A Short Break Away | Kenmore Day 1 & Exploring Pitlochry

Our first official day at Kenmore started off with me feeling extremely sick, what a great start. I couldn't even walk the dogs with my mum so I made breakfast for everybody instead and worked on some blog posts. After a breakfast of porridge, cereal, croissants and toast, we all made plans for the rest of the day. Mum and I were going to relax, go for a short walk, read our books and then take a little trip into Pitlochry. Stuart was going to show Louise around Kenmore and go swimming. I was feeling a bit better after breakfast so the day was looking up.

Pitlochry is a small village situated in a small council area in Perth. My mum usually hates it there as she finds it rather boring. Today she was extremely restless and the weather wasn't too sunny so she needed something to occupy her. It has a few shops, the biggest ones being a Greggs and a WHSmith. The rest of the shops are all little locally run businesses, charity shops and traditional Scottish shops. I love this type of day, exploring all the little shops, seeing what I can find. I found a craft shop that I had never seen before and a secondhand bookshop too! I found some great pieces in the craft shop, including some scrapbook paper and a guitar stamp that will be perfect for a scrapbook project I am currently working on. Unfortunately the little bookshop was closed due to the bank holiday so I am in the process of convincing my mum to take me back another day when the shop is open; I am eager to get a glimpse of what I can find inside.

We only spent around 2 hours exploring around Pitlochry but in that time, I did pick up a few items, so did mum! I picked up a Christmas jumper (yes another one) from one of the traditional Scottish shops. It was reduced from £35 down to £8. I could not say no to the pale blue, pure wool jumper with the polar bear and snowflakes on. I also picked up a hooded jumper for lounging around in because even though the weather is gorgeous at the minute, I feel the cold a great deal and still need to extra layers. This jumper has a cute hedgehog on it and is the SOFTEST material. It is 100% polyester and I can't stop wearing it. It was only £5 as well! Reduced from £25. The last thing I bought was an absolute steal from one of the charity shops. A beautiful mint green midi tulle skirt with floral beaded detailing at the bottom, originally from Monsoon. I have quite the number of weddings to attend over the next year so it will definitely come in handy and at £4, how could I say no? Monsoon is generally a rather pricey brand and at the moment midi tulle skirts are popular too and also quite pricey; I can only assume how much this cost in the shop. My mum also picked up a cream wool jumper from the same shop I got my two jumpers in, I can't tell if she was more pleased about the actual jumper and how well it suited her or that she got it for £5 when it was originally £35!

After wandering our way through most shops, it was time for mum and I to head back to Kenmore. On our way back to the car, we told ourself it would be rude not to visit the sweet shops. We did make some sneaky purchases, not too many though! Unfortunately for the blog, they didn't last long enough for any pictures! When we arrived back at Kenmore, we made dinner and the four of us settled down to watch another movie together. This time we chose Sinister; one of my favourite horror/psychological thriller films. Watching a movie together at the end of the day seems to be become a little tradition now.

Even though we didn't all spend the day all together and I was feeling sick at the beginning, the day turned out to be really nice and peaceful. I enjoy exploring little towns and having nothing to worry about. I especially loved coming back and having a peaceful night without any arguing or fighting or stressing about something. For once I even went to sleep before midnight! Tomorrow we are planning on spending the whole day at Kenmore; walking the dogs, reading, writing blogs and of course, taking more photographs! It is so easy to relax here and do more of what I enjoy compared to at home, I am looking forward to writing all about tomorrow and sharing my break away with you all as well as reading some more of Jane Eyre (my friend Laura will love that!)

xxx

May Favourites | 2016

With each month passing, deciding my monthly favourites has become increasingly difficult. I tend to stick with what I am familiar with and what I like compared to trying new things; therefore, there is never that many favourites to include in my posts. Nevertheless, I have managed a list of nine favourites ranging from Beauty to Film and TV, with some random things in there too. 

Beauty

The first product I have been loving this month is the Bubblegum Jelly Belly Body Wash! I am someone who loves anything with the scent or taste of bubblegum, so when I seen this in my local Home Bargains, I was thrilled! Usually the Jelly Belly products are quite pricey so I was expecting the body wash to be around £6. Much to my delight, Home Bargains was selling the body wash for £1, I definitely picked up a good few at that price! I picked up the Cherry and the Bubblegum ones as I love both of those scents but the Bubblegum one is definitely my favourite of the two. It's smells like you are washing with sweets!

You can probably tell I am a fan of the brand Nivea because I use quite a few of their products; I particularly love their Facial Scrub. However, their Refreshing Facial Gel is the perfect thing to wake you up in the morning. It supports your skin's natural moisture balance and contains vitamin E. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, provides protection for cells and cell membranes and is also thought to have anti-aging qualities. I have been using this product every morning and it certainly cleanses my skin and wakes me up but still leaves my skin slightly moisturised. You wet your face before applying this gel and as soon as you begin rub it into your face, it becomes a soapy foam, you then rinse off the product with luke warm water. It doesn't have a thick or greasy consistency which is a pet hate of mine so I love this product so far.

The last products I have been loving aren't really brand specific, I do have the Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Lip Tint in the colour Nothing But Nude in the picture above and a Seventeen Lip Stick in the shade Honey Blossom but it is really any lip products in a Coral shade that I have been loving this month. The weather has been really nice, sunny and warm (surprisingly) so I have been reaching for more summery and brighter shades to wear, nothing too harsh or dark for once.

TV & Film

Most of you will know that I am a little bit of a fan of a show on The CW called The 100. Wait, that's a lie. I am a HUGE fan of the show, most people would say I am obsessed with it. If I am being honest with myself, I would have to agree that I have an obsession with The 100. It is AMAZING and I could not recommend it enough! The writers have made some poor choices with killing off certain characters in terrible, badly written ways (including my beloved which left me heartbroken) but, I persevered and continued watching. Despite the lack of certain, amazing characters, the show is still really good and keeps you on edge for the majority of episodes. If you haven't watched it, or are reluctant because of some of the bad press that has accumulated against the show, I would still recommend giving it a go!

I am currently up north in a small village called Kenmore. I mentioned in my previous blog post that my brother, his girlfriend, my mum and I all watched the film Sisters together. The film stars Amy Poehler and Tina Fey and is hilarious! The plot line is two disconnected sisters brought together when their parents decide to sell the childhood home. The girls decide to recapture their youth and throw one last party for them and all their old school mates. The party turns chaotic and very, very messy. I was laughing from start to finish throughout this film. If you like Celebrity Juice or humor similar, then you will find it hard not to like Sisters.


Random

I have three random favourites this month, two are hair related and one is a website. I'll start with the website, Tumblr. I have had Tumblr for years and years and I love it. Yes it has a darker side to it but you will only find it if that is what you are looking for. Other than that, Tumblr is just a great way to express what you are interested in. I am in love with the way mine looks just now, I just think it is incredibly aesthetic. Containing posts from ballet and blog posts to scenic views and television shows (including a significant amount of The 100), there is a lot of variety. I'll leave a link to my Tumblr at the end of the post but for now, here are some sneak peaks.

My last favourites this month are braids and hair accessories. I have naturally curly hair so adding a few braids here and there actually looks quite cool. I did want to add braids into my hair initially because of the hairstyles of the characters on The 100. In my defence, I have always loved braids and used to have my hair in lots of braids all the time when I was younger, The 100 just influenced my decision a tiny, little bit. Along with the braids, I have been adding different hair rings and hair cuffs throughout my hair. I love styling my hair like this and it does make me look a bit like a character from The 100; even more so when I use a certain, favourite Snapchat filter of mine that just happens to be the war paint of my favourite character!

June contains a couple events for me on a First Aid related basis but nothing much on a personal level. I will be planning my 21st birthday party throughout the course of June which is very exciting but also quite stressful! I am blogging each day I spend here, up north, in Kenmore so I'd love for you to read about what I get up to up here. If you watch or try any of the things I've loved this month, let me know and if you want to check out my Tumblr, which I would love you to do, my Tumblr is www.lifewithlauren1012.tumblr.com

xxx

A Short Break Away | Arriving at Kenmore

Kenmore is a small village in Perthshire, in the Highlands of Scotland and is situated on the banks of Loch Tay. Kenmore is surrounded by the most gorgeous scenery that I never tire seeing. Tranquil and peaceful are the only accurate descriptions I can provide for Kenmore. My family and I have been here every single year (at least one time) for the past 8 years. It is like our second home and we are allowed to bring our dogs here too which is definitely a bonus.

From my house, Kenmore is roughly a 3 hour car journey away. Years ago, that journey made my brother and I dread coming here, we'd spend hours selecting the two DVD's to watch that would keep us distracted and occupied. Now that we are older, those 3 hours fly by. We arrived at Kenmore mid-afternoon and were soon all unpacked and organised. Each time we arrive at Kenmore it has become a little tradition to walk the dogs almost instantly, this time was no exception. The only difference was that a lot more photographs were taken this time. Kenmore is surrounded by the most beautiful, untouched and clean woodlands you could imagine. Even though there has been a number of trees knocked over by various storms and winds, it does not take away any of the scenic qualities. I absolutely love it here and would gladly spend weeks here if I could. When the weather is particularly nice, there is often a number of people out on the lake swimming or with boats; everybody is always lovely and friendly.

The nearest village to Kenmore is called Aberfeldy and is just under 20 minutes drive away. I did walk there once, through all the forests and woodland paths, it took nearly 4 hours. It was worth it though, having completed my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, I do like hiking through nature and woodland areas; plus is was a fantastic day. I am still trying to convince my mum to complete the walk with me but so far I am having no luck. She prefers the shorter walks with proper pathways that are closer. I do love them too but I like being out and about instead of stuck inside all day. There are a significant number of trees in the forests immediately on the banks of Loch Tay that have been affected by the storms and horrible weather but my mum see's this as the perfect opportunity for a photo and my dogs have now apparently gained some climbing skills. My mum loves to get as many photographs here as she can. She convinced me to climb up on a huge fallen tree to sit and get a nice photo surrounded by branches and shrubbery. I was convinced this was not a good idea because it was pretty high and the branches I would use to climb up did not look that strong but my mum bared her weight on them to prove that it would be safe for me. Reluctantly, I agreed and began to climb. This was when my mum thought it would be a fantastic idea to lean on the branch I was supporting myself on. The branch snapped and me, a sensible, 21 year old (nearly) fell out a tree. I hadn't done that since I was about twelve!

                                             
After the walk, we went back to our little cottage and had dinner. My brother and his girlfriend had joined us for this trip to Kenmore and we all decided to watch a film together to end the day nicely. We watched Sisters, a comedy starring Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. We all absolutely loved this film! It was hilarious and had us laughing pretty much through the entire film. I would definitely recommend watching it, especially if you are a fan of Celebrity Juice because the humour is very similar. 

Our first afternoon at Kenmore was perfect, minus me falling out a tree, which will no doubt give me a massive bruise. Tomorrow we plan to take the dogs a walk along a different nature trail, take more photographs, visit one of the nearby towns to pick up some sweets and gifts and watch another film together. I am hopeful for Sinister! The weather is to remain nice for the next five days so a lot of walks have been planned, my mum is even hoping to get a bit of a tan! I just want to make the most of the woods and the couple of tree swings that are still here after years. I am blogging every day that I am here so please come back for more pictures and chat about what I have been up to here.

xxx

Animals, Agriculture, Confectionery & Crafts

I have helped provide First Aid cover at many Agricultural Shows in my surrounding towns and villages; like Largs. If the weather is nice then it can be a fairly pleasant day but it can become quite boring at times, especially if there aren't many stalls present or competitions happening. Kilmacolm is one of the larger villages that surrounds me. It is a rather well off village so when I heard that I would be providing First Aid cover at the Kilmacolm Agricultural Show, my expectations were fruitful.

I arrived at the location where I would remain for the rest of the day at 8.30am and everything was being set up. Food and craft stalls, bouncy castles, rock climbing walls and competition arena's for the horses, dogs and cows were beginning to materialise. The event wasn't open to the general public for another couple of hours yet and the rest of my team with the equipment had not yet arrived. I took this opportunity for a wander around. The event was being held next to the Knapps Loch which is surrounded by acres of land. I had never been here before despite my aunt walking her dogs here frequently and always recommending us to do the same. I understand why she prefers to walk here rather than anywhere else despite the journey; it is peaceful and scenic, especially when the sun creeps out from behind the trees. I love places that are surrounded by lot's of nature and with nothing else to do just yet, I couldn't pass up any opportunities for some photographs.

Unfortunately I didn't get that much time to wander aimlessly because the rest of my team arrived with the equipment promptly. We had a First Aid tent to set up, trolley beds to position, kit to organise and then eventually an event to patrol. Despite providing a First Aid presence, we do get to have a look around all the different stalls and have a nosey at some of the competitions occurring throughout the day. Horse jumping I understand as a competition but cow grooming? There was cheese stalls, bread stalls, confectionery stalls, craft stalls, clothes stalls; absolutely everything you could possibly think of. The confectionery stalls had your typical homemade fudges, tablet and coconut ice but the craft stalls had a huge variety of things, from bookmarks and cards to knitted goods and jewellery. I did pick up two handcrafted items; a hand painted pug card and a wooden bookmark with a little fox motif on. I was expecting the items to be rather expensive as they normally are when they are hand crafted but the card was only £2 and the bookmark £1.50. I also could not resist picking up some flavoured fudges and coconut ice. I certainly underestimated the variety of choice I would have upon my initial glance at the stall but eventually settled on a square of Baileys fudge (for my mum), Vimto fudge (for me), some Vanilla fudge and of course a good couple chunks of Coconut Ice; my favourite. The pricing of the confectionery was rather reasonable as well!

The event was scheduled to finish in the early evening so we had a long day ahead of us. The dog shows and horse shows provided some much needed entertainment and helped the time fly by. The horse jumping was terrifying but extremely entertaining. I appreciate how beautiful horses are but I am also more than aware of how dangerous they can be! I have treated many people with horse related injuries to provide more than enough evidence for me to admire from a distance. People of all ages were competing, there was some really small children on huge horses competing and even beating their adult competitors! Even the dog competition was all ages; 6 year olds with their pets just wanting to have fun and get a ribbon competing against adults taking it all far too seriously. It looked like everybody was having fun though. One of the ice-cream vans even gave my colleagues and I a free ice cream because of how warm it was becoming. It's always lovely when somebody expresses appreciation like that. I watched the Cow grooming competition even though I couldn't understand why it was a thing; it did lead me to finding the cutest baby cow which was asking to be photographed. It was adorable and my brother has a strange obsession with cows so I knew he would love the photo as well.

The sun was definitely shining that whole day, I was convinced I had been sun burn despite having sun cream on but I was lucky this time! My mum even appeared and had a wander around all the stalls and animals and agriculture and animals are most definitely not an interest of hers in the slightest. Dogs are about the only animal she has a real fondness for. She even picked up little wooden ornament of a dog for herself! Compared to other Agricultural Events I have attended, this one was by far the best and most entertaining. There was lot's to do and lot's to see as well. We didn't even have to treat that many people which is always a bonus. I will definitely be helping out at this event again next year if I can.

xxx

Mum's Birthday | 2016

It's been a week since my last exam and it has been so great to not have to think about university. I now have more time to do more things I enjoy - including blogging - and I can get back to even more first aiding. I've been pretty busy this week; it was my mum's birthday, I attended two communions, my brother and I went to a Busted concert and I helped first aid at an Agricultural Show, which I actually quite enjoyed. I'll be uploading posts about all of it within the next week, starting with my mums birthday.

On the morning of my mum's birthday, her and my dad took the dogs a long walk and I made breakfast for everybody. I laid out an entire spread for when she got back. I had wrapped her presents the night before and laid them out on the table, chopped up oranges and melon, made toast and boiled eggs for mum, cereal for my brother and various fry up items for my dad. When my mum got back she was absolutely over the moon.


After the late breakfast, it was present time. My mum already knew she was getting the Complete Gossip Girl box set from my brother and I but she had no idea what else was wrapped up and waiting for her. From me, my mum received a Red Trench Coat from Marks & Spencer's, a Blue and Purple Floral Chiffon Top, Suede Boots with Fringed detailing and a DVD box set containing the original Pilot movie for Little House on the Prairie and the follow up movie to the TV show. The Little House on the Prairie DVD's were hard to track down but all the effort was most definitely worth it for the sheer happiness on my mum's face; it was and still is her favourite show of all time. My brother took her for lunch and to the cinema to see Jungle Book.

Whilst they were out, my dad and I went into town to pick up some goodies for dinner. We also decided to buy mum flowers and a couple of extra things as a surprise for later; including new pyjamas, her favourite sweets, fluffy socks and new hair clips since she broke the others she had. For dinner we decided to cook a buffet type feast with lot's of different things to choose from. There was mini pizza's, spring rolls, mozzarella sticks, tuna pasta, chicken and sweetcorn pasta, grilled halloumi, salad, chicken and different types of bread. It was safe to say that none of us were going to be left hungry that evening!

When my mum got home later that evening, she was delighted to see dinner made and ready for her to dig in. Especially after having such a lovely afternoon with my brother. She loved it all! She loved everything even more so when she realised she had some presents left to open. She said the pyjamas and fluffy socks were perfect, the sweets were not going to last very long and described the clips as practical and needed since she stood on her other ones. Much to my dad's dismay, we all settled to watch a film of my mum's choice with some cocktails and cans of cider. Despite not holding much of an opinion on the chick flick chosen by my mum, my dad stayed and watched the whole film. I though this was very sweet; in fact, I think he actually enjoyed it to an extent too!

My mum described this birthday as one of her best ones to date. It makes me happy that she enjoyed it so much. She has no idea what is coming for when she turns 50 though! I am extremely glad that I could enjoy her birthday with her without having to worry about exams or anything else university related, there certainly wasn't any anxiety in the air that day. The day after my mum's birthday, my brother and I went to see Busted in concert, so keep an eye out for that blog post, it'll be up super soon!

xxx