Just like that, January is (almost) over. In-sane. It's been a good month albeit busy-I had a mini break the first week of Jan before starting back at work which has been quite busy all month. It is by no means a bad thing! Just means coffee and sleep in equal doses become more mandatory. I celebrated one particularly hot day with a sorbet while walking up and down a hill. This month I also entered the frankie Good Stuff awards. This mightn't seem a big deal but for me it was an achievement. In 2017 I was too nervous and self-critical to even get close to having something ready to enter. So the fact I submitted something with a week to spare made me inexplicably proud. Other things that went down; I read a whole lot, caught up with friends, had some really brilliant conversations and laughed until I cried on more than one occasion. As well as moments, there were also some 'things' I loved in January. Many will probably not be a surprise to anyone if you follow my Instagram but there'll be some you haven't heard about among the mix...

Sandals x Pulp: Back in the day 99% of my shoes came from Hannahs. They're well-made, reliable and last well. That and they're not wallet-weepingly expensive. Anyway, I needed some new Summer shoes, for work mainly and stumbled upon the above sandals-sadly no longer available. They are so comfortable and go with everything. I love 'em. I also have these ones which I got in the post-Christmas sales and they're equally as comfortable. I love sandals at this time of the year.

Take Me Home Palette x Colourpop: I told you this palette would be here again. Sorry not sorry. I've probably exhausted everything I can say about it now so in brief. A compact selection of mainly mattes with a couple of shimmers that make for easy, effortless eyeshadow looks. All the colours complement one another beautifully. 

Ma'am Darling x Craig Brown: First off, I loved this book and I am so glad it met my high expectations. Brown writes candidly and informatively with great humour and flair about Princess Margaret. The naughty, outspoken, sophisticated yet often misunderstood and misrepresented 'spare heir'. Each of the ninety nine chapters is relatively short yet detail laden, offering many an insight into the woman she was. I found it incredibly fascinating and such captivating reading. Well worth a read.

Muriel's Wedding: Both the musical and the film came into my life this month. The movie, synonymous for its brilliant one liners such as "You're terrible, Muriel" and "I'm married, I'm beautiful!" among others is hilarious yet also painfully sad. You'll laugh hysterically and weep in the space of an hour and a bit. I did at least. The musical, which has just finished its introductory season in Sydney, has an accompanying cast recording which I promptly downloaded on iTunes when it was released. It's just as brilliant as the film and has wonderful lyrics thanks to Kate Miller Heidke and Keir Nuttall. Not to mention Maggie McKenna as Muriel is f**king amazing as the song says. Both are true classics and I recommend you listen and watch them both-if only to avoid being terrible. 

Journalling: So far I've managed to write for 28 days(!!), my goal this year is to keep a journal for 365 days. Anyway, this is in here because honestly I find it so cathartic and freeing at the end of the day to sit down and just write whatever I want. That and I'll have a personal record of the finer details from 2018. 

Velvet Teddy x MAC Cosmetics: Another nude lipstick albeit a matte which is long-wearing yet not drying in the slightest. Success. I do feel like this is a rosier, terracotta-y nude compared to some others I have and it seems to create the illusion of fuller lips. Hence why Kylie Jenner probably declared it her lip product of choice for so long to ward off the lip plumping stories. *No comment* Anyway, I think if you're after a neutral lipstick from MAC you cannot go wrong with this one.

The Big Feels Club: These amazing people were featured in frankie's latest issue and I am so glad they were. If only for the fact it bought their brilliant email newsletter to my attention. It's a mental-health newsletter without the heavy, science-y jargon and any of the vaguer, spiritual stuff. So basically every second Monday you're sent a newsletter hoping to solve one small part of the equation that is stress+anxiety and all that other not so fun stuff. They also, as they so brilliantly put it "offer tips for what to do when your brain is being a dick". Honestly so worth subscribing and worth a read. If you're in Melbourne, you need to go to their events too-they sound brilliant.

-What have you enjoyed in January?