SEPTEMBER CATCH UP

This has been such a fun month! I've spent time hanging out with all of my favourite people, gone adventuring in the sunshine, and had time after a mad-cap August to catch up on sleep and recharge my batteries. I also can't believe how quickly it's gone by - this time next month I'll be collecting the keys to my new flat. EXCITING.

Instagram username: @eversojuliet

1. This month I looked after my favourite cat for two weeks. I love that I'm Riley's holiday home, it is so nice to see him and get proper cat cuddles! Riley seemed to have a nice time too although he's not a good flat cat anymore, I learned quickly that he cannot be trusted near open windows!

2. The weather has been surprisingly lovely this month, but it's been nice to have some rainy autumn days too. I bought this candle from Primark and I really love it - it was a total bargain, has lasted ages and smells amazing!

3. I started growing this avocado plant earlier this year, and I'm so delighted to see how much it's grown! It's taken months to get this far, but now it has proper roots and looks like an actual plant. I should be able to plant it in a pot soon and then it'll turn into a tree!

4. I couldn't resist buying this amazing antique 1930s chest from an Edinburgh vintage store. It is massive, and is still covered in stickers from its travel around the world.

5. This photo makes me laugh so much - look how bored Riley is of my affection. Poor kitten.

6. My walk to work takes me by paths of trees, which are all turning orange and red and lovely. It's such a nice time of year!

7. I went to London for work, and found myself in a seriously posh part of town for meetings.

8. So posh, that I accidentally walked into the changing of the guard ceremony! Those horses are so massive and beautiful - the ceremony isn't much more than men with swords shouting at each other, but I'm glad I got to see it up close.

9. Once work was done, I had a weekend to catch up with my best pal. I've been wanting to go on the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio tour for AGES and we finally managed to get tickets! It was the best day, I almost wanted to cry with how amazing everything is. We got to go on the Hogwarts Express AND walk down actual Diagon Alley (so so so cool) and explore the Great Hall. It was the BEST.

10. Once the Harry Potter excitement was over, we headed to the other side of London and explored the seriously cool God's Own Junkyard - a warehouse packed full of amazing neon signs and artwork. There was a cute beer garden around the back too!

11. How adorable is this London street? I wish I lived in a turquoise house! I had a glorious last morning in London, strolling down streets like this in the beautiful sunshine, followed by HOURS sitting on a train stuck in the middle of England. It was a bit of an exhausting end to a glorious week.

12. Then on Sunday, Joshua and I went on a massive (40km!) cycle from Edinburgh out to my hometown, and sat in the shadow of my local ruined palace, drinking beers in the sunshine. It was such a delightful day!

Bring on October, the month of Halloween and home-ownership!

HALLOWEEN TUTORIALS

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that I am the world's biggest fan of Halloween. I love that it's a chance to be creative and ridiculous and a bit spooky - I love painting daft things on my nails, and baking 'scary' cakes, and most of all, I love playing with makeup and dressing up. I may be turning 30 this year (whaaaat), but I am still a massive child.

So, every Monday in October I'll be posting a new Halloween tutorial. I always try and make my tutorials as easy as possible (I'm a total amateur, so I'm not pretending to be an expert, just explaining what I do), and I try to only use items that you'll already have in your makeup bag, or things that are very, very easy to get.

I've been doing my Halloween tutorials for three years now, so I thought it would be fun to look back on some of my favourite things so far...

Bambi makeup
I love this look and it's so easy to do - you just need white eyeshadow, bronzer and eyeliner! Hipster twig antlers are optional.

Seriously scary zip face
As much as I love cute, creative looks, I am a big fan of actually scary halloween makeup. This zip face tutorial is definitely the goriest look I've ever done.

Doll makeup
This is a fun, simple look that uses white eyeliner and clever fake eyelash placement to turn your face into a wide-eyed doll.

Anatomical heart cake
This is definitely the gooiest cake you'll ever make (cherry jam and red food colouring make for a sticky mix!), but it is surprisingly easy to make and looks SO gory and realistic, it's worth the effort.

Spooky nail art
I used to be a massive fan of nail art, and I'm still really into these super cute designs - how adorable is that little frankenstein? If you didn't want your entire manicure to be halloween-themed, these designs would also work well as accent nails. Subtle, but still spooky.

Spiderweb chocolate cake
Spiderweb icing is another easy cake decorating trick, and looks really effective. This is such a gooey, rich cake too - yum!

You can see all of my tutorials on my how to page - bring on October!

SUNDAY LINKS

Another week, another round-up of fun things! This week has absolutely blitzed by for me - the sale of my new flat was concluded (meaning I can actually start ordering furniture), I caught up with old pals, submitted massive funding applications at work (fingers crossed!), and got well and truly back into blogging (this will be my SIXTH post of the week! Madness).

Here's some interesting internet things that caught my eye!

Bee socks - Etsy

Do you remember where you were when you first heard about pig-gate? (or, it's better title, #Hameron). This article, the PM, the pig and musings on power, is a really interesting article about authority and the nature of power in Britain.

I jumped on the Autumn band-wagon before it was even officially Autumn (er, here, here, and here) so this mega-sweary it's decorative gourd season declaration was right up my street.

For LFW Pinterest and Topshop teamed up to make a pinterest palette tool, which measures your colour DNA.

Still on LFW, British Beauty Blogger wrote a critical piece on bloggers and fashion week.

I've seen a lot of people rave about Dismaland, Banksy's theme park, but I just find the whole thing a bit stale. Is it because I am a big kid who actually still loves Disneyland? Am I not intelligent enough about contemporary art? Is it all a bit of a self-righteous egotrip about how clever he is and how terrible the country is? I don't know. Neither did the author of this article, Banksy and the problem with sarcastic art.

I would never, never normally post links to things like this, but this is something else. How to lose weight in 4 easy steps.

Morrissey's new book is out, and the Guardian absolutely HATED it. The List critiqued it to see if the poor reviews were justified and - "Verbosity does not make you James Joyce. It makes you a boor" - they absolutely were.

And finally! All I want in life is a pet fox. Just look at it! Gah.

FRIDAY FLAT CHAT: WONDERFUL WALLPAPER

I didn't ever think I would be a wallpaper person. It makes me think of old rented flats, wth ancient woodchip paper peeling off the wall, or dull dull dull patterns for old ladies who live in bungalows. ButI keep coming across quirky, interesting, bright patterns, and I think I'm starting to be converted.

I wouldn't want to cover my ENTIRE house with it (nor could I, in any way, afford it), but maybe a feature walls? Feature walls are still cool, right?

All wallpapers linked on Pinterest

I've started an entire pinterest board dedicated to wallpaper, because I have become that house-obsessed person. But look at it! I'm still undecided on what colour scheme to go for in my bedroom or study, and possibly this could be the way to go.

I am a big fan of bees, so I couldn't quite contain my joy when I found the bumble bee Farrow & Ball wallpaper. It's pretty pricey at £85 per roll (although, to be honest, I have no idea what 'normal' wallpaper should cost), but I also found a cheaper decal equivalent on etsy, which looks like it would be considerably less effort too (and easier to change up, if you were fed up of living in a hive).

The cactus print is also from etsy, and isn't traditional wallpaper either. Instead, it comes in four big panels, which can be ordered in whatever size you need. I love the polka dots too - I think that image is of actual wallpaper, but you can easily buy (or make!) little decal dots to stick on your walls. Caroline from burkatron did a cute triangle wall decal tutorial recently, which I like a lot, although, would it be too busy in a small-ish space? Would it hurt your head?

And, how amazing is that jelly and cake print by Thornback & Peel? They currently have no wallpaper left on their site, as they are about to launch a new range, so I am waiting impatiently to see what it is. Wouldn't that print be AMAZING in a kitchen? Or would it be too kitsch?

Aah, there are just too many options - how on earth do you choose?

WIN BECKSONDERGAARD CAPES FOR YOU & YOUR BESTIE!

To celebrate the release of Miss You Already, a brand new film about besties opening on Friday 25th September, I've got another competition for you! Danish designer Becksondergaard have adapted their signature cape, a lovely swooshy blankety number, hand-printed with a print that was created exclusively for the film.

I absolutely love capes, they are so perfect and cosy for wearing on their own in Autumn and layering up in Winter, so I was delighted to be sent one to try out, and get another two capes (worth £99 each!) to give away.

Cape* - Becksondergaard
Dress - H&M
Shoes - Ebay
Sunglasses - Forever 21

The timing of this competition feels very appropriate, as I've just spent the best weekend in London hanging out with my best pal, who I definitely do not get to see as much as I'd like! We met when we were teenagers and have grown up together (with adventures, arguments and everything in between!), and now, even though we're at opposite ends of a country, she's still one of my very favourite people.

Miss You Already stars BFFs Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette who have also been friends forever. It's a film about what happens when life goes wrong, and how friends get you through it. That might sound totally sappy, but I love film and tv that celebrates strong friendships (like Lesley and Anne in Parks & Recreation!), and Miss You Already is getting pretty brilliant reviews already.

So, for your chance to win two capes (one for you and one for your best pal), all you have to do is follow the instructions below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Miss You Already opens on Friday 25th (tomorrow!) and you can watch the trailer here.