A Huge Collective Home And Lifestyle Haul And A Giveaway

As much as I love buying clothes and beauty products at the moment I'm really enjoying buying and choosing things for the home and more specifically things for my bedroom. Because of my ME and Fibromyalgia even the simplest task like reorganising and tidying my room seems to take a lifetime, At last though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and although I still have a few things to do before I move onto my craft room / office, it's time to start buying pretties.

My bedroom really is my sanctuary - I want it to be cosy, and comfortable and I want it to smell nice, hence my obsession with candles, and room fragrance.

I love Yankee Candles but in my room I want quick, and easy fragrance and whilst I still burn candles, I really love wax melts for speed and for intensity. The last time I was in the Metro Centres I went to one of my favourite Yankee retailers Collectables and bought a few melts / tarts. I got one of my all time favourite Lemon Lavender, and a few more seasonal fragrances, Christmas Memories and my current my have fragrance Pain Au Raisin.

I'm a huge fan of Christmas fragrance and whilst Yankee always do some amazing spicy and foodie fragrances, my favourite Christmas fragrance is actually Next's Festive Spice. It's the perfect mix of spices, orange and red fruits, and I always stock up while I can.

This time round I got one of the Festive Spice Fragranced Candle Jars which £6 and one of the Next 70ml Festive Spice Fragranced Diffusers which was £6.50.

As much as I love proper candles, you can't leave lit candles unattended, and sometimes with pets they just aren't suitable. Although I haven't really started on my office / craft room yet I though that this Set of 3 Festive Spice Flameless Candles would be ideal for my festive windowsill.

For just £16 you get three substantial wax candles, which are fragranced with the Festive Spice scent. They are battery operated and they come with a remote control, with 2 different timer settings and you can also alter the appearance of the flame.  We have flameless candles all over the house and they're are safer, and cleaner way of enjoying candle light, but unlike the rest of them, these ones have a bit of fragrance.

I'm all about mood lighting at the moment, I love candles, tea lights and fairy lights and for a while now I've been trying to embrace the LED star light trend but I haven't had much look. I never managed to get my hands on the Primark one and the only other ones I could find with around £60. that was until I saw this one from Studio for just £14.99.

I wasn't expecting much for the price but this is actually really nice for the price. It's battery operated and made out of a sturdy cream, coated metal, and it features 10 warm LED lights. I was going to hang it on the wall but I've tried it in a few places and I like it best on top of my Muji make up storage.

As well as my star light, several strands of fairy lights, a lava lamp, and some lanterns I also have a set of twig lights, that I originally bought in Primark, which have been quite happily living in a tall lilac vase from Asda. Louise is a clumsy person though and a couple of months ago I broke this vase - sad times :( Since then though I've been looking for a replacement without much look - they were either too small or the necks weren't wide enough for the battery packs. Eventually though I found what I was looking for in this gorgeous silver, mercury glass vase that I got from B&M Bargains.

I'm not sure how much this was but I think it was around £6.99 - £7.99 which isn't the cheap for B&M, but it's definitely worth the money and it's something that you would probably pay way more for elsewhere. The picture below isn't the best but it looks so pretty with the lights reflecting through it.

I love my bargains and I got another lighting piece from another bargain tastic store, Home Bargains.

I'd wanted a one of these for the longest time, but when I first saw them they weren't that cheap. This one was only a couple of pounds and it came with batteries.

I only picked up another one of Mason Drinking Jars, which was on special at just £1. I already have a Kilner one but it didn't comes with a lid so I was happy to add this one to my collection :) I would really love the shot glass versions of these so if you know where I can get some please leave me a comment and let me know x

Ever since I was a tiny tot I've loved stationery and over the last month or so I've become obsessed with it all over again, and I can't seem to stop buying pretty notebooks and office bits. The first stationery item that I got was this notebook from Home Bargains.

I love the black and gold combination and what's not to love about polka dots. Again this one was just a few pounds and I believe they also sell one in a black and gold chevron design. I love my polka dots so I also got this pocket sized brown, craft style notebook, with tiny gold polka dots from BHS. This should have been £5 but I got 20% off.

In the picture you can also see a lovely Orla Kiely Stem Print notebook that I got from TK Maxx. It was £6.99 was is pretty pricey for a plain notebook, but it should about £14 so I still want bargain hunting credit ;)

One of the highlights of going back to school or university after the Christmas or summer holidays was getting a new pencil case, I must of owned dozens over the years, but although I don't have as much use for them as a once did I had to get this one from ASOS.

Eat Sleep Blog Repeat really needs to be my mantra but sometimes real life gets in the way ;) This comes from a brand called James & Friends which I'm lead to believe is Jim Chapman's range. I think I might use it in my newly sorted office but it is big enough to be used as a make up bag so we'll see.

Poundland is one of those shops where you go in for one thing and come out with about a dozen. If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably already seen this cute stationery set.

Yes I know I'm an adult but come on Hello Kitty as Elvis what is not to love. For just a pound you got 2 pens, 3 pencils, 3 erasers, a pencil sharpener, a ruler and a metal pencil tin :) You all seemed to love it on my Instagram and a few of you couldn't find it so I went back and bought another one to giveaway :) All you need to do is be a follow of my blog and fill in the Raflecopter form below before the 1st December 2015. This giveaway is open worldwide so if you're a Hello Kitty or an Elvis Presley fan get entering x

a Rafflecopter giveaway


As well as my Hello Kitty bargain, I also managed to pick up an adult colouring book. I love the idea of these to promote mindfulness and relaxation but I really can't justify some of the prices. This Natural Wonders Colour Art For Everyone book contains a variety of beautiful and intricate floral patterns and for just a £1 I'm looking forward to trying to giving it a go.

The minute that Halloween is over, out comes the Christmas things, and Poundland as per usual have a pretty substantial festive selection. This item though doesn't scream Christmas.

There seem to be a lot of these inspirational type signs mixed in with Poundland's Chritmas offerings this year, in both wood and ceramic. These three ceramic hearts come suspensed on a red ribbon, and feature the words " Live Laugh Love" in a red type. I don't think these have to be for Christmas so I'll be displaying them all year round.

Speaking of love, I am the typical crazy cat lady, I don't mind the stereotype at all and there is nothing in life that can't be improved by putting a picture of a cat on it.

This luck black cat from the H&M Divided line is in fact a sticky tape dispenser. Sticky tape annoys the hell out of my but dispensing if from this little guy will hopeful make my Christmas wrapping less of a chore.

Cats seem to a pretty popular motif at the moment and I also got this mug from H&M, which is covered in a montage of cat pictures and features the phrase "You've Cat To Be Kitten Me Right Meow". Slightly cheesy but the perfect pressie for a cat lover.

The final thing that I'm going to show you in this rather large haul, is another item that I was inspired to purchase after looking at instagram pictures, reading blogs. and reading tweets.

Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward is probably the perfect cookery book for me, it's full of healthy vegan, gluten and sugar free recipes, that sound and look amazing. I'm still trying to eat healthily at the moment but I'm taking a break from the diet thing for a little while x I'll explain why in a post on Monday but as soon as I can I'm going to be working my way through all the recipes in this book, and I already have the sequel on my Amazon wishlist x 

I know there was quite a few items in this haul for you to contemplate, so I've an accompanying You Tube video so you can have a better look at your leisure. You can find the video below or via my You Tube channel here x 

If you have any questions on anything that I've bought please leave me a comment and of course don't forget to enter my Hello Kitty giveaway x 

A Small Fashion Haul And An Outfit Post

Hey everyone x I hope you've all had a nice weekend x I've got a little haul for you today and it's a fashion haul. I'm a bit of a fan of catalogue shopping and the majority of this haul comes from two catalogues - Littlewoods and La Redoute, with a couple of high street buys thrown in.

I've had catalogues in my house for the longest time, I used to spend hours at a time as a child pouring through my mams catalogues, circling all the things that I wanted and do you know what I still do that. You don't get as many printed paper catalogues as you used to so some of the magic has gone but a lot of websites now have a wishlist facility and of course there is always Pinterest, I'm still learning about that one but already I can see how much fun it is picking out wishes and wants. 

The bulk of this haul comes from Littlewoods but you can also get the same items on Very and a few other sites. From the minute I saw this shirt I knew that I needed it. I've become a huge fan of sheer shirts from the Definitions brand this year and the gaudy, psychedelic, floral pattern on this one really stood out.

Again it's quite sheer so I'll need to wear a vest or a camisole underneath it, but I love the combination of the purples and the burnt oranges. This was £37 and they also do a dress in the same print.

The next thing that I got was another blouse from the Definitions line. Although it's described as a blouse, for me this is a pull on tunic.

In a sheer ivory fabric it features an orange, beige, burgundy and blue floral print. On the website it's called the Printed Contrast Trim Blouse and down the back, down the front and around the neckline and cuffs there is a black contrast, fabric band. This one was £37 as well, but if you fancy buying this shirt I would definitely consider sizing up especially if you're a bit fuller on the bust.

My final Littlewoods fashion purchase was from their own South brand, and it was the South Blocked Tunic.

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This is basically just a long line fabric t-shirt with navy blue block sleeves, and a navy blue chiffon trim with small side slits. The body of the top has a navy blue and white almost shutter like, stripe print, overlaid with a blue and white floral print. The length is really good and this is definitely a top you could wear over skinny jeans or leggings. The sizing on this one is pretty generous and if anything I probably could have gone for a smaller size. You better get used to this top if you subscribe to my You Tube Channel because I'm wearing it in 4, yes 4 videos :) including the one at the end of this post - £25 well spent x 

Next up another catalogue and this time La Redoute. I'm been a fan of La Redoute for a while now, their clothes are just a little bit different and whilst I haven't bought a lot from them lately their catalogues and website are always worth a look. To be fair this time round I sent a lot of stuff back and I only ended up keeping the free gift, navy trench coat and this top.

From their own Mademoiselle R line, this is a Short Sleeved Jewelled Collar T-Shirt. It's basically a short black t-shirt with a white Peter Pan style collar covered in an acrylic jewel, floral pattern. I love the collar detailing so I couldn't resist it. The sizing isn't that generous and it isn't the longest t-shirt I own but it's cute. This top is £19 and comes in both black and grey x 

Next up yet another top, another blouse and this time something that you could pick up with your weekly shop.

This fabulous floral peasant like top comes from the Florence and Fred (F&F) range at Tesco. Made of a slightly sheer, soft, silky, satin feel fabric, it has a pussy bow fastening and the neck and it has long puffed sleeves. Described as the Retro Floral Print Pussybow Blouse, this blouse is covered in a fabulously, gaudy floral print, in shades of red, mustard, teal and white. I'm not convinced that this is the most flattering top I've ever bought but I do love a pussy bow and that retro, in your face floral print so it's a thumbs up from me. There is no stretch in the fabric so I would probably size up because you'll probably need to wear something underneath it. This top was just £14 which is really good value when you look at the styling and the softness of the fabric, and you can also buy a dress in the same fabric for £20.

For as long as I can remember I've loved colours and prints like this so I'm really loving the current 70's trend. As I've said before my usual outfit is a pair of jeans, trousers or leggings and a bright top but this year I'm trying to be a bit braver with my clothing choices so I decided to buy something that's way out of my comfort zone - a dress!

So many people wear dresses and look amazing but since I've gained weight I just haven't had the confidence but I really liked the look of this jersey dress. I love the high neck and the tan,and blue floral and botanical print so I went for it, it was just £9.99 so it was no great shakes if I didn't wear it...

I did wear it though, and it had it's first outing on Wednesday night at the Metro Centre Fashion Live and House Of Fraser event. I have to admit I felt a little bit self conscious and I would have preferred it to have been a little bit longer but for £9.99 you can't really complain. I thought I would document the day I tried something new so Mummy Lou took some pics for a very rare outfit of the day.

What I Wore

Patterned Jersey Dress - H&M

Black Tights - Asda

Marc By Marc Jacobs Chicory Leather Strike Tote Bag

Fluffy Bag Charm - H&M

Black Brogues - Dolcis 

Wooden Bead Necklace - Gift From Godparents

I don't think it looks too bad, I decided to play on the tan / brown floral print, and team it with a tan bag, OPI - Basque In The Sun nail polish, and a toning wooden bead necklace. I went with plain black tights and shoes to coordinate with the background, and I teamed it with a black faux leather jacket from La Redoute. I'm not the most stylish person by any means but I really want to start doing some more outfit of the days - I just need to practise my posing a bit and Mummy Lou needs to practise her photography skills!

I went on a bit of a You Tube filming spree this week and I filmed 4 videos on Friday, 2  of which are already live including the video to accompany this haul which you can see above, and another 2 at least will be live next week, so make sure you're subscribed to my You Tube channel and you're following my blog for some more hauls and some lifestyle and beauty content x Thanks for reading and hopefully watching and if you have any questions please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you x 

Small Clothing And Accessories Haul, And Lou On Personal Style

Hi Guys x I've had a few new followers lately so I'd just like to start off this post buying saying a big thank you x I really appreciate every single one of my followers and I really hope that you'll enjoy this little glimpse into my world x

A blog about a lot of things but if you like shopping and hauls, then this is the place to be x I love shopping and over the next few weeks I have several hauls coming for you including a high end beauty haul, a nail haul, and also a couple of more budget friendly beauty hauls but first of all I've got a little fashion and accessory haul to show you.

The first three items in this haul are all tops from QVC. I've spoken a little bit lately about my new found obsession with QVC's clothing and whilst some of you may sneer, I'm going to say it again, I'm a firm believer that you can find clothing gems anywhere. I'm never going to be the most fashionable or on trend person out there but I know what I like and I know what works for me, and something that's almost being a signature look for me is a bright, or a patterned top and a pair of jeggings, leggings or skinny jeans. It looks good, people remember me for it and if you pick the right items, you can feel comfortable and confident x

The first top comes from a Canadian company called Kim&Co. My mum is a fan of the brand and they're noted for their comfortable and easy care, stretchy dresses and separates. I actually already own a piece from the brand from many moons ago, a slinky ivory, cream dress covered in a pink, black and red ladybird print. I love it's quirkiness but since then I haven't seen much that I would personally buy - the range is generally a bit safe and bit too old fashioned for me but every now and then you do see something that makes you think again.

This top normally retails at £40 but it was on special offer on the day I ordered it. I love the floral design but it was the combination of navy blue and lime green that sold it to me. At first glance it looks like you're wearing two tops but it is actually just the one. It features a rose, print panel on the front and the back and the sleeves are in plain navy.

I talk more about the fabric content more in the video below but this super soft, slinky and stretchy, it is so, so comfortable and I love the tunic style length. Here I'm just wearing it with jeans and Converse but it's definitely something that you could dress up.  This top also comes in a black and a pink colour way and I have to say as tempted as I am to pick up that one up too, I think I'll wait and see if the price comes down x

The next two tops are from a QVC brand that I'm really loving at the moment, Wearable Art By Bob Mackie. I love his use of colours and prints x The first top that I got was this contrast sleeve, tile print tunic x

This was another one that was on special and although I originally wanted this top in the blue, it had sold out so I ended up getting it in the brown with the black sleeves. I love the Moroccan style print, that's featured on both the back and the front of the top and the browns, yellows and oranges are really autumnal and perfect for this season. I'm a huge fan of tan and brown accessories and I think that this will work really well with say a tan bag or brown boots.

The final QVC item that I got was another top from the Wearable Art By Bob Mackie range and this time, this one was from the clearance section. This 3/4 sleeve top, is all about the colour and the bright eye catching print

It features a stripe, and almost floral and leaf design in bright,but distressed neon shades of pale blue and green. All the designs and stripes are outlined in black which gives a real stand out look x I would have maybe have liked this to be a little bit longer but since it was less than £15 I can't really complain x

The only other clothing item in this haul came from H&M and it was a sale item, that again embraces my love for colour and print.

Although I remember wearing printed trousers when I was younger I was slow to embrace them this time round x I just didn't feel confident enough but all of a sudden the confidence just clicked and lately I've wanted all the patterned trousers that I could get my hands on. I've mainly been sticking to floral prints but these ones are a bit different - on an ivory, beige background these ones features a bright tropical leaf and flower design, scattered through with illustrations of leopards and tropical birds. These trousers aren't for the faint hearted and although I don't think I'll get any wear out of them this year, for £6 they will be a fab purchase for next summer.

Now accessories and first up something that you might have caught a sneaky peek of in my YSL -Style Is Eternal Vlog x

Although I didn't buy it at the time I thought that this sheep scarf was really cute, so I had a look on ebay and found an identical one at a slightly cheaper price. It comes in few shades and what you can't really see here is how big this actually is. This one was £4.49 from this seller x

I used to be very much a scarf person, and although I don't wear them anywhere near as often as I did I still love them and I can never resits adding a new print or pattern to my collection. As well as picking up a gorgeous blue and white floral one for Mummy Lou in the recent Next sale I also got this one for myself.

I can't really describe the print it looks almost like florals, plates or panels, but again I love the blues and the coral shades.

I think that this was about £5 or £6. I didn't buy a lot in the Next sale this time round just this scarf, some blue and white floral PJ's, some underwear and a few pieces of fashion jewellery including this necklace x

One of the fashion guests on QVC regular wear a similar necklace in either a silver or a gold tone and I loved it. This one isn't the same as either of hers but it's as close as I can find in style at the moment. I have a few mesh pieces from H&M  already and I think that this will work really nicely. I love the combination of both the gunmetal and the silver tone metals and I love the length.

The final item in this haul is another necklace from the Next sale and it's another long one. Unfortunately I've managed to delete the main picture from my camera but this necklace is from the brand Adorning Ava, and it's a long line, gold tone chain which features a diamond shaped filigree pendant with long lines of gold chain hanging from it. It definitely has an Asian feel to it and the super long length means that you could either wear it as a statement piece or even as a layering piece with some shorter chains.

So that was my small but very long winded clothing and accessories haul x I've made a little video to accompany this haul which you can see here x If you're on a mobile device don't worry you can find the video here x



Thanks for watching and reading, and if you have any questions please leave me a comment I love reading what you have to say x

A Huge, Collective Clothing, Shoes And Jewelley Haul

Hi all, I'm back with another haul post for you and this time it's a clothing, shoe and accessory haul x I've got quite a bit of stuff to show you so I'll cut out the rambling and get started.

First up shirts or blouses or whatever else you want to call them. They are my latest obsession and I'm particularly loving bright shirts that I can throw on over a pair of jeans. Last month I showed you a gorgeous sheer white shirt with neon floral print that I bought from Litttlewoods (see it here), well I loved the shirt so much that I went back on the site and found and ordered two very similar shirts.

The first shirt that I got is in a sheer white material but this time, it covered in a bright, floral, rose design. It also has a solid white collarr, and a solid white covered button placket. This is the shirt that I'm wearing in the accompanying video later on in this post and it was £35.

The next shirt that I got was also from the Definitions brand at Littlewoods (and Very). Again it's in a sheer white fabric but this time it's covered in a random pink and purple almost paint splash design that resembles flowers and birds if you let your mind wander a bit :) This one was £34.

I'm really loving these sheer shirts at the moment. Yes, you probably do need to wear a camisole or a vest underneath them but they look so cool and smart for the summer, just throw them on with pair of leggings or some skinny jeans, and some heels or some sandals and you're good to go.'

Sticking with the shirt theme I also got something slightly more sensible, I was looking through my wardrobe and to be honest something was missing - a good, classic white shirt, I've got a couple but they've definitely seen better days so I ordered a couple from Next. One of them was a bit too boring and went straight back, but this military style shirt was definitely more versatile. Made from a slightly stretchy, self stripe fabric, this shirt will work equally well with a smart black skirt like I wore it with today, as it would with a pair of jeans and some boots. This one was £28 which I think is great value for something that I'll get a lot of wear out of.

From something that's subtle and classic to two pieces that are bright, eye catching and in your face! Last month I also showed you a top that I'd purchased from QVC and more specifically from the Wearable Art By Bob Mackie line (take a little peek here to refresh your memory) I loved the psychedelic patterns and colour so much so that I had a little look in the clearance section on the website and I bought two more brightly coloured, and patterned pieces.

They always say that if you like something you should buy it in every colour, well I didn't quite buy it every colour but I did buy the same top in two different colours. With a geometric, almost Aztec and daisy print, I got this top in both a pink and lilac combination and in a fabulous almost periwinkle blue and green.

These tops are made of a gorgeous lightweight, almost slinky type fabric which feels lovely and cool against the skin. I paid less than £20 each for them which I think is pretty good for the quality of the product and for their originality and exclusivity.

Next up H&M and I couldn't resist a little sale and non sale order. The first item that I got was in the sale and it was the blush pink version of the navy blue skirt that I bought here x

Again it has an elasticated waist, and two front patch pockets. This was £12 in the sale reduced from £24.99 and it's still available online.

As well as the skirt I also got one full price clothing item x This short chiffon kimono comes from the Divided line and was only £7.99

It originally came in a variety of different designs but this geometric, Aztec design is the only one that's still available. I really like short boleros, shrugs and kimonos for covering the top of my arms when I'm wearing a vest or a camisole. This really is a multi coloured piece and I think it would work well with a variety of different colour camis.

Next up a scarf, and although I don't wear them anywhere near as much as I used to I'm still slightly obsessed with neck wear.

Alas this pretty navy blue floral scarf isn't online anymore, but it was just £2 so it's worth having a look in store if you fancy it.

My final H&M purchases were all jewellery pieces including this gorgeous, statement bracelet which was just £4 in the sale.

It's a basic silver tone clamp bangle with a beautiful, eye catching, opalescent and sparkly faux crystal design.

I also got some earrings including this mismatched four pack which was only £3.

This gold tone set contains a small stud, a small circle design, an ear cuff, and a little crystal star on a hoop.

I also got a full price set of 9 pairs of earrings. The set contains 3 crystal pairs, 3 faux pearl pairs, and some gold tone ball studs and gold tone knot pair, and they were just £3.99

Next up Avon, and over the past month I've picked up a couple of their bracelets including this one.

The picture isn't great but it's multiple strands of navy blue waxed cord, with a gold tone fastening, and attached to the cords are tiny gold tone and crystal flowers which move freely along the cords. The design reminds me a lot of some of the Folli Follie flower pieces, but this was a lot more purse friendly. Unfortunately I can't find this bracelet online or in the most recent brochure but it's worth keeping an eye out when a sale supplement pops through the door.

Something that is still available though is this Irlana Bracelet which is currently on special at £5. What these are, are oval natural gemstones attached to different coloured adjustable cords, with different coloured findings. There are 4 different stones to choose from but I went for the Cream Quartzite which represents Health - believe me I need all the help I can get! This semi precious stone comes on a black cord and features gold tone detailing

I love this bracelet and I can definitely see myself buying a few more colours, next on my wishlist is the Chalcedony which represents love -awww x

My final jewellery purchase comes from ebay and it's an inspirational quote necklace. It comes in a silver tone and features a circular double sided pendant. I'm not sure how well you can see it but one side is engraved / embossed with the words " Life The Life You Love"

and the other side features the words "Learn From Yesterday Live For Today Hope For Tomorrow"

I love quotes, and inspirational sayings and this necklace was only 99p including postage from this seller .

My name is Louise and I'm a shoe a holic, well I'm not as bad as I used to be but I still love my shoes, and despite getting rid of numerous pairs, I still probably have more than one person will ever need. That hasn't stopped me buying some more though and over the last few weeks I've picked two more pairs.

Yes more Mel's, My black rubber ballet pumps with huge bows on the toes are probably my most worn shoes of 2015, so I decided that another similar pair would be a worthwhile investment. Again in a black, bubblegum scented rubber, instead of a bow these ones have a cut out heart on the toes.

I paid £36 for these ones from Dorothy Perkins, which isn't cheap but for me they're well worth it. They are comfortable and based on my experience, they wear really well, and always look box fresh.

From some quirky but classic ballet pumps, to some fun and summery sandals from New Look, via ASOS,

I love anything sparkly, holographic and metallic and these strappy sandals fit the bill perfectly. They're quite simple and feature just two simple, fixed straps, but they are in the most gorgeous silvery, holographic faux leather. These sandals were just £.9.99 and whilst I'm not sure how much wear I'll get out of them this year, I couldn't resist their metallic prettiness.

If you want to see all of the items in this haul in more detail and you want to listen to me rambling on, then please have a little watch of the accompanying You Tube video below, if you're on a mobile device though you can also find the video here x



So that was my pretty epic, collective clothing, shoe and jewellery haul, If you have any questions, you know the drill - leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you x Thanks for reading  x