Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017

2016 has been a funny ol' year, that's for sure. Who would've thought that at the beginning of the year how it would have panned out. Brexit, Trump and the amount of idols who we've lost this year has affected every single person in some way or another.

Whilst 2016 has been quite the shit storm, I've actually had some really good things too. From travelling to new places to meeting lots of lovely bloggers there has been quite a few highlights too.

I've been to new places, such as Lindos and Lanzarote, as well as explored more of London, Mallorca and Scotland. I also started the year with a lovely weekend in Newcastle to see my friend where I got to go to a Cat Cafe.
In 2017 I'm hoping that I'll be able to travel more, I have such a travel bug at the moment! Early on in the new year, some of my uni friends and I are hopefully going to Amsterdam and I can't wait to travel with some of my best friends!

2016 also gave me some amazing blogging opportunities working with some great brands such as Comfizz, Woden and Little Black Dress. I've been so lucky to get these opportunities and I hope that in 2017 these opportunities will continue. I absolutely love blogging and I feel so inspired going into the new year to create more content! I already have lots of ideas which I can't wait to write.
2016 also had me stating my YouTube channel, albeit a neglected YouTube channel! However, I got a GoPro style camera for Christmas which I can't wait to use and I'm hopefully going to be doing more vlogs as well as sit down videos. I'm really excited to grow KTMY and see where the next year takes us!

One of my new years resolutions for last year was to see my friends and family more and this is something I really want to carry forward into the new year. I have amazing and supportive friends and family and I love spending time with them :)

I'm feeling incredibly positive about 2017; I feel like I'm going into the year a much more positive and confident person and surrounded by great people.

See ya 2016! 

What have your 2016 highlights been? Let me know in the comments and share some positivity :)

What I read in 2016

"You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book" -Dr Seuss

This year I set myself the task of reading 35 books which I have narrowly missed by 3 books! I'm still incredibly pleased that I managed to read 32 books this year and have read a real range of genres and enjoyed just about all of them! 

And this years reading list was...

Follow You Home by Mark Edwards
This book was a page turner. If you like creepy mystery type books, then you'll love this! I actually did a full review after I read it which will give you a lot more information but if you liked Girl on the Train, you'll LOVE this book!

How To Love by Katie Cotugno 
This is one of those books which will make you feel all types of emotions. The book splits between the present day and three years ago and is about two people who fell in love and then he left her, alone and pregnant. It's a real heartwarming book!

Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott
I absolutely love this series of books by Rachel Abbott and it's on my 2017 reading list to read all the others in the series. It's another one of those crime thriller books which I absolutely love and is an absolute page turner!

The Aliens Are Coming by Ben Miller
Now this isn't my normal type of book but I really enjoyed it. It's a non fiction book about space and aliens by Ben Miller (yes, the actor/tesco advert man) and it's really interesting. I actually went to see him talk about this book, and got to meet him, and it was such a good experience! If you have any interest in space, this is a really good book to read.

Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel
I think this could be my book of the year. I absolutely adored this book and really related to it. It's about a girl who is badly burnt and has to have a face transplant and the book focuses on her feelings about it. It was honestly one of the best books I've ever read! I did a full, in depth review of it so you can get more of my thoughts on the book!

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
I love Rainbow Rowell! Her style of writing is so enjoyable to read. However, this book wasn't what I expected it to be and I honestly didn't really like it that much. The book is about the book featured in her novel FanGirl and is a bit of a knock off from Harry Potter. I get why she wrote it, for fans of Fangirl who wanted to know more about the book, and I still enjoyed her writing but I couldn't help but draw comparisons to HP and the whole fan shipping of Harry and Draco the whole time I was reading it.

In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
Another creepy thriller type book which I couldn't put down!  It involves a hen do with an estranged friend in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a forest...we all know that shit is going to go down in this kind of situation. I loved how the aftermath of the event was mixed with the build up but you didn't know what actually happened till the end, much like the protagonist. Well worth a read if you like suspense books!

Am I Normal Yet? By Holly Bourne 
This is the first book in the Spinster Series (I've since read all three!) and they are possibly one of the first book series where I see the characters and can fully see myself and my friends in them. Am I Normal Yet focuses on Evie who has mental health issues (she has OCD) and is about her and her new two friends starting to understand feminism and starting a feminist group. Whilst they're doing this, Evie has an OCD relapse, but her friends know nothing about it. I really recommend this book to everyone and anyone because it gave me much more understanding of OCD and feminism and is such a good read as well!

How Hard Can Love Be? By Holly Bourne
The second book in the spinster series and focuses on Amber who goes to see her mum who now lives in America. Her mums new partner runs a summer camp and Amber helps out. This is such a good summer read and I can't recommend it enough!

The List by Siobhan Vivian
This book is set in a high school where the first week of the school year, a list is put-up with the prettiest  girl in each year and the ugliest girl in each year. I found this book quite interesting and found the format of it to be really enjoyable to read. Each chapter is from the point of view of one of the girls on the list and shows you how their lives intertwine and how being on the list effects them.

The Missing by CL Taylor
This book is about a boy who goes missing and follows the police and his family trying to find him. If you haven't already guessed it, I love mystery books like this and the suspense which they have!

Always With Love by Giovanna Fletcher
Giovanna Fletcher is one of my favourite authors and I was so pleased that she'd written another Billy and Me book because I absolutely adore the characters in it! It's such a warm, mushy, feel good book which I love to read!

Summer at Rose Island by Holly Martin
I got into this book series when I read the Christmas book last year and when I saw there was more about this little town, I had to read them! The books are set in this little sea side town and this one was about new girl to the town Darcy and the man who keeps himself to himself in the light house, Riley. This is another one of those chick lit books which I love and I really like how there are little mentions to the characters which were featured in the other books set in the town.

Think Twice by Sarah Mlynowski
This is the second book about a group of teenagers who can hear peoples thoughts. I found the premise of the book to be really interesting however I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the last book - maybe it's because too much time had passed and I'd forgotten the last book a bit, or maybe I'm a bit to old to read this now but it was still an okay book!

If I was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
I found this book so enjoyable and original. It's about a girl who moves to a new town to live with her dad because she used to be a boy and was bullied at her old school. I thought this was such an eyeopening book about being transgender and the difficulties it can bring.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
This book had such a plot twist nearer the end and I love books like that! I thought it was going to be a chick lit kinda book BUT I WAS SO WRONG! And has this seemingly perfect life but as you go on through the book, you realise all is not what it seems and something major happened when she was at school. I'm going to eave it at that because I don't want to spoil it for anyone!

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Morgan Matson writes such good YA books and I love to read them in the summer when I'm on holiday. This book is about a girl who is a politician's daughter who basically raised herself because her dad was always busy. This book is about her summer which definitely didn't go as she thought it would be; her dad was at home, there was a lot of dog walking and a guy who lasted more than three weeks!

Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman
Skye has been sent to a summer camp for troubled teens after her sister dies in an accident however when she gets to camp, she starts receiving texts form her dead sister and the story goes from there! I actually really enjoyed this book and it was one of those ones which you just couldn't figure out.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
Another Morgan Matson book which I loved and found incredibly moving. The book is about a family who are going on their last holiday as a family as their dad has terminal cancer so they go to their old lake house which they haven't been to in years. I cried so much at this book and loved how it focused more on family and friend love rather than romantic love (though that's in there too!) and it was so moving.

Get Rich Vlogging by Zoe Griffin
If you're interested in starting a youtube channel then this is the one for you! I found it so helpful in setting up my youtube channel and knowing what to do and what not to. It also gave great advice about equipment and software.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling
I had been waiting for this book for so long and was not disappointed. Yes, the story might not have been the best but I love seeing what everyone had been getting up to after the last book had ended and seeing where they'd ended up and the relationships with their children.

What's a Girl Gotta Do by Holly Bourne
The final book in the spinster series and this one is much more focused on feminism.Lottie decided to do a project on calling out everything which is unfair against gender and the book really highlights how much of this stuff is out there in our daily lives and the effects it has on Lottie.

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines
This book is about a girl who doesn't speak and the captain of the football team who seemingly has it all but is actually dealing with his father dying. They form an unlikely friendship which is really heartwarming.

Hogwarts and Incomplete and Unreliable Guide by JK Rowling
Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies by JK Rowling 
Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists by JK Rowling
I'm putting these three short stories together because I can talk about them all at once! I loved getting further insight into the magical world and seeing just how much JK Rowling has thought about this world and the characters, even the more minor ones!

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
This book is about a girl who is diagnosed with Leukaemia and decides to spend her last few months righting wrongs and convinces her best friend Harvey (who is in love with her) to cause mayhem! But then they have to face the consequences of everything which they do.

13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough 
I was completely blown away buy this book! It takes so many twists and turns and I'm still not 100% sure what happens at the end. Its about a girl who is found in a river and was dead for 13 minutes before they managed to resuscitate her. The story then follows the aftermath and finding out who actually did it. There are some crazy plot twists in here and is definitely a page turner!

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by JK Rowling
I loved the book and film and really enjoyed seeing a different element of the magical world! The story is about Newt Scamander who is an english wizard who has gone to New York and bought with him a briefcase full of forbidden magical creatures which get lost around New York.

The Art of Breathing by Dr Danny Penman 
You all know I love a good mindfulness book and this is a really short book on breathing and meditation which I really enjoyed. I wrote a full review on it last month which you can read here.

On The Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher
Carrie's debut novel did not disappoint. I was so excited to read it and loved the premise. The book is about Evie who has just died however to pass over she has to tell her three deepest secrets. This book is really original and heartwarming and a really good read. I loved how the book was split into the three secrets and how you went between the present day and the past. A fantastic debut novel, and I can't wait to read more by Carrie.

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
Hygge is everywhere and I absolutely adore this book about the danish way of life. Not only is it really informative, it has beautiful pictures! I did a post about the book earlier in the year here.

A Mindfullness Guide For The Frazzled by Ruby Wax
I've just finished reading this book and found it so interesting. I went to see Ruby talk about the book earlier in the year but only just got round to reading it. It's a mix between a factual book about mindfulness, the science behind it and her real life experiences and I think that's what makes the book so interesting. There will be a post about this book early in the new year for you all!

That's what I read this year! Let me know in the comments what you're favourite books of 2016 have been :) 

Ostomates guide to surviving Christmas

Christmas is nearly upon us so I thought I would do a little blog post with some tips and tricks for surviving the festive period successfully with your Stoma.

• Make sure you've ordered enough bags and supplies to get you through Christmas and New Year. If you look like you're running low, ring up your supplier and get some ordered ASAP! I know SecuriCare are really good at doing last minute emergency orders, they've done it for me before, so ring and see what they can do for you!
• Eat consistently this is something I really struggle with, especially over the festive period. Our routines completely change at this time of the year but don't leave long periods of time without food and save yourself for the big dinner because it can cause a bit of trouble. I did this when we had our flat christmas dinner and I had really bad belly ache afterwards
• Carrying on with the food theme, some of the richer foods, and brussel sprouts, can cause wind and your bag to ballon. Some ways to help and prevent this is by drinking peppermint tea, yoghurt and eating regularly.
• Food can cause problems for some ostomates so don't eat things which you know will cause you blockages (I know, this seems like a pretty obvious one!).  I sometimes struggle with raw veg (not all the time as long as I chew well) and I don't like to risk it over the festive season (who wants to be ill at Christmas?!) so some tips would be to cook your veg well, remove skins from potatoes and stay away from whole nuts! 
• Keep hydrated it's easy when it's so busy and cold to not drink enough water and fluids so try to keep on top of it, especially if you're drinking alcohol! 

So those are few tips to get you through the festive season. The most important thing though is to enjoy christmas and have fun!

Don't forget to leave your festive survival tips in the comments below! 

The Weekly Edit | #8

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

How have we come to the last week before Christmas??? This year has flown by; seriously where has it gone? The next two weeks are going to be filled with a few more Christmas posts, some reflection on 2016 and my 2017 goals so stay tuned for those!

So, lets rewind and see what happened this week...

• Some of you might have seen this on my Twitter already but last Sunday I dropped my phone down the toilet and it completely died on me :( So I ended up getting a new phone so if you notice a quality difference in my instagram photo's because I now have an iPhone 7 and oh my goodness it's so pretty! 
• We had a flat Christmas dinner and it was so much fun. We had two of our friends come as well and together we cooked the most beautiful dinner, ate way too much and had a really good laugh. I also got some great presents from my flat mates (they know me way to well!)
• I had a daddy daughter day on Wednesday because my mum had some meetings in Manchester and my dad came too and we had food and went shopping and it was so much fun! We also managed to get all of my mums Christmas presents which was really good!
• I finished my last first term of uni which is absolutely crazy! 
• Me and my mum went for afternoon tea at Augill Castle which was absolutely beautiful 

SO THAT WAS MY WEEK! LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS WHAT YOUR HIGHLIGHTS HAVE BEEN THIS WEEK!

#WBChristmas | Last Minute Gift ideas for Her + Giveaway

Grab the mistletoe and get ready to find the perfect gift for that special someone this Christmas!

I've teamed up with Warner Bro's to give you the chance to win this DVD bundle, which is the perfect gift for christmas for the ladies in your life. I always find it hard to find little gifts which I know someone will like, but DVD's are always a safe bet, especially when it's recent films which you never get round to seeing! Warner Bros. has the ultimate selection, whether you’re looking for him, for her, or for festive favourites to get the whole family in the Christmas spirit.

The five films which you can win are;

Me Before You

This is one of my favourite books, and I liked the film, and I'm so excited that one of you has the chance to win this bundle so you can see it! 

How To Be Single

I never got round to seeing this film when it was in the cinema's, and I'm so excited to sit down with my friends and have a girls night watching this because it looks so funny!

The Heart of the Sea

 Who doesn't love watching dramas which have Chris Hemsworth in?? The film is set in 1820 and is about a ship which is sank by a whale of mammoth size and will - the real life moby dick! This will be a great film to watch between Christmas and New Year! 

The Intern

Another funny/heartwarming film which I never got round to seeing but I'm so excited to watch, especially because it has Robert De Nero and Anne Hathaway in! 

The Wizard of Oz

A classic, heartwarming film perfect for watching at christmas - need I say any more?

You can browse all of the #WBchistmas films here!

For your chance to win this DVD bundle, all you have to do is head over to my twitter, follow me and RT the pinned competition tweet! 

Terms & Conditions

Must be 18 or over

UK residents only (sorry!)

Competition starts on 15th December 2015 and ENDS 20th December 

This post includes a press sample

Read my full disclaimer here

The Weekly Edit | #7

Happy Sunday Everyone!

This week has been quite a busy week with lots of coursework deadlines coming up and the end of the year approaching. I'm absolutely gutted that I've got behind on my blogmas posts but I'm hoping to get back on track tomorrow with another festive blog post! 

So let's have a look at what's been happening this week...

• I've been spending a lot  of time on my dissertation this week, trying to get my head around this second chapter and looking at the notes on my first one. I'm determined to get my second chapter done by the end of the year so keep your fingers crossed for me! 
• I finally got round to watching Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates with my flat mates and it's so damn funny! I'm not going to lie, there isn't a Zac Efron film I don't like but this is up there with one of my favourites!
• Christmas is coming and my Christmas shopping is complete! I managed to get all my presents bought and wrapped up in an afternoon and I'm so pleased with the presents I've got everyone! 
• Yesterday I had afternoon tea at the Roundthorn with everyone from Eden Healthy Lifestyle which is my "gym" where I do classes when I'm home. It was so lovely and such a christmassy setting! 

SO THAT WAS MY WEEK! LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS WHAT YOUR HIGHLIGHTS HAVE BEEN THIS WEEK AND I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW FOR A NEW BLOGMAS POST! 

The Christmas Tag | Blogmas #8

What is your favourite Christmas film?

This is a tough one but I think it's The Santa Clause...or maybe Nativity! because those film has me in stitches every time I watch them!

Have you ever had a white christmas?

I don't think I have :( Maybe one day! 

Where do you usually spend your holiday?

At home with my family! We always go to the pub and see friends there and then have our Christmas dinner and watch Christmas in the evening.

What is your favourite Christmas song

I love Micheal Buble's version of All I Want For Christmas. It's such a beautiful version of the song and I think I might prefer it to Mariah's version! I also love Fairytale of New York, it's such a classic! 

Do you open any present on Christmas eve?

No, definitely not! Anyways, how would I have any presents because Santa's not been yet! 

What holiday traditions are you looking forward to most this year?

I love getting to watch It's A Wonderful Life with my mum and going to the chocolate shop on Christmas Eve to go and get our Christmas Day chocolates! We don't have that many traditions in the lead up to Christmas but I'm definitely looking forward to putting the tree up! I also love going to my brother's house on the Sunday before Christmas to have a mini family christmas and we go out for lunch at their village christmas meal and sing carols round the christmas tree! It always feels so festive!

Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

It's got to be real! We had a fake one one year but it wasn't the same. It doesn't have that same smell, which is a must! 

What's your all time favourite Christmas food?

It's got to be pigs in blankets! I love them so much!

Which do you prefer? Giving or receiving gifts?

This is really tough because I love getting presents but I also love choosing what to buy people and wrapping them up all nicely. I CAN'T CHOOSE!!!

What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season?

I love been at home on Christmas, it would feel wrong to be somewhere else! But if I had to go anywhere else, it would either be New York or DisneyLand because I love Disney at Christmas! 

What's on top of your tree?

Either a golden star or the peg fairy I made when I was in nursery! 

What's your favourite tree decoration?

I have this silver bell with my name on and the year I left nursery on which I absolutely love! 

What's the best part about Christmas?

I feel like I should say spending time with family which, don't get me wrong, is lovely but I love getting to eat lots of food and watching festive tv and films! 

What's your favourite Christmas Tradition? 

Christmas Scents | Blogmas #7

Christmas candles have become my new favourite obsession! 

There's something about candles burning on a cold December evening with a festive film on drinking hot chocolate. Maybe it's the whole hygge feel of it - it's so heart warming. There are a certain few scents which make me feel extra festive, most of which are now in candle form!

Frankincense  & Myrrh 

I have this in candle and room spray form from M&S and it is honestly one of the most christmassy scents ever - it's like christmas personified. What I love most about it is that it's not too sweet and sickly, it's got a much more subtle smell to it. 

Mandarin, Clove & Cinnamon

This is what our house smells of at Christmas and I think that's why I love it so much! It's from M&S and what I really like about this is the mandarin in it; oranges have such a festive smell about them and mixed with the cinnamon makes it so Christmassy! 

Gingerbread

Freshly baked gingerbread is one of my favourite scents and I adore the Zoella body spray (which I actually use as a room spray from time to time). It's got such a warm and homey feel about it which I just adore! 

Spiced Cinnamon

Cinnamon is such a winter smell and the spiced cinnamon candles from Primark are lovely and give the room such a festive feel. 

Mulled Wine

This isn't a candle, it's just the smell of the drink! I love the taste and the smell of mulled wine and the smell is so warming. It always reminds me of Christmas markets because this is what they always smell of! 

What's your favourite festive scent? 

Favourite Festive Films | Blogmas #6

Cold December nights and weekends are made for watching festive films! 

I thought I would share with you some of my favourite films to watch at this magical time of the year! 

Elf

I absolutely adore this film; it never fails to leave me feeling festive and I feel like I relate to buddy the elf probably a bit more than I should! 

Arthur Christmas

I'm actually watching this as I write this and it's so festive and funny and heartwarming 

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

I love watching this film, it reminds me of watching it when I was younger and still do now. It's so beautifully filmed and filled with a magical wonder

The Santa Clause 

I think this has to be my favourite film! It really captures the magic of christmas 

Nativity (1,2 & 3)

These film never fails to make me laugh it's the perfect mix of heat warming storylines with a wicked sense of humour and a dash of nostalgia to the days of Primary School plays.

Love Actually

Who doesn't love Love Actually! With a great cast and sorry line it's an instant feel good film with plenty of laugh out loud moments! Plus, who doesn't love Hugh Grants dance in it? 

It's A Wonderful Life

It's family tradition to watch this on chistmas eve!  It's such a classic, feel good film filled with nostalgia and the gif above is probably my favourite quote from this film, if not my favourite film quote of all time - every time a bell rings an angel gets it's wings

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Any excuse to watch Harry Potter right? I love the Christmas scene in this film and there's something about the nostalgia about this film which makes it such a good film to watch at this time of year

Frozen

I'll take any excuse to sing the Frozen soundtrack at the top of my lungs and Christmas is a perfect time to do that! 

A Christmas Carol

This is such a beautiful film telling a classic Christmas tale and it definitely puts me in the Christmas mood!

What's your favourite Christmas film? 

Manchester Christmas Markets | Blogmas #5

One of my favourite things about Christmas is the Christmas markets!

They always feel and smell so festive and I love all the different types of stalls which are there. I got some lovely presents last year for my mum and I've definitely got my eye on a few things to buy for people this year too! 

If you read yesterdays Weekly Edit you'll have seen that on Saturday I went round the markets because my family came to see me and it was so lovely to walk around; even if it was super busy!

I think my favourite thing about the Christmas markets has to be the food and drinks! There is nothing better than the hot chocolates you can get in there - especially the ones where you stir in the chocolate to the milk! And who can forget the pancakes too, I absolutely adore the pancakes!

What is your favourite thing about the christmas markets?

The Weekly Edit | #6

Happy Sunday Chums and a happy December too - I can't believe we're in the last month of 2016!

If you haven't noticed, Blogmas has started and there is going to be daily, festive themed posts for you all! I'm really enjoying writing these posts and getting in the christmas mood! This week has also been Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week and I feel so bad because I was going to do a new YouTube video every day for the week but it was just too much on top of blogmas and uni work. I'm going to try my hardest to film and edit a new video for you before the week is up though so watch this space! 

So, lets have a look at what happened this week...

• I went to my favourite all you can eat chinese buffet with one of my friends and it was so good! I haven't been there in ages and I'd forgotten how good it was!
• I went to my first ever law society event where the speaker was the President of the Employment Tribunal, Judge Brian Doyle. It was so interesting (and I'm not even that into employment law!). I've got a whole new perspective and a new plan for what I'm going to do next year once I graduate (there will be a blog post on this early next year!)
• I'm feeling so productive and positive about blogging! I fell into such a blogging rut in November and really struggled to come up with blog posts and produce content however this week I've felt so on it and so creative and I'm so happy that I've got my blogging mojo back! 
• I went out on Friday Night (I know, shock!) with some friends to this really cool bar, Menagerie, and we had such a good night! We felt completely out of place (there were actual celebrities there) but we danced and laughed and didn't have a care in the world and it was so much fun! It was also a very instagrammable place (it's where the photo of todays post was taken!)
• My family came to Manchester yesterday and we went round the Christmas markets! It was so festive and nice to be able to spend time with my mum and dad, brother, sister-in-law and niece and nephew!

So that was my week! Let me know in the comments what your highlights have been this week and I'll see you tomorrow for a new blogmas post! 

The Emperor & The Nightingale At Theatre By The Lake | Blogmas #3

Last Saturday I headed to see Theatre By The Lakes Christmas production which is The Emperor & The Nightingale. The play is set in ancient China about an Emperor who wants everything, including things he can’t have and a beautiful Nightingale who teaches him how to open his heart and love.
This adaptation has to be one of the best I have seen of this production; it added real humour to the play which had the audience laughing throughout.

The use of puppetry for the Nightingale really brought the performance to life and the detail in the bird left you forgetting that it wasn’t real and you forgot that there was someone controlling it as it felt so lifelike. Amy Gardyne, who voiced and controlled the Nightingale, gave a beautiful performance when singing the nightingale song. 

The charter of Li-Si, played by Joel Sams, was the villain of the story and gave a panto villan performance whilst still being in keeping with the production. He had audience members young and old booing and jeering and left us all in hysterics. He really brought the character to life and gave an unforgettable performance.

The characters of Xiao and Wu, played by Sally Cheng and Martin Sarreal, played the main two protagonists and the pair had great rapport between them. Cheng gave a brilliant performance and came over as natural and captured the innocence of the character well. 

There has to be a mention of the lighting effects used throughout the production. The theatre was filled with Chinese lanterns which gave such an atmosphere and made you feel a part of the set. The lighting in each scene really captured the mood of the scene which really added something extra.

The music throughout the performance added another dimension to the story and brought the whole tale to life. Whilst only a small cast, they were all involved musically either singing or playing instruments, and it was a great and imaginative way to move the narrative along. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this performance and even though it wasn't a christmas tale, it was an excellent story and had a magical quality about it!

The Emperor & The Nightingale is playing at Theatre By The Lake till 14th January 2017

Festive Hot Chocolate | Blogmas #2

Hot chocolate season is upon us! 

One of my favourite drinks to have at this time of year (apart from mulled wine!) is hot chocolate and  I love all of the different variations in all of the coffee shops right now so I thought I would show you my festive twist for an at home hot chocolate! 

Ingredients 

• 2 tsp drinking chocolate drops
• milk
• half an orange
• cinnamon 
• whipped cream
• mini marshmallows 

Method

• heat milk in a pan & add the 2 tsp of chocolate drops. I've used dark drinking chocolate drops which I got from Tobermory Chocolate Shop when I was on holiday there but I'm pretty sure you can get them anywhere!
• Squeeze in half an orange, a sprinkle of cinnamon & a pinch of cornflower. Mix it together and bring the milk to the boil, stirring till all the chocolates melted
• Add the squirty cream, sprinkle some cinnamon, grate some orange and add some marshmallows

And voila! You have a festive hot chocolate :) 

Not only does this taste delicious, it also smells amazing and festive. Leave your favourite festive drinks in the comments below :) 

A Festive Playlist | Blogmas #1

The Christmas countdown has officially begun and Blogmas has started! To celebrate the festive period, I'm taking part in Blogmas which means a new festive post everyday this month! And to get us all in the festive spirit, I'm sharing with you a festive playlist!

I LOVE Christmas and Christmas music and I'm so excited that I can have all my festive playlists 24/7! I thought I'd share with you all 10 of my favourite Christmas songs (ft a lot of Michael Buble) to get you feeling festive! 

1. Sleigh Ride by Pentatonix

2. It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Michael Buble

3. All I Want For Christmas Is You  by Michael Buble

4. Baby It's Cold Outside  by Michael Buble & India Menzel 

5. All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey

6. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday by Wizzard

7. Fairytale of New York by The Pogues

8. Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) by The Darkness

9. Underneath The Tree by Kelly Clarkson

10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Glee Cast

I know that All I Want For Christmas is on the playlist twice but I love both versions so much and it felt wrong not to have Mariah's version on the playlist as well; I mean is it even a Christmas playlist if she isn't on there? 

How I managed to only choose 1 glee song, I'm not so sure! I used to get so excited when their Christmas albums came out because they did some great arrangements and produced some of my favourite versions of some songs! 

I absolutely adore Pentatonix and their arrangement of Sleigh Ride is so festive and original - I was so obsessed with this last year so I had to put it on this years playlist! 

What songs are an absolute must on your festive playlist?