Birthday Wish List

My husband asked me to assemble of stuff I'd like for my birthday. I like a lot of stuff and have a wishlist 10 miles long, but here are some of my favourites! 

These are so lovely!
Plus size yoga DVD!!
And of course an eco friendly yoga mat!
Oh my gosh yes
Love it!



Ok...see. I like a lot of stuff!!
Megan xo 

New house!

We recently bought a new house! We settle at the end of November so I am currently a little bit obsessed with home decor, organisation and anything to do with home offices as we have 4 bedrooms and I can have my own study (until we have kids, but that's hopefully a few years away!) 
I currently have several stacks of magazines, I need to work through them so I don't have quite so many when it comes to moving! I love this idea and will definitely be implementing it! 

For my new study, I thought it would be a good idea to keep current magazines in something like this, so I know what needs sorting before it gets out of hand! 

How cute for organising mail. I am hopeless at chucking unopened mail on my desk and finding it 2 weeks later. This would be helpful! 

Cute DIY glitter jars for possibly storing my makeup brushes (although my cat Noah likes to chew my brushes so I have to hide them)

Really great idea for a filing system!

Megan xo


Reason why I am a vegetarian #1

I decided to make this a little series about things I see/read/hear that remind me why I choose not to eat animals.

Today I saw this video of a poor mother goose who has lost her mate and has layed her eggs in an urn in a cemetary. A deer has taken to guarding the urn and protecting it. Amazing! 

Aren't animals amazing?! 

Megan xo

Crush Cosmetics Purchases

Crush Cosmetics are really reasonably priced and they have quite a few brands you can't get in Australia! I recently made a purchase there...

 Elf All Over Cover Stick in Honey $3.95
This is nice! It looks a bit dark for me but it blends in nicely on my face

Left - NYX Mega Shine lip gloss  in Nude Pink $7.15
Middle - NYX Tinted Lip Spa in Vintage $7.15
Right - Elf Hypershine Gloss in Blossom $3.95
 The tinted lip spa is my definite favourite

NYX Powder Blush in Dusty Rose $11.30
This is soooo lovely! I've been wearing it quite a bit since I received it.

In all, I definitely recommend Crush Cosmetics. They have awesome products and it's really cheap and good postage too!
Megan
xo

Tuesday Tune

Elbow - One Day Like This

I have loved this song for a while, but when I saw them on the Olympics Closing Ceremony it reminded me how amazing it is! 

Megan
xo

August Lust Have It

I received my August Lust Have It last week! Here's what it contained: 


Appelles skin detox shower gel - Full size price $12.95

Appelles  body boosterskin lotion - Full size price $12.95

Appelles body bar vegetable soap - Full size price $4.95
Appelles status -DO NOT test on animals - I will definitely be testing these on myself!
Tigi Rockaholic  - Rock Out Shine Blaster - Full price $27.95 - (linked to a cheaper product)I think I will give this a go
Tigi status - DO NOT test on animals (this link is old, if anyone has an update please let me know)
Marc Jacobs Dot Fragance -  Full size price $160.00
Marc Jacobs status - DO TEST ON ANIMALS (subsidiary of Coty Inc.) This is a shame because this smells nice, as do a lot of his perfumes. Oh well.
 tanGo Tanning Glove - Full size price $29.95
TanGo status - No idea, I cannot find anything
I will not be using this as I do not use fake tan

ModelCo Eyeline in black - full size price $26.00
ModelCo status - DO NOT test on animals

All in all I am happy with this month's box. I will try everything that isn't tested on animals and give the rest away to my Mum!

Megan 
xo

Pinterest Picks

Oh Pinterest, you are so addictive. Here are a few favourites that I've pinned lately
Cutest bunny canister, perfect for Easter...or all year round! 
Princess Leia Cat Pincushion
Vegan cherry ripe truffles
Toast shaped cutting board

Lavender eggling
(you get soil and seeds and they actually grow!)
Kate Spade Bangle - Mint Condition

Tuesday Tune

Nick Lowe - Cruel To Be KInd

Such a great song
Megan xo

Bellabox August 2012

I love beauty sample boxes, and I also enjoy looking at boxes other people have received so I thought it would be cool to put up monthly posts on the boxes I receive (Bellabox and Lust Have It)
In this month's box :

Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner - Full size price $29.95 (I bought a full size of this a week before the box arrived! It's very good. I may do a review at some point!) 

Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion - Full size price $8.49 (on sale at Priceline) 
Aveeno status - owned by Johnson & Johnson who DO TEST on animals
Seeing as how this is tested on animals, I will probably be giving this to my Mum or a friend! 

EmerginC Skincare  - Full size prices Cleanser $44 and Phytocell cream $105
EmerginC status - DO NOT test on animals
I will try these out, but they are very expensive so I doubt I would buy full size products.

Aurora Spa Rituals Shampoo & Conditioner  - Full size prices $40 each
Aurora Spa Rituals status - DO NOT test on animals 
I am going to put these in my shower today to test! They smell good.

Phytocare Daily C - Full size price $17.40 for 30 sachets 
I will definitely be drinking these as I am in need of a vitamin boost!
Phytocare status - DO NOT test on animals (they also make cosmetics) 

Luk Beautifood Lip Nourish in lemon and mint  - Full size price $24.95
Luk Beautifood status - I asked on facebook and they DO NOT test on animals. I REALLY like this. It looks a bit dark in the tube but it's not dark on. It's very creamy and the colour actually suits me! Totally putting this in my handbag.

So I am pretty happy with this month's box! I think I prefer Bellabox to Lust Have It. 

I hope all the links and info on animal testing help!
Megan xo 


Animal Testing

I am a passionate animal lover. I love nearly all of them (except cockroaches!). 

I am a vegetarian and am completely against animal testing!!

To put it simply, certain companies keep adorable and helpless little animals (cats, dogs, monkeys, pigs - anything they can get their hands on) in cages and test their products on their eyes, skin and actually feed the products to them. It's disguting and cruel. I am getting teary just thinking about these poor things. Imagine if they were your pet bunny, kitty or puppy...shudder.

I don't think they should be putting ingredients into products that they need to test because they might hurt people,  and who thought this would be a good idea in the first place?!

So, I only buy cosmetics that don't get tested on animals. If I get beauty boxes or samples I will link to whether or not the manufacturer tests on animals and I will be giving those products to friends or family to use (better not to waste them I think).

I use PETA's list (I do not agree with everything PETA does but I do agree with treating animals a million times better than what we do) to figure out who tests or not, and also I usually google 'COMPANY animal testing". Sometimes it's hard, and I have bought products before to find out later they actually are tested. We can only do our best I suppose. 

Sometimes there are certain things that have to be tested according to law...this is where it gets complicated. For instance MAC have products that I adore, but they are owned by Estee Lauder who test when the law says they have to. What are we supposed to do?

If you would like more info on animal testing click here
WARNING - images of animal cruelty 

Here is a good link for products sold in Australia that are not tested .
And here are some cute animals to make you feel better 
How could anyone hurt them? :'-(
Megan xo

Tuesday Tune


I recently got Spotify and I discovered Sleigh Bells and oh my goodness I cannot stop listening to this song. It is amazing

I cannot recommend Spotify enough. I have the free version for now, but I think you can pay either $5 or $11 depending on what you want. Either way, you just search nearly any band and find their albums and tacks and you can listen to them.
A wonderful way to find new music!!

Blogging

I really, really want to be a good blogger. I want to make a post everyday to keep my thoughts and interests in order and I would LOVE to make friends through blogging.

I have just been so damn busy lately. Planning a kitchen tea, now a hens night and also y'know...the whole wedding thing AND the honeymoon...it's just putting a lot of pressure and stress on my mind and body at the moment. 

I am so excited for the wedding but to be honest I can't wait til it's all over and we are sailing around on a cruise ship, and then when we get home we have a week off work to relax some more! Though I may just spend 7 days cuddling my cats because I will miss them so much. I hope they won't be too mad at me.

I am also looking forward to having space back. Wedding stuff has taken over our house. There's stuff in the linen press and all over my desk (I can't actually use it) and behind my desk and in the spare room. It's ridiculous.

So I hereby proclaim that when the wedding is over and we are back from our holiday I will get started blogging properly, because I really enjoy it :) 



Music Monday

Gruff Rhys - Whale Trail 

My brother messaged me last night and told me to download the free Whale Trail app on my iPhone because I will like the song. And he was right! It's sung by Gruff Rhys, one of my all time favourite musicians. 
He was the lead singer for Super Furry Animals and makes some great solo music too.
The app is pretty fun, and the song is awesome!

Pinterest Picks

My favourite things I have pinned lately! 
MochiThings bag organiser

Floral Dr Martens from ASOS
This camera strap is gorgeous from Bloom Theory Straps
And my favourite - this owl cookie jar! I love it! From Hello Polly

I love Pinterest

Instagram

My favourites from my Instagram lately 
Sylvanian Families 'Cycling With Mother" - so cute
My cat Peach is adorable. I caught her mid-lick!
Sweet & Sara vegan marshmallows. I am not vegan, but I am vegetarian so I don't eat gelatin! These are SO GOOD. I got them here but I found them a bit cheaper here 
(I just ordered 2 more boxes and some Dandies - oh boy!)
ROAR
Noah being handsome

My instagram name is va5el1ne
:-)

Music Monday

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights

I have had this stuck in my head all morning! It's wonderful

Music Monday

of Montreal - Neat Little Domestic Life

This is one of my favourites, as it is pretty much how I want my life to be. I want a domestic life. 
A life of making a home and having a family with my wonderful soon to be husband.
I want to travel a bit first, but I want to settle down into a nicer home soon and get cracking on making it how we want it to be.
I love thinking about the possibilities and I know he feels the same way <3

Caturday

Cat neck pillow from Naomilingerie on etsy
Cotton linen cat eye mask from Naomilingerie on etsy
Doctor Cat Plush!!! From heykittykitty
I need this

 
 Simon's Cat! I love these cartoons
You can buy merchandise here
Cats Versus Human have merch also, and now the shipping to Australia is a bit more reasonable I plan on buying a few things! Especially the above tote bag