Photography Post #3 | Rome

If you've read my recent posts, you'll know that I went on holiday to Italy for 2 and a half weeks and I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Rome! I'd never been before, but my mum has and it's her favourite city in the world so I knew that I would love being there. And I did. The intense heat combined with loads of walking was quite difficult but I loved it anyway and had a great time!

I thought I'd show some of the pictures that I took there, so I hope you like them!

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The Colosseum

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The Palatine Hill

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Altare Della Patria

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The Vatican City

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St Peter's Basilica

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St Peter's Square

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The Pantheon

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Central Rome

Have you ever been to Rome? What was your favourite part?






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All photos were taken by me.

July Favourites

As you may have read in my previous post (which you can read HERE) I actually was almost organised enough to publish my June favourites; yep, it was all written and everything, I just had one picture left to take but didn't take it before I went on holiday and by the time I was back, it was August, so definitely too late to publish it. So here I am, almost crying as I'm deleting the post, and rewriting, but it's okay because I have lots of favourites from July to tell you about (even if it probably is bordering on too late to publish this one too...)


Film Favourite: 'Captain Phillips' Film

We watched this as a family on a lazy afternoon in Italy and I absolutely loved it. It's based on the true story of Richard Phillips, the captain of a large cargo ship which got hijacked by pirates in 2009. It's quite scary knowing that this actually happened, but Tom Hanks (who plays Phillips) is absolutely phenomenal in this film. He portrays the emotion so ridiculously well, and I've now decided that Tom Hanks is my favourite actor. It's definitely not a lighthearted film, but if you don't mind that, then I would definitely suggest that you watch it.


Music Favourite: 'Revival' Album, by Selena Gomez

I. Love. This. Album.
I have listened to it sooo much recently and genuinely love all the songs on there. My favourites are probably 'Sober' and Cologne' although they're all amazing. I love the album so much, that my friends and I have booked tickets to see her Revival world tour in just a few months! It'll be my first concert and I think it'll be an incredible first concert to go to!


Fashion Favourite: Nike Shoes
I found these shoes in a Sports Direct outlet a couple of months ago, but I've been wearing them soo much in July. They're so comfy and go with everything, aand because I'm a size 5, I got them in the Junior sizes so they were cheaper! I got them for only £19.99!!

Random Favourite: Pokemon Go
I'll admit it, I'm loving this app. I don't actually see why people have a problem with it; it's getting people out and about, even if it is only through an app. Surely being outside just to catch virtual creatures is better than being on an app indoors?..and those little creatures are pretty cute; here are my faves from the ones I've caught:

Beauty Favourite: Zoella Beauty, Tutti Frutti Range Body Lotion

I would actually like to apologize for how bad a picture this is...oops

I do realise that this range has just stopped being sold, but I'd ordered two of the body lotions a while ago because I hadn't tried the range and I wanted to do so before I couldn't any longer. I took one on holiday with me (I had already tried it before this) because I thought the fruity scent would be better suited to the very hot weather of Italy, and I loved it. It was so refreshing and great because I don't cope well in heat, so this was a great option for the weather.


So that's it for this post. I know I haven't mentioned many favourites, but this month was a bit haphazard, with half of it spent in another country, so I haven't had many chances to try out new things! If you haven't seen it, in my last post, I tried out a new idea in which I spoke about my favourite moments in July. If you wanted to read that one, then you can do so by clicking HERE.

What were your favourites from July?









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My Happiness Project | July Favourites

Before I went on holiday to Italy, I was almost ready to publish my June favourites, even if it was already late by that point. Now that we've already settled nicely into August, I don't think it would be either appropriate or acceptable for me to post it now as it would be ridiculously late, so June will have to be skipped (even though I promise I was actually on the verge of being organised with it all). So because of this, I'm going to head on straight to my faves of the great month of July. Because of how much I enjoyed July, I've had a new idea for a little twist on the ol' favourite posts. (Well, maybe not a new idea - I'm sure someone's done this before - but a new idea for me).

I don't think I've mentioned this but I've been feeling a little down recently and I've been really struggling for motivation (I did have a post fully completed explaining this all, but I decided not to publish it in the end :( - I wasn't brave enough) and so I wanted to help this by mentioning my favourite little happenings that made me happy each month as an addition to monthly favourites posts. I want to be able to look back on each month and remember the little things; whether they be small achievements or just things made me happy, and so I thought, 'what better place to do this than on my blog?'.


So without further ado, here are my favourite moments from July!

I managed to read 5 whole books this month! They were: 'Russian Roulette' by Anthony Horowitz, 'Everything everything' by Nicola Yoon, 'Reasons to stay alive' by Matt Haig, 'All the bright places' by Jennifer Niven, and 'We were liars' by E Lockhart. They were all fantastic. My favourite was 'All the bright places' as it was such a beautiful story, and tackled the difficult task of discussing suicide in such a respectful and delicate manner. If you haven't read it, (which I'm sure a lot of you will have, especially considering that Zoe included it in her book club with WHSmith) then I would wholeheartedly recommend that you do!

I had to have a blood test, and went on my own, as my mum had to be at work. It may sound pathetic, but I'm really pleased that I managed to do it on my own.

On the last day of term, I went with my friends to my local park and we had a really great evening chatting and playing games (not a typical teenager thing to do, I know, but we had a lovely time none the less and it made me very happy).

It was my birthday very early in July, and I had a thoroughly lovely day.

It was also my mum's birthday this month, and she turned 50. Because it was a big birthday, I saved up some money beforehand and managed to book a spa trip for the two of us in a couple of weeks. It's going to be very exciting!

I completed my first year of sixth form! How?!! It's come around so quickly, but I've enjoyed so much about it all.

I bought tickets to my first ever concert! I'm going to see Selena Gomez in a few months with three of my friends! I cannot wait, as I absolutely loveeee the album Revival and think all of the songs are incredible, plus Selena's voice is amazing. It is going to be fantastic!

And, of course, I was lucky enough to have my family holiday in Italy, with three days in Rome. I'll never forget how beautiful Rome was; the Colosseum, the Vatican City...ahhh it was bliss.



So those were some of the little moments that made me smile during July. I've called this post, My Happiness Project as I want this to be something that I do regularly to keep me happy. I think it's so important to be happy, especially that as teenagers, we're put under a lot of stress and we tend to focus on the negatives and it sometimes makes it hard to remember good things.


I hope this post made you smile :)
What were some of your favourite moments from July?







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I've Been In Italy! | Life Update

Hey; it's been a while! I've been a bit rubbish with my blog lately, but I have a reason (one which I'd like to think is pretty reasonable...) - I've been on holiday with my family! We got back this morning after having spent three days in Rome and then two weeks in Lake Garda. We had the most amazing time, enjoying the sun, gorgeous views, and pretty great food. I spent a lot of the holiday acting like I knew what I was doing with my new camera, and pretending that I'm a good photographer (I'm not) but I would like to think that I took some decent shots. I have hundreds to sort through, but I'm definitely going to post them soon - so look out for them!

Before I went away, I'd drafted a June favourites and had ideas for a few other posts. My June favourites was almost ready to be published, but I had a couple of photos I still needed to take, but I was so busy in the few days before I went, so I forgot to take them didn't I?! I wasn't able to take my laptop away with me due to limited space, so even though I would have been able to take the photos, I wouldn't have been able to publish the post anyway! Now that I'm back though, I have quite a few ideas for new posts and so I'm hoping to be posting more regularly from now on!

Whilst I was on holiday, a few really cool things happened;

Firstly, one of my college/school friends started her own blog; 'These Empty Pages'! We both realised after meeting almost a year ago that we had a mutual love of YouTube and blogs, and so she became the second of my friends that I've actually ever told about my blog. She's always wanted to start a blog, and I was (probably excessively) encouraging about it. Anyway, she set up her blog very recently and she's still getting it all ready, but her first post is so eloquently written and so great to read. Also, the design is just beautiful. I know I'm slightly biased, but I would seriously recommend that you go on over and check it out. You can do so by clicking (HERE).
Also, if you like the look of her first post, make sure that you follow her Bloglovin account (HERE) so you don't miss out on her next posts!! You won't want to miss them!


Also, I came back to find that my blog had reached 5000 views, which I cannot believe. It's crazy knowing that so many people have viewed and read my writing and actually enjoyed it. My blog also turned a year old. I find it so strange to think that this little page, which I started in my long summer after GCSEs last year, has gained followers and gathered up views and comments. It's incredible how much I've loved having my own blog, although I'm definitely not the most organised with it all! And I'm so utterly grateful knowing that people enjoy being here, and I've made new blogging friends that I never would have otherwise. So I am thanking you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading this, and I hope you'll continue to be here.
Thank you.









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What I Got For My Birthday!

It was my birthday last Sunday and I finally turned 17! Obviously as I go to college in the UK, I'm young in my academic year and all of my friends were 17 ages ago, so finally it's quite satisfying to be able to join them in the act of being 17! I am so grateful to have had such a lovely day; I had a relaxing day at home with my family and we had a BBQ in the evening which was great because the weather was actually nice in comparison to the torrential downpours we've had recently.

I love reading or watching blog posts and videos where people show what they got for their birthdays so I thought I would do one on my blog, in the hope that you enjoy these posts too!

Firstly though, a little disclaimer: I am completely and utterly grateful for all of the presents I was lucky enough to receive. I'm not bragging or boasting in any way, shape, or form - I just wanted to share with you my presents because I love them all! Thank you so much to everyone who gave me a present, it was so kind of you and I'm thoroughly grateful!

From my parents I got this gorgeous pastel blue jumper. It's a really cute bat-wing shape and the sleeves have little white stripes on them, which I love. Obviously, it's not the time of year for jumpers, but it'll be perfect in a couple of months and I can't wait to wear it!

In case you didn't know, I'm a Norwich City fan and I got this football training jacket from my grandparents. I'd asked for this for my birthday and I was so happy to unwrap it! It'll be great to wear to matches when it's too cold to just wear my football shirt, and I can't wait to wear the colours of my team with pride.

Also, I got this beautiful snood/scarf from my parents. Again, it's something I won't get much wear out of in the summer, but my parents bought it thinking it would look really cute in months to come!

One of my friends bought me this gorgeously stunning necklace. It's a little fairy with a beautiful pink gem as one of the wings. I absolutely love it, and have worn it every day since I got it!

I got two gift cards; a New Look one from my friend, and a Topshop one from my Auntie, Uncle and cousins. I also got some money from another friend and another Auntie. I've been really wanting a bomber jacket for a while now, so I'm probably going to use the gift cards and money to invest in one!

From my sister, I got 'Caspar Lee' by Caspar Lee and his mum, Emily Riordan Lee. It's essentially a biography about Caspar's life, but with little edits by Caspar throughout. He's 'highlighted' certain parts and made annotations which I think are a really nice touch to the book. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I'm looking forward to it!

I also got another two books from my parents; 'Sweet Caress' by William Boyd, and 'Black Rabbit Hall' by Eve Chase. My mum bought them knowing they weren't the type of book that I'd usually go for, but she thought I'd enjoy them. After reading both blurbs, I'm really intrigued by them as they sound so lovely and I'm hoping they'll get me to enjoy new genres of books!!

One of my friends bought me this sewing projects book by Jodi Kahn, called 'Simply Sublime Gifts'. For those of you who don't know, I love sewing, and as I'm writing this, my sewing machine is right in front of me waiting for me to resume making the bunting I started earlier today! So I love sewing! And I cannot wait to try out some of these amazing projects in the book!

I got this adorable knitted key ring from my parents. My mum came across a shared facebook page in which a lady was knitting loads of the cutest toys and key rings and donating the money to a charity for Alzheimer's research (can't remember the exact charity name). My mum thought it was both a great cause, and a cute key-ring as it looks like a canary (the Norwich City mascot animal) so it was perfect for me! It's so adorable and I love it!

I realise there's been a lot of Football themed things in this post, but this is the last one I swear! My parents bought me this retro road sign for Carrow Road (the name of the Norwich City ground) and I am in love with it. I've been looking at things like this for a while now, but forgot about them recently, so I was very pleasantly surprised to unwrap it on my birthday, but I am so grateful!

One of my friends bought me this vanilla scented incense which I've had diffusing in my room for a few days now, and it smells amazing! My parents also bought me this 'Wild Cotton & Ylang' scented candle. I haven't lit it yet as it would clash with the incense but it smells beautiful and it will be even better once it's lit!

My friend bought me this Bellatrix Lestrange Wanted poster from Harry Potter. I absolutely love things like this, that can be home decorations but were also genuinely in the films/books and not just a picture of the actors etc. So I was so happy to receive this and it's going straight up on my wall once I've re-painted it!



And that leads me on to my final present. For a while now, I've been keen to update my room; not update the whole thing, just re-paint it my walls and change the blue that I have at the moment to a more mature white/cream. I'm going to do this in a few weeks and I cannot wait because I think it will make my room look a lot more 'grown up' and mature. I'm so excited, and I think just a new coat of paint will make a lot of difference.

When is your birthday? What's the best present you've ever given or received?







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Books On My 'To Be Read' Pile

Okay, so I've just written two book-related posts in a row (you can read the last one here) - I guess I'm just really into reading right now! Anyway, I have some other genre posts which I'm aiming to put up soon, so stick around!

There are so many books that I want to read! I'm such a slow reader so the list is probably going to grow at a faster rate than I'm actually getting through the books, but is that actually a bad thing?

Anyway, other than re-reading the Harry Potter series (which I've only read once - I feel like a terrible fan...) there are plenty of books I want to read during the rest of 2016 and going into 2017. So here they are.

"All the Bright Places", by Jennifer Niven
I've heard so many good things about this book, firstly from Zoe's channel ages ago, and then I was reminded about it when she included it in her book club selection. (I bought all 8 books by the way!) It's definitely the one that I'm most excited to read from her picks, and I'm really looking forward to it!

"Reasons to Stay Alive", by Matt Haig
I saw this in Tesco of all places and it was the title that grabbed me. It sounded like such a positive book and when I read the blurb, that initial feeling continued and I knew I had to buy it. It's a short book, but has been highly praised and so I cannot wait to read it. It's going to be the next book I read!

"Brooklyn", by Colm Toibin
I haven't seen the film, but I'll admit that this was where I first heard about the story. It was nominated for many awards (and won some...maybe. I can't remember, sorry) and so I was drawn in. For once, I decided that I should read the book before I watch the film, so it may be ages before I see the film at this rate! I'm looking forward to it though because it sounds like such a beautiful story.

The "Gone" Series, by Michael Grant
My friend has highly recommended this series to me. I managed to buy a few of the books in cheap sales so I really have no excuse not to read them when she tells me how great they are. I don't know why I haven't read them yet because she says they are amazing, so I really should read them soon; they're a definite feature on that 'to be read' pile.

"Me Before You", by Jojo Moyes
I saw the film adaptation last week and absolutely loved it, just as I thought I would. It was totally my sort of film as it so cleverly allowed you to feel close to the characters and feel their whole range of emotions with them. It was utterly beautiful and the story is one that I have to know in more detail, so I bought the book (again, from Tesco) and cannot wait to read it.

"The Fault In Our Stars", by John Green
Yes, I am one of the very few people who hasn't read the book. I have watched the film though, and like "Me Before You" I absolutely loved how I was able to feel the emotion along with the characters. I've loved the other books of John Green's that I've read ("Paper Towns", "Looking For Alaska" and "An Abundance of Katherines") so I have no doubt that I'll love this one too. I really should get a move on and read it!!

"Fangirl", by Rainbow Rowell
This is also a feature in Zoe's WHSmith Book Club, but I've wanted to read it for a while. I love that feeling when you walk into a bookshop and explore the blurbs in that beautiful quietness of the shop. I must've read the blurb of "Fangirl" quite a few times by now and I don't really know why I haven't bought it before now. But as I bought the 8 books in Zoe's book club, I now happily own "Fangirl" and so I'll actually get round to reading it now.

So those are just a few of the books that I'm hoping to read in the next few months, There are so many more than this, but these ones are the ones I'm most looking forward to reading!

What books are on your 'To Be Read' pile?



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