November Favourites.

It's that time of the month again! The end of it, which means it's time for another favourites list. So without further ado, here's a selection of some of my favourite things from the past 30 days:

Knee-high bed socks - Optimum comfort and warm for more than just your feet and ankles; what could possibly be better than that?!

My 'Counselling and Interpersonal Psychology' unit - When I first saw that I had to take this unit during my first year I didn't really see why. I didn't think it was relevant to my course title and I didn't think I'd enjoy it at all. Thankfully I have been proved wrong on all accounts. It links to my course with regards to possible career possibilities in my future field of work, we haven't had to do any role-playing so far -I absolutely detest that sort of learning activity- and I'm actually really, really enjoying it.

Vitamin Water - In particular: 'Revive' and 'Defence.' They taste great and bump up your vitamin levels. The only down side is that compared to other drinks available they are quite pricey -especially for a cheapskate come student like me! So for me these are usually a bit of a treat, and that's usually when a supermarket is doing a deal on them, haha!

Bodycare - I had seen this shop in Bedford and in Luton, and I'd heard it was cheaper than both Boots and Superdrug. But it wasn't until Monday that I actually went into one. To be honest I wasn't expecting much. I had heard the prices were low so I assumed it was going to be like the drugstore version of Aldi and Lidl. However I was pleasantly surprised. They had a wide range and all of it was the brands you would expect, not the foreign knock-offs I was expecting to see. The two things that really sold this shop to me and will mean future purchases in there are: they had all five of Garnier's 'Moisture Match' moisturises -I read about them around my birthday and have been looking for the 'Goodbye Dry' one ever since, with no success until then- and the wide range of hair dyes they had in stock -Just looking at the Swarzkoft dyes I spotted a few I'd not see or rarely seen before and picked out three colours that I'm torn between getting.

Garnier Moisture Match - Goodbye Dry Moisturiser - I'll be honest with you, I wasn't expecting much from this moisturiser. Although Garnier is one of my go-to brands, I've had absolutely no success with moisturisers from any brand. Some have worked a treat for a while and then my skin has become accustomed to it and it stops having any effect on my dry skin. So far I am loving this moisturiser and I really, really hope it keeps up the good work in the long run! Also, it smells really nice.

Tea with sweetener - This is quite a random and somewhat boring favourite of mine this month. But to summarise why it's on my favourites list, my boyfriend made me a cup of tea and instead of putting sugar in he put some of his sweetener in it and it tasted 10 times better than the tea I make with sugar.

So those are my favourites, and in some cases pleasant discoveries, this month. What have you been enjoying this month?
-Hannah

My Tips For Keeping Cosy This Winter.

I'm currently sat in bed with a stomach ache, longing to feel a little cosier and more comfortable than I do now. And whilst I was dwelling on that thought was round about the time that the idea for this post popped into my head. So I'll cut my rambling introduction short and leave it at: here are my top tips on how to stay nice an cosy this winter!

At home:
1. Hot chocolate/tea/coffee - make whichever of the three you prefer in your favourite mug, get comfy on the sofa and use it as a hand warmer in addition to a satisfying beverage, while watching some quality TV. I would personally recommend The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, MASH or Fraiser. 

2. Hot water bottle - nothing quite tops cuddling up under a blanket or in bed with a nice, warm hot water bottle!

3. Onesie - I think this one is self explanatory. I love lounging around in my black cat kigu!

My all time favourite hot chocolate, my cosy hot water bottle and my cute slipper boots from Sainsbury's.

4. Slipper boots and/or bed socks - All my life I have been a lover of bed socks. They're just so practical in my opinion; and they're really good at keeping my feet -which are almost always cold- nice and toasty. Also, since buying my slipper boots last week I have become a huge fan of the things! They're just perfect. If you don't already own a pair I seriously recommend you invest in some!

5. Soup - Aside from when you're under the weather, winter is the perfect time to stock up on soup. I'm quite boring and tend to stick to chicken soup; although I do occasionally mix it up a bit by swopping to either tomato soup or my nan's home-made chicken noodle soup.
6. Jumpers - I could go on about my love for jumpers all day long! I won't though because I don't want to bore you. But to sum up what could potentially be paragraphs: they're super cosy, super practical and you can never, ever have too many of them!

Out and about:

1. Layers - Last winter I mastered the art of layering. I'd go out with 4-5 layers on and not complain about feeling cold or chilly once. The only thing that I don't like about layering is how many clothes end up going in the wash and how quickly my washing basket fills up. So there's a bit of a downfall to this tip unfortunately.
2. Hats, scarves and gloves - All three are obvious winter must-haves, but I felt they should be included regardless. This winter, when I'm out and about, I will definitely be rocking the burgundy wool look. I have a lovely and thick snood and a cute, little bobble hat, both of which are burgundy and super, super warm. But for a bit of variety I won't be neglecting any of my other woolly hats or my other scarf. I thought I'd leave gloves until last and mention them on there own, as although they're a winter essential I only ever seem to purchase fingerless gloves. Don't get me wrong, they're warm and lovely, but they do leave my finger tips feeling a bit neglected as my current pair don't even have one of those mitten flaps. Companies just seem to make fingerless gloves that I prefer the design or pattern of, as opposed to their normal gloves.

A pair of my cableknit tights, one of my layered outfits from last week -a vest, a t-shirt and a fairly thick jumper- and my Starbucks flask.

3. Thick cable knit tights - I am developing a little love of thick tights, specifically ones with patterns (i.e. my grey cableknit ones pictured above). They're just super handy when you feel like having a 'feminine day' as I call them; as they allow you to stick on your favourite skirt or dress without your legs turning into icicles once you leave the house.
4. Boots and doubled up socks - I have horrible circulation in my feet and I often find that my toes go numb in the winter while waiting on a train station platform. Only last year did I think to combat this by wearing two pairs of socks, and I'm going to keep up this habit for the rest of my days. What I also really like about this is that if I plan to wear leggings and my black boots, I often put my second pair of socks -either black or dark grey- over my leggings so they just poke out of the top of my boots. I think it's a really nice little detail that adds to any winter outfit.
5. Christmas Starbucks - Although I have found out that as of this year they have stopped selling praline mochas -I won't lie, I was a little heartbroken when I found that out- I will continue to sing the praises of Starbucks' Christmas coffee range and all their coffee in general to be honest.

So that's my quick-ish guide to keeping cosy this winter. I hope you enjoyed all my little ramblings! If you feel like I missed something essential off either of my lists, let me know in the comments below! :)