Watching Mulan & Getting to Spend Hogmany in Edinburgh

So the Disney movie Mulan was released in 1998, I am nearly twenty one years of age and I have only just seen it. I genuinely wasn't sure if I would like it but it turned out that I really, really did and I might have already ordered my own copy on Amazon too.

So after our previous (pathetic) attempt at a Criminal Minds day, we still had a good few episodes left to watch. Laura and I decided to go ahead and have a second attempt at a Criminal Minds day. We did catch up on all the released Criminal Minds episodes which ended up being all the ones missing Dr Spencer Reid (Laura's fav), it definitely pained Laura to watch without him but at least those episodes are over with now. After we caught up, we decided to watch some Disney films. We ended up only watching one and I knew from the moment we decided to watch a Disney film that I was never, ever getting an option in the movie picking; it was going to be Mulan. Mulan is Laura's favourite and she's been nagging at me for well over a year to watch it and the moment finally arrived. I actually really enjoyed it, mostly because of Mushu the tiny dragon, I definitely need one of him in my life, especially when he is voiced by Eddie Murphy! When Eddie Murphy voices a character, you automatically know the character is going to be amazing and funny. and I probably would've watched the film sooner if I knew he was one of the main characters. To say that Laura was smug when I said I really liked the film is a complete understatement!

Tomorrow is the last day in 2015, I know, it's crazy! I didn't have anything planned for Hogmany, just staying in with the family and celebrating together. I did want to assist in providing First Aid cover at the street party in Edinburgh because I love being a First Aider, especially at massive events but my mum wasn't too keen. I have mentioned a couple of times how much I miss being a First Aider at T in the Park and how I have been jumping at the chances for anything similar, like Calvin Harris or other concerts. This street party would've been as close as I probably could have gotten until T in the Park 2016 and after a lot of convincing and promising to text every hour, my mum is finally okay with me going! I am so beyond excited, the atmosphere is going to be amazing and with a predicted crowd figure of over 100,000, I am bound to be kept busy, which is what I like the most.

I am over the moon to be attending Edinburgh's street party as a First Aider and cannot wait to bring the New Year in doing what I love most with some of the best people I know. My post tomorrow will probably be up a little earlier because I'll be in Edinburgh but there will definitely be one, I just can't be missing the very last day of blogging in December, not after blogging every single other day. Something tells me there will be a little bit of reminiscing in tomorrows post.

xxx

Boxing Day Sales Haul

Last year at the Boxing Day Sales, I bought A LOT of clothes and a few bath and body bits, this year it was the complete opposite. Most of the items I bought in the sales ended up being online and haven't actually been delivered yet but all the Lush and Body Shop products I bought in store, so I have them.

The first thing that I bought online was a juicer. I have been wanting a juicer for at least a year, I do have a pretty good blender but it's not the same. I've been nagging my mum to let me buy one for ages and she finally agreed on Boxing Day when we found a juicer reduced from £109.99 down to £29.99 on Amazon, plus it had really good reviews, so we bought it. I cannot wait to start using it!

When we went shopping in Braehead quite early on Boxing Day and the first place we went to was New Look. As mentioned in a previous post I normally spend a lot of time and money in New Look, this year I wasn't that bothered and I only purchased two things. I bought black dungarees because I have been wanting a pair to wear in the winter months for ages, they just seem like such a staple item. I also bought another flannel shirt, I probably have too many flannel shirts now but they are really nice and I suit them, plus they go with everything, so why not? The sizes I needed in these items weren't in stock in the shop but the woman serving me kindly ordered them online for me and arranged for the clothes to be delivered to my house, they are not here yet but they should be very soon. The dungarees were reduced from £34.99 to £14 and the flannel shirt was reduced from £29.99 to £14. It was a good deal, especially since the materials felt like really good quality and was thick but also soft, perfect for colder weather!

Lush was where I spent most of my money and the shop was so busy! There was a queue out the door and round the corner! The workers even had to use a one in, one out system to keep crowds to a minimum. Nevertheless, I got some amazing deals. I always stock up on Lush products on Boxing Day because of how pricey the products can be normally. The Christmas Gift Sets were on sale as well as the bath bombs this year and basically everything was half price. 

I managed to pick my mum up a gift set full of the products she likes - Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, Rockstar Soap, Luxury Lush Pud and Snow Fairy Shower Gel, can you tell she favours the sweet scents? We picked her up a good few bath bombs as well, including three Butter Bears, another Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, two So White bath bombs, three Magic Star bath bombs and a Magic Wand Bubble Bar. We also picked up my brother some bath bombs since he is a huge (secret) Lush fan. We got him three Butter Bears, a Luxury Lush Pud, two Reach for the Star bath bombs, three So White bath bombs and two of the Magic Star bath bombs. 

Now I'm the one who really went a little crazy and got loads of products. I managed to find the two gift sets that I had really wanted for Christmas; the Butter Bear Tin that comes with six Butter Bear bath bombs inside the cutest tin ever and the Christmas Favourites gift set which has a Peeping Santa bubble bar, a Father Christmas bath bomb, a Dashing Santa bath bomb and a Golden Wonder bath bomb. I was so lucky to get these gift sets as they where 50% off and the last ones there! I bought each gift set for only £7.50! Outwith the gift sets I also picked up quite a few bath bombs (understatement) and a medium bottle of Snow Fairy. I picked up two So White bath bombs, two Cinder bath bombs, another three Butter Bears, three more Father Christmases, two Candy Mountain bubble bars, two Magic Wand bubble bars and a Luxury Lush Pud. When Lush has a 50% sale, you have to make the most of it.

The Body Shop was next and I knew exactly what I was looking for so we were in and out of the shop in under five minutes. I picked up a few of the Glazed Apple scented products as it is one of my favourite scents and it had dropped in price by 40%. I got two shower gels, a hand cream and a lip balm and I cannot wait to start using them. Another scent I love from The Body Shop is the Virgin Mojito which is a really citrus and fresh scent. They still had the Body Scrub and the Body Moisturiser left in this scent and they were also reduced, so I bought them.

The last shop we went to before we had to rush home was Schuh, mainly to find my brother a pair of decent trainers for his 18th and me a pair of all black converse. We found Stuart a really nice pair of trainers but they didn't have much of a selection of their Converse trainers on sale so I got a pair of Vans instead. I have never really been interested in Vans as I much prefer Converse but when I saw these reduced from £54.99 to £34.99, it was tempting. It was the fact that I got a further £8 off because I am a student that sealed the deal. All in all, I only paid £25.99 for the Vans. I just couldn't resist them, especially when they are navy and checkered, exactly my style!

Despite having to leave the shopping centre after only a couple of hours shopping, I got some amazing deals and I am completely happy with what I purchased. I just can't wait for everything to arrive! The Juicer will definitely come in very handy for when I try to be healthier and I cannot wait to start using it! I didn't spend as much money as I did last year and I certainly didn't buy as many clothes as last year either but I really wasn't that interested in the clothes this year at all, it was all about the bath bombs and the Juicer!

xxx

Best Moments of 2015

I cannot believe there is only three days left of 2015! Where has the year gone? It doesn't feel like a week has gone past never mind a whole year. So much has happened this year but there has been a few memorable moments that have made the year better.

Firstly, I met Louise Pentland, or more famously known as SprinkleofGlitter. She is a YouTuber; a very beautiful, sarcastic and funny YouTuber.

Louise was in Glasgow for her 2016 Diary book signing and as I go to university in Glasgow, I couldn't not go to her signing. I was first in the queue and everything! A professional photographer was there and he took picture of Louise and I since I was at the front. Sadly, I still have no idea where those pictures are but I would absolutely love to see them. I did bring a small little gift for Louise and her daughter Darcy but it wasn't anything special, I just wanted to show her my appreciation. She was so lovely! I just wish I wasn't as much of a nervous mess as I was, I couldn't stop babbling. If I get another chance to meet her, hopefully I won't be as nervous.

Another memorable moment was seeing Jessie J live (again) at the O2 Academy in Glasgow at the very beginning of the year. I queued outside, in below freezing temperatures for over eight hours to be able to get a barrier spot and I did. The show was incredible, Jessie was amazing and so friendly as always and I even got to kind of meet her after the show. A large group of us went and stood at the back entrance of the venue for ages until she came out, she came over, talked and even took a few selfies with people. I nearly got a selfie with her, she had my phone in her hand but her security guards pulled her away to leave. Just my luck! The whole day and night was incredible though, plus technically Jessie J held my hand so I was over the moon with that.

If you have been reading my blog posts regularly, you may have noticed that in my Winter Favourites, I mentioned that my mum and I had been going to quite a lot of musical shows. Well, the night we went to see Legally Blonde: The Musical was one of the best times we have spent together this year. Legally Blonde is one of my favourite films so naturally I loved the musical as well. Since then we have been to see Sister Act (another favourite film of mine) and we are going to see Annie in April which my mum doesn't know about just yet but it'll be great.

St Andrew's First Aid is an amazing volunteer run company that I am extremely proud to be a part of. All of the members are very good friends of mine and great assets to the company. We have had many experiences together from difficult and tough casualties to deciding which drink or shot to get next. They are all a great bunch of people, more like a family and they make each year that goes by that little bit better. 

T in the Park has got to be the top First Aid memory from this year. To say that it was an experience would be an understatement! That is a most definitely good thing though. During those five days I was faced with serious casualties that I treated and helped to save. That experience would not have been anywhere near as good without the rest of the incredible first aiders that I am lucky enough to volunteer with on a weekly basis. I miss T in the Park each day; the busyness, the hectic shifts, the casualties, everything. The people make the company. There is more to the company than just being first aiders and providing support at events all the time, there are nights out as well. The Conference and the Annual Awards Night are two incredible evenings with A LOT of dancing, drinking, selfies and the occasional pizza ordering at 3am. Nights like this are the best, full of fun and happy people.

I am so proud and overjoyed to be a part of such an amazing organisation and my years are always made better by the organisation, they are like my family. They have made my 2015 and I am sure that they will make my 2016 just as good if not better!

xxx

What I got for Christmas 2015

Christmas this year was good. There was family time, lots of food, presents and we even played a few boardgames too! I am extremely thankful for everything I received this year for Christmas from friends and family, I love everything they got me and I think they loved everything I got them as well.

It was hard to get the perfect picture of everything I got for Christmas but eventually, after a good while, I managed it. I knew about a couple of the gifts I was getting but my mum definitely surprised me with a few gifts as well. My mum completely surprised me with Shrek: The Musical on DVD, another pair of Cheryl heels, a microwavable toy pug (so so adorable!) and the Tanya Burr products. I was so surprised she managed to get the Tanya products because I couldn't find them in any shops when I looked, I guess we got a bit of luck.

From my Nana, I received a mermaid print shirt from Zara and rose gold shoes from Ted Baker. These items are absolutely beautiful and definitely my taste, my Nana knows me well, as does my mum since she bought the Winter version of Cheryl's perfume; Storm Flower Noir. I had only mentioned Tyler Oakley once to her whilst I showed her the Disney challenge between him and Zoella but she must've really listened since she picked up his book for me which I have been wanting to read. I was really surprised my mum got me any books at all since she is always complaining that I have far too many, yet she got me Wake, a book about mermaids that I added to the Amazon Wishlist a couple of months ago too. The last few things she got me included the Real Technique Sponge, a pug tea diffuser, the deer shawl from Lush and the new Demi Lovato album which I did know I was getting because I pre-ordered it months before it was due for release, I'm just a little bit of a fan.

Pretty Little Liars is one of my favourite shows and my brother bought the fourth season for me along with one of my favourite true movies called Perfect Body, it's about a gymnast who develops an eating disorder. My brother also got me some Jelly Belly sweets in all the best flavours which I'm sure won't last much longer.

There was some Zoella products in my stocking! I got the body scrub, the Let's Spritz body mist and the Blissful Mistful solid perfume. There was also Tanya Burr Lashes, Mini Real Technique Brushes and some No:7 products. The No:7 products included an eye brush, a cream eye shadow in the colour Glistening Ray, a cream Instant Radiance Highlight and a Pop & Glow Cream Blush. I cannot wait to try out all of these products because they all look amazing. Gingerbread House was the one thing from the Tanya Burr Christmas Collection I really wanted to get my hands on. It is just so me but I couldn't find it anywhere and it sold out online almost immediately. The same occurred with the Candy Glam Beauty Essentials Palette but my mum managed to get both! The names of the eye-shadows in the palette are adorable, names like snowflake, ballet slippers, chandelier and baking brownies. They are all colours I would wear and the lip gloss is a perfect shade for my very pale skin colour. My mum did very very well with her detective skills and choices with all the make up.

What is Christmas without a couple of pairs of fluffy socks? I got the softest pairs in a gorgeous turquoise blue and white from my Aunt along with some fudge (currently eating) and a bracelet which I gave to my mum because she liked it better. As you have probably noticed, I have a thing for pugs, my mum has noticed this too and although she doesn't see the appeal in pugs but she still bought me fluffy socks with cute pugs on them. More pug items to add to the growing collection, maybe one day I'll get a real pug.

There are two last gifts that didn't arrive in time for Christmas that will hopefully be here soon. A black Parka from New Look and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I have been wanting a black Parka for a long time, I have a Khaki coloured one but I feel like I would wear a black one a lot more and All the Bright Places is a book that everybody has been raving about so I've been dying to read it and now I finally can.

I am extremely grateful and thankful for all the gifts and money I received on Christmas Day, I was absolutely spoiled. I love every single one of my gifts and I will for sure use them all constantly. My family loved all the gifts from me as well which is a huge relief. My dad especially loved his Knight Rider seasons, he has been watching them non-stop since Christmas Day! I'm really glad my family all felt special, appreciated and we got to spend time together on Christmas since it doesn't happen often. I really want there are more times like that next year and not just on special occasions.

xxx 

Shopping, Drama & The Cutest Advent Calendar

Normally when I plan to get up early and get things done it never happens, well today it did and to say today has been hectic is an understatement. I was up, ready and at the shopping centre by 09:30am to begin the Boxing Day sale shopping only to rush home ninety minutes later.

I did only have the intention to visit five shops anyways; Lush, New Look, Schuh, Waterstones and The Body Shop. Unfortunately I didn't have time to visit Waterstones but I didn't really mind because I'd already got plenty of good deals throughout the morning. I will be doing a complete separate post on everything I bought today but the majority of it is bath and body related since lush had a huge sale on. Lush shops on Boxing Day are a complete shambles, people everywhere, grabbing, pushing, all determined to get as much as they can whilst stocks last. Last year I got quite a lot of bath bombs to last me a couple of months because there wasn't as much of a sale as this year. This year there was loads, even a good few of the Christmas gift boxes, so it is safe to say that I definitely stocked up! The Body Shop was next. The only reason I ever go into Body Shop on Boxing Day is for their reduced Christmas range items with the Glazed Apple scent, it is heavenly. Virgin Mojito was also a scent that was new to me but that I was actually quite fond of, it wasn't part of the Christmas collection but it was still on sale (bonus).

Usually I spend over an hour browsing through the New Look sales but this year I really wasn't that bothered. We only actually went into New Look to see if my brother could find any reduced jumpers or tops. In the end I did have a quick browse and picked up two items. My mum was really surprised at me since I normally buy a lot more from New Look. The only other clothing item I purchased was from Schuh. I was originally looking to see if they had any all black converse on sale or any burgundy converse on sale but they didn't so I found a different pair of shoes instead. You'll have to wait until my Boxing Day Haul post to see what they look like but I absolutely love them!

Unfortunately, after only being shopping for just over an hour, my mum got a call from my aunt to say that my Nana was being rushed into hospital. The situation sounded a lot worse than it actually was at first so we all panicked. After some blood tests and scans, she will be having a two course treatment of liquid antibiotics to kill the infection that's in her blood. The day was super stressful because everybody was so worried about my Nana but now we are all just extremely relieved that everything is going to be okay and we are all home again. We did lose most of our day but I didn't mind at all because shopping was successful, my Nana is okay and getting better, EastEnders was on again tonight and we had left over Christmas dinner, what more could I want?

Once I got home and began putting away all the bath and body items, I realised that I haven't shown my completed Santa's Workshop Advent Calendar yet. It is AMAZING.

I really enjoyed opening this advent calendar each day, despite it being for children. It created the most adorable Christmas scene that I can use as a decoration next year when I have another one to create - I will most definitely be having another one next year. I'm looking forward to sharing what I bought today as well as what I got for Christmas this year with you all, those posts will be up really soon and I aim to impress with my savings.

xxx

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your day was as joyous, family-orientated and relaxed as Christmas can possibly be. My day was a little stressful to begin with because everybody was super tired since we all had to get up before 8am for everything to get done, then my Nana's infection was getting a lot worse, resulting in us missing out on seeing some family members until everything was sorted. This took a lot longer than we all thought. I went over to my Nana's at around 10:45am and didn't get home until about 4pm. We didn't get to have Christmas dinner until 7pm when we originally planned it for 3pm in the afternoon. My dad, brother and I were exhausted and ended up falling asleep for a couple of hours just after we got in at 4pm which was 100% needed.

We did get to open all of our presents in the morning before all the drama began, which was great. Everybody loved all of their presents, especially my mum because she had no clue whatsoever as to what she was getting. I have actually got her tickets to see Annie in April so I might surprise her with them on New Year instead. My dad has already started watching his main present from my mum, brother and I - Knight Rider: The Complete Four Season Boxset. It was one of those shows I grew up watching because he was extremely fond of it. Knight Rider and The 6 Million Dollar Man were his two favourites and now he has them both and can watch them any time he wants.

Christmas dinner was really good even though I don't actually like turkey. My mum had bought everything you could think of for the perfect Christmas dinner, I was most looking forward to the Yorkshire puddings and the ham and wasn't that bothered about anything else if i'm perfectly honest. There was an incredible amount of food so I think it's pretty accurate to say that there's going to be a few days of leftovers for us. The table was set up nicely with browns, reds and golds. We had a centre piece as well and I loved it, it was really pretty and festive but not too over the top. A few fake candles here and there, a dim of the lights and the perfect cosy atmosphere is created.

After dinner, I genuinely managed to convince my family to play some games! We played Timber, UNO and 'Guess the Theme Song'. It was so great to actually spend time together like that even though it wasn't for long. I was shocked that my brother stayed down for any games at all since it's a rare sighting if he is out of his  room.  I couldn't quite convince them that Disney Monopoly was the best game to play but there is always tomorrow for that one, fingers crossed.

A couple of games later and it was time for a little bit of normal TV until Christmas specials like Mrs Browns Boys came on. EastEnders was on for an hour tonight - I certainly wasn't complaining about that. The episode was extremely tense but heart melting at the same time. I felt all the emotions. For anybody who watches EastEnders, has done for a while and is a (massive) fan of Ronnie Mitchell, you will know what I mean, Jack and Ronnie are back! Words cannot describe how EXCITED I am for this. The episode did end with a cliffhanger and all of the drama is far from over so between now and New Year, I will be glued to the TV every single time EastEnders comes on. Can you tell I am a fan of the show? 

Mrs Browns Boys is a comedy sketch show my mum used to watch quite a lot, a few years ago and ever since it returned, we have been watching it together, especially the Christmas Special. I was fortunate enough to be in the audience whilst the Christmas Special of 2013 (I think) was actually being filmed. I have never laughed so much in my life it was brilliant. The sketches this year made me laugh a little but not as much as previous years did and the episode seemed a lot shorter this year too. I'm not sure if that was just me who thought that though.

By the time we'd finished watching Mrs Browns Boys, I was dosing off on the couch. I was just so tired and with a plan of getting up early again on Boxing Day for sales shopping, I decided that bed was the best option for me. Yet I am still watching Vlogmas videos and chatting. I'm going to be absolutely knackered tomorrow, hopefully the good deals will make up for it. We are going shopping early so we can get home early and watch films all day. On the list so far are Cinderella, 101 Dalmations and the new film my mum got today. The only shops I really want to go into are Lush and Superdrug - gotta stock up on those bath bombs whilst you can - so I don't see us being out shopping for too long. I hope your Christmas was fun-filled and perfect and that your Boxing Day isn't too stressful if you are venturing out like me.

xxx

T'was the Night Before Christmas

I hope everybody has had a great Christmas Eve because I certainly have. There was a fair bit of tidying up to do around my house before we all relaxed and my parents did have to attend a funeral which was unfortunate and lowered their spirits but once the Christmas versions of TV shows came on and we started watching Christmas films, everyone's mood improved. 

Whilst my parents were at the funeral I watched Bride Wars, which I know isn't festive in the slightest but it is still a really good film and it was on TV anyways. Once they returned, the cleaning began. I tidied and hoovered my room, brought all the Christmas gifts downstairs ready to be placed under the tree and had a relaxing lush bath with a Butter Bear and a little bit of Snow Fairy for amazing smelling bubbles. 

After dinner, we settled to watch EastEnders (another festive choice from me) until my dad left - he was DJing at a local bar and wasn't really interested in watching Christmas films anyways. As soon as he left, The Polar Express was put on. It is a little tradition for my mum, brother and I to watch the Polar Express every single Christmas Eve since we seen it in the cinema on a snowy Christmas Eve back in 2004 and we still love it. This will be another little tradition I will carry on with my children. Jack Frost was the next Christmas film my mum and I watched, by this point my brother had had enough 'family time' and went back to his room again. Nevertheless, Jack Frost is one of my favourite Christmas films and I don't think I even watched it last year! It surprises me how many people haven't actually seen the film, it's about a boy who's dad dies close to Christmas but comes back as a snowman a year later and tries to fix all the problems they had between them before it's too late and his son grows up. It is such a great film, my description certainly does not do it justice.

After I've finished writing this post, I am going to settle down in bed with a nice, hot cup of tea and watch my favourite festive film - The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. I will continue to rave about this film until I find somebody else who loves it too! That is a promise. I have watched this each year for as long as I can remember and always by myself since nobody else in my family likes the film but I prefer it that way anyways, just means there is no talking or loud, noisy eaters. Plus this year I received the prettiest book version of it so now I can start reading it every year as well as watching it.

Tomorrow is actually going to be quite a hectic day for my family as we have so many people to visit at so many certain times as well as actually spending time together just the four of us. I am determined to play a couple of boardgames at some point during the day, it is my mission, as well as trying to keep all arguing to a minimum. I just can't wait to see the look on my families face when they open their gifts, that is what I am most looking forward too for sure, especially my mums. I hope you guys all have a family orientated, happy and fantastic Christmas tomorrow! I'd love to read all about other people's Christmas as well as posting about my own! I hope Santa is good to you all!

xxx

Christmas Over the Years

We managed to get everything we need for Christmas dinner and it's also Christmas Eve Eve! There is no better way to spend Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve than to watch countless Christmas films. By the time we got back from Tesco's and Morrison's, it was already about 2pm so most of the day had gone but I still managed to watch a few Christmas films and a documentary about penguins. I watched Jingle All The Way, The Santa Clause and Elf. Each film brought back memories, especially Jingle All The Way and The Santa Clause as we used to watch them as a family every single year when I was young.

I have a really good memory which means I have a lot of Christmas memories. From playing Angel Gabriel in the Nativity way back in primary school to waiting up as late as possible for Santa and having some presents that were taller than me at the time.

I loved playing Angel Gabriel, I felt really special and included for once. Although my tinsel gave me a rash and my wings appeared to be on upside down, I still loved every single moment of rehearsal's and the final performance. I have some great memories from Christmas but also some weird ones as well. For example, my brothers first Christmas, my parents had bought me a present from him and I was absolutely beyond terrified to open it. I have no idea why I was so scared but I refused to open it all day, I was convinced he was trying to hurt me despite only being eleven months old. My mum tried to convince me to open it so many times during the day but I refused and in the end she had to open the present, it was only a Donald Duck stuffed toy. 

Another year I received a baby doll with a pram, cot and high chair. I was immediately obsessed - baby came first no matter what. I couldn't eat before she did and I wasn't allowed to go to sleep until she'd had a bath and been read a story. The blue stuffed toy that I'm holding in the picture below was actually a present for my brother. Still to this day I have no idea what it is but at the time I couldn't put it down all day, I think it's stomach vibrated or something like that.

Another year, I got so many dress up outfits that I was barely in the same thing for more than an hour! My favourite memory though has got to be the year I received a lot of Teletubby merchandise. There was an indoor house, a table and chairs, beanie baby Teletubbies and Teletubby leggings (my mother had a great fashion sense). I didn't come out of that Teletubby house for days! I ate, slept and even watched TV from that thing - wearing my leggings of course. 

An umbrella is something that a child would normally be unhappy with on Christmas, often preferring a doll or action figure or a teddy bear. Not me though and certainly not if the umbrella was a Teletubby one. After my mum eventually convinced me to sleep in my bed and not the house, I would climb out after she'd left the room, get all my Teletubby beanies, umbrella and sometimes other teddies as well and then I'd surround myself with them all and put the umbrella up over us. I did this every single night for weeks! I'm quite sad that I don't have any of the Teletubby toys from when I was younger, not even the beanie babies because I would've loved to have kept them for my kids, like I have done with some of my other old toys.

Looking back on pictures like these makes me incredibly nostalgic. I cannot wait to experience all the good things about Christmas with my kids in the future. We will have all our little traditions like watching the Polar Express and The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, getting new pyjamas to watch them in and playing boardgames on Christmas Day.  They will have a fun advent calendar to share and chocolate one each, that way they will get little toys each day too and build up a scene. Like a small toy car which was in mine today, one more day and the workshop scene will be complete! I am very excited that tomorrow is Christmas Eve, I have a pile of Christmas films to work my way through, Pringles to eat and lots of cups of tea to drink. I hope you guys all relax and do the same!

xxx

Gift Giving and Watching The Grinch

Tonight was the last First Aid Cadet evening until next year. We decided to finish with a relaxed night of Christmas jumpers, Christmas films and a small Christmas gift each. Each cadet received a little Malteaser Mini Reindeer Box (containing seven chocolate reindeer), wrapped in very cute paper and finished off with a little Gingerbread man decoration that they can keep and put on their Christmas tree at home. They each got a Christmas card and candy cane as well, I had everything laid out waiting for them to arrive.

Unfortunately, not all of them turned up because some weren't feeling well. The ones who did turn up had a good time eating the chocolate and candy canes. It took them forever to pick a Christmas film from the selection I brought with me though. Eventually they settled on The Grinch. I was hoping they would pick Jack Frost because I haven't watched it this year yet but I knew The Grinch would be the one because a certain one of our cadets is extremely fond of The Grinch and watches the film A LOT. The Grinch was actually one of the Christmas films I wasn't intending to watch this Christmas but I'm glad I did watch it, I actually forgot how sweet the film actually is.

As I am writing this post, I am watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. I love the Home Alone series but I think I like this one the best, purely because I love New York so much and cannot wait to go back again in three years time. Being completely honest, I certainly wouldn't mind getting lost in New York or ending up in New York by mistake! Watching as Kevin (the main character) runs through Central Park brings back memories of my brother and I trying to find the set of rocks used to film the scene when Kevin gets his foot stuck, actually finding them and then us pretending to be stuck whilst my mum took a picture. We got a good few strange looks doing that but the picture was worth it. Watching these films also brings back memories of setting little 'traps' all around our house after we first watched the films. My mum definitely wasn't a fan of us for a good week or so!

I have decided that I will not only finish Blogmas, but will continue to blog the rest of December as well. I'll most likely have more interesting things to post after Christmas anyways. The only thing that will be different is that there will be no advent calendar to give regular updates on, especially when they are as adorable as today - little zoo animals in a little basket. Today's advent gift has definitely been my favourite so far, it is just too cute. Tomorrow it's the dreaded Christmas dinner shop, Tesco is going to be crazier than ever but it'll be an experience to say the least! You guys will be updated on all the craziness tomorrow.

xxx

I Finished all the Wrapping!

I've finally finished every single bit of Christmas wrapping. I started off with wrapping all the distant family gifts for cousins etc, which were mainly aftershave or bath products or David Beckham gift sets. I then moved onto the gifts for my Nana and then finally onto the gifts I've got for my mum, dad and brother.

I probably purchased the most gifts for my mum because she is the easiest to buy for. I always get her a book and she loves the author Cathy Glass and she had a new book out, so that was sorted pretty quick. My mum has a Samsung tablet with a cover that is covered in tape because it is so old and tatty, it was definitely time for a new one so I picked up a mint green one for her. The next present(s) are the main gift really because they make up an outfit. Firstly a little pair of tan moccasin shoes from New Look, secondly, a black and white striped midi-skirt also from New Look, and lastly, a mustard coloured jumper which is quite light-weight so it can be layered if she wanted to. Recently my mum has become more trusting in my fashion advice and become more adventurous with her clothing. This time last year she would never wear a skirt or the colour mustard but now she loves the colour and has a few skirts that she really likes. There are a couple of more things for my mum, including the Ferrero Roche's and the Foot Pedi, but they are from my dad, brother and me.

My dad has been wearing the same navy blue jogging bottoms for at least six years! They are so old, worn, discoloured and pretty much useless now that I decided it was time to invest in a new pair. I got him grey ones from Primark and my mum bought him the same pair in navy. The second thing I got for my him is the new Kevin Bridges DVD because this time last year I bought him tickets to see the show, so this year, having been to the show and loved it, I bought him the DVD of it. The Chase is an amazing game show that my dad is OBSESSED with, so what's a better gift than The Chase Playing Cards that we can play on Christmas Day? It is a little bit of a joke present but he will love it and get really competitive just like me, we will appear on a game show one day, that is a definite goal.

My brother and I agreed that we weren't spending much money on each other for Christmas this year because he is eighteen in a month and I'm twenty one in six months time. Nevertheless, I got him Southpaw on DVD because he loved it when he went to the cinema to see it and I also got him the BFG on DVD because he used to absolutely adore it when he was younger and not going to lie, I did catch him singing the songs the other day so I thought it would be a nice, sentimental gift.

I have also bought some Lush products to put into stockings for my brother and mum but they are all due to arrive tomorrow when I have a hundred things to do, typical. Now that all the presents are wrapped and everything is organised, I am even more excited for Friday, even though this month has gone in crazy quick! I mean it's three more days and then Christmas! I only have three more boxes left in my advent calendar which is pretty sad because of how adorable it is, I mean today I got a tiny guitar and a wrapped present. A tiny guitar, that's adorable. If you have been reading my Blogmas posts each day, Thank you! I am actually quite surprised how well I've done with posting every day, only a few days left. Or, I might just continue posting the rest of December, you'll just need to wait and see.

xxx

Christmas Crafts

My living room is full of Christmas decorations, as is my conservatory, but my dining room was looking a little bare in my opinion. Which is why when I was shopping yesterday I picked up two silver frames and a gift bag which sounds silly but an idea popped into my head the moment I seen the gift bag. I had glitter and glue and home already and in my head these four things together were going to work perfectly. It does sounds a bit strange but this is what I came up with.

I bought two frames because there was a pretty Winter scene on each side of the bag. I cut out each scene and measured them against the frame. Once I had gotten the sizing right, I added some subtle silver, white and black glitter to different parts of the scene. To cover the holes at the top of each scene from where the ribbon handles had been, all I did was simply tape a piece of white card over the back of them. To add some final finishing touches, I found a white and dark grey pencil and added some darker shading and highlight to some parts of the picture. Once I was happy with the subtle changes, I added the picture to the frame and secured it in with a little more tape. 

My mum absolutely loved the finished look of the pictures and didn't believe that it was a simple gift bag beforehand. I was going to add some snow spray to the glass but I couldn't find any more in the house but I do think the picture would look even better with a little snow spray so I might have to make one last trip into town. It's hard to believe that something so pretty and elegant looking started off as a bag, I've even had some people asking me to make one for them too! I really liked making these to put in the dining room and I'm definitely going to keep doing similar things throughout the seasons. Present wrapping has also progressed because I'm nearly done! By tomorrow I should be completely finished despite most likely needing to pick up even more wrapping paper. 

Today in my advent calendar I got a little scooter. It really is starting to feel like Christmas even though we don't have snow. I've been working my way through Christmas films finishing today off with Love Actually, which I have never seen before (I know, I'm a disgrace). Tomorrow I plan to watch Jack Frost, The Santa Clause and The Holiday (which I have also never seen) and drink numerous cups of tea off course.

xxx

Coffee, Shopping & The Wrapping Begins

The town centre on a Saturday is busy enough never mind it being so close to Christmas, yet me and my mum thought today would be a great day to go and get last minute things like Christmas money wallets and chocolates. Five and a half hours it took us because it was so incredibly busy and we only went in a few shops! We did get absolutely everything we needed though, well we hope we did anyways, if not then tough because we are definitely not heading out into that madness again until Boxing Day.

We went into town aiming to go into five shops: Tesco, Wilkinson's, Boots, Card Factory and Primark. Naturally the was a little trip to Costa for some food and a coffee squeezed in there since everybody needs a coffee break. After we got wrapping paper, money wallets and gift bags in the Card Factory, a new toaster from Wilkinson's and some candles from Primark, Costa was definitely calling our names.

I haven't actually had any of the festive drinks from Costa yet this year so I was intrigued to see if they had anything new. They had a few new drinks but in the end I went with a Gingerbread Latte. I was tempted by the Sticky Toffee Latte but I didn't really fancy anything that sweet. My mum got a Peach Iced Lemonade which is her absolute favourite but she did try my latte too, she wasn't too keen. To go with my latte, I got one of their chicken fajita wraps which are amazing and my mum got a plain old cheese and ham toastie but also a sneaky lemon muffin (another of her favourites).

After our Costa break, we only had two more shops to go! In Boots, the main thing to be picked up was a gift card for one of my mum's friends. However, No7 had a promotion on so we couldn't help ourselves. For any two products you bought, you got a free gift box and normally things like that have rubbish products as the free gift but on this occasion they were really good! I picked an item to be put mum's stocking and she did the same for me so we don't know what each other has got just yet and we shared the contents of the gift box and put those products in our stockings to save for Christmas too. 

Tesco was going to be the real challenge, ee had to get all the chocolate gifts for not only people who help my Nana, but for all of my family and extended family as well. We ended up with eight boxes of Ferrero Roche and four boxes of After Eights for the people who help out with my Nana and a whole bunch of chocolate for us as well, including eight Malteser Reindeer gift boxes for the first aid cadets as a little Christmas gift. I wrapped the cadets gift extremely cute and even attached a little Gingerbread man that they can put on their Christmas trees afterwards too!

So far I have wrapped all the edible items that people are getting for Christmas; tomorrow I will tackle the rest of the gifts, including the ones I've got for my mum, dad and brother. It's going to be a long day because there is A LOT of stuff to wrap. People normally hate wrapping presents but I actually quite enjoy it, I can make sure everything is wrapped perfectly and looks pretty, plus time goes by quite quickly when you have loads of Christmas films to watch. My mum normally leaves me alone for the whole day just to get on with everything so that is a complete bonus! I'm planning on getting up at a reasonable time tomorrow morning but going by what my sleeping pattern has been like, that might be a little difficult. I've got lot's to do tomorrow so let's hope I manage to get it all done. There was lot's of little toys and another little backpack waiting for me in my advent calendar today, only five more days to open and the Santa's Workshop scene will be finished! 

xxx

What Would I Like for Christmas?

It's only one week until Christmas Day! I am getting quite excited although I would be a lot more excited if we had snow, instead we have pretty powerful winds and the usual rain. Normally I would just stay inside curled up with Millie, a cup of tea and a blanket with the TV on (like just now) but today I had an event to attend as a first aider, another football game. It was fine until we heard over the radio that forty children under the age of twelve had arrived and we just knew they would annoy us the entire game. All I heard from them was swearing, insults aimed at the referee and then them all shouting and bragging about what each of them was getting for Christmas; an X Box One here, a PS4 there, the odd bike and of course they all seemed to be getting an iPhone 6. When I was twelve, I didn't even have a phone yet! However, all the present talk did get me thinking about what I would realistically like for Christmas since another dog is apparently not an option.

I do know a couple of the things that I'm getting for Christmas purely because I'm twenty and my mum wasn't sure what Lush and Zoella products I liked. I don't know any items specifically but I did give her a list of the products I liked and she picked a couple from that list. Apart from that I have no idea what I am getting. I haven't really asked for much, just a couple of small things here and there.

One thing I have asked for is Demi Lovato's new album Confident. I love Demi and her music, always have done. Her voice is amazing, her backstory is inspiring and her songs are catchy, relatable and incredible. Naturally I couldn't wait until Christmas so I did download most of the songs from the album (all of which are as suspected AMAZING) but I'll just have to wait and see if I get the physical copy for Christmas. If not, I will definitely be making that purchase on Boxing Day.

I have always put my foundation on and blended it in with my fingers and it annoys me how messy my hands get but I really don't like applying my foundation with an actual brush so a friend suggested trying the Real Techniques Sponge instead. It was quite cheap so I mentioned that to my mum at one point and I thought it would be a nice little thing she could put it in my stocking along with whatever Lush products she decided on.

Tyler Oakley is a YouTuber that I watch occasionally but not often. I like him and he is funny so when I heard he was releasing a book it interested me and I do really wanted to read it. Turns out it was only £7 on Amazon so when my mum asked if there was any books I'd like, I mentioned that one. I was surprised she even asked me about wanting any books because all she does is moan about how many I have! I thought it wise to only mention one book and then I can always buy the rest later on.

Everybody who knows me knows that I am a massive Cheryl and Girls Aloud fan. I own everything (and I mean everything) they have released. I have seen them live six times and Cheryl on her solo tour once. So when Cheryl released a perfume called Storm Flower, it was pretty much assumed that I would want (need) it and I was lucky enough to get the special limited edition set with the perfume and body lotions as a gift last Christmas. Since then she has released another perfume called Storm Flower Noir and I think my mum has assumed the same for this perfume. This perfume set does seem to be cheaper and a lot easier to get a hold of than the last one so I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed.

Those are all the things I've mentioned to my mum for Christmas but no doubt she will surprise me and come up with a couple of extra things like she normally does. I will be extremely happy if I'm lucky enough to get these four things never mind anything extra she might pick up. Just because I tend to go overboard with her presents at Christmas, doesn't mean she has to do the same for me. Speaking of presents, there was a little blue wheelbarrow and a little orange teddy bear waiting for me in my advent calendar today, it won't be long until the Christmas Workshop scene is finished now! Tomorrow I am going shopping with my mum for boxes of chocolates for various people and cute wrapping paper so I can finally begin wrapping everyone's presents. A Costa trip might even be on the cards for tomorrow, I'll just need to wait and see.

xxx

Winter Essentials

When I watch YouTube video's about people's Autumn or Winter Essentials, I always think the same thing; you don't need a berry, red, burgundy or dark lip and you don't need to have your nails painted perfectly everyday in 'suitable' Autumn or Winter colours. During Autumn and especially Winter time, I'm lucky if I can be bothered to put foundation and powder on, dress in decent clothes and actually leave the house never mind painting my nails and making sure I have a seasonal lip colour on. Some of you will probably feel the same about some of my Winter must haves, but I can assure you there is no nail polish or lip sticks to be seen.

The first few things that I class as essentials (for me) are boots, flannel shirts, jumpers and cosy (yet sometimes outrageous) leggings. My leggings shown below are from Primark and keep me super warm, I don't tend to leave the house wearing them that often, only if I'm walking the dogs for a short while. 

Flannel shirts are a clothing item that becomes insanely popular through September-December but I wear them all year round anyways because I love them - I have pastel coloured flannels for Spring and Summer. They are just so easy to layer when it's cold and easy to throw on over a vest top when it's warmer, plus you can find them for reasonable prices pretty much anywhere. 

I live in Scotland, therefore rain occurs pretty much daily and it's always cold so jumpers and boots are 100% an essential for me. I have far too many jumpers to show but I get very cold very easily so most of my jumpers are a little baggy so I can layer them. I have been wearing these black boots with buckles that I got from New Look when they were on sale in Summer nearly every day. When it's dry and I'm not wearing the black boots, I normally wear my Timberland's which I can assure you I did not pay full price for!

The next things that I absolutely love during colder months are baths and candles, which do go together quite nicely. Sure moisturiser and lip balm are pretty important for your skin during colder months but they are pretty boring to talk about and I often forget to apply both of these to my body anyways. 

I will burn the occasional fresh scented candle throughout the year but when it gets colder, I go through so many candles. Primark do really good candles that are cheap and well scented so I do have quite a few from there burning around my house. There is always a candle in my bathroom for when I have a bath, they just add to the cosy, warm atmosphere. 

When I have a bath, my go to products are Lush which I know are a bit on the pricey side but they are 100% worth it in my opinion. I am a lazy person when it comes to moisturising and lush bath bombs clean you and moisturise you so they are a winner in my book, plus they smell and look amazing.

Once I get out the bath and put clean, cosy pyjamas on the first thing I want to do is have a cup of tea. If it's cold outside then hot drinks are always an good option, but since I am allergic to chocolate and sensitive to caffeine, I'm pretty limited in what I can have. It's just as well I really like different types of tea, so much so that my friend Sarah actually made me that cup cover, along with a cream coloured one not long after she had her little girl. 

Fairy lights aren't exactly essential but they are cute and make your room cosy, so I have a few sets of fairy lights turned on during winter.

With the fairy lights on, cup of tea made, the only thing to do is watch a favourite show or grab a book, there are just no better options. The first shows I would go to would be without a doubt Law and Order: SVU and Criminal Minds. Even though I have been LOVING Dance Moms at the moment, they are my ultimate obsessions and I could watch them all day, everyday. With books I do have an obscene amount, yet I always find myself reaching for Harry Potter around this time of year and I still haven't even read all the books in the series (shame on me). I will this time round she says for the hundredth time.

My last essential will definitely not apply to everybody but those of you who have house pets, whether that be dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits etc will understand. I have two dogs, the older one is a chocolate Labrador called Buttons and she is a lot more independent and will only snuggle with you every so often for a short period of time. Millie on the other hand, she is two and a half, extremely cute and very, very affectionate. She would lay with you all day, snuggled up all warm and cosy if she could. If she was given the option to go out and play or stay on the couch nestled beside me, the outdoors wouldn't get a look in. I spend the majority of my days and nights with her curled up beside me or at my feet or just simply sprawled out on top of me or my bed and I absolutely love it. In Winter I have more time to spend at home since I am not at uni and that just means more time with Millie. I do love taking the dogs out for walks in the crisp weather but that is now where near on the same level as all the cuddles.

 So these are my Winter Essentials, sorry the post was up later than expected, I've had a busy day and editing all these photos got me a little frustrated so I needed a break before I continued with the post. Nonetheless I hope you enjoyed this post and agreed with what I think are Winter Essentials, well for me anyways. Today in my advent calendar I got another little elf which is currently sitting in Santa's sleigh proudly until the 24th when I will get him. Thanks for reading my seventeenth Blogmas post, come back tomorrow for another one that will be written after I've had a lush bath, whilst wearing cosy leggings and drinking a cup of tea with Millie sleeping beside me.

xxx

Criminal Minds Fail and Exchanging Gifts

A build up of six or seven Criminal Minds episodes is a good place to start for a Criminal Minds Day. Well unless you sleep in until 16.35pm that is, which is exactly what I did. The plan was to start the Criminal Minds session at around three and catch up with all the episodes, exchange gifts and watch How to Get Away With Murder but I didn't wake up, it was a complete fail. I woke up to about five messages from Laura. My favourite was "You better not still be asleep in bed", am I that predictable? Nonetheless the night ended up pretty good.

I can always count on Laura for a pretty book and this year I got two! She already has the Harry Potter Illustrated Edition and a good half an hour was spent in awe over how pretty it is, so she got me one for Christmas too and I love it. As you know from my blog post about Christmas films, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is one of my all-time favourites. I knew it was based on a book written by the same author of The Wizard of OZ but I had never really thought to actually buy it but wow this version is very adorable and extremely Christmasy. By the looks of it, the film adaptation is pretty much the same so when I read the book, it is going to be just as cute as the film. This will be one to read to my future kids everey Christmas I think. So that's another two pretty books to add to my growing collection and I love them both!

When we eventually got organised and started watching Criminal Minds, it was about five o'clock so we had a lot to watch. In the end we only watched three episodes and then one of How to Get Away With Murder but we did reach the most important episode... JJ's return. I have been waiting for this episode for a painful length of time. I was even watching loads of old episodes with JJ in them to compensate not having her. It was definitely worth the wait though. I love how her on-screen sons are her actual sons because all the family photos used on the show are 100% genuine and make my heart melt every time.

We never managed to catch up with Criminal Minds but at least we finally watched JJ's return which makes sleeping most of the day away okay. Well I did tidy my room, get ready, wrap a bunch of presents and fix my make up in an hour when normally I'd take all day to do that so that counts for something too! Since Laura was over, we both opened my advent calendar and honestly, neither of us had any clue what the little figures were. We made out a little backpack and that was about it! I loved my Christmas gifts from her as I always do and I hope she liked mine. This was the first time we both gave each other something Harry Potter related, it was weird, but definitely good cause the book is so damn pretty. 

We still have a good four or five episodes of Criminal Minds to watch but since we are both finished uni for Christmas that'll be done in no time, right now I think our main priority is How to Get Away With Murder, that show is just getting too intense! I have nothing planned for tomorrow, just a few errands, so I think I will upload my Winter Essentials instead, I hope you like them.

xxx