Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with all the visual inspiration the internet has to offer, especially when it comes to tumblr which has a staggering quantity of content uploaded each day. I tend to save pictures to a folder called 'inspiration' whenever an image strikes me as particularly unique, interesting, or just aesthetically pleasing, and the other day I realised I had a wealth of what I consider to be inspiring images saved up that I might as well share!

Today I thought I'd dash off some thoughts on some of my recent reads, as since school ended I've had a whole lot more time to dedicate to the pursuit of literature. There's nothing I love more than just lazing around on a summer afternoon with a good book, and I've made quite a lot of progress on my mission of reading everything on my bookshelf before the end of the year. Some of the books I've read recently and I'm going to prattle on about here are The Girls by Lori Lansens, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith and Ophelia by Lisa Klein.

The Girls by Lori Lansens

This book was really quite remarkable and I enjoyed it a lot. It tells the story of a pair of cranipagus twins, which means that the two girls, Rose and Ruby, are conjoined at the skull. This was really interesting in itself and there was quite a lot of time dedicated to the difficulties of living with your sister attached to your head, but what I loved was that the characters were so much more than their condition. The story is told through alternating chapters, as Rose is a budding author and wants to tell the story of her life, but soon realises she can't tell her own story without telling her sister's and asks her to write a few chapters too. Their narrative voices are distinctly different and complement each other, as Rose writes like a writer with metaphors and imagery, while Ruby writes plainly and takes a matter of fact approach.

The chronology is a little hard to follow, as Rose goes backwards and forwards in time as she relates episodes of not only their life together but the lives of their adoptive parents (or aunt and uncle), who are colourful characters. The details of their childhood on Aunt Lovey's family farm really brought the place to life, but there was no danger of romanticism as we also hear about their physical challenges and particular Ruby's severe travel sickness which takes its toll on both girls. I really enjoyed the part about their trip to Slovakia, their uncle's homeland, as it took the girls out of their comfortable community and addressed a lot of issues about how conjoined twins are perceived in different cultures.

All in all The Girls was a truly fascinating and educational read. Not too far into the book it is revealed why Rose has a sudden urge to recount her life, and this makes for an emotional and heart-breaking end. I would recommend this to everyone.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Published in 1943, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a tale of poverty and hardship, but also of hope and coming of age, which in fairness redeems the depressing side quite a bit. I read this on the beach on holiday and the story really was quite at odds with the setting of palm trees, blue sea and sun! The main character is Francie Nolan, born in Brooklyn at the beginning of the 20th century to a relatively poor Irish-Austrian family - over the course of around 5 years we see her grow up from what can only be described as a street urchin to a young woman ready for college. Francie has a vivid imagination and loves to read, so through her thoughts, ideas and feelings we build up a distinct image of her character.

This book has been compared with Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, which I read for school last year and enjoyed a reasonable amount. Thankfully the poverty of the Nolan family isn't quite as devastating as the McCourts: they work hard and struggle to pay the rent and feed themselves, but there's more of a focus on hope and social progress, as Francie moves to a better school than the local establishment and gets a well-paid job before finally getting the chance to attend college. I only realised after finishing this that it's considered an American classic, and while I think I can see why and enjoyed it overall, I don't think I'd quite rank it up there with such works as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye.

Ophelia by Lisa Klein

In retrospect perhaps it was a little too soon after exams to read anything Hamlet-related for fun, but I did enjoy this despite the memories of revision it dredged up. As the title suggests, this is Ophelia's story, spanning from her childhood through to the events of the actual play and (spoiler alert!) beyond. In my opinion the last third of the book (which takes place after the events at Elsinore) was the weakest, because the author took the story into her own hands and invented that section entirely - but I'm probably extremely biased.

As a dedicated Hamlet connoisseur (hah) I was immensely sceptical of this before reading it, but in fairness it did manage to paint a convincing picture of Ophelia's side of the story. The author imagines her childhood in the nearby village of Elsinore, where the little Ophelia prefers a bit of rough and tumble with the boys of the village to any ladylike activities. Soon her family is elevated from their poor status as Ophelia and Laertes's socially ambitious father passes valuable information to the king, and as a reward they go to live in the castle. Ophelia is then noticed by Queen Gertrude and becomes one of her ladies in waiting, which accounts for her presence in the royal court.

What this book essentially does is fill in the gaps, and there are, notoriously, a great deal of them in Shakespeare's longest and perhaps most famous play. It provides answers for some of the biggest questions raised, which in turn can affect your reading of the play and the characters' motivations - so while I enjoyed having these little theories fictionalised to complement the actual story, I think it's important to remember that that's all they do and that they ought to be distinguished from the original play so as not to influence one's understanding of it. In short, I'm glad I didn't read this before my exam because it would have confused the story for me, but it was certainly interesting to read afterwards. I think a certain knowledge of the play is essential for a deeper reading of this book.

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you've come across any of these!

x

The other day I was browsing the Topshop website intending to do a general picks post, and fell completely in love with so many of their dresses that I figured I may as well dedicate a whole post to my favourites. I wear dresses all the time, from floaty summer ones with sandals in summer and thicker fabrics with tights and boots in winter - I love that they constitute an entire outfit and can often create quite a statement, also requiring minimal effort. Here are my current top picks from the Topshop website:

I nearly bought this earlier in the year as I had a Topshop voucher I'd got for my birthday, and I'm kind of regretting not getting it because I love it so much. The cut is similar to the one I eventually got, which I love, and the print is just so cutesy. It's really versatile-looking, I feel like you could wear this all year round with the appropriate shoes and accessories.

Ice-Cream Dress by Motel / €52 x

This would probably look terrible with my complexion but look how awesome it is?? All over sequins, and such a delicate pale pink - it really does remind me of ice-cream.

Elephant Print Dress by Band of Gypsies / €55 x

I really like ethnic prints like this. I would probably wear this with just fringed sandals and a simple gold necklace, as the print is quite bold and interesting already.

Cecil Slip Dress by Motel / €46 x

This simple slip dress would be perfect for lazy summer days as it's loose, breezy and easy to style. The floral print has almost vintage vibes and I love the cornflower blue.

Crochet Bodycon Dress / €36 x
I had to include this because I think it's just so fun and odd-looking, with quite the 70s vibe if I'm not mistaken. I like it a lot but to be honest I have no idea when I'd wear it or what with.

Jersey Swing Dress by Glamorous / €26 x

This paisley print is definitely one for the autumn, as the colours remind me of fallen leaves. I think it has the potential to be dressed up or down - also it's the cheapest of the lot!

Colour-Block Cami Slip Dress by Unique / €117 x
The simple block colours of this dress are really visually appearing to me, especially in contrast with the rest of the patterned ones in these picks.

Folk Print Shift Dress by Glamorous / €38 x
What was I just saying about pattern? This actually reminds me of a similar dress I tried on in Primark last year with the colours and baroque-ish print (I say ish because that's what my brain is telling me but I don't think it's 100% correct).

Angie Velvet Minidress by Unique / €225 x

I love anything velvet, and I feel like this would be the ultimate little black dress - perfect for dressing up or down and nice for cooler weather.

Mia Lace Dress by TFNC / €60 x

This is perfect wedding attire in my opinion, and the skirt looks like it would flare beautifully. I only wish I'd seen this in time for my cousin's wedding back in April, or indeed for graduation as I think it would have been ideal for that too.

x

This past week I've been on holiday with my best friends in Corfu, Greece, as a celebration of the end of exams, the end of school and indeed the end of an era, as come September we'll go our separate ways to university. Most people in our year tend to go on holiday in groups at the end of school, typically to a hot destination in Spain or Greece, or on a city trip somewhere closer to home. We opted for the former, and since we booked the trip much earlier this year we'd been looking forward to it immensely, especially in the middle of what seemed like never-ending exams.

We booked a package deal, which in retrospect was a really good idea as it meant we were picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel, which otherwise would have been complicated as none of us can drive yet. Unfortunately, the flipside of the deal was getting up at 3am to catch our flight at 6:30am, just in time for a beautiful sunrise over Brussels airport.

On the first day we were mostly recovering from the early start but still found time to explore the town a little and spend a few hours by the hotel's pool.

The view from our room was 50% picturesque, 50% wasteland.

On a few evenings we walked the mere 50m to the beach to watch the sunset, and of course took a few obligatory cheesy photos.

During the week we did quite a bit of exploring in the beach area and found a few beautiful spots to watch the sunset from.

The town we stayed in was definitely on the touristy side (most restaurant menus were exclusively in English and the souvenir shops were numerous), but it had a lot of charming details that redeemed it somewhat.

All in all it was a lovely week, and such an adventure as it was the first holiday we'd been on completely by ourselves, and a new destination too. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of the beach and heat for extended periods of time, it was really nice to just soak up the sun and try to eliminate all memories of exams from my mind. I even added a few Greek words to my extremely limited repertoire, which otherwise consists of mostly swear words and insults picked up from people at school! I know I'd definitely like to go back to Greece someday, especially to the historical sites and to learn more about the fascinating history and culture.

Just for fun, I also took a disposable camera with me and took a load more photos which I'm going to try and get developed as soon as possible - I'll probably share them on here too.

x

Bonjour,

Recently I came across the 'bookworm tag' on a couple of different blogs and decided it was absolutely perfect for me. I tend to call myself a bibliophile (hence bibliophilia) which refers to a love of books specifically as opposed to someone who loves read, but I suppose both terms apply really!

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?

My mum taught me to read when I was very young and before that she used to read to me every night, so I suppose it was around then that books became a very big part of my life. I can't really remember a time where I didn't love reading!

Where do you usually read?

I mostly read in bed before I go to sleep at night, but I also love reading on long car journeys to make the time pass faster - luckily I don't get travel-sick. I quite like reading by the pool on holidays, but I get paranoid I'm going to drip water on the book or drop the whole thing in!

Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?

When I was younger I often used to read several at once because I got bored very quickly, but obviously these days the plots tend to be a lot more complicated so I think if I tried to read more than one at once I'd forget the story and get it all mixed up in my head.

What is your favourite genre?

Historical fiction is my current favourite, and I especially like anything set in the 15th and 16th centuries. I really like gothic stories too, and kind of mysterious modern fiction, if that makes sense.

Is there a genre you will not read?

I tend to avoid anything overly supernatural or with dragons in it, as well as typical lovey-dovey teen fiction. Also anything that depicts vampires/zombies/immortal being as poor, misunderstood tortured souls.

Do you have a favourite book?

I don't have one all-time favourite, but ones that stand out at the moment are Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and of course The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin.

What is your least favourite book?

Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the post I did on my least favourite books of all time, but I'm pretty sure it included A Series of Unfortunate Events, the Immortals series by Alyson Noel, The Owl Service and a couple of others.

What is the longest book you have ever read?

I'm not sure about page length but just by looking at my bookshelf I'd say that Breaking Dawn, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and The Sweet Far Thing are all contenders.

What was the last book you bought?

See this post!

Do you prefer library books or buying books?

I much prefer buying my own books, not because I like to destroy them or anything but I just love to know that it's my book and in a way I partially own the story, although of course I don't at all, haha. However this does end up quite expensive, but I always think books are worth spending money on - plus there isn't really an English library anywhere near where I live.

What are you currently reading?

I'm about halfway through The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin, after that I will probably start A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

Where do you buy your books?

Mostly on Amazon to be honest, but I like to check the list of previously owned books and find a good deal if possible rather than buying the latest edition straight off. I also get quite a few books at the biannual secondhand book sale at my local English shop.

Do you ever pre-order books?

I haven't ever, no, but I do have a spreadsheet of books that I desperately want that aren't out yet, including the release date, which I consult regularly.

How many books do you buy a month?

It really depends on whether I'm going to England at all, as to avoid the extortionate delivery prices to Belgium I tend to have stuff sent to my grandparents' house which is much cheaper all round. I can easily buy upwards of ten at one of the secondhand sales, so it depends on that too.

How do you feel about second hand charity shop books?

Personally I love secondhand books - I always find that in among the numerous copies of The Da Vinci Code and Fifty Shades of Grey there are always a lot of interesting titles I never would have come across on Amazon or in an actual bookshop. I've found lots of absolute gems that way.

Do you keep your read and to-be-read books together?

Yes, I have them all on my bookshelf (which is reaching bursting point, I've added two shelves in and an extra top section, plus a half-width one next to it and I still can't fit everything on). I used to mark my to-read books with sticky notes, but it got a bit ridiculous as at one point I had more to-reads than reads, so these days I just mentally keep track of them all.

Do you plan to read all the books you own?

Of course! I'm dedicating this summer to making some headway on this mission, and I've made some considerable progress already.

What do you do with books you own that you know won't be re-read?

If I know I'm not likely to re-read books I store them in boxes in the attic, but I'll never get rid of any. This is mostly because I'm planning on giving them to my children, in the same way that my mum gave me her Malory Towers, The Twins at St Clare's, and The Famous Five books when I was younger.

Have you ever donated books?

Not really, as I said I keep everything.

Have you ever been on a book buying ban?

I try to be because it really was getting ridiculous when I was buying them much faster than I could read them, but I always manage convince myself that this Amazon order doesn't count as I'd definitely have bought them at some other point anyway... I don't see the logic either.

Do you think you own too many books?

I don't think it's possible to own too many books! I know I'll be collecting them for my whole life, so maybe one day I'll have enough to turn a room into a small library,

Hope you enjoyed reading my answers!

x

Playsuit from New Look, €19

You probably saw this playsuit in my post about graduation, as I got it last week. I really love it, especially the colours which are very me, and it fits more or less perfectly. I think I'll probably get quite a lot of use out of this!

Bags from New Look, €9 and €7

I'm a sucker for little bags, so when I saw these two on sale in New Look I had a proper dilemma of which one to get. In the end, as you can see, I went for both, and I'm really glad I did because I know they're both going to be so useful. So far I've only used the white one, which is kind of like a Tardis since it really does fit a lot in! The black one is decidedly less roomy, perhaps because it's very structured, but I really like how it looks and you really can't go wrong with a little black bag.

Top from New Look, €7

This top was kind of one of those 'buy it just because it's on sale' purchases, but I do still quite like it. As my friend pointed out, it's very me with the plaid pattern and the dark colours - obviously one to put away until the colder months, but I think it has a lot of potential.

Top from Jennyfer, €5

I'd been looking for a little crop top thing like this for a while, so I was pleased to find this one in Jennyfer. I always cringe massively when I go in that shop because it's just so trashy, but I thought this was about as inoffensive as it gets. I'm taking it on holiday where it'll be really useful to wear with patterned skirts.

Accessories from H&M, €1 each

At this point in the shopping trip I was conscious of exactly how much money I'd spent already this month, but then I found the sale section in the accessories in H&M. Most things were just €1 or €2, so I picked up these little purse/bags for just a euro each! I have no idea what I'm going to use them for, but I thought the shiny coppery one was really unique and the black one is just plain useful. Plus, there was no way I was going to be able to resist dark pink and purple velvet scrunchies.

Today I have a new instalment in my 'Fashion Fancies' series, in which I take a fictional or historical character and put together some outfits I imagine they would wear. Previously I've created looks for Catherine Howard, Cathy Dollanganger, Wednesday Addams and Mia Thermopolis, and I honestly can't believe I never thought of Daisy Buchanan before now! She's absolute ideal as a character because of the period The Great Gatsby is set in, that is to say the roaring twenties. I love twenties fashion, and when I did my history project/essay on the history of European fashion last year it was by far my favourite decade to research and write about. It's so opulent and decadent, all the more so when you remember that the 1910s and 1930s were both relatively austere and functional.

Daisy Buchanan is not the main character of The Great Gatsby, but she's very much central to the storyline. A beautiful young woman from a rich family, she fell in love with Jay Gatsby during the war and promised to wait for him to come back from fighting but then married Tom Buchanan, a man from an aristocratic family who could promise her a wealthy lifestyle. Her cousin, Nick Carraway, eventually finds out that the extravagant parties that the mysterious Mr Gatsby puts on at his mansion in New York are all to impress Daisy, in the hope that she might decide to come to one of them. Daisy is rather notorious for being an unlikeable character. She's shallow, vapid, excessively indolent and seems to care for nothing other than parties and beautiful dresses - which makes her wonderful to dress.

One of the major 'episodes' towards the end of the narrative only happens because Daisy insists they go into town on one sweltering day. I think she would probably have worn something practical yet opulent, such as these amazing velvet shorts and chiffony top. Accessories are of course essential - a black cloche hat, for instance, and practical flat t-bar shoes.

This dress is probably the most authentically twenties of the lot: it has the distinctive drop waistline and medium length, with elaborate beading and details. The shoes match perfectly and again are a classic t-bar style with low heels. To me this screams partywear like nothing else and it's exactly the kind of thing I imagine Daisy would have worn to finally attend one of Gatsby's famous parties.

This was kind of an invented outfit since there isn't a part in the story where they all go clubbing or anything, but I like to think it's a modern take on the twenties vibe. To be honest anything with sequins or geometric patterns fits the bill, especially this glitzy top. And I bet Daisy would have gone wild for a perfume with her name, like the Daisy by Marc Jacobs scent!

Even with such an enormous house to wander around in, I'm sure Daisy would have had nights where she couldn't sleep and decided to go for a walk in the grounds. The green light at the end of the Buchanan's dock is hugely significant as a symbol of hope in the novel, so I like to imagine she might have wandered down to the dock to stand by the green light so that Gatsby, on the other side of the bay, might have been able to make out her silhouette.

I could probably write a whole fanfic on Gatsby mini episodes or Things That Might Have Happened In The Novel, ahahaha.

x

Exactly two years ago today on a sunny day at the beginning of summer, I decided to take the plunge and start a blog. It wasn't such a great leap as I'd been a contributor for a couple of Stardoll-related blogs before (oh the young innocent days of my youth), but this was going to be the first time I was completely in control of a blog, and would be able to choose the appearance and content. I'd been thinking about it for a while and was waiting til the beginning of the holidays before I committed to anything, but I think the thing that really pushed me to create this blog was having quite a few photos I'd taken during my two weeks of work experience that I wanted to share. You can see them here and here.

I'm really proud of what I've achieved with this blog since then, despite a few pretty significant breaks that I took due to schoolwork. I've met a lot of lovely people who have been so supportive of my efforts, and discovered a heap of really great blogs too. I've also learnt a lot, such as how to stay active on the internet and how to take decent photos. Since Christmas I've been a lot more regular with my posts and I joined Bloglovin, which has helped me amass another handful of followers. I never intended my blog to be about collecting vast numbers of views and followers, and I like that today it's still exactly what it was two years ago: a place for me to share my thoughts, opinions and favourite things.

Here's to another year of blogging!

x

Yesterday was my graduation ceremony, or as we call it the 'proclamation of the results' since we also got all our final exam results. It was a really lovely occasion, as everyone more or less dressed up despite the terrible heat. The ceremony was held in the gym, which was made to look relatively fancy with plants dotted around and a blue carpet leading up to the stage, where we all had to get up on to get our diplomas. We all sat in alphabetical order, which meant I was nowhere near my friends, but I suppose it was kind of necessary to ensure some order in the proceedings as there are roughly 250 people in my year! Lots of important people made speeches (including our headmaster who we see all of once a year, but anyway) mostly focusing on the advantages our school system has brought us, such as a broad education and an appreciation for cultural diversity. Then there were a few performances by some of the students, including one of my best friends who was simply fabulous.

Of course, the big moment for everyone was when our names were called to go up and receive our diplomas. I was wearing heels, but they weren't massively high so I was fairly confident I wouldn't trip or anything, but it was still kind of nerve-wracking! Anyway, I got my diploma, shook hands with all the important people, was given a rose because why not indeed, and went to have my photo taken. It was only when I was sitting back down that I got the chance to open it and find out that I'd got the grades I needed to get into my first choice of university, which I am immensely happy about!

Afterwards we all milled about outside where there was food and drinks, just chatting to people and coming to the slow realisation that this was the end: we survived the Bac and we had the diplomas to prove it, and meanwhile this was the last time we were going to see some of these people and walk through this school as students and not visitors.

I've been at my school for 12 years, and for me they've truly been 12 wonderful years. I've met the best people and received an education that is excellent and quite different to what I would have had if I was still living in the UK. While I know it's time to move on to bigger and better things, it's still hard to realise that my time at my school truly has come to an end, and that I won't be going back to those familiar orange buildings come September. This post is beginning to sound very much like the one I wrote about my last day of school so I won't repeat myself too much, haha.

There have been so many endings over the past 2 months: Bal du Bac (prom), the last day of lessons, Bacday (in which we trashed the school and attacked people with water guns and shaving foam - it's a tradition I swear), the end of written exams, the end of oral exams and now finally graduation, which really is the definitive end as now we all go our separate ways. I'm so excited, but the nostalgia is strong!

x

Today I did that thing where you walk around a shopping centre for hours and look through racks of clothes on sale and end up spending a lot of money. Actually it was less than I imagined at the end of the day because sometimes sales prices do that wonderful thing of being lower than it says on the tag, which is always a nice surprise. Since my local shopping centre is pretty limited in the options I mostly bought stuff in H&M, which is currently really good for cheap summery stuff, and summery stuff is definitely what I need right now given that it's 30+ degrees outside and I'm sitting in the dark with the blinds down trying to keep the heat out.

Long-sleeved top / €3

Blouse / €7

Tank tops / €9.99 each

Dress / €7

Yellow skirt / €5 and Striped skirt / €3

Shorts from Pull & Bear / €9.99

Sunglasses / €6.99

Ahahaha excuse the awkward selfie, but how cool are these sunglasses? I was on the lookout for some round ones and I spotted these, which are not only round but have awesome mirrored bits. I have no idea if they suit my face or not and I don't really care to be honest! Also I dyed my hair yesterday, it's a very dark red but I'm not sure if that comes across on the photo.

I'm actually going shopping tomorrow as well so I may well have another haul soon!