Drug Store HAUL - Wilko, Amazon, Boots

Drug Store HAUL - Wilko, Amazon, Boots

This will be my last haul of the month, as I'm putting myself on a spending ban. Luckily for me, I bought these items before March 1st, so I haven't broken my rule yet! However, we are only two days into March... I can see this being a long month of struggle.

This is just a small haul of bath things which I didn't need, but couldn't help myself. This is the reason I am going on a spending ban - I have 3 cupboards full of bath bombs, bubble baths, shower gels and moisturisers which I don't use. I want to have the chance to use some of these products up before buying anymore! That being said, here are a few more items which I just couldn't resist.

I love Lush bath-bombs, not just for the brand name, but because of the goodness the company do and the quality of the products. Yet, I have been loving Wilko's own, original bath bombs. They are just as good, loads cheaper and smell incredible! I got my bath-bombs in the flavours, 'Rhubarb & Vanilla', 'Coconut & Vanilla' and 'Strawberry & Pomegranate'. Wilko have a range of 9 different flavours which all smell amazing, and they are only 95p each! Definitely a good, cheaper alternative.

As well as these bath bombs, as part of the 'Fruits' range at Wilko, each bath bomb flavour has a corresponding bubble and body scrub in the same flavour. The bubble baths are 95p and are massive - they will definitely last you a very long time! I bought mine in the flavour "Coconut" for no other reason than I just love the smell. They smell amazing and are such good value!

Lastly from Wilko, I bought a Collection Eyeshadow in shade "05 Rosy Gold". All my make-up drawers consist of different shades of brown/gold eyeshadows as these are the colours I wear mostly on my eyes. I find them neutral but not so neutral that it doesn't look like you are wearing anything. This shade from Collection is super sparkly and light in colour which is the type of eyeshadow I love going for.

The last thing in my haul is my most favourite product of February. I found a sachet of the 'Miraculous Recovery Deep Conditioning" product by John Frieda and used it to get rid of it. However, my hair was left incredibly soft, silky and shiny. So I purchased a pot of it and the 'Extra Strength Six Effects Serum' to put on wet hair, after showering. After having used these for 1 week I am in love with this product. It is insane. My hair has never felt so healthy and shiny! This product is perfect for people with thick, dry and damaged hair.

Love, Hannah

I'M A BUSY BEE!

I'M A BUSY BEE!

This is the first time I've had chance to sit down all week and really focus on my university studies, and updating my blog. As many of you will notice, I have completely changed my blog design, fonts and layout, which I feel was much needed! As well as this, I felt it would be good to fill you in on my adventures this week because as the title suggests, I've been hard at work!

Monday

My week began with a fairly stressful activity, first thing on Monday morning; A DRIVING LESSON. Many of you who have learnt to drive/ are learning as we speak, will understand the pressure of them and how stressful they can be. I've been taking my driving lessons for one year, and this week was extra stressful due to the amount of lessons I had before my approaching test next week. It went well however, with minimal screw ups on my parallel park, reverse around the corner, turn in the road and bay park. My Monday then continued with focusing on my next university chapter, The Art of Benin! Luckily, this I found interesting so it was less of a chore than previous chapters!

Tuesday

Tuesday was my quietest day of the week and a chance to really sit and focus on my university studies, which recently have been taking a backseat to other priorities such as work, driving and socialising (Sorry OU!!). The luckiest thing about being a member of The Open University is.. I GET TO DO WORK IN BED. Tuesday I spend the entire day, up until early evening battling my way through Benin. Successfully, I managed to complete over half the chapter in two days - A new record for me!

Wednesday

Wednesday, again, began with another gruelling driving lesson at 9:15am. Way too early for my liking! I'm more of an 11am girl. After another surprising good lesson, it was time for a long catch up with one of my oldest friends. We had lots of laughter and gossiped for well over an hour, which was definitely some well needed relaxation time away from other pressures. Ater this unfortunately finished, it was back to the books! I spent another two hours making my way through the chapter and climbed in bed exhausted.

Thursday

Another morning driving lesson occurred, followed by going into work to get things done before the weekend. After spending several hours working hard, I dragged myself home and completed the rest of the Benin chapter for university and began on my first chapter of my new course, which I picked up on January 30th. Having been a part-time student on one module since October 2015, it has been a big jump to a full-time student in January, moving onto two modules alongside each other. Unfortunately, I have zero motivation for my first chapter in the second module I picked up, as its a complete snooze-fest. I'm hoping it wil become more enjoyable!

Friday

Friday was a lovely quiet day, starting with a fantastic lie-in and brilliant hot shower. I got dressed, packed my handbag and met my mum for coffee in a small local café. There we discussed books (my favourite thing!) and general other topics of conversations that popped up. This then followed with more university study, attempting to complete my chapter before deadline day on Saturday. Also, I receieved my mark back for my 4th Assignment and achieved a 76!! Considering the pass mark is 40, which I was well over, I'm very pleased with how I completed my assignment and want to move forward to achieve an even better grade. I finished my busy week with a Yoga session just before bed, ensuring a perfect night sleep!

I hope you have all had an enjoyable and productive week.

Love, Hannah

Motivation Week!

Motivation Week

Those who know me, know I've suffered with anxiety for the past 6 years. In this time I have read multiple self-help and mindfulness books in order to keep control of it. And I want to share with you several of the ones I feel are best..

The Mindfulness Journal by Corinne Sweet.
The Little Book of Mindfulness by Dr Patrizia Collard.
Walking on Sunshine by Rachel Kelly.

Calm by Michael Acton Smith.

I feel I've read these books and not properly "read" them, so for your benefit and mine, every week I'll be posting weekly objects from these four books to live your life, and mine, by for the following week.

This weeks tips go as followed..

1. The Sky is Low; Take note of Emily Dickinson's poem about the Winter period.

"The sky is low, the clouds are mean,

A travelling flake of snow

Across a barn or through a rut

Debates if it will go.

A narrow wind complains all day

How some one treated him;

Nature, like us, is sometimes caught

Without her diadem".

This poem express the close relationship between our internal weather and the weather outside. It helps us realise that even in the worst of times, there are often opportunities to laugh and lighten the mood when we bother to find them.

TIP 1- Find something to laugh and smile about, whatever you face this week.

2. Look Around you and Live Longer; Focus on every aspect of life, increase your perception of the world around you instead of focusing on the difficulties in your life. It will broaden your mind and act as a form of meditation through a difficult period.

"With a sense of adventure and curiosity, we can learn and experience more, moment by moment"

TIP 2 - Realise the world around you, not just the world inside your head.

3. Start the day RIGHT; Many people are usually in such a rush in the mornings, they forget to slow down and take a second to think. And this moment of thinking and reflection, can create a sense of calm before you brace yourself for the day. Give yourself extra time to get ready, have a cool shower where you actually take notice of the water rather than the thoughts inside your head, eat breakfast without the TV or a phone, and appreciate the solidarity for the moment before your whirlwind of a day begins. Check you have everything you need before you leave the house and use the few minutes before hand to breathe and not rush.

TIP 3 - Don't rush, appreciate solidarity and calmness when you can find moments of it.

4. Spend time in nature; Take time out of your busy day this week to use those legs of yours and walk. Whether its through nature or through your city, walking is an instant reliever of stress when you have been couped up in an office environment or a busy environment. I think with our busy lives we all forget how important a simple walk away from our problems can affect us and create a sense of calmness for when we go back. It gives us the strength to carry on with our day.

TIP 4- Find your Arcadia. Walk away from your problems to create the strength in yourself to go back and deal with them.