hello all ♥

i'm a different person now than i was when the blog began, but i was beginning to think it's kind of unfair to just leave you guys without an explanation note, so here it is!
this blog is now finished. i've loved it, you, everything, but there will be no more updates.
thank you for support & kind words & company -- it's meant the world :)

be brave, be beautiful, be you.

love, holly ♥

stolen cardigans & summer shorts ♥

I found this cardigan at the back of my wardrobe today, and I'm pretty sure it belongs to my friend Hazz - and no, Hazz, if you're reading this, you cannot have it back :)
The weather's been beautiful this week but I've been stuck inside revising - booo! So today was my first time to exercise a summery outfit with the handy excuse of my cousin's 18th birthday dragging me away from the books.
I'm loving shorts-that-look-like-skirts at the moment, & this lovely pair was bought by my Mummy from River Island :D
I'm really really loving River Island at the moment - I never used to due to their incessant need to over-embellish everything, but these days it's a shop I get more excited about going to than even our beloved Topshop!
How have you been enjoying the sunshine?

Love, Holly ♥



shorts & sunglasses: river island
cardigan: gap
top & belt: h&m
necklace: accessorize

summertime ♥

I'm really sorry for my over-a-month long absence, but it has been kind of necessary.
My boyfriend's mum recently passed away so I've been spending a lot of time with him & with his family,
but on top of that I've also just spent a lot of time trying to figure out whether or not I really want to keep fawned running.
You're all such wonderful people - I'm always boring my friends with talk of how lucky I feel to have such fantastic people take the time to read & comment on my little blog,
but this time of year always makes me yearn for the outdoors, and so the internet - blogging included - falls to the side.
I'm not giving up on fawned, but posts will be very very less frequent in the coming months.
I have the best boyfriend, and both he & I live in such beautiful places that it's hard not to spend every second of every day outside.
I did, however, make a resolution not too long ago to take more pictures - so what I'll probably do is just more posts like this one.
I do hope you're all alright, & thank you so much for supporting this blog.
Now get out & enjoy the sunshine :)

Love, Holly ♥

moony & wormtail & padfoot & prongs ♥

There are a few things on this blog that don't need repeating. The first: I'm so sorry about my lack of updates. The second: I love you all of you lovely readers so bloody much, and am racked with guilt about my crappy inability to comment back. And, the third: I'm really really into Harry Potter.

I got this amazing new t-shirt from evietees - an etsy site that has all kinds of lovely fandom-based treats, for those among us who can't seem to let go of their childhood loves. Safe to say, this is my new favourite shirt :)

I hope you've all been splendid! I am so sorry for not having updated or commented any of you beautifuls back - it's a crappy excuse to say that I'm insanely busy at the moment, but I'm afraid it's the truth. We're back at school & I have my A-Level exams in 5 weeks time, so it's pressurepressurepressure and workworkwork for me right now! On top of that I work the evening shift at my local supermarket every Wednesday & Thursday, I usually spend Friday-Sunday with my boyfriend, and Monday & Tuesday nights are therefore the only nights left available to actually get on with some schoolwork! But I promise that as soon as these silly exams are out of the way I'll have all the time in the world and - providing this beautiful weather sticks around! - I'll be updating a lot more :)

Stay magic.
Love, Holly ♥

denim dress & overworn shoes ♥

First off, I suppose I should (once again!) apologise for my predictable absence. I can't even blame school, as I've had the past 2 weeks off! But those 2 weeks have been full of work work work or drama drama drama, and this Saturday has actually been the first day that I've had completely to myself.
It's been a perfect to have just for me though, as the sun has finally decided to show it's face in Blighty!
I spent the morning in the little town where I go to school, looking for presents for my friend Megan, who turns 18 next week. It was busy & bustling & sunshiney - as you can see from the pictures, I actually took my cardigan off for the first time this year! I bought lots of presents for her, some adorable shoes for myself that you'll see soon, and then treated myself to some art by Chris Schinder. I've never owned actual art before, it's terribly exciting :D

Ooh, and speaking of purchases - along with some wizard rock albums (honestly, it doesn't get much cooler than me) - I recently bought Rufus Wainwright's new album, 'All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu', and it's a thing of absolute beauty. Give it a listen - I'm sure you won't regret it.

But anyway! After my morning in town I came home about lunchtime and, after writing pages and pages in my journal, decided I'd go for the walk that I used to go for every day last summer - and thought it was about time I paid this blog, and you lovely readers, some attention!
Turns out I've missed the woods alot more than I thought.

I hope you've all been well, and that your day was as lovely & quiet & much-needed as mine :)

Love, Holly ♥





dress: topshop, last year
shoes: primark
satchel: asos
cardigan: george @ asda

what to wear on trains ♥

I took these pictures last Friday, before I went to stay with my boyfriend for a bit. I meant to post them sooner, but this week has just been about coursework, coursework, coursework! It's out of the way now & I've got two glorious weeks off now though, whew :)
I always have a bit of a dilemma about what to wear on trains -
I know it seems a bit weird, but I don't generally like to wear my usual white tights because changing at different stations & sitting in different cafes & running about (which I inevitably end up doing on my journey) runs a fairly high risk of getting them dirty. Skin coloured tights are of course an option, but often attract some unwanted attention..!
Also I feel like you should always wear more on trains, because then you have to pack less!
Anyway this is what I wore last time I went. I don't know why I went into that much detail about my decision process, but there you go :)

With the exception of the necklace, which my Mummy bought me from Accessorize, this entire outfit is from New Look! Haha, not intentional of course, but when I think about it it seems that quite a lot of my wardrobe is composed of New Look things. Not because I'm a particularly adamant fan of theirs (though they have stepped up their game lately), but I suppose that's what happens when you have a New Look right next to your school!

And speaking of school, I confirmed my university choice earlier today, so as of September this year, I'll be living in St Andrews :) Scotland! Exciting exciting exciting.

I hope you're all had a great week! I'm feeling in a bit of a funny mood due to being absolutely exhausted from coursework week, so sorry if this post is rambly! :)

Love, Holly ♥

cupcakes! ♥

Yesterday my friend Hannah's 18th birthday, but being the poor little student I am I couldn't afford to get her anything much until payday (next Friday! yay) - so, until then, I thought I might make her some cakes!
(Cause who doesn't love cakes, right?)
Anyway, this recipe works time & time again for me, so I'm sharing it with you loveliest now. Aren't I sweet? ;)




♥ Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

♥ You will need...
- 100g (3 and a half ounces) of self-raising flour.
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
- 100g (3 and a half ounces) of butter.
- 100g (3 and a half ounces) of caster sugar.
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten.
- Drop of milk.

♥ And of course, don't forget the crucial baking playlist. Dancing around and singing at the top of your voice is a key ingredient in the creation of wonderful cakes - I always find a mix of Taylor Swift and the Glee soundtrack works perfectly :D




♥ Add the butter to the sugar.

♥ Then whisk! As you whisk, gradually add the egg. What I usually do is crack the two eggs into a mug, beat them together there, then slowly pour them in.
Oh, and the dress I'm wearing here is from Miss Selfridge :)




♥ Sift the flour & the baking powder together, then whisk it in with the butter, sugar & egg.

♥ I use medium sized eggs, so I like to add a very small splash of milk at this point. If you're using large eggs, this shouldn't be necessary.




♥ Spoon the mix into cake cases til just over half full. I managed to make 16 cupcakes with my mix, but I do have quite small cupcake cases.

♥ Then (my favourite part!) feel free to lick any remaining mix of the spoon :) Mmmm!




♥ Bake for between 15-20 minutes. I always find that 16 minutes is the perfect amount of time for me, but remember, every oven will always be slightly different!




♥ Once the cakes are done, remove them from the oven (and please don't forge to use an oven glove!) & poke them with a knife. If the knife comes out clean, they're done.

♥ Leave the cakes to cool for as long as they need (10-15 minutes should do it) and then, enjoy! You've got just enough time for a cup of tea whilst you're waiting :)

Love, Holly ♥