A few weeks ago I was browsing my local B&M store on the quest for a few Halloween candles that i'd seen doing the rounds on Twitter, and after hunting around the entire store I finally found the candle section which to my surprise was a lot better than I was expecting. Whilst perusing the shelves I came across a very small selection of candles that reminded me of the Bath & Bodyworks candles because of their fun labels and cute metal candle lids, and upon smelling them I was really impressed! I almost felt like i'd discovered a hidden treasure as there were only a few left in the couple B&M stores I popped into, so I thought i'd share my thoughts sooner rather than later.

The first candle I picked up was from their Halloween range, which contains four different scents all of which had a pumpkin-esque scent to them and I opted for Vanilla Pumpkin Candle (£2.99) as this scent was nicest of the bunch with the other scents being a little artificial and I love vanilla wintery scented candles. This candle is a two wick candle, which I find burn more evenly in comparison to a single wick candle and i've been burning it so much since I picked it up a couple of weekends ago, as the evenings have begun getting colder. What I really like about this candle is that the scent is very subtle, as i'm not a big fan of when a candle just floods your room with it's scent whereas this adds a very subtle hint that almost freshens up a room.

The next two candles I picked up are both very similar in design as both of these candles come with a metal lid, both with an autumn inspired leaf print that I just loved, and each have a cute label design to represent the scent of the candle. The first scent I picked up was Essence Apple Orchard Candle (£2.99), which reminds of my all time favourite candle, red apple wreath from yankee as it has a lovely spicey apple scent to it that instantly makes me think of Christmas time that I just adore, and have since purchased any candles that smell similar. After purchasing those two scents and seeing a few more bloggers purchasing these candles, I hop footed it down to another B&M store local to me where I managed to get the last Essence Brown Sugar Allspice Candle (£2.99), which is another lovely spicey wintery scent that reminds me of toasted cinnamon swirls and hot chocolates! 

In comparison, all three of these candles are very similar in size to the Bath and Bodyworks candles which are ever so marginally bigger and whereas they have three wicks to them, these B&M candles only have two wicks meaning that they don't burn as evenly but for the difference in price you cannot complain one bit! Design wise, they have a very similar feel to the Bath and Bodyworks candles and you can tell they were definitely inspired when designing these candles, especially as they are so popular in the US.

If like me you love the Bath and Bodyworks candles then I really do recommend trying to get your hands on a few of these candles from B&M as they are so affordable at just £2.99 each, and they have a fair few different scent, but i'd advise you to be quick as stock in my two local stores was very low!

Have you gotten your hands on any of these candles?

Granted I probably haven't sat at my desk to blog in quite some time, usually I retire to my bed especially if i'm blogging after a long day at work but when I do sit to work at my desk I find that productivity levels are a lot higher and I find that my back isn't in a crippled sorry state. 

So starting off with the desk itself, of course it's from Ikea just like the majority of my furniture is and this is the Linnmon Alex Table (£74.50), which made using a small set of the famous Alex Drawers and then a desk top on top of that. I've got the larger size, which means the desk top itself is quite long and it just allows more space for whatever i'm doing, whilst the drawers are handy for storing all of those random bits and pieces we all seem to have. I do try my hardest to keep my desk as tidy as I possibly can, seeing as I use it to take the majority of my blog photos for that crisp white background that you see in all of photos.

On top of my desk I of course keep my Macbook Pro 15", which I honestly couldn't be without as I use it 24/7 for pretty much everything including blogging, catching up on Youtube videos and watching Pretty Little Liars. I also keep my large selection of notepads, which are all from either Home Sense or TkMaxx as they have so many cute designs and they are so handy for jotting down any ideas for blog posts. I then have all of my pens and Promarkers in these Skurar Pots (£2-£5) from Ikea, which every blogger has and I just find them really cute to store things in. I also have a few bits of artwork including this really cute Glass Quote Frame, which again is from Home Sense or TkMaxx as they always have some really cute individual pieces and i'm a sucker for cute quotes. 

Above my desk I have a shelf which is more of a display shelf that houses all of my books, which of course has a wide range of beauty/youtuber books including Pretty Honest (£14.96), The Glam Guide (£8) and Love Tanya (£6.49) to name a few. I also have a couple of storage boxes, which I received as birthday presents and also another Quote Print of which again both are from Home Sense or TkMaxx - are you sensing I like these two stores?! I also have a few trinket things that i've had for quite sometime that make cute little additions to the shelving unit. 

So that is a little look into my blogging space, which is a constant working progress but as i'm also wanting to move out within the next year or so i'm a little reluctant to fully decorate it to how I exactly want it.

What does your blogging space look like?

It's safe to say i've definitely got the homeware buying bug at the moment, probably because one of my really good friends is moving house so her homeware bug has rubbed off on me and i've gone a little spendy but I have picked up some really cute things that i'd definitely take when I move into my own place - if that ever happens!

Kicking things off with Next Home where I don't really shop all that much because I find it really overpriced for what it is, but I kindly received some Next gift cards for my Birthday and I ended up spending them in the home section. First thing I picked out was the Sandle & Amber 3-wick Candle (£8), which probably won't come as a shock to any of you but the main thing I was drawn too was the copper housing of this candle and the scent is so calming compared to those that I usually choose, but it's really nice! The second thing I picked out was the Champagne Bubble Glass Hurricane (£8), which is basically a lovely vase/candle holder of which I currently have some fake flowers in and I love it! 

Last weekend I took a trip to Ikea, of which I didn't really intend to buy much and I stuck to my guns but I did pick up a couple of things that have brightened up my room a little. Whenever i've been to Ikea, I always manage to walk past the plant/garden section so when I finally found it I knew I had to get myself a Phalaenopsis Potted Plant (£4.50), which is basically a mini orchid! I thought it would be a really cute addition and would make my blog photos look just that bit better. I also had a quick browse around the duvet section and I picked up the Skorpil Quilt Cover (£13), which comes in three colours and I opted for the purple. I'm really pleased as it's different to my usual floral quilt covers and I feel it makes my room look a little more grown up.

Lastly I was causally browsing the home section in TkMaxx, which always isn't a good idea as I always spend far too much money but I found some really lovely pieces. First thing I found was this amazing Light Up 'C' (£16.99) and i've wanted my initial to hang up on my wall for a long time, so when I saw this I knew I had to have it. Also whilst browsing the wall decor section I came across this adorable Glass Sign (£6.99), which I just couldn't say no too and I can't wait to start hanging up things on my picture wall!

So those are all of the homeware pieces that I have recently picked up and i'm super pleased as I know all of these things will work for when I eventually move out!

Have you picked up any new homeware pieces recently?

I didn't manage to get everything that I wanted as some stuff wasn't in stock or they didn't sell it anymore, but i'm happy with the stuff I did manage to get.

Starting off with the Skurar pieces that I had wanted for some time including the Skurar Bowl, which I wanted in white but they only had pink, red or green and these were actually reduced so i'm guessing all of the white ones had gone, so I just got two pinks ones. I also got the Skurar Candle Dish, another piece i've had my eye on for a while and this will go great with the Vanilla Candle that I also got. I'd also had my eye on the Pokal Mug for a while, so I picked up a pink one and I love it already! 

Next I got the Sockerart Vase in the medium size, which i've currently got some roses that I got off my boyfriend for my birthday in and they just look so much prettier in a white vase, rather than a clear glass one. One thing i'd had my eye on for ages was the Brakig collection, especially the cushions. As it was a limited edition collection pretty much everything had gone, but I managed to find a Brakig Single Duvet set amongst a load of remnant fabrics, which I got reduced down to £5! I also bought two 50x50 Cushions, as i'm going to turn the duvet cover into another pillowcase and two cushions. 

I also picked up two Lack Shelves for my desk area as my current ones have fallen down, and a Lack Side Table, which is now under my desk with my printer sitting on top. I also got one of the Billy Bookcases, which I built on Tuesday and i'm going to be using it to house the majority of my beauty bits including makeup, perfume etc. I'll be posting all about that once my Muji storage arrives, which I ordered yesterday and when i'm happy with how it all looks. 

So that is pretty everything I got from Ikea, and I can't wait to start getting my room all organised.

Have you been to Ikea recently?

Starting with the Kallax Shelving Unit, i've been wanting something like this to store my makeup, perfume, etc in as I have random little units all over my room, and I just want everything all in one place for once. This will also match into my other unit similar to this one. Even though I already have billions of cushions, the Brakig Collection has been calling my name especially as you can only pick it up in store, so i'll for sure be checking their cushions. 

The Persby Shelves are a no brainer, seeing as my current shelves have fallen down so many times that they've now broke. I really like the slick and minimal feel to these. The Lack Side Table I initially wanted to put my printer on, as it takes up too much space on my desk, but I think it might be too tall but we shall see. 

As for the other bits and bobs, you can't not pop to Ikea and pick up a few home decoration items you weren't planning on buying. I've been eyeing up the Skurar Series for ages, as I already use the candle holders for my makeup brushes, so I thought why not add a few more pieces from their collection. 

I'm hoping the majority of this stuff will be in stock, or I can find pieces similar as i'm really determined to get my room looking how I want it over the next few months. I'll for sure be doing a few room detail posts, similar to the ones I did a few months back, if that is what you guys would like to see?

What are you lusting over from Ikea at the moment?

As you can see I picked up a fair amount of things, but today was payday and I didn't actually spend a lot. So first of all we went to Boundary Mills which is a big outlet store that sells mainly clothes but also home wares and furniture. I picked up this really cute wash bag which was reduced to £12, I thought would be really handy for when I am down in London for my placement as I am crashing at my friends flat whilst I am there and I could keep all my toiletries all neat and organised. I also picked up the two packets of Wonka Nerds which I love!! They were by the counter when I went to pay which were £2.70 each which I thought was fairly good as nerds are normally around £4 a box!

Next we went to Ikea, as we are moving house later this year we decided to start looking at furniture to get idea's as I am looking to buy everything brand new for my room as my current furniture isn't going to fit. Anyway, whilst we were there I picked up the two drawer sets which I have had my eye on for ages as I am looking for way to store my makeup and nail varnishes and I thought these would be perfect! I also picked up the floral duvet set as I thought it was really cute and was only £15, bargain!!

Finally onto my ASOS order, which I have been quite excited to receive as I've had my eye on these two items for a while. The first was the mint jumper which I first saw featured on Tilly - Jane's blog (go check her out if you haven't already) and I have liked it ever since and seeing as mint isn't normally a colour I would wear I knew that I had to have it, so seeing as ASOS were offering the student discount for 48 hours I took full advantage and ordered the jumper there and then! The second thing I ordered was the coat, as I am going on placement for a month I'm going to need a few coats to get me through the cold walks down Oxford Street. I seem to be loving khaki coats lately and this one is so nice but it is a little big so I may return it and order a size 8.. not sure yet! haha.

Have you been buying anything this payday?! 

xx

Hello everyone I hope you are having a lovely day whatever you are doing, me not so much. Over the Christmas period I have put my uni work to the back of my head and I now have so much to do and with me going back to uni on Monday I need to get a move on, i'm sure a lot of you are in the same position as me. I decided to take a few little snaps whilst I had a little break from writing my buying report which so far isn't going so well haha!

As you can see i've got a right little set up to keep me going, i've even got a little supply of chocolates to munch on for the rest of the afternoon. Hopefully I can get enough done so I can go out tonight and enjoy one last night out with my friends before they all head back off to uni this weekend.

xx

 I'm really liking this vintage 'Cath Kidson inspired' floral print that has been around for the past year or so and I am finally embracing it as you can see. I'm one of those people that really takes pride in how their room looks and I cannot wait to decorate my bedroom in our new house when we move later this year!

Are you a fan of Cath Kidson inspired florals?

xx