january favourites.

It's crazy how the year has just started and January is pretty much over!

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~ How I Met Your Mother (TV Show) - This is a bit odd to put in a favourites post, but oh well. I've been loving this show and in 2012, I started watching it in chronological order from Season 1 and now I'm finally on Season 8, hooray! This show is absolutely hilarious and Barney is definitely the best character of all.

~ Converse Mono Black Hi Tops - I've done an unboxing post here and a 'how I style' post on these shoes here. I love these shoes and they are super comfy but like all the other hi tops, they are an absolute pain to put on and take off but it's totally worth it. I also think these shoes go with absolutely anything and they are really different to the usual typical converses.

~ St Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub - I've done a short review here. This scrub is a holy grail of mine as it makes my skin so soft and smooth, it's incredible!

Kayla x

the art of serendipity.

A lot of you may not know this but ever since I was really young, my dream has always been to become a writer really. When I was young-ish, I entered a lot of competitions ranging from poetry to mini sagas, and I've won a few awards, nothing huge though.

Anyways, I've decided that I want to start at least writing stories, you know to get in the style and things. So on Wattpad, I've started writing a short story called 'The Art of Serendipity' and this is the plot:

"Serendipity. It's a strange notion, a sort of a "happy accident". Adam and Eva are very two different type of people. Eva is a famous dancer and Adam works at a local supermarket, stacking shelves. When they cross paths, big decisions have to be made."

As this is the first story I am writing, hopefully the first of many, I would really appreciate it if you read it and left me feedback to help me improve! I've done an introduction and 2 short chapters so far but more will be on their way, I promise!

To read my story, 'The Art of Serendipity', click here.

Thank you!

Kayla x

how i style: converse black mono hi tops.

I recently bought Converse mono hi tops in black, I did an unboxing post here. I promised I would do a how I style post, so here it is!

parka: primark (old)

top: tee and cake at topshop

shorts: red herring at debenhams (old)

dress: red herring at debenhams (old)

military jacket: asos (old)

sweater: h&m (old)

collared top: primark

shorts: red herring at debenhams (old)

skull bracelet: claire's*

teal bracelet: h&m

top: new look (old)

skirt: primark

cardigan: h&m

pearl and dimante bracelet (bottom two): accessorize*

silver friendship bracelet with butterfly charm: m&s*

I hope you liked this!

Kayla x

limitless by alan glynn // book review.

I've always wanted to watch the film of this but I promised myself I would read the book first. Previously called 'Dark Fields', the description of the book says:

"Imagine a drug that made your brain function to its full potential. A drug that allowed you pick up a foreign language in a single day. A drug that helped you process information so fast you could see patterns in the stock market. Just as his life is fading into mediocrity, Eddie Spinola comes across such a pill: MDT-48 - a sort of Viagra for the brain. But while its benefits materialise quickly, so do certain unwelcome side-effects. And when Eddie decides to track down other users, he soon discovers that they're all dying, or already dead..."

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I'll be honest, this was quite a disappointment for me. As I got through a quarter of the book, I was pretty bored. I decided to just read on for the sake of it to see if it got better and plus, I hate not finishing a book. This book probably gets interesting when you're 70% through the book and at that point, that's when I started actually enjoying it. 

The writer, Alan Glynn, has a habit of telling the reader useless and irrelevant bits of information, which really annoyed me.

However, there were some interesting and enjoyable parts of the book, such as the ending. If you can get through the boring 30% of the book, trust me it's worth it in the end. The boring parts are quite relevant though as they are all related to the end.

So, if you like books that have all the action packed at the end or if you enjoyed the film, then you might like this book!

Kayla x

unboxing // converse black mono hi tops.

So I got a cheeky package in the post and immediately decided to do an unboxing post! 

Black Mono Converse from USC (Reduced from £40 to £32)

I love love love these hi tops. I've had hi top converse before but they were black with the usual white soles. I actually prefer low tops (if that's what you call them) but I thought I should switch it up a little. Even though hi tops are an absolute pain to take off and put on, they look awesome.

My first impressions were pretty good despite I had to lace them up myself as they weren't even laced up! They feel really different to low tops, obviously but it feels almost flimsy.

But I really do like these as they look both sleek and edgy and the best thing about converses are that you can dress them up or down!

I will definitely be doing a 'how to style' post on these!

Kayla x

the post-holiday detox.

I'm pretty sure that after Christmas/New Year holidays or the night after takeaway, my skin seems to magically grow some spots. It's a very bad time for my skin and body so lately, I've tried to detox my skin and body.

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~ The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask (short review here) - this mask is great for drawing out impurities from your face and frankly, I've spoke about this product and a lot of the products from the tea tree range from body shop too many times. It's incredible but it works best when used once a week so I'm usually waiting.

~ Workout/Yoga apps - I've spoke about a couple of workout apps on my post of What's on my iPhone 4S? I have 5 fitness related apps but my favourites are NTC (Nike Training Club), Workouts and Simply Yoga. I've tried to do yoga and work out around 3 times a week each and play tennis once a week. I'm not really trying to lose weight but rather get toned and in shape for Summer, even though it's months away! I'll be doing a workout post very soon! All the apps I have wrote about in this post are 100% free.

~ Healthy living - Lately, I've been trying to eat healthier and trying to ditch the chocolate for some healthier options. I've really been loving falafel wraps, and I may do a post on it as it is super yummy and this is from someone who is extremely fussy!

On a different note, I'm selling some used Grade 1 Piano books by ABRSM on Amazon and they are at great prices! Check them out here.

Kayla x

winter skincare routine.

Since my last skincare routine (autumn skincare routine here), my daily routine has changed quite a bit.

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(Click on the products in italics and you will be sent to their reviews)

Morning
Every morning I use The Body Shop Tea Tree Facial Wash which I always rave on about. I then moisturise my face by using the Boots Botanics Calming Day Cream. That's basically it for the morning on weekdays. But, on the weekends it's a bit different. On Saturdays, I use The Body Shop Tea Tree Mask and on Sundays, I use the facial wash and the St Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub. Also, on Saturdays, just before I apply the mask, I use the Neutrogena Spot Stress Cleansing Lotion  on a cotton pad to get rid of dirt and excess oils.

Evening
This is when it gets a lot more complicated you could say. I have a set routine of what I use on what day of the week as it is much much simpler. On Mondays, Fridays and Sunday mornings, I use the St Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub. On Wednesdays, I use the Garnier 3 in 1 Pure Scrub, Mask and Wash and I use it only as a mask because that's how it works best for my skin. And finally, I like to give my skin a rest on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I usually just use the The Body Shop Tea Tree Facial Wash again at night.

If I have any spots on my face, I usually use The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Gel and overnight, usually the spots are visibly reduced in redness and/or size.

I hope you liked this!

Kayla x

what's on my iphone 4s?

I got an iPhone 4S for Christmas and I know it's been less than a month, but I thought it would be really awesome to show you guys what I've already put on it!

So this is my iPhone 4S in white and it's awesome. I won't go into detail as I'm sure most of us know what an iPhone is!

Yesterday, this phone case came in the post and it's really cool. It's a knockoff for the SwitchEasy one which costs around $34 but this one only costs £1.99. It's basically a case of a sort of 'melting ice-cream' and this is the link to the item on eBay.

So this is the first page on my iPhone. Everything is pretty basic here and this is the page that I visit the least as I don't use the weather/newsstand/game center, etc. I swapped the Whatsapp app and Mail one on the bottom bar as honestly, I never really use my email much.

In the Utilities, I've got the usual generic apps and I've added in the Stocks and Passbook as they really don't interest me but I don't want to delete them just in case.

This is definitely my most visited page. I use Twitter (follow me @kaylathreads), Instagram and Facebook the most. My instagram and facebook accounts are private so I don't really like to give it out unless I know you in real life, sorry! I also got the Find My iPhone app so incase I ever lost it, in the house or somewhere else, I can find it and disable it if needed. I actually then downloaded the Kindle app just in case I ever want to read when I'm out and about as I don't like Kindle outside, unless I'm on holiday. The next 3 apps, Bad Piggies, Sonic Jump and Shark Dash are all games and super duper addictive. Sonic Jump and Shark Dash came free on the 12 Days of Christmas app that iTunes releases every year but sadly it's over now. And the final app on this page is Flashlight, which is as it says a torch by using the camera flash. It also has a built in compass and SOS signal, I think.

My third and final page is all workout related as this new year I've tried to start getting exercise not to lose weight but to get active and toned (I'll be doing a post on it soon). Simply Yoga is really good if you want a basic routine already made for you. Guru Yoga is also good for this and you can also make your own routines on this app using exercises and positions given to you. The 3 workout apps: Nike Training, Workouts and Davina Fitness are really great for routines pre-made.

I hope you liked this post and I'll definitely be updating this in a couple of months time! I'd just like to say that all the apps on my phone are 100% free (Sonic Jump and Shark Dash were free when I downloaded them but they may now be priced).

Kayla x

what i got for christmas 2012.

First of all, as pretty much any blogger, I am not trying to brag. I actually think these posts are really showing how grateful people are to get these presents.

My family, as in cousins, uncles, etc, is really big so if we got a present for each other, we'd be broke, literally. So instead, this year we decided to do a Secret Santa with a budget of £20 and my cousin got me an adorable Angry Bird toy because he knows I'm always playing it on my phone! He also got me a T-shirt Grafifiti set and a T-shirt to go with it, but it's in the wash so I can't show it but it's just a basic grey top. He got me it so the next time I go to a gig, I can personalise a top for the band/singer and I think it's such a cute idea!

 My friend knows I love love love the Script and I am seeing them in March, so she got me their 2013 calendar, which I am loving to death! The pictures are so awesome and when the calendar finishes, I'm definitely going to put up the pictures as posters in my room.

My other friend got me this adorable and funny purse from David & Goliath and I think it's so cute and so me!

One of my friends got me the silver bracelet (on the left) from Marks and Spencers. The packaging it came in was really cute as it had a sweet motivational quote on it and this bracelet is called 'Happiness'. It's a friendship style bracelet with a cute butterfly charm and I really love it as it is sophisticated and girly. Another friend, (I swear I'm really not popular), got me the Ed Sheeran bracelet which has loads of pictures of his face on and I love it to bits. She also got me a keyring of Ed with one side with his face on it and the other side says 'Keep calm and love Ed Sheeran' but I couldn't find it so I couldn't show you guys.

This was the big present my parent's bought me and it was so kind of them. I actually got the iPhone 4s because my old phone, HTC Wildfire S, kept turning off randomly and even though it was 1 year old, the memory was running out constantly even when I kept deleting apps until I only have 1 left. I love this phone to bits and I'll definitely be doing the 'What's on my iPhone' tag very soon! I'm so so grateful to my parents for this as it was so sweet of them.

My different friend got me the Silver Linings Playbook book as we watched the film together and she knew I really wanted to read it. My other friend got me It's Kind of a Funny Story book and the DVD which was so sweet of her to get me both. And finally, my other friend got me the DVD of 21 Jumpstreet as she knows I love the film and especially Dave Franco and Channing Tatum!

I hope you liked this and didn't find I was bragging at all!

Kayla x

best skincare products of 2012.

My skin has been the usual blemish prone this year and it's been tough to control it so I had to use only the best products for my skin.

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~ Avene Skin Recovery Cream* (I did a short review here) - I only have a 5ml sample of this so I use it very sparingly, which is about once or twice a year, usually in winter. Whenever I use this, my skin feels great. It's hydrating without being greasy as you only need a very tiny amount. I'm considering buying the full size but £12 for onlr 40ml seems a rip off to me, I'm waiting for an offer or discount!

~ St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub - I actually forgot to put this in my December favourites but this is the best scrub I have ever tried. I'm used to scrubs with smaller granules but this one has quite big abrasive ones compared to the ones I'm used to. However, it is great to use and makes my skin feel soft and smooth after. I only use it 3 times a week and it has helped my skin look and feel better.

~ The Body Shop Tea Tree Facial Wash (I did a full review here) - This is great to get rid of excess oil, especially on the T-zone. I won't write too much as I have wrote more in the review (link is above). This has been incredible and the best part is that is made mainly, if not all, by natural products!

Kayla x

nye ootd // auld lang syne.

First of all, happy new year everyone! I hope you all have an amazing 2012 and let's hope 2013 will be just as good. Last night for NYE, I spent it with my family and watched some good ol' videos of when we were younger.

top: hollister (old)

white slip/cami underneath: primark

shorts: debenhams (old)

This definitely is more of a holiday/summer look and not as 'appropriate' for the chilly London weather but as I was indoors pretty much for all NYE, it didn't really matter!

I hope you all had a great night yesterday!

Kayla x