Monday Resolutions

The time has come where I have had to return to London town from my sleepy little village in the Cotswolds and I write this on the train. Last week was spent at my kitchen table (mostly) with my head in my books, catching up on missed work as best I could. This week will be about having fun and enjoying where I am at the moment. So my resolutions for this week are:

- Splash out and eat somewhere totally new and pricier than normal.
- Spend a whole day browsing the V&A.
- Book a night out at the theatre or see something live, it'll get me buzzing!
- Go on a proper night out. London, it's been too long!

Because afterall, I won't be 21 and living in London forever!

What do you want to focus on this week? Do you have any good London recommendations?

With love, 

C x

10 good things about this week

Source

Primark pyjamas - I am guilty as charged of spending my £60 Primark shop budget almost entirely on pyjamas - they are just so comfy! I regret nothing.

America Horror Story: Coven - I've finally been able to catch up and boy was the wait worth it! Isn't Jessica Lange a goddess? So far it isn't quite as terrifying as Haunted House, and not a patch as petrifying as Asylum, but it's really got me thinking. My great aunt believed she was a witch (and her sister believed in fairies, but that's another story!) and left all these old books around. I've been delving into a few this week. It's so interesting learning about where all these old superstitions originated from.

Carrot and coriander soup - My lovely friend Alice taught me her secret recipe for soup. It is so good - spicy and warm and still healthy. Perfect for quiet lunch breaks between my mountain of essay writing this week.

Blue skies - I've been striding up the hills this week in between the rain. Most days it's been so clear. I love the colours this time of year, and how these cloudless, blue days are still cold. Every breath feels so crisp and fresh. Autumn is my favourite season. It's all about revival and promise of the next year in the closing of the previous.

Tickets to South Africa booked - This Christmas I'm leaving the dreary English winter behind and jetting off to South Africa where it's the middle of their summer for a few weeks. It's official! The tickets are booked...

Flower deliveries - Recently we've had so many flowers delivered we've had to borrow vases from neighbours. Even now we're still receiving them (though not quite as frequently!) White lillies were my mother's favourite flower - they're so beautiful and delicate. They remind me of her and a comfort to have bunches around the house this week. Their scents fill an entire room.

Bahoma scented candle - My sister brought me a candle for my room at uni. It's Banoma's 'Vineyard' scent with notes of 'Apple, Aniseed, Jasmine, Cognac, Orange, Caramel, Vanilla & Musk'. Doesn't that sound divine? I've put it by the Aga to slowly warm through and release all those delicious autumnal smells.

Good wine - Now I'm no wine expert, but a bottle of Gewurztraminer has mellowed me out wonderfully this week. It's dry and sweet all at once and (I swear) the nectar of Gods!

Sick days - My baby sister has had six teeth removed this week in preparation for brace-work. We spent yesterday curled up watching our Friends boxsets with ice cream at the ready. Season 1 & 2 are gold - especially with Rachel and Ross together!

This little blog - It's so lovely to be back and all your lovely comments. You give me strength and help me focus on the good things. You all warm the cockles of my heart, bloggers. Thank you!

What has been good about your week? I do hope it's been a warm and cosy as mine has while these winter months draw in. 

Have a super weekend,

C x

November Inspiration

1) I've been a reader of Moorea-Seal's blog for a while now and I love how she write about doing her nails as a little reminder to take time out to care for herself. I thought I would start a little 'self-love Sunday' edition of this. Any one got any good nail varnish suggests? Or manicure tips?

2) Spot the theme here! This month is going to be all about comfort and keeping warm and cosy inside. I've also taken up the fine art of knitting - more on that later!

3) I'm on the hunt for the perfect dark red lip. I'm just about pale enough to pull it off, especially with the winter months approaching. Perhaps the Mac counter is a good place to start, beauty bloggers?

4) Celtic & Co. boots. Sheepskin lined. Enough said? I already have these beauties on order! 

5) I want to make a big photo wall like this, full of fun uni memories, friendship and love.

6) This month is a month for reading: for my seminars and for my own enjoyment. At the moment I could think of nothing better than curling up by the fire with a good book, a glass of Rioja and one of those cosy blankets. 

7) For the more adventurous nights, I'm going to make the most of living in London. Going out, having a laugh and a dance, meeting more people and making the best memories. Maybe even my first bloggers' meet up too..?

8) Every blonde needs a brunette best friend! I'm looking forward to returning to uni to my two brunette bombshells and evenings up like talking like this. Only one more year before the world of work sinks in. How daunting is that?

What's inspired you to look forward to the up-coming month? Is it just me, or does Christmas still feel a few months away?

Monday Resolutions

This week is reading week. It should mean nights out in London and days in bed recovering with a good book. Instead I have six weeks of lectures and seminars to catch up on *gulp*

So my resolutions this week are:

- Get some work done. Less focus on keeping things tidy at home, more focus on that 'first'.
- Get back into a routine that puts studying first - treat it like a 9-6 work day.
- Be gentle. To myself and to my sisters. Less stress, more love.

What are your resolutions this week? 

C x

The Velvet Underground and the best friends ever

October was limbo time for me. I didn't want to make any decisions, but November's come round and it's time to move forward. This week's decision is to go back to university full time and resume life as a normal twenty-one year old. Just typing it fills me with dread. The idea that life can go on as normal is both comforting and unnerving all at once and not something I want to face yet. 

This photo is with my beautiful friend Danica in our first few weeks as freshers. The difference two years makes is amazing - we look so young! Amongst the lovely letters she writes me, she sent me a facebook message: 

'i've been trying to remember a poem, or at least a stanza i could send you, but have yet again come to the realization that i do not know poetry. so there's this song, that i think is about love, and friendship, and devotion.. 

.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMeZCPbM6bA  

love you loads xxx'

It's been on repeat ever since and the soundtrack to the last few weeks - singing it in the shower, listening to it in the background as I work, humming it under my breath as I cook dinner.

It's a song that makes me feel loved and hopeful for going back tomorrow. There are some good memories to be made and I hope this song will be the soundtrack to them as well as the past limbo-land October.

I do hope you enjoy it as much as me

Celia x

Some doors in life you can choose to walk through...

Image sources: I found these on Pinterest and now can't find their original sources. I would love to credit them properly, if anyone comes across them.

You'll come to some doors in life where you can choose to walk through or not. The lucky ones have the luxury of choice with many doors, all leading through other corridors and to more doors. 

Sometimes you reach a dead end. There's only one door and you have no choice but to walk through it. The door I'm looking at at the moment is daunting and all I can see on the other side is grief, but I have no choice but to walk through it. There's no promise that time will make it easier, but if I walk through this door now and face all the fear and pain and suffering, I will be stronger and wiser. That doesn't lessen the loss in the future, but it will strengthen my reaction to it. 

I hope whatever doors you're facing at the moment, you make the right choices and face the consequences with bravery. 

My Father's Birthday.

Yesterday was my father's 56th birthday. Our Aunty Jane baked us a nut-free 'heavy fruit cake' with lots of icing for Grace. It was delicious! We each made a wish and blew out a candle.

So here's to a wonderful dad, who never had to face 60 or acknowledge he had a few grey hairs!

Let me introduce myself...

There is something so wonderfully exciting about a new project - perhaps for the promise of something good yet to come. And there is something so satisfying setting the ball rolling after all the work and preparation to get to that point. I am delighted to welcome you to my new blog.

I hope some old, familiar, friendly faces find me here, as well as some new ones. Though my previous blog had its successes and I loved writing it, I decided to make the change as the cheerful, fashion-focused tone it had didn't accommodate what I would like to write about now. Something I got frustrated with in recent months is how prim blogs can be - about frilly socks and the worst thing in the world being mismatching nail polish. It certainly has it's merits, but as a lifestyle blogger I'd feel like a sham continuing like that.

This blog is my journey through the toughest of times, but still finding happiness in the little things. I will be discussing the harder realities of my life, but this will be my outlet to stay positive and focused on the future.

My father taught me to be brave and kind above all else. If nothing else, if you only read a paragraph of one of my posts, or even just a title, I hope this is what you take from my blog.

With love, 

Celia