London at Christmas...

Hello Everyone!

On Sunday 22nd December I embarked on one of the best days out of my life! I got all the Christmassy feels, it was simply wonderful! For my sister however, it was to start a great day but quickly spiral into a big soppy mess with the evening of JLS' last ever concert. 

I know Christmas has sadly come and gone, too quickly for my liking, but I thought that by sharing a few of the photos I took from the day it would make you feel happy and excited about what has been. So here we go, lets marvel in the Christmassy magic.....

This is in Piccadilly Circus, when me and my sister got lost on
the first tube to Winter Wonderland.

We made it! The queue to get in was so big, but it did
move rather quickly. 

Here is a compilation of the little wooden huts that were selling
food, drinks and cute souvenirs to buy.

Above are a few photos of some of the cool attractions that were at Winter Wonderland.

 Below is the same huge Christmas tree that was placed high up above on one of the wooden huts. The photo on the left is from when we first got there and the second is later on with the lights on.

This is the super cute ice rink, which I wish I had booked tickets for.

Yep, your eyes aren't deceiving you, it in fact a Parrot on the
 mans shoulder. The parrot was on a leash attatched to him,
so it couldn't fly away. It's not everyday you see something like that.

The food hall in Harrods at Christmas time, how festive.

This big statue of Santa was in the Christmas shop in Harrods.
It was nearly as tall as me.

Harrods from the outside, at night with all the pretty lights shining
and lighting up the street.

The O2 arena at night looks really nice.

JLS saying their goodbyes at the end of the concert, it was a teary night.
Everyone around seemed to be upset and crying.

Just an image of the stage to finish the blog post off.

Thank you so much for viewing my photos, it truly was a marvellous day. I love London so very much and at Christmas time it is all the better, I hope to visit again at this time of year for the 3rd year in a row next year. I just hope that everyone reading this had a lovely Christmas and I wish them all the best for the New Year.

Merry Christmas!

Hello Everyone! Or should I say Merry Christmas Everyone!

Wow! I can not believe it is Christmas already, it doesn't seem that long ago I was sat at my Grandma's house with my family tucking into our Christmas dinner (Ooo, those pigs in blankets!) This is my most favourite time of year, it makes me all excited and happy inside, I guess you could say I'm full of Christmas joy! :D As I'm writing this I am watching elf in my living room with my sister after just getting back from our families annual curry at a restaurant around the corner, what a great way to celebrate Christmas Eve.

Anyway I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! I hope that you get the gifts you want and that you just have an all round good time what ever you end up doing. Only a few hours till the big man himself (Santa Clause) tries to squeeze through your chimneys to deliver all your presents.

After Christmas I will be posting a few Christmassy posts to make everyone feel happy! :D

Haircare

Hello Everyone!

Week 6 (well it is currently week 8! :/) of #BritishBloggerSelection and the theme for this week is haircare. Six weeks have gone so quickly (It's like the whole of the summer holidays, woah), I have loved being part of a blogging community sharing ideas on the same themes. It has also helped me to stay on top of writing at least one blog post each week, as sometimes struggling with what to write is very common for me.
I do love my hair, it's so long which means I have to take extra care of it. Saying that.. I haven't as of this moment had a haircut in about 2 years, I have just let my hair grow to the length it is today (No, it isn't down to my bum, aha). But do not panic, I am getting it cut very soon, and am awaiting the hairdresser to moan at me! However, when I was talking to my friend about this topic- she too was shocked about how long it's been since my last trim- she said that my hair doesn't look like it hasn't been cut for 2 years which I suppose is a good thing. It must all be down to the products I use;

The first product I use in my hair is Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Shampoo. As you can probably guess from what I said above, I have split ends, so many that my hairdresser might have a breakdown! aha :/ So I like to think that this shampoo will help to protect my hair from further damage. It smells of raspberry, which I LOVE (it's my favourite fruit!) and it leaves my hair smelling gorgeous for days inbetween washes. This shampoo is my fave, the herbal essences collection, as it makes my hair feel and look so nice and shiny.

Another product I use to protect and repair my split ends is the Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Cream which is like a conditioning lotion that you put through the ends of your hair. You put it either on dry hair, or towel dried hair and leave it in to work its magic. As this is in the same collection as the shampoo, this also smells amazing and it doesn't make your hair seem greasy or sticky like how I imagined it be.

The last product I use in my hair is the Alberto Balsam Sun Kissed Raspberry Herbal Conditioner (Yeah that's right, it's Raspberry again!) This is such a nice conditioner, as it too smells amazing and leaves your hair so silky and smooth. I never really used to use conditioner, it was just something that seemed to take too much effort to use. So since then I have come up with a solution to this and it was recommended to me by a friend. Wash your hair with shampoo and then when it comes to the repeat section I use shampoo and conditioner mixed together.

That's everything I use in my hair, it's not a lot, but I guess I like to keep it simple! Either that or I'm just lazy ahaha :D

Recipe: Chocolate Drops

Hello Everyone!

Last week I decided to do some baking. I love baking, I genuinely think opening my own bakery would be brill! The only thing I don't like is the waiting around for it to cook in the oven, it just always takes too long! :( 20-30 minutes seems like hours to wait.

This time I chose to bake some chocolate cookie type things, called Chocolate Drops (I call them chocolate poo's, you'll see why later). The recipe for them is from my mum, I think it may have been past down to her from someone in my family. Chocolate Drops are so yummy and amazing, you'll never want to put them down. If I ever feel a random impulse to bake, the ingredients are also those you're more likely to find in your cupboards.

Ingredients: (Makes 18-20)
* 100g Butter
* 50g Caster Sugar
* 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
* 90g Plain Flour
* 15g Cocoa Powder

Pre-Heat the oven at 190c/ Gas Mark 5

Method:
1. Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mix and stir together.

3. With a spoon drop 18-20  teaspoons of mixture on a greased baking tray, making sure they're well apart. (if you want them to be bigger, then you'll end up with less drops)

4.Bake in the oven at 190c (Gas Mark 5) for 17 minutes.
5. When thoroughly cooked, remove from the oven and leave them on a cooling rack for 1-2 minutes. 

6. After they have cooled, it is now time for the best part... eating them.

This is such a simple and quick recipe to make, even those not confident with cooking can make these. You should try making them to understand my love for them.

Boyce Avenue Concert Review

Hello Everyone!

This is a review that I wrote from when I attended a Boyce Avenue concert in June 2012. I thought that I would share it with you.

Concert Review: Boyce Avenue, band of three brothers stunned crowd in London.

American acoustic, rock band sing a collection of their best songs and most loved covers to a sold-out Hammersmith Apollo.

 When Boyce Avenue announced they were going to be touring the UK for the seventh time, fans flocked straight to the box office to get them a ticket to the musical experience. As many don’t know who Boyce Avenue are, people underestimated their power to sell out 5000 tickets to a packed out Hammersmith Apollo in London. They did it!

The American three piece band- made up of; Daniel Manzano, bass player, Fabian Manzano, guitarist and led by youngest brother Alejandro Manzano- impressed their adoring fans with a backlog of their album tracks and a mixture of loved covers. Boyce Avenue are known for their covers of songs on YouTube, at one point they were the second most searched band on YouTube, behind Americas great rock band, Linkin Park with over 600 million views and counting. Putting this aside they are only known due to the internet, in the UK they have never appeared on the radio or TV, this doesn’t seem to hinder their success. As this year alone they have toured around the UK and Ireland twice; with the first time at the beginning of the year with UK boy band One Direction and now their own headline tour. Their biggest yet!

Before Boyce Avenue could grace the stage singing their hits, their support acts Alex Goot and Tyler Hilton came out to showcase their talents in front of the 5000 strong audience. Due to vast queues outside the Apollo and the slow paced ticket collection staff, the majority of the fans missed Alex Goot’s set- Not with too much disappointment I suppose. After the noisy rabble of 5000 voices had settled down in their seats, Tyler Hilton took to the stage. For those who don’t know who he is, he is most known for his role as ‘Chris Keller’ on US TV drama ‘One Tree Hill’, on the programme he portrayed a musician so fans had an idea of what to expect prior to the concert. As a result of his star status from One Tree Hill, when the deep, husky voice began to sing, the fans seemed ecstatic that he was there to perform. Hilton performed an assortment of his songs, so simply and acoustically, it was as if he was singing a series of love stories; including songs such as ‘Prince of Nothing Charming’ and ‘Loaded Gun’. The fans were amazed by his power to be on stage, just him and a guitar, and still managed to entertain the crowd exceptionally. Even people, who were previously not fans, were wowed and became fans. To finish his set he sung an unknown, underrated cover of Britain’s best, Coldplay’s ‘Us against the World’, which went down very well. Even so, Tyler filmed himself and the crowd during the song and later uploaded it to his YouTube channel.

It was Tyler Hilton’s very first time in London and he seemed to love and appreciate every minute of his performance. He was in awe of the crowd’s reaction to him that he vowed to tour the UK again. 

After a short interval, anxious fans finally got to see who they’d been so patiently waiting for. Boyce Avenue took to the stage appearing through the mist to hoards of hysterical screaming fans. One by one they came and slowly collected their instruments and took their places; Alejandro centre stage, with equally talented brothers either side. The mist seemed to suddenly disappear as the lights were raised and there they were, Boyce Avenue, ready to put on a great show. Starting the night of amazing live music, was a very cleverly mastered medley of ‘Daylight’ and ‘Tonight’ which went down a treat with the crowd. After performing a few more of their own songs, the once screaming fans now turned into an enthusiastic choir as together with Boyce Avenue they sung a medley of some of their best pop covers; ‘What Makes You Beautiful’, ‘We Found Love’ and ‘Dynamite’. There was a sense of passion within the fans to join in and have fun as much as they could.

Boyce Avenue were nothing but thankful to the devoted audience, none more so than trusting the crowd to experience a love story in the making. When gaining the crowds full attention, Alejandro introduced one of the bands friends and his girlfriend to the stage, neither the 5000 fans nor the girlfriend knew what romantic gesture was just about to take place. The friend took to mic talking to everyone, pouring out his feelings for his girlfriend, then got down on one knee and proposed. All 5000 people managed to be hush for this spectacle holding their breaths awaiting the answer. As a simple YES rang through the mic, the Hammersmith Apollo roared with excitement and happiness for the newly engaged couple.

This same excitement remained until the end; Boyce Avenue performed an encore of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’ which again allowed the entire audience to sing along to this heart-warming song. It was almost like a bunch of walruses wailing together as the crowd tried to hit those high notes. To end such a fabulous night they sung ‘Hear Me Now’, which shows off their abilities to entertain and involve a crowd, splitting the audience in half to get each side to sing different parts of the chorus. This set up is traditionally used in their shows, so old fans would know what to expect. This once 3 minute song had now turned into a 10 minute encore version, finishing with Boyce Avenue thanking the crowd for being such a great audience and gracefully taking a bow overlooking the admiring crowd.

The volume of high pitched screams throughout and the crowd’s response can only reassure Boyce Avenue of being welcomed to return to perform in the UK again. This was the best concert you could ever attend, the atmosphere was immense, fans joining in to sing the chorus, jumping, clapping, crying and cheering. Never have I been so totally amazed by what I witnessed at a concert before, it was so worth the money. Boyce Avenue, have now been established as a worthy, talented singing act to wow the crowds in years to come, they deserve all the fame and recognition they get. Boyce Avenue, Exceptional Talent!

Skincare

Hello Everyone!

It is week 5 of the #BritishBloggerSelection and this weeks theme is all about skincare. This is something that some may treat like a chore as it can take up so much time which you could be spending doing other, more exciting things. But this is not the attitude to be expressing if you want to have great skin! I think most people suffer from/have suffered from spots or dry skin patches at some point. It can be very hard to find a ‘get rid quick scheme’ that’s right for you, as everyone’s skin is different.  

For me, the first product I use is Simple’s Kind To Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion to cleanse my face, to clean my pores and remove some of my make-up that is blocking the pores. I use Simple for this task as I have very sensitive skin, my skin is so often irritated by every product I use, and this seems to really work with my skin. I use a cotton wool to smooth this around my face in the morning, when I wake up and at night before I go to bed to remove my make-up. Mainly I cleanse my face around areas prone to break outs.



Most people use face wipes to remove their make-up, I go through phases of using them and then not. If I do I would only use it around my forehead, avoiding my mouth as the face wipes have always brought me out in a rash. (Ooo how lovely.. aha) When removing my make-up after a long day, I tend to use a flannel and some warm water as I feel that this is a really good way of not irritating the skin.



I'm really bad when it comes to using moisturiser, as my skin can get so dry and irritated by the simplest product, so I have to be careful what I use. (Even Simple's products have caused a reaction many a time). The doctor once gave me some prescribed cream to use as a moisturiser- Aqueous cream which can be very watery and can sometimes bring you out in spots. I have tried Garnier's moisture match moisturiser (the start a fresh one) which is for normal to dry skin types. This did work, however I sometimes get lazy with things like this.



When I get a break out of spots I find sudocrem a great go-to as this works wonders on spots. I use it mostly during the night, putting it on the individual spots and sleeping with it on my face (kind of like a face mask). For when my spots get very bad I either use Lush's Cosmetic Warrior natural face mask 2-3 times a week or Garnier's spot roll-on.

Another skincare (if you can class it as skin!?) product I use is Vaseline as in the winter I get super dry lips, they're always chapped. I go through pots of this like no-ones business, people always seemed shocked at how quickly I use them! This is a must have in my bag at all times of the year, my lips really do suffer without it. When my lips are so dry, I cake my lips with Vaseline. Then I use an exfoliating hand glove to rub off the dry skin and make them smooth.

Favourite Make-Up Brand

Hello Everyone!

Wow, it's week 4 already and I'm actually on time- just!!
This weeks #BritishBloggerSelection theme is about your favourite make-up brand and an explanation as to why you love it so much.

I am not much of a make-up wearer, having only just started to wear it 'everyday' since last summer (2012). I never really needed to wear mascara to enhance my eyelashes as they were already super long, and for quite a while my skin was pretty clear from blemishes and spots. However, if I was having a bad day with spots or any redness then I would use a small bit of my mums concealer.

Looking through the make-up products I do own, it seems evident that I am a big fan of Rimmel, as the majority of my items are from this brand. I think more often than not I self-consciously buy products from the brands stall in the make-up department without thinking "oh hello another Rimmel purchase". Maybe what draws me towards buying them is the stylish packaging which is engaging and partly makes you want to purchase it due to the overall look. As Rimmel is a high street drug store brand it is a conveniently great price, making it all very affordable (even for students, like me). I have found that the individual products seem to all last a long time too, which makes it worth every penny you spend. A little goes a long way with Rimmel.

I am a huge fan of nail varnishes, maybe it's because I'm into art and painting. Basically here I'm trying to say that the wide variety of colours available in nail varnishes are very similar to acrylic paints used in art, which is very exciting! My nails are always different colours, I love painting my nails! It can express a mood or a feeling, for example around Christmas I like to go for dark/glittery colours as I love Christmas sooo much!! However, it can take quite a while to paint nails and get them neat, I always end up with varnish all over my fingers. :/ I decide when to paint my nails a different colour when my present colour starts to chip, which for me happens very quickly as I do not apply a top coat. 


Favourite Products:
* Rimmel London Match Perfection Foundation; I love this foundation, as the consistency of it is very thin and very quick and easy to apply to your face with fingertips or a brush. This foundation comes in quite a few different shades, which means there is one out there for everyone, I use the Ivory 001. It is also a great price at only £6.99, and the quality is amazing- this is a favourite with many beauty bloggers. This foundation has a slight shine to it, when it is on your face, but it's not OTT and it gives you a nice glow.



* Barry M Nail Polishes; These are my favourite nail varnish brand as they are so affordable, being usually only between £2.99 and £3.99 each and they seem to give you so many uses. Barry M have a huge range of colours and even types (for example; the gelly polishes and the effects- crackle) that you'll be spoilt for choice. When wearing one of their polishes they tend to last a long time without chipping. For me I find that the coverage and amount of coats depends on the colour as sometimes with a dark colour you can get away with one coat. 

* Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer; I know that this is none of the brands I previously mentioned, but this is a god send. This is the best concealer that I have used as it has such great coverage on any spots, blemishes or redness completely for up to 16 hours (so it advertises). It is in packaging very much like lip-gloss, with the applicator being the same as a lip-gloss brush. With this product there a fewer shades to choose from, I firstly picked up a light 2, as in the shop lighting it seemed to blend into my hand. When I got home, I became all patchy where it was too dark for me, so I purchased the fair 1 (oh the joys of being pale!)


This is all of the make-up products that I have been loving, what are your favourite brands?

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Hello everyone!

On Sunday I went to go see the new addition to The Hunger Games trilogy with my dad and sister. I loved the first film so much, and with this long wait between both films I was expecting something amazing. And I was not disappointed, it was 2 and a half hours of awesomeness.

When the first film came out last July, the trailer didn't really sell it to me. To be honest I don't really remember it much! I wasn't too fussed about paying to see a film I wasn't 100% in to, so I never went.... for quite some time. I think it may have been one of my friends who told me I should go see it, as she had also previously read all 3 books. She told me the film was so good and that she even cried (at the part when Rue died... Spoiler alert!) The time then came around for my dad to take me and my sister to the cinema to watch a film, and The Hunger Games happened to be the only film we all agreed on. I didn't have a clue on the plot, or who was in it. We just went in, not expecting much from it. Walking out after it had finished, I was highly impressed and couldn't wait for the next film to come out.

To fill the void over the next year and 4 months, my dad bought me the book trilogy. Apart from Harry Potter and Angus, Thongs & Full Frontal Snogging, I'd never watched a film, loved it so much that I just had to read the books. Between the lengthy time of the two films I managed to read both books and start the third (due to work and college, I have not yet had time to finish it :( But I will!) Whilst reading the first book, it was hard as I already had a pre-set imagery of the characters and set from the film, so it took me a while to stop only thinking about the film, as some parts were not the same. Reading the second book was much easier, I could imagine everything as I thought it would be like. The book was full of action, and made me even more excited for when the time was to come along in November 2013.
Catching fire came out on Thursday 21st November, but I couldn't go to see it on the day of release as I was working the late night shopping shift; 4:30pm-7:30pm. Also neither me or my dad had any money to go to the cinema, so I had to wait a few days. I don't usually mind waiting, but this was 'The Hunger Games', I just had to see it. On the Friday of that week my dad found out that he actually did have enough money, so we planned to go on Saturday evening after I finished work. That was until 1D Day came along. It was a 7 hour live-stream of One Direction completing challenges, interviews and games to give back to fans for their support. In the UK it went it went from 7pm to 2:30am and my sister sat in front of the laptop for 7 hours straight, and refused to move to see the film. We eventually went on the Sunday evening and Oh my.... it was sooo good, how did I wait this long!? During the film I tried so hard not to judge some parts if it was different from the book or if some parts weren't there. For me, the majority of the film's set was how I pictured it in my head which was great to see it come to life. Saying that, I did notice parts of the book that weren't featured in the film (I won't spoil it for anyone and give any of it away) but I obviously do realise that the film was long enough and the book goes into way more depth and detail.

I would recommend that you all go to see the film now, or wait for the lovely surprise on DVD. I also think that if you do like the films then you should read the books too. 

Bloglovin

Hello Everyone!

I have recently, as in just a minute ago, joined Bloglovin to follow the blogs I am loving! ;) hehe see what I did there!? By clicking on the link here; Follow my blog with Bloglovin you too can follow my blog, if you'd like to. 
It would be lovely to gain more followers, meaning that more people are reading my content, which will all help me in the long run with my future career aspect to become a journalist.

Thank you for reading yet another short and informative post. I really need to blog some more full content posts, and hopefully this week will be a productive blogging week for me :D

Favourite Clothes Shop

Hello Everyone!

This weeks actual #BritishBloggerSelection topic is about your favourite clothes shop. Oooo, I love clothes so very much, so this is quite a toughie choosing a favourite.

I work in a clothes retailer, and some people when getting a job in certain places can make them hate the things they sell. Like if you worked in a chip shop, you may become sick of the smell of greasy chips. However, this is not the case for me. I love my job, even if it is only 4 hours on a Saturday and 4 on a Sunday. I don't know whether it is the clothes, working on the till, being able to help customers or the lovely people who also work there that make me LOVE it!? Oh.... I’ve just realised that I missed out saying where it is I work, that place is Primark!

I know a lot of people talk down about Primark, saying because it is cheap it will break easily. I'm not trying to defend it just because I work there and have to be positive, but yeah it is cheap, but the selection of lovely clothes is amazing. When I am often working on the tills, I see all the nice things customers are buying and secretly in my head I think 'when I get paid, I'll buy that'. The Primark in my city, Portsmouth, has just recently been extended, making the shop bigger in size. 

My other all time favourite shop is H&M! They too have such beautiful clothing designs for a fairly decent price, I would say the majority of my wardrobe is from H&M. Infact, the top I am currently wearing whilst writing this post is from H&M a few years ago. It's still going, and is still one of my favourite tops.

Every now and then I go through phases of loving everything in Dorothy Perkins to loving a few items, to absolutely nothing at all. I thought I would include it in my list of favourite clothes shops. I would say that my love for Dorothy Perkins has come from my mum, as I remember she used to like shopping in there, but it now seems quite expensive (especially for a college student, saving up for car insurance and university).

Of course Topshop is a favourite, but maybe just to browse as I can hardly ever afford anything from there on a frequent basis. I often find myself scrolling through their website finding sooo many clothes I really like and want to add to my wardrobe. As it is getting so close to Christmas, I will be asking my mum and dad very nicely for just a few clothes from here >_<

Thank you for reading about my favourite shops. Where are your favourite places to buy your clothes? If you would like to tell me then please feel free to leave a comment below.

Q&A/Interview

Hello Everyone!

This is a bit late compared to other bloggers posts, I have just got confused with the weeks and when the #BritishBloggerSelection posts are supposed to be published! :/ arhh So I think this was supposed to be up last week, but here goes.

This week is a Q&A set up, with 'Little Vintage Camera' asking 9 questions to all bloggers taking part. By answering these questions I hope you get to know me a bit better.

 

1) Why do you like blogging?

I like blogging as it is a way of expressing yourself through writing and sharing moments in your life with others. You can get across your personality through blog posts, by the way you write. It is also great experience for my future to become a journalist, to practice writing skills. Sorry for the long answer, aha :/

 

2) How did you come up with your blog name?

My hair is blonde (ish, it's gradually getting darker) and curly. Back in school I used to say some really stupid, silly things so my friends kept making fun of me calling me a stereotypical 'blonde'.

 

3) Where from the UK do you come from?

I come from Portsmouth, in Hampshire. Portsmouth is at the very south of the UK, along the South Coast.

 

4) Favourite colour?

I'm really into mint/jade green at the moment. I used to absolutely love pink!

 

5) Do you like Lana Del Ray?

I'm not really fussed about her; she has a lovely voice and some great songs. I'm just not overly amazed by her.

 

6) Hidden Talents That You Have?

I can touch my nose with my tongue, ewww ok thats disgusting! :P Ermm, I'm quite good at art (like drawing and painting) if I take my time, I got a Distinction (An A) at GCSE.

 

7) Celebrity Crush?

Oooo, that's a toughy! At the moment I have 'a thing' for Alex Turner (from the Arctic Monkeys, if you didn't know!), I went to see them at the iTunes festival in September and the image I took of him is now my phone lock screen. Oh and of any member of One Direction, how could I not include them ahaha ;)

 

8) Favourite Blog Of All Time?

Standard options would be; Zoella and Sprinkle of Glitter

I also like reading http://www.stylishbutskint.co.uk/ by Nicola and http://keepcalmlookpretty.blogspot.co.uk/ by Sophie.

 

9) What made you want to join #BritishBloggerSelection?

I thought it was a great idea, for British Bloggers to come together and publish posts based around a common topic. It would be great to hopefully make some friends along the way :D

 

Thank you for reading this post, I hope you got to know a bit more about me! Don't forget that if you want to join the #BritishBloggerSelection, you can do so by contacting Ellie via her blog.... http://littlevintagecamera.blogspot.co.uk/

Alternative Halloween

Hello Everyone!

Halloween has been and gone for another year, and for this blog post I will be talking about how I spent my night. This post on 'Halloween' is part of a #BritishBloggerSelection topic.

I don't normally celebrate Halloween as my mum and dad never thought it was 'morally right' to go trick or treating, as to them it's 'give us sweets or we'll do horrible things to you/your house'. :/ So I think during my 18 years of life I have only been trick or treating once with friends. I remember being invited to my best friends Halloween party when I was about 7/8 and my parents wouldn't let me go, I cried as I was so upset! :'( aha As a child me and my sister had a fancy dress box, full of princess dresses, and somehow we also had a scary vampire mask which terrified my mum, so that got thrown away!
In my house we even go so far as to put up this sign in the front room window. Halloween is a no go for my family!

This year however, we actually did something on Halloween night (that to my dad’s delight, avoided any trick or treaters at the door). My dad took part in a panto (for children as an alternative Halloween night) as an evil henchman, this involved acting stupid, being picked up and thrown on the ground, having a moustache and wearing women’s leggings! Yes, that's right I said WOMEN'S LEGGINGS, on my dad's legs, which are slimmer than mine! :/ Despite all of these embarrassing factors, it turned out to be a brilliant performance by all the cast.  

The story of the panto was based on Jack and the Beanstalk. Men dressed as women and women dressed as men. It was £1 entry to get in, this included free popcorn, sweets and drinks. If I'm being honest I didn't think many people would turn up, they’d be too busy actually trick or treating. Why would they come to see a group of amateurs fool around on stage!? I was totally wrong as on the first night they pulled in 370 people to watch, and then when it was extended to a second night they brought in a further 300, making the two nights total 670 people. My sister and I had seen all of the rehearsals over the weeks, seeing it all come together, as we helped out with the costumes and props which I found very fun! It was a great achievement seeing all the costumes and props I'd helped out with being used on stage. To top it all off on the last night, they congratulated everyone who had helped out (from directing, make-up, hair, costumes and props), they called them up on stage to give flowers or chocolates. Me and my sister were called up, it was such an embarrassing experience looking out, only being able to see the kids at the front due to the power of the lights. :/
Thanks to anyone who has chosen to read this post, about how I spent my 'Halloween' night. This is the first topic in the #BritishBloggerSelection and in the coming weeks I will continue to write more posts on the topics set out. :D

British Blogger Selection

Hello Everyone!

This is just a quick post to tell all of you lovely people that I have recently joined a group called #BritishBloggerSelection' along with 200+ other British Bloggers. Exciting times! This amazing idea came from Ellie Fortley (http://littlevintagecamera.blogspot.co.uk/p/britishbloggerselection.html)

If you are a British Blogger and would like to take part in this group, then all you have to do is contact Ellie and she'll add you straight away.
Contact Ellie here: littlevintagecamera@gmail.com with your blog name, blog URL, your first name and last name.

It's that easy! :D

Cute Surprise!

Hello Everyone!

This is just a short post about a cute little surprise that came through my letterbox today in the form of a card. 

I remember before I turned 17 and was able to drive I used to look in the congratulations section of the card shop. Whilst looking in this section, I used to find cute 'congratulations on passing your driving test' cards. There were some with funny puns on them (how puny.. :/) As weird as it sounds, I used to hope I'd get one of them when I pass. And that day was today!

My mum sent me this today, which was such a nice surprise to come home to! She is so cute, she is always quick to send congratulation cards for exams or even happy Easter cards. I love the thought of sending cards to people, as random as it may sound ahaha :/ 

Best Day Ever!!

Hello Everyone!

The 7th November 2013 was the day I had been dreading for 5 weeks, my practical driving test! 

My instructor allowed me to complete a mock test so that I could get an idea and feel of what an actual test would be like. It was a really weird experience as all of sudden my instructor went from having a joke and a laugh with me, to being very serious in test mode. :/ I started on the top of Portsdown hill as it is near the test centre and from there I drove around for about 40 mins, at the end of the 'test' my instructor revealed in the say way an examiner would, 'I'm glad to tell you that you have been successful in passing your test'. For this mock test I only got 3 minors, which was amazing!! This put more pressure on me for passing my test first time, also both my mum and dad did it in one attempt.

In the morning, waiting for my instructor to pick me up I was getting so nervous and feeling like I really didn't want to take my test. I felt I wasn't ready, even though I clearly was! :/ All sorts of thoughts were going through my head, 'oh no what if I fail, what do I do next!?' 'What do I tell people if I fail?' Whilst driving up to the test centre my instructor was trying to keep me calm and aware of what will happen before, during and after the test. At the test centre I was placed into a queue of about 4/5 other cars awaiting their tests, one by one we all completed a bay park and strolled into the waiting room. Looking around, everyone's faces were so scared and panicked. Not too long after, the examiners came out to collect their person. They look at your license and ask if you would like your instructor in the car with you at the briefing and at the end of the test, I said yes to both!

During my test, the examiner had me drive to Porchester to complete my manoeuvre, the dreaded parallel park! :O In my lessons it took me longer to get to grips with this, as I would either hit the curb (which would be a fail) or come in too far away from the curb. It is ok though as you do get a chance to correct it if you feel you won't go in first time, which is exactly what happened to me! I swear that I hit the curb, so I quickly moved out slightly and reversed back in. Luckily I passed that with a minor! :D Next it came to the part of the test where you have to independently follow road signs to a certain destination for 10 minutes, I was asked to follow signs to Fareham and then onto Titchfield. I quite enjoy being independent and following signs to get somewhere, it's like an achievement when you reach your destination. It was just my luck when I was told to pull over, and the examiner then told me that I was going to conduct an emergency stop when he thinks it's safe enough to do so. Only 1 in 3 tests will have to do the emergency stop, and I was that one. At this point I panicked as it had been a while since I had last practised this, how do I do this again!? :/ When he said stop with his hand held up, it took me a while to register what he meant, aha but I did abruptly stop eventually. 

On the way back to the test centre, just before I parked up, I looked into the rear view mirror and saw my instructors face and to me I thought he looked worried and a bit disappointed! However, I was wrong as when we got back and the examiner had added everything up, he uttered the words 'I'm so happy to tell you that you have passed!' AHHHHHHH I freaked, I was so happy, this was the scariest experience I had ever gone through in my life and I did it, first time!!! :D The examiner then told me that I had got 9 minors, but he was shocked I got so many as he said my standard of driving was really good and he felt really safe! Later that day I had to go to college, which was great as I could tell everyone how happy I was. 

I am now currently waiting for my license to come through the post, and then I need to do some serious saving for insurance on my dads car (Ford Fiesta Style). I also think I will complete a course called pass plus, which is £160 for 6 hours with my instructor and it could knock 25% off my insurance. With my instructor we do 3 hours of driving to Bournemouth and back and then 3 hours of driving to Brighton and back. I just can not wait to get back behind the wheel of a car again! :D

Thank you so much for reading this. I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience of the driving test, and that it becomes clear that all you really have to do is show the examiner that you are a safe and sensible driver, then you'll pass.