Eating Out: Dinner at Chiquito*

One of my favourite things to do is eat out - I was discussing this with some blogging pals just last night. These days, while I still love the odd night out on the town dancing, I'm far more likely to look forward to a nice meal with my friends, with good food, good company and usually a cocktail or two!

So last week, I treated my bestie Emma to just that. We headed over to Chiquito at The Fort* (Glasgow) for dinner on Friday, and it was amazing.

I've only been to Chiquito once or twice before, and never to this branch, but I am a big fan of Mexican food! This made making a decision on what to eat somewhat difficult - there were so many dishes on the menu that tempted me... In the style of Blind Date, I'll give you a run down of a couple of the contenders...

BBQ Chicken Fajitas: "Served over a bed of spiced fajita onions and mixed peppers, with warm, soft flour tortillas, grated cheese, homemade salsa, sour cream and guacamole."

Philly Steak Hot Baked Wrap: "Strips of juicy steak, Texan style cheese sauce, fajita vegetables and cheese, baked in a soft flour tortilla served with skin-on-fries, our homemade slaw and a fresh house salad."

The Whole Hog Burger: "The classic topped with tasty BBQ pulled pork covered in melted cheese. Served in a soft brioche bun with baby gem lettuce, red onion, beef tomato, mayo and topped with pickle. Served with homemade slaw and your choice of skin-on-fries, fresh house salad or Mexican spiced rice."

When it finally came time to make a choice, I decided to go for contender number three - try as I may, I just cannot resist a burger. Especially when pulled pork is involved.

On this occasion, I was driving, so alcohol was off the table, but Chiquito does have a very enticing drinks menu full of interesting cocktails, which I'll definitely be tempted to try next time! Instead, I relaxed with a cup of tea after my meal, and it was lovely. You can't beat a good cup of tea.

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to Chiquito's at The Fort. We just headed over for dinner, but the location right beside the cinema and the main shopping centre makes it the perfect place to stop for something to eat if you're spending the day browsing the shops. The atmosphere was chilled out, the staff were friendly, and the food was good - and reasonably priced! What more could you ask for?!

Have you eaten out anywhere new lately? Let me know in the comments below! :)

Thanks for reading!

Lynsey x

*Disclaimer: I was very kindly sent a voucher for Chiquito at The Fort, which I put towards the meal on Friday. All thoughts and opinions in this post, however, are completely my own.

London Vlogging!

This week my friend Roisin (from Rose Keats!) and I headed down to London to visit our lovely friend Gill and stroll around enjoying the sunshine! We had such a lovely time, and I vlogged the trip, so rather than tell you about it, I thought I'd show you, in video form! If any of you have subscribed to my YouTube channel, you'll have seen this yesterday, but I know that not everyone who reads my blog is subscribed!

Hope you enjoy, and let me know - if you've been to London, what was your favourite thing about the city?

Thanks for watching/reading!

Pinterest Wanderlustin'

Lately I've been having a serious case of itchy feet. When I got home from Australia, I made a promise to myself that I would gradually tick all of the places I wanted to visit off my very long "to visit" list, and then? I went back to uni. So for 2014 I was busy with my Masters, and didn't get a chance to get away anywhere.

Now, here we are in April of 2015, and my wanderlust is spiralling out of control. Pinterest is my weakness - I could (and do) spend hours scrolling through the many, many beautiful travel pins and updating my Wanderlust board (which you can see here!). So here are the places that are currently sitting right up at the top of my list, and that I'm hoping I'll have the chance to visit soon - I've had casual chats about getting away for a wee city break with a couple of my pals, just need to get something in the diary!!

Iceland

I've been desperate to visit Iceland for a really long time now. There's just something so beautiful and magical about the Icelandic landscape, it fills me with excitement just looking at it! So when Amy from The Little Magpie uploaded a post last week showing off her photos from her recent trip, the green eyed monster definitely took over - it just looks so lovely. And who wouldn't want to go swimming in a pool of hot water surrounded by ice and snow?!!

Budapest

This is a very recent addition to my list, thanks to another blog post! Nikki (from Nikki and Things) uploaded a post after her city break to Budapest, and I'm not kidding - the minute I was done reading I was googling cheap flights to Hungary! I knew it was an interesting city, but I had never really paid attention to how utterly beautiful it is! Look at some of those buildings!!

New York

And finally, we have New York. Yes, NYC is still at the top of my list because despite wanting to go for as long as I can remember, I still haven't made it there! Roisin, our friend Gill and I had planned to go this year but a few big life changes (moves to new cities, job changes, etc) has meant it has been postponed - but we'll get there!! You can practically feel the buzz and the energy of the city, even just in pictures!

So for now, my top three travel destinations consists of these three lovely places!

Where would you jet off to tomorrow if the opportunity to get away arose? :)

I wrote and published this post last week, but today I discovered that my urge to write it was actually fate - Transun are running a competition to win a trip to see the Northern Lights, which is something which has been lodged firmly near the top of my travel bucketlist for years! Since the requirements for the post are to write about your top three travel destinations, which is exactly what I've just done, I figure it's a sure-fire sign I should enter the competition! Wish me luck! :) http://www.transun.co.uk/blogs/bucketlist-blog-competition

Thanks for reading!


*All images sourced on Pinterest, and pinned on my Wanderlust board :)

3 Years on YouTube!

Today is a special day! It marks three years since I hit upload on my first ever YouTube video. While it hasn't always been the most consistent of journeys, I can honestly say it's become such an important part of my life, and I can't imagine not having my little space on the internet to ramble away on!

So, although I have a video dedicated to this going up this weekend, I decided to choose a few of the videos I've enjoyed filming the most, and pop them all in one handy little post for me to revisit in the future. I might do a post like this every year, and add to the list of favourites :)

So, in no particular order, a few of my favourite ever videos to film/edit have been...

Reacting to the X-Factor 2014 with Emma

My plan for my next year here on YouTube is to film more reacting to videos. I absolutely loved filming this, and even if Emma and I are the only two who think this is funny, it was a ridiculous amount of fun!



Vlog: Internet Friends

I really enjoyed this chatty, rambly vlog. I just decided to sit down and talk about the amazing friends I've made through YouTube and blogging, and though it was totally impromptu, I'm happy with how it turned out!



Port Douglas Part 1 - Meet my new friends!

I loved all of my Australia trip vlogs, but this one will always have a special place in my heart. My friend Lynsey said I looked like the happiest person in the world meeting those wee kangaroos and Samsun the koala!



Confessions of a Rewatcher (TV)

I had a stupid amount of fun filming this video, and it was round about this time that I realised I needed to channel my passion (as dramatic as that sounds) and actually start focusing my channel on what I wanted to talk about, which was film and TV. Rather than try to cater for what I thought other people wanted to watch, I just started making the content I enjoyed, and could not be happier!



Pretty Little Liars - Reacting to the Big A Reveal!

Another reacting to video - despite the blurred footage, again, I loved filming this, and definitely plan on making more of this type of video in the near future :)



Vlog: Good News, Lush Christmas 2014 and Dinner in Edinburgh

This seems like a totally random choice, but it's really for the first minute of it! I vlogged my reaction just after I found out I had passed my Masters with distinction, and got an amazing mark on the dissertation I had poured my heart and soul into, and while I never thought I'd willingly upload a vlog of me crying, I'm really glad I captured that moment.



Festive GRWM: 2014 Edition

Another fairly recent one, but as my channel started off focused on beauty, I couldn't very well not include a GRWM! My get ready with me videos never tend to work out as well as I hope they will, whereas I was actually pretty happy with how this one turned out :)



The Gossip Girl Tag feat. Rose Keats

And finally, we have the Gossip Girl tag, filmed with Roisin! How could I do a favourite YouTube videos post without including one with a friend I met through this very online community!




So I'll leave it there, but keep your eyes peeled on Sunday, when I'll be uploading a "3 years on YouTube" themed video! Thanks so much to all four hundred and thirty something of you, who have chosen to hit that subscribe button over the past few years. I know I don't have the most regular of channels in terms of content - my videos are a mish mash of everything from beauty to books to films and tv to chatty vlogs, so I really, really appreciate you watching :) if you haven't already visited my channel, here's a wee link if you fancy it - be sure to say hi!

Thanks for reading (and watching!) and here's to another three years!

Insta-Life Update #3

After yesterday's My Favourite Instagram Accounts post, I realised it's been a ridiculously long time since I did one of my insta-life update posts! So I decided that's what I'd do today.

Instagram is just the nicest (and quickest!) way of capturing a moment. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I definitely think it makes you appreciate the little things more. I wish I'd done one of these posts back at Christmas time - I went on an instagram binge in December, because everything just looked so lovely all decked out in Christmas lights and festive decorations. Alas, I did not, so we'll have to make do with a few snaps from February/March!

Top row L-R - Rory, Radley, Ice Cream
Middle row L-R - Shopping, Dylan Moran, Quotes
Bottom row L-R - Harvey Nics, Catch Ups, Movie Night

Back in February we got a new hamster - his name is Rory and he is a mad little ball of fur who is constantly entertaining us. He started off seriously timid, and he still occasionally jumps at his own shadow for no apparent reason, but he has also mastered climbing the wallpaper and curtains, like an intrepid explorer. This means you really can't take your eye off him for a minute, but he's so cute he can get away with anything.

Roisin and I went along to an event at the Radley store in Edinburgh, which was lovely - my post on that has been totally delayed, but look out for a full post on that soon! The handbags were absolutely beautiful. We then met a few of our lovely Edinburgh blogger pals for dinner and a catch up, which is always fun.

This is a random one, but this photo proved to be far more popular than I had expected! I took a snap of this Cadburys Marvellous Creations Fairground Candy Crunch Ice Cream, and people seemed to be very excited about it. It is absolutely delicious, by the way.

I went for a browse in New Look a couple of weeks ago and they had so many lovely things I wanted to buy!! Sadly I had to think about my bank balance and went home empty handed, but I did instagram this snap of me in one of the dresses I really liked, and people were very, very nice about it. I'm not one for posting any sort of fashion related photos, I don't do OOTDs or anything, but I can't lie - I definitely got a wee ego boost on this occasion, so thank you to the lovely people who left lovely comments!

Emma and I went to see Dylan Moran last week in the Clyde Auditorium and he was just as funny as he always is. He is my favourite comedian. Black Books is one my favourite TV shows of all time, and I have a boxset of his stand up shows which I dig out any time I need a good laugh. I'd only seen him live once before, so it was a total joy to get to experience his amazing humour in person again. We laughed till we cried: my personal favourite bits included the line "there are only four ages of human - child, failure, old and dead", and his reading of his own version of Fifty Shades of Grey. It was genius.

I've still been keeping up with my Sunday night quotes as a little bit of inspiration for the start of the week :) I'm so pleased I've kept this up.

Roisin and I went along to Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh for a beauty event a couple of weeks ago, which was all very lovely and sophisticated! We sipped lots of bubbly, lusted after too many bronze/neutral eyeshadows and I went home with a gorgeous MAC eyeliner, which I showed in this beauty haul over on my channel!

Nikki and I FINALLY caught up for dinner on Saturday! Having not seen each other since December, this was well overdue, so we spent a good few hours eating, drinking and catching up on all the gossip which had accumulated in the space of three months! I do love a catch up with that girl!

And finally, Emma and I had a wee movie night last night - I was desperate to watch Hitchcock's Rope, which I hadn't seen in ages! I love this film, I really do! If you like creepy, suspenseful films, and haven't seen this, check it out as soon as possible! It is based on a true story, which always blows my mind, about two college students who try to execute the perfect murder. They believe themselves to be intellectually superior to others, and think this means they can get away with whatever they want. It is SO GOOD.

So those were just a few highlights from the past few weeks! What have you been getting up to lately? :)

Thanks for reading!

My Favourite Instagram Accounts | March 2015

If you're subscribed to my YouTube channel, you might have seen that last weekend, I uploaded a Top 5 Current YouTubers video! I had so much fun filming that video, and it always feels good to give a shout out to some of the people who produce content you really enjoy. It's what I love most about Twitter - I feel like it has brought together such a nice blogging community, and gives us a place to let people know when we're loving what they're doing!

So I decided that in addition to the Top 5 YouTubers, I'd do a couple of other current favourites posts, and this one is dedicated to Instagram! This is by no means an exclusive list, but these are some of the people who, lately, have been making me want to raise my insta-game, and who I'm forever pressing that little heart "like" button for

The Lunar Lights

First up is my gorgeous pal Nikki. Nikki's instagram is the place of dreams. A beautiful stream of pastel perfection, with photos of the cute things she decorates her home with, the lovely things she wears, her favourite beauty products and everything in between. What Nikki continues to create is a really seamless, easy on the eye page with some really lovely images. I could scroll through her instagram feed all day - it's just so soothing!!

Miss West End Girl

Another Scottish blogger who has a beautiful instagram is the lovely Lynsay from Miss West End Girl. Her instagram is like a little burst of sunshine on my feed - so many gorgeous pops of colour that instantly catch your eye! Lynsay posts such a fun, varied lot of photos that it really feels like you're being invited along on her adventures. With fashion, beauty, food and fun lifestyle posts, I just love scrolling through her colourful little world!

A Lady in London

I've mentioned before that I'm absolutely in love with A Lady in London's beautiful travel blog, and her instagram provides me with a daily hit of wanderlust! As she travels the world she uploads beautiful photos, from amazing city architecture to beautiful lakes and mountains - if travel instagrams are your thing, and you haven't checked hers out yet, you are missing out!

Being Erica

Erica's instagram is a favourite for reasons quite similar to my love for Miss West End Girl's - it's a lovely mixture of travel adventures, outfit of the days, bold lipstick choices, and snaps of London. There's something really nice and consistent about Erica's instagram - rarely a day goes by that we don't get to see what she's picked out of her amazing wardrobe to wear and she documents so many fun trips and weekends away that there's a steady stream of lovely new photos appearing every week!

gh0stparties

And finally, we have the lovely Kate from gh0stparties. Much like Nikki's, opening Kate's instagram is like stepping into a lovely, soothing world, where everything is soft and pretty and pastel, and you just want to jump into it. Her posts are a mix of beauty products, outfit and face of the day shots, home décor, and of course, her lovely cat, Mouse.

You can follow my own instagram over at @lynseymac1, and leave me a link to yours - I'd love to check it out!

Who are some of your favourite instagrammers?

Thanks for reading!

Monday Playlist #1 - An Imaginary Romcom

Happy Monday everyone! How was your weekend? Good, I hope!

Let's get down to business, shall we? I have a confession to make. I am a serial soundtrack creator.

Despite never having ACTUALLY got around to writing a screenplay for any of the many films I have in my head, one thing that I am good at is choosing songs that would fit really well with any I might eventually write. I think music is such an important part of any film or television show. It can completely change how we feel about a particular moment, turning something happy into something sinister, or vice versa - I think this video over on Huffington Post, which shows what happens when you swap one TV show theme song with another really showcases this!

So today, I thought I'd share with you my current romantic movie playlist. This is for an upcoming film I have plotted out, starring myself and Julian Morris, on an adventure in New York. That makes it sound much more predictable than it is - it is actually full of intrigue, but I don't want to give too much away. That might spoil it for you when it eventually opens in cinemas a couple of years from now ;)

Aside from all that, I hope you find some songs on here to brighten up your Monday, whether you've heard of them before or not. I know music always makes a big difference to my day, so I thought if I started doing the odd playlist on a Monday it might be a nice way to kick start the week!

George Ezra - Cassy O'
Lauren Aquilina - Fools
Ingrid Michaelson - Home
Matthew Perryman Jones - Out of Reach
The 1975 - Robbers
Kodaline - After the Fall
Taylor Swift - Out of the Woods
LIGHTS - Last Thing on Your Mind
Ellie Goulding - Explosions
Alex G - Thinking Out Loud (Ed Sheeran cover)
LIGHTS - Up We Go

I've put links to each song on the name, but I also made this into a secret playlist over on YouTube, which you can listen to from start to finish here :)

Thanks so much for reading guys! Let me know in the comments below what your ultimate movie soundtrack songs are!

Wednesday Wisdom #1

For the past six months or so, every Sunday night, I've posted an inspiring quote on instagram. As a Pinterest-quote addict myself, I always find that it helps me end the week/start a new week on a positive note. These quotes usually get a pretty good response - everyone needs a wee boost during Sunday night blues, right?! - so I wanted to find a way to work it into my blog.

I thought about doing a Motivational Monday series a la the lovely Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter, but I know that is quite a common one, so I decided to start posting mine on a Wednesday! Hopefully they can act as a little mid-week mood lifter, just to remind me (and you guys) of the positive vibes we started the week with, when the weekend still seems a little bit further away than we might like!

My Instagram - @lynseymac1
Original Source - Pinterest

This week I decided on this lovely quote from novelist and screenwriter John Irving. This quote can really apply to any aspect of life, from your relationships to your hobbies, but at the moment I'm going to be relating it to career!

A few nights ago I was out for a catch up with some of my friends, and one of them was talking about her day at work. At the end of describing her hectic afternoon, she said she felt lucky to love her job so much, and it really struck a chord with me. It seemed so amazing to hear her say that, because honestly? Most of the people I know tolerate their job at most - many of them actively dislike it. And there really is nothing worse than living for the weekend - sitting at a desk feeling bored or stressed and watching the clock, counting down the hours till 5pm on Friday! When so much of our lives ends up being taken up working, it's awful that for so many people the hours spent in their jobs are unhappy ones.

I think so many people settle for a job that is there in front them because the thought of going after something we really want feels too overwhelming, or like too much of a risk. But if you're lucky enough to have a passion for something you could potentially make a living from, create an opportunity to make it a reality!! There's a temptation to see the things we're passionate about as "just a hobby", or a pipe dream, but you really never know unless you try! It could be as simple as finding the right contact by sending out a couple of emails, or starting your own blog to showcase what you can do. They say if you find a job you love you never have to work a day in your life, and I genuinely wish we could all have that. Especially when we are young and free of responsibilities like babies and mortgages, we should try to figure out what we're passionate about and go after it. Saying that, there really is no age limit on going after what you want. Even if it doesn't work out, you'll know you had the guts to try!

Happy Wednesday everyone - hope you're having a great week. Follow me on instagram @lynseymac1 to watch out for next week's quote on Sunday night!

Thanks for reading!

A Cheesy Cheer Up Playlist

Music has the most amazing ability to lift your mood. Something that never fails to cheer me up is to dance wildly around my living room - keeping in mind I am not graceful in the slightest - blasting some very cheesy pop songs. I'm serious. When the occasion calls for it I will shut myself in my living room or my kitchen, put on one of a number of songs (ten of which are included in this post) and dance around until I feel better. It becomes impossible not to smile after a while - a) because the songs can't fail to cheer you up, but b) because you look utterly ridiculous, but there's no-one there to see you. It gets rid of so much nervous energy.

So here, for your enjoyment, is my current mood boosting mix. In moments like these it is of vital importance that we let go of any inhibitions, and more importantly, any high brow music tastes. Times like this call for good, old fashioned cheese - and I recommend a mixture of classics (hi Blur) and current tunes (the new Fall Out Boy album makes me happy).

I can't tell you how many times I have danced round my living room to the first track on this list. It never, ever fails to put a smile on my face, so I hope it does the same for you :)

1. The Donnas - Dancing with Myself

2. Taylor Swift - Shake it Off

3. Panic at the Disco - Time to Dance

4. Lady Gaga - Fashion of his Love

5. Little Mix - Move

6. P!nk - Raise Your Glass

7. Fifth Harmony - Sledgehammer

8. Metro Station - Shake It

9. Fall Out Boy - Immortals

10. Blur - Song 2



View the playlist here :)


What songs do you swear by to pick you up on a bad day?

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely week!

7 Things (that make me happy)...

Today I went shopping to try to find shoes for my friend's wedding this weekend. This is a task I have been putting off for a while, because the truth is, there is no type of shopping I enjoy less than shoe shopping.

Shoes are something that seem to make other people extremely excited. I have friends who collect shoes, and love nothing more than donning a new pair of heels for a night out. I could not be less interested in shoes if I tried. Maybe it's because my feet are an awkward "not quite a full size four but hardly anyone makes shoes in a three and half these days", and growing up with small, slightly awkwardly sized feet made shopping for school shoes an incredibly laborious undertaking, but for whatever reason, I just don't have the shoe bug. I learnt the hard way that I have no desire to end a night out with blisters or end up sitting on the sidelines unable to dance because my feet hurt so badly. I also look about as graceful walking in heels as an elephant, so the "but high heels make you look sexier" argument is totally lost on me. Give me a pair of boots or a flat sandal and I am a happy bunny.

This was something I was thinking about tonight while dragging all of my old shoes out of my wardrobe to figure out if any of them are appropriate for Saturday - that something as simple as a shoe can make one person so giddy with excitement, and another (like me) feel nothing but annoyance. Yet give me an afternoon browsing the makeup counters in House of Fraser and I'm like a kid at Christmas, while I know plenty of people who would consider that the epitome of boredom. Coincidentally, after abandoning the search and sitting down with my laptop, I watched a video by one of my favourite YouTubers (Jimmy0010) talking about what makes us happy. He said he thinks we don't spend enough time thinking about what makes us happy, and he ended up making a list, just out of curiosity. I actually think I probably spend a bit too much time contemplating the idea of happiness (something for another post), but I thought it was a really good thing to try out.

I've read a few blog posts/watched a few videos lately on the idea of self care, and starting to explore what self care actually is. My friend Laura wrote a blog post last week along similar lines, which I'll link here for you to go and check out, and I think reflecting on the things in our lives that are making us happy and unhappy is a healthy thing - if we stop to properly think about it it means we can start finding ways to eliminate (or at least minimise) the things that are dragging us down, and spend more time focused on the things that are genuinely making us feel good. Obviously there are the big things - family, friends, work (if you are fortunate enough to have a really fulfilling career!), but this is more about the little day to day things that bring a smile to your face!

So here is my little list of seven (my lucky number) every day things that make me genuinely happy!

1. Getting lost in my favourite television show. It's such a simple thing, but watching a couple of episodes of a really good TV show never fails to make me feel good. It's like a weird comfort blanket - any niggles or stresses in the real world can be forgotten about for a couple of hours, and you get to explore this whole other world. For me, this changes from supernatural worlds, like The Vampire Diaries, or OUAT, to really character centric dramas like Lost, or my current obsession, House. I like good character creation and clever writing, and I could sit and watch my favourite shows all day.

2. Eating - now this one can be a dangerous one, especially if like me you are a comfort eater, but food makes me genuinely happy. Whether it's eating a bit of cake on the couch watching TV, or going out for dinner with friends, I always feel a little buzz of joy when one of my favourite foods comes my way.

3. Having a hot shower. This is also a bad one, because having the shower too hot isn't necessarily good for you, but sometimes nothing beats a properly hot shower.

4. Putting on my makeup. I get so much happiness out of putting on my makeup, it is ridiculous. I don't feel like myself without my eyeliner on, and I find the entire process, from start to finish (from primer to lipstick, if you will), incredibly therapeutic.

5. Music has always had the ability to improve my mood. I have songs I seek out for every mood and I create film trailers and music videos in my head for pretty much every song I listen to. So going for a walk with my iPod blaring is always a good idea.

6. My hula hoop. Honestly, my exercising habits are appalling and, of late, practically non-existent. It's definitely something I need to work on (hello new gym membership) but I LOVE my hula hoop. If I'm feeling worked up, or have been sitting at the computer for one too many hours, doing my hula hoop for half an hour with some energetic music instantly cheers me up.

7. Tea. Nothing more really needs to be added here, other than to say that there are few situations which cannot be improved with a good cup of tea.


So there you have it! I'd love to know what every day things make you feel happy - it can be like a mini happiness project for 2015!

Thanks for reading! :)

7 Glasgow Bars You Have To Try!

As someone who has lived just outside Glasgow for my whole life, and who has studied and worked in Glasgow since I was eighteen, I'd say I have a pretty good knowledge of the city centre - so I thought I'd share that with you! If you're visiting Glasgow and you're looking for somewhere close to the train station to stop off for a drink, I've got you covered! Here are seven bars, each within walking distance of Glasgow Central Station (and Argyle Street and Queen Street stations too!), and the drinks I'd recommend ordering there!:

October (Princes Square):

This is one of my favourite Glasgow haunts. Whether you are looking for food or just for a cocktail, October has a really nice, chilled out vibe, while still feeling pretty sophisticated. I think this is partly due to the location in the gorgeous Princes Square shopping centre - it just oozes luxury, so even just popping in for a soft drink feels like a bit of a treat. That said, the prices are not extravagant!

I'd recommend: The Vanilla Apple Sour cocktail.

Hortons (92 West George Street):

If my friends and I can't decide where to go for a catch up, we inevitably end up in Hortons - it's a firm favourite! By day it is a chilled out bar-come-restaurant, and by night it is a lively hub for after work drinks, weekend nights out, and it even has a bit of a club vibe on Friday and Saturday when it stays open till 3am and some of the tables are pushed aside to make way for a dance floor. The music is usually good, the staff are friendly, and it is home to my favourite cocktail in the whole of Glasgow...

I'd recommend: The Bellini Martini.

The Old Hairdressers (Renfield Lane):

If you're into more of a hipster vibe, might I suggest popping along to The Old Hairdressers in Renfield Lane? This bar is literally a two minute walk from Central Station, and is definitely one of the hidden gems in the city centre if you know where to look! It's a nice choice for a date night, or a quiet catch up with a friend, since the music tends not to be blaring too loudly and the drinks are fairly reasonably priced considering how close it is to the train station. It has a very unfinished look - bare walls with artsy posters and a sort of mishmash of chairs. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I like it!

I'd recommend: If you're a beer fan (which I'm actually not, but I'm aiming for variety in this post!) there is an interesting selection in here, which my friends have praised!

Palm Sugar (175 Buchanan Street):

For a more "grown up and classy" choice, check out the Palm Sugar Lounge on Buchanan Street! Admittedly, I haven't been there later in the evening - my friend and I used to pop in here for a cheeky after-uni glass of wine sometimes, so usually we were here between 5 and 7 - but at that point it was fairly quiet, so a good place to relax after a busy day at work, uni, or maybe even a day of Christmas shopping!

I'd recommend: A glass of rose (this list wouldn't be complete without a rose recommendation!)

Strata (45 Queen Street)

Strata is a recent discovery for me, I've only been a couple of times but I've really enjoyed it both times! Nikki, Roisin and I went a few weeks ago (see this vlog for footage!) and I ordered what was one of the best cocktails I've had in a long time (see recommendation below!). It's a slightly longer walk from central station, but is less than a five minute walk from both Queen Street and Argyle Street stations.

I'd recommend: A Passionfruit and Apricot Daiquiri

Sir John Moore (260-292 Argyle Street):

In the interests of keeping this post one hundred percent purse friendly, I thought I'd include the Sir John Moore, which is a branch of Wetherspoons across the road from the downstairs entrance to Central Station on the corner of Argyle Street and Hope Street! If you're keeping an eye on your bank balance, or you have very little time before your train but want to squeeze in a quick drink before you go, this is one of the handiest pubs for the station! It's cheap and cheerful, with a typical Wetherspoons menu, but it's definitely somewhere we head to for a quick bite to eat every so often!

I'd recommend: A bottle of Rekorderlig, in whatever fruity flavour they have that day!

Bunker (193-199 Bath Street):

This is a last minute add on, but I have to recommend Bunker on Bath Street! This is somewhere my uni friends and I used to pop into for a drink before we'd go out with our dancing shoes on back in the day, but more recently I've discovered what a brilliant place this is in terms of deals on meals! There are some really excellent deals on (any main meal for £5 on a Monday, for example), and the food is amazing! I'll throw in a quick food recommendation here - if you're a pulled pork fan, the pulled pork pizza is incredible!

I'd recommend: An Appletini.

So there we have it - seven different pubs and bars to check out on your next few trips into Glasgow!

Let me know if you've been to any of these bars, or if you have any Glasgow night out recommendations! :)

Thanks for reading!

6 Ways Blogging and YouTube Changed My Life

Happy Sunday everyone! Dramatic title today, yes?

I've talked very openly, very regularly about how amazing I think the blogging and YouTube community can be. There's something incredible about having this little bubble to escape to from time to time, where everyone is interested in similar things, and you can talk to people at the other side of the word as regularly as you talk to someone who lives next door. It connects people in such an amazing way, and I really do struggle to picture what my life would look like now if I hadn't involved myself in this little world. So, naturally, I thought it was time to turn this topic in to a list style post - here are 6 ways blogging and YouTube changed my life!

1. It has opened doors for me career wise:

My blog and my YouTube channel are not massive in terms of follower number - I don't have thousands of subscribers or followers, but over the past couple of years I've made a conscious effort to publish posts and videos on a more regular basis, and that is something employers have been impressed with. It's a fun hobby, but as you guys will all know, it takes a lot of time and effort! From finding time to film a video and then edit it, to making sure you take photos of whatever it is you are blogging about before the lighting is awful (living in Scotland, that is no mean feat!), it requires times and dedication. I can honestly say that at least three jobs/internships I have had have been partly to do with my blog and channel, which, now having been to university twice, says a lot.

2. It had boosted my confidence:

This is quite an important one; I really do think I owe a lot to blogging in terms of how much my confidence has grown over the past two years or so. I've always been a very chatty person with people I know - my friends will tell you, I rarely shut up for long enough to eat my meals (hence the reason I'm always last to finish at dinner), but with new people I used to be incredibly shy. I was a painfully shy child who got really anxious about going to new things that my friends wouldn't be at, and it definitely held me back at times. Since blogging though, I really pushed myself to change that. I started saying yes to going to events where I wouldn't know anyone at first, and continually accepted invites to meet ups where I could get to know the people whose blogs I'd been reading for so long. Now the prospect of going to events solo doesn't phase me in the slightest, and I definitely think I've gained a lot of confidence in other life situations because of it. Starting a new course at uni last year, I threw myself into talking to everyone on my course immediately, something that without a friend by my side would, in the past, have made me feel nervous. Alongside a few other life changes, I think blogging can take some of the credit for that.

3. It has taught me new skills:

A couple of years ago, I wouldn't have had the faintest idea about video editing. "But you did a degree in Film and Television Studies", I hear you say! That's true, but my course was all theory - think English Literature, but studying films and television shows instead! This time last year, I edited a video for one of my university group projects, and that project was nominated for an award at the Herald Scottish Digital Business Awards in Glasgow last month. When they announced our names at the ceremony, they cited the use of video as one of the things they liked most about our project - how cool is that?! I now have over 100 videos on my YouTube channel, and the progression from totally unedited videos filmed on my phone, to properly edited videos with cuts, titles, music, endcards, etc, is actually really amazing to see. iMovie is fairly straightforward once you start using it, but it blows my mind that that is an entirely new skill I have to offer in terms of future career, all thanks to the blogging community!

4. It has made me appreciate the little things more:

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A platform like instagram changes the way you look at the world. In some ways it can be a negative thing - Emma and I were just talking last night about how sometimes humans spend too much time trying to capture the perfect photo of something amazing rather than just appreciating the something amazing! However, what I love about instagram is that when you're in the blogging mindset, you start noticing everyday things - the cup of tea you're drinking, the pretty street art you walk past, the sparkly new nail polish you just put on - and realising that they'd make a pretty photo. It brightens up your day because things that you wouldn't have thought much about before, suddenly become a significant part of life. That can help cheer you up after a bad, or even just an uneventful day, and that's something to be thankful for!

5. It gave me my topic for my Masters dissertation:

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I love blogging and YouTube so much I just spent the past six months studying it! I wrote my masters dissertation on the impact of social media communities on the consumption of beauty products in women aged 18-30, and I loved every last minute of it. I felt so connected to what I was studying, and it must have showed, because I ended up getting a better mark than I ever expected, and winning a prize for best dissertation on my course!! Finding something you feel so passionate about is a gift, and not only do I think I learnt a lot during my studies, but I've learnt a lot about the beauty and marketing industry just from blogging myself. I know what sort of PR emails bloggers respond well to and what puts them (and me!) off. I know how to organise a blogging event, how to promote something on twitter, or run a twitter chat. So many skills!

and finally...

6. It has given me a huge new group of amazing friends:

We all knew this was going to be the last one, right?! I genuinely count myself so incredibly lucky to have met the people who have come into my life on this blogging journey. The people I have met have become such an integral part of my life that it actually stresses me out to imagine life without them! People I started off reading their blogs or chatting to them on twitter have become people I don't go a day without speaking to, who I go on regular nights out with, discuss everything from life goals to politics to makeup to feminism with, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I used to watch people like Louise (Sprinkle of Glitter) and Zoella, back in the early days and think, "how cool must it be to end up making such a close friend through your blog". Well, now I know. And it isn't only the people I see and speak to regularly - I'm so grateful for every last person who reads my blog or watches my video, anyone I chat to via twitter or instagram, and the lovely people I interact with regularly during the Sunday night #lbloggers chat. It's such a lovely community, and I sometimes have to stop and pinch myself when I realise such a lot of important people to me wouldn't be in my life if I hadn't started my blog and my YouTube channel!

So there we have it - six ways blogging and YouTube changed my life!!

How has writing your blog/participating in the blogging community, or making YouTube videos changed your life?

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you've all had a lovely weekend!

Favourites of the Week #20

So, way back in the day I did a little series of posts titled "Favourites of the Week" - somewhere along the line, those posts fell to the wayside! Today, however, I decided to bring it back! Hope you enjoy!


Track of the Week
Blank Space - Taylor Swift

Ahhh Blank Space. If this song is not single at some point I will be so surprised - it is amazing! I won't spend too much time discussing it right now because the next favourite is connected...

Album of the Week
Taylor Swift - 1989

I got this album the day it came out and I am absolutely addicted! Every single track is incredible. Favourites are Blank Space, Wildest Dreams, Out of the Woods, This Love and Style, but the whole thing is just amazing. I made a video ranking the tracks, so if you are a Taylor fan and fancy checking it out, here it is!



TV Show of the Week
The Office (US)

This week I have watched pretty much all of season five of The Office Netflix binge-watching style! Every time I get home from work and want to just relax with something easy to watch, this is what I'm going for. I'm also loving Season 4 of Once Upon a Time (have I ever mentioned that I like that show?!) and Season 5 of The Vampire Diaries, the boxset of which I am making my way through at the moment. It, however, is an entirely different sort of genre - much more dramatic! It's incredible, but when I just want a laugh and a distraction at the end of the day, The Office is perfect. Michael Scott will never fail to make me laugh and Jim Halpert will never fail to make me want to marry him.

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Film of the Week
Gone Girl

Emma and I went to see Gone Girl a few weeks ago now, but as it was the last new film I saw, I thought I'd include it. I actually really enjoyed the film, but honestly? For me the book was better. There are reasons why, which I won't discuss on here to avoid spoilers, but I'm going to try to rope Emma into filming a video with me about it. I will say though that had you not read the book, I think the film would have been absolutely amazing! Bravo to the entire cast, who I thought did a really good job with it.

Beauty Product of the Week
Makeup Revolution "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" Eyeshadow Palette

Guys. THIS PALETTE. There are no words for how I feel about this palette, it's just so, so good. The colours are beautiful, the pigmentation is insane, they last all day, they blend nicely and the entire palette is just £6. There is little else for me to say on the matter other than put this on your Christmas list! Or next payday list ;)

Book of the Week
Looking for Alaska - John Green

After finishing Gone Girl a couple of weeks ago, I haven't actually properly got into anything else yet, but I have started John Green's "Looking for Alaska". It has definitely impressed me so far, in the first chapter I've read, but I need a bit more time to actually get into it. This week on my commute to and from work I'll take the time to read it, rather than listed to Taylor Swift's album on repeat and create dramatic music videos in my head!

YouTuber of the Week
Giovannasworld

My favourite celebrity couple (yes, that's right, I have a favourite celebrity couple) are Kristen Bell and Dax Shephard, but they are now very closely followed by Tom and Gi Fletcher. I've been watching Giovanna's vlogs for the past few weeks now, and I just absolutely love her! I haven't actually read any of her books yet, but I think I'll download them on to my kindle and give them a go, because I just think she seems like the nicest person. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and any time I see a new "Coffee with Gi" video pop up in my subscription box I am a happy girl!



Website of the Week
Bored Panda

Bored Panda makes me happy. I love looking a pretty photographs, and if there is a place on the internet that you can find beautiful images, Bored Panda is it. If I'm lacking inspiration I love to hop on to Bored Panda and have a look through the lovely pictures and it always cheers me up!

Style Icon of the Week
Fleur East

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Sounds like a random choice, but from the very earliest auditions of this year's X-Factor I have had the hugest girl crush on Fleur East - she is just beautiful, and seems like a nice person. She's also a brilliant performer. Anyway, every week I just think she looks stunning, and obviously she has stylists on there now, but right from the word go I always thought she looked really cool!

So that's it for this week! What have some of your favourite things been lately? Let me know in the comments! :)

Thanks for reading!

#lovetober Instagram Challenge!

Throughout the month of October, I took part in Gala Darling's #lovetober instagram challenge! I had so much fun with this - usually I'm rubbish and end up missing a day, but I completed the challenge (with only one belated post, and I did it first thing the next day - I was in Manchester, which threw me off!!), and I'll definitely be getting involved with more challenges like this in the future. I think having a topic every day really helped keep it fun but focused, and I loved looking through the hashtag to see what other people were posting!

Anyway, I thought I'd post my photos in a few wee collages on here to have a look through my #lovetober snaps all in one handy place, not mixed up with my other instagram photos! I love the mix of personal photos, inspiring quotes and pretty images this challenge produced :)

Top L-R: The Challenge, Flower Power (Bird of Paradise)

Bottom L-R: Nostalgia (Grad Ball 2011), Photobooth Friday (with Emma, 2012)

Top L-R: Made Me Laugh (Dumble-door), Daily Mantra (Be kind)

Bottom L-R: Your Bookshelf (Some favourites!), Thankfulness (family and friends)

Top L-R: Street Art (Melbourne), Favourite Colour (All of them!)

Bottom L-R: Your Inspiration (Malala Yousafzai), Jump! (Bit of a cheat - flying!)

Top L-R: Perfect Weekend (Night Out, Night In, XFactor!), I'm Obsessed! (Once Upon a Time)

Bottom: A Beautiful Place (Aviemore), Pay it Forward (Inspire)

Top L-R: Big Dream (PhD), Favourite Artist (KlairedeLys)

Bottom L-R: In the Morning (cup of tea), Your Bucket List (NYC!!)

Top L-R: Favourite City (Glasgow), Your babes (as many as I could fit!)

Bottom L-R: Seasonal Love (jumpers, leaves, hot chocolate, lights!), Throwback Thursday (laughs with pals)

Top L-R: Spirituality (connectedness), Before and After (photo filters)

Bottom L-R: Self-Care Routine (Tea and The Office), Wonder (the universe)

Top L-R: Biggest Challenge (being brave enough for Australia), Beside your bed (book and lipbalm!)

Bottom L-R: Advice (gratitude), Halloween (happy halloween!)

Did you take part in #lovetober? If so, leave me your instagram name in the comments - I'd love to check it out!! I'm @lynseymac1 over there too!

Thanks for reading!

Weekend in Manchester!

I gained a lot from my trip to Australia - confidence, life experience, a new perspective of the world, a thirst to visit new places and time spent with my aunt, uncle and cousins (and their adorable pets!). In addition to that, I made two friends who I am incredibly glad came into my life. The BUNAC group flight was a fantastic way of going about my trip, and I had a lot of fun with the entire group. In a situation like that, you are thrown together and bond quickly because of the intensity of the situation. You are travelling to the other side of the world, leaving your family, friends and comfort zone behind you, staying in hostels and getting to grips with new cities. It's easy to make friends because you need people while you are there, it's just too overwhelming to do it alone. My friendship with Gemma and Emily, however, wasn't like that - they quickly became real, proper, for-the-long-haul type friends. Sometimes you just meet people and know they were meant to come into your life, and I'm so very glad I met these girls.

Top Left - Hong Kong (2013), Bottom Left - Sydney (2013)
Right - Manchester (2014)

Okay, soppy nonsense over for now! Emily, Gemma and I have kept in touch by all the wonders of technology since I left Australia eighteen months ago - phone calls, texts, Skype, FaceTime and Facebook kept us connected, but we hadn't seen each other in person since we were together in Sydney. After months of saying "we have to catch up", now that all three of us were back home, a few weeks ago I booked a trip to Manchester and off I went for a long awaited catch up!

I got the train down on Saturday morning at the very early hour of 6am - this gave me pretty much two full days in Manchester. During the first few hours we completely lost track of time, spending a few hours just talking and catching up properly! We then headed to Media City, which I was so excited to see, and went for lunch in a cool, studenty place called The Dockyard. I ordered a burger and sweet potato fries, which were particularly good. I do love a sweet potato chip.

After lunch we took a wander over to the Imperial War Museum, which had a fascinating exhibition called From Street to Trench for us to explore. You weren't really supposed to take photos in the exhibition, but after that we headed up to the viewing platform where I got extremely snap happy! This sky high platform has an amazing view of Media City, and a slightly unnerving floor with mesh see-through areas to show just how high up you are! I've included a snap of Old Trafford here too - I'm not much of a football fan, but it would have been weird not to! Check out the Corrie set too!!

Then it was time to head home, chill out for a while and cover even more life topics with some snacks, before getting dressed up to head out for cocktails!

We went to three bars in total (the first of which I forget the name of!) but the others were called Apotheca and Hula. In Apotheca, Emily and I both opted for a delicious, strawberry milkshake-esque cocktail, which was amazing!! It was too dark to get any proper photos in Hula, but it was so cool - a beachy, Hawaii themed bar-come-club (there was a dancefloor of sorts, but it was more bar like in atmosphere!), with fruity cocktails that made you feel like you were on holiday, and an actual fish tank built into the wall!

Having finally got to bed some time after half past two, Sunday morning was a sleepy, chatty, tea drinking affair, sitting in our pyjamas as the hours disappeared, reminding me so much of the weeks we all woke up in a Sydney hostel together and planned what we were going to do with our day! The afternoon was planned in advance, and it involved cake - what could be better! We headed to a seriously cute little part of Manchester called Didsbury (forgive my total lack of knowledge of English geography, it might be much more famous than I'm giving it credit for!), which is full to the brim of cute little coffee shops and restaurants. Honestly, I could imagine myself living in Didsbury (not that I have any plans to move away any time soon!) - cute cul-de-sacs, tree filled parks, quirky cafes and vintage shops. Blogger paradise, basically.

We went to Art of Tea - it was what can only be described as the cutest coffee shop I've ever been in in my life! In addition to serving cake, milkshakes, an array of brunch items and an obligatory selection of teas and coffees, this place has a vintage book shop hidden at the back. I went for lemon cake and a strawberry milkshake. It was amazing.

colour co-ordinated shelves ♥

Next up was a walk in some of Didsbury's lovely parks, bursting with Autumn colours...

5pm came far too soon and it was time for me to jump on the train back home! I had the loveliest weekend, and really enjoyed Manchester - I'll definitely be heading down again at some point over the next year! Thank you Gemma and Emily, if you're reading this, for the best weekend! See you in Scotland in a few months!!!

Thanks for reading, hope you all had a great weekend!

Event - Christmas (and Halloween!) at Lush Braehead

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Lush store in Braehead shopping centre, Glasgow, to have a nosy at their 2014 Christmas collection. Beautiful bathbombs, soaps and shower gels that smell good enough to eat were all on display, and I thought I'd share some of my favourite snaps from the night with you all!

This year there's a bit of a fairytale theme going on which, as you will know if you've read my blog for a while (or if you look at my blog header!) is right up my street. All the usual Christmas favourites - the Golden Wonder bathbomb and the amazing Snow Fairy shower gel had reappeared, and to the delight of everyone, the Snow Fairy scent is actually available this year in bathbomb form! The choice of products was endless and we were treated to delicious little cakes courtesy of Three Sisters Bake, and an amazing hand and arm massage. Big thanks to the lovely ladies at Lush for that!

There was so much lovely stuff to admire that I'll let the photos do the talking in this post! I will say, however, that if I had to pick a "top three items" from this year's entire collection, they would probably be...

1. The So White Shower Gel - I loved the smell of this so much I couldn't leave without it. It has a lovely, fresh, apple scent (So White/Snow White/Apples - keeping on with the fairytale theme!).
2. The Fairy Ring Soap - the little toadstool photographed above! While you would usually get just a small piece of this, which is all you really need, you can actually buy the whole thing if you have the money and feel inclined. How cute would that be sitting in your bathroom!?
3. The Christmas Hedgehog Bubble Bar - this is the softest, smoothest bar with a lovely scent, but I honestly don't know if I could bear to break him up and melt him!! This was a discussion I had with some of the other bloggers at the time!

I'll leave it there, but if you want to look up any of the lovely products photographed above, hop on over to the Lush website where you can find the entire range. I haven't included the names of evey product above (many of them you can see on the packaging) but feel free to tweet me or leave a comment below if you want to know the exact name of a specific product included in any of the photos - I can't remember all of them off the top of my head, but I have a handy wee list somewhere that I am more than happy to go and check for you!

Thanks for reading!