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

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

AUGUST FAVOURITES 2018

Hello everybody!
Can you believe August is over already? It's sad that summer is coming to an end but I am also really excited about Autumn and Winter. I love the cosy months where you can layer up and start thinking about Christmas. I know there's a huge divide between those who are buzzing for Christmas (me) and those who roll their eyes and groan "It's still Summer for crying out loud!" (Callum). I'd love you to let me know in the comments or over on Instagram which one you are!

I've started looking for Christmas presents and am searching for some brands who would like to get involved with my Christmas gift guide series, so if you know of any, please let me know!

Anyway, enough about Christmas. This month I went on holiday and I took several (seven) books with me. Then I ran out of books. My mum had finished her book and lent it to me to read and as soon as I had finished it, I went on Amazon and ordered the second book. Why Mummy Drinks is a hilarious book about how bringing up children is not as perfect as people make it out to be. There are some huge laugh out loud moments in both books (the second book is Why Mummy Swears). Although I'm not a mum yet, I still found the books hilarious and I could relate to some of the things that the children did because it reminded me of when I was younger (and a pain in the arse, I now realise!)

I recently got my exam results and my mum bought me this Pandora Study Book Charm to celebrate. It is a really lovely piece and I've added it to my black leather bracelet.

I went to York for the pop up Shakespeare Rose Theatre experience. I went to see Romeo and Juliet but I purchased a Coriolanus quote magnet that says "Have We No Wine Here?" The experience was really good, the actors were fab and it was a really good weekend. I started a magnet collection earlier this year but currently all my magnets live on my radiator as I don't have my own fridge yet.

Whilst I was in York, I visited the Primark store and got this letter board which was reduced from £8 to £5. It comes with hundreds of letters to customise the board with. I've chosen a quote from The Greatest Showman at the moment but I can change it up as often as I like. I also got some fairy lights with pegs for £3. I'm looking forward to hanging up some photos using these.

Before I went to York, it was our 6 month anniversary so Callum bought me some lovely presents, including this Adventure Book from the film Up. I'm really looking forward to documenting our story together, like in Up. This has such sentimental value as well as being such a lovely gift!

I got Callum a new belt from Rydale. They have a range of belts available on their website and in store too for really affordable prices! This one is reversible from black to brown. Callum says he likes it and it seems really good quality too!

I got this Wensley scarf from Joules recently in the sale and it pairs perfectly with my black and white Harbour top. As Autumn just around the corner, it makes sense to have a few scarves handy to keep you nice and warm!

My mum ordered me some small baskets for my uni room. These are from Amazon. She also got me a set of 4 Bee coasters from Sass & Belle and a foldable cactus bag. If you've read my other blogs, you'll know that I have several bee themed items already. I also have a (small) obsession with cacti. I've been collecting them since I was around 11 and currently have over 20 in my bedroom.

Finally, this week I went to see Christopher Robin with my family and it was such a good film! I was sobbing all the way through. I won't spoilt it for anyone who hasn't seen it but I really recommend that you all go and watch it!

Thank you for reading! I've got more exciting blogs planned so keep your eyes peeled for them!

Charlotte x