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Tuesday 29 September 2015

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Hi Guys,

Ignore this post as it is just the link to Bloglovin... If you are signed up to Bloglovin follow me and post your blog in the comments and I'll take a peek!

xoxo


An Audience with Cressida Cowell

Monday 28 September 2015

It’s time for you all to see my slightly more nerdy side! A couple of weeks ago an old family friend invited me to go with him to an evening event at the theatre. As children we both loved the books How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, in fact I no longer owned my own copy of the first book because I gave it to him. 


When we arrived at the theatre we were greeted by little goodie bags with “I train dragons” badges, a poster of the Viking Map and a paper crown. However. it quickly dawned on us that we were the only people not accompanied by a parent…whoops! 
Despite the young age group the talk was aimed at, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Cressida read out extracts from the book and taught us some “Dragonese” (the language spoke by the dragons for those of you who haven’t read the books). She is a fantastic speaker and told us all about her childhood holidays on a remote island in the Hebrides and how these fuelled her imagination and stories of ancient Vikings and dragons. 

It was very interesting when Cressida spoke about the movies made by Dreamworks as they actually don’t follow the stories in the books. Although the basic idea of learning to be a hero the hard way and how greatness is something to be striven for, rather than a pre-wrapped gift, is the same for both formats. Cressida actually has quite a lot of sway over how the plot changes and manages to keep the characters similar to those in the books. 


One of my favourite parts of the story is the fact that she illustrates the books herself, I feel that this really helps the reader to see the characters exactly the way Cressida imagined them from the beginning. The Dreamworks team tried to stick as closely as possible to these character designs too.



The talk was really interactive and Cressida asked the audience questions and answered many at the end. Even as an adult it was a really enjoyable evening. At the end of the talk we had the added bonus of getting our books (I repurchased the first one…shush!) signed and having a photo with Cressida herself. I had never been to an author meet up before, but I will definitely be trying to go to more in the future! Let me know in the comments if you have met up with any authors recently =)


xoxo

Back to Uni

Thursday 24 September 2015


On Monday I started back at university for my 4th year, saying that makes me feel like I’ve been at uni forever! I always like to plan in advance my outfit and makeup for the first day. It’s so important to feel confident, but also comfortable when you’re going to be seeing people again after a whole summer away. I am naturally very girly and I have always felt at my most comfortable in a dress or a skirt, so that is my go-to for a first day back outfit. I also like to make a bit of a statement the first day! 


I decided to go with this gorgeous burgundy dress from Miss Selfridge, it is a bold colour, but very autumnal and feminine. The top of the dress is fitted, but at the hips it swings out to give a nice float and swish as you move around. I paired this with some thin black tights and these gorgeous black suede brogues from a small boutique in France (I have forgotten the name!). For my hair, I decided to tie back the front and top with a small black lace bow clip, to give a semi-up-do feel to my hair, out of my face but still quite casual. I went with very simple jewellery, a lovely Vivienne Westwood watch in lime green and salmon pink tones, a gold bangle linked by a thin chain to a ring and my usual array of earnings.  

For a first day back at lectures I think it is important to be fairly natural with the makeup, especially as it is still early autumn and a fresh look will show off a summer tan very well. Plus it helps with the whole casual chic aim of this look. For my face I use the Benefit How to look the best at everything kit in light as a base, minus the powder, and Clarins Everlasting Foundation + in Ivory as foundation. I then use the Benefit Flawless powder in Ivory to set my makeup. My blusher is the old Benefit Coralista, I think the current shade for this has changed and is more bronzey, mine is quite old so is more of a coral/plum tone. Around the eyes I used two gold, one light and one more intense, shades from the Ted Baker Ballerina pallet. This gives a lighter version of the traditional smokey eye and catches the light to give a subtle glow. I love the mascara I’m using at the moment, it is the My Little Beauty mascara soin et volume and it give a fabulous length and curl to my lashes. I pencil in my eyebrows very lightly, just to give a bit of shape using the Sephora long lasting brow pencil in light brown 01. I also like to use the clear L’Oreal Brow Artist Plumper gel mascara to maintain the shape throughout the day! Finally, I like to use the muted pink Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01 to provide a nice sheen, for a natural looking lip. 
I just thought I would share my first day back outfit with you all and let me tell you, it was such a good choice, I really appreciated the comfort of the dress and flat shoes after a 9-6 day in class! One piece of advice, avoid new or uncomfortably heeled shoes in your first week as you never know how much walking you might need to do! 
What did you guys wear on your first day? Or what have you planned to wear if you haven’t gone back yet? I would love to hear about it in the comments below :-)


xoxo
Hattie enters the 21st Century

This blog post has been a long time in coming, but it's a little daunting you know, kind of like a shout into the void, you're never quite sure what response you'll get, if any really! But here I am, so go easy on me blogosphere (is it still cool to call it that?)...

I have long been someone who reads blogs and wishes I could be one of those people sat behind a computer writing witty, inspiring and fun things, so this summer I finally plucked up the courage to give it a go. 

I feel like I really should introduce myself before I get started, so here are 5 random facts about me: 


1. I have a teeny tiny (which means huge) obsession with cozy jumpers in the winter, the stranger the pattern, the better...
2. I LOVE putting cinnamon in scrambled eggs then eating them on crumpets. 
3. Purple is my favourite colour, in case you hadn't noticed. 
4. I have read the Lord of the Rings trilogy about a dozen times, I read them every exam season as a stress relief. 
5. I have known my best friend since the day I was born, and no, she isn't my twin or even related to me! 

Let me paint a picture for you, I'm just a girl sat at her desk, staring out the window and dreaming. I want my little corner of the internet to be a warm place filled with all the things that I like: beauty, cooking, books, lifestyle and nature :-) So welcome and I hope you enjoy. 

xoxo

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