24 Dec 2013

13 Things for Christmas 2013

Hello all! Sorry it's been such a desert over here recently, I don't want to fill this post with excuses but basically, sixth form is hard. Anyways, now I have the Christmas holidays to flood you all with blog posts and videos instead so look out for those!
I was reading my friend Molly's blog (http://yearofthediaryx.blogspot.co.uk) and she did a post all about her top five favourite Christmas films and I thought I'd do something similar but with my top thirteen things for Christmas in general instead.

1. Christmas Trees
My Christmas tree goes up the first Sunday of December every year (which just so happened to be the 1st this year!) but since I work on Sundays now, it meant I missed out on decorating it. Which is actually quite fortunate, as it usually means fighting with my little sisters over where everything goes... Coming home to a pretty, lit-up tree is much more stressful! My family also decided to decorate our piano this year, which was a really cute touch.

2. Buying Presents
This year, I was super organised and had all my Christmas shopping done by November 31st - I know, I couldn't believe it either! I ordered everything online instead of actually going into shops, which is less fun but also less stressful, and it meant that I had a wider range of choices so I could get the perfect gift for everyone.

3. Wrapping Presents
I posted a video yesterday which will explain why, but I really struggled when it came to wrapping this year because I only had one capable arm! But I did manage to do it all in one night and I just find the whole process so therapeutic. However, I'm not one of those people to cover everything in ribbons and bows because frankly, time and effort and I'm terrible when it comes to anything creative....

4. Christmas Songs
The first Christmas song I listen to each year is 30 Days by NeverShoutNever because I always listen to it when it is thirty days before Christmas (obviously) and I think that's a good time to start getting excited about it. A few of my other favourite Christmas songs include Fairytale of New York by The Pogues, Baby It's Cold Outside but the version by the Glee Cast and Pennies From Heaven by Louis Prima (which I'm not sure is strictly a Christmas song but it always reminds me of Elf)
Oh, and the whole of Michael Bublé's Christmas album. Duh.

5. Santa's Sleigh
I've never heard of anywhere else doing this, but where I live, every year since before my dad was a kid during December, Santa's sleigh comes around all of the estates in my town blasting out Christmas Carols and people collecting money for charities. It's always been my favourite night of the year when it comes to my house but also, my dad works away a lot so he tends to miss it so we've set up a tradition that we drive around with our windows open, trying to listen out for Santa. It's such a lovely way to spend the evening!

6. Colouring
I'm not sure if this is just because of the fact that there's still little kids in my family or what, but December becomes the month of crafts in my house. We don't do anything spectacular, but be sure to expect to be overwhelmed with the sight of paper chains if you ever enter our house around this time. The main thing we do, however, is colouring. This year, my mum even bought a 'colour-in tablecloth' which she has no intention of actually using as a tablecloth, but she's left it on our dining room table for the past week or so and we just colour in the festive pictures whenever we want. Another thing that I actually bought for myself was a colour-in advent calendar, which is making me the envy of my whole family. Mwahah.

7. Christmas Movies
I'm under the strong impression that if you don't hold Christmas films fondly in your heart, you don't have one. They're impossible not to love. Personal favourites of mine include Elf, Miracle on 34th Street (1994 version) and The Santa Clause for the children's films and Love Actually and The Holiday if you're looking for something a bit more grown up! I'm not sure where it would fit but Nativity! is another one of my favourites if you're looking for a bit of both.

8. Vlogmas
Something which is new for me this year is keeping up with everyone's vlogmas videos. I wasn't really interested in them or vlogs in general last year but this year, I'm loving them! My favourites have been Jim/Tanya, MeghanRosette and BeyondBeautyStar's. It's so nice to get a glimpse into how other people prepare for the holidays and really boosts my festive feeling.

9. Beauty Products
There's something so magical about the make up and nail polish that gets used at Christmas. Everything is sparkly and berry coloured and beautiful. Plus, the odds are you'll get some new products for Christmas so it's all brand new and you're scared to ruin it so it's treated like a little angel child. Something about it all makes me so happy!

10. Food
As someone who woke up at 5:15am this morning in order to go food shopping with my mum when the shop opened at 6am, it's safe to say food is pretty important to me. We always have a crazy buffet on Boxing Day but because the shops are closed still we have to buy it all beforehand, along with all the Christmas Day food etc. Foods that absolutely scream Christmas to me are parsnips, pigs in blankets, Vienetta ice cream and satsumas. Oh and Pringles. I don't like Mince Pies or Christmas Cake/Pudding because I don't like dried fruit, but apart from that, I don't think I ever stop eating throughout this whole month.

11. Candles
My all-time favourite (and sadly discontinued!) Christmas candle is Red Berry and Cedar from Yankee Candle. It's not too spicy, not too sweet - you get the smell of berries and of woods all in one go. I recently finished my second large jar of it and had to order myself a third before they all get sold and no more get made. Excuse me while I go cry, I'm far too emotionally attached to that scent.

12. Pyjamas
The only time of year I ever bother to wear matching pyjamas is at Christmas. In fact, I think at least 80% of my pyjama drawer is made up of Christmas pyjamas (most of which have reindeers on) because they're just so warm and cosy. If I'm honest, I wear them all year round! I just don't bother to take them off now because as we've been released from school, I'm not risking leaving the house in the chilly weather and instead stay in bed in pyjamas all day. Whoops!

13. Presents
Let's be honest here, we all like presents. I would be lying if I did this list and didn't include presents. I love the thrill of trying to get clues from your parents of what they've got you. We have a little Christmas tree upstairs where we each have one Christmas Eve present and this year, all of our presents are exactly the same so that's making the suspense even worse! Unwrapping stocking presents on my parents' bed and getting the same selection box and chocolate orange each year - I just love it all!

Aaaand we're done! Thank you for reading and let me know in the comments what your favourite things about Christmas are! :)

13 Jun 2013

Prom!

About bloody time too Megan - if I'm honest, my prom was on the May 24th, as in almost three weeks ago. Oops! But I thought better late than never...

The Dress
My dress was from a boutique called Zeleb in London which I found online in about September and have been in love with ever since! You can find it here and I got mine in size 8. It cost £299 when I got it, which was a bit more than I wanted to pay but I think it was worth it! One this that I was not impressed with however was the delivery, when you've paid almost £300 for a dress, you expect it to come within the two weeks promised, not over three! I'm just glad I ordered it over a month in advance.


The Accessories
My bangle was from Ebay for 99p but the seller has removed it :( I was very paranoid that due to how cheap it was, that the bracelet was prone to snapping half as it was very mouldable, but it stayed in shape all night, I was very impressed!
The clutch bag was from Next but I can't seem to find it on there anymore, although they do similar ones such as this for £24. It was big enough to fit not only all of my stuff, but two of my friends' too! Although I liked the fact it had a strap, I did only end up using it as a clutch.
My shoes were also from Next - a massive 11cm heel - for £38 here. They were surprisingly comfortable to walk in (for 6 hours!) and I got so many compliments on them! Admittedly, I did have to walk around the house in them for a few days beforehand to break them in but honestly, when you own shoes that pretty, why would you not want to wear them as much as possible?!

The Make-Up
I got ready at my friend Shannon's house with a few of our friends and I ended up doing most of their make up, so I may be confusing some of these products with what I used on them, but this is my best guess! 
First I primed my face with Bare Minerals' Prime Time and then for foundation I used my trusty Revlon ColourStay in 150 Buff because unlike most girls, I decided against fake tanning and wanted a foundation that really matched my skin tone. For concealer I of course used the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 1 Fair. I used Benefit's Hoola bronzer to contour with and used Dainty Doll's powder blush in 004 to give my cheeks some colour.
For my eyes, I used Maybelline's 24hr Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold across the lid, put some of UD's Bootycall (from the Naked 2 palette) in the inner corner and blending some of Busted (from the same palette) through the crease and below the lower lash line slightly. I used a combination of Benefit's They're Real! Mascara and Max Factor's Waterproof Masterpiece Mascara because I really like the length and volume that They're Real! gives but I wanted to wear waterproof just in case any tears appeared - which I think they did at one point.
I'd be lying if I said I knew what lip colour I wore in the end, if I wore one at all? I know I definitely applied some of Nip and Fab's Mango Smoothie Lip Butter and took it to prom with me to keep my lips hydrated, but I have a feeling that might have been it, product wise!



And now for some pictures...

Me and my mum when we were at Shannon's

The girls!

Yes, my mum did manage to take a picture of us snapchatting...

And shoutout to Olivia from Olivia's Word (third from the right, gorgeous cream dress) - go tell her to write a post about prom too!

Overall it was such a lovely night and whilst I'm sad to say goodbye to everyone, it didn't feel real since we've had two more weeks of school after then! Everyone looked absolutely gorgeous, our year definitely shape up well.

12 Mar 2013

ROOM TOUR!

Why hello there! Third post in three days, aren't you lucky? I intended to do this post a couple of weeks ago and just found the photos, so thought I'd finally make this, so here it is - my room tour!


Duvet Cover: Ikea
Throw 1: Sainsbury's
Throw 2: Primark
Throw 3: Ikea


Lamp: Ikea
Picture Frame: Ikea 
(NOTE: I filled this frame just for these pictures, it's been empty for about a month. How sad!)
Mug: whittard.co.uk


School Bag: Ripcurl


Wardrobe: Ikea (Notice how I have no handles yet...)


Top shelf: Jumpers
Hanging Space
Bottom Shelf: Bags
Draw 1: T-Shirts/Tank Tops/Shorts
Draw 2: Pyjamas
Draw 3: Work Out Gear/Scarves


Make Up Storage: House of Bath
Separate post will be up for this!


Dressing Table: Ikea


Full length mirror
Please don't judge me for my awkward feet and how much of a lazy day I was having, I'm literally wearing one of my boyfriend's t-shirts there, oops!



3 Feb 2013

My Week In Pictures! #4



1: Bookshelves all build and looking cute 2: Room tour coming soon! 3: My attempt at french revision, aka changing the language on my phone 4: It's so good when 6 hours worth of tech after school/at lunch has finally got something to show for it!! 5: Maths revision, I have such a fun life 6: Saturday morning market trip 7: Last night was so lazy but so cute with the boyfriend 8: Spending the day in bed 9: Sunday night revision

So yeah, as of last weekend, my life is now being taken over by revision. Ah the joys of being a british teen! Unless you're all really interested in seeing pictures of my revision guides, these posts will probably come out a lot less regularly now.. But oh well, room tour coming soon!

15 Jan 2013

Sick Day Essentials

I've been feeling ill for the past few days but this morning, after my Biology mock, I just couldn't take anymore so I asked my mum to come and pick me up from school and I've been home ever since. So I thought well, why not do a post all about my essentials for a sick day?


The first step on any sick day is keep yourself hydrated and medicated! Obviously I'm not condoning excessive taking of Paracetamol or anything but if you're feeling ill, don't feel guilty about taking medicine to make yourself feel better. Always keep a glass of water near to you to make sure you stay hydrated, especially if you have a headache or a sore throat.


 Get comfortable! I got my Christmas pyjamas on straight away as soon as I got home because they're perfect for lounging around in and the snowflakes on them are perfect for the weather outside in most places right now.


Forget about hair and make up - sweep your hair up into a messy bun (and I mean genuinely messy, not a stylishly perfected one!) and take off any make up you may have put on from earlier in the day or yesterday. You're sick, no one is expecting you to look great.


Make sure to grab a hot drink and some food before getting into bed. I've got myself a sweet cup of tea (I always allow myself an extra sugar when I'm ill, it's so comforting) in a cute mug I got for Christmas and some homemade chocolate orange cookies. Mmh!


Reading material - just lying in bed all day can get a bit boring, especially if you're not tired, so here's two recommendations of books for teenagers, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Or alternatively, if you're missing school like I am, grab a revision guide and do a bit of studying!


And finally, snuggle up under the covers with a cute film and just relax. If you're having a sick day, it's obvious that you just need some time to chill out and calm down, turn off your phone and just enjoy yourself.

I hope any of you needing these essentials on your sick day feel better soon and enjoyed your time off!