february on film.

one of my new years resolutions was to shoot in film only for a month. i didn't really have a month in mind, i just knew i wanted to do it. when i woke up this morning, i was like 'sheesh it's february tomorrow! how has january gone so fast!?' and then i realised february was the only month that started with an 'f' and me being a fan of alliteration got way too happy and decided that my month in film would be february. 

i have bent the rules a little, and decided that i can shoot with my dslr/phone, but only on the theme of film. so instead of february being on film, it's going february on the theme of film. 

are you still sticking to your new years resolutions?

beer: jeremiah weed root brew.

my love of names and quest to try new beers meant that when i saw this bottle of root beer, i really had to try it. for one, i've always loved the name jeremiah. i don't even know why. but anyway, a little bit about jeremiah weed.

contrary to the fact that "jeremiah weed" is a southern american, this distillery for the brew is in london. and it's called a "brew" because it's neither a beer nor a cider, "it is what it is" the bottle states that it has ginger, fruit alcohol, spirits and flavourings.

the brand jeremiah weed is actually originated as a whiskey company (which is actually based in kentucky, so i'll give them that), which probably explains why they also have a bourbon flavoured brew. in 2011, they brought over the southern american-ness to the uk and introduced two brews. despite there being several songs named after said company, i had never actually heard of it before.

it's a pale brew, and tastes really good. you can really taste the subtle ginger, and it isn't too beer-y which i really enjoyed. of course, it isn't a proper beer but i have a feeling it may end up being my favourite.

they also have a "jam jar glass" which i am so tempted to buy (it's only £3 for one).

i'd love to know your favourite beer, recommendations would be great! 

a peek at my bag.

so, after i read charlotte's what's in my bag post, i thought i would share what's in mine because, let's face it, ladies are a nosy lot who love a snoop in other girls/women/ladies bags. i know i do, because sometimes, it makes you think "i should really put one of those in my bag" or "do i really need five packets of tissues in my bag!?!" (that's totally me ok, i have a nosebleed problem :()

so, here you go, this is my bag, it's from h&m (find it here) and i've only had it for a couple of weeks, but i already know it's my new zara bag - aka the huge bag i find a need to fill and cart around everywhere with me - and it's probably going to be my go to bag for the year.

the essentials: phone // purse // glasses // tissues // keys // headphones // diary // uni-ball eye micro pen // umbrella // hand sanitizer // perfume // chewy // lip balm

other stuff i have in there because i have the space: compact mirror // gloves // deodorant // paracetamol // powder // brush

and depending on where i'm going, i'll either have the book i'm currently reading or my bible and notebook.
i also like to carry around one of my cameras if i can, but if i can't manage it, i'll happily just use my iphone if i do need a camera.

if you've done this "tag" then leave the link in the description! 


p.s yay for crappy lighting = crappy quality pictures, fab. 

yesterday.

yesterday, i didn't post simply because i was too tired, and my feet hurt and i just wanted to not be sat infront of harsh lighting after spending all day under it. i'm in work pretty much all week this week. monday i wasn't, because i was already busy, but i was in for 3 hours on tuesday - which, yes, isn't that bad, but it was a long three hours - yesterday i was in for seven and a half, today i was in for four, and will be in for four hours tomorrow.
most of the time, i can deal with work. i know it's only one day a week and that it won't be forever, but then when i'm in for more than my normal hours, something clicks in me and reminds me that i have no clue what i want to do with my life and what if this is it, what if this is my one and only job forever and i have to do it until i die and i can't cope anymore and blah.
yep, that was my head last night and i just couldn't muster up anything to talk about on therosyfreckle. and i never want this blog to be a chore, something i feel like i have to do. sure, i'd love to be able to say 'i blogged every weekday of 2013' but in all honesty, it's not going to happen. my life isn't that exciting and i can't just pull posts up from out of the blue. (the end of that sentence was rephrased before printing).
so instead, i got home, had my tea, ran a bath, drank some hot tea and read oh comely (for the first time, it's fabulous. and it was only like £4!) before i read some bible verses and went to sleep.
this morning i also plucked up the courage to take my cv into a cafe, it was scary and nerve wraking, but i did it and i'm proud of myself.
tomorrow is going to be a whole boat load of new events; i'm going to be having my first piano lesson in a decade (which makes me feel so old, ugh) and i'm going to an event at the church i've being going to (which i have been loving, and i've been forcing myself to go to all the events and get myself involved and not let myself be the shy person in the corner that never speaks to anyone, yep).

i hope you're all having a fabulous week. the snow has pretty much all melted where i live, boo, but i'm getting excited for summer and freckles and warm fingers and toes.

parfum.

one of the things i always end up hoarding and constantly having a huge collection of is perfume. since i was about 13 i've always had three or more bottles on the go. (seriously i currently have 17 and that's after i've thrown out ones i was keeping because they were gifts) before christmas, i decided to start working through them and not buy anymore until i'd finished the ones i have - one of my new years resolutions, love what you have - (which is really difficult because i am in love with dot by marc jacobs - swoon.
i've been using taylor swift's enchanted for pretty much the whole of last year and up to now and it's only starting to get low (i'll be so sad when it's gone) and flora by gucci since my birthday, but i wanted something new, i stopped being able to smell the perfume myself. and while that doesn't mean you can't smell it at all, i wear perfume so i smell nice, and i want to be able to enjoy the fragrance too, so i went into my sock drawer where i keep my stash of perfume (out of sunlight so they don't spoil) and pulled out daisy by marc jacobs that i received for my birthday from a friend's mum.
it's something completely different to what i'd normally wear, more floral, but i am loving it. it's subtle so you can smell it but you won't get a headache from walking past me.
one thing that i love about daisy, is the bottle. man oh man, the bottle is so nice! it's elegant and girly and clean, something that gives me a sting about the taylor swift perfume is the bottle. it's cutesy and it would be perfect if i were 14, but i'm 18 (woah, four years older makes a difference, ok guys!?!?!) i'd love it if you could get enchanted in a plain glass bottle, the shape of stella but clear or all black and then clean writing on it. ah i'm getting carried about about design stuff, shush.

what's your staple perfume?

p.s yes, i am going to pretend to be a french person in the title. imagine me sitting outside a parisian cafe with a coffee and macaroon writing this. 

p.p.s imagine me like that because i'm really writing this while i'm collapsed across the couch, oo la la. 

battle of the brands: benefit vs. l'oreal.

the only holy grail make up item i own is my benefit they're real mascara. it's everything i want and more from a mascara, but i'm always open to trying new brands and dupes when it comes to saving the pennies. quite a few times, i've heard people say that l'oreal million lashes mascara is a cheaper dupe for the they're real, so i picked one up on the way home from work a few weeks ago to try it.

wand
benefit - pointed end, easy to get into corners, thin brush and long points - gets into it.
l'oreal - thicker brush, but adequate bristles. tipped end but no bristles on it = easy to smudge onto eyelid and harder to use.

price
benefit - £18.50
l'oreal - £10.99

durability
benefit - lasts all day, doesn't loose curl, doesn't smudge. lengthens, but not as dramatically as the l'oreal.
l'oreal - lasts but the eyelashes don't feel strong. lengthens lashes more than volumizing them.

forumla
benefit - doesn't budge. sticks to lashes and doesn't smudge when you rub your eye.
l'oreal - wet, takes a while to dry. gets onto eyelids easily. easy to remove.

/10
benefit - 8/10
l'oreal - 9/10

overall favourite
originally, when i planned this out, i had noted this as benefit, because it's my all time favourite. but after wearing them side by side at the same time, i honestly think the l'oreal might be my favourite, despite the wand. maybe i will try using the benefit wand with the l'oreal forumla, because although it is a wetter formula that takes longer to dry, it has lengthened my lashes a lot more than the benefit does. (although i did put l'oreal on my better set of lashes).


what's your favourite mascara, have you tried either of these?

♡ 

truth.

there's a new mix up on my 8tracks today! it's three hours long full of some of my all time favourites. it's perfect for any time you want to just chill out and listen to good music. *cough* the weekend *cough*.

you can listen to 'truth' by clicking here. (and if you'd like it on the go, 8tracks has got an app for iphone/android.) seriously, if you don't have 8tracks you're missing out on some good music. 

also, i'm awful at coming up with titles for mixes, so please forgive me, i know it's stupid but i wanted something short and yeah, just listen to the music. 

happy weekend, all! 

snow.

this is my face when i realise my hair has frozen. yep, strands as hard as rock. 

when it comes to snow, i turn into a child. as soon as it's forecast, i anticipate waking up to a blanket of the white stuff. last night, it started snowing as i was walking back to the car after seeing les mis, and by the look on my dad's face, i may have been a tad over excited by the snow-but-more-like-thick-water that had begun to fall. 

i made myself get up and wash my hair this morning before i ventured out, jake in tow. there's nothing more fun than throwing snowballs for my perpetual pup and watching him eat through the snow trying to find the ball that disintegrated as it flew through the air. 

after about 20 minutes, i noticed my hair had frozen as it hadn't completely dried so we headed inside and after drying jake off, we snuggled up on the couch wrapped in blankets - honestly, nothing is cuter than a cold pup wrapped up in a stripy blanket - and my hair thawed out pretty fast, thankfully. 

i hope you are all enjoy the nationwide snow day we seem to be having - if you're in the uk - and if not, i hope your friday is as snowy as ours!! 

are you a snow angel, or a snow scrooge? 

on my mind: life.

over the past few months, my life seemed to get pretty interesting. i was making an effort to 'get up, have fun' and it was making my life more exciting, but towards the end of 2012, my life just got busy. and repetitive. and i feel like i began to lose the blogging mojo i started out with.
i wanted to start a blog to document my life. what i did in my "gap year" and how i grew as a person. i've always struggled with feeling worthy, and i wanted therosyfreckle to be somewhere that i could let it out, have somewhere to let stuff out, a place to put things that inspired me, or things that i liked or aspired to have. i feel that so far, i have done that, recently more sharing things i like rather than what's on my mind. mostly because my life got monotonous again. the days would pass by and i'd be looking at interior design websites and looking at other peoples photographs and enjoying their work, but not creating my own. i started dwelling on what my life was becoming - minuscule.
but for the last months of 2012, i made a conscious effort to look for a church. to find somewhere that was friendly and warm and full of people of a variety of ages. mostly, i just wanted to find somewhere i felt at home. somewhere i felt comfortable. somewhere i felt myself. and knowing me, that's no easy feat. i'm shy and anxious and i worry about what other people think of me. it made going to a church for the first time alone incredibly daunting. i was trying to pluck up the courage to go to two local churches, but every saturday night i'd chicken out and tell myself i'd go next week. then, one saturday night i googled 'churches in liverpool' and came across the diocese of liverpool website listing all the churches in the diocese.
i opened a few that caught my eye in separate tabs and began to flick through them. i came across one that wasn't anything special, not as many pictures as the others, nothing fancy. but it felt like somewhere i wanted to be. it was open, friendly and welcoming. 'how can you get all that from a website' one might ask, but i guess it just spoke to me. the next day, i decided to go. the service time was perfect, late afternoon, but not too late that i'd be too tired to go. the feeling i had walking up the path was something i've never felt before. i work myself up when it comes to social situations, i fear the worst, and i anticipated the nerves to rush over me and riddle me with fear. but they didn't. yes, i was still nervous. but at the same time, i felt like i was being cuddled, taken care of. as i walked to the door, i was greeted and taken inside, every person i was introduced to was so friendly and welcoming, they didn't quiz me about my faith, they just asked my name and if i came from liverpool. the service was good. it was interesting and i actually sang out loud, like, i didn't mouth the words, i sang them. i felt happy. afterwards, i was invited to have tea and teacakes. people talked to me, chatting and getting to know me, and i went home relieved. relieved i had done it, i had gone alone and i had stayed. i had talked to people and made conversation, i didn't let the anxiety overwhelm my fulfilment. and i went home and told my mum all about it. and for the first time in probably ever, i couldn't wait until the following sunday.
this sunday was probably better. the people were still friendly, they asked how my week had been, and i got on really well with a girl who was also new to the church. the service was probably the best part, though. i've never had the experience of being truly touched by a sermon, but i really felt something. it made me realise that the decision to try out this church really was right and it's where i'm meant to be.
it's funny really, now that i've found church, work has started to get better. because i'm happier in myself, i've started to be less shy and more positive about work. i've always been grateful, but i've never enjoyed work. it bored me and my mind wasn't stimulated. but i started focusing on what i could do to pass the time - organise clothes, not only in my section, but also in the main shop - and it's made work so much more bearable. i've started coming out of my shell and i'm not afraid to get involved in a conversation in the staff room. of course, it's never going to be amazingly interesting, and i'm never going to be able to bug a customer into buying a top they're not really sure about, but i'm utilising my skills and doing something useful with the time.
now, all i need is to start my course - more pestering the college on the phone, then. honestly, i can't get a straight answer out of anyone, they just don't seem to care. but i'm not letting it stress me out or ruin this positive vibe i've got going recently. i'm handling it, i will have phoned pretty much every day this week by tomorrow and i will not give up til i have got my timetable and i'm in a classroom studying photography like i planned last year.
things will work out, even if it's not according to my plan, it'll be according to the right plan.

♡

personality.

last year, i saw a video on youtube talking about personality types. lots of weird letters were in the title that i didn't understand so i didn't watch it. a few months later there was another video more broadly titled, so i watched it, intrigued. in the description, there was a link to take the test, so i did, and it told me i was an INFJ. Introverted, iNtuition, Feeling, Judging. when i read the description, i was pretty blown away with how well it described me, considering i'm the type of person that holds back and doesn't really talk about myself. another thing that sort of made sense was the fact that infj's are the rarest personality type, which explains why we feel like it's hard for people to understand us - which it is - but that sort of works in our favour, meaning that infj's are great in roles of protecting and helping people.
the thing that stuck out mostly to me, was that i was 78% introverted. that's a lot. and it is very true. and even though i'm getting better at being shy, i still prefer to deal with things internally. infj's are also described as 'gentle, caring, complex and highly intuative', which is pretty much me in a tin.

this is the test i did to see what personality type i am. it takes about 20 minutes (ok, that was a complete guess, i did the test months ago and can't remember how long it took, i just know it took a while).

what personality type are you?

recently, on instagram.

today i'm just sharing some photos i've taken on my phone over the past week or so. most are ones i've shared on instagram, and a few are ones i was going to upload, and then changed my mind (but still love).

you can find me on instagram by searching 'therosyfreckle' or clicking here. 

♡

beer: cains.

i decided to start of this series with a local beer. cains is brewed in liverpool right by the albert dock. it was founded in 1850 by robert cain - an irish immigrant - and was reopened in 1991 by gb breweries after being shut down in 1990 by, the owners at that time, boddingtons of manchester.
along with several awards, cains was the official beer of liverpool's 2008 capital of culture celebrations.

it's a pale beer, and very light. it's not as bitter as other beers i've tried and i've got to say it's probably the nicest - i much prefer a sweeter taste to bitter. that's not to say it doesn't have a twang to the aftertaste. i had it cold so it was really refreshing, but the taste was still quite strong.

i really enjoyed this beer and will definitely repurchase it in the future. not only is the taste nice, it supports a local brewery. if you happen to see this next time you're buying beer, i would absolutely suggest trying it.

what's your local beer?

♡

breathe.

yep, it's another double post day because ever since i discovered 8tracks (the best website ever, especially as you can't get things such as pandora in england) i have been going mixtape crazy. and i'm glad, because it's made me listen to all my music, not just the stuff i downloaded last week. it's good.

anyway, the reason for this post is because last night/this morning, i posted a mix that is over an hour long and full of songs that make you feel happy and dreamy and relaxed. so here's a mix for your weekend, and maybe the weekend after that, who knows.

loving lately.

rug. // sofa. // this apartment. // bag. // candle. // face masque. // transparent mug. // silicone sleeve mug. // chair. //


i hope you all have a lovely weekend and aren't all stuck in work like i will be. i am now on hellocotton if you would like to follow therosyfreckle over there. from what i've seen it's a bit like bloglovin', but for girls.

southport on film.

i used most of this roll of film in southport, but had a few snaps left. and the last photo that was developed was this one - one my mum took while i was asleep. can you tell how clingy this dog is to me? i don't mind it though ;) -  

i was so worried that i had lost all these photos due to opening the back and exposing the film to daylight (hence the light leaks) but thankfully, all but three were fine, and i think the light leaks give them a bit of something else.