Sunday 7 December 2014

My Youtube Videos!

I've had a Youtube account for years now, but haven't made any videos on it. Like I mentioned in my first post on the subject, for a while I made videos about makeup and beauty stuff but I wasn't really enjoying it. So I stopped and deleted all my videos.

Now two years on and I've started making videos again! But they're about books and I'm so happy I started. I'm so glad I found the Booktube community. I've had such a wonderful response from others in the community, that I really wasn't expecting. Everyone is just so involved and active, commenting on videos and replying to each other. It's so lovely!
I've made four videos so far and I've got a few more that I plan on making soon. Including the Taylor Swift tag! And a few other tag videos and some "get to know me" type videos.

Here's the videos I've made, except the introduction because I didn't make a thumbnail for that. I'm so proud of myself for figuring out how to customise the thumbnails and make my own!
Click the link below the photos to see my videos.

This is the first review I've posted and I'm really pleased with it, this is such an awesome book and I wish more people knew about it!

First wrap up video, I was very excited to make this and very proud of how many books I read last month. I'm going to try and read more in December so I can talk about more books at the end of the month.

Buying books is my new favourite thing, I've got another haul planned for next week because I bought loads of books online from a really cheap website/shop.


So these are all the videos I've made so far and I can't wait to make more as I read more books!

Sunday 30 November 2014

Book Selfies!

The other day I started deleting stuff to make room on my laptop. I went through all my old college work and music and made some space. Then I went into Photo Booth to get rid of all the rubbish photos I have on there.
I've had my laptop since my 16th birthday and now I'm 21 so I had a lot of photos! I deleted loads but I kept most of the good ones.
I also kept all the ones of me and the books I've read. I thought it was quite funny how many photos I took of myself reading!
I think these were all taken from early 2010 to late 2011, so I would have been 16/17

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
I remember reading this book and loving it! But I didn't carry on with the series because I didn't like it as much.

 

 GCSE Maths Revision Book - Does that count? I doubt I read much of it!

 It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
I saw there was a film coming out based on this book and I did some research and decided I wanted to read the book first, I'm so glad I did. It's a great book and a great film!

 The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
After seeing Sophia Copola's adaptation of The Virgin Suicides and loving it instantly I really wanted to read the book. But I just couldn't get into it. I think I need to read it now I'm older, maybe I'll appreciate it more.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 
THIS BOOK! This is my favourite book of all time. It deserves it's on post entirely. I'm going to save that for a video though, on my new Booktube channel!
I read this book during the summer and then lent it to a friend, big mistake! I never got it back. So I bought another copy and read it again, that copy has a better cover as well!

 Harry Potter (1, 2, 3 and 4) by J.K. Rowling
I can't remember why but at some point during this year I wanted to read all the Harry Potter books! When they first came out I listened to them all on audiotape, so I'd never actually read them...
So I bought the first four from a charity shop, just to get me started. But I never carried on with it after these ones.

 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.


 Harry Potter Companion books, also by J.K. Rowling.
Again, I was VERY into Harry Potter this year!

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling. 
In the time it took me to read the first two books I've cut and dye my hair blonde!

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffret Eugenides (again)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
I absolutely love The War of the World, I listen to Jeff Wayne's musical version every now and again. I used to listen to it with my parents when I was little, I will always love it!


1984 by George Orwell.
I never finished 1984, I just couldn't get into it!
This was when I was a bit obsessed with Doctor Who, especially Matt Smith. He has been my favourite Doctor. "Bow ties are cool"

I should start doing this again, on my laptop. I think it's a cool idea to document the books I'm reading, what my hair looks like and other little bits in my life.
I hope you enjoyed seeing what I read and how young I look!

Monday 24 November 2014

Booktube!

I've started a Booktube channel! I've had a Youtube account for years and this one I've had since 2012, when I tried making a beauty/makeup channel and failed!
But I'm really excited about booktube! I've been watching videos about books for a few weeks now and I just really wanted to get involved and post my own. So I tidied my room, charged my camera and hit record! And this is my introduction video to my new channel! 


I spent the other night trying to make a banner/channel art for my page. It's safe to say that it's pretty rubbish, but I'm not a graphic designer and it took me all day to make the header for my blog, so the Youtube one was bound to either take ages or be crap!



I just wanted to make something quick so I could get started. Also, I'm liking the fact that I still have 10 subscribers from my old channel! I'm not enjoying that my channel is actually called TeenageWaasteland. That's what my old tumblr account was called and I thought it was really cool! Oh well, I've changed the settings and my name is what you see on it instead.

I've got a few videos planned/recorded that I'm going to post. I know I've already said it, but I am really excited about this and I can't wait to really get into it and have a few videos on my channel and maybe get a few subscribers and people I can talk to about books!

Sunday 16 November 2014

This is how much I love Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell


Please prepare yourself for an explosion of words and feelings. Because I'm not sure if I can put into words how much I love this book.
But I think the fact that I read it in three days says a lot. As soon as I started reading this book I just couldn't put it down
There's a quote on the cover of the book from John Green that says "Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love, but what it's like to be young and in love with a book"
And I agree with this statement 100%! I am a huge John Green fan and this is one of the reasons I read Eleanor and Park. As well as the fact that it's set in the 80s which I love.

The story starts with Eleanor moving back home after being away for a year. She meets Park on the school bus when there's nowhere else for her to sit, so she sits next to him. At first they don't talk and for a while he ignores her, until he notices that she's sneakily reading his comic books that he reads on the bus. One afternoon she gets off the bus but they haven't finished reading a comic so he gives it to her. And that's where it all begins! Over the course of a school year, they share comics, mixtapes and their hearts. That sounds so cheesey but I couldn't think of how else to put it! Because that's what happens! But it's not cheesey at all, it's so well written!

It's full of references to comic books, films and awesome music! The "soundtrack" of this book is amazing. You'll find yourself up at 2am reading, listening to The Smiths and wishing you could give Rainbow Rowell a hug for creating such a wonderful story with such magical characters.
You'll experience every emotion reading this book. It's got everything and it's beautiful.
I feel a bit like Peter Pan with my choice of reading material, the little boy who didn't want to grow up, like I'm refusing to grow up myself. Even though I'm 21, I'm still reading books about being 16 and falling in love for the first time. Not that I'm complaining, I love a coming of age story! And I don't ever want to stop reading books about teenage life and falling in love.


AND another thing, the cover of the book is the same colour as my other favourite book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Coincidence? I think not!
If you like The Perks of Being a Wallflower or anything by John Green then I think you'll love this.



(All the artwork in this post I found on Pinterest, they are by a few different artists. Here's links to them on their tumblrs. paperpie, siminiblocker and oh-clock)

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Cornwall


I've been a bit absent from the blogging world recently! Blogtober didn't exactly go to plan, but I think posting 16 times in a month was pretty good! Considering I have never done any kind of regular posting before.

But where have I been? What have I been up to?
Last week I went on holiday, with my mum and her partner Janine. We went to Cornwall to visit my Aunt and Uncle in their new house. When we got there the weather was pretty foggy and grey! But that didn't stop us from doing all the things we wanted to do.
One day we went out for lunch at a seaside town called Looe. We had Cornish pasties and went for a walk through the town and along the beach.


Because it was Halloween we carved pumpkins, we all did really simple designs, except for Janine because she always does really cool pumpkins! By the way, that's my pumpkin in the middle, looking cute and scared!


They have a fire in their kitchen so we toasted marshmallows as well, which was my idea and what a great idea it was!

  

The next day we went for another walk but this was a much more serious walk. It was up a hill/mountain! It was probably just a hill, but there were large rocks everywhere that made it feel like we were rock climbing up a mountain.


It's a place called Bodmin Moor and it was beautiful and so much fun to walk around. 
The view from the top of the hill was great and I bet on a sunny day it would have been even better.

It was so windy on the walk up and especially at the top, as this picture proves!
After the long walk up and back down the hill we went for cream teas, but I had a toastie instead! Because I don't like cream. But then my mum gave me half of her scone and I just had jam on it.


In the evening we went for fish and chips in Padstow, which is such a lovely place to visit. It's a harbor town and has really great shops. It's just a shame that we went in the evening and everything was closed!
It was only a short visit and now I'm back to working loads!



Here's my mum, me and Janine on the pier at Looe, looking like we really want to be there and have our photo taken!


Oh and here's me in a little cave thing!


Monday 27 October 2014

Filofax Madness! (Blogtober #16)


A few months ago I got a Filofax when it was reduced at John Lewis and I hadn't used it since I bought it. But recently I decided to start using it after I watched a few Youtube videos of people decorating their planners. The planner I have is the Patent Pocket Organiser in the colour Lemon and it's lovely! Yellow is one of my favourite colours and this is such a cute shade.  
I had a few washi tapes lying around in a drawer somewhere but that wasn't enough. So over the last few days I've been to a few different shops and stocked up on craft supplies and stationary. First I bought some stuff from Wilkinsons and Paperchase.


Now I have loads of pretty washi tapes all in different colours and patterns. I bought some coloured paper as well to make my own dividers and pages with. As well as a few other bits and bobs, like pens, post it notes, stickers, zip pouches, mini pegs and a tape dispenser.

Then  on Saturday I went to Hobbycraft and went a bit crazy in the stamp section, I nearly bought everything! I got three different types of alphabet stamps, which was probably too many but it's good to have options! I also got a few stamps with pictures on them.
This is some of the stuff I bought.


You can never have too many post it notes, so I got a few from the brand La De Dah with different patterns and words on. After buying the coloured card from Wilkinsons I decided to get some patterned ones to make my dividers more interesting.


I'm really enjoying decorating the pages in my Filofax, even though they're not that exciting so far because I'm still thinking about what I want to do with them. But I made this little insert today and I thought it was really cute! And now I'm going to try and make a few more, maybe something inspired by The Fault in Our Stars?

Monday 20 October 2014

I've started knitting! (Blogtober #15)



I've wanted to learn to knit for a while now, since I started cross stitching in the summer I've been thinking about it. But I didn't want to start right away. After I finished a few cross stitches and I was improving at that I thought I'd give knitting a go. I tried knitting when I was about 15 and I was never very good at it, I think because I didn't really know I could find lots of help online and I chose a gross coloured wool to make a scarf (baby pink and yellow) so I wasn't that bothered about it. But this time I chose colours I actually like and hopefully when I've finished my scarf I'll want to wear it.

So on Saturday I went to John Lewis, mainly to try on watches for my birthday but I also had a little nose around the haberdashery department. Which was great! I chose the colours of yarn I wanted to use and then the woman working there was really helpful and showed me what needles I needed and how to get started which I wasn't expecting at all. It was so helpful and she was really nice!

It's safe to say I've got off to a bit of a rocky start, knitting is really hard! I've probably done about 5 rows and then pulled it all off the needle and started again. About three times. But I'm sticking with it now, no matter how horribly it goes. It's only my first one and it's just practise really.


This is how much I've done so far, it looks a lot better in the photo! There aren't many wholes in it, it's just a bit uneven. And when I say "a bit uneven" I mean "very uneven".
I'm just going to keep going with it and see how long I can make it. Then I'll make a blue one and then a green one. Then I can open my own Etsy shop! (I'm kidding).

Have you missed me? (Blogtober #14)


Long time no see!
I may have stopped blogging for a bit, lets pretend that didn't happen.
I've had a funny sort of week, which hasn't been very interesting because all I've done is work.
I'm hoping I'll get back into the swing of things with blogging and write about some interesting things.
All I've done over the last week is work, do more of my current cross stitch project, drink tea, started reading a new book, watch the new episodes of American Horror Story and I also went to John Lewis to try on watches for my birthday. While I was at John Lewis I bought some wool and knitting needles. I'll write more about that in another post...

(Art work found on Pinterest, I think it's by Vanessa Van Meerhaeghe)

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Saltwater (Blogtober #13)



I didn't write anything yesterday and I haven't really got anything to write today, just something I wanted to share.
I found this poem online last night at about 2am and I thought it was beautiful.

"Saltwater"

Everyone who terrifies you is sixty-five percent water.
And everyone you love is made of stardust, and I know sometimes
you cannot even breathe deeply, and
the night sky is no home, and
you have cried yourself to sleep enough times
that you are down to your last two percent, but

nothing is infinite,
not even loss.


You are made of the sea and the stars, and one day
you are going to find yourself again.  

-Finn Butler

I don't know who Finn Butler is, I wasn't able to find much about him online but he is very talented and I hope I come across more of his poetry in the future.

Sunday 12 October 2014

Another short post (Blogtober #12)


I've never been so tired in my entire life. Well that might be an exaggeration but today I was very tired. Nearly falling asleep at work kind of tired.
But after work I finally got to have a nap! Then I had pie and mash for dinner.
Now I'm going to do a little bit of cross stitching, I've nearly finished the ones I'm working on. I'm making Christmas ones at the moment, so they'll definitely be ready in time!
I think I'll watch a film on Netflix as well, but I'm not sure which one. I can never decide, it always takes me ages to pick a film and then I end up staying up really late.
Hopefully I find something quickly.

Saturday 11 October 2014

I don't want to miss a day! (Blogtober #11)


I haven't had a chance to blog about anything today, not anything interesting anyway.
I thought I'd just write a quick post to let you know why. I have worked aaaalll day today! It was really busy and I don't think I sat down at all, but I really enjoyed most of it. It was just the last hour of my day at work that seemed to go really slow.
So now I'm off out for a well deserved drink with my friends. I just can't decide what to wear. We are going out clubbing but I don't really own any clubbing clothes, the only suitable outfit I have I wore last time. And I don't want to be an outfit repeater! But I bet I'll find something decent to wear in my wardrobe.
Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with something interesting to write about!

Friday 10 October 2014

Birthday Wishlist! (Blogtober #10)

It will be my birthday in exactly one month! I'll be 21!
So I've put together a little list of things I'd like for my birthday!


SUSHI
I would like to go out for sushi on my birthday, or for a chinese. I'm not that fussy! Well actually I am, but I haven't quite decided if I'd like sushi or chinese. But it'll probably be sushi.

I've been looking at Olivia Burton watches for a few months now, they're so beautiful. Very classic designs in really lovely colours. Some of them have floral patterns on the background of the clock. My mum has said she'll get me a watch because that's something I can keep, because 21 is quite an important birthday.

JEANS
I haven't seen an actual pair of jeans I like yet, I just really need a new pair because all mine are cheap and horrible. So I think I'll treat myself to a pair of nice jeans as a birthday present to myself. Maybe a pair of Levi's.

I wish I had somewhere to store a few cross stitch things so I can cross stitch while I'm out. Somewhere that has space for thread and needles and stuff. This little travel sewing kit is so cute, I love the map pattern on the outside and inside is stripy. This would be perfect for carrying a few cross stitch bits in.

ER is one of my favourite TV shows. They showed it again from the beginning on Sky about a year ago but it stopped around series 7! So I haven't seen past that and I really want to. But the box set is still really expensive! So I might have to save up for this and buy it for myself one day.

I've seen quite a few embroidery and cross stitching books I'd really like, there's loads on Amazon for quite cheap. This one looks really cute, it's got lots of different techniques of embroidery not just cross stitching and all the patterns and designs are cute little ones.

This is such a simple necklace and I really love it. I have another necklace from Orelia that's very dainty and pretty, I think it would look lovely layered with this one.

WASHI TAPE
I wish I had more craft supplies, especially washi tape. On my birthday I'd love to go to a craft shop and just go crazy and buy loads of different arts and craft things and start making stuff.


If anyone feels like treating me, my birthday is on the 10th of November, here's some ideas of what to get me!

Thursday 9 October 2014

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza! (Blogtober #9)


Today I had plans to go shopping and go out for lunch. I was going to take myself out for lunch at Wagamamas and have yaki soba and maybe some duck gyoza. But the universe was against me today so I didn't go.
I've got a cold so I don't feel very well, my hair and makeup just wasn't going right, I didn't know what to wear (nothing felt comfy), I hate getting the bus and then it got really windy and rainy. 
So instead I've ordered myself a pizza and cookies from Dominoes! I thought that was an ok thing to do because I would have spent about the same money on getting the bus and food at wagamamas and it's probably just as unhealthy. 
Also, I can eat my pizza in my trackies and watch films on Netflix! Even though I really want to watch the new episode of American Horror Story, but I just can't find it online!
My pizza just got here! So I'm going to eat it all now and enjoy it!

Wednesday 8 October 2014

What's in my Bag? (Blogtober #8)


I carry a lot of crap in my bag. Like most women probably! But it just builds up and I end up carrying nearly everything I own. And now I have a bigger bag I can carry more, which isn't always a good thing.
I really like seeing what people carry in their bags so I thought I'd show you what I carry in mine.

My bag is from Warehouse but I bought it from ASOS. I love that it has a zip on the inside as well as the magnetic snap closures, I feel like all my stuff is a bit safer with the zip. When the zip is opened the bag is a bit wider as well. The straps are also quite thick and it's comfortable to wear.


This is all the stuff I carry in my bag. You can fit quite a lot in this bag, there's a lot of space inside. I wouldn't put too much in it though, I wouldn't want it to break. My phone isn't in the photos because I take all my blog pictures on my iPhone. It's an iPhone 5, so everyone knows what that looks like!


I have a pair of sunglasses from Topshop, which I should probably take out now the weather is getting more miserable.

This is the book I'm reading at the moment, Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews. I've read it before, when I was a lot younger so I thought I'd reread it now because I might appreciate the story more.

I use a coin purse to carry my bank card, ID and change. I also use it when I go out so I don't have to take my bigger purse. In my bigger wallet I keep all my loyalty cards and receipts. Sometimes I only use this purse so it'll have everything in it including money, ID and my bank card.
The coin purse is from Claire's accessories about 8 years ago! The wallet is from John Lewis and is the brand Disaster Designs.

Obviously I carry my house keys! The keyring is from the car we had when I was really little. It was a Mary Quant Mini and it was absolutely beautiful.

I carry a small deodorant and my favourite texturising hairspray with me just in case I need them. You never know!

I carry my Oyster card/student card in this card holder. Even though I'm not a student anymore... It's from John Lewis and it's one of their 150th anniversary prints.

I also have my glasses and glasses case. That't not very exciting. Oh, they're from Specsavers.

Last thing I have is my makeup bag. Which is also from John Lewis. It's the brand Catseye, but I bought it about a year ago. And here's everything I have in it, which isn't a lot.


First I have my Bare Minerals Matte Foundation, I use this for touch ups when I'm out/at work.
I have a Rimmel transluscent Stay Matte Powder for the same use.
I have a red Dr Balm lipbalm as well as a Barry M lipstick in Everything's Rosie. I bought it for the name but it's also a really pretty colour!
I also have a Real Techniques buffing brush.
The contents of my makeup bag changes every so often, depending on what makeup I'm wearing that day or where I'm going.

Other things that were in the bottom of my bag that I didn't show: receipts from Waitrose, cinema tickets, Baskin Robbins napkins and 15p. Exciting!

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Music Addict (Blogtober #7)



I listen to music every chance I get.
In the shower, when I get dressed in the morning, when I walk to work, on my break at work, when I walk home from work, in the evening when I'm sitting on the sofa, lying in bed before I go to sleep, on the train, on the bus, in the car. You get the idea! I listen to music a lot. I thought I'd share some of my current favourite songs, these are constantly on repeat on my Spotify/iTunes!

1. Bad Idea by Candy Hearts
Or any other song by Candy Hearts, they're one of my favourite bands. I really like the singer's sweet but punky voice. The lyrics for all of their songs are great and they're just really fun to listen to.


2. At Your Door by Big Harp
This song is in the closing scene of one of my favourite films, Stuck in Love. The whole soundtrack for this film is amazing but this is one of my favourites from it. It's such a great love song. It has a really long intro but the music in this song is just perfect. I like the mix of the man's husky voice and the woman's gentle voice.


3. I Want What You Have by Willamette Stone
Even though this isn't a real band, it's still a great song! All the songs from this fictional band are. If you haven't seen the film If I Stay then you need to. Adam is one of the main characters of this film as well as the lead singer of the band. The actor Jamie Blackley who plays Adam recorded all the songs himself, as well as the rest of the band members. Even though they aren't a real band you can still listen to their music on the official soundtrack.


4. Half of My Heart by John Mayer
I wrote about this song about a month ago, saying it was my favourite song then and it still is now. I love a bit of country now and then and this is my favourite country song right now. 


5. Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
It pains me to say that I like an Ed Sheeran song. I've never understood the hype around this man and I've never liked any of his previous songs. But when I heard this song I fell in love, it really is beautiful. 

6. Mess is Mine by Vance Joy
The first song I heard by Vance Joy was Riptide, which was very popular over the summer. Definitely one of my summer songs, so I thought I'd give the rest of his album a listen. And I was not disappointed! His music reminds me of Mumford and Sons and Of Monsters and Men.


7. Chocolate by The 1975
One of my favourite bands at the moment, I'd love to see them live! This was the first song I heard of theirs, but it wasn't till I listened to the whole album that I really fell in love with them. But now this song is in a trailer of a film I really want to see (Love, Rosie) so I like listening to this song because it gets me excited for the film to come out! 


8. Caffeine Kiss by Thee Acquainted
Thee Acquainted are one of my favourite bands at the moment. They're a young married couple that make cover videos on YouTube. I've found so many great bands and songs through them and their videos (Thinking out loud and Half of my heart) but this is the title track off of their EP. Their names are Arielle and Jacob and they're both incredibly talented musicians. 


9. Voodoo Doll by 5 Seconds of Summer
Perfect for when you need a little dose of pop punk! The lyrics are quite funny and it's just a really easy song to listen to and sing along to. It's kind of hard not to! And I have to do it in the accent as well! 

I've been listening to these songs a lot recently, maybe I should listen to something else? But then again, maybe not!