Powered by Blogger.

Charity shop book haul

A sneaky and unplanned trip to some charity shops happened last month.

Normally I would come back with a bag full of books, but I held myself back and they lacked in new books.

Unintentionally all of the books are 'women's fiction'. And there are no books in this collection that I haven't heard of before.

First of all, The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan

I read Rosie Hopkin's Sweet Shop of Dreams over 5 years ago, and haven't picked up a Jenny Colgan book since!

Synopsis:
"As dawn breaks over the Pont Neuf, and the cobbled alleyways of Paris come to life, Anna Trent is already awake and at work; mixing and stirring the finest, smoothest, richest chocolate; made entirely by hand, it is sold to the grandes dames of Paris. It's a huge shift from the chocolate factory she worked in at home in the north of England. But when an accident changed everything, Anna was thrown back in touch with her French teacher, Claire, who offered her the chance of a lifetime - to work in Paris with her former sweetheart, Thierry, a master chocolatier. With old wounds about to be uncovered and healed, Anna is set to discover more about real chocolate - and herself - than she ever dreamed."
Bridget Jones' Diary & Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
Like any other female, I've watched Bridget Jones' Diary. I've never felt a reason to read the series before, but seeing them both in the charity shops - I thought I would give them ago. 
Synopsis: 
"A dazzlingly urban satire on modern relationships?
An ironic, tragic insight into the demise of the nuclear family?
Or the confused ramblings of a pissed thirty-something? As Bridget documents her struggles through the social minefield of her thirties and tries to weigh up the eternal question (Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcy?), she turns for support to four indispensable friends: Shazzer, Jude, Tom and a bottle of Chardonnay. Welcome to Bridget's first diary: mercilessly funny, endlessly touching and utterly addictive."

I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk
I have NEVER read a Lindsey Kelk book, I see them a lot, but I'm yet to pick one up and read it.

Synopsis:
"I Heart series book 1. Get ready to meet Angela Clark as she flees the world’s worst wedding for a new life… It's official. Angela Clarke is in love – with the most fabulous city in the world. Fleeing her cheating boyfriend and clutching little more than a crumpled bridesmaid dress, a pair of Louboutins and her passport, Angela jumps on a plane, destination - NYC. Holed up in a cute hotel room, Angela gets a New York makeover from her NBFJenny and a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps. Before she knows it, Angela is dating two sexy guys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her new blog (Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out). But it's one thing telling readers about your romantic dilemmas, it's another figuring them out for yourself … Angela has fallen head over heels for the big apple, but does she heart New York more than home?"

And last, but not least Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham (Sophie Kinsella)
As previously seen on my blog, I'm a fan of Sophie Kinsella's writing. But this is my first book under her *real* name, Madeleine Wickham! 

Synopsis:
"Three women, smart and successful, working in the fast and furious world of magazines, meet for cocktails and gossip once a month.
Roxanne: glamorous, self-confident, with a secret lover - and hoping that one day he will leave his wife and marry her.
Maggie:capable and high-achieving, until she finds the one thing she can't cope with - motherhood.
Candice:honest, decent, or so she believes - until a ghost from her past turns up, and almost ruins her life.
A chance encounter in the cocktail bar sets in train an extraordinary set of events which upsets all their lives and almost destroys their friendship..."

- kayleighbkl

Autumn Goals

I do try to write New Years Resolutions at the start of the year, but I didn't this year. It'll be random goals, like cleaning my room regularly, learning something new, etc. To try and the year on a high, I'm setting myself ten goals to work towards before the end of the year.

01) Pass my driving test - I may or may not have sat my first driving test when you're reading this post, but on 13th September I'm going to try and pass my driving test. If I don't pass, I'm going to be hopeful and book another one straight after. Keep every limb crossed for me, if I haven't passed yet!

02) Capsule Wardrobe - I've put EVERYTHING (minus extremely thick jumpers and shorts) in my wardrobe to see what I do or, more importantly, what I do not wear. Whatever I don't wear after September, I'll be selling on Depop or giving to charity. I used to be really good at keeping my wardrobe streamlined, but this past year I've let it go.

03) Read - I'm going back to uni. I'm going to forget to pick up a book. I'm hoping audiobooks will save me from a reading slump though.

04) Dissertation - I'm handing in just after Christmas. I'm going to be amazed if I manage to write one.

05) Strong and Stable Job - I'm looking for a job closer to home, I've got a couple lined up - fingers crossed I find a job that I can stay in after uni!

06) Enjoy Autumn! - Autumn is my favourite month. But I ALWAYS wish it a way too quickly, because I love Christmas too much. This year, I'm putting Christmas on hold, and I'm going to enjoy Autumn!

07) Go into uni EVERY scheduled day - I'm awful at cancelling tutorials when I have a cold or feel slightly under the weather, this year, I'm going to try and go in every-single-day!

08) Get another piercing - I've been meaning to all year. I keep meaning to book in another tattoo too, but I'm also sh*t at saving money.

09) Stick to my bullet journal - I've kept one, on and off, for the past couple of year. But this time I'm committing to mine (here), until at least 2018!

10) Relaunch my photography website (www.kayleighbicklephotography.com) - I took it down over summer to work on a redesign, but I'm yet to go live again.

Do you have any goals for Autumn?

- kayleighbkl


Review: See How They Lie by Sue Wallman

As much as I enjoyed this book, I was equally let down. I expected so much more and forgot that it is technically a YA novel. I read a review saying it was a thriller novel and I agree, but I also disagree. The thriller elements aren't strong, they're good, but there could be more power behind them. 

Synopsis: 
There's no way out. Mae's grown up at Hummingbird Creek, an elite wellness retreat where teens get the help they need from Mae's psychiatrist father. The Creek monitors every aspect of residents' daily life for optimal health and well-being, and everyone must follow strict rules. But after Mae is caught breaking the rules, she starts to question everything about how she lives. And at the Creek, asking questions can be dangerous. 
It's a relatively short book. I chose to read this because I wanted something short and quick to read, to get me back into my reading flow. 

The story follows a young girl, Mae, and how her life at Hummingbird Creek begins to crumble away and holes are starting to appear in all she's ever known. Following her friendship with Drew, disappear. Death at the Creek. And how some of her bonds are as close to a family as she has ever been. 

Do you have any thriller novels to follow on from See How They Lie? I'm not after anything terrifying, but I'm interested in reading more now. 
- K.B 

Bullet Journal: September Set Up

New Month. New Bujo set up.

It's a new month, I'm starting my final year at uni, and I'm starting my first EVER Leuchtturm 1917 bujo. The excitement is very real. I ordered on Prime so I didn't have to watch the tracking app for days on end, waiting for my new journal. 
I went for the Leuchtturm 1917 Medium Squared Hardcover Notebook in Anthracite - Grey - (here). 

My Tools:
20cm Ruler from WHSmith (here)
Zebra Z-Grip Medium Black Ballpoint Pen (here)
Mustard/Yellow Mildliner (here)
Pilot V5 HI-TECPOINT 0.5 Black Pen (here)
Staedtler HB Pencil (here)
Tipp-Ex Mini Shake'n Squeeze White Correction Pen (here)
WHSmith Rubber (here)

Month on Two-Pages 
I find this spread SO useful. I have done the list format before, where you write the days down the side of the page, but I find the grid method much easier to visualise my month via. 

Habit Tracker | Outfits 
Habit Tracker; some of the habits I write are unnecessary but it feels good to have something ticked off early in the day. I'm yet to add more to this list, but I struggled to think of any that would be helpful for September - any ideas?
Outfits; I'm trying to wear more of my clothes. So every day I write a short log of what I wore and at the end of the month, I can see what I haven't worn from my wardrobe.

Blog | Instagram 
Blog; purely so I can see my plans for this month and next months blog posts. I was originally going to go down to one post per week - when I went back to uni. But I might go down to one post a week in October instead. 
Instagram; The calendar is so that I can mark off the days I upload. And then below I have a check-list for INSERT NAME's Instagram challenge that she does at the start of every month.

Budget Spread on Two-Pages 
Budget; I try these every few months. Struggle to remember what I've bought and give-up. But I'm going to *try* again!

Week on Two-Pages
This is my basic weekly layout. I've only shown one week because I do the same layout every week. I prefer a week over two pages because it gives me enough room to write my daily to-do lists. On the side panel, I write any work shifts, appointments, etc. 

For each month I have a colour throughout, for September I chose a mustard yellow - leading me into the wonderful season of Autumn!

I'm thinking about doing a similar post with my university related pages in my bullet journal in October, I don't go back to uni until the end of September - seems a little premature to write them yet! Let me know if you would be interested in that, or if you have any ideas for useful University related spreads.

- kayleighbkl

Review: Wilde Like Me by Louise Pentland

Honestly, I only bought this book because it was £5 in Tesco. 

I enjoy Sophie Kinsella's books and it has a review by her, so I knew I would enjoy it. 

It's a difficult book to write a review about without any spoilers, so I might include some but I'll alert you to them. 

Synopsis:
Meet Robin Wilde! You'll make a friend for life and she'll take you on a journey you'll never forget... 'Does anyone else out there feel like me?' Robin Wilde is an awesome single mum. She's great at her job. Her best friend Lacey and bonkers Auntie Kath love her and her little Lyla to the moon and back. From the outside, everything looks just fine. But Robin has a secret. Behind the mask she carefully applies every day, things sometimes feel... grey. And lonely, She struggles to fit in with the school-mum crew. Online dating is despair-inducing, and how can she give her little girl the very best when, honestly, some days it's hard to find a clean pair of knickers. After 4 years (and two months and 24 days) of single-mum-dom, Robin realises it's time to get out there and Change. Her. Life! A little courage and creativity go a long way, and exciting new opportunities are soon on the horizon - maybe a man, maybe the chance of a lifetime... Will Robin seize the possibilities she creates for herself? And what surprises does her life have in store if she does?
This is an easy book to read. I put it down for two weeks, came back, and carried on from where I left off. To me, it's classic women's literature. 

-- Spoilers ahead... --
The first half of the book was a bit boring and the book is very jumpy because it's spread out over a year. Also, I didn't like Theo to start with. So I didn't get caught up in his story line, and I feel as though that part was boring for me too. BUT, once she got to New York and came back, I loved it! Especially because it ends with her being empowered and it sounds as though Pentland could really take this novel somewhere. SUPER SPOILER: I'm really hoping Louise doesn't get Robin and Edward to fall in love, it'll make it too predictable. 

I know that Louise Pentland is a Youtuber and online 'star', have you got any books by Youtubers/Bloggers that you think I should read? I'm into non-fiction at the moment, but equally happy to read more fiction too! 

- K.B

Stationary/Back to School Wishlist

This is as close to a 'back to school' post I'm ever going to get. I don't *need* anything for going back to uni at the end of September, but it's deeply ingrained that I buy new stationary for a 'fresh start' in September. The only thing I'm intending on buying is a new bujo, which I'll go onto include in this post, but there are many things that I consider buying that I'm not in the direct market for. This is also HEAVILY inspired by other stationary videos/posts at the moment!

I am a fan of the bullet journal. Mine last between 3-4 months, and I use to write down EVERYTHING. The Leuchtturm is the common, go-to, notebook of choice. Although I have considered trying a Moleskine notebook instead. This semester I'm going for a squared A5 Hardcover, I love using the squared pages for tracking habits, etc, A5 is my go-to size for notebooks (unless told otherwise or for writing long lecture notes), and I use the hardback because I'm not always in a situation where I can rest my notepad on a hard surface. 

Leuchtturm 1917 Pen Loop

Continuing on from my bullet journal, is a pen loop. Purely for practical reasons and it is matching the colour bujo I want to buy. I'm going for the 'anthracite' this semester, essentially grey. I haven't bought one of these pen loops before, but in the reviews some comments say it's quite small for the average pen. But after researching YouTube, I've seen people fit a normal Zebra Z-Grip Med pen (here). 

I've been lusting over these for months. I have recently bought the Stabilo Pastel Highlighters (here), but I think there is still a hole in my life for the mildliners. If you have no idea what they are, look at any fancy, well-planned, bullet journal video - they all use them. The reason I prefer pastel highlighters/pens is because they don't distract my eye away from the text. Bright, bold, neon highlights stop me from being able to read the text, my eye is drawn to them the whole time.

Fjällräven Kånken Adult Laptop Backpack

I'm so desperate for a Kanken backpack, but they're so expensive and I cannot justify buying a new one right now. I've been researching them and trying to find a reason not to buy one. I'm after the Blue Ridge Laptop one, so a) I can bring my laptop with me, b) I like the blue colour (so sue me). If you have one, let me know if they're worth the money and what colour/style you went for!


- kayleighbkl


Review: Doing It! By Hannah Witton

Synopsis:
Sexting. Virginity. Consent. The Big O... Let's face it, doing it can be tricky. I don't know anyone (including myself) who has sex all figured out. So I've written a book full of honest, hilarious (and sometimes awkward) anecdotes, confessions and revelations. And because none of us have all the answers, I've invited some friends to talk about their sexuality, too. We talk about doing it safely. Doing it joyfully. Doing it when you're ready. Not doing it. Basically, doing it the way you want, when you want. So. Let's do this...

I have done a brief review of this book (here). But I'm going to, attempt, give a more in-depth and deeper review of it now and try not to repeat what I said previously.

Firstly, I think this book could be for all ages. Whether or not you're having sex, it discusses many other subjects. 

If you're looking to read more about everything that surrounds the topic of sex, this would be a good place to start. 

Chapters:

  1. Healthy Relationships
  2. Virginity
  3. Four Generations of Witton Family Sex Ed
  4. LGBTQ+
  5. Consent
  6. Masturbation
  7. Porn
  8. Bodies & Body Image
  9. Sexual Pleasure
  10. Contraception
  11. STIs
  12. Sexting
  13. Sex Shaming
  14. Conclusion
The book is just over 300 pages, so it doesn't go into great detail about everything. But it has the basics and gives you many points to go off and research on if you wish. 

A key chapter is Healthy Relationships. This is important for ALL relationships; friends, family, love, work, everything. One of my favourite parts of this chapter was tearing apart how toxic rom-com relationships are, and how if Wormtail (Harry Potter reference) would be creepy doing it than anybody doing it is toxic! 

I would love to think that in 20 years time being a virgin won't be such a taboo, and vice-versa (this could lead onto a long ramble about how you're bad for having sex, and bad for not... but I'll stop.). Witton discusses how there isn't anything that changes about you having sex and not having sex. And there isn't a way of telling unless the person tells you they're having sex. 

Witton includes essays written by others around the world of Sex, which add another take on the subjects that she is already talking about. It, also, allows the reader to read a person's first-hand experience in that field. 

You don't have to read this book, but I recommend you do.

- K.B