Life|Style|FAVES: August 2015

One of the most exciting things that happened during the month of August was a camera upgrade. I had been toying between the Canon 700D and the Olympus PEN E-PL7 but the Olympus pipped the Canon to the post and I became the proud owner. I am very much still learning how to use it, as I was previously using my iPhone 5c for my blog photos. I also installed Photoshop CC, which is also very much a steep learning curve. It definitely was a month for blog investments, as I also finally bought a Pipdig template. I am very happy with it and I am trying to mirror the theme with my photos, going for a whimsical and soft vibe. I have been really focussed in thinking about where my blog is going and how to make it the best it can be and hope to continue this throughout September.

I actually reached a few milestones in terms of followers this month, including 900 on Bloglovin (cheeky plug) and 1800 on Twitter. I've also really stepped up my Instagram game, and through a small amount of effort interacting, regular posting and keeping to a theme, I managed to double my following to 350 in just a few short weeks.

At the start of the month I was lucky enough to attend my very first Lush event, along with some of the other lovely Leicester bloggers, and had a great time making my own Comforter Bubble Bar and discovering their new summer collection. I wrote a full blog post about the event, which you can read here. In true blogger fashion, we ended the evening with a cocktail in The Orange Tree's lovely beer garden.

I didn't eat out too much this month, but I did enjoy my first visit to Bills! We had an all-round great experience, with the food being tasty and great service. I had the Avocado, Bacon & Spinach Salad and Sweet Potato Fries, which were both delicious, and I would definitely recommend the Peach & Fresh Mint Iced Tea. Sadly we didn't have room for dessert, but we will definitely be heading back to sample their Warm Mini Cinnamon Doughnuts very soon.

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On the entertainment front, I've been hooked on Pretty Little Liars. I picked the wrong time to start watching it again from scratch, as it has been impossible to avoid the #PLLTheory and #FAceToFace tweets around the time of the big 'A reveal'. I'm about halfway through season 3 right now and I'm still loving it. I love all the liars equally, and couldn't possibly pick a favourite, but I have to add that Ezra is pretty much my perfect guy. If only...

The only film I watched was 50 Shades of Grey, which coincided with finishing the book, Grey. I wasn't too impressed with the film. The characters weren't how I'd picture them at all. I think this is always going to be a problem when you read the book first, as you have pre-conceived expectations and images of the story, and it's pretty hard to shake those. Speaking of the book, despite being written from Christian's perspective, I still didn't connect or understand him on the level that I thought I would. I may read the other books out of intrigue, and I still like Ana as a character, but overall I bought into the 50 Shades saga because of the hype and I can't say I am converted.

Finally on the favourites front, we have two drinks. The first is a pretty recent favourite, the Belvoir Raspberry Lemonade Presse. This is sweet, fruity and refreshing without being too fizzy, and makes the perfect alternative to an alcoholic beverage. Next is a tea that I've been pretty hooked on for the entire month, and that is the Twinings Soothing Camomile & Honey Tea. This is a sweet take on camomile, with a vanilla twist that makes it taste almost like crème brulee! It is seriously yummy and is great to drink when you want to relax and unwind.

What has been your highlight of the summer?

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