What I Got For Christmas

  Hello everybody!
  Firstly, I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and got all the presents you wanted, (I would love to know what presents you got in the comments!) As much as I want to know what you got for Christmas, you might be interested to see what I got for Christmas so I made a big list of my top 10 favourite Christmas presents:

     ▪️ Polaroid Zip
     ▪️ Sugg Life Rewind 2017 Calendar
     ▪️ Lagoon Christmas charades
     ▪️ Disney Mike Tsum Tsum
     ▪️ Deer Diary 2017 by Portico Designs
     ▪️ Zoella Lifestyle Daisy Picking Reed Diffuser, Zoella Lifestyle Seaside Stroll Candle
     ▪️ W7 In The Night/ Lightly Toasted/ Colour Me Buff / Colour Me Nude eye palettes
     ▪️ Pandora bracelet and charms
     ▪️ Personalised ISayBell navy apron  

 

  That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed as always! I think, and I'm sure you'd agree, that I had some amazing presents! I've had a wonderful Christmas with my family and look forward to our New
 Years Eve celebrations! My next blog post will resume as normal on Sunday 1st January 2017! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!

Mince Pies with zesty orange pastry

   Hello everybody!
   What would December be without a baking blog? Mince pies are my favourite treat of the festive season and a real Christmas tradition in my household. I love the twist on this recipe (the zesty orange pastry) so why not show my loyal fans how to make some of the best mince pies EVER!!!  

     

 Makes: 30
 Prep time: 20 minutes plus chilling
 Cook time: 20 minutes

  Ingredients:
500g plain flour
175g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
375g cold butter, diced
Zest and juice 1 large orange
500g mincemeat
1 egg, beaten    

  Method:
1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
2. In a food processor, whizz together the flour, icing sugar and butter until they form fine crumbs (or rub in with your fingers). With the blades running, add the zest, then 3 tbsp orange juice. Process for a few secs until the mixture forms clumps. If you need to, add a few extra tsps orange juice to bring the pastry together.
3. Tip onto a very lightly floured surface, knead briefly until smooth, then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm. The pastry can be made up to 3 days ahead or frozen for up to 1 month.
4. Lightly dust the work surface with flour, then roll out the pastry to approx £1 coin thickness. Cut out 12 x 8cm rounds with a fluted cutter and press into a 12-hole-non-stick bun tin. Re-roll the trimmings to the same thickness and stamp out 12 x 5cm rounds for the  tops. Spoon about 1 tbsp mincemeat into each base and press on the tops.
5. Brush the tops with the beaten egg, then bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and crisp. Cool for a few minutes, then lever out carefully with a table knife and cool on a wire rack.
6. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Warm gently to serve, dusted with sifted icing sugar, if you like.

 

   That's all for this week! I hoped you enjoyed this oh so festive baking blog! I can't believe it's only a week until Christmas!! Next week my blog post will go up on Monday 26th December, instead of the usual Sunday post due to the festivities. So, since my next post will be after Christmas Day - love you all and Merry Christmas!!!!
 Byyeee!!!!

December Playlist + Musical.lys

  Hello everybody!

  This week's blog post is definitely a favourite, it's a "playlist and musical.ly compilation" (festive version!) I know I mention this in every blog with this theme, but, if you don't know what Musical.ly is, it is basically an app used for lip-syncing. You have a large variety of songs that you can lip-sync to and post them for all your friends to see.

For this posting I am lip-syncing to Christmas songs so here is the link which leads to the musical.ly on my YouTube channel:

   https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q5EbyE8IFj0

   Now I move onto the playlist, the songs on the playlist are the songs that made a 15 second appearance in the video, the songs are the full versions.
 
 The songs that are on the playlist are:

   ▪️ Mistletoe by Justin Bieber
   ▪️ Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande
   ▪️ All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey  

Here is the link for that: http://www.podsnack.com/ISayBell/avhnethh

   

  That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed this post. I love all the songs on the playlist and I think the video is great! I also hope that you now feel in the Christmas spirit! I will see you all next week for another blog post! Love you all!
   Byyeee!!!!        

Christmas Trivia

  Hello everybody!
  This week's blog is my first December 2016 blog!!! *Yay!* ITS CHRISTMAS!!! Ok, it's not Christmas just yet, but I am and I'm sure lots of you are in the Christmas spirit already.To begin these December blogs (which will be Christmas themed) I thought I would do a fun blog where you can put your Christmas knowledge to the test, so here is my Christmas trivia quiz:

  1. "Round yon virgin mother and child"
  a. Jingle Bells
  b. Silent Night
  c. I'll Be Home For Christmas
  d. We Three Kings

   2. Who wrote "The Nightmare Before Christmas"?
   a. Alfred Hitchcock
   b. Martin Scorsese
   c. Steven Spielberg
   d. Tim Burton

  3. "Tis the season to be jolly"
  a. Jingle Bells
  b. While Shepherds Watch
  c. Deck The Halls
  d. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

  4. "God and sinners Reconciled"
  a. O Come O Come Emmanuel
  b. O Come All Ye Faithful 
  c. Hark The Herald Angels
  d. The First Noel  

   5. "Disperse the gloomy clouds of night"
   a. O Come All Ye Faithful   
   b. O Come O Come Emmanuel
   c. Hark The Herald Angels 
   d. The First Noel  

  6. What is Scrooge's first name?
  a. Maxwell
  b. Bruce
  c. Martin   
  d. Ebenezer   

  7. "Looked down where he lay"
  a. The First Noel
  b. Little Town Of Bethlehem
  c. Joy To The World 
  d. Away in a manger      

  8. "O tidings of Comfort and joy"
  a. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
  b. The First Noel
  c. Ding Dong Merrily On High
  d. Away In A Manger
 
  9. Two men broke into a house and had a LOT of trouble in which movie?
  a. The Break In
  b. Christmas Trouble
  c. Home Alone
  d. Two Men In A Santa Suit  

  10. How many spirits visit Scrooge in 'A Christmas Carol'?
  a. 1
  b. 2
  c. 3
  d. 4  

  Answers:
  1=b   2=d   3=c   4=c   5=b   6=d   7=d   8=a   9=c   10=c

 

  That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed, I'm so excited for Christmas and I felt that this was a wonderful way to begin this very festive month! I'll see you next week for another blog post I love you all so much!
  Byyeee!!!!            

Monthly Favourites

  Hello everybody!  
  This week's blog is a Monthly Favourites. There's a hint of Christmas in some of the items and the other favourites will make you feel as snuggly as a warm and cosy blanket now that the weather is turning colder. Also, my new favourite app game has a shopping/dressing up feature that provides all the inspiration you need as you shop for that special ocassion outfit. So here are the favourites I wanted to share with you:

     ▪️ Biscoff crunchy spread
     ▪️ Panettone
     ▪️ Clementines
     ▪️ Zara Home Christmas collection gingerbread reed diffuser
     ▪️ New Look "unicorn fund" purse
     ▪️ Bershka super skinny ripped blue jeans
     ▪️ Pull & Bear rose coloured frayed sweater
     ▪️ Stradivarius burgundy quilted bomber jacket
     ▪️ Hollywood Story app game
 

 

  That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed as always! I'm already getting into the festive mood and have put up my Christmas decorations (it's early still, I know) but it's crazy how my next blog will be in December! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

        

Colour Personalities

  Hello everybody!
  This week's blog I think is quite fun and personally, I could spend hours doing things like this. For those who don't know what 'Colour Personalities' are, basically; you have a show of some colours, out of those colours you pick your favourite and it is supposed to be able to tell your personality! I think I've said enough so let's get started...  

Red   
You are extroverted, optimistic, courageous and confident.
Deepest need:
Physical achievement, fulfilment and satisfaction.  

Orange
You are warm, friendly, tolerant and accepting of others.
Deepest need:
To be with people, to socialise with them, and be accepted and respected as part of a group.  

Yellow
You are cheerful and fun to be with. You are an ideas person.
Deepest need:
Logical order in your everyday life.

Green
You are kind, generous and compassionate.  
Deepest need:
To belong, to love and be loved, and to feel safe and secure.

Blue  
You are conservative, reliable and trustworthy.
Deepest need:  
To find inner peace and truth.

Indigo
You are honest, compassionate and understanding. Integrity is extremely important to you.
Deepest need:
To feel in harmony and at one with the Universe.   

Violet
You are a gentle and free spirit. Your feelings run deep.   
Deepest need:
Emotional security and to create order and perfection in all areas of your life, including your spiritual life.

Pink
You are loving, kind, and sensitive to the needs of others.
Deepest need:
To be accepted and loved unconditionally.

Magenta
You are imaginative and creative. You love to surround yourself with beauty.
Deepest need:
To have a perfect balance in your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual attributes.  

Turquoise
You are friendly and approachable, and easy to communicate with.
Deepest need:
To be able express your hopes and dreams no matter how idealistic they may be.  

Grey
You are neutral about life. You are cool and calm.
Deepest need:
To be respected for who you are.  

White
You are neat and immaculate in your appearance. You are far-sighted, it's a positive and optimistic nature.
Deepest need:
To create simplicity in your life.  

Black
Prestige and power are important to you. You are strong-willed and determined.
Deepest need:   
To have power and control.  

Brown
You are honest, down-to-earth and wholesome.
Deepest need:
A safe, secure, simple and comfortable existence.  

Silver
You are intuitive and insightful, and have a strong connection with a higher spiritual guidance.
Deepest need:
To find deep meaning and spiritual fulfilment in your life.  

Gold
You radiate charisma personality and individuality.
Deepest need:
To acquire the deepest knowledge and understanding of yourself as a spiritual being.
  
 

That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed and perhaps you learnt more about yourself, I would love to know so feel free to leave a comment! My favourite colour is violet! I will see you next week for another blog post!
Byyeee!!!!                                    

Would You Rather...? #2

  Hello everybody!
 This week's blog may seem familiar to you. This is because ages ago, back in February this is a post I did. It's still one of my favourite blogs I've ever done so I thought I would do it again! So without any further delay, would you rather...  

 ▪️ Daylight forever  
 ▪️ Night sky forever
ISayBell's choice: Daylight forever 

 ▪️ Live in the city  
 ▪️ Live in the countryside  
 ISayBell's choice: Live in the city

 ▪️ Go to the pool  
 ▪️ Go to the beach   
ISayBell's choice: Go to the pool  

 ▪️ Unicorn  
 ▪️ Pegasus   
ISayBell's choice: Unicorn   

 ▪️ Eat pizza  
 ▪️ Eat burgers
 ISayBell's choice: Eat pizza 

 ▪️ Bath   
 ▪️ Shower
  ISayBell's choice: Bath  

 ▪️ Apple
 ▪️ Android    
 ISayBell's choice: Apple  

 ▪️Have a white car  
 ▪️Have a black car   
ISayBell's choice: Have a black car    

 ▪️Summer
 ▪️Winter
ISayBell's choice: Summer 

 ▪️Get into a video game for a day   
 ▪️Get into a movie for a day  
 ISayBell's choice: Get into a movie for a day

 




















     That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed! I love reading/watching "Would You Rathers..." because I love to hear other people's opinion! Love you all!   Byyeee!!!!      

Yorkshire Parkin - Bonfire Night

  Hello everybody!
   This week's blog is a baking blog. I'm baking a special type of cake; it is special because it is a Yorkshire cake. Perhaps you are thinking, why is a Yorkshire cake so special? Well, it's special because my mum is from Yorkshire and this is traditionally eaten outdoors on a cold but, sparkling Bonfire Night (5th November). The best way to explain the flavours is to say it is a Yorkshire version of gingerbread! 
   

 
Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 90 minutes

   Ingredients: 
8oz/220g soft butter
4oz/110g soft, dark brown sugar
2oz/55g black treacle
7oz/200g golden syrup
5oz/120g medium oats  
7oz/200g golden syrup
5oz/120g medium oats
1 tsp baking powder
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp nutmeg 
1 tsp mixed spice
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tbsp milk  

  Method:   
1. Heat the oven to 275F/140℃/Gas mark 1.  
2. Grease an 8" x 8"/ 20cm square cake tin.    
3. In a large saucepan melt together the butter, sugar, treacle and golden syrup over a gentle heat. Do not allow the mixture to boil.  
4. In a big mixing bowl stir together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the melted butter mixture, stirring to coat all the dry ingredients, and mix thoroughly.  
5. Gradually beat in the eggs, a few tablespoons at a time. Finally, add the milk and stir well.  
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 90 minutes until firm, set, and a dark golden brown.   
7. Remove the Parkin from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. It will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container.     

Tip:   You can eat the cake almost immediately but leave it for a few days, if you can resist it! It gets tastier and stickier if you store it for several days. It can also be served warm as a pudding with a dollop of custard or simply with a big mug of hot chocolate.
 

      The Parkin was really delicious, with a moist, sticky topping and rich, treacle taste. Perfect with a hot chocolate or a nice cup of tea. That's all for this week! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!      

Halloween House Tour

  Hello everybody!
  This week I'm doing a house tour, but it's not just a house tour, it's a Halloween house tour! Since Halloween is tomorrow, I thought I would show you how I decorated my house! I found many of the items in big supermarkets or pound shops, if you look carefully and use your imagination you can find some really good stuff.  



 As you can see from the picture above, I had three pictures on the wall which I took down and replaced with these Halloween masks and a "Deadly Diner Menu". We already had the masks from previous years and I thought it would make a statement to display them on a wall for a change. The menu came from a pound shop. Cost was only £1.50.

 

The flying bats are from Waitrose. I've used clear nylon string to hang them from the banisters to make them appear like they are flying. The pumpkin came from Morrisons and cost £1.50 and I had help with the carving. (I named him Jeff) lol! I used a black shawl belonging to my mum to cover the table and I think this helps bring out the Halloween vibe. The black roses (£1 each), orange spiderweb bottle (£2) and RIP gravestone (£3) were from Morrisons. I finished off the look with some faux cobweb and orange candles. 



For the dining table I bought a roll of orange table covering from a local supermarket. A friend lent me the black spider web tablecloth and I think the combination looks really effective. I used black napkins and wine glasses to stick to the Halloween look. I used some black bat decorative wire around the lights that I had from previous years.

  

I used these really cute, yet Halloween appropriate, hanging decorations on a door, I think they looked playful, cute and spooky! These were from Morrisons, sorry can't remember the cost! But approximately £2 - £3.



I attached a paper spiderweb fan to the light fittings and this was from Morrisons and came in a pack of three. The pumpkin lantern is really old, but still gives off a nice orange glow and to compliment this, I used orange LED tea lights in the candle holders that I already owned. The spiderweb placemat came from Carrefour and that was 4€. I also used some spooky black skull candles from Morrisons at £2.50 each, but I'm not going to burn these as I would like to use them again.



 On my fireplace I used two packets of different sized spiders and faux cobweb to create a realistic, spooky scene. I used rolled up masking tape to attach the spiders and the cobweb to the wall. Both came from pound shops for around about £3 in total. Really effective. 

 

The twigs were from the garden and then sprayed black. The string of pumpkin lights are old, but still look great on a mirror. Like the masks, I already had the witches hat and decided to use it in my display, (to make it stand upwards you can stuff with paper or black plastic bags). The cauldron was filled with spare black napkins. An old flowerpot was sprayed black and I filled this with faux cobweb which was overflowing to create a spooky atmosphere.     That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed! Perhaps this even gave you some ideas for your house if you haven't decorated yet...?   House decor is one of my favourite things at Halloween! Hope you have a very spooky Halloween! Love you all!
   Byyeee!                        

Monthly Favourites

Hello everybody!
This week is another Monthly Favourites! This month I have some really good favourites to share with you! You will see that in October I have been redecorating my bedroom, kitting out my Autumn wardrobe and devouring some sweet treats! I won't delay you from reading the list any longer so here are my October Favourites...

     ▪️ Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt 'Soft Fauna No. 4' paint
     ▪️ Lindt Lindor strawberry & cream chocolates
     ▪️ Banana & Belgium chocolate pancake
     ▪️ Primark Home white & rose gold block triangle cushion
     ▪️ Primark Home sea green & metallic gold shell pattern velvet cushion
     ▪️ New Look 915 Aztec mint green, black & white kimono
     ▪️ New Look 915 grey fine knit rip knee joggers
     ▪️ Clearasil cleansing face gel  

 

That's all for this week. Lately, I have been absolutely been loving New Look, I think if you're a teen who wants to wear trendy clothes in "children" sizes (not xs;s;m;l;xl etc.) it is a great place to buy clothes! And you can order online! Finally, I always have and always will love food! Just looking at the chocolates and pancake made my mouth water. Love you all!
 Byyeee!!!!

October Musical.lys + Playlist

  Hello everybody!
 This week I'm doing a Musical.ly compilation and a playlist. This is one of my favourite blogs I do because I put so much effort into it and it's something different which I like! So let's get on with this post...  

   Firstly I will be showing you my Musical.ly compilation. I know I said this in the last 'Musical.ly +Playlist' post, but, if you don't know what a Musical.ly is it is basically an app used for lip-syncing. You have a large variety of songs that you can lip-sync to and post them for all your friends to see. I recorded a video of me lip-syncing to 3 popular songs currently and here is that video:

  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sJrypG2zvnY  

The songs I used on the YouTube video will also be on the playlist. Here are those songs:
 ▪️ Dawin - Jumpshot
 ▪️ Anne-Marie - Alarm
 ▪️ Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful   

The songs I used in this playlist are on the current 'popular songs' chart which is why I selected them. Because it is only a short clip of the song I made a playlist where you can listen to the full song, here is that link as well:  

 http://www.podsnack.com/ISayBell/avzcs777

   

  That's all for this week, I hope you enjoyed! I'm definitely going to have the playlist on repeat all week! I find these blog posts really special. What's your favourite song at the minute? Leave it in the comments below! Mine is Closed by The Chainsmokers Ft. Hasley. Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

  

                             

Somethink Completely Different

  Hello everybody!

This week's blog is about a book, I don't know how to explain it so here is a thorough description - the blurb:

"Somethink Completely Different is about playing with words differently, making you smile differently, textually inspiring you differently and inviting you to contemplate things in a slightly different way.

Text artist Mwah has created his own distinctive signature by getting to the core of situations and turning them into creative and witty one-liners that are recognizable, yet fresh at the same time."
     

I got this book when I was on holiday in Italy and I visited the Gucci Museum in Florence. Since I bought it I have been obsessed by the author, 'Mwah', I think he has done such a good job on the bookand created such an original concept of so many things. Because this book is so amazing I thought I would show you some of my favourite quotes...

 

 
   ▪️ "Nowadays, being normal is quite special."
   ▪️ "I can think of two things. Something and everything."  
   ▪️ "You are yourself like no other."
   ▪️ "This moment has already passed."
   ▪️ "I'm the only one standing in the queue again."
   ▪️ "The key to success doesn't fit in my front door."
   ▪️ "Waking up early sounds pretty alarming to me."
   ▪️ "It's perfect, but..."
   ▪️ "I would like to stress that I'm pretty relaxed."
   ▪️ "Be as crazy as you normally are."
   ▪️ "Just being repulsively attractive."
   ▪️ "Once upon no time." 
   ▪️ "I'll be in 24 hours late today."
   ▪️ "Get a life! Or is that something you want me to do for you too?"
   ▪️ "The past is the now from back then."
   ▪️ "Happiness is also just an opinion."
   ▪️ "My hidden talent is: hiding my talent."  
   ▪️ "I didn't see that fog warning coming."
   ▪️ "Yes-terday sounds pretty positive to me."
   ▪️ "I told you the future would be futuristic."  
   ▪️ "Thinking of nothing can be everything."
   ▪️ "Why do we learn to tell the time when we never have it?"
   ▪️ "You'll never forget how to make mistakes."  


      

That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed this post! Do you have any favourite quotes? Feel free to share in the comments below! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!

Monthly Favourites

  Hello everybody!  

  This week is a monthly favourites! With Summer turning to Autumn my favourite things include snuggly and warm clothing for the cooler evenings, back to school stationery, a new app game and some pretty pastel baking accessories! So here they are:

  ▪️ Mini Chips Ahoy

  ▪️ Kitchen Craft cake pop baller
   ▪️ Measuring cups
   ▪️ Patterned cake tins
   ▪️ Accessorize Stationery New York City erasers
   ▪️ Atmosphere burgundy zip-up hoodie
   ▪️ F&F high rise, cropped grey ripped jeans
   ▪️ Flip Diving app game  

  That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed this blog post! I think in this Monthly Favourites I have a good variety of items. I have been living in the ripped jeans, I absolutely love them! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

                

Red Velvet Cake Pops

  Hello everybody!   This week's blog is baking! As you can see from the title I made red velvet cake pops, I'm going to say now they were veerrrryyyy difficult and mine didn't exactly go to plan. This bake definitely follows the quote "Practice makes perfect" - I can relate!!! If you are a beginner baker you would find it quite difficult, but it was an experience making them, so with that being said let's make CAKE POPS...

  

Makes: 46
Prep time: 1hr 30mins
Difficulty: Hard  

Ingredients:     
1 red velvet cake (sponge only)
1 quantity vanilla buttercream
600g white chocolate 
 46 red or white lollipop sticks     

Method:  
 1. Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Break the velvet cake into rough pieces. Use your hands to rub the cake pieces over a large bowl to form small, even crumbs. Remove 60g of the cake crumbs and set aside.

   2. Add the buttercream (one tablespoon at a time) to the remaining cake crumbs and mix well until
evenly combined. Squeeze 1 tablespoonful of the cake mixture firmly so that it holds together and then roll it into a 3cm ball. Place on the lined tray. Repeat with the remaining mixture to make 46 balls in total. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

   3. Put the chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir until the chocolate melts. Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate to coat about 2cm, then insert into a a cake ball and return to the lined tray. Repeat with the remaining sticks, melted chocolate and cake balls. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until the sticks are secure. Reserve the remaining melted chocolate.

   4. To decorate, dip the pops one at a time into the remaining chocolate and gently tap the lollipop stick on the edge of the bowl to remove excess chocolate, turning as you go to create an even coating. (You may need to gently reheat the chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water if it is too thick for coating.) Sprinkle with the reserved cake crumbs then insert the sticks into a polystyrene block or similar to keep them upright. Refrigerate the pops for 10 minutes or until the chocolate sets.

   

That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed. If you do this blog be very careful and please do send me photos on my Instagram (@ISayBell_blog) It doesn't look that difficult but it really was! It wasn't great on looks and the consistency was quite moist making it a bit harder to handle. However, it did taste very good! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!
   Byyeee!!!!        

Pete's Dragon | Movie Review

  Hello Everybody!   This week I'm doing another movie review. It's been 7 months since I last did one! But I recently watched a great movie called Pete's Dragon and because it was such a great movie I thought I would do a review about it! I feel like this could help a lot of you because you might want to buy this DVD when it comes out or you want to go watch it in a cinema, but you haven't heard anything or any recommendations on it this hopefully will help! So let's get on with the review...  

 

 

   Film: Pete's Dragon

   Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard (Grace), Robert Redford (Mr. Meacham), Oakes Fegley (Pete), Wes Bentley (Jack) , Oona Laurence (Natalie), Karl Urban (Gavin), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Sheriff Gene Dentler), Craig Hall (Adult Pete)

  Director: David Lowery

  U.K. Release date: 31 July 2016

  Rating: PG

  Genre: Animation, adventure, fantasy

  Runtime: 1hr 43mins

 

  Storyline:

  Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford), a woodcarver, delights local children with stories of a mysterious dragon that lives deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. His daughter Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) believes these are just tall tales, until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley), a 10-year old orphan who says he lives in the woods with a giant, friendly dragon. With help from a young girl named Natalie (Oona Laurence), Grace sets out to investigate if this fantastic claim can be true.

  Interesting Fact: The film is a remake of the 1977 musical film of the same name written by Malcolm Marmorstein.

 

  My Star Rating: 4 stars out of 5

  Favourite character: Grace - She is thoughtful and very loyal

  Unlikeable character: Gavin - He wanted to kill Elliot

  Memorable moment: When Pete leaps off a cliff and the dragon sweeps upwards to catch him.

  Favourite quotes: "What's a dragon?... That's a dragon." Pete and Natalie

                            "You can't say dragon over the radio." - Sheriff Gene Dentler

                            "You don't have to run anymore, Pete. You can stay with us." - Grace

  

 

  That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed! I think I said quite a lot about the movie and also shared my opinion about it quite well! If you want me to review any other movies let me know on Instagram (@ISayBell_blog). Love you all! 

  Byyeee!!!!  

 

 

 

 

  

  

  

Celebrating 1 Year of ISayBell

  Hello everybody!

  This week's blog is a very special blog post. I can't believe what I'm about to say; I have been doing this 'ISayBell' blog... for one whole year!!!! Over the year the amount of support given has been so amazing and hugely appreciated! Each and every one of my viewers I love! For this week's blog I have listed my favourites and my viewers' favourite blog posts! Let me just say this: I've done 53 blog posts on ISayBell! So, here are my and your favouite blog posts, counting down in reverse order!

  ISayBell's top 5 favourite blog posts:

  #5 March Favourites | Playlist

  I really like this blog post because if I ever want to listen to music, I always go to my playlist introduced on this blog.

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/march-favourites-playlist_14.html

  

  #4 Blog Changes!

  This was my April Fools blog where I said that I was changing my blog and I'd be writing about trains!

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/04/blog-changes.html

      

  #3 Would You Rather...?

  My friends and I always play this game so we like to use the questions on here if we can't think of any!

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/would-you-rather.html

  #2 Banana Loaf

  This is definitely my favourite baking blog that I've ever done. I remember it was so easy to make and the taste was delicious. Simply the best bake I've done yet.

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/banana-loaf.html

 

  #1 Embarrassing Dad Jokes

  This blog is all about dads, obviously, and it definitely gets lol and cringe bonus points!

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/06/embarrassing-dad-jokes.html

   I now move on to you guys with my viewer's favourite blog posts...

  Viewers' top 5 favourite blog posts: 

  #5 Monthly Favourites | Summer

   Blog views: 77

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/06/monthly-favourites-summer.html

  #4 Embarrassing Dad Jokes

   Blog views: 78

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/06/embarrassing-dad-jokes.html

  #3 Italy Tour | Part One

    Blog views: 83

      http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/07/italy-tour-part-one.html

  #2 May Musical.lys + Playlist

    Blog views: 126

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/may-musicallys-playlist.html

  #1 Strawberry Cheesecake 

    Blog views: 129

       http://isaybellblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/strawberry-cheesecake.html

     

Those are all the favourite blog posts! I am still shocked that I've been doing this blog for a year! I think we have an incredible community. The support you give me is sooooooo amazing I cannot put into words. For the 54th time, that's all for this week and I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

  

  

Gibraltar Music Festival

  Hello everybody!

  This week's blog is on a festival happening over this weekend - The Gibraltar Music Festival.

  Yesterday was the first day and the festival continues later on today so I can talk to you about what I  enjoyed on Saturday and what I'm looking foward to today! So here it is...

  I'm going to start by saying what the main stage acts were...

  Saturday:                       

   

  ▪️ Frontiers

  ▪️ Concept

  ▪️ Nathan Sykes

  ▪️ Foxes

  ▪️ The Vamps

  ▪️ All Saints

  ▪️ Travis

  ▪️ Ne-Yo

  I first saw a local band called Frontiers. They were amazing because they are one of the most popular local bands so I know nearly all of their songs!

  I then watched Concept who I really enjoyed too! I remembered watching them on X Factor so it was great to see them live!

  Nathan Sykes was definitely the highlight of the day for me. His vocals were so amazing! My friends and I were right at the at the front of the stage which made it even better!

  Now I move onto Foxes, I knew a few of their songs but they weren't one of my favourites.

  Next was The Vamps! They were soooo energetic! I was also at the front of the stage with my friends for this act which made it more entertaining because Brad, the lead singer, was interacting with the audience a lot!

  All Saints were not for me but my mum really enjoyed them as did others!

  Travis weren't my type of music but there were the odd songs that I know and enjoyed, my family really enjoyed them!

  Now the headline act.. Ne-Yo! He was so amazing! His vocals, his stage presence, the dancing, just EVERYTHING! He got girls from the audience and sang a song to them.

  And that concludes Saturday! I now more onto the mainstage acts today...

  Sunday:

  ▪️ Orfila

  ▪️ Second Sons

  ▪️ Age of L.U.N.A

  ▪️ The Fratellis

  ▪️ Heather Small

  ▪️ Zara Larson

  ▪️ Jess Glynne

  ▪️ Stereophonics

  Today I am looking forward to seeing Jess Glynne in particular but I'm also excited for; Heather Small from the M People and Zara Larson. There are also a few Stereophonics songs that I like!

  Other festival experiences:

  ▪️ Exploring around the festival stages

  ▪️ Going round the craft shops

  ▪️ Getting food (mostly sweets for me!) and drinks

  ▪️ Hanging out with my family and friends

  ▪️ Zip Wire across the main stage grounds

  ▪️ Gibraltar Music Festival Merchandise

  ▪️ Circus Stage

  ▪️ Comedy Stage

  ▪️ Dance Stage

  ▪️ Getting Henna patterns

  ▪️ And of course, watching the wonderful acts

  That's all for this week's blog! I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience so far at the Gibraltar Music Festival! If you went, tell me who you mostly enjoyed and who you're looking forward to in the comments! I will see you next week for another blog post! 

  Byyeee!!!!

  

    

 

  

Monthly Favourites

  Hello everybody!

  This week is a monthly favourites! I hope you like reading these kinds of blogs, I really enjoy making them! The items in this favourites blog are:

  ▪️ Primark Home baby pink Sherpa throw with metallic gold feathers

  ▪️ Primark Home 'Crane Floral' duvet set

  ▪️ Primark Home 'She Leaves a little sparkle wherever she goes' photo

  ▪️ Primark Home metallic gold pineapple scented candle

  ▪️ New Look house box calendar

  ▪️ New Look pink 'To Do' list mirror photo

  ▪️ New Look ombré 'Pugs & Kisses' milkshake mug

  ▪️ New Look 915 black floral bomber jacket (non quilted)

  ▪️ Maybelline BabyLips limited edition lip balm 'Piña Colada Pow'

  That's all for this week! Most of it was home stuff so I hope you didn't mind that. I absolutely LOVE the bomber jacket so I had to include it! I hope you enjoyed! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

  

  

Strawberry Cheesecake

  Hello everybody!

  After a very long break, I'm doing baking again! This is a baking classic! It's strawberry cheesecake! It's a fun and easy bake so let's get straight into it...

  Serves: 12

  Prep time: 30 minutes

  Difficulty: easy

  Ingredients: 

  250g digestive biscuits

  100g butter, melted

  1 vanilla pod or 1-2 tsps vanilla essence

  600g soft cheese (eg Philadelphia)

  100g icing sugar

  284ml pot double cream

  For the topping:

  400g punnet strawberry, halved

  25g icing sugar

  

  Method:

  

  ▪️ EQUIPMENT: 23cm loose-bottomed tin, baking parchment, plastic food bag, rolling pin, large bowl, dessert spoon, chopping board, kitchen knife, electric mixer, spatula, serving plate, blender or food processor, sieve

  ▪️ Make the base: Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed tin with baking parchment. Put 250g digestive biscuits, in a plastic food bag and crush to crumbs using a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, then pour over 100g melted butter. Mix thoroughly until the crumbs are completely coated. Tip them into the prepared tin and press firmly down into the base to create an even layer. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour to set firmly.

  ▪️ If using a vanilla pod, remove the vanilla seeds from 1 pod: Slice the vanilla pod in the half lengthways, leaving the tip intact, so that the two halves are still joined. Holding onto the tip of the pod, scrape out of the seeds using the back of a kitchen knife.

  ▪️ Make the filling: Place 600g soft cheese, 100g icing sugar and the vanilla seeds or vanilla essence in a bowl, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Tip in 284ml pot double cream and continue beating until the mixture is completely combined. Now spoon the cream mixture onto the biscuit base, working from the edges inwards and making sure that there are no air bubbles. Smooth the top of the cheesecake down with the back of a dessert spoon or spatula. Leave to set in the fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours.

▪️ Un-moulding and topping: bring the cheesecake to room temperature, about 30 mins before serving. To un-mould, place the base on top of a can, then gradually pull the sides of the tin down. Slip the cake onto a serving plate, removing the lining paper and base. Purée half the 400g punnet strawberries in a blender or food processor with 25g icing sugar and 1 tsp water, then sieve. Pile the remaining strawberries onto the cake, then pour over purée.

  That's all for this week! The finished product was absolutely amazing! And the method was so simple! I really enjoyed making it and eating it! I had missed doing my baking for a few weeks so this was a great summer recipe to come back with! If you happen to bake this please send me photos on Instagram (@ISayBell_blog) I hope you enjoyed! See you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

Italy Tour | Part Two

  Hello everybody!

  This week is the follow on blog post from my 'Italy Tour | Part One'. If you haven't seen that yet before reading this, go back, read that one and come back to this and it will make a lot more sense! Last time I wrote about Venice and Florence. Now I'm writing about Rome! So here is my amazing experience in Rome...

  ... Backtracking a bit. We were just finishing in Florence by watching an orchestra of about 20 people who were playing live music in Piazza Della Signoria.

  

  And the next day begins, travelling and the enjoyment of Rome. We travelled from Florence train station and arrived at Termini Station in Rome and walked to our hotel called 'The Britannia Hotel'. Once we had been taken to our room we went to have lunch at a small café/restaurant near the hotel. After lunch we walked down 'Via Nacionale' and made our way to the Trevi Fountain, it was so beautiful and breathtaking you could hardly believe it was only a fountain! After seeing the beautiful fountain we walked down to the Pantheon which is an old temple. After doing some exploring we went back to the hotel to unpack a bit and get ready for the evening. For dinner we went to Target which had a lovely large variety of meals! That concludes my first day! 

  On our next day we had a fun packed day! We had breakfast in the hotel and then set off for the Colosseum. We had booked a guided tour which made it a lot better to understand the history behind it all. We also got to go around the Roman Forum (which was still guided) and the Palantine Hill, where the rich and famous of the Romans built their villas. We were tired but happy after exploring one of the most famous sights in the world! So we went back to our hotel as it was so hot (37 degrees C!) and rested for a while. Then it came to early evening so we  began to get ready for dinner. After our dinner we went back to our hotel to get a good nights rest.

  I now move onto our third and final day. We went to the Vatican City, the smallest state in the world and saw the breathtaking views all around St Peter's Square. We didn't go into the Sistine Chapel, but we saw St Peter's Basilica where the Pope lives. We got the bus back after visiting Vatican City. We then went to the Spanish Steps which is very famous after appearances in many different movies. We had a lovely walk around the Borghese Park After seeing the last sights of the holiday, there was one more place I wanted to go to.... Come Il Latte which is an amazing gelateria that I descoverd on a snapchat story of 'Top 10 Best Dessert Places'. The icecream flavour I ordered was banana and cookies and cream! It was probably the best icecream I've EVER tasted!!! After that we made our way back to the hotel and rested until it was time to get ready for the evening. For dinner we went to Target again and had an amazing last meal.

  The next day we went to the ... Airport and stayed at the Hilton where we rested for an early morning 

flight. And that is where our journey in Italy ended...

  That was my experience in Italy and it was so amazing. From the minute we left and until the minute we landed it was all incredible. I hope you enjoyed this 2 part blog. It was so nice to do another travel blog. That's all for this week. See you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

 

July Musical.lys + Playlist

  Hello everybody!

  This week is my third playlist and my second musical.ly compilation! My last blog post on this ('May Musical.lys + Playlist) went down so well I thought it would be silly not to add the musical.ly part in! So here are some musical.lys and a playlist...

  I'm going to start off with Musical.ly. If you don't know what musical.ly is, it is basically an app used for lip-syncing. You have a large variety of songs that you can lip-sync to and post them for all your friends to see! I did a few and put them in a compilation for you. So here's the link:

 https://youtu.be/l1VkhsD61e8

  These are the amazing songs in this compilation. The songs will also be on the playlist.

   

  ▪️ Clean Bandit -  Tears ft. Louisa Johnson 

  ▪️ Major Lazer - Cold Water (feat. Justin Bieber & MØ)

  ▪️ Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better

  I now move onto my playlist. I do my playlist on 'Podsnack' which is a free playlist website. It's a great way to express your favourite music online! The playlist is called 'July Musical.lys' So here are the songs:

  http://www.podsnack.com/ISayBell/

  The songs on the playlist are the full song, unlike in musical.ly.

  That's all for this week. I know it's not the longest post ever. But in my opinion it's something quite special. You will see these kind of blogs every two months. I hope you enjoyed! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

  

  

Monthly Favourites

  Hello everybody!

  This week is a Monthly Favourites! I have 9 things to share with you so here they are...

  ▪️Kiko eye palette 02 BRIGHT DUO

  ▪️Kiko Pure Clean Face Gel

  ▪️H&M strapless floral coral bikini

  ▪️ Lotus Biscoff

  ▪️ Zara floral crop top

  ▪️ H&M mustard dress

  ▪️ Bershka iPhone 5 ombré henna lion cover

  ▪️ Adidas white Super Star Foundation trainers

  ▪️ White and gold Venetian mask

  That's all for this post! I hope you enjoyed! The items in this monthly favourites could possibly be my favourite items I've ever included! Let me know what your favourite item is! I will see you next week for another post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

Italy Tour | Part One

  Hello everybody!

  My family and I are currently on holiday in Italy! So far, during the holiday we have visited Venice and Florence. They were both so beautiful and Venice was like no other place I've ever been to. I did a travel blog post late last summer, but since these places are so amazing I couldn't resist making another post about it!

  Venice

  We arrived at Venice Treviso airport and got taken to Piazzale Roma, the main bus station on Venice Lagoon. Here we got our first view of the canals (which there are LOADS of!) and we were then taken to the hotel in a private water taxi. Unfortunately, the views weren't great as it was quite late at night, but it still felt special. When we arrived at our hotel, called Hotel Splendid, we were taken to our room... And then we just slept, feeling tired but excited about the adventures to come...

The following morning, we just wandered around (and got lost) to explore the area a bit. We also went to San Marco Square which was very "Wow!" After that we had lunch and did more exploring, crossing the Rialto Bridge many times and of course, we ate icecream! Later on, we chilled for a bit then got ready for an evening in Venice! When we went out we headed for the Grand Canal and went on a gondala ride. If you ever go to Venice definitely do that! We had dinner in the hotel restaurant set in a beautiful courtyard which was very nice! I had spaghetti carbonara and also tried some linguine with lobster sauce.

  

The next day we saw the Bridge of Sighs and went to the BAUERs Hotel for a drink. We looked around some shops for a while and we walked over the Rialto Bridge again. While walking over the bridge we saw a small market stall with some beautiful Venetian Masks. After that we had lunch at a restaurant right next to the Grand Canal and of course...ICECREAM!

  

  Venice/Florence

Our third day was traveling day... To Florence! We got the number 2 Vaporetto water bus down to the train station. We then boarded the train to Florence, the journey was about 2 hours. When we arrived we got a taxi to the hotel. It was called Hotel Balestri and it was by the river. Like Venice when we arrived we just walked around and saw some parts of Florence, while wandering around we came to Piazza Della Sognoria, which is where the majority of the big statues are. After that we went back to the hotel got ready for dinner. We had a very lovely dinner at a restaurant called Frescobaldi.

  

  Florence

  On our first full day we explored some more and went to see Duomo di Firenze which was so beautiful. After doing all this exploring we had a very BIG lunch in a famous sandwich shop called All' Antico Vinaio. The sandwiches there are HUGE!!! And, incredibly tasty! After having lunch we decided to go to the Gucci Museum where we saw lots of old Gucci bags, luggage and clothes etc. From around the mid 1900s. Then we had.. Icecream! (Don't be too shocked; we had one every day!) But this icecream was special. It was a magnum.. Only you could design one yourself!!!! Yeah, I know pretty cool, right? We then made our way back to the hotel to get changed for dinner, and headed back to the Piazza Della Songria where we chose one of the many restaurants with a nice atmosphere overlooking the square.

  The next day we went to to the Galleria degli Uffizi and saw all the old art pieces which were just breathtaking. Slightly later on in the day we walked down to the boutique district where all the designer shops and fancy hotels are. For dinner, we found a very trendy restaurant called The Corner. Once we had finished eating dinner and I had signed the visitors board, we headed back to Piazza Della Songria where an orchestra of about 20 people were playing live music. And that ended day 5!

  Florence/Rome

  Another day of travelling again, this time to Rome, which is where I am now.......

  But I am going to end it there because I will write about all my adventures in Rome in a few weeks. So that's all for this one! I hope you enjoyed this for a change. Venice and Florence are certainly two places I would say should be on everyone's bucket list because they really are just so amazimg! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!