A Year in the Life - 2013!

Sunday, 29 December 2013


This year was massive.

I flew out of seven airports in eight weeks and stayed everywhere from my lovely aunt and uncle's family home, to various different hostels to a gorgeous Port Douglas apartment. I held a koala (have I ever mentioned that?!), saw a crocodile in the wild, caught up with one of my best friends in the middle of a rainforest and visited the sets of two of my favourite TV shows in the world. I went to an Andy Warhol exhibit in Hong Kong, haggled at a Jade Market and watched the beautiful fireworks at Darling Harbour in Sydney. I ate foods I'd never eaten before, took a barista course and made some absolutely amazing friends for life.

I got home, got freaked out over my career, and went through interview after interview hearing ''your CV is really interesting, but unfortunately other applicants have a degree in marketing''. A handful of rejections later, I eventually got a part time job at a magazine, and I'm still there today.

I kept blogging and vlogging and grew to love it even more than before. I started going to blogger events more regularly and suddenly found myself with an amazing new group of friends who I now rarely go a day without speaking to. We get on so well that, as anyone who follows any of us on instagram and/or twitter will know, some of us went on a wee holiday to Aberfedly together at the end of November. They're pretty smashing girls.

During my career panic over the summer, my mum and dad casually mentioned the idea of me going back to uni. Having considered it before, but never imagined I'd be able to make it happen this year, I threw myself into applying for a post graduate in International Marketing, and it was literally the best decision I think I've ever made. Even now, when I'm sitting writing this blog post and avoiding finishing the essay which has been driving me crazy for days, I know going back to do this masters was exactly what I needed to do. I've met a few brilliant people on my course, and just finished working on the best, most interesting piece of course work I've ever done with three people I get on like a house on fire with.

Some things haven't changed at all. My family are still the most important thing in the world to me, and they have been just as, if not more, supportive as ever over the course of this rollercoaster of a year. I missed them a ridiculous amount when I was travelling, and realised that for me home is wherever my family is.

Emma is, and always will be, the best friend a girl could ask for. This year more than any before I've realised how incredibly protective of me she is, and I know that when push comes to shove she would do pretty much anything for me - and I feel exactly the same way about her. How lucky am I to have someone like that in my life. *soppy, emotional nonsense over for now*

So now, here I am, two days before the end of 2013, and feeling pretty amazed at everything that has happened. If you'd asked me this time last year what I thought I'd be doing today, I certainly wouldn't have seen myself here, half way through my masters.

It's crazy how time flies and how much can change in such a short space of time. You never know what's around the corner, so if your 2013 was rubbish, don't let it drag you down! My 2012 was a complete non-event (literally, I have no idea how I spent my time that year), and yet 2013 was the most hectic (and most important) year of my life to date.

So here's to an amazing 2014 - let it be your best year yet!

Thanks so much for reading and following my wee blog and channel over the course of the year. As I said in the last post, I can't believe how much Allsorts and Anecdotes has grown this year, and I couldn't be happier about it :)



2013 Review - Video!

Friday, 27 December 2013

Hi guys!

So sorry for the lack of posts in December - things at uni were so hectic, and so I took advantage of the chance to have a wee break and just relax over the past week! Back to the grind now though, got two exams to study for and two essays to write - the joys of being back at uni haha! - so things might still be a bit quiet over here!

However, I edited this little 2013 Review over on my YouTube channel earlier this week, so thought I'd share it with you lot :)



2013 was a MASSIVE year for me, and I plan to do a New Year blog post version of this video, complete with some of my favourite photos.

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and are looking forward to a brilliant 2014. Thanks so much for sticking with me over 2013 - I can't believe how much my wee blog has grown this year, and that there are almost 250 of you now!! I really want to keep growing Allsorts and Anecdotes over the next year... and the next, and next again. I can't tell you how glad I am that I started posting regularly!

Thanks for reading :)


Exciting Christmas Giveaway on Hello Frances!

Saturday, 7 December 2013

Hi all - first things first, major apologies for the lack of blogging the past couple of weeks, things have been a bit hectic and I've barely had a chance to sit down never mind blog. This will be rectified over the Christmas break though! Now, on to the exciting stuff!

Through the wonders of YouTube I met the lovely Frances a few months ago and have been a huge fan of her blog and channel ever since! This year she's doing her own version of vlogmas - the 25 Days of Christmas :) when she filled me in on her plan to run a few giveaways over the month of December I thought it was a great idea and was keen to get involved! So I (alongside three other brilliant bloggers who I'll link below) am sponsoring a couple of the prizes over on her blog! The giveaways will be announced on the 6th, 13th, 20th and 24th, and the first launched yesterday. Frances lives in the US but the first three giveaways are open internationally!

So, I thought I'd pop the wee rafflecopter link on here if any of you lovely lot want to enter!

Hello to Frances and the other bloggers involved - Breanna, Arielle and Martha - hope you're all enjoying the lead up to Christmas!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Good luck and thanks as always for reading! :)

High End Christmas Beauty Wishlist

Sunday, 24 November 2013


With Christmas just over a month away (how has that happened?!) I thought I would put together a little Christmas beauty wishlist! As we all know, I mostly buy drug store makeup because I freak out over the price of high end stuff, but on this festive occasion I thought I'd make my choices from some of the lovely high end brands :)

Lancôme Ombre Hypnôse Dazzling Eye Shadow in DO111 - Lancôme - £21.00

Shu Uemura - Lip and Cheek Tint in Princess Coral - Space NK - £20.00

Nars Illuminator in Orgasm - House of Fraser - £22.00

Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Eye-shadow Palette - John Lewis - £59.00

MAC Nocturnals Mini Kit in Coral - MAC - £25.00

OPI Christmas Collection 2013 in All Sparkly and Gold - ASOS - £11.50

Chanel ''LIGNE GRAPHIQUE DE CHANEL'' Intense Eyeliner in Bronze - Selfridges - £26.00

I want that Bobbi Brown palette oh so badly!!!

What are some of your Christmas wishlist items for 2013?

Thanks for reading! :)




Favourite Videos of the Week #1

Monday, 18 November 2013

A few weeks ago I did a one off ''7 YouTube videos you'd be mad to miss'' post, but since I spend such a ridiculous amount of time on youtube, I thought I'd make this an intermittent series! Also, during the next few weeks of madness, these sorts of posts are really handy to keep you updated with the things I've been enjoying without taking a huge amount of time to put together - I hate missing a post here on my blog, so this sort of series will come in quite useful I think :)

So here, in no particular order, are the five videos I've most enjoyed this week (note, they weren't necessarily uploaded this week!)...

1. McBusted perform on Children in Need

I am not ashamed to admit that I have a ticket for the McBusted tour - my best friend and I are going, along with some of my favourite blogging ladies. Reliving my teens!



2. Mean Disney Girls

This is so daft, but I enjoyed it. Is there a more quotable noughties movie than Mean Girls?



3. Kristen Bell on Craig Ferguson

An oldie but a goodie, I will never, ever tire of this interview. Kristen is one of my favourite people in the entire world!



4. Mara Wilson does Sex+ - Laci Green

So much love for both these girls; I think Laci is a brilliant YouTuber, and I think Mara is so refreshing - former child stars get such a bad rep and she is so together and poised :)



5. 10 Tips for the Telephone Intimidated - Rosianna Halse Rojas

As someone who has definitely experienced this generation's very common phone fear, I loved that Rosianna made this video. I know so many people who identify with this. I'm inclined to blame texting.



What have some of your videos been this week?

Thanks for reading :)

My Top 5: Future Travel Destinations

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

Having dipped my toe into the travel pond earlier this year it really hit me that there are some spectacular places in the world and given the chance there is a long list of places I would love to visit. On Sunday I discovered the incredible travel blog A Lady in London and, after reading many of the amazing posts over there, I decided to make my post this week a top five of the places I'd most like to see next...

1. New York

I know, I know, I know - it's such a cliché, but New York has been sitting right there at the top of my travel list for as long as I can remember. It's somewhere I desperately want to see at least once in my life - the buzz in the city must be amazing. Central Park, Times Square, Grand Central Station, the Guggenheim - I want a photo of myself in all of these places! My friend Roisin's recent New York vlog had me ready to book a flight there and then.

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2. Iceland

I've always thought there is something incredibly magical about Iceland. The idea of swimming in the volcanically heated pools, surrounded by the beautiful landscape is something that has always appealed to me. Laugardalslaug is said to be the biggest and best equipped outdoor swimming complex, so it has now been added to my list! The photo below isn't of that particular area - I just thought it was a stunning photo and exactly the image of the Icelandic landscape I have in my head.

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3. Hawaii

This might seem like a daft reason for having Hawaii in my top five but, due to my obsession with Lost, over the past few years I've had such an urge to visit Hawaii and (if possible) go to the beach a lot of it was filmed on. It's such a beautiful place, and I feel like it would be another experience like visiting Palm Beach in Sydney (a.k.a. Summer Bay from Home and Away!) - being at the other side of the world but walking around somewhere so completely familiar.

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4. Switzerland

There's something about the combination of the landscape and the architecture in Switzerland that I'm just totally drawn to. One of my friends went there on holiday last year and I was wildly jealous of her beautiful photos! I could spend hours looking at these gorgeous pictures on Pinterest (take me there now! To Switzerland, not Pinterest)...

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5. Thailand

Once again, thanks to the stunning photos several friends of mine have uploaded to Facebook, I would love to visit Thailand. I think it would be an amazing cultural experience, but also... take a moment to just appreciate how utterly gorgeous these photos are! Two of the girls I travelled to Australia with went to Thailand earlier this year and they had the most amazing time.

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So that's it for my top 5 travel destinations - where in the world would you like to visit the most?

Thanks for reading :)

Winter Wishlist - GLOVES!

Sunday, 10 November 2013

I don't know about you, but the moment the temperature drops I get my gloves on. Mainly because my hands go a slightly bluish hue when it's cold, but also because you can get such a wide range of cute styles these days! So from Mango to Topshop and Mittens to Touch-Screen, here's my pick of the cutest gloves on the high street this winter :)



1. Cream and Red Snowflake Flip Top Gloves - New Look - £6.99

2. Novelty Moustache Capped Gloves - Accessorize - £12.00

3. Bunny Mittens - Topshop - £12.00

4. ASOS Touch Screen Cat Gloves - ASOS - £8.00

5. 2-pack gloves - H&M - £3.99

6. Bright pink cable knit cuff gloves - River Island - £12.00

7. ASOS Alligator Gloves - ASOS - £10.00

8. Ombré reverse-knit fingerless gloves - Mango - £17.00

9. Pieces Emolda Gloves - ASOS - £12.00

10. Alice Hannah Squirrel Arm Warmers - ASOS - £16.00


Which style is your favourite?! I think mine have to be the bunny mittens from Topshop!

Thanks for reading! Hope you're all well :)

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...

Friday, 8 November 2013

... 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

Sunday, 3 November 2013


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!

Monday, 28 October 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!)

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

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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

Sunday, 20 October 2013


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!

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

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!

Sunday, 13 October 2013

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 :)

Winter Wishlisting...

Wednesday, 9 October 2013

Today the temperature took a definite dip and it felt like winter might be upon us! So, with that in mind, I couldn't help doing a bit of wishlisting! Who could resist jumpers with cute woodland animals, cosy scarfs and pumpkin mittens?!


Cream Sequins Robins Christmas Jumper - New Look - £24.99

Scalloped Bracelet Set - Forever 21 - £10.65

ASOS Pumpkin Convertor Mittens - ASOS - £10.00

Raccoon Knit Sweater - George at Asda - £16.99

Bonjour Embroidered Beanie - Topshop - £12.00

Knitted Tube Scarf - H&M - £6.99

Gold Fox Head Ring - New Look - £3.99

Shell Pink Popcorn Lightweight Oversize Top - New Look - £14.99

What are some of your picks from the high street this autumn/winter?

Thanks for reading!




This Autumn/Winter I'll Be Watching...

Sunday, 6 October 2013

Having just uploaded my Top Ten of Dexter video this week, I'm still in the mood to discuss film and television (when am I not!). So today I thought I would put together a little list of some of the shows and films I'll be watching this Autumn/Winter!

TV:

Breaking Bad

I'm FINALLY going to start watching Breaking Bad on Netflix. Yes, that's right, I've waited till right after it has finished to get around to watching it, which means spoilers are everywhere!!! Must avoid reading anything about it if that is at all possible...


The Vampire Diaries Season 5

We all know how much I adore this show - I can't believe season 5 is upon us already, how did this happen?! I also really want to start watching The Originals but I have no idea if there are plans to air this on ITV2 - does anyone know?! I get the feeling Elijah might not be around much in TVD from now on, so got to keep seeing him somehow ;)


Modern Family

I've been working my way through season 1 of Modern Family and loving it - I watched a few episodes when I was in Australia, my aunt, uncle and cousins regularly tune in, and it was the first time I'd seen it. If you haven't seen it and think ''typical, overhyped US sitcom'', you'd be wrong! It's really clever and funny and I'm thoroughly enjoying the first season.


The X-Factor

There is no point whatsoever in me pretending I'm not going to watch the X-Factor. Every year I say ''I will not be sucked into this again'', and every year I spot someone I like and that's it - I'm hooked. Also, there's a contestant from my home town in the live shows this year - IMAGINE he gets to the final three? We'll have the X-Factor parade marching through the town centre!


Films

Not Another Happy Ending

Looooooooook, it's Henry Ian Cusick, a.k.a Desmond Hume from Lost, one of my favourite characters of all time! Also, this film stars Karen Gillan who I really like, and from what I can tell it's a cutesy rom-com with a bit of a twist - this is a no brainer for me. I haven't read any reviews, so it might be dreadful, but I'll go and see it anyway!




Veronica Mars

I know this one doesn't come out till 2014, but I'm just too excited not to include it!! Veronica Mars is one of my favourite tv shows of all time, and Kristen Bell is quite possibly my favourite actress (she, Emma Stone and Sandra Bullock would probably tie!). I am so thrilled they finally got to make a movie out of such an incredible show, and I can't wait to see the cast back together again.



AND FINALLY...

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I can't even tell you how much I am looking forward to this film. I am a huge, huge fan of The Hunger Games series and Catching Fire is an amazing book. I loved the first film, and think the casting was spot on, so I've been looking forward to this since last year!



Hope you enjoyed that little run down of my viewing material for the next couple of months - I'm sure other shows will pop up on tv that I'll love, and there will more than likely be trips to the cinema to see more than just these three movies, but I'll just have to keep you posted on that!

Thanks for reading guys, and thanks so much to everyone who follows my blog - I hit 200 followers here on GFC today and I'm so thrilled. A big, big thank you to each and every one of you ❤


B is for Blogging!

Wednesday, 2 October 2013


What else could the letter B really stand for?!

I started this blog (under another name!) way back in 2010 and posted once. This was followed by an equally abysmal two posts in 2011, and it wasn't till 2012 that I started posting regularly! My posts were essentially condensed essays, discussing my favourite tv shows, and I never really thought blogging would change my life in any significant way.

For the first few months of 2012 (during which I started my YouTube channel too!) I posted on my blog every week. By the middle of the year though I had let things slide, and I didn't record a video or upload a post for months (I'm not entirely sure why either!). When I made the decision to go to Australia last December though, I realised I wanted to blog more regularly in the lead up to my travels, so that I was already in the habit of uploading posts when I went on my adventure. I wanted to document it all here, and I'm so glad that I did.

My wee Kangaroo pal - isn't he sweet!?

My little corner of the internet had about four followers (three of whom were my real life friends!) for a really, really long time. It seriously blows my mind to see that there are now almost 200 of you here on GFC, over 200 on Bloglovin', and that my little rambles here have had over 30,000 page views - it's insane! Blogging itself can sound like such an isolated thing - sitting at home typing away on your computer, but I can't believe what amazing friends I have made doing this. I met my lovely friend Gemma through YouTube last spring - who would have thought a year and a half later I'd have been at her engagement party, had regular pizza express dinners (with regular glasses of wine!) and even have worked alongside her during an internship. Through the many Scottish blogger events I've attended over the past eighteen months, I have met so many lovely people, some of whom I now speak to literally every day (you know who you are ;)). We're even going off on a wee weekend adventure in the autumn which I officially cannot wait for.



I've also been lucky enough to go along to some really lovely events, which I never expected would be the case back in 2010 when I wrote that one rambly post! From product launches to afternoon teas, I have enjoyed and appreciated every single one.

Not only that, but blogging in terms of reading other blogs has had such an impact on me! I'm not going to start listing all of my favourite blogs (we could be here for a while!), but if you've been reading mine for any length of time you'll know that I will forever have an attachment to Sprinkle of Glitter. Louise was one of the people who made me want to start blogging and making YouTube videos in the first place, so a huge big thank you to her :) I now get all of my product recommendations from bloggers whose opinions I trust. I might think an ad campaign for the new YSL mascara looks amazing, but I sure won't buy it until I've done a bit of research on the old blogosphere!

Blogging gives me a place to chat away about whatever I feel like at the time, and I love that. Twitter chats get me in touch with people from across the globe who have similar interests, and the joy of seeing that little red notification saying ''comment awaiting moderation'' when I log on to my account never ever ceases to put a smile on my face. So if you're thinking of starting a blog, I say do it. Seriously. You never know what could happen or who you might meet. And, failing that, you'll always have a space to share the things that you love/are passionate about, which is an amazing thing.

So that's why B is for blogging! What would you choose from your life to write a post on the letter B?!

Thanks so much for reading :)

My Pout Picks!

Monday, 30 September 2013

Last weekend I headed into Edinburgh once again for a lovely afternoon with two of my best blogging friends Laura and Jade. We went along to the Pout event at the Corn Exchange, which I mentioned in one of my previous posts. The wesbite describes Pout as ''A ladies lifestyle show featuring, fashion, beauty and leisure time for aspirational women from Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.'' We were greeted with a goodie bag and a snazzy cocktail, and then we headed off to explore! So I thought I'd just do a wee recap of some of my favourite exhibitors from this year! In no particular order, I really enjoyed...


I've written about Appointedd before here, and I really enjoyed chatting to the lovely Leah Hutcheon (founder of the company) again at Pout. Appointedd is an online salon booking portal, with lots of salons to choose from in the Glasgow and Aberdeen area. Leah also gave a great talk on using websites and apps to better organise your time, which she gave alongside Cally from...


If you enjoy a bit of online shopping and haven't heard of Malzee yet, get over to the website now and check it out! Mallzee is essentially an online shopping social network with a huge number of amazing stores including French Connection, Urban Outfitters and House of Fraser to choose from. More on this coming in a post soon as I was lucky enough to go along to their launch party on Tuesday night!


I absolutely loved seeing Joanne McGillvray's beautiful collection in the flesh, having seen so much about this up and coming Scottish designer online recently. Her clothes are stunning - there were a pair of printed trousers which the lovely Joanne herself was actually wearing that I almost had to be dragged away from. Lucky I had a sneaky purchase from the following company to ease the pain ;)


I couldn't resist buying one of the adorable cake pops from Cake Cetera! Well, who could? It's a cross between a cupcake and a lollipop for crying out loud, this is something we all ought to try once in our lives! The whole range of products, including their gorgeous cupcake bouquets were lovely and an inventive twist on the now ubiquitous cupcake!


If you missed it, I did a whole post on some of the lovely Granny Sally's products that I was lucky enough to test out recently, so go and check that out here! I love these natural products, and such cute packaging is always a bonus!

These were just a few of my favourites! Others included Odyssey Boutique (a lingerie and swimwear boutique which also offers a range of specialist beauty treatments including waxing and nails), the Scottish Wildlife Trust (got to be kind to our furry and feathered friends) and obviously the i-On and Snapshot photobooths... neither of which we managed to resist!


Thanks so much to Pout for inviting us along! We had a lovely afternoon :)


*Disclaimer: We were invited along to the event in a blogging capacity which was really lovely of the Pout team, but the opinions in this post are all very much my own :)




Get Ready With Me!

Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Hey guys! Major apologies for this cop out of a post, I've had a crazy busy week being back at uni and settling in (which I'm going to do a post on this weekend!) and have been along to a couple of lovely blogger events (which there will also be posts on!) and I've just not had time to write up a post... so instead, if you haven't subscribed to my YouTube channel, here's a wee link to my newest video - it's a get ready with me one, which I really enjoyed filming, so expect to see more of these in future!

I really hope you're all well, and can't quite get my head around the fact there are almost 200 of you following this blog now! I appreciate every single one of you, so leave me a wee comment to say hi if you haven't before - I get such a kick out of getting comments from you lovely readers (it's actually quite sad how excited I get!!)... x



FILM REVIEW: About Time (d. Richard Curtis, 2013)

Sunday, 22 September 2013

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As we all know, romantic comedy films are kind of my thing. Love Actually didn't make it into my Top Five 21st Century Romcoms but it certainly would have made my top ten, and so the moment Richard Curtis's new (and apparently his final) film offering ''About Time'' hit the screens, I was off to the cinema like a shot, with Emma in tow.

About Time encompasses two of my favourite themes - love/romance and time travel. It's the story of Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), a twenty one year old law student who is hit with the revelation that he (and all of the men in his family) can travel back in time. Stunned, when his father (played by the ever amazing Bill Nighy) makes this confession, Tim begins to experiment with his new found ''skill'', hoping that it might finally help him find the one thing he is desperately looking for - a girlfriend.

As in most films of this genre, Tim meets the girl of his dreams in Mary (Rachel McAdams), and after a few false starts - literally - he begins to make it work. The chemistry between all of the lead actors is strong, and let's face it - Bill Nighy and Rachel McAdams could both play trees in their respective next films and I would still adore them. The romance between Tim and Mary is lovely to watch unfold, but for me, it isn't the driving force of this film. I know, shocking, right? (Who am I?!) And, despite the opinion of a few presumptuous film reviewers, I'm pretty sure it wasn't intended to be the driving force anyway.

The film is very much focused on family, and making the most of the time you have with your loved ones. It uses the time travel plot to explore the idea of living your life to the full and what that really means. This will mean something different to everyone, and I think that's what is really special about this film. It's warm and funny and sad, and for something that many people will simply brush off as another chick flick, it has a really philosophical undertone to it. It makes you sit up and think about what and who's most important to you in life and gives you a push to remember to really value the time you spend doing what you love or relaxing with your family. You only get one shot at life, and making the most of that time is so important.

I cannot recommend this film enough, and also recommend that if and when you do see it you have a box of tissues or two on hand - I'm pretty sure 90% of the people in the cinema (including us) were bawling their eyes out when we saw it! Next on my to see list are Rush and Sunshine on Leith - what films have you been to see recently? :)

Thanks for reading!

First Impressions | ''Granny Sally's Soap Kitchen'' Range

Friday, 20 September 2013

Hi guys! Hope you are all well :)

I was really excited to be invited along to the Pout event in Edinburgh tomorrow - can't resist a girly day out with some of my favourite bloggers! When I was contacted ahead of the event to see if I would be interested in sampling a couple of products from one of the lovely brands which will be appearing at Pout, I jumped at the chance!


Since I only received the products this week this will be more of a first impressions post than a full on review, but you can expect to see that in a couple of weeks. But I have to say, my first impression of the Granny Sally's Soap Kitchen range is definitely a positive one. It is a Edinburgh based, family run business selling a lovely range of handmade soaps, body scrubs and body butters, candles and skincare, in a variety of scents. I was pleased as punch to receive four sample products from the Next to Godliness Tea Tree Range, and a jar of their Vanilla Rice Pudding Scrub.


The scent of these products is AMAZING. I'm a sucker for anything vanilla, but I literally want to eat the Vanilla Rice Pudding scrub! The tea tree cleanser, toner and moisturiser smell incredibly fresh and clean, and the brand uses only natural ingredients - always a huge plus:

''We use only the best natural ingredients with either vegetable or fruit bases - this way we can keep natures cute and fluffy types happy too!

You can even use it on sensitive skin!''


I also love the packaging - the little jars are so cute! I like that the design is nice and simple, inkeeping with their natural products.


So that's it for my first impressions of these lovely products - I always like discovering new Scottish brands and can't wait to see more of their lovely range at the Pout event! I just wanted to draw your attention to the event, incase you hadn't heard about it! Pout will be held at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh tomorrow and Sunday morning (21st and 22nd September 2013) and as far as I'm aware you can still buy tickets online, or on the door! Will I be seeing some of your faces there?! :)

Thanks for reading, and thanks so much to Granny Sally's Soap Kitchen for sending me these lovely samples - I feel very lucky on the odd occasion I am given the chance to try something out and let you all know what I think of it :)

A is for Aviemore!

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Loch Morlich throughout the years (aged 4-23)

I'm really pleased that the first post in my A-Z of me series is such a special one. The letter A has to stand for Aviemore, a village in the Highlands of Scotland which feels like a home from home to me. Until the age of about thirteen, I visited Aviemore with my parents and brother twice, sometimes even three times a year, and there is nowhere else in the world that means as much to me as it does.

Up at the Cairngorms, and at the Wildlife Park (about fifteen years apart!)

From the little village main street to the very top of the Cairngorm mountains, there isn't a place here that doesn't have lovely memories for me. My two favourite places in the entire world are here - the Highland Wildlife Park, and Loch Morlich (both photographed multiple times above). There are literally so many photographs of my brother and me here throughout our entire childhood, and (while I doubt he'd be happy with me uploading any that include him - hoping I can get away with the couple of snaps at Loch Morlich above!)it's so lovely to have my entire life documented in photos from this part of the world. Every year we would go to the Wildlife Park and the Landmark Centre (another amazing park in the forest), go for long walks in the gorgeous woodland and spend hours at a time skimming stones at the lochs. There was even a place called... wait for it... Santa Claus Land! It was, as you can imagine, paradise when we were kids.

Visiting in all seasons!

As you can probably see, we visited in every season, in every type of weather, from the coldest winters and freak spring snow blizzards to hot (by UK standards anyway) summers and beautiful, crisp autumns. Going back in my late teens and then again last autumn made me realise how much I miss being there regularly, and how calm and peaceful I feel standing at the side of the loch, or one of the rivers. I feel so lucky to have this place in my life, and have spent so much time there with my family. Looking back, they were such idyllic holidays and I can honestly say that I can't imagine that trips abroad would have brought me half as much joy as a child as packing up the car twice a year and driving the two hours (which, as kids, felt like an eternity!) north to spend a few days at a time in such a beautiful part of Scotland.

Clockwise - Throwing coins in the Wildlife Park wishing well with my mum (aged 1), at the Wildlife Park (aged 17), sitting by the river (aged 17), and having a walk in the forest (aged 23).

So thanks so much to my mum and dad for choosing such a perfect location for a home from home. I'm sure it won't be too long before we are back there again <3






YouTube Life/Channel Update :)

Monday, 16 September 2013

Hi guys!

I did a little life and channel update over on YouTube and thought I would post it here for any of you who don't follow me over there - I will be doing a blogpost soon on going back to uni but if you're interested, I've made this video in the meantime!

Hope you're all well, thanks for reading/watching :)

Favourites of the Week #17

Sunday, 15 September 2013


It's Sunday again and I thought I'd do another weekly favourites!

Track of the Week
Bastille - We Can't Stop (Radio One Live Lounge cover)

I am not exactly what you would call a Miley fan - the less said about that in this post, the better I think. Anyway, when I saw that one of my current favourite bands covered her song ''We Can't Stop'' last week I had to have a listen, and I have had it on repeat ever since. Love the cheeky little reference to her relationship with her dad with the wee bit of Achy Breaky Heart they included!



Album of the Week
Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

I've had this album for ages and it's appeared here before, but I keep finding myself putting it on when I'm in the car, or out with my iPod on. I just love the variety of sounds on it from proper dance anthems to really chilled out tracks.



TV Show of the Week
The Vampire Diaries

I'm currently devouring season four of The Vampire Diaries, and whoever it was who told me this season wasn't as good as the previous ones lied! It's just as good, just as intense and with just as many twists and turns. I just filmed a The Vampire Diaries tag for my YouTube channel, so I'll link the video here once it's uploaded!

Film of the Week
About Time

Emma and I went to see About Time this week and absolutely loved it. We both cried bucketloads, so be sure to take some tissues with you if you're going to see it - I cried into my scarf because I neglected to do so! Richard Curtis has really outdone himself with this one. Bill Nighy and Rachel McAdams are both brilliant as always, and I thought Domhnall Gleeson was fantastic in the lead role. This is a nice, philosophical sort of film and while it's romantic, I wouldn't really say romance is the main theme. It's very much about family, making the most of the time you have with them and living each day to the full - it really gets you thinking!

Beauty Product of the Week
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

A product everyone knows about and I have repurchased I don't know how many times, I've been very grateful for my Lasting Perfection Concealer this week since my skin hasn't quite been blemish free - it's a life saver for a bad skin day!

Book of the Week
Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus

I read the back of this book in WHSmith a couple of weeks ago and was instantly intrigued. When I looked it up on my kindle and saw that it was under £3 (I think it was about £2.65) I decided to give it a shot, and I'm glad I did. I'm not too far through it yet but it's really good so far, quietly building suspense and giving us access to quite a few characters.

YouTuber of the Week
Nikki Phillippi

I really like Nikki's themed months on her YouTube channel, and think her Change it up Spetember theme is a great idea. It's really easy to get stuck in a rut, and deliberately challenging yourself to try new things or make a change in your life whether it's as big as moving house or going back to univerity - the latter of which I am on doing Thursday, ahhhh! - or as small as changing your regular lipstick colour, making changes can make a big difference to your life.

Website of the Week
Itison

I get daily emails from Itison but rarely bother to spend any time checking out the deals - this week however, I've found a couple of amazing offers and will definitely make the time to read these emails more thoroughly in future!

Style Icon of the Week
Dianna Agron

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Okay, so I'm cheating a wee bit here, but this shoot actress Dianna Agron did for US Beauty website Byrdie is so stunning I couldn't ignore it. This is more of a makeup icon than style, but I love the colours used in this shoot so much that I'm letting that slide. Check out the full shoot here at http://www.byrdie.com/the-dark-side-of-dianna-agron/

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

Thanks for reading!