Friday 29 May 2015

Niceness Is Important


Stop the world, I want to get off. I've had enough of people's behaviour to others.

I have a friend at work who is being very brave next week and is shaving off her all hair to raise money for 'Look Good Feel Better' (a charity which supports women with cancer). I was on my morning break today and there was two other colleagues sat with me and we were discussing this and one of them says "Oh, she is only doing it for attention." 

What?! NO!! Nononono. I felt like saying to her, "Do I see YOU offering to do such a courageous thing? Why can't you just support her for goodness sake!!"

Do you see my point? What has happened to being kind to your fellow humans? It's certainly not something that I see a lot of these days. Especially in my job, but if I start talking about that, this post will be even longer and wafflier than it will be!

Niceness is one of the most important traits a person can have. Being a Nice Person isn't just about general kindness. To me, the nicest of people are the ones who go out of their way to help you, they don't moan about little things 24/7 and they are not two-faced.

The nicer you are, the more respect you gain from society and best of all, it doesn't cost a thing to be kind and polite! Yes, that's right, IT'S COMPLETELY FREE!! Very wow. Much shock. 

Sadly though, the world is full of Not-Nice People. Some people may think that they are one of the 'Nice' ones but then they are un-necessarily mean about another person behind their backs or they are a Nice Person during their daily lives but then they go online and become a Heinous Troll or one of those Drama-Llamas who like to b*tch about people on Facebook, which then causes mayhem because everyone is on someone's side and all the opinions are said and ARGH DRAMA!!

It is tempting to stoop down to their level and react whenever they are being unkind but where does that get you? The answer is Nowhere. Luckily, all the Nice People worked out long ago that the Not-Nice People are only behaving the way the do because they are sad about something on the inside and the only way they known how to deal with it is to be a moron. 

If everyone just stopped thinking about themselves all the time and started thinking about others for a change, then the world would be a nicer place to live. 


Thank you for taking 5 minutes to read my little rambley rant and I hope you have a FAB weekend!

Before you go, please sponsor my friend by clicking HERE.

Monday 25 May 2015

My Favourite Musicals

Let's get one thing straight. I freakin' love musicals. A lot. I love how they make me all happy and dancey inside and I do believe that life in general would be a whole lot more fun if we all just broke out into song every now and then! So, in no particular order, here is a list of my all time favourites. 

The Sound of Music
My first musical! I remember watching the VHS of this so much that it eventually wore out and it had to be replaced, although it probably didn't help that angry!Capt. Von Trapp used to scare the crap out of me when I was little so I always used to forward through those scenes....
One of my dreams is to go to Austria and do 'The Sound of Music' Tour in Salzburg....and eat lots of authentic strudel and do some yodelling. 

♫ Dirty Dancing
How could anyone not like 'Dirty Dancing'? I love the 60's music and Patrick Swayze is such a babe in it. I wish I could dance like the people in this film. 

♫ Hairspray
"Right now, as we speak, your daughter has entered a hotbed of moral... turpentine." - Best line in the film IMO.

The clothes! Hats off the the costume dept. for 'Hairspray'! I wish I had a floofy dress like the ones they wear in this. The soundtrack to this film happens to me one of my absolute favourites and I love the fact that 'You Can't Stop the Beat' was referred to as 'You Can't Stop to Breathe' by the cast because it's such a fast song.

♫ Mamma Mia
I can't decide what I love the mostest about 'Mammia Mia'. Is the cast? The soundtrack? The filming locations? I think I'll just mash them all together and just say that I ❤︎ it all. I always watch this film in the middle of Winter because it just screams "SUMMER" all over it. My favourite memory of watching this, is going to the cinema with Michelle and her sister and not expecting the end credits and almost dying from laughter. Oh, and of course I want to visit the Greek islands where a lots of the film was shot.

♫ Grease
Grease is the word. I caught the end of this last night on Sky Greats, and it inspired me to write this post. Like 'Hairspray', I love the clothing in this. This is the sort of film that is a must for a girlie night in. 

♫ Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
Even though this is known as the 'Children's Musical', it has a very un-child friendly line in one of the songs:
"...They next attacked a passing goat, soon the wretched creature was no more, they dipped his coat in blood and guts and gore." 
Err...yes. Despite this, it happens to be one of my go-to movie soundtracks. Oh, and if you must know, I have memorised the names of Jacob's sons, just in case I ever get asked in a quiz or something. 

♫ High School Musical 1 & 2
But not HSM3. That was awful.
I have an un-ironic appreciation for these films. When they were released, I was way over the age of the target audience but I watched them all the same as I have the mental age of a 12 year old.
FACT: Whenever Michelle and I are in a restaurant together and there is crème brûlée on the menu, we always say it as Zeke does. Once, we did it in front of my parents and they thought we had gone totally bonkers. 

Other musicals that didn't quite make the list are, 'Les Mis' and 'The Phantom of the Opera' because I haven't watched them enough times to be obsessed with them.

What is your favourite musical and why? 


Friday 22 May 2015

Friday Favourites #3

IT'S THE RETURN OF 'FRIDAY FAVOURITES'!! YAY! When did I post my last one? April??? APRIL??? I guess since then I haven't had anything 'favourite' to talk about....anyways, on with the post.

❤︎ Summer is on it's way! Woopwoop!! I'm really liking the daylight when I have to be up at stupid o'clock for work. Although, I'm not liking so much going to bed when the sun is still up.

❤︎ Receiving surprise treats in the post from Boots. Every so often, they send out gifts to their advantage card customers (I had something from them last month too - I reviewed it here) and today when I got home from work, there was a box waiting for me. I'm not going to lie, I shrieked rather loudly with excitement when I saw it. Good thing I was home alone at the time.... This hand cream smells divine! I have yet to try it out, but when I do, I shall report back.


❤︎ On Wednesday, I finally decided to teach myself coding [html/css] *coughs*nerd*coughs*. I've known basic HTML for a fair few years now as I used to dabble in making my own websites with Geocities (rip and no, I can't remember what they were about!) and tweaking various Tumblr themes but CSS has always been gobbledegook to me. The course I'm doing is on CodeAcademy and it's really well explained. I think I've overloaded my brian with too much information, as it's got to a complicated part and I'm a bit confused! I'm going to persevere with it though.

❤︎ Pinterest. I've really gotten into this in the past couple of weeks. When I'm bored on my breaks at work (usually this happens quite often), I pop onto the Pinterest app and have a peruse. This is my favourite from today:


❤︎ The Benefit 'Roller Lash' mascara. To be honest, I only bought this because it had great reviews from two of my favourite YouTubers [Zoella and SprinkleofGlitter] and I love trying out new things. I don't normally buy Benefit but because I'm a mascara freak, I had to buy this and I think it's amazing. I'm not going to rave on too much about it today because I want to do a proper review...but I loves it. A lot.


Have a good Bank Holiday weekend everyone! (If you are the UK that is. Do other countries celebrate the Spring Bank Holiday?? LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO. Plz.)

Toodles xx

Tuesday 19 May 2015

The British Tag


I saw this tag on Dorkface, so I thought I'd do it! (I'm bored, ok?)

1. How many cups of tea do you have a day? How many sugars?
Tea? BLECH! I prefer coffee, thankyouverymuchly.

2. Favourite part of your roast?
Yorkshire puddding. Closely followed by roast potatoes. Oh, and gravy is essential.

3. Favourite dunking biscuit?
All the biscuits?

4. Favourite quintessentially British pastime?
Queuing. I get irrationally angry when people can't queue in an orderly fashion.

5. Favourite word?
Can't think of a particular favourite but I do like 'crumpet'.

6. Cockney rhyme slang?
Apple and pears? (stairs)

7. Favourite sweet?
Rhubarb and Custard boiled sweets.

8. What would your pub be called?
'The Laughing Giraffe'.

9. No.1 British person?
I can't pick one! There are too many!

10. Favourite shop / Restaurant?
Shop - ASOS. Restaurant - Jamie's Italian.

11. What British song pops into your head?
Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel. Purely because I just heard it on Spotify and because Solsbury Hill is actually located in Bath. FACT!

12. Marmite?
YUM. Not too much though as it's quite a strong flavour.

Monday 18 May 2015

Vintage Find

On Sunday I was at my Granny's house, which we are slo-o-o-o-wly having to clear out in order to sell, and I found a vintage suitcase sat on top of a wardrobe. I couldn't resist snaffling it for myself. It was extremely dusty when I found it, so I wiped it down with a wet dish-cloth and when I got home again, I gave it a bit of a polish. It's definitely been well used because it is quite scratched (and, inexplicably, got a few paint marks on it!) but I really like it. It comes with it's original keys too.



I've looked up 'Globetrotter' online, and they're a company that dates back to 1897. Brand new suitcases could cost you almost £1000! *faints* But these particular ones are selling for about £20 on EBay. Not that I'm going to sell it though. I'd like to think that either my Gran or my Grampy took this to various countries with them. Possibly on a train. I now have a sudden desire to go on a long train journey through Europe, taking only what I can fit in this suitcase....

What would you do/where would you go with vintage luggage?

Saturday 16 May 2015

Lush Haul


Ahhhh...Lush. I can't be the only one who goes into there for one thing and ends up with five, can I? Last Friday, after my walk through the park (check out the post about that here), I went into the Holy Land. All I needed was a new bottle of conditioner and, as you can see, I ended up spending more money than I meant to. Whoopsies.

1. Veganese Hair Conditioner - £14.25/500g
I think I may have mentioned before how vain I am about my hair. It's taken me years to find a shampoo and conditioner that doesn't weigh it down, and this is the conditioner. Yes, it's pricey, but you don't need to use a lot & the bottle lasts for aaaages. It's chock full of lovely smelling ingredients like lemon juice and lavender, and it also contains seaweed (well, agar agar gel), which is what makes your so hair soft. 
2. Flying Fox Shower Gel - £4.95/100g
Another favourite of mine, but I don't get it very often. If you don't like strong floral scents, then you probably won't like this one because it smells extremely jasminey and to be honest with you, I wasn't too sure about it at first either, but I've definitely grown to like it. This shower gel also has honey as one of its ingredients, which makes it super moisturising - good for the winter months when the cold weather makes your skin really dry and yicky!
3. Dreamtime Luxury Bath Melt - £3.35
New product for me! I've never used a Lush bath melt before but when I read the description of this, I thought "hey! I should give this a go!" This contains plenty of sleep-inducing ingredients, such as lavender and camomile, which are supposed to help you on the way to the Land of Nod. I am one of those people who no matter how tired I out of bed, as soon as my head touches the pillow, I become wide awake. If this can help me catch some 'zzzzzz's', I will be eternally grateful! It also contains ginger, which soothes tired muscles - something I need when I've been on my feet after a super busy day!
4. May Day Bath Bomb - £2.95
Something else new for me. I've obviously bought bath bombs before in Lush, but I think this one is a new product and all the proceeds made by them selling this goes to various animal cruelty charities, which is the reason I bought it (and of course it smells lovely too!). Its three main scents and their properties are: fennel oil (cleansing and brightening), rosewood oil (antiseptic) and bergamot oil (uplifting and cleansing). Also, someone left a review for this on lush.co.uk and it has a hidden surprise when it's finished fizzing away! I'm looking forward to that!

I also bought this, You've Been Mangoed Luxury Bath Melt - £3.35, which I couldn't resist using before writing this post. It certainly lives up to its name. I have been well and truly mangoed. It made my skin so so soft, which is probably due to the mix of cocoa, avocado and mango butters, which give your skin a drink and help to soften and moisture it as well. I could definitely still smell mango on my skin the next day!


Friday 15 May 2015

Livejournal Memories: Part Three


....doodoodoo come on let's do the conga....



WELCOME BACK MES PETITES!!! I promise you that this is the last part of 'Livejournal Memories' and normal service will resume next week. I wonder how many followers/readers I've lost this week...heigh. ho.

If you are new to this blog, I am reliving my past via my old Livejournal. Here are the other parts if you want to read them: One | Two.

On we go...

13th April 2007

I am fed up to the back teeth with *** ****. If she carries on, a bitchslapping will ensue and it will not be pretty.

Ooooh I'm SO VERY scared of me.


14th May 2007

Shelle and I are going to see Bath Rugby v Clearmont Auverne on Saturday. Tis the final of the European Challenge Cup at the Stoop [London area] and we are travelling up on a coach organised by the club. Should be jolly good fun. 

"jolly good fun"

22nd May 2007


'Get Directions'
Type in 'America' and 'France'
Look at No. 28

hahahahahahahahaha

Is this still a thing?? No. It's not. *sad face* I can't even remember what was so hilarious about it. If anyone does, please let me know in the comments below!

18th July 2007

The countdown has begun!
3 days until 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' is released! 
Shelle and I are going to the midnight opening at Waterstones to get it :D. We have also decided to pass the time before joining the queue by seeing 'Hairspray' at the Odeon. Also, I have conveniently got the day off work on Saturday. Hahaha.


Hairspray and Harry Potter in one night!! I like the fact that I got a day off work, just so I could read the book. Clearly I got my priorities right back then.

21st July 2007

It took me 6 hrs 12 minutes, but I finally finished Harry Potter. 
Last night was great. Shelle met me at 7pm and we went to eat dinner at Tilley's. Then we went to see Hairspray [which is amazing] to pass the time. At 11pm, we joined the queue. Got shouted at by drunks. Randomly got chatted up by this guy who was talking to his mates in front of us. I annoyed Shelle by doing a countdown at 11.50pm.
Didn't get home again until gone 1am.

I remember when saying how long it took to read a new HP was a thing! OMG the countdown. "10 minutes to go!" "9 minutes to go!" "8 minutes!" 

5th November 2008 - I did not post at all from July '07 to November '08

I can't believe that it has been over a year since I last updated! It's gone by super quick. At first, I didn't post because I couldn't be bothered, but recently, I have wanted to - however my laptop decided to be ghey. 
It seems to have a dislike for ElJay because whenever I try to do something, it goes *ALERTALERTBLUESCREENBLUESCREENCRASHCRASHREBOOTREBOOT!!!* so that means that I have to go on the main computer. I think the laptop is on it's last legs anyway. It thinks that 50% of battery life left = LOW BATTERY!! CONNECT TO MAINS!!


'Twas my 23rd birthday last weekend. Today, my gran asked me if I felt 23 and I can honestly say that I don't. However, it's scary to think that in 2 years time I will be 25 and in 7 years time, I will be 30 :-|


ElJay = LiveJournal BTW. 
"in 7 years time, I will be 30." *cries hysterically* 

The 'Blue Screen of Death'


So. That's that. I hope you enjoyed it. Probably not, but I had some "jolly good fun" writing this so that's all that matters.

See you soon!!






Thursday 14 May 2015

The A to Z of Me

Howdy-do everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely week. FRIDAY IS ALMOST UPON US! woopwoop!!

I was perusing (I love that word, don't you?) some blogs t'other day and I stumbled across the 'A to Z of Me' tag on http://amylaurenxo.blogspot.co.uk, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Age: 29. 
Bed size: Ikea sized double.
Chore you hate: Cleaning.
Dogs: King Charles Spaniels.  
Essential start to the day: Eating breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day and the foods that are traditionally consumed at breakfast-time can be eaten at any time of the day or night, so it's the most versatile meal. Cereal at 2.30pm? Why not? A full English at 7pm? HECK YEAH! Restaurants that offer an 'All Day Breakfast' are my favourite. And now I really want some pancakes. Great.
Favourite colour: Purple. 
Gold or Silver: Silver but I am developing a rose gold obsession.
Height: 6 ft. 
Instruments you can play: A little bit of piano. (a very little bit!)
Job title: Sales Assistant.
Kids: None.
Live: Bath, England
Mum's name: Joanna. 
Nickname: Clarey or Clare-Bear.
Oldest friend: Julia. We've known each other since we were 4 years old.
Pet peeve: Ignorance
Quote from a movie: "Do we know.....Mo?" 
Right or left handed: Right.
Siblings: None. 
Time you wake up: It depends on what time I'm starting work or if it's my day off. My sleep schedule is absolutely non-existent.
Unrequited love: is the worst. 
Vegetables you dislike: Red cabbage - BLECH
What makes you late: I am very rarely late for things, in fact, I am always awkwardly early. 
X-rays you've had: Teeth and left knee.
Yummy food you make: Cake.
Zoo animal: Giraffe. Obvs. 


Wednesday 13 May 2015

Livejournal Memories: Part Two


HELLO AGAIN!! Welcome back to my mini-series called 'Livejournal Memories'. In 'Part One', we looked at my profile back in 2007 (I'm still laughing over how I loved doing the conga). Now we shall see what was going on in my life back then. Oh, I am going to asterisk out certain names mentioned, just in case they ever read this.

I'm not going to share all 35 entries with you because some are ridiculously inane. 

21st January 2007
I am currently two days in on my two and a half weeks holiday....and I am already bored BUT, this time next week, I shall be in Disneyland :D. Yay. 

In fact, I shall be quite busy next week.
Monday : District meeting [Guides]
Tuesday : Wagamama's with work people
Wednesday : Out with Shelle as usual
Thursday : Hair appointment & Guides [must also get my Euro's and last minute things sometime today!]
Friday : NOTHING. I will vegetate all day :)
Saturday : Rugby
Sunday : Up early as the flight is at 8.40am and we have to be at Bristol airport at least 2 and 1/2hrs beforehand.

Wow. Thrilling.


16th February 2007
Argh. I am exhausted. And I have work tomorrow morning at 8am. And after work, it's the party. And I have to work on Sunday. I feel sleepy just thinking about it. 

Today was one of the best days I have had in awhile :)
1. Twas my half day at work [8-1]. 
2. **** and I were playing charades in the corner, fully aware that ***** [evil lady] was in the building and could come and visit us at any time and catch us not working and shout at us.
3. A polo made me hyper + run round so much that **** was worried about me *giggles*
4. Had lunch with Shelle at Cafe Uno. The half a bottle of wine made me slightly drunk. Oh well.
5. PRE-ORDERED HARRY POTTER IN WATERSTONES! THEY ARE DOING A MIDNIGHT RELEASE! YAY! [Me? Dork much?]

Firstly, what party was this?? Secondly, a single polo made me hyper?? Thirdly, I was such a lightweight back then. Fourthly, HARRY POTTER NERD ALERT!!! MIDNIGHT RELEASE!! 

19th February 2007
Well. Cor blimey and shiver me timbers! Watched Jane Eyre 2006 aujourd'hui. Phwoar. Mr Rochester. 

Ooooh Mock the Week. Yay. <3



Please note the random French and the "Phwoar". *sighs* 

PHWOAR INDEED! *swoons*


24th February 2007
I drank a whole bottle of wine last night. Whoops. That is the consequence of having a shit week. Oh yes.

But today is the rugby. Bath v Saracens and then England v Ireland.

#drunkard


Part Three (the last part. *hears everyone cheering*) of this cringe fest will be coming to a computer near you on Friday! YAY.

Monday 11 May 2015

Livejournal Memories: Part One


Way way back in the olden days of the internet (2006), I had a Livejournal account where I basically wrote rubbish for a couple of years. I must have deleted some of the earliest entries because the only existing ones are from 2007-2008.

On a related note, Livejournal was not in fact my first attempt at blogging. Does anyone else remember a website called Diary-X?? It's such a shame (not really, if you think my LJ is cringe-worthy, D-X would be a whole lot worse) that the website crashed and everything got deleted due to some fool at the Diary-X servers not backing everyones pages up on a hard-drive. No really, that is what happened. Idiots.

Let's get back to my journey down memory lane. I think I'm going to split this (painful) look back into my blogging history into three parts:
  1. My Livejournal profile.
  2. Part-one of old posts.
  3. Part-two of old posts.

The Profile

This is full of LOL! 
"MSN Messenger" "GHD Hair Straighteners" "The male dancers on Strictly Come Dancing" "Will Scarlett" (to be fair though, Harry Lloyd was such a babe) and my absolute favourite thing that apparently I loved back in 2007 was "Doing the Conga". WHaaaaatttTT???

HA!! Nothing changes... Also, hello apostrophe in "emo's"! 2007Me did not proof read at all.

Random Bits
I get the giggles over the slightest and random things. I always have a song in my head. I get excited very easily. I have a bad habit of mis-reading things. I speak a language called Clareish; it includes a mixture of French with words like "Pffft" "Nung" "Groovy" "Fabulous". I have FanGirlish tendencies.
[I tried to screenshot this bit but it wouldn't fit on here so I gave up and cried]

ALL STILL VERY TRUE!! Although I have toned down the Clareish somewhat.

I'm going to end Part-One with a lovely photo of Harry Lloyd as 'Will Scarlet' from Robin Hood. Goodnight!

NUNG. 


Friday 8 May 2015

A Walk in the Park




"Wholesome exercise, in the free air, under the wide sky, is the best medicine for body and spirit."

I had a rather poopy day yesterday, so today I took advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining and I decided to walk into town via the Royal Victoria Park. Sometimes all you need to feel better with yourself is fresh air and a bit of retail therapy.
The entrance to the Botanical Gardens
A rather gnarled looking tree




I stumbled across an 'edible garden' made by the Bath WI and this Union Jack bench and bath tub filled with greenery was part of it.

This tree is going to give me nightmares tonight. 
A view of Bath

The Royal Crescent
I hope that you all have had a good day today and that you had a chance to get some clean and fresh air.

See you soon xx



Wednesday 6 May 2015

Facts About Me #2

*clicketh here for 'FAM #1'*

 photo fambanner_zpse3wljpg1.jpg

  • I am an only child.
  • I am three-quarters English, one-quarter Polish (my Grandad came to England during WWII). If we want to go into more detail, in the 'English' part of me, I am two-thirds West Country and one-third Northern because the Polish Grandad married my Granny M., who came from a part of Lancashire called the Saddleworth Moors. 
  • I can sing the 'Haribo' advert song (you know the one! "Kid's and Grown-Up's love it so, the happy world of Haribo!") in English, French and German. I am just so cool. *coughs*
  • I volunteer with the Girl Guides every Thursday night.
  • I love Harry Potter. I was one of those hardcore fans that went to the midnight releases of the books 'Half-Blood Prince' and 'Deathly Hallows' and I saw each film at the cinema about a billionty times. *sighs* I miss those days...

Monday 4 May 2015

Oh, HEY everyone!

I've been a busy little bee [bzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzz] on here this afternoon!!

First of all, I've joined Bloglovin' (points to button on the right of the screen) so follow me. Plz. Oh, and, HAI! To those who have already done so. 

I've also finally written an 'about me' page (gesticulates vaguely to the right again) or alternatively, click here.

This week is going to be mental due to various things but I will try to get at least two posts written and published before Sunday. I hope. 

Toodle-pip xx

I'm now on Bloglovin'

Sunday 3 May 2015

A Life Without the Internet???

Currently, I'm on my holibobs (well, until tomorrow morning) on Guernsey and because I didn't bother getting a local sim card for 3 days, I have been without a 3G that doesn't cost an arm, a leg and your first-born to child to use, and it's made me realise how many times a day I go on Twitter or Tumblr.

Have I missed it? More than I should've. These days, humans have become so reliant on the interwebs. I am a huge fan of an author called Elinor M Brent-Dyer and she wrote girls school stories between the years of 1924 and 1960. The girls she wrote about didn't have internet! They painted! They embroidered things! They knitted! They learnt musical instruments! They had time to read actual books! They talked to each other! *gasps* I can't even begin to imagine what my special talent would've been.

If the internet had never been invented, what would I be doing now instead of blogging? I have vague memories of a life without it. I was definitely in secondary school when we had an internet connection installed at home, and even then, it was through the phone line and it was so  s  l  o  w. 

Can you even begin to imagine what life would be like without it though? 
  • We'd all still be using Nokia 3310's.
  • The 'selfie' or the 'selfie-stick' *cringe* wouldn't exist.
  • There would be no Facebook, so we wouldn't know what (some) people were up to every single minute of every single day.
  • People would go bed at respectable times of the night. Like 9pm. Or earlier....
  • There would be no "OMG I'm so much better than you because I have something you don't and I'm going to rub this thing in your face until you lay down on the floor and have an existential crisis!"
On the other hand, I suppose it has it's uses. 
  • You can keep in touch with friends. 
  • You can make new friends. 
  • News from another country is more-or-less reported instantly. 
  • There are more forms of entertainment.
What would we do if the World Wide Web got disconnected tomorrow? It doesn't bear thinking about really.