2015 Reading Stats and Resolutions Review and 2016 Reading Resolutions

I did a Reading Stats post last year which I really enjoyed, I liked seeing how my reading broke down. So I decided to redo it again this year, hopefully I have all my maths right!

Fiction to NonFiction Breakdown

I read more books this year, compared to last, but I also read more fiction books. I dropped my non-fiction reading from 35% of my reading to just under 30%. It’s still not bad but I don’t think I’d like it to drop down further than that for 2016.

Physical Books vs E-Books vs Audio Books

E-books actually DECREASED this year, which surprised me at first but then, considering I was working in a bookshop, it’s not that surprising after all! I’m happy about my increase in audio books, I doubled it compared to last year (4% to 8% of total books).

Female to Male Authors

I know a lot of people who try to read more female authors than male, but it just naturally happens for me! I’ve gone from 60% of my authors being female in 2014 to 65% being female in 2015.

Other fun stats

-29 books came from library (this includes physical, ebooks and audiobooks), a decrease from last year’s 33

-17 were NetGalley reviews! An increase from last year’s 14

-17 were my own books (and some were borrowed but I didn’t count them), which is an increase from last year’s 6, BUT I also bought more books/got them as advanced copies from work so I actually haven’t made a dent in my own books.

And now to look at last year’s Reading Resolutions!

1. Read To Kill a Mockingbird

Hurrah! I won’t have to put it on my 2016 list as I ACTUALLY read it!

2. Read more diversely

I stopped taking this into account. I can’t say I really succeeded and while I probably won’t try and keep track of this really, I am going to try pick up more books by diverse authors, especially ones already on my TBR.

3. Reduce the amount of books I own to read

Hahahahahaha, no. Seriously, didn’t happen, I increased the amount of books I own as mentioned aboved.

4. Read a Russian author

The Russians have scared me, they seem to intimidating so I wanted to tackle this. And I read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov in November.

5. Listen to more audio books

I wanted to increase the amount of audiobooks I listened to to 6 for 2015 and considering I listened to 7, I think that’s a success!

6. Do a themed reading month

No, didn’t get around to doing that unfortunately. I did start the Fem-tellectual themed months but that site went a bit dead and as there was no real interest coming from there I stopped doing it half way through.

7. Do Popsugar Reading Challenge

When I had posted the challenge, I didn’t know it was from Popsugar until a few weeks later. Needless to say I completed the challenge! Just about. I have a post from a few days ago with my results.

Now usually I have a seperate post for my Reading Resolutions but I don’t really have any this year so I’m going to post them here

2016 Reading Resolutions

1. Do the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge

As much as I enjoyed the Popsugar Challenge, I want a change and I’m going to attempt this one by Book Riot, along with Beth from Plastic Rosaries. If you’re interested in doing the Popsugar one though, here’s the link to their 2016 challenge.

2. Reduce the amount of books I own

Yes, this crops up every year but my friend gave me a bookshelf as a present and once I have all my books out of boxes I’ll be able to browse them better. And this also stands for my ebooks (ones I’ve bought and NetGalley ones as well). I have books that I bought years ago and I’d like to start getting through them. Or donate them if I’m no longer interested.

3. Read 90 Books

I usually set my Goodreads challenge to 50 and up it as I go along in the year. I hit 86 this year so I’m setting it at 90 and seeing how I go from there.

4. Read more Irish authors

Loads of new or at least new to me Irish authors have appeared on the scene and I want to look into them, it’s great to support home grown talent. I might do another Irish reading month, in 2014 I only read Irish authors in month of March so thinking of doing something similar this year.

That’s it really, it might not seem like a lot but the Read Harder challenge has a few that will actually challenge me so it’ll be interesting to do that! I might try and read more from the Rory Gilmore Book Club.

Handmade Christmas Presents

I know we’re probably all a bit jaded about Christmas by now but I wanted to share some of the presents I made this year. I mainly knitted hats (me and bloody knitting hats!) but I made a handful of other things too.

Lemon Meringue Cupcake Beanie was made for my youngest sister, from the The Knit Guru’s pattern

The Yellow and Blue Striped Beanie was made for my sports mad brother in the Clare colours. I put a pom pom on top but didn’t take a picture of that yet. I winged the pattern using DK yarn.

Blue Chunky Hat for Chelsea supporting brother, made from Super Soft Merino Hats for Everyone by Purl Bee.

Creeper Beanie for youngest brother, made using Minecraft Inspired Hat by Jenna La Due

This hat was made for Sarah from Cashmere and Clouds. She loves space and galaxy stuff and I had this planned for months. It’s probably not the best (it was my first time using multiple colours) but I’m proud of it and love the colours I finally picked! The pattern I used was Siouxsie Stitiches Celestial Fair Isle Hat that I modified slightly.

I made this cowl for my best friend using Aran yarn and reverting to my beloved Seed Stitch pattern. I love the off white creamy colour! It was a pattern I made up myself.

I made two fleece Pusheens, one for my brother and one for his friend. They were both double sided, so happy Pusheen on one side and an angrier Pusheen on the other side. This was the biggest time suck, having to hand stitch on all those facial pieces took hours. I thought I’d fly though the sewing up of the body with my sewing machine but I didn’t have the correct needle! I had to handstitch them closed but overall I’m happy with how they turned out. I shall make one for myself, once I stop hating the sight of Pusheen’s face!

For my baby cousin, I knew she’d get loads of presents, so along with one present I got her I made these postcard frames. ‘Made’ being a close term to be honest! Anyway, I bought some wooden frames, trimmed off a small amout of the Puffin Postcards I had chosen and added them to the frame. They’re going to be hung up in her nursery.

Themed subscription boxes are all the rage (like Loot Crate and My Geek Box) so I decided to put together one for my boyfriend. I got the logo of his podcast printed on a mug, made some Lego chocolates, knitted a Cthulhu hat and bought other bits and pieces like socks, keyrings and t-shirt.

            

Here’s a close up of the hat, made using this Cthulhu’s Unspeakable Hat by Finlay Logan

I was also lucky to receive some handmade gifts!

Sarah knitted me some socks!! I loved them, I always thought knitted socks would feel weird and scratchy but these are lovely.

The friend I made the cowl for not only bought me a much needed bookcase but she decoupaged some of my favourite books along the sides and inside! I love it so much, I finally filled the shelves after having to wait a few days for landlord to do work in the house.

And that’s it! I still have a hat to make for my sister, I just didn’t have the time thanks to getting sick for 2 weeks. I also have another project to finish, would should have been done on time but I didn’t order enough material and then the local shops didn’t have it either.

You can find more of my knitting from my Ravelry page if you’re interesting. I’m hoping in the next day or two to start another project (for myself this time!).

2015 Top Books and Popsugar Reading Challenge Results

I usually do a Top 5 of the year but I’m lame when it comes to TV shows, films and music of 2015. All I know if that 2015 so many people become Bielebers. So I present my top 5 fiction books and my top 5 non-fiction books.

Fiction Top 5

1. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. Probably my favourite book of the year, made me cry on the bus home from work! If you liked Life After Life, then pick up this companion novel! It doesn’t have to be read in order as they don’t really spoil each other.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I finally read this classic! And it was worth the read. And the day after I started it, Go Set a Watchman was released.

3. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas. This is the fourth book in the series, the most recent, and I picked it as it really wowed me but the entire Throne of Glass series is a fantastic, kick ass fantasy YA series I’d really recommend.

4. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. This one had been on my radar for a while but it wasn’t until a workmate read it and loved it that I picked it up. It’s haunting and beautiful and I know Sharon from Behind Green Eyes loved it too!

5. Faithful Place by Tana French. I read Broken Harbour too this year but I picked Faithful Place as French really nails the inner Dublin dialect and I loved the main character in this.

Honorary mentions to The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey and Animal Farm by George Orwell

Non Fiction Top 5

1. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. I read a good few nonfiction books that tackled the theme of depression this year (Hyperbole and a Half and Reasons to Stay Alive being the main ones that stick out), but I chose this one as it stuck with me the most and it also made me laugh.

2. Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes. I love Sali’s YouTube videos and everytime I read a piece by her I’m struck by how honest she is. I love her mentally of not saving the ‘good’ stuff because it’s just a waste! A must for beauty junkies.

3. Yes Please by Amy Poehler. The main thing I took away from this book was Amy’s message of ‘Good for her. Not for me’. That you don’t need to tear down other people’s choices, just say ‘good for her. Not for me’.

4. Popular: a Memoir by Maya Van Wagenen. Maya is low down on the popularity scale in school so she decides to follow the wisdom in a 1950s popularity guide. Her writing is so sweet and I really loved this book.

5. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell. This made me laugh out loud and roll my eyes in equal measures, especially as I was working in a bookshop at the time of reading. Even if you’ve never worked in one, you’ll appreciate some of the things that come out of people’s mouths.

Popsugar Challenge

I posted that I wanted to do a challenge that Sharon from Behind Green Eyes tagged me in and later I found out it was the Popsugar Challenge. At first I just read what I wanted and matched the books up to a challenge. But half way through the year I noticed I’d have to start reading books that fit challenges and things got serious! I only doubled on one challenge (Read a book you were supposed to read in school, I read everything so this wasn’t an option for me but instead I picked it to go under To Kill a Mockingbird as even though we didn’t read it in school I should have read it back then). I’m pretty proud at myself for finishing this!

Read a book with more than 500 pages- Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

A classic romance- Persuasion by Jane Austen

A book that became a movie- The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

A book published this year- Winter Siege by Ariana Franlin and Samantha Norman

A book with a number in the title- The Edible Atlas: Around the World in 39 Countries by Mina Holland

A book written by someone under 30- Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

A book with non-human characters- Animal Farm by George Orwell

A funny book- Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell

A book by a female author- Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey

A mystery or thriller- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

A book with a one word title- Fairest by Marissa Meyer

A book of short stories- Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

A book set in a different country- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A nonfiction book- Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes

A popular author’s first book- Looking For Alaska by John Green

A book from an author you love that you have not read yet- So You’ve Been Publically Shamed by Jon Ronson

A book a friend recommends- Faithful Place by Tana French

A Pulitzer Prize winning book- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

A book based on a true story- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

A book at the bottom of your to-read list- The Help by Kathryn Stockett

A book your mom loves- Body 115: The Mystery of the Last Victim of the King’s Cross Fire by Paul Chambers

A book that scares you- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

A book more than 100 years old- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

A book based entirely on its cover- The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

A memoir- Yes Please by Amy Poehler

A book you can finish in a day- The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel

A book with antonyms in the title- Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit- The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

A book that came out the year you were born- Watchmen by Alan Moore

A book with bad reviews- Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum

A trilogy- Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, and Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

A book from your childhood- Mog the Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr

A book with a love triangle- Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

A book set in the future- Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill

A book set in a high school- Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

A book with a colour in the title- A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

A book that made you cry- Academy Street by Mary Costello

A book with magic- Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

A graphic novel- Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O’Malley

A book from an author you’ve read before- Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris

A book you own but have never read yet- Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming

A book set in your home town- Meatspace by Nikesh Shukla

A book that was originally written in another language- The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

A book set at Christmas- Humbugs and Heartstrings by Catherine Ferguson

A book written by an author with your same intials- The Teatime Islands by Ben Fogle

A play- The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

A banned book- Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

A book based on or turned into a TV show- The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith

A book you started by never finished- The Second Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson (started in 2012!)

Phew! It was a fun challenge to do, I know Sharon completed hers too, which you can check out here. There’s a 2016 challenge if you’re interested in it but I will be doing the Book Riot Read Harder challenge this year if you’re interested in joining! Even if you don’t want to do a book challenge like these, then perhaps just set a reading resolutions goal or two. If you’re not a reader, then aim for 6 books in the year (that’s 1 for every 2 months). If you only read fiction, try to read a handful of non-fiction books. Think you’re too busy to read? Have one screen free evening a week, where you don’t look at TV, computers or phones and I bet you’ll find time to read. Now to pester my boyfriend into reading at least one book this year!

Blog Every Day in November Challenge #BEDN

So last year I successfully completed the Blog Every Day in May challenge by Rosalilium, This year I tried to do it but ran out of steam as I was so busy and stressed. When Beth from Plastic Rosaries (one of the fab friends I made from the BEDM in 2014) asked me if I was going to do the Blog Every Day in November challenge, I was in half minds. There's been a lot of changes in my life recently and I've just been so over the place, stressed and anxious that I didn't think it would be a good idea. On the other hand, I want to get back into blogging regularly, I've missed it and this could be a good way to get back into the swing of things. I've decided to give it a go, I don't know if I'll get through every day but that's ok! Hopefully I can get back on track.

Today's themed post for the challenge (while you can write whatever you want for every post, Elizabeth provides a post idea for every day to give some inspiration) is Something New About Yourself. So what's new with me? New location, new hair (no longer any green in it!), new nail polishes to try out, new winter leggings, new cousin on the way, new friends to make in this city, new change in my attitude towards life. Or at least I hope a new change. I spoke briefly about my feelings in my last post, the book review for Furiously Happy, and I feel like things are on the up. I want to grab on and work on feeling better. It's not going to be easy at times but it's time to focus on myself for a while. Being the eldest of a large family, I'm a natural worrier and carer. I was always the 'mammy' of my group of friends, I always minded people's purses and money on a night out! I gave up time 2 years ago to help my family when my parents were sick and even still when I go home I pick up slack by making dinners and chores to help my parents. And while I don't mind all that, I don't often give myself the care I need. I'll skip meals or else just eat rubbish, I've neglected exercise and other things good for me, I'll often not assert what I'd like to do when asked and just go with the flow. Before the move I was in a really good place and I felt good. For the first time in years I felt GOOD! I want to get back to that. Wish me luck!

Late 2015 Book Releases I'm Looking Forward To

So the past 2 years in January I've published a post about the upcoming books releases I'm looking forward to. You can read the post from earlier this year here. But because a lot more books are announced later in the year there are often more releases that I look forward to so I thought I'd do an updated post about the books coming out later this year.

I'm starting with the books mentioned in my original post in January. In it, I hoped that there would be another Robert Galbraith book even though none had been announced. But yay! It was announced a few months ago. Career of Evil is the 3rd Cormoran Strike novel and starts when Robin, Cormoran's assistant, opens a package containing a woman's severed leg. Book is out October 20th.

I listed The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch in my January post but at that time we didn't have a cover. It'll be the 6th book in the Rivers of London series which follows PC Peter Grant. I don't know anything about the plot but I hope it carries on after Broken Homes, book 4, which ended in a massive cliffhanger and wasn't featured much in book 5. Now I originally listed the release date as November 19th and some sites are still listing it as that (including the last update I saw on the publishers website) but Amazon and Waterstones are listing it as June 2016, The last one was pushed back if I remember correctly but I have my fingers crossed for this one!

Winter by Marissa Meyer was another book I mentioned without a book cover. It's book 4 in the Lunar Chronicles and will centre around a retelling of Snow White. I've really enjoyed this series and I'll hopefully be doing a buddy read with a friend once it's released which I'm very excited about. Book is out November 10th.

I enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. It follows Precious Ramotswe and her agency in Botswana, They are often classified as soft detective novels, they're definitely not hard hitting crimes but more stories centred around the characters. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine is due out September 17th.

I've read all of Rainbow Rowell's books (except Landline, though it's on my to read list) and this is her first fantasy book. In Fangirl, main character Cath would write fanfiction about the Simon Snow wizard series (not so loosely based off Harry Potter) and Carry On is a Simon Snow book! I'm not sure how I feel about it, it's very different to her other books but I will give it a go. Book is out October 8th (as are SO many other books! Major day for book publications).

I've read two of Mark Mason's books before (Walk the Lines, about walking all the London Underground lines above ground and Move Along, Please, about a journey from Land's End to John O'Groats on local buses) and really enjoyed them. It seems this book is about interesting facts and stories from all of Britain's postcodes. Out October 15th.

And to end I have two amazing coffee table books. The first one is a completely illustrated copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. From what I've seen it looks stunning and is perfect for all Harry Potter fans. Out October 6th

Finally this is make up artist Lisa Eldridge's first book, Face Paint: The Story of Make Up and I say it'll be amazing! I love Lisa's YouTube videos and she's shared some sneak peeks on her Instagram. If you're a makeup lover or know someone who is, this book is a must! Out October 13th


I've probably missed a few more, like I mentioned above October 8th is a massive day in book publications, loads of other books will be released around then in time for Christmas. Will any of these be on your Christmas wishlist? Comment below!

Pokeball Cookies #BEDM

We recently had a manga event at work, which had a Pokemon theme. To mark the occasion I decided to make some pokeball cookies! Now, I had made some before years ago for a friend when I was in university. But I couldn’t remember how I did it or where I got the inspiration from. I just remember it took forever to make the icing black. So this time round, when I decided I was going to do this, I had plain vanilla sugar cookies in mind, with red, white and black royal icing (thinking I’d make the black icing chocolate to get it as dark as possible before adding black food dye). However, then I came across this video from Nerdy Nummies, which made the cookie dough and split it in half and coloured one half red. Then the dough was chilled, cut in half and the two different halves glued together with egg wash. It was soooo much simpler to do it this way (mine was a bit of a disaster as it didn’t glue properly and kept coming apart when I cut but luckily once the cookie is cut off the cylinder, a cookie cutter is used to make it perfectly round). In the end I used a premade black icing from Lakeland for minimum stress and used mini marshmallows as the white dots in the centre. They were a hit on the night and tasty yummy, if I do say so myself!

Darkness Into Light 2015 #BEDM

So last year for BEDM I did a post for Darkness Into Light 2014. In case you don’t know what Darkness Into Light (DIL) is, it’s a 5km walk that starts at 4am in the dark and by the time you finish, the sun is rising and it’s beginning to get light. The walk is in aid of Pieta House, who raise awareness about self-harm and suicide and provide services for those that need it.

Last year I did the walk in London with my brother and this year, my fourth year walking it, I was joined again by my brother and my boyfriend. We did the walk in Manchester ,starting at the Irish World Heritage Centre. It was the first time the walk had many international locations besides London and Sydney (which happened for the first time last year). The Irish communities in England, Scotland, USA, Canada and Australia came together to do the walk and raise awareness.  Overall, this is the seventh Darkness Into Light Walk and there’s no sign of it stopping!

                        

At the beginning of the walk with my boyfriend

As I’ve said before, mental health awareness is so important. There needs to be more acceptance so people can feel like they can talk. If you had something physically wrong with you, say a sore foot, there’s only so much suffering you’d endure before getting it checked out. The same should apply to mental health, don’t feel embarrassed and carry that dark cloud with you for longer than needed. There’s always someone you can talk to. Parent, sibling, partner, friend, family member, teacher, doctor. Don’t suffer alone in silence.

Finish line!

If someone comes to you with problems, then please just listen. Sometimes people need someone to just listen to lighten their load. Don’t dismiss them and tell them ‘Get over it’ or ‘Just lighten up’. If you don’t think you can fully help them, then direct them to services such as Pieta House. You can donate to Pieta House here.

                           

Banner of Hope; Breakfast!

April Wrap Up #BEDM

Let’s get into how April went!

Socialised- April was quite a busy month! Spent a good amount of time with Sarah, we went to Tea Hive at the beginning of the month, spent to our regular knitting session in Oddest as well as a new weekly one at Ziferblat (which is a cool pay as you stay cafe with free tea, coffee and goodies) and Sarah came to mine one Friday night where we had new strawberry Pimms! Following my boyfriend’s sister being over for the last weekend in March, my boyfriend’s brother was over Easter weekend, along with a friend. I got to spend a small amount of time with them, mainly as I was working (though not Easter Sunday as my shop was closed!). Speaking of work, I had a staff training day in the middle of the month and then after went for some for a drink in Allotment and dinner in SoLita with two of the guys from work which was lovely.

Clockwise from top left: Strawberry Pimms, Ziferblat, cocktail at Oddest, graffiti in Northern Quarter

Knitted- Two hats. Well, I completed one (just need to attach a pom pom) and I’m almost finished another baby hat for a relative who just had a beautiful baby this month. I will put up pictures at some stage.

Watched- Game of Thrones! Who hasn’t been watching GOT?! I also went to the cinema with my boyfriend to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron which I enjoyed.

Baked- Some Anzac biscuits for an Australian friend at work. It was my first time trying them and I was told they turned out alright! I also made mini Easter Eggs for the first time and will definitely need more practice there.

Bought- I bought a few things really but the most exciting was this pin I bought at the ZiferMarket at Ziferblat, a Penguin books badge! It was made by Jon Turner.

Read- Here’s a link to what I read in April.

Now onwards to May, which is already turning out to be a busy one!

Introduce Yourself #BEDM

So #BEDM is back again! Last year I participated in Blog Every Day in May and really enjoyed it. I discovered new bloggers and friends and challenged myself. I was on the fence about doing it this year, partly because I’m really distracted at the moment but decided I’d at least give it a go, there’s no harm in trying! And I need a massive kick up the arse when it comes to putting in some effort around here!

I’m 27, an Irish expat currently living in Manchester with my long term boyfriend. I work in a bookshop and I love it, the challenges it brings, the people I work with and of course the books! When I’m not working or reading, I enjoy knitting, baking and being with friends. I wish I was a bit more adventurous at times but I never have been and I know I never will be. Doesn’t stop me from trying to challenge myself or try new things but I do like my comforts and I’m a big home bird! Saying that, I haven’t been properly abroad (not counting going back and forth from Ireland and the UK) since 2008 when I went to Prague, so if someone wants to give me a free holiday that would be great!

Things that I like: Cocktails, cakes, flamingos, fancy dress parties, soft yarn, the seaside, Duolingo, Nutella, cats, nerdy jokes and puns, nail polish and nail art, pancakes, Twitter, blusher, bright coloured clothes, Rupaul’s Drag Race, London Underground, 80s music, getting and sending post, Capri Suns, 9s nostalgia, cat eye sunglasses, weiner dogs

Things I don’t like: Look, I could be here for ages listing these so let’s just skip it for now!

If there’s anything else you’d like to know, you can check out these two Liebster posts (one and two) where I have some random facts about myself. Feel free to ask some questions too in the comments box. Or find me on Twitter.

If you want to do BEDM, there’s still time! There’s a page of prompts on the Rosalilium page for every day to help inspire your post. I will probably dip in and out of these prompts as I go along. Happy BEDM everyone, may the odds be ever in your favour!

March Wrap Up

Let’s see if March as in any way more interesting than my low key February!

Celebrated- St. Patrick’s Day! I flew home mainly for another family reason but decided that since it was close to Paddy’s Day, that I’d stay and see the small town parade that holds a dear place in heart.

 

Socialised- Both back home and here in Manchester! Got to spend time with friends and family in Ireland, which was lovely. As well as all the cats back home too! Here in Manchester I spent last weekend with my boyfriend, his sister and a friend of ours. I went to afternoon tea at the Richmond Tearooms with my boyfriend’s sister on Monday and LOVED it! Also went to dinner and drinks with Sarah for her birthday at the beginning of the month.

 

Baked- This Minion cake for Sarah for her birthday! Based off this one I made for my brother a while back.

 

Watching- Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 7! Very glad for it to be back, we’re a few episodes in and I’m enjoying it so far, though hoping for some individual challenges to start happening. They’ve all been group or duo ones so far. Also, where’s the sewing challenges?!

Finished- My old job. It felt right to end it when I did, I was getting a bit tired mixing both jobs and have been slowly getting more hours in the bookshop, which I am really enjoying so far. It was sad to leave my other job but I feel like it was the best thing for me.

Dyed- My hair green! I plan on cutting it soon enough but decided to dye the ends green because why not?!

 

Read- Check out this post here for my March reads.

Dressed up- As Where’s Wally’s girlfriend Wanda for World Book Day (all those Ws!). It was nice to dress up at work and reminded me of the time I dressed as Pippi Longstocking when I was 11 for World Book Day.

That’s pretty much it! Besides the issue of having a car, not having a car, having a new car and not having a car but that’s for another day maybe?!

February Wrap Up

So super late wrap up post, considering we’re half way through March already. All will be revealed though!

February Wrap Up

Started- A new job! So this is the main reason I’ve been super slack with blog posts recently, what with preparing for interviews, starting my new job while also still working in my old one. I’ve been so busy juggling both jobs I’ve done barely anything this February. My new job is in a bookshop, which I think you’ll agree is perfect for me! I’m really enjoying it so far too.

Socialised- A very small amount. Definitely not as much as last month which was crazy! February consisted mainly of going to knit club and also going to the Love IWOOT event with Rebecca, which was lots of fun. I need to pack in more stuff for the upcoming months that’s for sure.

Rebecca and me getting our selfie stick on!

Watching- James St. James Transformations. Drag queens and other artistic folk come on and make over James St. James. I quickly got addicted, it was perfect to watch while waiting for new season of Rupaul’s Drag Race. It also means I’ve been going around saying ‘Welcome to my face! I’m James St. James and this is Transformations’.

Knitted- This lovely grey and aqua heart hat. I haven’t really had the chance to do much more knitting, I spent my time at knit club knitting a cushion which I only finished last week!

Reading- Here’s yesterday’s post on what I read last month

That’s pretty much it. This month was super quiet as I was so busy. I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things with blogging though, so hopefully you’ll see more posts soon.

#LOVEIWOOT Manchester Event

I was lucky enough to attend the #LOVEIWOOT event in Manchester on Wednesday night. IWOOT, or I Want One of Those, is a website that specialises in quirky and fun gifts. The event was held in the lovely Propertea by the Manchester Cathedral (which I am definitely going to go back and visit!)

I went to the event with Rebecca from The Lucky Rainbow and when we arrived we were given a lovely bubbly cocktail and a Selfie Stick! Talk about being spoiled. On the tables surrounding us were loads of different gifts, from big to small, something to suit everyone. The atmosphere was lovely and relaxed and the IWOOT and Propertea people were willing to stop and chat to you.

IWOOT had a competition to picture your top 3 gifts for men and top 3 gifts for women. I had fun looking at all the products and picking out my favourites. I chose these 3 below for my gifts for men (though I based it around what my boyfriend would like).

From left to right: Microwave Popcorn Maker, Tetris Light and Chilli Hamper

For the gifts for her, I picked them based on what I’d like! It was hard to whittle it down to three items as I kinda wanted everything!

From left to right: Gummy Candy Maker, Old School Camera box and mug, Greeting Card Kit

The Selfie Stick was brilliant to have, it was fun seeing people taking selfies all around the room and laughing about it! Rebecca and I were so excited when we got it to work the first time! Also how pleased am I about those heart shaped scones? Thanks Rebecca for letting me use the picture!

            

I had a great night at the #LOVEIWOOT event and I think I’ll be getting future gifts from there as there is so much to choose from!