#BigBlogmasProject2014 | New Year's Resolutions

Hello!

This will be my last post for the #BigBlogmasProject2014! What a busy month it has been!

2015 is going to be a very important year for me personally. In 2015 I will be turning 18, taking my final exams, leaving Sixth Form, finding out what University I got in to and beginning my gap year. How crazy! I cannot get over the fact I am going to be an adult.

One of my main resolutions is to not let my anxiety get in the way of the new chapter in my life. Things are changing drastically in my life in 2015 and I don't want my anxiety to hold me back like it has done for years and years. I have always struggled with anxiety and panic attacks and I am determined not to let them get in the way of things.

Additionally, I want to work hard in my gap year and get a full-time job ready to make some money to go away with my friends and with my boyfriend. My resolution is to work hard to achieve these things and to also do lots of volunteering for a local mental health charity.

Finally, my New Year's Resolution is to just have fun. Years and years in education has made it difficult for me to have a social life and I have always been so focused on exams and getting the best grades. This year when I leave Sixth Form I plan to take a step back and focus on me for a year and to have more fun. 


I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's! What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Merry Christmas!

Hey guys!

Just a quick post to wish you all a very merry Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful day full of family fun, delicious food and great presents.

And if you do not celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a wonderful day anyway. :-)

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Family Christmas Traditions

Hey!

Seeing as it is Christmas Eve I thought I would share with you traditions my family have for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we like to put on some fun music we love whether it is ABBA, Elvis Presley or UB40. We will have a dance around and set up presents under the tree.

As for Christmas Day I get up at 9 AM and open presents in my Mum's room which are in my stocking. We then have croissants and bucks fizz for breakfast before going in to the living room and opening presents under the Christmas tree. After all of those are open we will then open the big main presents!

Afterwards, we have Christmas dinner which is homemade beautifully by my Nan following a homemade Christmas cake which I sometimes make. We will then settle down and watch some Christmas films.

After that, I then go to my Dad's house and repeat the whole process all over again!

What are your family Christmas traditions? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | 4 Easy Christmas Baking Recipes

Hey!

Today's post from the project is about food. This post comes just before I'm about to bake  for Christmas on Christmas Eve so instead I will just share with you some simple baking recipes I found online which you can do alone, with friends or with children. Just click the name of the recipe below to be taken to the recipe!

1. Snowy Owl Christmas Tree Biscuits
   
   
   
2. Mince Pies
   
3. Reindeer Cupcakes
   
4. Christmas Tree Cookies
   

What are you baking for Christmas? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | My Christmas Playlist

Hey!

When I am decorating the Christmas tree with my family our favourite thing to do is to put on some loud music and take it in turns to choose a song. Here are the songs I picked this year!:

• Michael Buble- White Christmas
• Michael Buble- Feeling Good
• Elvis Presley- Hard Headed Woman
• Slade- Merry Christmas Everybody
• Elvis Presley- Jailhouse Rock
• Robbie Williams- Mac the Knife
• Robbie Williams & Jonatham Wilkes- Me And My Shadow
• Louis Armstrong- It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
• Frozen- Summer Song
• Frozen- Love Is An Open Door
• The AristoCats- Everybody Wants To Be A Cat
• 42nd Street- Opening Sequence (musical sequence)
• Gene Kelly- Anchors Aweigh (musical sequence)
• Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly- Babbitt & The Bromide (musical sequence)

What songs are on your Christmas playlist? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Oh Christmas Tree

Hey!

Every year I have two Christmas trees: One at my Mum's and one at my Dad's. We haven't put our Christmas tree up at Mum's yet but we just did at Dad's! 

Three years ago our fairy that goes at the top of the Christmas tree broke so me and my sister's took matters into our own hands! With the help of a toilet roll, wrapping paper, foil and kitchen roll we managed to make our own fairy: Angelina. She is still here 3 years going strong!

It is things like that which make Christmas extra special.

We have had the same decorations as far as I can remember so I don't know where they are from.

What is on your Christmas tree?

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Candy Canes and Sparkles Nail Art

Hey guys!

Today I FINALLY painted my Christmas nails! I have decided to go with candy cane nails with a blue glittery accent nail on both ring fingers. Want to know how I done it? Read on!

You will need:

• Light blue nail polish
• White nail polish
• Red nail polish
• A striper
• Glitter nail polish
• Top/Base coat

1. Paint your nails with a base coat and let them dry fully.

2. Paint all nails but your ring finger nails white. They may need more than one coat to create a solid colour. Leave them to dry.

3. Paint your ring finger nails with the light blue nail polish and let that dry.

4. Once your ring finger nails have dried, paint a coat of the glitter nail polish on both of them and leave that to dry.

5. Coat the striper in the red polish. Begin to draw diagonal stripes across your nails. I think doing 3 red stripes on each nail looks super effective. Also, try to make each red line similar in thickness. Leave them to dry.

6. Paint a top coat on to your ring fingers like normal. When it comes to putting on a top coat for your candy cane nails, do them following the diagonal lines as opposed to just straight down like you normally would. Do all the white stripes first and then all the red ones. This is because if you do it like you normally would you will smudge the colours together and ruin the design!


There you have it! Alternatively, you can try cutting tape into thin stripes and using them on your nails to create the perfect stripes. I tried this but it didn't work well with the white nail polish I was using and just pulled it all off!

What are on your Christmas nails? Let me know if you recreate this!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | My Christmas Jumper

Hey!

I have never owned a Christmas jumper before until a week ago when my sister just came up to me and said "Hey, I've bought you a Christmas jumper". Days later I had a package from Amazon and it turned out to be this!

As you can see it has Olaf (the snowman from Frozen) on the front with "Do you want to build a snowman?" around him (I know the photo looks like there is no 'n' but there is I promise). There are snowflakes all over the rest of the jumper. It is a soft and comfy jumper perfect for wearing when its cold! This came in good time actually as I had to dress up Christmasy for work on the weekend. My only issue with the jumper is that Olaf's arms look reddy-pink!

What is your Christmas jumper this year? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject | 5 Films for Christmas

Hey!

Today I bring to you 5 films for Christmas that I watch every single year.


1. Tangled- I know this isn't a Christmas film, but for the past two Christmases it has been a film that I have watched on Christmas Day. Because of this, in my head I regard it as a Christmas film. I love Tangled, and know a lot of the words to the songs, so this definitely had to be on  my Christmas film list.

2. Elf- This is my favourite Christmas film which is actually about Christmas. It never gets old for me and I will forever find Will Ferrell absolutely hilarious in this film. I don't know one person who hasn't watched it!

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas- Tim Burton never fails to write amazing films and this is one of them. A fun film mixed with Halloween and Christmas- my ultimate mix of things. The animation is perfect and I kind of fancy Jack Skellington. Is that weird?

4. Gremlins- An oldie but a goodie that I've loved since my childhood. It's a film that I have watched a countless amount of times. It's funny and about these creatures called 'mogwais' based at Christmas time. I want Gizmo for myself! He's too cute. If you haven't seen this film then trust me you are missing out!

5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas- Dr. Seuss is a genius and this film definitely supports that. My childhood was full of Dr. Seuss books so when this was made in to a film I was ecstatic. It is about the moody Grinch who wants to ruin Christmas for everyone. What makes it even better is that the Grinch is played by Jim Carrey (you can tell why he was picked for it when you watch him act in the film) and the child being played by the beautiful Taylor Momsen who you'll know from Gossip Girl and the band The Pretty Reckless.

So that's it! What films do you watch at Christmas?

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Christmas Nail Art Inspirations

 Hey,

As you guys should know by now, I'm a big fan of nail art. But none of my own nail art come without inspiration! I take the majority of my inspiration from Instagram, so I have compiled for you 5 of my favourite Christmas nail art inspirations from Instagram.

1. CutePolish (Insa: @cutepolish Youtube: CutePolish): She is the Queen of nail art on YouTube and has inspired so many of my designs. She is definitely one to check out. She always does these fantastic Christmas nail art guides every year!

2. Insta: @Sherrinessparklies: This design is flawless, artistic and sophisticated. It is a beautiful design, my favourite part being the snowflakes, that would go well with a Christmas dress to a Christmas do.

3. Insta: @BonitaJuanita2: These are too cute! These Christmasy polka dot tips would be super easy to do and very effective. 

4. Insta: @Kristyhomolya: I always love it when a nail artist creates these nail wheels so you can see various designs. Each and every one of these designs are beautiful and you could even merge one or two of them together in to one design! A definite artist.

5. Insta: @Nailsbytinav: I don't know about you, but this design reminds me of a traditional Christmas jumper! The reindeer are just too cute!

What do you think?

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Christmas Tree Nail Art!

Hello!

Last year these were my nails for Christmas. I'll show you how to do them!

>You Will Need:

• Silver nail polish
• Yellow nail polish
• Red nail polish
• A dotting tool/tooth pick/small paintbrush
• Base coat/top coat
• A striper

1. Paint your nails using a base coat to make a nice base for your Christmas design.
2. Paint your nails silver. You may need to paint more than one coat to make it a nice solid colour. Let them fully dry.
3. Using your green polish, paint a triangle shape with the base of the tree at the end of your nail. You can try doing this just with the brush, or use a striper to help you. Let it fully dry.
4. Either using a silver striper, a thin brush or a toothpick, draw zigzag lines across the tree like tinsel and let them dry.
5. Using the round end of a paintbrush or a toothpick, dot various red circles along the silver tinsel to look like baubles.
6. Using the round end of a paintbrush or toothpick, dot a yellow dot at the top point of the tree to look like a star. Alternatively you could but a little gem here.
7. After your design is completely dry and won't smudge, add a high-shine top coat to protect your design.

And that's it! What will you be doing on your nails this Christmas?

Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | 5 Christmas Crafts!

Hey guys!

I am by no means a crafty person. I don't own any craft materials and quite frankly I have poor crafting skills. Because of this, I thought I'd search the web and bring to you 4, fairly easy Christmas crafts to do!

• Pipe Cleaner Snowflake: An easy but sparkly snowflake just by using pipe cleaners! Click here for the link to the craft.

• Candy Cane Printable Craft: A super quick craft with the use of a printable in order to make some awesome Christmas tree decorations! Click here for the link to the craft.

• Christmas Dotty Garland: Decorate your bedroom using ribbon and bits of craft paper, wrapping paper or even Christmas cards. Click here for the link to the craft.

• Flower Pot Snowman Ornament: Make a cute Christmas tree ornament or an ornament to go on your shelf using small flower pots and paint! Such a cut craft which you can click here to see more of.

So there you are! What Christmas crafts will you be making this year?

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | My Clothing Winter Essentials

Hey guys!

One of the most important things about clothing in winter is that they have to be warm and cosy. I have picked out a few of my most worn items in the winter to show you to you today.

• Punkyfish: Skull Jumper: I don't think they have this jumper anymore as I bought it on a trip to London back in 2012. This is my favourite jumper it is so warm for winter and the skull is trademark for me with the clothes I wear. I absolutely love it and wear it religiously each year.

• Blue Banana: Skull Scarf: Continuing on with the skull theme is this scarf. I'm not a 100% sure where this scarf came from as there is no tag on it but I think it is from Blue Banana. A scarf is always essential for winter and it does well at keeping my neck and chest warm.

• New Look: Checkered/Tartan Leggings: I got these leggings recently from New Look for about £10-£12 pounds and I love them for wearing to Sixth Form. This checkered/tartan pattern is completely on trend in the winter for the past two years and go with a nice black dress or jumper. I couldn't make the pattern of the leggings pick up in the photo of all of the items so I have taken a close up of it here:
  

• Primark: Mickey Mouse Slipper Socks: Again, I'm not sure where these came from but I think they were from Primark. They're super cosy and great to put on after a pamper session on a cold and rainy night.

• Marks & Spencers: Mickey Mouse Onesie: To go with my mickey mouse slipper socks is my favourite Micky Mouse onesie. It is a footless one so it's nice to wear at night time and has draw strings around the waist so it is more fitting than usual onesies and doesn't ride up at night! What tops it off is that it has mickey mouse ears on the hood too. As soon as I get home from a cold and windy day I get in to my warm onesie straight away.

So there we are: A jumper, a scarf, leggings, slipper socks and a onesie. They're my ultimate winter essentials. What are your winter essentials?

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | £15 & Under Gift Guide for Men

Hey guys!

I don't know about you, but I find it really difficult to buy for men. I come from a large family where there are only 2 guys in the family so I am not particularly used to buying for men. So I thought I'd help you guys out by giving you ideas of what to get for the men in your life on a budget with £15 or under! I also did a £15 & Under Gift Guide for Women so to check it out just click here. Anyway, let's get started...

• Boots: LOreal Men Expert The Complete Expert £15.00: For the skincare lover in your life. A hydra energetic face wash, shaving gel and anti-fatigue moisturiser. What could be better? I know my brother likes to use the face wash so I think I am going to probably buy this set for him. 

• Play.com: Wonders of the Solar System by Professor Brian Cox £14.13: For the space/science lovers in your life. With fascinating facts about our solar system and absolutely stunning photos, it is a really interesting book. This is something my brother mentioned he would like to me as he loves photography and is interested in the photography in this book.

• Essential Jewellery: Stainless Steel and Leather ID Bracelet £14.99: For the love of your life. This is one of the presents I have been considering buying for my boyfriend. It is a lovely bracelet with a stainless steel bar which you can engrave. Would be great to engrave perhaps the date you got together or just that you love them.

• Menkind: Dock It Phone Charger £7.99: For the iPhone lover in your life. A cool little gadget that requires no messy wires that you can trip over and the ability to use it whilst still on charge! Just plug it in the wall and put your phone on to the dock standing up and jobs a good 'un. 

• Topman: Black Plum Marl Roller Crew Neck T-Shirt £5.00: For the trendy guy in your life. Everybody needs a basic top that can be paired with any outfit in their life and this is one for the men. A basic, yet lovely coloured, t-shirt with turned up sleeves. Simple yet effective. 

I hope these help! What do you think? 

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Chocolate Christmas Cake

Hey guys!

My family don't really like the traditional Christmas cake so instead I usually make us our own Christmas cake. Me and my sister have had this recipe that we have always followed and done together for years whatever the occasion is so we always thought it was fitting that we make it for Christmas too. It is a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and the recipe comes from a recipe book from around the time of World War 2 that our Nan owned. It's a very old and fragile recipe book! Anyway, let's get started!

You will need: (I will tell you how much of each throughout because some ingredients are needed more than once)

• Self-raising flour
• Caster sugar
• Salt
• Cocoa powder
• Margarine
• Eggs
• Evaporated milk
• Cold water
• Vanilla Essence
• Icing Sugar
• Hot scaled milk
• Optional: Christmas cake decorations

To make the chocolate sponge...    

[TURN ON THE OVEN TO GAS MARK 4 AND GREASE TWO TINS]

SIFT TOGETHER:

• 7ozs self-raising flour
• 8ozs caster sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

RUB IN:

• 4ozs of margarine: making sure there are no clumps.

STIR IN:

• 2 beaten eggs mixed with 5 tablespoons of evaporated milk
• 5 tablespoons of cold water
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

Beat it all well then pour the mixture out equally between both tins. Put in the oven for 35 MINUTES.

To make the chocolate icing...

[I suggest beginning to make this 5 minutes before the cake is due to come out of the oven!]

MELT TOGETHER:

• 2 1/2ozs margarine (microwave it for 20 seconds)
• 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder

STIR IN:

• 8ozs icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons of hot scalded milk (put in half a mug of milk n the microwave for 45 seconds then take it out and measure out the correct amount)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Beat the mixture until thick. When the chocolate sponge has completely cooled, begin to paint one side of one sponge until it is thick with icing. Then, put the other sponge on top of it like a sandwich. Paint the icing on top of that and all around the sides to act as a glue to stick the two sponges together.

Let the cake sit for some hours (or overnight) to let the icing set then it is time to decorate! I like to sprinkle a tiny bit of self-raising flour over the top to look like snow then put on some Christmas decorations. Have fun with it!

Let me know if you follow this recipe!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | My Day in Pictures

 Hey guys!


A short post for today. I just wanted to share with you my day on Saturday. I didn't manage to get many pictures but me and my boyfriend went to town for Christmas shopping. I managed to pick up some presents for people but still have lots to get!

How is your Christmas shopping going? 

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | My Christmas Wishlist

Hey guys!

Today I am going to share with you items that are on my Christmas list.

• Lush:
• Golden Wonder bath bomb
• Dashing Santa bath bomb
• The Christmas Hedgehog bubble bar
• Santa Baby Lip Tint 
• Snowcake Soap

• The Body Shop:
• Any of the tea tree range
• Vitamin E Eye Cream

• Nails:
• Essie Lapiz of Luxury
• Essie Mint Candy
• Essie Play Date

• Make Up:
• Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow- Endless Purple
• Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner Pen 
• Make Up Revolution Ultra 32 Shade Eyeshadow Palette- Eyes Like Angels
• Natural Collection Green Corrector Stick
• Soap & Glory Archey Brow Pencil and Brush
• Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette- Original

• Books:
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• If I Stay by Gayle Forman

• Shoes:
• Naomi Chunky Cleated Sole Boots from mr-shoes.co.uk

• Clothes:
• Kill Star Satanicat Vest Top from Blue Banana
• Cupcake Cult Bad Kitty Vest Top from Blue Banana
• Banned Skeleton Leggings from Blue Banana
• Mela Loves London Lace Collard Dress from Next
• Diandraa Wet Look Checked Leggings from Missguided
• Light Blue Simpson Print Cartoon Demin Blouse from Sheinside

And that's it! I do not expect to get all of these things nor was I particularly desperate for anything I just wanted to give my family an idea the type of things that I like.

What's on your Christmas list? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Recipe for a Pamper Evening

Hey!

To create the perfect night in having a bit of a pamper and relaxing, you will need:

• A face mask
• A bath bomb/bubble bar
• Body butter/moisturiser
• Face moisturiser
• A book
• A nail file
• Nail Polish
• Fluffy slippers and pyjamas

1. First, run yourself a nice warm bath using your favourite bath products. I like to use a bath bomb or bubble bar from Lush. At the moment I am really enjoying The Comforter Bubble Bar from Lush!

2. Put on your face mask. You can get great fresh ones from Lush or get ones from The Body Shop. One of my top face masks is the Tea Tree one from The Body Shop.

3. Get in to your bath and read your favourite book! I am currently reading 'Four' by Veronica Roth.

4. After you've fully relaxed in the bath, it's time to get out! Get out of the bath and wash/peel off your face mask.

5. Time to moisturise! Moisturise your body with a body butter/moisturiser. I like the vanilla body butter from The Body Shop myself. Afterwards, use your face moisturiser.

6. Put on your comfy pyjamas and slippers! I really like the fleecy pyjamas from Primark as they're super warm and are very soft!

7. Remove any nail polish you may already have on and file your nails. Do a base coat, paint them your favourite colour and then top it off with a top coat.

Now would be a nice time to watch a movie or carry on reading your book. Do anything else that helps you to relax and you will be bound to have a great night's sleep.

What do you use in a pamper evening? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | 3 Books I Want for Christmas

Hey guys! 

Usually on my Christmas list I have about ten books that I want. I am a huge fan of reading and have been from a young age. However, all the exams and stuff that I have going on now means I don't get a lot of time to read like I used to which is a shame. Because of this I already have lots of books to get through so I have only put down 3 books on my list this Christmas. All three books have been made into films but I have not watched them as I am a strong believer in reading the book before you watch the film! You should never judge a book by its film. So what are they I hear you ask? Well, I'll tell you!

1. The Maze Runner by James Dashner- A book that all my friends have read but me. I've heard that it is perfect for those who like The Hunger Games and/or Divergent. I really like The Hunger Games and I LOVE Divergent so I am quite looking forward to giving this series a go.

2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn- I do like to read/watch a good thriller so this seems perfect for me. Apparently full of twists and turns and recommended by my Dad, I've got to check it out. What happened to Nick's wife? Well I'd like to find out.

3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman- I have seen this book around for years every time I go in to Waterstones and had even read the blurb once or twice but never bought it. My book-loving friend who is in to the same books as me recommended this one and I very much trust her judgement! However I've seen the trailer for the film and I think I am going to be crying reading this one.

So that's it! Have you read any of these books? If so, what do you think of them? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Christmas Decor Wishlist

Hey guys!

I absolutely love Christmas and love anything Christmasy. So these home decorations are right up my street! 

• Homebase- Xmas Tree Cushion: £5.99
• Homebase: Silver Frosted Tealight Holder Reindeer: £1.49
• Next: Christmas Tree Plate: £8
• Next: Light Star: £25
• Next: Set of 6 Rustic Decoupage Baubles: £8

My favourite is the Christmas tree plate. Although it is so simple I think it is really cute and would lovely on a dressing table to hold rings and other jewellery or in the kitchen with cookies on.