"and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her"

One thing i have most certainly decided I will do this year (still not a new years resolution - I know that if i say it's a NYR, i probably won't do it & will set myself out to fail. So, i am not going to jinx myself & instead just say this is a choice I shall make) is to read more books. I used to be such a bookworm. I'd get books for Birthdays and Christmasses & it was the most exciting thing ever, and would always be so eager for the celebrating to end so i could fold back the front cover, stick my nose in & read every last word until it was finished. I lost my love for reading through sixth form when a huge amount of my time was taken up doing practical coursework across 3 of my 4 subjects with two separate projects running alongside each other in each subject. It was too much work, and took up too much of my time. I then left school & went into full time work, which then meant when i came home i just never felt like reading. I bought books, in the hope that if i left them lying around i might pick one up and read it...but this never provoked such actions. A few weeks ago, my boyfriend bought me the new Russell Brand book, and it made me want to start reading again. So, that is what i shall do. I will set aside time, whether it's just whilst I'm in the bath, on the train or before bed & i WILL read more books.

This is the stash I have accumulated & will hopefully get through. I bought most of these from a charity shop, none were over £2.50 & it's going to a good cause. I've always wanted to read a Jane Austen book, and Pride & Prejudice was only £1.99 in my local Oxfam so i snapped that up, I also want to read about the antics of the ever so charming Mr Darcy. ;)

This is what I shall tell myself to seem less geeky ;) - Courtesy of weheartit.com

Below is a list of blogs of which have some great book reviews if you wanted to find something you think you might like:

♥ Chic Lit Reviews
♥ Bookalicious Ramblings
♥ Lollipop Loves
♥ Being Brazen Books
♥ Judging Covers

Are you hoping to read more this year? Are there any books or authors you can reccommend?

♥

You are a radar detector.

This was going to be a sort of "face of the day" type post...but alas, the stupid gloomy weather meant that trying to get a photo of my makeup was near enough impossible. The only place i could take a photo was with natural light by the window, yet this also meant it bleached out a lot of my face. So i'm hoping this is satisfactory for your les yeux. It's pretty basic anyway, I went very neutral today but i shall list everything i used below:

♥ L'oreal Studio Secrets HD Foundation
♥ Benefit Erase Paste
♥ Bare Escentuals Foundation to set
♥ MeMeMe Coral Blusher
♥ MeMeMe Highlighter in Sunbeam
♥ Mac E/S in All That Glitters
♥ Mac E/S in Spiced Chocolate
♥ Chanel Khol liner in "Ambre"
♥ Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Earrings are also from New Look in case anyone else thought they were as cute as i did. Hair scraped up in a top knot...which i am finding a lot more difficult at the moment as my hair needs a good cut, i also think it looks a smidgen ridiculous since i've ombred my hair. It's like i've decided to pop in some extensions which are completely the wrong colour and then tied my hair up. ;) Of course, that is not the case.

♥

Someday Summary - Wednesday

♥ Happy mid week Wednesday. I am currently sat, tapping away on my laptop in a darkened room, lit by my lamp..at 2.45pm. I honestly cannot wait for summer to come back. Lighter mornings, lighter evenings, picnics & summer dresses. Yes please.
♥ Absolutely loving having my appetite back, and i'm most certainly making up for it. I am also delighted that Mini Eggs are back on the shelves. I don't know if any of you are aware, but I am absolutely addicted to the little blighters, so when Christmas has gone, I know it's about time they come back into my life. I could literally eat a whole bag in one sitting. Maybe i should do a blogpost dedicated to my love of mini eggs? no? bit sad? haha.
♥ My brother is going travelling for 3 months on the 19th. He's going to Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Figi & LA. I'm definitely starting to feel jealous, especially with all this crappy weather. If any of you have any advice or want to chat to him about travelling, i'm sure he'd appreciate it. He has twitter so feel free to follow him @Joe_Sugg.I've told him he needs to start up a blog so he can log all his photos and travelling antics. Speaking of which, another of my friends is currently travelling with his girlfriend, and some of his photos are seriously amazing, so if you're into photography, culture & general travelling-ness do have a read HERE. Tell him Zoe sent you ;) I'm sure he'd be chuffed.
♥ It's my 21st birthday in March (eeeek) so I've been pondering on what to get for it. There's always the option of jewellery, or a designer handbag, something sort of predictable, but I'm definitely leaning towards a DSLR. I've always been a huge photography geek.(I once had a wall in my bedroom absolutely covered in black and white photos & studied it) so I think it would be something I could really make the most of & keep and treasure just as much as i would a necklace etc.. It will also be super beneficial for my blog, I know that my digital camera has served me well, but actually not having a manual setting makes taking photos such a mission on dark, gloomy days like today. I'm definitely too much of a perfectionist when it comes to my photos, but I hope you're all grateful for that? haha. It would definitely mean more frequent posts anyway. So, this is where you come in. DSLR reccommendations? I'm sort of leaning more towards a Nikon rather than a Canon, but i know they are both great brands. Tips, tricks and general know-how about DSLR's would be very helpful if any of you can spare a few minutes in the comments? :)

♥ Currently reading From Gem With Love & Oh Emma

New Year...New Makeup?

When shopping the other day, I noticed that all makeup in Superdrug was 3 for 2. This doesn't happen too often, not across ALL the beauty brands. Since I haven't splashed out on makeup in a long while as Christmas left me penny less after buying for everyone else, I decided to take Superdrug up on their offer. To be totally fair, I had my eye on at least 4 of these items for a long time & went straight for them.

♥ L'oreal Studio Secrets HD Smoothing Foundation - I have wanted to try this for ages. The brush on the end intrigued me & the fact it was "HD" meant it was something a little different from anything i've previously tried.
♥ Gosh Touch Up Concealer - Yes, i still swear by this concealer...on blemishes and under my eyes. I was running low so being practical I bought a back up. Read a review of the concealer here.
♥ MeMeMe Coral Blush - Again, I have wanted this for a while, since summer in fact. Benefit's Coralista kept me going but saw this on a few blogs & instantly knew i had to have it. I think coral blushers suit me the most, whether the sun is shining or the snow is falling.
♥ MeMeMe Highlighter in "Moonbeam" (The pinkier one) - I was going to splash out on Benefits expensive version of this, which I do have a sample of that came in one of the kits & it has run out. Alas, I decided that with it's slightly re invented packaging (a black lid), and it's almost identical properties I would try this one. So far I have noticed it's not as opaque but still does a marvellous job.
♥ MeMeMe Highlighter in "Sunbeam" (The golder one) - I actually think i prefer this one so far. It will be gorgeous in the summer mixed with foundation or just worn on cheekbones. I have a bit of a thing with liquid highlighters.
♥ Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Mascara - I've been using Max Factor False Lash Effect & I love it, but I am running dry & so wanted to try out a new mascara. My Mum has this & loves it, as well as other bloggers across the interwebz who have sung it's praises, so I thought i'd give it a go myself.

Have you taken advantage of the Superdrug 3 for 2? If not, i would suggest you get yourself to a good store and pick out a few things you've wanted to try out. I can review items individually if you'd like after i've given them a fair shot? Let me know.

♥

Christmas & New Year

So, after writing my previous post about being MIA because of illness, it seems that i totally jinxed myself. After getting over 2 furious colds over the space of 3 weeks, i then got struck down with full on flu the week before Christmas. I spent almost a week in bed, unable to move, sleep or eat & Christmas Day was the biggest struggle ever. Christmas is my absolute favourite time of the year, we get to meet with family, drink, eat and be merry. But, alas, my illness ruined it. Even putting my clothes and makeup on was a huge struggle. I'm still not 100% better, the flu-ness has gone, but now i am left with a lovely chesty cough which just won't budge, but at least my appetite has returned and i can make up for all the Christmas food binging i SHOULD have been indulging in. *takes a bite of a chocolate santa* Besides lying on my Auntie's sofa all day, not being able to tuck into the turkey and trimmings and feeling like poop, my Christmas was still as fabulous as it could be & i got some lovely gifts.

A few days before the flu struck me...however I do look disgusting in this photo anyway. Where the hell has my top lip gone?

Not even too sure why i'm posting these, but this is me, with flu on Christmas Day. For some reason my head looks TRES fat in the second picture...i'm not sure why. I'd lost loads of weight and was in fact pale and skinny looking...gross.

Looking slightly more "me" despite the delicious handlebar moustache on New Year's Eve. Good times had by all.

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas & New Year. I don't really have any resolutions, I've never been one to make any, i just live life as each day comes & try to make the best of whatever is thrown my way. There's nothing i need to specifically change, possibly to eat more healthy but I don't think deciding this on the 1st of a New Year means i will almost DEFINITELY stick to it. I didn't get to stuff my face with Cadburys Roses or Cheeselets, so i'm doing it now. ;) Healthy eating can wait.
Thankyou to everyone who joined my blog in 2010, and hopefully 2011 will see a slight improvement in my blogging skills, as well as more frequent postings and a lot more outfits.

♥

First spree of 2011

Me & the Muvster were going to get out of bed nice and early New Years day & head for our monthly Primarni session but instead, we opted for the day after. Which may have been a mistake on our part, as I did happen to over hear one member of Primark staff say they lost out on money big time New Years Day as it wasn't busy at all. She also mentioned that the Bristol branch alone, made £90K every Saturday...can you believe that!? That certainly was an eye opener, thanks for that, stupid Primark member of staff talking loudly about wages, staff & earnings. Discreet much?

Anyway, Primark opens at 11am Sunday, so we sat and had a coffee in a Starbucks nearby as we arrived slightly too early, then headed off, in the hope of finding some amazing bargains. And that I did. I wasn't majorly overwhelmed by the stock they have in at the moment. It's that really awkward, tricky inbetween stage. There's chunky-knit cardigans & boots that have been in a while, and summer dresses and flipflops that have just arrived in stock. I don't know about you, but i'm not shopping for summer clothing JUST yet. The flipflops just made me wince at the thought of wearing so little in such cold weather. Frost bite anyone? They still had maxi dresses in & a lot of it was very samey. They did have some really cute playsuits however, which i figured could be worn with tights, cardigans and boots in the colder months, then bare-legged with flipflops when the sun decides to come back. Here's what i picked up anyway...

Stripy Sailor Oversized Jumper - £10

Navy Sailor Cardigan - £10

Polka Dot playsuit - £13

Long Sleeved Floral/Birds Playsuit - £15

Pink floral headband - £2 Daisy Headband - £1

Knitted Headbands (Good alternative to hats/ear muffs in the cold) - £1.50 each

Khaki green chuncky knit over the knee socks - £2

Miss Selfridge Rings - Both 50% off - Bow ring - £1.75 Cameo ring - £3.25

♥

Earth to Zoella?

Howdy Ho (ho ho ho). My, it has been a while. Probabaly a month or so has it not? *slaps wrist*
So where have I been and what on earth has been going on in my not-so-exciting life these last few weeks?

Well, let's break it down into bulletpoint form so it's easier on the eye ;)

• I got ill. Twice. I had the horrible Fluey/cold/virus thing for a while, it managed to subside...and then it came back worse & fighting. I have literally only just started tasting my food again and being able to breathe through both my nostrils.
  
• I have been working a lot more. Retail + Christmas = more shifts & any time i wasn't working, i was buying christmas presents, shivering under my duvet or seeing my boyfriend.
  
• I have been buying presents, thus not having as much money to spend on myself and nice things to blog about. Ho hum.
• I restored my laptop to it's new born setting & then I no longer had any editing software...
• After restoring my laptop, it decided to play havoc...it would freeze every 20 minutes, and the only solution was to reboot...every. 20. minutes. It drove me insane, and made trying to write a blogpost absolutely impossible.
• I then got a virus. Yes...the dreaded "Antivirus" virus. I could do NOTHING on my laptop. I tried literally everything & because it was a mutant virus, it wouldnt let me open anything. I eventually managed to sort it out, so feel free to email me if you get the same problem and i will try to help you haha.

So there we have it, my list of what could be described as excuses for not blogging. But fear not, now that i have my laptop back in working order after weeks of it playing up & i am no longer a shivering mess, i can finally get on the interwebz and edit photos and be around a lot more, and also, i have been snowed in today so I am writing this from the comfort of my room whilst the snow pelts down outside. I don't want to say too much about the snow, it's a very controversial subject (especially on BBC Radio 2 if any of you have been listening to that today? Not my usual choice of radio station but I had no say in the matter - It involved Lorry drivers shouting at screaming car-driving mums...) although, i will say, that it's the perfect setting for Christmas, as much of a pain it is to drive in (I have been slipping about all the place), I do love snow. Makes everything look so clean and pretty and Christmassy.

More blog posts to come my pretties.
Pinky Promise.
♥