I'm not the biggest fan of Taylor Swift or her music, but when I heard a little bit of an uproar in the feminist community, I decided to check out her video for her new song 'Blank Space'. After being branded as 'crazy' by a few guys in the past, I completely understood where the feminists were coming from.
If you haven't seen the video, it features a relationship between Taylor and a very attractive man which has major ups and downs which lead to them shouting at each other, Taylor Swift destroying a beautiful car (I almost wept) and at one point I think she was stood on a horse? Yeah, it was a bit weird.
Now I don't know if she was trying to show men that their girlfriends aren't that crazy and they shouldn't be branding women as crazy because this is how they behave, or if she was saying that this is how women wish they could behave and, in fact, are nuts. Either way, the video portrays women in an awful light and actually makes me think, why have I been branded 'crazy' in the past.
Most of the time, the guys who have called me crazy weren't even my boyfriends? There was one guy who couldn't decide between me and my best friend. He told me to kill myself (that's another story) and still to this day calls me psychotic to my best friend (it happened literally 2 days ago).
If this is anything to go by, are people just calling women crazy to cover their own tracks? Let me know your thoughts because I'm still a bit confused. Email me at emily.ware96@gmail.com and I'll compile all the answers in one post.
Okay, so I've noticed, now that my blog is a whole month old, that I get my fair share of readers from across the globe, hello to all of you! From talking to people from around the world on platforms like Twitter, I have noticed there are a lot of misconceptions about my wonderful homeland. I'm going to bust some of these myths and let you know what the real Britain is like.
Firstly, I hear a lot of girls say they want a British boyfriend. Here is what I suspect they are thinking of:
And here is what rather a few of the guys in Britain are actually like:
So to all you girls out there dreaming of your perfect British man, yes there are a lot of beautiful charming gentlemen (I am fortunate to have met quite a few myself), but just remember what us British girls also have to put up with whilst trying to find our own. Myth number one: busted.
Another common misconception is that we all talk like the queen, when in fact, all the little towns and cities have their own accents and regional words. For example, living in Cheshire, I would call a round piece of bread a bun or a roll, but move elsewhere in the country, you may find the same round piece of bread being called a cob, a bap, or a barm cake. Yes, this is a little bit weird for such a small country, but we do all speak a little bit differently, it's not just Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish accents, there's a whole variety of sounds that come out from our mouths. This map should help you understand more:
Myth 2: banished.
Probably the worst misconception is that we all drink tea all the time and it's all we ever drink as we all love it so much that we bathe in it. As a matter of fact: I hate tea, and I also know a lot of other people who agree with me, and are British. It's brown and earthy and disgusting. I'd much rather have a lovely cup of coffee than a tiny sip of tea, thank you. Yes, I suppose we do consume a lot of tea as a country, but then again, so do a lot of other countries around the world. Another issue with tea: no we do not have afternoon tea all the time; when we do have afternoon tea it is a special occasion and we dress up and go to fancy hotels or restaurants and have posh little sandwiches and cakes. No, I have never been to afternoon tea, because surprise surprise, I don't drink it. Although we do have champagne afternoon tea now, I may have to try that instead.
Myth 3: bamboozled.
Here's a few more I have come across that I will quickly go through:
We don't all have bad teeth- we actually get free braces on the NHS
The Queen doesn't have more power over us than the Government
Not all of our health care is free
It doesn't always rain in Britain
Our breakfasts aren't always huge- some people don't eat breakfast at all
Great Britain, United Kingdom and England are not all the same
We DO NOT like to queue, I, in fact, hate to queue (unless it's for a concert)
Now please, go forth and spread your newly found knowledge about British culture, and no more stereotyping us, thanks.
I have recently been inspired by the blog posts I've been writing in work in the run up to the festive season. One suggested writing a bucket list of everything you want to do during the holidays and I thought: why not have a crack at it myself? So here it is!
Try a gin & tonic
Make macaroons (I'll share the results with all of you!)
Have an amazing Christmas day
Write up some festive blog posts
Try my hand at making tree decorations
Learn to crochet
Watch all the Christmas films! (Okay, just the good ones)
Finish reading Twenty Eight And A Half Wishes (it was a free book on iTunes, but it turns out it's actually pretty great, it's quite gritty, even though it sounds like a girly book)
Get to at least one blogger event (now I'm in a group that advertises them on Facebook!)
Make new blogger friends
I'll keep you all updated on Twitter and I'll write posts about the bigger points on there like the blogger events and learning to crochet (I've wanted to for so long!).
What will be on your Christmas bucket list? Let me know.
I am a major supporter of smaller businesses as I believe they need our money more than the larger corporations do. Living in a small town, I am constantly seeing small businesses lose out to the bigger companies and this really isn't fair, which is why yesterday (29/11/2014) was so important. It was national support small business day in the UK which meant after the consumerist's dream that was Black Friday, it was time to show some appreciation to those people who are trying so hard to please people with their products. For me, this has spread over the whole weekend (naturally).
On the day itself, I took a trip to Afflecks in Manchester and spend almost £150 on some amazing things. For everyone who doesn't know, Afflecks is the alternative dream in the heart on Manchester city centre. A huge market place with 3 levels and so many independent retailers. I bought everything from handmade earrings to a vintage military jacket to patches for my denim vest. There are a range of shops that sell good food, band merch and even roller derby kit (I was in heaven). Kickflip Boards have their own little corner of Afflecks, and yes I was slightly shocked when the guy behind the counter told me who has was! He was Matt, the actual owner of Kicklip Boards. This may not mean much to most of you, but he's awesome!
After my shopping spree in Afflecks, I did put some money back into bigger businesses because I was in the city and I needed some things that I couldn't buy in Afflecks such as Nandos' chicken and Iron Fist shoes. But yes, most of the money I spent yesterday went to independent retailers and it felt good.
Both last night after I came home and this afternoon were spent going around the Christmas markets in my home town. Lots of unknown makers and bakers come together every month to sell their wares and get their name out as high quality retailers. I personally adore these markets. The streets get closed (usually just for the Sunday, but this one lasted the whole weekend) and people come together and form relationships with sellers and buy some incredible, unique products. This month, I mainly bought food. Good homemade cheeses, macaroons and breads were far too tempting and the people who sell them are much more friendly than walking into a large supermarket, after all, this is what they love to do and have made a business out of it!
This month I saw some very interesting stalls and sampled some amazing goodies. The highlight of this afternoon's shopping has to be my tub of Prossecco sorbet from the artisan ice cream parlour that is situated in Knutsford, Cheshire. It makes incredible ice creams such as pistachio (another one of my favourites) and rum & raisin.
Supporting local businesses doesn't just have to mean once a year, or even once a month. I am a frequent shopper at The Candy Warehouse, again based in Knutsford. The staff are amazing and the concept behind the shop is great. There is a great mix of old favourites and fascinating new discoveries from all over the world (they have a major love for Japanese sweets). The best thing is, not only do they have the best shop front ever, they also ship deliveries all across the UK!
If you don't do anything else to support local businesses, go and support my friends at The Candy Warehouse and Kickflip Boards.
So lets be honest here, it's the week before payday and I'm broke, as are a lot of other people I know. I know what will cheer everyone up! Buying new lipsticks. "But you just said you have no money," I hear you cry. Yes, you are right, but I got 3 new lipsticks for £2 the other day. 2 whole British pounds. No I didn't buy them from a friend or get special family discount, that is the actual price of MUA lipsticks. You don't have to scrimp of quality, the strength of colour or the packaging either.
I already had the matte Wild Berry lipstick and quickly fell in love with it. Even though it is a matte colour, it doesn't dry your lips, in fact, it hydrates them better than most lip balms, making it a must for the A/W season. It looks like a deep purple colour here, but goes on a bit redder, but still keeping its plummy richness. It also seems to act like a lip stain as its staying power is incredible!
Scarlet siren is another matte shade and looks as if the colour is going to be amazing, I will keep you updated with how I find the colour when I wear it, but it should be positives, I love bright and bold reds.
Shade 1 is my typical lipstick. It has a nice gloss, is amazingly moisturising and is very bold, however with a sophisticated darker twist. This is the first time I had used the MUA gloss lipstick instead of the matte colours and I loved it! My lips felt amazing which is odd for a less expensive lipstick and it stayed on for hours! I was definitely not disappointed.
Now I am always one to take a risk, but Raven is starting to make me nervous. I have wanted to try a black lipstick for a while (I wear a lot of dark clothes and I attend a lot of rock concerts, it's only right) but now I have one in my possession, I keep putting it off. It will be worn one day and I realise that yes, it will probably become my favourite lip colour ever, but for now, let's just leave it be until I grow the balls.
What I love about MUA lipsticks in general is that thy come with little pots of the lip colour that you can unscrew from the bottom of the container. I love this because using a lip brush is my favourite way to apply lip colours but I hate destroying the shape of the lipstick because it makes it harder to apply without a brush in the future. These handy little pots give me the best of both worlds and let me get my own way (and who doesn't love that?!).
Let me just add that the colours are usually £1 each, I got three because of a special 3 for 2 offer that I found about when I went to pay, which was the best feeling ever that I could get more things for free.
As it is international cake day on Wednesday 26th November, I decided to share with you a new recipe I have fallen in love with. My adoration for this classic flavour combination came from my addiction to raspberry and white chocolate cookies as a child. Now baking with and eating the two together takes me back to shopping with my Nan and the innocence of childhood memories. I found a recipe online and tweaked it, as well as adding my own raspberry jam butter cream with a homemade raspberry sauce. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
250g soft butter
250g caster sugar
250g self raising flour
4 eggs
4-5 tbsp milk
100g white chocolate (chips or broken into small pieces)
raspberries (no quantity, I used about 2/3 small punnet)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (see picture towards the end of the post)
Add and beat in the eggs one at a time, continue beating until some volume has been added
Gradually sift in the flour and fold in, then add the milk to loosen up the mixture slightly
Add the raspberries and white chocolate chips or pieces delicately so you don't knock the air out of the batter or destroy the raspberries. I suggest coating them in flour before adding to the mixture as this stops them sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking
Spoon into cake cases and bake for around 15 minutes or until golden (see pictures)
Decorate how you want, I used raspberry jam butter cream which is a small pack of butter with around 5-6 tablespoons of icing sugar and 2 teaspoons or raspberry jam, more if you want a stronger colour or flavour. The sauce was made with the leftover raspberries, 2 teaspoons of caster or granulated sugar and a splash of water, then strain to take the seeds out.
THIS is soft and fluffy
This is the colour my cakes went when they were done
Now that the nights are getting darker and drizzle is the likely forecast, I like to spend a lot of time snuggled up watching films. Homemade bakes and cocoa with my giant duvet and a good film is my perfect way to spend a dreary evening. There are a so many films that can warm up the coldest days and nights; these are my favourites.
1. (500) Days Of Summer
Anyone who says they have seen this film and didn't like it is lying. It's the perfect rom-com, it'll make you laugh hysterically while mopping up your tears. If you've never seen it, it's about the 500 days after the main character meets the new girl at work and how their relationship evolves over time. This film has made me want to go on dates to IKEA and record shops and other crazy places most first dates shouldn't be. The soundtrack. Oh wow, that soundtrack. It has a heavy indie focus and TWO songs by The Smiths (who are one of my all time favourite bands). It gives you a new perspective on love and relationships, even with friends. This film changed everything for me.
2. Donnie Darko
This one is perfect for anyone who enjoys the darker side of life and is best watched on a cold night when the moon comes out, it matches the mood of the film perfectly. Just a quick warning, this isn't one to watch with kids or anyone who gets freaked out by masks etc. It's also a real thinker, if you want to just switch off and take a film in, this probably isn't for you. Other than that, this film is perfect. Without ruining too much, this is about a guy who experiences an accident and sees a giant bunny and goes a bit insane really. Then there's a twist. This is literally all I can say without ruining the plot. Also, another killer soundtrack (Mad World by Gary Jules).
3. Forrest Gump
Another film that warms my heart and definitely a classic. Following the life of quite a simple man, this film shows how people see things in different ways, kind of like (500) Days Of Summer. He tells his story to people waiting for a bus and the they are enough to make anyone cry. He goes through college, falls in love, fights in the Vietnam war, loses people he loves and plays in an international ping pong tournament. The characters are lovable and even after the first watch, they will stay with you forever and you will learn life lessons from each and every one of them. This film makes you look at yourself and how you treat those around you and even has the possibility to strengthen your relationships because life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.
4. About A Boy
When I studied the book this film is based on in high school, I hated it. Probably because we had to do all of that analysing that nobody does in real life, but a few years on I am realising how awesome this film is. It allows you to see events that could happen to anyone through the eyes of a mature young boy and an immature grown man. Throughout the film, the young boy makes the man grow up and the man makes the young boy a child again, giving him time off from looking after his depressed mother. For all you Americans, it may be hard to get your hands on, it's difficult enough over here in the UK, where it was made and based. But if you can find it on Netflix or another streaming service, give it a go. It also features a very young, incredibly cute Nicholas Hoult (who was in Skins and has been in a few big films recently).
5. Princess And The Frog
This list would not be complete without a musical or a Disney film, and this one covers both. Don't get me wrong, this is not my favourite Disney film (there's a long list, this will probably come soon) but this music and themes are enough to warm even the coldest of winter nights. I have to admit, Dr. Facilier is the scariest Disney villain there is, but that just makes me love the film more. I see a bit of myself in Tiana, it took a lot of hard work and effort to get to where I am but I'm here now and I love it. Also, everyone has a friend who reminds them of Charlotte from the film, if you can't think of any, then you are her. And you are awesome. And we should be friends.
I'm a major film junkie and I love watching new things, let me know if there are any other films that belong on this list. I feel like I'm going to need a whole lot more to get me through this dreary season.
I'll be the first to admit, I can procrastinate for Britain. But it's never the major things. My apprenticeship work is completed as soon as I can, work at work gets done as it comes in, but when it comes to personal motivation and drive, there's nothing. I always think: I need to blog, but it can wait another five minutes. That's why my other blogs failed. But here's the thing: I've learnt. I learn things everyday at work, and I learn things at my training provider, but I also learn things about myself when I'm faced with a new task, and this time I learnt procrastination can be a brilliant thing. Firstly, rushing work is never good, and a little hesitation can help. Procrastination could help you come up with ore ideas before starting a project or simply give you more energy to do it later on, as long as it does actually get done. It also gives you a bit more time to look over your work if you're procrastinating over sending work off or publishing a blog post, one more chance to notice a huge mistake or to add a new point. Procrastination also gives us time to think, which I suppose is very similar to my last point, however, it gives us time to think about the little things: why am I doing what I am doing? What makes me happy about what I am doing? Who else can help me? Where is this going to take me? When will this help me? How am I going to make this successful? If we don't take a moment to sit back and think about these things, we may as well be robots. If you realise something doesn't make you happy, or your task isn't going to benefit anyone,stop doing it! This could also work for people about to commit a crime, but lets not go there. So when you're next putting off that task you know has to be done, whether that's cleaning the dishes (I'm looking at you students) or handing in that report for work; ask yourself the questions then get on with it, because a little bit of procrastination is okay, a lot is not.
So as you probably don't know, I'm rather partial to a weird holiday, and this is no exception. Yesterday (15/11/2014) was the 10th annual Guinness World Record day, where around 600,000 hopefuls try to break records and get their name into the infamous book that inspired me as a child (I'm not joking, I thought I could be the youngest person to write a cook book and walk to the North Pole simultaneously at one point).
I didn't get my name in the book, however, I did break a world record when I was younger. I think I was about 9 years old and a lot of schools in England decided to try and break the record for most people singing the same song at the same time (or something along those lines). Joss Stone and Lemar got involved and it was the most amazing thing that had ever happened. I didn't get to meet them but my 9 year old self felt a connection with them, shame neither of them are relevant anymore. Anyway, we all gathered into the school assembly hall and stood in rows, made sure we were singing at the right time, we had some guy in a suit from Guinness World Records there and we all belted out Lean On Me. Safe to say we broke the record, I can't remember any exact stats but I think it was mentioned in the 2005 book. I tried Googling it but nothing, it's been broken, kind of destroyed my dreams on this dreary Sunday morning.
It goes without saying that I know how important yesterday was to some people, because quite frankly, I still want individual recognition in that book. There is no I in team, but there are three in individual excellence.
In America, the largest high heeled shoe was unveiled by the brand Kenneth Cole. It measured 1.95m long and 1.85m tall, the highest shoes I own are around 6.5 inches, something tells me I couldn't walk in those. It was an okay shoe, I wasn't too impressed, it could have looked a lot classier.
I suppose it's in fashion and a big ass shoe isn't exactly going to look like it would if it was actually wearable, but honestly, that little one at the bottom isn't exactly my cup of tea either, I'll leave it at that.
So you get shoes in America and there were a few sports records broken too, and what do we get here in the UK? People dresses as penguins. Yesterday, on Queen's Walk, London, the record for the largest gathering of people dressed as penguins was broken. There were 373 people dressed as penguins and waddling around the capital yesterday. This actually happened:
Is it odd that for me, it was a proud moment to be British? Forget the 2012 Olympics, and the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, this is what I live for. A lot of people who decide to dress as penguins.
My favourite ever thing that has ever happened involving record breaking (apart from my record, of course) is Paramore's video for Ain't It Fun. If you haven't seen this, you need to! The video shows the three-piece band attempting to and breaking various weird and wonderful world records and then eventually breaking the record for setting the most records in a music video. The song is absolutely brilliant too! Watch it here:
I'd love to know if you have any ideas for a record I could try and set this time next year for my individual recognition. The weirder the better!
*Excuse the photo editing, still getting to grips with the new app I downloaded* So for me, November means getting wrapped up in jumpers and wearing some fabulous boots (pictures of the boots that stole my heart to come in the near future). It also means looking fierce whilst fighting against the natural elements, I personally believe I mess up a lot when it comes to eye makeup, so I generally stick to my classic black liquid eyeliner, however, I do enjoy a good bold lip. My favourite lip trend this year has been dark matte lip colours, and after getting a makeover from my amazing friend last year in college, I have been searching for a perfect colour. I am also a bit wary about foundation and stopped wearing it altogether a few years ago, I am blessed with good skin so I didn't feel the need to wear it and I couldn't find the right shade as I have such a pale complexion. Recently, I have has a makeup revamp. I have become a real girl again and I love playing with makeup looks and trying new trends that I normally take a while to get to grips with. However, I have found three makeup products that I, and lets face it I'm no beauty expert, adore.
These three products have completely changed the way I use make up, and yes, I have complaints about them, but they have completely revolutionised my routine.
I'll start with the first that gets applied. That Gal by Benefit was bought for me as a present as I would never really spend that much on makeup myself. For those of you who do not know, Benefit is a pretty awesome brand but the prices are far too high for someone who had no regular income at the time. It is a base primer and unlike other primers comes out pink so you can see where you have applied it on your face, it does eventually fade though and gives patches of dry skin or larger pores a complete cover. For those of you with good skin, it also helps other makeup, such as foundations, powders and eye shadows, amazing staying power, I find when I use That Gal my makeup stays on a lot longer than it does without it.
It is currently priced at £22.50 on the Benefit website which honestly, is completely worth it, it lasts forever! Apparently it's meant to brighten your face which I personally haven't noticed and I have used other primers that have minimised my pores and make my skin feel better, but I love this product and stay loyal to it purely for its incredible staying power.
The next product to go on my face is Maybelline's Dream Pure BB Cream. BB apparently stand for Blemish Balm and until only around last year it was only really used in Asian countries, and I am so glad they introduced it to our Western society. I am in love with this product, it makes my skin feel incredible and it is so light that it feels like I'm wearing nothing at all. Like I said before, I have had endless nightmares in the past whilst trying to find a good foundation for my skin tone without looking completely orange or beige (which explain why I looked ill or like an oompa lumpa in any photo of my from high school) but when I found this BB cream, I stopped looking. I think BB creams are completely better for your skin and keep your skin hydrated instead of traditional foundations that I found used to dry my skin out, forcing me into a strict moisturising regime. The best way to describe this product is as a hybrid of a foundation and a tinted moisturiser.
This BB cream alongside the others in the range for other skin types retails at £6.99 from Superdrug, however, in both Boots and Superdrug it is always included in deals such as buy 2 get one free (which are my favourites and the reason why I never have any money). It blends so well that it only comes in two colours and again is a product that so far is lasting a good while.
The last product that goes on my face (after my eyeliner but that's coming in a later post), is my lip colour. I switched to lipstick not long after finishing high school. Lip gloss isn't a great idea when you live in North West England and face a lot of wind unless you like having hairy lips. This gloss dries matte though, so even though when it goes on it's the stickiest thing I've ever come across, when it dries it doesn't move an inch and nothing sticks to it. My favourite shade is this deep red called Reckless, however it took me a long time to pick which shade to go with as there are so many to choose from! Reckless looks quite red but goes on a lot darker, which suits the A/W 2014 trends I have seen. My friend suggested I bought Lime Crime gloss when I was looking for that lip colour that my friend used on me and I fell in love with, however at £13 for the same size tube, I didn't think it would be worth it.
This MUA Luxe London lip lacquer is sold only at Superdrug (as far as I'm aware) for £3. Yep, £3. Saving £10. I am yet to try Lime Crime's products, however I can't see them being very different. As with most matte lip lacquers, this colour wears off quite quickly when eating and drinking, especially if it has dried and goes everywhere if you touch it whilst it's still wet, and stains, even skin. It's not one I'd recommend applying during a commute, or an earthquake, or even without a mirror because once it's on your skin, it's there for hours.
Let me know your favourite make up products and what I should try next. 'm always open to shaking my style up a bit.
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