Stationery Haul

I absolutely love buying new stationery. If it was up to me, I'd pick up every notebook and pen that's for sale in Paperchase, and keep it all organized in sleek Muji storage. I had some time to waste last weekend (what is even happening to me, time to waste?), so I used it as an excuse to have a little peruse at Homesense/TK Maxx.

Did I mention these stores are within a 5-minute walk from my flat?

Dangerous.

Valentine's Day: The Bull's Head

I'm going to lie: I fucking love Valentine's Day. Even when I was single, I loved it. It's a day that gets too much slack from all of the cynics in this world, and I don't understand why we would hate on a day that is all about love. Yes, it's commercialized, but it doesn't have to be. It's a nice day to stop, take a moment, and remember that we're surrounded by good people we love. 

Urban Decay Spring Collection

I was lucky enough to get an invite to the Urban Decay Blogger Event that showcased their new spring collection and wow! There's a reason why I always come back to this brand, it is definitely one of my favourite makeup brands - ever. You already know how addicted I am to their eyeshadows, their eyeliners are the best on the market (the only kind that never smudges on me), and their lipsticks couldn't be more beautiful. Let's just say anything Urban Decay always catches my attention. 

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has had a good Christmas. While this year has been harder than in the past, as I'm away from my family in Canada, it was a lovely Christmas nonetheless. Crackers were popped, presents were ripped open, and I had a huge Christmas dinner before bed. I got so many beautiful gift, and also pulled off the ultimate Christmas surprise. If you want to see a few snaps of my Christmas, then read more.

Stratford-Upon-Avon: The Shakespeare Town

The boyfriend and I went exploring in Stratford-upo-Avon the other day. It's known as the birthplace of Shakespeare and is the cutest little English town I have seen! I absolutely loved it. There are a lot of cultural things to do, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the MAD museum, and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Birmingham Comiccon & Memorabilia Show

A few saturdays ago, the boyfriend and I decided to go to the Birmingham Comiccon & Memorabilia show, and it was a great day out! In the grand scheme of things, we should have planned better, but we still enjoyed ourselves very much. We got there around 1 pm, thinking we'd buy some ticket and be in quickly. Boy, were we mistaken - why don't you click ahead and see what happened?

Smiggle Blogging Event

Last Thursday, I went to the Smiggle event in the Birmingham Bullring. I had been to the Solihull store before, but just for a quick browse. It was actually really fun to explore with stationery store with all the bloggers! Even though I no longer need stationery as much as I used to in school, it was hard to resist all the wonderful products that were presented to us. 

Smiggle gifted us with a great goodie bag (I got a pen, a pencil case, the cutest macarons erasers EVER and a lolly) and a cool advent calendar. I can't wait to the use the advent calendar and see what little surprises I'll get every day. 

FABB Birmingham

I had the pleasure to attend #FabbBirmingham this weekend, and I'm so glad I went! If you haven't heard about the FABB events, they're blogger meetup/events that happen all over the UK. They're organized by Ray and Tor, who are a million times amazing for putting together these events. This was really fun, especially because there was a big focus on bloggers interacting with brands. I went with a few girls who I had met at the Birmingham Blogger Meetup last month, and it was so nice to see some familiar faces! I love how there's a little community in this big city, mainly because it's made moving to Birmingham a little less crazy. 

Anyway, click on the read more to see pictures from the event!

Birmingham Blogger Meet Up

I had the pleasure of attending the "Back to School" Birmingham Blogger Meetup last Sunday, which was organized by the lovely Abbigayle Warner. This was my first ever blogging event and I have to say, it was so amazing! I really had a lot of fun, I only wish I could have had more time (and been a little less anxious) to meet more of the girls. A small group of us met at Primark about an hour before the event, which was nice because I like meeting people one-on-one than in a big group better. We then went to The Slug & Lettuce where the event was held and sat down in an area just for us. Anyway read below to see what else I got up to that day!

Nostalgia & Comics

A few weeks ago, the boyfriend and I decided to explore a little bit of Birmingham, since we never go into the city centre that often. He didn't want to go to a clothing store, while I didn't want to go to a video game shop - so we settled on finding a comic book store in Birmingham. After a quick google search, I found the address for Nostalgia & Comics. After a quick drive we entered the store, and wow! I was so impressed. 

Moda Exhibition

I managed to snag two visitors tickets to the Moda exhibition. It's the biggest UK trade show, showcasing over 1450 brands and their newest collection for the next year. As it is a trade show, you can't purchase anything, only visit. Plus, everything is being sold at a super low price, since stores then sell it at the RRP which is usually a lot higher. For example, I saw a beautiful beaded dress price at £30, but it's RRP was £80! How crazy is that? It makes you realize how much the things you buy might actually be worth when initially both in large quantities by a certain store. Click below to see more since there are a lot of pictures!

Giraffe

A few weeks back, the boyfriend and I tried out another restaurant in Touchwood. We went to Giraffe, mainly because it has a really funky name, and a really varied menu. You've got pasta, burgers, steaks, salads, etc. Plus, they had a great deal on cocktails, which is always a plus. It's a really affordable place for a date night, and just two steps away from the cinema (a plus in my world). The staff was so friendly and attentive, I really liked the service. The ambience was very relaxed, as you can tell from the original decor they've got going on. Click below to see what we ate!

Staffordshire's Monkey Forest

It was my first weekend off from work, so the boyfriend and I finally got to go to the Monkey Forest in Staffordshire. To be honest, we were completely blown away. I thought that it might be the kind of place where you walk around and maybe spot a monkey if you're lucky, à la Jurassic Park, but it was so much better! We got to see so many barbary macaques, as they have about 140 of them in the park. They also have six baby monkeys, one of which was born on the day we went! Anyway, this post is super photo heavy, so click below to see what we got up to.

Handmade Burger Co.

Last Friday, the boyfriend and I headed to Touchwood shopping center for a bite to eat. We've already gone to Handmade Burger Co in the Bullring, we hadn't been to this one. I love this place! It's similar to Nando's in how their menu looks, and how you order at the front before they bring your food. The atmosphere is very family-friendly, fun, and casual. No need to dress up like I did!

The Woodmans Rest

Every Friday night, the boyfriend and I decide that we're too lazy to cook (it is the end of the week) and we either have a takeout or eat out. Last Friday, we decided to go to our local pub (how crazy is it that I have a local now?) and grabbed some delicious food. We've actually been to the Woodmans Rest a few times since it's a short walk from our flat, and I really like going there. The ambience is nice, the meals are incredibly affordable, and the pints are always a plenty. 

An Afternoon with Peter Doig

My mom and I decided to take advantage of my few days off (thank god for reading week) and went to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. I missed the last exhibit they had, so I really wanted to go to the Peter Doig one before it closed. It's not so much that I know anything about Doig (I don't) but I want to take advantage of my membership before I leave. Plus, it's always good to get a little culture in your life, isn't?

A Valentine's Day Dinner

So on February 14th, my mom and I decided to cook a nice, homemade dinner because a) I'm a sad girl whose boyfriend lives in another continent, and b) being budget-friendly is always in fashion. I had been so excited to try this recipe out since I saw it in my cookbook, and my mom finally got all the ingredients we needed. This recipe was under the seafood section, and it's scallops with cirtrus and quinoa. I've never had quinoa before so it was really fun to cook something completely new. It was fairly easy to do, as most of the recipes in this book are done in less than an hour. It didn't require too many ingredients, and most were easy to find.

New Year's Eve

Unlike most, the boyfriend and I started New Year's Eve with a post-party breakfast. We actually attended a late Christmas party the night before and the boyfriend was in dire need of some fried food to bring him back to life. I wanted crepes, but my favourite crepes place was closed down for the day. We settled for a breakfast spot near my house that makes the best eggs benedict I've ever had. The rest of our day was spent at home, recovering from last night's party. We were supposed to have people over but the homebody in me just did not want to deal with the drama and stress of planning a party for everyone else.

Christmas-fied Room

I decided to dive into the holiday spirit and decorated my room for Christmas. I picked up most of these decorations at the Dollar store and Canadian Tire. I'm hoping to find a more season-appropriate bedspread, because the pink flowers are way too summery for my room. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Cheekies! Yes, that's what you're all called from now. There's only about 50 minutes left of Halloween for me and I'm so sad it's over. Halloween is one of my favourite holidays, mainly because of the costumes and the candy. Those are the only important parts, right? I spent the evening handing out candy with my zombie family, as we blasted Thriller through out living room windows, and threatened to eat children's brains. We also made two kids cry, which made me giggle naughtily - I'm sorry, kids.