The Autumn Blogger Tag

As long as Autumn is here, I'm going to keep talking about it. I've posted several autumnal blog posts recently including cosy home ideas, reasons I love the season so much and also the Autumn reading tag but today I have another and it's the Autumn Blogger Tag. I was tagged in this by Amylou so definitely give her post a read too! 

1. What is one candle you must light every Autumn?

I don't have a specific one I buy every year but I do love the DW Home ones from TK Maxx & Homesense. I picked a few up recently and they are absolutely gorgeous! One I've had for ages though is the Essence Cinnamon Sugared Doughnut from B&M and I always light it in the colder months, it's great to put in my blog photos too for Autumn.

2. When you think of Autumn, what does it remind you of?

Every year as soon as Autumn begins, I start to get excited for Christmas. It's the start of the best few months of the year so it always makes me think of cold evenings in where I can get nice and cosy with a festive film and a hot drink.

3. What is your all time favourite fall/Halloween movie?

Is it bad I don't really have one? Everyone seems to love films like Hocus Pocus during this time of year but I just don't get it! I pretty much start on the Christmas films as soon as Autumn starts so it would probably be something like The Holiday or Love Actually.

4. What Halloween costume do you have in mind?

My pyjamas and a dressing gown. I'm not going anywhere! I've never really done anything for Halloween since I was younger so I'm planning a night in.

5. What is your favourite autumnal trend?

I love all the warm colours like orange and mustard for this time of year. Also tartan is a must. A chunky tartan scarf is perfect and I've always got a few in the wardrobe to bring out in Autumn.

6. When you think of Autumn, what drink comes to mind?

Always hot chocolate. With cream on top and mini marshmallows. I do love a good cup of tea though too.

7. What is your go to autumnal beauty product? A must have staple.

A really good red nail polish. I'm all about the reds, plums and black nail polishes in the later half of the year. My makeup tends to stay the same all year round but nails are something I like to match up with the season.

8. Do you prefer apple pie or pumpkin pie?

I've never tried pumpkin pie but apple pie would win everyday anyway. You can't beat a nice bowl of apple pie or crumble with loads of hot custard on top. 

9. Do you have any Autumn traditions?

Not really that I can think of. Just watching loads of film and getting excited for Christmas! I do want to get some pumpkins this year though for carving and make that a little tradition we do every year.

10. The moment of truth, is Autumn your favourite season?

Yes, absolutely! I long for it all year round. It's when the weather turns and it finally gets cooler, nights starting getting darker earlier, it's just the best. I do love Winter too though, that's a very close second.

I just love all things Autumn so thanks so much Amylou for tagging me. I'm not going to tag anyone in particular but if anyone wants to take part, feel free to copy the questions!

Is Autumn your favourite season too?

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5 Days In London - Exploring Notting Hill, Heathers The Musical & Theatre Spotting

Why is it even when you take a break from blogging, you still can't stop thinking about it? I took a week off last week as we went to London yet I still don't feel like I properly disconnected from it. Is anyone else the same? Once I was back too, my to do list was ridiculous, I'm still kind of avoiding most of it! Anyway, I always write up about any places George and I have been to and last week we had another break to London, this time for 5 days which is the longest we've ever stayed. I've written countless times about London on my blog now so I'm sure you know just how much I love it, and it would be weird for me now to not document our trip there. 

Day 1 - Piccadilly and Theatre Spotting

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon so we had most of that day after checking in at our hotel. We got the tube straight to Piccadilly Circus which is one of my favourite areas of London and headed to our favourite shop, Whole Foods. Unfortunately they didn't have the Crosstown Doughnuts that we always get this time but we did pick up a few bits and OMG they were all amazing. The main thing being their fresh out of the oven Pizza which just tastes incredible. Honestly it was some of the best pizza I've ever had, definitely try a slice if you get chance. I think Piccadilly sort of epitomises London for me, it's always buzzing and the atmosphere is amazing, and every time I feel like there is more and more to see each time you turn a corner. After some good food we walked down to Leicester Square and ended up finding loads of different theatres. It was so much fun to see all of the different musicals that are currently playing as I just love all things musical theatre and I've already found loads more to add my ever growing list. We found where The Phantom Of The Opera plays, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Company, Les Mis and more.

Day 2 - Notting Hill and Heathers The Musical

As this trip to London was primarily a work trip for George it meant, just like when we went to Manchester, I pretty much had the days to myself to explore and then we'd meet up in the evening. After spending the Sunday together, on day 2 I ventured out a bit further to Notting Hill. I mean, it's not ages away but we do tend to stick to the same sorts of places whenever we're in London and Notting Hill was somewhere we'd not yet been too. After a lengthy tube trip, I finally arrived at Alice's on Portobello Road. If you're a fan of the Paddington films you might recognise this as Mr Gruber's Antique Shop. I was so excited to find this! It was one of the main places I knew I wanted to visit that week and it looked just as special up close as I imagined. Unfortunately it was actually closed that day so I didn't get to go inside but I definitely want to go back again in the future.

There were so many lovely little shops on Portobello Road, from souvenir shops to bakeries, book shops and jewellery stands, it's a wonderful place and so colourful. All of the pastel coloured houses were gorgeous! One place I did find was the original Notting Hill Bookshop. After finally watching the film in August, I knew that the next time I was in London I had to try and visit and it's just as beautiful as you'd imagine. It was really busy but I expect it's like that most days and it seemed people were always stopping to have their photo taken outside of it. 

One of the things I loved about Portobello Road was the array of bakeries and cafes. Everywhere you look you spot another and you are spoilt for choice! I couldn't resist picking us up a cupcake each from The Hummingbird Bakery, and honestly it was the best cupcake I've ever had. I would go back just for another of those. I also found the famous Doughnut Time which is actually right next to the Notting Hill Bookshop. I'd heard only positive things about their doughnuts and they did not disappoint. Just the names of them are genius.

After a few hours in Notting Hill, I headed back to the hotel to meet up with George and get ready for a show that night. The musical we decided on this time was Heathers which was insane! I've got a full review going up this week so I won't go on too much but it was just brilliant in every way. I think it would be weird now for us to go to London and not see a show and I'm so glad Heathers was the one we went for this time. All of the cast were incredible, the audience was nothing like I'd experienced at a musical before and the theatre was stunning!

Day 3 & 4 - Christmas Shopping on Oxford Street and Covent Garden

I've put day 3 and 4 together as both kind of consisted of Christmas shopping! On Tuesday I went to Oxford Street which just looked absolutely beautiful. The Christmas lights are up already! Not that I'm complaining at all. I'm so ready to get festive now. As much as I love London around Christmas when it's colder and really dark, you can't deny how beautiful it is in the sun. It ended up being strangely warm and sunny while we were there and whilst I don't particularly like that, being such an Autumn girl, everywhere I looked was stunning. I didn't end up getting much on Oxford Street which was a bit disappointing this time but Covent Garden on Wednesday was a winner. 

Covent Garden is definitely up there as one of my favourite places in London, no matter the time of year. Though it's busy like everywhere you go in London, there's just something about it that feels much more relaxed and carefree and I always enjoy any time I spend there. The sun was shining when I got there but by the time we left it was just starting to set and the sky was incredible. I could have spent hours and hours there. It has some of the loveliest shops and you can always find the nicest food. We went back to our beloved Shake Shack and OMG I could eat it again now, also Ben's Cookies is a must if you visit!

On our way round we found a few more theatres too including the Theatre Royal Drury Lane which is currently playing 42nd Street aswell as Mamma Mia, The Lion King and finally the Noel Coward Theatre which is currently playing the The Inheritance. They've just announced that's where Dear Evan Hansen will be opening next year so I can't wait to visit for that as it's one of the shows I've been waiting to transfer to the West End.

Our last day was really chilled as we knew we were getting the train back in the afternoon so we didn't get much chance to do anything but I think we packed loads in on the other days. I'm so happy with everything we got to do and see and like all of our trips to London, it was just so nice to be back. Notting Hill exceeded any expectations and I can't wait to go back in future with George so he can see it too and Heathers The Musical was the best. Look out for my review later on in the week if you want to hear more about it!

You can see The Shard from our hotel and when the sun was setting, it looked incredible.

Have you got any favourite places to visit in London?

Similar posts - A Christmas trip to London // Why I love London so much

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What Does The Colour Of Your Home Say About You? #ColourYourPersonality*

As we rent our home, sometimes we can be quite limited with how much we can change and what we can do to really make the place feel like our own. I've mentioned a few times some of the things we've done, from painting the bathroom and creating a cosy living room to finally making a start on the office, but each room is pretty different from the other because we can't really do anything too drastic. Whilst I love each individual room, there's no real colour scheme running throughout our flat and each one tends to have it's own personality. Julian Charles have put together an ebook as part of the #ColourYourPersonality campaign which shares interesting ideas on the colours we choose for our home and what it might say about us so let's see what it might mean for me.

Purple

The first colour in the ebook I was drawn to was purple because we've just redecorated our bathroom and you guessed it, we went for the colour purple. After living with a bright green colour since we moved in, we finally found the time to just go for it and make it a room we actually were happy to spend time in! I love my pamper evenings with a hot bubble bath but the room before just wasn't something I really loved. Purple stood out to us when we went shopping for paint, it's completely different to how it was before and now the room feels quite cosy which I like. According to the ebook, if you have purple in your home, it can mean you're organised and everything has a place where it belongs. Also that you like structure and routine is important for keeping your stress levels low. A big YES to all of these! George is a bit more laidback than me but I have always been organised and I get really frazzled if things are out of place in the flat or if something isn't how it was before. Routine is also good for me especially with my anxiety, I like to know what's happening in advance and I like to be able to plan otherwise I'm just one big ball of stress.

Pink

The next colour we seem to have a lot of in our home is pink. From pink bedding in the bedroom and pink accessories to pretty candle holders, all the notebooks and cushions in the spare room, it's a colour I've always loved and use throughout those two rooms a lot. This can apparently mean that you're a warm, friendly and approachable person and that your home usually is inviting for others. Also that you have a maternal side, you see the good in others but not necessarily yourself, and finally that you can be reserved and shy. I couldn't agree with more with most of these to be honest! I'm definitely shy, have been since I was little and I've never really grown out of it, I'm quite reserved with people and it can take a while for me to get comfortable and sort of let them in I suppose. I like to think I'm a friendly and approachable person, my face might say otherwise sometimes but trust me, I'm nice! I can get on with anybody and I love to think that my home is inviting. I want people to feel comfortable when they walk in and like they can just chill and feel at home when they're around. I've felt maternal since I was about 10 so I definitely agree with that too and whilst I do find the good in other people despite anything they might have done, I'm definitely harder on myself and I really struggle to feel proud of myself or see myself as a good person a lot of the time. 

There are several other colours in the ebook but these are the two out of them all that we have in our home in the most and really sum me up. I can't believe how accurate they are! I'd never have thought the colours you choose for your home could mean anything deeper but these are weirdly true! 

Do you have either of these colours in your home too and feel they reflect your personality too?

*This post is in collaboration with Julian Charles

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Current Netflix Top Picks #4

I am absolutely loving Netflix at the moment. I do think sometimes it goes a bit quiet and there can be times not much gets added but recently I've been finding loads of brilliant films and TV shows. I've done 3 Netflix posts already, you can find the previous one here, and I've really enjoyed writing them each time, so here's another!

Amanda Knox

I do love a good documentary and if it's crime related, even better. I'm a bit weird, I love anything to do with prisons or unsolved crimes so when I saw the Amanda Knox documentary whilst skipping through last month, I couldn't wait to watch it. As you might have guessed by the name, it's about Amanda Knox, the woman who was twice convicted and later acquitted of the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher. In the documentary we hear from Amanda herself as she tells her version of events aswell as a number of people involved in the investigation and how it all came to be that she, along with Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty before later having all charges dropped. Whilst I'd read and heard quite a lot of about this case, it was really interesting to actually watch people from the police and also journalists give their opinion and actually find out more about what supposedly did happen that night. I was definitely left with mixed feelings by the end of it though. I've personally always thought she was involved and I still do, some of the things in the documentary, to me just didn't make sense, but I'd love to know what you think too if you've also watched this.

Endless Love 

You can't beat a cheesy romantic film can you? When we went to Manchester for almost a week in August, I usually went out and spent some time in the city (usually shopping) whilst George was working and then I'd pop back to the hotel to do a little bit of blogging and unwind. I watched quite a few films that week, and one of them was Endless Love which was one I'd heard about but never found the time to watch before. It's about Jade who is a sheltered yet privileged teen and David who is a working class boy with a troubled past. They quickly fall in love but Jade's father disapproves, so tries to cause as much trouble for them as possible. This only makes them even more determined to be together though, and it actually ended up being a brilliant film. I soon got lost in the story and was willing for Jade and David to work things out and find a way to be together. I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a cute, romance film.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

There has been so much hype around this film, and I totally get why. I absolutely love it! This was another one we watched in Manchester one evening and I've already watched it a few times since, it was so much better than I was expecting. It's about Lara Jean who finds out her secret love letters that she's wrote to each boy she's loved in the past have been found and sent out. It turns her whole life upside down but there's a happy ending with Peter played by Noah Centineo which made me so happy. I'm so glad I decided to watch this as I think I love it just as much as everybody else now.

Like Father

The Netflix originals have been great recently and Like Father is no exception to that. Kristen Bell plays Rachel who has just been jilted at the alter. After spending the night drinking, she invites her estranged father on her honeymoon cruise with her. Kelsey Grammar as Rachel's dad is brilliant and think him and Kristen Bell were brilliant together. It was such a lovely film and so funny at times, I'd definitely watch it again.

The Hangover 

I am such a huge fan of the Hangover films so I was thrilled when I saw they had all been added at the same time to Netflix. I've been putting them on in the evening and they've just been so much fun to re-watch. I'd not seen them for years but they're just as funny as I remember and the cast are brilliant. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong are never not funny in these films and I'm sure I'll end up re-watching them loads now.

Do you have any Netflix recommendations?

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