Life Lately #11

Happy Black Friday everyone and hope all you US gals and guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I swear over the last couple of years Black Friday has transformed from being a one day event to a whole weekend to now an entire week of sales, crazy! So having said that, I have already made a couple of splurges, treat yo self and all that! However I did the smart thing and am trying to stick to items that have been on my wishlist for a while rather than impulse buying! So I have already bought a couple of things from All Saints with their amazing 30% off offer and also I picked up a couple of items from my Holiday Beauty Wishlist on ASOS! I also hope to get my Christmas shopping done or most of it by Monday by taking advantage of all the discounts available!

Life 

Other than crazy amounts of shopping, I have also been finishing up on uni work with my last couple of weeks of the semester. That of course means exams are looming so my December will be pretty hectic with studying towards that so my festive excitement may have to take a back step for the time being! Hopefully my blogging schedule won’t be affected but I can’t predict the future so apologies in advance if I do miss a post!It’s crazy to think that December is starting next week and is of course the last month of 2016, how insane! I am super excited though to get all festive and in the Christmas spirit!

In other news, as you can see above I did a little phone upgrade to the iPhone 7. I wasn’t ridiculously fussed over the new model but I am very much a loyal iPhone user so it was natural progression. I got the rose gold shade, obviously, and it is super beautiful! In my opinion, not much different from the 6 model but the design is super pretty although the whole no headphone jack situation is rather frustrating!

Blogging 

One of my goals for this month was to get back into Instagram! Whilst I left it a little late I have been back on! So my return to Instagram is official! To make it even more official, I thought I would do a little instagram challenge and post everyday from the 1st December until the 24th. Like Insta-mas rather than blogmas, nice! So of course don’t forget to follow me to catch my other content here (styledbylaurenblog).

TV/Music 

In terms of TV, I haven’t been watching much! In the UK, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here is back on TV so I’ve dedicating my evenings to that! I am definitely a wimp when it comes to bugs and that kind of thing but I love the show! Also, I have started watching the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which stars Ellie Kemper who of course played Erin in The Office. I am only a few episodes into the first season however it is already such an easy pleasant watch!

In terms of music, I haven’t quite got into the Christmas tunes yet (speaking of which I have surprisingly not heard much anyway!). There has been quite a few catchy songs released at the moment that I am really enjoying. I am really liking the debut tune from Noah Cyrus and also the song Rockbye is super catchy and always played on the radio! I’ve been a fan of Gabrielle Aplin for a while so was nice to hear her new release which is rather different but again ridiculously catchy, love it! To break away from listening to the same pop songs again and again, I started listening to Catfish and the Bottlemen who I am already obsessed with! Their album ‘The Ride’ is just too good!

Catch up with November posts: Nars Lip Pencil collection, Urban Decay Ultimate Basics Palette, The Repurchase List, How to get Inspired in Blogging Again, Lush Christmas Haul and Holiday Beauty Wishlist.

How have you spent your November?

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September Playlist

September was an exciting month for music. I went and seen Mcfly live so of course I’ve been having a bit of a throwback to my childhood by constantly listening to some of their older stuff which I am still obsessed with. A lot of which is over 10 years old and I am still not sick of! September also seen the release of a couple of new exciting albums! Since I prioritised Mcfly this month, i haven’t had a lot of album listening but I am slowly but surely getting into the new Twin Atlantic album which I will probably feature next month! As well as that, I have also been hooked on some other tracks that I keep hearing repeated on the radio on a daily basis. The Chainsmokers song Closer is incredibly catchy and I am obsessed with the song Millionaire which is pretty good to dance to!

What have you been listening to lately?

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August Playlist

Another month of Summer gone by, another month of cheery summery music. Like last months playlist, I’ve mainly been listening to a mix of stuff, most of which has been repeated far too many times on the radio and I can’t get out of my head. Charlie Puth, Drake and Shawn Mendes in particular have been stuck in my head for their catchy feel-good songs that I just can’t stop hearing. I am also loving the song Tilted by Christine and the Queens which gives off this Annie Lennox vibe to me that I really like. Of course I am also obsessed with the new Twin Atlantic song which is definitely going to be a favourite of mine!

What have you been listening to this month? 

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July Playlist

Another month, another playlist. In the Summer months excluding my holiday time, I don’t tend to listen too heavily to music unlike when I am constantly listening to new things when travelling during uni time. So for the mean time, it has been listening to long time favourites and just getting addicted to catchy dance tunes on the radio. I was super excited to see that Mumford and Sons had released a new mini album entitled ‘Johannesburg’ which features a collaboration with a few South African musicians. There really is nothing better than the folky sounds of M&S which I adore teamed with traditional African sounds. Such a great collection of unique tunes!

In my last playlist, I mentioned my love for Twin Atlantic, this month I am still as ever hooked on their albums, this month however their second album has been playing constantly! From the rockier sounds of TA to the complete opposite side of the spectrum, I’ve also had songs from Drake and Rihanna stuck in my head along with another few chart songs that aren’t really my usual style but are so damn addictive!

What have you been listening to lately?

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June Playlist

When it comes to holiday season I take my music listening pretty serious. With long hours lying out in the sun and travelling from A to B, I need my music fix so this playlist reflects some of the tunes that I’ve had on repeat over the month. Since I listen to a lot of music when I am away I like to check out albums that I hadn’t found time to listen to before. I am a huge fan of Twin Atlantic who have featured in many of my playlists although I hadn’t fully listened to their first album Vivarium which I am now hooked to. It has a much heavier sound to their other albums but I am all about it, some of my favourite tracks include Caribbean War Syndrome and You’re Turning into John Wanye. What is even better though was the announcement of their new album coming later this year with two new tracks that I am also loving. Aside TA, I am also enjoying the new release from Bastille as well as some older tunes from the Eagles and also XO by Beyonce which has to be my fave of hers! I basically feel like Beyonce listening to it, yup!

What have you been listening to lately?

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May Playlist

It’s time to round up another month of music. This month I listened to a bit of a mix, I wasn’t really into listening to whole albums and instead a mix of different artists. With the sun coming out, I am loving a lot of upbeat tunes great for the Summer months. I am particularly loving the new song from Calvin Harris and Rihanna which I am sure I will be listening to all summer long! Justin Timberlake’s new tune also seems to be huge lately and another great upbeat track! On the other hand, I am also loving some more slower music from Adele and also Ed Sheeran who’s songs will never get old! Since I seen Busted this month live, I have also been enjoying listening to their old and newer music.

What have you been listening to lately?

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April Playlist

I never quite managed to do a monthly play-list last month so lets see this one as a March/April music mixtape. With technical difficulties over the last few weeks, I wasn’t listening to much music to be honest but since being reunited with my Spotify account I do not know how I survived without! Although the last couple of months has saw me basically repeating the same music again and again, anyone else go through stages of that? I was lucky enough to go and see 5 Seconds of Summer live this month so I have loved replaying their album. I am also still obsessed with The 1975’s new album, Change of Heart is definitely my favourite track off the album and if I could listen to it over and over again, I would! Definitely an album worth playing! Alongside those two, I am also loving Hymn for the Weekend by Coldplay which is such a catchy song and Coldplay never fail to impress!

What have you been listening to lately?

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February Playlist

It’s felt like such a long time since I last did a playlist post but I am back again resuming my monthly mix-tape posts. I did miss it out last month but instead I did a 2015 round up playlist which you can check here. This month though has seen quite a few new releases in the music world which really took my attention. Firstly, I can’t not mention Zayn and his first solo single Pillow Talk which is annoyingly catchy! Although to show my dedication to the other boys, 1D’s latest album has been playing constantly over the last few weeks. I am still truly obsessed! I have also started to have a little thing for Years & Years who are pretty damn good. I especially love their song Eyes Shut which has been one of my most played over February. I am also loving the new Little Mix song with Jason Derulo which takes on a more ballad style track for them. Finally, a couple of new album releases got me well excited. Panic at the Disco’s new album is amazing, quite different from their previous albums with a more swing Sinatra style but I love it. The 1975 also have a new album which isn’t actually out til TODAY but they have released a few tracks and so far it is sounding very impressive with a ton of 80s vibes!

What have you been listening to?

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2015 Playlist

In 2015, my monthly playlist became a staple feature on my blog so as 2015 has came to an end it only felt right to round up the year with a whole yearly playlist. Essentially a playlist containing some of my favourite songs from the year of 2015. Last year seen some exciting new music discoveries to be added to my daily listening including Hozier and James Bay. Some old favourites remained with new material that had me all excited during the year with new albums from the likes of 5SOS, One Direction and Kodaline. Overall, 2015 was a pretty decent year for music and I am looking forward to what 2016 has in store!

What made your 2015 playlist?

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