Dear August...

Dear August,

Thank you for a wonderful month, you are already missed. I have to go back to work on Monday and I'm not ready to have to wake up at 7.15am every day after you spoilt me with lie ins and late nights chatting with friends.

You started off brilliantly with a holiday away in Scotland. A week away from home with my family in a different environment was lovely. A week away from my laptop is always welcome, sometimes I feel like I spend too much time staring at the screen instead of doing something a lot more useful with my time.

What followed on was two consecutive weekends away, one in London and one in Bristol. London brought it's usual delights...a catch up with friends and fellow vloggers and bloggers, great food, aching feet. I helped to organise a meet up which I always enjoy to do and it's great to be able to take pictures of your food and not be questioned because they're all doing it too.

The following weekend, I went to Bristol to see my brother and visit the south west. Whilst down there, we took the trip to Bath, a place which I always enjoy visiting because it's just like stepping into a Jane Austen novel...shame my Mr Darcy was busy that day.

You ended all too quickly August, finishing faster than you started and I'm sad that you have gone but I'll always have the memories thanks to taking part in Vlogust. Although it was stressful at times and it only brought me to tears once or twice in the whole time I did it, I'm proud that I completed the challenge and can't wait to daily vlog again in October.

Thank you August for everything, see you next year.

Love,

Clare

xxx

6 Books for Summer

Hey there,

School is nearly over for the summer holidays and that means that I will soon have a lot more time to fill up with activities and ideas. But it also means that I'll have have a lot of time sitting around trying not to be bored. So I've decided to set myself a little challenge...before I go back to work in September I am going to try and read six books.

I've bought a few books recently that I'd like to read plus I've got a few that I've had a while and haven't read yet.... Meet my six books for summer.

The six books in question are the ones under the pig, just in case you were wondering. Let's start with the one I know you have all spotted Grey by E.L James. Yes that's right I bought it. I've read all three of the Fifty Shades books and yes I have no shame in saying I'm interested to read this too. It's not a crime.

Up next, Paper Towns by John Green. Like most people, I read The Fault in Our Stars before the film came out and I'm planning to do the same before Paper Towns comes out. Obviously I've got a little bit of time because I probably won't watch the film before it comes out on DVD as I never go to the cinema anymore.

Three of the remaining books are by authors of books I already love. Giovanna Fletcher, the wife of Tom Fletcher of McBusted has already published two books, Billy and Me and You're the One that I Want and I loved both of them. I can't wait to read Dream a Little Dream soon.

Meg Cabot is the lady behind the original Princess Diaries series of ten books. I read all of them in my teenage years and have also read some of her "adult" books too. She recently published Princess Diaries book number 11 and my teenage self screamed when I saw it was coming out. SOOOOOOO EXCITED to read it.

The final author I've read before is Freya North, in fact you can see my Freya North collection in the background. I love her style of writing and the characters she puts forward. I often get completely invested in any book she writes.

The last book of the six is Us by David Nicholls. He is the author of One Day, a book I have had in my bookcase for a year at least but I haven't read... I've seen the film though. I picked up Us a few months ago so I thought it'd be a good idea to add this to my six so I actually read it.

What do you think of this challenge? Have you read any of these books?

Lots of Love,

Clare

SPRH Visits.... Berrington Hall

Hello there,

Everyone enjoys a day trip and I'm no different. I often take pictures on our trips out so I thought I'd start a new series on this blog, where I share with you where I've been. This might even give you a idea of places to go yourselves.

This week I visited Berrington Hall, which is in Herefordshire near Leominster. The Hall is owned by the National Trust and it is an 18th century house and gardens.

I went with my parents last Wednesday as I had a day off work and I was excited to see that the Jane Austen costume exhibit was still there. I'm a big fan of all things Austen, there's something about the characters and the love stories that just can't be beat.

In the house itself was around nine costumes including Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson's costumes from Sense and Sensibility as well as Billie Piper's costume from Mansfield Park and a Anne Hathaway costume from Becoming Jane. They worked so well in the house and was just like the actors could have sat in the rooms and done scenes from the stories.

The Second picture was taken in the walled gardens, which was so beautiful and perfect to just sit in admiring the views and colours that the garden had to offer.

I had a lovely day out strolling around the grounds with the dog and visiting the house. If you want to see the Austen costumes, you need to be quick as they're only there until 30th June but the Hall itself is definitely worth a visit too.

Lots of Love,

Clare

xxx

Obsessed by Home Wear

Hello there,

Today I have a question for you all. Are you obsessed by home wear?
Once upon a time, I'd spend hours and hours on websites such as MAC and Space NK lusting after all the make up in the world. Nowadays my tastes have changed a little....but not completely don't worry. I'm still a make up obsessive.

You see recently I've been a little obsessed about home wear, interior design and everything homey. It's like I'm nesting without being pregnant.

All pictures sourced from pinterest

My new obsession has taken over. I like to spend my time on pinterest mooching at pictures of ideal bedrooms, make up storage set ups (because I'm never happy with my set up) and I also like to pin other rooms because you never know I might be able to afford my own digs one day.

To go along with pinterest, the other places I spend my time are online stores that sell home wear. Asda home wear, H&M Home, Muji and Ikea are some of my favourite online haunts right now, the amount that I could spend on all of these websites is crazy.

If you follow me on twitter (@tloatb90), you might have read that I've never been into an Ikea and I think as a newly crazy home wear buying machine, I should change this soon...might need to save up before hand... I fear I will want to get everything I see.

Am I alone in this obsession? Let me know in the comments.

Lots of Love,

C

xxx

SPRH Fashion: A Lady V London Haul

Hey there,

I recently placed an order from one of my favourite dress makers. Lady V London create amazing 1950s style dresses, suitable for all occasions.

If you know me well from videos or from my main blog , you might know that I have a big love for all things vintage and vintage inspired. If I could wear a dress, little heels, a red lip and pin curls everyday I would (it wouldn't really work in a reception class...boo) however, I love the quality of the Lady V London dresses and try to wear one as often I can.

My collection before this haul consisted of around 4 dresses including one I bought especially for a hen do and one I bought for a wedding. Now I bet you are thinking that four 50s inspired dresses would be enough...well so did I until I got an email. You know one of those we've got 15% off emails which draw you in.

And drawn in I was... Here is what I got.

As you can see I picked up 4 new dresses with my discount code. In this picture we have three "tea dresses" and one dress from the new Lady Volumptuous range. Firstly let's look at the tea dresses.

Yes that's right, my wardrobe is so full of clothes it refused to shut this day ( hashtag sorry not sorry). These three dresses are all what Lady V London call tea dresses. The tree dresses on my size 16/18/20 5ft 7 frame smoothes over all my lunps and bumps on my top half and then blows out into a full skirt which ends up just below the knee...very flattering. The other to note is that all tea dresses have tie backs which helps to show off your curves in a very classy way.

I was unsure which of the many amazing patterns to go for so in the end I picked three of my favourites. I picked the yellow floral number after seeing so much of this shade in the stores. I am not much of a trend follower now...too old to keep up but I do like to dip my toe into fashion from time to time so this way I thought I could do the hip and on trend shade but in my own way.

The other two patterns were picked because I couldn't resist them. The cupcake dress has been on my radar for a while but the last time I saw it online, it was sold out in my size so of course when it was available again, it was coming to mama... After all, I love a good cake.

The red lips pattern was the last of the tea dress gang. As I said at the beginning of this post, if I could wear a red lip every day I would. Sadly that isn't possible so once I saw that I could have red lips in my room at all times, I decided I must order it. 

The final dress that was part of the order is this one right here. I have yet to put this dress on but I can already say it is a beauty to wear. This dress comes from the Lady Voluptuous range, which was created in collaboration with Georgina Horne from Fuller Figure Fuller Bust. This is the first UK Plus Size Vintage Clothing Label and it consists of five different styles.

This purple dress is a Lyra dress and it has a cross over bust detail, a tie back and a full skirt. I've already put a bet on that the first time I wear this dress, I shall be twirling round and round to make the dress bellow around me. I picked the purple colour as it is my favourite colour and I have to say its the perfect Cadbury's purple shade. So gorgeous.

With these four new additions to the gang, my Lady V London dress collection now stands at around 8 dresses and I can safely say that it won't be the last order I place. In fact, I currently have my eye on a Phoebe dress from the Lady Voluptuous range or a Cosette dress or even another Lyra.

What do you think of my purchases? Are you as much in love with them as me?

Lots of Love,

Clare

xxx

Blogging Friends

Hey there,

For the first time in a long time, I got out of the house (that wasn't for work), got on a train and met up with my lovely friend, Zoe.

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I met Zoe nearly three years ago. If my memory serves me correctly, we chatted on twitter before meeting at a blogging meet up and since then we have been good friends. She was one of my first blogging friends and she is probably one of my best friends. It's crazy to me to think that without writing about make up and life, I wouldn't have ever met her.

What is great about making friends with fellow bloggers is that they understand your blogging stresses and dislikes because they suffer from them too. Like I said before, we met up yesterday for a catch up in Birmingham and it was nice to have a moan about blogging and about hyped up products that we absolutely hate.

It's also good to catch up with fellow bloggers in real life because with social media being so quick to change, you could miss out on a good blog post/ video or some blogging drama so it's good to share notes over a coffee (we had mochas...so good).

There is one thing that could be seen as being a downside to having blogging friends...they are all enablers. Whilst shopping yesterday, myself and Zoe spend a good amount of time looking at beauty bits and bobs. We spent a good fifteen minutes at the Jo Malone Counter spraying different scents onto the little cards and making each other smell them... I now need have of the collection.

Do you have a good blogging friend? Could you imagine life without them?

Lots of Love,

C

xxx

Taking a Break from it all

Hey there,

If you follow me on twitter you will be aware that I recently went on a little holiday to Paris. Me and my mum went on a long weekend coach trip to the French capital city and I really enjoyed my time away there (there will  be a post full of pictures soon, just got to find my memory card)

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Whilst I was away, I had no internet on my phone. When I first realised this, I felt a bit anxious because the internet is a big part of my life, from writing blog posts and uploading videos to just googling something if I don't understand what it is or I've just forgotten how to spell something. However as the days went on I felt free.

Switching your phone on first thing in the morning not to be greeted by a ton of junk emails or going onto YouTube to find out how many people have not watched your videos or read your posts is a great thing and it made me realise how dependant on the internet I was.

Whilst I was away, it gave me time to think. As I have mentioned a few times on Twitter I've really been struggling with my blogging world recently, I have had no confidence to write and anything I have thought to write has seemed to be wrong. This stressed me out even more which in hindsight was the worst thing to do. You see stressing out about blogging made me dislike it anymore.

I started my first blog over two and a half years ago and I did it because I loved sharing my love for all things beauty and make up with a group of people that were like-minded and friendly. With the addition of many many more bloggers joining the community, I started to worry that my blog wasn't as good as everyone elses and I became jealous of other people's successes.

After my internet free weekend break, I decided to give myself the rest of the week off blogging and just enjoy my surroundings, spending money and spending time with my parents as this week has been half term. It was nice to have a break and I'm not going to apologise to anyone for giving myself time away from the internet like I used to do.

Instead from now, I am a writing for me and for anyone else who fancies a look. Blogging is just a hobby it's not my job, there is no need for the stress.

Lots of Love,

C

xxx

Age on YouTube

Hello there,

I love YouTube, I have my own channel which I upload twice weekly on (Wednesday and Sunday at 10am GMT if you're interested) and as well as being part of the community that way, I also spend most of my time watching other people's videos too.

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I recently was watching a vlog of someone who asked the question, Was she too old for YouTube? This youtuber was in her thirties but the reason behind her question was the fact that there are so many newer younger YouTubers arriving on the scene that you start feeling old by just watching the videos. I have sat before watching a video and thought "this individual has never seen Fun House/The Crystal Maze" or "they didn't know that Billie Piper was once upon a popstar".

I don't think it is possible to be too old to film videos as long as the enjoyment is there, then there is no reason to think that you are too old, after all age is just a number in the end.

The thing I am unsure of is if its possible to be too young for YouTube. Whilst searching for Superdrug Hauls recently I came across a collection of videos from a girl who couldn't have been older than 10, filming what she had got from Superdrug and Claire's in a haul just like her idols Zoella and Tanya Burr, both of which she mentioned in the video as she bought both of their books and shared them in the haul.

Whilst I'm aware that all of Zoe and Tanya's little fans want to be like them, there was something uneasy about watching this girl film her video. As most of us are aware, the internet can be a horrible place full of some very vile people and there lies the reason why I think it could be possible to be too young.

Think back to when you were beginning your teenage years, how a little mean thing said to your face would hurt like hell. A comment online is normally 10 times worse than that and I'm just not sure a young girl will be able to shake it off as easily as we do.

What do you think? Should there be a minimum/ maximum age for YouTubers and creators?

Lots of Love,

C

xxx

When Everything Goes Wrong...

Hey there,

Recently I've been having a bit of a crap time. Everything in my life seems to be going wrong. I haven't got the same blogging bug that I used to have, people I thought I could count on disappeared when I really needed them and all in all I am stuck in a funk that I can't get out of because I've shut myself away from the world.

Whilst shutting myself away helps to not be hurt by more people however it also means that I can't talk everything through with proper friends or just get a good hug which what I really need to do/get. When things get hard, I have a few ways of getting myself out of little moods or just ways to deal with things when it feels like everything is going wrong.

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Online Shop. I am a shopaholic/beauty hoarder and I often find a way of cheering myself up a little is to online window shop. This to me means to go on Boots/MAC/ Space NK/ Selfridges and create a basket of goodies that I want to own. Most of the time I don't go through to the checkout stage but on the odd occasion I will treat myself and press confirm payment.

Music. Without music I am nothing, it can make me laugh, it can make me cry, it can my throat sore when I scream it at the top of my lungs. So my first step to getting me out of any mood is to pop my headphones on and putting on my iPod or my Spotify account on my laptop. Nothing does better for cheering me up than dancing round my room to some proper 90s cheesy music or singing musical songs outside in the garden in a sheep onesie at 9pm on a Friday night.

YouTube. Like music, YouTube has cheered up when things have been bad. In case you are looking for things to cheer you up may I suggest any of the whisper challenge videos or one of my favourites Grace Helbig's Fart Sound Board Challenge . If you don't laugh at that one then you are too much of an adult and we can't be friends.

Talk it out. The community of friends I have gained on twitter means that I know I've always got someone out there who I can talk to. Whether it's about blogging, life in general or just getting a bit of advice, there's always someone there. 

If you ever feel like poop remember, there is always someone there. If you ever need a chat, my twitter is @tloatb90 feel free to drop me a message. You are never alone.

Lots of Love,

Clare 

xxx

Where I want to go this year?

Hi there,

I am a big lover of the UK as a place to live, as you might have worked out from any holidays I have vlogged most of my holidays are taken on mainland UK.

Althought this is true, there are still some places I've never properly visited or haven't visited at all and I'd like to visit this year. Some of the places on this list, I’m hoping, I might get to visit through meet ups but if not maybe I can get a cheap train ticket and bring a friend along. So with out further a do, here is my list.

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1. Cardiff – In my lifetime, I’ve only ever made one trip to Cardiff and that was because the football team that my family supports, Wolverhampton Wanderers, had made it to the Millennium Stadium for something. This was many years ago and I don’t remember anything about the city. I visit London a few times every year and I feel I should see other major cities. If this wasn't enough reason to make a trip, one of my school friends has just moved there so it would be nice to visit her once she is settled.
2. Edinburgh – Same as Cardiff, I’ve only ever visited once a VERY long time ago. From what I remember, it was a gorgeous place to visit and one I’d really like to see again.
3. Bicester Village – now I know this one isn’t a city/town, I’m well aware that it is a Shopping Village but what can I say.. I’m a girl who loves a bargain.
4. Dublin – I have visited the Republic of Ireland a few times but one place I’ve never properly seen is Dublin. I’d love to make a trip, look around the city, absorb the culture and enjoy the accent.
5. York - I have big love for York. I have been a few times in my life for different reasons. I just love the place and I'd love to visit it again, maybe even climb to the top of the minster.
6. Liverpool - I've been there once before and I don't remember much. This is a reason to go again
7. Paris - Its not in the UK but I haven't been since I was about 10 with school. I'm 24 now and it's about time I return (which I am in February...yay)
8. Manchester - The closest I've got to Manchester is the Trafford Centre, I want to experience the actual city next.
9. St Albans - I've visited there once before with family and it was really beautiful. I want to return this year to catch up with my blogging lovelies including Bex, Shona and Lisa.
10. London- It had to make it's way onto the list. I love visiting London too much to not put it on my list. I haven't seen a West End Musical down there since August last year, I think it's time to pick a new one to watch... any suggestions.

There is my list. Where do you want to visit in 2015? Let me know in the comments.

Lots of Love,

C

xxx

Books to Film Adaptations Rant

Hello,

I don't know about you all but I love a good book or an entertaining movie. I am one of those people who feels the need to read the book before I watch the film. This can mean that I will watch something a lot later than everyone else in the world.

When it comes to books that are turned into a film, I like them to be similar.

When I read a story, nine times out of ten I become engrossed in the book and can begin to imagine the characters and what they look like, When they turn books into film, I understand that they try their hardest to get an actor that could suit and I don't mind that sometimes the person on the screen isn't the same as the person who was in your head.

However, the one thing that bugs me is when you are watching a film version of a book you have read and enjoyed and they change the plot slightly. I don't know about you but I can get quite protective of my favourite reads, which is why I felt I had to write this rant.

The thing that made me start writing this post was when I watched the trailer for the sequel to Divergent, which is called Insurgent. As you can see on my bookcase in the pictue above, I have both books and I am currently reading the third and final book,Allegiant, on my iPad,

 As a fan of book series such as the Hunger Games and to Twilight, I like a bit of the teenage fiction. So when I heard that Divergent was the next series to be turned into films, I knew that I'd have to pick up the book and have a read before the film came out. It turned out that by the time I had read Divergent, the film was out on DVD so I downloaded it on iTunes and sat down to watch it.

As the film progressed, certain things bugged me about the film. They had made a character, who in the books was quite a large boy into a relatively thin strapping young fellow and there was also something about the ending of the film which annoyed me too.

I got over everything and carried on reading the series because I am a fan of the books. Like I said I am currently reading the third book, when I saw a random tweet saying the new Insurgent trailer was out. I was interested to see what it looked like and again there just seemed to be a few things that weren't the same. I'm not going to ruin the second book's story in case you haven't read it but after seeing the comments on youtube under the trailer I'm not the only person who thinks that they have messed with the book..

I'm going to finish my rant here for now. But I want to know from you, do you like when books are turned into films. ALSO if you were to pick one book to turn into a film, what would it be?

Lots of Love,

C

xxx

New Years Eve OOTD

It's time for my first fashion post on this blog and I have to say I am in love with this dress which is why I had to share it with you all.

As you can tell, I know nothing about posing.. These were the best ones of the lot.
Anyway, the dress was from Simply Be (it's still available HERE) and it is one of my favourite purchases ever!! I am a big fan of the prom dress/skater skirt look because I feel it flatters me the most. It tucks in just under my boobs and then flares out, hiding a multitude of issues that I have.

What do you think of the outfit?

Lots of Love,

xxx

Welcome to Square Peg Round Hole

Hi there,

Yes I know, another blog from me. BUT there is a reason behind all of the extra bloggyness. Over the past 2 and a half years (well actually longer but I can't do fractions), I have written a predominately beauty blog and because of this every time I put up something lifey or fashiony, it felt a bit weird and a little out of place.

To you all, it probably doesn't matter but I wanted to try something out. So meet you new friend, Square Peg Round Hole.



Square Peg Round Hole will be a place of rambles, possible outfit/fashiony things, moans and general life things that I feel wouldn't work on The Love of All Things Beauty.

The other thing I have decided with this blog is that there won't be a specific schedule or plan to this blog, I could blog often or I could go for a while without posting. This is going to be my chilled out space that is just somewhere I can come and let off some blogging steam (did that sound like a fart to anyone else... I'm NOT going to blog fart haha).

I hope you all enjoy your stay here at Square Peg Round Hole. All links and plinks are on your right and thank you for stopping by.

Lots of Love,
xxx