A few of my favourite things from 2014 | Make Up, Books, Films, Music, Blogs etc!

Happy New Year's Eve! It feels like we're on the cusp of something new & exciting and I'm wishing you all the very best for the coming twelve months. For now, to see out this year, here's a little recap of some of my favourite things from 2014! 

Facial oils
2014 was the year of facial oils for me and they have become a staple in my night time skin care routine. There are a few that I really love, especially the Boots Botanics Organic Facial Oil & the Sanctuary Spa Therapist's Secret Facial Oil.

Conscious Skincare Body Polish
A truly gorgeous brand, with incredible products. I love this scrub because it's 'scrubby' enough without feeling scratchy, and the oils leave my skin feeling nourished. Pretty perfect. 

Burt's Bees lip balm
Along with The Body Shop Lip Butters, this is the best lip balm I've ever used. 

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation  
The closest match for my skin I've found that's affordable and you know, actually good!

Seventeen Stay Time Concealer
Feels like nothing on the skin but gives great coverage and works equally as well on redness as it does on dark circles. 

Benefit Benetint*
My two drawers of blush have remained largely untouched since having the chance to try this out. I've discovered that barely there make up is the most flattering on me. I recently found some old pictures of myself where I now see that I was wearing far too much colour on my cheeks and now I may be too scared to use about 95% of the blushes I own.

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 03
The formula is gorgeously smooth. The nude colour is really pretty; not too pale, not too deep. It smells like caramel. And I'm beginning to think I could part with my entire lip product collection if I got to keep just this one. 

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
I've lost count of the number of people I've recommended this book to, I just can't seem to help myself. It's undoubtedly by favourite book of the year... maybe even of all time?! 

"Some folks are dealt a bad hand. But you can't rely on another person's conscience to live the life you want to live. You make do with what you're given; you struggle on."

(Head over to my book blog, The Book Journal for more of my favourite books from this year.)

Banks | Someone New
Sia | Burn The Pages
Sam Smith | Like I Can
Hozier | Jackie and Wilson
London Grammar | Shyer
Sampha | Indecision
Josef Salvat | Open Season

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Definitely my favourite film I've seen this year.

What If? 
I'm not usually into romantic comedies, but I loved it! I definitely only agreed to watch it though because it has Daniel Radcliffe in it and I think that 1. he's come into his own post Harry Potter and 2. he's got a knack for picking really great films to be in.

The Double
Strange. Wonderful. Annoying. Frustrating. Really bloody good!

I could probably write a small paragraph about every blog on my bloglovin' feed and how much I adore them, but then we would all be here until well into next year! We've all got some New Year celebrating to do so I'll keep it brief...  

The Private Life of a Girl
I haven't told her this openly because it sounds a bit silly & it's not really something you can open up a conversation with without feeling like a little bit of a ninny, but I really look up to Sophie.

Make Up Savvy
Fee is just utterly wonderful, it's been a real pleasure and a treat to see Make Up Savvy blossom over the years into something truly fabulous.

Carly Watts
Carly inspires me every day more than she could ever imagine.

Vivatramp
Bee is incredible, her strength and her resilience is a constant inspiration. She is such a talented writer and her book recommendations & reviews are always sheer perfection.

* * *

Thank you for sticking with me this year, it means the world, and here's to 2015!

And I would also love for you to leave a link to your own blog (if you have one) along with a link to your current favourite blog because I would love to have a read!

All My Love, 
Jennie
xoxo



Sailboat 2014 Reader Survey

Things I've Learnt From Your Responses To My 2014 Reader Survey

1. I was not prepared for so many of you to say that your favourite thing about sailboat is me! I totally cried a little bit when I was reading through your responses. This was my 4th reader survey and the first time anyone has said that. Thank you!
2. It has confirmed that you are much too kind to me! I definitely don't deserve such lovely words.
3. You've given me so much encouragement & I'll be forever grateful.
4. You've confirmed how I felt about the things that weren't working so well and given me the confidence to make some changes that I'm really excited about.
5. It's not going to be possible to please everyone - (for example, some of you would like to see more beauty posts and a lot of you would like to see less. Some of you would like longer posts and some of you think they're much too long already. Some of you stop by for light relief and some of you enjoy musings about life etc) - but I hope to still see you around throughout next year!
6. I think that you are incredible. Don't ever forget that! 

A couple of things I wanted to reply to...

• To the lady who has been put off by my lack of returning comments: I'm so sorry! I do try my very hardest to reply but sometimes I get incredibly behind and sometimes I accidentally miss people out. It's not intentional, I promise. Sometimes I stop by but find I have nothing meaningful to say and in those cases leaving a comment with nothing to add feels a little disrespectful, but it's likely I have stopped by and enjoyed your space. I really do try.


• We're on the same page with beauty box posts & going forward there will be less. Honestly, individual posts were easy content and they got a tonne of views. But not everything is about views and I'm happy to have finally remembered that! 


• Totally agree that the full page advert that you may see if you don't have Adblock installed can slow the page down. I'm hoping to lose the ads completely very soon.


• You're the best! 

* * *

All my love, 
Jennie 
xoxo



Sailboat 2014 Reader Survey

New Glasses + A Giveaway!

Oversized Glasses* | SmartBuyGlasses

New year, new specs. And I'm pretty excited about these because they're actually enormous. Most glasses that are described as 'oversized' end up looking teeny tiny on my moon face, but these... these are really quite perfect.

Giveaway. 

SmartBuyGlasses are allowing me to host a giveaway, which is pretty exciting if you're in the market for a new pair of glasses or sunglasses! There are so many different frames to choose from, a lot of the Dita frames are pretty dreamy especially, but there's absolutely something for everyone waiting to be discovered! If you'd like to enter, simply follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below & if you're chosen as the winner the guys over at SmartBuyGlasses will be in touch!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good Luck & All My Love,
Jennie
xoxo

Thoughtful.

As the year draws to a close I have found myself reflecting on the previous twelve months more that I have at the end of any other year. It hasn't been a particularly remarkable year but I have learned many things along the way. Most notably it has become clear just how incredibly lucky I am to have a handful of truly remarkable people in my life.

The mysterious looking gift waiting under the tree for me was a record player, a wonderfully thoughtful gift that was both very unexpected and very gratefully received. The older I get, and I'm almost certain it's similar for you too, the more the magic of Christmas comes through spending time with those special people in life and being able to tell them just how blooming amazing I think they are.

I haven't asked for anything in particular around Christmas or my birthday for a long while now, but it turns out that my words of assurance that "a handwritten card or perhaps a nice box of chocolates would be more than enough" are pretty consistently forgotten almost as soon as I've said them each year. In their place a turntable, two of the Barnes & Noble leatherbound books and one of the Soap and Glory gift sets were wrapped up and waiting for me on Christmas morning. I can't have mentioned any of these things in casual conversation more than once each so I think my loved ones are particularly astute and know me almost better than I know myself.

And judging by the overjoyed looks on their faces as I opened the gifts they had picked out for me, giving presents to those people who are always there, come what may, and letting them know how appreciated they are is a magic that transcends all others.

It truly is the thought that counts.

All my love, 
Jennie 
xoxo



Sailboat 2014 Reader Survey

P.S. There's something quite mesmerising watching a vinyl spin around and around, don't you think?

Evening Snow.

Snow on Boxing Day evening... the timing couldn't really have been any more perfect. It fell so heavily & so quickly that we had to head outside in our wellies and thick coats to shake the branches of the trees with brooms and mops because they were leaning so dramatically. It wasn't how I'd imagined ending the day (a mug of hot chocolate and fuzzy slippers was more what I had in mind), but I have to admit that the snow fight afterwards was more than worth it! 

All my love, 
Jennie 
xoxo



Sailboat 2014 Reader Survey

Our 2014 Christmas Decorations + Merry Christmas Eve!

So I kind of failed at blogmas this year. Although I had the time (which I was surprised about, but it's amazing what I can get done when I put my mind to it) I guess it was the inspiration I was missing. The words just wouldn't flow & I took it as a sign to take a break. There are a whole list of posts in my drafts folder but I can always revisit them sometime soon.

The last few days have been wonderful. It's so nice having some downtime with my family and I'm very much looking forward to demolishing the mountain of cheese in the fridge. (I may have made a start already!) A couple of hours have been spent tweaking my layout here so that it feels much more homely & I finally got around to taking some new pictures that actually look like me for my 'about' page.

Apart from listening to a lot of Hozier on Spotify & burning my way through my second Candy Cane Lane candle (can't get enough of that scent!), not much else has been going on. And it has been perfect. Mark and I picked out our 2014 Christmas ornaments and I thought I'd share them here, mostly so I can look back and remember which year they're for. Maybe I should find a sharpie and write the year on them somewhere?

They're from my favourite homeware shop of the moment, Rockett St George. I was making an order for some Christmas gifts and we thought we should definitely take advantage of their decoration sale. The mini tree in the tiny mason jar is just about the cutest thing I've seen in a long time and there was something about the simplicity of the red berries in a clear ball that drew me in. They're both lovely and fit with our eclectic collection of decorations perfectly. I really recommend Rockett St George, their delivery is a little pricey but it's very quick and everything is always so securely packaged. (Not sponsored or gifted or anything, I just genuinely think they're wonderful!)

There are only a few more hours before I can finally take a peek at the mysterious gift that's sitting under the tree with my name on it. I may be 25 and a half, but I've really wanted to peek inside for over a week now. And that's the funny thing about being an adult I guess, I could have already opened it and no one would tell me off but really, the anticipation is one of the best parts. And you know, someone has taken the time to pick something out for me & wrap it up, it's the least I can do to wait until the day when I'm officially allowed to open it. Makes it extra special.

Anyway, I shan't keep you any longer. Merry Christmas Eve! I hope you have a safe and happy festive few days however you're spending the holidays. Cherish this time with your loved ones, family, friends, pets - whoever makes you happiest. And I'll see you again in a few days.

All my love, 
Jennie 
xoxo



Sailboat 2014 Reader Survey