My 5 favourite things to do at Christmas

Hey, heres a list of my top 5 favourite things to do at Christmas time.

Enjoy!

1. Picking the Christmas tree. Although there is ALWAYS an argument over which one were are going to get. Needless to say, its always the one I pick

2. Ice Skating. I love ice skating and Im actually good at it, I just love the whole atmosphere and everyones so happy skating around to the Christmas songs and having a great time.

Theres always that one really cocky person that thinks they're amazing and you're just praying they fall over and they do and its like Christmas has come early! (Im so mean)

3. Christmas Carol concerts. It always feels so cosy with the candles and the smell of mulled wine (Even though I don't like it) but everyones so friendly and again the atmosphere is lovely 

4. Family and Friends time. I really enjoy seeing all my family and friends and just playing games and eating and just having a great time.

5. Christmas specials. The Christmas specials on tv are fab, the films on over Christmas are brilliant and theres nothing better than sitting in front of the tv watching them all, even if I do fall asleep half way through.

There are more things but these are my top 5. 

xox

Bucket List.

Hey... 

okay so I know I haven't been active on here much, but I'm going to try my best to get more posts up and find interesting things to write about.

I've decided to write my bucket list, for anyone that doesn't know what a bucket list is, its basically a list of things you'd like to do/see before you die, or get to a certain age. 

So for anyone that wants to know what I'd like to do with my life, carry on reading! 

Things I'd like to do before I die 

1. Get Married
2. Start a family
3. Find a job I really enjoy
4. Travel the world
5. Own a dog
6. Run a marathon
7. Raise a big sum of money for a charity
8. Win a competition
9. Ride a zip line   
10. Go to a festival and stay for the weekend
11. Learn to sing well
12. Learn an instrument
13. Start a new sport
14. Paddle Board 
15. Go strawberry picking 
16. Stay in an overwater bungalow
17. Celebrate a big milestone 
18. Live abroad for a year
19. See the northern light
20. Feed a giraffe 

Here are a few things I'd like to do before I die, some of them may seem really boring and easy to do, but I think you need to set your self some realistic goals haha

Maybe this has helped you get some ideas of things you'd like to do :) 


Thanks for reading 
Immy  
xo

Up At The O2

For months I had been saying how I really wanted to climb over the O2 arena in London, yes this is something you can do! 

In May 2015 (Ages ago I know!) I went up to London to see S club 7 at the O2 arena with my sister and her friend, we all agreed that we thought that walking the O2 would be a really fun experience to do and because it was my birthday the week before, we thought it would be a nice birthday treat as well. 


Im so glad we actually did it, because it was one of those things where I had been saying about doing this for months and wondered whether I would actually get to do it, so this seemed like the perfect time to do it.

We went for the 5 o'clock slot as it takes an hour and a half to walk over the O2 and we obviously didn't want to miss the start of S club 7. You have to arrive about 10 -15 minutes before your slot as you need to fill out a form with all your information, medical information if you have any, and you had to put an emergency contact number (which, I must admit, made me feel a tad bit anxious but I soon realised that it was what they have to do) 

Once thats all filled out you are then taken into a room to watch a short film about what you can and can't do, what you have to wear, were to put your belongings etc. Once you've watched the short safety film you are then taken to get your shoes, jackets/coats/all-in-one suits (depending on the time of year) and harness on. The coats have pockets and you're allowed to take your phone or small cameras with you. You then have to put all your personal belongings into a tray, thats then put into a big lockable chest which then gets taken to the other side of the O2 for you to collect at the end.
 You're then taken to the first platform and shown how to use the harness clip that attaches you to the wire, its almost time to get onto the walk way and start your climb!!! 

Everyone has the chance to get their photo taken with the photographer before they start walking, but to be honest when we looked at the photos they weren't that amazing and also you can get photos taken when you get to the top on your phone or camera (for free!!) 

The first section of the walk is actually quite steep and you're told to keep hold of the wire, well Im not that tall and the wire was actually taller than me, so trying to hold on and hold the harness clip was a bit difficult but it's not too far and once your past that it's a lot easier.

The walk is actually pretty easy, although the walk way is a little bit bouncy which is odd at first you soon get used to it. I really enjoyed the walk and the walk leader was so lovely, I can't remember her name but she was so chatty and so supportive of the people who were a bit unsure at first and helped us. We were a fair bit away from the rest of our group but she would wait with us and always make sure we were okay, now I don't have fear of heights but my sister got a bit scared and the leader was so encouraging and didn't rush us which was so nice.  

Once you get to the top you're on a gridded platform, now this platform I really didn't like at first because I felt like it was moving, like the walk way was when we were walking up to the top. It took me a good few minutes to get used to being on a solid flooring.
When we got to the top we all did the obligatory photos,selfies, silly photos and of the view, and again the walk leader was offering to take photos for everyone and telling them information about what you can see. 

After about 30-40 minutes its then time to come back down the other side of the O2, now walking down the O2 is a lot easier and quicker than walking up, once I got to onto the ground I really felt a sense of accomplishment for doing that, and looking up at the walk way that I'd just walked down made me realise how high it actually is. 
This experience is something I would happily do again and again, it was so much fun and they really made it a lovely experience just because everyone working there were so nice and friendly.

I really would recommend climbing the O2, it's something different to do and a great experience and I love that you can do it with a group of friends or family etc. 
I really want to go again but at dusk as I love how pretty London looks at night.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and hopefully you will want to go and climb the O2 

Immy xo 

Boots haul!

 Hello, I have ANOTHER haul for you! 

I really like hauls/reviews because I'm nosey and like to see what people have bought and I hope you do too! :D

Anyway In boots it was 3 for 2 on hair products, beauty products and bath stuff. 
Im always wanting to try and do different things to my hair and try different products to get a certain look or to try and get my hair looking healthier (I know I need to cut it every 6 weeks blah, blah, blah)

So the 3 for 2 on hair products was what I decided to go for! Well I actually needed to get some dry shampoo and I didn't really need 3 cans, I thought that would be a bit ott haha!

 So I picked up 2 of the 200ml cans of batiste dry shampoo in 'coconut & exotic tropical', they are £2.99
 I really love this because it smells nice and summery and it really does refresh my hair when I haven't washed it! 

The 3rd thing I picked up was the new Schwarzkopf Got2B Beach  Matt - mermaid look texturizing salt spray. 
I've never used this before or a salt spray really so I was intrigued, I hear people saying how good salt sprays are because you get the beach hair look and I really like that look. 
It says you can use it on towel-dried hair or dry hair which was a bonus for me because I don't normally was my hair in the morning. 

I did try it on my hair when it was dry and I felt like it didn't really do much apart from dry my hair out and make it feel knotty.
Im going to try it on damp hair and compare the difference :) This was £4.07

The last thing I got was a couple of days later, just incase you were wondering.
  I saw that Garnier had a Micellar cleansing water out, which reminded me of the Bioderma one that I've seen people use and they said that was really good so I thought it might be the same, I haven't used a Micellar cleansing water before so I can't compare this one to an others that are out on the market.

It was £4.99 which I think is quite good value as it says its 400ml which is equal to 200 uses* 
I think I'll review this product when I've used it a bit more :) 

I hope you enjoyed this haul, follow my blog for more things 

Immy xo

Quick and Easy cupcakes

Hello, Im back with another blog post after so long.

  So at the weekend Me and my friend made some cupcakes and I thought I would share with you how we made them, seeing as they're so easy. We put a little twist on the original recipe and added hundreds and thousands.

Equipment you will need:

Large Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon

 A whisk (Optional)

A sieve

Scales 

Cupcake tin

Cupcake cases
oven gloves
teaspoon
tablespoon 

Ingredients you will need:
175g (6oz)  Unsalted butter, softened 
175 (6oz) Golden caster sugar
3 Large eggs, beaten
175g (6oz) self-raising flour
2 tbsp milk
2 drops vanilla extract 
Hundreds and thousands 
Malteasers/Mini Eggs/Smarties

For the Icing you will need:
55g (2oz) Butter, softened
55g (2oz) icing sugar, sifted
1 to 2 drops Vanilla 
2 desert spoons high quality cocoa powder


Okay so on with the recipe :) 


Step 1:  place your cupcake cases into the cupcake tins and then pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4

Step 2: Place sugar and butter into a large bowl and beat together until pale and fluffy

Step 3: Beat eggs well in a separate bowl, then add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, beating well in between, into the butter and sugar mixture

Step 3: Sieve the flour and then mix. (It says to use a metal spoon but I normally just use the whisk, make sure the flour doesn't go everywhere) Then add the milk and and vanilla extract and continue mixing until the mixture softens enough to drop easily from the spoon.

Step 4: Add the hundreds and thousands to the mixture and mix with a spoon. Then spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases using a teaspoon and fill the cases three-quarters of the way up (Also make sure they're roughly all the same size)

Step 5: Place into the oven for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden. They should also feel springy to touch. A trick to check that they're cooked all the way through is to poke a skewer into the middle of all the cakes, if it comes out clean then the cakes  are done! 

Step 6: Get the cup cakes out of the tin and place on a wire mat and leave to cool. Whilst you do this you can make the butter icing. 

Step 7: Put the butter and sieve ice sugar into a bowl and mix until creamy (Be careful because the second you start whisking the icing sugar creates a cloud and goes everywhere. This normally happens to me because I use an electric whisk) 
Once the butter and icing sugar are mixed together sieve your cocoa powder and vanilla extract and mix once more until smooth.

If you try it and it doesn't taste quite how you like it, just add a bit more, depending on what you think needs to be added. 

Step 8: Ice your cakes and put the sweets of your choice on top (make sure they've completely cooled down because other wise the butter icing melts.) 

Step 9: ENJOY EATING!!!  


I hope you enjoy baking these cupcakes and more eating them! 

Thank you for reading.

Immy xx

• 
  

2015

2015

We're now a month into 2015 and for me, so far, it has been great. 

I have performed in my first pantomime, met friends I hadn't seen since secondary school (5 years), I've read 2 books in the last 2 weeks, for me that's good because I'm a slow reader, I managed to go to London to see the Christmas lights and the best part of January is that I passed my driving test first time. 

There are so many more things for me to look forward to this year, I'm going to see Olly Murs a week before my birthday, S club 7 a week after, my 21st birthday, I'm going to see Matilda the musical some when and hopefully I'll be going to Disneyland Paris with my best friend (it will also be my first holiday with friends). Obviously a lot more exciting/spontaneous things will happen during the year. 

"The best memories are usually unplanned and spontaneous"

I've decided to write this more positive blog post because so many people are negative about their years. The more I see the things people write about on Facebook, especially around New Year's Eve, about that year, the more I start to realise that we should all focus on the positive things we have done during the year, all the fun times we've had with friends and family. Obviously your year isn't going to be perfect, no one has a perfect life, but thinking back on all the fun things you did is a lot more fun than picking out all the negative things or the things you didn't do during that year. You have your whole life to do them so don't panic :) 

Personally I really enjoyed 2014 and did a lot. I went to so many concerts, went to the theatre, saw Les Miserablés (which is so good), I saw Wicked, Miranda Hart, I went to the cinema with friends, went to Ascot races, games evenings, ice skating with the girls from panto and then with my sister and so much more. Although there were a few negatives, more toward the end of the year, the positives definitely outweighed them. I've saved all the tickets from concerts or from the cinema etc so I can look back at them  and remember what I've done. 

I sometimes feel that people want to be miserable or feel bad about themselves, that's why they pick all the bad things that have happened. To be honest on New Year's Eve I just felt really deflated and I have no idea why, the last couple of years we've gone out and this year we decided to stay at home with our friends. 

I also think it was probably because I had such a fun Christmas with so many people around and the house if full of people, laughter and joy that when they all go it's so quiet and you're not too sure what to do. I was on Facebook and saw so many people saying how crap their year had been, it made me think of all the positive things I had done and I instantly felt so much better. 

Basically what I'm trying to say is that even if you don't think you've had a great year try and think about your favourite thing you've done, don't worry if you can't think of many at first because I guarantee when you do start, all through the day you'll remember more things, you can get your family involved and see what their favourite thing was about the previous year, it always nice to hear other people's favourite things.

Also think of the exciting things you have planned for the year, it doesn't matter when, whether it's for tomorrow or December it's nice to have something to look forward to or if you haven't got anything planned maybe plan something, it doesn't have to be expensive or extravagant it could just be a movie night with friends. The simplest things sometimes turn out to be the best.

I hope you enjoyed this and it made you think about all the stuff you've done, it certainly made me smile about last year and got me excited for this year. I'm looking forward to reading this back and remembering what I did. 

Leave a comment with your favourite thing you did or are going to do :)

Immy x

Benefit They're Real Mascara

I'm always a bit sceptical when it comes to mascaras that claim they enhance your lashes up to 10X and then when they have a before and after I just think it's been photoshopped or they're fake! So when Benefit brought out their 'They're Real' Mascara I wasn't bothered by it and when I saw the price I was just put off, the mascara is £19.50 and it was when I was starting to feel more confident about wearing make up so obviously didn't want to spend that much on a mascara.
Benefit claim that this mascara Lengthens, curls, volumizes, lifts and separates lashes, which is a lot for one product to do and for them to claim it does.

So when I saw a magazine, that cost £2, had it as a freebie I thought I would get it, it was the '4.0g Net wt. 0.14 oz' which is the smaller size, I don't know if you can buy the smaller size anywhere.

So when I got home I was really excited to see whether it really did do what it said it does. I was really pleased with the results because it really does separate, lift and curl your lashes. My lashes didn't go clumpy, the mascara stayed on for ages, where as some slips down under your eyes. I don't have really long eyelashes but when I wear this mascara my eyelashes just look so much longer and separated and fanned out. I think it looks like I'm wearing really natural looking fake lashes.  
I did find it hard to get the right look and get my lashes perfect but after I had mastered that it was easy, but I find its like that with every mascara, you have to get the right technique to get the perfect lashes. 

The only thing I don't like is the brush, which is stupid because its the main part, but the bristles are really long (obviously, so the lashes separate) but I managed to keep poking my eyes if I got too close to my lash line. 

The wand brush is a bit scary when you first look at it, because the bristles are much longer than other mascara wands, but thats so that you can get the perfect lashes, which I think I do get with this product. 

I have now run out, which I'm really upset about, but I have kept it because I will use my everyday mascara and then use the Benefit They're Real wand to separate my lashes.
This is definitely a 'splurge' product but 100% worth it.
You can get They're Real Mascara from most places, here are a couple of links 
http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/product/view/theyre-real

http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_123901000399_-1

http://www.feelunique.com/p/Benefit-Theyre-Real-Beyond-Mascara-8-5g?q=benefit





A mascara I find almost as good but a lot cheaper,  is the 'Collection No Clumps'- This mascara is really good if you don't pile it on, I use this first and then my everyday mascara to build up, but only when its dried because if you're lashes clump up the bristles aren't long enough to separate your lashes. The bristles on this wand brush aren't as long but they still work and for £2.99 you can't go wrong really. I would definitely recommend this even if you weren't on a budget! 
You can get this from any drugstore that sells Collection Make up :) 

 http://www.superdrug.com/eye-make-up/collection-no-clumps-mascara-black/invt/713759&bklist=


Anyway I hope this helped you and you enjoyed it, please follow me or share this with friends and leave comments because it would be lovely to see if anyone reads my blog:) 

Thank you
Immy xx