Things I have been loving recently...

Today, I had an urge to attempt to unleash some of my still life photography skills and share with you some of the things that I have been loving over the past couple of months.

I hadn't used nail varnish in years before buying these, I don't really know why.  Over the summer I decided to go out and buy a few colours to try out.  I've recently had a birthday and my lovely sister bought me an Accessorize voucher.  This therefore gave me the excuse to pick up the lovely bright green nail varnish I had been eyeing up for a while.  When I put it on, it was quite a bit brighter than I thought it would be but very summery!  I found it quite slow to dry and difficult to remove so it was a little disappointing on that front but I think the gorgeous colour made up for it.  I was quite shocked at the price of nail varnish, having not really taken an interest in it for so long.  However, I saw Boots were doing a 3 for 2 offer on BarryM nail varnishes which felt more affordable.  I got two from the Jelly High Shine collection and one of the silk ones.  I was really impressed, they were easy to apply and remove and had a really nice finish.  I think I prefer the Jelly ones due to their shiny quality.  Do you have any nail varnish recommendations?

This is a collection of some quite unconnected items!  As I've said, it has been my birthday and I always find it sad when it comes to that time when you have to decide what you're going to do with all the lovely cards people have sent you.  I couldn't resist keeping this cute little guinea pig card my mum got me!

I have accumulated quite an extensive scarf collection over the past couple of years.  I think they can really add something to a more simple outfit.  The one in the photograph, I bought from Primark for only £4.  It has pokadots on one side and a floral pattern on the other.  I love the little bobbles on the ends!

The flask was a bit of an unusual buy.  I already had a similar cup but it is made out of quite a thin plastic and isn't very good for keeping things warm.  This lovely floral one is made out of a ceramic material with a rubber top so I think it will be more practical.  It was going half price in Sainsbury's and the beautiful design meant I couldn't resist but pick it up.  When I was working, I would never take the time to sit down and have a hot drink in the morning when I arrived.  I bought the flask as an incentive to do so for when I eventually return to work - let's see if it works!

I have developed a bit of an obsession for hair accessories.  You'll be relieved to know that I didn't go out and buy all these things in one go, I've picked them up over a few months.  I absolutely love all the flower hair accessories that have been around in the high streets lately and you can pick them up so cheaply!  All of the accessories in the photos above came from Primark apart from the red rose which I got from H&M.  I wore the red rose to a wedding and I think big flowers can work well for special occasions.

These butterfly clips were also from Primark.  

They bring a touch of colour to more simply twists or down styles.

This is my collection of wired hair wraps/bows.  They were all from Primark (just a slight obsession with that store :o).  I have lots of different colours as I think they work best when they match an outfit.  

They have quite a vintage vibe about them.

Again, a bit of an odd collection of things here.  I always liked mint poppets as a child but you don't see them around so much these days so I was especially excited to see this pink packet in my local post office.

The owl is a little candle holder and it came from the homeware section in Primark (yes, Primark again!).  They also have them in grey and I had bought a couple in that colour for friend's birthdays but when I saw this lovely pink one in the sale I could resist picking one up for myself as well.  It has a vanilla scented candle inside it.  I haven't burnt it yet but I have other vanilla candles from the same store and they have always given off a pretty nice sweet scent.

I was about 13 when the Scoubidoo craze struck and being quite creative I was swept away by it.  Not long after I came out of hospital, I was walking through town and in a moment of confusion/anxiety I stumbled into a toy shop by mistake.  The first thing I saw was a pack of Scoubidoos and I was so surprised to see them again.  I bought a pack and since then have made all sorts of designs.  

I find they can be a really good distraction activity.

A friend bought me the bag at the back of the photo for my birthday and I couldn't be more pleased with it.  The floral pattern mixed with brown leather straps is so me.  It is a really practical size, just big enough to fit in the essentials so it has been getting a lot of use.  I think it was from New Look.

The floral book is an academic diary that I got from The Works.  It only cost £3.  It has a very unusual yet vibrant design which really grabbed my attention.  As someone who can become obsessively organised, I am a fan of having a good diary.  While this one is quite bulky, it has a page per day which works perfectly for me although I have to be careful not to schedule too much in.

I have always been quite a good reader although I am quite fussy when it comes to books.  I mainly like autobiographical books or fiction ones relating to the First and Second World Wars (unusual interest?).  It has been a long time since I was blown away by a book but I can honestly say that The Book Thief by Markus Zusak did just that!  It is an incredible read which really brings to life what it was like for children living in Nazi Germany and the story is told from quite an unusual yet captivating perspective.  A film was made of the book, I have just bought it but haven't watched it yet.  I will probably write a blog post about the book as I enjoyed it so much.  Have any of you read The Book Thief?

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my collection of things.  I would be interested to hear what your favourite things have been over the summer.

The One Day Seeker