Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts

Thursday 15 May 2014

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!
 

Sunday 27 April 2014

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?

Friday 18 April 2014

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! :) 

Sunday 13 April 2014

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?

Thursday 10 April 2014

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! 
  

Sunday 30 March 2014

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 ;)
 
 
 
                                                        

Monday 4 February 2013

***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. 

Saturday 19 January 2013

***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?

Thursday 17 January 2013

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
Sally from Sally Tangle

Thanks again Laura! xx







Sunday 13 January 2013

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!!
 
 

Casual in the city: Macaulay, who has an apartment in New York's SoHo neighbourhood, looked hip in grey jeans, brown plaid shirt and a charcoal dress jacket


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! :)



                                                   

Tuesday 8 January 2013

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?

Wednesday 2 January 2013

January Blues...and some resolutions!

Hi Ladies,
Even though i've had a lovely refreshing break, can you believe how quickly the festive season comes and goes?! I can't help but feel sad it's over. I don't know about you but I in no way feel ready to get back to early mornings/commuting/gym, etc. Think it will definitely come as a shock waking up at 6am everyday, for the past week and a half I've been getting up no earlier than 10!

I've long since given up making New Years Reso's, I can NEVER stick to them. But this year I decided to give it another go. There's so many things I need to do this year so if I write them down in a post i'm hoping it will give me more motivation to stick with them.

My Resolutions:

Beauty:
  1. To get back into a proper skincare routine of cleansing, toning, moisturising every night. There's been too many nights i've come home late and fallen asleep with make up still on-yuck! Panda eye is not a good look in the morning!
  2. To try my best to go for regular facials, I have very combination skin, so it would be good to speak with a specialist that could recommend what's best for me.
  3.  To embrace my pale skin!. I'm always trying new fake tan products as I feel quite self concious without them. Everyone looks better with a tan right?! Well, I was thinking about this the other day and even though natural tans look lovely and do give a nice healthy glow, There's nothing wrong with being pale either, especially as I don't live in a particularly hot country! I think it's more the magazines and television programmes that make people feel under pressure to always be tanned. But it's all about confidence really. Anyway, obviously on special occasions I will still put some form of tan on. But not nearly every day as I have been doing lately. Plus it clogs up the pores on your skin which isn't great!
Health and Lifestyle:
  1. To actually use my gym membership and go at least 3 times a week. I mean, I pay £60 a month and I haven't been in about 6 months! But I've definitely put on at least a stone this Christmas so I actually really want to go. I don't think this reso will be too hard...I hope!
  2. To cut down on takeaways. I was looking through my bank statement the other day and I spend so much money on takeaways and eating out! I need to massively cut down, and eat more fruit and vegetables. I think 2 takeaways/eating out a month is fair, and the rest of the time only healthy food. This is going to be a hard one!
  3. Make sure I get a good 8 hours of sleep per night during the week. I've realised I don't function properly at all with any less!
  4. I'm a natural worrier. I get anxious about minor things and analyze everything too much. This year I want to be more laidback and not let things get to me too much.
  5. To eat breakfast everyday. I've never really been a breakfast person, granted this is mainly because I snooze my alarm so much in the mornings I am late and rush out the door without giving breakfast a second thought. But by 10am my stomach is growling like a monster and I hugely regret not eating, so from today I am going to make sure I at least eat some toast or cereal before leaving the house.
General:
  1. To open a savings account, and start saving as much as I possibly can each month. I'm going to be 25 in March and would love my own house/mortgage in the next two years. I realise this is a totally high expectation but I'm hoping if I stick to saving every month, I might just do it.
  2. I've always been quite an organised person, I have a filofax that I couldn't do anything without! so this reso is just to keep it up and make sure i'm on top of things.
  3. To visit my Nan more often. She lives quite a long drive away so we don't see her nearly as much as I'd like. But I want to make at least a monthly trip to see and spend time with her.
  4. To go to Paris! I must be the only person who has never been and I'm desperate to go! I would love to go for a long weekend there at some point soon.
  5. To be more adventurous, especially with food! I love food, but then I can be quite a fussy eater sometimes. I won't eat something if it looks weird or I just think I won't like. So I am definitely going to try and be more open minded.
I will keep you  updated on my progress with these!

What are your New Years Resolutions? Would love to hear them :)


                                                          

Tuesday 1 January 2013

***HAPPY NEW YEAR!***

Hi Dolls!
 
 
I hope you all had a fab New Years Eve!
 
I find New Years Eve in London to be a rather expensive affair. Clubs double their already high entry prices, Normal pubs and bars even charge you a ridiculous amount to get in just because its NYE. And then there's  the queing outside venues in gale force winds, and the inevitable downpour of rain.
 
So I decided there's no way i'm heading into London this year. Instead I went to a friends party at her house and we drunk endless amounts of Champagne, played on the wii, played a drunken, clumsy game of twister and watched the fireworks on the telly. Maybe I'm just getting old lol, but we had such a brilliant night and for me, beats being sardined in a club with thousands of random people!
 
I meant to take a few pics but after a few glasses the camera unfortunately lay forgotten on the sofa!
 
Would love to know what you guys got up to? :)

Thursday 27 December 2012

***My Christmas***

Hi Beauts!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and got everything you wanted.

I thought I would share what I did over Christmas with you :)

Christmas Eve-For the past couple of years I have been going out with friends on Xmas eve, meaning I have been very hungover on Xmas day, which is no fun at all. But this year, my boyfriend asked me to go and help him do ALL his shopping. In typical man style, he had left absolutely all of it untill Christmas Eve. I was not amused! We went to Westfields in Stratford and it was MENTAL! He was working until 4 and it closed at 6 so the pressure was on to get everything done in about an hour, which we managed, hurrah! Apart from his present to me :( he was going to get me the ipad mini but of course they were sold out everywhere (who tries to buy an ipad on xmas eve?!),which was very disappointing, but hopefully I only have to wait a few days :) Then in the evening I went out to dinner with mum and my stepdad which was lovely. Then went home, wrapped the last of the presents and watched a few films.  

Christmas Day- I'm a big kid when it comes to the big day. I  still get everyone up early, whack on my Christmas Jumper and race downstairs and sort everyones presents into piles ready to be opened! So true to form, I forced everyone up at 7:30am. I didn't get loads of presents, I think as you get older it gets less and less. But I did get some lovely bits, some dresses which I'd wanted for a while, and some christmas reindeer pyjamas. I got some soap and glory products and Body Shop gift sets which smell gorgeous. A cute bracelet. Selfridges vouchers from my nan. and obviously I'm still waiting on the ipad!
Around lunchtime we all headed to my aunts house, it was so nice to see the family as I don't see them very often. The food was amazing, and too much wine and sherry was consumed, as you do. Then in the evening we play games like cluedo, bingo and monopoly before heading home.

Boxing Day- This is also my Nan's birthday so we had everyone over to us for yet more food + birthday cake, and alot of wine. After watching a film someone whacked out the Monopoly again, (as you can tell, we are a family of Monopoly enthusiasts). But as I have work today (*sad face* not quite ready to go back to reality yet!) and I know our Monopoly games continue for hours, I excused myself and got an early night.

Send me your links in the comments box for your christmassy posts so I can have a little nosey at what you all got up to! :)

Monday 24 December 2012

Christmas #6|| Tis the season to be jolly...

 
Hi Ladies,

Happy Christmas Eve!!! How excited are we?!

So, as you all know, December is THE month for Christmas Parties. So I thought I would do a quick post to share just a few photos with you all from a couple of events i've been to over the course of the month :)

The first row of pics are at my work xmas party, which was at Penthouse in Leicester Square, it had a terrific view across London and there was a free bar, need I say more?! Great night.
 
The Second and third Row, is me and a few of my friends, we decided to go for a mini Christmas getaway in our neighbouring town of Chelmsford. This was also such a great weekend, which involved too much wine as per usual! In the first two pics on the second row, we are opening our Secret Santa pressies :)
 
 

 
 
Needless to say I have had a very eventful month! Shopping is finally completely finished and I am stupidly excited for Christmas Day now, to relax with my family and a few glasses of sherry ;) 
 
I hope you all have a great Christmas, and bring on the turkey!
 

Sunday 23 December 2012

Liebster Award!

 
 
I was nominated by the lovely Ceri Louise from Wardrobe Misfit for a Liebster award.(Go check out her awesome blog!) I had no idea what this was but after reading about it I am very grateful she chose to nominate me :) as I think it is a fab way for bloggers just starting out,(under 300 followers) to get some recognition and also to find new blogs to read.
 
The rules are:
  1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
  2. Write 11 random facts about yourself.
  3. Answer 11 questions the person that nominated you sets.
  4. Nominate another 11 bloggers.
  5. Create 11 random questions for them to answer.
  6.  
11 Random Facts about Me:
  1. I am an only child.
  2. I chose the name 'English Rose' for my blog due to the fact that everyone has always called me that, probably trying to make me feel better about my pale skin and inability to tan easily.
  3. I only learnt how to boil an egg last year. (shocking for a 24 year old!)
  4. I have a cat who thinks she is a human haha.
  5. As much as I love buying things for myself, I actually hate the process of shopping!
  6. My room always looks like there's been an explosion.
  7. I am extremely impatient (although I'm trying to combat this!)
  8. I LOVE to read.
  9. I still play Super Mario all the time on my Nintendo DS.
  10. I am obsessed with pink/glittery stuff.
  11. I have a massive fear of heights.
 
My questions from Ceri Louise:
 
What is your favourite food ever?
I am a big foodie but if I had to pick one it would definately have to be a big roast dinner with all the trimmings!
 
Who's style inspires you the most? (family/friend/celeb)
I love the way Cheryl Cole dresses, I think she always looks stylish and classy these days.
 
What's your favourite perfume at the moment?
Victoria's Secret 'Angel' is one of the nicest fragrances I have smelt in a long time!
 
Do you have a favourite film of all time?
There's so many but one of my all time faves is The Hangover, it still never fails to crack me up!
 
Who was your favourite band as a teenager?
I did love my boybands, and my favourite was 'blue', I used to have a massive crush on Lee Ryan (and maybe still do haha!)
 
Where would you most like to visit?
New York! I'd actually love to travel around all the main states in America. I've never been there :(.
 
What's your favourite fashion trend at the moment?
I love anything Peplum! They are so flattering and can be dressed up or down.
 
What was the first blog you started reading?
Couture Girl by Kayleigh, I love it, I was actually trying to find a review on a product I was thinking of buying and her blog came up in the search and i've been reading it ever since!
 
What's the last book you read?
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, I done a review on it which you can see here, and I am currently reading the second installment, 'The Red Queen'.
 
What's the most expensive fashion/beauty item you've ever bought?
My black Mulberry Bayswater bag, it retails at £595, eek! But I consider it an investment ;)
 
Do you have any pets?
I have one female cat called Bow. She is 1 and 1/2 years old, and a very spoilt princess haha. In January we are getting a playmate for her.
 
 
My Questions for my nominees:
 
  1. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
  2. What is your favourite colour?
  3. If you had a choice, would you choose to be invisible or invincible for a week?
  4. What is your best memory to date?
  5. If you were stuck on an island and were only allowed 3 things, what would they be?
  6. What's your favourite beauty product at the moment?
  7. Do you have any siblings?
  8. What is the best holiday you have been on so far?
  9. What are your hobbies?
  10. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would do?
  11. If you had to live without either hair products (including straightners!) or beauty products for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
I tag these lovely ladies :):

Nicola at Only On A Sunday
Anna at On The Dressing Table
Ember at Ember's Corner
Charlotte at Only Charlotte Sometimes
Rachael at Dreamer 46
Louise at Swirlicious Beauty
Cat at Cats Got Culture
Poppy at Lets Drive Far away
Jennifer at Beauty Confessions of a Big Girl
Daniella at All The Good Names Were Taken?
Laura at Shimmer Of Pink


Thanks again Ceri! I loved doing this :)

Not long to go before we leave the mince pies and milk out for Santa! Woo-hoo! :D
 

Friday 21 December 2012

My Little Blog's Facelift!

Hi Ladies,
 
Just a quick post to say, as you can see, my wee blog has undergone a wonderful makeover. I am absolutely useless when it comes to anything technical so there was no way I could make it look the way I pictured it. I had the most simple boring layout before and was desperate to change it!
 
So after reading one of my fave blogs, Couture Girl, and loving her layout, she mentions a fab lady, Felicity who designed hers, so I then got in touch with her to see if she could help.
 
Turned out to be the best decision for me, she is very talented and a lovely person! She listened to exactly what I wanted, and it seems she took the picture from inside my head of how I wanted my blog to look and brought it to life.
 
I highly recommend checking out her website here if you are after a new design!
 
Have a great weekend everyone!
 
 

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Spice Up Your Life!...Or Don't.

Hi Ladies,


I don't particularly like to give bad reviews if I can help it...but I feel I need to voice this one so you know what to expect if you're thinking of going to see the new Viva Forever Musical at the Picadilly Theatre, London.

Having grown up a huge fan of the Spice Girls, I was intrigued when I heard they were making a musical version based on them. When they got back together for a reunion tour last year, the tickets sold out in about a minute and my friends and I were gutted we never went as we saw it as a rare chance to relive our childhood and have a good old sing-along. So when this muscial came out we were determined to go.

I read up on the storyline and was a bit surprised to see that it was nothing to do with the Spice Girls, I thought it would be the story of how they got together or at least something with them in the story, but not at all.

We went last night and I won't spoil the whole plot if you decide you want to see it, but It's mainly about a 4 piece girlband that have made it through the first auditions of an X Factor type show. But then the judges decide to pick one girl out of the band to go through alone so it follows her journey from then on. The only thing related to the Spice Girls, was that they sing one of their songs in every scene. Some of the song choices were very random as well I thought. They played the main spice girls songs like wannabe, 2 become 1, Say you'll be there, and Stop! but the rest of them were not the songs they were most known for. They played some B side tracks that weren't released and a few songs that weren't released from their first album.

The singing/acting wasn't great to be honest, and I hate to say there were parts of it I found boring. All in all, the best bit of the whole two hour show was the end scene when the whole cast and dancers came out and did amazing routines to some of their biggest hits.

It wasn't all bad, on the plus side it is a feel good show and it has some good humour in it, but if you're going expecting it to be very involved in the Spice Girls story, then prepare to be disappointed!


Friday 14 December 2012

Christmas #5|| 5 Secret Santa Gifts for Ladies- £10 and under!

Hi Treacles :)
Happy Friday!

My group of friends and I never normally buy each other Christmas gifts, i'm not sure why, we just never have, cards are as far we go! So this year we decided to do Secret Santa with a budget of £10 each. We found this awesome little website  Secret Santa Elf and all you have to do is enter the names and email addresses of everyone involved and within minutes it sends you an email of who your secret santa is!

I thought I would know exactly what to buy,but now the pressure's on to get something really original and nice for £10, and Christmas is under two weeks to go, I'm not going to lie I am panicking slightly! So for anyone having the same dilemma as me I have racked my brains and compiled a list of gift ideas that I think make cute little presents for girlie girls:


1) Kiss Me Tea Lights! - I am a sucker for cute girly things and these apparently smell just like the love hearts sweets which is a little added bonus :) these are only £7.99 and you can find them here.













2) Christmassy Nail Wraps! -  For the nail art lover, some Christmassy nail wraps! Perfect for the Xmas Festivities. £7.95, have a look at all the different decorations here.

                                         












3) Heart shaped hot water bottle! - Lovely for warming up on these cold nights. £10.00 from Boux Avenue.



 

 4) You can't go wrong with a good Christmas DVD! and who isn't fond of this film?! 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' only £3.89 from Amazon .




 .














5) John Lewis  Hotel Chocolat Pink Champagne Truffles! These look so delish, and are £10.00 exactly! 


I hope you find this list useful and have a great weekend lovelies!
Laura xoxo

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Christmas Tag| #4

Hi Beauties!
As part 4 of my Christmas themed posts, thought I would jump on the band wagon and do this Christmas tag I’ve seen floating around on quite a few blogs!

What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

It’s difficult to pinpoint just one thing; I love pretty much everything about it! As you will have gathered from my previous posts! The food has to top my list though to be honest, (yes even above presents!) and I love the quality time you spend with family and friends.

What is your favourite make up look for the festive season?

I don’t really have a specific make up look for the season if I’m honest. I just pile on the blusher because I feel extra pale in these cold times haha!

Real tree or fake tree?

We always buy a real tree but a very small one as it’s just me and my mum at home and we’re not in much over the Xmas period so there’s not much point lugging home a massive tree!

Do you open your Christmas presents morning or evening?

Morning 100%! Does anyone open them in the evening?! I definitely couldn’t wait that long haha. I’m a big kid; I get my everyone up really early and rip them open!

Handmade Christmas cards or bought?

Bought! I’d love to have the creativity and time to do my own but I don’t unfortunately L

What is your favourite Christmas film?

ELF!!! Love this film, watch it every year, but I have so many faves, miracle on 34th street, Jingle all the way, Polar Express, to name a few!

What is your favourite Christmas food?

Again I just can’t pick one thing! I love pigs in blankets, and my mum does the best roast potatoes!

I tag all of you reading this to do this! Please leave me your links in the comments box J

                                                     Laura xoxo