CRP | One week to go

One week till we leave for Florida and believe it or not, it still hasn't really sunk in what I'm doing or when I'm going.  I still have lots left to do and I haven't really begun to think about packing.  I don't usually pack until the last minute but I usually have a rough idea of what I'm taking... Not this year!  

That being said, I've crossed a few things off my to-do list: 

I've ordered my dollars.  I wasn't sure how many to take but I've ordered a few hundred to hopefully keep me going for a few weeks.  I want to get my Universal Annual Pass pretty early on but that'll end up on my bank card I think! 

I initially planned to suspend my mobile contract for 6 months as I was able to do that for Mexico.  Since EE has taken over Orange, they've got rid of that option, which isn't so great but nothing I can do.  

We received our DORMS email the other day, which is the system Disney use to allocate housing amongst other things.  You put your housing preferences in as well as your roommate requests.  I'm not sure how likely you are to get your first choice but the only thing I feel quite strongly about is not getting bunkbeds and a triple occupancy room.  Fingers crossed!

I've also started rounding up various documents that I need.  My birth certificate usually takes ages for me to find but I've got it and am keeping it in a safe place (still a chance I might lose it!) and will put it together with the other wad of paper I need to take with me. 

What's left to do?  Well, I currently have three lists on the go: to do, to buy, to pack.  Everyone around me seems quite concerned that I only have a week left to sort everything out but it's fine!  It'll all be fine (famous last words).

I have yet to buy my medical insurance.  Oh what a nightmare that has all been, so many options, plans, small prints to read.  I think we're settled on the policy to go for but just waiting to hear back from the company to answer a question.  

Print off all the hire documentation.  Disney ask you to print and complete a few documents to make your arrival easier. 

Upload documents to the DOC Onboarding website.  Again, you need to upload various documents to Disney's website (Visa, medical insurance etc).

Book airport shuttle.  Disney provide you with a discount voucher to book your shuttle to the Vist Way Welcome Center.  However, we're staying in a hotel the first night and the voucher is with Mears, who have been quite expensive in the past when I've been researching for a past trip so we may end up going with Super Shuttle instead.

Oh,and pack.  

I've got loads of time! 

A weekend away | Whitstable

As I said in my last post, we went to Kent for a weekend as part of my birthday adventure!  Kent is such a lovely part of the country and one that I had never really explored before, so I was really excited to spend the weekend there.  I also love to go to the seaside, I find it such a happy place so when we heard that Whitstable was meant to be a typical, beautiful coastal town, we jumped at the chance!

What was lovely about Whitstable was that it wasn't gaudy at all - full of lots of boutiques and individual stores where you could browse or shop for lots of goodies.  I wasn't particularly in a shopping mood but we did go into an amazing cupcake shop and, of course, bought a couple to sample!

The seafront was full of character too.  Whitstable is famous for its oysters so it's very much still a working seafront; the harbour was full of boats and the restaurants scattered along the promenade were surrounded by old oyster shells which would be put back onto the seabed to help with the oyster farming.

There was also a lovely little craft market selling homemade and unique goods and food stalls; as well as the usual fish and chips and seafood stalls.  I am not a huge fan of seafood so I stayed away from the oysters... They just don't sound appetising to me at all!  

The fact that the sun was shining topped off a lovely few hours spend in Whitstable.  There is something so relaxing about strolling along the promenade eating a cone of freshly fried chips, I love it even more when you're wrapped up in a big coat!  

Do you enjoy going to the seaside?  Have you ever been to Whitstable?

Chocolate making just for me!

One of my lovely birthday gifts was a chocolate making workshop.... To do at home! This was perfect for me as I am quite antisocial at times! I took the kit away with me to Kent where we were staying for another birthday adventure and happily spent a good couple of hours on Saturday afternoon creating chocolatey goodness!

The kit itself is beautifully presented and jam packed with everything you'll need for the experience: from the chocolate and decorations to the cookie cutters and baking paper.  There's also a massive instruction sheet which you can hang up in the kitchen to help you along the way. 

First of all, you have to melt all the chocolate: there's dark and milk...and plenty of it!  Once it's melted you start on your first creation: chocolate truffles! You make the ganache by stirring double cream into some of your melted chocolate, it's incredibly decadent and took all my self restraint not to eat it there and then. After that, it's time to practise your piping skills and pop the ganache into the fridge until later, when they're ready to be dipped and decorated. 

One of my favourite parts of the experience was making the tempered chocolate. It involved putting chocolate on your top lip to check the temperature - the chocolate moustache caused a lot of amusement and giggles!

Once your chocolate is the perfect temperature to give it a lovely, shiny finish, you can start coating fudge with chocolate and using edible transfers to decorate. The best bit is, your instructions tell you to eat the leftovers and it was delicious!

You also get to flavour your chocolate and in the kit there are rose and lemongrass waters. I love rose flavouring and have used it in cooking before but I have never thought to use lemongrass with chocolate. It's so fragrant and citrusy! After flavouring your chocolate, it's time to get creative and decorate! You can choose from white chocolate shavings, caramelised hazelnuts and strawberry chocolate curls, which all look beautiful on the chocolates.

We had so much chocolate left over (must have been very restrained and not eaten much chocolate throughout the making process!) so we made extra giant chocolate buttons, chocolate covered strawberries and blueberries and a massive slab of chocolate too! 

The whole experience was so much fun and it was great to be able to do it at home and in my own time. The kit gave you enough guidance to feel confident enough to do it alone but was not super rigid - you could be a bit creative! You make around forty chocolates which you can then package in little cellophane bags and they look so appetising.  I was so impressed with the quality of the kit and the ingredients - it all felt (and tasted) luxuriously delicious.   I would definitely recommend this experience to chocolate lovers for any occasion; you can get the kit from The Chocolate Hedgehog.

Seven Deadly Sins Tag

I spotted this tag over on Natalie's blog and thought it looked fun.  I'm probably guilty of a lot more than these seven beauty sins though! 

Greed: What’s your most inexpensive beauty item? What is the most expensive?

My most inexperience items are probably my brushes.  I can't even remember when I got them but I'm pretty sure they were standard Superdrug brushes.  I am looking into investing in a new blusher brush, I just haven't got round it to yet.  As for my most expensive item, my Urban Decay palettes probably cost the most in one go.  

Wrath: What item do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Foundation!  I love the way foundation makes my skin look when I do it properly - especially with Benefit's hello flawless foundation - but I hate the hassle of putting it on, it not being blended properly into my jawline, getting it on my clothes, washing it all off etc.  So yeah, pretty love/hate and I, more often than not, forego wearing foundation and just cover up blemishes and dark circles with a bit of concealer. 

Gluttony: What brand takes up most of your collection?

Probably Benefit.  I adore Benefit's range and I gravitate towards most of their products.  I tend to buy MAC lipsticks though and I really want to invest in another NARS blush. 

Sloth: What product do you neglect the most due to laziness?

Foundation, again.  For the aforementioned reasons! 

Pride: What product gives you the most confidence?

Probably mascara  If I were only to use one product, it'd be mascara; it's quick, easy, and makes me look awake! 

Lust: Which item is top of your beauty wish list?

Oohh a toughie!  The only thing that comes to mind is the Cinderella range at MAC but I was at work when they released it online and missed out, and when we visited MAC yesterday in Norwich, they didn't have anything either! 

Envy: Which make-up product/look is great on others but not on you?

Dark lipsticks.  I love the way dark, statement lips look but I'd never have the confidence to pull it off!  In fact, I wish I felt confident enough to wear lipstick all the time but it's something I love, but shy away from.  

Well, that was fun!

Happy Sunday y'all. 

Five ways to unwind

Is it just me or is March already an exceptionally busy and quick month?  My schedule each week has been pretty choc-a-block and at the end of the day, I climb into bed thinking "PHEW!"  

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about how busy I've become.  I'm juggling my day job, my own cottage business of tutoring, blogging, going to the gym, reading, writing, doing my photography course, sometimes I think the list feels endless.  However, I'm one of those people that likes to be on the go all the time and I struggle to to switch off and this can leave me feeling burnt out.  I've been trying to figure out how to fit in some downtime into my schedule and these are my favourite ways to relax:

1. Go to a coffee shop and read.
Going to have a coffee in a coffee shop always feels like a real treat for me for some reason.  I like to order unnecessarily complicated drinks and people watch.  I've found that reading there is also a lovely way to relax; I can't seem to justify spending my time at home reading because it seems like there is always a million things on my to-do list so going to a coffee shop for an hour or so gives me time to unwind.  I've also started taking some work to a coffee shop and although this isn't essentially switching off, it makes a sometimes tedious task seem less draining.

2. Taking a bath.
I'm still fairly new to the whole idea of taking a bath to relax.   I'm a shower girl as it's so quick and easy but I've started to take a bath on a Saturday evening (rock and roll) with a bath bomb and found I easily wile away half an hour or so, not thinking about anything in particular, which is great.  I'm definitely going to try and have more leisurely bathes!

3. Baking.
Baking, for me, has always been one of my most favourite ways to relax.  I love it when I can spend a whole afternoon baking five or six different cakes.  I put on some music and whisk, beat, and ice.  There's also the added bonus of being able to eat the cakes afterwards!

4. Take a walk.
As I've said before, I live in Suffolk which is quite rural and when I get the chance, I jump at the opportunity of being able to make the most of that.  I enjoy going for a walk, especially on a warm summer's evening, and breathing in the fresh air.  I'll often take my camera and that makes me focus on the smaller things out there in nature that we normally rush by and don't notice.  I always feel so much better after going out for a short walk and it's something I hope to be able to do a lot more of now the evenings are getting lighter.

5. Running.
When I run, I completely switch off from everything else around me and find I only focus on my (pretty laboured, let's be honest!) breathing.  It's even better when I run outside as I concentrate on my feet hitting the ground. I've never really had that before, my wind always has something whizzing around distracting me.  I'm still struggling to get back into my exercise groove after my operation and my current lifestyle mean that I can feel very unmotivated and don't want to go to the gym.  It's something else that I always feel so much better after doing though, and I need to try and remind myself of that every time I complain about having to go to the gym!

What do you do to unwind?

Benefit Make Up Lesson

I was lucky enough to receive a Benefit Make Up lesson for Christmas and since then, I have been bursting with excitement waiting for the day to arrive.  On Friday, the day finally came around and Dena and I made our way to the Benefit global flagship boutique on Carnaby Street, in London.

Benefit is a brand that I have loved since I pretty much got into make-up and I still covet their new (and old!) products so stepping into this boutique was like a little paradise.  As soon as we stepped inside, we were welcomed by the friendly Benebabes.  First up on my pampering agenda was an eyebrow arch and tint.  Although I've visited a Benefit Brow Bar many times, I'd never had my eyebrows tinted.  Tahlia, who was looking after me, was very helpful and friendly and reassured me that the eyebrow tint would just enhance and give my brows extra definition. I love the Benefit brow arch as they always take into account what you want and don't want and tell you what will make a difference.  The wax and tint was painless, quick, and really enjoyable as we were able to have a giggle with Tahlia, who was very lovely and funny and I loved the tint as well!  The difference is subtle but it really does help to define your brows.  

After that, we were taken downstairs into the Champagne Bar area.  As this was a Red Letter Day experience, we had exclusive use of this space, and I imagine it would be a great environment for an occasion where you want to have a pampering.  There were booths looking over the bar and the make up table and it had the usual 50s vibe that Benefit has going on.  I was brought over a lovely cold glass of Rosé champagne and Kara, the make up artist, chatted with me about what I wanted to have done, what make up I liked etc.

However, me being me and although I love make up, am generally clueless, I left it up to her with only minimal guidance.  I explained that I liked the smoky eye look but more on the natural than dramatic side.  Kara seemed to understand my vague instructions and got to work!  She used the products that I already owned, liked and that worked for me whilst introducing me to a few others that I wouldn't necessarily think to pick up.  

As a base, Kara used Porefessional and then Boing concealer to hide my reddish eyebrow areas!  Then, she used Hello Flawless! Foundation - a foundation that I love, it seems to agree with my combination, blemish-prone, sensitive skin.  Next up, my eyes.  the smokin' eyes palette was on my lust list for a while and I received it at Christmas but only used it a couple of times since I didn't feel entirely confident, but Kara was happy to talk me through the techniques and tips of applying the shadow.  

For my cheeks, Kara used Watt's Up to highlight my cheekbones and then Sugarbomb blush, and finally Hoola for a little contouring.  We had a chat about contouring and what would be the best thing for my lifestyle and personality, and didn't do anything that wouldn't suit me, as a person, which I think was great; instead of piling on any old thing just because it looked amazing.

Benefit isn't a brand that I tend to associate with lip products and I was pleasantly surprised with the look that Kara used.  It was just a sweep of the oldie but goodie, Benetint and followed by the Benetint balm to give the lips and extra pop of colour. 

Finally, she applied the They're Real! eyeliner (again, which I love) and a couple of sweeps of the new Roller Lash.  I love Roller Lash; it's a great every day mascara that can be built up for an evening look.  I think that I even prefer it to They're Real!

... and after!

Before...

In the experience, a giftcard was included and Kara helped me to pick the products that I would use and again, fit into my lifestyle.  She was very honest and helpful with any questions I had and was in no way pushy or forceful with a hard sell.  She filled my bag with lots of extra testers and goodies which I look forward to trying!

Overall, the day was such a perfect and unforgettable experience; the Benebabes were friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable.  I felt truly spoiled and the day has reaffirmed everything I loved about the brand in the first place.  I would not hesitate to recommend this experience and I really hope I can go back and try out the other treatments that they offer at the Carnaby Street store!  

Have you ever tried any Benefit treatments?

 

  

A day out in Cambridge

I love living in East Anglia, it's so beautiful and there is a whole wealth of towns and cities on my doorstep.  The only downside to this is that I often take it for granted and never do the 'must-do' things in each place.  Cambridge is an example of this; it's only a 45 minute drive from my house and I've only ever been for work and shopping, I've never done any of the touristy things like visiting the colleges, learning about the city etc.

We went on a guided walk of the city, booked through the tourist information centre and we had an extremely knowledgeable tour guide who filled us in on all the history, culture and anecdotes from around the city.  Having watched The Theory of Everything a couple of weeks ago, I was keen to try and spot Stephen Hawking locations!

The tour lasted for about two hours and we visited King's and Queen's College, the Eagle pub (where DNA was discovered/figured out!), the last British hangman's house and more.  I really enjoyed seeing more than the shops like I usually do when I go to Cambridge.

We were fortunate to have a lovely, wintery, summer's day and I was looking forward to practise what I had learnt from the photography course but I didn't take into the white balance and ended up with a lot of awfully blue tinged photos!  It's a learning process I guess, though!

I had such a lovely day out, I can't wait to go back again... maybe I'll give punting a go in the summer (although we can probably guess where I will end up...)

Have you ever visited Cambridge?

Sunday stroll

Last Sunday, Dena and I decided to go for a wintery walk to blow away the cobwebs.  I hadn't really ventured out much since my operation and it was considerably warmer than the previous few days, so I donned my wellies, grabbed my camera and off we went.  

It was very muddy and all the trees are very much still bare but as the woods are just behind my house, it's nice to be able to see it change throughout the seasons.  

I'm trying to get to grips with my camera and my course suggested thinking outside the box for creativity so I'm trying to take pictures of things that my eye is immediately drawn to.  Not sure how it's working out, but I'll give it a go!

I'll definitely be going out for a winter walk again soon as I felt so much better and invigorated afterwards. A great way to banish the winter blues!

The Liebster Award

As a novice and fairly nervous blogger, it was so lovely to receive a nomination for the Liebster Award from Emma.  The Award is a great way to be introduced to new or small bloggers (that's to say, those with under 200 followers) and just through this nomination, I've discovered so many new blogs that I have followed and will be reading.  

The rules for this award are simple: answer the questions given by the person you nominated, write your own 11 questions to ask your 11 nominees, all of whom must have less than 200 followers.  Such a lovely and positive thing to do and share.  

Here are Emma's questions: 

What tv show would you want to go on?
Do I have go alone?  If I had to go on a TV show solo, I think it'd pick something cooking related - perhaps Masterchef!  I'm not a great cook but I'd love it to give it a go and learn so much.  If I can be part of a team, it'd have to be Million Pound Drop with Dena.  Pretty sure we'd ace it, to be honest.

Favourite villain?

Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter series.  She is so crazy and horrible that she's bad-ass.  I think I just love how bonkers she is! 

What is your ideal bedroom style?

I'd love a large, airy bedroom with French doors that opened out onto a beach.  Furniture wise, I'd pick out white washed drawers etc, lots of large, vintage-style mirrors and a huge bed with an unnecessary amount of cushions.  I'd want that by-the-sea feel! 

If you could be told your future would you want to know?

No.  I'm a firm believer of what is meant to happen will happen.  I  believe that we have a path set out for us and it wouldn't be right to find out what's in store.  I think the future is terrifying at times but it's meant to be like that. 

Has your dream job changed from when you were little?

Yes!  Especially since I'm not actually sure what my dream job is right now.  I'm currently in the middle of a job-related crisis!  When I was younger, I wanted to be a flight attendant - a job I'm sure I'd love now if it wasn't for my fear of flying! 

What is an unpopular opinion of yours?

An unpopular opinion that I hold is that I think young adult fiction is just as good as "proper" literature.  YA fiction deals with issues and themes in an honest way that shouldn't be overlooked.  There are great YA novels out that dealing with anorexia, transgender, illness, bereavement, as well as love, friendship, hope in times of adversity and more.  It brings often inaccessible but real issues to the forefront of people's minds and that is never, in my opinion, a bad thing. 

What hair styling tool can you live without?

I'm really lazy when it comes to my hair, I tend to just wash and go.  I'll blow dry my hair if it's particularly cold outside and perhaps straighten it if I'm going out (which doesn't happen very often!).  The only thing I couldn't live without is my hairbrush. 

Favourite part about blogging?

My favourite part about blogging is that you have your own little space on the Internet where you can be yourself and say what you want.  I also like discovering new blogs that keep me entertained, informed, or introduce to me to new things. 

Who is your spirit animal?  Or someone who inspires you?

Jennifer Lawrence. I simply adore her and her attitude to life.  She seems so down-to-earth, clumsy, hilarious and talented.  She hasn't changed who she is and that really inspires me. 

What is your pet peeve?
Maybe I'd be better saying what isn't my pet peeve.  I'm quite a short tempered person, with an extremely good poker face.  Please see this Buzzfeed list for more info. 

How do you deal with spiders?

Erm... I really don't.  I'm a massive chicken so if I come across a spider, I have to find someone (read: Dena) else to take it out.  I hate them being killed but I don't like them so humanely removing them from my vicinity!  

My eleven questions to be answered by my beautiful nominees:

1. Where do you feel most relaxed?

2. What's your favourite song?

3. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

4. Who do you tell your secrets to?

5. If you had to give one piece of advice to the rest of the world, what would it be?

6. Did you like school?

7. Half empty or half full?

8. What's your favourite kind of blog post and why?

9. What's your guilty pleasure?

10. Have you ever stolen anything?

11. Do you believe in aliens?

And now for my nominees:

Em

Laura

Rachel

Joanne

Danny

Dena

Levi

Ciara

Yaya

Rachel

Abigail

I'm always on the lookout for new blogs to read - please send me your links!

Disneyland Paris 2015 part 1

One cold weekend in January, seven of us piled into our purpose bought people carrier and journeyed to Disneyland, Paris!  It was my nephew's first time at Disney - he's 5 - and it was great to see someone enjoying it all with brand new eyes!  As for me, I don't need asking twice to go to Disney and I enjoyed it as much as always.  

We stayed in the Hotel Cheyenne this time; I'd never stayed in that hotel before and it offered a pretty comfortable stay for a value resort.  I think I preferred the Cheyenne slightly more than the Hotel Santa Fe, only because I adore the Cheyenne's Wild West theming!  

I thought I'd share a few of my photos from our stay!

I love le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant (or better known as Sleeping Beauty's Castle!) in Paris!  I'm struggling to decide if I like this one or Cinderella's Castle more in WDW! 

My favourite ride at Disney and I would even dare to say that Big Thunder Mountain in Paris is the best version (although it was closed when we visited Disneyland in Anaheim). 

Walt Disney Studios Park has great theming, from the old vintage Hollywood to the new Ratatouille Parisian area.  We didn't manage to go to the new Ratatouille attraction.... next time! 

 We managed to get a good spot for the parade - one of the perks of visiting during the cold, low season!  The Disney   Parades just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Have you ever visited Disneyland Paris?

Five things I'm looking forward to : take two.

I really enjoyed writing my last "Five things I'm looking forward to" post, even if it was ages ago, as it made me realise I have so many positive and exciting things coming my way and not to wish my time away!  Here we have another five things I'm excited for in the upcoming weeks:

1.  Disneyland Paris
When this post goes live, I'll probably be on my way to Disneyland, Paris!  The Paris Disney parks were the first ones I ever visited and they'll always hold a special place in my heart.  I last went in June 2013 and had such a fantastic time and I'm hoping it'll be just as magical this time round.  There's seven of us going and it'll be the first time my five year old nephew will have visited Disney.  It'll be a completely different trip to what I'm used to as I'm usually pretty organised when it comes to knowing which rides to hit etc but this time, I'm going to go with the flow and enjoy seeing the magic through a small child's eyes.  I do really want to meet Anna and Elsa though!


2.  Benefit Make Up Lesson
I love buying high end make up; I love how luxurious it feels and how it's a real treat when I go and buy it.  However, I'm pretty rubbish at applying it; I never really know what I'm doing and I don't think I get the most of out my products.  Luckily for me, I got given a Red Letter Day experience of a Benefit Make Up Lesson at the Carnaby Street store for Christmas!  This combined with an overnight stay in London in a beautiful hotel and eating Mexican food means it's set to be a pretty special couple of days! I can't wait!


3.  Swan Lake ballet
A couple of days before heading to London for my make up lesson, I'm heading up the road to watch the Swan Lake ballet in Norwich.  I've never seen any ballets but when Dena said she wanted to go, I got us tickets.  I'm sure I'll get dance envy watching the amazing ballerinas but it'll be so nice to do something different.  I'm sure a visit to Jamie's Italian will be on the cards too.


4.  Spring
Okay, so it's probably still a long way off but I'm really not a fan of this wintery weather (and it's not even that cold!).  I hate having to defrost my car in the morning, not being able to move in my coat because I'm wearing so many layers and having permanently cold fingers and toes.  I'm looking forward to the lighter mornings and seeing everything looking fresh, green, and new again.  I've probably just got to get through a couple of spells of snow first though, right?


5.  Eating pizza.
This may seem like a strange one but I haven't eaten a slice of pizza for over a year.  It's not even that pizza is my favourite food  but my gallstones have stopped me eating anything naughty really and sometimes all you really, really want to do is eat pizza.  My operation to have my gallbladder removed is imminent and once I've recovered from surgery, I'm going to eat all the naughty things I've deprived myself of, without feeling guilty.  Hurrah!

2015: A year of creativity

I've always been one of those people who has huge creative urges but have never been able to find an outlet that's right for me.  I wish I felt confident enough to pick up paintbrush, write a short story or compose a song.  I admire those who can do all of the aforementioned creative practices and to be honest, I don't want to undermine their amazing talents by me thinking I could even have a go!  

However, I do believe art in all of its incarnations should be accessible to all so I'm all for anything that let's me think that I can be creative and express myself in a way that isn't a rant on Twitter!

I received some lovely gifts for Christmas that will me to get into my creative groove and I thought I'd share them with you.  

Wreck This Journal - Wreck This Journal is a great way to introduce yourself to think outside the box when it comes to journalling.  It's less focused on detailing everything thought and emotion you have, like you would in a traditional journal, but offers you amazingly creative ways to destroy the journal.  Some of the suggestions made me laugh out loud... I'm looking forward to mailing the journal to myself! 

104 things to photograph - This album is your own personal photo scavenger hunt!  The prompts range from obvious, day to day items to more obscure, challenging ideas.  I'm going to try and think outside the box when I'm filling up this album and it'll be super rewarding to take photos of things I would never usually consider.

My Future Listography - I love, love, love the Listography books and could not decide which one I wanted!  I love making lists and the book allows you to document all your future to-do lists ranging from travel, education, to personal aspirations.  This journal is beautifully illustrated and has given me loads of ideas for the future too.  I'm eyeing up the Literature Listography book next!

Walt Disney World Journal - My WDW journal wasn't a Christmas gift but a post-WDW-Orlando airport gift!  I don't write in this journal as much as I should but I'm reserving it for special journalling occasions!  

Fujifilm Instax mini 8 - My Instax is an instant camera which is something I've yearned for since my Spice Girls polaroid days.  It prints credit card sized photos and I love the soft, vintage look of instant pictures.  The films are kind of expensive so I know I'll only use this on extra special occasions but that means I know I will take extra care with every picture I take.  

What do you do to get the creative juices flowing?   

New Year, new me....? Probably not!

Image source

Ah, it's coming to that time of of year when we all reflect on what went well and what didn't go so well in 2014. I can't actually believe we are here!  2014 has flown by, with lots of exciting changes, occasions, happy memories as well as a few hairier moments. 

As I look forward to 2015, I can't believe I am where I am! I'm not going to lie, I've worked really hard to get myself to this position and of course, there's a few things I'd like to change but I'm not going to be making any life changing resolutions this year. I know I'll never stick to them and we're always so hard on ourselves after Christmas, putting ourselves down, saying we've got to do this or stop doing that and I want to start next year as positively as I can. That being said, I am going to make a few "resolutions", here they are: 

1. Read/listen to more French and Spanish. 

I've recently started giving private tuition of French and Spanish and it's made me realise how much I miss being absorbed in the language. My aim is to read at least ten minutes a day of both languages. I received a copy of my favourite book, The Catcher In The Rye, in Spanish for Christmas so that should definitely help with this and I'm going to aim to read a couple of newspaper stories in French. It can only be beneficial for keeping my languages up and hopefully will be something I enjoy! 

2. Drink more water! 

This is pretty much an annual resolution and involves quite a lot of effort on my part. I know I don't drink enough and its started to affect my well being lately, I suffer from headaches, lethargy and stomach problems. Water might not be the answer but it will definitely help. It should help keep me at my Slimming World target weight too.

3.  Save, save, save!
Exactly what it says on the tin really.  Getting to the USA isn't cheap and I need to pay for medical insurance and what not, so I simply need to save money.  Unfortunately, my job isn't very well paid at all so I will need to cut back on any unnecessary extras.  It's all for a good cause though!

Fingers crossed I will be able to stick to these resolutions!

Here's to a happy and healthy 2015! 

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Festive afternoon tea at The Ritz

If you have read any of my posts before, you may know that afternoon tea is one of my favourite meals.  When Dena and I came across The Ritz's festive afternoon tea menu way back in May this year, we decided to try and get a table.  It's incredibly hard to get a table for afternoon tea at The Ritz - hence our booking way back when we were still in Mexico ! 

To be honest, I'd half forgotten about the reservation until recently but when I did remember, my excitement levels went through the roof! I'd never been to The Ritz before but the decadent opulence is something that has always appealed to me and visiting London is always something I enjoy doing. 

The Ritz, of course, welcomed us with twinkling lights and beautifully festive decoration inside and outside. I love the classic look of their decorations, rich reds and golds, for me, a truly timeless Christmas time look. We were a little bit early for our reservation so we took a quick stroll through a very winters and chilly Green Park to Buckingham Palace, made a wish in the fountain, and walked back. To be honest, being in central London at this time of year really does bring out the most festive in me! 

We had a quick drink in the bar before our afternoon tea, and I definitely want to go back for a cocktail or two. As soon as you step into the bar, you're transported to the 1920s, jazz music in the background, and I imagined myself sitting there with a cocktail in a sequinned flapper dress. I love that era! Unfortunately for us, we had a round of soft drinks and nibbles before heading through to Palm Court for our tea, 

The Palm Court was also beautifully decked out and we were shown to our table.  I felt a little overwhelmed by the formality of it all (maybe I'm more of a spit and sawdust kinda girl) but it's quite easy to relax when you're seated. We were served out glass of champagne and our tea order was taken (Ritz Royal English for me and the Christmas blend for Dena). 

When the pastries and sandwiches arrived, I was in heaven! An endless supply of delicious cakes and sandwiches, what more could a girl want? We had macarons, chocolate sponge, a caramelly chocolate dome and a fruit custard tart (I'm sure they had fancier names). All were heavenly! Of course, there were fruit and plain scones, served with lashings of clotted cream and strawberry jam. If that wasn't enough cake, a waiter brought round slices of Christmas cake, Bakewell slice and warm mince pies! 

I cannot explain how much I enjoyed the whole experience.  My only disappointment was that I couldn't eat more. The Ritz provides an excellent and luxurious five star hospitality - staying on our of their rooms will definitely be on my bucket list! 

What made it so special for me was the festive atmosphere, I think our afternoon there was what really got me into the Christmas spirit! 

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