My month as told by Instagram - December 2014

1. Nick and I with Buddy in our santa hats on Christmas Eve. She hated this but looked so bloody cute!

2. A couple of Sundays before Christmas we went to a carol service in a private church just out side of York. It was beautiful and this was one of the many decorations they had around the place.

3. Livvy and I in our best Christmas jumpers at the theatre before we went to the panto. Taking her is becoming a nice little family tradition and now she's getting older it's more fun :)

4. Christmas jumper! I have amassed quite a collection of Christmas jumpers so I decided I would wear one to work every Friday in the run up to Christmas - this was the one I wore on the "official" Christmas jumper day, where we raised money for Save the Children.

5. A SnapChat I sent Nick of my sister and I on Christmas Day.

6. Buddy, yay!

7. Christmas cake that I baked and decorated :D very proud!

8. Another Christmas jumper!

9. NYE face.

You can follow me at charleyeliza :)

Guess who's back... back again...

Hello again blogging world, remember me? I thought not! It's been well over a month since I last posted (wardrobe overhaul went well, thanks) which has been down to one reason really. I don't want to get too heavy and serious here, as after all this is meant to be a place where I share whimsical things such as fashion, beauty and life but sometimes we all just need a good serious conversation to blow out the cobwebs. 

So, although this blog isn't in any way more than an occasional hobby for me, I've really felt quite disenchanted with the whole blogging / Youtube / social media world for the past month or so, which is why I haven't posted since the end of September. Honestly, I'm fed up with reading the same old stuff on blogs, seeing the same sponsored videos on my Youtube feed and I was generally feeling a bit peeved that a form of original expression (i.e. blogging / Youtubing / creating) has been ultra commercialised over the past year or so. I know it's been going on for years but I feel like it's kinda hit a high over the past few months and it put me off contributing. I'm in not talking about any one person and I want to be 100% clear, I don't begrudge anyone for being able to forge a successful career out of a hobby. But for me, as a reader and viewer I was beginning to get bored of the content I was seeing and disappointed in the direction the whole community has taken. And as a result, I genuinely just wasn't interested posting here. But, I've had a bit of a break (during which I did miss certain aspects of having this little space to post to!) and feel a bit more motivated and inspired. I've found some new bloggers to read as well as Youtubers (but I still have my old faves) which has given me a fresh outlook. As well as this, Nick sort of talked me back into posting again the other night which I thought was very sweet because I didn't think he'd really give two hoots whether I was blogging or not!

So, I'm back posting again and hopefully I'll be able to get back into the swing of things. This is probably quite a good time of year to blog as the countdown to Christmas is now on!! I looooove Christmas and the winter months (as I have talked about before) so there'll be lots of little adventures and photo ops up ahead :)

Also I'm going to a Halloween party tonight so I'll report back on that later in the week.

Until next time :)

Say hello to Autumn

I'm pretty sure there will be a million and one posts of this nature now we've reached September - I know I've started to see a few on my bloglovin' feed - but I bloody love Autumn. Seriously. Don't get me wrong, I love Spring and I enjoy Summer (although it is my least favourite season - apart from the fact that it's holiday time!) but Autumn and Winter are where my heart truly lies. Although when I say Winter, everything after January the 2nd until March is pretty crap. If you ask me that's why Valentines Day and Pancake Day were invented. To perk up the crapness of those months.

I just love it when the nights draw in a bit, and the weather turns crisp and just a tad more chilly so and the fire gets put on and the proper slippers come out. And cups of tea begin warming your cockles again (rather than just making you a hot mess because it's the middle of summer and you're already boiling but you still don't want to give up your cuppa). It's not just the fact that there's Halloween, bonfire night and of course, Christmas and New Year in these months, it's just everything about them. I can whole heartedly say that from now, until the beginning of January is my absolute favourite time of the year. Also, on a side note, by now I'm well and truly sick to death of trying to find summer appropriate clothes in my wardrobe. If you ask me, Autumn and Winter are so much easier, and more fun to dress for.

Things I'm looking forward to this Autumn/Winter:

♥ Halloween - Nick's brother turns 30 in late October and is having a Halloween party to celebrate. I am so excited! I love an excuse for fancy dress, and now I'm well out of university, Halloween is my only excuse. I'm torn between forcing Nick into going as some sort of cheesy couple/double act and going as a Living Dead Doll!

♥ Bonfire Night - I LOVE FIREWORKS. And toffee apples.

♥ Netball season starting - yes I am a geek. I haven't played any competitive netball over the summer so by now I'm missing it!

♥ Shopping - no need to explain.

♥ CHRISTMAS - also no need to explain.

♥ Panto - my mum, my sister and I took my niece to the pantomime in York for the first time last year and she loved it so we're hoping to now make a bit of a tradition of it. I can't wait to go back!

♥ Christmas parties - any excuse to put a sparkly frock on. I feel Christmas is the only time you can really get away with a sparkly frock without looking out of place.

♥ The colour palette - I am all about dark reds and greens. And deep purples. And mustard. And black. Which I wear all year but no one can chastise you for it in Autumn/Winter!

What are your favourite things about Autumn and Winter?

So basically this post is just to say, hello Autumn, I have missed you and I'm looking forward to all the fun to come!