QI Event & London Christmas Lights

Hiya!

I went to a Waterstones event a few days ago, at the great Piccadilly store. It was a QI talk, where John Lloyd (the founder of QI) and the QI Elves told us about the idea of the show, how it started, what they do, and gave us a sneak preview of facts from the next series 'N'. There was also an audience quiz, a guy won the prize of various items of cool merch.

It was really fun!

I got a book - 1,234 QI Facts to Leave You Speechless - and had it signed by Lloyd and almost all the Elves.

After the event, my friends and I browsed the books, squealing and sighing over the gorgeous clothbound classics (they looked gorgeous).

We're such nerds ;)

Anyway, we decided (at 9:30 pm, mind) to take a long route to the Underground so that we could see the Christmas lights on Regent Street and Oxford Street.

It was well worth it.

I like this one :)

Heehee, couldn't resist :P

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Mum's Homemade

Hiya!

Another photo :D

Not much to say about this one, except that it's so quaint and cute, and I like it.

I like this photo for the arrangement on the table, the brightness of the light and the calmness of all of it.

It's another one of my photos from Cornwall, we had lunch at this cafe and I thought the tables were set up really nicely. The waiter and waitress were lovely, and it was a very peaceful day in the countryside.

The soft light and bright colours and ice cream make me wish that is was summer again :(

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Fishing in the Sunset

Hiya!

Sorry about the delay, I've been busy (posts on that later) and the WiFi died yesterday, leaving me confused and distraught.

It's alright now though, it's been sorted out and I'm reunited with my precious(ssssssss).

...anyone get it?

Anyway, I'm giving you something different today. I was messing around with the editing of this photo a bit more than I usually do, though nothing too drastic. And so I'm going to show you a few versions of the same photo with only Vibrance, Saturation, Brightness and Contrast changes.

Original (All 0)

Vibrance 20, Saturation 20, Brightness 5, Contrast 75

Vibrance 20, Saturation 20, Brightness 120, Contrast 100

Vibrance 40, Saturation 40, Brightness 100, Contrast 100
My favourite one

Vibrance 50, Saturation 50, Brightness 50, Contrast 75

So yeah, with no other editing except those, you can transform a photo loads. I'd say the fourth image is my favourite, though the darker second image is also quite nice.

This photo was taken on the jetty at my friend's farm. It's a really gorgeous place, massive, and has this huge lake with islands in it.

And also, there's a sunset. I love sunsets, that time of day is my favourite for taking photos because everything becomes golden and warm, and longer shadows make the most awesome shapes. It's called the 'Golden Hour' in photography, the time each day just after sunrise (which I would like to experience at some point if I can get myself out of bed) and just before sunset.

It's a really pretty time of the day. Try taking photos at this time if you want to (consider this a tip?), especially shooting 'towards' the light so you get cool silhouettes with light flares.

Photography may have ruined me.

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Tomatoes

Hiya!

This photo was taken in Cornwall, in one of the villages I visited there.

I was walking along and waited behind the tomatoes to let someone past, so decided to take a photo whilst I was there.

Don't worry, hiding behind barrels of tomatoes is not a frequent activity of mine ;)

I love the focus on the tomatoes in the rustic barrel, and the colourful banners across the street in the background.

This photo reminds me of calm, quaint country villages and bustling shoppers at the same time. It may just be me, as when I see this photo, I see a calm scene. But I hear the noises that were around me at the time I shot this, and those were loud chatter and car engines.

Of course, you wouldn't know that, so maybe this photo isn't as great to you as it is to me?

It takes me back to the summer holidays, and that's the best thing about this.

In terms of editing (some people might be interested), I don't do much to my photos. I prefer capturing better shots rather than sitting editing for hours on a computer, though that's just my personal opinion.

I added some warmth to this photo, to make it glow a little more. It's not something I usually do, though I just felt it lacked the warmth in this particular one. I also increased the saturation/vibrance and the contrast, the things that make my photos a whole lot better.

My tip - for any photo, increase the contrast. Some require more, some less, that's all up to you. But doing this makes any scene look much cooler :)

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Black Jeans

Hiya!

No photo today I'm afraid, I didn't have the chance to turn my computer on where the photos I've already selected are kept - I've been busy learning dance routines for a show coming up next year ;)

It's so much easier blogging from my computer *sigh*...there's easy access to photos, editing tools, autosave...

Anyway, I have other news.

I went shopping yesterday, just at my local high street, and bought a pair of black jeans!

You have no idea how happy I am. In my entire (not very long) life, I've only ever worn blue jeans. I've got five pairs right now, and that's all. I just couldn't pull off any other colour, and blue suited me the best. They still do look the most flattering, but a girl can't survive on just blue jeans for her whole life!

Black is supposed to be the universal colour which anyone can wear and look good in, but black jeans on me make me look shorter and wider, I don't understand why.

The struggle is real.

And so finally finding a pair of black jeans from M&S that didn't make me look like a stout dwarf was the best thing ever. They're also very comfy and stretchy, and I got a 20% discount :)

Finally. Black jeans.

❤️

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Sky Garden

Hiya!

Another photo (two this time!) for another day :)

I love this photo for its angles. It's so simple, but the shapes and patterns created by this worm's eye view are so cool.

Take the lamp, for example, the dark circle of it contrasts with the clean squares of the building next to it, and the pole aligns perfectly next to the building due to the perspective. I love the way that, if you carried on the line along the top of that building, the top of the lamp would hit it almost perfectly.

And the contrast between the darker lamp and building with the shining shimmering glass one is gorgeous. The way the glass building has that slight curve, which is so different from the building beside it...

I like to imagine them as people, a couple - the dark, mysterious, sturdy guy next to his sassy, shining, flawless lady.

Just me?

I could have done a bit more editing with this photo, increased the contrast to put emphasis on the people's shadows maybe, but I decided against it.

I just thought this was a nice photo, tbh.

It's definitely not an everyday thing.

That's the Sky Garden if anyone's interested. Of course, I've talked about this before, and these photos are ones I've already put out there.

I just wanted to show them off again... :/

♥

Also, just a quick thought before I sign out - I really don't like the word 'hella'. No offence or anything.

Well okay, it's not that I don't like it, it just seems wrong when anyone but Chloe says it in Life is Strange...

She can pull it off - she's 'hella' cool <3

Ugh, can't believe I just said that -_-

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Oil Rig

Hiya!

Here's another photo from my Norway holiday -

Isn't it pretty? I never thought I would call anything with oil rigs on it 'pretty'...

This photo makes me laugh because of the story behind it.

When I first saw the oil rigs, I literally freaked out. I ran out onto our balcony and nearly dropped my camera into the sea.

A few weeks earlier, I'd just learnt about oxidation and reduction in chemistry, in terms of the loss and gain of electrons. My teacher told us a way of remembering it:

OIL RIG.

Oxidation Is Loss, Reduction Is Gain.

And so, the nerd in me screamed, and I freaked out over some plain old oil rigs because of chemistry.

I'm a weird child.

I just remember being so excited and thinking it would be so cool to show my friends this.

And that is why I laugh at myself whenever I see this, and facepalm.

I'm surprised the photo actually turned out okay, what with all my freakery :D

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Favourite Photos

Hiya!

I've been going through photos recently, and I've found some really nice ones that I remember taking and absolutely loving.

And so to fill up the holes in my blog where my life is too boring to talk about, I'll show some of these to y'all during the next week!

This was taken when I was on holiday in Norway, two summers ago. These are all natural colours with, I believe, no editing at all. So I'm pretty chuffed about that :)

I love the contrast of the roughness of the rusting metal and graffiti (I can't understand any of it so sorry if it's offensive!) with the calmness of the scene, the clear blue skies with puffy clouds. It's like two opposite ideas together - dirty, rough and dangerous, and clear, calm and peaceful.

This photo also has a great balance of 'stuff' and space, of colour, of contrast, and has lovely shapes and lines.

I do like this photo very much <3

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

October Favourites

Hiya!

Here are my favourites of October! More like mid-November favourites, though...

Enjoy!

Hair:

Dr Organic Tea Tree Shampoo - As someone who has oily (and annoying fine) hair, this shampoo cleanses the scalp amazingly.

The bottle states that it uses the 'purest organic bioactive Tea Tree' and 'bioactive Aloe Vera', and leaves hair 'instantly revitalised, invigorated, and deeply cleansed'.

A load of big words there, but hey, it works. It feels refreshing, kinda cold but in a good way, and lathers easily. And although it doesn't smell that great (typical tea tree scent), I found I've actually started to like it, and it fits in with the freshness of the shampoo.

I like using the Dr Organic Virgin Coconut Oil conditioner after, so the scent doesn't stay anyway as the coconut replaces it.

Body/skin/lip care:

Simple Kind to Skin Replenishing Moisturiser - I finished my bottle of Simple's Light Moisturiser, and so decided to upgrade to the Rich one. The consistency is a little thicker (as expected) but it is much more moisturising. Sometimes with the Light, I was applying it in layers as one layer wasn't enough, so this is definitely an improvement. It's gentle, easy to use, and I find it balances the oils on my face so I'm not a dripping mess or a flaky pastry by the end of the day :)

The Body Shop Pomegranate Lip Balm - I love pomegranate, so this was picked up very quickly as soon as I saw it. It smells really good, lasts a very long time, and also adds a bit of colour to your lips. The packaging is really nice too, cool and cute. The balm itself is waxy, which I personally like as it creates a more subtle 'matte' look.

Makeup:

No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream, normal/oily skin - This is wonderful. I have fairly large pores, uneven skin-tone, and a constellation of blemishes, but this product makes my skin gorgeous. Of course, concealer is needed as well for those giant spots of mine, though this hides the most of them. It's really easy to put on, blends well, and saves so much time!

A downside to this product is that it isn't very moisturising, but applying this over a light moisturiser will do the trick.

Fashion:

Okay, two things I have been into - blanket scarves and baggy jumpers.

I recently bought a blanket scarf from Uniqlo, the blue Double Faced Plaid Scarf, and it is the softest, warmest, comfiest thing ever. It's massive, so as well as looking awesome as a finishing touch to an outfit, it also doubles as a blanket. I may be guilty of wrapping myself up in it during lessons and pretending I'm a burrito...

And baggy jumpers are just the thing for this autumn and winter. Love them so much.

So much cosy <3

TV/film:

Smosh: The Movie - I admit, this isn't the best film out there, but for anyone addicted to YouTube, this is amazing. It's a comedy/adventure which revolves around Anthony and Ian's misfortunes and terrible decisions, and around YouTube itself. They literally jump into YouTube to try to change a video and encounter all sorts of wacky things. It's got so many of my favourite YouTubers in it, including Smosh (of course), Jenna Marbles and Grace Helbig. Jenna is hilarious and awesome in this ;)

London Spy - A new BBC Two spy drama, in which Ben Whishaw (who plays Q in the latest James Bond film Spectre) falls in love with a gay spy. There are gay sex scenes, mind, so don't go watching with parents! It only premiered a few days ago (from the time I'm writing this) so there's only been one episode which was more for background and context. But I'm very excited for the next episode and I believe it's going to be fantastic. I already love it!

Music:

Ricky Martin, La Mordidita - This is my favourite song right now, I can't stop singing it and it's annoying the hell out of everyone. I first heard it in my dance lesson, and though it's in Spanish and I didn't understand any of it, I fell in love with its rhythm and tempo straight away. It's very energetic and lively, and it makes me want to dance whenever I hear it (which is all the time, on repeat).

I actually looked up the meaning of 'la mordidita', it means 'the nibble', and the song's about a guy lusting over a woman.

David Bowie, Moonage Daydream - I first heard this song from Hannah Hart, from her My Drunk Kitchen video with Ingrid Nilsen (they're so cute!). It's got the perfect mix of everything, and well, I love it now.

Food:

Walkers Market Deli Pita Chips, Garlic with Herbs - This is amazing. Especially this flavour, Roasted Garlic with Mediterranean Herbs, because it's the best. I ate a whole 'to share' packet by myself, in one sitting, it was that good.

Costco Tiramisu - If you've never had a Costco cake before, what have you been doing with your life?! And I mean that in the best way possible... The tiramisu is my favourite, it's made fresh, the sponge is soft and soaked in coffee and alcohol to just the right amount, there's a slight dusting of cocoa powder over the creamy icing, and the cake is humongous. It's perfect for any upcoming Christmas parties.

Ben and Jerry's Minter Wonderland - This is my amazing!! If you ever wanted to know (or didn't, I dunno), mint chocolate chip is my favourite ice-cream flavour and the fact that it's Ben and Jerry's... Yummy! This is a new winter flavour, which actually caught my eye because of its snowflake print on the lid. It's a mint flavour ice-cream with chocolate pieces in it, sort of like rectangles broken from a chocolate bar. I've just finished a tub, and liked it very much, so will be getting another soon!

Books:

The Amazing Book is Not on Fire, by Dan Howell and Phil Lester - I have been so excited to get a hold of The Amazing Book is Not on Fire - ever since scouting it out in Waterstones, and seeing a few pages of adorableness and hilariousness. I've quickly gone through half of it, and it's amazing, and totally 'on fire', despite what the book tries to tell you. The range of content is truly impressive, from stories of their high school life, to a hamster breeding tutorial, and an insight into what they text each other... It's fun, informative, random, cute, hilarious and weird!

Apps:

94% - A very addicting game which requires you to find words associated with a theme/picture - I have been OBSESSED! I played it almost constantly when I first got it and passed through 135 levels in around a month. The fun, in my opinion, is in passing the levels quickly to get to the new themes, though my friends have been taking their time and completing each level fully - it's great however you play it.

Person:

I've heard of her before, but never really watched any of her videos (she's a YouTuber). She's hilarious, adorable, and the Queen of Puns - it's Hannah Hart! I discovered her through Ingrid Nilsen, in a collab video (mentioned above), and loved her energy and clever puns.

PUNS. Puns Puns Puns.

Her puns are brilliant.

As well as that, she's always cheerful and so funny, and can always make me laugh.

♥

So this concludes this batch of new favourites, check them out, I wouldn't have talked about them if I didn't honestly like them ;)

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Firework Display & Anniversary

Hiya!

I just realised I missed my blog's anniversary!

This all started on the 2nd November 2013...

Woah.

I've changed loads.

For the most part of these two (and a bit) years, I've been writing my titles completely in capital letters. I've realised that adding photos is good, and my stupid photoshopped randomness is even better. I've redesigned, rewritten, rethought.

And I'm sure more changes are to come, it's a process of developing and getting better, and I hope that I will come out with more interesting content in the next year.

...

And now for the fun!

I went to my local annual firework display today, and though I arrived slightly late, the part of the show I saw was very good :)

The Bokeh Effect ;)

Looks like a shooting star...

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

A Foggy Aftermath...

Hiya!

It's been really foggy.

Ever since Halloween...

And usually it clears up by noon, but no, not this time.

This time, it gets worse.

What is happening?

The Halloween spirits have not been appeased!

We're all doomed!

...

Ok, I'm fine.

I think.

Here's a photo, with no editing:

This was in the morning. Before it became worse.

And I have done nothing to the colours, they're just sucked out in real life.

What if everything disappears tomorrow, turns into fog and whiteness?

Whelp.

♥

In other news:

I didn't do anything today. I've been mainly watching YouTube videos, broken by toilet breaks and food.

So I'll leave you with this photo. See if you can figure it out...

;)

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Shopping on Halloween!

Hiya!

Sorry I wasn't here yesterday to wish you a spooooooky Halloween!

What did you do? Trick-or-treating anyone? Or any fabulously carved pumpkins? Horror films?

My friends did Toothless and a Minion. They were very good :)

Sadly I didn't do much for Halloween, though I went out later on and came across kids dressed up during their hunt for candy, and a firework display in someone's backyard which we loitered on the street outside to watch.

It was surprisingly good and went on for ages...

Bits of firework kept on falling into my eyes and setting off car alarms around me though :/

Anyway, the reason for not being here on such a freaky night as Halloween (let's face it, this zombie blog should be six feet under, and only come out once a year, probably on the freakiest night), is because I went shopping for the whole day.

I went to all sorts of shops and got myself a lovely 'reversible' plaid blanket scarf from Uniqlo, a few tops from Zara...Kids (why am I so short?! *wails*), and some heavenly treasures from Lush.

The Peeping Santa bubble bar smells amazing!! It's a fruity scent, strawberry mostly I think, and it makes me want to eat it. It looks adorable, and I'm pretty sure in the bath it will look like I'm sitting in a pool of strawberry squash...

Or blood, but let's not think about that...

I also bought the Yog Nog bath bomb, purely because of its sweet smell. I'm a sucker for sweet things. It smells like toffee, and though it may be lacking in its looks, I picked it up immediately and cradled it in my glittery fingers (blame the Holly Golightly!).

And as I write this, I am now sniffing them. Someone take them away please, or else I will become high from the wonderfulness of Lush's products.

I also went to Waterstones, to scout out the Welcome to Night Vale book and Dan and Phil's 'The Amazing Book is Not on Fire'.

I will definitely be getting both, they looked awesome!

There was also a book signing for a children's book there - excited kids were lined up outside the store with their parents, no doubt waiting for the author to arrive.

I ran away long before it started though...screaming kids are not my thing.

Well, I had a great day, and I hope you did too :)

And if you did anything scary, and you're anything like me, good luck falling asleep for the next few weeks...

♥

I love you

ttyl

xxx

P.S. bubble bar and bath bomb photo creds go to the Lush website because I ain't got no time to set up nice backgrounds and get perfect lighting for my own photos...