Girl Crush Alert!

Hi girls!

I wanted to make a quick post about my recently rekindled girl crush: Lauren Conrad. Like most 20-something girls, I grew up watching laguna beach and the hills religiously and have always had a soft spot for Lauren. I recall buying my first ever high-waisted clothing item when I was 16 after seeing her sporting a similar skirt on the hills! What a life changing fashion purchase.

Where to start? Her flawless hair, her amazing tan, her incredible dress sense. Ms. Conrad just seems to get better with age and I'm extremely jealous of her lifestyle! I even credit Lauren for my all time favourite hairstyle - loose curls with a center part.

I own her style book, which I got for Christmas last year but she is due to bring out a beauty book soon - which I'm very excited! I love Lauren's make up so can't wait to read what products or techniques she uses in her beauty routine. Will you be picking up a copy of it?

She also has a website which is http://www.laurenconrad.com/ which acts as a blog! It has photo posts, recipes, fashion posts, tips for spring/summer - everything you'd find on a beauty blog really. I've been reading her website all day!

Who's your girl crush?

Lots of love,



Tuesday Summary.

♥ I've been addicted to my Ipod touch ever since I bought it for myself a few weeks ago. All the benefits of an iphone without having to sacrifice my blackberry.

♥ I've also been addicted to apps on my Ipod. My favourites so far: draw something, tiny tower, paper toss, skill game, hair colour booth, instagram. What are your favourite apps? Leave them in the comments below!

♥ I've been so busy with uni work lately. 3rd year is no fun! Although my 3rd year project has been handed in, I now have to start preparing for exams. I cannot wait for after-exam celebrations and summer.

♥ I turn 22 years old next month and I'm actually excited. Most of my friends are desperately clinging onto their youth, whereas I can't wait to be older. I'm also excited to graduate from uni, look for a real job and move out. I finally feel ready to be a grown up!

♥ I've also learned to forgive and forget over the past few weeks. Holding on to a grudge won't benefit anyone and it feels great to put conflicts in the past and renew old friendships that you thought were over. Life's too short!

A picture that really inspired me:

Hope everyone is well!

Lots of love,

Book Review: Divergent

Hi girls!

This is going to be my first (hopefully first of many) book review blog post! I love to read, it's one of my favourite things to do to just relax, chill out and have some much needed 'me' time. I loved reading books when I was younger, but got distracted as I got older and I'm ashamed to admit I barely read at all (apart from for school/uni) from about age 15-20. I made a New Years resolution at the beginning of 2011 to read more often and have stuck to it ever since !


I'm a huge Hunger Games fan and have loved the recent hype about the film. I usually stick to the 'chick-lit' books you can pick up in Asda or Tesco, usually about a professional twenty-something in some kind of romantic dilemma. Reading the Hunger Games trilogy was a completely new direction for me and has introduced to whole new genre of books!

The Review

Divergent
by Veronica Roth

I picked up a copy of this book after reading numerous reccomendations and comparison to the Hunger Games online. The cover was a bit bleak but I ignored that and started reading it anyway. I began the first chapter in the bath one evening, and I'd finished reading the entire thing by the next night! And this is not a short book, it was just so good that I couldn't put it down. I think it's safe to say that it is the best book I've read this year so far.

The story is set in a dystopian futuristic society, where war has completely divided civilisation. Society exists in 5 seperate groups known as 'factions', each faction representative of a personality trait that those people think is the most important (the trait opposite to that which they blame for the downfall of society). They are abnegation, candor, dauntless, amity and euradite. The factions express the personality traits in a really extreme way and it basically dictates how they look, act and even think (sort of like 'brain washing'). The main character, 16 year old Beatrice was raised in abnegation, the faction which believes in selflessness. However, when the teenagers in each faction turn 16, they're given the opportunity to either stay in the faction they were raised in, or switch to a different faction. I don't want to give too much away but the main character ends up switching to a different faction and the majority of the story explains the initation process and the consequences of choosing a different faction.

The story is quite dark and violent in places, but it also has light, funny moments. I love the main character, she's a very determined and strong young girl and it's so interesting to watch her personality change and develop as the book progresses. There is also a love story, which is a lot more prominent than the romantic aspects of the Hunger Games - which was a huge bonus for me! There is also a really unexpected twist towards the end and I have to admit that I did shed a few tears in the final few chapters.

Overall, I would highly reccomend this book. If you enjoyed the Hunger Games or are interested in the dystopian-themed books that seem to be everywhere at the minute, I'd suggest go taking a look at this in your local bookshop. Dare I say it - I think I prefer Divergent to the Hunger Games so far? The book is part of a series and the 2nd book Insurgent is due to be released May 1st. I cannot wait!

What are you guys reading at the moment? Feel free to leave any reccomendations in the comments!

Lots of love,

Monday Summary.

- This past week has mostly consisted of revision. I'm in my 3rd year at Uni and with January exams coming up in a week, there is plenty of revision to be done. Reading articles and making notes all day is not my idea of a good time.

- I also got to meet my cousin's new baby boy this past week who was born at the end of December. He was poorly when he was born so had to spend a week or so in hospital but he's now home with his mum, dad and big sister. I love going to visit and just holding the baby for a bit so my cousin can get things done without carrying him around. He's so tiny and adorable, I never want to give him back when I have to go home!

- Having spent the last of my overdraft last week, I am currently living on £0. As a self-confessed shopping addict, I'm finding this really difficult. I hate not having spare cash to pick up things I need or something new I've had my eye on. It also means I have no social life due to having no money to go out with friends. And it's still a couple of weeks until my loan comes through :(

- Due to my lack of funds, I have turned to ebay selling to make some extra cash. I was very into ebay selling a few years back and made a lot of money selling old clothes. I managed to make a bit of cash this week selling books, dvd's, old clothes but I didn't have a lot to sell as most of my belongings are at my uni house and I'm currently at home. But it is something I want to do more of in 2012 because it's an easy way to make cash and have a clear out at the same time.

- I also had my very first beauty box experience this week, which I will discuss in detail in the next post. Unfortunately, I didn't get very good first impressions!

- As for films, I finally got around to seeing the inbetweeners movie this week! I felt like the only person in the world who hadn't watched it but I thought it was brilliant and will need to pick up the dvd, as I'm a huge inbetweeners fan anyway. I also re-watched Bridesmaids this week when I'd forgotten how funny that film really is.

- A new year means all new series of some of my favourite tv shows. This week saw the return of Pretty Little Liars on US tv (which I catch up with online) and the new episode definitely did not dissapoint. Brand new Jersey Shore has also started, with a great first episode of the series. Everyone's guilty pleasure Take Me Out started again this weekend and it was a cringeworthy and entertaining as ever. And one of my all time favourite shows Dancing on Ice is back on our screens and I'm loving it already!

Hope everyone is enjoying 2012 so far,

lots of love