July Favourites

July is coming to an end and so I figured I would share my July favourites with you. July has been great and I cant wait for august to bring more great things.

First is Halsey's song Bad at Love which is from her new album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. Its one of my favourite songs from the album and I've been listening to it loads. 10/10 recommend.

Next is Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask which is amazing! I love Liz Earle and this face mask is brilliant, my skin always looks and feels so much better after using this. It moisturises and nourishes my skin and I Have been using it loads this month, I highly recommend it.

I've been using John Frieda Frizz Ease Glossing Mist for ages and I've never said how brilliant it is. Whenever I was my hair it always dry's quite frizzy and this stuff makes it nice and smooth and silky. Its so easy to use, just spray it on dry hair and you have smooth hair. It's on offer a lot in Boots and Superdrug too.

This is a vibrating body massager that ben got me because I'm always complaining about back pain and asking for a massage and this means he gets to put in less effort. But its really nice and wasn't expensive either.

 Onto another item I've had for a while, this is Forgive Me My Salt by Brenna Twohy. It's wonderful poetry about modern problems that many people face. Brenna Twohy is so talented and I highly recommend this book and checking her slam poetry on youtube too.

Finally the Rimmel London Insta Conceal & Contour palette. I won this on Instagram from Rimmel and it is wonderful. I'm very pale so a lot of contour products are too dark for me but this is perfect. All three are the perfect colour and are so lightweight. I'm really glad I got this, I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a bit of contour but doesn't want it too heavy.

- Claire

Lord of Shadows

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

I finished Lord of Shadows, book 2 of The Dark Artifices, by Cassandra Clare. I had to take some time to process what happened and to cry. I have so many feelings about this book and knowing me this post will be very messy. So I shall begin and try not to ramble too much.

First of all Julian and Emma. I love them both so much and it makes me so sad that they cant be together. I was mad that Mark and Emma had their fake relationship but I think it helped Emma a bit because she had someone to talk to. Plus Mark is a cutie. But obviously that didn't stop her from loving Julian and it all went tits up. So many heart breaking scenes between these two, why cant they just be happy? Why do they have to be cursed? And how will they be apart from each other? Its so unfair!

I want to take a moment to talk about Malec. Magnus and Alec were featured quite a bit in this book and it made me so happy! They had their kids and they were so cute and thank you Cassandra Clare! However, what is this with my Magnus being ill? After all that they've been through why are you doing this to them?! He'd better get better or I swear to god.

Kit and Ty have this weird and great friendship which I kind of think will turn into more than friendship. Just the way Kit thinks about him sounds like more than friendship to me. They're so cute though! I love Kit because he mostly has no idea whats going on or what hes doing. I want more of these two so much.

Mark and Kieran and Cristina? I am voting for Mark and Kieran. Sorry Cristina. I just really love how they both only had each other in the Wild Hunt and how Mark went to save Kieran without a second thought. I think Cristina will end up with perfect Diego after we found out that his engagement is fake.

At first I kind of felt sorry for Annabel because of all that she'd been through but now I hate her so much I hope she dies in a horrible way that bitc my opinion of her has changed. How DARE she kill my precious Livvy?! I am furious! Outraged! I cried lots when this happened. How could Cassandra Clare do this to me? I wasn't bothered much when Arthur died because he was not a main character that I had become attached to, although him sacrificing himself for his family made me tear up a bit. But Livvy! NO! Why?! Poor Ty! They've already lost their parents and their uncle, they barely ever get to see Helen and they've only just got Mark back! Why take Livvy too? My heart cant handle this!

If Cassandra Clare kills anyone else that I love I may die myself. Other than the obvious heart break from Livvy's death, I loved this book a lot and highly recommend it.

- Claire

Wedding

On Saturday I went to a wedding. Now this was no ordinary wedding. It was my friend's wedding, the first of my friends has gotten married! To me this is a big deal because we're only 20 and this is someone I've known for like 8/9 years. We met in high school and we've been friends for years and its so strange to think that we're at the age where we've started getting married. I am so happy for my friend Kezia and her husband Tim, the wedding was beautiful and I know they will have a wonderful marriage.

I went as a guest with my friend Lish (as you can see in the photo above). My dad drove us because unfortunately we cant drive. She looked so lovely in her long flowery dress and she made the wise choice of wearing wedges so her feet were much more comfortable than mine. We were both really excited and happy for Kezia and honoured to be there on her big day. We didn't know many other people who were there but we ended up having quite a few drinks during the reception which gave us the confidence to talk to maybe a couple of people we didn't know!

I didn't actually take many photos because I was too busy enjoying myself and trying not to cry. And the photos I got weren't too great (thanks iPhone). But Kezia looked so beautiful and I wish I had of gotten better pictures because the ones I got just don't do her justice. The photo here was taken in the church and I couldn't zoom because it just made the quality even worse. But the ceremony was beautiful, I was close to crying at several points.

My other friend Emma was maid of honour and she also looked stunning. We had a good laugh during the reception as Emma made a bet with someone which lead to lish turning red and some awkwardness later on. Emma even managed not to trip on the stairs and spent most of the evening with no shoes on.

I got a few terrible quality photos of their first dance. I am so happy for them and they are a wonderful couple. I was pretty drunk by this point in the night and I ended up going outside and playing on the park, I will not be sharing the embarrassing photos of me on a swing.

At the end of the night there were fireworks and sparklers. It was a lovely display and I took far too many pictures of the fireworks. Thanks to me being slightly intoxicated the photo of Kezia and Tim I took turned out much too blurry but I'll add it anyway because its a very cute photo.

Overall it was a lovely night and I wish Kezia and Tim all the happiness in the world. I am so glad I got to be there to witness it all.

- Claire

Emma Blackery Concert

Friday night was an amazing night for me. I got to see Emma Blackery, thanks to my amazing boyfriend. I was so happy when she released her tour dates and Norwich was on there, I immediately told my boyfriend and he bought tickets for us. Even though he had no idea who she was, he done it for me which was so sweet. The concert was amazing.

She is so talented and she sounded amazing live. She was also hilarious as always and the atmosphere was just so great. Even though it was really hot and we were all sweating, it was completely worth it. I was singing and dancing along the whole concert.

The support bands were great too (sorry for not having pictures of them too). Emma was completely herself and made us all laugh. Telling us her bands nicknames which also lead to them telling us hers daddy's girl and we chanted all the nicknames. Her singing was on point the whole time, sometimes even better than the studio versions I think. I was incredibly impressed with her performance especially considering how hot the venue was.

She also made a lovely speech about the Manchester attack and not to let terrorists scare us into not doing things we enjoy like going to concerts. I'd also like to say how amazing the band were too, sounding amazing and coping with the waterfront heat. Bryan, Swanky and Sweet Pea thank you.

I had a truly amazing night. Emma Blackery is inspiring, talented hilarious and beautiful. One of the best concerts I've ever been to and I hope shell come back to Norwich again one day.

- Claire

June TBR

It's nearly June and I figured id do a TBR for next month (and try to stick to it). When I give myself a TBR I feel like its more likely that ill read all the books because its like a challenge for myself. So without further ado, here is my June TBR.

First is The Bronze Key which is the 3rd book in the Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. I enjoyed the first two books, though its been a while since I read them so I may need to recap so I remember exactly what's happening. I'm interested to know what will happen to Call and his friends.

Then there's Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I've been wanting to read this for ages and I'm in the mood for a nice romantic contemporary novel. I've heard great things about this book and I cannot wait to read it. It's about a girl whos sent off to a boarding school in France and who sounds like she'll fall in love.

Precy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riodan is the next on my list. I have enjoyed the first 3 Percy Jackson books and I'm sure this one will not disappoint. It's been too long since I read one and I have missed it a lot.

Finally, To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. Again, another romance book, can you tell I'm feeling romantic? Its about a girl who keeps love letters to every boy she's ever loved in a box and she can write what she wants because she's the only one who will ever see them, but then somehow they get out. It sounds really good and I'm excited to read it.

- Claire

Trying to find a Job when You have Anxiety and Depression; Explained

You feel the pressure to get a job because money makes the world go round but you can barely even go to an interview without throwing up from the nerves or having a panic attack on the way there. Phones are the devil and you do all you can to avoid them and most jobs involve people which is where you struggle the most. You're not unintelligent or incapable, you just struggle with people. Your friends begin to think you're lazy and just cant be bothered so you force yourself to apply and through endless rejections that only bring you down even more. All applications say they want outgoing people, which you are definitely not. You try to imagine yourself working in these places and see yourself screwing it up and so you wonder how you'll ever do it.

You see your friends working and moving out. Living their lives, working their way up while you're stuck sitting still. Your boyfriend works and you feel ashamed every time he pays for something for you. You can barely look him in the eye when you withdraw money that you did not earn. And he says he understands and he doesn't mind but surely he must to see you doing nothing and getting money.

You wish you were working, like most other people. But your mind has you trapped and no matter how hard you keep trying it always pulls you back in. Makes you feel worse about yourself because you cant do it, like a continuous circle of self-doubt. You just want to be normal, be able to get a job and work hard, move out, buy a car. It gets you down and people say "Just do it then." but how do you do that when your own mind wont let you?

- Claire

Book Haul

So today I was out with my mum and my grandparents which means we went in a few charity shops. This means I got some books, so I thought I'd share with you what I got.

First of all there is Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan which I hadn't heard of before I saw it but the title intrigued me and the blurb even more so. It seems to be about two people in love who live in space alone. I'm not really sure but it sounds interesting and I'm a sucker for a love story.

Then there's Hotel Valhalla by Rick Riordan which is a Magnus Chase companion book. I will admit I haven't read Magnus chase yet but I plan to in the not too distant future and it was £1 so I couldn't resist.

Next is The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer which has been on my amazon wishlist for a while and as soon as I saw it in the charity shop I had to buy it. I'm not entirely sure what it's about but the blurb just intrigued me so much. "I'll tell you what happened because its a good way to introduce my brother. His name' Simon. I think you're going to like him. But in a couple of pages he'l be dead. And he was never the same after that."

I found a David Levithan book in a charity shop! I didn't even have to think for a second before getting this. I have a few books by him already and this one is Boy Meets Boy which I don't know much about. I love the books of his that I have read and I look forward to reading this too.

Then there's A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I can never resist a fantasy book, anything with witches or vampires or werewolves and I feel a need to own it. And apparently this one has witches, demons and vampires and of course a forbidden love. I'm excited to read it!

Finally, I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. Another book on my amazon wishlist I can now tick off. It's a thriller and I don't own many thrillers but this one was so hyped about when I came out so I had to get it. I'm actually so tempted to start it right now but I have to finish my other book first!

So that was my little haul, I only got six so I done well. I now have to find room for them somewhere!

- Claire