Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts

Old English Company | Review | Prints and Pins

Saturday, July 14, 2018






There are no two ways about it, I have to just come out and say it- I am obsessed with interior design and making the spaces I spend my time in feel like home. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you've looked at the housing market lately) I live in rented accommodation so there is only so much I can do to my current home without making my landlord really mad, so whilst I spend my days putting together interior inspo Pinterest boards, and poring over copies of Ideal Home, and House Beautiful, I can't really live out my Kate La Vie-esque dreams just yet.

One way I put my stamp on our home is with artwork and prints, which is why when Old English Company asked me to pick anything I wanted from their site (up to £50) I jumped at the chance to work with them. I'd never checked them out before so I wasn't sure how far that £50 was going to stretch but I was pleasantly surprised to find I could pretty much help myself to anything I liked and then some! After spending a good 30 minutes looking at all they had to offer I finally decided on two prints, and an enamel pin.

































My favourite thing about Old English Company is that their choice of prints and quotes is very different from any others I've seen from other print companies. My absolute favourite book of all time is Wuthering Heights so I actually made a little gleeful yelp when I saw the Emily Brontë quote.  Because I am a total cliche of a writer I also adore William Shakespeare, and having noticed they had that very famous "though she be but little...." quote I had a search for something I didn't already have on display, and found this brilliant print featuring a line from the play As You Like It.
































Both these prints cost £16 in A4 but are also available in 8x10 or A3 for £13.95 and £21.00 respectively. I think these prints are beautiful in their simplicity, and they are printed on very sturdy card so they maintain their shape whether you decide to frame them, hang them, or simply stand them against a wall.

It took me a while to decide where to place them but I settled on placing them above our bed with one on each side of our giant dream catcher. I have a new found love for these little picture shelves so I bought a couple for these prints, and I'm pretty pleased with how it looks so far. Now if only I could paint these horrible magnolia walls a nice bright white!!
































Now don't worry, I'm not forgetting my other choice which was this cute little enamel pin (£7) which says "Stay Weird". There were a few pins that I really liked but I honestly think that "stay weird" is an important message to wear everyday. It took me a long time to stop describing the things I love as "weird" or "unconventional" when the truth is, the things I love are the things that make me who I am and if I want to stay me, I have to stay weird!
































As you can see I gave the little dude pride and place on my work lanyard (right under the amazing Dorkface rainbow pin) so every single customer I come in contact with can get a little reminder to be themselves.

Overall I am so happy with my choices from Old English Company, and I already have more prints, and pieces of stationery and homeware, added to my wishlist. If you are in the market for some simple, beautiful, well made products I wouldn't hesitate to point you in their direction.

Happy Shopping. And don't forget to Stay Weird!



Disclaimer: The items in this post were gifted to me by the company mentioned throughout, in return for an honest review. I picked each item personally, and all opinions herein are my own. I will never promote or recommend any product or company I do not believe in, and would not willingly spend my own money on.

Blog Tour-The Secrets You Keep by Kate White

Monday, September 18, 2017

Hi guys! Today is my turn on the The Secrets You Keep blog tour and I'm so happy to share this book with you. 
I'd been in a bit of a reading slump-even my trusty Philosopher's Stone was feeling like a chore-until this book arrived on my kindle. I thought The Secrets You Keep was gripping, and fast paced, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. 

The Secrets You Keep


These Wingz were Made to Fly

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

So, recently I was contacted by the the lovely Sarah and asked if I would like to feature Wingz* on the blog, and i'll be honest, I jumped at the chance! I'd been interested in the product ever since Fiona tried them out, but with saving for Florida I kept not buying myself things that I really liked! 

Anyway I happily accepted the offer and got excited about trying this interesting new item, but then the apprehension kicked in, not about the product itself but more how I would write about them in a way that was authentic to me. You see exactly a year ago yesterday I wrote this post, a post about how finally at the age of 29 I had finally learned to love the body I'm in, but here I was accepting a product that was-in my mind-the perfect thing to hide one of my flaws. 
After a lot of thinking about it I realised I was beating myself up over nothing! Nobody can be completely in love with their body, all of the time, it is possible to love your body and dislike a part of it-we are human, we are not infallible, we are fickle and flighty, and multi-faceted...and that's just another thing to love about us. So there you have it, I love my body, but I hate my arms. 

Mostly I hate the skin on my arms, it's dry and flaky, and a little scaly. Some parts are red and inflamed, others are dark and discoloured...basically it's just a damn mess, and I like to cover it up (for my own sake mind, I don't really care how other people react to my skin- I just care how my skin reacts to air, and how I react to it) and Wingz are perfect for doing just that. 

Elizabeth is Missing // Book Review // Hit or Miss?

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Hi guys.

Well well well, I have finally finished reading Elizabeth is Missing so of course it's time for a review.




For those of you who know me, and read the post in which I purchased said book, it seems quite out of character for it to have taken me this long to read it. But alas it was no mean feat! 

I had such high hopes for Elizabeth is Missing, from the blurb, the testimonials, the quotes from clever people dotted all over the cover, I thought to myself "my, my AJ we're in for a treat here"! But if there was a treat inside, I missed it. 

The story itself was fine, the premise fantastic, but the execution? Slow, plodding, and may I say predictable? 

For those of you unfamiliar with this book the plot is as follows: Elizabeth is Missing...our main character suffers from dementia and although she can barely remember her own family, or the simplest things, she always remembers that her best friend is missing. But as the blurb asks "how can you solve a mystery when you can't remember the clues?" 

The aspect of dementia is handled impeccably! That is this book's shining point. You are lead into Maud's world of living with dementia almost instantly and you grow to sympathise with not only Maud but also her long-suffering daughter. The text makes you share in Maud's confused mental state, the story jumps from past to present, real to imagined, lucid to confused...all the while moving along closer and closer to its resolution. 

However, we are not Maud. We do not suffer from confusion and we (or at least I) quickly figured out where this story was heading, and I got there far faster than the author. 

I realise I sound really mean, and I hate that, but it has to be said. Here, let me reiterate...I DID like the story, I DID love how the author handled such a frequently ignored condition, I DID think her writing was impeccable, I just DID NOT like the pace and predictability of this book. And I know I'm not alone, many of the 140 character reviews I've read on Twitter have made issue with how long this book takes to get to the point. But maybe that's the point? Maybe we are supposed to feel like we are constantly waiting for something to make sense because that is how Maud feels?? I don't know! 

What I do know is that I will happily read anything else the author writes, but I probably won't be re-reading this in a hurry. 

Have you read Elizabeth is Missing? What did you think? Am I being too harsh? I'd love to know what you think...and also if you have any book recommendations for me, I'm all ears (or eyes, whatever). 

Much Love 
AJ 
xx 

Review: The Girl on the Train

Thursday, February 12, 2015

The beautiful Fiona at Wishes, Hopes and Dreams sent me this book, just because I mentioned that I wanted to read it but was too poor to buy it before payday :-). Aren't best friends beautiful!

Anyway so back to the book. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is one of those books that was surrounded by hype, and optioned for a movie by Dreamworks before it was published, now I usually avoid anything that is so hyped, for fear of being disappointed, but this time I had to, had to read this!


Stay tuned for the blurb:

EVERY DAY THE SAME

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. 
She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses, 'Jess and Jason' she calls them. Their life -as she sees it- is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. 

 UNTIL TODAY

 And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough.
Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become part of the lives she's only watched from afar. 

 Now they'll see: she's much more than just the girl on the train...

 Rachel is as flawed as a heroine comes. A divorced alcoholic who you can't help but feel sorry for is perhaps the antithesis to what we are used to in the books we've read before especially when the character in question is a woman, but in The Girl on The Train that is exactly what you get.

I found myself rooting for Rachel when she had a good day, and being disappointed in her when she fell off the wagon again and again. I'm sure you will too.

It is really hard to review a book which relies on revealing its secrets one character and one chapter at a time. Each chapter is told from a certain character's point of view, and this allows you to build the story in your head and see how it all ties together.

Without giving anything away I will say you'll be guessing alongside Rachel, you'll be trying to figure out the ending all the way through, you might even do it once but then the story will twist in a different direction and you'll think you're mad and be right back at square one.

If you are a fan of mystery and trying to work out problems, you will love this book. If you love a good easy read that you will fly through in days, you will love this book. If you like to be surprised and unsure if justice will ever prevail, you will love this book. If you do not love this book, I will eat this book!

Trigger warning: for those of you who have dealt with alcoholism, infertility, child-loss, adultery, or abuse this book covers all of these themes,

Have you read The Girl on The Train? What did you think of it? Are there other books you think I will enjoy like this one? Leave me a comment and let me know :-).

Much Love
AJ xx

My Little Box: January Edition

Thursday, February 05, 2015

Now I know those of you who subscribe to My Little Box, or just follow bloggers who do, will be like "January Edition? It's February love keep up!" But I only subcribed midway through January and just received my first box and had to, had to share it.

To those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about let me enlighten you. My Little Box is a subscription beauty box along the same lines as BirchBox, GlossyBox et al. This one is from a company called My Little Paris and is one of the slighter cheaper options at only £11+ p&p a month. I've never really thought about signing up before but one look at past boxes had me popping my details into their website faster than you can say "Shut up and take my money!". 

So without further ado step inside my first box with me: 
January's box knows that you want to do better his year, it knows you want to be the best YOU possible and it's here to help.  
Doesn't that look like an awful lot of cool stuff to get sent to your door for less than £15?!!

Contents:
1x Affirmation card by their in house illustrator.
1x Copy of My Little World magazine
1x Calendar 
1x Gym Bag
1x Beauty Bag-with this months beauty gifts inside. 

So what's inside the beauty bag? 
Only a full size bottle of bloody (no pun intended) Nails Inc nail varnish!! This colour is called Tate and is like a proper red. Not an orangey red, not an "it might be dark pink" red, but a proper deep, sultry, sexy red. It's literally already on my fingers. 
My Little Box have their own range of products called My Little Beauty (funnily enough) and this months product is an energising mist for face and body. At 75ml, this is a decent sized bottle that'll go a long way, and with vitamin c and green tea in the ingredients it promises to wake up even the tiredest of skin. I can't wait to try it. 
And last but by no means least the wee beauty bag produced this 30ml tube of Photo-Hydra Day from Talika Paris. The tube States that this moisturiser uses natural light to deeply moisturise your skin and that sounds all kinds of sciency and cool. Everyone who knows me knows I have very dry problematic skin so I'm eager to see what this can do.

So yeah I'm pretty chuffed with my first box and can't wait to try out all my new products, including this cute calendar...

And this spectacularly roomy gym bag...

What do you think of My Little Box? Do you subscribe already or are you considering doing it and want an honest opinion? Leave me a comment below and I'll share my thoughts on each product with you :-).

Much Love 
AJ 
Xx





Review: Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

Ooh look at me jumping on a product bandwagon! The whole blogging community seems to have run out and grabbed this months Elle magazine...just to get their hands on Benefit's first new mascara in four years, and I was not immune.

I rarely wear make-up (except eyeliner because woe betide you part me from my kohl!) but when I do it is probably going to be Benefit or Mac, I don't have to tell you why, right? 

I've been a big fan of Benefit's "They're Real" mascara since I was sent some last year, and haven't used anything for night out face looks since. But how could I ignore cries across the Internet of "best mascara ever", "Benefit have done it again", "so many people thought my lashes were false"? Clearly the answer is, "I couldn't!" So off I popped to McColls to grab the last copy of Elle. 


For a start I have to say that the magazine was not worth £4 in my opinion BUT being that the mascara is going to retail at around £19.50 when it is finally released, it was a total bargain. And hey at least the magazine looks nice in the pictures. 

Now for the mascara:
It's good! I'd even go so far as to say it's great. My lashes are very pretty with it on, and I might be convinced to wear mascara more often. However it's not that much better than its predecessor *ooh controversial*! Let me show you...
The eye on your left is dressed in "They're Real" and the Jezebel on the right is adorned in "Roller Lash". 
There is a clear difference in the photo and I admit my lashes look curlier and darker, but in real life? They look pretty similar, as in Damian looked at my face for what felt like an age before tentatively picking the "roller eye" and then changing to the "they're real eye". 
I think the point I'm trying to make is that yes it is great but if you've still got some of the old stuff left I'd wait until it's finished and then go out and upgrade. 

Much Love
AJ xx



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