April- What I've Been Up To

Hey there my good readers! Here we are at the last Friday of the month & I thought to myself that I could do a new thing here on this blog. Well, new-ish as it is something I have done & others have done before. I have decided that the last Friday of the month shall be when I write up a personal post, sharing with you some of the things I've gotten up to for that month. So here we are for April's edition:

April has been a good month for me, had the chance to meet up with friends which is always nice! Been out for drinks or having coffee at home, but I have learned the valuable lesson of not having a massive, chocolate covered waffle with extra strawberries before drinking. Both myself & my friend felt ill & could only manage 1 drink, but still, was a good night!

This was a good idea at the time. Don't get me wrong, tasted great, just waaaay too sickly!

I also re-dyed my hair earlier this month. I tend to do so every 4 months or so, by which time it's faded quite a bit & my roots start to show. I also had it cut- the fringe needed putting back in place plus it needed a trim, only a little though as I am trying to grow it.

L-R- Before, taken the day before the cut, as you can see my hair is a faded red & the fringe is parting. Middle- dying in process, got an ASDA bag bandana on to protect my skin & was feeling like a pirate! Right- new cut & colour all done!

Art wise, Project 365 has been coming along nicely! Managed to get a photo every day, not all of them are great due to time contraints/lack of ideas, but I've stuck with it & that's the main thing- today will be day 55! To read more on my thoughts & feelings about it, take a read of my deviantArt journal, then why not take a look at what I've done so far by clicking this link here! I've also gotten round to posting some of my favourite bits I did whilst at Uni on there too- these can be found by going to my gallery.

In between doing all the above & working, I've also find time to return to my favourite game, The Sims. Was on there yesterday in fact & had a very good session! My story is progressing nicely although having free will & story progression on does cause some rather odd happenings, like my Sim & his Robot becoming romantically involved! Here's a shot of my Sim making a trait chip & being very pleased with himself:

Yep, am sad enough to capture my Sims in their finest moments.

There we have it, an insight into what I've been up to this month. Got my Grandad's birthday this weekend so will be celebrating that & then having a Michael J. Fox movie night with my Auntie.

What have you been up to readers? Feel free to share your misadventures in the comments below!

Thanks for reading! :D

Festive Favourites

Good evening readers! Hope you're all well this festive season- I've been pretty busy, hence the lack of posts the past week. To be fair, there hasn't been much to blog about, but nevermind- let's crack on with tonight's post!

Seeing as it's the Friday before Christmas, I thought I'd share with you some of my seasonal favourites. Christmas is such a nice time of year I find- it has such a lovely atmosphere, what with the festive music, the decorations & being the season of good will. It's great spending quality time with family & friends, which would be the first of my festive favourites, along with giving said loved ones presents- it's so nice to see their faces light up when they see their gifts!

But as well as being a time of giving & sharing, Christmas is also a time for self indulgence. I think it's essential for everyone to have some 'me' time, & I'm sure everyone has their own little things that they like to do to treat themselves at Christmas, whether it be watching a certain programme or film or just chilling with some festive tunes & a glass of mulled wine.

Speaking of programmes, this brings me to my second festive favourite. There are plenty of festive shows on TV over Christmas- various Christmas specials & classics such as 'The Snowman', but my favourite Christmas special to watch is the Futurama episode, 'Xmas Story'. Futurama is one of my favourite shows & I love the insight into a futuristic "xmas"- which is terrifying as well as heart-warming! Matt Groening's decision to portray Santa Claus as a murderous robot is a great one & one that makes this festive favourite a joy to watch!

"He'll hunt you down & blast your ass from here to Pakistan!"
(Image not mine)

When it comes to self indulgence at Christmas time & festive favourites, I don't think I could leave this post without mentioning food! Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a great selection of food- from nibbles to biscuits to main meals- Christmas is the time to indulge oneself in all the goodies, be that cheese footballs, twiglets or a fine selection of cheese & crackers. Now, I do love my food, so this is one of the highlights of the season for me! Amongst all the delights the season has to offer, these are my favourite Christmas foods:

• Lebkuchen- These are German biscuits similar to Gingerbread. My Mum bought me some a couple of years ago & they are amazing! They have a cake-like texture on the inside & usually have a biscuity outside, coated with either sugar or chocolate. 
• Caramelised Peanuts- These are something I only tried last year, but upon doing so I discovered that they taste great- sweet, crunchy & very more-ish!

This year's batch- yummy! :D

• Mince Pies- I love the fruity flavours of the mincemeat, combined with the sweet pastry it makes for a lovely festive treat. Teamed with a cup of tea, they make for a great snack during the day, or a dessert if heated & served with custard- yum!
• Pigs in Blankets/Bacon Wrapped Sausages- Now these are number one for me & the Christmas meal would not be a Christmas meal, & Christmas wouldn't be Christmas, without these delightful, rather morbidly named* treats!  These have always been a favourite of mine ever since I was little, & I always save one until last in my dinner so I can savour the taste!

Love them!
(Again, image not mine.)

I also enjoy hearing Christmas music- the delightful tunes really do help to put you in the mood! But I won't say too much here- you'll have to wait until Monday to learn what my favourite Christmas songs are!

And there we have it readers, my festive favourites, covering the 4 Fs- Family, Friends, Futurama & Food! What are your Christmas favourites? Why not let me know by leaving a comment below? :D

Thanks for reading, I'll be back Monday to share with you my top Christmas tunes! :)

*When you think about it, the term "pigs in blankets" is rather morbid- it may sound cute, but really it's dead pig wrapped in dead pig.

Count The Memories, Not The Calories- A Week In Review

Hello there readers! This was meant to be my Friday post but it's been a busy week, so it's a Sunday post instead. Tonight's post is a week review, as for me it's been a very good week spent in the company of family, friends & good food, which I thought I'd share with you all! You're probably wondering where I got the title from? Well, that's a quote I saw on the wall of my favourite tea room, which is one of the places I visited this week. However, it's not the first place I visited, which means I have to start from the beginning before revealing the name of that location!

On Monday I went out driving with my Dad, to get some more experience before my test. We went to ASDA so I could get some bits for tea & sort out my Grandad's phone before driving along the sea front & then popping into a local Costa for coffee & cake. Was very nice, plus I managed to do my first perfect bay park in my car- yay!

Tuesday I met up with Georgia & we went down to Southsea. We started by playing a round of Adventure Golf (or 'Elaborate Obstacle Golf' to my fellow In The Flesh fans), which was great fun & something I haven't done for ages! We then wandered into the arcades near to the golf course & had a go on the 2p machines, managing to win a few tickets (36, to be exact) & a pack of Love Hearts. We then went over to another arcade as we had some time to spare & I had a go on a claw machine, but I failed, probably for the best as I don't really know where abouts in my room I'd store a Pacman plushie!

Elaborate Obstacle Golf, pirate style!

Our next stop is a place I mentioned earlier, which is my favourite tea room- The Tenth Hole. The reason why I love this place is because of it's great selection of cakes, which are some of the best cakes I've ever had/seen in my life! In fact, both myself & Georgia agreed that the hardest choice is choosing which cake to have! On this occasion, we opted for the same cake, which was the chocolate & raspberry brownie cake- divine! And much like anyone in the 21st century, I took a photo of it so I could share with the world, so here you go, a little something to feast your eyes on:

After my day with Georgia, I then went down to the local beach for ice-cream with my Dad & sister. That evening myself, my Mum & my sister went to a local Wetherspoons with my Godfather, his partner & some of their friends for a meal as it was Steak Club night, which was very nice- I had the chicken & ribs meal, plus two lots of onion rings as my sister didn't want hers- yes!

Also tried this, must say it's very nice!

Wednesday I went back over to Portsmouth with my friend Berry, but this time went to the city centre as I was on the hunt for a birthday present for my sister. It was a nice day, wandered round a few shops, had lunch out, managed to get my sister's birthday present. It was great to be hanging out with Berry again, as we hadn't done so in ages!

A view from Pompey from the ferry.

Thursday was my Grandparents' 60th Wedding Anniversary, so me, my Mum & my sister went out with them for a meal. We originally planned to go to a pub restaurant in the country, which ended up being closed, so we made our was to another, which was serving a very limited menu, so we came back to our local Harvester, which was great! Gotta love a good Harvester meal!

Friday I worked 9-5 (what a way to make a living!) then went out with my Dad to one of his local pubs to see a friend of ours play live with his band. They were good & it was a good night out, plus Angelos was on the TV when we got back so we watched that for a bit.

Saturday me, my Mum & sister went round to my Aunties' house for a BBQ & get together, which again was very nice!

2nd cider flavour to try- delicious!

And that's all up until tonight. Thank you all for reading, shall be back tomorrow night with my music post! :)

Crossing Counties, Clans & Social Encounters- A Week In Review

Hello readers! Didn't today start out lovely, eh? Much like yesterday, the sun was shining, it was a lovely day, a perfect morning for a kid to play! But now look at it. The weather is dull & typically British once more. So much for summer!

Seeing as I haven't done so for a couple of weeks & my last post was on the more negative side, I thought today I'd do a week review, as it's been a nice & social week. I did start another blog post earlier, but I think I'll save that until next week, unless something else crops up.

So let's get started, shall we?

My socialising started last Friday, when I went to my best friend, Laura's house to have a catch up & give her her birthday card & presents. It was lovely catching up as we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks, also we started to watch (& for Laura, rewatch) the first series of Supernatural, which was good.

My next event was on Sunday, when I went to the pub quiz with Tom, Georgia & Berry, which was fun. We didn't win, but we didn't lose either & most importantly we had a good time, had a laugh & was great seeing them again!

Monday took me into another county (I'm from Hampshire), something I didn't become aware of until later that day, as I ventured into Chichester (which I discovered is in West Sussex) to meet up with Olivia. I'd never been to Chichester before, & it was a half-way point for the both of us. We had a wander round the Cathedral, high streets & the canal. Again, another nice catch up! I also finished the book 'Zom-B Clans' that night, which I got on Saturday, & oh my god it was good! Especially the ending- even though when a certain character spoke I knew who it would be, it was tense reading & finding out!

Clock Tower/seating area in the centre of the high streets in Chichester, a very nice structure. :)

Such a good book, roll on book 9! :D

I had another catch up Tuesday with my friend Reema, which again was really nice. We also learned that day that the other had watched Utopia, the rather weird series on Channel 4 (which returns on Monday), to which we both had a slight almost fangirl moment!

Next meet up was yesterday, where I met with my friend & old housemate Jess for lunch. We ended up going to a small cafe that neither of us had been to before, which was nice, that & having a good old natter! Also, while I'm here, I'm going to give you all a blog recommendation, which is Jess's blog-
Vanilla and Owls
Jess started her blog before I did, & it was through reading hers that inspired me to create this blog here. It's a very nice & well-written blog- Jess talks about various things in her life, does product reviews, & it's very Jess!

Which brings us to today, where I did housework, watched Friday Night Dinner (which is AMAZING!) & now am about to watch series 2 of Hemlock Grove.

And that's been my week. Been lovely seeing my friends & I can't wait to see more of them as the summer holiday goes on!

Thanks for reading, & good night! :D

Of Bobbles & Art, Food & Fitness- A Week in Review

Hello readers! Back to the personal stuff this Friday as I treat you all to an insight to what I've been up to this week.

Let's start with Monday, aside from blogging on here, I decided to try out my new nail bobbles whilst re-watching series 1 of In The Flesh. I did get the nail bobbles last week but had nail polish on, which chipped/was picked at over the weekend so I removed it Sunday evening so that I could try out the nail bobbles the next day. They're Avon brand & will soon be released, I managed to get them as demo version thanks to my Mum being an Avon rep, & come in 3 different colours- purple, green & pink. I decided to buy the purple & green ones as these are two of my favourite colours. I opted to go for purple this time, which I used alongside a Rimmel 60 second purple nail polish that I've had for ages, & I'm happy to say I'm pleased with the turn out, although will admit having 3D nails is rather an odd feeling! But I do like it, here's a photo of the outcome:

Both hands & in the centre is what I used :)

Not a lot happened Tuesday, went out driving & finally booked my driving test. So far I think it's going pretty well, thankfully managed to do an almost-perfect bay park when asked to do so by my driving instructor!

Wednesday was a good day. You know when you just have those days to yourself, & you manage to do a few things you really want to do? Well that was Wednesday for me. After doing a few household chores I sat down to do some art in the afternoon, did an ink & watercolour version of a design I've drawn quite a few times. Turned out ok, here's what it looks like:

I think it would have looked better without the eyeliner though

After that I started watching Game of Thrones whilst starting my attempt to get fit (which I'll elaborate on in a bit) by using the exercise bike. I think exercising at the same time caused me to miss a few bits, but so far it seems ok, looks like it's something I'll have to watch more of to properly get into. Once I'd finished this I decided to make a DIY vest from an old Green Day t-shirt, something I've been meaning to do for ages. I used a rotary trimmer for a smoother cut on the sleeve area then measured out the v-neck & cut using scissors. Unfortunately I have no 'before' photo of the shirt, but here's what the vest now looks like:

I went back to my art once this was done, started doodling based off of this reference sheet I saw on Pinterest, then decided to draw a profile face, which ended up being a realistic-looking Philip J. Fry that I am rather pleased with. I also updated my deviantArt account that night to continue with my art stuff, feel free to check it out, I've also included a link at the top of my blog as well.

My Fry, am guessing his eyes are blue, don't think it's ever stated.

Thursday involved me walking around my neighbourhood collecting Avon books for my Mum, which then led to me heading to my Grandparents' house to collect some bacon I asked them to buy for me so I could make a BBQ chicken & pasta bake for dinner that night. I also went round to my friend Reema's house & had a good catch up with her, whilst there she introduced me to a favourite food of hers called 'cake rusks', which are like hard cake slices, but then you dunk them in tea & hey presto! Cake! All in all a very nice day.

Finished pasta bake, very tasty!

Which brings me to today. Continuing on the social path, this evening I went to my friend Vlada's house to hang out & have dinner. The plan was she cooked mains & I cooked dessert. I chose to make pancakes with strawberries & chocolate sauce as they'd been on my mind all week, which, with Vlada's help turned out to be more of a success than my last attempt at pancakes- plus I made the chocolate sauce from scratch, something I've not done before, which also turned out well & dessert (which we actually had before dinner itself!) was a success! Vlada's Mum made us trout with rice & Vlada prepared the salad- a very nice meal!

Mmmm... strawberry & chocolate pancakes... :)

As well as all the above, I have, as I briefly mentioned earlier, been attempting to get fitter, which so far is failing. My love of food exceeds the damn I give about my body size & I really need to work ore exercise into my daily routine- unfortunately all my hobbies tend to involve sitting down. Next week I plan to actually get my arse into gear though, stop putting things off & actually working to keep the calories off rather than using exercise as a way to earn calories to eat more food.

And that's all for now, I hope you've enjoyed tonight's post! If you've been up to anything interesting this week, why not share in the comments?

Thanks for reading! :D