January 2018 Faves

Hey lovely readers! Hope you're all doing well and that 2018 is treating you well so far. Can someone tell me how this month has flown past please? I swear it was only New Year's day, not five seconds ago... Anyway, onto today's post!

I've had the same four things in my faves list for the last 14 months or so, but I wanted to add to that and try and improve with this post a little. I also want to shine a light on some good in the world.

So along with my usual fave songs, tv shows, movies, and monthly picture - I want to share a quote that I've loved from the month, along with a blogger I'm loving right now, plus a news story that's made me smile! I think there's a lot of bad things happening on this planet right now, so wanted to share some of the good I've found!

Quote

'This year, three of the top-grossing films were female-led, and one of them was directed by my wonderful Patty Jenkins. There were eight other films in [the] top 100 which were directed by females. So although this is progress, there is still a long way to go.'
          - Gal Gadot, at the Critics Choice Awards, upon receiving the #SeeHer Award.

Song
I love RuPaul songs, and this one gets a YAS GAWD from me. I love the beat, lyrics, and all over feel of this song. I've had this quite literally blasting from my radio in the car, to the point my speakers sounded like they were going to explode!


News Story

'Gym Gives Free Lifetime Pass to Refugee Boy Staring Longingly Through the Window' 

I saw this post on a number on news sites this month, and thought it was so beautiful. Muhammet Halit is a Syrian refugee who was snapped looking into a Turkish Gym, and they managed to track the boy down and offered him lifetime membership. This has restored my faith in people a bit for 2018 already!

TV Show
I discovered this show just after Christmas, when I finished The Crown. This is almost as good as that, and the fact it's about Victoria, and not Elizabeth! Victoria follows the young Queen in her quest to rule England back in the 1800's, finding love, and becoming a mother. I've learnt a lot about some of the people of this country's past - such as she had 9 children, and 42 grandchildren!

Film
I'm freaking in love with this movie. As soon as I was home from seeing it, I bought the album on iTunes, and the following day I go the CD for my car! I am OBSESSED with these songs, and there isn't a single one I'd skip over.
The film was full of great characters, stories, and some amazing dance sequences. I have a feeling this has become my fave musical of all time...

Picture
Fave picture of the month is this one of myself, my sister, cousin Daniel, and my sister Ash. This was on NY Day, and I like to make sure I have as many pictures of me with my Grandad as possible! This was at the end of the day before everyone went home, so is a nice reminder of the day.

Blogger

Check out her blog, or her twitter and instagram! 

I found Steph's blog back in the summer while I was looking up tips and tricks for my Florida holiday, and I found her post about Universal Studios Harry Potter park - I was hooked from there! She also has some other great content on her blog, such as Dealing with Anxiety Triggers, and 40 things to do when you're down.


Hope you enjoy this new format of my monthly faves - please let me know what you think as I'd love to hear your opinions! How has your January been, and what are your faves from the categories above? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)


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January Wishlist

Let's all just take a breather now that Christmas is officially over and done with, and 2018 is well under way now. Can't believe we're nearing the end of this month already! And yes, even though it's not even been a month since I got a lovely load of goodies, I've already got my eyes on some new goodies - and this is what I'd like to get soon...

Thor | Monopoly | Storage | Boots | Reputation 

Like any of the goodies I've picked out for myself? And what's on your wishlist? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Minnie Mouse | Disney Inspired Lookbook

Back at the start of last year, I had the idea to do create a set of Disney Inspired Lookbooks - featuring Princesses we all know and love - in the run up to my Florida holiday in September. That holiday is all over now sadly, but I have one last lady left to style. So this is the final installment of the Disney Lookbooks, at least for now anyway! The last look book focused on Moana's new look, and now it's time for this week's new Princess, or should I say, Queen!

Dress | Shoes | Headband | Purse | Lipstick | Necklace

What part of the look is your fave? Let me know! I love the shoes and the dress so much, I'm really tempted to buy them for myself!

Thank you for getting this far with me and the lookbooks - can't believe we started with Snow White back in April 2017. If you wanted to check out the rest of the ladies looks, check them all out here. Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Content Quality Is A Blog Priority*

(Image Source)

It really doesn’t take much to see what separates the good from bad in the world of blogging. When you’re reading someone else’s work, you will quickly pick out the mistakes they’ve made and the errors within, getting to the bottom of their blogging standards. Of course, though, when the spotlight is reflected, and you look at your own work, there will probably be some room for improvement here, too.

Businesses and media outlets have always had to fight for the quality throne. This area is critical to any sort of published work, from the copy on a website to articles being released in scientific journals. Below, you can find some examples of the importance of quality, along with some ways to spot flaws in your own content.

• Steep Competition: While your blog is unique to you, there will still be loads of other websites out there which cover similar fields and topics, and this means that you have some competition. If your content doesn’t meet the standards that people expect, they will move on to one which does. This makes it hard to stay on top if your work isn’t consistently quality.

• Critical Readers: Even when you do manage to get people interested in your website, there will always be people looking for the issues with your work. Some will be more vocal than others, giving you a hard time for your pieces, and making it hard to grow. Avoiding this is a simple matter of working on the quality behind your content.

• The Purpose Of The Blog: As the last area to consider, most people will start something like a blog with a strong goal in mind. Whether you want to spread the word about your favourite hobby, help others with their problems, or anything else, you won’t be able to achieve it if your work isn’t up to standard. You wouldn’t be writing about something you don’t care about, and this means that you should care about your writing.

Thankfully, improving this part of your life doesn’t take too much work. With the help of an option like “The Effortless English Show”, it’s nice and easy to improve your spoken and writing communication skills, without having to go to school or pay expensive fees. Of course, though, language isn’t everything, and the quality of your writing will also depend upon grammar and readability. Tools like Grammarly can tell you when you’re making mistakes in your writing, giving you easy goals to reach. Along with this, you could also have someone proofread and edit your pieces before they are posted, ensuring that nothing is missed.

Hopefully, this post will inspire you to start taking your writing to the next level. Keeping people interested in your blog will largely depend on their ability to soak up the information you have on offer. It doesn’t matter if you’re aiming your work at people unused to checking for errors in writing. Instead, all blogs need to follow rules like this, while also working hard to make sure their content is interesting and insightful.


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*Collaborative Post

Universal Studios Tips & Tricks!

Back in November, I shared my fave Universal Resort attractions, and I wish I could have mentioned them all, but those were the faves. I visited back in September, and we spent 3 days at the parks, so we got to do about 80% of what was there. Today, I thought I'd share some tips I picked up during my visit to both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios!

Get there early
I cannot stress this enough. I know this is repeated for most tips and tricks posts, but this REALLY helps. Our first day at Universal, we spent 5 hours there, and done pretty much everything that wasn't a kids ride, and we skipped Jimmy Fallon's ride - but we managed to do pretty much everything in that 5 hours trip. Plus, early meant lower crowds, and most attractions were walk ons.

The Hulk 
We didn't know this, but near the front of the queue line, the line is split into two. The left side is if you want to ride in the front row, and the right side is for anywhere else in the coaster. We had no idea about this and ended up in the front of the ride! It meant waiting an extra 15 minutes to get on the ride, but it was worth it for the front row seats.

Do the Potter park area separately
We did a whole day doing Islands, and one doing Universal. We got everything done on both these days, and then spent the third day doing both sections of the Harry Potter parks. This way the queue lines were shorter for the rides, and we got to check out the shops at a leisurely pace, without worrying about missing out on the rest of the park that day.

Water rides
Ponchos do not work. All three water rides - Rip Saw Falls, Jurassic River Adventure, Bilge Rat Barges - you get soaked. We wore ponchos and it was pointless. You will get SOAKED. Spare clothing might be an idea!

First Time Badges
We went to the customer information office (inside the left entrance of Universal) and asked for the first time badges. They're free and a nice souvenir for the day.

8th Voyage of Sinbad Show
This hardly had a queue, and it's a nice 20 odd minutes of sitting down in a sheltered, cool area. Plus the show is pretty good and funny, so worth checking out!

Comic Strip Cafe Milkshakes
If you're after a cooling drink, then this is the best place we found for snacks and drinks. The milkshake here is so thick, you will need a spoon to devour it! It was lovely and refreshing, and we went here twice on our trip.

Motion Sickness
Sadly, one downside with the Universal park, is that a lot of the rides are 3D simulators. Combining motion sickness with the heat wasn't great, and we had to tap out by the time we ventured over to Jimmy Fallon's ride. We'd gone on 3 simulator rides by then, plus 5 'normal' rides, and both me and my sister felt really ill for the rest of the day. If you get motion sickness, I'd reccomend you avoid the Minions, Transformers, Simpsons, and Jimmy Fallon attractions, as they will make you ill.

Water!
A contributing factor to the above issue was lack of water. We still had about 4 bottles of water that day, but that wasn't nearly enough for the heat we were in, so hydrate and take use of anywhere that sells water.

Express Passes
On the days we went, the longest wait we had was 30 minutes for Rip Saw Falls, which I had no problem waiting for. Most of the time we waited for about 5 minutes for any ride, so the Express pass would have been a waste of money for us. If it's really busy on the day you go, by all means consider spending from $54.99 for Islands, or $74.99 for Universal, as you will get to on a majority of the rides. Not every ride is included in this however, so if you are happy to wait for 30 minutes, do it and save!


Those are all the tips I have for Universal and Islands of Adventure! Hope these were helpful, and if you have any tips you'd like to share, please let me know for the next time I go! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)


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Ways To Relax In The New Year

With a new year well underway now, sometimes you just need to unwind a little bit, and being in a relaxed mood is a great way to do this! So, here are some of the way I keep myself relaxed for the first few months of the year.

Admin Days
Choose a day each week to do 'life admin'. This can be such as budgeting, paying bills, doing house repairs, MOT for the car, running important errands. Setting aside a day each week to do this, means you can relax on the 'days off' and then spend just one day doing everything, so that you can do your own thing the rest of the week.

Power Nap!
Nothing is better than a 20-30 minute power nap. This will give you an extra boost of energy for the remainder of the day, meaning you'll be able to get more done. Just don't fall into a deep afternoon coma! There are some benefits to this, so give it a try.

Be Selfish
If you do not want to go to a party, event, date night, etc, then say no. You're allowed your own down time and to be lazy, and just do you. Forcing yourself to go out when you really do not want to, will make it less enjoyable, when you'd rather be at home in your PJs!

Clean
Like the admin day method, set aside one day a week to do a big clean of the house - OR, do one area each day, so it's not a long winded clean. I prefer to do it all in one go over the course of a couple of hours. Once it's clean, I know I've not got to go Dettol mad until the following week, thus leaving me to do what I want.

'Treat Yo Self' Days
Go shopping, see a movie, hot bubble bath, get your hair done, bake a cake, see your friends and family. Have a day or few hours to have time to yourself. Just a few hours of pampering does me a world of good, and I feel so much happier the rest of the day.

Movie Marathon / Netflix & food binge!
Pick a set of films and do a marathon of a TV show or set of movies. You can watch all the Marvel movies in chronological order, watch the Hobbit/LOTR trilogies, Harry Potter saga, Star Trek movies, RuPaul's Drag Race season 2-9, binge both seasons of The Crown, or even a few rounds on Wonga games can help you get away from “normal life” which can be more than overwhelming. Just go wild and enjoy yourself and do what you want to recharge those batteries without feeling the need to get out. This can be endless and be a whole day event. Just get cosy and have some healthy or junk snacks on hand.

Hope you liked these ideas! What do you get up to for your duvet days? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

 
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A-Z Fave Songs!

I've thought of another A-Z post to share with you all! I won't lie, I love doing these sort of list posts, they're fun to do, and it's a good brainstorming session for the alphabet! Today, are a list of songs that I am loving right now for each letter!

A - All Nite Remix - Janet Jackson
B - Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
C - Call Me Mother - RuPaul
D - Despacito (Remix) - Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Beiber
E - Ever Since New York - Harry Styles
F - Face Down - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
G - Guardians Inferno - The Sneepers ft. David Hasselhoff
H - Havana - Camila Cabello
I - I Won't - Little Mix
J - Just Keep Breathing - We The Kings
K - Ka-Ching - Shania Twain
L - La Vie Boheme - RENT Cast
M - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark - Fall Out Boy
N - No Control - One Direction
O - Out Of The Woods - Taylor Swift
P - Pompeii - Bastille
Q - Queen Of Hearts - We The Kings
R - Read U Wrote U - RuPaul ft. Alaska 5000, Detox, Katya, Roxxxy Andrews
S - Shabondama - Morning Musume
T - Take A Chance On Me - ABBA
U - Ugly Heart - G.R.L.
V - Vintage - High Dive Heart
W - What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
X - XO - We The Kings ft. Elena Coats
Y - You're The Voice - John Farnham
Z - Zumba Miami - Zumba Fitness
# - 24K Magic - Bruno Mars


Have any of the fave songs from above? And what are yours? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)


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Iconic Women of Pop Culture*

With everything going on in the world these days, sometimes you need to get away from it all and escape with a good TV show or a movie. Wheter it's a fantasy, romance, action, or a box set, it all helps me forget about all the crap that's in the news these days. I currently have a small 19 inch TV in my bedroom, but would love to get the new Ultra HD 4K TV from Panasonic, as I'd love to be able to check out all my fave TV shows and movies in HD, and you know, have a bigger television!

I've been watching a lot of TV and films the past year, and I've noticed just how much I am loving some of the tough female character we're being presented with in the media right now. Here are a list of some of the iconic women I'm loving in pop culture right now.

Hermione Granger
Hermione was one of the first strong female roles that I fell in love with. She was both smart, talented, and beautiful - even if it took the boys ages to see this! She showed that being book smart was an attractive quality, and it really helped me make peace with being the girl with her nose ina  book all the time.

Aisha al-Fadhil
If you've never seen The Losers, nor read the comics, you won't have met Aisha before. In the comics, she is a kick ass lady who can really roll with the guys - and the same for the movies. I mean, how could I not have her on this list after she sent a rocket grenade on the bad guys at the docks?

Wonder Woman/Diana Prince
2017's DC savior! I didn't know much about Wonder Woman before the movie came out, and now she's on my list here! I love her good-hearted nature, innocence, and the way she will always try to save those she loves and for what is right. Can't wait to see more of her.

Daenerys Targaryen
She has progressed so much through Game of Thrones, and she's been my fave ever since she aided her brother with his golden crown. There's something about her that I'm drawn to - and not just the fact she has dragons!

Harley Quinn/Dr Quinzel 
Harley has been a fave for a few years now, back before Suicide Squad came out. Let's just ignore her murderous tendencies, as that's not why she's on the list! I like her in the Arkham games, and she was so funny in the Batman animated series. I've been reading all the rebirth comics of her's, and it's honestly the funniest comic book series I've ever read. She's both super smart and badass!

Annalise Keating
Ignore the fact she's aided murders and done a good handful of heinous things over the series thus far. As a lawyer, she is a BOSS in the courtrooms and has managed to win a handful of successful cases. Plus she was doing a great job as a law professor until all the death started... She's mainly on this list as I love Viola Davis with every fiber of my being.

Felicity Smoak
Ah, Miss Smoak... Or now Mrs Queen? I've only read a few of the Arrow comics, and didn't enjoy them much, but I love the TV show and all the others in the CW's Arrowverse. Felicity is again, like many on this list, a very smart woman, who has managed to use her brains over their brawn, many times.


I love characters who are smart and use that to their advantage - I can't get by with super ditzy characters these days, they don't seem 100% realistic anymore to me!

There are a host of others that I could have added to this list, such as: Mulan, Elle Woods, Gabriela Dawson, Sara Lance, Agent Melinda May, River Tam, Tauriel, Lieutenant Uhura, Merida, and so many others!

What women of pop culture do you this should be on the list? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)


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*Collaborative Post

Moana | Disney Inspired Lookbook

Back at the start of 2017, I decided to do create a set of Disney Inspired Look books - all inspired by the Princesses we all know and love - in the run up to my Florida holiday. Well that holiday is all over, but I still have a couple of the Princesses left to style, so I'm carrying on until they all have a fancy new styling. Last look book focused on Elsa's new look, and now it's time for this week's new Princess!

Top | Skirt | Belt | Shoes | Necklace | Bag

I've had to style this with shoes to make it practical, plus you'd need to switch out the skirt on the belt for the red one, but what do you think of the outfit? I really like the skirt! What part of the look is your fave? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :) 


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January Playlist

I've been listening to a lot of music over the past month  so thought I would create this little list off all the songs I am loving right now! Click any of the titles to get taken to a YouTube video, so you can check them out for yourself. Hope you like them!

Camila Cabello - Havana
Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?
Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song
RuPaul - Call Me Mother
Lady Gaga - The Cure
Selena Gomez - Wolves
Liam Payne - Bedroom Floor
CNCO ft. Little Mix - Reggaeton Lento
Mabel - Finders Keepers
One Direction - No Control

Had another month of being obsessed with all of these songs!! Like any of the songs above? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Things I'm Looking Forward To In 2018

There's a lot happening this year that I'm quite looking forward too, and I wanted to share them with you. 2017 was a pretty decent year in my opinion (lets just ignore anything to do with Trump...) and I'm hoping that 2018 is just as amazing for me and all of you!

Drag Race All Stars 3
SHANTE YOU STAY!!
Drag race became a very big part of my 2017 - not only have my eyes been opened to a new culture of beautiful humans, their 'slang' has become part of my daily vernacular now, which isn't good when you're talking to people who have never seen it! I'm not sure who I'd like to see win, but wouldn't mind Shangela or Kennedy Davenport to win.

Harry Potter Studio Tour
M bought me tickets to the tour for Christmas, so we're going to be heading there in May! I've not been for about 5 years, and so much has been added since then, that I've been dying to go back there. He's never gone before so it's all new to him, so I'm beyond grateful that he bought this for us to experience together.

Infinity War + Other Movies
Marvel's Infinity War is so highly anticipated, that when the trailer was put online, I must have watched it 20 times in a row. STEVE HAS A BEARD. I am so excited for this film and it's sequel, I literally cannot wait for May to hurry up so I can see this!

Other films I'm excited about include: The Greatest Showman, Black Panther, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Deadpool 2, Ocean's 8, Incredibles 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ant-man and the Wasp, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Venom, Johnny English 3, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Aquaman.
I'm sure this list will grow over the year as more trailers and titles are closer to release dates, but these are the ones I really want to see!

Star Trek Discovery
This is back this month after it's winter hiatus. I'm still freaked out by that slight Kilgon porn we saw in the mid-season finale, but I'm sure that will all be explained by the end of this season! Star Trek was the first 'geek' show I watched as a kid with my Dad, so this holds a special place in my nerd-fueled heart, and I am in love with this show. The characters, story and characters are so good, that I am ready for the next episode NOW. It started back yesterday, so you can guess what I've been watching today!

Holiday Planning
We're hoping to go back to Florida either next year, or the year after - so we need to start figuring this out asap! Ideally next year would be perfect, but this is all money and work dependent, so fingers crossed we can work something out with all our schedules and get to go back in 2019.


If you're curious to why some of the films are in pink, the list was so long that it all blurred together, so highlighted every other film so it was easier to see them! What are you looking forward to this year? Let me know if you're excited for any of the films I listed, as I'm sure there are some of you out there! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)


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Orlando Holiday Diary: Day 6 - Animal Kingdom & Cirque Du Soleil!

We knew today would be our last day out for a while due to Hurricane Irma arriving the following day - so we went to Animal Kingdom to have a good day and keep our minds off the hurricane foe a few hours.

Due to Irma's impending arrival, the park was really empty all day and most of the rides were walk-ons. We got to see some beautiful animals on the safari, and got to browse around the new Pandora area, the Valley of Mo'ara. We had fastpasses for the Na'vi River Journey, but for love nor money, we still couldn't get on Flight of Passage - the que was about four hours within the first 10 minutes of the park being open.

We ate at Pizzafari - which was delicious. After this, we watched the Nemo musical stage show, before calling it a day and leaving the park. We attempted to get a McDonald's on the way home, but everywhere seemed to be shutting at about 2pm, so we ended up snaking at the villa!

It wasn't until about 4pm I remembered we had tickets for Cirque Du Soleil's show 'La Nouba', in Disney Springs at 6pm. Thnakfully the show was still on and we went out the wind to see it. I'm so glad we went out, as it was incredible. I've got the soundtrack and DVD of the show in my possesion, and I love it!

After the show, we battled back to the villa in some seriously scary wind and oncoming hurricane weather! Then we headed to bed, ready for the next day, and the possibility of some scary sights...

If you've seen a Cirque Du Soleil shows, please let me know which one, as I'd love to go and see some more! If you've been to the new Pandora area at AK, what did you think of it? Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)


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