Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...

... I hope!

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Firstly, apologies for the intermittent posting the past couple of weeks, and for the fact that I won't have a new video up on my channel this week. I had such a plan, or so I thought, to schedule my posts and video every week to make sure I had time, but the past couple of weeks have proved that even that was a bit on the ambitious side!

I'm loving studying again, and I'm so glad I decided to come back to uni and do my masters, but it does mean that for the next month, at least, I'm probably not going to manage to post as regularly as I would like. I hate that, because I love this blog and I don't want to cut back, but I suppose I have to be realistic! As I said, I thought being organised and planning to schedule things would make it easier, but when you have seven highly intensive modules, each with both individual and group work, classes pretty much 9 to 5 four days a week and a 9-5 work day the other weekday, time just disappears! And the little spare time you do have automatically goes to seeing friends and family (and sleeping!).

Is anyone else having this problem at the moment? I'd love to hear some tips if you have found a way to manage blogging regularly with a lot of work and studying! Even more so, filming and editing a video every week?! I'm planning to film a video tomorrow since it's Saturday, and hopefully it'll go up on Sunday, but time just got away from me this week.

So apologies for the sporadic posting at the moment guys - hopefully I'll get a proper post or two up next week! :)

Thanks for reading, and remember to give me your time management advice in the comments below!!

Favourites of the Week #19

It's time for another weekly favourites - where are the weeks going?! Speaking of which, apologies for the fact I missed a post on Wednesday - the past couple of weeks have been hectic and the next few are going to be the same, but I'll be sure to get two posts up every week from now on! I've also missed out three of my regular categories here (blogger, film and book of the week) because I haven't had time for any of them - unless you count Strategic Management as book of the week.. which trust me, I wouldn't!!! Anyway, I'll stop rambling on and get on with the post!

Track of the Week
Madilyn Bailey - Berzerk (Eminem cover)

I'm sure you'll have heard me mention this girl before, but I'm a huge fan of Madilyn Bailey - she has some absolutely amazing covers on youtube, and is part of the whole Jake Coco/Corey Gray/Savannah Outen crew. Love this cover of Eminem's track Berzerk, I really like how she puts her own spin on everything she covers and isn't scared to cover any genre!



Album of the Week
Bastille - Bad Blood

I love Bastille so very much and was so gutted to miss the gig this week! This is exactly my type of music at the moment - if you haven't given it a listen, I highly recommend checking them out!



TV Show of the Week
The Vampire Diaries Season 5

Just caught the first episode of TVD Season 5 on ITV Player the other night - it was amazing!! I honestly can't get enough of this show, and I wish people who don't watch it would give it more credit. It's so clever and intense, and you the characters really get under your skin. Love that Delena (yep, that's right, I'm a ''Delena'' shipper) are getting a chance this season (hiya Ian Somerhalder ;))

Beauty Product of the Week
Lanolips Banana Balm

After seeing Fleur de Force review this last week I really wanted to try it for myself. I ordered it online and have to say, I'm loving it so far. I instagrammed a photo of it saying just that and fangirled just a little bit when Fleur favourited my tweet. That's a bit sad, isn't it!!

YouTuber of the Week
Leena - Just Kiss My Frog

I've mentioned Leena before, but I just love her videos so much. I really wish I could be as honest as she is in her videos - I get ideas for videos I want to make and then chicken out of doing it, whereas she just goes for it! She uploaded this philosophical video about what love actually is last week and it was brilliant! She makes a lot of videos talking about feminism in a really diplomatic way, in addition to book reviews, university advice and a huge catelouge of other interesting topics!



Website of the Week
Pinterest

I've been spending lots of time on Pinterest for work purposes the past couple of weeks, and I forgot how much I love it. You could literally spend hours on end just browsing through the beautiful pictures. My friend Laura from The Likely Lady has some amazing boards on there!

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Style Icon of the Week
Nicole Scherzinger

I'm a fan of Nicole Scherzinger, I have to say. Some of the stuff she comes away with on X-Factor is absolutely hilarious, and she always looks perfect. To the point that you sort of want to hate her, but you just can't! She looks so effortlessly put together in this black jumpsuit and statement shades (I can't get sunglasses to work for me, my face is too small I think). 10/10 Miss Scherzinger.

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Let me know what some of your favourite things have been this week!

Thanks for reading!

Paul Mitchell Christmas Event 2013!

On Wednesday night I was lucky enough to head along to the swanky Malmaison hotel in central Glasgow for a little blogger event hosted by the lovely Sarah from Paul Mitchell.

I arrived a little early and enjoyed a cocktail and one of these adorable mini burgers with Sarah, while we had a chat and waited for the others to arrive. She talked me through the Christmas catalouge which has a lot of really interesting products in it! She had also brought along a couple of their cult Tea Tree products, and a selection of their Christmas gift sets, which have the cutest packaging!

I went home with the ''Let's Get This Party Started'' set, which includes a full size Awapuhi Shampoo, The Detangler Conditioner and Sculpting Foam. I cannot wait to try these out and will definitely pop a review up once I have tested them out for a while!

Thanks so much to Sarah and all at Paul Mitchell for inviting us along - some of the Christmas gift sets are absolutely adorable and I was really impressed with the cruelty free aspect of the brand - Paul Mitchell plants enough trees to offset the carbon emissions the company produces and none of the products are tested on animals. I had a lovely time at the event and will definitely be popping on to the store locator on the Paul Mitchell website so I can go and take a closer look at the rest of the range!

Thanks for reading! :)

What a Difference a Year Makes (a 2013 Life Update!)

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A wee bit of a philosophical post for you today guys :)

At the start of 2013 I was feeling pretty unsettled and needed a change in my life. I wasn't exactly sure what it was, but I wanted to do something exciting, and travelling was the first step.

Chilling in Erinsborough ;)

As you saw if you read my blog back between March and May, I had an INCREDIBLE time in Australia. While I was there I realised so much about myself. I gained confidence I didn't know I had. I realised that I love discovering and exploring new places, but living far away from my family and friends just isn't an option for me - my favourite people are always going to be my priority! I also figured that that little adventure was the perfect way to finish off my years of total freedom before coming back and getting a ''proper job''.

The reality was ever so slightly different though. In the two months I was in Australia, the job situation back home didn't exactly change, and getting a full time job doing anything never mind something I was remotely interested in was proving to be near impossible. Which became incredibly stressful and frustrating. After starting a part time job in June I knew it wasn't enough and I needed something more. Every interview I had said ''we really love your passion and ideas for digital marketing BUT you don't have any marketing qualifications''. It was that awful catch 22 - you can't seem to get a job without previous experience, degree or not, but experience alone isn't enough either. Going back to uni to do a Masters was always something I wanted to do at some point, but until the summer I hadn't thought that point was now.

And now I'm in the midst of my first term doing a Masters Degree in International Marketing. Is it a lot of work? Yes? Am I currently typing this blog post and avoiding reading yet another article about Competitive Advantage? Absolutely yes. But would I change the decision? Not in a million years. I love being at uni, and I'm incredibly lucky to be in a position to be able to go back and study. Obviously I'm pretty sure this is something that will get me a good job in the end - I wouldn't be doing it otherwise - but having the chance to be back in an educational environment and learning new things and meeting new people feels great.

View of the library from where I'm currently working...

The point of this post really is just to reflect a wee bit on how much has changed in the past year. I have a horrible obsession with time (just ask my best friend!) and how quickly it passes by, and so if you had told me in October 2012 that within a year I'd be in the midst of a Masters Degree and have flown to the other side of the world on my own and travelled around for a couple of months, I'd never have believed you. Add to that the impact blogging more regularly has had and the lovely friends I've made through that, and it's safe to say things are looking just a tiny bit different!

So it's true what they say. A change is as good as a holiday. I have no idea what the next year holds, but I'm excited. It's crazy how you can sometimes find yourself on an unexpected path and realise it was the best thing for you, so if you're at a point in your life right now when you're not sure what comes next, try not to freak out. Life is rarely ever perfect, but things have the strangest habit of starting to fall into place without you even realising it <3 Thanks for reading - here's to the next adventure, whatever and whenever it may be!

Favourites of the Week #18

It's been a while but I decided it was time to do another weekly favourites!

Track of the Week
Bring me the Night - Sam Tsui and Kina Grannis

You know me - I love a bit of romantic, cheesy music and I love my YouTube artists, so what better combination than this adorable song from Sam Tsui and Kina Grannis! This song made me smile the first time I heard it and I put it on my iPod right away, I've have listened to it a ridiculous number of times since!



Album of the Week
One Republic - Native

This album came out in March of this year but for some strange reason (despite being a One Republic fan) I only downloaded it a couple of weeks ago - it is amazing! Standout tracks for me are If I lose Myself and I Lived (linked below) but the whole album is lovely.



TV Show of the Week
Friends

I've been rewatching season 6 of Friends (oh how I miss it from E4!) and will never, ever tire of how good it is. My friend Lynne recently did a ''Top 5 Episodes of Friends'' post and I'm really tempted to do my own version!

Film of the Week
The Hunger Games

In preparation for the release of Catching Fire next month I rewatched The Hunger Games the other day. I know some fans of the book weren't keen on the film version, but speaking as a huge fan of the book series, I loved it! I cannot wait for the next instalment :)

Beauty Product of the Week
Bourjois Effet 3D Lipgloss in Corail Idylliic

I really, really love this lipgloss - I've raved about the range before, they are super moisturising, not too sticky and give a lovely wash of colour to the lips, but this shade in particular is gorgeous. I picked it up in Boots last week because they had a couple of pounds off it in some sort of offer, and I'm so glad I did!

Book of the Week
Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus

Much to my shame, I'm still on the same book I was reading in my last weekly favourites, which was ages ago! This book really is good, but I've been so snowed under with uni work that I just haven't had enough time to get through it - when I do finish it though I reckon I'll do a proper review because I really like the way it's written, and the story is great!

YouTuber of the Week
Angie - Goldiestarling

As it's almost Halloween I couldn't not include Angie as my YouTuber of the week. Her Halloween makeup tutorials are absolutely incredible, she's such a talented makeup artist and I love her videos! Check out some of her best looks (up till last year) in the video below! This year she's done a lot of amazing special effects makeup on her channel, so definitely go and have a look at her recent videos too!



Website of the Week
YouTube

This week I've been obsessing, once again, over some of my favourite ''comedy'' youtube channels like BadLipReading, Bart Baker and ScreenJunkies. If you're feeling a bit fed up and want to watch something entertaining but can't be bothered with a full length comedy tv show or film, get yourself over to some of these channels and you're guaranteed to be laughing within minutes!

Style Icon of the Week
Zooey Deschanel

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I absolutely adore Zooey Deschanel. Not only is she my style icon of the week, but she's just my ''overall nice person'' of the week. Her website Hello Giggles is one of my favourite websites, and in this interview with Marie Claire she talks openly about her determination to help teenage girls by tackling the issue of bullying in her work on the website. I also love New Girl more than I can say. She's an all round good egg this one. And beautiful too.

What have some of your favourite things been this week? Let me know in the comments! :)

Thanks for reading!

7 YouTube videos you'd be mad to miss!

Hi everyone. I'm Lynsey. And I'm a YouTube addict.

I think we all know I have somewhat of an obsession with the world of YouTube and the people who inhabit it, and so this Wednesday I thought I'd share with you seven (my lucky number!) of my favourite YouTube videos of the moment! This doesn't necessarily mean that they were uploaded this week, but I have watched them all at least once over the past seven days! After a wee chat with some of my lovely blogging friends last night about certain YouTube channels we love, I thought this was the perfect time to post this!

So, without further ado...

1. Blurred Lines Parody - Bart Baker

This really needs to introduction... I literally can't get it out of my head.



2. Falling Slowly (cover) - Becky CJ

Love this song and love this girl. Enough said.



3. One Direction Shadow Pico Trailer - BadLipReading

My best friend Emma and I absolutely love this - we literally cried laughing the first time we watched it!



4. Drawing Ian Somerhalder - Heather Rooney

I am so jealous of people who can draw well and this girl is brilliant. I picked Ian Somerhalder (for obvious reasons!) but her other drawings are phenomenal too!



5. HOW TO PROPOSE - Daily Grace

I had to include one of Grace's video and I loved this one so much...



6. Rabbit/Hare Keeps on Running

My brother directed me to this video last week and it is hilarious - the commentary makes it!!



7. Face in a Face Halloween Tutorial - Promise Phan

And, since it's almost Halloween, here's some inspiration for you. This girl is amazing, have loved her videos for ages - wish I could do this!!



Hope you enjoyed that guys! Leave me links to some of your favourite YouTube videos in the comments below!

Thanks for reading! :)

Dinner at the West Port Hotel, Linlithgow!

What's the perfect way to end a hectic day of classes at uni? Dinner with some of my favourite girls, you say? Well on Thursday I had the pleasure of doing just that, and headed to Linlithgow to sample some of the amazing foods on offer at the newly refurbished West Port Hotel.

Greeted at the door with a lovely wee glass of wine, I instantly felt at home in the hotel. It has a really welcoming, cosy atmosphere but the recent refurbishments have given it a really classy vibe. The staff on hand were all extremely friendly and when ten of us ended up attending they instantly reorganised the table to fit us all in! The night then consisted of tasting platter after tasting platter of some of the incredible food from their menu. Starting off with various italian meats and fresh fish (we all know I'm not a lover of seafood, but the girls said the crayfish and mussels were delicious!), breads and some AMAZING stuffed peppadew peppers, we were then treated to a variety of their small plates and main dishes. The Moroccan Lamb Stew was delicious, and while the Flamegrilled Cajun Chicken burger I sampled was a wee bit on the hot side for my taste, the Gourmet Beef Burger some of the other girls tried looked absolutely amazing!

One of the highlights for me was the Tempura Chicken with a Sweet Chilli Dip. I've never eaten Tempura before (my knowledge of this dish is inextricably linked to a daft Catherine Tate sketch from years ago!) but I would go back and order that again in a minute! The chicken was, as Laura repeatedly put it, so succulent, and the batter was really light and tasty. This was definitely a winner for me!

Finally, it was dessert time (my favourite time!), and I wasn't let down! The profiteroles were fantastic, really light and with an amazing flavour, and the cheesecake was gorgeous. As we all know, I'm a cheesecake lover, and this one was a total hit. The buzz around our table when these desserts arrived was hilarious.

So a few glasses of wine and a several amazing courses later, I jumped in a taxi with Jade and Lynne and headed for the train. I had an absolutely lovely night at the West Port Hotel and can't recommend it enough if you're looking for somewhere in the Linlithgow area to go for a meal. The service was fantastic, the food was beautiful and as always I had a great time catching up with some of my favourite girls after a busy day at uni.

So thank you so much to all at the West Port Hotel for a lovely evening! I found that photo of the ten of us on their twitter, which you can check out here if you're interested!

Let me know if you've tried out anywhere new for a meal recently :)