Huge January Haul :)

When it comes to shopping, I always look for any sales, deals and bargains that I can find. My mum dreads January because I always want to go shopping and find all the deals! This year I gathered quite a varied collection of items, from clothing to beauty to a Cath Kidston Card Holder and my mum (yet again) was impressed by the amount of money I saved.

 

 

Clothing:

 

 

 Recently I have developed a bit of an obsession with coats!

 

Above Left - Primark - Cream Coat with Faux Leather Sleeves - £29.99  £10

Above Centre - New Look - Fawn Faux Fur Coat - £39.99 £14

Above Right - New Look - Wool Coral Coat - £34.99 £12

 

 

 

 Surprisingly I only purchased four jumpers this year!

 

Above Left - Primark - Fawn Coloured Wool Jumper - £12 £4

Above Centre - Sheinside - Grey Wool Jumper with Lace Detail - £22.99 £8

Above Right - Primark - Grey Oversized Thumper Jumper - £12 £2

Not Pictured - Local Store - Grey Wool Jumper with Snowflake Detail - £10 £5

 

 

 

 Other clothing I purchased!

 

Top Left - New Look - Flannel Pug Pyjamas - £14.99 £5

Top Centre - New Look - Floral Sequin Bodycon Dress - £24.99 £7

Top Right - Primark - Silver Playsuit - £12 £5

Bottom Left - Primark - Green Pattern Jeans & Light Denim Jeans - £12 £5 (each)

Bottom Right - Topshop - Pink  Leigh Jeans & Burgundy Studded Leigh Jeans - £42 £7 (each)

 

Accessories:

 

Below - New Look - Earing Set - £4.99 £2

Top Right - Primark - Mint Green Purse - £5

Bottom Right - New Look - Ring Selection - £2.99

Not Pictured - Cath Kidston - Pink Floral Card Holder - £14 £6

 



 
 
Beauty & Bath:





 

Top Left - Rimmel London Eyeshadow (Spicy Bronze) - £4.99 £1

                       Rimmel London Colour Rush (Make Me Blush) - £4.99 £2

 

Top Centre - Body Shop - Clementine Hand Sanitizer x2 - £4 £2 (each)

                    Glazed Apple Bath Jelly - £14 £7

                          Frosted Cranberry Shower Gel £6 £3

                                           Frosted Cranberry Scent Burner x2 £6 £2 (each)

                                   Glazed Apple Scent Burner x2 £6 £2 (each)

 

Top Right - Nivea - Make-Up Remover, Night Cream, Exfoliating Scrub, Pearl & Beauty Deodorant, Cleanser, Sensitive Face Wash, Daily Facial Cleansing Gel - 3 for £8

 

 

Top Left  - Rimmel London 60 Seconds Nail Polish - Instyle Coral & Lets Get Nude - £2.99 (each)

 

Top Right - Lush - Butter Bear x3 - £1.99 £0.75 (each)

                                   So White Bath Bomb x3 - £2.99 £1 (each)

                                Magic Star Wand Bubble Bar - £4.99 £2

                                    Candy Mountain Bubble Bar - £2.99 £1.50

                      Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly - £4.99

                                      Butter Ball Bath Bomb x2 - £1.99 £1 (each)

 

 

The only other thing I purchased this month was a selection of books!

 

I purchased these books on a special offer of 7 for £10 but individually they would have been:

 

The Accident - C.L Taylor - £2.99

These Things Hidden - Heather Gudenkauf - £1.99

The Guilty One - Lisa Ballantyne - £1.99

Little Face - Sophia Hannah - £1.99

Just Another Manic-Mum Day - Mink Elliot - £2.99

Little Miracles - Giselle Green - £1.99

Little Beach Street Bakery - Jenny Colgan - £1.99

 

That's everything I purchased in the January Sales and as you can see, I definitely found myself some good deals! In total for everything mentioned and shown above, I should have paid £480.70 but I only paid £177.72. Overall I saved £302.97 which is around a 63% saving!

 

 

Thanks for reading my Huge January Haul, I hope you enjoyed my sale finds! :)

What I got for Christmas 2014 :)

Okay so I know that I am probably the last person to upload their "What I got for Christmas 2014" but as it is one of my favourite posts to read and video to watch, I was always planning to upload it.

 

 

In my stocking:

 

      

This year in my stocking I was surprised by so many different things!

 

Anker Portable Phone Charger - My phone is always running low on charge or dying when I need it most, especially at university, so my mum thought it was a good idea to get me something small that I can just throw in my bag. Pink of course!

Real Techniques Starter Kit - I have wanted these make-up brushes for a long time because of all the amazing things I have heard about them. I cannot wait to try them out!

W7 'In the Buff' Palette - Nude make-up colours are my absolute favourite and I have so many different kinds, I had always wanted one of the Naked Palette's but they are just too expensive so my mum got me this alternative for now. It contains 12 different nude shades, some shimmer and some matte.

Sweets - I received enough sweets to last me ages this Christmas, including Jelly Babies, Jolly Ranchers (my favourite!), Dr Pepper vines (they sounded interesting), Laffy Taffy (another favourite), Haribo, Moam and a Rowntrees Pick n' Mix box.

Random bits n' bobs - At the bottom of my stocking was Body Shop Mango Body Butter, W7 Mascara's, Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in 010 Ivory, New Look Pure Colour Nail Polish and Rimmel 60 Seconds 'Bright Back at You' Nail Polish.
 
 
From my family:
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 

My family spoiled me so much this Christmas and I am so grateful for everything!

 
Cheryl Stormflower Gift Set - I had been wanting Cheryl's perfume since it was released but my mum convinced my to wait until Christmas and it was definitely worth the wait, it smells AMAZING!
Cheryl Boots - A few years back Cheryl released a shoe collection with Stylist Pick, I have quite a few pairs from the collection but they became harder to find when the collection was discontinued. These boots was the final pair I was trying to get my hands on and my mum managed to find them!
Get Fit with Mel B - I recently developed a little obsession with Mel B and my favourite type of Wii games are ones that involve quite a lot of movement like Just Dance. It was perfect, especially since one of my New Years Resolutions was to get a little fitter.
Girl Online - I was so happy too receive Zoe Sugg's debut book as she is one of my favourite YouTubers and bloggers.
DVD's - From my brother I received The Walking Dead Season 4, Pretty Little Liars Season 3 from my parents and a few Disney DVD's I used to love as a child.
 
My nana likes to spend a certain amount on each grandchild at Christmas, whether that be giving money or gifts or a mixture of both. If I do get money for Christmas, it normally sits in a drawer for months and months until I eventually forget about it, so this year my nana got me all gifts instead. A beautiful, pastel blue, wool coat from New Look was the first gift I opened and I absolutely love it! It will be perfect to wear from January through to May as it is still extremely cold during Spring. The next gift I opened was a pair of paten, nude, double strapped, heels also from New Look. My nana knew that I did not own a pair of nude heels and was in search of a pair and knowing me so well, she picked the perfect pair. The last gift I opened from my nana was a couple of lush products including Snow Fairy Shower Gel, ButterBear Bath Bomb, ButterBall Bath Bomb and The Comforter Bubble Bar which are some of my all-time favourite scents and products.
 
From my aunt and cousins on my mum's side I got a gorgeous, mint green bracelet which I love because mint green is one of my favourite colours. The Barry M Natural Glow Palette was also wrapped up from my aunt and cousins which contains six of the most gorgeous nude eye shadows and a blusher. My aunt and I have a bit of an obsession with candles and we have very similar taste in scents which is why when she picked up 'Vanilla Chai', 'Pink Sands', 'Freshly Cut Roses' and 'Waikiki Melon' she knew I was going to love them! I am currently burning the 'Vanilla Chai' with a Cherry scent and my bedroom smells incredible!
 
From my aunt's, uncle's, grandparent's and cousin's on my dad's side I received money, which I was very grateful for as the January sales where soon approaching!
 
My friend Laura chose two books as my Christmas present, the Clothbound Classic of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations as it is one of my favourite classics and the Penguin Classic Deluxe Edition of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne because I have been wanting to read it for a good while. The Penguin Classic Deluxe Edition is one of the prettiest versions of a book I have ever seen and I cannot wait to read it.
 

 

That's everything I got for my Christmas 2014! I had an amazing Christmas and was extremely happy with all the gifts I received xxx



2015 Goals and Aspirations :)

I know with it being January 12th already that I'm a little late in the game with this post but I haven't broken any so far. Normally I set myself a number of difficult goals in the New Year to achieve and then break them around March time. To avoid that this year I have set myself different types of goals; small, easily achievable goals and then a fairly important, long-term goal that will have to be gradually worked towards. 

 

My (hopefully) easily achievable goals:

 

Schedule my life better 

I am generally quite an organised person, but with university, my life easily becomes quite messy, cluttered and de-organised - especially living a two hour bus ride away from university. This year I will plan more in advance, not leave things to the last minute and complete things little by little instead of all at once.

 

Exercise more and be healthier

Now I know that the majority of people have this as a  'New Years Resolution' but I do eat fairly healthily with only the occasional slip up and attend the university gym. However, sleep is the problem for me because I definitely do not get enough of it. This year I plan to increase my exercise levels by doing more at home, like taking the dogs longer walks or simply going walks or jogs myself. I will eat healthier by not having the occasional slip ups and to feel healthier within myself I aim to get enough sleep (at least 8 hours a night) and at the right times.

 

Stick to my skin routine

I have the type of skin that becomes dry fairly easily and with having a lot of allergies, my skin is often not in its best form. In the past I tried a variety of different products in an attempt to improve my skin and only found ones I liked near the end of 2014. 2015 will be the year that my skin is at its best with the regular cleansing and nourishment it will be getting.

 

Read, write and blog more

I love to read and write, when I was younger I used to write numerous short stories and as previously mentioned even won a contest once. In 2014, my reading levels decreased and I didn't write for pleasure very often at all, which is why I made a blog. I had always been interested in blogging, so this year along with setting myself the challenge of reading 30 books this year, I plan to write blog posts at least 6 times a month. This blog will not be one of my 'failed' projects.

 

Give more 

As mentioned previously, I am a volunteer first aider with St Andrew's First Aid which brings me a great sense of achievement but I do want to give back more. At the end of 2014 I donated a large collection of toys, books, games etc. to Yorkhill Children's Hospital and it made me feel like I had achieved something worthwhile in 2014. I would like to do something similar this year as well, to give back and feel that sense of achievement again.

 

My (harder to obtain) long-term goal:

 

To be happier and more confident within myself

I am not a very confident person, I can admit that and because of this I have missed out on opportunities in the past. Even though it is going to be a long and hard process, I want to improve my confidence and become happier this year, despite any obstacles I may be faced with along the way, because at the end of the day, it will be worth it. I want to be able to enjoy things they way they should be enjoyed, to experience new things and to like them, to be happier within myself and not let other people bring me down, I want to be myself and not be scared.

 

 

I hope 2015 brings you the all happiness and achievements you hope for xxx



30 Things About Me :)

I have always been interested in blogging, I just never got around to actually doing it. So this year, 2015, I'm going to make my blog happen. So what better way to start it off than telling you a little about myself.

 

 

1) My name is Lauren (which apparently means wisdom).

 

2) I was born on July 4th 1995 in Scotland, UK.

 

3) I have curly red hair, pretty similar to Merida from the Disney film Brave.

 

4) I have attended two primary schools and two secondary schools.

 

5) I have qualifications from school in Psychology (A), Human Biology (B), Chemistry (B), English (B), Math (C), Administration (A).

 

6) I am currently at a university in Glasgow studying Psychology.

 

 

7) When I was six years old I got my entire right leg trapped in a drain pipe in my school yard resulting in ambulances, police and firemen arriving at my school and taking 5 hours to free me!

 

8) I have anxiety.

 

9) I have a younger brother named Stuart, a black Labrador named Millie and a chocolate Labrador called Buttons.

 

10) I have a lot of allergies, including chocolate!

 

11) I once entered and won a local short story writing competition.

 

12) I have a weird fear of peacocks.

 

13) Just Dance, Guitar Hero and Mario Kart are about the only video games I'm any good at.

 

14) Basketball is one of my favourite sports to play.

 

15) I have won medals in athletics, cross country, skiing and figure skating.

 

16) When I was in the third year of secondary school, 29 other students and I went to Austria on a skiing holiday for ten days with three teachers.

 

17) October 2012 was the best month of my life.

 

18) New York City is my favourite I have ever travelled to.

 

19) I love candles.

 

20) So far I have been to 15 concerts: Girls Aloud x6, Cheryl Cole x1, Jessie J x2, Kylie Minogue x2, McBusted x1, X Factor x2, Cher Lloyd x1.

 

21) Tv Shows take up about 50% of my life.

 

22) I like to read.

 

23) I have a really good memory and can recall back to my early childhood memories at aged only 2.

 

24) My friends mean the absolute world to me.

 

25) My favourite YouTubers are Alfie Deyes (PointlessBlog), Zoe Sugg (Zoella), Louise (SprinkleofGlitter), Tanya Burr and SacconeJoly's.

 

26) I have an obsession with Demi Lovato, Girls aloud and Cheryl.

 

27) I cannot cope with noisy eaters!

 

28) I am a First Aid Volunteer with St Andrew's First Aid and spend hundreds of hours a year volunteering :)

 

29) For the future I wish to have quite a lot of children.

 

30) I have slight OCD, especially involving the number 3 (which is why this list ended on 30). 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this first blog post and the many more to come xxx