OCTOBER FAVOURITES 2018

Hello everyone!

I know it's still October now, but I thought I'd get this blog out of the way before I started with all my Christmas Gift Guide blogs (which I am so excited to share with you!)

This month I received my Autumn edition of In The Country Magazine, a beautifully put together magazine featuring all things country. This will also be featuring in my Christmas Gift Guides as well! Each magazine is beautifully packaged with confetti, tissue paper and tied with string and a wooden heart.

Wild & Westbrooke is a ladies country clothing store that has recently opened in York. Last week I went to pay them a visit. You can read more about my experience in my previous blog 'Christmas shopping In York'. I will certainly be doing some Christmas shopping here!

I know I've mentioned them so many times before but I'm mentioning them again. High Bird Designs create amazing bespoke feather brooches and hat pins as well as necklaces and baubles (look out in next week's blog for some feathery baubles!)
Currently, High Bird Designs are on the lookout for a new brand ambassador to promote their page. If you're interested, head over to their Instagram page to find out more!

I won an Instagram competition by Radox and received a box with some of their new products in. I received two bags of bath salts and three bottles of bath oil. I'm excited to have a nice bath and use these!

Another thing that arrived this week in the post were these! I waited ages for them to be released on the website and I'm so surprised I managed to get my hands on some. Thanks to Mrs Hinch for making everyone go crazy (myself included) about cleaning products and the famous 'Minkeh'. I'm excited to use them.

That's all for this blog, sorry it was a short one. My gift guides will hopefully start to appear this week. Thank you all for reading!

Until next time,

Charlotte x

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IN YORK (Imaginarium, Abraham Moon, Wild & Westbrooke & more)

Hello everybody!

Most of you know already that I am based in York for university, which gives me a great excuse to browse the shops and keep on top of my Christmas shopping!
I will be doing a series of Gift Guides this year featuring some of the products sold in these shops.

The back room of The Imaginarium in York has been totally transformed for Christmas. I took so many photos which I will include below. I bought some of the hedgehog decorations for my mum, as well as a highland cow head that she requested (not quite sure where she's going to put it-I'll let you know when she finds somewhere!)
Some of these decorations would make perfect gifts for your friends or family (or even yourself!)

This is the highland cow head that I picked up for my mum (above)

and the hedgehogs (below)

I will post more pictures on my Instagram story and save them as a highlight so you can look at them.


I mentioned Abraham Moon in my September Favourites blog and I'll feature some more pictures here as well. Abraham Moon sells luxury tweed clothing and home furnishings. The shop smells of Jo Malone scents as they have reed diffusers scattered around. I came with my parents and my dad bought a shirt and a jacket. I think the cushions and blankets would make really lovely gifts.

A new country clothing shop called Wild and Westbrooke have just opened in York and I went to pay them a visit on Wednesday. They stock Morris Richardson Watches, Fairfax and Favor, Holland Cooper, Annabel Brocks and Hicks & Brown alongside many more brands.

I got some lovely gift ideas and added a few bits and bobs to my own wish list!

Boots have their 3 for 2 across all gifts offer at the moment and they've stocked up on all things Christmassy! I had a look round and got some ideas and a few bits and bobs as well. Here are some pictures of the York store. Again, I will be featuring some more specific pieces in my Gift Guides.

I found a little shop called Daisy Taylor's in York which sells cards and gifts. It was really quirky and cute and they had a lovely Christmas selection as well. I couldn't resist buying some little Scandinavian figures for my tree to go with my Scandi Santas I got a few years ago. They had lots of tin candles and coasters which would make some lovely gifts. I really liked the Yorkshire mugs and coasters (see picture). Daisy Taylor's also stock Sass & Belle products too!

Other shops in York I love:

• Jack Wills
• Joules
• Superdry
• Azendi
• The Boy Wizard
• The Shop That Must Not Be Named
• World of Wizardry
• Pandora
• Disney
• Primark
• Seasalt Cornwall
• Lush
• The Body Shop

I hope you all enjoyed this blog and it gave you some inspiration. Keep your eyes peeled for my Christmas Gift Guide series which will be launching at the end of October/beginning of November.

Thanks for reading!

Charlotte x

UNIVERSITY FLAT #MyiQLife

Hello everybody!

For those of you who don't know, I am starting to study English Language at York St John University. I moved into my accommodation a few weeks ago and thought I'd share a few pictures of what everything looks like in the flat. I have changed things round slightly since these photos were taken, but you get the general picture. I will link all products, but if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to comment or send me a message on Instagram.


 My bed is a double, you can't see my sheets but they are from Studio, as well as the duvet cover (which I can't find on the website!) The yellow cushion was from Primark, the bee cushion was from Amazon and the bee happy cushion was from Next, but I believe it is now discontinued.

 This is my desk area. My printer is the HP Envy 4500 (the post-it note on the printer is there to remind me which way photo paper needs to be put in!) My coasters and water bottle were from Sass & Belle, the mirror was from B&M. My desk lamp was one that my grandparents had spare. The photo frames were from Next, as well as the wine glasses. My clock was from New Look and the storage baskets were from Amazon. I'll leave a list of the other bits and bobs in my shelving unit below the pictures.

• Magazine Holders- Poundland
• Lever Arch Files- Tesco
• Yellow Mouse- Heart Of The Dales
• Iron- I got mine from Tesco but you can get them here.
• Fake Tealights- Amazon 

I'm not going to show pictures of my bathroom because it's just a standard bathroom and there's nothing much to show. I won't show the kitchen either because that's a communal space and is just a kitchen. I'll leave a link to the IQ website here so if you're really nosy you can see what the kitchen and bathrooms look like.

Links to my 'Uni Essentials' blog series:

• Bathroom Essentials
• Kitchen Essentials
• Bedroom Essentials

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great weekend!

Charlotte x

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES 2018

This month I moved to uni, which is why I haven't been blogging as much or been active on social media. I've managed to settle in now and start to get into a routine which has meant I've been able to work more on blogs.


I very kindly got sent the Milly II Wax Jacket by Rydale and I cannot stop wearing it! It looks so good and is really practical too. The full review is available here.

I really struggle getting to sleep and staying asleep, and I've been looking for tips all over. My friend Gracie recommended Sleepy by Lush, which is a body lotion. She said she rubbed a bit on her chest before she went to sleep and the lavender smell was really good for easing into sleep. I bought some and have been using it this week and it has been so good in helping me sleep. It smells amazing and you don't need to put a lot on either, meaning a small pot will go a long way!

You might have seen these on my Instagram story a few weeks ago when I bought some stationery for uni. These are all from Poundland. The plastic food boxes came in a set of four and the set was £2. I got three notebooks, each one was £1. Unfortunately I can't link all of the notebooks as I can't find them on the website. I also got some blue magazine holders for various bits and bobs.
-I'd Rather Be Sleeping A4 Notebook
-University A5 Notebook
-Beer A6 Notebook

 I recently went into a shop in York called Abraham Moon which sells luxury tweed clothing and home furnishings. I love the cushions and blankets! I took a few photos in the shop and will be featuring them in one of my future blogs about York. My dad bought a shirt and a jacket whilst we were here.

I went home at the weekend and had a bath (oh how I've missed baths whilst being in York!) and I used Radox Feel Relaxed Lavender and Waterlily Bath Soak. I absolutely love the smell of lavender at the moment and this was just so perfect. All Radox Bath Soaks are currently on offer at Tesco for £1 each.

Talking of lavender scents, I expanded my cleaning collection and got a little #HinchHaul. I picked up some Zoflora disinfectant in the scent lavender, as well as some Stardrops multi-surface spray, some microfibre cloths and some glass cleaner from the Co-op. I was also very excited to get a Dishmatic, inspired by the lovely Jo from @jottiesjournal.

I've been exploring the homeware section of Primark and really like all of the candles and fairy lights. Unfortunately the homeware section of Primark in York is rather limited. I bought some Christmas candles as the Christmas range is out now. I've seen lots of people posting about reindeer baubles but I can't find any! Let me know if your local Primark has any! I also got some Harry Potter mugs to give as Christmas gifts. I bought some gifts for people in the beauty section recently as well- lots of these items would be really good for stocking fillers, such as face masks and face massagers.


 Sorry for the lack of blogs recently and the Insta silence, I've been so busy with uni stuff and adjusting to moving in! Hopefully I'll have another blog up this week.

Thanks for reading!

Charlotte x