February Favourites

Hey guys!



I can't believe it's the end of February already! Crazy, right? It's scary that I'm over half way through my degree :O  I wish time wouldn't go by so quickly, but oh well, what can you do?



So, today I am going to do a Monthly Favourites post. Usually I would do this on the last day of the month, but as tomorrow is going to be quite hectic, I thought it would be better to post it tonight.



February has been a reasonably quiet month. However, there are still some things I enjoyed. Going back to London for a few days was nice. I felt like it was time to see my parents and cats again - five weeks away from them is a long time. I was also excited to see the new house. I had fun making hot cross buns a couple of weeks ago. They are quite complicated to make but I think I did a good job :P  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the hot cross buns disappeared quickly so I wasn't able to take a good photo of them. Oh well, there's always next time :P  Tomorrow evening I'm going to a 'Taylor Swift Shake It Off' themed party. It should be fun. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's costumes (and going to Willow for THE FIRST TIME THIS ACADEMIC YEAR!!!*).




Onto my favourite products...




1. Looking For Alaska

I know, I know, you can stop looking at me like that! I'm aware that I am totally late with reading this book, and I honestly don't know why, but I've FINALLY read it and didn't regret it. I've only recently got into John Green's books and he never ceases to impress. Looking For Alaska is a great book and I will be doing a review on it fairly soon.




2. Strawberry Laces Soap

Okay, so I realise it's weird having a soap as a Monthly Favourite, but it's STRAWBERRY LACES flavour. WHAT COULD BE BETTER?! It's absolutely amazing and I ended up buying actual strawberry laces a week ago since the smell of the soap was making me crave them.




3. Special K Biscuit Moments



















I first saw this snack whilst browsing the ASDA website and thought they looked tasty. I couldn't resist buying them when I was in town earlier this week. They are indeed as delicious as they look. If you're looking for a new snack to try, I'd definitely recommend this.




4. Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Oh my Gosh, this ice cream is scrumdiliumpcious! I love cheesecake and strawberries AND ice cream so this is the perfect combination. I'm trying not to run to the freezer right now and grab it!





5. Gingerbread Loaf

Gingerbread Loaf was my fave snack from my first Graze box this month. I didn't expect to like ginger fudge, but it was surprisingly delicious. The cinnamon sultanas, pecans and pear pieces complement the fudge really well.






So that's all for this month' Monthly Favourites post! What did you enjoy from this month?





Hasta luego!



Serena





*not that that's a bad thing, as anyone who lives in York and has heard of the infamous Willow would know.

 

 

Sixth Graze Box

Hey guys!


How has your week been? I went back home on the weekend and spent some time with my family. My parents moved into a new house early January so I spent most of the time unpacking boxes. We went to Cote Brasserie on Saturday night. I had roast chicken with garlic butter. It was delicious! Apart from that, I've just been listening to music, singing (of course), and working on my essays. I have FIVE this term, ALL due for THE SAME DAY! So ridiculous! A couple of them are quite interesting and they've given me some ideas for my dissertation next year (which I am really not looking forward to).


Anyway, my sixth Graze box arrived a couple of days ago so I thought I'd share with you what I received.

 

 

 

This was very fruity! I've never tried dried rhubarb before so I wasn't sue what to expect, but it was actually quite good.

 

 

Surprisingly delicious :)

 

 

Very tasty!

 

 

Still have yet to try this :O  Surprising, as anything chocolate would be the first to disappear!

 

 

 

 

 

Hasta luego!

 

 

Serena

 

 

Liebster Award

Hey guys!


I'm sure if you're a regular blogger, or you've read blogs recently, you would've heard about the Liebster Award. Well, I got nominated by Sammii last week and today I am finally going to do a post about it!

The Liebster Award aims to make people more aware of bloggers with under 200 followers. It involves stating 11 random facts about yourself and answering the questions given to you by the person who nominated you. Then you have to nominate other bloggers, usually 11, and make up your own questions to answer them.





Here are 11 random facts about myself:

1. It can make my day if I see a cat in the street.
2. I sometimes put ketchup on baked beans.
3. I once won a competition for my dance to Scandalous by Mis-Teeq.
4. I was once in a pantomime performance of Aladdin.
5. My favourite song ever is Beautiful by Christina Aguilera.
6. I've never broken a bone.
7. I'm so squeamish, even people clicking their fingers makes me want to close my eyes and cover my ears.
8. I've been swimming with dolphins.
9. I started writing a book a few years ago and it's still not finished (I only work on it over the summer holidays).
10. I still haven't seen the last Harry Potter film.
11. My nickname is Seeny, but no one has called me that in aaaages.





Here are my answers to the questions I was asked:



1. What's your favourite film?

I love lots of films, but I would have to say that A Cinderella Story is probably my favourite. I've watched it soo many times!


2. What could you not live without?

Music! I'm ALWAYS listening to music! I'm currently listening to Hero by Enrique Iglesias!



3. What is your favourite clothes shop?

Probably New Look.



4. If you could only take one makeup item with you in your bag, what would it be?

Lip gloss - it's a necessity!



5. Do you prefer winter or summer?

This is difficult, since there are great aspects of both seasons! I guess weather-wise I prefer summer (I get cold really really really easily), but winter is great because that's when my birthday and Christmas are!



6. Fave chocolate bar?

Hmmm...I love Cadbury's Dairy Milk Oreo!



7. What perfume do you like?

I like Miss Dior.



8. Have any pets?

Yes, I have two adorable cats, called Tabitha and Tallulah.



9. What's your favourite holiday?

Christmas!



10. What's your next blog post going to be about?

Not sure at the moment...it shall remain a surprise!



11. What was your first blog post about?

My first blog post was an introduction to why I decided to start blogging.

 

 

Here are the questions for my nominees:


1. Why did you start blogging?

2. How did you decide the name for your blog?

3. Who is your favourite blogger?

4. What is your favourite song?

5. What is your favourite TV programme?

6. Who is your style icon?

7. What is your favourite book?

8. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

9. What is your favourite food?

10. What is your favourite drink?

11. What is your favourite ice cream flavour?





I nominate the following blogs:

http://josievictoriaa.blogspot.co.uk/

http://dancingonpluto.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/riding-rail.html

http://aboomofbitterns.blogspot.co.uk/

http://hettyshaw.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/meeting-tanya-burr-hettys-hints.html

http://jessicaindgedesigns.blogspot.co.uk/

Red Riding Hood

Hey guys!


As promised, I will be doing a book review today. I haven't done one for a while so I thought it's about time I do another!


I've recently finished reading Red Riding Hood, the book tied-in with the 2011 film of the same name.



Here's the blurb from Goodreads:


The blacksmith would marry her.
The woodcutter would run away with her.
The werewolf would turn her into one of its own.

Valerie's sister was beautiful, kind, and sweet. Now she is dead. Henry, the handsome son of the blacksmith, tries to console Valerie, but her wild heart beats fast for another: the outcast woodcutter, Peter, who offers Valerie another life far from home.

After her sister's violent death, Valerie's world begins to spiral out of control. For generations, the Wolf has been kept at bay with a monthly sacrifice. But now no one is safe. When an expert Wolf hunter arrives, the villagers learn that the creature lives among them--it could be anyone in town.

It soon becomes clear that Valerie is the only one who can hear the voice of the creature. The Wolf says she must surrender herself before the blood moon wanes...or everyone she loves will die.






My summary:

Written by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright, this book takes an interesting approach to the traditional fairy tale. It follows the story of Valerie, a girl whose town is haunted by a werewolf. After the tragic and violent death of her beloved older sister, Valerie realises that the wolf is after her. It appears that the wolf is actually one of the villagers. Suspicion grows among the villagers and Valerie fears the wolf could be someone very close to her...could it be her childhood friend Peter? Or Henry, the man she is betrothed to?

Despite the negative reviews I've read about Red Riding Hood, I quite enjoyed this book. It's dark, dramatic and fast-paced - a great combination. The only downside is that the story doesn't seem to have a proper ending; we get a feeling that one person in particular is the wolf in human form, but it's never made certain. Nevertheless, Red Riding Hood is an easy read and I read it in just a few days. If you're a student wanting a break from big heavy textbooks, this is a good choice. I would also recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Twilight, Vampire Diaries and House of Night.


I would probably give Red Riding Hood 3.5 stars (out of 5).



Have you read Red Riding Hood (or watched the film)? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!


Hasta luego!


Serena

Fifth Graze Box

Hey guys!



How was your weekend?



I thought I'd take a break from the Valentine's Day posts today and show you my new Graze box! I absolutely LOVE Graze - their snacks are great! Today I got Korai Chutney, Raspberry Bakewell, Gingerbread Love and Habas Tapas. I'm looking forward to the Raspberry Bakewell - it's a slice of almond bakewell tart with a raspberry compote. It sounds absolutely delicious!

So that's a very short post! I'll probably do a book review later this week, as I finished Red Riding
Hood not so long ago.





Hasta luego!




Serena

February Amazon Wishlist

Hey guys!

It's February already - can you believe it?!

I don't usually do posts like this, but after reading several other blogs, I thought I'd give it a go. So here are the products I want from Amazon!

1. The Invention of Wings

The Invention of Wings is a book by Sue Monk Kidd. I enjoyed one of her other books, The Secret Life of Bees, so I thought I'd try her latest book!





2. Divergent DVD

Unfortunately, I missed watching Divergent in the cinema so I'm going to buy the DVD instead. The second film is out in March so I have to order it soon!





3. One Day DVD

I recently read the book version of One Day and really liked it. I've wanted to watch the film for a while.






4. Weekly Planner Pad

I found this weekly planner pad on Amazon and thought it would be great for organising my blog posts as I'm using my diary for uni stuff and my calendar doesn't really have much space! I like the layout of this particular weekly planner since it has several boxes for each day. I think this is quite convenient for planning blog posts.




That's all for today! Have a good night!



Hasta luego!


Serena