This Week I'm Reading...

Scary Fairy Tales, A Superhero and A Goldfish!

I really love to read, I have a beautiful collection and they are my pride and joy! My bookcase is filled with Short Stories, Fairy Tales, Classics, Children's books, Novella's, Poetry and just about everything else in between!

I've decided that I'll start sharing my lovely books with you all so today I'm going to tell you what I've been reading this week. I read really quickly, once I've snuggled down with a book my coffee I tend to be there all night!

I started my week with a collection of 'Scary Fairy Tales', There Once Lived a Women Who Tried to Kill her Neighbours Baby by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya.

Referred to as ''one of the finest living Russian writers'' by Publishers Weekly, Petrushevskaya is a very talented story teller. Her writing was banned in USSR Russia and her life has been a battle for publication.

Topshop Mini Splurge!

Only a Mini Splurge!

After my post last week about my favourite Lipstick, Lolly, I've been desperate to get to Topshop for a new sheer lipstick! I went in with every intention of buying Applause or possibly Alibi as I'd heard good things and I came out with Hunkydory and Matte nails in 'Candy Fox', I could resist! I decided not to take advantage of their current offer of free lip cream when you spend over £15 because I wasn't too keep on the shades and they had 20% off for students so my lovely Mr stepped in and I got both items for £11! 

Candy Fox and Hunky Dory

Sarah Millican @ Brighton Dome

Home Bird (and dinner at Giraffe!)

Last night I was lucky enough to go and see the wonderful Sarah Millican at the Brighton Dome. I received the tickets as a Christmas present from my amazing Mum and it was lovely to have something to look forward to mid-year. Christmas in April! 

The other reason it was so nice is because it was a date day/night for myself and Mr Matt and we always really enjoy the quality time we spend together. We went into town a little early, had a little mooch in some shops (new topshop items, to be blogged later!) and then made our way to Giraffe which is about a minute away from the venue. 

10 Sorry Tales - Mick Jackson

One of my favourites...

I've had this book for about 3 year's,  it's a firm favourite amongst my collection.  The collection of stories appealed to me initially for a number of reasons.  I love short stories, I have a rather dark sense of humour at times and, as much as I hate to admit this, I loved the cover art! I always hate admitting when I'm drawn to a book because of a cover but honestly this book is worth reading  whether the cover appeals to you or not! 

I don't really want to give too much away because with short stories you often need to interpret them in your own way. Among the characters you'll find 2 sister's who enjoy the quiet life,  a boy who fell asleep,  a hermit (wanted) and a retired man with a rowboat whose story actually moved me to tears. 

Glitter! Nails inc. Battersea

nails inc. 'Battersea' & O.P.I 'The Living Daylights'

A Little Overview!

Ok, I confess,  I do  love nails inc. I'm not a nail polish snob or anything,  I own Barry M and Rimmel and various other brands but when it comes to colour nails inc wins,  hands down.  Today's colour is Battersea, I love the deep Emerald, it's very Wizard of Oz! This is not a watery glitter polish,  it's a highly concentrated full colour glitter, I used a clear base coat (Rimmel) and applied 2 coats. I will say this, its pretty thick so apply the coats as thinly as you possibly can or you'll be waiting hours for it to dry.

Battersea

a new friend ♥

I am not a dog person.  Seriously.  They smell, they need loads of attention,  they make noise.  I prefer my animals smaller, more independent - like a cat. I do love cats ♥ 

But... out for a walk one day my Mr Matt spotted this gorgeous guy, a tiny little pug on his first ever day out for a walk and I have to admit,  he's pretty cute! He was very interested in Matt's beard and the camera but so good natured.  I've always thought pugs were kinda ... well, ugly (sorry pug lovers). However,  this one may convert me! 

My Mr Matt and Puppy Pug

Also, if this pug didn't convert me, this one might! Lola, the Pug who can't run! Oh bless her heart!  

So yeah, I don't like dogs.  Except Pugs. Maybe! 

Are you a cat or dog person? 

Collections of Curious Things

As I'm sure you can tell from my posts about Vintage fairs and rummaging through charity shops in Hove, I do love Curious things! I love to stumble across something beautiful and re- home it! Not that I'm a hoarder, quite the contrary, I clear out and organise things regularly and I hate mess and clutter. I just love little oddities and providing they have a place, a shelf or a treasure box for example, then I'm happy to take things home! I do have a few curious collections and I love them! I have a box of 'treasures' the happy little things I found at Department and Lou Lou's vintage fair (see my older posts in April for the pictures) and the newest and cutest addition to this box is Mousey:

Mousey (Normal, Sunshine filter, Retro filter)

I saw Mousey at the bottom of box of random bits, he was covered in dust and he was absolutely filthy but those big, blue, Disney like eyes called to me! a quick look at the bottom tells me he's from the 1950's and that he's a cake topper! He reminds me a bit of Jerry (like Tom and Jerry) and at 20p he's a steal! I gave him a wash in some hot soapy water using a soft old toothbrush and he looks gorgeous!

Sass & Belle Pinterest Competition

Sass & Belle

I do love Pinterest and I'm very new to the idea of competitions using this app. I follow Sass & Belle on Facebook (I love the Covent Garden shop and now I'm lucky we have one in Brighton too!) and they had written a post about their Mothers Day competition. All I had to do was follow them on Pinterest and create an inspiring Mothers Day mood board by pinning anything I like and a few bits from their website. Easy!

Well, actually, it's kinda difficult to pin about Mothers day. Christmas, Summer, Festivals and so on would be much easier but I did struggle to think of imaginative things to pin! I finally did it though and it was pretty fun to pin with purpose! You can view my board here: Mothers Day

Rose & Co Sugared Violet

Hello Lovelies!

I recently wrote a post about my little mooch in Hove and mentioned that I'd been into the gorgeous Bert's Homestore! Ooooh I do love all the gorgeous things in there but I had already told myself that I couldn't buy any more home items so when I spotted these cute item's on the shelves I was thrilled! I'd get to buy something in Bert's after all. 

They had a selection from Rose & Co. Apothecary. These products are from their Patisserie de Bain collection and Bert's stock the Strawberry Cupcake, Lemon Bon-Bon and Sugared Violet to chose from. There's no contest for me, I love Violets, the scent, the taste the colours so I was sold. 

The packaging is so gorgeous, very Vintage like and good quality. I opted for the little hand soap and the hand cream, it's the perfect size for me to take away on holiday (even though I'm not going until August!). 

They smell just like Parma Violets, the retro sweeties. The hand cream is a 36g glass jar and it's so cute! It cost £5. Texture wise, it is rich and silky. It isn't sticky at all and it 'dries' quickly, so it doesn't leave you with that slippery 'scared to pick things up' feeling! The yummy scent stayed on my hands for a while which was lovely. 

The soap is a little 85g bar, perfect for a little bathroom (or a holiday bathroom!) and, although I haven't tried it yet, it smells lovely. It cost £4 which might seem a little much for soap but I couldn't resist. 

Rose & Co. Sugared Violet

So there you have it, a happy trip to Bert's and some gorgeous little products stashed away to make my holiday a little bit more luxurious, can't wait! 

Did you used to love or hate Parma Violets? 

*added 28.04*

Rose & Co. Tweet!

TopShop Sheer Lipstick - Lolly

I don't really wear a lot of make-up and I tend to play it safe a lot of the time but I thought I'd share with you lovely people a few details about my favourite lipstick! It's from Topshop, retails at £8 and its a sheer lipstick, almost like a gloss but a lot less sticky. It looks great on it's own but you can also use it as a lippy topcoat. Personally I wear it on it's own, I like the way it works a bit like a lip stain and lip balm in one! It has a yummy vanilla smell and I actually love the packaging, Topshop do so well with their branding. A little goes a long way so I've had Lolly a little while now but I'm thinking of trying Applause next, it looks like the perfect summer pink!

Lolly!

Applause, Next Purchase!

Do you have a favourite Lipstick?

A Day in Hove

Becki over at The Explorer wrote a post recently about Nothing Days. A day in which to mooch. I had a little mooch down to Hove recently and thought I would share my findings. I'm normally the sort of person who heads through Hove en route to Brighton but there are always a few places that catch my eye. Namely Department Flea Market so I thought I'd stop by and check it out. 

Department:Hove (picture from Facebook)

Lou Lou's - Brighton Vintage Fair

So, I like a good rummage and I do love Vintage items. Normally I go to the Vintage Jumble sale up at Loxwood, West Sussex but it's only twice a year so I decided to check out a couple of other local fairs. Lou Lou's vintage fair is the winner of the best Vintage fair in the UK (who knew!?) and they travel around the country. They set up shop for the day in the Corn Exchange at Brighton Dome and charge £2 on the door, very reasonable considering the venue. 

In theory, according to the flyers, they should have a mix of homewares, fashion and a retro beauty salon with a pop up tea room thrown in for good measure. Personally I think the cakes are there for people like me who fall in love with a 20's flapper dress that could just about fit one of my thighs... whaaaaaa, oooooh cake! But anyway, I managed to avoid the cake on this occasion, I got there right as the doors opened - I know what Vintage shopping in Brighton can be like - and I was ready to rummage. I love that you can haggle at these events too but a word of warning, know your products. You still need to be reasonable. And you can't think you'll pay less elsewhere, this is Vintage so you might be right but you might also never see your favourite item ever again. I didn't take any of my own photo's inside, some of the sellers can be a bit funny about cameras but this is from their Facebook page and it's pretty close to the kind of thing you can expect:

Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

So as you can see, it's pretty tight and it get's very busy, very quickly! My advice, flat shoes, light layers and the smallest handbag you own with a couple of carrier bags folded up inside for all the goodies!

New to Blogging

Hello!

Well, it's here, my first blog post, how very exciting! I've had a little encouragement to start my own from a new blogger friend called Frankie. You can find her over at Curiouser and Curiouser and I suggest that you check out her lovely blog! (after reading mine first, obviously!)

'home before midnight...' is my own little place which I named after my favourite fairy tale, Cinderella. I always loved it as a child, the Disney version was obviously the first time I recall hearing the story but I also had a beautiful ladybird book which I treasured. As an adult I now collect beautiful books, I have quite a selection now! Imagine my absolute JOY when, on my book hunt last week, I see Cinderella in Waterstones window. The same edition I used to have, it has been re-issued to mark it's 50th anniversary and I couldn't be happier! (I should point out, I'm 28, not 50!) Anyway, I rushed in to buy a copy and I cannot recommend it enough. Just look at the beautiful pictures:

 They just don't illustrate book's like this any more!

So anyway, love of Cinderella aside, the other reason I picked 'home before midnight...' is because I ALWAYS am. Heck, I'm usually home by 8 haha, I'm sure anyone else out there with Lupus can relate. So that's the inspiration for the blog name explained and I can't wait to start blogging all kinds of fun things! Watch this space!

What's your favourite childhood fairy tale?