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Monday 31 December 2012

A VERY HAPPY BOYFRIEND MAKES A VERY HAPPY GIRLFRIEND



I know that Christmas has been and gone (booooo, sad face!) but I had to upload these photos I took of my boyfriend opening his presents from me. He looks so cute and happy and grateful! His face in these photos literally makes my heart melt, too good not to share!


Its faces like these that makes you realise that just because your growing up, getting older and aren't as excited about receiving presents any more, doesn't mean that Christmas is ruined or isn't as fun or magical. Christmas is about making people you love happy and, when you see faces like these from something you've spent time, money and thoughts (thoughts? thoughtfulness? not really sure of what word to use here, but I hope you know what I mean!) on you realise that Christmas has just got a whole lot better!



Hope everyone had a wonderful day :)

Sunday 19 August 2012

money money money


Over summer I've been working 8am - 5pm 5 days a week at a factory, as well as working as a waitress on the weekends, and while I feel like I've literally done nothing but work for the past 2 months, having all this money feels so good! But it's definitely a curse in disguise. Being a student, having a lot of money in my bank that isn't going to be taken out for rent or books is a rare occurrence and it has majorly gone to my head, I am just spend spend spending for the sake of it!

Take today for example. I popped into town to pick up a cleanser and some cotton wool pads and came out with: 2 cleansers, a facial scrub, body lotion, 4 x cotton wool pads, 3x lipsticks, a primer, a pressed powder, 2 x moisturisers, a liquid eye liner, the Sleek contour kit and the MUA heaven and earth pallet. I need NONE of these things. I have 2 pen eye liners, 2 liquid eye liners and a gel eye liner still with product left inside and lipsticks tend to look awful on my lips (hoping to try the LUSH bubblegum lip scrub to see if I can sort them out and get them lipstick ready!) and who needs 2 new moisturises!? I'm so annoyed that I just blew £50 on things I really didn't need. I wanted them, sure, but there are things I NEED that should definitely be a priority.

So, in a bid to stop my needless spending, I'm going on a mini spending ban until the 1st of September. I'm not going to buy anything unless I am in desperate need of it and that way I can put lots of my wages away for spending money in Italy! There are also a few items of clothing and things that I want but if I put off buying them then when my spending ban is lifted, if I still want them then I know it'll be worth the money.

I had to write this post because I know that if I didn't I would definitely not be doing this spending ban. I'm very weak willed unfortunately. Are any of you on spending bans? Does anyone do the same when they get paid? Anyone have any tips on how to save? I'm the worst saver ever!!!

Saturday 18 August 2012

I find you pretty just the same



I've been stumbling across new bands/singers that I love a lot recently and thought I might include a few on my blog.

Last week I heard this playing in River Island, I jotted down the lyrics on my phone saving them in a draft, typed them into Google and found it. Here is Alisson Pierce from The Pierces as The Blood Red Rose and James Levy!


Beautiful song. Beautiful album these two have collaborated on also so if you like this, definitely check out their other stuff!

What do you guys think? 

x


Thursday 16 August 2012

oh captain, my captain


Recently I was having a conversation with a friend from work about Robin Williams films and he was dismayed that I hadn't seen the film Dead Poet's Society. Now me and this friend have the exact same taste in everything so if he said I had to see it, I had to see it. And oh my god am I mega glad that I did.



For those of you who haven't seen Dead Poet's Society I'll give a brief explanation of what it's about:
Robin Williams is the new English teacher at an all boys school and he is mega inspiring. In a time when parents and teachers dictate the way your life goes, Professor Keating (Williams) teaches the importance of free will, free speech... just basic freedom! Some bad stuff then happens and then something good and then it ends. Not the best synopsis I know but I find that whenever I try to give a brief summary of something I always end up ruining the plot (just ask my boyfriend) so I'm just going to say that, for me, it's a must see!

If you are a fan of Robin Williams you will appreciate this, even if it is completely different to his comedies and, whilst there is a funny side to Williams' character, he acts with powerful and compelling simplicity. With moments of cheeseball acting, inspiring words and funny one - liners, this story of a bond between teacher and students and student and student is one which, if you are anything like me, will have you reaching for the tissues and yarping (inside joke for anyone who has seen the film ;) ) loudly through out! Starring Robin Williams, a young Ethan Hawke and the ever beautiful even in old age Robert Sean Leonard.

Definitely 100% love this film and 100% recommend it!

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Aim high, hum along lady...

My aim this summer is to get fit. I used to be fit and in kind of good shape, I used to play football and run and was so sporty it was unreal. My favourite subject was P.E and I could run up the stairs without being out of breath afterwards. Now however it's a whole different story. I lost all my enthusiasm and energy a couple of years ago and since then I have done no exercise at all. Walking was the only time I did anything remotely physical (and dancing on nights out but I don't really count that). I want this to change for 2 reasons...

1 - I am sooo not happy with my body and I want to lose weight. I know the best way of doing this is eating right and getting plenty of exercise so when I'm back at Uni I want to join the gym. But I don't want to pay all that money for gym membership if I can only manage ten minutes at a slow pace on the running machine. I want to have a proper 'gym session' and to do this I need to be fit!


2 - Next year at Uni I want to join the netball team. I used to be quite good and I think it'd be fun and something that would enrich my uni experience. But I've got no chance if I collapse dying after five minutes so I really need to be fit!

I'm going to go for long walks with my dog every day that I'm available to and start jogging, first only short distances I can manage and gradually jogging for longer and longer. I'm also thinking about going swimming a few times (although I hate swimming so I'll only go if I can drag some one along with me) and I was contemplating yoga? Does anyone do yoga? Is it beneficial?

This is something I really, really want to do. I'll be so annoyed if it comes to September and I can't try out for the netball team because I'm in bad shape. I'm hoping that posting about it will give me more motivation and at the end of every week I'm going to do a round up post of what exercise I've done. Does anyone know how I can moderate how much fitter I'm getting by the way? That would be useful. Is anyone else doing anything like this? It would be nice to talk to other people trying to get fit and see what they're doing and stuff :)

Sunday 17 June 2012

I look around, sometimes I get sad...

So I've kind of completely abandoned my blog of late. I just haven't felt like blogging or really felt like I had anything to say and have been totally disinterested and uninspired. This happens to me a lot, I fall out of love for things I previously really enjoyed, I don't bother with things I was once really excited about and I lock myself away from the world because I can't stand the thought of socialising. As I said this happens a lot because I suffer from depression and, although I'm on medication and stuff, I go through major lows when nothing makes me happy and I've recently been in one of those. Hence the reason I've been so M.I.A from here.

I am a ridiculously private person so mentioning on the internet that I suffer from depression is actually seriously daunting and scary but this is my blog where I discuss personal things and this illness effects my life in so many ways that if I didn't mention it I wouldn't be able to write about the kind of things I want to write about. Also I know I'm not the only person suffering with depression and if anyone has it who is reading this and wants to talk about it or any advice or whatever, please feel free to email me. It took a lot of love from my boyfriend and the kind words and advice from a fellow blogger for me to confront this illness and get help and I know how hard it can be to talk to anyone about it so I'd be more than happy to talk to anyone that want's talking to.

This is kind of a rushed post just saying why I've not written in so long and that hopefully I'll be back posting regularly soon. Thanks :)

Monday 14 May 2012

Rose + Paddle #1; I think it's time for me and you, to take over the world

Rose and Paddle is, not only the name of my blog but also nicknames me and my boyfriend have for each other. I'm Rose and he is Paddle and together we do quite a lot of things, go on many outings, dates, meals, trips.. the sort of thing boyfriends and girlfriends do. So, I thought it'd be nice if I documented them, now that I've got my new camera and wrote about them on my blog. That is what 'Rose + Paddle' is going to be; a record of all the things we do together :) Tell me if you think these are boring or anything and I will stop but I think it's a nice idea :)

If you read my snap-urday post last week, you will know that me and my boyfriend talk a walk into town to have a lunch in a cafe that I'd wanted to visit as it always smelt sooo good. We walked through these amazing Oriental Gardens next to our university and had a little pre - lunch picnic of chocolate and Space Raiders crips. We made lots of little squirrell friends as we fed them our crisps and about 9 of them followed us around the park for ages until they realised we had no more. It was so cute and, as I said in my previous post about these gardens, they are beautiful and it is so lovely just to sit and relax in them.



One of our little furry friends :)

Paddle


Rose

Our lovely, greasy lunch :)





Friday 11 May 2012

so when your near me darling can't you hear me SOS

Just a quick post while I'm in the midst of revision to ask you guys your opinion.
My summer ball is a garden party on a massive patch of grass by my Uni. It's going to be so vintage with croquet and vintage tee shops and beer gardens and a small little funfair. Gah it's going to be so good I really can't wait :)

I recently ordered this dress from Asos which I'm going to wear to the ball.




I'm going for a vintage 50ish vibe thats formal but casual but I really need your guys help on the shoes!! I don't want to be wearing massive heels but I think dress would look so much better if I was wearing a bit of a heel. I don't want major thin heels though as I'll be walking around in them all day and I'll be on grass so that wouldn't be the very best idea.

I'm leaning toward these shoes again from Asos, but I'm not sure. 
What do you guys think? Yay or nay? Are they too formal? 
They are £40 which in my opinion is a bit much for shoes but I'm willing to pay up to £40 for shoes for this occasion if I can wear them again and again. If you don't think these are quite right could you suggest anything else?

I really want to sort what shoes I'm getting out so then I can focus on what accessories and clutch bag to buy! 

Thanks guys :)




Saturday 5 May 2012

Snap-urday #4: It's you, it's you it's all for you, everything I do


Here is a picture my boyfriend took of me in the Oriental Gardens that are in the park next to our University Campus. They are just stunning and I took lots of pictures but I'll just put them in all together in one post later in the week.

This week has again been pretty quiet. I've done a fair bit of shopping (oops!) so some haul type posts will be coming soon showing you what I've bought. Wednesday was Varsity so we took a trip to Cardiff and spent all day drinking and watching the Rugby. Unfortunately we lost but I had such an amazing day with my beautiful girls that I don't really mind. On Friday I did my second 3 hour shift in the Egypt museum. It was a bit hectic as there was very few volunteers in and we had a school visiting so I was kind of thrown in at the deep end and was on my own in one of the gallery's! I had to answer questions, tidy up and ask a visitor to take her drink outside. I know it doesn't sound like a lot but for someone who is as ridiculously shy as I am it was quite a hard task and one which I feel that I aced (hope that doesn't sound big headed) and so I'm looking forward to my next shift which is next Wednesday. 

Today me and my boyfriend went to town, did a spot of shopping and stopped off at a cafe to eat a nice, greasy, unhealthy brunch. Yum! Revision starts today though :( My first exam is this coming Friday so if my posts get few and far between I am sorry but obviously revision comes first. I wish anyone else doing uni exams or any kind of exams/tests this month good luck!! 


Positives of this week:
+ Varsity!! Had such a fun day
+ Got a lot done in my training book for my museum volunteering
+ Found what I'm wearing to the Summer Ball! 




Friday 4 May 2012

teeny weeny e.l.f haul

I had been after the e.l.f studio line powder brush for so long after hearing so many amazing reviews about it and so when I got my student loan through I took a trip to e.l.f. online. Of course I couldn't just buy that one brush and soon saw a few other products that I just had to have!

Eyelash curlers - £3.50

Shimmering facial whip in Spotlight - £1.50
Custom Eyes eyeshadow in shades  2502 Moondust and 2505 Mocha - £1.50 each
the famous Powder brush - £3.50
Blending eye brush - £1.50

I really like elf as a brand. Most of their products are really good and they are so reasonably priced, if anything I feel a bit like I'm ripping them off the amount of use I get from one of their items considering the amount I pay! They also have a lot of delivery discounts and stuff which makes it even better. When I bought my stuff it was free delivery so I definitely suggest you go and check their website out! 

I've used all the products and I am really impressed with them all apart from the Shimmering Facial Whip. I'm not going to say that it's a rubbish product because I've only used it twice but so far not so good as I can't really tell that it is doing anything.. but don't use that as a review or anything because as I said I have only used it twice so I might change my mind on it.
All the other products I love. I bought the eye shadows expecting them to be shimmery but they are pretty matte, not that I mind because they are lovely colours and they go so well together. The powder brush is amazing and every good review I've read/heard is definitely 100% right. It's so soft and my foundation goes on and looks so so much better using this brush then my fingers. It also makes putting it on a lot easier and I've found I don't have to use as much product. If there is anyone thinking about buying it or looking for a good foundation brush then this is your guy! Such a good quality product for such a good cheap price! 

Any of you tried/own any of these products? What do you think? 



Monday 30 April 2012

April favourites


Tangle Teezer:
This isn't really an April favourite more an every-single-month-since-purchase fave, but as this is my first monthly favourites I thought I'd include it. This is a miracle worker! Honestly. I used to dread coming out of the shower or getting my hair wet in the rain as the thought of brushing it scared me. With any normal brush it would hurt so so much, even when if it hadn't been wet it was still fairly painful to comb, but with this tangle teezer I can't feel a thing. Definitely worth the price and the hype and I can't imagine not having this now!

Maybelline New York Pure Cover Mineral Concealer:
I know that within the blogging world the cult concealer is the Collection 2000 one and every beauty guru I watch on YouTube also loves that concealer. However for me, my all time favourite has to be this Maybelline one. A bit more expensive at £6.19 but I love it. It doesn't crease and it covers up my awful dark circles and any blemishes I get so well.

Soap & Glory Thick and Fast Mascara:  
I got this free with a magazine not long ago and, while it's pricier then my usual drug store mascara choices, I will 100% repurchase this every single time I run out. My eyelashes are the major bane of my life. I have like 10 on each eye and they are so thin and light that without any mascara on I look like I have no eyelashes. I hate them so much and no matter how many mascaras I try I have to coat layer upon layer of mascara on them to get any sort of volume at all (and by this point there is so much product on my lashes they have all clumped together and it just looks terrible). This mascara however is a life saver and one to two coats of this adds volume to my lashes and it doesn't clump! Definitley recommend this mascara as I absolutely love it!!

Sleek Pout Paint in 'Port':  
I love this and probably wear it too many times to be honest. It's the lipstick I grab on a night out and I will admit that sometimes I will change my planned outfit if it doesn't go well with the colour haha. I just love the colour so much, purples definitely suit my complexion more then pinks and red and I think this is the perfect shade. It also goes on so well, has a really gorgeous feel on my lips and stays on for so long! As it's a bit tricky to apply I don't take it out with me when I'm on a night out but I find I don't even need to because when I'm back home taking my make up off before bed it has lasted perfectly. At £4.99 this is a definite bargain and I can't wait to try more of the other colours!


Blogs: 





Music:
Moving slightly away from the genre of music I typically listen to this month, I have been playing these two songs over and over and over again and will definitely make me think of Easter 2012 whenever I hear them in the future.



Television: 
This month I have really gotten in to The Apprentice. I had never watched it before as I am the kind of person that will watch a 5 second clip of something, dislike it and then decide that I hate the programme with a passion haha. Many people have tried changing my opinion of it in the past but it took my boyfriend to force me to watch an episode to make me realise actually how good it is!


What have you been loving this month?




Saturday 28 April 2012

Snap-urday #3: No please, stay here


I can't believe I've only been back at uni for a week! Feels like I've been here for ever. I'm already completely back into the swing of uni life and catering for myself. Although I haven't had the best past couple of days so I'm looking forward to this week ending and next week beginning.

Today has consisted of watching the football with my boyfriend, going for a walk with my boyfriend and watching lots of episodes of the quiz show Would I Lie To You on YouTube again with my beautiful boyfriend. Not a very interesting or exciting day but it's been nice and relaxing which is just what I need as next week I'll be starting my revision and I get so stressy about revision that I doubt by next weekend I'll even know what the word 'relaxing' means haha.



Postivies of this week:
+ handed in my last essay of year 1, waheyy!
+ got a new camera and bought some lovely stuff online :)



How has your week been?



Tuesday 24 April 2012

Every breath we drew was hallelujah...

So this isn't a recent holiday, me and my boyfriend went to Barcelona in August last year so almost a year a go now but I wanted to document it on this blog. I want this blog to house everything big/important/good that goes on in my life, in keeping with the 'diary' feel I've got going on, and Barcelona was a very good thing that happened and was probably one of the best few days of my life so that's why I want to do a post on it.

One of the many hidden side streets that had such stunning buildings

Sagrada Famillia - not yet complete but one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been lucky enough to see

Just one of the many beautiful parks

More of the amazing Gaudi's famous work

Barcelona 

One of my favourite pictures, I love how you can just walk down an average joe side street that is nothing special but at the end there's a magnificent piece of architecture, in this instance a beautiful church

My future house please, situated right on top of a large hill up from Parc Guell and consequentially having the most beautiful view of the city.
The aforementioned view!


Croissants for breakfast on our balcony :)

More beautiful architectural designs

My favourite photo from the whole trip (you might notice that an edited version is in my header) - I love the side street where the apartments are stunning, the colourful bunting and the little glimpse of one of Barcelona's beautiful architectural features you can just see at the end of the street

This last photo may not look like much but it was my favourite place in the whole city. It was a beautiful little square with four walls of different stunning buildings surrounding it. It was quiet, very few people came there and those that did sat silently, listening to the wonderful street singers that performed there. When me and my boyfriend visited it for the second time on the last day of our trip there was an amazing Spanish singer who sang my favourite ever song - Hallelujah. He was so good and the song sounded even better in Spanish. It was a beautiful moment with the sun setting down on the courtyard, me and my boyfriend spending our last hour in Barcelona after an amazing week listening to him singing. Couples all around the courtyard were looking lovingly at each other, holding hands an kissing and, as cheesy as this sounds, it was such an emotional moment. Seeing how universal love is and how people who live millions of miles apart all share those feelings of love and appreciation. It was so nice to see because it reiterated the understanding that with all the politics and the hate and the fighting going on all over the world we're all the same, we all feel the same things and we're all human. The world is such a diverse place and everyone is so different to the next person but we're all so alike too with so much in common and I really believe that if we could all jut speak the same language (not just literally) we'd be friends. Being there at that moment in time just confirmed that for me. Watching the video I took of him singing this song and the courtyard type area and the people being moved by the song still makes me a bit emotional today haha. (Sometimes I am an utter sap and turn into a giant cheese ball so I'm really sorry and do believe that this isn't going to be the last you hear of my cheesy - ness. It's probably not even going to be the last bit of cheese I write in this post haha - sorry I'm awful!)

Barcelona is a breath taking city and my awful amateur photography does not do it justice but I strongly recommend going. I would do anything to relive that week and be in that courtyard one more time and I just think that it is a city that gives you a feeling that everyone should experience once in their life. I can not explain what the feeling was but it was the best I've ever felt and the happiest I'd felt in a long long time. These photos are just a tiny select few of my faves as I took over 900 haha.

This is all my opinion obviously but I just wanted to write my opinion down so that when I'm older, I never forget how I felt after visiting this place.

Have any you ever been to Barcelona? Is there any cities that you feel like this about?