hello puppy

 (me on the left OBVS, my gorgeous grandma on the right)

 Isn't he the most beautiful doggie in the entire world? The correct answer to that is YES.
I did a introductory video which i posted to YouTube to show you all the new addition to our family. But with the whole excitement of it all, i forgot a lot of the points i wanted to include. So i thought I'd do a meaty blog post about it all instead, in case any of you were wondering about the more minor details.
Firstly my mother has horrendous asthma, and has pretty major allergies to animal hair. She grew up with dogs, and my doggies are something my Grandma has always had, but obviously, dogs and puppies don't do her the world of good medical wise. 

About 18 months ago, my mum started noticing a man in our village walking a white little fluff ball, she complimented the man on his dog and they just got talking, she explained her allergies and he informed her that this breed was a Bishon Frise, one of the only dogs that do not shed hair, all year round. Mum was on a mission to find one to call her own.

 We searched high and low for a Bishon Frise puppie, we had quite tight specifications though. Bishon's are notorious for being pricey, however as with most breeds of dog, there are many dodgy breeders out there, which are sometimes hard to spot. Kennel Club was a website we were on constantly, but nothing came up within the Midlands of the UK, or non of the breeders seemed genuine or the right one for us. August this year we finally called it a year, and said we would try again next year.
Yesterday my Grandmas partner called in advanced saying he wanted to bring a chair round for Christmas day (every ones coming to us this Christmas, but we only have 4 chairs, because its just us 3 living here). So here he was half 2 maybe it was, I hadn't even got dressed yet, i was happily still in bed watching cheaper by the dozen 2. He shouted up the stairs saying he wanted me to help him carry something, i went downstairs, annoyed as i was removed from my bed, 'what?' and before he even replied, my little 2 month old puppie was sat there in my mums arms. It was the best surprise ever ever ever ever ever ever. 

My Grandma had found this breeder in Leicester, hes a farmer but breeds Bishon Frises once a year, the bitch had 5 puppies but ours was the last one left, my grandma said she would have bought another for herself if there had of been one. Me and mum had said 18 months ago we wanted a little boy puppie, to be called Bruno. And that's what we've got. Grandma filled the pedigree forms and naming certificates, and bought him straight round.

My sister is physically obsessed with him, shes also longed for a doggie for so long, and we're so happy we finally have one.

When Grandma brought him home, along with her she brought a massive bag of dog food provided by the breeder, and also a cage. I hate the cage, but he has to have it. He's so small he couldn't possibly left to sleep where he pleases downstairs. And we are trying our hardest not to let him sleep upstairs, but last night we caved. 10 we came up and watched TV in bed, and left Bruno in his cage for the night. At first he just whimpered, but then it turned to high pitched barking. We let this go on from 10 until 3am, then we caved and let him in mums room, he still cried in there, he hates his cage, and ended up getting his own way and slept in mums bed.

We've looked into DAP which basically releases synthetically created appeasing pheromones, identical to the ones the mother will release. In english, this means his mother releases these calming 'vibes' that he gains comfort form. So i suppose it kind off explains his crying, hes basically being deprived of a drug his mother was supplying, and now he doesn't have mother, or his pheromones.

He hasn't had his injections either, so he cannot play outside until he's had them, which we've quickly got him in for his first lot tomorrow..
He takes so much comfort in things that look like him or feel like him. Like fluffy white slippers, cushions and blankets. He likes checking we're still there every now and again, and he hates being alone.

At the minute hes on four little meals a day, which once he is 6 months is supposed to be cut down to one meal a day, but that seems a little, harsh. so maybe he'll have one meal, and lots of treats instead:)

Heres a video with my beautiful man featured.

Gel nails

I've always been a fan of the acrylic nails, and i cant say much has changed since having gel nails. Me and my mother decided to have gel nails applied, well because we just did. My grandma always has Shellac, which is just another brand of gel apparently, and she raves her little heart out about them, so we decided to give gel nails a whirl.

We got the beautician to come out to the house and do them, just because we were both having them done and we were aware it was going to take some time. But we weren't aware how long it was actually going to take.. She arrived at 3 and didn't leave until 6. Where we usually get our nails done don't do a home service so we'd never had this girl before. So it was the whole small talk thing, "going away?" "are they for a special occasion or just a treat?" and along with that came "I've got 7 years experience" when she later went on to tell us she was only 20.. started doing professional nails at 13 did you....

She had a small selection of colours, which non took my fancy, so i had a french.. if you couldn't already tell from the picture aha. It was a pretty long process, every time she put a layer on, my nails had to go under the UV light, and my thumbs separate, but you're never going to get away from that with gel nails. The one immediate bonus is that they are completely dry once completed, non of that waiting around in case they smudge... but then you don't get that with acrylic either..

My nails take a lot of hammer, i paint them every other day, sometimes every day depending on if they've chipped or not. So as a result of this my actual nail is stained, but with acrylic you can't see the actual nail whatsoever, where as with gel you could still see my stained nail through the gel, which i wasn't too happy about.

The woman explained they would last a minimum of 15 days, which we believed, as you do.. 7 years of experience and that.... She also explained that there was no other way of removing them other than her coming back to do it. My mum believed her but i just looked at her like, you bullshit. I'd already researched it, what with blogging and everything, acetone does the trick.. haha.

The day AFTER we had them done, my mums slightly chipped, she wasn't too impressed but got over it, it wasn't a large chip. After having them done 2 days, one of mine started peeling off, and within 4 days of having them on 4 had completely peeled off, and mum had peeled all of hers off. So much for 15 days eh? Turns out we didn't need or, or the acetone.

Maybe we just had a shit nail technician, but i can't say I'd ever have gel nails again, MUA nail varnish lasts longer than they did.

the enjoyment of shopping?

As i was on the train returning home from London this weekend, i really got thinking about the 'enjoyment of shopping'. Is it even there anymore? Or is the happiness that shopping can bring a thing of the past? What with growing figures in the online shopping industry, is shopping no longer something we look forward to, but something we would do anything to avoid?

Arriving on Oxford Street Sunday morning, shops didn't even open until as late as 12:30 due to outdated Sunday trading laws. The likes of Selfridges, House of Fraser and Primark already had crowds of around 50 people waiting outside the doors ready to stampede in, to which we joined the Primark crowd, which opened its doors as 11:30, for half an hours browsing time.

I have been to London a fair few times, and first hand experienced Primark, Oxford Street, where-as my mum hasn't. A Saturday afternoon in Primark Oxford Street is like a war zone, not something to be taken lightly. However i stupidly assumed that going to Primark on a Sunday, just as doors opened would be less of an experience.

This makes my first point, the fact that planning had to be taken into consideration just to go into a clothing store. Whatever happened to 'oh i fancy nipping into Primark today' unless you are mentally prepared for the heat, stress and amount of people in London's Primark, you cannot just fancy nipping in.

Nearing 11:30 the crowd outside Primark grew larger, and eventually the fully kitted out security guard opened the doors. The immediate sense of rushing was comparable to a herd of animals, and the grabbing of baskets was so aggressive i had to look twice to check they were actually just baskets. All while this was happening, the security guards where shouting at the top of their voices "ensure mobile phones and valuables are in safe zipped pockets""keep bags closed at all times" "do not leave bags on the floor at any point". I just thought to myself, this isn't an enjoyable shopping experience, this is like a fucking army exercise.

In a shop in my local Westfields, if i saw something i liked, I'd probably compare a few sizes, look properly at the shape, look at the price, and then take it to try on. Oh no Primark Oxford Street is a whole different ball game. If you see something you like, it is a race to find any size that could possibly fit, and then it is thrown straight into the basket and you then quickly move on to find anything else you even remotely like the look of.

It took us 30 minutes of dashing around to fill our basket, and get into the already formed queue at the check out, that weren't even open to use yet. 10 to 12 the cashiers were ready at their desk, and there was a man in Primark uniform at the front of the queue who was just giving out orders. 5 to 12 and shoppers had been sent to cashiers and emptied their basket on the desk. The second it turned 12 the man at the front of the queue shouted "SERVE" and all the cashiers jumped and started scanning as if their life depended on it. All the while me and my mum were just looking at each other as if to say, what the fuck is going on.

We spent around £80 in 30 minutes, and after that ordeal, i could tell my mum couldn't wait to leave. We left the store feeling stressed, sweaty, and quite frankly relieved to be out. Going shopping is supposed to leave you feeling uplifted, and a sense of happiness that you brought something for yourself or others, those feelings where the last things we thought of.

Primark is notorious for being comparable to a war zone, so i assumed these brutal security guards were only in place on those conditions. But as we went into selfridges there were security guards on the doors there too, and i thought that was pretty reasonable, a hardcore thief could steal millions of pounds worth of items from a place like selfridges, but a thief in Primark? what would they actually achieve? A few tops that'll rip in a few weeks, some jewelry that will snap to pieces tomorrow? But then as we went in more and more shops along the strip, all of them had security guards on the door. From newlook to accessorize to Marks and Spenser's, they all had one. A security guard on the door of a high street shop is hardly inviting is it, and considering the large percentage of foreigners on Oxford street each day, its hardly an impressive representation of the country either.

Shopping used to be an exciting experience, something to look forward to, a treat. I just about do still enjoy shopping, but if i could only online shop or shop in stores for the rest of my life, i would happily choose online, every time.

want it. need it. daddy?

There is always a million and 37 new things you need, when you're skint. And at the moment, that's me. I've usually got hauls flying all over the place with the latest bargains I've bought, but just recently, my spendings been cut, and I'm quite frankly skint.

With that aside, i always make little wish lists, of all the things i want at the particular moment, I've got thousands of word documents titled 'wish list' but this time, i thought I'd share it with you all instead. You'll notice I've really been getting into the Aztec theme just lately, i never thought i would because its not 'girley' enough, but in actual fact- I'm quite liking it.

Starting with no1, as you would... what better combination could i find other than burgundy Aztec leggings?! i don't think i possibly could. These beauty's are from Newlook and are reasonably priced at £12.99.

I haven't really numbered the picture orderly, but whatevzzz, no2 is possibly the most adorable necklace I've ever seen. I say that about the majority of necklaces, but what can i say? I'm a necklace junky. I don't actually like tea, just like the look of teapots, i also love clock jewelry, so together, i was sucked in. Its from Ark Clothing, which whenever i mention everyone questions "OMG whats ark?!" "I've never heard of ark" well, its the most amazing shop in the entire world, and i own a large percentage of their clothing and jewelery. After that tangent, the necklace a little pricey for what it is, at £11.99, but i like it.

No3 is something I've had my eye on for what seems like an eternity. I love it. Its from Topshop, and as you can imagine, is a complete rip of for a scarf. Its actually £16, Topshop and £16 never sounds too bad, but that scarf could quite easily be seen in primark, and if the price tag said £16 in there, there would be a mass outbreak of protesting shoppers.

Oh no4, I've been looking for some killer heels for a long time. I went into Newlook the other day actually and tried some on that were on offer for £15, i only had 20 quid with me, and i felt like i was just getting them because they were cheap, not because i had fallen in love with them. These are also from Newlook and i can safely say, i have fallen in love with these. They are £24.99, which i think is pretty amazing. If I'm getting heels, i always get ones that i know there is no possibility of falling out of, as I'm yet to fully master the art of walking in killer heels. I love the cut out detail, i think it would look so pretty if you had a different coloured pair of tights on under. If i remember correctly i heard someone talking about Newlook wining some sort of award for being the best shoe retailer on the high street, which i personally think is well deserved, their clothes may slack now and again, but the shoes make up for it.

Last, but no means least, no5. I adore the whole brightly coloured Aztec prints, however, the majority of people are sporting this through legging form. And for someone of a 'fuller figure' in other words, fat, that's not going to happen. I couldn't think of anything worse than wearing brightly coloured Aztec leggings, i can't imagine Gok would approve. So i thought the skirt form was a much better option, i actually have this skirt already in burgundy, and both are priced at £22.99, which i think is pretty good. This is also from Ark Clothing which will be linked somewhere or other, for all you people who don't seem have the common sense to google "ark clothing" ;)

So if anyone has a spare £80 that they'd like to lend me, that would be fantastic.

cupcake anyone?

I don't know if many people know this about me, but i adore baking. There is nothing i love more than baking on a Sunday. Cakes, cookies, scones, pies, if its a dessert, i make it :)

Seen as though I'm getting really into Halloween this year- partially due to the party we're having tomorrow, i just had to make Halloween themed cupcakes, because I'm a geek like that.
Firstly i made the basic cupcakes using 4oz of butter/margarine, 4oz sugar, 4oz self raising flour and 2 medium sized free range eggs. I just spelt flour like flower.... I'm so ditsy. These were then put into 12 Halloween cake cases and into the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. But we all know how to make basic cakes don't we?

Once cooled i began to make my icing! I decided butter icing was the one, and as the name suggested, all you have to mix is butter/margarine and icing sugar. I don't use any specific measurements for this, because it just ends up different every time. Once mixed together, i then added food colouring- I didn't use anything fancy, just ASDA's own brand. I then went in with a plastic icer, i do not get on with the bag icers, i wish i did, but i don't. This specific plastic one was from 'Lakeland' and comes with a range of nozzles for different things. I scooped the icing into the tube, and applied around the cakes... 

 

As the finishing touch, also from Lakeland, we bought a Halloween cake stand make from card. It comes flat pack, which you then have to build up to 3D. For saying its only a cake stand, it was pretty confusing, but i mastered it in the end, cos I'm ace. After i decided they needed chocolate sprinkles.. just because everything in life needs abit of chocolate.

just a few bits and pieces.

I don't know if other bloggers and youtubers get this, but sometimes i am just in the mood to film and blog. I haven't been at it for every long, but sometimes, i am just in the mood to do nothing all day other than blogging, making videos, and watching videos. Today is one of those days. And i dunno about anyone else, but when I'm blogging, i love blasting out my itunes on shuffle. The Midnight Beast - Tik Tok just came on, i forgot how bloody much i love this song. "wake up in the morning feeling like winehouse, grab my breezer out the door I'm gonna be really loud. cos i don't care who i piss of yeah I'm a real big sinner, sometimes i eat my dessert before my dinner. talking odd socks on my toes, taking off my clothes, feeling over exposed so i put back on my clothes that i took of...." cannot beat it. Stuff itunes on shuffle, i think I'm gonna rock out to midnight beast for this post. Yes, lets.

Since my little trip to Birmingham, i haven't brought that many clothes. But I've picked up a few random bits and pieces that i thought I'd throw together into a mini haul. I actually showed these in my last blog post, i couldn't justify doing a haul over one pair of boots, so i just whacked them into a random post. But now I'm doing a haul, they just have to have a cheeky mention.

I just adore them so much. They're from newlook and i only payed £19.99 for them, which I'm pretty chuffed about. I'm yet to wear them out because I've been at school all week, apart from today because i had a cheeky day off, and tomorrow I'm off to Alton Towers... And its abit risky wearing new shoes to Alton Towers, you walk miles in that place, blisters.com.

I have never understood how people can have the same school shoes from September through to July. I don't want to sound like a freak but after one half term, my shoes have got holes in the bottom :S i think its just the way i walk /: So 7 weeks into the school year, i needed new shoes LOL.

I'm personally a huge fan of loafers, so why not have them as school shoes? I got these from Diechmann for £14.99 which is pretty darn reasonable don't you think?!

The next thing i bought was a re purchase that i absolutely love.. well obv if i re purchased it...

I get mine from asda, i can't tell you how much exactly it is because my mum buys it whenever I'm low :') but one thing i will say is, if you've got oily skin, don't go anywhere near it.

It is also my bestfriends birthday coming up, and i never have any idea on what to get friends for birthdays. So i just buy what i like, and hope for the best.

This is possibly the cutest necklace i have seen in my entire life, and there is a high chance I'm gonna go back and buy one for myself. This is from Accessorize and it was pretty steep at £16, but I'm almost certain she'll love it. So i suppose its justified.

My phone case was completely on its last legs, half the sides had broken off and i wanted a change if I'm honest! I searched high and low for a really pretty floral print phone case. I just assumed it would be one of those really easy things to find.. apparently not. I finally found the perfect one on amazon for a fiver including packaging, i usually head straight down to eBay for things like that, but i could find one this time... click HERE for a direct link to the seller or something! It was delieverd pretty quickly, and the minute it got here, it put it on my phone. Soon to realise its incredibly hard to take it off. I chipped my nail varnish over it and it still wouldn't come off. So the only way to show you is the cringy 'in the mirror' facebook pose....

And on that note, speak to you all soon xxxxx

its beginning to look a lot like christmas

It seems like only last week was I doing a post about how I was enjoying the last of the summer sun, and now Christmas is in thoughts again. Crazy? well that's just Britain isn't it. I think it is safe to say we have now officially hit autumn, and there will not be any heatwaves for the foreseeable future. 

I don't know if any other 'villages' (hate that word sounds so British) have a fair that come round in the October time? Well anyway, my 'village' does, and it comes the third week in October, same month, same week, every year, for as long as i can remember. And for me, that signifies winter is here. It is the first time that its properly dark around 7, and i can actually feel the cold. So this year i went, it was the same as every other year- everyone gets wasted, a few people get arrested for unorderly behaviour, waste £20 odd on rides i must have been on at least 101 times before and feel like an ice cube by the time i come home. But its winter, its what happens every year, and I'm pretty sure I'll do the same next year.

After my feet almost turning to ice after the fair, i decided it was time to invest in this years winter boots. I had my eye on some from primark, but I'd only seen them in a primark that's not my local one, and I'd never seen them since. I was wandering around newlook (as you do) and came across this beauty's.

They are almost identical to the ones in primark, but i prefer the colour of the 'leather' of these ones. These were reasonably priced at £19.99 and a size 6 fits like a glove. Whereas the the primark ones were £25. I'm sorry?!?!?!?! When did this happen?! I know prices have gone up in primark, but my gosh. It breaks my heart to say this it really does, but there is nothing special about primark anymore. Newlook is equally priced, and i genuinely believe the clothing is better made. Primark is taking the piss now, either the prices come down, or the quality goes dramatically up to the point i think the prices are worth it.

Buying the new winter coat and boots is always a dreaded task, well for me and my mother it is anyway. But this year, I didn't go out looking for them, they just came to me..... ahah! But honestly, I think that's the secret. When i went to Birmingham, i didn't go into newlook with the frame of mind that "i will buy a coat in here" i was just having a look around, with nothing in mind. The rest is history and i adore my burgundy quilted jacket an awful lot. The same thing happened with my boots, well actually i was looking for school shoes.. funnily enough i didn't find school shoes, i just found boots.

The weather has finally moved on from that stuffy, cloudy, 'not hot but not cold either' stage, to now it just being cold. I'm sad to see summer go, but I'm so excited for all the winter clothes this year, which is a change for me. I'm usually a summer clothes girl, but this year i just love all the colours, well not all the colours, just burgundy. I will miss the comfort of summer, because unless you wish to freeze, winter clothes are quite restricted and uncomfy as they are so thick and layered.

What really scares me, is a whole school half term has flown by in what seems over night. I'm going to the Alton Towers Scarefest on Friday for god sake. This year really has flown... So much has actually happened. And today we got our January exam timetable.. And that to me sounds soooo far away, but realistically, it'll come around in a flash. And if January is going to come round in a flash, then I'm gonna have left school and then be left with myself, nervously waiting for results in a jiffy. And then I'll fail and wont get into sixth form or college, and then I'll go no where in life. AND now I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'm sure I'll enjoy the autumnal weather a lot more when I'm not in my hideous school uniform.

shopping time

I live in a shit hole, also known as Derby. It has a pathetic excuse for a westfield, and I would prefer to live and shop anywhere else in the entire country. So me and my mother opted to jump on the train to the bullring centre in Birmingham. We hadn't been there in a long time, so it was a pleasant change from where I live. 

Some of you will understandably be thinking "what the hell, I'd love to live near a westfield" -oh no, not this westfield. It was built a few years back and was expected to be TOP DAWG. Its a let down to say the least. There is pretty limited beauty supplies, its either drugstores Boots and Superdrug (which aren't impressive), or Dior and Chanel at Debemhams. Theres no middle ground like Mac. And for some unknown reason, the shops stock the most hideous clothes from the collection, you go to any other branch of the same shop, say River Island for prime example, its almost guaranteed to be a nicer clothes range than in Derby.

Rant out of the way, I was giddy at just the thought of Selfridges and Birmingham in general this morning.

Cropped swing top, Forever 21, £12.

Bird cage necklace, Forever 21, £4.90

Burgundy quilted jacket, NewLook, £22.99

Burgundy/Red skater dress, Internacionale, £14.99 (WHATTA BARGIN!)

MAC MINERALISED SKINFINISH NATURAL LIGHT, Selfridges, £18.50

I got a few others bits and bobs which are featured in my YouTube haul from this trip, but were too awkward to take decent blog worthy pictures of. Care to watch the video?:')

 

halloween is looming

I have gone from blogging about summer sunshine, to the prospect of Halloween. Haha, isn't Britain wonderful? I'm having a Halloween house party this year, I've always been to them, but never actually held a Halloween party. I'm sure I'll blog like crazy about how we decorate the house, and exciting things like that.

I didn't want to just dress up as something that is classed as the Halloween normal, because well, I'm not normal. I thought the queen of hearts from the classic Alice in wonderland was outside of the Halloween norm, so i hunted high and low for a suitable costume... and this is what i settled with, happily must i add.

Admittedly, this isn't the scariest of all costumes. But doing my hair and makeup will work wonders.. see what i did there?! aha cringe at myself.

Who agrees those socks are hideous? I am never going to touch them again with a barge pole. There isn't a cat in hells chance I'm going to wear those things on Halloween. I'm so short, they basically are tights and reach my bum :|

As i said, i searched high and low for a suitable queen of hearts costume. It took me about a week of searching to find the right one, if they wern't too slaggy, they were too long, and if they wern't either of them, they didn't have my size or they only did one size, and if non of them, they were ridiculously priced. Ebay was the way forward. Mine came to around £20 in the end, including delivery. And I'll tell you now, that's a fraction of the price that some of these rip of sellers were charging. Let me know what you're going to be this year, i'd be ever so excited to find out.

last of the summer sun...

I don't think I am the first to admit that the English summer really did let us down this year, well- it lets us down every year. But we all hype ourselves up for blue sky days and long summer nights, but it just well, never happens. 

So when the weather report came out last week, I quickly dismissed the idea of a heat wave starting last Tuesday. We never get a heat wave at the best of times, never mind in October. So i continued to go to school in woolly tights and jumpers... soon to find out, there was a heat wave, and i was going to boil to death in these tights. 

I was no way shape or form ready for a heat wave, all my summer clothes had been bundled away for next year, and the woolly leggins and chunky knit cardigans had been brought out. Not to even mention the pale skin and bodily hair front. It was out with the coats and scarfs for a week, and in with the fake tan and shorts. 

Just for proof to myself, that i lived in a heat wave, in England, in October, i thought I'd do a blog post of a few snaps of what I've been up to during this rather extraordinary heatwave.

We thought we'd be oh so English, and go on a family trip to a farm... That's my little sister and I, pretending we love each other, and then there is a rather pleasant llamas rear end. How photogenic of him. My sisters shorts are actually from river island. she thinks shes too cool for kids shops.

Spending a sunny Saturday with my nearest and dearest, you can't go wrong with that. Can you believe that's her natural colour hair, and natural length. God only knows how much I've spent trying to get my hair her colour, but i think I'm finally lighter than her. We had a good old chuckle ha ha to the he he. That's also her natural length... one day I'm going to cut it off in her sleep and sew it into extensions for myself... I've been debating doing it for a while, at least now it would be my colour ;) I hope you all enjoyed the last of the summer sun, i know we did:-)

OXOX