Watch. Read. Listen.

Hello you lovely lot. I hope you're well and 2015 has been treating you kindly so far. Other than the crazy weather, I've had a perfectly nice couple of weeks :)

I thought that I'd share with you a few of the things I have been losing myself in at the start of 2015. As we all know, I love my films/tv shows/books and music, and I do enjoy having a good natter about them. I posted a lot of I've Been Watchings in 2014, which I'm planning on getting back in to, but in the meantime, here is a snapshot of my current viewing, listening and reading material!

I've Been Watching

House

I have devoured almost all of season one of House in a week, and my goodness, is it brilliant, or is it brilliant? I've wanted to watch this show for the longest time and just never got around to it/had the opportunity to watch it. Netflix, my beloved, helped me out with that.

House, if you don't already know, follows the work of Dr. Gregory House (played by the amazing Hugh Laurie), and his team of young doctors, Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) and Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer). House himself is a brilliant doctor, but an awkward and often difficult human being, and he just fascinates me. Each episode concentrates on the team solving an unusual medical case, while gradually drip feeding us information about the lives of the main characters in the quiet moments in between. There are some really lovely character dynamics and relationships building up through season one, and already there have been some of those "is my heart sort of expanding, because it feels like it is" moments for me. In a "this is really cute" way, not literally, of course. I won't say any more to avoid spoilers, but I would love for someone to start watching it alongside me so I can rave about it with them. And discuss the likelihood of Jennifer Morrison and I becoming best pals.

The Vampire Diaries

I finally made my way through my season 5 TVD box set over Christmas and New Year (okay, within the space of a couple of days - classic binge watching) and I really, really enjoyed it. Apparently ratings are dropping and the show is losing popularity, but I honestly thought this season was strong. Particularly the Katherine storyline - it was equal parts infuriating and mesmerising, Nina Dobrev is just so fantastic when she's playing Katherine. I also knew that the series had a traumatic finale, and despite preparing myself for something upsetting, I still cried for about twenty minutes. I am a loser.

Also, Ian Somerhalder is just fantastic, isn't he? Damon Salvatore is tv gold - extremely easy on the eye, brilliant one liners, genuinely interesting character.

I've Been Reading

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

I love Amy Poehler, so getting her book for Christmas was a seriously exciting moment. I've been making my way through Yes Please, which is one of those brilliant books you can just dip in and out of (much like Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?) because it doesn't have a firmly structured story to follow. It's more just musings about herself, her life, her career and the world around her, and in typical Amy style. If you are a fan of hers, you'll appreciate this. Her sense of humour comes across really strongly, as always, and she tackles what are some interesting things in amongst the more light hearted moments. There is a section where she talks in depth about the thin line between guilt and anger, and opens up about a time she apologised for something she had done years after the fact, and it was a really interesting chapter.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Alongside Amy, I'm reading Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell, one of the big YA books of 2014! I downloaded it onto my kindle a few months ago, and I've only just got around to starting it, but so far I'm loving it. We all know I'm a huge television geek, and so fandom/fanfaction etc all really interests me. I love to see how completely caught up in a bunch of characters we can get, and what an amazing platform the internet is to form these sort of communities. Anyway, this book is about a girl who has just headed off to college and been separated from her twin sister for the first time. She is extremely shy and hiding from the world in her fanfiction, and so far it has really got me hooked.

I've Been Listening To

Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding

This little number is from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, and while I doubt any of the content of the actual movie will be as sexy as the version of Beyonce's Crazy in Love they've used on the trailer, I am enjoying this song. It builds up really nicely, and I've always been a fan of Ellie's music. This has been on repeat for days!

Blame it on Me by George Ezra

I've loved this song for ages, but I got George Ezra's album for my mum for Christmas, and it's been living in the car since! I always mean to start listening to it from further on on the album to get to know the other tracks better, but I just love this song so much! There are a couple of lines that in all honesty, I'm not sure I even know the right words, but I belt it out nonetheless!

So that's what I've had on my laptop/tv, ipod and kindle of late - I'd love to know what you've been watching, reading and listening to so far in 2015!

Have a great week :)

Thanks for reading!

Favourites of the Week #17

It's Sunday again and I thought I'd do another weekly favourites!

Track of the Week
Bastille - We Can't Stop (Radio One Live Lounge cover)

I am not exactly what you would call a Miley fan - the less said about that in this post, the better I think. Anyway, when I saw that one of my current favourite bands covered her song ''We Can't Stop'' last week I had to have a listen, and I have had it on repeat ever since. Love the cheeky little reference to her relationship with her dad with the wee bit of Achy Breaky Heart they included!



Album of the Week
Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

I've had this album for ages and it's appeared here before, but I keep finding myself putting it on when I'm in the car, or out with my iPod on. I just love the variety of sounds on it from proper dance anthems to really chilled out tracks.



TV Show of the Week
The Vampire Diaries

I'm currently devouring season four of The Vampire Diaries, and whoever it was who told me this season wasn't as good as the previous ones lied! It's just as good, just as intense and with just as many twists and turns. I just filmed a The Vampire Diaries tag for my YouTube channel, so I'll link the video here once it's uploaded!

Film of the Week
About Time

Emma and I went to see About Time this week and absolutely loved it. We both cried bucketloads, so be sure to take some tissues with you if you're going to see it - I cried into my scarf because I neglected to do so! Richard Curtis has really outdone himself with this one. Bill Nighy and Rachel McAdams are both brilliant as always, and I thought Domhnall Gleeson was fantastic in the lead role. This is a nice, philosophical sort of film and while it's romantic, I wouldn't really say romance is the main theme. It's very much about family, making the most of the time you have with them and living each day to the full - it really gets you thinking!

Beauty Product of the Week
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

A product everyone knows about and I have repurchased I don't know how many times, I've been very grateful for my Lasting Perfection Concealer this week since my skin hasn't quite been blemish free - it's a life saver for a bad skin day!

Book of the Week
Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus

I read the back of this book in WHSmith a couple of weeks ago and was instantly intrigued. When I looked it up on my kindle and saw that it was under £3 (I think it was about £2.65) I decided to give it a shot, and I'm glad I did. I'm not too far through it yet but it's really good so far, quietly building suspense and giving us access to quite a few characters.

YouTuber of the Week
Nikki Phillippi

I really like Nikki's themed months on her YouTube channel, and think her Change it up Spetember theme is a great idea. It's really easy to get stuck in a rut, and deliberately challenging yourself to try new things or make a change in your life whether it's as big as moving house or going back to univerity - the latter of which I am on doing Thursday, ahhhh! - or as small as changing your regular lipstick colour, making changes can make a big difference to your life.

Website of the Week
Itison

I get daily emails from Itison but rarely bother to spend any time checking out the deals - this week however, I've found a couple of amazing offers and will definitely make the time to read these emails more thoroughly in future!

Style Icon of the Week
Dianna Agron

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Okay, so I'm cheating a wee bit here, but this shoot actress Dianna Agron did for US Beauty website Byrdie is so stunning I couldn't ignore it. This is more of a makeup icon than style, but I love the colours used in this shoot so much that I'm letting that slide. Check out the full shoot here at http://www.byrdie.com/the-dark-side-of-dianna-agron/

What have some of your favourite things been this week? Let me know in the comments! :)

Thanks for reading!

Favourites of the Week #7

It's the return of my weekly favourites!!

While I was travelling I didn't really have time to do these posts, and I've missed them. So, without further ado, here are the things I've been loving this week...

Track of the Week
Can't Hold Us - Savannah Outen and Jake Coco (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Cover)

This week I've been testing how fast I can sing/sort of rap by having this cover of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on repeat on my iPod. Trust me, there's nothing like the feeling of satisfaction when you realise you've learnt all the words...



Album of the Week
Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Ellie Goulding to pieces and this album is most definitely top of my playlist this week. There are a few standout tracks (Figure 8, My Blood and I Need Your Love being three obvious favourites), but there are a couple that really grow on you the more you listen, which is one of the things I really love about Ellie's music - Don't Say a Word and Hanging On are two examples of this.



TV Show of the Week
Veronica Mars

I never need an excuse to revisit Veronica Mars and something told me (maybe all the Kirsten Bell interviews I've been watching!) this week that I should make the always exciting move of rewatching the Pilot - I'm hooked again already. Honestly, it is one of the best television shows of all time!!! I couldn't be more pleased that a film is finally in the pipeline!

Film of the Week
Silver Linings Playbook

As I mentioned in my What I've Been Watching post the other day, I absolutely adored Silver Linings Playbook and went out and bought the dvd. Never, in recent times, have I parted with £12 for a newly released dvd - I'm more of a 'wait till it's been out a few months and get it cheap on Amazon' kind of gal. But in this case I couldn't resist. I love everything about this film, from the plot to the soundtrack to the brilliant acting from every single member of the cast (with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence both completely deserving their Oscar nominations). If you haven't seen it, you should! I know this is one I will watch over and over again.

Beauty Product of the Week
Revlon Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon

I treated myself to this when they were on offer for £5.99 in Superdrug and I've fallen completely in love with it! I adore the Revlon Lip Butter's anyway, but this colour is gorgeous. It's much more vibrant than what I usually wear on my lips, but I really like it, and will do a proper review, complete with photos and swatches soon!

Book of the Week
One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern

As you all know, I love Cecelia Ahern and I downloaded her most recent book on my Kindle while I was in Australia. I didn't get a chance to start reading it till I got home though, and I'm about a quarter of the way through it - really enjoying it so far. It's the story of a journalist named Kitty who has found herself in hot water after wrongly accusing a man of a crime he didn't commit, with disastrous results for her personal life and career. Alongside this, her friend, mentor and boss has just passed away, leaving her with a list of names connected to a story she wanted to write before she died. Kitty is left to figure out how these one hundred people are connected and hopefully write the story Constance never had the chance to. It's another interesting concept from Ahern, and I just love her writing style.

YouTuber of the Week
Louise - Sprinkle of Glitter

We all know I love Louise, but this week she uploaded an interesting video addressing the tricky subject of self-harm and I think she handled it brilliantly. It must be difficult for YouTubers with a lot of subscribers when people ask them to make videos on this sort of serious topic. But it was a well balanced, properly researched video and didn't go on for too long - it said exactly what it needed to say. Apparently it was mentioned on the BBC and Sky News too!

Blog of the Week (new category!)
Roaring Twenties

You know when someone has a distinctive style that you just instantly love? For me I found that when I first started reading the lovely Margaret's blog a few months back after meeting her at a blogger event in Edinburgh. I love the tone of her posts, the film quotes and the fact that she rarely writes a post that doesn't have me laughing out loud (I wish there was a way to describe that that didn't instantly make me see LOL in giant letters!), she just has a brilliant writing style. Anyway, go and check out her blog, and if you're anything like me you'll love it :) (http://roaringtwentiesblog.blogspot.co.uk)

Website of the Week
Twitter

Loving twitter again - I found out about the Harvey Nichols Beauty Parlour through twitter last week and attended the event tonight! It was great fun and I got to catch up with the lovely Roisin from Lost my Heart in Wonderland and meet Laura from The Likely Lady for the first time, which was great (more on this event in another post)! I also thoroughly enjoyed the #lbloggers chat on Sunday evening, it was nice to join in again after my travels!

Style Icon of the Week
Emmy Rossum

I'm just going to ignore the fact that Emmy Rossum's Donna Karan Atelier gown doesn't exactly fit with the punk theme of the 2013 Met Gala, because it is beautiful and I want it. I love the colour, I love the shape, I love the beaded detailing and I love that she didn't overdo it with the train. It's perfect. And her heavy smokey eye, nude lip, perfect brows and braided up-do compliment it perfectly. Love. It.


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Hope you enjoyed that guys, what have you been loving in the film, fashion, music and blogging world this week?

Thanks for reading!

Favourites of the Week #4

Another week has disappeared and that can mean only one thing - it's time for my weekly favourites!

Track of the Week
Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love

I'm a MASSIVE Ellie Goulding fan, and have been for years. Have been listening to this catchy little number quite a lot this week though and have given it a big thumbs up from the first time I heard it a few months back. It's quite a good motivational sort of one, I found myself dancing about to it when I was getting ready for the lovely Scottish Bloggers Valentines Party on Saturday!



Album of the Week
Les Miserables Original Soundtrack

Now here's a fun album to listen to on the train - half of it makes me want to cry, the other half makes me want to laugh because I realise it's taking all of my willpower to NOT mime dramatically along with it. Yes, yes, I'm still loving the film, was glad to see Annie Hathaway getting her much deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar last night!



TV Show of the Week
Dexter

A few episodes into season 4 now as I continue to work my way through the boxsets, and this show just keeps getting better and better. The writing is incredible, so slick and witty and the storylines just keep surprising me over and over again. Desperately trying to avoid spoilers for the next few seasons, but unfortunately I've come across a few on twitter - the perils of watching something a while after it originally aired!!

Film of the Week
Much Ado About Nothing

I was lucky enough to head into Glasgow last night to see Joss Whedon's adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing with a couple of friends. It was fantastic!! Starring a lot of Whedon's favourite actors and shot in black and white at his amazing house, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Initially I was a little bit unsure about Amy Acker as Beatrice, but I totally warmed up to her by about half way through, and I thought Alex Denisof was brilliant as Benedick (as was Nathan Fillion as Dogberry). My best friend and I have a little bit of an obsession with the BBC version with Damian Lewis and Sarah Parish, so seeing the film last night has made me determined to rewatch it before I head off to Australia!

Beauty Product of the Week
Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal Liner in Nude

Love this eyeliner so much, it is so affordable, retailing at just £4 from Boots and Superdrug, and it makes such a difference to your eyes. Running it along your waterline just makes you look so wide awake, and the waterproof formula means it doesn't budge!

Book of the Week
The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

Almost finished The Book of Tomorrow now and I have absolutely adored it. Cecelia Ahern never fails to capture my imagination and her characters are always so vivid. I would recommend this one in a heartbeat!

YouTuber of the Week
Madilyn Bailey

I have loved Madilyn's covers for over a year now and she never fails to deliver. Got a tiny bit overexicted there to check my YouTube subscriptions to link her channel in this post and discovered she'd uploaded a new video!



Website of the Week
Beabops Style Diary

My fashion blogger friend Beatrice had the exciting opportunity to go to London Fashion Weekend this week and take photos for Canon! It looks like she had a fantastic time and I have been looking forward to her posts all week - go and check out her blog, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I do :)

Style Icons of the Week
Reese Witherspoon


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Still not quite 100% sure how I feel about the train of this dress, but otherwise I love it. It really stood out to me among the much paler hues of a lot of the other dresses on the Oscars Red Carpet last night, and I love the black detailing. This isn't always the easiest colour to pull off, but as usual Reese did it effortlessly, and I think the glamorous hair and simple makeup complimented it perfectly.

Emma Roberts


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This is a last minute addition to my post as I published it before I had seen any photos of Emma Roberts in her gorgeous Oscar de la Renta gown. I love this, the shape, the style, everything about it. I might have done something a little different with her hair, but the makeup is lovely - flawless skin, nude lips and lots of lashes. But the dress speaks for itself here.

So that's it for my favourites of the week! Hope you all had a lovely week. What was your favourite red carpet look last night?

Lynsey xxx