Erin Coull

Hey everyone! Lately, my family has been watching tonnes of movies because we have more time on our hands in the evenings. My sister and I are quite glad about not clock watching, as our early mornings left with lockdown! We really have been making use of Netflix during quarantine by watching a new movie almost every night. I'm sure you also have some extra time on your hands so I hope you enjoy these recommendations. Charlie Wilson's War  This is based on a true story of a Texan congressman (Tom Hanks) who uses his influence to persuade America's secret services and covert operations to help the Afghan rebels against the Soviets. He does this because of the long-term impacts this war will ultimately have on America. This movie, despite the sombre and realistic theme, is hilarious! The jokes and social situations that the congressman and a Houston socialite (Julia Roberts) get themselves into are very funny. Philip Seymour Hoffman also makes an appearance with a very dry se...

¡Hola amigos! (I'm learning Spanish at the moment) I am back with part 2 of the swaps you can do at home to become more eco-conscious. I forgot to say in my last post but the first thing I suggest you do before you buy any of these products, is reuse whatever items you already have. Only buy the alternative eco-friendly products once your current item is broken or used up so you don't produce any unnecessary waste.  That said, if you are looking to replace an item in your home that has been finished, with a more environmentally-friendly product, then look no further! Recyclable gift wrap Unfortunately, wrapping paper that is sparkly, shiny, glossy or crinkly is not recyclable and will end up in a landfill where it will contribute to large amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is because the film over the paper that makes it glossy is made of Mylar, which is a plastic film coated in aluminium.  But don't worry, you can still wrap your gifts in colourful pap...

Hello, fellow bookworms! I thought I would make this virtual bookclub a monthly occurrence because I enjoy writing them so much! I love recommending books so other people can experience the joy I feel after finishing a good one. Hopefully, I can read fast enough to keep up with these updates! Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry This story follows Michael, an atheist who has recently been enrolled at a Catholic school. At first, he hates it, but then he realises that he is not the only person who doesn't fit in. Lucy wants to become a Catholic priest, Eden is a pagan, Avi is Jewish and Max is a Unitarian. Michael quickly becomes acquainted with them in the covert group called Heretics Anonymous. Michael encourages the group to go public by exposing hypocrisies in the school and they gain a lot of support. Unfortunately, Michael goes too far by putting the other Heretics in danger and he must make a choice to help his friends or help himself. This book was hilarious! As someone...

Hey everyone! As I'm sure you have also been experiencing, so many people have had birthdays or reasons to celebrate during this lockdown period and it has been rather tricky to navigate. We can only gift the people celebrating with chocolates or biscuits as gifts, as anything other than food isn't on sale and obviously we cannot make any contact with that person. But it has been fun to think out of the box and come up with new and interesting ideas to make that person feel special.  Easter Luckily this occasion lent itself quite well to our buying restrictions as all we needed was chocolate and lamb! We bought our chocolate bunnies and eggs and hid them in a cupboard to make sure my sister couldn't eat them before the 12th of April. It is tradition in my family, as in most families, for my parents to hide the eggs before we get up so we can go searching for our treats. This year, my sister and I wanted to spice things up so we hid the eggs and made our parents find th...

Hey everyone! I am very interested in sustainability, as I have mentioned before, and I have tried to implement some changes in our house to practice what I preach in the low impact movement. Now, I am far from living the perfect eco-life, and there is still loads I can do to help the environment but by slowly introducing eco-friendly habits and swaps into my family, they become a new normal. I encourage you to try out these alternative products and become more eco-conscious!  I have linked different websites to buy these products so you can easily purchase these eco-friendly items and implement them in your routine. Just click on the website's name underneath the product. Most of these products are readily available on Amazon for my international readers so I have included those links, but for us South Africans, we have to find more creative means of sourcing these products so I have included local websites as well.  Silicone baking mats Instead of using miles and m...

Hey everyone! I am finally writing those book recommendations I promised a while ago, whoops! Reading is a huge part of my life, as I have probably mentioned before, and I would like to share that with you. I have tried to include as many genres as possible so everyone can find something that they like.  Elenor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman This book took the world by storm last year because it is very different to the usual realistic fictional story. The author, Gail Honeyman, got her inspiration from reading about the lonely existence of a girl who worked and then went home without socialising. This is essentially the story of Eleanor. She is a 29-year-old woman who has a desk job and lives alone. She makes no contact with anyone, apart from a weekly phone call with her disapproving and ghastly mother. Her routine is never-changing; she buys the same frozen pizza, she wears the same clothes an d she purchases the same brand of vodka at the end of eac...

Hey everyone! In honour of Earth Day on the 22nd of April, I thought I would pin the spotlight on sustainability. This is quite a different   article  to my previous ones as it is a bit more research-based. I thought a good way to introduce my passion for sustainability is to start with a bit of background on plastic - the enemy of the low impact movement. I had never really thought about how plastic first came about, let alone when the low impact movement developed. When plastic was first produced, it was celebrated, quite a contrast to popular opinions today. Well, how did this unbelievable change of opinion occur? The first synthetic plastic ever produced was called Bakelite and it was made in 1907. It was commonly found in knobs, dials, costume jewellery, toys and in the electrical systems of cars. It became rather popular during the First World War as it was used in military equipment but soon afterwards, plastic's domestic durability was discovered. While...