Bullet Journal // March Set Up

 March is almost here (which is crazy, I mean how quickly is this year going!) so I'm showing you what my set up for this month is going to look like.

My monthly spread is pretty much the same except I've swapped my monthly to do list for an April planning section. I think this allows for more forward planning and it will make setting up my April monthly spread much easier.

TGIF // Friday Favourites

 Some of you may know that I've given up diet coke for lent. If you know me you'll know how much diet coke I'll drink, I don't want to be dramatic but oh my goodness do I miss diet coke. So now I've discovered Ice Tea, I'd only ever had peach tea before and I hate peach so I assumed I didn't like iced tea. Man was I wrong.

The Revenant // Film Review

So recently myself and a few friends went to see "The Revenant" at the cinema. Honestly? I was going because Tom Hardy was in it.

I knew it was nominated for a good number of awards but that doesn't necessarily get me interested in a film. It's a problem I've always had with the Oscars and the BAFTAS and other such awards, you can always predict the films that will do well, without even seeing them and often they're films I don't even want to watch.

So basically I was going to see this film knowing that

a) Tom Hardy and Leonardo Di Caprio were in it 

b) There was a bear attack and
c) It was set in a cold climate

Netflix Addiction // The Films

I watch a lot of Netflix. I'm not even ashamed to admit it. Today I thought I would tell you about some of the films I've watched (and loved) on Netflix recently. Hopefully you've seen our How To // Netflix post and if not I would recommend giving it a read first (here) because some of these films are only available in certain countries.

Warrior
This is the story of two estranged brothers who both begin training to fight in a winner-takes-all mixed martial arts fight. The storyline between the two brothers and their alcoholic and abusive father is beautifully portrayed.

Book Haul // February

 So once again I succumbed to the siren call of Waterstones. I just can't help myself, it's an addiction. I managed to restrain myself to four books. Some of you may be thinking "four books seems like quite a lot" but when you spend around an hour in the bookshop with a pile of around ten books, only buying four is an achievement.

How To // Netflix

Update: sadly Netflix have made the frankly awful decision to block the use VPN's such as Hola. Goodbye American Netflix..hello slightly more dubious internet sites so I can keep up my addictions..
FlixSearch still works though :)
Kate x

Hola

If you haven't already I cannot recommend installing Hola onto your internet browser. Hola is a legit Google Chrome app and it's super easy to use. It allows you to browse Netflix from a different location. All you British people can access the US Netflix, which seriously increases the number of TV shows you can binge watch. You are welcome.

FlixSearch

This is my new favourite website. Anyone who has Hola will know that having the ability to browse Netflix from other countries is great but it can also be very overwhelming. FlixSearch allows you to search the name of a movie or tv show and see in what country it is available on Netflix. You can then use your hola app to go to that country and badda bing badda boom freedom.

Apologies for the many hours of procrastination I have just made possible, enjoy!

Kate // SK

Book Review // The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Synopsis (from the back of the book)

On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives at a grand house in Amsterdam to begin her new life as the wife of wealthy merchant Johannes Brandt. Though curiously distant, he presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations ring eerily true.

As Nella uncovers the secrets of her new household she realizes the escalating dangers they face. The miniaturist seems to hold their fate in her hands - but does she plan to save or destroy them?

Rating

3/5 stars

Single and so NOT ready to mingle // Valentine's Day

"What are you doing for Valentine's Day?"

The dreaded question. They know you're single, they know fine well that you aren't going out on some fancy date. Why they ask is a total mystery to me.

What they're expecting is for you to say something along the lines of "hiding in my house in my PJ's watching Netflix alone with a take away"

HECK NO. Those days are saved for the first day of your period, illness and depression.

"Oh but you're single on Valentine's Day so aren't you depressed?"

"Ehm No."

Wishlist #9 // Kitchenware

 Anthropologie: Bronze Age Cutlery - £28

Pancake Tuesday // FOOD

It's pancake day!

Which means it's time to start making those sweet little circles of fluff.

And if you're anything like us fail miserably. Or just try out a bunch of different recipes until we're happy with pancakes that look, and taste, semi decent.

So, if you're in the mood to make pancakes, we've decided to share the recipe that worked best for us!

A Cheats Way To Pastry's // FOOD

Do you ever just have those mornings where you think "Oh, I could go a cinnamon roll or maybe a chocolate croissant" but you don't have pre-bought pastry's in the house? And making them from scratch - you know, making the dough - is just way too much effort plus by the time they're actually ready it's lunchtime.

Well, there is a way to make them within, roughly, 20 minutes!

Bullet Journal // Monthly Tracker

 Another bullet journal post today because I am OBSESSED. I've had my bullet journal for just under a month and I'm loving it. Now that we've moved into February I've been able to try out some new things and change things that didn't work. So, I thought that today I would show you some of the things I've changed in my monthly tracker.

January was the first monthly tracker I did so I covered all bases and tracked a tonne of things. I loved the layout but it was just way too busy and I didn't particularly enjoy the dots.

Travel Essentials // Make-Up

Narrowing down make-up to take with me on a trip is hard. I think I've finally got to the point where I know what I want and need to take.

January Monthly Challenge Review // Morning Person

As some of you might now in January I decided to set myself the challenge of becoming more of a morning person. I have to say I wasn't feeling particularly optimistic! But you know what? I did okay. When my alarm goes off at 7:30am I don't bounce out of bed, smiling and ready to start the day. Heck no. I moan and groan and gradually crawl out of bed at around 8am and then sit slumped in my desk chair drinking tea and cursing the existence of pre 10am. But the important thing is, I'm awake.

I thought I would talk you through the three sections of my Morning Person Challenge. This is a plan I made by myself using an amalgamation of several blog posts and articles that I found. My aim was to be asleep by 1:30 am and awake by 8:30am.

Wishlist #8 // Home Decor

 Anthropologie: Creature Hideaway Quilt - £148 (double bed)

Resolutions Update // January

So January is already over and I thought I would give you an update on how I'm doing with my resolutions (read the original post here).

1. Write a little sum up of the day, a prayer and a word or feeling of the day in a notebook. Every day. - I'm going strong with this one, I've missed a day here and there and had to catch up but on the whole I've been loving doing this. I'm already enjoying looking back at previous days, especially for words of the day (I've not repeated a word yet!)

2. Get healthier - About half way through this month B and I rediscovered our love of swimming and I've been loving going swimming once a week. It's so relaxing! Other than that I'm failing miserably at being healthy (ooops)