Life's A Beach

Within the last year, I've found myself in Brighton a lot. I must have visited at least 6 times since last summer, which doesn't sound much. Do bare in mind that I love in London and it's about a 2 hour train journey and 3-4 hour drive. 

Spending all this time in Brighton, I've really grown to love it. There's something about the sea that relaxes me and all the tourists and different characters that excites me. 

Right now, I am sitting on a train, blogging. I'm on my way back to London from Brighton after a very lovely day with my mother, sister, mum's very lovely best friend and her very lovely daughter. 

The day started at choccywoccydoodah. After a walk around the shop, we went into the café and had lots and lots of chocolate, mm..

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any photo's in the café as my phone died, I did charge it in the arcade after though! 

We then went for a walk across the beach and pier, spending more money than we could afford in the arcade. 

We may have gone on the carousel.. 

We then went on the Brighton Wheel. 

(I didn't capture the couple taking a selfie on purpose but how cute?)

We then played crazy golf (I lost!) before grabbing some fish and chips that might as well of been cardboard, it was horrible. 

Walking back up to the station, myself and my sister popped into Boots and spent a lot more than we should of done (on my credit card!). Haul to come!

Today made me realise that I like trains a lot more than I realised. My dad being a train driver means I get free travel which I never use, up until now. I will become more adventures and use trains more, I'm not so scared of them anymore. 

I hope you all had a lovely Saturday.   

Pancakes Anyone?

After my FAILED pancakes on pancake day, I promised myself I'd practice before next year! 

This week and last week I've been home alone with my older sister, who can't cook OR clean, and we've been pretty much living off chicken nuggets and pasta. 

I saw someone on tv eating pancakes this morning and thought 'I really fancy pancakes' so I made them..

I followed the BBC food recipe and changed a few bits. I realised that the recipe said you needed for more milk and butter than you actually need. 

I used- 

♥ 110g Plain Flour (sifted)

♥ Pinch of Salt

♥ 2 Eggs

♥ 200ml Milk (which was far too much)

♥ 50g Butter (again, far too much)

1) Sieve the flour into a bowl and add a lunch of salt. 

2) Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and crack the eggs in it. Then whisk the eggs making sure you mix the dry ingredients in. 

3) Add small amounts of milk whilst whisking. 

4) Whisk until smooth using an electric whisker (if you don't have one, just keep using a whisk/fork until smooth).

5) Melt your butter in a pan. When melted, put 2 tablespoons into the mixture and leave the rest so the pancakes don't stick. 

6) Pour your pancake mix in and enjoy!

You can serve with the classic lemon and sugar, chocolate ice cream sauce or whatever your preference is. I had lemon and sugar on mine with some fruit on the side. 

It is really simple and a lot of fun to flip and make! 

 

Sundiary #1

I've seen a lot of people doing summary's of their days/weeks and I think it's a really nice idea. I'm going to do a Sundiary, it might not always be a Sunday, we might have Wednesdiary or Fridiary some days and we won't have one every week. 

♥ It's my birthday in 71 days (please hurry!)

♥ My laptop has decided to pack up on me (I'm getting a MacBook for my birthday therefore I'm not going to pay to get it fixed)

♥ The weather today has been beautiful, we even cooked dinner on the barbecue

♥ It's half term this week and I've seen loads of my family and friends

♥ Half term also means lie ins!

♥ Car bootsales start next weekend!

♥ My skins obsession has returned (It was so bad at one point I told my boyfriend we are naming our children Cook and Effy!)

♥ I bought Frozen on DVD (OLAF - THE CUTENESS.)

♥ Currently reading Looking For Alaska

The Liebster Award

I was tagged for this award by the very, very lovely Alice and Millie - thank you girls!

These are the rules:

♥ Link the blogger who nominated you

♥ Answer the questions you received

♥ Provide 11 facts about yourself

♥ Nominate 11 other bloggers and come up with 11 new questions

♥ Tell the 11 other bloggers you nominated them

11 facts about me:
♥ I LOVE Disney!

♥ I've had a crush on YouTuber Joe Sugg for quite a while now..

♥ I go through a lot of phases, recent ones have included a Lush phase around Christmas time (I spent £70 on the Christmas rage, eeek!) and ravioli and grated cheese

♥ I have cats as pets which I love to death

♥ When I'm older, I want to be a journalist or TV presenter

♥ My favourite films are Submarine, Mean Girls and any soppy love film

♥ My dream is to be famous

♥ Science is my most hated subject at school and drama is my favourite

♥ My best friend is a boy, everyone thinks we're dating.. We're not!

♥ I have the entire Frozen soundtrack on my phone, I listen to it as loud as I can on the bus in the mornings..

♥ I am an unbelievably jealous person and I really hate it

11 Questions Answered:
♥ Do you prefer wearing pyjamas and trackies or skirts and dresses on a daily bases?
- It depends! If I'm staying in then I'll wear my pyjamas or some trackies and a vest top but I'd never leave the house like that. I'm also not a very big fan of skirts and dresses, I wear a skirt to school everyday but at weekends etc I tend to just wear leggings and dresses for nights out.

♥ What is your favourite TV programme?
- One answer, SKINS. I'm o b s e s s e d and have been for quite a while now..

♥ Who is your biggest celebrity crush?
- Easy, Joe Sugg..oops.

♥ Who is your favourite band or singer?
- This is a really hard one because I listen to so many different artists! For bands I love Arctic Monkeys, Bastille, One Direction and The 1975 but for artists I like Miley Cyrus and Drake. I tend to listen to a lot of chart music as well.

♥ What is your favourite brand of makeup?
- For high end, it's defiantly Mac. I don't have that much from Mac but I think it's an amazing brand. For high street or drugstore, I really like MUA. They have some really good value makeup products.

♥ Favourite or most exciting place to go?
- Well, when I was a child we went to the Isle of Wight at least once a year but we haven't been in a while. The Isle of Wight will always have a massive place in my heart, no matter what.

♥ Favourite accessory?
- I'm not really sure, I really like big clips so I can do high buns?

♥ One thing you couldn't live without?
- This is a hard one, I get asked this a lot and I actually had to write about it for an exam about a year ago. I've always felt like I can live without most things as if I've never had them then I'd get used to it but if it was something like my phone just disappearing, I wouldn't be able to cope. If you don't have it then I suppose you would never know about it? I don't know!

♥ Lipstick or Eyeshadow?
- Lipstick!

♥ Favourite quote?
- I have a few, mostly skins but I could write a blooming essay on all the skins quotes I love. My favourite skins quotes are 'nobody breaks my heart' and 'too pretty for you're own good, that's why you destroy everything you touch'. I might just write a blog post soon about how much I love skins quotes?

♥ Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
- I have no idea. I know where I want to see myself; rich, in love and happy but I'll probably be in bed!

My 11 Questions:
♥ What is your favourite clothes shop?
♥ Converse or Vans?
♥ Superdrug or Boots?
♥ What inspired you to become a blogger?
♥ Do you have any talents? (other than blogging)
♥ Who was the first person you told about your blog?
♥ Neutral or bright lipsticks?
♥ If you had your own makeup/clothing brand, what would you call it?
♥ What is your worst habit?
♥ If you could only wear one makeup product for the rest of your life, what would it be?
♥ Eye makeup or face makeup (foundation, powder etc)

I tag: (I'm really sorry if I'm too late and you've already done this!)
♥ MY BLOGGING BUDDY JOANNA!
♥ The very lovely Julie!
♥ The very beautiful Alessia!
♥ The absolutely wonderful Catherine!
♥ The beautiful Sian Marie!
♥ The incredible Antoinette!
♥ The very lovely Lou!
♥ The beautiful Beth!
♥ The amazing Annie!
♥ The wonderful Anita!
♥ The lovely Daniella

If anyone I've nominated does do it, please make sure you send me your version!

Mother's Day

Once a year is definatly not enough to let your mum know how much you appreciate her. I know my mum does everything for me and I'm not thankful enough. I spoil my mum every Mother's Day and it is a big day in my house. 

I know some people, including my cousins, don't have a mum so it really is a day to reflect on how lucky you are. 

Blogging Buddy

One of the best things about being a blogger is the blogger community. There's so many girls, and boys, around the same age of me that share so many interests and hobbies with me.

Social media is the biggest form of advertising nowadays and most people use sites such as Facebook and Twitter daily. 

I started my blog just over a week ago and I've already made some friends over Twitter, one of which I've talked to everyday since we found each other again, just over a week ago. 

My new friend, or Blogging Buddy as we've decided, is called Joanna. She is such a beautiful girl with a great personality. We've got loads of common and share so many interests. 

There's not been a day we haven't spoken and I can't wait to learn even more about her! 

You can check out her lovely blog here!

How beautiful is her logo?! 

(She did give me permission to write about her!)

Spring Snaps

Sitting in the garden in the sun = perfect photo opportunity.

Today in the UK it was around 20 degrees and it was lovely. I spent the day sat in mine and then my nan's garden. I thought 'why not take a few pictures'. 

Prepare yourself for a heavy picture post. 

Front Garden

My beautiful Magnolia Tree

Daffodils growing around the tree 

Hanging baskets add a bit of colour to my nan' s garden

Spent most of my childhood on that bench..always thought of this as the fairy tale area and it's filled with many childhood memories. Before I started going to school, I'd go to my nan's in the daytime and we'd sit inch  bench eating cheese sandwiches and reading stories. 

More daffodils

Not even a cloud in the sky

You're A Wizard Harry

After visiting the Harry Potter studios in 2011, I promised myself that I'd make some sort of effort to watch the films or read the books. I haven't until now.

I've seen bits of the films from when my dad's watched them as they were all on tv not long ago, but I've never actually watched any of the films. 

As part of my New Year resolutions, I promised myself I'd read more and I made a reading list. Having ADHD, I find it hard to stay focused on just one thing at a time meaning it's very hard for me to watch films and read books. 

I decided to watch the films and not give up. I promised myself that if I got bored and needed to get up, then I'll just pause it and come back to it and so far, so good. I'm currently near the end of the second film and although it's taken me about 3 weeks to get here, I am really enjoying it. 

As much as I am finding it slightly confusing, it is so well put together. The effects are just mind blowing and it's no secret that J.K Rowling has done a very good job. 

I've always found that reality is more in my comfort zone than surrealism and fantasy. As much as I'm a strong believer in unicorns and fairies, I find myself hating fantasy films! I don't know why this is but I think it's because I like things to make sense in my head. Sometimes the things that come out my mouth, only make sense to me. 

I can honestly say I am absolutely loving these films and I've actually found myself saying that I want to go to Hogwarts! Last night my family and I went out for dinner in a nice posh restaurant and I went into 'Harry Potter mode'. I started asking my dad how many people have tried running between platforms 9 and 10 at Kings Cross Station. My dad actually works on the railway and he said he sees it everyday. Apparently there's actually now a sign that says 9 3/4 at Kings Cross! He also told me that someone once turned up with a shopping trolley and white owl!  

I can't wait to see the rest of the films and I am going to dig the books out - we have them all..somewhere! Disc 2 has just finished, as I type, time for disc 3!

Hello Spring

To some people, spring starts in February, to others it's starts as late as April. To me, spring starts mid March, around now. 

I love everything about spring, the lovely weather, the beautiful sunsets and to me it's the start of summer. Everyone is a lot more cheerful and happy when it's sunny and it makes you want to get out of bed in the mornings!

However, one of the things I love most about spring is the beautiful pastel, bright colours. I've found that bright, light pinks and duck egg blue's are often highly in trend. This year, I've found coral colours being really popular. 

I can't wait to go shopping for some new clothes. I think it's time to push all the black's and white's, that I wore during winter, to the back of my wardrobe and replace them with some more colourful clothes. 

Beautiful spring evening and my Magnolia tree starting to blossom. 

Beauty Stockpile

Whilst helping my mum to tidy her room up on Monday whilst we were both at home, we came across a little beauty stockpile that my mum didn't actually know about. It was stuff that she had got as presents over the years, bought and forgot about or stuff she had got from her mum's house when she sadly passed away.

As my mum isn't really a 'beauty person', she gave a lot of stuff to me. My mum only wears makeup on nights out and doesn't really use any sort of skin stuff. She is very much a 'shower person' and has a very demanding job, meaning she works long hours and doesn't have time for baths. She gave me a lot of bubble bath, moisturisers, skincare products and perfume. However, one perfume really stood out to me.

This is a Lancome perfume, I know they are a very expensive, top end brand. I took this from my mum's room after smelling it and really liking it. This is very much a scent that is hard to describe and definitely one that is very out of my comfort zone and one I usually don't wear. I normally like sweet scents but this is very strong and fruity. Not sweet at all.

I know this is a very old perfume but I found the exact one here on the Harvey Nichols website for £50. I got a right bargain.

Cotton Candy Frappucino

Whilst waiting for my mum to finish work and meet me in town today, I thought I'd pop into Starbucks. I haven't actually had anything from there since December when I went in at least twice a week to get a Christmassy drink.

After reading rumours in summer on Tumblr about Cotton Candy Fraps and the 'secret menu',  I thought I'd go in there and ask for one. The man serving didn't know what I was on about! I was too embarrassed to ever ask again even though I thought it was just the man serving, not knowing.

A few weeks ago, this was somehow brought up into a conversation with me and a very good friend of mine. She told me that you actually have to order a Vanilla Cream Frappuccino with 2 pumps of Raspberry Syrup. I did it and the lady actually knew what I was on about!

Now, I've probably tried every drink Starbucks do and I promise this is the nicest one I've ever had. Mmm..