The Sunday Edit #7 | HOLIDAY 2015

The Friday before last, you may or may not know that I went on a short holiday to South Devon. I used to do Sunday Edits on my blog quite regularly but I haven't in a while because my life was filled up with college, college work and working in the evenings too. Seeing as I had a break from everything, I thought i'd share with you what I got up to whilst on my travels.

On the 14th August, my parents, siblings and myself traveled down to Exeter as that was where we were staying the first night, in a hotel just outside of town. Once we arrived we checked into the hotel and much to my delight I had a double bed to myself which I very much enjoyed, i'd love a double at home but I simply don't have the space for it unfortunately! We threw our bags down and headed out for brunch, we went straight to the vintage cafe we went to before but unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment so we settled for the next one along down the road. 

We did a little bit of exploring in the town centre and I was very good and didn't spend too much- I did however pop into Lush to buy the Mask of Magnaminty and a gift for my sister. We also saw the Cathedral which was lovely then made our way to the local pub, I had hunters chicken which was amazing!

Saturday was my younger brothers birthday, happy birthday to him! We had breakfast at the hotel which was a choice of cereals, fruit and a cooked breakfast which was lovely and then we made our way down to Dawlish where we were staying for the rest of our holiday. Again we explored the town a little, ate ice cream on the beach front- I had cookies and cream which was so delicious! I also bought some duck food, I felt like a child again feeding the ducks and I was also chased by some pigeons for some food. After a short while, we made our way to the holiday park to settle in and explored the beach and shops down the road. I was quite pleased with the pictures I took and my brother had a lovely day- more celebrations to come!

On Sunday we decided to pop down to Torquay sea front as we were planning on getting a boat from there, unfortunately it wasn't running that day. Instead we played some pitch and putt then started a long walk to a nearby village called Cockington which was absolutely beautiful. It had the most gorgeous tea rooms where a man played the piano whilst people ate, it also had a series of independent craft shops which all had some beautiful pieces which I didn't get any pictures of unfortunately. We did so much walking this day so we were pretty much done for the day and spent the evening relaxing.

After the boat trip fail on Sunday, we decided to go on Monday instead. The trip was to Exmouth another nearby seaside town, there were some stunning views from the boat which I've included here. Once we arrived, we walked along the beach then made our way to the fun park which is obviously aimed at the kids but we couldn't help it, ok!? My brother and I could not resist the swan pedal boats on the lake, we had so much fun and if I do say so myself I was a pretty good driver- it was also a good but tiring leg workout too! We also played some mini golf which I must admit i'm not great at, but it was fun nonetheless- haha! The weather was lovely the first half of the holiday so we were pretty hot and tired by this time so stopped for a drink and we also had the most amazing chips I've had from a takeaway in a while! We walked through the park into town and saw some squirrels which came so close, we had a browse around some of the little shops then walked back to catch the boat. We even saw a seal sunbathing on a sand bank on route back, which was cool!

On Tuesday we had a lie in as my other two sisters spontaneously decided to come down and see us. We drove to Teignmouth and spent ages looking for a parking space, it was really busy! Once we finally found one, again we explored the town centre. Do you see a running theme here? All are so different and have a lot of independent stores that you won't find anywhere else so it didn't get boring. Next we made our way down to the pier and I had my palm read(by a machine in the arcade, which I know will be complete waffle but why not!?). We spent a while looking for somewhere to each lunch and settled on a lovely pub which I've forgotten the name of but I had scampi which was a perfect seaside lunch! However, the deserts weren't the best so we made our way back down to the pier for a good ol' 99. Seeing as the weather was still lovely, we took an evening walk down the beach and enjoyed some freshly cooked hot donuts- mmm!

Wednesday was when the weather took a turn for the worse and was unfortunately grey, miserable and rainy. However, we didn't want to stay in all day so I did a quick google search and the House of Marbles was highly suggested for rainy days- it was basically a pottery, marble and toy museum. I know, it doesn't sound the most thrilling but it had good reviews so we thought we'd give it a go. Half an hour later, we were out- it was super busy and quite frankly we personally found it boring.  Instead we went to the nearest retail park and did some shopping, I bought some American candy- a Tootsie Roll and Cookie Dough Bites which I was super excited to try but I didn't particularly like either. I nearly cried in Pets at Home because I can't have a rabbit and I had a Lemon Ice Tea from Costa which was lovely. I also saw a few wild rabbits at our holiday park, which made up for earlier!

Thursday was another rainy day but we decided we would face the rain and get out in it so we drove down to Ottery, St Mary which apparently is the only place in England to spot wild beavers. The wildlife park we visited was lovely, we saw otters being fed and enjoying their enrichment, watched a birds of pray display where I may or may not have got hit by the wings of a Harris Hawk- scary but I wasn't the only one and nobody was injured. We also walked through the enclosure of red squirrels which was cool as I don't think I've seen a red squirrel before. They were so cute and got so close!

We stopped by the cafe where I enjoyed a nice cold lemonade before heading back to town to enjoy fish and chips by the beach, time in the amusements where I won a Harry Styles keying, haha!

Our final day in Dawlish was Friday. We woke up super early to pop down to the bakery and gift shop in the town centre to buy gifts for our family. It was rainy and we were certainly very tired after a busy week so our moods weren't the greatest. We decided to make our way home earlier than expected as we were supposed to be staying til Saturday. I picked up a piece of chocolate cake in the bakery to cheer me up and enjoy at home, I will start to eat healthier now that i'm back but holidays are for treating yourself right?

Overall, it was a lovely week and everyone certainly enjoyed themselves. It's nice to get away and have a break from the norm, relax and spend lots of quality time with your family. I believe I said this last year, as much as I love this part of England i'm hoping to save up and go abroad with my friends next year. Watch this space!

What have you been up to this week or in fact, throughout the Summer?

Let me know in the comments below!

♥   ♥   ♥

What I've Accomplished this Summer | Summer Bucket List

Hello!
As I said in my previous 'Summer Bucket List' here, that I would do an updated post on what I've accomplished this Summer so here it is!

1. To spend as much time outside and make the most of warmer weather and just being outdoors in general.   Done! I've definitely spent more time outdoors in the sun, especially when I went away with my family- most of the day we were outdoors and enjoying the weather!

2. Catch up with old school friends, of course! I really have not seen them enough through the academic year so I will definitely get my planning head on and get organising! Hopefully some day trips including London or Bristol-shopping, visiting the beach(I stress visiting, not actually going onto the beach as I hate sand!) and just spending more time together!  Another one to check off my list! I haven't spent as much time as i'd like with them over the summer, mainly due to holidays and working but we've been out together a few times and i'm sure the next time will be not too far away!

3. Continue working hard and stop procrastinating! I've heard that Pisces are hard workers but even harder procrastinators and I truly live up to that trait! I have work to do over the summer for the biggest assignment of my course, so I need to get that done and out of the way but I've kept putting it off!  I completed the work I had to do over summer. I also got my exam result back, I finished my first college year with an overall A, yay!

Here.

4. To start Pen-palling! I've wanted to do this for a while now and bringing my parents around to the idea is proving harder than I expected! 
-I've still not done this but I completely respect my parents views, in the mean time I've been enjoying making friends and generally conversing with others on social media!

Dawlish Warren- please note this is not my photo, you can find it here(credit to the photographer Gary Reggae)

5. Mentioning my parents there, I'd also like to spend more time with my family! Especially appreciating my sisters as the eldest is moving out this summer, and I don't see much of my other sister as she's either at her boyfriends house or will be working! I'm also warming to the idea of visiting England and Plymouth area in particular to spend a week or two away with family and in general investigate the area as this is somewhere I'd like to go to Uni! I've definitely spent a lot of time with my family over the summer, especially my sisters who have now both moved out! We generally catch up via whatsapp and go shopping together, my favourite!
I've also been to South England with my family, it was so nice to get away from Wales and I really enjoyed spending each day with them. I also visited Plymouth the area that I wanted to go to Uni, i'm not too keen on it but neither am I to the whole idea of uni now!

6. Talking about Uni, aye smooth transitions! I'd like to attend at least 1 Uni open day, as other colleges seem to have done so much more to do with Uni and my college have done nothing! 
-I could sort of check this off but i'm not going to as technically I haven't done that this summer. Although I have booked to go to one open day at the end of this month in Bath at Norlands College(a nanny college). I'd love to go there but realistically, it won't be affordable as it is private! I'm not too sure whether i'm going to go to uni anymore, I don't know what i'd like to do after I've finished my course.

7. I'd like to do something to my hair, it's been the same boring growing out colour for about 2 years. It's also changed to a mix of light brown, coppers and blondes! I'm not enjoying it and would like to go a lighter ashy blonde colour!
-Oops this is another thing I haven't completed, to be quite honest I totally forgot about it. I still have an unopened Ombre kit, who knows I may do that soon!

Here.

8. To always consider healthier options. Now i'm not exactly over the moon with my weight, i'd like to loose a little and just get fitter and healthier in general. Summer is fab for that as I love salads in the warmer weather!  I haven't lost weight, although I've done a lot of salad eating this summer and a lot of walking! I can't exactly check this off my list because I've had a few snacks that are considered bad. Although the only reason i'm crossing this off as I've decided to get myself into gear and start to walk to college again when it's not raining too much!

9. To change something in my life, whether this be just saying 'Yes' to more, getting a new job, or even changing my room around to start-a-fresh. 
-I've not got a new job or changed my room around, I can't believe I thought changing my room around counted as saying 'Yes', maybe it does because I can be lazy, oops! Although I've said yes to a lot more things, by experimenting with new styles, clothes and makeup and stepping out of my comfort zone when I think I cannot do something, for example I played a round of golf for the first time, and went for a rather long walk in the country side to clear my head!

10. Last but certainly not least, to re-vamp my blog! I've had a little play around to see how I can make my blog more appealing for the time being but i'd really like to change the layout and 'theme' of how it looks, considering the colours etc!
I feel like i've been a lot more experimental with my blog posts, including more lifestyle and fashion posts rather than my typical beauty related post! I've also been experimenting and made a new header for my blog, I wasn't sure on it at first but I love it now!

Let me know what you'd like to see here on my blog!

Until next time...

Amy X

Where I've Been | South Devon

Hello! 
You may have worked out from my previous posts that I've been away and my last 2 posts were scheduled. Here i'm going to tell you a little of what I got up to, i'll try to be short and sweet but we know I like to babble. Last Saturday I set off to where I thought we were staying in Plymouth, but actually we stayed near in Dawlish which was absolutely lovely and I'm so glad we did.

The first day was spent in Dawlish itself where we had breakfast, then visited the small independent shops and walked the beach, it was lovely and so was the weather- I was in my element! Sun, shopping and being near the beach.

Comfy travel outfit, with the pebbles beneath my feet.

Selfie with my mother who indeed doesn't look too impressed and sporting my double or rather triple chin.

Cute little boats.

The sea, glistening.

On the Sunday we decided to visit the town called Torquay, it was gorgeous but looked like such an expensive place to stay or live! We spent the day shopping, of course I spotted the Primark! I picked up a couple of items that I'll show in a future haul i'm sure. Next we set off to play pitch and putt, and i'll hold my hand up and admit it, I am definitely not a budding golfer.

Clearly displaying I know not a thing about golf.

Monday was more of a animal packed day, it would be an understatement to say I was excited as we were to be visiting Plymouth, the place where i'm thinking about going to Uni. We went to the National Aquarium, apparently the best within the UK, so that's a reason to get pretty excited right? Then followed by walking around the harbor side town and treating ourselves to the ice cream van, a typical British thing right?

A pretty fancy backdrop for a photo right?

Of course, I had to take a photo of the Nemo's!

A rather 'hipster' looking ice lolly.

We next traveled to Dartmoor Zoo which we in fact have visited before, the Zoo was fantastic the first time we went as we hadn't seen the animals before but this time was rather short as we had seen it all before, I did however manage to see the bear this time which was hiding last time!

Next was another day of my family being typical tourist's in Exeter. I fell in love with Exeter town, it had such amazing independent sellers as well as larger more national stores. Again I found the Primark, and other stores that I already have in my town but I couldn't resist not having a browse! We were getting a little peckish and found the coolest, oh gosh I do not sound cool saying that. But we found a Cafe that appealed to me a lot, vintage! I believe it was called 'The Real McCoy' but I can't be for sure, it was a cafe combined vintage store. I found the sofa and the fashion book to accompany my milkshake!

Ideal short break, music, chocolate milkshake(probably the best I've had) and a fashion book that I may have to purchase myself!

Wednesday was purely for my mothers love, donkeys! We traveled a little further than we usually would to see a load of Donkeys, I have to admit I didn't mind at all! They were so lovely, I even came away with my own(not a real one, I wish!) but a teddy and an adopted one! My father gifted my mum with a donkey, how sweet! It was a Poitou Donkey, with large ears a shaggy coat who likes to be cuddled called Aramis, adorable. 

Again we visited the beach, this was in Sidmouth and I found my favourite coloured beach huts!

I didn't take any photos on Thursday which i'm kind of gutted about as I loved this town so much too! Teignmouth! Teignmouth has amazing independent shops with such gorgeous furniture, every time I've been I've had to come away not purchasing any as it wouldn't fit in the car, weeping! Although I did get my palm read on an arcade machine which shoots cards out at random but I as always, I couldn't resist. 

The last day was Friday as we traveled back on the Saturday, I have holiday blues even though I wasn't abroad but just love Dawlish so much! Spontaneously we went for a little drive, we found a nature reserve which I was not too impressed by, although we walked for about 10 minutes with me complaining as we were surrounded by fields and cows, I regret it. We came out to such a lovely canal and little pub, we had a drink and noticed there was a boat we could catch to another town, on we hopped and spent about an hour or 2 in Topsham, although there was very little there it was a beautiful area to spend the last day!

Orangina in the sun! 

How very nautical for a boat ride.

The Exe Estuary boat trip to Topsham.

So there's the quickest round up possible for me to let you know where I've been and what I got up to, I loved Dawlish as always and definitely wouldn't hesitate to visit again although I do hope my next get away will be abroad! 
Look out for my next posts that'll be back to school related, or rather back to college related as i'm going into my final year at college!

See you next time,

Amy X

Where i'd like to travel! | Travel Bucket List

Hello!

It's always been at the top of my Bucket List to travel! So seeing as i'm away and my last post was travel related 'What's in My Travel Makeup Bag' I thought i'd continue with the travel theme until I get back on Saturday(23rd). Today I've put together a list of where i'd like to travel, originally it was going to be 5 places I want to travel to the most, but my lucky number is 6 and I like to do things in 6s. I can't help it!

Disney World
Source: here.

Florida
Source: here.

First up is somewhere I've wanted to go for as long as I can remember, America! Now I know that's very vague as America is such a big place but I've decided it'd have to be Florida. Not only it seems like the place to go to in America but the reason i'd like to go so much is because of Disney Word! I'm such a huge fan of Disney and as cliche as it seems it's always been a dream of mine, everything just seems so magical!

Of course the only reason i'd like to go is because of Disney, the shopping as well! America seems to have such amazing stores such as Brandy Melville, Sephora and of course Target and Walmart!

Mykonos
Source: here.

Mykonos
Source: here.

I'd love to go to Greece again from a young age Greece has very much appealed to me! When I was about 6/7 I remember it was a popular holiday destination and it stemmed from there. Not only does the Greek Island's look beautiful, I love Grecian-esque fashion and living- so beautiful and sophisticated! 

Also after seeing on Zoella her photo's from Mykonos, it was decided that's exactly where i'd like to go! For some reason, I've always imagined walking the 'street's of Greece with my elder sister so hopefully that'll happen in the not too distant future!

Marrakech, Morocco
Source: here.

Moroccan Marekts
Source: here.

Another warmer weather orientated destination is Morocco! I looove the sound of Morocco, it seems so different to a usual holiday destination and that definitely appeals to me! I don't know a lot about Morocco but I do know Marrakech is the popular destination. I'd really like to see the culture of Morroco and visit the markets! Again I love Moroccan inspired home living so I think it'd be so nice to visit for some inspiration and pieces! Also this was 6th on Trip Advisers top destinations, and you know how I feel about 6 my lucky number- it's fate!

Thailand
Source: here.

Thailand
Source: here.

Last but not least of the warmer climates is Thailand! Thailand has only recently been added to my wish list after seeing the Kardashians visit there! Of course I realise where they visited and stayed would be waaay out of my budget but Thailand in general just looks so beautiful! I'd love to experience the living and food of the country as it seems so amazing, although i'm very fussy I definitely wouldn't give it a miss!

Lapland
Source: here.

The Northen Lights, Lapland
Source: here.

Somewhere more at the other end of the scale is Lapland in Finland! After watching a programme around Christmas time a few years ago where a family spent their Christmas in Lapland, I was sold! It looks so beautiful and the ideal place to spend a family Christmas(my favourite time of the year), especially with children! This is somewhere i'll probably go a long while away now when I have my own family(I can dream), I'd love to see the Ice Hotel, the Northern Lights- can you imagine!? That'd be crazy! And of course, Santa!

German Christmas Markets
Source: here.

Germany
Source: here.

Another place i'd like to spend Christmas and the last on my list of 6 is Germany. I'm not too sure if I've mentioned before but I have German relatives and my Nan who I miss dearly always spoke about where she was from and how much she loved it, so i'd love to visit to see and learn more about her background! It would be so lovely to meet family I've never met before to spend Christmas with them also! I'd really like to visit the German Christmas Markets as I've been told by my Auntie who's been a few times that they're great! Like I said Christmas is my favourite event so this would be ideal!

Where would you like to travel? What's on the top of your list? Let me know in the comments below!

That's all for now, i'll talk- well type rather, next time! 

Amy X

What's In My Makeup Bag? | Travel Edition

Hello!
As you can tell from the title of this post, today i'll be giving you an insight to my makeup bag and in particular what i'll be taking away with me, or rather what I've taken away with me- depending on when this goes up! I'll let you know now, I don't have the most luxurious high end makeup although I would love some- it's just not within budget at the moment and I feel the drugstore offers great quality products at more affordable prices so here we go..

Again, I don't have the nicest of makeup bags that are on offer to me, but this is handy as it fits everything in nicely without the need to leave the bag half unzipped! This is just a pink mesh bag that came with a gift from The Body Shop- handy!

First up is foundations, notice the plural? I was using the L'Oreal True Match foundation for a while on it's own, although it's great on it's own I wasn't too keen on the finish for summer as I prefer a dewier finish. I had the Rimmel 25 hour foundation lying around as I wasn't using it as I picked up the darker shade on accident.Now I know it looks really dark in comparison but just a little mixed in with the L'Oreal foundation creates the perfect finish and colour for my skin in the summer, so that's why I'll be taking a 2nd!

Next of course I couldn't go without concealer so in there I've thrown in my trusty Collection Lasting Perfection 16 hour concealer, perfect for the job and it's small, so perfect for travelling!

To then add some colour to my face I have a blush, this isn't a Barry M blush I just had to re-pot as it had shattered everywhere from the previous pan. If you can't tell already I love this blush which is why it had to be re-potted, it's a little hassle to use but I just tap a little into the lid and swirl my brush and it's fine! This is just a natural pink colour to give a flush on the cheeks with a little shimmer in. Usually I wouldn't be keen on shimmer but it's ever so slight and gives a glow to the cheeks also! No need to pack a highlight, great!

Moving on to eyes, mascara! I couldn't leave the house without a quick flick of mascara as quite frankly I look dead! Mascara just opens my eyes and makes me look more awake, so I've packed 2- again none in particular just ones I had lying in my stash to use up! I don't really notice the difference in mascaras as they all seem to have the same effect on my eyelashes, so I've packed both Rimmel mascaras, the Scandal Eyes for my top lashes and the Extra WOW lash for the bottom!

I could go without eye shadow each day but I love creating subtle looks to make my face look more made up and like I've made an effort! So in I've put the MUA Heaven and Earth palette which are a range of natural slightly shimmery shades to create subtle or more dramatic looks as each of the shades are so versatile! Also I forgot to mention, there are 12 different eye shadows in this tiny compact palette so again, perfect for travelling!

For my brows I sweep through the Maybelline Brow Drama brow mascara in Medium Brown- this matches my brow colour perfectly and makes them look fuller and more put together!

Last but not least, moving on to lips! I love applying lipstick last as I feel it just pulls the look together, providing you choose the correct shade not to clash with your blush or even eye makeup! Of course, i'm not the expert but I've included a range of 4 shades that are practically fool proof for the looks I tend to create on a daily basis. From left to right, MUA in shade 14 Bare, Natural Collection in Rose Bud, No7 in Vanity(bare in mind this is old, passed onto me by my Auntie who's quite the makeup hoarder) and lastly another MUA lipstick in the shade Nectar.

Bare- the perfect nude colour liptick- I think this could work for a range of skin tones too!
Rose Bud- a lovely pink colour that almost matches my actual lip colour so it's great for natural days!
Vanity- don't be fooled by the bullet like I was, this comes out as a natural brighter pink on my lips, I love it for a pop of colour!
Nectar- this is a lovely bright coral colour which looks amazing and so summery on a brighter day!

Last in the terms of actual makeup products is again another lip product, or eye for that matter! The Beverly Hills lip and eye primer, again passed down from my wonderful Auntie to make my lipstick and eye makeup last a lot longer on those warmer days!

Of course i'm taking makeup brushes to apply the makeup, these all fit in so nicely without squeezing them in and ever so slightly bending the bristles like I have done in the past! I'll list these like the lipsticks and explain what I use them for..
Eyelash Curlers
Real Techniques Buffing brush- buffing in foundation and concealer.
Real Techniques Pointed Foundation brush- applying foundation and concealer.
Real Techniques Contour brush- to apply blush.
Lydia eye shadow applicator- to apply the base shadow.
ELF Blending brush- to blend all eye makeup.
Real Techniques Detail brush- to apply a darker shade to the crease and outer corner.
Lydia Brow brush/comb- to brush through my brows and comb through my lashes.

And that's all for my travel makeup bag! For me this is just the right amount, admittedly I don't need to take 2 foundations, 2 mascaras and 4 lipsticks but if you've got the room- why not!? Let me know what's in your travel makeup bag or what would be if you were travelling this summer!

Until next time,

Amy X