March Favourites!

A bit late, huh!? Well, there’s no time better than present, so here were the things I most loved during the month of March!

HOME by Peter Morrissey Vanilla Candle

HOME Candle

I love a good homey vanilla scent candle! They fill the house with a lazy comforting aroma that makes you feel happy all day! I usually like to burn candles later on in the day and into night as it makes the house cozy and delightful!

This particular candle is the first I’ve bought with double wicks. At the time of purchasing I wasn’t sure how quick it would burn through. But now that I’ve had it a while, it seems to burn in the same similar time as a single wick.

I’m not too sure what I’ll do with the glass dish once the candle has died. I was thinking of cleaning it out and using as a place to store random knick-knacks. Do you have any other suggestions? Let me know in the comments!

Bourjois Limited Edition Vintage Blusher in 16 Rose Coup de Foudre (Love-Struck Rose)

Bourjois Blush

I say, ‘what’s a favourites list without a few beauty products?!’ And this one doesn’t disappoint!

Now to be completely honest and melodramatic, this blush has changed my life! It is so beautiful, petite and lush that I’ve been swooning over it all month! It’s this gorgeous shade of pink/coral that has a delicate shimmer mixed throughout. It’s quite a heavy type covering blush, so only a little on the brush goes a long way!

I bought it online through ASOS who, I happily discovered, have a pretty good beauty/makeup range to explore with some very competitive prices that makes this little Aussie smile! (Cosmetics are super expensive in Australia, so any place where I can buy at a cheaper price is fantastic!!)

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in 006 Pink Blush

RimmelLippy006

Along with my sweet little blush, I also purchased another Rimmel lipstick. My excuse for buying it was that I didn’t have this shade of pink lippy in my collection. (As one does!) I find that I really like soft pinks like this when I want a makeup day to be really light, casual and minimal.

Pieces Akamo Bar Stud Earrings

BarEarringsCloseup

I’ve been looking for a pair of stud earrings like this for a good little while now, so when I was browsing on ASOS, I checked out their jewellery section and found these little beauties! They were super cheap and the exact colour I was wanting! Win! So naturally, I’ve been wearing them all month!

Fluffy Socks

FluffySocks

Autumn has finally set in in Australia and the nights are getting particularly chilly! So to keep my little piggies (my toes, that is!) warm, I’ve been snuggling up in these cozy fluffy socks! I find because it’s not quite Ugg Boot weather yet, these socks seem to do the best job at keeping me warm. Their soft, feathery nature makes it feel like I’m walking on clouds! It devine!

A Circle of Geese foundation paper piecing pattern by Piece By Number

A Circle of Geese Block

I’ve had a great month getting lost in some random and fun sewing projects, especially this block pattern by Piece By Number. It was a bit strange actually; I had this odd craving to get stuck into some foundation paper-piecing for some reason and remembered this great block I had made when I was doing the Craftsy Block of the Month with Amy Gibson a few years ago. So I printed out the pattern pieces, dug out a few of my favourite DS Quilts fabrics and simply got lost in the sewing process! It was wonderful!

Hot Cross Buns!

So March was Easter. And with Easter comes chocolate and Hot Cross Buns! And man, was I craving them! I’m pretty sure I bought over three packets of buns in as many weeks! And don’t worry, I did share them with my family but even that was pretty hard to do!!

The way that I love to eat them is heated to warm, with a good spread of butter and a hot cup of tea! Ooo, heaven!

BONUS FAVOURITE!

AVPM One other thing I absolutely loved throughout March was re-watching A Very Potter Musical, A Very Potter Sequel and A Very Potter Senior Year by StarKid on their YouTube channel. If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter books I would very much encourage you to watch them! They’re ‘totally awesome!’

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So one month over and another has replaced it! Let me know of any things you’ve loved over the past few weeks! I would love to know!

I also uploaded this video chatting all about these favourites! Check it out if you wish!

Happy Favouriting, Friends!

xx

Other Favourites posts from this year…

+ January

+ February

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February Favourites!

{Oh my, my! I’ve been so slack with getting my posts written and published this week! Naughty! So because of that, three new posts (including this one) will be published over the next few days! Hope you don’t mind!!}

…And so, another month of our new year has been and gone. It’s a bit scary to think that we’re almost halfway through March! But before we get a little bit too panicky about how fast the year is moving, allow me to share with you the things that made February a happy one!

one // Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss in ‘005 Effortless Glam’

KateMossLippy - Feb Favs

Since becoming a little bit more interested in beauty and makeup these past 12 months or so, I’ve struggled to find a lip colour that a) suited me b) didn’t make me look like a drag queen and c) came close to matching my natural lip colour to the point were it didn’t really look like I was wearing any lipstick at all.

I quite accidentally came across this lipstick while grocery shopping one day… I was walking past the cosmetics section and saw that my favourite brand had some great little sales. Whoo! So of course, I had to have a little bit of a look to see if there was anything I liked and quite innocently found this lippy! As soon as I got home and gave it try, I knew instantly that this was my new go-to lip colour for days when I chose to work a natural/everyday makeup look.

two // Rimmel Lasting Finish Colour Rush Balm in ‘220 Rumour Has It’

RimmelLipBalm - Feb Favs

In stark contrast to the last lip colour, this one is as bold as I’m willing to confidently wear! It has a bright pink tone to it and makes my lips pop!

My bold-lippy look from when I was on holiday!
My bold-lippy look from when I was on holiday!

I think it takes real guts and confidence to wear a lip colour of this intensity, especially when you’re first starting out! I like how easy it is to apply as well as the soft matte finish it gives. It’s hydrating (hence why it’s called a ‘balm’) and doesn’t feel sticky on the lips. The colour makes me feel like a real grown-up (even though I am!) and really girly at the same time. And I’m okay with that.

three // Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in ‘200 Soft Beige’

RimmelFoundation - Feb Favs

Because I’m a make-up newbie, this is the first foundation I have ever bought! And because I really have nothing else to compare it with, naturally I really love this one!

Now, I don’t wear foundation (or make up) everyday. I keep foundation for those special kind of days… Appointments, meetings, special occasions etc. So when I do get a chance to wear it, I find that it just makes everything on my face look so much brighter, smoother and prettier. It’s easy to blend in, hides all of the red bits wonderfully and soothes those horrid colours that unfortunately form under my eyes when I go to bed too late!

four // OGX Kukui Oil – Anti-Frizz Hydrating Oil

AntiFrizzSpray - Feb Favs

A few weeks ago, I boarded a ship in Sydney that would take me to one of the most humid places I have ever been – Fiji!! Now luckily for me, I’d visited this part of the world before (Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands) and knew how the humidity would affect my hair…

Monica and that moment in Friends...
Monica and that moment in Friends… {SOURCE}

So I bought this and used it everyday on my hair while away and fell in love with it! I spritzed it in while my hair was wet and/or dry and it just helped to control those pesky fly-away hairs that make me look like I don’t own a hair brush as well as giving a nice a little shine to my finished hair-do.

five // Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Perfume

ChanelCoco - Feb Favs

When ever I go on a cruise, I always take full advantage of the duty-free shops onboard, where I indulge in my love for pretty perfume! And this time around was no exception!

The first perfume I came across was this one. It was actually the only one that stood out to me at the time – it smells so wonderfully pretty!

The over all scent of this perfume is soft and light, feminine and delightfully subtle. This too is highlighted in the design of the bottle – sleek, slim and very old-school. I feel like a million bucks when I spritz this all over, it fills me with confidence, allowing me to feel like I can do and achieve anything that is put before me!

And I think any perfume that can do that, is a keeper!

six // L’Occitane Jasmin & Bergamote Perfume

L'Occitane - Feb Favs

The second perfume that caught my eye…? Nose…? Imagination…? Well, the one that made me weak at the knees – was this one from L’Occitane.

It’s a total polar-opposite to that of the Chanel perfume. The scent is hard hitting, heavy but fresh and is perfect to wear as an all day perfume. The strong notes of Jasmin remind me of the spring when all of the bushes are flowering in our neighbourhood. It’s just delightful!

seven // Album of the Month: Hozier

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I’m always on the hunt for new music and this month Hozier caught my attention!

iTunes sums up his sound as ‘haunting’ and ‘bluesy’ and as an album full of ‘spine-tingling soulful rock’n’roll’ combined with ‘elements of gospel, primitive rock, vintage R&B and ancient blues’. And I would have to agree 100%! It’s so easy to listen, groove and sway to all day long!

Stand out tracks for me include: From Eden, Someone New, Like Real People Do and Foreigner’s God.

eight // Film of the Month: Whiplash

[SOURCE]
[SOURCE]

I saw this movie while I was away on holiday and I was absolutely blown away by it! I had seen a few little promos for it here and there, but I didn’t really have any idea what the plot of the movie was. 

And woah! Does this movie hit you in the face or what!? It’s fast, intense, challenging, dramatic and so wonderfully shot and edited. I loved the jazz music that was woven throughout the whole story and I found myself emotionally rooting for the main character and his struggles – I wanted him to succeed and prove everyone wrong about his talents! (See the movie and you’ll know what I mean!)

J.K Simmons very much deserved the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that he received for his role – he was cunning, challenging, manipulative and intense. He was utterly brilliant!

nine // Kikki.K Grey Felt Travel Wallet

KikkiKWallet - Feb Favs

I don’t know whether you know this already, but I recently went away on holiday to Fiji! (Don’t worry, I know that you do. It’s hard to express sarcasm in writing!) And for ages I was looking for a basic travel wallet were I could safely and easily store my passport, boarding ticket, money and I.D all together.

One lucky morning, a few days before our departure date, I walked into my local Kikki.K store and found this great felt covered travel wallet featuring all of the right pockets, zips and clasps I was looking for. And even better, it was on sale – half price baby! Whoo!

The only down side to it is that it is a little bulky i.e. a bit long, but I can live with that. Everything else about it I love: the tactile felt surface, how slim it feels when in hand, easy access to every pocket and the secure stud button.

It really makes me wanna travel again…sigh.

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So February Favourites are done and dusted! If you’re interested in watching me talk about these favourites, click here for the video!

And, if you missed my January Favourites, click here to read all about them!

Did you have anything in particular you loved in February? Comment below, I would love to know!!

Happy Favouriting, Friends!

xx

A WEEKLY VLOG | Winter Flu, Nephews & Study

So I’m doing something new over on my YouTube channel

I’m still creating tutorials and the like but I’ve also begun uploading weekly vlogs (and sometimes daily vlogs too!), in an attempt to have you, my viewer and reader, get to know me more.

I want to continue to post and share my Weekly Vlogs with you here on my blog, bravely welcoming you into my life behind my sewing, my writing, my filming – the whole lot!

If you’re not the kind to watch vlogs or are solely uninterested in watching – then that’s cool. I promise I won’t be offended. 🙂

So here is the first of many (I hope!) Weekly Vlogs!

So what made me want to film the things happening in my life and share them all over the internet? Good question! Here are my answers…

1. I love watching daily/weekly vlogs. I think it’s very common to be naturally curious about how other people live their lives, about what happens to them, the experiences they face on a daily basis and the fun that they have with others. Simply, vlogs easily allow me to relate with other people, roughly the same age as me, in what they’re doing. And by that, I feel a little less lost and useless in this crazy world!

2. I like the creativeness of vlogging. Filming and editing footage is a new platform for me and I’m still learning the ins-and-outs of the biz. Vlogging gives me the outlet to experiment and become more relax in front of the camera as well as give me confidence in translating what’s in my brain into a video that’s a few minutes long. Editing footage also gives me the chance to be creative with most of my senses: sight, touch, hearing/listening, emotive, worth etc. and that pleases me.

3. I’ve received some awesome encouragement from friends, readers and viewers to get on the ‘Vlogging Bandwagon’ so to speak and I’ve taken that encouragement to heart! To receive comments from strangers (essentially) who are genuinely interested in my day-to-day life is extraordinary and completely blows my mind! I think it comes back to the whole ‘relating to what other people do’ shiz.

4. In all honesty, I worry that the content I put on my YouTube channel is so far out of the ‘mainstream box’ and isn’t ‘personal’ enough that I need to plump it up a bit with more videos about myself. Perhaps that’s my ego or my endless self-doubt creeping in but that’s just how I feel. Don’t get me wrong, I’m super-proud of the content I have my channel (each video is obsessed over time and time again before it’s uploaded). I wouldn’t change the main goal/idea of what I want the channel to be, but I just want to make it a little bit more relatable to those who aren’t quite into the quilty/crafty/diy scene.

Okay, so I’m a little brave in sharing with you my deep and honest thoughts (my panic & anxiety is through the roof!) and I don’t know why I feel the need to justify the reasons why I’ve started to vlog my life… But it’s happening and I’m super-excited about it!

And…while we’re talking about videos and the like, I’m currently in the middle of editing another Quilt Block Tutorial! Yay! I haven’t filmed/uploaded one for over three weeks!!! (My bad…) Here’s a sneaky!

(PS. You can see the whole block on my instagram!)

House Block Sneaky

Happy Sewing Friends!

xx

One last thing: Here are links to some of my favourite vloggers…

FunForLouis

Hannah Maggs

ViviannaDoesMakeup

They inspire me to live life to the fullest, to set my goals on the things that I love to do and to be uber-creative with my editing!