I Lost my V Fest V-Plates (and even used the porta-loos)

You know me, I'm never on time for anything in my life. So who here is really surprised that I'm blogging about V Fest an entire two weeks after it happened? To be fair, I've moved countries and started in a new job in that time so I'm sure you'll cut me a little slack. But I had to write this post, regardless of how late to party I am, because V Fest was quite simply the most unexpected fun I've ever had.

I'm not what you'd call a lover of the great outdoors.

Three Days in Greece | How we Almost Got Stranded in Faliraki

It's been a week (!) since I got back from the Greek mini break I went on with my mum. I've slept off the jet lag (yes, I'm aware that there's only a two hour time difference, but night flights are the creation of the devil), unpacked by case, and now I'm ready to to tell you all about it.

Let me start by saying that the entirety of my plans for this holiday consisted of eating and sleeping in the sun, with an occasional dip in the pool...if I could muster the energy to drag myself off my sun bed. No drama, no effort, just pure relaxation. And for the first two days that's exactly what I got.

10 Things I Learned from Watching Sex and the City

I'm a Sex and the City junkie and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I've watched the complete boxset through more times than I care to count and I have both movies on DVD...despite the fact that they are questionable at best. 

Recently, as I re-watched Season One for - what? - the 60th time, I realised there are a lot of great life lessons to be learned from Carrie and the gang. Read them, memorise them, live them.

1. Men are complicated...

Everything5Pounds Review | Is It Worth It?

I love a bargain! That's not new news to anyone. So when 'Everything5Pounds' offered to let me choose some items of clothing from their website to review, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to see for myself what this site was really about.

To be honest, when I first heard about Everything5Pounds, I was skeptical to say the least. I envisioned a sketchy warehouse operating out of a backstreet in China. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. I mean, jeans for £5? Shoes for £5? Dresses for £5?! It sounds too good to be true!

Soap & Glory Fab Pore 2-in-1 Pore Purifying Mask and Peel | Is is a Miracle Mask?

My quest to find the best in budget-friendly skincare brought me to Soap & Glory's Fab Pore 2-in-1 Pore Purifying Mask and Peel. Lord knows, if anyone's pores need purifying it's mine! 

I don't suffer from a lot of breakouts (thankfully that epic pimple-plague of doom that attacked my face while I was reviewing Garnier's SkinActive Green Tea range has finally cleared up!), but I do have some pretty stubborn blackheads on my nose and chin that seem to have taken up a lifelong residence. Then, of course, there's the issue of my enormous pores. At least if Britain faces austerity in future, I can make a little money on the side by renting out my pores for small families to live in. That's how huge they are!

High Tea at Tea Rooms at the Pet Cemetery | Not as Bizarre as You Might Think

This weekend I travelled up to the end of the Earth North Wales to visit one of my best friends, Beth, for her birthday. It's amazing what a couple of days of good company and fresh country air can do for you. It can even undo the stress associated with the five hour train journey there on a cramped Arriva train that has no plug sockets and where a packet of Quavers will set you back £1.10. 

In anticipation of another equally uncomfortable journey home, Beth decided we should pop out for a nice breakfast and recommended the nearby Tea Rooms at the Pet Cemetery in Hollywell. I know what you're thinking because I thought the same myself. Why are you taking me to an animal burial ground for a fry-up? Isn't there a Spoons somewhere around here instead? But I was pleasantly surprised.

7 Things People with an Iron Deficiency Want You to Know

Iron deficiencies, anaemia, low B12 levels...I get that it's a complicated world for those on the outside looking in. I also get that iron deficiencies are often labelled as a wishy-washy complaint, most notably used by 13 year olds to get out of P.E.

The truth is, for those of us with an iron deficiency, the symptoms are all too real and they can really mess with our day to day lives in a way that people who don't understand iron deficiencies are totally unaware of.

Review: Garnier's SkinActive Green Tea Range for Oily Skin

I'm on the hunt for good, reliable, affordable skincare. Aren't we all?

Recently my search brought me to Garnier's new SkinActive range so I thought I'd test it out for a full 10 days and give you my full and honest opinion.

The main selling point of Garnier's new SkinActive range is that a whopping 96% of the
ingredients that make up the products are natural and free from silicone, parabens and synthetic colourants. I'm no dermatologist, but that sounds like a winning formula to me!

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining and Mine's Blogging.

As many of you may (or may not) know, I'm currently doing my Post Graduate Certificate in Education. In other words I'm training to be a teacher and doing masters level work side by side and therefore have no time, no life and basically spend my evenings planning lessons and crying into a tub of ice cream.

When people said the PGCE year would be the most stressful year of my life they were spot on!

Unfortunately, things recently took on a whole new stress factor when I was told by the placement school I'm currently training in that I needed to delete my Youtube channel. It was as if someone had asked me to give away my dog. Not that I have a dog. But, you know, I can imagine.

Last weekend I tearfully set three year's worth of videos to private. The positive is I can reactivate everything in 10 weeks time when I finish the course. The negative is I'm pretty sure they're going to be the longest ten weeks of my life! So far it's only been three days and I'm already having withdrawal symptoms. It's only a matter of time before I start narrating my makeup application in the morning when I'm alone in my room.

The good news is I can spend the next 10 weeks showering my blog with the love and attention it deserves. Ever since I graduated from university and entered the world of work, my poor little blog has taken a back seat. After all, after a hard day filled with rush hour traffic, mountainous workloads that will never be conquered and computer screen induced headaches, it's a lot easier to plonk down in front of a camera and ramble on incessantly than it is to try and put together a witty and coherent blog post. Most days, by the time 4pm hits I can rarely put together a logical sentence.

But suddenly I have a bunch of unexpected free time on my hands (you know, if you ignore the 8,000 word essay I have due) so it's the perfect opportunity to show my poor little neglected blog a little bit of love. You know what they say: every cloud has a silver lining!

So I'm going to get over the writer's block and get back into the swing of things. I'm a little rusty and a little short of jet-setting adventures to write about since I graduated, but I'm excited to catch the blogging bug all over again!

"If it's not baroque, don't fix it." Beauty and the Beast 2017.

Like many hard-core Beauty and the Beast fans, I spent the last year in emotional turmoil, switching back and forth between excitement and dread. When I first found out Disney had a live action remake of my all-time favourite in the making, my initial reaction was indignation.

How on earth were they going to improve on perfection? Were they or were they not going to include that naff filler, 'Human Again'? Who could they possibly find to play a convincing Belle?

And, as snippets were reported here and teasers were released there, I continued to view the whole thing with trepidation while simultaneously counting down the days like a child waiting for Christmas. Did I hate the idea? Did I love the idea? Who knows? I just know I had a lot of feelings about it!

But last week I finally got the see the film I'd been both longing for and dreading.

Photo: Disney

Beauty and the Beast Themed Goodies you Need in your Life!

Beauty and the Beast is my favourite film. Not just my favourite Disney film, mind you. My favourite film of all time! My goal in life is to be Belle (enchanted castle and all), which several realistic boring people in my life keep pointing out is kind of a pipe dream.

But since the new live action remake is set to be released in less than a month, (cue hysterical shrieking) I can at least take advantage of the surge of Beauty and the Beast themed merchandise that's suddenly flooded the market.

My bedroom is about to look like it belongs to a five year old girl and I don't even care!

Gaston's Tavern Wall Sign 

The Disney Store US $70

For all his misogyny, ignorance and deep-rooted evil, no one parties like Gaston and I wouldn't mind a trip to that tavern for a few tankards of beer and a sing-song. Or, at the very least, with this sign I can turn my own kitchen in to Gaston's Tavern...minus the antlers.

They're Real! Benefit Talbot Green Blogging Event

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to go to the launch of Benefit's They're Real Double the Lip two-in-one lipstick and lipliner, and the They're Real Duo Eyeshadow Blender. Kristie and Hannah (aka the lovely ladies from the Benefit counter at Boots, Talbot Green) put on a lovely evening with some live demonstrations, a chance for us to play with the products, and some delicious snacks (#priorities).

First let's talk about the new eyeshadow range because I can't contain my excitement about it! The eyeshadows come as a duo with a little spherical applicator. All it takes is a few swipes back and forth across the eyeshadow and a few strokes across your eyelids and ta-da!

I'm a Crazy Bird Lady!

I decided 2017 is going to be the year when I cut down on time-draining activities and get out there and do things the make me happy instead. How many hours did I lose to social media, re-runs of Friends and general procrastination in 2016? A half hour of vegging out in my pjs here, 20 minutes of browsing Pinterest for nothing in particular there...it all adds up!

When 2017 hit, I deleted my Facebook app. Instead of sitting through every soap opera my mother insists on putting on the TV in the evening, resisting the urge to gouge out my own eyes, I've started using that time to get into a good book. Time that would have been spent scrolling through websites, building imaginary shopping carts of clothes I know I'll never actually buy is now spent heading out for a walk.

I'm spending my time on the things that make me happy and recently I realised that one of those things is birds.

Big January Giveaway!

Happy New Year one and all! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are ready to tackle 2017.

I want this year to be an amazing one for all of us so, to kick things off with a bang, I'm hosting a Big January Giveaway on my Youtube channel! I thought it would be a great way to lift those January blues and to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to subscribe to my channel.

My 2016: I Got Old, Made some Bizarre Life Choices and Drank Tequila.

Congratulations world! We made it through the madness that was 2016! We survived a year in which Britain left the EU, Harambe the gorilla was killed in cold blood, and Donald Trump was voted president of the United States. It all kind of feels like a bad (and totally ridiculous) dream, doesn't it?

While 2016 might not have been the best year for the world as a whole, on a personal level I had a pretty good year. So, as is traditional, I'm going to sum up my entire year in a nice bite-sized blog post for you!

Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide

With just one week left until the big day, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's gone and left their Christmas shopping until the last minute...again.

But have no fear because my last minute Christmas gift guide will save you the hassle of scouring the High Street for the perfect gift. Don't bother battling the crowds or collapsing into a hysterical heap in the middle of Marks & Spencer (I've been there). Instead, let me do the searching for you while you put your feet up with a nice mug of hot chocolate...with extra marshmallows...because obviously.

Gifts for Her

Christmas as the Grape & Olive | Blogger Event

As November comes to a close and we continue to hurtle towards Christmas, I wanted to write a little something about the blogger Christmas event at the Grape & Olive in Swansea. Yes, it took place over two weeks ago, but, between the never-ending madness of my PGCE and an unexpected bout of lurgy, it's taken until now to find five minutes to sit down and write something up.

As someone who lives within easy driving distance of Swansea, I'm a little ashamed to say I'd never been to the Grape & Olive before. I'm even more ashamed to admit that, even though it's located at the top of the tallest building in Wales and therefore in the most visible building in Swansea, I ended up spending twenty minutes wandering through the marina in the dark, heading in the complete opposite direction. Such is the story of my life.

The Lust List: November 2016

We're well and truly into November. I can tell because I have to wear four layers of clothing to bed every night. So...it's time to start talking about Christmas now, right? I mean, I usually like to keep Christmas strictly confined to December, but this year I can't help feeling the first tingles of the Christmas spirit already (I blame John Lewis and their festive-packed winter wonderland). That said, my lust list has a bit of a Christmas theme...you know, just a bit!

Magic Wand Bubble Bar - Lush £5.95

My passion for Lush bubble bars is well documented. The are my favourite bath-time treat! But the Magic Wand bubble bar? That's an entirely new level of fabulousness my friends! It's pink, it's sparkly, it smells divine, and how often do you get to add some Bibbiti Bobbiti Boo to your bath-time?

It's part of the limited edition Lush Christmas collection and I for one have already added it to my Christmas list.

Monthly Musings: October 2016

October is my favourite month and I always get a little sad when it comes to an end, but this October has been particularly wonderful. For a start, the weather has been beautiful! Usually here in South Wales it starts raining at the beginning of September and doesn't stop until June, but the last few weeks have been dry, still and unseasonably warm. It's such a lovely change to hear the crisp crunch of autumn leaves underfoot as opposed to having to wade through a slimy, wet mulch. Eww.

And this year we had a Halloween party! Halloween is favourite time of year (I may have mentioned that before, just once or twice) and this month was cram-packed with all things Halloween. Making new decorations, baking Halloween cupcakes, putting together a costume, and, of course, watching Hocus Pocus.

I'm really sad to see the back of such a fun month.

Magical Moment

It goes without saying that the magical moment of this month was our Halloween party. It was fantastic! We had a creepy scarecrow and a graveyard and our bathroom was so terrifying that people were too afraid to go upstairs alone (I include myself in that). It was the best night I've had in a long time!

The John Lewis Christmas Collection 2016

Who's ready for Christmas? No, me neither, but John Lewis certainly is and I was lucky enough to get an invite to their Christmas press launch in Saint David's Shopping Centre in Cardiff a few weeks back. It was a bit disorientating for my poor little brain, firmly planted in Halloween mode as it is right now, to suddenly be flung into a full-blown Christmas extravaganza, but it was so beautiful and magical that, by the end of the evening, I was well and truly in the Christmas spirit.

 Their decorations are split into different collections and you can wander through a series of little showrooms to see how everything ties together and just how beautiful everything looks in a real-life setting. From traditional reds and whites to tropical splendour, there really is something to suit everyone. I had a hard time choosing my favourite!

The Chamonix collection really appealed to the traditionalist in me. I could just picture myself curling up next to that (admittedly artificial) fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate on a snowy winter's day.