November Book Haul

Hello everyone! 

How is everyone doing? Not getting too frozen in the cold weather I hope :-) I'm back today with a little, okay maybe fairly big, book haul. I love going book shopping, to be honest even if I'm just browsing I love it! For me books are the ideal winter hobby, you can curl up with a blanket, a hot drink and enjoy a good story. It's complete heaven! 

At the moment I have been really into classics, something about winter and the back to school vibe always makes me want to read them. Also the Penguin Clothbound Classics are simply divine! They are seriously not helping my bank account or my rapidly diminishing shelf space. As you will no doubt have seen from the photo, I treated myself to a trio of these...

I just love the covers of these books, Coralie Bickford-Smith designs the most beautiful artwork. I think this collection is a triumph, and I am now the proud owner of four of them. Hopefully with more appearing on my shelves in the future! Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert is decorated in pink and purple pomegranate patterns, these colours and the fruit of passion perfectly portray the very passionate nature of the heroine of the story. I'm hoping the red and orange fiery colours of Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence mean the story will also be fiery. In its day it was considered quite the scandalous tale, so I'm quite looking forward to comparing it to modern times. Now when it comes to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the cover speaks volumes (anyone like the bookish pun? No? Okay...). The anatomically correct hearts on the front give it such a dark edge and lead perfectly into the dark sciences the story is based on. 

The next book was a second hand bookstore find, which I'm actually really pleased about. This is one of the original hardback designs of the Discworld stories by Terry Pratchett. The Last Continent is one of the editions missing from my best friend's collection so I'm super excited to give it to her for Christmas :-) 

Finally, leaving the best to last really, is The Original Screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by J. K. Rowling! I have been beyond excited about reading this since it was first announced. So yes I bought it yesterday and have already read it, I make no apologies for this! The design of this book is gorgeous, so I thought I'd give you a little sneak peak before I write a proper review later this week! 

Have you read any of these? Let me know what you've been hauling in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

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My Little Brooklyn Box

Hello everyone! 

So October is long gone and I didn't even notice. Honestly, I don't know where my head has been! Well actually I do, I've been up to my eyes in work and assignments. Buuuuttt that is no excuse for not blogging as much and I apologise guys. Today I wanted to tell you all about the delightful contents of the October My Little Box :-) 

My Little Box is a deeply fabulous french brand dedicated to concocting a monthly box of delights for us! October's box is the Brooklyn box, celebrating all things from that celebrated hipster hub of New York. For those of us wishing for a holiday, this box is a little peek into one! I think this might actually be one my favourite boxes yet, and yes I am aware I say that most times! This box is slightly edgier than the previous ones and bang on trend! 

The design on the front shows a woman wearing the just-this-minute fashionable mid length pleated, metallic skirt. I love this design, it is so current and stylish. I can hear you all shouting at me to just get on with talking about the contents, so let's dive into the box. There is the usual little magazine filled with fashion and beauty tips, this month interviewing Penélope Bagieu, a french writer who moved from Paris to Brooklyn, New York. A bit of a culture shock to say the least, but incredibly interesting to read about. 

Look how cute the pins are! 

The products this month were particularly good! This little mug is ideal for your morning tea or coffee, personally I'm a hot chocolate kind of girl. You can even use the special leaf stencil to dust your drink with cocoa powder to make it look like a Starbucks! Although, these mugs are enamel so you can't put them in the microwave...very important to know! 

I love the little cards that come with each box, I have a little arty wall of them above my desk for inspiration :-) 

The little canvas bags that come in each box have such a super cute design, I love using them for transporting my makeup on the go. However, I think the contents are infinitely more exciting, don't you agree? This month there is this lovely perfume from Courrèges, called La Fille de L'air. It has quite a strong citrus scent so I think I'll be applying this one lightly! It's a perfect summer to autumn transition fragrance, not too spicy, but also not too heavy on the florals. The nail serum is My Little Beauty's own brand product. This Save My Nails strengthening treatment will be such a god send this winter to help me keep my nails healthy and in good condition. I get such dry nails in the winter, it's what comes from working outside a lot *sigh*. 

I thought swatching the colour on here could look arty...

This khol eyeliner pencil in 15 Gold Ornament By Terry is so decadent! I love the way it is not simply a boring black liner, the fact that it is thick, bright gold is so perfect for the upcoming holiday season! It is also the ideal makeup staple to turn a simple, understated look into a style with much more wow factor. This colour would suit any eye colour and skin tone, and will really pull the emphasis to your gorgeous eyes :-) I have taken to wearing it every time I feel like spicing up my look a little. 

The final product is just as gorgeous as all of the above. These three pins are super cute and stylish. I love the matching green and gold collar pins! They work so well with a collared shirt in a light colour. I wear mine with my silky black and white dalmatian print shirt and a pinafore dress. They really complete the outfit, giving it that extra classy, put-together boost. The other pin is of a strawberry iced donut, my favourite kind of donut by the way. This one is super cute to put on a denim jacket or on a jean pocket :-) 

What do you think of this box? Have you got any tips for using these items? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

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How To Read Shakespeare

Hello everyone! 

I thought I would write something a little different this time. Recently I have been on a big classic literature kick, with one of my favourite writers by far being William Shakespeare. Now I'm sure the majority of you will have studied, or will be planning on studying his various works. As most of his work is aimed to be seen rather than read, he is admittedly not the easiest to read from a book. So I thought I would give you a few quick tips on how I like to making reading the Great Bard's writing easier :-) 

1. Pick an easy one to ease you in! This one seems a bit of a no brainer, but with so many pieces to choose from it's not as straightforward as it might seem. Personally, I find tragedies quite heavy and hard to get into, so they aren't really my first choice. My favourites by far are The Sonnets and A Midsummer Night's Dream. I think these two works are quite short and easy to read. The Sonnets can be split into manageable chunks and are so beautifully written that any reader will be held spellbound. A Midsummer Night's Dream is delicate, magical and such a wonderful satire. These factors make them ideal candidates to help you get used to the writing style and old fashioned turn of phrase! 

2. Get in the right mind set. Reading verse or plays can be made so much more difficult if you're feeling tired or disconnected. I find that I really have to concentrate to enjoy Shakespeare to the full. Keeping track of the various plot twists and characters is tricky, so make sure you're equipped with tea and sweet treats! 

3. Annotate! Never be afraid to annotate your books, obviously don't do this if it's a library book or lent by a friend, I doubt they'll thank you for it :-) However, if you own the book and find it easier to absorb things if you write them down, then why not make little notes. Or if you don't want to write in your beautiful book, why not crack out the colour coordinated stationary and make little notes and stick page tabs all over your copy! I particularly recommend this for the historical texts, like King Henry IV for example. 

4. Break it up. Marathoning books is the perfect way to get bogged down and push yourself into a reading slump. If I am finding a plot hard to follow, then I will watch an adaptation of it. Sometimes I do this in chunks as I read the play, it just helps me to understand the direction of the story and distinguish between the different character's voices. That and taking regular breaks to absorb the twists and turns was invaluable in helping me survive studying Macbeth! 

5. Enjoy it :-) The Bard's words were written to entertain and the fact that they are still well loved all over the world is testimony to their quality. That being said, not all of it will be your cup of tea. Don't be scared to say "yup I don't like that genre or style". Read what you enjoy and take the time to appreciate it.

I hope you found these little tips helpful and please do let me know yours in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

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