Lucky jumper, y'all

Here's another OOTD for y'all! (read in American accent for maximum effect)

The weather wasn't as nice as in my first OOTD, so say hello to my kitchen door!

This whole outfit was inspired around this lucky 'lil  jumper. I'd never seen anything like it before, its just plain on the body section, but on the arms its a beautiful chiffon material that really dresses the whole look up. 

Cute AND  comfy, say WHAT?!?

Because the top was still pretty plain, I added a long necklace (owls FTW!) and some polka dot dark-wash skinny jeans to make it more interesting. 

 Since my necklace was gold, I decided to add a cute gold 3D bird ring, a plait headband with gold detail and a gold bow hair band to finish off my plait.

My shoes continue the theme of cute and comfy- they obviously are heels, but they are chunky heels which means they are super easy to walk in and because they are boots they give you tons of support.

 I love this type of shoe in general because they are super versatile.

Jumper: Glance
Jeans: Next
Shoes: F&F for Tesco
Shoulder Bag: F&F for Tesco
Necklace: A Present
Headband: Claire's
Ring: Claire's
Hair band: Tiger

Dad: 'So what's this for again?'

Ring close up.

Hair bow, Headband and Necklace close up. Its a gold overload! (if that's possible.)

I couldn't NOT put this picture of my favourite boy and I.
 He's a cutie, ain't he just?!? To read more about him and his best friend, click HERE.



Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and that it gave you some inspo for that awkward transition period in between summer and autumn.

*Sparkle*---

Rachel   xxx

Miracle in the making.

Anyone who know me, knows that I'm a litttllllee obsessed with Youtube. If you don't know what Youtube is....I'm not even going to finish that sentence. You MUST know what Youtube is.


Anyway, it takes up a heck a lot of my time. I watch video's whilst I'm getting ready/cleaning/cooking/dancing/learning/talking/sleeping   and i have been doing for over 3 years (I can't watch Youtube videos while I'm sleeping, but if I could; I probably would.)

I'm subscribed to 187 channels (and its being added to everyday!) which may not seem like a lot, but when you're watching nearly all of the video's that each channel puts up- it's mahoosive.  I wish there was some way I could find out how many
hours  days I've spent watching Youtube videos.

I went to Summer In The City on the 17th and 18th of August. You can check out the post I wrote on this subject before going Here. 

It's basically a massive YouTube convention. I'll blog about what went down later on, maybe.

The initial point of this blog was not to ramble about how obsessed I am with Youtube; however.

Naturally loving Youtube so much, I'm always on the look out for new Youtube Channels. Rachel Talbolt ( from 'Check In The Mirror' on YT) announced that she was expecting a baby :-). I was looking through the comments, and someone mentioned 'The Bumps along the way' and 'DailyBumps'.
It's run by two young parents, Missy and Bryan Lanning. 

They wanted a child so bad, but the 'bumps along the way' sadly prevented them from having one..... until 2 weeks ago, when baby Oliver came along! They've been so brave in sharing their story, and possibly helping other families experience with loss like their's. They are such great parents, and people in general- and despite me being a mere teenage girl, I've become so invested in their life. 

It must be cray cray to have a new child and still vlog everyday on 'Daily Bumps', plus upload regular videos on  their parenthood channel 'The Bumps Along The Way'. They vlogged everything from Missy telling Byran she's pregnant; to each week a 'BumpDate' on how Missy and the unborn baby were getting along (and the size that the baby would be compared to a fruit) and even the birth itself. 

This has lead me to be obsessed with babies...in the least creepy fashion. Every time I see a cute baby I squel and become a wreck. It's like a maternal instinct or something. When I talk to my mum about it she laughs and just reminds me how much hard work they are, etc- like I'm actually planning to have a baby.

Anyway, enough about my creepiness. 

I believe Byran and Missy are friends with a Traditional Celtic band, 'Nelson at the helm'. They wrote an amazing song for Oliver. It's called Miracle in the making (Oliver's song). I purchased it on iTunes instantly. It's on constant repeat. I highly recommend for you to have a little listen, it's a tear-jerker, yo. 

Miracle in the making- Nelson at the Helm

I've basically just given a massive plug for DailyBumps

, but I do love so many YouTube channels. 

There might be a 'Favourite 

You-tubers'  video in the pipeline, so get 

excited!

I'm blogging from my hotel room on holiday, 

and if that isn't dedication, I don't know what 

is! 

You may appulade me later. Or now. 

Whatever floats your boat. That saying 

makes me cringe, ahah. 

*Sparkle*---

Rachel   xxx

----------------------------------EDIT: 17/09/13--------------------------------------

It's been 27 days since I initially posted this post, and since then, my subscriptions have increased from 187 to 260. That's 73 more. 

Told you I love me some Youtube :-)

A catch up and BABY LIPS!!!!!

My best friend Charlotte had just returned from an amazing trip to Italy (slighhhtlly envious...) and we definitely needed a well over due catch up.

*Charlotte also has a blog, filled of her cool photography & days out-check it out HERE.

(She is also doing a similar post to me that is live now!)*

REVELATIONS were MADE!

PLANS were PLANNED! (kinda)

SHOPS WERE SHOPPED! (just one shop)

I'm making it sound like it was a lot more exciting than it was; but nevertheless I did have a great time.

We went to our local town, walking through the park, which gave us a lovvveelly chance to catch up. 

Then we went to Starbucks; where I tried for a while to put some money on my Starbucks Card...in order to get a discount (cheapskate for life! Internet high five me if you are too).

After THAT was sorted out, the next port of call was to go into 99p store (I told you I was a cheapskate) to pick up some snacks for the movie night that was happening the next day.(The movie night is actually in a hour as I type this :-).

Then we kinda gravitated towards Superdrug, it's like we had no control over ourselves at all! We trawled around the shop for a bit; and after much deliberation (the most indecisive award goes to...) I decided not to get anything at all. Charlotte was buying some water and as we were queueing up we saw the most marvelous sight: 'Baby Lips'. Check them out Here.

~Baby Lips: Sold by Maybelline. Claim to be like a lip balm but more, and I'm a sucker for lipbalms. The more part is that most of the shades are tinted in one form or another, so you can wear them by themselves for a lovely subtle pop of colour.~

But this wasn't the main reason I was excited for these products, oh no. 

In America Baby Lips have been out for what seems eons, and nearly every American Blogger/Vlogger/Guru has mentioned these bad boys at some point. 

At first I looked into them, but alas- they were not available here. 

And you always want what you cant have, right?!? 

So just imagine my excitement of paramount proportions when they were just sitting before me in all their Baby Glory?

They had a '3 for 2' offer on ( Buy three, only pay for 2) which I believe is still on, so skedaddle down to your nearest Superdrug if you feel so inclined!   

And since we definitely WASN'T going to leave Superdrug without the Baby Lips, we thought we might as well pick up a Barry M Gelly Nail Polish as they were on 2 for £6 (or £3.99 each). I love the Barry M Gelly Nail Polishes as I can actually use them. On a number of occasions I've gone through a whole bottle of nail polish- but having nothing to show for it on my nails.

 If one nail smudges, you have to start all again and the formula can be streaky or bubbly.....

But not the Barry M ones! The Formula is super thick and opaque and if you use a good Nail Dryer, ( I like the Sally Hansen 'Dry Kwik' see HERE.)the polish dries in no time at all! 

So we walked back through the park after our very successful purchases (saving nearly £5!) and I broke the news to Charlotte that I've actually have had a blog for ages. I know, I know- I'm a bad friend. I wasn't actively hiding it, just not telling her. She had a blog too, and I wasn't that confident in mine just then to share it with her. But I bit the bullet, and now I feel and ton better for it. 

We took the pics for this post in the park, so here goes! (Other people must of though we were crazy, taking pictures of us with lip balms!)

   Aww, look how excited I look with all the products! ( 'All' meaning 5...) 

     

     Having to open the packing on a product is one of the hardest things! 

       You just want to keep everything pristine but use the product at the same time ahah.

           

     This is what Charlotte bought, I'm sure she'll speak about what she thinks about these products, as I haven't used them. But the colours look great and I'm sure I'd like them.

                        

I got the Baby Lips in Peach Kiss, which is very natural on my lips. It does have a slight shimmer to it, which looks really sweet. It has a lovely artificial peach smell, that for some reason reminds me of my childhood. I love it.

The next Baby Lips I got was in Cherry Me. Let's all stop and appreciate how darn cute that name is. Cherry me, as in Marry me-right?!? 

Cute names just make me love a product even more. This one smells like my favourite flavour Chupa Chups lollipop.... in Cherry (duh). 

I can't give a well-rounded evaluation of these as of now, but if I really love them/hate them; chances are you'll be hearing from me.One thing I had noticed is that even though they can feel really moisturising at first, they dry down and leave your lips a little dry. I don't know whether that's just me, but I'll have to give it a couple more uses before I can back this up.

The Barry M nail colour is so amazing. It looks more pastel in the picture, but on the nails it is definately a BRIGHT highlighter pink. I do own another Barry M Nail Gelly, and its a dark purple-so I wanted something bright for the summer. I definitely got that! The formula is exactly what I expected, it gives you a high shine  look, said to be likened to going to the salon.

 I'm wearing it on my nails as I type! (nice visual for you there).

What I've learnt from this post: 

• That I'm a major cheapskate
• That I HATE opening products for the first time
• That I'm kinda confident in my blog now (otherwise I wouldn't have told Charlotte)
• That artificial peach reminds me of my childhood
• That I've used 'that' and '(brackets)' waaayyy too much in this post :-)

Here's a picture of the beautiful Charlotte, if you care to see. 

(Internet high five for the cheapskate thing earlier! *bam*)

*Sparkle*---

Rachel   xxx

Summer Checklist!

I haven't blogged in a while...although day after day its been on my mind to!

My summer holidays are in full swing: I'm 12 days in now.

I can't say I've done much with my time so far. Some of my friends are jetting off to far away places- but- alas, I am not.

 Last year my family and I went to France, and the year before Florida: but this is the first year that we have our two beautiful cats (Read about them HERE) and all of us (especially mum) couldn't bear to leave them behind.

(If you've forgotten  their 'Feline Faces', here they are again :-)

Whether we: 

• put them in a cat shelter.......
• get a member of our family to visit them.......
• Hire someone to live with them ......
• Skype with them every night....
• Send them to to Buckingham Palace to be personally served gourmet delights by the QUEEN herself on a silver platter.....

I STILL don't think my dear old mother would  could find it in her heart to leave the cats.

Which means no holiday abroad/holiday in England for more than 3 days.

Yet still I am determined to keep my summer jam-packed: I've failed miserably so far, 

most days I'm waking up late, 

                            walking around in a haze, 

                                                  snaking on junk,

                                                         not knowing what time or even what day it is,

                                                                   and going to bed early hours of the morning.
Whoops!

I've made the conscious decision to make a change.

Please welcome my Summer Checklist! 

1) Number one is to practice my keyboard like a crazy person. My Grade 5 exam is scheduled for November and I'm waaayyyy behind. I don't want to get into the mindset that I have lots of time- because November will creep up on me before I know it! It seems like I've lost all motivation, and would much rather read and book or play guitar. I just need to push through the work, and hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things.

2) I'm probably going to redecorate my room, which I'm super excited about. My room has been in its current state for nearly 3 years now and I want to switch things up. I have a theme in mind and hopefully I'll do a blog post devoted entirely to this topic once I plan it a bit more...and not to mention pictures of when its finally finished! (aaaa just writing this makes me eminently excited!)

3) I'm going to try and eat as healthily as possible. I'm not going to cut out sweet treats completely, just greatly limit my intake; and have something healthy instead.
E.g: Banana>Cake.
Also, exercise more. I'm really loving Just Dance and Wii Fit on the Wii as its fun yet beneficial. My weight goal is set on Wii Fit (I want to lose a couple of pounds) but I'm not going to go overboard and push myself too far- because I won't be able to keep it up. If I don't meet my goal, but still lose weight and feel like I've made improvements, that's fine for me. It's all about starting small.

4) Like I mentioned earlier, my body clock is messed up. I'm going to bed too late and waking up too late. If I don't sort this out when I start back school I'm going to have a big shock when I have to get up at 7:00am opposed to 12:30pm. My goal is to go to bed at 10:00pm and get up at 10:00am (or as near as possible) every day. I've got it down to 11:45pm-10:15am roughly. I'm still working on it.

5) I have a little bit of homework to do... Read a book (Lord Of The Flies... I've read a chapter & I'm not sure how I feel about it yet) and do a page of maths work. My art teacher also gave me a 'no-obligation-to-complete-GCSE-art assignment', as she really wanted me to take art as one of my GCSE's but I didn't have enough options. However I do really love art, and if I have some spare time and I'm in the mood to do it/bits of it; I will

6) Have fun.


Hope you enjoyed my Summer Checklist! Are you going anywhere this summer? Can I come with you in your suitcase? (only joking....kind of)

*Sparkle*---

Rachel   xxx

Say Hello To Yellow.

I recently bought a new nail polish. And I can safely say that I'm maybe *this* much obsessed.

Its this beautiful vibrant banana yellow colour, that somehow manages to not make the wearer look like they have a disease and instead looks beautifully summery.

Its not pale enough to be a pastel, yet not bright enough to be a neon. It strikes that difficult balance and the result is truly unique. I can't think of the last time I saw someone wear a nail polish similar to this.

'What better time to break out of your nail polish rut and try something new than summer!' 

Was my justification, swinging my Debenhams carrier bag through the shopping center: a pricey/bright/slightly scary nail polish secretly nestled inside.

It's a Butter London nail polish in the shade 'Cheeky Chops': if you want to get your desperately plain fingertips on it.

This was my first Butter London polish, and I must say that I am quite impressed with the smooth and easy application... and the opacity in one coat! 

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen you heard right (which I was not expecting, espically being such a light colour)

So yes. I'm not sure whether this is a summer fling, but I'll let you know if in the colder months I'm still reaching for my banana nail fix. 

*Sparkle*---

Rachel   xxx

-------------------------------------EDIT: 30/7/13-------------------------------------

Barry M currently have a promotion where if you spend £6 on selected Barry M, you receive a free limited edition nail paint. There are two colours to choose from: Pink and Yellow (quite similar to the one I reviewed up there!) 

If you want to dabble in the world of yellow polishes but are not prepared to fork out circa £12, this offer may be a good place to start! Link HERE

The Relationship Rose

'What's in a name? 

That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet'

~ Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare. 

(MY good old friend)

Say hello to the 'Relationship Rose!' Go on.... It won't bite!! Okay... Suit yourself.. 

At least pick a leaf. He loves me, he loves me not......

My friend just told me today that she is 'going out with somebody'. 

I dislike that terminology, but I guess that is what everyone uses.... Myself included. I was so happy when she told me *queue jumping around and squealing like a hungry pig* especially since I knew that she liked the boy for quite some time. 

This lead me to thinking... We are getting to the age where we start to think about these things and I was wondering whether a boy would ever like me that way, and more importantly whether I would reciprocate.

Books, films and the media don't help young teenage girls with this. They romanticize it, so much so that if you are not in a relationship,  you may feel unsatisfied- or even not loved or wanted. 

I don't necessarily feel like that, it's just an observation. I don't want to be in a relationship just because I don't want to be alone..... I need to be alone first, and know what that feels like, and be comfortable with myself in 'alone-status' before I could ever date. 

 I feel like I'm just finding out who I am, and fighting those pesky internal demons, and the idea of having another prominent figure in my life.... is a bit bewildering, to say the least. 

Baring in mind I would have to trust this person (not my strong point) and devote a lot of my time to him (time being the thing that I do not have a lot spare for my own). So right now I don't have time for 'A Boyfriend'.

You know those 5 years olds children who toddle around with a boy or girl, and confess their love or one another, hold hands; and might even have a wedding?

I remember being bridesmaid for one of those 'dos. 

Anyway my point is that's the only first-hand experience I've had of relationships. 

If I was to date now, I don't really have that much knowledge on the subject. I'm innocent, I guess. And naive. And that's a possible disadvantage, and I don't want to be taken advantage of. 

This reminds me of the song '15 by Taylor Swift'. Check it out HERE

One line of it goes:

'And when you're fifteen, 

And somebody tells you they love you,

You're gonna believe them.'

 But I think it'll be nice, when the time is right. 

P.S- There is no one I'm crushing on the induce this post! It's just my friend started dating and it got me thinking. :-) 

*Sparkle*---

Rachel   xxx

My summer makeup routine!!

Since my most popular post is 'My everyday makeup routine', I thought I would do another (giving people want they want and all... Says the girl with a 0 follower count haha). Of course I couldn't do another post exactly the same, I wanted to mix it up; and since the word on everyone's (and by everyone's I mean the part of England that I live in) is summer, I had the amazingly amazing idea to do a summer everyday makeup routine; the emphasis being on the summer part.  Genius, right?!  

  

As I'm pretty sure most people don't wear the same makeup in the dead of winter as they wear on a glorious summer day. ( Like Today in England, btw. Highs for 27 Degrees- yes please. ~ A short poem by Rachel Reid :-)

On most summer days I don't wear any makeup up at all, but now and again I tend to a have penchant for wearing a bright lipstick with no other makeup. Par example: today!

We just got a family iPad, so I apologise if I'm a bit snap-happy. It's so much easier than having to take  pics on your camera, download to your computer, edit etc. Now my photos will be as candid as they come!!!

Anyway, I digress. Yet again. But some days in the summer you might be going to a special event… (E.g: summer in the city- I'll be there!) and you just feel a little bit too naked with next to no makeup on. So I present to you: 

My summer makeup routine!!

Finally, you all gasp in unison. 

~First I take the Revlon PhotoReady 'Compact Makeup' (my shade is 200 beige, if you care to know and it's a really good match, especially since I couldn't swatch it in the store!) It has a 'liquefying screen' which, according to Revlon 

"The cream makeup instantly liquefies for complete coverage and superior blend-ability. Lightweight powder finish. Perfected airbrushed skin in any light". I wasn't expecting it to be that good when I bought it, as it was a spur of the moment kinda thaanng; and although I was familiar with the 'photo ready' line- I hadn't heard anything about this particular product online.

 However, it was super easy to apply, with the sponge and mirror that it comes with (perfect for on the go, or even a festival!) and true to claims blends really nicely and looks soooo natural. One thing I can't stand is feeling self conscious because you are wearing your makeup too noticeably .

~Next to keep the makeup in place for longer, and mattify the skin in those hot (hopefully!) summer months, I use the Collection 2000 ( now asking to be called simply...'Collection'. Ohhh-err. Get them :-) Pressed Powder in 15 Warm Bronze. It also leaves a nice smooth feeling on the skin ( I'm guessing that's because its enriched with silk!)

~After that I curl my lashes with some random lash curlers and apply the Relvon PhotoReady 3D Volume Mascara in  Blackest Black. I wouldn't call it 'Volume' per say; its more Lengthening and  definition, but still a great product all the same. 

I don't know about you, but with all this 'PhotoReady' in there I just might have to wear it to Summer in the City, since I'll *hopefully* be photographed with some Youtuber's and  want to look my best! I give you permission to steal this look :-). ( Although it isn't groundbreaking, what am I saying?!?)

~To finish,   I apply the Relvon Lip Butter (excess use of Relvon not intended.) in the shade 010 Raspberry Pie.(what I'm wearing in the earlier picture). It's a really pretty colour; but its light and not drying on your lips, as conventional lipsticks have a tendency to do. You can sheer it out, or apply a couple of layers and have a really statement lip. I love its versatility!   

Or... It's just the staple we all know and love Vaseline. Sometimes a girl needs a bit of Mosturizing 'ya know?

Sooo that's it! I apologise about their being no promised Monthly favorites, time just snuck away from me as it has a habit of doing recently. I lost the list with all the things I wanted to include, so that's my totally acceptable reasoning. Right?!?

 I'm so drained from school and can't wait for the hols (2 weeks left!!) I have a list as long as my arm of things to do... whether that happens or not, we'll see ( we all know what happened the last time I promised to do something :-) 

I feel that this post has been really long and I really need to try my hand at condensing. But writing this exact sentance is just making it longer so.....

*Sparkle*---

Rachel   xxx