Saturday 9 July 2016

What I Got For My Birthday!


It was my birthday last Sunday and I finally turned 17! Obviously as I go to college in the UK, I'm young in my academic year and all of my friends were 17 ages ago, so finally it's quite satisfying to be able to join them in the act of being 17! I am so grateful to have had such a lovely day; I had a relaxing day at home with my family and we had a BBQ in the evening which was great because the weather was actually nice in comparison to the torrential downpours we've had recently.

I love reading or watching blog posts and videos where people show what they got for their birthdays so I thought I would do one on my blog, in the hope that you enjoy these posts too!

Firstly though, a little disclaimer: I am completely and utterly grateful for all of the presents I was lucky enough to receive. I'm not bragging or boasting in any way, shape, or form - I just wanted to share with you my presents because I love them all! Thank you so much to everyone who gave me a present, it was so kind of you and I'm thoroughly grateful!



From my parents I got this gorgeous pastel blue jumper. It's a really cute bat-wing shape and the sleeves have little white stripes on them, which I love. Obviously, it's not the time of year for jumpers, but it'll be perfect in a couple of months and I can't wait to wear it!



In case you didn't know, I'm a Norwich City fan and I got this football training jacket from my grandparents. I'd asked for this for my birthday and I was so happy to unwrap it! It'll be great to wear to matches when it's too cold to just wear my football shirt, and I can't wait to wear the colours of my team with pride.



Also, I got this beautiful snood/scarf from my parents. Again, it's something I won't get much wear out of in the summer, but my parents bought it thinking it would look really cute in months to come!



One of my friends bought me this gorgeously stunning necklace. It's a little fairy with a beautiful pink gem as one of the wings. I absolutely love it, and have worn it every day since I got it!



I got two gift cards; a New Look one from my friend, and a Topshop one from my Auntie, Uncle and cousins. I also got some money from another friend and another Auntie. I've been really wanting a bomber jacket for a while now, so I'm probably going to use the gift cards and money to invest in one!



From my sister, I got 'Caspar Lee' by Caspar Lee and his mum, Emily Riordan Lee. It's essentially a biography about Caspar's life, but with little edits by Caspar throughout. He's 'highlighted' certain parts and made annotations which I think are a really nice touch to the book. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I'm looking forward to it!



I also got another two books from my parents; 'Sweet Caress' by William Boyd, and 'Black Rabbit Hall' by Eve Chase. My mum bought them knowing they weren't the type of book that I'd usually go for, but she thought I'd enjoy them. After reading both blurbs, I'm really intrigued by them as they sound so lovely and I'm hoping they'll get me to enjoy new genres of books!!



One of my friends bought me this sewing projects book by Jodi Kahn, called 'Simply Sublime Gifts'. For those of you who don't know, I love sewing, and as I'm writing this, my sewing machine is right in front of me waiting for me to resume making the bunting I started earlier today! So I love sewing! And I cannot wait to try out some of these amazing projects in the book!



I got this adorable knitted key ring from my parents. My mum came across a shared facebook page in which a lady was knitting loads of the cutest toys and key rings and donating the money to a charity for Alzheimer's research (can't remember the exact charity name). My mum thought it was both a great cause, and a cute key-ring as it looks like a canary (the Norwich City mascot animal) so it was perfect for me! It's so adorable and I love it!



I realise there's been a lot of Football themed things in this post, but this is the last one I swear! My parents bought me this retro road sign for Carrow Road (the name of the Norwich City ground) and I am in love with it. I've been looking at things like this for a while now, but forgot about them recently, so I was very pleasantly surprised to unwrap it on my birthday, but I am so grateful!



One of my friends bought me this vanilla scented incense which I've had diffusing in my room for a few days now, and it smells amazing! My parents also bought me this 'Wild Cotton & Ylang' scented candle. I haven't lit it yet as it would clash with the incense but it smells beautiful and it will be even better once it's lit!



My friend bought me this Bellatrix Lestrange Wanted poster from Harry Potter. I absolutely love things like this, that can be home decorations but were also genuinely in the films/books and not just a picture of the actors etc. So I was so happy to receive this and it's going straight up on my wall once I've re-painted it!



And that leads me on to my final present. For a while now, I've been keen to update my room; not update the whole thing, just re-paint it my walls and change the blue that I have at the moment to a more mature white/cream. I'm going to do this in a few weeks and I cannot wait because I think it will make my room look a lot more 'grown up' and mature. I'm so excited, and I think just a new coat of paint will make a lot of difference.

When is your birthday? What's the best present you've ever given or received?







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Tuesday 5 July 2016

Books On My 'To Be Read' Pile


Okay, so I've just written two book-related posts in a row (you can read the last one here) - I guess I'm just really into reading right now! Anyway, I have some other genre posts which I'm aiming to put up soon, so stick around!

There are so many books that I want to read! I'm such a slow reader so the list is probably going to grow at a faster rate than I'm actually getting through the books, but is that actually a bad thing?

Anyway, other than re-reading the Harry Potter series (which I've only read once - I feel like a terrible fan...) there are plenty of books I want to read during the rest of 2016 and going into 2017. So here they are.

"All the Bright Places", by Jennifer Niven
I've heard so many good things about this book, firstly from Zoe's channel ages ago, and then I was reminded about it when she included it in her book club selection. (I bought all 8 books by the way!) It's definitely the one that I'm most excited to read from her picks, and I'm really looking forward to it!

"Reasons to Stay Alive", by Matt Haig
I saw this in Tesco of all places and it was the title that grabbed me. It sounded like such a positive book and when I read the blurb, that initial feeling continued and I knew I had to buy it. It's a short book, but has been highly praised and so I cannot wait to read it. It's going to be the next book I read!

"Brooklyn", by Colm Toibin
I haven't seen the film, but I'll admit that this was where I first heard about the story. It was nominated for many awards (and won some...maybe. I can't remember, sorry) and so I was drawn in. For once, I decided that I should read the book before I watch the film, so it may be ages before I see the film at this rate! I'm looking forward to it though because it sounds like such a beautiful story.

The "Gone" Series, by Michael Grant
My friend has highly recommended this series to me. I managed to buy a few of the books in cheap sales so I really have no excuse not to read them when she tells me how great they are. I don't know why I haven't read them yet because she says they are amazing, so I really should read them soon; they're a definite feature on that 'to be read' pile.

"Me Before You", by Jojo Moyes
I saw the film adaptation last week and absolutely loved it, just as I thought I would. It was totally my sort of film as it so cleverly allowed you to feel close to the characters and feel their whole range of emotions with them. It was utterly beautiful and the story is one that I have to know in more detail, so I bought the book (again, from Tesco) and cannot wait to read it.

"The Fault In Our Stars", by John Green
Yes, I am one of the very few people who hasn't read the book. I have watched the film though, and like "Me Before You" I absolutely loved how I was able to feel the emotion along with the characters. I've loved the other books of John Green's that I've read ("Paper Towns", "Looking For Alaska" and "An Abundance of Katherines") so I have no doubt that I'll love this one too. I really should get a move on and read it!!

"Fangirl", by Rainbow Rowell
This is also a feature in Zoe's WHSmith Book Club, but I've wanted to read it for a while. I love that feeling when you walk into a bookshop and explore the blurbs in that beautiful quietness of the shop. I must've read the blurb of "Fangirl" quite a few times by now and I don't really know why I haven't bought it before now. But as I bought the 8 books in Zoe's book club, I now happily own "Fangirl" and so I'll actually get round to reading it now.

So those are just a few of the books that I'm hoping to read in the next few months, There are so many more than this, but these ones are the ones I'm most looking forward to reading!

What books are on your 'To Be Read' pile?



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