23rd BIRTHDAY | BRUNCH, WINTER WONDERLAND…and tears.

05.12.15 – the day before my birthday.

I spent the day with uni, hometown and work friends. I started the day with a couple of my girlfriends having brunch at Balthazar in Covent Garden.

The food was delicious, the breakfast cocktails had just enough punch for 11am and the building in general was beautiful! 

Then we did a bit of shopping in the Covent Garden Piazza, where Jess and Julie decided to chase me around with extended forks.  Christmas time in Covent Garden is so magical and cute.     This was where I got sidetracked by the new Charlotte Tilbury store that just opened up!!   Luckily (for my bank balance) I only left the store with one purchase. I am so into the 90’s brown lipstick look so I bought the Birkin Brown Matte lipstick. I’m already addicted to this colour.

At about 2ish, we headed to Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland for my first ever visit. It’s crazy how I’ve lived so close to London and had never been before!  I have to admit, the cost to go on the rides is extortionate! £6-£7 per ride and the ride lasted less than a minute! I only ended up going on one ride; the Haunted Mansion. Not exactly the most Christmassy of attractions but it was fun…for the 90 seconds that it lasted. 

I discovered a new, favourite drink this year and that is Hot Toffee Cider. Sounds sickly and gross, but it is actually delicious!  We met some of my uni friends who were down for the day and it was so great to catch up with everyone since graduation/starting new jobs.The last stop of the day was to head back to Covent Garden to meet work friends on their Christmas Jumper Pub Crawl. They had been drinking since 2pm. I met them at 7pm after we had the best dinner at Dub Jam.  They serve the tastiest Jamaican food and cocktails so I would definitely recommend going. 

Then, all of a sudden, my close friend from uni walked through the door & totally took me by surprise. My friend Jess knew he was coming, but with the alcohol and general excitement of the day, I was literally in shock. He came with a few friends who I also knew and it really was the best surprise.

After dinner, we met my work friends at AdventureBar (right next door to Dub Jam) for a couple drinks and after that, we headed to Porterhouse…for another couple of drinks. Maybe more than that actually…where Ryan decided to pay £22 for a lightsaber, because…why not?  It was such a lovely day and I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t wake up hungover the morning after. Perhaps that was because I was eating here and there throughout the day. 

06.12.15 – my actual birthday. 

I headed back to my hometown Sunday morning to meet my aunt Suki, uncle Dav and their boys, Harry and Aran, for lunch at one of my favourite places; Cultivo Lounge. 

Unfortunately, it went a little downhill after this. My actual birthday was spent crying. I’m going through issues with parents, more specifically, my father, at the moment so my actual birthday was the day my aunt and uncle and I spoke about it. My mum joined us a couple hours into lunch, so she could hear everything I had to say as well. 

I’m not ready to talk about it at the moment, but I think I will write an entire post about everything that I’ve been going through this weekend, as Saturday will be the day where it will either get resolved or my future will be determined. Until then, I don’t really want to talk about it until I know exactly what I want to say. 

I’m a year older, yet I don’t feel any different. Although I am terrified about approaching that scary “mid-20’s” stage of my life! 

| Hannah 

X ~ O

BOURNEMOUTH UNI GRADUATION | 06.11.2015

I’m going to cut straight to the chase and say…..graduation ceremonies? Really not that fun! My parents and I drove down to Bournemouth on the Thursday afternoon, where we had a couple nights booked at Premier Inn. This way, I wouldn’t have to leave my hometown at ridiculous-o-clock in order to get to Bournemouth for 8:30am. 

| 6AM START |

Woke up (not so) bright and early, ready to start getting ready. However, slight glitch to the morning when I opened my hotel room curtains to find zero light and extremely stormy weather. That’s what you get when you have a graduation in NOVEMBER!!

I had to wait until 6:30am before I was able to start applying my make up, for lack of natural light. 

| MAKE UP | 

I confess: I spent a ridiculous amount at Charlotte Tilbury for my make up look, as well as buying a few items from Nars a couple weeks previously. 

Charlotte Tilbury (total = £270)

– Filmstar Bronze and Glow (light to medium)

– Lip Cheat lip liner (Pillow Talk) 

– K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick (Penelope Pink)

– Lip Lustre lip gloss (Seduction) 

– Luxury Palette eyeshadows (Dolce Vita)

– Charlotte’s Magic Cream 

– Wonderglow

– Air Brush Flawless Finish powder (2: medium)

– The Retoucher conceal and treat stick (4: medium) 

Nars (total = £90)

– Sheer Glow foundation (Bahama)

– Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (in Walkyrie, Damned and Bahama)  

I went for the The Dolce Vita look and I loved the way it came out, considering it was my first time trying it out. 

 
| OUTFIT | 

My dress was from Zara and it’s a faux leather and lace, black dress which came up just above my knee. £40.

My shoes were from Asos and I actually bought them in August to wear to a wedding and hadn’t worn them since. £25.

The jewellery I kept simple. The same rings I wear every day; a sterling silver, elephant one I bought from Australia, a sterling silver turquoise gem ring (again, bought in Australia) and a diamond ring that was given to me by my aunt/mum a few years ago. The earrings and necklace design were the same as my ring.  

 I wanted to wear something that matched my personality and style and I’ve never been into the overly-girly type of dresses, especially ones I had seen girls wear at previous graduations. This leather piece suited me perfectly! 

| THE CEREMONY | 

First things first. That gown is heavy! Also, the hat didn’t fit so I was conscious that every time I moved my head, it might fall off.

   * lovely backdrop of the stormy weather mentioned previously *

As I studied Advertising with Marketing Communications, we were the first undergraduate degree up, after the masters and post-grads. We were told to walk up onto the stage, nod or bow to the dean who sat half way on the stage and then walk to the end to shake hands with the vice chancellor and collect my degree. 

Sounds simple, right? I was shaking with nerves. The thought of going up onto that stage was petrifying me. My knees were actually shaking queuing up to walk the stage. I just got anxiety over the whole thing so I was relieved when it was all over and I returned back to my seat.

  * the “American-we-did-it” graduation cap tassel – right to left movement *

I stayed sitting and clapping for a further 3 hours. My butt was numb, I couldn’t feel my hands anymore and I was getting sleepy because of my early start. So the whole ceremony as a whole really wasn’t that interesting.

 * clearly boredom called for selfies/snapchats *

The best part was the after-party/drinks with friends! We drank cocktails, ate tapas, talked a lot and went back to my hotel room with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream sundaes from the Odeon down the road. 

Want to wish a huge congratulations to all the other graduates who had their ceremony this month/in the summer! We did it!! 

| Hannah

X ~ O

SUFFRAGETTE | REVIEW

I prepared beforehand and bought tissues with me, as even watching the trailer a few months back got me choked up.

For every women or girl who doesn’t see ‘the point’ of voting, for every women who doesnt want to work, for every female who doesn’t consider herself a ‘feminist‘ or ‘equalist‘, please watch this film! Hopefully, it’ll help you to understand how difficult it was to get you even the most basic of rights.   I went into this film expecting the story to be centred around Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep), the leader and soul of the Suffragette movement. Instead, the movie focuses on Maud Watts and the overall women’s movement from 1913-1914. This included showing how women were treated like play toys, how controlled they were by their husbands, how they earnt much less than men, were restricted from having their own opinions and didn’t have any parental rights (to name a few). 

Carey Mulligan gave a stellar performance as Maud Watts, who was quite a subdued woman at the start of the film. Maud becomes inspired by the strong women she meets on her (reluctant) journey and eventually becomes a leader in her own right. Mulligan steals the scene many times as she emotionally portrays a women who loses everything, to keep fighting for equality. Her persistence is inspiring.    Anne-Marie Duff plays Violet Miller who urges and pushes Mulligan’s character to join the rebellious women’s union. Her character comes across desperate at times, as she passionately continues to keep fighting for the cause. Violet has a jittery, almost urgent quality about her, which Duff portrays very well. It’s almost a distraction to watch, but in a totally good way!

I thought I’d never see the day where I would be writing a film review on women who fought for the most basic of human rights. I’m only saying this because it has taken 100 years for this story to even be told and as for the lack of education we received in school on this subject…..pitiful. All I learnt throughout my schooling life was the woes of power-hungry men. Considering half of the population are women/girls, does it seem fair we only learn about one sex? 

Unfortunately, trying to get people who are not interested, to even attempt to watch a film of this topic, is defeating. People just don’t care enough. If they don’t care, how do we expect their kids to care? 

I would love for women’s rights to be taught in schools and maybe there will be a change in the curriculum in the near future. When I was young, I learnt a fair bit by myself, simply by using the Internet and reading books, but I was always disappointed with my school for not forcing us to learn about something that is so important and crucial. But don’t worry, we learnt about Word War 2 and Nazi’s for the better part of 7 years!

Until a change occurs in the educational system, this film is a good place to start for a beginners lesson on the women’s movement. Hopefully, it makes you want to read more on the topic!

It’s so sad that womens right to vote came to us in the most tragic way. It seems that the only way to be considered serious, is if or when something drastic/terrible happens. We, as humans, repeat this mistake over and over again. We never learn our lesson.   

There’s such a buzz at the moment around “feminism” and “gender equality” and it’s great that people are finally speaking openly about the subject. This film has been released at the perfect time and I will be talking about Suffragette for a long time to come. 

As Pankhurst once said…   

| Hannah

X ~ O

ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD | NOMINATIONS

  
I must give a huge thanks to Tasha for nominating me for the “One Lovely Blog Award”! I look forward to your posts and even make sure I’m up to date with your Insta, which has some lovely and inspiring photos. Soo…thank you Tasha!

THE RULES;

– Thank the nominator and link them

– List the rules and display the award

– Add 7 facts about yourself

– Nominate 7 other bloggers and let them know via a comment* 

* I’ve nominated 5

7 FACTS ABOUT MOI:

1.) My favourite films (because I adore films and can’t just pick one) are Sleepers, Blood Diamon, the Fast & Furious films, Star Wars, Bad Boys + The Count of Monte Cristo. 

2.) I like to bake, but I never like anything I DO bake. It’s not because it doesn’t come out nicely, or even taste good, I just never seem to enjoy anything that I physically bake myself. I only bake because I enjoy the overall process of it and I love seeing the end result.  

3.) When I really like something, I’m really passionate about it. So when I say “I like films”, I not only watch a film a day, but I also research the films’ trivia, cast, possible sequels, interviews etc. The same goes for gender equality, equal rights, LGBT rights, racism, hunting animals. I make sure I know all the information + try to campaign for it. 

4.) I strictly only use cruelty free make up brands and brands that aren’t sold in mainland China. The same is said for body wash, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, you name it. It does get a little annoying having to stand at a department store/Boots store and research the company to make sure the product I’m about to buy IS cruelty free, but I think it’s all worth it in the end 🙂 

5.) My favourite place in the world is New York. It has everything I could ever want. I can’t wait to move there (hopefully soon!). 

6.) One time at uni, I got so drunk on a night out and as we left the club, I saw a bearded homeless man. I sat down next to him, chatted + wouldn’t stop calling him dumbledore. I’m no longer allowed to approach old men with beards. 

7.) One foot is slightly bigger than the other. I’d say my left foot is a size 5 and my right is a size 4.5. Or maybe it’s the other way around, I never remember. It does make for an annoying shoe shopping trip though.  

MY NOMINATIONS;

followyourbliss 

Face, Camera, Action 

Blonde On A Beach 

Gemma Plumb

thefashionnoob 

| Hannah 

X ~ O

AUSTRALIA DAYS 20 and 21 | SYDNEY (4)

The final couple days…super bummed about returning to England, where I’ll no doubt be walking into the arms of a welcoming cold. 

We did one more trip in Sydney where we went to the Blue Mountains and Scenic World. FYI, the mountains are totally not blue! 

An 8 hour layover awaits us in Bangkok following a 9 hour flight from Sydney. Then 11 hours to London Heathrow. This is the part I hate the most! 

We fly into Heathrow at about 7am on Friday 25th, so the next time I’ll be posting will be in dreary, cold, miserable England. I miss the Aussie accent already…

| Hannah

X O

AUSTRALIA DAYS 17, 18 and 19 | HOME AND AWAY SET! SYDNEY (3)

After the week full of activities we’ve had, it was nice to have a chill day. The rain in Sydney didn’t help things though, so it made for a rather uninteresting vlog…

Gotta recharge those batteries somehow! 

Then day 19 came around: the weather picked up, we caught up on sleep & I decided, today is the day I get to see the Summer Bay set (otherwise known as Palm Beach). 

I walked right past Kyle (Nic Westaway). Surreal feeling, I gotta say. Also walked past Maddie (Kassandra Clementi) and watched Evie (Philippa Northeast) and V.J (Matthew Little) shoot a scene on the beach. 

 
We went to all the locations; Alf’s Bait Shop, The Surf Club, the famous walkway to the beach and got pictures of the aerial shots/houses they show. Palm Beach is gorgeous! Beautiful sand, clean location and the weather just felt warmer there.

 
It was a good day. 🙂 

| Hannah

X~O 

EVEREST | REVIEW

3rd film in Cairns….I think this will be the last film we watch in Australia! 

If you’re not into your disaster/climate-kinda movies (think, Day After Tomorrow, Sunshine) then this may not be for you. Although disaster/climate/nature films tend to be visually extraordinary, they end up with very similar storylines. If you already know about the 1996 climbing expedition to Everest, then you’ll know the storyline of this film. If you’re completely unaware, you’ll probably enjoy it more. 

  
Visually, it’s definitely worth paying for in the cinema. The effects were spectacular and the acting is brilliant. An A-list cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin and more). We paid $21 to see Everest in VMAX and 3D and it was worth the money to see the effects alone.

 
Also, it’s based on a completely true story. So if you need to connect with the characters in order to feel emotion for the film, that fact should get you going.  

The 1996 Team

 
3/5. 

AUSTRALIA DAY 16 – CUDDLING KOALAS and KANGAROOS | CAIRNS (3)

Day 16 was just perfect. I wanted to take home everything I petted! 

Cairns Tropical Zoo is a wonderful place to see if you’re in Cairns. It’s very friendly and you’ll get many animals just wondering around freely. 

The staff are really knowledgable on the animals and the shows were interesting if you’re into learning more about them.  

Buster the Koala

 

Definitely worth the trip!

| Hannah

X~O

SICARIO | REVIEW

Sicario was the 2nd film we’d seen in Cairns, Australia. It doesn’t seem to have as wide of a cinema distribution in Oz, so show times were limited. 

  
The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro and it’s your typical revenge movie, centered around a major drug cartel in Mexico. Both Blunt’s and del Toro’s characters are seeking revenge in one way or another. However, it seems Blunt’s character is more of a sideline piece. It seemed like the film only used Blunt’s character to fill the “female actress” void so that it could appeal to both the male and female audience. Her character was a little useless, with no true meaning or reasoning to why she was on board the mission. 

  
The cinematography is brilliant and it reminded me of films such as Green Zone and The Jason Bourne Series, especially this one scene where the team are under night vision. Amazing scene which was super tense and you actually felt the desperation coming from Blunt’s character. 

There are plenty of great movies coming out in the next couple months which I’m super excited about (The Internship, Everest, Black Mass, Legend, Crimson Peak, The Martian etc) so Sicario seems like it’ll be forgotten pretty quickly amongst those high budget, high-calibre films! I would say, wait for this one to come out on TV/DVD. 

3/5. 

AUSTRALIA DAYS 14 and 15 – SKY DIVING! and GREAT BARRIER REEF | CAIRNS (2)

| NOT-SO-GREAT BARRIER REEF | 

To sum day 14 up: spent 30 minutes on a boat before I started to feel dizzy. Then spent the next 6 hours throwing up with my head spinning. Safe to say I will never be going on a boat again. 

I said this before but everyone was annoyingly saying “you need to do it, you have to see the reef” bla bla bla. So I booked the stupid thing thinking “I bet I’ll get sea sick”. Boy was I correct. 

| SKY DIVING! | 

Luckily for me, day 15 was bloody amazing! I had so much adrenaline I just couldn’t wait to jump out that plane! 

My jumping buddy was lovely and funny and the whole experience was literally out of this world! 

 | TIPS FOR ASTHMA SUFFERERS | 

I haven’t had an asthma attack in a few years now, but when I do certain things like go running, cycling or even some days I’m at the gym, I struggle to catch my breathe as quickly as non-asthma sufferers do. 

My jumping buddy, Frank, said I just needed to concentrate on my breathing and always be breathing in and out through my mouth, as my nose was covered with the eye mask. I struggled at the beginning to breath, but after the first 10 seconds it became a little easier. 

So if you do have asthma or other medical issues that aren’t as life threatening/prohibiting, don’t let it deter you. If you remain calm and just concentrate, you’ll be fine. It definitely helps and eases you when you have such a lovely person behind you! 

| Hannah

X~O