August favourites and life update

August was an incredible month for me (and September's turning out to be even better eeeek). I know this post is massively overdue (just like last months, ooops), but as I said then, I love writing these posts and having a little catch up. So even if no one reads it, I still can look back and see what was going on for me.
In August I got my dream job. I've been searching for something new for what feels like forever, but is actually five months. Early in August I accepted a job at a place that was definitely not the dream, but was a step up from where I was. However, 2 days in I got offered the dream from a company that I'd interviewed at a few months previously. Yes, it was awkward, and after 4 days of my new job I quit. But, when an opportunity like this presents itself, you can hardly say no. 
I'm unbelievably happy and enjoying the new job so much. It feels like a perfect fit for me, and I'm finally actually doing something with my degree. It's been a bit tough getting used to a routine - I'm not sure how I feel about the early mornings yet, but overall it's fab.
I also visited Brighton for the first time in August and it was everything I had hoped for and more. We picked up the dreamiest 21st birthday cake for my sister from Choccywoccydoodah and had the best few days exploring the city. 
I've waffled on about my life for long enough now, so let's get down to the favourites.
I re-read Harry Potter 1 and 2 last month and 100% fell back in love with the world of Hogwarts. I now can't wait to read the rest and also I want to buy allll the merch I can get my hands on. Primark, here I come!
Autumn is starting to creep in now (finally), and when my mum popped down to visit she treated me to the most gorgeous little brown ankle boots from New Look. I love the gold detailing on them and they're comfy enough for my long-ass half hour walk to work. Win win.
I've got a few little beauty bits to chat about this month because I'm trying to get a skincare routine in place again. Send tips and advice on that one pls.
I am totally obsessed with my Bath and Body Works lavender and sandalwood shower gel. I got it when I was over in the States and it's the best thing I've ever smelt. It's a perfect little morning treat that keeps me relaxed as I get ready for work. I'm still praying for the day that B&BW comes to the UK and then I'm going to order this in by the boatload.
Another skin care related favourite is Korres' yogurt hand cream. I've spoken about this in more detail here, but I'll just say that it's very thick and creamy, so has been doing wonders at keeping my hands happy and chap free. 
My last beauty favourite is something that I honestly might have talked about before, but it would have been quite a while ago. I recently got back into using my Monsoon Rose Gold perfume, and remembered why I used it in the first place. It's such a sophisticated (for me) scent, and I love it. The bottle is small enough to slip into your bag easily and it's a subtle scent that manages to linger all day, which is exactly what I want. 
Aaaand my final favourite is the Zoella Lazy Days candle. This has become my go-to 'I'm having a pamper in the bath' candle because of its musky autumnal scent. It makes me feel completely zen, and I'm so glad I've got a couple of these tucked away around the house!
I filmed a quick favourites video for my Youtube channel too. Check it out below:

What were you loving in August?
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My Summer in Pictures

This post is something that I've been wanting to do for so long. I love reading other peoples' photo diary posts, and basically having a good ol' nose at what they've been up to, so I figured I would finally do one of my own. I've also been feeling a little bit 'meh' and a weeny bit lost in the past week or so, so writing this post is a great reminder for myself of all the cool things I've done and all the things I've achieved in the past few months.

So, we're kicking off this photo diary with my birthday (of course), which was wayyyy back in the beginning of June. I was still living in my student house at this point, and was so excited to get out of there and move to my new town. I packed up and moved a week after my birthday - totes 'feeling 22' by the way - and my birthday weekend was spent in a mad scramble of packing, visiting Birmingham and having one last barbecue in Leamington.

June was also a month of (albeit tiny) personal achievements for me. I overcame my anxiety and dealt with moving to a completely new town in which I knew no one, and still can count the number of people I do know on my fingers. I also finally learnt how to Dutch braid my hair, and even made a little tutorial for you guys on it. This is something that I've always wanted to do, and I feel like it gets neater every time I give it a go!

The end of June saw me heading to my first ever real blogger event in London, and I had so much fun! I got to meet a whole crowd of absolutely lovely bloggers, and I've written up my experiences in a post here. It gave me the chance to push myself out of my comfort zone and get in touch with a few brands too.

July really felt like such a 'nothing' month for me until I started really thinking about it. I did a whole bunch of pretty awesome things, but they were so spread out it definitely felt like not much went on! I finally found a job that I was (and still am) really happy in to go alongside my freelance work, which has taken a heap of stress off of my finances! 

I went back to Leamington to visit my two closest friends, have a little cocktail making session and get a lil' broody over a beautiful newborn boy that one of them had just had. It definitely helped to ease my homesickness and make me feel less lonely, but it was so hard to leave all over again after a couple of days there!

I did my first fashion post in over six months in July, which really helped me feel more confident after gaining a lot of weight in the last year or so. It was nice to feel sassy and pretty again in a little photo shoot in the nature reserve behind our house!

We also started exploring our local area more in July. The Tewkesbury food festival was my absolute favourite outing of the month. We tried lots of local cider, tasty treats and walked away with some homemade fudge to munch on, mmmm. 

Finally, August saw me do my first bit of UK travel in quite a few months. I headed into Camden to spend a day browsing the markets and hitting the Cereal Killer Cafe with my sister for her birthday. It was the best day I had all summer (possibly), and has me totally inspired to travel more of the UK in the coming months! 
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August Favourites + Life Update

Right, so this post was meant to go up four? Five? days ago now and yet here we are. I've been a little AWOL from the blogosphere and life in general for almost a week now due to being ill and then rammed with lots of long shifts at work (ugh). But, I'm lucky enough to have this Monday off (praise the gods of irregular customer service work hours, right?) after having worked allll weekend, so I've actually got time to share my August favourites with you!
I'm sorry about the really long rambly nature of this post but, urm, I've been up since 6 30am, and am writing this at 8am, which is basically unheard of in Steph's life. I'm much more of a night owl than an early bird, let's face it. So, yeah, tiredness is creeping in and my brain doesn't start to fully function for a good couple of hours. At least it's partly down to working lates at the pub rather than pure laziness, which makes it okay, right?!
So, what was August filled with for me? Disappointingly, not a summer holiday to some far off toasty destination filled with sun loungers and cool breezes. BUT, I did get to visit Camden again, which I've written all about for you here. We made the trip down for my sister's birthday, and it definitely made me want to visit more parts of the UK before the year is out, so *fingers crossed* Nourish ME will have some more travel posts coming soon! I also finally started to feel settled in my new town, secure in my part time job and landed my first big freelance paycheck for an editorial position I have on an academic journal. All in all, despite a little mental health setback mid-month, August was pretty fab for me, and now I'm excited to see what September holds!
My favourites for the month are pretty much entirely beauty related, but as I've been trying to really up my makeup skills this summer, it's hardly a surprise. First up is a lipstick in the shade Boho Nude from the new Rimmel by Kate 15th Anniversary range. I love pretty much everything about this range, I'm not going to lie - the dreamy rose gold packaging, the creamy formula, the hue of the lipsticks themselves, the list goes on. I'm wearing this in the picture above, which gives you some idea of the actual shade. It's a brown based lipstick with beige tones that is neither too light nor too dark for my pale skin tone. This has been my go-to every day at work for the past few weeks and I just can't get enough!
Alongside this, I've been reaching for my MUA Undress Your Skin shimmer highlighter in iridescent gold. It's getting to that time of year again when shimmer highlight and berry lips are all we need to feel totally Autumny and I've definitely been preparing for this in all the right ways. This totally suits my pink-toned pale skin and I'll definitely be wearing it all through the coming months!
Next up, we have some skincare favourites. We all know how much I loved Garnier's micellar water, after I finally jumped on that bandwagon a few months ago. When I ran out, I wanted to give their Pure Active micellar water a go to see how it compared. It's been really great at removing all of my grotty makeup at the end of the day, even my waterproof mascara, but I do think the original still slightly tops it. 
A little bit of a fun favourite is this new(ish) Love Hearts hand soap from Carex. I usually avoid liquid soap as I recently found out that this is what was setting off the eczema on my hands that I was suffering with. But, I HAD to have this - it smells like love hearts, so how could I resist? I can use it sparingly with no reaction on my hands so this has worked well alongside my normal soap bar. I've tried pretty much everything else in Carex's fun range - bubblegum, strawberry laces, cola bottles, so I could hardly not give this a go!
And finally we have the odd one out here - socks. I have a bit of a thing for cute, quirky socks, and if my anxiety is feeling bad in the morning, popping one of my favourite pairs on does lift my mood, as odd as that may be. I couldn't resist having these adorable little koala socks (similar here) with bobble ears in my favourites this month, and so many people have commented about how much they want them on my Instagram! 
Here's my video roundup of my favourites, which is a little more coherent (I hope) and a lot less rambly. I'd love it if you gave it a watch!

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