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Top Tunes

So while I find a train/bus/car journey pretty easy without the need for having an iPod there are a few songs i'm loving at the minute.

All these tunes are by small local artists from either North or South of the border. I recommend you check them out, just give a little listen. You won't regret it... promise.

1) New Ancestors
A duo from Belfast, I found these guys back in summer 2011 when they were named 'The 1930's' when I interviewed them while studying a podcasting course. Then became so in love with them and became obsessed with their music. I love their folk style of music, catchy tunes and good guitar playing.
I then won their Facebook competition to go see them at a gig in Limelight Belfast which was a very good show. Minus the fact that a guitar stopped working due to technical problems. Lately they've changed their name to "New Ancestors', probably because any search results for the 1930's brought up the decade rather than the band, so hopefully this is start will end well.
Keep it up lads.

(Also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRCNgOFAkY0)

2) Hudson Taylor
A Duo from Dublin, consisting of brother Harry and Alfie Hudson-Taylor. I first found these guys yonks ago on youtube under the name of 'HarryandAlfie'. That channel has since been deleted along with some crazy good catchy tunes, which seems a real shame. They then developed a new channel under the name HudsonTaylor, and is the name they go by for gigs. These guys are great. I love them.

3) All the Luck in the World

Apparently this is in a Trivago advert, I don't know what Trivago is, but I know this song is great. I found these guys at church, where the guitarist was the guitarist in this song. Again, a beautiful acoustic tune. (Anyone finding a theme with these songs?)

4) Rend Collective Experiment 

A Christian worship band from Northern Ireland. Now if your not into Christian music, give this one a chance. A Mumford and Son style song this is ridiculously catchy.
This bio from their website sums it up pretty well.
"Rend Collective Experiment is an eclectic collective of multi-instrumentalists from the North of Ireland. An inherent desire for something spiritually substantive in our increasingly artificial world is exactly what brought the movement of friends together. United by a common purpose, these twenty-somethings began exploring the intersection between God, life and community."

Feeling Blessed.

We all have friends that have got left behind along the road of life. To be honest, it's a real shame.
But if it's on your heart you can get them back. Now i'm not talking about relationship wise here, i'm talking real friends; boys or girls that you hung out with all the time and now no more.

But why? Why do we have to stop.

Changing schools/jobs/going to uni, you don't have to necessarily leave them behind. It's your heart who decides that. Do you really love that person enough to make the effort to have them in your life.

Now, sitting reading this think about your best friends. Will they still be your friends in a year?
Only you can decide the answer to this question. Which is reflected in behaviour.
Treat your friends with respect. Listen to them. Treat them as you want to be treated. Show them forgiveness. Don't always make things a competition.
(Of course if someone is treating you like crap, don't take it. Calmly discuss how you feel then decide are they showing all these qualities to you too.)
Even if you want someone in your heart, if you threat them badly their not gonna want you,,, it's all about behaviour.

I just feel like I have some really great friends, and I don't want to lose them.

If you are my friend, thank-you.

TONI & GUY - Sea Salt Texturising Spray

So I just thinking about buying a sea salt spray for a while. I love the volumised textured look and was told a sea salt spray was the way for it.
SO as I was strolling around boots one day and this spray caught my eye on offer for £7.99!

Description;

Defines and separates to create texture and natural movement with light hold. 

To Use;

Spray evenly over damp or dry hair to create tousled waves and style with fingers.

Before

After

After 15 mins

Overall I wasn't that impressed with the spray...  just judge for yourself with the pictures. My wave goes wavy when damp naturally, and i'm pretty convinced that this creates the waves.

Pro's

+ Nice bottle design

+ Smells beautiful, I can't even describe it, it just smells so good.!

+ Good Size

Con's

- 'Light Hold' is an understatement, spray if works lasts about 15 mins.

- Can't imagine how it would work on straight hair. My hair is naturally wavy when damp and I'm sure thats all the spray does to make it wavy.

However

Spray then use a strong hairspray for an extra hold.

Would I recomment this product?

No, not unless you can pick it up somewhere for under a fiver! Sorry Toni & Guy, i'm v. disappointed with this product.

Thumbs down for Toni&Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray!

Castle Crom/ Devenish Island/Castle Coole

So the weekend of the 10th in August  myself and a few friends went camping, it was a great trip.

First stop was Castle Coole; it's a truly beautiful with nice gardens and a canoe trail right by. Theres a shop/tearoom/bookshop and a tour round the castle. We were there pretty early and went into the tea rooms just for a second to get a coffee and then went of to the house to get a tour. There was a few others there and they provide booklets containing information for those who don't speak english.

Our tour guide was really great, and brought was round the place. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside due to all the artefacts not belonging to the national trust but still being privately owned. But this is one taken before we were told that. (sneaky). The tour in itself was good, we didn't get to see as many of the rooms upstairs that we'd hoped but were able to go down into the servants quarters and see the kitchens, which were still in a pretty good condition considering they haven't been used for quite a while.

This picture shows some of the staff that used to work in the house. Some were as young as 18!
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Next stop was Devenish Island. We went to a little pier where we got a speedboat across, I forget the price, something like £4 return for an hour which is plenty of time to look around the island.

Devenish island was cool, full of old ruins and there were plenty of information boards to tell visitors about what the ruins would of been used for back when the island was inhabited. It was so strange to think of the old community that used to live there considering we were walking all over their walls.

Visitors are allowed to climb up the tower that is still standing, but beware to get up involves climbing 4 ladders, then theres the 4 down again and there's not much space on each 'floor' and not a great view from the top from the tiny tiny windows. Worth the climb though.

My brother disappeared for a while then we found him up here, I then raced up to join. Considering he's not a climber we were all confused as to where he'd gone, good job Peter.


The whole island is truly beautiful and well worth the trip.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Next stop our campsite!!!!

Castle Crom was nice, there was a number of other people camping, but in our field were was 2 families who knew each other so wasn't too noisy.
We cooked dinner (burgers) then went for a walk.

This was the old ruined castle, not much of it left but Eva found a room of ivy that she liked.

This is the ivy. I don't get it, but ivy's cool.

We also found 2 great trees to climb in, one was the 'good' tree and the other was the 'evil' tree.

There's a play park for the kids  in our field and also a campfire that anyone could go too, but we didn't. Instead our night was spent listening to a ghost story, freaky. It was more a murder mystery but was a pretty good story.

All in all it was a good trip, on the Sunday Morning we popped over to a quaint little church that we could see from the campsite, by boat it would have taken about 10 minutes to row across, by car 40 minutes. But we were welcomed into the church by the congregation. App it's the church Lord Earn goes too, I was hoping to meet/marry his son then be a lady like in Downtown Abbey, but that didn't happen.

Hip Horray for going camping!

Until next time

X

Choose Happiness

Hello
Choosing Happiness is one of the best thing that a person can do, and it's not always easy.
My dad has depression, it's a fact, but I can't understand it. I know there's more to it for him than just trying to be happy, because he can't. He chooses to be miserable and this angers me.

There is so much to life, so much to enjoy and so much to love.
We live in a beautiful world, with trees that grow and sustain life, beautiful flowers, all the stars in the sky. The world never ever ceases to amaze me. There's people that care about us, if we let them, who rally round and support us when things go bad.

And when they do go bad, which is frequently theres two options.
1) We can choose to be angry and upset and mad.
2) We can think about the good that can come out of things and think happiness.

I try to go for option 2.
If you think of the good things that could come out of this bad situation it will let get you through it rather than milling in negativity. Not everything is always going to go your way, after all if nothing bad happens how would we ever know what was good or not.

Think happy thoughts and you will be happy,
Think negative thoughts and you will turn into a negative person.

I know which i'd rather be.

x.

Real Techniques - Core Collection Review

So I seem to have a tiny obsession with make-up brushes lately and next to my Collection was the 'Core Collection' brushes by Real Techniques, designed by Samantha Chapman.

'Core Collection' brushes by Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman

What made you choose these brushes?
I had heard a lot  of good reviews about these brushes from people on youtube, to blogs and to opinions from friends.

How do you find the design of these brushes?
Really lovely, the colour is just super, the bronzy/orange really makes them stand out and their so easy to find. Also the black handles aren't a cheap rubbery material but feel nice. Also the brushes are pretty light and easy to hold.

Pointed Foundation Brush by Real Techniques

First we have the 'Pointed Foundation Brush'.

Description says, ' use with liquid foundation to build custom coverage'I'm not usually a fan of foundation brushes but out of all the ones i've tried it's my favourite and one i've actually been using!
In terms of size, its pretty small which at first I was unsure of, but now I realise its great as you can get in all the curves of your face (inner eye corner etc) and provides a really great tool for precise coverage. This may sound odd, but the bristles are great as they 'stay together' i.e. they don't separate and get all clumped together.

Buffing Brush by Real Techniques

Next up is the Buffing Brush. 

Description says 'ideal for full coverage application of powder and mineral foundation' although I haven't strictly stuck to this description... On days where I am rushing my makeup I often use this to put on liquid foundation, by dabbing the foundation on my skin and using the buffing brush in big circular motions to apply it, and ohh boy does it work wonders. Also i'm not a total fan of powder foundation as my skin is quite dry and I find my 'Bundle Monster powder brush' applies the perfect amount of powder.

Next is the Contour Brush
The description saying it 'delicately applied highligher to contour of create sheer, soft-focus finish'. Now, to be honest I haven't really used it that much, cause i'm not very good at conturing... for me the 'head'/'bristles' (whatever the brushy bit is called) is too small for me because I don't like looking like i've to much on.
But that's probably because I can't use it...

Last up is the Detailer brush
Described as 'precison cut to effortlessly conceal problem areas; or, use with lipstick for long lasting shape and perfection'. 
I've mostly been using it as a concealer brush as I really needed a new one. It is a lot smaller than my previos brush and its good for covering up spots but not so much under eye darkness as it really is too small and I prefer to 'dab' that area with concealer to let it soak into the skin rather than just paint concealer on.



Would you buy from this brand again?
Definately, once I get more money to spend i'm looking to buy the Expert Face Brush which is the brush meant for Liquid Foundation.

Overall I love these brushes. Take a look at the website for more hints and application tips!
http://realtechniques.com

PUPPIES AND BABIES

So, its study leave and here are some really cute puppy and baby video's that I could find on Youtube

Lets start out young, this baby really doesn't know what to do, those arms are flapping about everywhere.(d'awwwww)

I think its the music on this video that makes it so great.

Lastly, not quite a puppy, but a very tolerant dog.

Anyone have any other cute puppy/baby videos comment them! :)

Leavers 2013

So it's the end of an era.

The end of school, it seems weird and my emotions are confused about it.

On one hand i'm so glad it's over, most of my friends are older so I hate talking about 'school' and seeming young, also it means a new independence and a new stage filled with new things. I think i'm ready to move on, school bores me and I fall asleep in lessons. It's too formal, too regimented and I find the rules stupid, e.g. no second piercings (not that I have one), no nail polish,it's not going to harm our education...

On the other hand I hate goodbyes, and that's the hard part. Knowing that most of these people i'm never going to see again. I'm going to miss some of my teachers (Mrs Martin - if you ever read this) and their wit, and all the effort they put into their work (Mr A)!

Here are some photos from our leavers tea party. (Can you tell it's an all girls school...)

My tall ginger friend. x

House Drama Buddies

ICT Class of 2013

Sarah and I have been in the same class since p1.
I used to be considerably taller than her...

Me and my Bezzie Han. x

Next year is my gap year, roll on Malawi!

Queen's Regatta - 27 April 2013

I know i'm no photographer but here are a few shots from the day. :)

FIT me! Maybelline New York Foundation Review

Well Hello There! :)

While in Superdrug foundation caught my eye due to its sleek bottle design - so I had to have it.

It's a beautiful glass bottle, with minimal writing over it, (and what is there can easily be peeled off).
The bottle holds 30ml and priced at £7.99, it's a good little bargain.

My skin is naturally very dry, and before purchasing I was worried that it may make my skin appear worse, but so far everything has been fine.
Application wise, it spreads beautifully, I've been using a buffer brush to apply it as i'm not a fan of foundation brushes, and it spreads really well. Not that much foundation is needed.

I got it in the shade 120 - classic ivory which has undertones of yellow, which if I had done my research I would have known, but I didn't. My skin has pink undertones therefore the colour doesn't match exactly, however I am going to try it in the shade 115, ivory - because I am pretty pleased with it for a high street brand.

Here comes the slight downside...
After applying it in the morning, then going about my day once it comes to about 3/4pm most of it has rubbed off, even after setting it with powder. Now, this ain't good although it does depends what your day consists of, for the average school/uni/work day, most don't mind a slight break from work to retouch their make-up.

Overall conclusion, i'd give it a 6.5/10. I just feel that a 7 would be to high, but a 6 too low. I am going to repurchase it in shade 115 and see how that goes so I will update with that in a few months.

Any queries, please comment =D

Boston Marathon

This sickens me, all I can say is well done to the outstanding effort of the medical team and site staff. Those runners who ran straight to donate blood after finishing the marathon we are proud to have people like you in the world.
For all the families that are suffering today, prayers go out to you.

For those who hurt so many innocent lives, words can't describe how much disgust I feel towards people like you. You don't deserve any words on my page.
Justice will come.

RIP - the innocent deserve to be remembered x
:(

Ultimate Dry Skin Solution!

The skin on my face is... horrendous, that's a fact.
I am forever getting spots, trying to get rid of them and ending up with dry, scaly skin. Nice. After going through many many moisturisers and not getting the right results, I took drastic action and choose the most intense moisturiser I could find.
E45 Cream.
'Treatment for Dry Skin Conditions'
 Yepp that's me.

Beautiful Stuff

It worked absolute miracles, left my skin with no hint of dryness but yet not oily. Perfect.

My skin has slightly improved growing older and less of lose pesky hormones so I have actually moved onto the E45 Lotion.

 It is a lot  lighter than the cream. To put it on simply squeeze a small amount out and it spreads well, at night I put on two coats of this, since my wipes and cleanser leaves it very dry and tight feeling.

For me E45 is fab and at a low price, around £3 per bottle, and can be bought at any drug store or supermarket. Also in competition with it was Liz Earle's "Skin Repair Moisturiser' which I couldn't speak any higher of, but unfortunately mine ran out, and I find it a tab pricey unfortunately.

Note: this is also great for dry legs/arms/hands... everything!!

Mud Therapy - Deep Cleansing Mud Mask

'Superdrug Deep Cleansing mud mask with natural mineral benefits of dead sea mud naturally detoxifies and remineralises. This clay based mask will help promote a clearer complexion, leaving skin softer and rejuvenated'

While out shopping the other day I decided to treat myself (and skin) to a face mask.

Now, i'm not really the face mask type of girl, and i've always associated them with early teen sleepovers where it was the fun highlight of the night.
Now as a late teen, I am once again giving them ago.

This is what I went for, it is the 'mud therapy' Deep Cleansing Mid Mask' by Superdrug.

There was also one with Aloe Vera in it... but I preferred the purple bottle, so got this one which contains 75ml of 'mud'

It's a great size as not being too big means its easy to bring for a night away, but not small enough that it runs out quickly!

After removing all makeup and washing my face the time came to apply it. It comes out of the bottle a mud colour (surprise surprise), then when applied to the face is a dark green, and as it dries a light green.

When I applied it at first to my face, it stung a little. Now, i'm not sure if that's just me or happens for everybody (i'll let you know after the next slumber party). Though as it dried in, the stinging stopped so I guessed it was all right.

Casual

You leave the mask on for 10-15 minutes and after all you have to do is 'rinse thoroughly with warm water and pat dry' so I did. 

It did leave my skin feeling a lot softer and cleaner after so I was very happy with my little purchase. Thursday nights have become 'Facemask Thursdays' (to me) and I look forward to my little weekly treat. 

Though if your expecting a miracle cure for all spots on your face you wont get it, sadly the wee buggers were still there after the 15 minute mask. (Not that I expected them to be gone).

Overall conclusions; a great product for the tiny price of £2.59.

http://www.superdrug.com/superdrug-deep-cleansing-mud-mask/invt/341061&bklist=#readReview

Bundle Monster 15pc Brush Set Kit

Obviously if you want to travel the world you got to be looking your best incase any foreign princes are around... and to look your best it is essential to have a few good brushes!

I've been looking around for some make-up brushes for a while, but to buy a good foundation brush on its own is pretty expensive never mind all the other brushes I wanted too.
And so, I turned to my friend Amazon.

Amazon had loads of sets of brushes and for cheap too! After reading numerous reviews the brushes I went for was the 'Bundle Monster 15pc Studio Pro Make Up Cosmetic Brush Set' which also came with a 'Pink Faux Crocodile Case'.

The brushes are made of synthetic fibres which is better for applying liquids such as foundations better than powders, but either way, for the price of the brushes they do the job.
They feel nice to hold, and aren't too plastic or cheap looking, personally I love the pink colour, its nice and bright with a black rim at the neck of the brush.

This shows the brushes the pack comes with, although i've kinda done my own thing with them, not sticking strictly to the descriptions.
For example, the 'Medium Powder Brush' I think is better for putting on foundation as you can really buff the make-up into the skin for a even look, but then again, i'm not a fan of the foundation brush to begin with.

From reading on comments on the Amazon page, some people have found their brushes come apart at the joint between the head and the handle, but for me, after about a months use all is well and i'm still super pleased at my purchase.

I haven't noticed many hairs come out of the brushes, when they arrived the 'Small Fan Brush' had a few rouge hairs sticking out, but after taking the scissors to it all is well, although since I don't know what it is for I won't be using it that often anyway! (help please?)

All brushes come with a protective plastic case, which is nice and hygienic since it protects against some dirt and bacteria coming into contact with the bristles and in turn your face.
The case is also good for storing the brushes in as their held in by pockets and there is also room to squeeze a few other brushes in there too. When closed, it is held together by two magnetic clips which do not come apart too easily.
The case does, however feel very plastic, but as an avergae girl, i'm not really bothered by this fact, its just a holder after all.

In conclusion, if you're not a professional, and just looking to have a few make-up brushes to have to make you feel like a professional, go for it.
I paid about £13 for the set, so it's a bargain not to be missed!

http://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Monster-Studio-Cosmetic-Crocodile/dp/B004ZH5MTS/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1364989702&sr=8-11&keywords=makeup+brushes

I WANT TO TRAVEL THE WORLD!

I was casually browsing Google Maps the other day (is that weird?) looking at all the countries as you do, and then I thought to myself
'Alison... you know all these countries! You're practically a world explorer'
So, in a moment of haste (and sheer boredom) I got up this quiz. Basically all you have to do is name as many countries in the world that you can think of.
p.s who knew the world had 196 countries!! That's quite a lot.
On my first attempt I got 67, which I thought was pretty good. The game however didn't, apparently the average number of countries people get is 117.
On my second attempt I got 97 countries! Remarkably good I think, my target was 100 by the end of Easter, so hopefully i'll make it.
Give the quiz a go, it's actually quite fun!

This leads me on to talking about my dream holiday.

I'm not particularly a fan of beach holidays, don't get me wrong, I do like the sun; just lying on a beach for a week solid isn't my definition of bliss.

First my dream holiday is going to start of in Rome.
There we are going to look at all the historical elements of the ancient Roman world. I love history, and this genuinely fascinates me. Although my last experience in rome wasn't blissful, it was too hot, I was sweating, a pigeon pooped on my head, they charged €6 for a 1 scoop ice-cream. Nasty. However this time it will be different.

Getting a Good View of the City of Rome

Next we will travel down to Pompeii and the surrounding ancient villages that have all been preserved from 2000 years ago. Wow!
I tried to make my mum watch a documentary on Pompeii a while back, but she turned it off because it wasn't very cheery... some people just don't have respect for our ancestors *hair flip*

About to have a look round Pompeii!

After a good snoop around Pompeii, next stop is Athens, why Athens? Truth is, it's because it's in the middle of the previous and the next destination which is...

Good View from the Bridge!!!

Istanbul!
This is one which actually really interests me.
Istanbul used to be called Constantinople - head to the Western Empire of Rome as made by Emperor Constantine (272-337 AD). Waowwww. It was here during the Great Persecution the Christian church stood on a hill, opposite the Palace, significant because it shows the Christians place in society at that time.
The whole city is drowned in history, it's been the capital of 3 Empires, the last being the Ottoman Empire (ending in 1922).
The buildings look beautiful, app the food is quite nice. I am going to return from this trip a new woman full of culture.

Time to get travelling again, next stop is Israel, where we will visit both Jerusalem and Bethlehem. (hopefully we will avoid getting killed while here, always a plus.)
These places are often talked about, but rarely visited. Jerusalem is a key place for 3 main world religions, and watching Teresa the Travellers vlogs about this beautiful city has made me want to visit it. Watch her videos here.

Next we will pop over the border to Jordan and take a swim in the dead sea

Chillin'

From here, we will head to Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt. Classic sight seeing stops such as the Pyramids and Sphinxes and Catacombs and Palaces, again Teresa has some brilliant videos on these countries and I recommend watching them.
Again these are places I've learnt about while studying my Church History course, so maybe their a bit more interesting to me for different reasons.
I also intend to take this opportunity to go for a camel ride, cause I can.

That ends our Tour of The Great cities surrounding the Med.
Whoooooho.
We will then fly home, (via Dubai, got to take in some tacky places after all that culture)