Stationery Galore

One of the (few) pros of starting a new semester after indulging in free time, festivities and general relaxation is getting your stationary organised. I've had a thing for stationery ever since I can remember- picture me circa 2001 hanging around my Auntie's office hoping to blag some post it pads and paperclips. I buy and buy notebooks like they're going out of fashion. My favourite places to get my stationary are Wilkinson, Tiger and Paperchase (mostly when they're having a sale). I think this semester I'll stick to pretty much what I done last- write notes on cheap notebooks/ scrap paper in lectures, rewrite them out neatly later and put them in a subject folder to refer back to when revising. It often surprises me how much I have lying around my house that I've forgotten about. I searched for so long for a pencil case that was pretty, inexpensive and practical and couldn't see one I liked anywhere. I found this Ted Baker makeup bag from one of last Christmas gift sets and its perfect! I love the little tab post its in different colours- those came in really handy navigating a 3000 page book. My favourite pens to use are the basic BIC ballpoints because they don't smudge- I don't actually know why I continue to carry around the inky ones. I kind of just like having a full pencil case. Side note: a definite perk of uni compared to school is that no one asks to borrow a pen. That used to drive me insane- why do people keep them?! or worse... chew and dribble on them... ew. 

Are you loopy about stationery? Please say I'm not the only one.

Lisbon Haul

Hey Everyone!
One of my priorities when visiting somewhere new is finding out what the shops have to offer. There's something really exciting about shopping in a place which is completely different from what you're used to. In Lisbon, I found many of the same shops I loved in Barcelona, but this time round I only spent a few hours of the holiday shopping as there weren't as many. A stand out was definitely Stradivarius. This clothes shop seems to be really big in Europe but for some reason we don't have it in the UK. I spent a lot of time in there and liked the vast majority of what they had. The only problem was the fitting room scenario: scorching heat, fluid retention and being covered top to toe in sun cream- safe to say I found myself in quite a pickle trying to get some dresses on and off. 

I loved these floral printed trousers (€19.95) so much that I had to buy the exact same pair in two different prints. They are both really light weight and perfect for this time of year. I've wanted some thing yellow since the beginning of the season but until now I hadn't seen anything I thought would suit me. I'm still not sure if this bright yellow will go with my skin tone but for €3.99 sale I thought I'd buy it to suppress my craving. It is a light, baggy crop top and it sits really nicely on. Another clothing item I've sought for ages is a white skirt and this tulip skirt (€15.95) is a beautiful shape and fits the bill nicely. Finally the white knitted jumper (€19.95) is really cute on and will be perfect for this unpredictable weather and into next season too.
My next major haulage was from Tiger. We do have Tiger in the UK, I recently discovered it in Glasgow, but the one in Lisbon is double the size. It is similar to IKEA but minus the furniture, add lots of stationary and crafts. 

I've decided to use some of the time I have left this summer to try a variety of new hobbies. I'll be posting about each one but most of the stuff I picked up in Tiger was to get me going with those. Its really inexpensive and is one of those places you just want to buy everything. 

I then bought miscellaneous from a few different places. There is a big department store in Lisbon called El Corte Inglés and in the beauty department was a Sephora (hallelujah!) which actually had a sale on (hallelujah! x2). I got their own brand of primer for €4 and this minature Nails Inc trio for €5. They also have an amazing stationary department where I found this super cute notebook. There are lots of small independent shops in side streets and my mum and I found a very reasonably priced jewellery making store. Finally, I bought a post card made out of cork purely for the novelty.
I actually spent less than I anticipated on holiday which works out well as I now have extra euros left over for Greece.