Hello! and welcome to October
and my favourite things.
October's been a really, really exciting month for me.
I've done lots of really cool things
like filming at the BBC, which you can see in a vlog
that was my last video.
Oh, my God, it's so fun!
And again, makes me super excited for Vlogmas,
because I just really want to make...loads of videos!
I have so many ideas that I just don't know what to do with them
and thank you so much, everyone, for your really amazing Christmas ideas
in my last favourites video.
Favourite thing number one:
My wheelchair.
Yeah, yeah.
As maybe you've seen from our conkers video
- I don't know if that's even the sign for conkers -
I am currently spending a bit of time in my wheelchair
and using crutches
because I had a little fall.
I fell over a wet curb.
Slid down really slowly, because obviously I only fall slowly.
So, where most people would fall down
and break a bone or something,
I fall incredibly slowly, tear my muscles on the way down,
but never break a bone.
Yes, I have done something to my lower back
and the inside of my thighs
and my bum.
So, I've been using my wheelchair
but, my wheelchair is actually an amazing thing
and lots of people come to say to me,
"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry to see that you're in a wheelchair;"
I'm like, "No, you're actually sorry that I've hurt myself."
"I am ridiculously happy to have my wheelchair"
because a wheelchair is just an aid.
It's an amazing thing that helps you get from A to B
and have more freedom
and the ability to actually move at the pace of a human being.
Whereas, normally, I walk--well, toddlers out-pace me.
Being in my wheelchair is just part of having an episodic disability.
Something that means sometimes bits of you work; sometimes they don't.
I'm always disabled
to the same extent, whether I'm standing or sitting in my wheelchair.
It's just that sometimes it's a bit more obvious to the outside world.
And if you want to know more about my disabilities,
and why bits of me stop working, you can just watch my video all about it, which you can find in the card
up above and also down in the description.
Now! Favourite thing number two
is actually--oh!
I know I say that I'm excited about
...most things, to be honest
but this I am genuinely really, really happy to be able to share with you
and to open.
Here she is.
Yes!
This is Mia.
Mia is ruddy amazing!
She's a Lottie doll
and if you don't know what Lottie dolls are, they are a series of dolls that are child-sized
- as in, proportionately, they're a child
(not a Barbie doll, who has the proportions of no one) -
they're also inspired by real children who said what they would like to see in a doll
and what they would like to see their dolls doing.
So, Lottie dolls are all really amazing, inspiring young women who are just doing fun, creative, fabulous stuff
and living their lives
and the thing that is really, really special about Mia
that you won't even see anywhere on this box:
she's marketed as a wildlife photographer;
the blurb on the back is all about how much she loves taking her camera out and about;
taking photos of birds and butterflies and creepy crawlies,
and not once does it happen to mention the fact that Mia also has a cochlear implant.
She wears a hearing aid, look.
It's just a part of her. It's just a part of who she is.
And that's the best way that we can help them understand that different people have different needs
and there's nothing scary or weird about it.
We're all different.
This is just a way that she's different.
And something I didn't notice until just a little bit ago:
She has a little--she has a little award here
[?] inspired by real kids
"Winner"
Note: this ribbon...in the colours of a Suffragette.
Yes, if my little cousins are watching this,
I think you pretty much know what you're getting for Christmas now.
It's either one of these or
it's a Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls.
God damn it, young child. You WILL learn about feminism.
And Mia's won a Toy Like Me award.
So she's celebrating the diversity in children and the diversity in toys
and I think that's fabulous.
And I, as a child, would have loved a doll like this
and I'm really pleased that children nowadays can get these.
I say, "children." She's mine now, so!
Children and people in their twenties.
Favourite thing number three:
This is slightly more adult.
I am always, always searching for the perfect eyeliner.
I had one that I absolutely loved that came from Boots, the chemist,
[?] and it was absolutely lovely
but then they changed that into a felt one
and I hate felt.
I think felt is just the worst when it comes to liquid eyeliner.
This, however, is fabulous.
It's a little brush on top of the pen itself, and then it's just filled with ink
so you don't have to worry about the dipping
and then the, you know...
So far, I've had it for...three weeks!
Doing eyeliner flicks [?] every day, and it's doing well.
It's not dried out at all
as you would really expect a product to not do after three weeks, but some of them do
but no! Remarkably, it has withstood much, much use.
I have mine in black, because nothing beats black
when it comes to eyeliner for me, but they do come in some other colours.
Also, one little thing: it has a sort of spring in the cap
which makes sure that the brush itself doesn't get crushed
as it goes in.
If it's a very hard and solid cap
it is want to do that.
So, yeah, highly recommend the NYX Epic Ink Liner
Favourite thing number four:
This you may - God, I know, every favourites video I get overexcited - anyway,
this you may or may not have seen (probably have seen)
(should have seen by now)
is my beautiful new kitchen.
Yes, finally.
It took five weeks
for it to be fully, perfectly, actually finished
but--oh, it was so worth it.
I mean, the disruption was kind of--kind of bad,
and we've realised that if we ever do work for a property ever again, we shouldn't live in the property
at the same time
but look at this beauty.
I am so happy
that I get to cook in here now.
It's really safe for me, for one thing.
I mean, this cooker door - fabulous.
It just slides. Hide and slide!
Hide and slide - NEFF, you genius!
Well done.
Good job. It's now my favourite room in the house.
Favourite thing number five:
My favourite thing number five is this beautiful jacket that I am wearing.
Stand up so you can have a look.
Ohhh. Ahhh.
I feel like a private eye in a film noir.
It's like a miniature version of a trench coat that looks perfect under a big skirt
because it of course--you know jackets.
Jackets are hard when you have a big skirt
because does it go in? and then the skirt wants to go out.
Anyway, this little beauty was sent to me from Romwe.
So I'll put the link down in the description if you would like one yourself.
It's pretty--it's pretty good
It's not the world's most expensive jacket.
It's rather thin, but again, not the world's most expensive jacket.
Have a look. See what you think.
Favourite thing number six:
This month, obviously my mobility has been a little limited
to say the least.
But, that's not stopped my hair care.
Oh, no.
Except in the ways that it really has
because I'm absolutely exhausted, and in pain,
so I'm not really doing my hair.
So, I felt a bit bad that I haven't been giving my hair as much love as I should
and that it's not looking as great as it normally does.
That sounds so terribly conceited!
But I do love my hair.
But, to give my hair some little added love
I have been using the marvellous,
classically vintage,
classically wonderful
side combs!
So easy to use, and they look so great
and you don't have to spend hours putting pins into your hair.
Here's a brief little clip on how to put a side comb in:
Comb it through your hair to just beyond where you want the comb to sit;
flip over and push back in!
And there we go.
So, there are my absolute favourite things from this month.
Did you like my favourites?
What have you thought of the videos we've put out this month?
What have been your favourites of the last four weeks?
And I really hope that YOU have had an absolutely amazing month!
Let me know down below, in the comments, all of the exciting and fabulous things you've been getting up to.
I can't believe there's only one more of these to go before Vlogmas.
Wow!
Where has the year gone? No one knows.
No one knows.
I'll see you on Monday. Mwah!