember to take the horizontal line all the way from right to left and over your lips not just from the corner of your lips outwards.

And there you have the final look! Nice and easy and quick!

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Love Carina xo

RECENT BUYS – HAUL TIME!

Published on September 24, 2017 by simplycarinaxo4 Comments

Hello guys,

So I’ve been really excited to write this blog post! I have been spending a little too much money recently aha but sometimes I just can’t help it, all things fashion, beauty or homeware just excite me too much and I don’t always have enough willpower to listen to my reason telling me ‘No Carina you don’t need this!’ aha. So here is my haul, anything I can find online I will add a link to. I hope you enjoy!

Unicorn Slippers – £4.99 B&M

Black Loafers – £15 Asda, Sunglasses – £1 B&M

Palm Leaf Duvet Cover – £14 (King Size) Asda, Yellow Cushion – £4 Asda

Buddha Tealight Holders – £3 each Asda, Fairylighs – £1 Poundland

Ivy plants – £1.50 each B&Q, White Romantisk Tray – £7 Ikea, Napkins – £0.90 Ikea, Tealights – £1.35 Ikea

Trinket dish – £1.50 Ikea, Candle holder – £2 Asda

Reusable Glass Bottle – £3 TKMaxx

Anybody else in a current shopping phase and buy anything exciting?

Hope you are all having a lovely day!

Love Carina xo

AUTUMN WISHLIST!

Published on September 21, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Good morning guys,

Recently I have been in a real shopping mood because there are so many cosy autumnal things that I currently want. It’s a dangerous time seeing all these things I want to buy and it’s difficult trying to restrain myself from spending too much money aha.

I like all seasons and can never decide which is my favourite time of year; however when it comes to fashion, Autumn has definitely got to be my favourite! I am a sucker for deep dark colours so when the mustard’s and wine reds come out and it’s time to snuggle up in big knits, I get really excited, I mean what’s not to love?!

Another thing I have become obsessed with in the last 3 years is homeware. I feel like I should have studied interior design so I could homeware shop all day long for other people, because I just don’t have the space or money to constantly rejig my bedroom theme or buy more homeware decorative pieces or add to my kitchen… aha.

Well, here are some of the things on my current wishlist, I might treat myself to some, like a new candle, others, like the yellow velvet shoes, I really want but would barely get any wear out of, I will only gaze at from a distance but not buy. Sometimes I wish I had an office job so I could wear nice clothes, get my nails done and wear heels aha, but when you work in a cafe/as an artist your clothes will always get dirty with coffee or paint, your nails would be ruined in no time and you’re on your feet most of the day so heels are not comfortable at all. Anyway, here’s my current autumn wishlist:

Yellow Velvet Block Heels, Wanderlust Canvas, Chevron Knit Throw, Cream Colour Block Ladder Lace Up Jumper

These New Look Mustard Velvet heels are the bomb! I am in love! However I know I would only ever wear them once or twice as I am not good with high heels; but that doesn’t stop me from admiring them from a distance!

This canvas from Wilko’s is just super cute and would fit well into the accessories scheme in my bedroom I think. I dream of travelling one day, this wish is so rooted into me that I feel it would only be appropriate to have the Wanderlust definition on my wall with this pretty floral nature pattern around it.

Throws, throws and more throws, I mean you can never have enough right?! This throw from Next just looks super cosy and snuggly and I need it aha. It’s getting solder now and my duvet just isn’t quite warm enough anymore so I want a new throw to match my new bedroom colour scheme to keep me that bit warmer at night.

What can I say about this River Island jumper?! It’s just so funky! I love the colour mix and pattern with the laced through effect on the side and sleeve. This would also look well cute with the velvet boots and a pair of black skinny jeans.

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Black Suedette Embroidered Block Heel, Yankee Candle Cosy By The Fire, Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette, Black Sheer Floral Duster Coat, Black Fringe Sleeve Sweater, Vegan Polley Shoes

Again another pair of beautiful New Look Boots and again a pair I will probably admire from a distance as I sadly just wouldn’t get much wear out of them, but oh the embroidery is just stunning. I love floral patterns and this is a really nice design in beautiful colours.

I know it’s not Christmas yet but Yankee candles just smell amazing I think it’s never to early to accost your nose with wintery smells. They just ooze out cosy evenings and I love nothing more than to enjoy an evening in candle light whether it be with my favourite book or watching a movie with my housemates.

OMG can someone please just buy me this pallet already!?! Ever since Urban Decay’s Naked Heat pallet came out I have been drooling over these beautiful rustic colours and itching to try them. However I try to be sensible and I’m not sure I can justify splashing out on this at the moment whilst I have plenty of eyeshadows for the time being; but wee’ll see, maybe I’ll cave aha!

This River Island duster coat just aught my eye because of the beautiful rusty hues. This is probably to cold to wear without a coat in autumn, but would be perfect for a night out with a LBD for example.

Ah Dr.Martens how long I have eyed your shoes up! These pretty Polley shoes are from their Vegan range as I would not buy real leather shoes anymore. I am in love but at £115 I’m going to have to save up for quite a while!

I do love black as it just goes well with anything and this tassel jumper is just fab. The tassels just add that something extra and make it fun. You could pair this with a skirt, on top of a dress or with jeans, it’s a great versatile jumper.

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Grey Check Trousers, The Little Book Of Hygge, Palm Leaf Duvet Set, Light Wash Ripped Mom Jeans

Trouser time! I have always been a leggings girl, but recently I have been loving my black cropped jeans and really want to add to my trouser collection. I love these checked high waisted trousers from River Island. They are smart but can be worn casual with just a black t-shirt and so they’d be perfect for me to wear to work still as well.

The Little Book off Hygge – it’s been on my wishlist for a while. Learning how to live well, finding a peaceful state of mind, seems like an important thing fro everyone to do! I think this is one of my wishlist items I will treat myself too!

Bedding – I love new bedding and I have resisted so long to buy new ones, but this one from Asda I just love. All my bedding is white or light colour based with greens and greys, but I love that blue is the background colour here. It gives a nice rich feel and with it getting colder I think I want a deeper darker coloured bedding, so I think I will invest in one.

And last but not least these cute River Island Mom Jeans. I struggle to find jeans that fit; as I have big thighs for them to fit there they will then usually be to loose around the waist. But I as I mentioned I have been loving a pair of black cropped skinny’s which I found in a charity shop actually, and they made me want to start wearing jeans more often which is great for this time of year anyway. I think I will definitely have to go jeans shopping soon!

So that is it for my current wishlist, do let me know what you think guys and I’d love to hear what’s on your current wishlist too!

Love Carina xo