Handwriting Tag!

I'm kind of obsessed with tags now, they're so fun!  I found another one which is a handwriting tag, which will be interesting...  My handwriting varies so I wrote in my 'normal' writing, and my 'neat' writing:)

Questions:

1. What's your name/blogger name?
2. What's your blogs name/URL?
3. Write "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
4. Favourite quote?
5. Your favourite song?
6. Your favourite band/singer?
7. Anything else you want to say
8. Tag 3 to 5 other people

Feel free to do this, it's fun!

Music Monday!

I've decided to introduce a new feature every Monday where I show you my top 3 favourite songs of the previous week.  I love my music so I always listen to plenty of it!  Here are my favourites of last week:

Spectrum - Florence and the Machine (Calvin Harris Remix)

I love how upbeat this song is, and always makes me want to get up and dance (which is what I normally do!)

Express Yourself - Labrinth

Again, this is such an upbeat song!  It's fun, happy and just a feel good song!

Finale - Madeon

I'm not normally the keen on 'dubstep', but Madeon just makes it proper 'music', and since I love 

hip-hop dancing, this is one of my favourites to dance to!

Check out these songs and tell me what you think!

About Me Tag!

I've been looking for some tags to do so that you can find out a wee bit more about me!  I actually found this one on Orli's page - thank you!

Do you have a middle name?
- Yep.  It's Audrey, my mum's mum's name.  I never really liked it, but now I do, because of Audrey Hepburn:)

What's your favourite subject at school?
- Music!  I've always loved music, which is why I chose to study it further.  It's closely followed by maths, actually.  It depends on the teacher if I like the subject or not!

What's your favourite drink?
- Any kind of smoothie, really!

Favourite song at the moment?
- 'Something Good Can Work' by Two Door Cinema Club.  It was the first song I heard from them, and it's been my fave ever since!

What would you name your children?
- I would love to name a girl Rose or a flower name.  For a boy, perhaps Harry or something:)

Do you participate in any sports?
- No no no.  I like dancing, though.

Favourite book?
- Ahh!  No single favourite, but Between Shades of Grey, THE HUNGER GAMES!, House of Night, Diary of Anne Frank etc.

Favourite colour?
- Pink!  Light pink, though.  Any light dusty colours.

Favourite animal?
- Any small, cute dogs, really!

Favourite perfume?
- Miss Dior Cherie by Dior.  Both of my favourite scents - sweet and floral!

Have you graduated High School?
- Another 4 years yet!  I just started 3rd year.

Have you ever been out of the country?
- Yep; France x2, Spain, Majorca, Lanzarote, Corfu, USA (NYC).

Do you speak any other languages?
- I'm learning French at school, but that's about it!

Do you have any other siblings?
- Yep, an 11 year old brother.

What's your favourite store?
- Hmm... Lush, Republic and any cosy, pretty shops!

Favourite restaurant?
- WAGAMAMA!  I love the Chicken Teriyaki Donburi and the raw juice!  Mmmm... I'm hungry now!

Do you like school?
- Yeah, it's alright.  I like the actual school, there's just some people who make it less enjoyable:/

Favourite YouTubers?
- thestylediet, leflooftv, bubzbeauty, nigahiga, charlieissocoollike, dulcecandy87, allthatglitters21, juicystar07 and macbarbie07.

Favourite movie?
- The Hunger Games!

Favourite TV show?
- Well, I watch TheSacconeJolys on leflooftv on YouTube.  I love The Fresh Prince of Bel Air!

PC or Mac?
- I have an iMac, so I prefer Mac!

What phone do you have?
- Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

How tall are you?
- 5ft 6in.

That was a lot of questions!  Well, now you now a bit more about me!

Finding Me Again Update! 1/4

We are now on Month 1 Week 4.  I believe this is the end of the first month?  (Correct me if I'm wrong).

I don't think I've done too badly this week!  It's been a lot easier now that I'm home, as we haven't gone out for meals.  I've actually made my own sushi this week!  It's great to try it yourself, and for the amount of sushi you get out of it, it's so cheap!

I also chose my own fillings.  I had some veggies and some oily fish full of Omega-3.

On Wednesday I did have some friends round, so I cheated a bit!  We made the delicious Oreo stuffed cookies (they kind of failed, though!).  We made sushi for dinner, and then had chocolate cookie dough cheesecake!  Haha:D

I've started drinking almond milk now, and I've seen a slight improvement in my skin, because it's dairy free (it has added calcium and vitamins).  I have it in porridge with blueberries and bananas or with alpen.  I've also been snacking on Greek yoghurt with fruit:)

Well, I think that's enough rambling for now, bring on Month 2!

A Trip to the Library

I'm ashamed to say it's been a while since I've gone to the library.  Technology has been taking over, as I've been using my kindle more, and the library now has a self-service desk!

Being the research nerd that I am, I researched some good, more challenging teen reads before I went.  I also checked online to see if my library had the books that I wanted, but it didn't have that many!

So, I ended up getting these four books:

The Lady in the Tower
I got this purely because of Jasmine's fantastic review!  I've never really read historic books before, so it's something different:)

'Spring 1540
I am afraid.  You are in grave danger.  Mother, will you run away with me if I can free you?
  The servants call it the Lady Tower: the isolated part of the castle where Eleanor's mother is imprisoned after a terrible accusation.  For four years Eleanor's only comfort has been their secret notes to one another.
  A chance discovery reveals a plot to murder her mother. Now Eleanor must free her before it is too late. But with danger and betrayal at every turn, she can trust no one. Not even her father.
  Eleanor must use all her cunning to survive. For she soon realises that it is not just her mother she needs to save... but also herself.'

The Lovely Bones
I've heard such good things about this book, and I've not read a good soppy book in a while:P

'My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.  My murderer was a man from our neighbourhood.
  Watching from her place in heaven, Susie Salmon sees her suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as they try to cope with their terrible loss alone.  Over the years, her friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the chance to do herself.  But life is not quite finished with Susie yet...'

Before I Fall
As it says on the cover, it's just as good as The Lovely Bones.  It's a double whammy with the sad books!

'They say to live every day as if it's the last - but you never actually think it's going to be.  You always think you'll have more time.

That's what I thought.  But I was wrong.

The thing is, you don't get to know when it happens.  you don't remember to tell your family that you love them or - in my case - remember to say goodbye to them at all.

What if, like me, you could live your last day over again?  Could you make it perfect?  If your whole life flashed before your eyes, would you have any regret?  Are there things you'd want to change?'

Withering Tights
I am embarrassed to say that I haven't read this yet!  I had to get a funny book to lighten the mood after some heartbreakingly sad books:)

'You know what it's like when you have your first snog, and it feels like a tiny bat is barging around in your mouth?
  Of course you do.  So you will love Tallulah Casey as she careers about in her tights.
  She's your kind of mate.'

No proper blog post today?!

So sorry, guys!  I have been SO busy today, with friends over for the whole day and stuff.  I had "A Trip to the Library" post planned for today (it's all written!), but it's getting really late now, and I'm getting really tired!

So, this was basically just to say that I have been thinking about blogging ALL day (which shows I'm a serious blogger:P), and I didn't forget!  I think I've established a routine of posting everyday:).  Also, I didn't think the post would be seen on your newsfeed, because by the morning, more posts will be on the feed!  Haha:D

Okay, well I'd better go now!

A Jar of Free Chores?! | DIY

If only there was one.  Well, now there is!  For my mum...

Okay, basically, it was her birthday, and I couldn't think of anything to get her.  I'd already spent my money on holiday *guilty face*, so I need something that would save her money and wouldn't cost me a penny...

So I thought of this.  A jar of free chores.  Each chore is worth a certain amount of tokens.  Depending on what chores she wants done, the amount of pocket money I normally get for each chore will be deducted.  The more money I normally get for a chore, the more tokens it costs.

Of course, there is a limited amount of tokens mwahahaha... (in mum's case, 100).

So basically, this is a win-win; she gets free chores, it doesn't cost me a penny and it makes me more disciplined:)

You can do this yourself if you want:)  Here are the tokens and label I made for the jar:

Perhaps you would want to make your own tokens.  I would recommend square ones, as I had to cut out 100 small circles -_-

Decorate and stuff the bottom of the jar (so it looks like there's more in it), and put your tokens in!  It's bound to get you some bonus brownie points =)

Cosy, Floral Buys.

Being on holiday where where are hundreds of cosy cottages and little house-y boutiques, it's kind of hard not to buy something!  And it just so happens that I still had some birthday money on hand...

Here are the things I bought!

1. An overview of everything
2. I love this. Get it?!  Okay fine...
3. A small N to put on my desk
4. A big floral N:D
5. A 'love' sign.  I love the unfinished wooden effect.
6. My new favourite mug!  Flowers and butterflies:)
7. I'm always making to do lists, and this was perfect!
8. Some adorable floral bunting
9. My mew favourite bag!  I love floral and brown satchels
10. My real 'Nicola's Notebook'.  This is where I write all of my posts before I type them!  I'm going to do a post soon on how I write my blog posts:)

Belle Blog Award!

I was lucky enough to be nominated for the Belle Blog Award by Leah over at Un Arc-en Vintage, so I would just like to say thank you!

The Belle Blog Award was created by Neevie from Totally Neevie.  Belle means pretty in French, so it basically means that your blog is pretty/that person loves your blog!

Anyways, I have to:

1. Write 3 facts about myself
2. Answer the 3 questions the tagger asked
3. Tag 3 other blogs
4. Ask 3 questions to the blogs I tagged
5. Oh, and you can't tag the person that tagged you.

Let's get started!

1. I play the viola & drums and I sing:)
2. I am part of a youth theatre group
3. I love anything that's pink/floral etc.

Questions:

1. 'Why did you start blogging?'  I've always wanted to be an author or a journalist, so I wanted to be able to do something a little bit similar.  I also love the community here!
2. 'What is your favourite blog of the mo?'  Hmm... probably Anna Saccone, since I watch her videos too!
3. 'If you could change anything about your blog, what would you change?'  This sounds really nerdy, but probably the layout of my buttons!  I really like the layout of Scathingly Brilliant!

The 3 blogs I tag are...

• Jasmine @ Ebony Black Lines.  I love Jasmines blog, she does fantastic book reviews, and she is such a talented writer.  She is the loveliest person!
• Amy @ Life of an Awkward Donkey.  Amy's blog is fantastic.  I love her comedic writing style, and 'The Adventures of Cecily Unibrow' is just pure genius!
• Mars @ inkdropperr.  Mars' blog is so versatile!  She does book reviews, baking, and gives great opinions on things.

The questions for you are:

1. If you had to pick just one topic to write about, what would it be? (e.g. book reviews, fashion etc)
2. What/who inspired you to start blogging?
3. If you weren't blogging, what would you be doing?

Can I just say, it was SO hard to pick just 3 blogs?!  I tried to pick blogs that weren't tagged before, but I love so many blogs!

Update on Life.

I apologise for this 'boring update on Nicola's life' *yawn*, but I have a perfectly good explanation!  Basically I just got back from my holiday (which was lovely, by the way, more on that in later posts), and we were in the car for 8 hours:(.

I have a tonne of posts planned, so hopefully everything will be more structured and what not.  I bought some lovely, cosy bits and bobs for my room which I will show you, some home-baking posts, more pictures and the Belle Blog Award Nominations! (which will be posted tomorrow!)

Oh, and you might notice that I've changed the previous posts to how they should look, and I'm going to be adding some more buttons to the page!

Anywho, I'm going to get to work writing these posts!

Finding Me Again Update! 1/3

Ok, we're now on Month 1 Week 3...

Well, I could tell you that I've been fabby and so good this week... but I'd be lying. Yes, there have been times where I've almost got my hand stuck in the Pringles tube, and slightly panicked when I have to unbutton my skinny jeans, but it's just a week, eh?

Okay, maybe I'm over exaggerating just a bit. I actually have been fairly healthy at some points, I've had Weetabix and banana for breakfast, and I've tried to eat healthily when going out. I still stick to drinking water all the time, although I have been drinking a ton of tea! But with tea comes biscuits, and with biscuits comes calories and with calories comes feeling guilty... and then it starts all over again. Darn!

Well, I guess that's it really. I've still stuck to the same things as the past couple of weeks, I'm just trying to progress further:)

P.S. Can I just say... 5 followers and an award in 1 week of having this blog! Thank you so much, and look forward to Belle Blog nominations soon!

Instagram Photography.

I figured I may as well show you the Instagram pictures I have been taking in the past week. These were taken in my house and the cottage I'm staying in, as I can't exactly 'casually' snap a few pictures with my iPad in public! Anyway, these are my favourites, enjoy!

Something Good Can Work.

You would probably think that this would be some sort of inspirational post, but it's actually about my favourite band!

You might have heard of an Irish indie rock band called Two Door Cinema Club...

With top hits such as What You Know and Undercover Martyn, who wouldn't fall in love with their original sounds and guitar picking?

The trio is made up of Alex Trimble, Sam Halliday and Kevin Baird. Alex doing lead vocals, guitar, bases & synths, Sam doing lead guitar and backing vocals, and Kevin doing bass guitar and backing vocals. Put these together and what do you get? Pure. Musical. Genius!

I've liked this band for a while now, and I kind of like how they aren't massively known, it almost makes me think I have some sort of possession over them
(along with other fans, of course:P). Slowly, they are becoming more and more well known, and are gaining a large fan base.

Their first album is out just now (and has been for a couple of years) and its called Tourist History. Their next album is coming out early September called Beacon.

So, I would love it if you checked them out (it's okay if you don't like it, haha!). If you do like the music, great! Please tell me what you think in the comments below!

Letters over Emails.

We're getting to that time now where letters are slowly fading into the past. Emails, Facebook messages, tweets and texts are becoming more and more popular, and are changing the way we communicate.

I remember I used to get a few letters when I was younger and I got so excited when I got an email. Now, it seems to be the complete opposite. I like writing letters to my gran, as she doesn't have these technical things. She always loves receiving them, as she lives a fair distance away.

Internet messages are so boring, they don't have a personal touch whatsoever (well, it depends:P). I know we take these things for granted, but why don't we try not to use them so much?

I know I would love to receive a letter, and it's fun waiting for people to reply back.

Writing letters are fun too! You can pick pretty paper, perhaps decorate your own, pick out colours to write in, and use your own hand to write to someone you care about. Someone across the world, someone you miss, or perhaps even your best friend! No matter how far or close, it will make their day, and who knows, perhaps you will get one in return!

Benefits of Drinking Tea

I've been drinking tea quite a lot lately, as it is not warm much in the UK and raining! It's nice to just sit comfortably with a book and a nice, warm cup of tea and relax. But while we're relaxing, we are absorbing healthy benefits to the mind and body.

Benefits:

1. It contains antioxidants.
2. It has less caffeine than coffee.
3. It can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by keeping the arteries smooth and clog-free. Studies show people who drank at least 2-3 cups of black tea daily have a 70% lower risk of fatal heart attack than that of non-tea drinkers.
4. It protects your bones.
5. It contains fluoride which keeps plaques at bay.
6. It boosts your immune system.
7. Polyphenols, the antioxidants in tea contain cancer fighting effects.
8. It keeps you hydrated.
9. It's calorie free! Unless you add milk and/or sugar... (guilty!)
10. It increases your metabolism.
11. Black tea can make you feel less stressed by lowering the amount of cortisol in the body.
12. Drinking Green tea daily can reduce your risk of hypertension by up to 50%!
13. It may prevent diabetes.

So, as you can clearly see, there are many benefits of drinking tea, and it's tasty, too! So, drink up!

My Evening In Pictures

I've been quite busy today, so its quite nice to relax in the evening and just chill out.

We went to Blenheim Palace today where I took a few pictures of flowers and such, and I also purchased a calligraphy set:)

Anyway, the pictures are as follows:

1. My dinner; pasta with tomato & basil sauce, Mattesson's sausage and cheese. Mmm...

2. We played some Monopoly which was good as I haven't played it in a while:(

3. Trying out my new calligraphy set:). It doesn't look like proper writing because I don't have a fancy nib to put on the end:P

4. I've begun reading the Diary of Anne Frank again because I enjoyed it so much when I read it the first time. I also think I'll understand it better since the last time I read it was about 2 years ago:)

5. Thinking up new blog post ideas! It would be a great help if you suggested some ideas for me:)

What's in my travel makeup bag?

Okay, I've now arrived at my holiday destination, and it's beautiful. I'm in the Cotswolds in England, and I'm staying in a lovely, cosy cottage! I'm sure it's place will give me really good inspiration for posts, and some stunning pictures as well. It took us 6 hours to drive here, but it's well worth it!

I have become really good at travelling light when it comes to makeup. I don't tend to wear much makeup everyday, so I just brought the basics.

So my makeup routine is as follows:

• Foundation (depends on how bad my skin is)
• Concealer
• Blush
• Curl eyelashes and mascara
• Tint and balm on lips

And then I spritz some perfume on and do my hair (as you can see the dry shampoo).

Products:

• Collection 2000 Colour Match foundation. This is quite an average foundation, it really doesn't stay on for long, though.
• Rimmel London Wake Me Up concealer. I only bought this recently, but I absolutely love it! Gives great coverage, and lasts a long time:)
• Benefit Sugarbomb Blush. I've had this for a while now, but it is still the only blush I use. With 4 different shades together it gives a lovely colour and shimmer to the cheeks.
• MaxFactor Masterpiece Max Mascara. I just brought this because it's the smallest mascara I have. I usually use Maybelline Great Lash.
• Benefit Posie Tint. I love this because it gives such a pretty colour of pink to the lips and lasts a long time as well since it is a stain.
• Vaseline Rosy Lips. I use this over the tint to give a bit more colour to the lips and it is also really moisturising as well.
• EcoTools brushes. I just brought the powder brush and concealer brush as I only need those ones. They work great and are so soft!
• Batiste Dry Shampoo. I love this because some days I don't feel like washing my hair and sometimes just a certain section of my hair gets greasy during the day, so it's good for freshening up as well.

Finding Me Again Update! 1/2

Hello there,

Okay, if you're wondering what the Finding Me Again Challenge is, please click on the button to your left, it explains basically everything you need to know! Oh, and please follow her!

So, now we're on Month 1 Week 2 (hence the 1/2 in the title).

I'll admit I haven't been quite as good as last week, but I'm still snacking fairly healthily:P  I'm also drinking a lot more water, and I've actually been a lot happier this week.  I've also been eating a lot more bananas and wholemeal bread.


For breakfast I have a slice of toast with peanut butter and a sliced banana, and a cup of tea.  It fills me up for quite a while!  Oh, and I also had some sushi today, which is probably full of healthy stuff i'm hoping:)

Overall, I'm doing okay, but I could do better!

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog, Nicola's Notebook.

After spending around 6 hours fiddling around with complicated codes and such, this is the finished result (so far).  After a few posts, it should look good:).

I will begin by attempting to post every day (fingers crossed!).

Anyway, Nicola's Notebook is a blog centred around my daily life, pretty things, inspirational quotes, fashion, beauty and the list goes on.

So, hopefully this blog will be fairly successful!  I'm going to put a lot of effort into this:D