Monday 29 June 2015

The Little Chapel: Guernsey



When I was a young whipper-snapper, I loved visiting this Guernsey attraction. Something about it has always fascinated me.

It was built around 1923 by a French monk, as a miniature version of a grotto in Lourdes, France. Decorated in broken china, pebbles and seashells, it is believed to be the smallest consecrated church in the world. 

I think what impressed me as a tinie (and now), is the detail that has gone into the building. The chapel is currently under a bit of reconstruction and bits are falling off the walls, but really, what can you expect from a building that is 90 years old!










Saturday 27 June 2015

A Day on Herm

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
Oh I do like to be beside the sea

Herm. The smallest of the Channel Islands. At only a mile-and-a-half long and half-a-mile wide, it's impossible to get lost (well, you can, but not for very long!) in this tiny paradise with clean beaches and breath-taking views.

Reaching the island is simple. Just hop onto a boat from St Peter Port in Guernsey and it's only a 15 minute ride away. To me, getting there is half the fun!

Shell Beach, which is where we spent our day, is only a 15-20 minute walk from the harbour and it will always be my favourite beach to visit. It's hard to believe that a beach as beautiful as this one is within a couple of hours reach from the UK!

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Herm ice-cream is the best.
Here are some photos that I took on the boat-ride back:
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I've only ever done day-trips to Herm, but one day I'd like to spend a night or two there, as I can imagine how quiet and magical the place would be after dark.

Monday 22 June 2015

An Ode to the Beach


The calming sound of the waves lapping up against the shore,
Stick your feet in and go BRRR! TOO COLD!

Warm sand, so very soft underfoot,
Unexpectedly find it months later in the most random places back at home.

Sat on the dunes eating a nice, cold ice-cream,
Oh look! Here comes Mr. Seagull who wants a bite too!

Perched on a blanket and eating a picnic lunch,
A sudden gust of wind blows and you literally get sand in your sandwiches.

Tanning yourself under the blue, cloudless sky,
What's that in the distance? A black cloud? Quick! Dash! Hasten under cover!

Massaging in that deliciously scented sun-cream,
Wake up the next morning to find finger shaped marks on your shoulder. Whoops! Missed a bit!*

Watching small children building castles made of sand,
Here come a couple of local youths to kick it down.






*sadly I'm not making this up. it happened to me last year. 

Saturday 20 June 2015

In My Ferry Bag

This time tomorrow, I shall be on Guernsey!! YAY!! 

Here is what I like to take on board with me. It's a 3 hour crossing from Poole, which isn't too long really, considering 30 minutes of that is navigating out of Poole Harbour.


IPod - Who can't manage journeys of any length without music? ME.
Passport - For any duty-free purchases of the alcoholic variety.
Purse - For money. Duh. On board there is a duty-free shop and most importantly, there is a Costa Coffee kiosk. 
A book - Probably not this one. I needed a book for the photo and this is the one that I'm currently re-reading.
Bottle of water - For all my hydration and tablet-taking needs.
Notebook & pen - In case I get blogging inspiration.
Carmex & chewing gum - I don't need to explain why these are included.
Seasickness tablets - A necessary precaution when sailing the English Channel. I few years ago, every crossing I went on, to and from Guernsey, the sea conditions were dreadful and I was sick each time. These days, I take tablets just in case.
Phone - Even though there is no phone signal in the middle of the channel or no wi-fi on the ferry, I like to have it with me.
Tissues - Again, I don't need to explain.


We're sailing with Condor Ferries, which happens to have the best safety video ever:


Thursday 18 June 2015

Holiday Book Haul

I really shouldn't be let loose in Waterstones when they have a 'buy one get one half-price' offer on, or on Amazon. Do I need 8 more books? No. Probably not.

About this time of year I stock up on reading material for my holiday (less than 3 days everyone!!). I'm away for 2 weeks, so this number of books may be a bit excessive but, heigh-ho! You don't want me getting bored, do you? 

By the way, I would not be taking all these with me if we were flying. We're going by ferry so it means we can throw everything in the car and not worry about the weight limit. 

This haul shall also be known as 'You Cannot Cure My YA addiction'. 


Murder Most Unladylike - Robin Stevens
Arsenic For Tea - Robin Stevens
Paper Towns - John Green
Attachments - Rainbow Rowell
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Meant To Be - Lauren Morrill
Hyperbole and a Half - Alexandra Brosh


For future book buying plans, does anyone have any recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments!

p.s. I specifically haven't said where I'm going as I am planning on writing a post about it soon :)

Saturday 13 June 2015

Tall Person Disadvantages


This is something that I've been meaning to blog about for awhile...

You can't hide in small spaces
Have you ever tried to play 'Hide-and-Seek' (or hiding from someone that you want to jump out on...) when your choice of hiding places is severely limited because you just can't fit in them? *sighs*

People can see you from afar
You will always stand out in a crowd. Always. 

Public (or any) transport SUCKS
Also known as 'ankles up around your ears' because you are so cramped. (what a mental image that is..)
Whenever I sit somewhere where there is oodles of legroom, just be warned that I will get extremely excited and I will possibly go on about it forever. 

Worst balance ever 
Even a slight sneeze could knock you over and the taller you are, the further you fall and furthest you fall from the worse it hurts.

You're constantly required to reach things high up for all the short people
Okay, so usually I don't mind this but sometimes I do think "oh good grief! get a ladder! or stand on your tippy-toes and just reach goddammit!"

Low ceilings, doorways and low-hanging lights are the enemy
I'm surprised that I haven't become permanently brain-damaged due to the number of times that I've been whacked on the head. There is a ceiling at work which, I kid you not, is only a few centimetres from the top of my head. 

You look ridiculous when you bend down to pick something off the floor
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How awkward does this look? It is an accurate representation though.
Doing this can also lead to back and knee pain. Have you ever tried to stretch out the aches when you are long of limbed? Arms flail everywhere and you inevitably smack ceilings with your hands.


Despite all of these issues, I have learnt to love my height and honestly, dealing and adapting with the outside world has made me a better person, so I wouldn't be "me" if I was of an average height.

Thursday 11 June 2015

FOOD REVIEW - The Stable: Bath

I hope I can type coherently because I am still slightly gazebo'd* but I want to write this review whilst it's fresh in my mind!

Me and mon ami Shelle visited 'The Stable', which has recently moved to a new premises in Bath. Neither us had been to one before (they have quite a few scattered about the West Country/the South), and as they specialise in pizza (yes please) and cider (it is the law in this part of England that one must drink cider regularly or else you'll get kicked out....), we thought we'd go, and we're so glad we did!!





'Cider tasting board'
£7.50 for 5 different ciders in 200ml glasses (roughly1/3 of a pint)
1 = dry to 5 = sweet
I pretty much liked all five and I was pleasantly surprised by 'Beesting' because I'm not usually a fan of sweet ciders.
I think my favourites were Cornish Vintage and Devon Red.


My pizza: The Pumproom Piggy - £11.00 
Named after a local tourist attraction, this pizza is topped with smoked bacon, field mushrooms, fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella and a free-range hen’s egg. 

MMmmmmmmMMMMmmmm!! This was delicious!! I shall forever call this the 'Breakfast Pizza' (and we all know what my views on breakfast are!)


Shelle's pizza: The Billy the Kid - £12.00
Goats’ cheese, caramelised onions, field mushrooms, spinach leaves, fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella. Topped with roasted hazelnuts.

This is something that I would not eat as I think that goat's cheese tastes like soap but Shelle enjoyed it. 

Both pizzas were of a perfect size, not too much but not too little either.

Now...onto the best bit! DESSERT!! What a novelty this was....


PIZZA PUDDINGS!! Yes, dessert. On a pizza. We shared these two between us so we could have a bit of variety.
TOP: The Stable Meringue - £4.50 small (£7.00 large) 
Fresh pizza with lemon curd, crunchy meringue pieces and fresh raspberry purée.
BOTTOM: Nutella Pizza Pudding - £4.50 small (£7.00 large)
Chocolate, hazelnut and mascarpone pizza.

I can't decide which I liked more, but I think I am swaying towards the Nutella one. 


We are already planning on going back next Thursday to try more pizza. And more cider. Obviously. I'm liking the sound of 'The Fitzwilliam' as it has a blue cheese topping. The pizza that is. I don't think I'd like cider with a smelly cheesy foam....*shut up Clarey*

Click here to visit their website to see where they are and view their menu's (they vary depending on what ingredients and ciders they can source locally.




Have you visited one of their restaurants? Which is your favourite pizza of theirs?





*in Britain, you can substitute any noun to mean that you are "tipsy" or "drunk". Please watch the following by the gloriously hilarious Michael McIntyre for further explanation:


Monday 8 June 2015

Facing My Blogging Fears


HAPPY 4 MONTHS OF BLOGGING TO ME!! YAYZ!!!

This is a big deal because usually I don't stick with anything for very long at all. For example, last July I tried to start another blog (now deleted) but I gave up on it within a month. 

Anyhoo, I digress. My blogging history is not what I wanted to talk about today.

I have a fear. Well, actually, I have many fears. Crowds of people, hearing noises when your home alone in the dead of night, flying insects...you get the picture, but my biggest fear of all at the moment is

IRL PEOPLE FINDING OUT THAT I BLOG*
*not including Shelle or Michelle in this. They are the only two people who do know.

When I say I'm scared of it, I mean that I'm absolutely terrified. I know. It's pathetic. If I was a psychologist, I would probably say that the reason behind this is because I'm afraid of being judged by my peers. Which is 100% true. 
The problem is, at my job, nothing (and I do mean nothing) is kept a secret for very long. You tell one person something and then suddenly BAM!! everyone knows. Heck, you could sneeze 5 times in a row and then 20 minutes later someone who works on a different floor to you could come up to you and say "OMG I heard you were dying of the plague!! Is this true???". 

If they all found out about my little cubby-hole (in my mind I picture it as Harry's cupboard under the stairs/bedroom in Harry Potter....) of the interwebs, I would probably die of embarrassment. Not because I'm ashamed of 'She's The Tall One' or anything like that. It's because I'm so damn proud of it and I don't want them to read it and be like "she's so boriiiiing!" or "eurgh. her writing style sucks." or even "why is she even bothering? no-one even cares about this." I can handle this from strangers online, but people I know? NOPENOPENOPE!!

I have contemplated on telling a couple of lovely people though, I know they aren't the type to judge and say horrid things or tell everyone and their cat's...uncle, it's just plucking up the courage to do so. I think I know what I'd say (when I say "say" I mean, FB message) to them though. It would probably go along the lines of this

"Oh hey guys. I...err...I've got a secret. I've been blogging for x-months and I thought that you might like to have a gander at it because you are Nice People and my friends and you get my weird/dorky ways...so...yeah. Please don't utter a word to anyone at work though. If you do I will run away and go to live in a cave up a mountain and you will never see me ever again."

Or something like that.


Have any of you people told others that you keep a blog? How did it go? Did they accept it and go on their merry way? Or are they judging you for all eternity?

See you soon my lovelies!

Friday 5 June 2015

Friday Favourites #4

Pinterest

 

Pretty Little Liars: Season 6


#SummerOfAnswers #Spoby #Haleb

It's all Tumblr's fault that I became addicted to this show. I kept seeing GIF's of it and I ended up binge watching Seasons 1 & 2 in about 3 weeks. This show seems to be close to solving one mystery but in the next episode, you end up with a dozen more unanswered questions. If the first episode is anything to go by, this season is going be good!

The Saccone-Joly's


I've known about this family for quite awhile now (thanks again to Zoë's vlogs!) but I never really bothered with their own daily vlog channel until this week and now I live for 6pm every day when their videos get uploaded to their YouTube channel. Clicky on the photo to receive a daily dose of cuteness!

'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'

In case you didn't know, I am a HUGE 'Harry Potter' fan, so maybe you can understand that I was very excited when it was announced last year that one of the spin-off books that J.K. Rowling wrote for charity was being made into a movie. This week, after months of speculation, Eddie Redmayne (of Les Mis) had been confirmed to play the title role of Newt Scamander! Rock on November 2016 when the film is released into the cinemas!

Stripey tee's from FatFace

This shall also be referred to as 'I Should Not Go Into Shops When I'm Super Tired'.


L-R:

I do so love a stripey tee and even though I am long of body as well as leg, the length on both of these is a winner! *both thumbs up*



Wednesday 3 June 2015

The Most Chocolatey of Cookies


♫ Come my little friends as we all sing a happy little baking song
Merry little voices singing clear and strong
Come and roll your sleeves up, so to speak, and pitch in
Baking cookies in the kitchen as we sing along 

These cookies are literally one the best and easiest things I've ever made! I believe it's a recipe from Tanya Burr, but I saw it on a Zoella vlog, so I thought I'd try my hand at them. The best thing is that you can use any type of chocolate in them. Both times I've baked these, I've used Cadbury's Oreo Dairy Milk (Cookieception!) and they were delicious! I took one into work with me for a friend and she said that they were the best cookies she'd ever eaten. 
This particular batch, I whipped up for a charity bake sale at work. I wish I had made more because they were so popular and now I have a list of 4 people to give the recipe to. 


Ingredients:

200g softened butter
300g caster sugar
1 large egg (but if you only have medium, that's fine too)
275g self-raising flour
75g cocoa powder
splash of milk (only if needed)
Lots of chocolate!!

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to GM 6/180 C/200 F.
  2. Line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper.
  3. Cream together the butter and the sugar. This is why the butter needs to be super soft and squidgy.
  4. Crack the egg into a mug and whisk it up.
  5. Add the egg (a little at a time) into the butter/sugar and mix it in.
  6. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold in. 
  7. Add the milk if the mixture looks a bit dry. I've yet to need to do this.
  8. This is the fun and messy part! Throw in the chocolate and work the dough - with your hands! - into a ball, making sure the chocolatey goodness is evenly dispersed throughout.
  9. Break off into balls and place onto your baking trays, evenly spread out.
  10. Cook for exactly 11 minutes. (Your cookies will not look totally cooked and will feel quite squashy, but don't worry. They will firm up as they cool down!)
  11. If the cookies haven't sunk down, pat gently with a spatula. 
  12. Cool for 30 minutes before nomming.
  13. Bounce off the walls from all the sugar!

Monday 1 June 2015

June Wishlist

Products from L-R

Fuji Green Tea [Bath Tea] & Bath Infuser - £12/£5 from The Body Shop
This is such a unique concept! You pop the tea leaves into the infuser (which you then hang over your taps to immerse in the water) and it's supposed to leave you cleansed and de-stressed. 

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil from most supermarkets
Bit of an odd thing to have on a wishlist BUT I've read great things about Coconut Oil and it's beauty benefits. Did you know that if you mix a bit with olive oil, honey and 1 egg, you can concoct a hair mask that makes your hair super soft and shiny?? I didn't! Others rave on about rubbing it into your skin like a moisturiser. 

Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm - £38 from Space NK
Yes yes. I know. It's blimmin' pricey for a skincare item but we only get one skin so we should take care of it, right? Anyhoo, Zoella swears by this stuff and if she recommends it, then it must be good. 

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in 'Lost Cherry' - £23 from Selfridges
Now, I am not one of those girlies who wears make-up very often. My idea of a "make-up routine" is slather on concealer to hide the black rings under my eyes from not sleeping enough and slap on some mascara if I can be bothered. Occasionally, I mix a little bit of foundation in with my moisturiser but that is about it and I almost never wear lippy but OMG the colour and of this one! I do love coral coloured things. Oh, and this is another Zoella recommended product. 

Harry Potter and Narnia inspired candles from 'From the Page' [Etsy shop] £6.72 ea. + £12.09 P&P
I think I someone blogged about these and so I clicked on the shop and now I want to buy them all. They do quite a few book inspired candles eg. several Harry Potter's, LOTR and there is even a Sherlock Holmes one (which smells like blackcurrant tea and leather books!)



Other wishes for this month


  • Sunshine and warmth all month long - possibly going to happen because the UK has been forecasted a heatwave! YAY!
  • Books for holiday - I'm off to Guernsey on the 21st for a fortnight and I like to gather together a pile of books to bring with me. I think I'm going to have to do an epic Amazon spree soonish.
  • Lukewarm water & Lemon - I saw this idea somewhere on the interwebs and I really want to see if I can get into the habit of drinking it every morning. Apparently, amongst other things, it clears your skin, boosts your immune system, aids in digestion and is helps you with weight loss!
  • Dying my hair blonde - Previous summers I've used 'Sun-In' to give my naturally brown hair highlights, but I thought I'd actually take the plunge this year and dye it blonde. 

Have any of you lovely people used any of these products? What do you think of them?