What I Do In a Day #3

This is a blog series I know I can come back to. This is only the third post in two years but they are easy and fun posts to write and you get to see into my day and life, the other side that isn’t blogging Chanelle. It’s like the written edition of a vlog!

The day this post refers to Thursday, 18th January 2018.

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8:28 a.m. – Get up and take morning medication.

8:30 a.m. – Back to bed.

10:25 a.m. – Wake up. Check emails and social media.

11:07 a.m. – Late breakfast; a banana.

11:30 a.m. – Yoga. (This was my first yoga of the year and I eased myself in with Yoga With Adrienne’s Chair Yoga).

12:55 p.m. – Shower and get dressed. The weather was cooler so I opted for black ponte pants, a t-shirt and a cream jumper.

1:50 p.m. Lunch; rice risotto.

2:45 p.m. – Start London jigsaw.

3:43 p.m. – Photograph books for my reading challenge.

4:59 p.m. – Took delivery of MAC pigment in Tan.

6:07 p.m. – Made a list of cat names I like.

6:26 p.m. – Blog post writing.

6:34 p.m. – Listened to music on Spotify.

7:17 p.m. – Dinner; sweetcorn and cheese and potato toasted sandwich.

8:28 p.m. – Hot drink in the cup my boyfriend bought me for Christmas whilst watching TV.

9:11 p.m. – Vanilla ice cream and custard for dessert.

9:44 p.m. – Journalled.

10:20 p.m. – Laptop and listen to music.

11:53 p.m. Bedtime.

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How did you spend your last day off from work/school etc.?

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Christmas 2017

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the rest of the holiday season!

As well as showing you ‘What I Got For Christmas’ I wanted to share how I celebrated Christmas day and include some lots of festive pictures. Enjoy!

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Every year I’m adamant I’m not going to decorate the tree but every year I end up doing it. This year I was more selective with decorating and stuck to a colour scheme: pink, purple and silver.

The tree:

Some of my favourite decorations:

Decorations around the house:

My mum has a miniature pink Christmas tree which is my favourite. I bought it for her in a Boxing Day sale a couple of years back.

Presents:

The presents looked so lovely under the tree and were placed there throughout December.

The festivities:

My family and I had our big meal a day early on Christmas Eve. I suggested this to my mum as she does the cooking and it meant we could relax more on the day itself. She wouldn’t have to spend the morning cooking. For Christmas dinner we had ham, rolled turkey, vegetables and gravy. I didn’t take a picture of this part of the meal but I did capture shots of dessert: trifle and Pavlova, a Kiwi classic! (Pavlova is a meringue based dessert usually covered in whipped cream and strawberries).

Trifle.

Pavlova. I placed the strawberries on top.

On Christmas Day we had leftovers for lunch before heading up to visit my aunt. I spent Christmas morning opening presents and getting ready; I curled my hair and did my makeup. *CLICK HERE* to see how I achieved this makeup look.

Christmas Day selfie.

In the evening I got dropped at my boyfriend’s house and got to open more presents and gift some too.

Presents for my boyfriend and his family:

What I Got For Christmas

Mum:

I needed casual, comfy shoes and both of these pairs fit the bill.

The backdrop for all present photos is a throw which was a gift from my mum too. It’s dark grey with sparkly bits.

My mum also got me some Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Cream chocolate bars (these were my favourite as a kid), an Argan Oil hair mask, a London sign and some copper string lights. I plan to put the lights around my bedhead/they might come in handy for blog photos.

Brother:

I fell in love with the Morphe 25A Copper Spice palette after Rachael snagged it and it instantly went on my Christmas list! This Paris jigsaw is similar to the London one mentioned in my Christmas Wishlist. I bought the London one myself so I have both!

Boyfriend/Boyfriend’s Parents:

This giraffe teddy also featured on my Christmas wishlist! I am so glad I got him and all that’s left now is to think of a name. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!

My boyfriend also gifted me the mug and the mini Ecoya candle. I requested Guava & Lychee Sorbet and it smells deliciously fruity – I can’t wait to light it.

My boyfriend’s parents got me a few things but the Agatha Christie book and Juicy Couture rollerball perfume were my favourite. The rollerball has Viva la Juicy at one end and Viva la Juicy Glacé at the other.

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How did you celebrate Christmas? What presents did you get?

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Christmas 2017 Wishlist

Christmas is not far away and while I’ve got most of my Christmas shopping done I was thinking about what I’ll be receiving this year and what I would like. Some people might say I’m fussy but I don’t think so at all, if someone has reason behind a gift that means more than the gift itself. I love surprising people and really thinking about what they like, I enjoy giving gifts. I’d be happy to receive any of the items in this post!

1. OPI – Tiramisu For Two

I heard this nail polish mentioned in a beauty chat with Rochelle Humes and Sam and Nic Chapman. Tiramisu For Two is one of Rochelle’s favourite nail polishes and when I Googled it, I instantly loved the colour. It’s one of those nudes that suits a number of skin tones and I love the name! OPI describe Tiramisu For Two as “a sweet coffee cream” and I definitely don’t have a polish like this already. The shade was released as part of the Venice collection in 2015.

EDIT: I purchased this polish myself on December 5th. I popped in store to see if they had the polish and the store only had a couple of bottles left. I didn’t want to miss out!

2. Jigsaw puzzle

I absolutely love jigsaws and have done since I was a kid. There’s always a jigsaw on the go at my boyfriend’s house and earlier in the year I was given double ups of ones they already had. I’m quite good at jigsaws due to my eye for detail and I can’t resist dong them when I visit. I saw a couple of WHSmith branded ones which are postcards from different cities and the Paris and London ones look fun.

3. Me To You Teddy

These are my favourite teddies! The Me To You brand is super sweet and they always have themed teddies or teddies for special occasions. I have given these teddies as gifts in the past and they go down so well, I want one of my own! How cute is the teddy dressed in a giraffe onesie?! I have also seen a panda onesie and a unicorn onesie – adorable.

4. Agatha Christie dvd sets – Poirot and marple

Two of my favourite TV series have been released on DVD and there are a number of episodes of both I haven’t seen (particularly Poirot). I would love to say I’ve seen all episodes of both series. My one slight gripe with detective stories is that once you’ve seen the episode you know who the murderer is so how likely are you to re-watch all the stories.

5.Cute Mug

I don’t have a lot of hot drinks but I have been using Nescafé instant coffee sachets over the past couple of months and I love getting my mugs out. I’ve got one with cats on it and another one that’s white with metallic gold spots. I’ve also got a personalised takeaway coffee cup my brother bought for me. What I mean by cute is a mug with a quote on it, an illustration like the mug in the picture or a nice pastel pink or blue colour.

6. kikki.k Vases

I often get given roses by boyfriend/his mum and I’ve got a couple of vases I put them in but not one that is desk worthy. I love the boldness of the black vase, you don’t often see black vases and the gold spots are a nice touch. The set of four are mini vases and I love the pops of colour! My mum would love these too as she loves minis so we could share.

7. Mac Melon pigment (travel size)

MAC pigments are so gorgeous. Melon is a peachy-gold colour all in one and I don’t have any colour like that in my makeup collection. I watched a video of Shaaanxo using the pigment in a neutral eye look and it looks stunning. You don’t need to use a lot of pigment so the travel size would be perfect to try.

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What’s on your Christmas wishlist?

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What I Do In a Day #2

More than a year ago I wrote the first ‘What I Do In a Day’ post. The post idea was suggested to me by another blogger and I wanted to do another one and perhaps make them more regular. I have to pick a day where I’ve got things to do and have time to take pictures to share alongside the post. Mostly on my days off I chill and take it easy but there are occasions I have things I need to get done.

This post refers to Monday, July 17th 2017.

8:00 am – First alarm

8:03 am – Two glasses of water and morning medication then back to bed

9:00 am – Second alarm

9:02 am – Check emails and social media

9:22 am – Exercise – 50 squats (taking it easy today)

9:25 am – Breakfast and weekly planning in Filofax

9:47 am – Shower and get ready

10:20 am – Pack bag, my boyfriend is picking me up this afternoon

10:33 am – Dry hair

11:15 am – Doctors appointment

12:10 pm – McDonalds for lunch; Big Mac, fries, lime shake and a chocolate sundae

1:01 pm – Pack away jigsaw puzzle I finished two weeks ago

1:09 pm – Check YouTube subscriptions, WordPress reader and TradeMe auctions (NZ’s equivalent to eBay)

2:23 pm – Apply lip colour, Berry In Love by Lancôme

3:00 pm – Boyfriend picks me up 

3:25 pm – Blood test

5:00 pm – Evening nap

7:45 pm – Dinner; cheesy garlic pizzas

8:07 pm – Evening medication

8:10 pm – Wash my face and apply night moisturiser. Using the travel size MAC Studio Fix when I stay over at my boyfriends.

8:30 pm – Chill out and curl up in a chair with a blanket as I watch my boyfriend game

10:42 pm – Watch season 2 episode 9 of RWBY Chibi

11:51 pm – Bedtime

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How did you spend your Monday?

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April Favourites 2017

April has been the month I have finally nailed down a stable blogging routine and even got back into planning posts! I feel like I’ve got my mojo back and over the next few months I hope I can return to posting every week. I have a new blogging routine, two posts per week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have also been lucky to have a couple of long weekends and a few bonus days off work. I spent most of that time sleeping and catching up on TV shows.

Onto this month’s favourites:

1. Cat ears headband – My boyfriend bought me this headband for Christmas and I have been wearing it more recently. I remember mentioning to him once that I’d wanted a pair for a long time and I don’t know whether he remembered or if he saw it and thought of me. He says I make a very cute kitty so I like wearing it when I’m around him. The headband has black and pink furry ears with ribbons and little bells that jingle when I move my head.

2. Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil – Honey – This is one of the products I received in Stashy’s giveaway. I didn’t try it for a little while but when I did it was love at first use. I’m not the biggest fan of the smell and taste of honey but I like this. It’s sweet but it’s not overpowering. The texture doesn’t feel sticky on the lips and doesn’t leave residue as it wears. The applicator looks big but it is the perfect size.

3. Vanessa White – Chapter Two – Vanessa is probably best known as being one fifth of The Saturdays and she released her second EP in March. Vanessa continues the R&B sound from her first EP and her voice sounds glorious. Vanessa has the type of voice where she can belt but also sound soft and tender and evoke emotion. R&B isn’t normally the type of music I like or listen to but I have a special appreciation for Vanessa’s sound. Standout Tracks: Running Wild and Good Good.

4. Mini Eggs – With April being the month of Easter I have had more of a sweet tooth and a craving for chocolate. I’m not a chocoholic but I did enjoy treating myself and properly trying Mini Eggs. I tried them a couple of years ago and kind of forgot about them. I rediscovered them and I’m a fan! The pretty pastel colours and mini size make them very more-ish. I’m not afraid to admit I polished off a whole bag by myself on Easter Sunday. I’m glad these aren’t sold year round as I would polish off several more.

5. Jigsaw puzzles – Over the past few months I have gotten back into doing jigsaw puzzles. I used to love doing them when I was a kid (I even had a Barbie one). My boyfriend’s parents have been picking them up second hand for a couple of dollars each and I’ve been helping complete the jigsaws when I visit. I especially like the Wasgij brand as the pictures are so detailed and full of bright colours. I got given a couple that were duplicates and I’ve loved doing them in front of TV of an evening. It’s relaxing and it’s a good feeling when one is completed.

6. iPad Mini 4 – Gold – I have always been an Apple fan and in March I treated myself to an iPad. I have had my laptop for four years now and while it’s still going strong some days I’m not online much so the iPad is more portable. I can play games, listen to music, watch videos and catch up on news in a smaller format. I am still getting into a routine with my iPad and which apps I need/want to download. One of the hardest things I’ve found is picking a background image, they either haven’t looked right or been high enough quality.

April’s Spotify Playlist:

Combining artists I’ve listened to for years with a couple of funky, new tracks.

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What were your favourite things in April?