12 Day's of Christmas - Day 7 - 10 day 'you' challenge - Four books

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

Can you believe that today is the last day of 2013? This year really did fly by! It is just a blur of snow and sun for me, what about you?

I hope you've been enjoying my 10 day 'you' challenge posts, because I have another one for you all today :)

This one is going to be so hard for me to write, because I love books. Whatever book I last read tends to be my favourite book, but I do have a couple of all time favourites. 

1. Harry Potter - Of course I was going to include this. Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix is my favourite, with Chamber of Secrets being my least favourite, but I adore the entire series.
2. A Song of Ice and Fire - Another series there was no way I could leave out. I was introduced to the series this year, and I am so happy I was, it is amazing!
3. Perks of being a wallflower - This is another book I read this year, and fell in love with. It is so inspirational, and just amazing and I love it so much.
4. Entwined - This is such a fun and beautiful story. If you love fairytales, you'll love this. It is based on an actual fairytale (I can't remember which one) but it reminds me a lot of Beauty and the Beast because it is set in an enchanted castle, with an ugly beast.

What are your top 4 books? Let me know, I'm always looking for recommendations.

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

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12 Day's of Christmas - Day 6 - Currently

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

Today I am doing a currently, but instead of doing it in real time, I'm going to mention what I have been doing lately.

Listening: All of my new C.D.s I got for Christmas, including Luke Bryan, and a Disney Princess album :)
Eating: A lot of junk food, particularly cake. Well it is Christmas after all ;D
Drinking: Juice. I'm not normally a fan of juice, I much prefer water, but lately I've really been enjoying it, especially when it is in my Disney Princess cup.
Wearing: Pyjamas. With it being Christmas I haven't really been getting dressed, except to walk the dog, but I much prefer to be in my pyjamas.
Feeling: Lucky because I was very spoilt this Christmas.
Weather: Sunny, but cold. Not very Christmassy, but oh well, it's not been too bad I guess.
Wanting: To finish A Song if Ice and Fire. I love it, but I've been reading it for months, and want to read something else, but refuse to until I have read the entire series.
Needing: A new laptop. As you all know I keep having issues with my laptop, and seeing as I'm doing a course online, I should probably get a new one (and I hope to get one very soon)
Thinking: I can't wait to start Tai Chi in the new year, it is going to be so good. I really can't wait!
Enjoying: All the cake we have in the house right now. My health might not appreciate it, but my taste buds certainly do :-P

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

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12 Day's of Christmas - Day 5 - 10 day 'you' challenge - 5 foods

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

Today I am sharing my top 5 favourite foods

1. Chocolate. What girl can resist chocolate, right? 
2. Pizza - I adore pizza, but I'm not a fan of toppings so I tend to go for margarita. However Morrison's do a delicious goats cheese and spinach pizza, which I highly recommend.
3. Curly fries - Also sweet potato fries, both of which are perfect with my pizza.
4. Fruit - All sorts of fruit really, I'm not fussy.
5. Popcorn - I love the Metcalfe sweet and salty popcorn a lot right now. It's weird to begin with, but then when you get past that, it is amazing.

What are your favourite foods?

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

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12 Day's of Christmas - Day 4 - Clear up your skin in a week.

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

I have not been kind to my skin lately. I've been skipping washes, a lot lately, which has been causing a lot of breakouts. But I have worked out a great way to clear it up quickly. Of course this depends on how bad your skin is. If you have a lot of acne/cystic acne, then this probably won't for for you, but if, like me, you only have a couple of spots here and there, then this will work great. Well at least it does for me.

Things I do anyway, no matter what:

• Use the clean side of a pillow every night. By this I mean I will turn the pillow over every night, and every other night I will use a different pillow. I sleep alone so I have four pillows, meaning eight nights of clean pillows, but if you share a bed you can always put a clean towel on your pillow every night. This prevents bacteria that has transferred from your face the night before to transfer back the next night.
• Use a clean face cloth and towel every day. I only use the face cloth and towels for one day, in the morning and at night. It's always best to use clean things if you want to clean your skin. You can get face cloths pretty cheap, I think you can get a pack of eight for a pound in Primark, and you just do a wash once a week and you're set.
• Clean your make-up brushes every week. Make-up build up on your brushes causes germs to collect, and you're putting that on your face every day. Cleaning your brushes at least once a week will prevent this. I have a post on how I clean my brushes if you are interested, but however you do it, just do it, trust me.

Now how I clear up my skin after being lazy:

Obviously the most important thing to do is to get back on track with your skin care routine. Wash every single morning and night with your cleanser, tone, and moisturise! But just doing that will mean it will take more time to clear up, so here is what I do.

• Use a face mask twice a week. Below are the two I've been using lately which are amazing! Especially the Planet Spa by Avon one. They both deeply cleanse, and work to get rid of spots without drying out your skin. Whenever I use the Planet Spa one, I notice a difference within 24 hours, so I would highly recommend ordering it from your Avon Representative. The mud therapy one is from Superdrug, and does the same thing as the Planet Spa, however I don't notice a difference as quickly, but it definitely works. Both are pretty cheap and are green, which I love because it makes me feel like I'm in a movie :-P

• You're also going to want to use a spot treatment, and the best one is Tea Tree oil. It is super cheap, and can be found anywhere. I put this on after my toner, but before my moisturiser whenever I have a spot, a fading spot, or I can feel one coming up, so pretty much everyday. In the winter I get dry skin, so I apply some E45 after my moisturiser, to hydrate it again, however, the greasiness can stop the spots from fading as quickly, so I apply more Tea Tree oil on top of the E45.
• Go without make-up for the week. Make-up clogs your pores, and if you're not removing it properly can cause acne. You need to leave your skin to breathe and heal, so going a week without make-up will allow that to happen, and your skin will clear up much quicker.
• Exfoliate the night after a face mask. This might seem a bit excessive to exfoliate after a face mask which gets deep into your pours, but I really find that it works to get rid of the top layer of the dead skin, and let the new skin shine. I exfoliate three times a week, but when I'm doing this I find that doing it the night after a face mask is better; at least for my skin

And that is all I do. It might not seem like a lot, but it really works! As long as you are cleansing twice a day and doing these extra things, you'll have clear skin in no time.

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

12 Day's of Christmas - Day 3 - 10 day 'you' challenge - 6 places

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

Have you tried out my post from last night? What did you think?

Today I am doing a quick post - the 10 day 'you' challenge:

1. Ireland - There are 2 countries I want to travel round the most, and Ireland is one of them. I don't just want to go to Northern Ireland, I want to go to Republic of Ireland too. I think it looks like such a beautiful country, and I want to visit it more than anything.
2. Italy - This is the other country I want to travel. It is so beautiful and romantic, and I secretly hope to find a hot Italian to sweep me off my feet ;) I think I'd like to get married there, maybe in Venice. It is my dream.
3. Paris - Another romantic place I would love to go. I want to visit the Eiffel Tower, see The Mona Lisa, and go to Disney. Believe it or not, I've never been to Disney, and I want to go so badly.
4. New York - I want to shop in New York. The crowds will probably stress me out, but I would deal with it, because it would be amazing! I've always wanted to visit New York, and one day I plan on going. I think it would be fun to spend a week in America, a couple days in New York, then go on to Florida to Universal, doesn't that sound great?
5. Asia - I want a huge culture shock. I want to learn how other people live, but I have to go there to learn. I can learn how people live in France, and Italy by watching TV, but I don't know how people in Asia live. Anywhere in Asia would be fine by me, for a month or so, just to live differently, I think that is important for everyone to do.
6. Watford - I am desperate to go back to the Harry Potter studio tour, but I can't afford the hotel, so I can't go back until I've saved up quite a bit of money, and it makes me sad. But I will go back in 2014, that is a promise!

Where do you want to visit? 

I know I've done this post before for Wonderly, and I'm sorry for the repetition. Once I realised I tried to think of different places, but those really are the places I want to visit the most, and I didn't want to lie to you all.

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

12 days of Christmas - Day 2 - How I get soft feet

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

I hope you are all having a relaxing Boxing Day. Today I want to share with you all how I get soft feet, and don't worry there are no pictures of my feet, because I know a lot of people don't like that

Day 1: How I get soft feet!

To begin with, I use this pedicure system, which I have had for years! So long in fact, that the pumice stone, and file are getting a bit too smooth, and I may need to buy a new one soon. That's if I can find one, because I don't think you can get this one any longer.

First of all, I use the pumice stone attachment. I like to use this one first because it gets rid of the really tough skin on my heels and big toes. 

I then just give it a quick once over with the file attachment, just to get rid of the extra toughness. I do this before soaking my feet because dry feet means you're going to get rid of more dry skin, than if you do it on wet skin. I can't remember exactly why, but I found out in a really old Tanya Burr video years ago, and have done it ever since, and it has made a difference.

I soak my feet once a week in some warm soapy water. I soak for about 15 minutes, then thoroughly dry them

I then slather them in a foot lotion. This is the current one I am using, it is from Avon, and has a massager ball on the bottom

This is the massage ball. It is so relaxing using this, it literally massages your feet whilst evenly distributing the lotion, which is nice and thick. I really love this, and would highly recommend it to you all.

Afterwards, I put on some fuzzy socks and let the lotion sink in.

I tend to do this whole process pretty early in the evening, because I don't like to sleep in socks. But I like to wear the socks for as long as possible, so that the lotion can really penetrate my feet.

The next thing I do is to use a foot file, which I could've sworn I had taken a picture of, but apparently not. I file every night, then put on more lotion and socks. Then I have lovely soft feet, even though I walk all the time! 

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

Don't forget to check out my last post if you missed it

12 days of Christmas - Day 1 - Merry Chistmas

Merry Christmas girls, I hope you've all had/are having an amazing day eating food and spending time with your families.

So blogmas didn't go so well. I've had major laptop problems, and I plan on buying a new one in the new year in the sales. But until then I'm planning on writing as many posts as possible for a 12 days of Christmas series. 

I don't really have much to say tonight, so this might be a boring post, but I promise that tomorrows is much more interesting (I've already wrote it).

I've just finished watching Doctor Who, and oh. My. Word! It was not what I expected, and if I'm honest I expected to cry more, but I stopped myself because I wasn't on my own. Does anyone else do that? They try and stop themselves crying over TV shows and movies unless they are alone? Or is that just me? I feel weird crying over my favourite characters dying, because my family don't get it. 

Right before he regenerated really got me. I'm not going to say what happened, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but it was such a shock, I literally stopped breathing for about 10 seconds! Not even kidding. From anyone who did watch it, what did you think? I enjoyed it, and I didn't find it as sad as when 10 regenerated, and I think that was nice. I'm really trying not to say too much, I'm so scared of spoiling it for any of you. Maybe I should change the subject ha-ha.

How has your day been? I've had quite a relaxing day really. It kind of feels like a Sunday if I'm honest. I got up pretty early for church, then came home and opened presents, and ate Christmas dinner. The only difference between today and a Sunday is the opening presents. I was very spoilt by Santa this year, and got some pretty awesome gifts, including Hufflepuff robes and tie! Which was probably the best present ever! 

I want to do an Outfit of the day, but if I'm being honest I can't really be bothered moving. I'm kind of in a food coma, which I know you will all understand. So instead of pictures I'm just going to tell you how awesome my outfit is. I'm wearing Santa leggings, a brown dress, and a Christmas jumper with a Christmas pudding and a present on it. Oh and I've been wearing a Santa hat all day too! How tacky and brilliant does that sound? Most people want to dress fashionably for Christmas, but not me, I want to be tacky ha-ha. 

I feel like I've probably wrote way too much tonight, so I'm going to sign off now, and I'll talk to you all tomorrow.

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

Blogmas #4 - 10 day 'You' challenge - 7 wants

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

I have spent the best part of the day finishing Christmas shopping and wrapping, which was exciting. I've only got a couple of things left to buy and wrap, but they have to wait until a couple of days before Christmas as they are refrigerated foods.

So onto today's post, another 10 day 'You' challenge post. I plan on finishing this tag during Blogmas so keep checking back for that.
I feel like this one is perfect for Christmas as it is all about what I want, but I'm not particularly materialistic so let's see what I come up with.

1. Nike running trainers - I like exercising, but I don't have a good pair of trainers, which is bad for your feet and joints. There is just one problem, good trainers are expensive, and I'm poor
2. A new laptop - My laptop gives me a lot of problems, as you all know, so a new laptop would be nice. Again it is something expensive, but because I see it as a little bit more essential than trainers, so I'm getting one in the new year.
3. To travel - Lately I have really been wanting to travel the world in a year, but I just don't have the funds to be able to do it. Plus I think I would get really homesick. 
4. My own place - This was one of my New Years Resolutions, but it's not as easy to do as I first thought, which is why I still live at home, but one day I will have my own place.
5. To finish the Song of Ice and Fire books - I have been reading these books since August, but they are taking me forever. I have suddenly started getting through them pretty quickly, I've read 3 in 4 weeks, rather than 1 in 2 months haha.
6. A pet - particularly a cat. I love animals, and would love my own pet, either a kitten or a bunny rabbit, but having an over-active puppy who likes to chew anything and everything means we can't have something so defensive. 
7. To be a Disney princess - or a superhero, both work for me. How cool would it be though? I know, a Disney princess superhero! Like I would be a Disney princess who saves the world! That would be incredible!

So those are my 7 wants, what are your wants? Let me know in the comments below.

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx 

Blogmas #3 - Decorating for Christmas

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

I am so so sorry for not posting since the 2nd, but I have been trying so hard to edit this video for you all, that I haven't had a chance to write any other posts. My laptop is very slow and annoying, so when I'm editing a video it will switch itself off randomly, then it will take 2-3 hours to load back up, and when you're doing that multiple times a day, you don't really get a chance to write anything on the internet, especially when it happens at 8pm, because by then you're like 'screw it, I'll try again tomorrow'. So hopefully the video was worth it. 

So I have no idea if the video above will work, so here is a link as well. I hate google sometimes, because since they made me use Google + I can't get my videos on here, and it sucks! But hopefully it worked, and if not you have the link.

If you managed to watch it, what did you think? Are you decorated for Christmas yet, or do you wait? Let me know in the comments.

I will be back tomorrow, I'm going to write a few posts up ready in case I'm not able to get on my laptop for whatever reason.

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

Blogmas #2 - Christmas tag

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

I have been trying to edit a video all day, but my laptop was just not letting me do it, but I'm going to try again tomorrow, fingers crossed I can edit it.
So instead of the video, I am doing a Christmas tag :)

1. Do you prefer a real Christmas tree or synthetic?

        Synthetic. I was actually thinking about this today, and how most people think that real trees smell like Christmas to them, but I actually find synthetic trees have an amazing scent, and make me think of Christmas. Is that weird?

2. You're in a coffee shop, it's December, what do you pick?

        Eggnog latte from Starbucks *drool* or a Spiced Apple drink from Costa *also drool*  

3. What’s your favourite colour scheme for decorating the tree?

        I have no colour scheme, just colour, colour, and more colour.

4. Giving or receiving?

        Giving. I'm really weird and don't actually like getting presents, I kinda stress out knowing people are spending money on me, but I love spending money on people.  

5. To mince pie or not to?

        Ew no, I can't stand mince pies, I don't know how people like them, just the smell is disgusting to me. Sorry if you like them.

6. What's your traditional Christmas lunch?

         Everything! Think of your traditional roast, so veg, potatoes, yorkshire puddings, Turkey (veggie kind for me) plus pigs in blankets (not for me) and gravy, stuffing, and more gravy. We always start with a melon, then the main, then flob out before desert, which tends to be cheesecake and trifle *drooling*

7. Christmas day fashion

        Pyjamas in the morning, then I dress up for church and dinner. I always wear heels, but other than that I just wear something pretty, sometimes jeans and a sparkly top, or a dress. I have no idea what to wear this year though, any ideas?

8. What's your favourite Christmas song?

        All I want for Christmas is you by Mariah Carey, it gets me excited and I love screeching along to it and dance along.

9. What's your favourite Christmas film?

        Santa Clause, all 3, but mostly the first one. We watch it every single year at the beginning of the month as a family, then I watch it on my own again, and again, and again.

10. Open presents before or after lunch?

        Before lunch. We get up super early, and yes we are all adults, open our presents, shower, and get ready for church, church, home, lunch, movie time and snooze before pudding and more sleep haha.

So that's my Christmas tag, I hope you enjoyed. Please link me to your post if you do this tag, I would love to see it.

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

Days until Christmas: 23
Christmas song of the day: All I want for Christmas is you
What I am listening to right now: YouTube videos
Days until the new year: 30
Last post

Blogmas #1 - Welcome, and empties of the past 2 months

Hey girls, I hope you're all well.

Yes, I am doing Blogmas again! I love doing Blogmas, it's so much fun, and even though I don't talk Christmas in every post, it really gets me in the Christmas mood (although I don't need much help this year :P)

I have so many posts planned, and because I've been very bad with posting this year, I'm going to write up a bunch of posts in case I don't get a chance to write anything any day. Normally you'll get the post at 10pm, but I wanted to get this one up earlier today, I hope you don't mind :D

So I didn't post my empties post last month, so I have combined the past two months for you all.

Candles top row: Kitchen Spice, Fireside treats, Cinnamon sticks, Lilac blossom, Vanilla Satin. Bottom row: True rose, Cinnamon sticks, Sparkling cinnamon, French lavander, Blissful  Autumn. Other products: Neutrogena visibly clear spot stress control 3-in-1 daily cleansing lotion, Nivea powerfruit refresh, Temptation from the dead sea cuticle treatment, Soft and gentle deodorant.

My thoughts:

Ok so I'm not going to go through every candle, because they have similar scents, either spicy and warm, or fresh. My favourites are the Cinnamon ones (hence why I have 3) which is spicy and warm and so yummy. Vanilla Satin which is warm and calming, it's not particularly sweet but it's so calming, I can't explain why though. Fireside treats which is sweet, but not overpoweringly sweet, more subtle, and very warm, like you would expect.

Neutrogena toner: I love this, it really helps clear up my skin when I'm breaking out really badly, which I did this month. This was my second or third bottle, and would highly recommend it, however I have not repurchased as I am trying out a new toner.

Nivea shower gel: This smells amazing and lasted me months! It smells of berries which is a great summer scent, and it lingered on my skin. I would definitely repurchase, if I hadn't fallen in love with my current shower gel, Dazzling by Avon.

Temptation of the dead sea cuticle treatment: I have had this for years, so you probably can't buy it any more. It worked great on my cuticles making them soft and neat. I loved using this, and if you can find it, I would recommend trying it out.

Soft and gentle deodorant: I really liked this deodorant, it smelt fresh, and made me feel very clean when I used it. It's such a small bottle though, so it didn't last very long, which is sad.

And those are my empties. I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what products you used up in the last month.

I hope you're excited for Blogmas, because I know I am! Don't forget to follow me over on BlogLovin' so you don't miss any posts.

Have a beautiful day

Dream beautiful dreams; live beautiful lives

xx

Days until Christmas: 24

Christmas song of the day: Here comes Santa Clause (right down Santa Clause Lane)

What I am listening to right now: YouTube videos