And even when you’re wide awake you’re drowning in your dreams

Once again we have begun the pine scented-mince pie stuffing-advent calendar opening run up to Christmas. It suddenly got a lot colder at the start of the month and peoples houses have started to glow with the warmth only fairy lights and candles can exude. It’s time to break out the Christmas films (Home Alone, obviously) and run in circles whilst silently screaming in the centre of town. Since entering my twenties, I have found it really hard to come up with anything that I would really like to be gifted; aside from the odd book or three…oh to be a ‘grownup’ is so trying at times. Anyway, as I only have a short while to write this blog today (I will get back to being better/more reliable at this again, promise) I thought I would share some of the films/food/decorations that make the festive season the most wonderful time of the year, for me.

Films:
– Home Alone
– The Muppets Christmas Carol
– The Holiday
– The Nightmare Before Christmas
– Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Food:
– Smoked salmon bagels
– Pigs in blankets
– Roses/Quality Streets
– Cheese and crackers
– Stuffing

Decorations:
– Fairy lights
– Tinsel
– Paper garlands
– more fairy lights
– Super delicate vintage glass baubles

Songs:
– Blue Christmas by Elvis
– White Christmas by Bing Crosby
– It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Michael Buble
– Fairytale of New York by The Pogues
– Mistletoe by Justin Bieber (yeah, I said it)

Miscellaneous:
– Pubs filled with candles and fairy lights
– Glitter finally being as acceptable as I think it is all year round
– Friends making more of an effort to get together
– Wrapping presents
– Cooking and Craft TV programmes

Well, that wraps up (get it?) this post for today. I am going to spend sometime this weekend on some blog posts that aren’t so short and flimsy as this. Let me know what your favourite things to do in the festive season are! x

(I do not own all of these photos).

It was like the way you wanted sunshine on Saturdays, or pancakes for breakfast. They just made you feel good

 

My brain is a little all over the place today, so to gather my thoughts I’m going to do a list based blog post for you. If you know me at all you will know that I love writing lists, as I have mentioned before – I am a notebook enthusiast with a compulsion for list making. The act of putting pen to paper and organising things into categories focuses my mind and lets me forget momentarily about all of the other thoughts that are inconsequential to the task at hand. It is also another method of procrastinating, something I am entirely skilled in, as I don’t have to deal with all of the other stuff which is either boring or too important for me to think about right now. I thought I would just name a topic and list 5 things from that category that I like and hopefully if you haven’t heard of them you will find new things to like too.
YouTube
– The RH Experience
– World of the Orange
– Essie Button
– Fun for Louis
– Miss Glamorazzi
Films
– Stuck in Love
– The Kings of Summer
– License to Drive
– Funny Face
– Moonrise Kingdom
Songs
– The Offspring – Denial Revisited
– Paolo Nutini – Iron Sky
– Pokey LaFarge – Daffodil Blues
– Jose Feliciano – Lonely Teardrops
– You Me At Six – The Rumour
Instagram
– Grgctts
– Alielayus
– Lamiakaric
– Lsbeth
– Melancholyellie
Food
– Sushi
– Burgers
– Blue cheese
– Crisps
– Anchovy stuffed olives
Books
– Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
– Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning
– You’ve Been Warned by James Patterson
– The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean
– The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Drinks
– Tequila Sunrise
– Rose Lemonade
– Mango Cooler
– Honey and lemon
– Gin and tonic
Photographers
– Guy Bourdin
– Camilla Akrans
– Annie Leibovitz
– Joshua Hoffine
– Tim Walker
Detectives
– Adrian Monk
– Miss Marple
– Johnathan Creek
– Precious Ramotswe
– Hercule Poirot
The perfect place to conclude my list making…now to take the dog out in the pouring rain. Boo. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my lists and maybe found something new to watch, listen to or read.

(I do not own these images).

Love’s not the point. We just do what we always do, and we get by

I was going to waffle on about men with beards again because it appears that that is the most popular thing I have written about so far. But its late and right at this moment I don’t have much to say on the matter that I haven’t already said. So, another time on that topic.
Right now I am going to share with you some more lists of mine. As you may have gathered, I am a notebook enthusiast with a compulsion for list making. To do lists and to pack lists, Pro lists and con lists, shopping lists and budget lists. I like to arrange my life into lists.
One day, book shopping in charity shops I came across a book called The Goddess Guide by Gisèle Scanlon . It had the prettiest cover (under the silly paper dust cover things that I hate!) and it was about shopping and fashion and Paris and I had to have it! Handing over my £2, it was all mine! Now, they always tell you not to judge a book by its cover…but I believe that is nonsense. What I am trying to say is that I mainly bought this book because of the cover. Little did I know that this witty and creative author would have me writing lists for all sorts in my moleskin.
And so, I bring you to the first: My Happy List. This list is only for the little things that make you happy.

• Blossom trees
• Stacks of books
• Ribbon
• Flamingos
• Glow sticks (I am wearing some right now and I confirm that they still make me happy!)
• Dream catchers
• Bow ties
• Beautiful tea cups
• Neat handwriting
• Cocktail Umbrellas
• Macarons
• The taste of rose

I could go on, but I have written 4 pages so far and I don’t want to bore you to death. It is a process that you can keep adding to though and when you need a little lift in spirits all you need to do it read a couple. Writing that list made me think about all of the other things that I would like to achieve or just other favourites. Which has lead to me having a notebook full of lists and letters I would like to send to certain people and quotes.
The next lists are some favourites.
Favourite films:

• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
• Waiting For Forever
• The Breakfast Club
• Say Anything
• Funny Face
• The Great Gatsby

Favourite books:

• Snuggle Piggy and the Magic Blanket by Michele Steptoe
• A Million Little Pieces/My Friend Leonard by James Frey
• I Am Not A Serial Killer/Mr Monster/I Don’t Want To Kill You by Dan Wells
• Looking For Alaska by John Green
• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
• Bookends by Jane Green
• The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
• Maximum Ride series by James Patterson

With books I could carry on forever and ever. If anyone wants some book recommendations let me know in the comments.
The last list that I am going to share with you are quotes/lyrics.

• Goodbye Daffodil, you have gone away from me. And you just very well may be gone forever but i’ll always cherish your memory.
• If I remember, you exist.
• If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.
• I love her and that’s the beginning and end of everything.
• What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.
• Girls like us, when we love, it takes everything we have.
• She was so Southern that she cried tears that came straight from the Mississippi.
• Save your heart for someone who leaves you breathless.
• I don’t want to run, just overwhelm me.
• Make us feel young and tragic.

So there are some snippets of the stuff I like to keep in my little book of lists. And to make up for the lack of bearded men in this post, here – have some photos of Chris John Millington (’cause he’s Scottish and my favourite).

Instagram: chrisjohnmillington
Twitter: @chrisjohnmilly
If you have either – go and follow him.

(I do not own these photos)