Here are a few of the things I was loving last month:
TV
Thirteen. Oh my! I wont reveal any spoilers but I loved how it wasn't what you expected.
FOOD
Aunty's Steamed Puddings - Pecan and Butterscotch. I have always been a fan of these sponge puddings but this was the first time I tried the Pecan and Butterscotch one. YUM.
DRINK
Peppermint tea. Last time I tried peppermint tea I wasn't really a fan. The other day I gave it go again and loved it. I am now the proud owner of a box of 80 peppermint teabags.
READING
I have really enjoyed reading Lily Pebbles' blog this month.
About a year back now I was sent a free sample from Garnier for their new Ultimate Blends Shampoo. I was really impressed with the way my hair felt the following day and I thought it was definitely worth me purchasing a full-sized bottle. I went for the Silky Smoother Shampoo which is blended with Madagascan Vanilla milk and Brazilian Papaya extracts and is suited towards mid-long hair with split ends. It claims to give the result of: "satin silkiness and touchably smooth ends". I couldn't disagree! My hair has never felt smoother.
When this bottle was almost empty it was time to re-purchase. This time I wanted to try one of their other shampoos in the range. I decided upon the Strength Restorer which is aimed at fragile hair prone to breakage. My hair isn't really fragile but I tend to always be 'molting' so I thought I would see whether this would help. I do actually think that it has helped and again it leaves my hair super duper soft.
I have also tried the Strength Restorer Serum and I love it. I definitely notice a difference in my hair when I use it. You only need to apply two drops to wet hair focusing on the ends which means the product lasts a long time so is great value for money.
There are a number of other 'flavours' in the range and I am excited to try these too!
Firstly, let's just establish the fact that YouTube has only existed since 2005 but already there are more videos uploaded than you can physically watch in a lifetime. Mind blown. The world of YouTube has exploded in recent years and has become something very unique and exciting.
Video bloggers (or more commonly known as vloggers) document their lives through a video medium and choose to upload this into the YouTube stratosphere for others to enjoy. But why is this a form of 'entertainment' to those that watch? Is there some kind of innate behaviour within us that makes us want to watch someone do a grocery shop, tidy their flat or show us what they bought in Primark last weekend? Does that make us crazy... or is it acceptable? The very fact that you are reading this highlights how humans have an interest in what others do or have to say.
It is amazing to see how these vloggers have such 'power'. For example, recently Zoe Sugg (Zoella) uploaded a video entitled 'Your Skin Doesn't Define You' and followed by encouraging her viewers to tweet her a picture of them make-up-free. Within a few minutes the hashtag #barefacedandwhat was trending number 1 worldwide. To me, I think if she can help just 1 person feel more confident about themselves then she has made a positive difference. Social media has such an incredible impact. I think that this is an important thing to remember. Whether you have 5 people who read your blog/follow you on twitter or 105 it doesn't matter. It's just a wonderful platform to share interests and make people smile. You may never know how much you might make someones day a little better.
I read the comments of popular vloggers such as Zoella, Sprinkle of Glitter, Pointless Blog (not in a stalkerish way) and I notice that many comments include the word 'idolise' or more specifically 'I idolise you'. Are these vloggers really someone you should idolise? It is understandable how people feel a connection and it is understandable why people may say this as they look like they are living a life of perfection; attending film premieres, being sent free stuff (who doesn't love a freebee?) and being given opportunities to travel the world. Some people may argue that the reason why the world has engaged in this form of 'entertainment' so fondly is due to the fact that it is 'real life', But is it really? Daily vloggers upload on average around 12 minutes of footage a day. There are 1440 minutes in a day. Let me do some maths...(grabs a calculator)...12 minutes is only 0.83% of the entire day. Is it fair to say they have the best life ever? No. They document such a small proportion of their life.
They have the power to stop filming when they want to. They have the power not to vlog when they are feeling sad. They have the power not to vlog when they get frustrated.
They have the power to vlog what they want to vlog.
We don't know everything about a particular person. Everyone has their own secret struggles that happen in their day.
Vloggers' audiences have changed from 500ish people to millions in such a short amount of time and it has brought with it some major implications. Some of these have been good; they have given these people some life changing opportunities. The opportunity to do things they would otherwise would never have been able to do, such as to be able to bring out a make-up range or a book. I feel there is a constant argument as to whether vloggers should be considered celebrities? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a celebrity is "the state of being well known" and yes, when you have over 1 million people watching what you do everyday of your life that surely that makes you well-known.
However, this exponential growth in viewers has had negative impacts too. Imagine the pressure that you would feel if you had millions of people waiting to watch your next video. The surge in viewers has also created a vast gap between a vlogger and their viewers and pandemonium is now a frequent occurrence. Now actual physical barriers have been put up between the two. Imagine how heartbreaking it must be to see people break down in tears because they couldn't meet you. Imagine the feeling of going home knowing how upset that person now is. This isn't what the vlogger ever imagined would have happened when they decided to start a YouTube channel but it's now been added to the list of side effects of the YouTube drug. Further to this, a lot of vloggers are slated for filming collaborations. I disagree. It is a mutual decision between 2 vloggers to film together. It is then the viewers decision what to do next. It is the viewers decision as to whether to subscribe or not. It is the viewers decision as to what they want to watch.
And that's why I think the idea of live shows and panels is far more appealing. Being able to comfortably watch and engage with your favourite YouTubers is a far better option to queuing in a state of hysterics and mania.
Finally, I am saddened by the fact that people want to start a YouTube channel in order to become famous. YouTube should be a place where you make videos and share them with the world because it is your hobby - something you enjoy doing.
I would love to hear your opinion on this so please comment below.
Gradually add the flour to your mixture until you have mixed it all in.
If your mixture is dry at this stage, add a dash of milk.
Break up your chocolate and add to your mixture.
Using your hands pick up a small piece of mixture and roll into a small ball and place it onto your baking tray.
Place the baking tray into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Make sure you take them out after 10 minutes even if they don't look like they are done. Once you have left them to cool on a wire rack they will harden and be perfect!
Feel free to swap the white chocolate for milk or dark chocolate or maybe even make a mixture of the both!
One of the main reasons why I chose to start a blog was to have the opportunity of having a little space on the internet where I could write about things that I wanted to write about. I find it weird how people stumble across my blog and take time out of their day to sit and read something that I have written.
Right now, this is being read by people all living different lives, dealing with different problems and aiming for different goals.
Blogging has allowed me to appreciate the little things in life much more than I did previously. Blogging is not only a hobby, but a platform to share knowledge, thoughts, opinions and ideas.
I feel really inspired when I look at the list of countries in which my blog has been viewed this month. I think it's truly amazing how anyone in the world can access my little place on the internet...
UK
United States
Australia
Croatia
Germany
Canada
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Italy
Sri Lanka
I have only been to two of these countries but at least one person from each of the above has read something that I have written. I don't know them, but they have read a snippet about my life.
Share your knowledge, your thoughts, your opinions and your ideas.
My hair is quite thick and tends to get a little greasy in the roots after a couple of days so I end up washing my hair every other day.
This is what I do:
After making sure my hair is completely wet I take a good sized 'dollop' of the Alberto Balsam Anti-Oxidant Pomegranate Shampoo. I like to use this shampoo first of all as it really good at removing any styling build up. Also it's super cheap and means you don't have to use as much of a more expensive shampoo after. For my hair type this shampoo isn't enough though.
After washing this out, I take the Loreal Paris Elvive Anti-Dandruff Nourishing Shampoo and really work this into my roots.
After washing this out, I take the Loreal Paris Elvive Smooth-Intense Anti-Frizz Conditioner and I leave this on for around 4/5 minutes. I've found that the longer I leave it on, the softer my hair feels afterwards. This conditioner is excellent and does exactly what it claims to do.
Finally, once a week, I swap the Loreal Paris Elvive Anti-Dandruff Nourishing Shampoo for the TRESemme Deep Cleansing Shampoo for, yep, you guessed it, a deep cleanse! I love the squeaky clean feeling you get after using this. It's great for removing a weeks worth of styling build up.
Last weekend I hit the shops in search of some new shoes. I generally dislike shoe shopping as I see a pair of shoes I love and do they have my size? No.
(weheartit.com)
The first shop I went into was Primark. The Primark I went to was mahoosive and it took me about half an hour to find the shoe section. I knew I had reached my destination as the floor seemed to be wearing shoes. I wish people would put the shoes they have tried on back where they found them after they have finished. Maybe that's why I never find my size. I was looking for a simple pair of grey plimsolls. I love to wear plimsolls out-and-about in the summer as they are super comfy.
Since my feet have stopped growing I have been a size 6. Either my feet have shrunk or the measurements of shoe production have changed, I am no longer a 6. I'm a 5.
I spotted a pair of size 5 grey plimsols, tried them on and they fitted! Woo! Also, they were reduced from £6 to £3. Bargain!
Next, I headed over to New Look. New Look have a great variety of shoes and are reasonably priced. I was looking for a pair of pumps this time. I picked up a pair of black pumps that I liked, a size 5, because that's what I am now and tried them on. It always makes me laugh how you have to do this weird walk when you try on shoes. You never walk in that way normally. And the way you feel for your big toe as if it might be missing or something! The size 5 was too small. For a second I thought my feet had expanded back to their original size. I tried on the 6 and I think both of my feet might have fitted in the same shoe, they were so big. I gave up. I wish everywhere did half sizes.
I also went into H&M but had the same problem there so wont bore you with the same story again.
At this point, I'd had enough of shoe shopping for one day and so headed into Starbucks for a cheeky frappuccino. I know I behind with the hype, but this was my first frappuccino. I went for the Strawberries and Cream one and oh my it was lovely. It would be such a great drink on a hot day.
And finally for dinner we paid a visit to Pizza Hut. I can't remember which pizza I had but it was good. I love Pizza Hut as you get the salad bar too. For dessert I shared a white chocolate and raspberry cookie dough. I had a voucher for a dessert and so we got this for free. Bonus.
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