Book Swap With Louisa (Duck In A Dress)

Last month, I signed up for a second-hand book swap that was being held by Lauren over at The Emerald Dove. I was paired up with Louisa from Duck In A Dress and today, the book arrived! It was a great thing to come home to after school. ^_^ Louisa was absolutely lovely and sent me a card and a few Green & Black's chocolates along with the book. Thank you!

The book that Louisa picked out for me is Personality by Andrew O'Hagan.

Growing up on the Scottish Isle of Bute, Maria Tambini is a young girl with dreams of escape from her Italian immigrant family. When her amazing singing voice wins her a talent show at the tender age of thirteen, she is whisked off to London and instant stardom. But even as Maria is celebrating her greatest success, she is waging a hidden battle against her own body, and becoming in the process a living exhibit in the modern drama of celebrity. Can she be saved by love? Or will she be consumed by an obsessive celebrity culture, family lies, and by her number-one fan? 

Personality sounds like something I'll really enjoy and I love that it's set in Bute. I can't wait to give it a shot! You can see Louisa's blog, Duck In A Dress, here. 

Lots of love, Cat

xxx

Interview With Lexie From Oh Pink Candyfloss

Today I'm joined by the lovely Lexie from Oh Pink Candyfloss! Her blog is one of my favourites and I've known her for almost 2 years now. She is so sweet and her blog is getting better every day. ^_^ Welcome to Through A Cat's Eyes, Lexie! 

♥

What inspired you to start blogging?

I started blogging in the July of 2012.  At the time, my sister had been telling me to start a blog but I felt reluctant to. I read an article in Shout that you did encouraging more people to start blogging so, I did! I haven't looked back since. 

Do you have any blogging goals for 2014?

I have! One of my main goals is to host a giveaway a some point this year but, I've never won/ been part of a giveaway before so it could be a while before I host one!

Where do you hope to see yourself and your blog in a few years?

I would like to think that I would have established a good name for myself amongst the blogsphere. Hopefully, I would have attended a fashion week by then too, which is something I would love to do.

How would you describe your style?

I would like to think of it as minimal. I love the 90's minimal look and the 90's grunge look at the moment! 

If you could only own 5 items of clothing, what would they be?

If I could only own 5 items of clothing they would be: an Acne jumper, the American Apparel velvet bustier skater dress, my Topshop jeans, Vagabonds and the Chanel executive bag. 

Who is your style icon?

My style icon is definitely Alexa Chung, I love her style! I got given her book for Christmas and it makes really good inspiration. 

Which city would you most like to live in? 

In the future I would love to live in London, it's not too far from where I live now which is good! Other then that, I would love to visit/live in LA, New York, Sydney and Honolulu.  

What are your favourite and least favourite things about blogging?

My favourite thing about blogging is that I'm able to interact with people who like the same things as me, no matter where they are! However I really hate how time consuming it can be, especially when the WiFi's down. 

Do you have any advice for anyone who is thinking about starting a blog? 

Be yourself, it's not worth pretending to be someone your not!  

Second-Hand Bargain Book Haul #2 (+ Giveaway Win)

NW by Zadie Smith

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher

Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland

Zelah Green by Vanessa Curtis

The Wind Whisperer by Krista Holle

♥

I've been on a bit of a book-buying frenzy over the past few weeks... I love books a whole lot but there is a slight problem now: I have nowhere to put them. Ah well. The first 6 books are from my favourite local charity shop - they sell books for 3 for £1 and have an amazing range - the bottom book was a prize from a giveaway that Rachel held over on her blog, Booktastic Reviews.

I've been interested in reading some Zadie Smith for a while now so I thought I'd start off with NW. I haven't heard much about this one in particular but Zadie Smith books are raved about so I have high hopes. :3 Last weekend, I read Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher and really enjoyed it. This weekend, I found My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece. It was clearly meant to be. Again, I've heard great things and I like Annabel Pitcher's writing style so I'm looking forward to giving it a go. In my last second-hand book haul (here), I bought The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis. I haven't read it yet but I do really like C.S Lewis so I added a couple more to my collection; Mere Christianity and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of course, I read a few of the Narnia books when I was little but I felt like rekindling my Narnia-love by re-reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Mere Christianity sounded really interesting so I picked that up too. ^_^

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture sounds like something I would really enjoy and I've heard great things about Douglas Coupland. I've read about half of Girlfriend In A Coma but didn't finish it because I got bogged down by school-work and reading The Great Gatsby for English. I'm looking forward to trying Generation X. Zelah Green was a bit of a random choice; I've never heard anything about it or about Vanessa Curtis, but it sounded pretty good and it's just a quick read. Finally, I won The Wind Whisperer in Rachel's giveaway a few weeks ago and it arrived on Friday. It doesn't sound like the kind of novel I would usually read but I actually have a feeling I'm going to really enjoy it. :D

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Lots of love, Cat

xxx

Lime Green, Cat Faces & Skin Care (Haul)

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + - £15.50, Boots

 Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - £4.99, Boots

Lime green flats - £4, H&M

Cat face skirt - £7, H&M

 ♥

My mum took me out to buy my prom dress this morning and after I got one I loved (It's so beautiful! You'll get to see it in June), she treated me to a few things from Boots and H&M. My mum's fabulous...just saying. :3 I've been wanting to try La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + for quite some time now, so I'm incredibly happy to finally have it. It's probably quite sad just how excited I am about this anti-blemish cream. I've heard nothing but amazing things about it and, as my skin's started to get a bit aggravated, I can't wait to see what it's like. When I was in Boots I also got the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, which is meant to be a dupe for the famous Bioderma. I've never tried Bioderma but the whole concept of micellar waters is really appealing to me. The Garnier one has got great reviews and I'm looking forward to seeing what the hype's about. ^_^ 

Next up was H&M, aka. my dream wardrobe. I've had my eye on this awesome cat-face skirt for about 6 months now but it's originally £13 and I was a bit reluctant to pay that for a skirt that I probably wouldn't get too much wear out of. Luckily, it was down to £7 when I went into H&M today. I'm not entirely sure how to style it...but I'm sure I'll be able to make it work. :D Then I saw a flash of amazing lime green out the corner of my eye and was somehow drawn towards a pair of luminous ballet flats. They're kinda crazy but I love lime green and they were down to £4. I'd say that was a successful shopping trip. :3

Lots of love, Cat

xxx

Almost Spring Haul! (Primark, Superdrug & Giveaway)

Superdrug Tropical Cocktail Peel-Off Mask

  Superdrug Tropical Smoothie Self-Heating Mask

  Superdrug Superfruits Exfoliating Mask

  Superdrug Fruit Sorbet Antioxidant Peel-Off Mask (not photographed)

  Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor Deep Conditioner

  St.Ives Fresh Skin Invigorating Apricot Scrub

Chapstick Strawberry Lip Balm

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Tutti Fruity

Simple Vital Vitamins Night Cream

Top from Primark 

Like I said in my last post (here), I went shopping last Saturday to stock up on books. While I was out, I bought a new night cream to replace my beloved Johnson's one which had just ran out, and I spent 5 minutes in Primark looking for a certain jumper that wasn't in stock. Superdrug didn't have the Johnson's night cream so I bought the 'Simple Vital Vitamins Night Cream' instead. I've been using it for a few days now and, although it's not as good as the Johnson's night cream, it's pretty nice. After my failed attempt to track down the jumper I wanted in Primark, I found an adorable, denim-style, strappy top with little white flowers all over it for £5. It's bloody freezing in Scotland right now but Spring (should be) starting soon so I'm hoping to be able to wear it in a month or so. ^_^

When I got home, I saw a little parcel waiting for me. I never get post ever so this was already really exciting (wow, I have a sad life) but what was inside made it even more exciting.  It was the prize from Catriona's 50 follower giveaway! :D It's incredibly rare that I'll win a giveaway... The prize was super lovely; face-masks (I've used one already, hehe), a mini Aussie deep-conditioner, a mini St. Ives apricot scrub, strawberry Chapstick and a Revlon lip butter in Tutti Fruity. Thank you so much, Catriona! I still find it weird typing her name...she spells it the same way I do! Name twins. :3 

Lots of love, Cat
xxx 

Second-Hand Bargain Book Haul

The Famous Five - Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis

Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson

The Famous Five Mystery Collection by Enid Blyton

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To celebrate the start of March, I went to a local charity shop and stocked-up on books. To be honest, I just needed an excuse to go book-shopping, and it just so happened that today is the first of March... I managed to get 7 books (9 if you count the Enid Blyton collection as 3 books) for £4 and I couldn't be happier. ^_^ 

Over the past couple of months, I've been rekindling my love for Enid Blyton books. She was my favourite author when I was little but I've never really stopped loving her. I re-read the Faraway Tree books last month (some of my all-time favourite books) and now I'm moving on to the Famous Five. I was more of a Secret-Seven fan when I was little but when I saw these Famous Five books today I couldn't leave them. The mystery collection is so beautiful and I can't wait to read them again.

I've been meaning to read The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, I Capture The Castle and Love, Stargirl for a while now, so I was really lucky to find them for 3 for £1. I don't know too much about them but I've heard good things. The Screwtape Letters is another one I've heard a bit about and it's described as being a 'masterpiece of satire' - I'm looking forward to giving it a go. ^_^ Finally, I got Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson. I used to love Jacqueline Wilson when I was about 10 and Kiss was my favourite (along with Double Act) but I never owned a copy. I can't wait to read it again, 6 years later. 

Lots of love, Cat

xxx