Thrift O'Clock

Five attainable goals I have in my sights to complete in the near future.

I think it's vital to set goals for yourself. These are the ones I'm currently working towards:

Get a job

Now that my illness/health is at a place where I can manage it, I feel like I'm just about ready to take on a job. I'm so eager to have a regular schedule to keep me busy! Jumping on the career ladder isn't my concern just yet - that will come in time - for now I'd like to work at something that I enjoy and will allow me to maintain an income.

Learn to drive

When I first became old enough to drive, I had no interest at all. In fact I was pretty terrified of the idea. Fast forward to just recently; my eyes caught sight of a Fiat 500 in a shopping centre & it's made me determined to learn. It might sound silly but it's the only car I've seen that I could actually imagine myself driving in. I just don't see the point of having a car I don't love, y'know?

It's not the beauty of the vehicle alone that's inspired this change of mindset. Of course I want more independence and a car would let me have some of that. I'd be able to drive myself anywhere I'd like to which is a magical thing!

Be able to afford a car

I'm very aware that being able to drive a car and being able to own a car are two very separate situations. I want to be earning enough to buy my dream car & have the money management skills to pay for the upkeep that comes with it. The first goal is crucial for this!

Master the wheel pose in yoga

As yet my lack of arm strength won't let me do this but with practice, I will!

Start writing

I have three book concepts in mind! Two are fiction series & one is a book of poetry. Getting them published isn't on my mind right now at all, I'll consider it a personal victory just to write them to be honest with you! I think plucking up the courage to start and not fret about 'failing' is the hardest part. So far anyway.

Thanks for reading! Get involved in the comments below and let me know what your current goals are.
Maeve

Well, now that February is done & dusted it's time for me to share my monthly favourites with you!

MAC Twig lipstick, Soap & Glory Sugar Crush, Wet 'n' Wild mascara flatlay

BEAUTY

Starting off with a shower favourite, if you read my recent Soap & Glory review then it'll come as no surprise to you that the Sugar Crush body wash made it into this post! If it's possible to be head over heels in love with a scent then I certainly am - so much so that I went out and bought the body lotion, the spray & the hand cream in the scent the weekend after I wrote that review. Smelling like sweet, lime goodness 24/7 is now an achievable goal thanks to Soap & Glory!

Moving onto makeup, I have two products I want to talk about; a lipstick & a mascara. The lipstick in question is 'Twig' from MAC which I won in a blog giveaway back in January and I can say without a doubt it's my new favourite lipstick. It's one of those gorgeous deep pinky brown shades - definitely my kind of nude. The satin finish means it's got serious lasting power whilst still being forgiving on the lips, aka a match made in heaven. I can't gush about it enough!

The mascara is one I picked up on a whim one day when I was in the pharmacy. I'd never heard anyone talk about the Wet 'n' Wild Mega Protein mascara before, nor am I the biggest fan of bristle wands but something drew me to it. Possibly the bright green tube, possibly the fact that it was only £2 something! Each time I use it I'm more and more impressed at how it manages to coat every lash without going clumpy, almost like you've just had your lashes tinted which is ideal for me. My only complaint is that it tends to go on your eyelid when you're applying it but that could just be me being more used to plastic wands. It's something I'm happy to put up with though as the effect & the super low price make it worthwhile.

MAC Twig lipstick, Wet 'n' Wild mascara flatlay

ETC.

As for more miscellaneous favourites, I have two Youtube channels I've been loving and two Things I Did to mention. Not sure how else to categorise the latter!

The first Youtuber is Sophie Eggleton who I discovered through a collab she did with Zoe London. She shares a variety of vlogs, interviews, honest & interesting chats as well as fashion & beauty videos, all delivered with a good sense of humour! Funny & down to earth are two qualities that are used to describe people very often but believe me when I say she really is both of those things. I find her particularly relatable because we both have CFS and it's always helpful & comforting to be able to get the viewpoint from someone who really understands.

Bess Oates is someone I also feel I share a lot of similarities with. This month she created a new channel in a bid to start afresh and allow herself to make videos about anything she wanted to without any pressure. I'm so glad she did because you can tell she feels happier & more free to talk about topics like feminism, veganism and plenty of other good things. She uploaded a video everyday in February and I watched & enjoyed every one each day! Both Sophie & Bess have served as inspiration for the type of content I want to create on Youtube when I get back into it so if either of them read this, thank you!

Lastly, the two fun things that happened in February were recording a podcast with Catherine & meeting up with my blogger pen pal Megan! Both events were so much fun & definite highlights of the month for me so I couldn't not mention them.

So those were my February Favourites! Get involved in the comments below and let me know if you've tried any of the things I talked about or know of any of the channels I included!

What was your favourite thing about February?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

It's Sunday so as per usual, it's time to reflect on the past week!

This week . . .

. . . began with the welcoming in of a brand new month! I spent Monday morning - which I remember to be beautifully sunshiney - spring tidying my bedroom. I love rearranging things in it every now and then and I'm so happy with the current layout. Although saying that, it's gradually starting to get messy again as I'm horrendous at maintaining a tidy room. I've come to realise that while I do like my stuff to have order & place, I am a messy person. I'm not sure I could ever do the whole minimalist thing either!

On Tuesday I posted my first ever book review. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it but I never expected the author Carole Matthews to actually be one of the first to read it & she even tweeted me! That amused both me and my mum, who also read it and I was thrilled to bits when she said she enjoyed the review too. I have the intention to buy a bunch of books from a charity shop and work my way through reading & reviewing them. If you have any recommendations please send them my way!

Also this week I got some lovely mail in the form of a pen pal letter from Shona. She is such a wee gem & we're very similar in many ways, one way being we both share a love for pretty stationery! How cute is that envelope? I'm can't wait to get a few minutes of peace & quiet to sit down and pen a reply!

One day in the week, as it approached lunch time I started to get hungry. Standard. However that hunger somehow lead me to get the phrase "thinking 'bout lunch" stuck in my head, to the tune of the first line "thinking out loud" in each verse in the song Truffle Butter by Nicki Minaj, Drake & Lil Wayne. That in turn lead me to rewrite the lyrics of all three verses and make them all about food. It was a fun little (unexpected) challenge and I'm half tempted to record it, maybe even make a parody video of sorts! Maybe haha.

And that brings us up to yesterday! I was awake super early and so was able to go with my mum, granny & auntie to do the weekly shop which I enjoyed. As well as the usual groceries I picked up a couple of magazines to flick through, partially influenced by the fact Kim KW is looking so good on the front of Cosmo, partially influenced by the fact you can get a free Ciaté nail polish with InStyle this month. There's a couple of different shades to choose from but I went for Iced Frappe, a gorgeous mauve colour I can't wait to get on my nails!

Once we'd finished in Tesco we all went to a close by cafe to have some tea & scones; my treat. Then we nipped into the pharmacy to get a few things and of course I had to have a wee browse of the Wet 'n' Wild stand in there! I ended up coming away with a new mascara and an eyeshadow palette, which I've no doubt I'll share my thoughts on with you sooner or later. I'm excited to try my first products from the brand!

Kim Kardashian Cosmo magazine & InStyle flatlay

So that was my week! Now it's time for you to get involved in the comments below and let me know what you've been getting up to recently!

How was your week?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

Instagram. I love it. For me it's an infinite stream of inspiration I can scroll through any time of day. I follow some really cool creative people on there and today I want to take the opportunity to share some of my favourites whose photos, whenever I see them always ignite my imagination!

Cool creatives, artists & illustrators on Instagram

@dallasclayton

I've been following Dallas for quite a while now - he's an author & an illustrator and his creations vary from intricate, busy patterns to simplistic outlines accompanied by annotations. I seem to really connect with them as they're relatable as well as thought-provoking - sometimes even motivational. I really want to get myself a mug or t-shirt or something from his shop so that I can have a piece of that creativity in physical form. I'm even thinking of getting his signature 'reaching arms' tattooed on me. Just a thought at this point in time!

@marcmartinillo

Every single time I scroll through my Instagram and see a photo of Marc's illustrations I want to get my watercolours out and paint. I don't think I've ever been artistically inspired in such a strong way by anything else. Seriously, what he does with watercolour is on another level! He mainly paints people, animals, vehicles & buildings but still manages to maintain a constant flow of something unique every time. He has such an incredible talent!

@jean_jullien

I've only recently started following Jean's account but from the very first glance at his art, I knew it was my cup of tea. The way he incorporates illustrations alongside everyday objects takes his creativity up another couple of notches. For instance, once he placed two twenty pence pieces on a page and drew bodies on the paper under them to make it look like they were attached to the heads on the coins. He has an interesting view of the world, that's for sure!

Well those are just three people on Instagram that inspire me creatively and I really recommend you check them out! There are lots more cool creatives out there and so many different ways to be creative too. Now I want you to get involved in the comments below and tell me who your favourite creative people are!

Who inspires you to be creative?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

I'm excited to be sharing my first ever book review with you today! It's of one I read recently called 'The Difference A Day Makes' by Carole Matthews. Here's what I thought of it!

'The Difference A Day Makes' by Carole Matthews review

I mentioned in my January Favourites that I've recently rekindled my love of reading and this is the book that's responsible! My mum got it years ago and seeing as it was just sitting in the house, I thought I may as well pick it up and give it a go.

SO WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

Married couple William & Amy Ashurst are workaholics & devout Londoners. When Will suffers a stress-induced health scare, they decide to up sticks and move to the Yorkshire countryside. Well, rather Will decides and Amy doesn't voice her protests. Suddenly the pair and their children are living out Will's newfound dream of 'idyllic' country life - farm animals and all - but when something disastrous happens, Amy is left to make a huge decision. To stay in the place the rest of her family had now grown to love or could she go back to London and attempt to live her old life again?

MY THOUGHTS?

It took me quite a while to get into this book at the beginning. I found Amy as the protagonist to be quite irritating as she never spoke up for herself and just stood by as her husband called all the shots, trying to be 'the good wife'. I know we all have to bite our tongues at times but for the first lot of chapters I struggled to get past her lack of integrity.

Then, the something disastrous happened and it took me by complete surprise. Obviously I don't want to spoil it for you but after that, the dynamic was flipped on it's head and I was completely drawn in to the story. The addition of an extra main character, Guy Burton the local vet, made things very interesting and that's when I realised I was starting to get more & more attached to the characters. A real sense of suspense was building as to how Amy would move on from the shocking event that occurred. Although as the reader, it soon became blindingly obvious what she should do and it was then a waiting game as to when she would catch on and figure it out! She was learning to learn the countryside and everything that came with it, she just hadn't realised it herself yet as she was still so fixated on how 'wonderful' her life back in London used to be.

"Perhaps if I'd protested more vociferously, I wouldn't be here at all."

I couldn't help but take note of this quote. Eventually (!) she realised that if she'd told William how she felt about the move, she probably wouldn't be in such a mess.

Despite the far fetched nature of many parts of it (the dog they adopt gets up to some ludicrous naughtiness), despite the fact it took a while for it to grow on me (I don't think I'd be friends with Amy but that's okay) and despite the fact some details are now outdated (it was written in 2009 and the reference to Bebo made me laugh), I bloody enjoyed reading The Difference A Day Makes. I even got a bit emotional near the end. If it sounds like your cup of tea and you fancy something light but thought-provoking to read, I'd even recommend it!

So there you have it, my thoughts on 'The Difference A Day Makes'! Get involved in the comments and let me know if you've read this or anything similar - I'd love your recommendations!

Would you read this book?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

It's Sunday so that means it's time to reflect on the past week!

This week . . .

. . . well, this time last week we went out for family dinner/Sunday lunch to celebrate my lovely mother's birthday. I feel like I've talked a lot about birthdays in these Weekly Reflect posts recently and that's because in my family, 4 out of 5 of us have birthdays which are very close together! After a nice meal together we ventured over to the shops, armed with the excuse that mum had some Marks & Spencer vouchers she wanted to spend. I do love a good look round Marksies and once we'd finished picking up a few groceries we headed straight to the clothes sales to see what we could find. After trying a few things on, I came away with two tops I love and these gorgeous shoes which were an absolute bargain at £15.99 reduced from £55!

Monday was the day my dad and I both had some errands to run so we headed into town again. I took up my role as chief bargain hunter and helped him find a pair of shoes in the sale that were exactly what he was looking for, then we went to the post office as we both had things that need posting! I sent off my pen pal letters to Meg, Shona & Lee which was very exciting. I love the whole process of writing letters, sending them and waiting for the reply! My dad and I then popped into TK Maxx - where I couldn't resist getting these beautiful little neon notebooks - before having lunch and then going home.

From then on the rest of the week was much of the same - I was left exhausted from Sunday & Monday's outings so I was trying to rest but simultaneously attempting to get myself organised. January was an all over the place month for me, I feel like I barely got the chance to blink and now it's nearly February! I've seen a lot of people on Twitter say that this was a 'trial month' and that 2016 properly starts in February and I couldn't agree more. I'm only now feeling settled enough to start working on resolution type objectives like drinking more water, reading more and experimenting with art more which I'm pleased to say are going well . . . so far anyway!

I also thought a lot about my Youtube channel this week. I haven't filmed a video since the middle of December and the reasons why are 1: I haven't really been well enough and 2: I just think I need a break from it to re-evaluate the kind of content I want to make for my channel. At the end of the day Youtube is a hobby of mine. Right now I much prefer blogging and I don't feel the need to churn out a video every week, especially if my heart wouldn't be in it, y'know? Plus, I know the little break will do me good as when I do return, I should be more enthusiastic & in the right mindset to create content I'm happy to create! Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know in case you're a viewer and start to wonder why my channel has tumbleweed blowing through it.

In other news, something very exciting happened yesterday morning. When I woke up, I opened the blinds on my bedroom windows to see snow! Albeit just a tiny dusting of the stuff, I was thrilled. Especially more so when it started snowing again a few minutes later! Evie even came to sit on the windowsill and watch as it whirled around and fell down which I thought was adorable.

Ooh and here's a bonus behind the scenes photo of when she tried to get in on the action while I was taking photos for my January Favourites. Evidently she likes a bit of attention. And windowsills apparently!

So that was my week! Now it's your turn to get involved in the comments below and tell me what you got up to!

How was your week?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

It's time to share all the things I was loving throughout January. I've got a good mixture of beauty, fashion & lifestyle bits to tell you about so let's get straight into it!

BEAUTY

You could count the amount of times I wore foundation in January on one hand. The cold weather has been taking it's toll on my skin so in an attempt to get it back on track, I focused a lot more on caring for it as opposed to covering it up. At the very start of the month I took advantage of the sales and treated myself to some Liz Earle products while they were discounted. Already a huge fan of their Cleanse & Polish (review), I thought it was about time I expanded my experience of the brand! Both the Instant Boost Skin Tonic and the Gentle Face Exfoliator have been whipping my skin into shape. I intend to write a full review so look out for that soon!

As well as those, I decided I'd try my first product from La Roche-Posay. Serozinc is one of those raved about products that I always put off buying for some reason. However now I've been using it for about a month & a half, I can see why people get so excited about it; it reduces spots like nothing else! I think it deserves a full post of it's own so I'll save the details for that but basically, anytime I see a spot developing I spray a little of this onto the area and it's almost like the spot is stopped in it's tracks and it goes down without a fight. I will say that it can be a little drying but with my Liz Earle products there to tackle that, I think I've found a keeper!

Liz Earle & La Roche-Posay Serozinc skincare

Skincare aside, to go with my minimal makeup I found a lip combination that I've stuck to pretty much the whole month. I've been loving applying Max Factor's Colour Elixir lip liner in 'Mauve Moment' all over the lips for a bit of colour that's just deeper than that of my own. When I included it in this drugstore beauty haul, I remember getting a comment from someone saying they found it to be quite drying and yes, it can be. However adding some lip balm over the top solves that problem, resulting in a long lasting colour which is still comfortable to wear. It's not usually like me to stick to one lip colour for a whole month, I do love to chop & change but y'know what, it's nice to have a go-to that you can rely on!

Max Factor lip liner & Dr PawPaw lip balm

FASHION

I didn't actually go January sale shopping for any clothes (until the very end of the month, so those things could possibly be in February's faves!) but I did get some amazing pyjama's for Christmas which I've kinda been obsessed with since the moment I laid eyes on them. Look at how cute the top is! So fluffy. So cosy. It's from F+F at Tesco and a matching sleeping mask came with it, something which has really been helping me get a better night's sleep too.

ETC.

Another Christmas gift, but if I remember correctly it was New Year's when we watched Big Hero 6 on DVD. When I watched the trailer I knew it was gonna be good but I wasn't expecting for it to become one of my favourite films! They got the balance between really funny moments as well as heart-breaking ones spot on and the attention to every tiny detail is astonishing too. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend you do - it's gonna be one of those ones I rewatch over and over!

I also want to include the book I've been reading, as well as reading in general in my favourites this month. Something that comes with having CFS/ME is a difficulty to concentrate and ever since I developed it, reading became a real challenge so I haven't been able to pick up many books and finish them. In January however, I managed to read The Difference A Day Makes by Carole Matthews and although it took a lot longer to get through than I'd have liked, I consider it real progress. Anyway, onto the book! For the first couple of chapters I was really unsure whether I liked it or not. That was until something hugely shocking happened (I'm obviously not gonna give away any spoilers but I will say that I had to look up from the book and take a second to process what just happened) and from that point onwards I was hooked. With my rekindled love of reading I might start writing book reviews here so let me know if you'd like to see one for this!

Lastly I just want to mention the little bit of travelling I was able to do in January. How could I not? I went to stay with my sister in the glorious city of Cambridge from the 8th - 14th and I had a wonderful time there. I wrote a whole post about the trip which you can read here if you want to know what I got up to each day. I feel so lucky to have so many happy memories of the place and I'm hoping another chance to visit will pop up in the not too distant future!

So those are the things I loved most in January! Go ahead and get involved in the comments below and let me know if you have any experience with anything I've mentioned, I'd love to know!

What were your January Favourites?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

Keeping a monthly diary of the music I listen to and sharing it with you was so much fun last year, so I've decided to keep this series going into the foreseeable future. Here's my January Playlist!

To be honest January seemed to be a pretty dry month for music, from what I came across anyway! For me it mainly consisted of revisiting stuff I've been listening to a while but there were a few new tunes & some teasers to forthcoming albums. Two of my favourites, The 1975 and Kanye West are both expected to drop records next month - both of which I'm ridiculously excited for!

THE 1975

The Sound by The 1975 is a super upbeat song with a gleaming melody, juxtaposed interestingly with the actual meaning behind the lyrics which are telling of a less-than-happy relationship. I don't think it's one of my favourite songs from the band but that's not to say I don't enjoy it all the same.

KANYE WEST

As for Kanye, he uploaded a trio of songs to his Soundcloud and if they're anything to go by, SWISH is going to be incredible and a definite progression from his last album, Yeezus. I've been listening to all three over & over ever since they came out but I think Facts is probably the one I like most. I'm so ready to be able to listen to a whole new album of his!

NAO

Aside from those two, I stumbled across Bad Blood, a song by NAO when it turned up in my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify. Her beautiful voice and soulful sound drew me in and sparked me to listen to some of her other songs; namely Inhale Exhale and Adore You. If you're a fan of Alunageorge and/or FKA Twigs, I think you'll like her!

ONE DIRECTION

Lastly in January's playlist, I haven't been able to resist listening to One Direction's newest offering, Made In The A.M. It's not one of those albums I'll play from start to finish but there are some real gems on there. Olivia is a real ear-worm, I challenge anyone not to have it stuck in their head even after one play of it! As for History, I think it's a lovely song to leave as a lasting impression with their fans until their hiatus is over.

Have a listen:

So that's my January Playlist! Now I want you to get involved in the comments below and let me know what you've been listening to this month, give me some recommendations!

What have you been listening to?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

I'm such a candle addict so when I hear the words 'candle' and 'sale' in the same sentence, I'm straight in there. I ordered a few Yankee Candle wax tarts and I thought I'd show you!

This isn't a review post by any means, more just me testing the water to see if you'd like to see those in the future. For now though I'll let you know what I think of them on first sniff!

Honey Glow: To me this doesn't smell particularly like honey, it's just a warm, sweet scent that would make any room feel homely. I'm not expecting this to become a new favourite but I'm sure it'll be lovely to try nonetheless!

Candy Cane Lane: A delicious peppermint scent, I've wanted to try something like this for ages! I also think the name is pretty adorable too.

Pineapple Cilantro: This one made my sister raise her eyebrows when I gave it to her to smell - it's SO good. With just the right blend of citrusy, tropical goodness, I can't wait to burn this when it gets closer to Spring!

Sweet Apple: It's very true to it's name, this smells exactly like you've just cut open a fresh, juicy apple and given it a big sniff. Not too sickly or synthetically sweet though which will be interesting to burn.

Ginger Dusk: In my opinion, the smell of ginger is one of life's greatest gifts. I've had this candle before so I know it's very refreshing yet homely at the same time.

Orange Splash: If you couldn't already tell, I'm a sucker for fruity scents and I can't help but think this one would be ideal to burn at breakfast time - if freshly squeezed orange juice is your thing, you might wanna try this!

Vanilla Cupcake: This is such a staple candle for me and many others I've no doubt, it ticks all the boxes. Sweet & sugary yet it manages to fill the room without being too overpowering.

Cranberry Ice: I always like getting this in Wintertime - I think it's gorgeous to light it when you've just come home in the evening; it just seems to lend itself to nights in when it's dark! The actual scent is somehow icey (I have no idea how that's possible) and subtly fruity yet sharp. I hope that makes sense to somebody!

So that's what I bought from Yankee Candle! Personally I think the tarts are the best value for money, what do you prefer? Get involved in the comments below and let me know if you'd like to see full reviews of these.

What are your favourite candle scents?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

Five attainable goals I have in my sights to complete in the near future.

Well, now that February is done & dusted it's time for me to share my monthly favourites with you!

Well lads, it's that part of the week when we take a little time to sit back and reflect on the past week!

It's time to take a minute to reflect on the past week!

What did you get up to on Valentine's Day? Myself and my good friend Catherine decided to film a podcast together and I thought I'd share it with you!

It's Sunday so as per usual, it's time to reflect on the past week!

Instagram. I love it. For me it's an infinite stream of inspiration I can scroll through any time of day. I follow some really cool creative people on there and today I want to take the opportunity to share some of my favourites whose photos, whenever I see them always ignite my imagination!

I'm excited to be sharing my first ever book review with you today! It's of one I read recently called 'The Difference A Day Makes' by Carole Matthews. Here's what I thought of it!

It's Sunday so that means it's time to reflect on the past week!

It's time to share all the things I was loving throughout January. I've got a good mixture of beauty, fashion & lifestyle bits to tell you about so let's get straight into it!

Keeping a monthly diary of the music I listen to and sharing it with you was so much fun last year, so I've decided to keep this series going into the foreseeable future. Here's my January Playlist!

I'm such a candle addict so when I hear the words 'candle' and 'sale' in the same sentence, I'm straight in there. I ordered a few Yankee Candle wax tarts and I thought I'd show you!

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