Monthly Favourites!

  Hello everybody!

  It is yet again a monthly Favourites. Wow, the months go by really fast. Ok without further ado let's get on with my monthly favourites.

▪️ Marble Quartz necklace

▪️ PS... Nail manicure set

▪️ Cath Kidston red and white heart apron

▪️ Hunter Wellington boots navy and silver sparkles

▪️ Daisy Duck Tsum Tsum small soft toy

▪️ History Year By Year book

▪️ The amazing Book is Not on Fire book

▪️ Domino pizza

  

  And that is it! I hope you enjoyed! I will see you next week for another post!

  Byyeee!!!!

Expectations vs. Reality | Sunday

  Hello everybody!

  This week I'm really excited because I'm doing an 'expectations vs reality'. In case you're wondering what this is, it's things like waking up for example, the expectation is your imagination of the perfect way to do this. Whereas reality is... Reality.... How it is all probably going to happen. (Maybe slightly exaggerated negatively though!)

Waking up...

  So let's start off where a Sunday really starts, waking up. My expectation would be getting up at 11:00 am to beautiful sunshine and my hair being as perfect as it could be! Where as reality is probably going to be waking up at 7:00 am from some dogs or birds making a horrendous noise and looking like I've slept in a dustbin with my hair as knotted up as my headphone wires.

Breakfast...

  Next is breakfast, or at least that's what I do next on a Sunday morning. My expectation is waking up to waffles or pancakes covered with strawberry, chocolate and vanilla sauce with sprinkles that are every single colour of the rainbow and I would be drinking a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows! But in reality I'm probably going to wake up to the little of what is left of the cereal box with a quick drink of milk.

Freshening up...

  Next is to brush your teeth and get washed. For expectations, brushing your teeth is probably going to end up with a fresh minty taste in your mouth and you're probably going to have a bubble bath in a luxury bath and have about 5 scented candles with some relaxing music playing and have a bath milkshake with fizz bars and bath bombs and have bubbles coming up to your shoulders! But reality is going to be having now a horrible taste in your mouth from what you previously just ate/ drank and probably just going to have a shower until your hot water is running cold.

Getting dressed...

  This my favorite part of the day! Getting dressed! Expectation is going to be like, wearing all designer brands and makeup looking flawless! Oh, but, reality. We are probably going to be wearing jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt... So, yeah. Let's be real who does makeup on a Sunday?

Exercising...

  I then try to do some exercise or somehow get active. Expectations are that I'm going to go for a long walk and get some great photos and then walk back having been in the fresh air for 2 hours! Reality, on the other hand, you're probably not going to do anything active other than your fingers typing and texting rapidly. (Actually, today the expectation was the reality for me!!!)

Lunch...

  Yay! Lunch finally! For expectation after a slightly (ok, maybe a bit more than slightly) unhealthy, but yet delicious breakfast, you can't always be eating unhealthily so you get your favorite salad for lunch. Yum! Your reality lunch is probably going to be leftover from Saturday night...

Afternoon movie...

  Movie time! Hmm what movie to watch? Well I would expecting to be watching a brand new movie in 3D at the cinema with some of your best friends. Reality, um... YouTube?

My blog...

  Blog time! Expectation is being very organized and coming up with great ideas really easily, so after watching an amazing movie what better way to share how much you enjoyed it than write a movie review! Meanwhile in reality, 3 hours later of watching YouTube you remember you have to write your blog and you have 0 ideas on what to write about. Great.

Dinner...

  Dinner! Nom! Nom! Nom! Nom! Nom! Nom! Nom! Nom! The third meal of the day! For expectations you would want to go to a new fancy restaurant with amazing reviews and eat the most expensive thing on the menu! Reality, um Mum's roast dinner will do.

Getting ready for bed...

  Taking off your makeup! Yes! The best time off the evening! Ahh the best feeling ever for expectations just Yaasss!!!! Reality, however is failing to do makeup from tutorials on YouTube.

Bedtime...

  Bedtime! After a long and tiring day it's time to snuggle up! Expectation your mind is fizzling with excitement about getting into a warm cosy bed with pillows to sink into and loads of space in your double bed! Perfect! What a great night sleep you will have! Reality is a bit different, whilst on the Internet you kinda fall asleep on the sofa. Now I have to wake up again and drag myself, half asleep, to the bathroom and to a cold bed, where I lay awake for half an hour.

 Which brings us to the end! I hope you could relate to some of these! Let me know if you are more 'expectations' than 'reality' (and if you are then credit to you for having such a perfect life!) I'll write again next week!

  Byyeee!!!!

How I Edit My Instagram Photos!

  Hello Everybody!

  I love photography and editing my photos! And what better way to show people than to post it on Instagram and my blog! I thought I would share with you how I do all my editing so...

  First I choose my photo: 

  The only editing app I use is the default Instagram options.

  

  I start by filtering my picture. It depends on the photo you are using, but if you are taking a photo of your surroundings use a more earthy filter. Or if you are doing something like a beach scene, a flower, something colourful or something that makes you happy use a brighter filter.

  I am using the filter- Lark: 40. Also I add a border. I have only just recently discovered this but I really like it!

  

  Then I add some Lux. This option will help with contrast.

  This is usually on about: 40. By now you should be seeing a slight difference!

  

  I now move onto generally how you want your photo to look.

  So starting with Brightness which I have set to a minus number, but it depends how good your lighting is in the original shot. On this photo it was quite bright so I turned it down to -30.

  Contrast is basically the Lux option in more depth and on this photo I have set this to -40.

  Structure is used if your photo is slightly out of focus or if you to want to show your photo in a bit more detail. However don't go to over the top with it, because it can make your photo grainy which is why I have mine on -10.

  Warmth is probably my favourite editing option because it transforms a photo on a cloudy day or just a day which looks quite miserable into a sunny and healthy day! Which is why for this photo I have it on 60.

  I have no saturation on this picture because I find it makes the photo look a bit fake and orange.

  I have added a bit of colour and that colour was orange which was on 10. I also added a bit of highlight, this colour was purple. After editing quite a lot of Instagram photos I have learnt that whatever you're trying to pull attention to, try using that colour, a colour similar or a colour that compliments it well!

  Fade is just something to play with. But it can depend on how vintage you want the photo to look. I set this at 30.

  Highlights I feel is just a perfectionist option in my opinion I think it makes the balance of you photo a bit more equal. That's why I put mine on 20.

  Shadows is also something to be set according to your personal preference. Sometimes I have if on -20 and some days I have it on 50 so it really does depend on your own style. But in case you do want to go ISayBell Style I used -10.

  Vignette  I also very much like this as an option. It is difficult to describe, but in my own words it makes the corners go darker. I do quite find a difference in my photo once adding this feature. This was on 40.

  I had no Tilt Shift on my image because I wanted every little detail to be visible. Although it can be used in many photos. So do just test it out!

  Sharpen can also make a photo slightly grainy so don't use a great amount. Which is why I only put it on 10.

  Which now finishes all the editing! And don't worry I will show the finished product so...

  

 

  This was the finished product! So final step is to save and/or share your photo. I hope this inspired you with your photography! That's all for now!

  Byyeee!!!!

Banana Loaf

  Hello Everybody!

  I love baking! But I have never made anything in a loaf tin before, until now... So I thought what better way to use up some bananas and use my loaf tin than make a banana loaf! The recipe I chose was really straight foward and the banana loaf came out very moist and scrummy!

  

                                                            Servings: 8

                                                            Prep Time: 15-20 mins

                                                            Cook Time: 30-40 mins

                                                            Difficulty: Easy

  For this recipe you will need:

  140g butter, softened, plus extra for the tin

  140g caster sugar

  2 large eggs, beaten

  140g self-raising flour

  1 tsp baking powder

  2 very ripe banana, mashed

  50g icing sugar

  Handful of dried banana chips, for decoration (optional, I raided our cereal packet for mine!)

  Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 4. Butter a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then slowly add the eggs with a little flour. Fold in the remaining flour, baking powder and bananas. Pour into the tin, smooth the top and bake for about 30-40 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove to a wire rack.

3. Mix the icing sugar with 2-3 tsp water to make a runny icing. Drizzle the icing across the top of the cake and decorate with banana chips.

  

  It is so good! I can't wait to have another piece! If you do happen to make these please tag me on Instagram showing me your bakes! I will see you next week!

  Byyeee!!!!

  

My New Years Resolutions

  Hello everybody!

  

  Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great New Year and made it a memorable one! It's now that time of the year where you make resolutions to try to improve your year. So here are my resolutions!

  ▪️Keep improving my blog so that I hit 1000 views! We hit 500 around November... let's see if we can achieve this crazy amount by March!

  ▪️Be more organised - don't leave everything last minute! I'm that kind of person who will say, yeah I'll do it in 10 minutes! Then half an hour later I'm getting stressed over it because I haven't done it, which brings us onto the next one!

  ▪️Don't get too stressed out over things! I have done this too many times and got myself into a state! It's terrible to do this so I just need to try not to think of the negative side of things and instead, focus on the positives!

  ▪️Eat healthier! Yes, I know this is the most common resolution, but I cannot say how important this is! It will improve my energy levels, mood and general health I'm sure!

  ▪️Read more books! When I read I love it! I can just never find the time, not that I never have time - I just find something else to do, but in my head I'm thinking I should really be reading!

  ▪️Get out of the house more! Whether it's a walk on the beach or doing stuff in the garden, enjoying the fresh air also keeps me happy!

  

  I hope this inspired you to do some of these things! Feel free to share your resolutions in the comments! That's all from me. I will see you next week!

  Byyeee!!!!