fluffy bichon frise lying on white bed

A Day of My Life in Pictures | March 2015

A few years ago I did a ‘Day of My Life in Pictures’ post, and some people seemed to like it, so I decided to make it into a regular series, where I’d document various, random days in my life, and then one day be able to look back on all of the minutiae of everyday life that fascinates me so much.

Of course, I didn’t ever do it again after that. Well, my life, as I’ve said, is pretty boring, and to be perfectly honest, once you’ve seen one day, you’ve more or less seen them all, so I let the idea die a quiet, dignified death. Then, last Saturday morning I thought, “To hell with that! Ima do it anyway!” So, without further rambling explanation, here is my Saturday, March 21st 2105 in pictures…

About 10am

I’ve been awake for a while, and am already one cup of coffee down when I randomly decide I want to do a Day of My Life in pictures post, and I want to do it NOW.

10:15am

fluffy bichon frise lying on white bed

Realise I should probably have thought about this earlier, so I could’ve documented the whole “Here I am waking up!” bit. Pretty sure that’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to do in these posts. Am rebel. Take photo of Rubin lying on the bed instead. It represents “morning”. It also represents the fact that I can’t think of anything else to take a photo of to represent 10:15am. This post is off to a bad start.

I know! I could take a photo of my bedside table!

10:30am

what's on my bedside table

Er, OK, so this is obviously going to be a “warts and all” kind of post, because that’s ACTUALLY what my bedside table looked like at 10:30am: I didn’t add or remove anything, or artfully arrange things for Instagram. Also, I don’t actually have a bedside table: I have an ancient wicker basket, which holds all of my various electricals (hairdryer, curling irons etc), and which I precariously balance cups of coffee on in the mornings. That other table? The one that was in this post? Actually lives in the living room. I totally just moved it in order to take some nice product shots. Am a big ol’ fake. Oh God, everyone is going to hate me now. Maybe it’s not too late to re-position this post as a fearless expose of the blogging world? No? OK, well, in that case, on my bedside table you can see…

01. Empty mug of coffee. I wish Terry would come and bring me a fresh one, because even although it’s now 10:30am, I’m still in bed. Look, it’s SATURDAY, OK? I spend Saturday mornings “working” from the bedroom…

02. Notebook. This is the one I use to jot down ideas for my book. I keep it in the bedroom because I get most of these ideas at 3am in the morning.

03. Earplugs. Many, many earplugs. I can’t sleep without earplugs. I don’t ACTUALLY have five ears, I hasten to add: I just seem to collect earplugs. We find them all over the house. A few weeks ago, Terry had to pull a large collection of them – plus a collection of hair ties – out of the washing machine filter. I blamed it on Rubin. I don’t think he was fooled.

04. Caudalie hand creme. This stuff smells amazing, seriously.

working in bed

10:50am

I have another coffee! I also have my laptop out because, as I said, I may be in bed, but I am actually working. For a while I tried to declare the weekends a totally blog-free zone, but then I realised that Saturday morning is a particularly good writing time, so now I tend to use it for that. I stay in bed so I still feel like I’m being appropriately lazy. Right now I’m working on an ebook of my blogging tips. I haven’t mentioned this, because I’ve been afraid everyone would be all, “Who would read THAT?” and “Why not stick to one book at a time, woman?”, but the fact is, I really enjoy writing about blogging. And I have a lot to say about it: more than I can really fit into my already-lengthy weekly blog posts about it, so I figured why not write an e-book?

(Actually, I have a lot to say about everything, as it turns out. For instance, I’ve already written 713 words of this post, and it’s not even 11am yet. GOD.)

laptop on bed

12:40

2000 words (and quite a few breaks) later, I realise it’s 12:40. Which is news to me, because I’d have sworn it was only 12:00 at the very most. Where did the time go? Have I been abducted by aliens? And if so, do you think the aliens would have taken any photos they could send me? For my blog?
preparing a henna gloss for red hair

13:00 Today I’m doing a henna gloss, using henna I soaked overnight, plus some cheap Tesco own-brand conditioner. I really wish this made for a more aesthetically-pleasing photo, but it doesn’t, so we’re all just going to have to try to live with that. I do a henna gloss maybe every 2-3 months. I’ve been meaning to do a tutorial on it for ages now, but the problem is that it really just boosts my natural colour, as opposed to changing it. The difference it makes isn’t one I’ve ever been able to capture in photos, and I feel like for a post like that to be useful, it would have to include some before and after photos… which people would just look at and say, “What’s the point of this? It doesn’t make any difference?”

Well, it DOES make a difference, but it’s a subtle one, so let the record show that I’m currently typing this with my head wrapped in clingfilm, because I couldn’t find the plastic shower cap I normally use for this. Whoops.

DIT red manicure using Barry M bright red

13:10 I normally leave the henna on for about an hour. While I’m waiting, I decide to paint my nails: I’m currently giving them a break from my usual gel manicures, so I’m using OPI Nail Envy as a base coat, Barry M Bright Red, and Seche Vite as a topcoat. Since I started doing gels, I’ve developed more of an interest in nail polish, so today I’ve decided to branch out and try something a little bit different, but not too adventurous. The plan was to follow the instructions from this pin, but I’m too lazy to cut tape into thin lines, and I don’t own any of the pointy metal things shown in the photos, so I just cut the tape into squares, snip off the corners, then stick them onto the nails. This will NEVER work.

13:31

LOLZ.

red nails

14:00

Time to hit the shower. Yes, at 2pm. I know, I’m a disgrace. I’m my defense, I didn’t actually plan to write for quite as long this morning, so that threw me off a bit. Then there’s that missing time. And it’s Saturday.

Now, I may be stupid enough to have posted that “nail art” photo on the internet, and also to think anyone’s going to be even remotely interested in the tiny details of my day, but I’m not QUITE stupid enough to take my camera into the shower, so the next part of my day will be represented by the products I used. First up:

shower products

Let’s hear it for my shower buddies, Sanctuary Spa Shower Creme (PR sample) and Revlon 45 Days Total Colour Care 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. I’d normally use a separate conditioner with the latter product, but as I’d just spent an hour with conditioner slathered on my hair anyway, I was able to skip that step.

Inhibitif hair free deoderant

Inhibitif Hair Free Deodorant. Now, I know MOST deodorants are “hair free” (Well, I should HOPE so, anyway, because, eeewww!) but this one is designed to reduce hair growth over time. I received it as a PR sample a few weeks ago, and have been using it ever since, but… I honestly can’t say I notice a difference. With that said, I don’t think I really WOULD notice a difference, because I shave in the shower every day anyway, so I’m possibly not placed to judge this one, which is why I haven’t reviewed it. This was no help at all, was it?

Caudalie skincare

Caudalie skincare. I blogged about these products just a couple of weeks ago, so I won’t repeat myself. Documenting the products I used was the one part of this post I actually did thoroughly, though, so I’m dammed if I’m going to skip a step. Speaking of which:

disposable contact lenses

Yes, I even photographed my contact lenses. -2.25 on the right eye, -2.50 on the left. The right eye is my favourite. Don’t tell the other one…

sleep-in rollers

I’ve been wearing my hair straight most of the time lately, so most days I’ll blow dry it, then stick in some of these Sleep-In Rollers, just to give it a bit of volume, and smooth out the layers. As I said in my review of these, I don’t actually sleep in them, and I don’t often use them on damp hair either (My hair takes literally hours to air-dry, and I don’t find it makes enough of a difference to the end result to justify wearing them for hours on a normal day…), but I’ll leave them in while I’m doing my makeup, and I find that’s long enough to make it look a bit more polished.

With the rollers in, it’s time to put on my face. I was running late by this point (Er, mostly because I’d spend so much time messing around taking photos of rollers and contact lenses), so this isn’t the best photo, but here’s what I used:

daily makeup

L-R: Smashbox Photo Finish Primer; Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in Light Porcelain, Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in ‘Light‘, Max Factor Masterpiece Glide and Define Liquid Eyeliner in Black/Brown, Ancient Boots 17 brow pencil, which the name has long since rubbed off; Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette (From which I used ‘Strange’, ‘Dust’ and ‘Burnout’); NARS The Multiple in ‘Orgasm‘, Too Faced Better Than False Lashes Mascara; ELF Lip Lock Pencil in Clear; Maybelline Color Drama lipstick in ‘Light It Up’

Um, seems like quite a lot when you see it all written down, huh?

At this point I completely lost track of time, so, in my best 24 voice, the following events take place between 15:00 hours and whenever it was that I stopped taking photos. Once I’d put my makeup on, it was time to decide which of approximately 15,000 skirts to wear today:

skirts hanging on rail

The weather is absolutely beautiful, so I decide to go with good ol’ florals, in the shape of this navy skirt, which was a gift from ChicWish last year, and which I pair with a mustard cardigan from J Crew and yellow Zara heels (both from last year):

outfit of the day

Unfortunately, this was one of those outfits which was better in theory than it was in practice, which is why there are no photos of me actually wearing it. I DID wear it (Purely because by the time I was done laying it out on the floor and taking photos of it, there wasn’t time to pick something else: whoops!), but although I like all of the pieces separately, I don’t think I’ll be wearing them all together again in a hurry!

Scottish countryside in early Spring

We’re finally out of the house! And would you look at that blue sky? It really feels like spring at last, which makes me very, very happy.

Rubinman

Rubin is less impressed.

We’re off to visit my parents’ for dinner, and just to warn you, I’m about to completely forget that I’m supposed to be documenting my day. I do, however, remember to take some food photos:

starter

main course

And then I completely forget about this post, until we’re back home again and I’m lying in bed trying to sleep, but actually thinking, “Oh crap, I was supposed to be taking photos for that post…”

I’ll do better next time (assuming there actually IS a next time, obviously). And on the plus side, just imagine how long this post would’ve been if I HAD taken any more photos?!

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books by Amber Eve
COMMENTS
  • I’m always amazed when anyone keeps this up for an entire day! I think you did great considering you didn’t plan it (and like the non-staged shots – I have tons of earplugs on my nightstand too!). Rubin is adorable, <3 his face! What kind of henna gloss do you use? I could do with a shine injection 🙂

    March 25, 2015
      • Oh wow, interesting! I will look into it thanks 🙂 x

        March 26, 2015
  • Kate

    REPLY

    Where can I get this lovely stripes lounge wear? I love blue stripes. You and Mary Orton help me to rediscover stripes.

    March 25, 2015
      • Kate

        REPLY

        Thanks Amber. I’ll look for the similar one then.

        March 26, 2015
  • I know this may sound odd, but it’s a little refreshing knowing that I’m not the only one that puts together two things for an outfit and then decides later that it was a bad match. So thank you for helping to “break down the blogger facade” and let us know that you’re just like us when it comes down to it. 🙂

    -Marisa | http://marisahendrickson.com/

    March 25, 2015
  • I love this insight into your day – you could basically write about watching paint dry and it’d probably still be entertaining. It’s nice to know you move furniture around for product shots (I thought I was the only one…)! Here’s my creepy news of the day: I think – and I’m remembering this off the top of my head – my contact lens prescription is -2.50 right and -2.25 left. We’ve got the same eyes, just the other way round. CREEPY huh?!

    March 25, 2015
  • Henna is amazing! I used to use it all the time, but then I dyed my hair purple but now it’s not purple anymore so I don’t know why I’m not using it again. <runonsentencefrommynightmares

    Ahem, anyway. This was a fun post. I got a laugh. Oh, and do you love MAC mineralize skin finish or what? Stuff is a Godsend.

    March 25, 2015
  • Selina

    REPLY

    The first part of the morning reminded me of Bridget Jones diary for some reason. Made me laugh

    March 25, 2015
  • I loved reading this! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who puts off showering until the afternoon!

    March 25, 2015
  • Grace

    REPLY

    I love your lipstick! The colour really suits you. Have you done a review of that particular one, or if not, would you recommend it? Thanks 🙂 x

    March 25, 2015
  • Maite

    REPLY

    -2.25 and -2.50? Jealous. I’m only 17 and I have -3 and -3.50 and it just keeps getting worse. I also have -0.25 and -0.50 of astigmatism and a loooooooooot of chances of it getting worse too. Gotta love it when two people whose eyes refuse to work have children, right? Those damn genes. BTW I love this kind of posts- they’re so fun to read! (not like your other posts aren’t fun to read, though)

    March 25, 2015
    • Trudy

      REPLY

      I got sick of messing around with contacts and glasses, and last year I got laser eye surgery. Best decision ever. Not cheap but if you do the maths, it is better than spending $$ every year on eye appointments and contacts etc. Not sure if they can help astigmatism or not though.

      March 26, 2015
      • Maite

        REPLY

        I’m planning on getting laser as soon as I can, but it needs to get stabilized first- otherwise it would just start again and I wouldn’t be able to use contacts since they don’t work in surgically “affected” (can’t think of another word) eyes. If it progresses like it did for my parents, I’ll be able to get laser at around 25. Until then, contacts it is

        March 26, 2015
  • Bee

    REPLY

    Hi Amber,

    Will you be doing a casual Friday at all? I always look forward to it as it always gives me style inspiration!

    Thanks

    March 25, 2015
      • Bee

        REPLY

        I bet they are fab!

        Well I will keep a look in case you do anymore as I thought they were great and gave me lots of ideas!

        March 25, 2015
  • I have never heard of putting henna in hair before… must Google this.

    Your day sounds pretty amazing, my cats would go crazy if I stayed in bed past 8am!

    my contacts are in the -6 range, so blind so sad.

    March 25, 2015
  • Haha this was a super funny day in your life post! I love your complete honesty and your quirky sense of humor!!! You doggy is so freaking adorable! And that outfit is totally adorable so picture worthy but I get how you take a picture of a totally adorable outfit only to put it on and its just a shame smh haha! But I bet you look so pretty in it! I simply love your red hair and you look gorgeous in that picture! So fun reading a day in your life, you should do it again more often

    Jasmine 🙂
    colorubold.blogspot.com

    March 25, 2015
  • In response to your rhetorical question (because someone is supposed to answer them, right?! 😉 ), I would 100% read an e-book consisting of blogging tips from you!
    I must say, because I feel that sometimes people don’t hear good things often enough, that your blog is the only blog I regularly read. In fact, your blog tips series has actually (FINALLY, more like) helped me to make the decision to start my own blog. I have begrudgingly added my link, but secretly hope you don’t read it because there are all of two posts so far and they’re pretty bad…
    Well, now that I am done my little aside there, I just want to let you know that you’ve had a huge influence in my decision to start blogging, and I eagerly await this proposed e-book on blogging so that I can learn more. I absolutely can’t wait to learn more from you!
    All the best!

    March 26, 2015
  • Ghalia

    REPLY

    This is amazing. Love the “unstaged” photos; they make this whole post, really! My favourite was 13.31 – had me snorting & choking on my drink while I laughed uncontrollably…

    March 26, 2015
  • That was really fun to read. I write in bed too. My husband thinks I could rule the world if I could stay in bed all day!

    March 27, 2015
  • Regarding your ‘bedside table’, I am a big fan of moving furniture around to suit current requirements. Our bedside tables always end up in the living room when we have a lot of people over. Sure, the lamps, books etc. are on the floor, but there is somewhere for people to put their drinks. I much prefer it to buying unnecessary pieces and cluttering up the house.

    March 27, 2015
  • Lily

    REPLY

    I am dying to read a tutorial on the henna gloss, Amber, if you ever get inspired to write it!

    March 29, 2015
  • Hello,

    Yes, just wanted to answer that question too…, I came to your blog via the ‘blogging’ posts and really enjoy them (and your blog, in general). Definitely, totally see the merit in writing an e-book (whilst doing a hundred other things too). And also, that bit about the deodorant cracked me up – thanks!
    Susie

    March 30, 2015
  • Oooh *_* I really love your post, you’re amazing!

    April 3, 2015
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