On Stationery - Kikki.K

[Photo: http://www.tijgertjerawr.com/zweedse-pastelkleurtjes-van-kikki-k/]

After initially reading about Kikki.K opening in Covent Garden here, I looked up the shop, I browsed it's website, I sent it to my sister, I sent it to friends, I followed them on Instagram. I needed to go. Make up and Stationery (and books) are a few of the things that I fluctuate between buying the most and I had not actually bought any stationery in a while. 

I would like to say that I had not gone to Covent Garden solely for the purpose of going here ... but I cannot lie. This shop is incredible. It is kind of like Paperchase but a little bit sleeker [and don't get me wrong, I adore Paperchase. Ask the boyf and he can confirm]. Much the same as Paperchase it has different ranges with similar things in each; journals, Paper Lover's Books, decoration sets, planners, pencil cases. The list goes on. 

They even, in an almost Ikea-like format, have desk layouts. (Is this just a Swedish thing?) Everything is sososo beautiful and it is all such a lovely quality. Many of their items are focused on living a better, happier and more mindful life. This is not just ordinary stationery, it's stationery that is focused upon something and can help you to focus as well. 

These beautiful books each focus on a particular trait, such as happiness or habits and help you to focus these throughout your life. The books themselves are gorgeous and the insides are also beautiful; they have different sections for different considerations and time frames as well as questions that help you to guide your planning. 

This range was by far my favourite and possibly one of the cutest in there! 

To my amazement, I bought only one thing. The Paper Lover's Book. 

I don't think there are the words to even begin talking about this book.

Kikki.k is definitely one of the most beautiful (and Instagrammable) stationery shops that I have ever seen. If you sign up to them in store you get a £5 voucher and £5 on your birthday! Students: they also do 10% student discount. You're welcome.

xoxo

On Motivation

It is the penultimate week of the Easter holidays (Warwick give us 5 weeks; don't ask). I have a grand total of 17,500 words to write (this will be small to some and large to others; it's all relative), three exams to revise for. A CV to complete, job applications to fill in and emails to send. 

I woke up yesterday morning with a horrendous migraine and could do nothing but re-watch Gilmore Girls and drink hot water in bed. I know that the latter part of this sounds pretty pleasant, but the former was awful and in total it left me feeling extremely guilty about having done little to no work. The majority of my deadlines are six weeks away and a good 12,000 of those words have been written. Yet still, I felt guilty. I lacked absolutely any motivation which also added to the guilt.

But motivation is hard to find. I'm one of those people that if I want a break, I'm going to have a break. I know that I'm not going to be productive if I want to watch Four In A Bed or go and make hot chocolate. I have productive periods of about 20-40 minutes at a time; then I need a break. Working like this means that I can then gather a bit more motivation in each break. Read an article about the girl that got accepted into all 8 Ivy League schools. Or the blogger that is in the same position as me but still runs an amazing blog. Or just lust after this bar cart.

Yet when you do have motivation, there are so many things you can get done. You can finish that essay. You can beast that exam. You can finally get rid of all those Law Firm brochures (I recycled all of my Law career hopes and dreams of 2013 yesterday). You can tick off some of your To Do List. And it doesn't really take that much to do it either. If you got out of bed, you're already basically 75% there anyway! 

My diary has become a mass of day to day to do lists. In fact more like day to day goals. Finish Nietzsche Essay. Make revision timetable etc. It's all about those small steps. Once you know what the steps themselves are, the rest is actually pretty easy.

And if you're like me and your main problem is actually making the steps; read: actually doing it, then really the only thing holding you back is you. 

And remember. Today is Tuesday. We've already conquered Monday!

xoxo

On Blogging

After reading this post on Hannah Gale's website, and this blog in general, I really came to terms with the fact that blogging has really changed since I first started.

When I first started, blogging as a whole, Youtube as well, was still pretty much a hobby for most people. All of my favourites blogs had not yet become the worldwide successes that they now are. And don't get me wrong, I'm really happy for those people. But things like that kind of have a dampening effect on the blogging world for those who are still just doing it for fun and as some sort of creative outlet.

So I had become very disillusioned with the whole of the blogging world. (Which let's face it, loads of people have said and probably more than once).

But since finding blogs such as Design For Mankind, I have really started to appreciate the art of writing again, and blogging. And I don't just mean blogging to review something, or to share a new beauty deal. But blogging to share something a bit, heavier. 

I have for a long time aspired to write semi-autobiographical essays/books and I think that is the kind of route that I wish to take with The Kazlight Anthem. At the end of the day, it has Anthem in its name, and so really it should be a Anthem to me and what I'm doing and everything I want to share.

I think that I have started to find more the kind of style and just, way, of doing things that I want to do. I wanted to write about myself, but in a way that not only engaged readers, but also was kind of cathartic for me. I wanted to write in a way that not only covers the kind of things I always wrote about anyway, but things as well that maybe weren't just about going somewhere new, or buying a new lipstick.

Maybe it was just that suddenly I wanted to be a bit more selfish with what I was actually sharing, and wanted my blog to become a kind of place for me to work through a lot of things.

Essentially, I didn't want to get stuck in the world of blogging as how I'd seen it become, so much that I couldn't break free from that and blog in my own way.

Hopefully that's what will be happening here more. But don't worry, it will still be me, just probably a bit more me than maybe you'd be used to.

xoxo

Deodorant: Roll On or Spray?

It was either this picture or one of those cringey ones of someone in a white towel, putting on their deodorant and looking so happy that I just couldn't.

Now I know this seems a really really weird thing to post about, but I am genuinely quite intrigued! (I don't even care how sad this is all sounding).
I had alwaysalwaysalways used spray deodorants; the thought of using a roll on one, cream or otherwise, made me feel, to be quite honest, nauseous and they always said 'elderly' to me. Yet when I came to the States, the only deodorant that I had with me was a Nivea roll on. 3 months later and I'm still only 2/3 of it through. My sister always said how they last longer, and damn do they!

Yet... despite this, I still miss my spray ones. Although I feel the roll ones are better in  some ways? But I miss my Dove pink grapefruit spray; I miss the lovely fresh smell.
And now I am torn between my preferred option (I think still?) or the seemingly everlasting option. I also now feel that I need to give the cream ones a whirl; it's like I'm doing my own personal deodorant experiment! (#noshame)

So...what are your thoughts? What do you prefer? What do you think is better? Anyone? Recommendations? P.S. I do not smell. 

xoxo