Revenge Friday: Winter survival guide, causing trouble at a book club and nail care

Hello darlings

I have been so fatigued the past few weeks but I am back with a blogpost. I thought I would share some winter tips (a survival guide sounds sort of dramatic) just some things I do to make winter easier. Obviously I know winter doesn't start till December but I don't really acknowledge Autumn. 

This whole self-improvement thing is hard.... I booked a ticket to attend a book club however, I got uninvited (I forgot to fill in a form) and refused a refund on my ticket. So, now I just have this bloody book in my boudoir taunting me and I haven't read it because I am so annoyed I can't look at it. 

Winter Survival Guide

Fill your diary: Fill your diary with a few nice things (try not to get uninvited and refused a refund lol) because sometimes it is hard to feel motivated to leave the house this time of year. Book like an event, talk, cinema, a restaurant, something like that. I have been doing a few things the past few weeks.

Also if you are going into central London have a plan and book somewhere to eat because I went with my partner into town on Saturday for dinner and it was horribly busy- there was nowhere to eat. I am not making that mistake again this year.

Dress snugly: I want to treat myself to like a really nice winter coat- not sure the style I want yet. I was thinking about going to a sample sale in the hopes of picking up something slightly discounted. 

Winter woollies: I recently went to my grandmas house and she was trying to get rid of loads of vintage jumpers that my mum had made. I picked out two which I need your opinion on because I am really not trying to look like... a history teacher. 

So the first is an asymmetrical collar cardigan which I actually really like and its really soft (100% wool but I am not sure what type of wool) but I was thinking maybe to elevate it that I swap out the buttons for something a little more glamour. 

Then I also got this pretty fabulous wool shawl neck jumper. I normally don't like this style of neckline but actually I think the jumper looks really cute on.

Start your 2025 goals: I probably say this every year but now is a good time to set goals for the new year. I have set a list of ten goals (I need 10- my life calls for drastic change) and there is one I am working on at the moment just to ensure a better chance of me completing it by 2025. I feel like you have to really consider your goals, so set them now and get to work!

'Spring' cleaning: I feel like I have a few things on my to-do list which I want to do now its Autumn

such as:

• Taking some things to the dry-cleaners (coats ect)
• Having a clear out before Christmas
• Wash bedding
• Putting away my summer clothes
• De-mould my handbags (my handbags keep on going mouldy lol)

So I would say write a big to-do list and try and tackle it one weekend.

Do the fun Christmassy bits early: I don't necessarily mean like buying present and preparation, although I do believe in buying Christmas presents in like November. Last year I was doing last minute shopping and I kept on setting off the security alarm in every shop (couldn't work out at all what was causing it) and... it was like my final straw. But doing nice Christmassy things like family and friend dinners, Christmas film night, ice skating, craft, baking ect. Anything Christmassy you want to do but maybe won't get around to come December. 

Nail Care

So I have decided to establish a nail care routine. So my nail situation is that my nails grow very quickly however they break easily; slight cracks appear on the side of the nail, they get caught in textiles and my hair, they chip and they just seem to all break off at once. I have no qualms over the look of my nails, they aren't like an ugly shape.

I am not someone that paints my nails particularly often so I never really bothered with nail care but I realised that is not right and nail care can be just as rewarding and important even if you aren't someone that paints your nails. So, I reached the end of my tether about my nails breaking so easily and I decided to do some research into nail care.

So here are some things I am starting to do:

• So all the forums were saying to use a glass nail file and so my mum gave me one that she doesn't use.
• Leading on from that one of the things I learnt was that the shape of your nail impacts how likely they are to break and square was the most susceptible to breakages. So far, since filing the sides curved, I am seeing a slight reduction in the sides getting cracks. 
• I have also purchased a nail oil which I am advised to use frequently. If I get on well with this I think I am going to consider doing a DIY nail oil (there are loads of instructions online) which is apparently better and actually works out more cost effective. I just brought one from a health food shop.
• I decided to omit like any nail strengthening polishes from my routine because I read that actually some of them can lead to increased breakages and since I wouldn't describe my nails as being weak I don't want to risk it.

I know to a lot of you this is probably no new information but actually I have found it so helpful reading the articles. It is really nice to know that there are some quite simple things to do to look after your nails. It is such an simple glow up thing to start doing. 

Revenge Friday

So I decided to go to Dulwich to have a look around the boutiques. I just brought the odd thing. It was such a hassle getting there; I spent more time traveling there and back than time I actually spent there. Anyway I had a nice time out and when I got home I did some craft which was nice. Yeah I just had a relaxing day tbh.

Okay I will chat again with you next week- I swear I will this time. Have a lovely week!

Love

Happy hippo xx

Revenge Friday- Crystal Palace, Uniqlo haul, life

 Hello darlings, 

I hope you had a good weekend. Also, who else wasted last Saturday Morning in that fucking Ticketmaster queue? At 12:15 I made the executive decision to cut my loses because I knew even if I did access it I would have been totally priced out by that point. I wasn't even in the actual queue, I was just in the queue to access the website.

I did manage to salvage my Saturday: I went to Sloane Square to the Saatchi Gallery to see a fashion photography exhibition Beyond Fashion. There is a really great food market on Duke of York Square and there are loads of options and if it is good weather you can have a picnic on the square; that is what I did and I went for Moroccan cuisine.

 On Sunday I met up with my partner and we went to the British Museum- I hadn't been in years. We had a walk around the museum which was fun and actually it was good going with someone who is into history . 

After we went to an arcade called Novelty Automation which was like a 6 minute walk away. The arcade machines are sort of very quirky and satirical; there was one which recreated working in an Amazon warehouse, one which you practice money laundering, another where you fight to keep the house in a divorce and yeah some really funny games. Most of the machines were created by Tim Hunkin who is a cartoonist and engineer. We purchased 10 token for £9 and the machines take 1-2 tokens. I would definitely recommend visiting if you are in the area. It was really good fun.

Revenge Friday

I planned to go to Battersea Power Station on Friday but for some reason I could just not bring myself to go... it just does not seem my vibe at all. So instead I just had a lowkey day.

I decided on a trip to Crystal Palace. I am planning a bedroom makeover and I have decided to replace the  furniture so I had a look around a few second hand furniture shops there.

Crystal Palace Antiques has four floors of mostly mid-century furniture. I have been wanting a mid-century dresser and they had quite a few in the shop but... I have to be realistic with myself: my clothes are not all going to fit in a 1960's dresser. People didn't really own as many clothes back then and so the dressers are quite small. Nothing else peaked my interest.

So hunched haha.

I did quite like these mirrors which they had two in the shop and I love how elegant and minimalist they look. Although I think before I start buying accessories, changing the furniture is a priority.

For lunch we went to Spinach which is a new brunch place on the triangle. It was really good. 

They have several really good health food shops and refill shops on the triangle. We got some empty soap bottles refilled in La Amazonas. We went in a few boutiques.

Then I just went home to relax and do a bit of work on my laptop. I say this all the time but my period was really getting to me.

Uniqlo Haul

I was in Oxford with my partner a few days ago and I went to Uniqlo which is a shop I used to shop at a lot but in the last few years I hardly ever go in tbh. When I was younger I used to get really sucked in by their sanrio (I love hello kitty) and other cartoon character collections.

Anyway, I popped in and I was really pleasantly surprised. I picked up this white turtle neck jumper and I think the shape and fit is really chic; it is 100% wool so hopefully it holds up okay (sometimes knitwear from fast fashion brands can be really questionable quality). This will be perfect for work though with some smart trousers.

Then I also purchased some flared leggings which again I like the shape of these- I find some brands have a really exaggerated flare.

I feel very huggable in this outfit.

Okay so I am not going to post until October because I am going away for a month but I have loads of blogposts planned for when I come back. Stay fabulous!

Love,

Happy hippo x

Happy New Year 2024

 Hey darlings,

I hope you have had a lovely start to the New Year. I have been away so this post is a little bit late. I was in France which was really nice. 

New Years Eve

I was in Nice for New Years which is where my sister resides. For New Years Eve we had a raclette, which if you don't know what that is it is like a melted cheese and we had it with potatoes, veggie hot dogs, broccoli and mushrooms. My sister has a snazzy like raclette machine where you cook the vegetables on the top and then the cheese gets heated on little dishes underneath. So that was really nice.

Then later we went to watch the fireworks on the promenade, there was not like an official display but people on the beach were letting them off and yeah it was really good fun. 

The on New Years day we went for a walk in a small Village called Luceram and during Christmas they host 'circuit des creches' which is where they put up nativity scenes (creches). They have a few hundred of them. It was quite quaint. Such a pretty town. Then we had a picnic.

Style setter?

Look at this! This photo was taken in 2020 and observe what I am wearing! I am wearing ballet flats and lacey patterned tights. I was actually 3 years ahead of everyone. I wore ballet flats in a cool grungy way when people saw them as being quite uncool- I actually made them cool. Yes I do actually take credit for bringing them back lol. I am joking however you cannot deny I was actually quite ahead of my time. 

People laughed at me for wearing ballet flats, they're not laughing now.

I actually think fashion is really nice at the moment I feel very inspired and I feel people are so creative and stylish. 

My New Years Resolutions

I am sort of note really doing New Years resolutions. I feel like things like that come organically whatever the time of year. However there are a few things that I am planning for this year. 

-Spend less time on my phone- not a year goes by where I don't have this goal. I have quite bad anxiety and I definitely sort of go on my phone to sort of block out my anxious thoughts. It is not productive and it is such a waste of life.

-I was gifted a small amount of money by my work and I was sort of thinking of putting it towards learning something like attending a one-day course (some lessons in grace and decorum jk) -maybe a floristry lesson or maybe something more practical like a first-aid course.

-I have been trying to learn French in the last few months. I have always dabbled a bit with learning French in the past but I think this time I am coming in with a strong action plan. I won’t say anymore but maybe the end of next year I tell you how I am getting on ;)

Anyway, I will chat with you soon. I have actually had loads of thoughts for blogposts so I am excited to get writing.

Love,

Happy hippo x

Image Source: Pinterest

Revenge Friday #4

 Hello Darlings x

I hope you have had a good week and I also hope you are enjoying this blog series. It has been fun writing it.

Revenge Friday and the salad that got revenge :(

So, I actually had quite a fun time doing admin in the morning and I am improving which is exciting. After, I went home, had some lunch and then I headed into town to look for some jeans. I was actually quite conflicted I was either going to stay local and browse charity shops and like go to some smaller Food & Wine type shops to stock up my pantry or I was going to go into town in search of jeans and then go to M&S. Anyway, I decided on the latter and then next week I will do a charity shop day.

Anyway, I looked everywhere for jeans and it just isn't happening. When I went to Nice a few weeks ago we had a shopping day and I ripped three pairs of jeans while trying them on, it was quite unfortunate. I know what I want, I want straight leg that isn't a wide leg, maybe slightly flared not tapered at the bottom, mid or low waist and flattering on my butt and not cropped.

This is what I want but these were slightly odd actually, like they were quite thin and so thin they looked more like trousers than jeans if that makes sense. Also, they had fake pockets. 

I picked up some food from M&S because they have some things I cannot get from Lidl. Anyway, I had no luck with jeans and it was so busy in town because it was black friday. Did anyone pick up anything good in the sales? 

(Emetophobia warning) When I got home I sort of just chilled out actually. I made myself an inconspicuous salad. I was going to go out that evening but 5 mins after eating the salad I was running to my garden, I chundered four times consecutively out my garden door. I am still shocked. Anyway, I was quite badly sick and was feeling dehydrated, so I decided to stay home and get my fluids up.

It looks so nice right? I don't understand what happened.

I did go for small plates and cocktails with my friend the next evening which was really lovely.

Christmas (don't read if you are my sister!)

I think Christmas is not happening for me this year. My Christmas plans are up in the air because I am not sure how I can get home and also do my university work, plus my Grandma's house has no wifi. Potentially I think I will be spending Christmas in Cardiff. I did pick my sister up some gifts from Glossier in the black friday sale because she said she wanted to try glossier products. I love buying my sister them sort of aesthetic beauty products. I will probably get her some other revenge gifts as well. Let me know if there is a Christmas blogpost you want to read. Leave a comment.

I hope she likes what I have picked x

What else have I got planned

Can anyone remember Cosmo in Croydon? I begged my mum to take me for like 6 years but she never did. If you don't know, cosmo is like a world food all you can eat buffet chain, I think it goes by a different name now. But yeah my friend has booked for us to go this Saturday and I am sooo excited. I am not quite sure my strategy in terms of what cuisine I am going for and I am not sure how veggie friendly it is.

It is also my friend's birthday soon and they wanted to go to the Ice Bar at Winter Wonderland- it is not normally my thing, but I was looking at pictures online and it actually looks quite fun. So yeah I booked that for him. I am so excited I think it will be so much fun. 

Revenge Shoe and Quote

My sister and I think these are so cool. They are very revenge.

Source

Source: Pinterest

I need to read more books so I can find better quotes.

Thank you for reading!

Love, Happy hippo x

Revenge Friday #3

Hello darlings, 

I hope you have had a good week!

Revenge Friday (18th Nov)

For revenge Friday I went to the hairdressers for a haircut. I heard something once that was like -never write something on your to-do list that takes under 2 minutes, do it immediately- which is actually quite helpful. To explain: sometimes it is the small tasks such as booking a hairdressers appointment or responding to an email, that make you feel like so productive- the quick wins add up. Anyway, my hair looked so cute, the hairdresser styled it like Jennifer Aniston's hair and I am now tempted to get hair straighteners.

On a similar sentiment I also booked a trip to Berlin after Christmas. I would love to be someone that travels but like I am quite indecisive (I think it is a Gemini thing) about where I want to go. I never know what date I want to go and when I do decide, it is so last minute the prices for flights are through the roof. I tried to plan an itinerary (I wanted to go to Nepal) for traveling when I finished sixth form and it was so tricky coordinating it, cannot make up my bloody mind, the overwhelm got like too much and I did not book anything. But anyway, I have decided to go to Berlin on my own, I have been there a few times but going on my own I think will be really fun. I am building myself up and at some point, I will do a complicated trip. 

I've been doing a bit of running which is going quite well, I am making progress although it is like freezing outside so I might be not running as much over winter. 

Agenda Page

It is really good motivation to like write down your successes. So, I have a page in my planner that I jot down any sort of things I have achieved in 2022. They don't have to be really big they could be smaller things or anything where you stepped out of your comfort zone. It definitely boosts confidence. I made this page in my planner a few months ago and on the other side are some pointers for things I want to achieve that year. It is quite nice to look at every so often.

Film Festival

I went to a film festival at the weekend because my lecturer was an interviewer for a Q&A about a documentary. It was really interesting. So, the documentary made by Mariam Ghani, was about five unfinished films (filmed 1978-1992) from the Afgan Films archive that were thought to have been burnt or destroyed in 1996 by the Taliban. Yeah, it was really interesting watching the documentary and hearing about how the documentary came about; very impressive venture.

I need to do more culture things at the weekend and on revenge friday.

Revenge Shoe and Quote

I am not one for like novelty things but I saw these heels on my feed and I thought they were pretty adorable. Juts picture a romantic restaurant and you're wearing a plunging neckline LBD and on your feet you have these. 

Source

Source

It is quite hard to find like inspiring quotes that aren't cringy. Anyway, I quite like this.

Lots of love

Happy Hippo x

How I prepare myself to return University after summer hols

 Hello darlings,

So, I posted a blogpost on how I return to university in terms of like academic work but as promised this is the blogpost focused on like how I prepare myself. It is good to return to university after the summer with confidence, good health and vivaciousness. So, I thought I would share what I did this year.

Girl’s Girl

Back in June, my relationship had broken down in a nightclub in Italy, I had woken up on some uni students sofa and I had an epiphany that I needed to improve my life by being a Girl’s Girl. A girl’s girl sort of means that you are someone who supports other women, and you value female friendship. So yeah, it is sort of like my key word for this term. I don't know just sometimes I put up a wall because I do not want to be hurt and that stops me making friends. Not sometimes, I think I always have a wall up, but I want to change.

 Nonetheless trying to be a Girl's Girl meant that I have met up with my friends more this summer while last year (and probably all the other summers) I was sort of awol. Anyway, we have done some fun things, mostly just like going for drinks or going for a walk in the park. I did go shopping with my friend the other day to London, we went Glossier, Brandy, we had a hot chocy, we went to Whole Foods and then we also went to Tortilla for lunch. Yeah, it was a really cute day out.

Image Source

The Glossier shop in Covent Garden is soo cool. I brought a skincare set and yeah after we made our purchases, we had to collect our shopping bags from a conveyer belt thing. Amazing.

My very cluttered but sort of adorable dressing table- with my glossier products I have yet to even open. I can do a blogpost on my boudoir decoration if you want x

Vision board

So, I decided to refresh my vision board for this term. There are a few places I want to go now there is no lockdown. I wouldn't mind going skiing, I went when I was fourteen and I was awful. It has honestly pained me for years how bad I was that I want to try again.

It is sort of fun to choose a word or phrase to focus on- so for me this year's is 'girl's girl'. Make it come organically though.

Revenge Fieldtrips

When I was younger, before school started again in September, my mum would always make sure my sis and I went on a day trip with her to do something cultural. It was always something a little special for example; like going on a visit to parliament or like a palace or something. 

On happyhippo we call this a revenge fieldtrip. So, I would recommend if like you are getting to the end of summer and maybe you have done fuck all during the hols or like maybe your summer was a bit of a disaster, just plan one nice day out.

Anyway, I had a few nice days out this summer. The other day I went to the Tate Britain to see Cornelia Parker. It was really good actually.

My parents and I also went to a Q&A at the Royal Festival hall for Edward Enninful who was being interviewed by Michaela Coel. Yeah, that was a really nice evening; he was very inspiring.

So yeah, definitely make sure you book in a revenge fieldtrip before you return to university.

My last blogpost was 6 autumnal outfits I have been wearing. I might be back with another style blogpost soon because I have really found my sense of style in the last few years, it is not a good sense of style but it is me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this blogpost. Writing on Happy Hippo (such a stupid name tho) is so comforting to me and so I hope people reading it feel good vibes too.

Love, 

happy hippo x

My Revenge Week and what is a revenge life? + Book Haul

 hey guys x

I just thought would have a little chit chat about what I have been up to on my revenge week.

What is a revenge life?

A revenge life is when you create a life for yourself in revenge for people mistreating you. This is what you create for yourself after a break up, bullying or just like people doubting you. My revenge life is sort of in reaction to teachers who thought I was stupid. Have you ever just thought, 'if only they could see me now'? It is not about getting literal revenge, it is about proving people wrong and improving yourself. I starting thinking about revenge life after watching the Khloe Kardashian show 'revenge body'. At the end of this blogpost I have also left some other revenge terminology.

Self-Improvement

This blogpost was sort of meant to be better but I had a really busy week. I did manage to squeeze some self-improvement activities in though. I got my haircut, admittedly it is not quite what I asked for because the hairdresser had a bit of a crisis of confidence but it does actually look really cute and I love the way she styled it. She advised me that I should get a curling wand, so I have just purchased one online and I am so excited for it to arrive. I did have a curling wand but I gave it back to my sister because it was too chunky for like my short hair. So yeah I purchased a slimmer one. Ahh I am so excited. I feel like I hardly ever treat myself to girly things like make up and hair products.

I picked up this adorable Calvin set. I love the pretty red flower design, so cute. I got it in the sale at House of Fraser. It is so flattering on. 

This week I also went to a meditation and talk for heartbreak at the Hare Krishna centre. Yeah I went through a bit of heartbreak at the start of the week but luckily I have bounced back quite quickly. The man who hosted the talk was a very funny German man, really reminded me of my sisters German friends- so so funny. But yeah it was kind of fun to do something a bit random. Yeah they were so friendly.

My friend gave me a late Christmas gifts. Some sweets in the shape of sushi and also a beeswax candle making kit. We made the candles and yeah they looked really good. Unfortunately during the night it was so cold that they all just broke like snapped, cracked, they just broke. So yeah I need to fix them, they did look really good though. I did actually get another gift that I didn't get a photo of, it was like a ball that you put in your tea and it expands to look like a flower but it just kind of didn't. It looked kind of alien. I will snap a picture when I next have one. Such fun gifts. 

Book Haul

I do not know if we like the books hauls I do on my blog, but no one ever speak up and tells me. Also, I have something to say about a few of them. Anyway from left to right

The Artist's Way (1992)- This is a self-help book/ course for creativity. I read it over two years ago and despite not finishing it at the time it left a big impression and lasting impact on me. It gave me the encouragement to blog. The book is a guided course to recover your inner artist and just be more confident in your creativity. You do not have to have a medium to gain something from this book. I am reading it for a second time to complete it this time. I have two on my shelf because one is a late Christmas present for someone.

The Catcher in the Rye (1951)- I loved this book when I was a child. I think its a very youthful and spirited text. Anyway, I got this book for the same person I got the previous, I thought this was a really pretty version of it (my one is really ugly). 

Franny and Zoey (1961)- J D Salinger was someone I was really trying to channel during lockdown because apparently he was a recluse, but I think the media always say that. Anyway I thought I would pick up this book as I saw on Instagram a glowing review of it. It looks a short read as well which is good.

The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde (1886)- I have to read this and the next two for my course but yeah I am really excited. I think I said ages ago that I went to a performance of this with my uni and I fell asleep. So I am not exactly looking forward to reading this. I had no idea what was going on in the play.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)- I am so excited to read this. I did The Importance of Being Earnest at Alevel and its very fun. So yeah totally excited to read this book. 

Wuthering Heights(1847)- I am not totally looking forward to reading this because I did attempt to read this a very long time ago and I found it sooo difficult to read like I had not a clue what was going on. Ugh such a drag.

The Death of Marco Pantani (2006)- I watched a documentary about him years ago and totally fell in love with his energy. Pantani is a man I am channelling in 2022. Pantani was a cyclist who won the Tour De France in 1998. He was a drug cheat but he was so effervescent. So yeah I am going to give this book a try but according to my sister it is actually a really difficult read.

Revenge Terminology

Revenge Wardrobe: This is a wardrobe you create for yourself to get revenge on people. It is characterised by stylish, confident and outfits that are you. 

Revenge Weekend/ Week: This is a weekend or week dedicated to self improvement activities. This could be building your revenge wardrobe or meeting up with friends. The most important thing is that your week is fun!

Revenge Field Trip: A Revenge Field Trip is a normally a trip you take to become more cultured. Maybe you go to an art gallery or museum. Maybe you visit a new place for the day. The focus is becoming more cultured and gaining info for your new revenge life. 

Revenge Holiday: This is normally a holiday taken in solitude. You might be taking a revenge holiday to process a break up of a relationship or friendship. Normally you will dedicate to becoming more cultured, reading books and indulging (shopping, eating and pampering). 

what else? basically just put 'revenge' in front of anything and it will work because this is about having fun. Just to emphasis it is not about literal revenge pls don't get literal revenge. Obviously you have the 'revenge dress' which does not need an explanation.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this blogpost! I definitely want to do like self-improvement blogposts. 

au revoir x