112. August Favourites

Hello everyone, I hope you're all well! It's actually been a year since I posted my first ever monthly favourites on here and I'm so glad that I did as they are my favourite posts to write. This month's favourites have quite a nostalgic feel to them, all will become clear by the end of the post so let's get cracking!

1. Colouring - The older you get, the more stressful life becomes so I was surprised when I saw the colouring for mindfulness range in Waterstones at why such a simple stress busting method hadn't occurred to me before. We all associate colouring books with childhood which was relatively stress free for most of us thankfully so this is such a great concept. It is nice to see a screen-less activity make a comeback and if you're a parent then you can colour in with your little ones. I love Paris and really hope to visit soon which is why I bought the Secret Paris colouring book as it heavily features two of my main interests - food and fashion (you can buy the book here). I included Paperchase in my July favourites (click here for my other July favourites) and I also bought my colouring pencils from there. They are in a really cute cupcake patterned tin which is such a good way to store them so that they don't get damaged or lost. Unfortunately, Paperchase no longer seem to have the cupcake print tin on the website but there are alternative pencil tins such as an Aztec patterned one which you can find here.

 2. Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream - Every summer I seem to fall in love with a new perfume, last year it was Givenchy's Very Irresistible L'Eau en rose and in summer 2013, it was DKNY's Be Delicious Fresh Blossom. My friend Misbah actually bought me Daisy Dream last Christmas but I'd treated myself to Givenchy's Very Irresistible so only got round to using Daisy Dream this month and it is a subtly sweet fresh scent. It's very light so perfect for summer.

Don't worry, I've not lost the lid! It's a silver sphere so the reflection of the camera lens annoyed me which is why I chose a photo without the cap on.

3. Songs from old Bollywood films - Now I did say at the start of this post that it would be rather nostalgic for fellow 90s kids and with colouring and this music favourite, you'll know what I mean. Regular readers will know that I don't listen to Indian music so I surprised myself with how much I like it, I'm actually going to order the Kabhi Khushi Khabi Gham DVD because if the soundtrack is so good then surely the movie has to be too. The second song is one that my cousin and I used to sing along to apparently when we were kids (I'm not surprised we enjoyed it as children because there's a dodgy looking Mickey Mouse in the video) and the lyrics are so adorable, the man is complimenting his wife throughout the entire song.

4. Primark candles - I mentioned a candle in my July favourites too but these smell more summery. Primark have quite a decent candle range, they look nice and although they don't smell as strong as Yankee candles, you can't really moan at such low prices. I bought the sweet vanilla and coconut one from the Primark in Chester (it is so much nicer than the Manchester one as it is less stuffy and chaotic) and I bought the Red Berry and Jasmine one from the Manchester store. I'm really impressed with the sweet vanilla and coconut one because the stronger scent is coconut which is surprising as vanilla can be quite overpowering. The berry one reminds me of my smoothies. I really like the art deco style labels. The coconut one was £2 and the berry one was £1.

5. KitchenAid Raspberry Ice Artisan Stand Mixer - I've wanted one of these since I first set eyes on them whilst watching GBBO back in 2012 and I've put off getting one until we have our kitchen refurbished. For the past month, my mum's been asking me constantly what I want for my graduation/21st birthday and she's suggested a designer handbag but I said no because I have too many bags as it is. I told my mum that I'd like a KitchenAid once we get the kitchen done but she asked me to pick the colour I wanted and order it now so here is my baby:

So far I've used it to make chappati dough, it's made my life so much easier! I also made some marmalade muffins using a recipe featured in the latest Asda magazine.

6. Andy Murray's big news and win - Regular readers will know that I am a huge Andy Murray fan and this month, Andy and Kim announced that they are expecting a baby! I am so excited and happy for them as they will no doubt make fantastic parents.

 I mean just look how loving they are of their Border Terriers, Rusty and Maggie May.

Also, this month, Andy beat Djokovic for the first time in over two years to win the Rogers Cup in Montreal and although he has been playing fantastically well this year, this victory was very much needed psychologically and comes at the perfect time just before the US Open.

Keep smiling Andy!

7. Twinings Blueberry and Apple tea - I've not included a drink in my monthly favourites for ages and although it's still quite warm, I've been loving this fruit tea. I love using blueberries in my bakes and also just topping yoghurt/porridge/granola with them so it's no surprise that I love this blueberry flavoured drink. It smells divine!

As you can see from our kitchen tablecloth, I love fruit.

8. Asda CBY Low Fat Fruit Yoghurts - Continuing with the fruit theme, my food favourite this month are these yoghurts. I just love all things peach/apricot/nectarine this time of year and in fact, peaches/nectarines were one of my August favourites last year which you can find here (some things never change). 

The peach flavour is my favourite but the other two are nice as well.

Until next time, take care.

Love, 

Mancunian Sheep x