Book review: The Casual Vacancy

I am a big Harry Potter fan. J K Rowling has such an engaging writing style, and reading those books is like escaping into a magical world of wizards and flying cars. I'm not typically a fan of fantasy fiction, but there was just something about these books that drew me in. I obviously wasn't the only one!

So when she brought out a book for adults, I was eager to learn more. After reading the synopsis however, my reaction was a crestfallen "Oh...". The small town political backdrop didn't seem like it would really grab my attention. Maybe it's because it wasn't fantasy, and the idea of an "ordinary, this-could-happen-in-real-life" plot seemed like a huge leap away from Hogwarts and magical animals. It took me a while to get around to reading this book, and I'd kind of forgotten about it until I was browsing books on the Kindle store for something new and came across it again.

The Casual Vacancy consists of snippets of the lives of those living in Pagford (not sure if this is a real place or not...), and a place on the outskirts known as the Fields. It begins with the death of Barry Fairbrother, a local councillor which sends shockwaves through the community, and lots of speculation begins on who will take his place on the council. As the book develops, we learn more about the residents of the town and the skeletons in all of their closets. A housewife seemingly bored of her husband-driven life lusts over a member of her daughter's favourite boyband, a drug-fuelled mother is ignorant to her suffering children, a tough young girl dreams of better things but never fully realises them. All the characters connect with each other in some way, and I found myself wanting to find out more. It was the first book in a long time I've had trouble putting down!

It was so stark and realistic (and often very depressing in parts), but J K Rowling once again managed to create a world within the narrative that I could visualise so clearly. It was like being shown a small town from above when everything looks pretty and clean and ordinary, and then swooping down right into the centre and getting into the nitty gritty details of people's lives.

If you like a book that's focused on character developments rather than actual storyline (which I'm a bit of a sucker for), then pop this on your reading list.

Autumn's approaching...

It's mid-September and the days are getting cooler, the nights are getting darker, and TV is improving! This means that it's coming up to my favourite season of all - Autumn!

A couple of evenings ago, I suddenly realised that I was a little bit chilly *dum dum duuum*. After being uncomfortably too warm for so long I'd almost forgotten what that felt like. I took great joy in wrapping myself in my dressing gown and shoving on my slippers. Oh how I have missed those little comforts. Getting into bed and being able to snuggle down under the duvet without feeling as though I was being baked was bliss.

I don't particularly like being cold, but those mild Autumn days when the sun's out and you need a scarf, and everything's crisp and fresh and the leaves are falling from the trees are my absolute favourite.

I am one happy pumpkin.

July & August favourites

One thing I really enjoy reading about are people's "monthly favourites". I've seen lots of things in them that have inspired me to buy something or to try out something new. It also seems like quite a fun thing to write about so I thought I'd give it a go. I did originally plan on making this a July favourites post but I may have been a little lazy and suddenly we're almost at the end of August! So I've incorporated a few things I've been liking over the past two months into one post:

Big Brother *hangs head in shame* Yes, I know this is terrible but I love a good dose of trashy TV, and this year BB has been pretty addictive! It's kind of strange that its on every night for however many weeks because when it finishes, it feels like something's missing! (I promise I do have a life really.) And yes, I am watching Celebrity Big Brother now too...

Barry M gelly hi-shine nail paint - I am loving these at the moment. I've built up a little collection and currently have 6 of them and wear them quite a lot. I have to say, my first thought when I saw these was "surely all nail varnish is high shine?", but I picked some up anyway to fuel my slight nail varnish obsession and I LOVE them. They do have a really nice glossy, shiny effect. If I add a topcoat of Seche Vitte it lasts for days and days. My favourite colour has to be Blueberry.

From left to right: Guava, Greenberry, Blueberry, Mango, Papaya, Grapefruit

Long Lost Family - For those who don't know, this is a TV programme on ITV about people wanting to reconnect with family members lost. It's usually about people who have been adopted, or mothers who had to give their child up in difficult circumstances, but it can sometimes be about a lot of other complicated stories. This show is absolutely HEARTBREAKING, and I have to fight back the tears every week. Adoption is often thought of as a horrible, selfish thing but this show really opens your eyes. Some women literally had NO choice. The series has finished now but it might still be available on catch up if this sounds like your cup of tea. Even thought the stories are so sad, the endings are usually very happy as the families are reunited and then you start crying happy tears, haha! It also really made me appreciate the fact that I have my family - you can sometimes take that for granted but this show's a real eye opener.

Avocado - This is a bit of a weird one but I freaking LOVE avocados at the moment. Avocadoes in salads, avocadoes in guacamole, avocadoes with chicken... Just a lotta lotta avocado. I actually am a bit of a Mexican food fiend, so I think this is maybe why I love it so much. Especially in a good guacamole, really chunky and homemade, mm! Plus, it's an excellent source of "good" fats, don't you know?

Feel Good non alcoholic mojito - Oh my. These are good. I happened to see these down the alcohol aisle in the supermarket and picked up a little can. Just lately, I haven't been in the mood for alcohol but I quite like a good mocktail (woo!), and this sounded just the ticket. It's really yummy and refreshing, plus one of your five a day! You can always add alcohol if you want to partay. I got mine from Tesco but I think most supermarkets sell them.

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine lipstick - I have wanted one of these little beauties for so long, and I finally got one! I planned to treat myself after pay day but my boyfriend sneakily bought it for me (aww!). I love love love the packaging of these - I wouldn't usually be swayed to buy an expensive item just because of the packaging but these are an exception. Not only that, but I'd heard good things about them so wanted to give them a go. I wanted quite a neutral colour that I could use for everyday, rather than a bold shade. I went for the shade 15 which is a really nice subtle pink/peach colour. I'd describe it as a "my lips but better" sort of thing which is just what I wanted. It feels so luxurious and lovely to apply and the colour seems to stay put so I think it's a winner so far! They're rather pricey at around £24 a pop but for a little bit of luxury I'd say it's definitely worth it. I have my eye on another shade already! Bad blogger alert - I forgot to photograph it before I used it, oops! 

We Can't Stop/Miley Cyrus - I know Miley Cyrus is a bit like Marmite, but I am was a big Hannah Montana fan so I've always been a little pro-Miley. However, when she cut all her hair and started to parade around in very little clothing I sort of lost a bit of respect for her. Saying that though, I LOVE her new song. I heard it a while ago and it didn't really do anything for me, but a few weeks later and it's really grown on me. I still think the video is just plain weird, and I wish she didn't feel the need to sex up her image all the time (bad role model, tut tut), but I have to admit the song is so catchy! La da di da di, we like to party.

Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato - Yum, yum, yum. Need I say more?

What are some of the things you've been loving lately? 

This too shall pass

Everything will be okay in the end.

Nothing is ever as bad as I think it's going to be. I need to remember this!

La la la London

 At the beginning of July, I went to London with my boyfriend for three days so I thought I'd share what we got up to plus a few pictures. When we got there, we got the Tube to Hyde Park, sat and had some lunch and had a good dose of people watching. It was such a nice day (in fact all three days were, we were very lucky), and I could have stayed sat there much longer watching the world go by. 

 

 

We eventually moved and headed to our hotel to check in. We stayed in Kensington at the Regency. We've stayed there before a few years ago and really liked the location, and they'd recently had a bit of a refurb so we thought we'd give it another go. I LOVE staying in Kensington. It feels so much quieter and calmer than the more touristy parts of London, and the houses are so pretty!

 

After we'd dumped our stuff and freshened up a bit, we went for a wander to Harrods. We had a look at the extortionate puppies on sale (a must), and browsed the toy section where we found this little big fellow. Yours for a cool £3,000!

 

 

After this we wandered around a bit more and then went to Wahaca for some food. I'd been wanting to try this for a while because I'm a big lover of Mexican food and the menu looked pretty promising. I was SO impressed! The food was so good and the service was really quick and friendly. I had a chicken burrito and a virgin mojito (hey, that rhymes!), and me and my boyfriend shared some nachos with THE NICEST GUACAMOLE EVER! I'll definitely be going there again when I'm next in London.

 

With our bellies full, we had a wander to Leicester Square and stumbled across a movie premiere that neither of us had heard of. It was for a Status Quo movie with what looked like a tropical theme... hmm... Anyway, we hung around to see if we could spot any celebs. The only ones I actually recognised were Chris Tarrant and Vanessa Feltz, ha! After this excitement was over we had a wander down Regent Street. We sat down on some benches, enjoying our iced Starbucks. After spotting a man rummaging through the nearest rubbish bin, we decided it was probably time to head back to our hotel.



 

The next day we had a bit of a naughty lie in and then headed out to get breakfast at the Breakfast Club in Soho. Again, I'd heard good things about this so I wanted to give it a go. After queuing for about half an hour we finally got in. I loved the look and feel of this place. It had lots of photos and notes that people had pinned to the wall, and generally a "well-loved", worn kinda feel to the whole place. I ordered pancakes and berries and my boyfriend went for the All American. Personally, I find the idea of bacon and maple syrup gross so his didn't look too appealing to me. Mine was really yummy but the portions were so big! Those four pancakes defeated me. Needless to say, we didn't need to eat again for quiiite some time afterwards.

 



Next we hit the shops for a few hours, gradually retiring to Covent Garden because sometimes Oxford Street is just too much. I find Oxford Street Topshop both amazing and overwhelming at the same time, although I usually come away from there with nothing because there's just TOO MUCH (and I feel bad making my boyfriend wait for me to look at everything). Covent Garden was also heaving but I like the atmosphere there a lot more than Oxford Street. Later on in the day, we decided that we wanted to see a show that evening, so we scouted around the ticket booths in Leicester Square and eventually decided on Rock of Ages. We're both a big fan of the movie so thought this would be good fun, and it was a reasonable price. We had pretty good seats with nobody sat in the seats in front of us (a bonus for the vertically challenged like me), and it was really good fun! I'd recommend it to people who love the movie, or who aren't opposed to a bit of 80's cheese.

 

 

The next day, we dropped our suitcase off at Kings Cross and headed into Chelsea for a wander round. I found a cute shop called Brandy Melville which stocked really nice clothes all in "one size fits most". I bought a cute tank top with an embroidered elephant on the front and a really nice cropped khaki jacket. After a bit more wandering and making shocked faces at the rent prices, I was then dragged around several music shops *groan*. Fair game though for all my clothes shopping!

 

We went for some food at Hard Rock Café before having to make a dash back to the station to collect our suitcase and catch our train home. Couldn't believe how quickly the three days went, and we still didn't do everything we wanted to. I will go on the London Eye one day! It was quite nice to just wander around at our own pace and not feel like we had to do this or that at a certain time - we just did our own thing. Looking forward to the next trip already.

 



What's your favourite thing about London?

 



All that glitters IS gold

Another little treat I got for my birthday was one of the new stylo eyeshadows by CHANEL, from my friend Julia. I'd seen these a few weeks ago and was drawn to them like a magpie. They were part of the new summer collection and I also "oooh"-ed over the new metallic/pearlescent blue nail polishes they'd just brought out.

The collection is inspired by butterflies, and the colours are very shimmery and tropical. The stylo eyeshadow I got was in Cool Gold. They can be used on the eyelids or as an eyeliner and you can be as bold and experimental as you like. I love gold eyeshadows. I have green eyes and I think gold really compliments their colour, and it's a shade that works just as well in summer as in winter.

 

The first thing I noticed when I applied this was the lovely cooling effect it had on my eyes. It felt refreshing, like a little wake-me-up for tired eyes. The pigmentation in this is very good and when I first smoothed it over my eyelid it came out so bright I panicked a little. But after a bit of blending it was a lot less dramatic. I think you could have lots of fun with these and create a great statement eye look, or you could play it safe like me and blend until you feel happy.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this. Has anyone else tried any of the Chanel summer make-up collection?

Feeling too hot hot hot!

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Oh this warm weather is getting a bit too much for little ol' me. Don't get me wrong, I love a sunny day but I actually much prefer a sunny Autumn day to a Summer one - those kinda days where you're not too cold but you can still layer up a tiiiny bit. Is that just me?

I get irritated when it's too warm, I never know what to wear and I can just never be bothered to do ANYTHING. It's kinda hard to believe I was born in Australia because I really was not built for this kind of weather. I've forgotten what it feels like to be cold!

Go easy on me, Mr Sunshine.

Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey Cologne

One of my birthday presents was this laaarvely Jo Malone perfume. I've only recently got into these - my Mum has been raving about them for months but I was always too blinded by my love of all things Chanel to see (or rather, smell) how good they are.

I went into the shop in York a few weeks ago with my Mum, fell in love and picked out a favourite - Lime Basil & Mandarin. I decided I wanted a fruity summery scent as all of my perfumes are floral or musky. I found it surprisingly difficult to find a fruity scent but Jo Malone have a lovely selection of fruity and citrus fragrances. This one smelt like a tropical island (description stolen from my Mum). I couldn't get enough of it!

I dropped a few subtle hints to my boyfriend as it was pretty close to my birthday although I wasn't sure he'd be able to remember the name and thought he'd probably get a little overwhelmed trying to choose one by himself. So I really didn't expect the pretty Jo Malone bag with black ribbon to be placed in front of me on the morning of my birthday. Eeek!

The first thing I noticed when I opened the cute box was that he'd bought me the bigger (and rather expensive) bottle, and then that he'd got a different one to the one I'd originally picked out. It was the Nectarine Blossom & Honey cologne. He told me that he couldn't remember which one I'd said that I liked and so chose one himself and BOY was I impressed!

I think I like this one even more than the one I chose first. It smells SO yummy and makes me feel so happy whenever I spritz it on. It's quite a light, refreshing fragrance with just the right amount of fruitiness. It just smells like Summer, fruit salads and cocktails on the beach. I think I'm a little addicted and have worn it every day since my birthday. As an added bonus, the bottle looks SO perdy sat on my dressing table.

So the moral of this blog post is to trust your boyfriend's perfume choices (sometimes over your own), and get this bottle of summery goodness in your life now! It'll last much longer than the brief English Summer.

Anyone else have any Jo Malone favourites?

Birthday week

So it's my birthday this Sunday (30th) and even though I really don't want to be 25 I've decided I'm going to just embrace it and enjoy the celebrations!

I'm going to London next week for 3 days with my boyfriend. It's kind of a birthday thing as it was his birthday on the 20th and we've been going for a few years now. I'm looking forward to lots of yummy food and cocktails, and just being in London is good fun anyway, isn't it? We're going to go on the London Eye as we've never been on before so that will be good, and hopefully not scary. Other than that we don't have too many set plans. I can sometimes be a little tour-guide-esque and feel the need to know what we're doing each day but I think I'm just going to be spontaneous and see where the days take us :)

What do you like to do in London? Any hidden gems anyone knows about?

Photographic memories

I was looking through a big ol' pile of photos at my Mum's the other day and I felt so nostalgic, looking back at memories from all the years past and smiling thinking about that day or that moment in time.

It got me thinking... with everything being digital now, we (well, I at least) don't 'develop' photos anymore. Some people may be really good at printing out every photo they take but I admit I'm not so good at this. I'll maybe print the odd few, if I want to give them to family or frame them but I never just print a load off aiming to pop them in a photo album to create memories years down the line. Looking at photos on a computer screen is nice but there's nothing better than holding actual photographs in your hands. In 10, 20 years time will I have piles of old photos to look through like I do from my childhood? Or will they all be stored on a computer, or an SD card somewhere? Takes away some of the magic dontcha think?

I've also realised that apart from taking the odd photo on my phone, I don't capture memories anymore. I can't really remember the last time I got my camera out and took some photos of my friends/family/boyfriend/etc. However this may be because my current digital camera is infuriatingly USELESS. So I have decided that at the end of the month I'm going to buy a new digital camera so I can take lots of photos for me to sift through and remember the good old days in years to come.

After all, I'll only ever be this age, in this moment, once.

Take me away, a sweet escape...

After reading several blogs from people who've just got back from holiday, I am now itching for a break away somewhere. I'd like to go somewhere sunny and warm (but not too hot) and stay in a fabulous hotel, all luxurious and fancy!

The last place I went (out of the country) was Paris last September which was amazing, but I think next time I'd like a good sun holiday with pretty places to wander around and clear blue water and golden beaches... One of those holidays that leaves you feeling really relaxed and content.

So, I'm thinking a pretty Greek island... Santorini? Yes please!

Quarter life crisis?

I am 24 years old. On June 30th I will turn 25, and this kind of terrifies me. 25?! How did that happen? It seems like I blinked somewhere in my teenage years and suddenly I'm supposed to be a grown up and do grown up things and just... Grow up! Am I supposed to settle down and start having children, or should I just go with the flow and see what happens? But if I do that, will I end up being too old by the time I decide I do want kids? Arghh! Such turmoil. Which got me wondering... Is there such a thing as a quarter life crisis?

I do realise that I am in fact still very young and a crisis over my age sounds extremely melodramatic at this stage but I do wonder if there is a kind of transition period between young and... not so young. Recently, I've found that I've "rediscovered" a lot of things from my youth - books, TV shows, etc and delving back into that world has felt strangely therapeutic, but also made me a little sad that those years are now behind me. On the other hand, I've also been thinking more and more about the "grown-up" side of life - having children, and a husband and all that. This also terrifies me. Even though I don't feel like I'm ready for "real" adult life to begin, I also don't feel like a teenager anymore - as much as I miss it, I have moved past that stage. So basically, I'm kind of stuck somewhere in the middle. Limbo.

I once read an article in which the author said she hated her twenties because she didn't feel settled and only really began to accept herself in her thirties. So maybe that's it - once I hit the big three-oh I'll feel pretty sweet. But that idea is way too scary right now. 30... years... old... Excuse me whilst I go breathe into a paper bag.

My sort-of-summer outfit

Last weekend marked the first day of the year (the first sunny day I wasn't working that is) that I felt sure that I could wear my sandals and not get chilly feet , so I thought I'd share some pictures of my outfit of the day. It wasn't so hot that it was unbearable but just warm enough to know I definitely didn't need a jacket. Ideal for me, a fair-skinned shade seeker. I quite like a relaxed, simple sort of look for the summer and I love loose tops with ankle grazer jeans and sandals.

Loose stripey tee: Topshop, Black waxed skinny jeans: Topshop, Cream and metallic sandals: River Island, Long pendant necklace: Minkpink

 It was a lovely sunny day spent people watching in the park with a Starbucks iced caramel macchiato. Bliss. 

More of these days please, Mr Weatherman!

The Fall

I don't usually watch TV dramas, but after hearing how good Broadchurch was from multiple people I thought maybe I'm missing out. I generally find I don't watch a lot of TV at all - I'm much more likely to pop a DVD on - so I thought this would also be a good opportunity to make the most of the old TV licence!

A few weeks ago my Mum told me about a new murder-type drama coming onto BBC2 called The Fall so I thought I'd give this a go. I don't usually watch anything like this because I find it a bit too disturbing but even though The Fall is definitely disturbing, I found that I was drawn in and now I can't help but watch it.

The third episode was on last night and it was just as gripping as the last two. At one point I was even clutching a pillow in anticipation of the horrible thing that was about to happen (it didn't... yet). As much as it creeps me out I'm desperate to know what the killer's motives are, or whether he'll be found out.

I lightened the mood by watching Made in Chelsea afterwards, but I still made sure all the windows were locked before I went to bed. And all the bows on my bras were intact...

Walk a mile in my dolly shoes...

Recently, a lot of fashion trends I remember from childhood seem to be coming back into style. Crop tops, platform shoes, backpacks... Even though I thought I'd never see 90's fashion make a come back, it does make me feel pleasantly nostalgic.

Something I'm really loving at the moment is dolly shoes. I tried a pair on at the weekend and they brought back fond memories of my very first pair of "fancy" shoes.

I was around 6/7 years old and I thought they were the most beautiful things in the world. After having to contend with a lot of hand-me-down clothing and "sensible hard-wearing" shoes, these were my first brand new pretty shoes that I was so excited to wear. They were a soft pink colour with a single strap across the ankle. Little princess shoes. I would gasp in horror if I got a speck of dirt on them, and would continuously wipe them clean which my friends would tease me mercilessly about. Even though I couldn't keep them pristine for long, I'll always remember the way I felt when I put them on, and I think that maybe triggered a little obsession with footwear. Even though I'm far from a shoe-a-holic, I do love that feeling you get when you know you've found the perfect pair, and they can easily transform a whole look.

Many years later, I think I could still make these dolly shoes work for now. Topshop have some super cute pairs in at the moment, these two being my favourite:

I think they'll be first on my shopping list come pay day, and I'll be wearing them with ankle grazer jeans and a pretty summer top (if the weather allows). And maybe a tiny part of me will feel like my 6 year old self again, when all I had to worry about was keeping my shoes clean.

The Great Gatsby

So I went to see The Great Gatsby last week, and I loved it! It was so corny and over the top and extravagant but so bloody good. I loved the way scenes of party goers dressed to the nines in their 1920's garb, glittering with jewels were accompanied by a bass-y Jay-Z track. It shouldn't work... but it did!

The part I loved most was the depth of the characters. It gave you just enough about each character to make you wonder about them. What really lies within Daisy Buchanan, underneath her fluttering eyelashes? And the idea of a man like Gatsby. So mysterious and wild within, yet so utterly tragic and quite simply... alone. The excerpts from Nick Carraway's book (I assume taken directly from Fitzgerald's novel) made the lit geek in me all giddy. Somehow, I have never read the actual novel, but after watching the movie it's definitely next on my list.

Now, where's my flapper dress? No church in the wild.