#throwbackthursday

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Last Thursday I was driving to work listening to Radio 1 and I heard them mention a new trend that has hit Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms. The new trend is Throw back Thursday (#throwbackthursday, #tbt). The concept of this is for users to upload photographs from years ago or a few years ago basically nothing recent on their social medias each week on Thursdays.

I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and start this. As my previous blog post featured old Halloween photographs I thought I would share some other photographs not Halloween related.

The photographs which will be featured in this blog post are from when I visited Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas and stayed at Atlantis Hotel I am unsure of exact date when I went but was around 2009. 

I have included the photographs when I visited Dolphin Cay as it was an amazing experience and loved every single second of it. I would love to go back to this hotel I have stayed at the Atlantis in Dubai a few years ago but love the Bahamas one more.

 

  

 

 

This is a photograph of the hotel it was massive!

 

 

 The view from the hotel room was paradise.

 

 If you have any throwbackthursday blog posts leave a link in the comment below I would love to check them out!

Whilst Halloween is approaching.....

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 I thought I would share some Halloween costume ideas as this year I have no plans to do anything for it. Which I am really sad about. So thought I would post some fancy dress outfits I have worn in past years as possible ideas. I love fancy dress and especially love Halloween as you can dress up as mostly anything and put some fake blood on and it will pass as a scary outfit.

This photo was in my third year at University. I dressed up as a dead ballerina. 

 

This was taken in my second year at University and hadn't got time to buy a proper outfit so ended up just being a random dead girl in pj's. I think this shows that you don't need a full on costume when dressing up as being creative and using fake blood as an advantage does help.

I already owned an Alice in Wonderland costume so this was also taken in my second year at University as I went out twice for Halloween and decided to go out as Dead Alice in Wonderland. It was very easy to achieve.

In my first year at University I bought a scary maid's outfit from Ebay and decided to go out as a dead Maid. I used white face paint and did my make up very Gothic.

This photograph is a very old one I think I was at college so around 16 years old. I didn't go out for Halloween but my friends came to my house and we dressed up and watched some scary films. I decided to dress up as dead/naughty Tinkerbell. I can't believe how different I look, so young!

If you have anything planned for Halloween let me know in the comments below and tell me what you are dressing up as and make me jealous! I wish I was going out but due to it being on a Thursday I have work the next day :( 

Est Est Est Restaurant Review

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Before going to the cinemas at the Trafford Centre in Manchester at the weekend my boyfriend and myself decided to try a new restaurant which we hadn't been before called Est Est Est which is an Italian restaurant.

Atmosphere:

As it was a busy Saturday night we did have to wait in a queue outside of the restaurant between 5-10 minutes this didn't really bother us. Once sat down the atmosphere of the restaurant was okay, we were sat outside which was made out to be a pretend street which reminded me of Rome when I went earlier this year eating outside late at night. We could hear the music which was being played around the food village which was really nice.

Staff: 

It appeared that the restaurant had various staff looking after certain sections in the restaurant. The one lady who looked after us (didn't get a name) seemed rushed off her feet which could suggest they were short staffed.  As a result of this once inside we did have to wait awhile to order drinks which was annoying. The price of a bottle of water was expensive and for the size too was a little bit ridiculous.

Despite this the young later who looked after us was very friendly and constantly had a smile on her face. When observing her with the other customers she constantly kept this up which was a bonus.

Menu:

When waiting in the queue we were given a menu like the one above (very Italian style)  so when we did sit down at a table we knew exact what we wanted. Which really when they did sit us down they should have taken both the drinks and food order at once or at least ask if we were ready to order. 

Our starters did take quite awhile to arrive and the waitress did come over apologising saying something about the bread being cold and the chef had to remake the dish. (I didn't really understand what had happened to be honest, polite way of saying the chef had forgot to make the starters maybe? I don't know). 

I had my standard choice of starters when I go to Italian restaurants which was Bruschetta Classica. Priced at £5.95. This was nice but it isn't the best one I have had and believe me I have tried this dish in so many other Italian restaurants.

I was disappointed in the over all portion size for £5.95 I don't think it is worth it at all. I wish I had something which could have been worth the price. For starters I think it was very overpriced compared to Frankie and Bennys and other Italian restaurants.

For my main course I chose Linguine al pesto with chicken, without the chicken it should have been £8.75 and with chicken it is £10.15. This was really nice. I was happy with my choice of dish. I really like Pesto so this dish suited me well, the portion size for this was large and I did manage to eat quite a lot of it.

The only negative comment really is the price for a meal is very pricey depending which meal you have. I think I will go back eventually to this restaurant in the near future just for the main course dish and the friendliness of the staff.

Have you ever been to Est Est Est? If so what are your thoughts on it? If you haven't been do you think you would try it?

Prisoners-Film Review

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Prisoners

 

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Last weekend I went to the cinema with my boyfriend we decided to watch the Prisoners film. I hadn't really heard or read any reviews of this film so I went with an open mind. 

Plot

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and Grace Dover (Maria Bello) are the parents of a six year old daughter Anna (Erin Gerasimovich) who goes missing with her friend Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons) from the Birch residence. An investigation begins into the disappearance which is led by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) who's only lead is a RV that was seen in the street the same day the girls go missing. It appears though that the RV lacks evidence and the pressure is on for Loki to find the girls. This results in Keller Dover taking matters in his own hands to investigate and try to solve the case to find the girls. 

Review

Prisoners shows a lot of emotional, tense and anger scenes and with its plot twists it's no wonder. It makes you question each character and their motives. It causes you to be on edge of your seat questioning who actually kidnapped those girls with the moving plot.

The only negative comment I could make about this film is the actual running time is 153 minutes, with this edging on to three hours this could put you off watching it. However, I would advise watching it as it is worth it.

I think all the actors did a great job in portraying their characters, you could feel the anger of both set of parents who's children went missing and I felt really sorry for them. I think it would question my own parenting skills (if I had any children) and from watching this film ensure they never left my sight.

Verdict

The outcome is I actually really enjoyed it if you couldn't already tell! I would most likely watch it again and would recommend watching it. I presume watching it for the second time might enable me to pick up on clues which I missed when watching it the first time. The whole film kept me on edge and even though it wasn't meant to be a horror film I was gripping hold of my boyfriends hand throughout.

They have definitely left the end of the film open in case they release a Prisoners two which I will be very surprised if they don't.

Have you seen Prisoners? What was your thoughts on it?

 

Outfit Of The Evening

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On Saturday my boyfriend and myself went to the Trafford Centre in Manchester to have a bit of a shop and have some food as well as go to the cinemas.

I just thought I would share what I wore as I really liked the outfit and it seems to be my 'go to' outfit for either going out for drinks or casual food. 

The make up I was wearing:

Eyes:

Mua Trio Eyeshadow in the colour Chocolate Box.

Maybelline The Rocket Volum Express black.

Bourjois kohl and contour eyeliner.

Face:

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in the colour Ivory (100).
Benefits Hello flawless powder in the colour toffee.
Soap and Glory Glow all out radiance face powder.

Rimmel London Stay Matte powder transparent.

Boots Seventeen Instant Glow light bronze bronzing powder.

Sleek Candy Collection Sweet Cheeks Blush by three in the colour Dolly Mix.

Lips:

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in the colour 101 Celestial.

Tools: 

A selection of Real techniques brushes and Ecotools. 

What I wore:

Black blazer with grey sleeves: This is from Primark a few years ago but they still have similar styles now. (No link available online)

Silk vest cami top: Topshop (I have included a link)

Black jeggings: Dorothy Perkins (I have included a link)

Necklace: New from Primark recently. I've had loads of compliments on this necklace. (No link available online) 

Earrings: The earrings which I wear on a regular basis are from Pandora. (I have included a link)

Brown long boots: These boots are from Clark's last year but they still have them this year as I bought the matching black pair last month. (I have included a link)

I am aware the photograph quality is not brilliant. I took advantage of the massive mirrors in Forever 21 changing rooms and didn't have my camera with me so these pictures are what I took on my Iphone 5.

LUSH Angels On Bare Skin Cleanser review

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When I was in my teens my skin varied I use to have weeks when I would have randomly have loads of spots and then next none. I had a spell though when my skin completely cleared up and wasn't too dry or too oily, however recently for past year or so my skins condition has been changing all the time. From stopping using face wash products I began slowly buying different ones in hope of trying to clear my skin up and none did the trick.

When I was shopping with my friend the other week I stumbled across Lush I had never properly been in it to buy anything, people had bought me the shower and bath bombs sets but I had never bought anything myself. So I found myself explaining to the sale assistant that my face felt really grainy and wasn't smooth as well as having recurring spots that just wouldn't go away. Well she advised me on this little beauty:

Ingredients taken from Lush's Website:

Ground Almonds, Glycerine, Kaolin, Water, Lavender Oil, Rose Absolute, Chamomile Blue Oil, Tagetes Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, Lavender Flowers, *Limonene, *Linalool

*occurs naturally in essential oils

Angels on Bare skin fresh facial cleanser is my Savior.  The tub is £6 and it apparently lasts for 3 months, I think I will definitely use it up before 3 months. As above states it has Ground Almonds in it which are effectively used to gently exfoliate the skin and improve skin tone and colour. The product also features Lavender which is an aid to heal damage skin. I really like the fact that on the Lush website it fully details the ingredients and shows how naturally made the products are.

At first the way this face wash works is very strange. It is a good job the woman in the shop actually showed me. 

You get a small pea size of product which in these photographs I took a little bit more just so I could show the full effects of the product. Once picking up the blob lets call it you put it in your hand and dab water (I use hot) over the product and squash it in your hand to break the blob up and make a milky liquid in your hand. As Lush's website explains 'The ground almonds in this product release their goodness and turn to an almond milk on your hand when you add water.' What I like is you can see the actual seeds in once the product is broken up.

When the product is broken up before doing this you should wet your face prior to the squashing of the product. You then rub it in your skin, I try to use circular motions and massage it in. Here is a few photographs of the product on my face as you can see it is grainy.

After using the product my skin feels and looks loads better. It has been able to get those pest of black heads to come out making my whole face look more healthier and soft. I have been using it twice a day and seems to have done quite a good job of getting rid of my grainy forehead and making it smoother.  

 

So I have been using this product for over 2 weeks now and really happy with the outcome, my skin still feels soft and no noticeable spots have appeared. I am so happy with this product and think I will definitely repurchase it when I finish the tub.

Even thought I really like this product and would most likely buy this again after using this tub up I can only fault two things about it. 

1) As the product needs to be placed in your hands first to make the liquid milk formula this process at times could be considered time consuming. If I am in a rush I would just use one of the other face washes I have but if I do have time I think this product is worth the time as the way your skin feels after wards is so soft and smooth.

 

2) The other disappointing factor is that this product isn't ideal to be worked alone when taking make up off. After or prior using this product I would recommend either using face wipes or other products you usually use to take make up off properly. 

Have you use this product? If you have what are your thoughts on it? Is there any other Lush products I should be trying let me know. I love trying new products!

SoLita-South of Little Italy Restaurant Review

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At the weekend my boyfriend and myself went to a restaurant with two of my friends and their boyfriends. One of my friends had told me they had been to a nice burger restaurant called SoLita in Manchester near the Northern Quarter. As I love Gourmet Burger Kitchen so much we decided to give it a try. 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any photographs of the food or the interior of the restaurant due to low battery on phone (fail) and me being hungover as it was the morning after my friends engagement party we went into Manchester city centre as a hangover cure. But if you are interested in having a nosy at the photographs on Trip Advisor I have included the link straight to the page of SoLita. 

Atmosphere

When walking to the restaurant from Manchester Victoria Train Station it seemed to be located in a strange area up a road which I don't think I have ever been to it. So if you haven't heard of SoLita you probably wouldn't even know about it unless you stumbled upon the road.

We were given a table down in the basement when we first got there the temperature of the room was so hot we literally had to strip off. But 10-15 minutes of being in the restaurant the air conditioning seemed to have been put on which helped a lot. The decor is very nice and classy we would have liked one of the booths but they were booked for later customers. We were given a table and was told they would need it back in an hour and a half that didn't bother us but might have bothered other customers and felt they were rushing them out.

 Menu Choice

If you don't like burgers or hot dogs then I wouldn't bother trying SoLita. The menu has some very unusual dishes and the portion sizes are rather large but for the price of the burgers you would expect the sizes to be decent.

I  didn't bother having a starter or desert but I did order the Bacon Double Cheese Burger which the description says: 

Bacon Double Cheese £12.90

4 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese,

crispy bacon, toasted brioche bun, and held with a slice of bacon candy.

When the burger arrived it was very big, it came with fries. The other bit I didn't really like was the slice of bacon candy that held the buns together. I ended up leaving it.

The menu choice for burgers in my opinion was a little limited don't get me wrong there was a good choice but comparing it to Gourmet Burger Kitchen they didn't have as much. I usually have a minted lamb burger which is usually my standard choice when going to Gourmet Burger and was disappointed that SoLita didn't have anything similar. 

Service and Staff

The service and staff was okay, friendly and helpful. The only main criticism to give was the fact that the waiter poured a pint of coke over the table, this led to my boyfriend being drenched by coke and part of his lunch being ruined. However, as having experience in hospitality and working in a restaurant I know how easy it is to do. The Manager did come over and explained that she would give my boyfriend the meal and drink for free which was the appropriate measure to take. 

The question is would I go back to SoLita having tried it once. Well...not in a rush no, it is worth a try but due to having so many other restaurants to try I wouldn't be rushing back any soon. 

Have you ever been? I would love to know your thoughts about SoLita.

Such a horrible day

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This has been really hard to write. A few weeks ago was the worst week ever. It started one Monday evening (not sure on the date) I had been at work since 6am til 3.00pm and got home around 3.30pm. After I got home my mums partner had come to my house to make my family some dinner. All day the weather had been really bad so Toby and Oscar (My dogs) couldn't go out for a walk. So when the weather cleared up my mums partner and myself decided to take both dogs out for them to get some fresh air and exercise.

Toby is 13 years of age and will turn 14 February 9th next year. For the breed King Charles Cavalier he has reached a really good age as usually their life span is 9-14 years old. This type of breed are prone to heart problems and several other serious problems. 

On the Monday evening Toby had a funny turn once coming back from his walk, he staggered and fell over and became unbalanced. At first I thought he had got something stuck in one of his paws and I picked him up and I was massaging them and feeling to see if he cried out in pain if I touched him, well he didn't. Luckily it had happened near my gate to my house so I carried him into the house and put him into his basket.

Once inside his head seemed tilted and his eyes were rolling around. He tried to stand but seemed to have lost his coordination and balance so I put him back in his basket.  It was heartbreaking to watch as I was thinking all sorts and feeling so much pain seeing him the way he was. I was leaning over his basket cuddling him and kissing him as well as crying so much because I didn't want to loose him. How can a dog be fine to go for a walk and then the next have a stroke? It just didn't seem fair, there was no warning signs or anything before his walk he had been barking and being his normal self.

My mum came home from work shortly after and she soon realised something was wrong. However, Toby was just sat down before she came home but once she came through the door he was trying to stand to greet her but just kept loosing his balance. As my brother is currently in the process of moving into his own house he usually goes after work to his new house to sort some stuff out. I had to ring him to tell him to get home asap which he did.

Toby wasn't seeing any progress of recovering so we made an emergency vet appointment and took him. Tears kept coming imagining the worse. Once at the vets, she confirmed it had been a stroke. However, she said that to make him recover she could give him an injection and some tablets which he would be on now for the rest of his life.

Gradually Toby has got better the past few weeks his head isn't tilted anymore he can walk better now but only goes on walks for short period of times he takes one day at a time. The Vet said that dogs recover from Strokes quickly and better than us humans.

There is a chance he might have another stroke but I don't want to think about that. I know dogs don't live forever but Toby is special he is my first ever dog and having the house without him would make it quiet even with little Oscar bouncing about.

 

My Friends Engagement Party

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A couple of weeks ago my friend went on holiday and came back engaged to her boyfriend whilst in Tenerife. At the weekend I went to her engagement party and just thought I would share some photographs and some outfits of the evening to show you what I wore. 

The dress I wore was a long maxi dress from Dorothy Perkins.  I have included a link for it if you would like to see it on their website. It was meant to be £25 but because they currently have discount on the website I got some money off and paid less than £15 for it which I thought was a bargain. I did buy the coral colour too but I returned it as I didn't like it and felt the colour looked cheap on me.

As the front of the dress went in a V shape around the boob area the back had a V in it too. In some of the photographs the colour of the dress changes from dark purple to royal blue but trust me the colour is purple. I really liked the shape of the dress as a whole and think next summer I will get a lot of wear out of this dress for formal and informal occasions.

As I am only petite and not very tall I decided to match the dress up with a pair of heels, I liked the length of the dress wearing heels. I bought some new heels from New Look I have included a link but I couldn't find online the black ones I wore so inserted the Navy pair instead.  I also used some Gel Spots from Primark you get four spots in a packet for £1.50 they did help to reduce soreness from the bottom of my feet from wearing the heels for too long.

 

The jewellery I paired with the dress was more than what I would usually go for. I wore a long necklace which I borrowed from my mum and paired some long black earrings with it. I wouldn't usually wear a necklace and long earrings but I thought they went well with the dress. I had my every day bracelets on which I wear all the same except for when I shower and sleep these are the Links of London Belcher Bracelet which my boyfriend bought me for my birthday this year. The other bracelet is a Pandora bracelet One Clip Bracelet and a charm which my Mum and Grandparents bought me for my Graduation. To top the jewellery off I wore my Pandora birthstone ring and flower Pandora ring too.
 

For the hair I used my new Babyliss secret curl which I am in love with and curled all my hair and tossed it to the side. 

For the make up I did wear quite a lot and will detail it below.

From left to right:

Simple light moisturiser, Soap and Glory Glow all out radiance face powder, Naked palette from Urban Decay in the colour Sin, Bourjois kohl and contour eyeliner, eyelash curlers (unsure of brand) Maybelline The Rocket Volum Express black, Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion, Mua Pro-Base primer, Rimmel London Smoky quartz eyeshadow, Elizabeth Arden ultra lift and firm foundation in the colour Vanilla Shell, Collection 2000 concealer in colour light, Benefits Hello flawless powder in the colour toffee, Rimmel London Stay Matte powder transparent, Rimmel London lipstick in Asia 077, Boots Seventeen Instant Glow light bronze bronzing powder, Sleek blush in pixie pink and finally a selection of Real techniques brushes and Ecotools. 

I have now inserted some full length photographs of what I wore and some additional ones from the party.

A photograph of my friends.

My boyfriend and myself.

 

A photograph of my best friend who has got engaged.