Friday, 29 July 2016

Monthly Favourites #16 - July


It's that time of the month where I look back and share some of my fave things with you! Ranging from songs, TV and movies, to my new Bullet Journal section! 

Song
I've been on full time hours at work for the last few months, and I kept hearing a song over the PA system, and eventually heard enough of the lyrics to Google what it was! Turned out to be this awesome summery tune from Alexandra Stan from about 4 years ago! I love the song and it's just so catchy and upbeat for summer time.



Picture
My favourite picture from this month has to be this one from the Hen Party at the start of the month! It was a lovely weekend and I met some new people, as well as having a chance to get to know all of Cameron's family a lot better! This was taken on Zoe's phone, so credit to her for the pic! This was taken on the Saturday night before clubbing (or in my case, shower time)!



TV Show
I have been watching the Flash since May, and I finished the first season pretty quickly! I'm about halfway through the second season right now and it is getting SOOO good!! The characters are amazing, I love Cisco so much - he's my fave on the show other than Barry - and it's just amazing. I can praise this all day long!! I love that there are crossover episodes with Arrow now and again, as I love that show too.



Movie
Having watched the original Ghostbusters a lot as a kid (thank you Daniel!), I was excited to see a reboot with a female cast was being made. I don't remember a lot of the original series, so this was all fresh to me! All I remembered was the car and Slimer!
For some reason, critiques hate this film and even though the public seem to like it, I can't see it getting a sequel. I really enjoyed it and it was nice to see four strong, non-sexualised, female characters totally kicking ass. I loved all the cast and the story line was really good. Plus, Chris Hemsworth is an amazing comedic actor and needs to do more like this! And in addition, can we all just praise Leslie Jones for her acting skills - and send her some love on twitter as she's had a lot of racial hate recently since the movie came out....



Bullet Journal
So for my new, 'Bullet Journal Fave Page' section, I've selected this one of my July Tracker. I use this to track a variety of things - such as water intake, if I've spent nothing all day, and if I'm going to bed at a decent time. I've blurred the top section out as it's got some personal ones on there too, but I'm loving how full up it's been looking this month!



Hope you enjoyed these faves for July! What have you loved this month from each category? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe!

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Wednesday, 27 July 2016

Insta Love #5


I'm obsessed with taking pictures, editing them and making nice memories - hence why I love Instagram. There are some awesome accounts that I follow, plus the picture sharing app has gone insane with really talented photographers and bloggers who just seem to have this whole filter thing down.

So today, I'm sharing some Insta love with my top 5 pictures/accounts that I've come across recently!




A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀T A M Z πŸ• (@tmznloves) on







Which accounts and pictures have you been loving lately? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)
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Monday, 25 July 2016

Picture Perfect #5


Having had a pretty busy few weeks at work after getting some full time hours, as well as a Hen Party and my sister coming home from Uni yesterday - I've been rushed off my feet! I thought I'd share with you my latest Picture Perfect! Here are some snap shots of my life and the things I've been up to, since the start of June! Hope you enjoy this pretty pic heavy post!

My makeup/beauty collection!

Tried some Disney nail art

Bought some goodies from the Zoella range

Had this greeting me when I had a Fruitopolis yoghurt! 

OITNB Season 4 went live and OMG. Feels.

Spent time with Cam and on his PS4... A LOT.

Found out I can no longer have takeout pizza :( 

Hit 8000 miles in my car!

Started a June Gratitude page in my bullet journal and love the colours!

Went to Brighton for Emma's Hen Party!

Had a dinner with Nicola!

What have you been up to lately and how often do to take pictures for memories? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Friday, 22 July 2016

Emma's Hen Party - Day Two


So in this post, I explained what the Hen Party was all about, and how well day one went. Now we're onto day two! Here we go...

After our 1am bedtime after all the games we played. I had such a hard time sleeping. I have insomnia anyway and being in a new bed always gives me issues! I finally fell asleep at 5:45-ish and woke back up about 7:30am... Not a great amount of sleep, but I had to do.

I quickly got up to shower and then joined the rest of the girls a bit late for breakfast as I ended up sat in my bedroom on twitter for a bit longer than I should have!! After breakfast, we just hung out in our rooms for a little while anyone who needed showers could do so - and then we all had to get into 'clothes we could move in'. All we had known at the time was that it was a dance class and then Alice S informed us it would be a Bollywood class! I was a little excited but also super nervous.

We all got changed and then walked down the seafront to the Brighton Hotel to take the class. The teacher was super lovely (sadly I don't know her name!) and she never made us do anything solo - which was my main worry. It was a total group dance and was so much fun. She made us all feel at ease. We managed the whole routine in just over an hour and we asked her to film it, which you can see in the vlog at the end of this post!



After the class, we returned for a quick lunch at the house. It was a large salad and nibbly bits - my fave!! It was then a quick change and then into our teams for a treasure hunt around Brighton. Courtesy of Black Cat Treasure Hunts, you simply followed the direction and answered the questions for points. The team with the most points at the end would win.

We started outside the Hilton Hotel on the sea front, and then went from there in our teams. It took us about 2 hours as we set a time limit, but you could take a bit longer and maybe try 3, which would have been better. Along with the 20 odd questions, there were bonus ones, such as: get 20+ people to do a Mexican Wave, take a video of your group in the sea, etc. A lot of the questions required you to take pictures to prove points, and some of the pictures and videos we took were hilarious!

My team with Kelly, Alice O and Fiona, sadly came last, but we had so much fun - and it's a really great way to see parts of Brighton that you may not see usually. We got lost a dozen times, but Google Maps aided us!



Once back home, Alice S and Fiona whipped up a large pasta dinner for us while we all got into dancing/clubbing outfits for later. We all had dinner and then took a lot of pictures of us all in the living area before we had a pretty awesome Wine Tasting evening in the kitchen from a company that specializes in wines. The man (Flemick??) who gave the class was really good and funny - and even joined in the semi-drunk Brexit debate that suddenly happened sometime around the third wine! I was on my medication so couldn't drink, but they all sounded interesting and was amusing to see everyone reactions to the tastes.

By Zoe
By Alice S

After the wine tasting, everyone except myself, Vix, Lisa and Kerry went out clubbing. By the time they all left, it was 10:30pm and I was exhausted after no sleep and the busy day we'd had. I took the time to pinch a quick shower and then we all had some chocolate and went to bed! I vaguely remember hearing Alice O and Kelly coming back into our room at about 2am, but I slept all the way through to 9am the next morning - ready for day three!

And that's it again for another day of the Hen Party!! Just one more to go! And here is the vlog from the whole weekend, including the Bollywood dancing, if you want to have a giggle at it!



Hope you enjoyed a little peek into what we got up to in day two, and watch out for day three soon! And thank you to everyone who's watched the vlog so far! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Driving Lesson Memories*


Do you remember your first driving lesson and your driving test(s)?

I do. *Cue story time music*

September 6th 2011 was my first lesson! I remember being so nervous when Ray, my instructor from RED Driving school, pulled up outside my house. I remember my sister telling me I was going to do fine and not to worry. Once I got in the car (passenger seat to start!) Ray drove us to a nearby area that isn't really busy and has a few basics near by. A hill for hill starts, a few turnings to get used to handling the wheel, and a crossroad for me to get used to traffic a little bit. He explained the car basics to me, what each pedal and gear would do and to use my mirrors 'all the time'. I think this is the bit I forgot the most on my lessons!

I managed to get the speed okay almost right away, but I struggled with the pedals and gears for weeks! I managed to pull away, stop and turn left and right all within the first 2 hours. I was so nervous the whole time - but I was happy I was finally doing it! I had stalled about 20 times on the first lesson, but I had been expecting way more!

After that, I done a lesson every week on a Friday for an hour with Ray. Each lesson was an hour long and £20 a go, so I was determined to do well and learn fast. After about 4 lessons in that quiet area, he let me loose on the main roads near my house and I was so scared. Red lights were a bitch to get used too, and I felt I was always going so slowly.


By December when the snow hit, I was driving alright. I was only stalling a few times a lesson and had the added panic of driving on ice and snow - which put an end to my lessons until mid-January as it was a bit unsafe for me to still be learning. But I was happy with the progress I made.

I was learning my road theory at the time too, and I was lucky enough to pass my theory test on the first try - with the exact amount of points I had needed to pass. Very lucky! That was April 25th 2012, and that meant I could now apply for my test.

The first test I had was at the start of June as I was trying to rush one in before my holiday that year. The route I had was in an area of my town which I'd never been to before and was down a country lane - which I'd not even thought about before. Ray sat in the backseat, and the female examiner was sat in the passenger seat. She failed me as I had gone to fast in a 30mph zone down the country lane... Even though I was doing 20mph as I was scared shitless about how narrow it was. But she still failed me. I cried as soon as I got home as I was so annoyed with her and myself!

The second test was in August, and I knew I'd failed within 10 minutes of the test starting. I was having a bad day as it was and I was in no mood for the test that day. I hit a curb and accidentally cut up a car on the confusing one way system and I saw the male examiner fail me while I was still driving. As I could see I had failed, I just drove how I wanted after that and back to the test center, completely ignoring the directions he'd given me as I just didn't want to be in the car anymore.

I finally passed on September 4th 2012 on my third test! Interestingly, I went on the same route as my first test. The male examiner I had this time was so kind and put my nerves on standby and even when he had to help me on the country lane as a lorry was stuck, he still passed me and I only had one minor. A miracle really...


I got my car, dubbed Betty, on February 18th 2013! My Dad was very very very nice and bought the car for me as he was sick of carting me to and from work at midnight! I've still got to pay him back for it!

I spent about £1200 on all my lessons, theory tests and practical tests in total. Of that, my parents paid about £200 of it when I was short on money that week, but other than that - I forked out about £1000 for the whole thing. It took me just shy of a year to learn and pass my test!

I still have some driving issues now and then, but in the past 3 years I've only stalled a few times and I've managed two trips to Cornwall and back. Something I thought I'd never be able to do.

Have you passed your test, or currently taking lessons? I'd love to know your stories and how you're doing, so let me know! And if you want to look at taking lessons yourself or anything about the tests at all, check out BookLearnPass, which has a lot of tips and tricks for you - plus there is a mock theory test which is super useful!

Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Monday, 18 July 2016

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes | Review


I love mascaras and I own far too many for someone with only two eyes! But that doesn't stop me buying them all the time... This L'Oreal Million Lashes mascara is a new fave of the year! It retails for £9.99 in Boots, or can be bought at other drug stores.

I've not got a lot of L'Oreal products, but this is one I quite like! It also has a really cool inner feature in the tube. It has a tightened opening, so when you pull the spoolie out - it wipes off any excess product, so you're left with a clean wand but with enough product left on it. No more clumps!




I think it's a pretty decent mascara. The spoolie is a little bit too straight for my liking, but it works pretty well regardless - as there are different lengths of spokes on it. The lashes get a decent covering and it does look like there is a little more length to them, which I love! The tube is a nice bright gold and red, so it stands out nicely - and is a good shape which means it's easy to hold!



The only downside that I've found, is that during application, it flakes a little so particles fall onto your cheeks or chin, which has left smudges. It easy to clear up though and thankfully doesn't happen each time I use it, but it's an bit annoying.

Overall a pretty decent mascara for an okay price! Have you tried this, and what did you think? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Friday, 15 July 2016

Wishlist 26

I'm quite loving online shopping and the convenience of it, now that I'm working full time! Even though I'm in saving mode for a few things, it's not stopped me adding things to my wishlists and the occasional shopping spree, albeit small ones!! Here are few of the things I really want to get when I get paid next month!



Like any of the above items? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Wednesday, 13 July 2016

Emma's Hen Party - Day One


On July 1st, I embarked on a weekend to Brighton, to have some fun at Emma's Hen Party! Emma is Cameron's older sister for those of you who don't know!

The planning was started by her bridesmaids, Alice S and Zoe, about 10 months ago! I agreed to go and I was super nervous the whole time while it was being organised and arranged! I'd essentially signed up to 3 days with my brand new boyfriend's family and a dozen of Emma's friends, after only dating him for a few months! I've thankfully got to know his relatives over the past year which helped a lot over the weekend - plus I now feel a lot calmer and laid back around them! Over the 3 days I got to spend with everyone, I had a really good time - despite making myself super sick for the days running up to it with a few mini panic attacks!

As I was so excited about the whole thing at the start of the year, I wanted to share some pictures of the weekend with you guys, and I'll do a post for each day, as we were super busy all weekend! So let's kick off day one!


We stayed in an Air B'n'B style house in Brighton, called 'West Pier House' and is big enough for 20 people! It had 4 bedrooms, 2 and a half bathrooms and a super gorgeous kitchen and living area. I loved that we were able to get 15 of us inside the house and was much more relaxing than a hotel!

Alice S and Zoe had decorated the place so nice, with blue balloons and  white balloons with confetti in them, cakes made of sweets and drinks were all set out before we drove the Bride To Be down there!

I was sharing a room on the top floor with Vicky, Alice O and Kelly, who are Cameron's cousins and all sisters. I was so happy I was in the same room as the three of them as I've met them all a few times before and it definitely stopped me panicking so much. Plus I got to see how Vicky made her hair all wavy, so I learnt a new method!




Alice S had also cooked a huge pot of Chili and rice for our dinner - yes for 15 people! - and it was so delicious! The bridesmaids had also made little 'hen party survival' gift bags for each of us. Inside was a few goodies such as sweets, party poppers, a bride tribe badge Alice had made, and other little items! It was such a good idea and I used a lot of my items!



After dinner, we all changed into PJ's to play some games such as Mobsters, a mystery present game and a classic - toilet paper wedding dresses! I was on a team with Kelly & Alice O and Fiona, who is married into the same family that Emma is joining! I loved our little team - Team 2 - or as we were named: 'Super Awesome Unicorn Glitter!' We came second in the dress contest after making over Alice with what we all thought, was a classic dress!

We made it until 1am and then called it a night! I sadly only slept for an hour and a bit, but I was still refreshed enough for day 2...! Which I shall tell you about in another post!




Hope you enjoyed a little peek into what we got up to in day one! If you want to see what else we got up to (plus the other 2 days!) then have a look at the Hen Party weekend vlog I've uploaded for you! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Monday, 11 July 2016

The Happiness Tag


I was tagged by the lovely Kat to do the Happiness Tag! You can check out her post and answers here. I love doing tags and this is a super short one unlike a lot of others - so you can do it too! Here are my answers!

1 - Name 5 things that make you happy

  • My sister
  • My boyfriend
  • Writing
  • Music
  • Solo dance parties in my bedroom!


2 - Name 5 songs that make you happy


Wannabe - Spice Girls


Shabondama - Morning Musume (γ‚·γƒ£γƒœγƒ³ηŽ‰ by γƒ’γƒΌγƒ‹γƒ³γ‚°ε¨˜。)


Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody


Spice Up Your Life - Spice Girls


Ugly Heart - G.R.L.


Nominate 5 bloggers to do the tag!

And I tag anyone else who wants to try it out! Hope you're all having a great day! What are you all up to? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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