Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts

Last week a group of uni friends and I went to Amsterdam for a bit of an Easter vacay!

It was one of those trips where nothing was really planned which was perfect, as there was no set schedule and we all had the comfort of coming and going as we pleased. 

I was the first to arrive out of our group followed promptly by the group that left from Bristol and Stansted, we ended up meeting the rest of our group at our hostel later as their flight got in much later than ours.

Our first day was mainly exploring and taking in the beautiful canals that Amsterdam has to offer.

Our second day was a beaut of a day, we started it off by going to the Heineken Museum and then splitting up for lunch. I grabbed a pizza slice and chilled in a lil park area with Jess, Matt, George and Adrian. 

The third day saw temps reaching 22 degrees celsius so we thought it was the perfect day to check out Vondelpark and the I Amsterdam sign, where we stumbled upon this cool fountain that you can see in the video.

Our final day we explored the canals via a canal cruise and those of us with later flights checked out the fun fair that had been installed whilst we were there. 

Hope you all enjoy the video, apologies again for the cock up with filming. I've quite enjoyed this venture into vlogging so if I do another one i'll make sure I don't make the same mistake filming twice!

S.

x

The other week my boyfriend and I decided to celebrate our anniversary by going to Brussels. It had always been a place he had wanted to go, and as a lover of travel I'm keen to explore more of the world. So this week's Travel Tuesday will be more of a "hey this is what I got up to on my trip" rather than our usual programming.

We caught the Eurostar bright and early as we wanted to make as much use of our 3 days away. This was my first time travelling on the Eurostar and I have to say I really enjoyed my time (although I was asleep for most of it), it was nice knowing that my ears weren't going to have to be repressurised (or whatever it is that happens when you fly). The weather was less than desirable, with it starting to rain as we left the train station, however I felt this added to this quaint Belgium city. After getting lost a few times we finally made it to our hotel- Pantone Hotel , A cute little hotel 20mins walk away from the city centre. 

After leaving our bags at reception we decided to stroll and explore our surroundings till check in at 3pm. The rain was less than ideal but this didn't stop us, we grabbed a hot chocolate to warm us up at the Workhouse Cafe (although we did ask for chocolate milkshakes, maybe there was a language barrier). After strolling around for a few hours we realised that we had been walking away from the city centre (typical us) by this time though it was time to check in. I was pretty exhausted so ended up having a nap to try and regain some energy. 

That night we headed into the city centre to explore and see all the different bars and cafes Belgium had to offer. We saw the Grand Place on our way into the centre, it was so pretty at night as it was all lit up, which made for a nice effect. 

For dinner we went to Drug Opera which was built in the 20th century and is one of the most famous pubs in Brussels. I can vouch for the spaghetti bolognese (although a heads up, if you aren't a massive cheese lover or have issues with cheese, tell them when you order as the plate comes out with a healthy portion of cheese on top). After dinner we wandered about before finding Brussels famous statue Manneken Pis- to be fair this was by accident as it was on route to a pub we had heard good reviews on.

The next day saw us checking out the comic strip art museum, where we learnt how comics were made and saw works from Hergé (creator of Tin Tin) and Peyo (creator of The Smurfs). That night we went to Delirium Cafe as it had been recommended as a place to go by pretty much everyone we knew who had already been to Brussels. We were lucky to get a seat as by 5:30pm the place was starting to get pretty full. They have a massive selection of beers to choose from, I quite liked the Floris Ninkeberry.

The next day we headed home back to London and in typical fashion the weather was beautiful. My boyfriend and I both agreed that we would have loved to have had another day, even though we think we pretty much saw everything, that extra day would have been lovely. Especially as we knew there was a Tin Tin museum an hour's train ride outside of the city that we would have loved to have gone too.

Have you guys been to Brussels? What were some of your favourite sights and sounds?

S.

x

On New Years Eve the boyfriend and I decided to head into London with his friend and girlfriend. I had never been to the Borough Markets before and as a lover of food I was pretty keen to go after he suggested it.

There were so many food stalls that ranged from Thai, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Turkish... to good old bangers and mash. I decided on Thai as my boyfriend's friend's girlfriend had gotten some pad thai and it smelt so good. I settled on the chicken pad thai which was £6.50, it was really nice and a great portion for the amount you paid.

There was also a delicious looking cake stand and a cute lil tea stand that hosted a variety of different teas and even sold chai tea (yummmmy!).

I definately want to go back again and try more of the food stalls (and even grab one of the delicious cakes this time)

S.

X

KRIZIA

1. Sam Smith

Sam Smith is one of my favourite singers right now and he's playing two sold out shows in Auckland next year and I managed to score two tickets to go see him. I'm super excited for the show, he's someone i've wanted to see live for a while now.

2. Inniu Tracker Boots

I've wanted a pair of Timberlands for ages but never wanted to spend $300+ for them so I went on the hunt for a good pair of knock offs. I found these for $89 at my trusty favourite shop Wildpair. They're great quality, exactly like Timberlands, but less than half the price! 

3. GoPro Hero 4 Silver

I was getting really sick of how bulky my DSLR was so I looked into changing my camera. Since I was already interested in a GoPro I thought it was the perfect time to sell the DSLR and go for the Hero 4 Silver. It has the same Mega Pixels as my DSLR did and does basically the same thing but it's less than the size of my hand. I LOVE it! can't wait to use it when i travel, I'm also looking into diving so i can film underwater.

4. Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones

These headphones have been glued to my head for the past few days! I love being in my own world when i'm listening to music so these are amazing for me. I've always wanted Beats but the reviews were never good, and if you're going to spend a lot of money on headphones you're going to want them to do a good job.

5. MAC Pro Longwear Foundation

This was my first MAC purchase ever and for $70 it might be my last BUT i just had to try one of their foundations. I have very oily skin and after reading a few blogs a majority of the bloggers recommended Pro Longwear for oily skin. I was surprised that it really does work, i get a few hours of looking fresh faced rather than getting oily 30 minutes after putting on makeup. It's pricey but i definitely recommend it!

SOPHIE


1. Simpsons Tapped Out
This is currently my most used app (aside from my social media apps of course), there's just something about this game that keeps me coming back and earning money (for the game to complete quests). The basic outline of the game is that Homer has blown up the springfield you know and love however Professor Frink has managed to find a parallel universe and it's up to you to rebuild it.

2. Missguided Boots
These are my favourite pair of shoes at the moment. They're comfortable, stylish and the heel gives a bit of height but not high enough to be uncomfortable if I was to wear them the whole day. They had previously sold out but when I found out they had come back in stock I was quick purchase these and I haven't regretted it at all!

3. Brooklyn Nine Nine
Over the Christmas break i've had a lot of free time on my hands and to help with my procrastination of not working on my dissertation I turned to Netflix and the hit T.V. show Brooklyn Nine Nine. I love this comedy show starring Andy Samberg and Terry Crewes about the 99 Precinct in Brooklyn and the hijinks they get up too.

4. Bleach London Hair Dye
In my 27 years of living I've had many different hair colours but have never felt truly happy until I had pink/lavender hair and then being blonde as a close 2nd. What with uni coming to an end soon and me having to get a real job soon, I thought i'd go back to being blonde, but before that has to happen I thought i'd enjoy having a bit of freedom with colour first. Bleach London is a semi permanent hair dye colourant that I use to achieve these unnatural colours I love.. I may do a blog post in the new year about them.

5. Instax Mini 8
For christmas my boyfriend got me a white Instax Mini 8 and I absolutely LOVE it! I've wanted on for ages and was meant to get one for my birthday but as he was still finding a job he surprised me and got it for me for Christmas. I can't wait to take more pics with it in the new year!

K. & S.
X

For my sister's Christmas present I thought I'd treat her to the Harry Potter Studio Tour (as we're both massive Potter fans). I'd been before with Krizia (twas a Christmas Present from my boyfriend) and I absolutely loved it! This time though as it's the Christmas season the whole tour was decked out for the joyous season.

This time round I splurged and got us both some audio guides, which provided further insight into the behind the scenes of the movie franchise.

Even though I had been before there was still so much more to see and things missed the first time viewing as I had been caught up in the excitement. A few things were missing and had been moved as well, the last time I was there, there was an epic display of all the beautiful graphic designs that featured in the movie (e.g. The Quibbler, tickets, books, posters etc) instead it was replaced with The Deatheaters and Voldemort sitting at the table (re: Deathly Hallows Part 1), however one thing is for certain I was still in awe of all the incredible detail that went in to making these films that meant so much to me and others around the world.

The Butterbeer was as still as delicious as I remembered and this time I upgraded and got a novelty mug. I managed to refrain myself in the gift shop and only purchased peppermint toads, but I could seriously go to town in there if I had the funds (wands, robes, jumpers... the works).

Here are a small selection of the pics I took:

S.
x

November 30th saw Lily Allen come down to Portsmouth to play the final show on her UK leg of the Sheezus tour.

1. & 2. Black Docs and Sequin Stance Socks
After my black rubber Docs split i didn't know if I wanted a classic leather pair again because I didn't take good care of my other leather ones. I caved in though once I saw them at work, but it's a shame they don't look nice and smooth like they do in the photo anymore. I LOVE these sequin Stance socks! It was a toss up between these silver ones and black ones but I just loved the way the silver pair sparkled under light.

3. Interstellar
I'm obsessed with anything to do with space so once I found out Christopher Nolan (the man behind some of my favourite movies: the Batman trilogy and Inception) directed this movie I had to watch it, and just like Inception I was left with a million questions and a very sore head. If you haven't watched it yet I definitely recommend it, but be prepared with lots of snacks and maybe bring a cushion because you're going to be sitting down for three hours.

4. Giant Mugs
I love a nice giant mug even though I can barely finish my tea 90% of the time. I randomly stumbled upon this amazing mug a few weeks ago in a gift shop and I had to have it because it combines my two favourite things, Dinosaurs/Jurassic Park and tea!

5. Rimmel London Kate Moss Lipstick

I've been trying to find a good pink lipstick that suits my skin colour for a long time. I was looking around a makeup outlet store when i came across the Kate Moss range. I couldn't decide which pink to take so because they were half price I picked the 106, a dark pink and 20, a lighter pink. It's taken me a while to get used to the 20 because I never wear light coloured lipsticks but i'm warming up to it!

SOPHIE




1. Carebear Pyjama's
I came across these in Primark and just had to get them! I'm really loving the jogger/legging style pyjama bottoms at the mo. The top is super comfy and keeps me hella warm that sometimes I wish I could wear it everywhere!

2. One Direction "Four"
My love for this band continues to grow, I couldn't wait to hear their new album when 'Fireproof' was released and they did not disappoint! I can't stop playing the album and boogeying along to it in my head when I'm walking down the street. Absolutely loving their new style!!!

3. My Birthday
It can't be a monthly favourites without mentioning my birthday! I love my birthday because it's the only day of the year I can truly justify that the day is all about me. I had a blast bringing in my 27th year with my boyfriend and a few close friends. Although I fear as I'm getting older the hangovers are getting worse haha.

4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
I've been waiting all year for this film and it finally came. The movie was beyond spectacular and I could have easily sat there for another 3 hrs watching the second part. Since Harry Potter finished Hunger Games has filled this spot. I'm a big fan of the books and was happy they kept to the storyline, but the small things they did add helped make the film what it is.

5. Gig Tickets
This month as been a gig buying frenzy! So many great artists have announced their going on tour. This month I've managed to get tickets for Charli XCX, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. Next year is shaping up to be a pretty music filled year!