Pretty Prairie Charms

It was actually a fair while ago that I ordered these Prairie Charm goodies, but what with moving jobs, and trying to sort my life out, I completely forgot about these little beauties! I have finally gotten around to doing my hair more recently and as such I have been finding chances to wear this little cuties!

I found out about Prairie Charms when I saw that they had tweeted one of my blogger friends about their Project Blogger opportunity, of course I jumped straight in and asked if I could get involved. That same night I ordered what I wanted and within a week this arrived in the post.

 I absolutely love the packaging that they were wrapped in, they also came in a shiny purple envelope. It definitely stood out from your average package! I have to admit I squealed a little bit when I was opening these. I know you are all dying to know what I got.

The first thing that caught my eye on the website were these cute Tala Heart Bows.

 I've been dying to wear hair bows since the beginning of time, however with me being so useless at doing my hair, I NEVER get around to buying any. However as soon as I say these babies, I knew I had to have them. Blue is my FAVOURITE colour (if you hadn't already guessed from my layout), and the little love hearts make these super cute and girly!

The next thing that I spied was these Rose Bobby Pins, I couldn't find the original link but there are similar ones on the website here.

For obvious reasons, I was drawn to these lovely and very realistic little rose bobby pins. I got three in these lovely, fresh colours. When I first saw the picture of these I thought they were made out of fabric, however they are actually made out of this foam kind of material, making them fairly durable little flowers. I definitely want to get some more of these!

The final product that I absolutely had to have was the Olivia Crown.

This beautiful rose flower crown was definitely my favourite item of the order. I couldn't stop looking at it on top of my head and smiling! I really love the peachy colour of the roses, and it's one that's definitely different for me. The roses are made from the same foamy material as the bobby pin roses, and I think this is the perfect summer accessory! To be honest, I plan on rocking this right into autumn, and I think I picked the perfect colour for that!

Overall I was overjoyed with every single thing that I ordered from Prairie Charms, and as soon as I get paid I plan to buy more goodies! If you want to take a look, then visit the Prairie Charms Website, or follow them on Twitter.

The more eagle eyed of you will have also noticed that it is not me in the photos. I am useless at taking photos of myself, let alone photos of my hair. So instead of getting rubbish pictures I asked my beautiful sister to let me take pictures of the items in her hair! You can check out here blog here.

Until next time...

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Hot Topic

Today I'm here to talk about someone who has been very present in the media recently, and a lot of people have opinions on this lady, so I thought it was about time I share mine.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, firstly 'where have you been?' and secondly, I'm talking about Miley Cyrus, and her VMA performance, with Robin Thicke. I'll admit, when I initially watched the performance I was shocked, I couldn't believe that she would be so brazen as to act that way onstage. Although at no point did I think to myself 'she's out of control', or anything of the sort. I didn't think any worse of her, or begin to call her a slut or anything else.

At the end of the day, Miley is allowed to do whatever she wants with her life. It's her choice to perform that way, and I know she had her reasons. She's a lot cleverer than most people are giving her credit for, she got the controversy that she orchestrated herself, and people are still talking about her performance, and listening to her music at the same time.

Personally I think everyone should let her get on with it!

As a complete sidenote, I am obsessed with 'We Can't Stop'.... someone help me?

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Photo from my day.

Today was actually pretty boring for me. I was woken up at 7:30 by my sister getting ready for school, and I got ready for work REALLY slowly. I started at 11, and finished at 6. That was pretty much it. I really didn't have a clue what I was going to take a picture of until it happened, and here it is.

I went around to meet my dad to pick something up that he had printed for me, and he offered to wash my car. Of course I wasn't going to say no!

There you have it, simple, and rather boring. I keep meaning to try out the photo an hour style posts, maybe I will one day very soon!

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Things I Love...

There are a million things that I love, most of them are food based, but we won't go into that too much! I think the easiest way for me to tackle this is to make a list. I'm going to limit it to my top 5 favourite things in the whole wide world! So in no particular order, here are a few things that make me happy.

1: Dogs.

 My beautiful Maizey!

My Nan's puppy, Pippa.

Little Poodle puppy that I got to cuddle yesterday!

I grew up around dogs, and as such I have always loved them. Nothing makes me smile more than getting to have a cuddle with a dog. No matter what breed, or size, I love them ALL! I was bought a puppy when I was only 1 year old, and she was the best dog ever. She reached the ripe old age of 14 before we sadly had to have her put down. That never deterred me from wanting another dog. My mum got a border collie cross called Annie, for her birthday from my Nan, and she is the dopiest, soppiest thing you would ever meet. Unless she see's a clown... then she will rip it's throat out (no lie). I begged mum to let me have my own dog, I desperately wanted (and still do want) a teacup yorkshire terrier. We were struggling to find any yorkie puppies around our area, and then mum spotted an advert for Jack Russell puppies. She knew as soon as I saw them that I wouldn't be able to resist. So that night I left that farm with my little baby Maizey! She's now four years old and I'm desperate for her to have little puppies of her own! I literally cannot contain myself when I am around dogs, I went to a family fun day when I visited my cousin in Wakefield, and there was a fun dog show, and I almost had a heart attack at all the cute little doggies. I swear if I ever am lucky enough to own a big house with a bit of land, that I will own ALL the dogs!

2. Baking:

Mary Berry is my IDOL! I don't know what it is about baking, but it makes me feel really happy. I just love making (and eating) sweet treats. I find that a cake is all the more delicious when you've made it yourself, from scratch. I ALWAYS make my own pastry when I make a tart, and nothing makes me prouder than when I cut a slice and flip it, to find NO soggy bottom! I am slowly getting back into baking, and I have a little bit of a plan to start up a small business, but we'll see on that front.

3. Youtube:

I've talked about my obsession with Youtube so many times on this blog. I've been a loyal watcher of many Youtubers since their humble beginnings. I aspire to have my own channel with 1000 followers. I have started making Gameplay videos much like Pewdiepie, and you can check those out here. I am also working on videos for my main channel, which will focus on short films and vlogs. So watch this space!

4. Chart Music:

I tend to get a lot of stick for my taste in music, but it really doesn't bother me. I like a song with a good tune, with decent lyrics that I can sing along and dance to. It doesn't mean that I dislike other kinds of music, I'll happily listen to rock music, or heavy metal. I enjoy music in general. It just so happens to be that my favourite music is the stuff that is in the charts.

5. Horror Films:

My love of horror films has always been present. When I was about 10 years old, my dad rented the original Nightmare on Elm Street, and I watched it about 15 times before we took it back. In fact I'm pretty sure he extended the rental so I could watch it more. That makes me sound like a really creepy child right? It wasn't really until I was in sixthform, studying Media, and we researched Slasher movies for our coursework, that I really unlocked my love of horror. Since then I have attended a few horror film festivals whilst at university, and my love of horror continues to grow. Now I know a lot of you are probably sat there thinking I am a total weirdo. I don't know what it is about horror. I love the feeling of being scared, or grossed out. I've never seen a film that I literally couldn't watch because it was too gory. I think what I love the most about horror is that it really pushes the boundaries of what is actually SHOWN on film. I hope that some of you will agree, and all I will say is that I think everyone should give horror a go. If there is one thing I have learned from attending the festivals, it's that there is a horror for everyone. Comic, thought-provoking, or just down right scary, there's a lot off cool stuff out there, just dig a little deeper than mainstream horror, and you might find a gem, like I have.

So there you have it, five things that I love, and that make me who I am! Sorry that this post turned out MEGA long, and I'm hoping some of you have stayed until the end. Let me know what you think on my views in the comments, I love to hear from you!

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Beauty Pet Peeves

Apologies for this post being a day late, but better late than never! Now i'm no beauty expert, I have a fairly decent makeup collection, some of which I don't really use, but I'm hoping to work on that. There are certain looks that I have seen with my own eyes, that honestly make my stomach turn. I'm sure that a lot of you agree with my main three annoyances...

1. Eyebrows

I personally cannot stand people who have 'drawn on' eyebrows. Now don't get me wrong here. I'm not talking about people who groom, and simply define their eyebrows. I'm a big fan of well looked after eyebrows. What I am talking about here are people that shave off/cover their natural brows, and then draw on brows in ridiculous and un-natural shapes. I understand that with some styles (i.e goth) that this can enhance an overall look. However for someone who is still trying to look natural, drawing on eyebrows is not the answer. There is nothing that looks more un-natural than someone who draws on their brows. They are SO easy to spot, and they always make me giggle. I saw a woman whilst I was in Bristol who's eyebrows where arched so high they almost touched her hairline. The only thing I can do in that situation is laugh. It may be harsh, but I literally cannot understand it.



2. Fake Tan

Yes I am aware that the picture is from a movie, but it perfectly illustrates my point. Now I like a healthy glow as much as the next person. I definitely feel more confident and a little bit sexier when I have a tan, although for me it doesn't happen often. I personally don't use fake tan, mainly because it never turns out the way I want it to. I hate people who look patchy, or that have opted for the oompa loompa/dipped in chocolate look. If that happened to me, I don't think I'd be able to leave the house until it was completely scrubbed off. However I am aware that fake tan can be done right. The best example I've ever seen personally was my uncles ex-wife. She was very fair skinned, like myself, and for their wedding, she decided to get a spray tan. She looked amazing, perfectly natural, and not in the slightest bit orange.



3. Blusher

I hardly ever wear blusher, I have quite a natural blush to my cheeks anyway. I'm not against blusher, but what I object to is people who cake their cheeks in the stuff. You can only ever end up looking like a clown. Again, this is one of those situations where I literally can't help but laugh when I see it. Just as bad as caking it on though, is people who put almost a perfect circle of thick blush right on the apple of their cheeks. I can honestly say that I have seen instances of both, and it never makes anyone look good! The only time for that kind of blusher is at a fancy dress party.

Bronzer tends to present the same sort of problems, people will lay it on thickly, looking to get the sunkissed look. All they ever end up with is the 'burnt in the oven' look, which I have come to loath.


So there you have it. There are my three main beauty pet peeves. When done well, the above things can certainly enhance someones look, however there are those out there, who always take is one step too far!

Let me know in the comments what your pet peeves are, I love to hear from you!

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Letter to past someone!

I have thought long and hard about who I should write this 'letter' to. I thought about writing one to my granddad, or even the people who bullied me when I was in secondary school, but I finally settled on a letter to my 16 year old self.

Dear Alyssia,

I know you are scared because you are doing your GCSE's this year, and you think that you are going to fail and you'll never be able to do what you want, but I just wanted to let you know that everything will turn out OK. Although that isn't an excuse for you to stop studying! Study hard and you will do really well. Also when you pick your 'A' levels, just pick ones that you actually want to do, don't worry about what your friends are doing, or what your parents want you to do.

Also don't even be thinking about boys! They aren't worth your time right now, trust me! I know there is that one boy who you are still in love with, and I'm here to tell you, you always will be. You really need to listen to me when I say, he is no good for you. Please, please PLEASE, do not get involved with him again, it will only leave you in a giant mess, just like it did to me.

I know you are probably laughing at this and wondering why I'm ordering you around, but if I had my time again, there are several things I would do differently, and cutting HIM out of my life is the main one. 

Just enjoy yourself, have fun, and NEVER put too much pressure on yourself, and you'll have a great time.

There it is! My letter to my past self, I kept it short and sweet, mainly because I couldn't think of what to write, but there you go!

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Fantasy Dinner Party

I've seen a few posts before where bloggers have outlined their fantasy dinner party, but I've never actually thought about what I would want mine to be like. Obviously the most important part of my fantasy dinner party would be the guests, and here are a few of the people I'd want on my table:

• Tim Burton
• Johnny Depp
• Vincent Price
• The Twisted Twins (Soska Sisters)
• Liam Neeson
• Steven Speilberg

The above list are all people who I admire in some aspect, and people that I would LOVE to have a lengthy conversation with. Especially the top 3 names! Tim Burton is my idol, I love his style, and admire all that he puts together. Johnny Depp is by far my favourite actor, I think he has an amazing versatility, and I really love the weird and wonderful range of characters he has played. As for Vincent Price, he is a horror legend! I have actually met his daughter, who visited Aberystwyth during our horror film festival and she did a talk on her father's legacy. 

To be honest I haven't given the food much thought, mainly because that would literally be the last thing on my mind if I was sat around a table with all of these people! However with my new-found love of Tapas, I'd serve that! Dessert would have to be a recipe by Mary Berry, because she is my baking IDOL!

As for the decor, I'd go for something very classic and slightly gothic, much like the picture above! There would be lots of ghost stories, and maybe even a seance or two!

There we have it, my perfect fantasy dinner party! Let me know what you think in the comments. 

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Travel Dreams!

I haven't done a great deal of travelling in my life, and to be honest I've never really had the desire. Since I turned 21 however, I've had an itch for travelling. Not only abroad, but also within the UK. I haven't been to many cities in the UK, but having been to London for a weekend, and Bristol for a WHOLE WEEK on my own, I've been bitten by the travelling bug. I'm going to go the top 3 places I want to visit!

Egypt:

I've always had an obsession with Ancient Egypt, and it's always been a massive dream of mine to visit the pyramids. Obviously it's not a great time to visit Egypt right now, but I am hoping I'll get the chance one day!

Venice:

I think there is something very romantic and very beautiful about Venice. I'm hoping that one day I'll get to go there with a special someone, all I've got to do is find them first!

New York City:

I did get the opportunity to go to New York for a week when I was an 'A' level drama student, but instead I decided to go to California for 3 weeks with my ex-fiance. I did really enjoy my time in California, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. New York is definitely on my list. I want to go to Carlo's Bakery, and see the statue of liberty!

So there you have it. There are a million other places I could think of that I would love to go, but I think these three are the ones I need to do before I die!

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Favourite Recipe

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One of my favourite things to cook is actually a recipe that I stumbled upon during my time as a vegetarian back in January. I found this recipe for Sweet Potato Risotto on Student Recipes, which I think is an amazing website for easy recipes, which are written by other students!

I've adapted the recipe slightly to suit my own tastes, so here is what you will need:

• Oil
• 1 Sweet potato
• Paprika
• 1/2 an onion, diced.
• 125g arobotio risotto rice
• White wine (half a glass)
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 300ml Vegetable stock
• 1/2 lemon
• Grated cheddar (as much as you like)

Method:

1. The sweet potato can roast whilst you cook the risotto. Chop it into bitesize pieces, coat them in oil, and stick them in the oven at 200 degrees. I normally set a timer for 20mins, as the potato is normally done by that time!
2. Heat some oil in a pan and add a little paprika, add the onion and fry.
3. Add the risotto rice, stirring continuously until it is coated in the oil.
4. Add the chopped garlic and stir.
5. Add the wine, and keep stirring until it has bubbled away, then reduce the heat.
6. Add the vegetable stock, little by little, waiting until the rice has soaked it up before adding more. (by this point the sweet potato is normally done, so take that out of the oven)
7. Keep cooking until all the stock is gone.
8. The rice should be soft, but it depends on how you like it!
9. Add the sweet potato and stir in the cheese.
10. ENJOY!

This recipe is so simple, and it really made me fall in love with risotto. Please let me know in the comments if you give this a go!

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Positives about blogging

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Ever since I started my first blog back in 2010, I've always loved writing one. Although it wasn't until November of last year that I really gained a passion for it. I'm going to keep this post short and sweet and just give a list of the things I love about blogging:

• The support network of other bloggers.
• The good feeling I get when I post on the blog.
• The even better feeling I get when someone enjoys something I've written.
• It makes me want to be a better person. 
• It makes me find more interesting things to do (so I can blog about them).

So there you go, there's just a small few of the things that I love about blogging!

Berkshire Bloggers do #SBBC: Sentimental Item

I am a very sentimental person, nothing makes me prouder than something that reminds me of someone that I love very much. Today I'm going to share with you two of my most prized possessions. One is kind of funny, and the other reminds me of someone who was very dear to me.

This very cluttered thing here is an electronic piano, and it's very special to me. I hardly play it anymore to be honest, and as you can see its basically a shelf. BUT it was bought for me, by someone very special to me. My granddad Gilbert. He and I really got on. I would spend a couple of weeks every summer with my Nan and him. He'd take me to the library and help me pick out a stack of books, and then when I read them all really fast, he'd just laugh and take me back to the library to get more. He spoilt me rotten whilst I was there, he'd take me to McDonalds, and get all my favourite cereals and sweets in. Above all, he was always genuinely interested in what I was doing. He'd always ask me about how I was getting on at school, what I was interested in. He'd sit there and listen to me, and he always took an interest. I took piano lessons when I was in primary school/early secondary school. I was really good at it, and he loved that. My mum and dad couldn't afford a piano for me to practice on, and so Granddad got me this.

Unfortunately a few years ago, a week after my birthday, Gilbert passed away. When mum told us, I really didn't know how to handle it. His funeral was really tough for me, I just couldn't believe that he wasn't going to be around anymore. I still cringe when I go into my Nan's flat and see the corner where he used to sit. I miss him. However I like to remember him for all the funny things he used to do, like eating peanuts and then pulling his false teeth out so he could pick out the bits. He used to pretty much constantly sing 'Glory Glory Man United' around me. He was a proper character, and a wonderful bloke.

Now onto a bit more of a light-hearted and strange sentimental item, that has actually already featured on this blog before! Brace yourselves....

This is an original art piece, created for me by my very talented and wonderful best friend Ellie. I can already feel the 'WHAT THE HELL' looks that this post is going to get, but let me explain. One day we were walking through town, and we got onto the subject of gifts. I mentioned that for my next birthday, I would like her to make me a drawing. Now one thing I must explain about myself and Ellie, is that we have a very weird and wonderful sense of humor. So to see what her reaction was, I said this: 'I want you to draw us both naked, riding a black unicorn, AND A PROPER UNICORN! Not just a horse with a horn. and I want you to be sitting behind me and holding onto me by my boobs'. Obviously we both thought this was hilarious, and not a lot more was said about it. Then my birthday came around and when she handed me my gift I instantly knew what it was. I honestly laughed for half an hour. I think this is hands down the best gift I have ever been given. There are a few of our other personal jokes in there that it would take me far too long to explain, but every single part of this picture is relevant to us. For that reason this is one of my most prized possessions!

Hope you enjoyed that litter personal insight into me, it got a little more personal than usual!

Berkshire Bloggers Do #SBBC: Favourite Jewellery

I'm not a big jewellery person to be honest. I won a fair amount of it, but I have to be in the right kind of mood to be wearing it. So I thought I would show you the pieces that I wear the most.

 This is my favourite bracelet of the moment. I bought it in Matalan during my graduation week, and normally if I'm wearing anything, it's this. I'm a massive fan of Tim Burton, and this bracelet really reminds me of his style. Plus it's in pretty pastel colours, which makes it both cool, and a little girly.

I bought this necklace for the same reason as above. Also because blue is my favourite colour. As soon as I saw this necklace from across the store in New Look, I gravitated towards it and knew it had to be mine! It has the same skulls as the bracelet, and I also own it in pink and white. I just couldn't resist it.

These two pieces are definitely the ones that get the most wear for me, and that's actually really unusual, because it's a gold colour, and I MUCH prefer silver. My sister bought me this necklace, and I bought the earrings from New Look. They go perfectly together because they are the same style, and they are really easy to wear. Also I am totally obsessed with owls... that is all.

So there we have it, a little insight to my favourite pieces of jewellery! Let me know in the comments what your favourite piece is.

Berkshire Bloggers Do #SBBC

A blogger friend of mine posted about this September Beauty Blogger Challenge, and so I thought I would take a look. I was delighted to see that there are also lifestyle blogger prompts on there!

I suggested to the ladies of the Berkshire Bloggers group that we give the challenge a go, and a few were keen so that is what we are going to do. You can track all our posts under #BerkshireBloggersSBBC on Twitter.

For today's prompts, I really wanted to do the 'Recent Purchases' however seeing as I am currently sat in a hotel room in Bristol a million miles away from all my normal comforts, I can't just reach through space and grab the things I've bought recently. So instead I'll talk about what I hope to gain from this challenge:

• MOTIVATION: I haven't had a lot of motivation for blogging lately, and I'm hoping this challenge will reignite my love for it.
• IMPROVEMENT: I'm hoping that through this challenge, my writing and in particular my photos will improve.
• BRINGING BLOGGER TOGETHER: This will be only the second challenge that the Berkshire Bloggers have undertaken together, I want to bring everyone all together more often!

That's all for now! I'm excited to get going with this challenge. BRING IT ON!