Drugstore Haulin'

Hello everyone!

Firstly, I owe you all a massive apology. This post did not go up by five o'clock, and I have a good excuse, I promise! I recently got a job (I know right, whaaaat?!) and I work right up till 5pm, meaning that from now on my posts will just be on Sundays, no time limits whatsoever. This gives me some time to create good posts for you guys! Thanks for understanding!

If you read my post from last week, you'll know that I've been shopping recently and I MAY have splurged a little on some new drugstore makeup products. Ahem. In my defence, I've just come into a bit of money, alright? (And no, I don't mean that in a dodgy gangster less-than-legal kind of way. More on that later.) I felt like treating myself a little and my makeup bag was sorely lacking in a few products, so my mum and I popped into Boots and damage was done. I regret nothing.

Anyhow, I picked up five products: a mascara, two lip balms, an eyeshadow palette, and a BB cream, and over the past week I've been testing them extensively in order to provide a good review for this weeks post. Let's get cracking, shall we?

Starting with the basics, my first purchase was the Rimmel Skin Perfecting Super Makeup BB Cream in the shade Very Light (phew, what a mouthful). I picked this up because, quite simply, I'd run out of my holy grail BB cream (Maybelline Dream Matte, you know it) and I felt like a change. I have to say, I'm really liking this product. It's a much lighter shade than my Maybelline cream, which (dare I say it) is probably better for my skin as it blends more seamlessly. It's less oily than my Maybelline one too (although that could just be because I've had my Maybelline one for yonks) and is similar in texture to my Benefit Big Easy BB Cream, which I love but can't really afford to repurchase. It instantly evens my skin tone, covers the majority of small blemishes (the biggies I save for concealer) and feels light and moisturising on the skin. Big thumbs up from me so far.

Next I picked up a mascara, because I'd run out of my old one. I'm a fussy girl when it comes to mascaras; I need the shade Brown Black (because I've got really fair eyelashes), I need natural looking, separated lashes, and NO CLUMPS. So I tried the No.7 Lovely Lashes mascara, because it had my shade and I've loved the No.7 mascaras in the past. I wasn't disappointed. This mascara is, well, lovely (heh heh). It's lengthening, volumising and not too clumpy. Olivia likes.

Next up, and probably my favourite of them all, is the L'Oreal La Palette Nude in the shade Rose. I'd been lusting after this palette ever since it came out, and I didn't have ANY eyeshadow palettes, so I thought that was suitable justification for purchasing it. The shade of this palette are just divine. As a gal who likes more than a little rosy hue, I am more than happy with the offering from this palette. There's a nice mix of shimmers (6) and mattes (4) and the colour range goes from a light silvery highlighting shade to a deep glittery plum perfect for a smokey eye. At the moment, I'm attempting to expand my eyeshadow choices and be a little more adventurous with colour combinations, and I have to say, I've really been enjoying wearing the darker shades from this palette to create slightly more dramatic eye looks. I am so happy with the formula of these shadows, too; they're suitably buttery, soft and generally have a decent colour payoff, and blend nicely on the eyes with an eyeshadow brush. With a primer they're pretty long lasting, too - always a bonus.

Finally, I've got two balms from Lanolips - their Lemonaid Lip Aid and Colour SPF in the shade Rhubarb (both of which were on my Wishlist ages ago). It's a toss up between the two, but if I had to choose, I'd say the Lemonaid is slightly better than the Colour SPF. But only slightly - these are some seriously good lip balms. The Lemonaid smells and tastes divine, is very comfortable and moisturising on the lips, and is long-lasting too, perfect for Winter when chapped lips come to town. Much the same can be said for the Colour SPF, except that this adds a sheer wash of colour where the Lemonaid does not. The only downside to the Colour SPF is the smell, which I'm not a massive fan of, but if you can get past that, it's a pretty fab lip balm overall.

So that just about concludes my drugstore haul! I hope you enjoyed reading about my recent purchases and my thoughts on them. I'm really very happy with this week's loot - I hope you like these products too, if you have them, and if you don't, I hope you're now tempted to go out and buy them! 

Until next week, 

Olivia x

Birthday Bestie

Hello everyone!

Today I write a very special blog post. It's special because it's about a very special person. It's special because it's about one of my best friends, Bethan.

It's Bethan's birthday tomorrow, and in light of her turning 17 (wowee!) I thought I would publish a post commemorating our five year friendship.

I've known Bethan since we were in year seven; we bonded over a bizarre DVD at a sleepover and have been together for the rest of secondary school.

As a duo we've giggled perhaps a bit too much, supported one another in baffling lessons, and negotiated through the dreaded GCSEs. 

For two to three years of my secondary school education, Bethan and I sat together in Science lessons, meaning that we became one another's rock whilst attempting desperately to grasp my most dreaded of all subjects. Sure, we did spend most lessons saying "huh?" to one another, and "do you understand this?" "Me neither"; and "I hate this subject", but with the help of each other (okay, and a lot of revision) we both got through six science exams and passed our GCSEs with reasonable grades! 

Now, at sixth form, we sit together in Communications and Culture, making for two more years of michief, mayhem and friendship.

So, why do I love Bethan so much?

First off, she's one of the kindest, bravest people I've ever met. She's gone through a lot of stuff that, frankly, she doesn't deserve to have gone through, and she's dealt with all difficulties in her life with grace and optimism. It's testimony to her strength of character that she still remains as selfless and sweet as ever.

Bethan is also such a dedicated, disciplined person. She does ice skating; and she commits so much to the sport, putting in hours of training every week and performing in countless competitions (did I mention that she's also fudging good?!). She gives everything to the sport she loves and that is something I truly admire about her.

I'm so thankful to have someone so lovely and supportive in my life and I can't tell her enough how much I love her. 

Ooh, ooh, I almost forgot, plug time! I forgot to mention that Bethan also has a blog. Please go over and check it out - I guarantee you'll love her just as much as I do. Go on over to www.dreamingbiglivingsmal1.co.uk to read it!

So, Bethan, thanks for being my science buddy, for making me laugh, laughing with me, laughing at me, and just being an awesome person overall. I hope you have a fabulous birthday and that I'm not too boring company when we hit the town like the wild gals we are (yeah, as if; more like old grannies, am I right?). I love you bajillions and you'll always be my twatmonkey (heh heh).

Hope you all enjoyed reading this post about one of the most amazing people EVER - and I'll see you next week with a beauty post, because I've been shopping, and you know what that means... HAUL TIME!

Anyway, I digress. Until next Sunday,

Olivia x

Why I'll Always Be A Drama Queen

I'm a drama queen.

I'll admit it, it's been said before. Heck, I even said I was one myself in my 'Fifty Facts About Me' post (check my archives for that). However, the funny thing is, I don't find being called a drama queen an insult. In fact, I take it as a compliment. Because Drama is one of my true passions, one of my favourite subjects and I'm proud to tell anyone who'll listen how much I love acting and performing.

Before I started my secondary school, I wasn't quite sure who I was as a person or what I was good at, not really. I was a massive bookworm and I'd always assumed that English was my true calling (I do still love English, by the way). I'd never really experienced the breath of subjects in my junior school that would allow me to find something I loved. Then I found Drama.

There was something about Drama, even in Year Seven, that engaged me in a way no other subject could. I looked forward to every single lesson. My mood was instantly lifted if I knew I had Drama next period. I thrived in class, putting my hand up for everything and researching extra outside of lessons to improve my knowledge (I know, I was a nerd). And, the most miraculous thing: I was good at it. Really flumping good, if I do say so myself. I found it so easy to step out of my shoes and into those of a completely fictional person. I loved working with my friends to create works of art. I enjoyed choosing costumes and props for our pieces. And the best part, my favourite part about Drama, was watching the audience as they watched us. Watching their faces glow with delight and wonder at the spectacle being put on for them. Watching as they were swept away with the story, the performance, the characters. Enjoying seeing them delight in what I created, because I too remembered the pure joy of watching something truly captivating, be it in the cinema or theatre.

And so the obsession began...

When it came to Year Eight and we had to make exam choices, I wasted no time in choosing an intense one year Drama choice for the next year. As a result, Year Nine was the BEST year. I had Drama every single day. I created monologues, wrote scripts, mimed, devised, laughed, learned, and got three Distinctions in three separate qualifications in my exams at the end of the year.

Year Nine went by in a flash, and I chose Drama again for Year Ten and Eleven, to continue my love into GCSE form. Two years of hard work but great progression followed, in which I learned to push myself as an actor, explore more psychologically challenging content, think outside the box in terms of experimenting with different theatrical styles as opposed to pure naturalism. And, with some great people, I worked intensively to perform a twenty-minute group piece of drama based on a challenging script, and got an A grade overall.

Fast forward a year, and here I am, a Year Twelve, doing (what else?) Drama A Level, and loving every bloomin' second of it. It takes real dedication, believe me, and utter commitment (nowadays I seem to live in the Drama studio, rehearsing, devising, planning college performances and events). There's a lot of responsibility that comes with being one of only four A Level students in the school, and subsequently one of the oldest Drama students in the school. But it's fab. I can't express to you how much I am still loving becoming someone else, if only for a little while, and performing to audiences. I have a great Drama class; the lack of size means that we've become really good friends, to the point where we feel more like a family than an A Level group. All my fellow students are flippin' good actors, which helps more than a little, and they're wonderful people too, people whom I might not have necessarily grown close to if we didn't share a love of Drama. Just another reason why I love the subject.

So I'm laughing hysterically, crying on command, visiting the theatre and making furious notes, drafting essays, practising performances, writing monologues, selling tickets for events, organising trips. But most importantly, I'm acting. And I couldn't be happier doing it.

Olivia x

October Favourites

Hello everyone!

Now, a little fact about me: I like to jump on bandwagons. Seriously, if someone has a good idea, I like nothing better than to shamelessly copy it (putting my own spin on it, of course). With that in mind, this week I give you: my October Favourites!

I know, I know, blogs and vlogs everywhere are probably going mad with all the favouriting now, and you might be sick of all the recommendations. But the way I see it, everyone will have different recommendations, right, so there's still going to be a good degree of variety in posts, right? Therefore, it's acceptable for me to do a Favourites post (also, they're my favourite kind of posts and I haven't done one before). Without further ado, let's get into the favourites, shall we?

BEAUTY: Neal's Yard Bee Lovely Busy Bee Balm and Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil

Two lip products have been my favourites this month... Surprise, surprise... NOT! I'm a lip product lover, and this month in the beauty department I stumbled across a brilliant new release, whilst rediscovering an old favourite at the same time. Bonus!

The new product is the Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil, which I reviewed in greater depth a couple of posts ago. I bought this product mid-October and I've been using it obsessively ever since, dabbing the pencil onto my lips for a subtle wash of colour or layering it up for a bolder lip. It's so versatile, long-lasting and really pigmented, and I love the shade of my pencil, which is "Keep It Classy".

The old favourite has been the Bee Lovely Busy Bee Balm by Neal's Yard - a highly moisturising lip balm that has been the saviour of my often dry and chapped lips this month. The Busy Bee Balm is lightweight, soft on the lips, and smells of (what else?) honey, making for a divine product all round, and I've barely gone a day recently without a swipe of it all over my lips.

FASHION: New Look Boots

D'you remember a while back, when I said that one of my desired items for Autumn/Winter was a new pair of boots? Well, I bought new boots not long into October from New Look, and they're so lovely. I've been wearing them non-stop since I got them. They're so comfy, have just the right amount of heel, and look great with any outfit. One of the wisest purchases I've made this month, for sure.

YOUTUBE: Essiebutton (Estée)

With it being October, YouTube was inundated with Vlogtober editions from various YouTubers, but by far my favourite vlogs have been Estee's of Essiebutton fame. I just love Estée. She's pretty, quirky and has a totally lame but kind of awesome sense of humour, and her vlogs make me so happy. I've just been obsessed with watching her and Aslan (her other half) this month. By the way, Aslan, man, best YouTube HAB (that's Husbands and Boyfriends - I just coined that phrase) of the moment goes to you. Also, Aslan and Estée have a greyhound. Enough said.

FOOD: Coffee

All this month I have been seriously obsessed with coffee. Now that we're nearing the colder weather, it is more socially acceptable for me to drink copious amounts of coffee and I LOVE IT.

BOOK: You're The One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher

This book is so so lovely - I've been really enjoying it this month. Basically, if you love romances, you'll like this book. I won't say any more, as I don't want to give anything away, so just read it. You won't regret it.

Right, I think that's it! Apologies for the lack of length today, but I've been pretty busy. I'll see you next week!

Olivia x

Current Music Loves

Hello everyone!

I know they say everyone loves music, and I suppose that's true, but I really, really love music. Music is the soundtrack to my life: it's what gets me through the long bus journey to school every day; it's what I dance to in my bedroom on a Saturday night when everyone else is busy having a social life; it's what I play when I want to feel happy, or sad, or romantic. Music is so, so important to me, which is why I've decided that this week I will share with you some of my current music favourites, bands and artists alike!

DISCLAIMER: Beware, I have a strongly Alternative music taste. There will be no Top 40 hits or pop tunes in sight on this blog, no siree. I will solely be including artists/songs that you probably won't have heard of, because I like discovering music slightly off from the mainstream.

ARTIST: Eliza And The Bear

I love this band. I discovered them a couple of weeks ago, purely by chance after listening to an advert for cider (their song "Friends" was the soundtrack to the advert; I looked up the sound and found them), and the rest, as they say, is History. The band has a very alternative feel to it, with echoes of influences from bands like Kodaline and Amber Run (both awesome bands, by the way). Some favourites of mine from the band include "It Gets Cold" (listen to the acoustic), a haunting display of simplistic piano and breathtaking harmonies, "Talk", a punch-the-air-give-it-some-welly tune, "Friends", a party number, and my all-time favourite of their offerings, "Light It Up", a real feel-good dance tune.

SONG: "Comfortable Shoes" by The Musgraves

Ugh. THIS SONG. I discovered The Musgraves via the Spotify 'Discover' section, clicked shuffle, heard "Comfortable Shoes" and never looked back. I've been singing it for the past couple of weeks, on and off, and every time it comes on I have to get up and dance (I'm a right saddo, I know). It's got a real Mumford And Sons vibe to it, with banjo and ukulele (I'm just going by my ears at the moment) being the predominant instruments of the song and the up-tempo providing the basis for some seriously cute lyrics ("I need to fall back in love with you" being one of them). Give this song a listen if you want to feel good.

ARTIST: Saint Raymond

I got to know Saint Raymond through a friend, and his/their (still haven't quite worked out whether they're a solo artist or a band) style of music is quite similar to Eliza And The Bear's, only a bit more alternative, I'd say. Saint Raymond's songs are the sort of songs that I'll get out my hairbrush for and karaoke along to, throwing in some dodgy dance moves as I go. Particular highlights include "Everything She Wants", a romantic dance-y song, "Fall At Your Feet", a sort of 'I-love-you-why-don't-you-love-me' kind of song, good for releasing tension, and "I Want You", my favourite, a song you could fall in love to.

SONG: "Pull Down The Moon" by Cattle And Cane

I only discovered this song last night and I've already listened to it six times. If that doesn't tell you something, I don't know what will. Cattle And Cane are a band with hints of country mixed with an alternative style, and the outcome is one that is very easy on the ears indeed. This song is such a lovely, happy song, with some great melodies and a good rhythm that makes it great to dance to (sensing a theme here?). It's one of those songs that I loved from the first opening harmony, right through to the last little tambourine shake. As soon as I heard it for the first time, I loved it. I could already sing you the entire chorus by now, I love it so much. "If I could, I would, pull down the moon/ you could, swallow it whole / through your fingers, let the beam shine..." I'm being embarrassing, aren't I? I should stop. I'll stop.

ARTIST: Train

I don't know how, I don't know why, but I've somehow fallen back in love with Train. I remember a couple of years ago being obsessed with "Hey Soul Sister" and not thinking that Train had ever released any other songs, so it's nice to come back to them now with a couple of songs I love that aren't hopelessly overplayed on the radio (I mean, it was a good song, but it was overplayed, you have to admit). If you haven't heard of Train, then they're a band with a sort of country band, very fond of the guitar and its family (which I am not complaining about one jot). I'm not entirely sure how to describe their style, except that it's good and I like it (good going, Olivia). Anyway. Some of my favourites from Train at the moment, songs that I've been singing non-stop for a few weeks (interspersed with the other songs/artists I've mentioned thus far), are "Marry Me", an unashamedly slushy first-dance-at-a-wedding or last-dance-at-prom kind of song, and "Bruises", a bittersweet song of love and regret, set against a stunning acoustic guitar riff.

SONG: "Blame It On Me" by George Ezra

I'll be honest here, I included this song mainly because of the connotations now associated with the song and the consequent meanings it has for me, but it's still a pretty damn good song. Although I liked Ezra's other significant offering, "Budapest", "Blame It On Me" is much more my kinda groove, with a guitar/ukulele (I'm hopeless at this) making up the backbone of the song and a great, fast beat that makes it great to twirl someone round a drama studio to. Cough. Moving on...

Right, I think that's it for this week's post! I hope you enjoyed reading about all of my current music loves and have been inspired to look up some new artists and/or songs. If you do listen to any of my recommendations or have some of your own, please let me know, I'd love to hear your opinions!

Until next week,

Olivia x

Cheeky Midweeker - Three Mini Reviews

Hello everyone! I'm back!

I know, I know, it's not Sunday. But my post on Sunday was a wee bit short (let's be honest here) and I wanted another post to boost my content a bit, so here I have a few mini reviews of some beauty products I've been purchasing and testing out recently!

From left: Maybelline Colour Drama Lip Pencil in shade "Keep It Classy", Maybelline Colour Show Nail Polish in shade "Wine Shimmer", Lush Wizard Bubble Bar

Maybelline Colour Drama Lip Pencil

This purchase was definitely enabled by ViviannaDoesMakeup (beauty blogger and vlogger; she's all kinds of awesome) and her latest video, in which she talks about her current lip product favourites. I'm a sucker for a lip product and I'd been searching for a nice matte colour I could wear in Autumn and Winter, so when she mentioned the Maybelline Colour Drama lip pencils and swatched the shade "Keep It Classy", I knew it had to be mine. This lip pencil is a beautiful deep plum colour with red undertones, making it more of a deeper pink than a vampy colour, and is perfect for me, as I've been dying to try out some darker lips, but my skin tone and hair colour doesn't necessarily allow for those sorts of colours. The price tag was also incredibly tempting - the product was a snip at £4.99. So I purchased this lip pencil with high hopes, and I wasn't disappointed. This lip pencil is AWESOME. It's matte but not drying on the lips, the large rounded nib of the pencil makes it so easy to apply, it doesn't bleed or get stuck on teeth, and it lasts for ages, through countless licking of the lips (a bad habit of mine). I'm regretting not getting any more colours now - I think I'll have to pop to Boots again soon...

Maybelline Colour Show Nail Polish

This was a bit of a spontaneous purchase (it came as my free product from the 3 For 2 offer). I was in a bit of a rush choosing my product and so I just grabbed a nail polish in a shade I thought I'd like, because nail polishes are always a safe bet for me. I chose a deep red with tiny shimmery flecks running through it, called "Wine Shimmer", and I like this polish, but it hasn't been an ultimate winner for me. I have no qualms whatsoever about the colour: it's a beautiful deep red with subtle shimmer and is perfect for Autumn and Winter, and looks lovely on the nails. It's the longevity of this nail polish that disappointed me slightly. The polish began to chip after a day and continued to chip in the days that followed, so if you're looking for a nail polish to last the week, I wouldn't recommend this one. That being said, it only cost £2.99 (even though technically I didn't pay for it) and for the price tag, this is not a bad product overall.

Lush Wizard Bubble Bar

If you read Sunday's post you'll know that this is the gift my friend bought for me last week, and I just had to include a little review of him here, because he's gorgeous. This little Wizard smells lovely, with hints of fruit and floral notes (Lush says it has tangerine oil and juniperberry extracts to help banish stress and rejuvenate you) - and he's even lovelier in the bath. Bubble bars are a very economical buy from Lush in my opinion because they give you multiple baths from one product, and I only used the tip of the Wizard's hat for my first bath, which produced a lovely amount of bubbles and turned the bath water a lovely lilac. I came out of the bath feeling refreshed and de-stressed, and at a price of only £3.25, I'd snap this Wizard up before he's gone, as he's only in Lush stores until Halloween.

So there you have it! Those were my three mini reviews of beauty products I've been testing recently. I hope you enjoyed this cheeky midweeker post, and I'll see you on Sunday.

Olivia 

Random Acts Of Kindness

On Wednesday, one of my best friends came into college with a present for me. Beaming excitedly (she's gorgeous), she handed me a little package wrapped in tissue paper. I opened this package to find a bubble bar from Lush, the "Wizard" bar (review next week). It's no secret that I LOVE lush products, and I was absolutely delighted to receive such a gift.

Now, before I go on, let me clarify: it wasn't my birthday, I hadn't just passed an exam or got a new job. I'd done nothing to warrant such a thoughtful gift. It was, my friend told me, a spur-of-the-moment gift because she thought I'd been feeling stressed recently and she wanted to cheer me up.

No ulterior motive, no special occasion. Just a random act of kindness by one of the people I love most in the world. My friend wasn't getting anything in return for this; in fact, she was probably losing money for paying for my gift. She didn't expect a gift from me as a result of her generosity. She just wanted to make me happy.

This adorable gesture had me thinking: when do we humans ever do anything that is purely NICE  for someone else without an underlying selfishness involved? When are we just kind to others for the sake of being kind? We live in a very cynical, selfish, competitive society, and I'm not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing, just that it tends to make us cynical, selfish, competitive people. And there's a time and a place for all that. We needn't be selfish all the time. It's mostly an unattractive personality trait, and one that needs to be stamped out occasionally. 

I confess myself to not being a great advocate of generosity (I'm still working on the whole 'sharing food' malarkey), and admit that it's something that I need to work on. I'm a selfish creature at heart, and rarely do things for other people if I'm not going to benefit from them in some way, a fact that embarrasses me.

So, I'm making a vow - to this blog, and to myself: to do nice things for other people without demanding attention or gratitude in return; to remind the people I care about how much they mean to me; to gain pleasure out of someone else's happiness and not my own. To be kind, because that is the best thing anyone could ever hope to be. And I want you to vow with me. This week, if you can, try to carry out a random act of kindness. It could be as big as surprising your friend or partner with a lovely meal, or as small as a heartfelt text. It could be sending a letter to someone you haven't seen in a while; buying your friend some chocolate at the supermarket because you know it's her favourite kind; donating some money to charity; volunteering at an animal shelter; anything. Whatever you choose to do applies, as long as you're doing something nice for someone else with no benefit on your part, aside from the pleasure of knowing you've played a part in someone's happiness.

Try it. You've no idea how rewarding it could be.

Until next week,

Olivia x

I'm A Magpie

Hello there everyone! Thank you for stopping by on this wonderful Sunday afternoon!

Right. I've been told, many a time, that the first step to solving a problem (be it mental or otherwise) is to admit you have one. So here goes. *Deep breath* My name's Olivia and I have an addiction to sparkly things. There, I said it! The truth's out now. No going back...

Anyone who knows me will know that I'm a magpie at heart. I just can't help it - there must be some sort of receptor in my brain that goes off whenever I see something small and sparkly in a shop window (and here was me thinking that I'd never use Science again after my GCSEs). I'm automatically drawn to small presents, boxes, packages - anything that might contain something very small and very expensive inside it. Then there's the little voice inside my head which practically forces me to pull out my purse and buy the very small and very expensive thing, which keeps me happy until my next jewellery fix. Put simply, I have a problem. A serious problem. As a result of this problem, I have far too much jewellery, so I thought today that I would gather my sparkliest and most treasured items of jewellery and talk you through them all. Sound good? *THIS IS WHERE YOU NOD AND SAY, "YES, OLIVIA"*.

My favourite jewellery items, from left to right: Accesorize Ring, Goldsmith's Pendant, Goldsmith's Earrings, Pandora Charms, Accesorize Necklace, Debenhams Earrings

Accesorize Ring: £14.00

I bought this ring a few weeks ago when I was having a bad day and #feelingspendy (am I right, Amelia Liana?) and haven't taken it off since. I wear it everyday and I'm absolutely in love with its simple elegance and design. This is one of those rings that goes with everything and adds a certain something to the hands. I think you can still find this ring on the Accesorize website, which I'll attempt to link here.

Goldsmith's Pendant and Matching Earrings: I don't even want to think about the prices

I got this set separately, surprisingly enough. The earrings were first, a gift from my mum for my 14th (I think?) birthday, and after I spotted her wearing the matching pendant I immediately demanded that, too, to complete my collection. This set is my absolute-special-occasion jewellery, and is so special to me because my mum and I have matching necklaces now, so I wear mine when I think of her. I can try and link this jewellery on the Goldsmith's website, but I doubt you'd want to buy them, because they're worth at least a hundred pounds (eesh, I know).

Pandora Charms: About £40 each

From left to right: snowflake, Christmas tree, reindeer, Paris suitcase, Eiffel Tower, big apple, Statue of Liberty

I don't know when, I don't know how, but I've somehow begun a Pandora collection. It began last Christmas, when I received the first three charms you can see on my bracelet, and ends around two weeks ago, when I received the last two charms in the picture. What I love about my Pandora bracelet is that each charm has a lovely story behind it. The Paris suitcase charm I bought when I was on holiday in Paris, and the Eiffel Tower my mum bought for me to signify the trip. I received the last two charms on my bracelet for my GCSE results, and they're symbolic because I'm visiting New York in February (I'm sure I've mentioned it before as I'm SO excited), so they represent the trip I'm taking. I wear these charms on rotation and absolutely cannot wait to crack out the Christmas charms again now that Winter is approaching.

Accesorize Necklace: £5.00

I bought this necklace really recently and have been wearing it to death. I think that it looks way more expensive than it actually is, and is so timeless and elegant that it goes with whatever outfit I've put together. It's also great value for money, too - £5.00 is an absolute bargain in my book. I love layering this up with a pretty scarf over a jumper to look stylish in the winter months. I'll find a link to buy this necklace here as I think it's a steal that would be impossible to pass up.

Debenhams Earrings: £???

I'm afraid I have no idea how much these earrings cost, but I decided to include them anyway as they're just so pretty and have such sentimental value behind them. These earrings were the earrings I wore to my Prom and they contributed in making me feel really special and glamorous on the night - for that reason I'll always keep them because of the memories connected with them. I got these earrings from a store in Debenhams - I'll link the website here in the hopes that you can find them for yourself.

So that just about rounds up my jewellery post! I hope you enjoyed what makes my jewellery radar begin to bleep and hopefully, with your help, I can finally begin to recover from what has been a long addiction. I'm just off to Accessorize now to, um... Look for... A friend *cough cough* PROMISE!

See you next week!

Olivia x

An Ode To Knitwear

Oh, knitwear. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

I love the way you make me feel warm and snuggly, like I'm being wrapped up in a big hug.

I love how freaking comfortable you are to wear. Like, seriously. Wearing you is like wearing a soft, fluffy cloud.

I love how effortlessly put-together you make me look. I can throw you on with some jeans and have an outfit, just like that.

I just really love you, knitwear...

---

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Sunday Scribbles! 

So yesterday, I did a wee bit of shopping (oops) and I may or may not have picked up a few clothing bits for Autumn and Winter. I had a very clear aim for the day: to replenish my knitwear supplies, because they had been seriously low, and because being a sixth former means you have to put a new outfit together every single day (not as fun as it sounds, people) and I was running out of things to wear. So, find and buy knitwear I did.

Beady eyed readers may have noticed that a couple of posts ago I talked about how much the Autumn/Winter Primark collection this year had impressed me. Well, it impressed me so much that I decided to buy all of my knitwear for this year from Primark, and I'm absolutely chuffed with what I got!

The loot:

Mint Popcorn Jumper £10.00

How cute is this jumper? I fell in love with it in the shop, partly due to the gorgeous colour of it, and knew it had to be mine. I tried it on once I'd bought it and OH MY GAWD, it is soft. I absolutely did not want to take it off. I cannot wait till it's freezing cold outside and I get to pull out this bad boy to keep me warm and cozy. Ugh, Winter, hurry up!

Navy Striped Smock Dress £10.00

I thought that this little dress was simply darling. I'd been on the hunt for a dress I could wear to more formal events in Winter, and  I loved the nautical striped pattern on this one. The fact that the dress is knitted, so is suitable for the colder months, but is also super flattering and pretty, pleased me immensely. The price tag was also rather darling too, don't you agree?

Burgundy Jumper Dress £8.00

You can't see from my rubbish picture (apologies for that, by the way; I'm still getting the hang of taking good quality pictures for this blog) but this jumper-dress hybrid is a beautiful red wine colour and goes down to my knees, with some cute pockets added for good measure. I just loved this colour and thought it was high time I experimented with some deeper, more Autumnal colours (you'll be able to tell from this haul and also from my fifty facts post that I have a thing for pastels - and tend to dress solely in those) and branched out of my comfort zone. This is also really, really comfortable and figure-flattering.

Grey Animal Jumper £12.00

I had to throw a novelty jumper in there somewhere, didn't I? I just loved the little animals on this jumper (not entirely sure what animals they are: let me come back to you on that) and the grey colour of it. I also loved the fact that this jumper was quite loose and of a nice thickness for Winter. I can't wait to wear this when the weather turns! 

Pink Crew Jumper £6.00

This jumper was the cheapest of the lot, and coincidentally the most comfortable (although they're all pretty comfortable). I tried it on and just knew it was for me; it's so so soft! I also really love the colour of this (it doesn't show up great in the picture but it's a light rose sort of colour) and the shape - I deliberately got a size up so that it would be really loose and lovely to wear.

And that's all I got! I didn't think that the prices were too bad, really - if you think about how much I spent on five clothing items (£46), that amount would probably only get you one thing at Topshop or River Island. AND everything I bought was super pretty and warm and perfect for Winter. 

Until next week's edition of Sunday Scribbles,

Olivia x

Five Romance Novels You'll Fall In Love With

Hello everyone!

Ever since I can remember, I've been an absolute bookworm. As a girl I would hurry into the libraries at school everyday, fingering the books with wonder and gasping in awe at the colourful book covers and imaginative titles. Books excite me, always have done; some of my very favourite books have helped me through the hormonal traumas of teenagehood. Books are also largely responsible for my unrealistic expectations of men (probably why I'm still single, then). Romance novels in particular are my kryptonite, so today I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite romance novels, so that you can read them and we can all have unrealistic expectations of love together! Yay!

My top five romance novels from left to right:

1. Let's Get Lost by Sarra Manning

2. Adorkable by Sarra Manning

3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

4. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison

5. Looking For Alaska by John Green

Let's Get Lost

This was one of the first romance books I ever bought, when I was just entering my teenage years and was painfully naive (I still am, really). This book is about a girl called Isabel and a boy called Smith. I think that's all I need to tell you really about the plot - what makes this book really special is that it is a gritty and realistic portrayal of the sometimes unpleasant reality of teenage love. Isabel, the protagonist and narrator of the book, is angsty and infuriating in equal measure, and there's a lot more to her than meets the eye. She has a few deep dark secrets and they may or may not rear their ugly heads in the story. In fact, what I loved about this book was the serious flaws and imperfections of both main characters. If you read the book and think it over, in actual fact neither character is particularly likeable, or even nice, but Manning writes so well that you feel deeply emotionally attached to them as you read, and you'll be cheering them on all the way, I guarantee. This book is amazingly good, to say the least. I cried. Read it.

Adorkable

Again, this book is by Sarra Manning, so shares similar themes with Let's Get Lost, but is equally as good in its own right. Adorkable is about Jeane, a jumble-sale-wearing super nerd who is opinionated to say the least, and Michael, king of cool and golden boy at their shared high school. They say opposites attract, right? Not at first. It's only when the two are thrown together by unfortunate events that sparks begin to fly... Quite literally. Jeane's feisty. What I loved about this book particularly was Jeane - I have a teeny tiny girl crush on her (she's maybe a little bit famous on the internet, what with having a massive blog and lifestyle brand) - and I loved the honesty of this book. It's definitely not a happily-ever-after sugar-sweet love kinda story, but if you're after a lot of bickering and some serious chemistry then this is the book for you. Again, even though this is primarily a comedy, a few tears might have slipped out of my eyes towards the end of the book. You feel a real emotional connection to Jeane by the end of the novel; like her literary sister Isabel, she's a troubled soul and it only makes her more endearing. So yes, I would say that Adorkable is an adorable book (hehe).

Fangirl

This romance novel is completely different to the two previously mentioned in that it is all too easy to love and empathise with Cather (nickname Cath), the shy narrator of Fangirl. She's spent her life living in the shadow of her outgoing twin Wren (piece their names together... Cather... Wren... Catherine! Pretty cool, huh?) and when they go to university together and Cath's forced to socialise, she's less than happy. Fortunately, the adorable Levi, sunny, optimistic, really cute, is everything that Cath's not, and, well, I think you can guess what happens from here on in. I urge you to read this book, not simply because it will make you "aww" countless times, but also for Levi, because he is wonderful. I'm slightly in love. Read the book and you'll be comparing every man you meet in life to Levi. There's also an awesome couldn't-care-less sidekick in Reagan, Cath's new roommate, and moody Lit student Nick to complicate things. I didn't cry reading this book, because I was given no reason to. Rainbow Rowell did everything right and ends this book perfectly. LOVE.

The Rosie Project

This book stands out amongst the rest of my romance novels in that it is not primarily written or based around teens, and I think this shows. Don, the narrator, is possibly one of the best literary characters ever written - he'll have you crying with laughter as he tells you his story of attempting to find a wife before he's too old the only way his scientific mind knows how - by designing a questionnaire for potential wives to fill out in order to find someone perfectly compatible with him. He doesn't, however, anticipate the introduction of Rosie, the world's most incompatible woman with Don's survey. Needless to say, Rosie turns Don's world upside down and makes him question everything.This book is so heartwarming - yes, I cried. I also laughed out loud many a time. This romance book is one of those that I will proudly recommend to fiends (which I have done, and all of my friends love the book as much as me) because it is also engaging, witty and life-affirming. It is so much more than a fluffy romance. It's about the transformation of a socially awkward, painfully scientific and clinical man into one who is willing to take risks, open up his heart and ditch the schedule for once. I cannot tell you how glad I am that there is now a sequel out, The Rosie Effect. I've already purchased it and I'm going to get stuck in right after finishing this post!

Looking For Alaska

Yes, I had to throw this one in. I mean, it's John Green, right? I personally love this book just as much as TFIOS, but there's no point me including TFIOS in this post as practically everyone in the world has read it already. Instead, I introduce you to Green's earliest work: a story of a socially inept Miles and flawed, troubled Alaska. This book will make you cry, and scream with frustration; but most importantly, it will make you laugh through your tears because of its sheer brilliance. I made the mistake of reading this book on holiday one year and it lingered in my mind all week, such was the strength of my connection to the story's characters. It's set at a boarding school, so feels very relatable and real, and you will grow to love Miles (i.e. Pudge) and his friend The Colonel, and all the book's other wonderful characters. I won't say anymore about the book, because I don't want to give the storyline away, but all I will say is that you need to read this if you're a sucker for romance.

So, there you have it! It was impossibly hard trying to condense all of my favourite romance novels into just five, but I think I managed okay. I really hope that you maybe read one or two of these books if you like the sound of them and that you enjoy them as much as I did. I'll return next Sunday, as usual, for my next edition of Sunday Scribbles.

Until then,

Olivia x

Give Winter A Chance

Hello everyone!

Now, I think it's time to face facts. Summer has bid us farewell for another year and swanned off to join the Australians on the other side of the planet, leaving a trail of broken hearts and sunburn in its wake. But contrary to popular opinion, I'm extremely happy that Summer is gone and Autumn is on the way, because with Autumn comes Winter, and I LOVE WINTER.

I know, I know, okay? Winter is cold, wet, miserable, I hear you cry, how can you love it, Olivia? Well, it's funny that you should ask, italics, because I'm about to tell you in this blog post!

Today, I will be defending the season of Winter and explaining why it is my favourite season of them all, and hopefully getting a few of you excited about Winter in the process. Let's get on with it, shall we?

1. Jumpers. The introduction of the colder months gives me an excuse to bring out the comfy, cosy woolly jumpers I know and love and be snuggly and stylish all season. I really, really love jumpers - the feel of them, the look of them, all the cute patterns you can get on them... What's not to love?

2. Boots. Again, Winter allows me to pull out my trusty Winter boots (the ones pictured below are my New Look ones mentioned in last week's post), and enjoy wearing them without fear of my feet roasting to death in them because of the temperature. My boots will keep my feet toasty and warm into January and beyond.

3. Hot drinks. I have a bit of a thing for coffee and hot chocolate - I've probably mentioned this before - and even though I enjoy them all year round, there is something a little odd about sipping a cappuccino on a hot summer's day. I can't help but feel as though I am breaking some unspoken rule of nature if I dare to have a hot drink in Spring or Summer. Thankfully, during the Winter I can drink copious amounts of both substances minus the guilt. It's a win-win situation, in my opinion.

4. Candles. A similar problem lies here - lighting a candle in Spring or Summer just feels, well, wrong to me - I don't know why, I don't know how, but it does. Lighting a candle on a cold winter's night is one of the most comforting things to do I can think of. I have already mentioned my love affair with candles on this blog (yep, it's a thing) and I can rekindle (ha, geddit? Rekindle?) my passion for candles of all sizes and scents over Winter. Happy days.

5. Scarves. I've always said that good friends should be like scarves: they should keep you warm, support you, hug you lots and make you feel awesome. (Okay, I've never actually said that, but whatever. It's a cool analogy, so I'm sticking with it.) I think that description says it all, really: you can't go wrong with a good quality scarf in a pretty pattern. Scarves make my neck feel all cosy and comforted, and scarves just add a little something to an outfit. Throw on a scarf as you leave the house and all day you'll look effortlessly put-together and cool. It's magic, I tell you. Magic. In Winter, it is generally more socially acceptable to wear scarves, meaning I can wear them to my heart's content.

6. Skincare. Obviously it is very important to take good care of your skin during the Winter months, and I really enjoy pampering myself with Body Shop goodies or using a nice face mask to help me feel good all over. Again, it is such a comforting thing to do in Winter and I love it dearly.

7. Christmas. Enough said.

8. Autumn/Winter makeup trends. I've never really been one to experiment with makeup, but this season a berry lip and smoky eye combo just seems to be calling my name... The Winter weather gives me an excuse to up the makeup stakes a little bit, which I am very much looking forward to.

9. The weather. I actually love the weather in Winter - the crisp of the leaves underfoot, the biting breeze, the lakes that freeze over... Wait, I'm not really selling it, am I? Let's try that again: basically, Winter means snow (hopefully), and everyone loves snow, right? Snow also means days off school (here's hoping) and it's all thanks to Winter. Now will you show it some loving?

10. Television. In some apparent attempt to make up for the Wintry weather, BBC, ITV and all the other big stations seem to churn out some right corkers of television programmes round November-December time, especially Christmas. I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a closet Strictly addict (guilty as charged), and of course, you get Doctor Who's new series and all the Christmas specials for this, that and the other. Winter creates a perfect excuse to curl up on the sofa and binge on some quality telly.

Righty, I think that's just about it for today! A wee bit of a short post I'm afraid, but last week's was a mammoth episode, so to speak, and silly Olivia left herself only an hour before her weekly deadline to write this post, meaning it may not be my best work. Ah well. We live and learn.

Until next week's Sunday Scribbles,

Olivia x

And here's my collation of some of the reasons why I love Winter so much...

Sunday Scribbles and Getting To Know Me

Hey there everybody!

So, Sunday has rolled around once again (the weeks seem to fly by at the moment, even though I'm back at school - boo),  meaning it is time for another upload! I thought I would attempt to put an extra effort into this week's post, seeing as most of you will have just finished the long first week back of school/work/other boring things people do, and may need a pick-me-up in between all the horrendous homework that your teachers are setting you ALREADY (seriously, do they have nothing better to do?).

For this Sunday Scribble (by the way, that's what I've started to call my upload schedule now - Sunday Scribbles - neat, huh?), I've decided to rack my brain to attempt to come up with fifty facts about me, so that you lot (if anyone actually reads this stuff) can have a bit of a poke into my life. I, being a nosy person, love reading other people's versions of this, so hopefully you'll enjoy mine!

So, without further ado, I give you fifty interesting (ish) facts about yours truly...

1.  I was born on 20th March 1998. Let's start with the basics, eh? If you're a smart cookie, you will have clocked that this makes me sixteen years and five months old.

2. I'm a Pisces. My birth date just about squeezes me into this zodiac sign (one day more, and I'd be an Aries), and apparently this makes me "compassionate, adaptable, accepting, devoted, and imaginative", but also "oversensitive, indecisive, self-pitying, lazy, and escapist" (basically me in a nutshell. I am all of those things). I quite enjoy being a Pisces as my zodiac sign is an image of two fish, and I am a complete water baby.

3. I didn't have a proper little girl's haircut for most of my childhood. Being a redhead, my hair takes AGES to grow, so until I was about five or six I had a boy's haircut. It's only in recent years that I've been able to cut it to a length I like without fear of losing it all!

4. I have no cousins and I'm happy about it. I know it sounds selfish (and I am, look at the Pisces traits!), but I'd prefer not to share my mother with anyone but my brother, and having no cousins makes my family much less complicated. We're a small family of seven people and it's nice.

5. I have never moved house in my life. I've lived in the same house since I was born and so have a real emotional connection to the place in which I grew up. To me, my house is like part of the family as it's been there through everything. I know and love every nook and cranny of my home.

6. I've only had two pets in my life. When I was ten or eleven, maybe, I had a hamster called Sneaky, a real devil who liked escaping from his cage of an evening and letting the family frantically search the house for him. He was a fabulous hamster and now resides in that big ol' hamster cage in the sky with his brother Ginger, who was my brother's pet. We now, of course, have Dusty, whom I go on and on about all the time and probably bore everyone to death with.

7. I love garlic. Like, seriously love garlic. Apparently I ate tons of the stuff as a child (I'm going by my parents' stories here), and now have developed what I like to call a 'high garlic threshold', meaning that I can't taste garlic in my food unless there is lots and lots of it there. I remember in cooking class various times adding spoonful after spoonful of garlic puree to my dishes and complaining "I still can't taste any garlic!", whilst my poor friends try my food and choke over the ferocity of the garlic in them.

8. I am a drama queen. I mean that in both senses of the word - I can have a real diva fit over the tiniest of things, but also just really love acting. I've appeared in various productions in my time (you name it, I've done it - from playing an old lady in Year Two at my infant school after I purposely auditioned badly so that I wouldn't have the part, to learning a sequence of fifty obscure colour names for my part as a chorus member in Joseph in Year Nine) and I'm currently studying Drama as an A Level subject.

9. One of my best friends is a dirty bear. No, really. My childhood 'teddy' (you know, the one you sleep with, play with, spill paint over, that sort of thing) is none other than a toy of Baloo from Disney's The Jungle Book. Okay, so he's not the cleanest or prettiest of stuffed animals, but he has a certain rugged charm (that's what I tell myself, anyway) and I love him dearly.

10. I'm a real daydreamer. Sometimes I think I spend more time in the little worlds I create for myself in my head than in the actual one. It's not good - I'm away with the fairies most of the time, which only adds to my natural clumsiness.

11. I'm a hopeless romantic. I was never one of those girls who sat down and planned their wedding aged five, but I am a real sucker for real-life love stories and rubbish rom-coms. Yeah, I'm that girl, the pathetically single one who likes to spend all her time thinking about how she'll never find a boyfriend/girlfriend (I am open to options) and crying into tubs of Ben & Jerry's.

12. I've never had a boyfriend. While we're on the subject, we might as well throw in the fact that I've never gone out with anyone. You may think I mean that I've never had a 'serious' relationship, but I mean what I say in the purest sense of the phrase. I've never even had one of those silly two day 'romances' where you hold hands in the playground and then decide you hate each other, aged six or something ridiculous like that. To be honest, at this stage I'm so needy I'd settle for even that. It's pathetic, I know.

13. I have abnormally long thumbs. Yep, I know, really random - but I'm running out of material already. My thumbs - and fingers in general, actually - are super long and super thin, so they look slightly odd joined onto my petite palms. I look like I've got spiders attached to my arms. It's odd.

14. I am a very emotional person. You might have twigged that already, what with the hopeless romanticism and the like, but I am. I am a person who goes through serious mood swings. I can either be on top of the world, blissfully content, or down in the dumps, feeling lonely and unwanted (self-indulgency alert). I also cry frequently for no apparent reason, and am extremely protective of my friends and family (you cross them, you cross me).

15. I love to read and write, always have done. I am a bookworm, and was even more so when I was younger, and have always loved creating stories where I have complete control over what happens. In my stories there's always some adventure, a strong female protagonist (because I'm a bit of a feminist too), a wee bit of romance (okay, a lot of romance) and the guy always gets the girl. I seem to recall writing a story when I was younger called Alfred The Grape (seriously, don't ask) and dreaming that I'd be a best-selling novelist because of it.

16. I am a foodie. I eat food a lot, love food a lot, and spend a lot of my time dreaming about what food I'm going to eat next. I am so glad that eating is a necessity, because for me it's also a real pleasure.

17. I like to dance but I'm not very good at it. It's not unusual to find me dancing around my room badly to some tunes of a Friday evening. I find dancing such a liberating and fun thing to do.

18. When I was younger I had a 'Feather And Stone' collection. I can't remember how old I was, but I went through a phase where I would go around picking up feathers and stones and storing them in a little box which I decorated with glitter and stickers.

19. I have starred in a radio adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol'. I was lucky enough to do a course in the Autumn of  2012 which allowed me to help act, sing and produce a radio play of the Dickens classic, along with other teens who took the course. I was picked to sing the carols for the play and I also earned the part of Belle (Ebenezer Scrooge's fiancé), which I'd had my eye on ever since we started work on the play. I got a Bronze Arts award out of it too, which was pretty cool.

20. I am in the midst of a long-term love affair with coffee. Admittedly, it took me a while to get into the stuff, but I am now well and truly addicted and love nothing more than popping into a Starbucks or Costa and ordering a macchiato (my drink of choice) in either a Vanilla, Hazelnut or Caramel flavour. Mmm.

21. I'm in love with candles. I think it might be premature ageing. Now that we're getting into Autumn, I will quite happily spend my time browsing candle websites on the internet or (even better!) sniffing them in the shop. I just think there's nothing better than lighting a candle on a cold day to make any room in your house feel cosy.

22. Rice is one of my staple foods. Honestly, if rice didn't exist then I do not know what I would do. Rice is in all of my favourite dishes, (i.e. curry, Chinese food) I love ricecakes, and I eat some sort of rice every single day. I think it's becoming a bit of a bad habit, but better that I have an addiction to ricecakes than fast food, right?

23. I'm a Hufflepuff and proud. I know, I know, it's an unpopular opinion. When I visited the Harry Potter Studios Tour a couple of weeks ago, a show of hands dictated that of our tour group, only myself and my brother were Hufflepuffs, about three people were Ravenclaw, a few were Slytherin, and almost everybody there was a Gryffindor. (Personally, I think Gryffindor is really over-rated and I'm not a fan of the house, but hey ho.)

24. I'm a quarter Irish. My granddad was fully Irish, making me inherit a quarter of that, and I'd love to visit Ireland when I'm a little older. I've only ever been as a baby and don't remember it, so I'd like to travel there on a gap year, meet Funghi the dolphin, and visit Dublin.

25. My name has the meaning "symbol of peace, grace of God". To me this meaning is an entirely inaccurate description of me. I am in no way peaceful (I natter like there's no tomorrow and have been known to get into physical fights), I possess no grace whatsoever (I am the world's second clumsiest person ever), and I'm not overly religious. I think it's safe to say that my parents had unrealistic expectations of what sort of person I would grow up to be like. Sorry to disappoint, Mum and Dad.

26. Fairy Lights please me immensely. I have a set strung around my bookshelf, and when I'm older I want a house full of them. Please.

27. I will eat ice cream any time, any day, any season. I love ice cream and always have - I think it's safe to say I'll still be ordering it in restaurants when I'm old and grey. My favourite flavours are coffee (and all variations of the flavour), vanilla, lemon, strawberry, mint, honeycomb, blackberry, chocolate... Well, all of them, really, except bubblegum. That flavour is so wrong on so many levels.

28. I have a fairly extensive ring collection. I have been collecting rings for well over a year now, and have a sizeable amount of them tucked away in my drawers. I love everything about them - how they look and feel on your hand. They are most likely my favourite jewellery item.

29. My favourite animals in the world are sloths, greyhounds, donkeys, hedgehogs, and penguins. They are all adorable in their own right.

30. This blog was originally going to be a YouTube channel. There, I said it. The secret's out now! When I originally planned on starting a project to see me through Summer and beyond, I wanted a YouTube channel, but didn't feel brave enough to jump straight into videos. I find I am much more eloquent and witty via the written word.

31. I am slowly but surely ticking off all of the places on my dream travel list. In April this year, I went to Paris with my mum, which was incredible. I'd always wanted to visit and it was the most wonderful weekend ever. I'm heading to New York, Washington and Philadelphia in February with my best friend (New York is another on my dream travel list). I've just got a couple of places left, like Italy and Ireland, to visit, but I'm sure I'll think up more destinations as I go.

32. I am really interested in Interior Design. I love nothing more than daydreaming about how I would decorate a house if I had all the money in the world. It's making me really excited to get my own place, just so I can do it up really cutely. In the meantime, I've been attempting to re-decorate and clean my room, and I'm pretty happy with the results so far. Maybe I'll let you see in a room tour post? Who knows.

33. My A Level choices were English Literature, History, Drama and Communications & Culture. You can definitely tell from those choices what sort of person I am! At the moment I'm really loving my experience as a sixth form student, so I might do a post on A Levels once I'm further into the year.

34. I love to sing and have taken singing lessons for over two years. Ever since I was a child I have enjoyed singing in the shower or in concerts at school, at hopefully if you ask my friends they'll tell you I'm not a bad singer. Either that or I really am rubbish and they've just been tactfully lying to me all this time. Let's hope for the former, eh?

35. Lemon is my favourite of everything. I love anything lemony - food, drink, beauty products, skincare, candles... I could go on. Chances are, if it tastes, smells, looks like a lemon then I'll eat or use it.

36. My favourite Disney Princess will always be Ariel. I was a typical 'little girl', watching all of the Disney films, dressing up as my favourite princesses and learning the songs off by heart. But Ariel was always my favourite  - I think I loved her the most because she was red-headed, rebellious and pretty damn beautiful (c'mon). She was also a mermaid, and what I wanted most as a little girl was to be a mermaid. Let me also point out that I liked Ariel before it was cool. I was never one for Cinderella or Snow White or even Sleeping Beauty. So maybe Ariel is not the best example of feminism out there (she basically gave up everything for a bloke who offered nothing in return except money... Making her a bit of a gold-digger), but let's face it, Eric is hot! I also loved Mulan, so I had a strong female role model sussed.

37. I love buying beautiful stationary and then never using it. I have a vast collection of notebooks, pads and diaries that I have bought but not touched because they're so beautiful and I have a fear of ruining them. I know, it's a bad habit. I also have about ten sheets of lovely stickers in my room which I refuse to give away because they're just. Too. Pretty!

38. I'm a pastel kinda gal. If I do get round to showing you my room, you'll see that my colour scheme is fairly reliant upon mints and mauves and dusty pinks. I also tend to dress in pastels quite a bit, simply because I love those sorts of colours and they make me happy.

39. If you were being tactful, you'd call me 'original' - if you were being honest, you'd just call me 'weird'. I've finally accepted that I will never be a normal person and now embrace my oddness.

40. My favourite flowers are probably orchids. I just love the fact that they're so unique and beautiful. So, if you want to woo me, buy me a bouquet or orchids (nice handy tip for you there).

41. One of my favourite places to be is beside the sea. Being at the beach is something that really relaxes me, and I love nothing more than to stare out into the endless sea and think about life (oo er, getting deep there Olivia).

42. I only like white marshmallows. Don't ask me why, don't ask me how, don't ask me when, because I don't know. There's just something about a pink marshmallow that disturbs me.

43. I once kicked a boy in the crotch because I hated being teased about my hair. True story. I was a very touchy Year Seven.

44. I have what I like to call a 'boomerang' food taste. This means that I will go through a stage of liking a food, then hating it, then liking it again. For example, when I was young I used to love scrambled eggs and melted cheese (not together; as two separate food items), then I went through a phase of about three or four years where I couldn't stand either of them. Now I love them again.

45. I'm a very empathetic person. I think that's why I love acting so much - because I find it very easy to place myself into another person's shoes. Tying this in with the fact that I am over-emotional, if someone else is feeling really upset, I will probably feel really sad on their behalf, even if I don't know them.

46. My favourite instrument is probably the guitar - but it HAS to be acoustic. I have an endless admiration for those who are able to play the guitar, and will quite happily sit listening to them strum away for hours on end. Also, guys who can play the guitar are my favourite kind of guys. Just saying.

47. I have the rarest hair and eye colour combination in the world. I'm a redhead (but you knew that already), and I also have blue eyes. Both are recessive traits and the chances of finding another person like me with red hair and blue eyes are smaller than your chances of finding any other hair/eye colour combination. I'm of only 1% in the world, which is kind of cool when you think about it. Apparently I'm as rare as 'a four leaf clover'.

48. I'd love to do so many things with my life that I find it hard to channel my ambitions. I'd love to be an actress, but also maybe a journalist, or a teacher, or a nursery worker, or a bookshop/café owner, or...

49. I have a secret dream of owning a pub in the country. I'd love to have my own pub and decorate it cosily, and name it after something or someone special to me, and then decide on a themed night for every day of the week, pick a menu, create my own cocktails, choose the staff. I just think it would be ridiculous amounts of fun.

50. I came up with the idea and name for this blog at midnight in a moment of frenzied inspiration. I was feeling really un-motivated and bored, and the summer had only just begun, and then the idea of creating a blog came to me. When I came up with the name 'Whimsical Scribbles', I wasn't entirely certain of the meaning of the word 'whimsical', and had to look it up to be sure it meant what I thought it meant. Luckily, it did.

So, there you have it! That is fifty facts about me. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be - it's funny how when you go to write something about yourself you find that your mind is completely blank. I had to write this post over the course of a few days because I found it so difficult to make myself sound remotely interesting.

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this post. Please let me know what you thought of it and if you'd like to see any of the possible post ideas I featured here. I will see you all next Sunday for another edition of my Sunday Scribbles, but before I go, I thought I'd leave you with an oh-so-attractive picture of me grinning like an idiot (just so you can put a face to all of the blathering I do on this blog).

Have a fantabulous week!

Olivia x