Friday Favourites 8th - 21st July 2017.
FF 21.07.2017
Hey next week is the end of July how bout that? (Kill me wot even)
It's been a busy old fortnight, every day has been taken up with something or other and whilst I've had to leave a few blog posts unfinished and unposted but actually my motivation and inspiration levels are on a high. My parents are away for a fortnight and I've moved back to theirs to house and cat sit and I am taking the opportunity of being away from everyone and everything to crack on and do all the things I want to do. I want to update my media kit and get loads of blogs scheduled and fix all my broken links and make a master plan of where I want to take my blog and I am pumped to get going.
1. Lions 3rd Test.
Ok so yes technically my niece is dressed up as a tiger in this not a lion but hey, it was too cute not to share.
Flippin eck this seems like a long time ago? I mentioned the Lions New Zealand test in my last Friday Favs a fortnight ago and at that point who'd have thought the outcome would be what it was? Whether you thought the All Blacks were going to mangle them or whether you thought the Lions might just surprise us, I'd bet my hat you didn't expect it to be a draw. It was a bit weird when it finished and they were all just stood around like 'well what happens now' but it was a cracking match and a cracking test series.
2. Afternoon Tea.
The week before my cousins wedding we went on his bride to be's Hen do in Cardiff. There was about ten million activities planned for the day but we went to afternoon tea and it was gorge. It was a sweltering hot day and Cardiff was heaving with people having a bevvy in the sunshine and afternoon tea was just what the doctor ordered. This was the spread shared between two people (hey Beth) and we had a million cups of tea and it was such a nice way to spend a few hours to get excited for the upcoming wedding.
3. Girls Holidays.
How many times can I re use this photo to celebrate the squad you ask? Till we get some new photos.
THE SQUAD BOOKED A HOLIDAY!!! We've been talking about it for ages, we said before Christmas some time that we should go on a weekend away and in the New Year some time we whittled it down to a particular weekend in September but it never went any further than that. Until about a fortnight ago when we were on one of our 'we should really organise our weekend away' jaunts and I said "ok, let's organise" and we started looking at deals.
In September Sarah, Effi, Hannah, Mel and I will be jumping from all different corners of the UK to Sussex for a long weekend in an Air B&B barn for a weekend full of laughter and Instagram and filth. Nina can't make it so we'll surely be eating lots of cake in her honour and posting a LOT about it and I can't. fucking. wait.
4. The 100 Day Project.
The 100 day project ended on July 12th for another year and it was a good un. I wrote a whole blog post about my project with a snapshot of all 100 images but I have been super inspired with the old illustration Instagram since it finished. I enjoyed my challenge this year but I knew for a while when it finished I wanted to reinvent that Instagram, make it a bit glossier and try harder and be more engaged with it and so I have. I just want to post on it more and celebrate with other artists and use it more for my bullet journal and post more and I have been and it's been great.
5. Hairdresser In The Making.
My Mum's bestie used to be a hairdresser and therefore we've never been to a hairdressers. Ever. I've never been to one. She cuts our hair at home, she dyes our hair at home and last week she came over to give us some tutorials. My mother wanted her hair up for the family wedding last weekend but her bestie was away at another wedding so couldn't come and do her hair so it was down to yours truly. The image on the left was the proper version and the one on the right was what I did on the day. It's less polished I'll grant you but it stayed all day and my Mum was made up and I was pretty proud of myself ngl.
6. Wedding Bells.
Yup I've mentioned it a few times but my cousin got married last weekend in a field in the absolute pissing rain. The weather didn't spoil it and it was gorgeous day and felt super personal being in the local church we've been to 10000 times (me and my Mum were on the rota to clean it the day before) and at my cousins house and it felt so homely and comfortable and it was divine. And the decor was the dream.
7. Nude Nails.
These were the nails I did for the wedding and it's been my obsession for a few months now. I took this photo to document how bloody amazing my little finger nail is because legit I didn't shape it or anything and it's way longer than the other nails and I haven't snapped it yet (it's only a matter of time). This shade is my fav at the moment, it's Barry M Coconut Infusion in sunkissed and it's the most perfect nude for my skin tone and it's got pretty solid staying power too and I just love.
*not sponsored, just a genuine fav.
8. Girl Boss Hair.
Having nailed my Mum's hair on the weekend I decided to revisit braids in my own hair, something I haven't done in about a million years and I fell back in love with it. It's my getting shit done hair, it's all up there not getting in the way and makes me feel like I could conquer the world (or like, my to do list). I'm really not a fan of scraping my hair back off my face, my updo is exclusively limited to a top knot or a ponytail and both of them require me pulling half of it back out to make it all whispy. But this do is the only one where I can get ALL the hair off my face and it feels so much more girl boss. Oh and why am I so much cuter as a bunny than a human?
9. Iron Throne.
YASSSSS QUEEN IT'S BACK! Game of Thrones season 7 has started again and I decided I simply couldn't wait and needed to avoid all the spoilers (which I successfully did). I downloaded the Now TV app which the subscription for is free for a fortnight and then £6.99 per month till August and £7.99 a month after that and legit worth paying full price for just to avoid being told what's happening. I won't talk about the actual episode itself because I don't want to ruin it for anyone but I loved.
10. What Bloggers REALLY Talk About.
I die. Inspired by my 'Things I Text My Dad' post, lovely Mel proposed she wanted to write a post about the types of out of context things we say in our bloggers Whatsapp group. She had to fore warn us because that group chat holds our darkest (and filthiest) secrets and uhhh, probably NSFW for most of it. You can read Mel's post here - and try and work out which ones are me!
11. Lagom & Hygge.
I couldn't get my grubby little mitts on these around Christmas for love nor money but when I was waiting for my Mum in Tesco last week I found myself hanging around the books and spotted these two for a fiver each. I haven't had time to do much more than snap a photo of them and flick through but I am immediatlely so in love - and how nice coffee table books do they make please?
12. New Words.
My niece has always been a chatty little thing from the second she found her voice and she's also always been really good at it. But this week I don't know what it is but it's like she's suddenly dropped all the remaining baby in her and she's just a proper little girl and I'm having to remind myself when she comes out with these things that she only turned 2 at the end of May.
Things she's said this week include;
"I can't do that, it's too difficult for me"
"My bread looks like a puffer fish. Oh no, actuallyyyy, it looks like a clownfish"
"That's true"
"I'm making whale shape with that corner piece"
"It looks like a narwal!!"
"I'm collecting these"
"That's a little bud!"
"I'll put him here next ti the Orca and the whale"
"That one's a diamond"
13. Squad Goals.
I know I already mentioned the gals in today's list but that was a fortnight ago now and they've only gone and got me crying again. From the most hilarious dirty chats to the secrets revealed to the bitching and the laughing it's all counter acted with the most love and support and celebration for all the things we do. This pic is a cheeky screenshot I took for Hannah in her graduation today which we watched through a live stream and genuinely so proud, I cheered when they called her name. Whilst I was home alone. I cheered out loud.
14. Motivation.
Like I eluded to at the start of this, I am full of motivation and inspiration and ideas at the moment and I am riding it. I'm hoping to get loads of blog posts scheduled ahead of time and keep up my engagement with my illustration Instagram and I have some new products coming to my Etsy next week. Let's hope this continues!!
Happy Friday you angels! (soz this is a slightly late one)
