Massive Catch Up Post!

Hi Lovelies!

 

 First of all, before I get started, as this post is a bit of an essay...HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a fab new year. Mine involved lots and lots of eating/drinking/relaxing with loved ones, and in my opinion, what more could you ask for?!

Anyway, yet again it's been such a long time since i've blogged. I've had serious withdrawals let me tell you. Because it's not because I couldn't be bothered or lost interest. I literally have not had the time to give it my all and never want to put rubbish content on here. But I'm going to try and prioritise my time better to cram everything in. 

A few of the reasons my time has been so taken up the last few months is because, as well as working full time, I started my CIPD course which is a Human Resource qualification, my dream career. I'm doing a home study course as the thought of sitting in a classroom for three hours after work is like torture for me! At least this way I can work at my own pace and in the comfort of my own home. The only downside to this is that it's so hard to motivate yourself to do the assignments and you have to set your own deadlines, and there are so many distractions at home! I'm due to finish in March so that should free up a fair bit of time for me, I can't wait! My evenings after work have been taken up by studying til my eyes are burning from tiredness. Then on the weekends trying to maintain a social life and see friends, family, and my boyfriend, but also cramming in some me time so that I don't combust! Luckily I had a full two weeks off over Christmas and New Year so I got lots done and feel very re-charged. 

Another reason I have been off the radar in the blogging world is that two of my very good friends got married! It's been such an exciting time for our group and I couldn't be happier for them. One of my friends (Aarthie) I have known since primary school and I was lucky enough to be bridesmaid. It was an Indian wedding so there was lots of events before the actual wedding. She had two hen parties, one we went for a long weekend to Barcelona and then a London hen do. Then we threw her a bridal shower, and then the groom's family organised a Mehndi night for her. Which is basically a party to celebrate the upcoming wedding with food, drinks, dancing, and entertainment, and everybody gets henna on their hands. The wedding was absolutely amazing and she looked stunning.The Saree's and outfits were all so beautiful, such a colourful wedding! Planning the hen's and shower with the other bridesmaids was alot of fun but super stressful and took up alot of time! Then my other friend (Amy) got engaged and had her wedding a few weeks ago which was beautiful. She organised the entire wedding in under 6 months, I'm pretty sure she deserves some sort of record! We went on a Hen do to Centreparcs which is Amy all over! She's a country girl at heart and loves outdoor activities so we thought that would be perfect for her. 

By the time all these festivities were finished there were a few birthdays and then it was time to start thinking about Christmas! So it's safe to say you can see why my blog has been neglected for a while! I thought I would make a collage of pics from my summer and winter and from the weddings/hen do's so you can see what i've been up to :) 

Recipe #1: Chocolate Cupcakes!

Hello Lovelies!

So as you will know from my 'About Me' page and on previous posts, I have been determined to become better at cooking/baking. It's absolutely shocking that I've only recently learnt how to boil/scramble/poach an egg. Although I do make amazing cheese on toast if I do say so myself! haha. 

Anyway, as we have another lovely long weekend I decided to practice some baking and attempt some Chocolate Cupcakes. I have to say i'm really happy with how they turned out! I've had some absolute baking disasters so was surprised when these didn't just deflate in the oven like they normally do! Albeit I got the recipe from a childrens cook book so even I could understand the instructions, but you've got to start somewhere right?! 

If you'd like to try these, follow the simple recipe below!

Equipment:

1x 12-hole cupcake tray.

Piping bag and star nozzle.

Ingredients:

200g (7oz) plain flour.

2 tsp baking powder.

4 tbsp cocoa powder.

200g (7oz) caster sugar.

1/2 tsp salt.

100g (3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, softened. 

3 eggs.

150 ml milk.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

1tbsp Greek yoghurt.

For the Icing:

100G (3 1/2oz) unsalted butter, softened. 

175g (6oz) icing sugar.

25g (scant 1oz) cocoa powder.

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 180 C (350F/Gas 4). Sift the flour, baking powder, and cocoa into a bowl. Add the sugar, salt, and butter. Mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and yoghurt together until well blended.
• Slowly pour in the egg mixture to combine. Gently whisk until smooth. Place the cupcake cases into the tray. Carefully spoon the cake mixture into the cases, filling each one only half full. 
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly coloured and springy to the touch. Leave for a few minutes, then transfer the cupcakes in their cases to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• For the icing, beat together the butter, icing sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth. 
• Ice by hand, using the back of a spoon dipped in warm water to smooth the surface, or transfer the icing to the piping bag and pipe onto the cakes. 
• Sprinkle any decorations of your choice, or leave plain. Yum! 

Storage:
These cupcakes keep in an airtight container for 3 days. 

My Holiday Wishlist!

Hello Lovelies!

 

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend in the sun! I had a pretty chilled one as I've been nursing a cold for the past week. But I still made sure I spent as much time as possible in the garden on a sun lounger. The family decided to have a BBQ yesterday which was lovely. The men attended to the Barbie making plenty of burgers, ribs, sausages and corn on the cob for everyone. Have you noticed how men always gravitate towards the BBQ? It's like they mark it as their territory and it's a 'no women allowed zone'. Although we weren't complaining as me, mum, and the cat lounged around in the garden, occasionally topping up our wine glasses and gossiping away.

 

Any who, as we are having such great weather lately, it got me to think of everyone gearing up for their summer hols, myself included. So I thought I would make a little wish list combined with a mix of summer wants and essentials!

 

 

 

 

 

• Mint Green Playsuit-New Look-£27.99- I'm absolutely loving this colour at the moment. it looks lovely with a tan so makes the perfect holiday colour!

 

• Models Own Tan Collection- £5.00 per colour.- I was SO excited to hear that Models Own were releasing a range specifically designed colours to naturally enhance a tan. these gorgeous neon-pastel shades will really highlight and compliment your holiday tan!

 

• L'Oreal Anti-Redness Nude Magique- £9.99 Boots- I think we are all familiar with the fried tomato appearance of our faces after a day on the beach. Not a good look for a night out. I have been using L'Oreal Nude Magique BB cream bare skin beautifier, and so far I am really impressed with it. So I definitely want to purchase the anti-redness version for a bit of a glow in the evening.

 

• Jelly Sandals- £22.00 OFFICE- Who remembers these?! Without even slightly exaggerating, I used to go everywhere in my jelly sandals as a child. Mum even had a hard job getting me to take them off for bedtime! I was delighted to see they have come back with an adult version, and definitely want to get a pair of these for my hols.

 

• Kimono BANK fashion- £25.00- I'm a big fan of the Kimono trend at the moment. I  love a good floral pattern. so when i saw this floral Kimono I knew it had to be a holiday essential!

 

• Missguided- Rumika Rose Print Playsuit- £24.99- This is SUCH a cute summery playsuit. You could wear it day or night by jazzing it up with some accessories.  

 

• Jean Paul Gaultier- Classique Summer Perfume-£40.00- I've been on the hunt for a Summer perfume. I love the mermaid packaging on this and the scent is so fresh and fruity. Perfect Summer scent!

 

• Magicool- £3.99 Superdrug- I love this stuff. I never go on holiday without it. In scorching temperatures, when a bottle of water just won't do it. Spray some of this on your face and body and you will instantly feel alot cooler and more comfortable.

 

• Moroccan Oil Hair Masque- 31.85 feel unique- As like most people. I love the Moroccan oil brand. I use the oil on my hair before and after washing and the difference is amazing. I have quite dry ends anyway and this does wonders for them. But I find my hair becomes even more dry on holiday from a mixture of the sun, sea and chlorine in the pool so I really want to try the masque to take away with me to keep my hair nourished and hydrated.

 

What would be on your Wishlist this Summer?

New Blog Design!

Hi Lovelies!

Hope you've all had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend. I know I am, its meant to be a scorcher! Although if you follow me on twitter you will know that I am currently nursing a cold and feeling very sorry for myself. Fingers crossed it will be gone by the weekend!

Anyway, as you can see, my little blog has undertaken a fabulous makeover! The lovely Felicity from Pursuit Of Felicity is nothing short of a Blogger genius! She created my last design too, a couple of years ago, which was gorgeous, but then I had a long break from blogging and my tastes changed quite a bit in that time so I decided to go for a much simpler design but still with a touch of girlyness.

 

Felicity was so helpful throughout this whole process. I am completely useless when it comes to anything technical and she was extremely patient with me which I'm grateful for! She completely understood what I was after even though I was pretty vague as I wasn't sure myself!

 

I decided to change the name of my blog too. "Secret Diary Of An English Rose" was what I used to go by, and I liked it a lot but it always niggled at me and I think my eagerness to start blogging made me just pick a title so I could get on with it. I have always loved that song "the rest is still unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield and thought what a cool name that would be for a blog, sadly this was already taken but Felicity did some research and found the next best thing for me.

 

Changing my blog name has unfortunately meant that I have lost all my lovely Bloglovin followers, booooo. But if you click on my Bloglovin link on the right, you can follow me under my new name :)

 

I would highly recommend Felicity if you are after a whole new design, or even any minor changes you are not too sure how to go about it. Check out her website here.

 

Would love to hear what you think of my design!

 

Belated Easter Catch Up And My Weekend!

Hi Lovelies!

I know this is a bit belated but I hope you all had a lovely Easter break and a good week/weekend! Just a little catch of of my Easter and what I've been up to since. 

To be honest I had the most chilled out long weekend EVER. I literally stayed in my jammies, ate a shocking amount of chocolate, (what better excuse is there than Easter?) and, if you follow me on twitter, you will know that I am currently hooked on the TV series, Dexter, so I watched it in Marathons! 

Normally on a long weekend I really struggle to lie in, I always feel like I need to be doing something productive or making plans to go out etc. So for the first weekend in a while, I cleared my diary and fully re-charged my batteries, I have to say it felt amazing. Although on the Easter Sunday we went to my Aunts' for a massive roast dinner, and yet more chocolate with a bit of champers, then we all just lounged around chatting, which for me, was the perfect way to round off my lazy weekend!

This weekend was a different story however, as I had birthdays and engagement parties to attend, plus a lovely catch up brunch with a few of the girls this morning. Definitely could do with another day off to just chill out! 

Also, I have to apologise for the lack of pics I put up on my blog. I have been saving for ages to get a good camera as I'm really fussy and don't want to put up any blurry or grainy pictures. It arrived yesterday and I'm really excited to start using it and to be able to share my adventures with you all through pics! 

What have you all been up to this weekend?

My Top Five Travel Hot Spots!

Hi Lovelies!

Hope you've all had a good week and HAPPY EASTER!! how much are we loving the extra days off?! I've already eaten three of my easter eggs, feel like a massive piggy but I have such a sweet tooth I couldn't resist! I think every week should be a four day week, people seem to have more energy and are generally in better moods. 

Also, just thought I'd share, I decided to watch Frozen the other night, to see what all the fuss was about and I love Disney/Pixar films. I can definitely see why everyone loves it! It reminds me a bit of Tangled, which is one of my favourite disney films. All the songs were amazing and I just loved the story!

Anywho, I'll get to the reason for this post. As everyone starts gearing up for their Summer hols, I thought I'd share with you a few of the destinations on my bucket list!

1. NEW YORK- I have wanted to go here ever since I can remember, but have never gotten around to it. I have a bit of a fear of flying. I say a bit of, as I can handle short haul flights quite easily but it's always stopped me plucking up the courage to travel long haul. But i've decided to stop being such a wuss and travel there in the near future!
2. LOS ANGELES- This is another place that due to my fear of long haul flying, and also because of finances, I haven't managed yet. I've always dreamt longlingly of roller blading along Venice Beach, bumping into A listers as if they're your next door neighbours, and of course the nightlife, and amazing food and shopping!
3. AUSTRALIA- this one would be a massive personal achievement for me. 24 hours on a plane?! that seems pretty much impossible for me at the moment. A few of my friends have gone travelling around there and loved it so much and have so many good stories and memories that I just think I'd love to experience it, even just once. 
4. PARIS- I know this one isn't exactly original. But i'm so frustrated with myself for STILL not having visited the land of love! We are so close to it, only two hours by EuroStar, and you can get some really good package deals. So what's stopping me?! There's so much culture and things to do. I'd love to go in Winter time and I've said it every Christmas for at least the last two years that I will go next year and I havent. But I'm still going to say it again; I really do hope to go this Winter!!!
5. CANADA- I've always wanted to try my hand at skiing, and what better place to try than in the gorgeous Canada! I've heard so many good things about it. There's meant to be fascinating history and culture in Montreal, and fab nightlife and shopping in Vancouver! I really hope I get to visit it one day. 

Have you ever been to any of these places? Where are your favourite places to travel? Drop me a comment below would love to hear about it! :) 

My Weekend!

Hello Lovlies! 

I'm currently sitting in my garden with my feet up and a glass of wine in hand enjoying the beautiful sunshine. Have you noticed how everyone seems in a better mood when the suns out? I even heard my usually grumpy next door neighbour singing and prancing around to an  Elvis Presley tune as he watered his garden!

Anyway, just a little catch up with you all about my weekend. I had a bit of a family-orientated weekend which was lovely. I had a movie night with my mum on the Friday evening and we cracked open a bottle of prosecco and ordered a curry. I LOVE these nights with my mum, life can get so busy and its hard to always make quality time for parents but I think it's so important especially if you have a close relationship with them. Even though I live at home still one of us is usually out and about so we try and make an evening just for the two of us every couple of weeks. 

On the Saturday my boyfriends parents were visiting from Yorkshire, and were meeting my mum and step-dad for the first time (eeeek!) as you can imagine we were both very nervous! You hear such horror stories about parents not getting along and it could all get very awkward. But luckily everyone got on so well, we had an amazing sunday roast (on a saturday, aren't we such rebels haha) and we all talked and laughed til the wee hours. 

Now I'm having a very lazy sunday, which I believe all sundays should be. I'm taking today to catch up on my favourite blogs, lie in the garden, and watch a few more episodes of Prison Break. (I know i'm so late to this show but it's bloody amazing). 

Also, good luck and well done to anyone reading this that took part in the London Marathon today, you are amazing and an inspiration, I can just about do 10 minutes on the treadmill! 

How was your weekends? Have you done anything special?

TAG|| Harry Potter!

Hi Lovelies!

I saw this tag on Shona's blog, over at Shona Louise , and HAD to do it! I am one of the biggest Harry Potter nerds going. I've been captivated by them since I was a child. They were a massive part of my childhood and I'm still a big fan now and so I'm actually really excited to do this tag!

First experiences of Harry Potter:

I was in my final year of primary school. We had reading time on Friday afternoons and Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone was one of the books chosen.This was before it was well known. I remember being hooked straight away and couldn't wait for friday afternoons to hear the next chapter.

Which film have you watched the most?

Goblet of Fire. It was so brilliantly made and I think it kept very true to the book. It was my favourite book in the series as well, next to the final one of course.

Favourite moment out of all the films?

Ahhhhh this is such a tough one there are so many! I couldn't possibly name just one so a few are: When Hagrid gives Dudley a pig's tail. When they take Polyjuice potion for the first time. When Hermione punches Draco Malfoy in the face. When Umbridge gets her comeuppance in the Forbidden Forest. When they sneak into the Ministry of Magic. And of course, the epic battle between Harry and Voldemort in the final film.

If you could be any of the Harry Potter characters, who would you be, and why?

I'd probably want to be Ginny. I found her super annoying in the films but she gets to kiss Daniel Radcliffe so it wouldn't be so bad haha!

If you could learn one thing at Hogwarts what would it be?

Definitely charms! Or Transfiguration would be awesome too.

Favourite teacher at Hogwarts?

McGonagall! She was a great character, tough as old boots and Maggie Smith was cast perfectly for it.

Hope you've enjoyed reading this and I tag any of you Harry Potter fans out there to do it! 

  

Book Review #3 Feel The Fear...And Do It Anyway!

Hi Lovelies,

I wanted to share with you, the latest book I've read, called Feel The Fear...And Do It Anyway! by Susan Jeffers. This has been one of the most powerful and inspiring books i've ever read.

Let me start by saying how I came across it. I have always been a natural worrier, to the point where the smallest setbacks would send me into a spiral of anxiety for days. Confiding this to a friend, she recommended this book. Now, I won't lie, at first I was hesitant, I thought it was going to be one of those patronising self help books with a load of phschology ramblings. But I promised to give it a go so I ordered the book and as soon as it arrived I got stuck in.

The lady that wrote this is a complete genius. She explains how we attract good things into our lives by being positive and happy, and seeing the good in bad situations, she explains it in a language I can understand. The bottom line of the book is to teach you how to be a confident and secure person, and to have a healthy balanced life, through the power of positive thinking. I know it sounds a bit quirky and hippy but everything in the book made complete sense. There's lots of exercises throughout to get you started. E.g. Go for one whole week without complaining or bitching about a single thing. Now this may not seem that difficult, but believe me, it really was. I had no idea how much I complained about, from my train being late in the morning, to someone that had been rude to me that day. I was surprised how difficult I found it to smile through my annoyances and move on!

This book teaches you  to appreciate and focus on what you have got, not what you don't have, and how to live everyday to the fullest. To put yourself out of your comfort zone and by doing so, increasing your confidence. It teaches you that it's ok to feel scared, but to do what scares you anyway, hence the title.Some people might think this is all common sense and that's how you should live anyway, well, lucky you, because for alot of us that suffer severe anxiety, it's extremely hard to stay positive and confident when things aren't going the way that you want.

This book is definitely for anyone that wants to change their mindset to be a more secure and positive person and to see another side of themselves! I definitely feel alot more relaxed and happier, in the knowledge that whatever isn't going right, I can handle it.

You can purchase the book here for £5.59 from Amazon.

Have any of you read this or something similar? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Hello Bloggers!

 

I can't believe  it's been over a year since I last posted anything! 

To start, life became insanely busy and I had a few personal things to work through. These aren't the only reasons I stopped though. I started to notice how much nastiness and bitchiness there was going on over people's blogs. Especially over twitter. It made me lose interest in something that I loved and that was meant to be a fun hobby. There appeared to be too many rules for my liking and to be totally honest, started to seem like one big popularity contest, with the most important part of blogging being how many followers you have.

 

 I've really missed posting and interacting with other bloggers, I spoke to some lovely people and found some really great blogs. I've decided to go back to posting just for fun and not worry if I haven't posted in a while, or stressing if a particular post is good enough or sounds stupid.

 

So for anyone that would like to continue to read my ramblings, watch this space ;)

 

 

 

                                                        

Book Review #2 || Life Of Pi

Hi Dolls!

Hope you're all having a good week!

I have just finished the hugely successful book 'Life Of Pi',by Yann Martel, which has recently been made into a film, so I thought I would share my thoughts about it with you all.

The storyline is set in the 1970's and is about a teenage boy named Piscine, shortened to Pi, who lives in India with his parents and brother. The family own a  Zoo, but they decide to move to Canada so have to sell all the animals to other Zoos in America/Canada. They set off for Canada by ship with the animals in tow. After a few days at sea there is a huge storm which causes the ship to sink, Pi is the only human who makes it on to a lifeboat...but he is joined by a fully grown Tiger, a Hyena, an Orangutan and a Zebra with a broken leg. This is where the story really begins.                                            I have to say, the first 100 pages I found pretty hard going. The style of writing is not the most exciting and the build up to the story is, dare I say it, quite dull. But I'm glad I persevered because once you get past that on to the real adventure, you will not be able to put it down! I won't spoil the rest just in case you want to read it or watch the movie, but it is a tragic, beautiful story about Man's will to live and just how far your survival instinct will push you.  It teaches you a great deal about animals in the wild too and makes you realise how similar they are to us.  Tigers are my favourite wild animal, I think they are beautiful and interesting so it was amazing to read more about the mind of a Tiger and it's interaction with humans.

I liked the fact that it was so unpredictable, as soon as I thought I knew what was going to happen next, something totally different happened which is very refreshing.

However, the ending was somewhat of a disappoinment if i'm brutally honest.Without saying too much, there is a huge twist which was fascinating to read but left me feeling confused. I like to finish reading a book feeling satisfied but I unfortunately finished it feeling mislead.

All in all, a great story once you can get past the slow build up. I would definitely recommend it to anyone to read, and if you do, please do let me know if you could make sense of the ending!

Valentines and New Years Resolutions Catch Up!

Hi Guys!

A bit late but I hope you all had a lovely Valentines Day! Here are a few pics from mine. I spent the evening on an open deck boat along the River Thames with the other half, which was great but absolutely freezing!  But there was a free glass of champers so that made up for it ;).  Although I ended up having 4 glasses and on an empty stomach that is not a good idea, I ended up totally pissed and stumbling around on the boat. You honestly can't take me anywhere!

I live in London and it's so easy to take for granted what a beautiful city it really is. I mean people come from all over to marvel at Big Ben, and St Pauls Cathedral, Harrods, Tower Bridge etc. But when you see it all the time it seems the novelty wears off. It was so lovely to cruise along the Thames and actually take in all the sights for once, and especially in the evening when everything is lit up it looks absolutely gorgeous. I would definitely recommend to anyone thats passing through London to do.



Me and Carl

Anyway, I done a new years resolutions post at the beginning of Jan and as promised I thought i'd give you all an update on how i'm getting on with them! We already half way through Feb (how mad is that?!), so I thought it was about time!

Beauty:

• I have been so strict with myself in terms of Cleansing/Toning/Moisturising every night and no matter how drunk I come home, or how tired I feel, I can proudly say that I have no longer woken up with panda eye since the start of the new year :)
• I did also say that I would start getting regular facials. Unfortunately I haven't managed to do this yet, purely because of the cost and time factor. But I'm still hoping to squeeze this in in the near future.
• I have cut down alot on the fake tan I'm happy to say. To be honest it looks a bit daft to be tanned in these freezing temperatures anyway! Although I am still putting a very light layer on for special occasions.

Lifestyle

• Gym-The one I thought would be quite easy turned out to be the hardest! After Christmas I felt desperate to exercise after all the carbs and junk I had consumed. But alas, this was not to be. After some thinking and the realisation that I am never going to be able to justify £60 a month no matter how many times I go. There are alot of gyms with exactly the same equipment at half the price. There's no need to be flashy. I sadly cancelled my membership. BUT I got a few fitness DVDs and have been using them a few times a week which I think, does the same thing anyway! Until I feel I can dedicate more time at a much cheaper gym!
• Takeaway Food-I haven't done TOO badly with this one. I still have the odd, uncalled for McDonald's when I've had a rubbish day and talk myself into it or having the familiar craving on the way home from a night out, wrongly thinking it will help in some way but of course, it makes you feel gross and sluggish. But other than that, I no longer class most Friday nights as 'Curry Night' basically telling myself that just because it's Friday I deserve a treat. My goal of only two takeaways a month is not quite yet perfect, but I'm getting there.
• Sleep-This one is easy as I do love a great nights sleep. Most week nights I go to Bed at around 10:30 so at the very least I have been managing to get in a nice 8 hours. It really does make all the difference. Although the weekends are a very different story!
• Anxiety- It's so so hard to not worry when you're a natural at it. I would blow up trivial minor things into a big worry fest and stress about them for days. I still do a bit, but I am working towards trying to control this and be more carefree as it really is not worth it.
• Regualar Breakfast-I have been terrible with this one. I have the odd banana in the mornings still when I remember or some toast when I  have the time but I'm still trying to manage a regular healthy breakfast everyday. Shamefully I would rather have the extra 10 minute snooze than have something to eat! Which I hugely regret as the morning goes on so I am definitely going to try harder to put this right!

General:

• Saving Money- January was a complete write off as I had alot of things to pay off for after Christmas. But starting from the end of Jan I am managing to save my target amount each month which I am very pleased about. I have also found the perfect savings account which I am hoping to open within the next week.
• Quality Time with Family-I am starting to arrange monthly visits to my Nan by confirming a date with her each time we go. She lives quite a long drive away so it's difficult to always make trips down to her.
• Paris-Yes I am still the only person that hasn't been to Paris *sad face*. I would have loved to have gone for Valentines Day but it was way too expensive and to be honest I'd rather go in the run up to Christmas so fingers crossed I'll get to go this year.
• Adventurous- I'm slowly but surely trying more foods that I wouldn't normally consider because of the way they look. And i'm also still on my constant battle to become a top chef in the kitchen, or at least be able to cook something that doesn't revolve around toast. I've recently purchased some cooking-for-dummies books so keep your eyes peeled for a few recipes :)

I saw plenty of  Resolutions posts so would love to know how you are getting on with yours? :)

                                                 

                                                        

***Mini Rant Alert*** | PDA couples (Public Display Of Affection)

Hi Guys!

I have been prompted to do this post by the seemingly endless Facebook statuses and pics from people who feel the need to tell the world how much they love their boyfriend/girlfriend every couple of hours. E.g. (Taken from a real Facebook status posted earlier) "can't wait to see my baby in an hour!" Two hours later... " having such a good time with my baby! " ( you get the general idea) well love, ur not having that great of a time if you're bothering to update your status yet again! 

The other week I was on the bus home from work when a particularly 'enthusiastic' couple plonked themselves down in front of me and proceeded to, in what can only be described as, eating each others faces off. It was quite horrific, what with all the squelchy saliva noises and tongues popping out everywhere. I was extremely annoyed to have to have a front row seat to this ott expression of affection. So I did what any normal person would do and turned my headphones right up and stared determinedly out of the window until they got off. I was definitely one of many who breathed a sigh of relief when they finally buggered off. 

I know I sound a bit like I've swallowed a bitter pill but don't get me wrong. I'm all for being in love, and a quick kiss in the street and holding hands are perfectly fine but when you are on public transport or in the middle of the shop and are practically dry humping your partner in full view, it's extremely inappropriate. 

I have a boyfriend and he is a lovely person. Our relationship is strong enough that we do not, nor have we ever, felt the need to consistently declare our love for each other on social networks, or pounce on each other in public, I don't think it makes you more of a couple by doing these things. 

Nobody wants to know how madly in love you are or how you've just been made a cheese sandwich by your amazingly thoughtful gorgeous partner bla bla bla. 

So next time you have a mad urge to attack your other half in public with your tongue, or post your 6th sickly status of the day, please spare a thought for the rest of us who would like very much not to be put off our lunch. 

Clinique || Hand And Cuticle Cream

Hi Guys!

I haven't posted in a while...unfortunately my motivation for blogging these past couple of weeks has been virtually non-existant if I'm honest. Not for not wanting to blog of course, I literally have found that I've blinked and January has disappeared before my very eyes. I was actually hugely surprised when I looked at the date on my phone this morning and it said 1st Feb! I've had a hectic month with various birthdays, and if you have read my New Years post, you will know that I am also trying to stick to my New Years Reso's, (which I will do a catch up post about soon). Not to mention the January blues I have been suffering. Has anyone else felt massively tired this entire month? After Christmas I literally haven't been able get back into the swing of things. After work every night I pretty much have a hot bath and go straight to bed. So unfortunately I haven't had time to sit down and write. I didn't want to write any old rubbish for the sake of posting so decided to leave it until inspiration came to me!

Anyway, I dont do too many product reviews, but when I find a great product (or sometimes, a disappointing product) I feel compelled to give it a little review :)

I've only recently started using any type of moisturising cream on my hands. I never really thought it was that important  and a waste of money but I was wrong. We use our hands everyday so why shouldn't we look after them?! Remember, they are one of the first places that age! So I decided to try Clinique deep comfort hand and cuticle cream. So far I'm very impressed. It has a lovely smell and a  light texture that makes your hands unbeliveably soft and smooth. I found my skin stayed very soft long after I first applied the cream.  I have noticed a definite improvement with my cuticles to, they were getting quite dry and cracked looking but now look almost as good as new!

You can pick this up for £17.00 from Selfridges, John Lewis  which sell it for £15.30 or Harrods. Even though it is rather pricey I would definitely recommend it as you really do only need to use a tiny amount each time, so it will definitely last you a long time.

Have you used this before? What are your favourite hand products?

***It's A Rich Man's World...***

Hi Guys,

I'm not going to ramble on about the weather like the whole world seems to be doing at the moment, but I just have to quickly say, how mad is it?!. In Australia it's so hot things are catching on fire, and over here we are dressed like eskimos, while temperatures drop well below antarctic level and we look forward to building a good snowman. Unfortunately, this bout of snow was not enough to guarantee me a snow day. While everyone else seemed to have the day off work or finishing half days, I had to brave the elements for the day whilst wistfully watching the pretty snow fall from behind an office window, *sigh*.

Anyways, the actual reason for this post is the recent news that a premier league footballer apparently won a substantial amount on the National Lottery. £125,000 to be exact. 

On the one hand I think, bloody cheek! He must get thousands of pounds every single week to kick a sodding ball around a pitch, what right does he have to enter the lottery?! Which is taking away a chance from somebody else that might need the money so much more! What on earth does he even want to enter for? Surely someone on that wage wouldn't even consider it?!

On the other hand, no matter what he earns it is a free country and he can buy a ticket no matter how unnecessary that may be, and people shouldn't give him abuse because he won the game fair and square. For all we know he may give the money to charity too, which would be amazing.

Luckily for him, there's a law that prevents him from being named which is the 'non publicity clause'. So no one need ever know who it is. Apparently he chose this to avoid the barrage of abuse he is bound to receive from fans and rivals.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think high earners are selfish for playing or do you think it's anyone's game?

The Versatile Blogger Award!

Hi Ladies,

I was recently nominated by the gorgeous Laura from Shimmer Of Pink for which I'm very grateful, its such a nice feeling being nominated by fellow bloggers :) Check out her fab blog here!

The rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Share 7 random facts about you.
3. Nominate up to 15 other bloggers who are new to blogging and who you feel deserve to be nominated.
4. Let them know that you've nominated them.
5. Add the versatile blogger award pic to your post.

7 random facts about me:

1. I talk in my sleep fairly often.
2. I HATE ice-cream.
3. My mum is my hero.
4. Michael Mcintyre is my favourite comedian.
5. I can lift one eyebrow on it's own.
6. Lions are my fave wild animal, I think they are beautiful!
7. I dip my oreos in peanut butter. (if you haven't tried it you're missing out!!)

My nominees:

Nicola from Only On A Sunday.

Lauren from Heroine In Heels

Ceri at Wardrobe Misfit

Sally from Sally Tangle

Bess from Thoroughly English

Effy at Effy Talks Life

Thanks again Laura! xx

Riches to Rags?

 

Hi Dolls,

Who remembers this little guy?!

As it was Xmas only a a few weeks ago, and Home Alone was rife on our television screens again, I couldn't help but remember the shocking pictures of Macaulay Culkin I saw a few months ago. And how sad it is that a much loved child star has ended up looking so frail, disshevelled, and absurdly skinny. He's best known for being Kevin Mcallister, in two home alone movies, and also Richie Rich, definitely two of my fave films growing up!

So I breathed a sigh of relief at the latest snap of him below, looking much healthier. Still looks like he needs a few good home cooked meals down him, but no doubt a million times healthier than he looked in the above pic!!

 

 

Whatever issues the magazines say he has, drugs, depression, alcoholism, or all of the above, lets hope he can overcome these, and doesn't end up being yet another classic example of 'too much, too young' and he can get back on track! :)



                                                   

Why Are We Cray Cray For Social Media?!

Hi guys,

A bit of a different post today, so please excuse my rambling. Firstly I would just like to point out that I use Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest/Email on an almost daily basis, and I think they are great tools for blogging and keeping in touch with people etc. This is just a thought I was having earlier today about the not so great side of social networking, and decided to share it with you all :)                                                        

I was sitting on the train on my morning commute earlier, staring absent mindedly into space, when I happened to glance around the carriage and was greeted by the sight of literally every single passenger on some sort of technology device.

Whether it be a phone, Ipad, Kindle, or some other form of tablet, you name it and they were on it. Then because I was extra aware of it, I started noticing it everywhere. People walking on the streets bumping into each other because they're too busy looking down at their mobiles, others with the phones attached to their ears. Not that I can talk,  I am totally guilty of all this too. I constantly walk with my phone in hand, even when i'm carrying a bag, I still have to have my phone in my hand. If I think i've lost it, within a few seconds i've gone into a blind panic, heart thumping, only to realise I am actually holding the bloody thing in my hand! (I've been known to do this on quite a few occasions i'm shamed to say) .

So it got me to thinking, why ARE we so hooked to these little pieces of plastic? Would the world end if we left our phones at home for the day? Would twitter/facebook go into meltdown if we hadn't signed in for one day? The answer is obviously, no. It would all still be there. What is it that has made our generation and generations to come so dependant on technology?

Like I said earlier, I totally get that Facebook is good for keeping in touch with people and also getting back in touch with old friends/family. And twitter is entertaining to find out the latest goss with your fave celeb, and especially to keep up to date with the blogging world! That's what I use it for anyway. But we have gone way past that now. People, including myself, refreshing twitter and facebook for updates every few minutes, giving our poor thumbs and fingers repetitive strain from texting and tweeting all day long. Often, and i'm sure i'm not the only one that does this, but when I'm already out with friends, I still check my phone all the time. How bad is that?! It's like we've lost touch with the real world and are more focused on virtual relationships.

After doing some research, I think a few of the main reasons is, the power it gives people to communicate instantly. And it allows people to express themselves freely, which alot of people don't feel comfortable doing in person.  For example, you would be classed as obnoxious and annoying if you spoke loudly in a quiet waiting room or on public transport, etc. You are expected to sit and be quiet. The objective being to avoid negative attention which could lead to embarrassment/shame, which obviously no one wants to feel. But social media allows people to freely voice their 100% honest opinions without physically being judged by it. There's also a 'showing off' element to this as well. I've noticed people, again including myself, have a tendency to use social media as a way of outlining the positive aspects of of themselves and to publicize how amazing their lives are. It gives us a sense of self-satisfaction.

Call me old fashioned, but sometimes I feel almost nostalgic for the days when having a phone was still a novelty. When friends had to call your house phone to speak to you, or going out without a phone was considered perfectly normal. When people used actual words and not abbreviations for everything.

While I obviously enjoy social networking most of the time, it can get a bit overwhelming when you are overloaded with it, hence why I felt I wanted to post this. I would love to know what others think about it too.

What are your views? Do you think we are a society with an unhealthy dependancy on social networking or do you think it has been a good development?