February Favourites | 2016

February has flown by so fast like it never happened. Can't say I want to complain about that. For a while I've just been too excited about March. Even though the spring officially begins on the 20th, in my books it has already started. Last month was quite challenging and tough. At the same time it was good and full of great experiences. Hubby and I got a chance to take a long weekend away and now I can officially tick off a few more places in the UK I've visited for the first time - Windsor, Eton and Reading. Here's the hoping that March and onward will be a hospital-free time and that everyone who needs healing will be brought to their full health and strength. Hoping the spring will be filled with sunshine, laughter, fun and blessings. Ok, now who's up for a little time travel? ;)

As we all know February comes in the form of a heart-shaped avalanche of chocolates, teddies, flowers and other bits and bobs. It's lovely, don't get me wrong. But why not do it as well on any other day. Couples who are affectionate and caring to each other daily wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between a regular Tuesday and a Valentine's Day :) Same rule should apply when you're single. Who said Valentine's Day must be observed - it's a personal choice. So on Valentine's Day my hubby and I did what we love to do every weekend - relax and enjoy some quality time together. We did exchange cards and he got me the most gorgeous bouquet of red roses. He's the best! :) A week after that we both felt like we needed a little getaway together so we booked a long weekend off and visited Windsor and London. Windsor absolutely blew my mind. When I used to be a little girl I'd read about the United Kingdom, the royal family and castles. There's just something special and magical about castles, isn't there? Windsor Castle was one of those I've always wanted to see. I was super thankful when my hubby made that little dream of mine come true. He even suffered through a guided tour (#thingswedoforlove). That was our Friday. Then on Saturday we made our way to one of the cities I love oh-so-much – London. It was a perfect day and the city was as welcoming as ever. London, you are beautiful.

A lot of commitments, family, work, blog, gym, friends, endless lists of things to do... Sometimes our minds can get cluttered and overwhelmed. Very often you might realize that life does need some organisation. To say that I love planning is an understatement. Making a to-do list is my kind of a good time! :) I admit, occasionally I do get carried away and put down like 35 things to do in a day. Not that it's impossible because tasks are too complex. Nope. I simply try to squeeze in too much that it's physically unreal to complete in the frame of 16 hours (let's say, from 7am to 11pm). That's when I stop myself and plan better. In February I decided to organise many things and wrote down a number of goals I have for my blog, my health, career, home, vacations, personal goals and other  little miscellaneous to-dos. I love my Excel files and Pages documents but nothing beats good ol' paper. More detailed blog posts on goals as well as blogging advice are coming shortly. Are you a planner person?

You know how in this category I normally include a brand new release hubby and I might have enjoyed. Well, for my February Faves this is not going to be the case because homegirl here missed Jurassic World at the cinema back in May last year. So we watched it only a few weeks ago at home after renting it on Amazon. Yes, it was predictable. Yes, it was somewhat tacky in a number of scenes. But it was still a great Jurassic-World-themed action film with wizard-like visual digital effects, and what made it navigate to my monthly favourites was Chris Pratt and the raptors :) Chris' character was this tough invincible Indiana-Jones'y guy who saved the day and got the girl. I love his acting and his fun personality shines through no matter what part he takes on. Short summary of the movie: there is a ginormous island where the scientists started to create and grow real dinosaurs; fast forward and the island is this massive theme park where families travel for entertainment with a pinch of adrenaline. As people always want more and bigger, a new species has been created. Then, of course, this monster of a dinosaur gets out and "terrorizes the village". You get the idea. The raptors were absolutely the cutest haha - and Chris Pratt nailed it. 

When it comes to Instagram I am always on the hunt for new accounts to follow. As much as I enjoy beauty, fashion and lifestyle blogging profiles (I so do!), I love me a fun and a different kind of a post making appearance on my feed. Either it's an animal account (think I need more of those) or a great celebrity one (btw, Chris Pratt has the funniest IG acc!), I can't say no to sweet and childlike pick-me-up pics. That's when @snoopygrams comes in. Who doesn't love this innocent little boy called Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy. Not only I have seen all the cartoons but also I can't skip a funny sketch with cute Snoopy writing a "love letter" or a reference to Beyonce's Flawless. The profile has 1.4 mln followers and I'm sure most of them are grown ups who remember what's it like to be a child :)

There are so many quotes we come across daily (oh Pinterest, how much I love you!) and I can never get enough of them. Give me a good motivational quote any day and every day! :) I thought February one just kind of must be about love. It resonates with the joy one I shared in my January Favourites. Real love goes beyond a phrase "I love you". Real love is sacrificial, devoted and limitless. Real love is also shown in a selfless act. That is why these words involve an action - let all that you DO be DONE in love. Helping our family and friends, helping those in need and helping a stranger - it all has to be done not because we were pressured or forced into that. "Because I have to" is a selfish thing. It would be amazing if all that we do would be done with love and in love. And not just in February ;)

Eyeliner is often that one product I sometimes skip when I am in a hurry. All the girls can relate - there is nothing worse than trying to achieve a perfect wing when you know you have to be out of the house in 5 minutes. Too. Much. Pressure. That is genuinely one of the reasons I might be late as well. If you see me rocking a flawless cat eye don't be surprised I am 20 minutes behind the schedule. On a serious note, I always do my best not to be late (never to work that's for sure). Even though the eyeliner is a lot of work I sort of learnt a few tricks along the way which save me time and effort. In February I have been very much into getting that on fleek look and this super affordable and lovely Revlon Colorstay Skinny liquid liner in the shade Black Out came in handy. Next one I really would love to try is Mahogany Flame. It looks divine. Also, a detailed post on my fave eye makeup is coming soon.

In my October Favourites I shared my favourite home decor piece which is this print that says: "Every love story is beautiful but ours is my favourite". I had to include it in the background because it's still ranking high for me. However, the focus (metaphorically and literally) is on the flowers. Namely, these stunning pink tulips which my hubby got for me. I absolutely adore having flowers at home. They make the most perfect "decor/interior" piece and just make me happy every time I look at them. Tulips are extra special as they are my favourite and bring back the most amazing memories from my childhood, mainly connected with my mum and dad. I always got freshly picked tulips from our own garden from both of my parents. As I have shared on my Instagram here one of the bouquets I got from my Valentine, I though this beautiful pink bunch was definitely worth including into my monthly favourites. I got a keeper. Those "just because" gestures are the sweetest and mean the world to me. 

How was your winter, loves?

Are you excited for springtime? (Sorry, Australia & NZ)

Hope you enjoyed my February Favourites.

Related Posts:

JANUARY FAVOURITES | 2016

November Favourites

October Favourites

September Favourites

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Leave a comment and let me know what you enjoyed the most in February.
How did you spend the leap day aka the "extra day"? 
Do you like planning?
What are your favourite flowers?
Hope you don't mind my avalanche of questions ;)
P.S. Oh, and happy International Women's Day, lovelies!