So many books, so much time.

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The other day I took a trip to my local book store and purchased three new novels for my ever growing collection. I have to admit it was a very difficult choice but after frantically texting a few friends asking for their recommendations and doing that thing that they tell you never to do, judging them by their covers, I came to a decision.  I chose Longbourn by Jo Baker which is basically a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from the servants point of view. The second book I chose was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. My friend recommended this one to me and she told me how interesting it was to read the story of a character within Germany during the second world rather than from a British perspective. The final book I bought was The Crimson Petal and the White. I knew that this had been turned into a BBC television series a few years ago, but I never had the chance to watch it. I bought this on a sort of whim thinking "It must be good if it was turned into a TV programme?!" I'm just hoping it doesn't let me down...

I am still reading Dracula  and I am still finding as hard to put down as when I started. I am also attempting to read Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I know many people find it hard to read two books at a time, but I have never had this problem. Maybe it's just years and years of practice I've had at doing this! I haven't got very far with it yet, but so far so good!

 I can't wait to get on and read my new books, alas I think they may have to wait until my exams are over in June.

Fairwell for now!

Review | The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick

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A few weeks ago I went on a trip my my latest retail obsession, The Body Shop. I decided it was time for me to update my ever growing lipstick collection, it took me a while but I finally came to a conclusion. I chose the 230 Rush of Pink shade which I really like and it is perfect for when I want a much more natural make-up look. This is an unusual choice for me as I normally chose much brighter, usually red, shades. When you first apply it, it has a gloss appearance but after a few minutes the shine goes down. I found that it does not dry my lips out at all, being one that suffers terribly from chapped lips I find this very important. My only criticism is that it wears off very fast without eating or drinking anything. I am extremely familiar with the reapplying routine yet I found myself having to reapply this lipstick more than I do with any other I own. I don't know if this was just the colour I chose, but I read several reviews which said it stayed on for ages so I'm putting it down to that. Bearing this in mind I will almost defiantly buy more of this in the future but probably in my favourite lipstick colour, red!

You can purchase the Colour Crush lipstick here, priced at £10

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“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”

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As you will all know, the other week was Easter. I am sure we all ate more than our fair share of chocolate and felt very good about ourselves for doing so (or if your anything like me felt guilty for eating it all so fast). My mum came into my room on Easter Sunday carrying a small gift bag for me which when I opened, I found the cutest egg cup I think I have ever seen. I was told that it came from Etsy so if you are interested in getting one for yourself, you may have a search on your hands as that is all I know!

"As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled."

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The other day day I decided it was time to buy a new purse. I had been using the same one for a very long time and looked quite old and battered. However, to say I had bought it from Primark, it served me very well indeed. I had a good look around before I finally made a decision (not a very long job as there are not really many decent shops where I live). I chose one from one of my favourite shops, Accessorize. I really like the colour of it and I think the floral lining on the inside is really sweet. I had been looking for a purse with more than one compartment so I was very happy when I found this. It cost me £15 which was fairly reasonable and it can be found here. It is quite small, but it will do the job and it looks pretty so I am happy!

I also got myself the latest issue of my absolute favey magazine, Vogue, which I cannot wait to read! 

“Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!”

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I got the most beautiful copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula for Christmas and ever since I started reading it a few weeks ago I have found it so hard to put down. This may be seen as a bad thing as I have so much revision that I should be getting on with instead but hey ho here we are. The writing is amazing and is so much easier to read than I thought it would be as it is a classic. I'm not normally a fan of Gothic stories but this is written in such a way that it does not feel that way. As it is in the format of diaries and letters it seems as if the story is true and is a recount of real events and this just adds to the whole eeriness of it all. The story is amazing and I would defiantly recommend it to anyone.

Oui, oui, Paris!

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In October last year my parents and I went on holiday to Paris. I'd never been before so I was highly thrilled when I found out we were going. I spent hours and hours researching the city and could not wait to see if it lived up to all my expectations. I have to say, when we finally arrived on the 28th it did not disappoint in the slightest.

When we landed we found our taxi and set off on our journey to the hotel. The traffic was absolutely insane. I thought traffic in England was bad but Parisian traffic had to be at least 20 times worse. What would probably have been a half an hour car journey back home took about an hour and a half. Just as I was starting to worry whether we'd ever get to our hotel at all, we turned a corner and there it was. Our first sight of the Eiffel Tower. We'd driven past the Arc de Triomphe and were all distracted by that until my mum let out a gasp as she saw it. It was so much bigger than I imagined it to be, I mean I knew it was big but not quite that big.
We finally arrived at our hotel and after a slight confusion with the rooms, we managed to find our chambres and started to settle in. I was so happy to find out that I had a separate room just down the corridor from my parents with such a comfy double bed all to myself!

Once we had recovered our bearings we decided to venture out of the hotel and explore the environment. The hotel was literally about 500 metres from the Effiel Tower itself and by this time it had gone dark to we got a wonderful view of it all lit up. Me and my dad took this opportunity to start taking photos which was defiantly my favourite part of the trip. Once we'd had a wander we went back to the hotel and I had the best nights sleep I'd had in a long time.
We spent our first full day in Paris taking a trip up the Tower and walking to the Arc de Triomphe and back. The views from the Tower were absolutely spectacular and because we went so early in the morning the lighting was si beau.

On our walk to the Arc de Triomphe we saw oh so many cake shops until we finally caved and decided to but ourselves some. I had this sort of macaroon thing with raspberries in the middle which was slightly disappointing. I can't remember the name of the shop but I may try and avoid it if I ever go again seeing my parents also did not enjoy their purchases! It was on this walk that I wished I had the elegance and style of all the Parisian women I saw. They all looked so smart and had a presence that most women back home do not. Oh the things I would do to live in Paris!

 On our second day we visited Notre Dame. First of all, however, we walked down the River Seine until we reached the station for the Batobus we were going to take for the rest of the journey. Again, the weather was amazing and I managed to get many more photos! (I took way more than I think should be allowed)

We caught the Batobus from the Musée d'Orsay. The views from the boat itself were amazing and we saw all the of main tourist attractions that are situated by the side of the Seine. 

Once we arrived at our destination, we were overwhelmed by the sheer size of Notre Dame. I still can't believe it took 200 years to complete the construction! We had a gander around the surrounding area before we went in and found one of the many Love Lock bridges which I developed a slight obsession with while we were there, being the closet hopeless romantic I am at heart!

We climbed up what felt like an endless number of stairs to reach the top after what felt like hours of queuing and the time and energy certainly paid off! The view from the top was fab as we could see for miles around the city and got some lovely photos of the Eiffel Tower!

That evening we went on a bike tour of the city with Fat Tire Bike Tours. It was certainly an experience cycling through Paris at night as there were many times when I feared for my life and some of our fellow tourists were extremely egocentric and annoying but apart from that I had a great time! The city certainly looks so beautiful lit up and we learnt so much about the history. They took us to Île Saint-Louis after Île de la Cité (home to Notre Dame) which is apparently where many a celebrity chose to reside. Here we got the chance to have some ice-cream or sorbet and damn was it good. It had to be the nicest sorbet I have ever had. Towards the end of the tour we went on a boat ride from the Louvre all the way round the main river area and back. This way we got to see everywhere we had seen from the Batobus but all lit up and lovely. It was really nice but so so so cold! It is safe to say that when we got back to the hotel at silly o'clock at night I slept very well indeed!

On our last full day in Paris we visited the Louvre art gallery. As with everything we had visited before I had not expected it to be so huuuuge! I mean, there is huge and then there is the Louvre. We spent the majority of the day in there and we still didn't see even half of it. The building was so majestic and elegant and even though the glass pyramids at the centre are so modern, they tie in with the environment so well. We saw the Mona Lisa which was amazing (and smaller than I expected) and Napoleon's chambers which were absolutely stunning. We wandered away from the Louvre eventually and crossed the Pont de l'Archevêché which I think is the largest love lock bridge in Paris. We had lunch in this really cute, old fashioned café where I had a minor stress over the menu and eventually ended up what was probably one of the world's most expensive sandwiches but it was SO GOOD. I'm not normally a sandwich fan but by heck was that one amazing sandwich! I also tried my first ever crème brûlée which turned out to almost as good as the sandwich.

We left Paris on the 1st November and I really did not want to go home. I felt so relaxed and comfortable in the city, 10 times more than I do in my own town! It looked like the ideal place to live even though it is so expensive. I must return some day and do all the things we didn't have time to do in our short stay. Let's just say I now know why it is called The City of Love, it had to be the most romantic place I have ever been!

Au revoir pour le moment mes amis!