The Blend Active Smoothie Maker, Health Booster

  

  Considering the minute price and the easypeasy-ness of this contraption I couldn’t help but pick one up when my friend Ciara started making it her morning ritual and bringing a bottle of berried goodness to sixth form every morning. 

  I have to say since picking it up I’m one step closer to fulfilling that "5-a-day” habit we were told about as kids. It now sits on out kitchen counter and I try to have one once a day, whether that’s as my breakfast where I fill it full of oats and peanut butter or when I get home in the afternoon as a little energy booster. Below I’ve listed my favourite combination, with a few tweaks to the original recipe that came with it, for both taste and also because who has fresh berries in their fridge all day everyday right?!

  

   

  Now these are just the basic ingredients, go ahead and add porridge oats, peanut butter or anything else a little more substantial for a more breakfast appropriate smoothie. Plus excuse the unnecessarily fancy glass photo at the end, but where else do you get to crack out snazzy glasses and pop blackberries on top!? 

Any smoothies you've been gulping down, I'd love to hear about them  

Georgina

My Makeup Storage

 Applying my makeup in the morning is something I love to do. This may sound vain or shallow but blending concealer into my under eye area or dusting some bronzer onto my face makes me feel ready for the day, inside and out. I guess you could call it 'war paint' if your preparing for an early Monday morning start. 

 Where I sit down and apply my makeup is, to me, just as important as what I slap on. Knowing where all my products are and which brushes go where means I can get out of the house that little bit faster in the mornings. 

 I used to have this tiny cupboard in my room that was piled high with boxes full of stuff I didn't use anymore, but when I jazzed up my room it felt like such a waste of space. So off the door came and in with the paint brush and trip to IKEA. I painted the walls white and then added these swirls of colour, free-hand - it took some practice, using mini tester pots of wall paints. I then bought or scavenged all the necessities like a table, chair, lights and a mirror. Then went about arranging it to look all girly and cute with some sparkly fabric and fairy lights. 

          

  I adore the way it turned out plus it beats hovering in front of a full length mirror every morning attempting winged eye-liner without anything to lean on - big mistake. I guess the down sides are there isn't a great amount of storage for my makeup at the moment, luckily I don't have too much to store. Perhaps I can get a set of draws to go under the table? Another problemo is the lighting; unless a window appears overnight (you never know right?). IKEA lamps and an illuminated mirror will have to do!

-Georgina-

How I Created My Pin Board

 This pin board sits proudly above my desk and has pretty much become the focal point of my bedroom. It's packed full of inspiration and memories as well as framing my desk nicely. When I first bought the boards (I couldn't find one big enough with these lovely black frames, so I bought two smaller ones) I gravitated towards Pinterest for ideas and inspiration. There seemed to be two routes to take; cram it full of photos and bits and bobs until you can't see the board. OR arrange things in clusters for a more minimal look. 

 Being a bit of a neat freak I went with the less cluttered idea, picking out groups of things I wanted on the board. Photos and Polaroids were a must. As well as magazine cuttings - I'm always tearing out scraps of outfits I love but didn't have anywhere to store them! 

 I then printed off a ton of photos, some from Instagram, and went about arranging them. Any magazine words or old cinema tickets were pinned up too. I also googled some quotes and wrote them in my attempt at 'fancy' writing before adding them too. Any random feathers and photo booth strips have made their way onto the board and before long it was brimming (I say brimming - what I mean is as full as I wanted i.e. spaces everywhere, haha). 

 

 I love the way it has turned out, it gives such a personal touch to a room. I guess now it's all about updating the photos and magazine trimmings, kinda wishing I'd bought a bigger board!

 --Georgina--

Framing my Polaroids

 Looking forward to 2015 also means looking back on 2014 and some of my favourite memories. Lugging my Polaroid around has become a habit of mine, I love the "in the moment" mood it gives to a photo, that unedited look that beats digital images hands down. A question does pop into my mind however... where to put them all?! I thought perhaps collecting them in frames would be a fab way to put them up. 

 To start with I bought a simple black frame and stuck brown paper to the back board. I then arranged the Polaroids in a grid shape roughly measuring the distances between each one and then sticking them down with blue tack.

 I love the way it looks and think its a super easy way to display your photos to the world (or whoever enters your house)! 

Cheap And To-Die-For Candle Discovery

 When it gets dark and cold in the evenings, there's nothing I love doing more than staying in and lighting up my room with a ton of festive smelling candles. I love the way they look in clumps and lined up on my shelves, they seem to add that extra cozyness to any room.

 Now I'm normally a total Yankee Candle lover, and believe me I've been through a few over the years. But recently I've been searching for some cheaper candles that still smell just as good, considering my rather empty purse (I blame Topshop). 

I stumbled across these candles in Wilko whilst perusing the aisles for any bargains. On first glance I liked the packaging, a glass candle holder always comes in handy for those spare makeup brushes. When I went up close and did my usual sniff I was so surprised at how strong and gorgeous the smells were! Considering the price I had to snatch up a few, restricting myself to three; Vanilla Pod, Apple Orchard and Midnight Iris - which is my favourite, a kind of musky, fruity smell (excuse my attempt at describing it!).  They give off such a lovely scent to the room and they've got loads of scents to choose from, I know I'll definitely be back for more!

Love For My Record Player

  I got this cute record player for my birthday about 6 months ago (hint hint for any of those last minute Christmas pressies!) along with a bunch of Elvis records (yes, I adore Elvis). It now sits pride of place on my chest of draws, where I use it occasionally when I'm feeling a tad oldieworldy. 

 I love that crackly sound it gives off but one thing I do need more of is the actual records haha. The dream is to have stacks and stacks of them. Trouble is finding any record shops that sell them. I'm tempted by the shiny new ones they sell in HMV but a part of me loves those smaller shops with piles of the second hand ones *sighs*. 

 Anyway, the dream lives on and for the meantime I can make do with my 60s classics! 

   --Georgina--