Winter Essentials

When I watch YouTube video's about people's Autumn or Winter Essentials, I always think the same thing; you don't need a berry, red, burgundy or dark lip and you don't need to have your nails painted perfectly everyday in 'suitable' Autumn or Winter colours. During Autumn and especially Winter time, I'm lucky if I can be bothered to put foundation and powder on, dress in decent clothes and actually leave the house never mind painting my nails and making sure I have a seasonal lip colour on. Some of you will probably feel the same about some of my Winter must haves, but I can assure you there is no nail polish or lip sticks to be seen.

The first few things that I class as essentials (for me) are boots, flannel shirts, jumpers and cosy (yet sometimes outrageous) leggings. My leggings shown below are from Primark and keep me super warm, I don't tend to leave the house wearing them that often, only if I'm walking the dogs for a short while. 

Flannel shirts are a clothing item that becomes insanely popular through September-December but I wear them all year round anyways because I love them - I have pastel coloured flannels for Spring and Summer. They are just so easy to layer when it's cold and easy to throw on over a vest top when it's warmer, plus you can find them for reasonable prices pretty much anywhere. 

I live in Scotland, therefore rain occurs pretty much daily and it's always cold so jumpers and boots are 100% an essential for me. I have far too many jumpers to show but I get very cold very easily so most of my jumpers are a little baggy so I can layer them. I have been wearing these black boots with buckles that I got from New Look when they were on sale in Summer nearly every day. When it's dry and I'm not wearing the black boots, I normally wear my Timberland's which I can assure you I did not pay full price for!

The next things that I absolutely love during colder months are baths and candles, which do go together quite nicely. Sure moisturiser and lip balm are pretty important for your skin during colder months but they are pretty boring to talk about and I often forget to apply both of these to my body anyways. 

I will burn the occasional fresh scented candle throughout the year but when it gets colder, I go through so many candles. Primark do really good candles that are cheap and well scented so I do have quite a few from there burning around my house. There is always a candle in my bathroom for when I have a bath, they just add to the cosy, warm atmosphere. 

When I have a bath, my go to products are Lush which I know are a bit on the pricey side but they are 100% worth it in my opinion. I am a lazy person when it comes to moisturising and lush bath bombs clean you and moisturise you so they are a winner in my book, plus they smell and look amazing.

Once I get out the bath and put clean, cosy pyjamas on the first thing I want to do is have a cup of tea. If it's cold outside then hot drinks are always an good option, but since I am allergic to chocolate and sensitive to caffeine, I'm pretty limited in what I can have. It's just as well I really like different types of tea, so much so that my friend Sarah actually made me that cup cover, along with a cream coloured one not long after she had her little girl. 

Fairy lights aren't exactly essential but they are cute and make your room cosy, so I have a few sets of fairy lights turned on during winter.

With the fairy lights on, cup of tea made, the only thing to do is watch a favourite show or grab a book, there are just no better options. The first shows I would go to would be without a doubt Law and Order: SVU and Criminal Minds. Even though I have been LOVING Dance Moms at the moment, they are my ultimate obsessions and I could watch them all day, everyday. With books I do have an obscene amount, yet I always find myself reaching for Harry Potter around this time of year and I still haven't even read all the books in the series (shame on me). I will this time round she says for the hundredth time.

My last essential will definitely not apply to everybody but those of you who have house pets, whether that be dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits etc will understand. I have two dogs, the older one is a chocolate Labrador called Buttons and she is a lot more independent and will only snuggle with you every so often for a short period of time. Millie on the other hand, she is two and a half, extremely cute and very, very affectionate. She would lay with you all day, snuggled up all warm and cosy if she could. If she was given the option to go out and play or stay on the couch nestled beside me, the outdoors wouldn't get a look in. I spend the majority of my days and nights with her curled up beside me or at my feet or just simply sprawled out on top of me or my bed and I absolutely love it. In Winter I have more time to spend at home since I am not at uni and that just means more time with Millie. I do love taking the dogs out for walks in the crisp weather but that is now where near on the same level as all the cuddles.

 So these are my Winter Essentials, sorry the post was up later than expected, I've had a busy day and editing all these photos got me a little frustrated so I needed a break before I continued with the post. Nonetheless I hope you enjoyed this post and agreed with what I think are Winter Essentials, well for me anyways. Today in my advent calendar I got another little elf which is currently sitting in Santa's sleigh proudly until the 24th when I will get him. Thanks for reading my seventeenth Blogmas post, come back tomorrow for another one that will be written after I've had a lush bath, whilst wearing cosy leggings and drinking a cup of tea with Millie sleeping beside me.

xxx

All Time Favourites: Tv Shows :)

Tv takes up quite a percentage of my free time and I am not ashamed to admit that. Similar to books, I love to get completely lost and indulged into a different setting, whether that be in Albert Square or in Rosewood. I watch A LOT of television and for me to write about everything I watch would take me forever, so, I have compiled a short list of my all time favourites that I could watch over and over again (some of which I already have).

 

 

I have about nine television shows that I could watch constantly on repeat. One of the shows that fall into this category is definitely Law & Order SVU. The show is currently on it's 16th season and I have seen every episode at least three times! I never get fed up with this show no matter how many times I watch the episodes because the storylines are brilliant but quite disturbing at times - perfect for a psychology student!

 

Criminal Minds is of a similar genre to Law & Order SVU and you never, ever get bored because the storylines are so unpredictable and always keep you on edge. Criminology is an area of psychology that I am interested in and criminology is the basis of this programme. Each serial offender and storyline is so cleverly thought out that doubt about people you know in real life surfaces. The central characters are so incredibly different and unique that it makes it near enough impossible to pick a favourite, you just love them all.

 

 Pretty Little Liars is currently on it's 5th season and at the very beginning of the show it was more 'teenage drama' storylines but now it is all about the murders and the mystery which makes the show even more gripping. You could come up with twenty different theories to try and solve the Pretty Little Liar A mystery and still not be right because the show is thought out incredibly well.

 

I first watched Casualty when I was around four or five years old and since then I have not missed a single episode. Growing up I did want to be a paramedic and then emergency medicine doctor which is probably what sparked my interest in the show despite not actually going on to study medicine.

 

EastEnders is another show that I have watch since early childhood and I can fully admit to becoming quite attached to some of the characters over the years. EastEnders never fails to test the boundaries when it comes to storylines, from baby snatching to murder.

 

From the ages of 11-15 I was really into horror films which is probably why I started watching The Walking Dead and do I regret it? Definitely not because the show is AMAZING. I introduced my brother to the show as well who was only ten years old at the time and he loved it. Each time a new episode airs we watch it together, which is pretty much the only thing he will do with me now that he is seventeen. The slaughtering of the living dead just makes life better.

 

A relatively new show that was introduced via Netflix is Orange Is The New Black and I have seen all episodes of the currently released seasons twice. Netflix releases all the episodes of a season at once in June, so once you have binge watched them it's back to the waiting nearly a year to the next season is release. A short description of the show would be lesbians in prison but do not let that put you off watching it because nobody that I have recommended the show to has regretted watching it, even with the explicit content.

 

A show from my childhood that hasn't lost its appeal is H2O: Just Add Water which is about three girls who live in Australia and stumble across a magical cave that implements a little magic into each of them; as soon as water touches them, they turn into mermaids. I don't care how old I get or how cheesy this show may be, I like it and it's a good show that has a good chance of cheering you up.

 

Supersize Vs Superskinny is another 'strange' show that I watch constantly, I guess it just appeals to me. I watch a lot of documentaries and I think that's partly why I like it. As a psychology student, there are various things that affect people psychologically as well as physically that particularly interest me. One of those topics is food and I never tire of watching episodes because you pick up on something each time you watch.

 

Desperate Housewives was introduced to me by my friend Laura and I am so glad I listened to her (she will love that). I finished all eight seasons of the show in six weeks (during exam time) which just shows how good the show was. Each season has a new mystery and has you gripped from start to finish. The show has the right combination of humor, drama, mystery, heartache and highlights the importance of friends and family. The development of the central characters throughout the season is great as well. The only thing I have to fault Desperate Housewives on is that between two seasons there is a five year jump which I am not keen on at all. Despite this, if you haven't watch it then you definitely should.

 

 

There you have it, my all time favourite tv shows. Quite diverse in genre I know but I would recommend each show to absolutely anybody and I've had no complaints from people receiving my recommendations so far. Thanks for reading about my all time favourite shows, keep an eye out for more posts soon xxx