Life: Christmas at Chez HollieInWanderlust

Life: Christmas at Chez HollieInWanderlust

Tuesday 22 December 2015

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I head back up north to Lancashire this afternoon to spend Christmas with my family, so this weekend I had my own little Christmas weekend with my boyfriend. I thought I’d blog a little about it about it, which is a little bit of an odd one for us as I’ve never really got my boyfriend involved with my blogging, and the idea of having to wait to take pictures of the food before he was allowed to eat it didn’t go down particularly well with him… 

I decided to decorate our living room a little bit and make a makeshift tablecloth out of left-over wrapping paper. I laid out all of Paul's presents, lit candles and turned on the Christmas tree lights. I live with some other students so obviously we haven't gone overboard with Christmas - we have a tiny little 3 foot tree which my flatmates decorated with tinsel and baubles.  

Pizza making went very well and we had two delicious pizzas to devour. We spent the rest of the evening opening presents, watching movies and listening to the records we'd gifted to each other on my brand new record player. 

All in all, we had an amazing day and evening together. We spent yesterday together as well, and I cooked us a "proper" Christmas dinner of Roast Gammon and all the trimmings, but I got in such a fizzle about cooking everything from scratch that I completely forgot to take pictures. We went all out with the veg, potatoes, meat and of course we had the Christmas tradition of pigs in blankets! I was rewarded by not having to do the washing up, which was obviously greatly appreciated! The rest of our evening was spent watching "The Santa Clause" and then a binge session of "How to Get Away With Murder" which has quickly become our new thing! 

I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas and that your build-up to the festivities has been exciting and full of love! 

Life: December Goals

Life: December Goals

Monday 7 December 2015

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Can anyone believe that it’s already December? I’m SUPER busy at the moment with final deadlines, celebrating with my boyfriend and getting my Christmas shopping all finished but I’m hoping to have the chance to complete a few of my monthly goals this month! They are… 

1. Get all of my work, revision and assignments finished and the ones which are due after the holidays started so I can have a few days off over the festive period! It’ll be nice to sit down between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day and not feel too guilty about enjoying myself instead of working. 

2. Start to blog more regularly again. Uni has really got the better of me over the last few weeks and the last thing I want to do when I’m home after a day of working is sit down and write even more. I’m getting back into it a little bit at the moment so I’m hoping to post a little bit more consistently this month. 

3. Reach 800 twitter followers! This one’s a little bit of a silly one because I don’t really concern myself with figures and statistics but I would like to have a few more followers and get my writing out there a little bit more. I really love working with brands so I feel like more exposure will allow me more opportunities to do this.

4. Make a full Christmas dinner all by myself! I’ve cooked roasts before obviously but I’ve never had the responsibility of cooking a turkey so that’ll be a bit of a challenge for me. I’m excited for pigs in blankets as well, of course! 

5. Complete my Goodreads challenge. This one’s looking ridiculously unlikely at the moment as I’m so behind on my reading but I’m hoping a few days of solid reading over the holidays will push me over the finish line. Wish me luck! 

What are your targets for the month ahead? Let me know down in the comments! 

Wishlist: New House (Soppy) Homeware

Wishlist: New House (Soppy) Homeware

Wednesday 2 December 2015

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Anyone who reads this blog, my twitter or knows me in real life will know that I’m in my 4th and final year of university at the moment and also that I’ve just been accepted onto my PGCE in Primary Education (yay me!) I’m 22 now and while I know I’m not exactly decrepit and falling apart, I’ve decided it’s about time I stopped living like a student and so in June I’m planning on moving into my first real house, and assuming everything goes to plan and we don’t murder each other in the next few months, my boyfriend will be joining me in the move. 

Like any good student, I’m using any spare time I have (aka I’m procrastinating) searching for the perfect house and, more recently, the perfect accessories to really make it the home that we want to live in. I was recently introduced to the absolute JOY that is not on the high street by a friend of mine and while scouring it for Christmas present ideas, I discovered that they have a home section. I thought I’d put together a little NOTHS homeware wishlist to keep track of the lovely things I’ve seen and also share them with you guys, if you’re in a similar position (or else if you just like homeware!) 

I’ve always been a fan of fairy lights but my previous student houses haven’t allowed them or else the room’s been completely massive and they just wouldn’t have looked right. I really want to get some cute little ones to put on the wall behind my bed to just brighten the place up and make everything just a little bit more cosy! These ones are £22, super cute and delicate looking and exactly what I’m looking for. 

I am a candle hoarder, always have been and always will be. I LOVE personalised gifts (as you can probably tell already from this wishlist) and these personalised initial candles are adorable (and scented!!!) I was planning on buying one with my own initial and the OH’s initial as well because I’m a secret romantic (or else a saddo, you decide!) but knowing me I’ll probably start spelling words out before long. 

Continuing in my cutesy romantic theme, I love the “love is all you need” heart shaped light. It’s adorable, I absolutely love the song and it would look so cute in my future lounge. I’m not sure how well this one will go down with the OH but we will have to see whether I can work my magic there… 

My boyfriend and I support different football teams and while they’re not actually rivals in any sense of the word, things do get a little bit heated on the very rare occasions where they actually play each other. I saw this print and fell in love with it immediately because it combines our love of football with adorable decoration and allows both of our teams to be coloured in. I just think it completely suits our personalities and this one is definitely something I’ll be buying as soon as I have the money spare. A little bit more pricey than the others but definitely a very personal gift.

I think the next one is a little bit self-explanatory to be honest, because we all know who the real boss in a relationship is. 

My final item on my wishlist is soppy again - I think I’m going to just have to name this post accordingly, aren’t I!? You can choose which letters you have and the colour of the heart which I think is absolutely adorable. I think this is probably a little bit too much sop for me but I thought it was too cute not to include really! 

Where else should I be looking for houseware and cute little accessories for my new home? Let me know in the comments or else tweet me @holinwanderlust ! 

Book Review: The Sisters - Claire Douglas

Book Review: The Sisters - Claire Douglas

Monday 23 November 2015

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a book review- uni has stopped me from reading for pleasure as I constantly have French literature to devour for my classes, but I thought I’d treat myself to some “me” time this weekend and managed to crack through a psychological thriller.

I bought “The Sisters” by Claire Douglas about a month back as part of my October book haul as part of the amazon 3 for £10 deal. The book definitely stood out to me, principally because it was a psychological thriller and I’m seriously into those at the moment, but also because the plot sounded ridiculously exciting and something I could really get my teeth into. 

The book introduces us to Abi, one-half of a set of twins. We learn that her twin sister Lucy has passed away in a car crash and that since then, Abi has moved away from London to Bath, presumably to escape the history associated with her sister's death. She meets Bea, a beautiful charismatic and energetic character who bears an uncanny resemblance to her deceased sister. The girls become instant friends, and it isn’t long before Bea is introducing Abi to her twin brother, Ben. As to be expected in a psychological thriller, things start to get mysteriously unsettling and Abi finds herself doubting herself, Bea and Ben before everything starts to spiral out of control. 

I found myself really connecting with Abi’s character and I had nothing but absolute sympathy for her throughout the entire novel. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to lose a sibling, let alone a twin, and this was depicted in a beautiful and thoughtful way. Ben’s character irked me from the word go for some reason and I found myself hating him even when I didn’t want to. I also loved Nia and her strong support network.I found certain parts of the book were incredibly tense and I got through the book ridiculously quickly, considering I only had the time to read during the evenings. It was, to use the cliché, unputdownable and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good old psychological thriller. I guessed towards the end what was going on and why but that definitely didn’t make it any less of a good read. 

I’m very much looking forward to seeing what else Claire Douglas has to offer in the future. 

4/5. 

Follow me on goodreads here, if you like! 

Travel: 10 places in 10 years.

Travel: 10 places in 10 years.

Wednesday 18 November 2015

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My boyfriend and I have been talking about the future quite a bit recently and while it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen in our relationship in the coming years, I’d like to think we’re going to be together. He asked me to think of the ten things in the world that I wanted to see the most - whether they be places, monuments or just things in general- so I thought I’d upload my 10 places as a blog post so that we have a record of it and we can go back and tick it off once we’ve done it. We’re going to attempt to do one of the things every year. I thought it was a very lovely, thoughtful and romantic idea so I’ve obviously put a lot of thought into it but at the same time I’ve kept it as realistic as I can! 

• Take my boyfriend to the Blue Lagoon to swim and snorkel like I did when I was a child.

• Visit the Trevi Fountain and make a wish.

• Take cute selfies up the Eiffel Tower.

• Go to the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam.

• Visit Ypres in Flanders to see the War Memorials.

• Visit New York City and climb a skyscraper.

• Holiday in Santorini, Greece.

• Interrail across Germany.

• Visit the Giant’s causeway, Northern Ireland.

• Swim with turtles in the Caribbean

Where do you want to go on your future travels? Let me know in the comments! 

Review: WHEN Travelmate Face Mask

Review: WHEN Travelmate Face Mask

Saturday 7 November 2015

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One of the items in my October birchbox that I’ve just gotten around to using was the When Travelmate facial mask, which is apparently a mask you would use to refresh your skin after hours of travelling around in the sun and wind. I’ve had a particularly long day today and my skin is worn out and tired looking so while it doesn’t exactly match up to what they recommend, I thought it was about time I gave it a go and that it wouldn’t do me any harm. SO, here are my thoughts on it.

First of all, the packaging is blooming adorable! It’s really simplistic but that definitely adds to the appeal. I love the bright pink colour of the packaging and how there’s both written and visual instructions on it. The mask itself was a little fiddly to get on but nothing too major, although since I have such a small head it definitely didn’t fit where it was supposed to! It felt incredibly wet against the skin which is obviously because of the aloe vera gel and serum but I wouldn’t say it was particularly uncomfortable. I could almost feel the moisture soaking into my skin which is definitely a good sign. It smells lovely and fresh which again gives the impression that the ingredients are natural and good for your skin. You’re supposed to leave it on for around 30 minutes and massage any product left on your face into the skin and into your neck to fully take advantage of the moisturising qualities. 

When I got around to taking the mask off, my face felt incredibly hydrated and fresh, which surprised me really because I’m quite skeptical where face masks are concerned but this one really does seem to work. I will say that my face was a little bit red but whether that’s normal or not, I don’t know. I’ll come back and edit this if anything more serious happens to my skin but it doesn’t feel like I’m having a reaction to it. All this said, I definitely think I’ll be treating myself to a few more of them at some point. They are a bit pricey at £25 for a pack of 4 but as a treat or for a special occasion I don’t think it’s too bad. 

Have you tried this brand or any of their products before? What did you think! Let me know! 

Collaboration: A Scandal in Fashion

Collaboration: A Scandal in Fashion

Friday 6 November 2015

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I recently collaborated on a fashion blog post with http://www.roman-blinds-direct.co.uk/ and whilst I’m a bit slow off the mark to post about it, I thought I’d do a little blog post about the brand and what they do and what my contribution was all about. I absolutely jumped on the opportunity to be able to contribute something fashion related to the blog of an incredibly well known brand in the world of interior design, so while this post does seem a little bit out of place it allowed me to discuss fashion in a historical sense and express myself creatively on a new platform. Roman Blinds Direct is one of the leading UK providers of home furnishing products- an amazing brand to get on the good side of if you’re someone like me who’s looking to move into their own house within the next year or so. I was asked by their head of Social Media to contribute a little something to their blog concerning an event that happened 50 years ago to the day last week, the unravelling of a fashion scandal which had Australia up in arms! 

Special thanks to Roman Blinds Direct for asking me to collaborate with them, you can find their twitter at @InteriorGoods. You can find the original post here.

Leading on from this, my next post will most likely be a fashion based one where I’ll be sporting a very luscious white two-piece so I definitely think that this post has fallen perfectly in line with where I’m heading! 

How much do you know about the Jean Shrimpton affair? How has this fashion scandal led to fashion development? Let me know down below!! 

Goodreads: October Book Haul

Goodreads: October Book Haul

Saturday 17 October 2015

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I decided to treat myself to a few new books the other day so I thought I’d share what I bought with you lovely readers. I took advantage of the 3 for £10 deal that amazon have going on so they were an absolute bargain and all books which I’ve had on my reading list for quite a while now. 

I’ve read 3 Gayle Forman books to date and enjoyed every single one of them, particularly the If I Stay/Where She Went duology, so I decided to treat myself to the first in a series of three, Just One Day. I actually already own this book in French but hadn’t gotten around to reading it, so I thought I’d make like easier for myself and read it in English instead. 

The second book I chose was one I actually know nothing at all about, other than the fact that it fits into the category of psychological thriller that I’ve grown to love over the past few months. The premise of the book sounds interesting and I’ve read a few reviews which all seem to paint a positive image so I thought I’d give it a go. The Sisters sounds absolutely up my street so I’m pretty sure I’m going to love it! 

How to be both is a book I’ve heard so much about but yet know nothing about, if you get my drift. I’ve seen it in bestsellers lists in newspapers and bookstores alike but never actually picked it up to read the blurb. I’m hoping that it’s as good as the bestsellers lists imply, I think I’m going to tackle this one first out of the three I chose. 

What are you reading at the moment? Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments! 

Follow me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6134504-hollie

Review: Nanokeratin Hair*

Review: Nanokeratin Hair*

Friday 16 October 2015

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I was recently approached by a hair company called Nanokeratin asking me if I wanted to try a few of their products. I received 4 little sample sachets on leave in conditioner and hair mask in the post a few days later and I’ve finally gotten around to using the products over the last few days. 

I was a little bit apprehensive about the concept of a leave in conditioner because my hair can get oily quite easily and with it being so dark it’s made all that more obvious. I washed my hair as instructed with water and shampoo and then towel dried my hair before running the conditioner through the ends. It smells incredible which is always a good thing because I’m a bit funny about how my hair smells and I actually felt that there was a noticeable difference in the condition of my hair from the word go. It felt softer and less tangled and that’s definitely still the case a few hours later (although the smell has worn off.) 

I’m yet to try the mask but I most likely will in the next few days. The products are pretty expensive but if I continue to see a difference in the state of my hair I think I’m going to splash out a little bit and treat myself. You can buy the product direct from the company or else you can get it through the Toni and Guy website. 

Have you ever tried any products by Nanokeratin?

*Samples from company but opinions completely my own

Review: October Birchbox

Review: October Birchbox

Sunday 11 October 2015

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Yesterday I received my very first Birchbox in the post and I’ve never been so excited to get mail before in my life! I opted for the Stylist Birchbox after a lot of deliberation as it seemed to have products in it which were much more useful to me and would be things I’d definitely be interested in purchasing full sizes of in the future. 

The box contained 6 little beauty products, one of which was a full sized product and three Birchbox exclusives. Obviously I haven’t had a chance to use any of the products yet but I plan on doing little reviews of the ones I like the most in the next couple of weeks, after I’ve got a little bit of use out of them. I’m actually pretty impressed by the range of products offered and I’m particularly looking forward to trying out the Smoothing Blowout Spray by Jeff Chastain as my hair is ridiculously frizzy and curly so I tend not to bother using a hairdryer on it as it generally just makes it more prone to frizz. I’m hoping that this little product will reduce the frizz as well as acting as a heat protector. The packaging is super cute and it smells absolutely incredible as well. 

I love the design of the box itself and the cute little drawstring bag that the products come in is adorable as well and will definitely be useful in the future. It came very safely packaged in the post, which obviously meant that the products were in perfect knick when they arrived. 

Have you ordered the October Birchbox? Which products are you enjoying this month? Let me know in the comments.