Graduation

I haven't blogged for a while, but I'm going to jump straight in - last month I graduated, and I couldn't have been more proud of myself. This funny sized photo is ruining my blog layout, but I'm one big happy bunny and I don't even care :)

Ethical Living: Bamboo Toothbrushes

I had a post uni clear out a few weeks ago and the amount of rubbish one person can accumulate really made me stop and think. I've always tried to be conscious about my environmental footprint, but this has really encouraged me to put more effort into making ethical decisions. Reducing the amount of waste you produce however, doesn't have to be hard work, and this little bamboo toothbrush is a super easy way to do just that.

One person will typically get through over 300 toothbrushes during the course of their life, and that's one big landfill pile. The plastic wont break down during our lifetime, but bamboo toothbrushes are both biodegradable and environmentally sustainable.

D.I.Y: Painting Satin Shoes

This is a bit of a different post, but I painted my best friend's wedding shoes! It was a really fun project (and a little terrifying too) but I'm pretty pleased with the results. My friend had seen lots of custom painted wedding shoes, which all looked really fab, but where oh so expensive. She really like the idea of turning her shoes into something she could keep as a reminder of the day, and it became my bridesmaid duty :) I thought I would share the process as I struggled to find any advice for painting designs onto satin shoes at the time.

D.I.Y: Two ideas for blackboard paint

Blackboard paint is a great way to easily revamp home accessories and change up a space. It brings another texture to a room, and adds small amounts of bold mat colour which can look great. Being able to draw on it also makes it really useful, and gives you the ability to constantly revamp the item.

Blog Recommendations I (ft. the 'Beautiful Bloggers' award)

I'd been wanting to share some of my favorite blogs with you for a while, and then the lovely Mica Day nominated me for the 'Beautiful Bloggers Award' and she's given me the perfect opportunity to do just that. Thank you Mica!

The general gist is that I share seven random facts about myself, and nominate seven other awesome beauty bloggers. It's a nice little way to share the blog love, and I'm always keen to promote the cruelty free niche. It's great to see it getting more popular, and its definitely holding its own within the beauty community. Yay!

Recently Watched Films

I miss writing book blog posts but I feel horrible guilty if I read anything that's not related to my uni modules during the academic year. My friend described it as 'cheating on my degree' and I think this pretty much sums it up. I still read lots and lots, but you're probably not too interested in my review of a journal article on Mao or a book on Capetian France, so I let the book posts dry up. I'll be getting back into them after exams, but I thought that film reviews may be a nice way to fill the void. Let's give the books' pixely friends some loving too, they sure do deserve it. 

I've watched some good films recently, and you've probably already seen all of them, because I've been super rubbish at keeping up with new releases, and excuses, excuses, excuses. But I'm slowly catching up, and these films were good. If a few of them have slipped you by too then I recommend giving them a go :) I can't be the only person that hadn't already seen these... 

International Women's Day

This a slightly different post to normal, but today is International Women's day! International Women's day shouldn't need to be a thing, and it doesn't mean that we shouldn't care about men, quite the opposite, but it's great to have a day to bring everything home and keep gender equality on the radar. I think it can be quite easy for some people to get complacent, especially if they're happy with their own situation, so reminders are always good. 

Life Ramblings, 2015 and Arty things

I like to set myself goals all the time so I'm not a massive fan of the 'new year, new me' stuff, but the 'out with the old' talk does make me more reflective. I'm not setting myself specific resolutions but there are some general things that I want to try and do more of, and while I've been trying to work on these already, 2015 seems like as good a time as any to give my attempts a little more oomph.

Animal Aid's Christmas without Cruelty Festival 2014

November is nearly done, and the Christmas markets are upon us! 

This Saturday was Exeter's second annual Christmas without cruelty festival. The even is organised by Animal Aid, and this year it contained 40 stalls from national and local charities and companies, with a mix of shopping and food eating opportunities.  

I'm not going to show you everything I picked up, as some of them are Christmas presents, but I treated myself to a few things too. I mean, I needed to have something to show you all...

Home!

Last week was reading week, which I felt was somewhat of a con. With one of my two modules being a self guided project this term, I'm pretty low on contact hours. I'm not complaining, I have plenty of reading and essay writing to be doing, but this meant reading week didn't really give me much more time to get things done. It did however come with greatly increased expectations of work from all my lecturers. Yay.

That being said, I'm still a massive fan of 'the reading week'. I made the most of  zero contact hours to spend time at home. Uni is cool and all, but there's nothing like spending some time with the family. My family has always been pretty close, but at the same time we're great at giving each other space too, I think we've got a pretty good balance going on :)

Blog Action Day: Inequality.

- George Orwell, Animal Farm.

Today is blog action day. 1000's of bloggers from over a 100 different countries are taking place in a global discussion about inequality.

I've never seen my blog as a tool for changing the word. Most of the time I just feel like I'm chucking words on to a page, and hoping they somehow resemble the jumble that's inside my head. Blog action day has made me rethink this. Well, I'm still just chucking words on to a page and hoping they somehow resemble the jumble that's inside my head, but today at least, it has a purpose. A clear purpose. My blog doesn't have the biggest audience, or the strongest voice, but when it joins others and forms a bigger discussion, then there really is a potential for great change.

- J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Inequality happens when people are left behind. Unity is directly at odds with this and if we join together we can fight it.

Favorite Photos.

Last year at university I somehow managed to be the person with the self destructing room. All was well in the end, but over the Easter holiday's my hot tap 'exploded' (thanks to a pesky washer) and left my room slightly on the steam damaged side. The nice maintenance people did a top job airing it out, but my photos didn't quite live to see another year. Think drawing pin rust stains and a strong aroma of musk.  

 Thankfully I had digital copies so they've all been reprinted. (I use photobox, it's easy to use, the price is really reasonable, and they're super quick). I also made the most of the opportunity to add new photos to the collection, so not all was bad! I'm waiting to get my hands on some nice string so I can make a D.I.Y photo 'washing line' to decorate my uni room and make it feel a little homely, but in the meantime I wanted to share some of my favorite photos with you. 

Cafe Customers

Working in a busy cafe means I get the privilege of meeting a wide array of customers. Lots are really nice, others less so, and some float about in the middle. Some traits pop up pretty frequently, and secretly playing customer bingo makes my day at work even more enjoyable. I'm also a massive fan of a good old list, so for my listing pleasure and your amusement, I present you with a small introduction to get your bingo games rolling.

'Poached Egg Man' saving the world.

1. The Regulars

 I'll see them all the time, but I often don't know their names. This means I'm 'forced' to name them, being really imaginative, I often use their orders. I find this adds a sense of mystery. 'Poached Egg Man' busies himself by writing page after page in some strange hieroglyphic, and is most definitely a secret agent.

 'Latte Man' on the other hand always has a book. He dresses well, questioned me keenly about university, and is probably a crazy clever academic. I feel like he's a walking treasure chest of book recommendations, and I always take a peak at that day's cover. However he's often alone, much like the lovely 'Cappuccino Lady'. I long for the day when they frequent the café at the same time and become the best of friends.