Sixth Form Wardrobe

School starts next week! Argh! Dressing for sixth from can be daunting; obeying the dress code while simultaneously loving what you're wearing is hard work. So, I've created this look book full of tricks and tips to make the whole thing easy. Enjoy.

Shirt & skirt: Miss Selfridge | Shoes: New Look

Monday: A key essential in my eyes is a plain black skater skirt. They just go with anything and create a great outfit in seconds. It is so versatile and works all year long making it a staple item in my wardrobe. I am also obsessed with this shirt. Such a pretty design. You can't go wrong with a skirt and shirt combo.

Dress: Primark | Boots & socks: DP 

Tuesday: On lazy days where you just can't be bothered to put together an outfit, dresses are your best friends. No effort is required to create a look as the dress is the whole look. I particularly love the pattern on this one, gorgeous colour too.

Shirt & boots: New Look | Skirt: Top Shop | Jumper & socks: DP

Wednesday: Has your button ripped off of your shirt? Can't be bothered to fix it? I have got the perfect solution for you. Layering. Missing buttons are completely hidden under a cute knitted jumper so no-one will know your fashion faux pas. Particularly good for the winter, not so much in the summer.

T-shirt & shoes: Primark | Trousers: Miss Guided | Necklace: New Look

 Thursday: I really struggle finding smart trousers that fit so was over the moon that this gorgeous pair did. Adding a t-shirt gives a smart-casual vibe which is perfect for sixth form. You don't want to go over board with jewellery as too much can get annoying throughout the day. However, I like to accessorize with a simple necklace. I feel it just completes an outfit.

Dress: DP | Blazer: Miss Guided | Shoes: ASOS

Friday: If all else fails, you can never go wrong with monochrome. Blazers are a really good way to keep warm in the colder months and brogues are perfect for walking around school all day.

I hope you enjoyed my sixth form look book. If you're stressing over school clothes, don't. Fashion is meant to be fun and as long as you're are happy with what you're wearing (and you're sticking to school guidelines, I guess) you can't go wrong!

Tasmin x

#17: Visit a Playground First Thing in the Morning

It was sunny. I awoke really early for no apparent reason. So it just made sense for a seventeen year old to visit the playground. No?

This is actually part of my photography project and it was essential to go first thing in the morning to avoid an overcrowded play-area that I wouldn't be able to take pictures of. Also, without anyone there, I wouldn't look so much of a weirdo taking pictures of a playground and playing on the equipment.

I got stuck up there and it was a little to high to jump off... Such a fail

I just don't understand why they don't make playgrounds for teens/young adults. It's a great form of exercise- great core and muscle workout- and, lets face it, it's a lot of fun. The closest to an 'adult' playground is the outdoor exercise equipment but it's just not as fun. Well, that and the skate-park but I'm nowhere near cool enough to know how to skateboard. Do you see my problem? Being old sucks!

This was terrifying! Struggled getting off of this too...

A bouldering wall? I never had this when I was little. So cool!

Tasmin x

#9: Photoshoot on the Cliff Paths

Confused about what the 25 Things to do This Summer is all about? Check out this post to explain all.

I finally decided to do some photography so headed out in the drizzle with my Mum (because I have no friends) in the hopes it would clear and I could achieve some decent photos. The results were better than I expected but a few did turn out rather blurry. And, as always when I take my Mum on a shoot, Mum decided to get creative and got me to pose for a few photos too. Typical!

Spooky benches

Shame it was a cloudy day.

Eye see you leaf!

OOTD | Shirt: Miss Guided | Jeans: Top Shop | Boots: DP

Because I think I'm funny...

A veil of spider web.

Worlds most pointless bench.

Tasmin x

#16: Eat a Mr Whippy Ice-Cream

I'm almost certain these are available everywhere but probably under a different name, however I'll tell you a little bit about the seaside classic ice-cream anyway. Co-created by the late Margret Thatcher in the 1950's, the soft ice-cream formula has twice as much air in it than traditional ice-creams giving Mr Whippy (also known as a 99 or Mr Softee) the iconic soft texture. It also makes it a bit of a rip off as it's about 80% air but it's hard to care when they are that good! Commonly served in cones and often with a chocolate flake, they have become a firm staple to the British seaside culture and no summer is complete without one.

It was rather windy on the seawall. And yes, I did get it in my hair!

I headed into town today with my family to finally grab my taste of summer. I was not disappointed. I decided to be boring and opted for just a plain cone without a flake. My mum and sister both went with a flake, with my sister being ultra adventurous and having raspberry sauce too. We sat on the seawall by Havelet Bay in the glorious sunshine and indulged in our air-in-cones. Sometimes the simple things are just the best.

What's your favourite summer time treat?

Tasmin x

#7: Go to a Car Boot Sale

Apologies for the amount of times I've changed number 7 on this list, but when I heard about a car boot sale being held yesterday, I had to just go for it. 

I hadn't been to a car boot sale since my family used to take part in them when I was a lot younger. I couldn't really remember what they were like and thought I might uncover some gems among the trash. So I joined my sister and her friends up at North Beach car-park for a little rummage around the stools.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I went in expecting to find a something wonderful but it was all a bit rubbish. No wonder these people were trying to get rid of it all. As I joined a little late I only experienced half of the stands but from what I saw, I was not impressed. I guess I got my hopes up a little too much to find a true treasure and that just wasn't the case. It was also a lot smaller then the ones I remember as a child and the weather wasn't great either which didn't help. I did, however, find The Kooks CD, Inside In Inside Out, for 50p. Every cloud I guess...

As I am always thinking of the blog, I brought my big DLSR camera with me for some good photos. However, I forgot my SD card so I only have this one photo of some vinyls from my phone. This was actually a pretty decent music stand and, as a group, we brought a lot from here (it's where I found that The Kooks CD from) but it was the vinyls that really caught my eye. There were so many, he must of been collecting them for years.

Overall, a disappointing day. Are you a fan of car bootys? (I don't know why I call them that but I think it's funny. I have a weird sense of humor.) Lets talk more in the comments.

Tasmin x

#18: Take Part in a Teen Blogger Chat

This was a recent updated item on my list because, without fail, I miss these twitter chats every single week. So I decided to make it part of my 25 Things to do This Summer in an attempt to make me remember.

For those of you not in the know, Teen Bloggers Chat is a twitter account (@teenbloggerchat) set up by a group of fellow teen bloggers, holding discussions twice a week to bring together the teen blogger community.

Sure enough, yesterday at 10 past 8, I found the teen bloggers tweet saying that it was about to start. Okay, so I was technically 10 minutes late but I didn't miss any of the chat so I think it counts.

This weeks topic was magazines and, with my beloved Company mag ceasing printing after next months issue, I had a fair few comments to make on the topic. Turns out it was quite a popular topic too as many bloggers got involved and it was interesting to see what everyone had to say. Personally, I love magazines. There is so much interesting and relevant content set out in the most aesthetically pleasing way on beautifully glossy pages. I fear when everything goes digital, despite the environmentally friendly benefits, some of the magic of these magazines will be lost. Plus, digital copies can't give you free samples of the latest make-up products. Just saying.

I've got two weeks left of summer and I'm not quite half way through this list yet so expect plenty more posts over the coming weeks. But until then, are you a fan of magazines? Lets continue the conversation down in the comments.

Tasmin x

#12: Design a Blog Header

I've been blogging for a year and a half now and I've been making do with the generic pre-set design I put together using the blog template right for the off-set. I really wasn't happy with it anymore and knew there needed to be a change. Not that I didn't like my blog design, but it wasn't really me. Honestly, if you spoke to me before I started this blog, I only wore pink because it was my school uniform! 

I spent several evenings thinking and sketching ideas until settling with this one. I loved the stripes of the original design but the colour was undesirable. Even tweaking it on template tools didn't change my opinion so decided to create my own background. I wanted black and white pin stripes so headed over to everyones favourite design software: paint. Seriously, I went right back to basics with this one. It simply resized the page and drew black vertical lines on the page. Easy as that.

After hours of experimenting with header designs and writing on Paint (can't deny the classics. Or I just don't own any other design software, which ever way you prefer to look at it) I remember how to import images as headers so scraped all my hard work for a photo of my original drawn idea. And, after fiddling with blog templates, fonts and colours, my final design is here.

Okay, so it's not the most professional finish and I am very likely to change it within the next few weeks but I have never done this sort of thing by myself at home with so very limited resources and for that I am proud of myself.

Slowly but surely getting through my 25 Things to do This Summer. To find out more about this challenge check my original post here and an updated post here. More will be up very soon.

Tasmin x

Results Day Fear

For thousands of AS and A-Level students across the country, tomorrow is the moment of truth as our final exam results arrive. This includes me and I am absolutely dreading it.

The typical response for my lack of faith in myself this results day tends to go along the lines of, 'Oh you'll be fine, Taz, you haven't done that badly. Stop being such a drama llama'. Okay, so the last bit was made up but you get the gist. I'm afraid guys that fine is rarely good enough and even then the exams went a lot worse than I could of hoped for. Anyone who did the AS Maths Core 2 paper will back me up on this one when I say there is a slight chance, well more of a rather gigantic chance, that I have possibly failed maths. I mean what even was that paper!

My worry, however, is not centred around how well the actual exams went. I can't change that now and I have had to deal with the possibility of failure for months now. I'm over it. Slightly. Maybe. I don't know. No, I fear what happens once I get the results. If they are as bad as I suspect, then chances are I won't be allowed back into my sixth form for year 13 (we have a grade boundary of at least two D grades to get into the final year). I can't imagine anything more disheartening than putting all that effort into the last year and still not being good enough. It would also mean I would have to find a job or apply for a college course and hope I will get in last minute, otherwise I would be sat at home unemployed, poor with nothing to do (but blog! I don't get money from this though...).

If I do pass to next year, great. My next year of school is sorted. However, this leads on to the whole question of what happens after school. It just pushes the choice of the employment or further education route a year back. These questions have been left lingering around for the whole of summer and I have done my best to avoid them but results day has flung them straight back in my face. The inevitable future keeps crawling up on me and I have no idea what I want to do yet. It's not a decision to make over night and certainly not one you want to get wrong, but how to you get it right? Uni would mean I would have to leave the island to an unfamiliar place with nobody I know but I would learn new skills, including how to fend for myself, as well as earn a qualification at the end of it. There is also the choice of which uni to go to and will I get into that one or not. On the other hand, employment would mean I could earn money straight away and maybe start saving to go traveling. I also wouldn't have to leave home right away but also have the option of moving when I know I'm ready. But it would also mean that I won't get the chance to live in England for a few years and experience life across the Channel (the sea that separates England from the Channel Islands). Fewer jobs going around too may mean that, no matter how hard I try, I still may end up unemployed. Both options have their pros and cons but neither one appeals to me more which makes my decision harder. 

I'm supposed to have my mind made up by the end of summer which is far closer than I care to remind myself. I decided to leave the whole question until after results day as that would give me a far better idea of what I can and should be aiming for when school comes to an end. It's quite daunting the fact that the decisions we have to make now can affect our whole future and the pressure of  trying not to get it wrong only intensifies the whole situation.

Maybe I am over thinking it slightly. Maybe I should only worry about these things tomorrow when I have the results.  But then there are the results themselves and I'm not sure if I'm mentally prepared to find out whats inside that envelope...

Good luck to anyone getting their results tomorrow or their GCSE results next week. I hope you get exactly the grades you want and don't worry about it. Leave the worrying to me!

Tasmin x

#22: Read a Book (Paper Towns by John Green Review)

Confused as to what this is all about? Read about my 25 things to do this summer here to find out more about the challenge.

As I have mentioned on this blog on several occasions, I struggle quite a bit with reading. My reading and fluency score is so low that I actually qualify for extra time in exams (not that I take it though, exams freak me out too much to stay in that room any longer than absolutely necessary) so this challenge was particularly difficult for me. However, after reading the Fault in our Stars in my study leave in under two weeks a few months back, my faith in my reading ability was restored and I felt like challenging my reading skills again had an achievable goal.

It was my sister, who is a total book worm, that suggested that I read another John Green book, Paper Towns, since I enjoyed TFIOS so much. The only catch was we had it on Kindle rather than in book form which, as a non-reader, wasn't an idea I was too keen on. Books are pretty straight forward when you think about it, machines on the other hand are not. Luckily, my concern amounted to nothing as the Kindle is very easy to use and I enjoyed the book just as much.

WARNING: As with nearly every review I write (I can only think of one really, from the top of my head), there will most definitely be some spoilers in the mix. You have been warned!

The book follows *posh name alert* Quentin Jacobsen, a dorky but lovable senior High School Student, on his quest to find a missing girl. However, this is no average girl. This is Margo Roth Spiegelman, the girl who Q has been obsessed with for pretty much his whole life. 

I love the beginning. It is action packed and exciting, adding in important information for the rest of the book whilst simultaneously kicking ass! There's nothing I hate more than a book or film that rambles on forever and ever before getting into the action. This book is most certainly not one of those books. Margo seeks revenge after her boyfriend Jase, captain of the football team and all round Mr Popular, cheats on her with one of her friends. So she gets Q, her neighbour, to drive her around town and help her get her own back on the people who did her wrong. Everything appears to be planned to the second (ridiculously unrealistic, what 17/18 year old is that organised?) and I am well and truly obsessed. I can think of a few people I would love to play these pranks on from my old high school and it's hard to not just love the fact that they did. They broke into Sea World for goodness sake! I cannot think of anything cooler!

This feelgood-vibe didn't last long as after this glorious adventure, Margo goes missing. This apparently isn't unusual behaviour for Margo which immediately screamed alarm bells for me as 'attention-seeker'. Q, however, was far more concerned over Margo's welfare than myself and apparently nearly every other character in the book and, after discovering clues she left behind, he goes on a mission to find her. You have to feel for Q here. He spends his final weeks of school searching for some selfish girl instead of studying for his exams, possibly jeopardising his whole college future, and missing graduation because he just wants to know she's still there. I think Margo clearly knows this is what would happen, with the exception of all Q's friends tagging along. She knows that Q is obsessed with her and is playing along with it slightly. But with a lot of the evidence pointing to suicide, the broken strings metaphor is a particular favourite of mine, guiding Q to think that is the case and he is hunting for a dead body is just cruel. 

I'm not going to spoil the end (you're just going to have to read the book), but I'm not sure if I really wanted it to end how it did. I get that it tied up the theme of seeing people for who they are rather than the image/expectation you have given them, but I almost wish that when they got to Agloe, all that greeted them was the black book which would then reveal to them who Margo really was rather than the alternative. I hope that hasn't given too much away as explaining it would probably ruin the whole book.

In case you haven't noticed, I don't think much of this Margo character. The more you read, the more mixed signals you get. On the one hand, you have Q who is completely in love with the adventurist side of her personality. He thinks she's awesome and, to start with, I believed him. On the other hand, you are gently fed through out the book a more outcast and lonely version of Margo, one who appears to be depressed and unhappy with her life. But I can't help but think that it is slightly her fault. She clearly had a good friend in Q from a young age but traded that friendship for popularity. The saddening part is that even though Q is still there for her years later when she has no one left, she still decides to run away without a word, only some dodgy clues. And yet he still goes to find her even though she clearly doesn't deserve his time. 

How you have imagined someone to be is rarely who they actually are. Like with Margo, Q believed she was this amazing adventurer but in actual fact, she felt very alone and isolated. I know the book meant it in a far deeper context, but if you think of all the people/celebrities you idolise, how well do you really know them? All you often know about these people are what you see and read on the Internet, most of the time you have never even met them, so the way you imagine them to be this totally amazing person may in fact be wrong. With the recent tragic deaths of Peaches Geldof and the news today of Robin Williams, you can never really know how somebody else is feeling and the expectation to be what everyone perceives them to be

It's not as soppy as The Fault in Our Stars, but I think that is what I like about it. I'm not a very emotional person (unless it's first thing in the morning and I'm tired... I'm just not a morning person!) so was not crying my eyes out whilst reading TFIOS, but I really enjoyed the adventure side of this book. Living on such a small island, sneaking out in the middle of the night to go on crazy road trips is a mere fantasy for me so naturally having this incorporated within the story was a big yes! I love the mystery between the disappearance and who the true Margo is too. Although I'm not the biggest Margo fan, it's the journey and realisations of Q that makes the book and the quest to find Margo a fantastic read.

Overall, I love Paper Towns despite not liking one of the main characters. It is full of adventure and mystery within the mix of school life. John Green is a fantastic author so if, like me, you aren't great at reading I would highly recommend checking out his work.

Ever read Paper Towns or anything else by John Green?

Tasmin x

#11: Go for a Jog

I'm far from what they call a 'fitness fanatic', more a borderline couch potato, so it was not the obvious choice to add jogging to my list. However, I realise that any form of exercise takes a backseat during the summer months and that is most definitely not good for my health. I knew that if there was anyway to make me get off my lazy bum and exercise, this blog was it!

Last night, I went out for a meal with friends to celebrate one of their birthdays (we're are all finally 17, ha!) and we ate a big slab of chocolate cakes and lots more sweets and chocolate. In fact, the last 4 weeks has involved me cramming in as much sugary food as I can handle without doing a lot else. So to say that I could do with some exercise was a bit of an understatement. 

This morning was cloudy, windy and rainy; the perfect combination of bad weather for my jog. Okay, for many this would be a deal breaker, but the bad weather meant that the park was highly likely to be completely empty. There would be no dogs to be frightened of; no ball games getting in the way; far more less likely to bump into somebody I know (god forbid!) and, most importantly, there would be no spectators. I mean there is nothing strange about jogging in the park, but when your run has been described on a number of occasions as 'a demented penguin run', you generally try to avoid any form of exercise in front of people.

Mum decided to tag along and keep me company (bless) but, to my horror, the weather started to improve. Higher risks of people in the park was not something I was too thrilled about but I decided to just go anyway. As luck would have it, there was a softball match on so most of the park was pretty bare. We decided to run lengths of Churchill Avenue at the bottom of Cambridge park as not many people use it (surprisingly, it's beautiful) and we could easily count how many lengths we ran.

We got off to a strong start. No-one was around and I was jogging far better than I remember doing so at school. I began wondering why I hated it so much whilst at high school. But coming to the end of my first lap, the memories of pain came rushing back as my chest began to tighten. I'm not sure why but I really struggle to breath when I'm exercising which, of course, my body doesn't appreciate and I start feeling the strain far earlier than I should. However, we powered through another three lengths and I quickly realised I pushed myself too much too quickly and developed a stitch. After a LOT of breathers, my Mum and I completed 10 lengths before calling it a day. As we never checked the time I don't know how long our jog was but, including the breaks, it was easily about 40 minutes.

My Mum could not of been happier. She felt amazing with a massive grin plastered over her face, pushing me to do the final laps. She has not stopped bragging to my sister and I how brilliant she feels and wants to drag me out again tomorrow. I, on the other hand, was not so pleased with the fact the entire contents of my lungs wanted to hurl itself out of me afterwards (I am aware you should never feel like that after a jog) and just felt rather sick on the journey home. Still feel a little ill now. Why does exercise hate me?

So that was the story of my first, and almost definitely my last jogging session. I may feel like my body hates me but I am proud for actually doing something active. Are you like me more a fitness-phobe or have you found that one sport you couldn't live without? Let start up a chat in the comments below.

Tasmin x

#24: Dye My Hair (How To: Ombré Hair)

I have wanted to dye my hair since I was 14. Three years on and I still had the same colour hair. 

I have never been my hairs number one fan but then I also didn't want to risk making it worse and absolutely hating it. The word permanent strikes fear in me; if it all goes wrong, there's no going back. Hair is such an important thing and I have seen many people get it so very wrong and I didn't really fancy being another in the list of hair failures.

However, I decided to bite the bullet and just go for it. I mean, if after three years I still wanted to dye my hair then the likelihood of me regretting it is pretty low. Of course I still had doubts but decided to ease myself into the whole hair dye thing by only doing the ends of my hair in a more ombré style.

Ombré is where the ends of the hair is dyed a different colour to create a graduated look. Unlike dip-dye where the hair is clearly two separate colours, ombré aims to subtly blend the two colours for a more natural look. I'm sure most of you know as it's a pretty popular trend but for those of you who are a little unsure what ombré actually is, I hope this clears up any confusion.

Making a mess of the bathroom.

As far as I'm aware, there is only one specific ombré home dye kit available in Britain which is the L'Oreal Paris Wild Ombrés. I  picked up in shade no.1 in boots the other week as that shade is designed for light to dark brunettes i.e my hair colour. They also had more out there colours such a red but I was quite keen to keep my hair looking fairly natural, well as natural as two toned hair can be.

As I am a complete novice with dye and my Mum has a fair bit of experience in this field, my Mum very kindly agreed to dying it for me but, judging by tutorials, the kit is very simple to use by yourself. The first step is to mix up your dye. You start by pouring the lightening powder into the developing liquid then place the flat cap (which was not included in my box so we just made do with the original lid) and shake. Then squeeze in all the lightening creme into the developing solution, replace cap (tutorials I've seen had a flat cap so I'm a little unsure why mine didn't include one but oh well) and shake to mix. Then replace flat cap with applicator (original) lid and you are ready to go.

The dye works really quickly, this is just after about 10 miutes
(just after the whole hair had been completely covered!)

Next is application. It's pretty easy, all you have to do is squeeze the solution onto the brush applicator included with the set and just brush it on. If you start from the bottom and brush on small sections at a time, gradual building up the product on the hair, you get a more gradual lightening affect. We pinned up the top half of my hair to do it in two sections which I would definitely recommend to make sure all your hair is evenly dyed. Once your hair is completely covered leave it for a while, the recommend amount of time is twenty-five, and check how much the hair has lightened. If not satisfied, like I was, reapply over that section and leave until you have the desired colour without exceeding forty-five minutes on the hair.

My face is terrible today but you can see how subtle changes of lighting changes the look of the colour.

Then, rinse the product off with warm water and apply the conditioner that came with the pack. Finally, dry your hair to unveil the final results!

Overall, I'm happy with the look. Okay, so there are a few sections that look a little blocky and it does look a tad ginger in some lightings but it looks natural and was exactly what I was going for. Personally, I do change my opinion on my hair every five minutes and I think its just going to take a me awhile to get used to it for me to truly love it but it is exactly what I was hoping for and, right this second, I'm loving it! Although my Mum did struggle with the applicator bottle, it was relatively quick and easy to achieve the look and I'm not surprised that the product has been given such great reviews.

Sorry it's a tad on the blurry side but I really liked the photo and just had to include it.

Are you a fan of the ombré trend. Let me know in the comments.

Tasmin x

Updated 25 Things to do This Summer

Good morning everyone! Just a little note for you here, when you don't think things through properly they rarely run smoothly and problems often occur. This is one of those situations.

I have a full fortnight worth of dance rehearsals which is going to eat up a large chunk of my day and leave little time for me to complete my summer to do list. Not that I'm complaining, I can't wait for dance, it's going to be exciting. But it does mean that if I don't change a few items on this list, it is just never going to get completed and my school coursework cannot be abandoned anymore. So that is what I'm doing here.

Of course the ones I have already done still count and I will still have to do 25 things, but at least four items on my list have caught my attention as being incomplete-able now that I have assessed what time I have less. Boy, I wish I had organised this far better but I guess I'll just have to learn for next time.

My new updated items are:

#6: Paint a canvas: As an art student, I paint canvas' quite a lot but I want to do another without the pressure of it having to be a final piece for an art project.
#7: Go to a barbecue*: I'm saying go to one as I don't own a barbecue and I can't cook so can't really hold one. Also, my friend might have one for her birthday and another friend has suggested having a beach barbecue so attending one sounds fairly likely. 
#18: Take part in a teen blogger twitter chat: I miss this literally every week but I will try my hardest to remember one Saturday and chat for the whole hour. Can't promise I'l be any good as I tend to suck at this type of thing but I'll do my best.
#23: Eat fish and chips on the beach: I know, how very British! I haven't done this yet this summer, surprisingly. I did this a lot last year so I want to do it again. However, minus the chips. Not the biggest fan of chips!
And, of course, the other items on the list that I haven't quite finished yet from my original list that you can find here.

I hope you don't mind that I've done this as I really wanted to complete my list but realised that it just wasn't possible anymore but didn't want to just quit as that isn't my style. I hope you will enjoy the adjustments just as much. I better get cracking on them! Haha!

Tamin x

P.s. Sorry for the early morning post. I can almost guarantee that this is the last time I will schedule a post for 7:30 in the morning!

*Sorry for being completely useless but number 7 is changing again as I have just discovered an opportunity too good to miss. #7: Go to a car boot sale. 

Blogger Love Tag

My lovely friend Lucille has tagged me in the Blogger Love Tag and, since I haven't done a specific tag since January (I can't believe it's been that long!), I simple couldn't refuse. I mean, everyone knows I'm a sucker for a good tag. Here we go!

What was the first blog you ever came across?

Well, this is a hard one to start with because I genuinely don't know. I know when I started to get back into blog reading I started to read a lot of Zoella's blog but when I was younger I read a lot of celebrity blogs which was basically the only way to stalk celebs before Twitter became a thing.

Favourite beauty blog reads:

Beleza By Ems
A Bit Graceful
Fleur De Force
There are more but these are my favourite three.

Best blogging friend

I've not met anyone through blogging yet. I live in a bit of an awkward place in the world where no-one else seems to blog and it's expensive to catch a flight or boat to go to meet-ups. However, I do have a real life friend who blogs! My friend Lucille from PinkLipstickLeopard and I met at high school but she moved away a few years ago. Miss you Lucille!

Name a blog that enables your purchases

With me, there isn't a specific blog that I go to if I'm in need of a new eye-liner, for example, and want to find some reviews. I kind of scroll through recent posts of the blogs I follow and if there is a relevant review, that's the first place I go.

Five blogs that everyone should be reading! 

Lucille- Pink Leopard Lipstick ( A good friend of mine and an amazing blogger with a flawless fashion sense. Everyone go check out her blog right now!)

Kavita- She Wears Fashion (Most amazing sense of fashion plus fascinating travel posts)

Chloe- Reality Leaves Lots To Imagination (Another really well written blog with realy interesting content. I coud read this blof all day long!)

Cheyenne- Cheyenne Davide Blog (A fellow cat lover and great outfit posts. I find I can really relate to her posts too)

Betty- Le Blog de Betty (Amazing photography and, yet again, great fashion sense)

Your favourite way to read blogs

Snuggled in my bed on my iPad. Maybe some music in the background. Just a generally relaxed atmosphere.

Bloggers that inspire you

There are so many! I honestly find most blogger inspire me as they inspire me to blog and great content as they do. If you're reading this, you inspire me to do better so thank you. Zoella is probably the blogger I find most inspirational, through dealing with panic attacks and achieving amazing things through her blog and not letting her anxiety get in the way. I know I let my nerves get the better of me far too often but I've been trying my best to push myself out of my comfort zone as I know it will be rewarding because I have seen Zoe do it so I know I can do it too.

Okay, that got a little deeper than expected. Moving on...

Favourite blog design/look

For blog designs, I like to keep it simple. Not too many colours or lots of crazy patterns. Ones like Le Blog de Betty and Pink Leopard Lipstick where there is a plain background  so the blog posts are the main focus on the page and a cute and clear header design are the most effective in my opinion. I'm currently redesigning my blog by myself so it's probably not going to be great as I have no idea what I'm doing but I guess we will see.

What is you favourite thing about blogging?

I love being able to share my thoughts and opinions with people who want to listen. Being quite shy myself, I often don't have the confidence to just talk to people about anything and when I do I tend to get ignored. Blogging allows me to reach out to people who want to listen to me ramble on about something they are interested in too.

Name a blogger that you would most like to see write a book in the future!

I could go with an easy option here Zoella but that might be cheating slightly as she releases her first book in November. However, I'm really excited to read it! Another blogger would be Kavita from SheWearsFashion as I think it would be amazing to here more about her recent travels. I really like her writing style too so it would definitely be a good read.

I Tag:

Chloe- Reality Leaves Lots To Imagination
Sinead- Dreaming Again
Grace- A Bit Graceful
Amber- Forever Amber
Mel- It's Me Mel

Thank you again Lucille for the tag. I hope you are all having a wonderful summer and I will chat with you all very soon.

Tasmin x

#10: Swim in the Sea

This was the one I think I was most terrified to complete. I was never all that good at swimming at school and the ocean hasn't always been my best friend. Fear just consumed me every time I reached the waters edge and I could never bring myself to go further than a shallow paddle. However, today I was determined to change this and take a dip.

Thank you Chloe and Rosie for taking these photos for me today. I love them!

Although, I nearly didn't make it this morning! Firstly, I overslept which almost always means something bad is going to happen. And, despite the fact I got into town 10 minutes early, I managed to miss my bus. For the life of me, I just couldn't find that bus stop. So I had to wonder around town for an hour until the next bus. Then, the stop button on the bus wasn't working and I missed my stop, causing me to have to walk a lot further to get to the beach. It was just a complete fail of a morning. But I made it and I was ready to take the plunge. 

Our impression of the Lock Ness Monster.

We think this makes Charlotte look like Elsa from Frozen with her magical powers!

Only Charlotte was brave enough to drag me in and it was sooooo cold. We spent ages wading through the seaweed infested waters of Port Grat but the water just didn't seem to get deeper and in the end we gave up and stuck to just below hip height. Another 10 minutes of sceaming because it was so cold, causing passers by to chuckle at us, and we were in. Well, I kind of tripped on a rock and fell in but I was in nonetheless. 

Totally in-sync!

Rosie forgot her bathers but we weren't letting her get away with it!

We splashed around and pretended to be mermaids as well as inventing the water bunny (bouncing around like rabbits but in the water!) and just generally laughing at everything. It was so much fun and technically exercise which means it's good for you! I'm being properly active for the first time this summer, woo! Plus I'm completely over my fear of swimming in the sea (I'm a little bit better at swimming than I thought) so more trips to the seaside are being planned. Yay! 

Cart-wheels after our swim.

I love days that change from a complete disaster to the best of days.

The obligatory beach selfie.

Tasmin x

Sketchy Sundays: Disney Obsession

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have realised I have a problem. I just can't stop drawing Disney characters. Any evening that I'm feeling a tad bored, out comes the sketch book and then out of nowhere I've got Snow White or the Little Mermaid on my iPad and I'm sketching away. I have a sketchbook full of some of the most famous characters and I've even starting doing punk edits. I mean, who needs a social life when there's Disney?

The cartoon style is so simple and perfect which is why I love recreating it. Having your favourite childhood characters come to life on a page in front of you is exciting and rewarding. They take little time to create and I think they are great for people starting out with drawing. Being so recognisable means that, even if the drawing isn't 100% accurate, people will know what your drawing is and that really builds confidence.

Today was no exception for my obsession as I drew Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. This is one of the newer Disney films so I'm a little unsure of how many of you will be familiar with it but I almost certain you would of heard of it. I just love her leaf crown; probably one of the best hair accessories of all the princesses. Plus any princess rocking some red lipstick is a favourite of mine. Did I ever mention I love red lipstick?

As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Tasmin x