"i'm officially a student!": moving to university

Hello! So I've been a little absent this weekend as I have been a bit busy with moving into university...

Saturday was possibly one of the most stressful days of my life trying to get everything done before I left, trying to buy all the last minute things I needed and trying to say goodbye to all the people I would miss. On Saturday night my parents and I also went for our last dinner together before I left and things got a bit emotional.

(Now I want to just give a little piece of advice at this point to people who are about to move to university or who will be moving in the next few years. I was so excited about going to university all summer but it this weekend it really hit me how much I would miss home. It got me to thinking that I really wasn't ready and that university wasn't for me. Obviously this got me very stressed that I had made the complete wrong choice on what to do with the rest of my life. I, therefore ended up getting very emotional many times and just feeling so lost and confused. However, I just had to keep thinking of the positives and how it wasn't like I was never going to see my friends and family again or never go back home in order to calm me down and remind me that what I was doing was the right idea. So I just wanted to let you know that if you do find yourself getting a bit teary as you begin this new journey away from home, it's fine! It's okay to cry! I thought it wasn't at first and that I was one of those people that couldn't handle university but you have to remember that everybody is different and everybody handles these things in different ways! And you are never alone - there are a whole host of people for you to talk to. (attempt at advice now over...))

Anyway, yesterday was the day that I officially moved in to my new flat. It was an early start so I could do some last minute packing before we left and to make sure that I arrived on time (i had a specific time slot for moving in). As a result, I was absolutely shattered and already emotional meaning that the car journey was spent feeling pretty queasy. Once I had arrived, however, my nerves had simmered down quite a bit and once I'd seen my room I was much happier. My room is actually really nice - it's pretty simple but it's also pretty big so once all my stuff was in it's place, it looked really good. However, once it was time for my parents to leave, the tears came once again. I think it was purely because it was this whole new experience in a completely new environment that set me off and the fact I would be on my own. After they'd gone though I went into the kitchen/lounge area and sat with my flatmates and ended up feeling so much better. There are two other girls in my flat and 3 guys and everybody is lovely.

Last night we all had dinner together and then I went to the fresher's 'opening night' at one of the clubs in town which was really good fun. It wasn't too crazy of a night but I still got had a good time! I also managed to meet up with one of my friend's from back home which I was very happy about!

Today has been much more chilled and we've just done a bit of shopping, wandered around the area and had dinner. Some of us are now just sat in the communal area watching a bit of TV and having a chat. We're going to have a quiet night in as most of us have induction events tomorrow and want to be nice and fresh face for those.

Even though it was a rocky and emotional start I'm really enjoying university life already. I got my timetable today and it's absolutely amazing (i have no lectures on a friday, ever and every other monday is free!) so once I get back into a structure I'm sure I'm going to have the best time here!

So that's my little rambly post about moving to university and settling in. Obviously I'm not the most experienced and it is only my second day here but if anybody has any questions then please ask! I'll be happy to have someone else to talk to as well! Advice is also very much welcome!

Now I'm going to go back and join my flatmates before an early night ready for tomorrow...

my lovely lovely room

wristband for the fresher's party

aqua splash tangle teezer

Before I started blogging/reading blogs, I had never heard of the brand Tangle Teezer before and had never thought about owning a specialist brush that would remove my tangles and knots with ease. Back when I used to have ridiculously long and dry hair, an item like this would be an absolute godsend as my hair would knot so easily. However, know I have removed all my dead ends and have much shorter, healthier hair, it doesn't tangle nearly as easily. But I got this with the Selfridge's Summer Beauty Box and was super excited to try it out. Unfortunately though, I have ended up rather disappointed.

Something that I do love about it is the colour. It's so bright and pretty and it's something that I'd definitely be happy whipping out as it's so much nice than just your average hairbrush. It's shape is also something I really like. It's unique and great for the bath and shower as it's lightweight and not too 'clunky'. The shape is completely different shape to the original tangle teezers but just as nice I think. One thing that the Aqua Splash has in common with the other tangle teezers available is the different length of 'bristles' with both short and long to try and reach all layers of your hair.

Now as it is aimed for use in the water, I thought it'd be perfect for use in the shower after I've put conditioner in, to help run the conditioner through the lengths of my hair whilst detangling at the same time. However this isn't actually what happened when I gave it a go. As the 'bristles' are so flexible, when I tried to brush through my hair they just bent and so wouldn't actually catch any of my hair, just sort of run over the top. When I did actually get more of a hang of it, it only really worked well on the ends of my hair and only really brushed the top layer of my hair. In order to get it to work on the full length and all layers of your hair, you have to really grip the roots in order for the rest to detangle. Sometimes you almost have to place your hair onto the brush in order for it to detangle which really is disappointing.

One time it really worked well was on towel-dried hair so it could be a substitute for your average brush. But as it is aimed for water use, I would have thought it'd work well on both dry and wet hair. However, the next time I used it in the shower it really tore at my hair and it was really hard to detangle my hair. My hair isn't even that knotty most of the time so I can't understand why it was so particularly difficult with this tangle teezer. However, after the initial difficulty, it did make my hair really soft afterwards but I think this was purely because it got my conditioner all through my hair which could quite easily be done with a cheaper, normal brush.

So there we go - my very disappointed review of a product I was super excited about. But even though this review isn't the most positive, I will keep trying to use it to see if it'll grow on me but I do also want to try out one of the original tangle teezers because there are so many positive reviews out there of them. I also don't want this review to put anybody off checking out the tangle teezer products as I know for a fact that most people absolutely love them and they will obviously work differently for different people!

MUSINGS...
Finally a post that isn't published late at night! I've finally got my act together today and got round to writing this review at a decent time. I'm going out this afternoon to the gym and then to the hairdresser's which I'm so excited about. I absolutely love getting my hair done so I can't wait for it to be washed and cut and nicely styled (small minds!).

I also have to start packing properly tonight for my move to university this weekend. I don't actually get that stressed or worried about it until I think about how much I have to get done and how much of a change it's going to be which is when I start getting all anxious (arghhh). But I know I'm going to enjoy myself once I have everything sorted and once I've settled in. Then I'll be happy (I hope!).

soap & glory no clogs allowed super self heating deep pore detox mask

So I mentioned in my last Soap & Glory post that I picked up 3 skincare products after a rubbish day of exams as a way to cheer myself up and as I've already done the review for the exfoliator I thought it was about time to try out the masks. The two masks I chose both work on clearing your pores but in different ways and with my pores being my biggest trouble spot, I'm looking forward to seeing how each of them works. Now I've only tried one so far and I absolutely love it so please read on for possibly one of the most positive reviews you will ever witness!

So as I mentioned, my pores are the worst part of my skin - they're absolutely huge and very easily get clogged. But to be honest, I don't always give my skin the deep clean it always needs. Blackheads are also another huge problem for me and these are probably a result, again, of not deep cleansing my skin that often. Therefore, anything that claims to get rid of them in one easy step is great for me.

As soon as you squeeze some of this mask out it has a slight gritty feel to it which I, at first, assumed was for exfoliation as they are tiny tiny beads. However, as I applied more to my face, I realised that there were some bigger beads in there too and as you rub the mask onto your face, these beads sort of melt away and create the heating sensation of the mask. The mask really starts to heat up as soon as it is put onto the face and it does become pretty hot (never had one as hot as this before) which may not be to everyone's tastes. I personally love it because it means my pores are really being opened and cleaned.

I think this would be really great for when your skin is feeling particularly clogged. Mine usually gets quite bad once a fortnight or if I've been wearing make up particularly often so I would use this mask instead of my other, regular masks as it's much more thorough and for the specific use of unclogging pores. Therefore in the future, I'm going to mix it into my normal routine to give my face a regular deep clean.

Another thing that I really love about the whole product is the little scrub you get with it as it means further exfoliation as you remove the mask from your face and it's a really handy way of taking the mask off. I've never actually used a sponge to take a mask off before but I like it as it's not too rough at all.

But onto the results! My face felt and (!!!) looked unclogged! My blackheads were significantly reduced in size and sight instantly and my pores looked so much smaller. I absolutely love it! I've never had a mask like it before or one that produces such an instant result. It's exactly what I've always looked for in a mask. My face felt super soft after using it which made me very happy! And because of the instant outcomes, I would recommend this to use before a big night out or if you want a quick fix!

So there we go. A super positive review and a product I'm very happy with. I've only used this a couple of times but I already know it's going to become my holy grail face mask! I really urge all of you who have problems with pores and blackheads to give this a go because it really does work!

MUSINGS...
Sorry for such a late post but I've been super busy today! This morning was actually quite laid back but then my dad and I went to the Trafford Centre to pick up my very lovely MacBook Air. Now this is actually for my birthday next week but I needed it early so I could set it all up before I headed off to university. It's my first ever MacBook and I absolutely love it! I feel so lucky and I'm so grateful to my parents for it!

After we got that we did a bit of other shopping that we needed to do before heading home so I could start playing around with my new toy!

Tonight I've just been out with a few friends as we're the last of our group to head off to university so we thought we'd go for a final final meet up. It was super nice to see them but definitely didn't feel like the last time before we all head off in our separate directions. To be honest though, I know it won't be long before I see most of them again because we're all already planning on when we're going to visit each other!

I hope this week has treated you well and remember it's Friday tomorrow! 

i went shopping #1

So yesterday I did a bit of shopping. I went into Manchester with my friend Pippa because she wanted to get a new piercing and as I have a fair few myself, I thought I'd go along with her for support. And of course afterwards, we couldn't pass up on spending some of our hard earned money! We went into quite a few shops but I only bought things from 3 stores and I thought I'd share my purchases with you...

First stop was Urban Outfitters as I was really in the mood for a little wander around. I mainly wanted to just check out the 'home & gifts' section as I wasn't in the mood to look at clothes that I definitely would not be able to afford. They had a whole load of Christmas goodies that I was very enticed by but decided that it was probably a bit too early to be buying Where's Wally Christmas cards and wrapping paper so I sadly moved away from there... 

But I did stumble upon this really cute little lunchbox. I am moving to university this weekend and in an attempt to help save on money and hopefully improve my diet, I thought that I would start to take a lunch with me and for that, I would need a lunchbox. I have bought a whole variety of different tuppaware boxes from Ikea but this one is much sweeter! 

Yay Lunchbox - Urban Outfitters (£8.00)

Whilst continuing to browse, Pippa came over to me with this scarf and I absolutely fell in love. I've never been one to go all out with scarves probably because for the past 7 years I've been at school where scarves had to be all black. But now I'm out of school, I can be a bit more adventurous with scarves and why not start with this adorable grey and black one with polar bears along the bottom! And in regards to the last photo, it really is softer than cashmere!

(unfortunately cannot find the link but it was £16.00)

After getting something to eat, Pippa and I headed into Topshop. She actually had some things she needed to get which unfortunately meant I was left to my own devices. As a result I gravitated towards the make up section... 

Now I spotted these Hello Kitty hand wipes and could not pass up on getting them. I used to have similar ones in my handbag but something leaked in the little bag I kept them in and so I had to throw them out. I think they're the perfect size for your handbag and a great alternative to anti bacterial gel.

(they're not on the website but were £1.50 - bargain!)

This lipstick is one I have wanted for a very long time. I think I spotted it when I first had a look at the Topshop make up, way back when it was first released. I was drawn in by the gorgeous orange colour and absolutely loved how bright it is. I don't have a lipstick like it in my collection but everytime I check it out in store, I haven't bought it. That is until now, when Pippa pretty much made me buy it (friend's eh?). It's also my first ever item from the Topshop make up so I'm super excited to use it. 

Topshop Lipstick in Infrared (£8.00)

Yesterday morning my mum and I had actually been talking about how I needed some new socks before I headed off to university and when there's a 3 for £8 offer in Topshop on the coolest ever socks, how can you pass that up? So off I went to pick out some new additions to my sock collection - meet dinosaur, ferret and party cat!

Socks (£3.50 each or 3 for £8.00)

And here is the final purchase from yesterday. As Pippa and I were heading out of the Arndale centre we came across a new shop called Blott. It's a stationary shop but with lots of really interesting things in there including a pick 'n' mix station with rubbers! You can pick as many as you like and there are so many different shapes (from a toothpaste tube to a burger to a giraffe!) which you can put in their own little box. This is the selection I chose and I don't know how I'm going to be able to use them as they're just so cute! I don't know how many Blott shops there are around the country but if you come across one, go and check them out!

So there's what I picked up yesterday on my little shopping trip. Not a lot but it made me happy to spend some money!

LATEST IN BEAUTY box #8

Now I'm going to begin this post by saying that I think it could quite possibly be my favourite from Latest In Beauty. I know I've not even begun the review, but I think I'm going to get along with all of the products in the box. They're all items that I would pick full sizes of, including the Mystery Sample that was included (more about that later...).

So this first product is one of the two that I picked myself and I chose it 1) because it was the only one that really stood out to me from the options presented on the website and 2) I was interested to see what it offered/how it worked. From what I can tell it appears to be a hair treatment that provides a whole host of benefits but with the main aim of 'detangling' fine or oily/normal hair. Out of those categories, I only fall into oily/normal hair and I'm quite lucky in that my hair doesn't knot that bad - a bit of conditioner and a run through with my fingers and I'm good to go. But there are some days when my hair is particularly difficult and I'm sure something like this would really help. It also seems like a good product to just use on a regular basis anyway to give your hair that little extra care and treatment. The packaging says it "adds a lustrous shine and softness to the hair" and "leaves hair shiny, revitalised and perfectly balanced" and I for one would love my hair to have these qualities so I'm super excited to give this a go!

Now this second item was my 'Mystery Sample'. I clicked this option as none of the samples I could choose from really excited me and I thought there was no harm in taking a chance for a surprise product! And I certainly wasn't disappointed. It is some more hair products but this time a shampoo and conditioner. I've heard of the brand Aveda before and I believe they're quite popular so it'll be nice to test out some of their offerings. Unfortunately these are two of the items from the 'invati' range which works towards the reduction of thinning hair and at the age of 18 (nearly 19 - only a week!), thinning hair is not an issue for me. But they have three different types of 'invati' products; an exfoliating shampoo, thickening conditioner and scalp revitaliser which each do a whole load of other things to the hair and scalp so I can't wait to try these out and write up a full and proper review as there is so much information to share with you!

The final sample I got was one I chose myself and a skincare product this time. I've heard of Amie as a brand before and always associate them with really simple and natural skin care which is always very positive. As I have said many a time on this blog, masks are my weakness but I have never tried a 'cooling' clay mask. Most clay masks are self-heating ones that open your pores and bring all the dirt up to the surface of your skin from deep within your pores. Therefore I'm interested to see what a cooling one will do. The packaging says that it still does the same type of things as a heating one but provides a much more refreshing treatment which I think will be really nice for when you want to perk your skin up a little. I'm really looking forward to testing this out and reporting back to you guys which one I prefer - the heating or the cooling clay masks! Stay tuned!

So that's it for this Latest In Beauty box! It's full of products that I know I'm just going to love trying out and hopefully end up loving for good so keep your eyes out for some full reviews in the future as I'm sure they'll be super positive ones!

MUSINGS...
Not much to report on today. I've spent most of the day with my friend Pippa actually which has been really nice as I'm going to miss her so much when I go to university. We popped into Manchester this morning to get her a new piercing and I definitely spent far too much - I can't wait to show all my purchases on here tomorrow! We then went to lunch at Wagamama's before heading back to my house to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Both of us have been having Harry Potter marathons recently so we decided to watch the last two together as I don't actually own them.

Then she had to pop out whilst I sorted some stuff out before we then both met two of our other friends for dinner. It's safe to say I am now mothering a very large food baby but I definitely ate well!

I'm not doing anything tomorrow so my post should be up earlier than today's! Keep an eye out for that and bye bye until tomorrow! 

LUSH mr bumble

Lush are a brand that I was introduced to when I was younger when a family friend bought me one of those HUGE boxes of products. Unfortunately, at that age, I wasn't interested in luxurious bath products and things that would help me relax in the bath so I ended up leaving the box, unopened, in my wardrobe where the things inside slowly became out of date. As I grew older, I started to hear much more about Lush and I grew much more interested in cosmetics, which meant I started to become much more intrigued by Lush's offerings. As a result I have slowly become a Lush obsessive. I absolutely adore their products and regularly go in to lust over their wonderfully scented items. Now I usually go in to Lush with a purpose and a list of things I want to buy. However, the last time I went in, I went with my mum and had no real agenda of what I wanted. Therefore I thought I'd just nosy and not really get anything. But, you can't really do that in Lush because there are so many amazing things that you are just pulled in by. And Mr Bumble was one of them...

First off, we have to address how adorable the packaging is... What I really love about Lush is that not only do they care about the actual products their selling, but the packaging and the names too. They really know how to sell a product - with the products both having the main ingredient of honey, it was super clever of Lush to wrap them up in a bumblebee handkerchief (i've actually always wanted a Lush handkerchief as they can be reused for so many different things) and call the duo 'Mr Bumble'. I know it's not the most important thing when reviewing a product, but I really love the extra effort they go into.

But anyway, onto the more important stuff! Included in the little handkerchief is the 'Honey Bee Bath Ballistic' and 'Honey I Washed The Kids Soap' which means you get two different types of bath products to try out. As soon as I picked this up in store, I loved the overall scent. It's very sweet as honey is obviously the main part of the scent but there are other sweet smelling ingredients included in there too.

The Honey Bee Bath Ballistic is a huge (pretty sure it's bigger than the normal size...) yellow and grey bath ballistic that I was super excited to try. Bath ballistic's used to be my favourite thing from Lush because they just add something extra to your bath. However, it was only once I started blogging, and when I started to really analyse products, that I realised bath ballistic's don't actually have any major benefits apart from making your bath water look nice. But I do still love them for when I want to relax which is why I decided to test this one out after a hard day at work. Now I would usually split a bath ballistic of this size in half (or quarters if you're that keen) to make them last longer. But it turns out that this one was near impossible to cut in half - I couldn't even do it with a knife! As a result I had to put the whole thing in a once but it did mean it fizzed and whirled around my bath a lot more faster/vigorously than if I'd put a smaller piece in which was quite fun to watch (oh the child within me...). It turns the bath water a warm yellow shade, unlike the a pastel/pale yellow like it is out of the water, which I guess isn't the nicest colour for a bath... You can still smell it in the bath but it's definitely not as strong as out which I'm quite glad about because the more I smelt it, the less I started to like it as it's slightly musky and as it's so sweet, slightly sickly too.

Now I ended up liking the Honey I Washed The Kids Soap much more than the Honey Bee Bath Ballistic which surprised me. I mostly use bars of soap in the bath to make myself feel really clean and luxurious and this one did just that. It's so smooth to touch and it slightly melts in the heat of your hands which is so nice. It's individual scent is much lighter and personally much nicer to me than the scent of the bath ballistic. It lathers absolutely amazingly - I use exfoliating gloves as they really help with making your skin softer and so it probably lathers better with them but it still produces bubbles much more easily than other soaps I've used. The shape is great as well as the curved side fits easily into your palm which I really liked. The scent doesn't really transfer onto your skin which is both good and bad. It's good because it means you can use other scented products and they won't be toned down by the fragrance of the soap but bad because it is a nice smell. Now the one really disappointing thing about this soap is that after two washes, it's already gone which is pretty gutting but I'll definitely buy it again in the future!

After using these two products and writing this product, I think that this set would be a great present for a male friend (such as a boyfriend or brother or dad) to pamper themselves with as they're slightly more masculine products and the fragrances slightly musky (especially the bath ballistic). Obviously girl's can use them too but they're not the most feminine of scents.

So these are my thoughts on two bath items from Lush that can be brought both individually or in this cute little set! I really did like testing them out but I have to say that if you were to buy one, definitely get the soap over the bath ballistic. But I would check them out in store too as you may just get drawn in like I did!

MUSINGS...
Today has been nice and relaxing which makes a change from the past week which was pretty busy. I've actually not done that much apart from sort out stuff for university. I move on Sunday (!!!) which is so exciting but nerve wracking at the same time. I think I just need to move in and settle in now and I'll be less apprehensive. Lists have also become my new best friend... I also went to the gym for the first time in a while so it was a tough one but still enjoyable. I'm going out quite a bit tomorrow so I'm hoping to post in between being out and about so keep a look out for that!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and that Monday wasn't too hard on you all! 

april 2013 glossybox

Today's post is going to be on the special edition glossybox from April. This box was designed by the one and only Pearl Lowe. Now I remember reading an article about Daisy and Pearl Lowe when I was younger and absolutely falling in love with the mother and daughter duo. Since then, however, I've not really heard much about them. So to hear that glossybox had teamed up with Pearl to create a beautiful design for the monthly box, I was very intrigued and excited to receive it! And I must say, when I opened the cardboard packaging, I was not disappointed!

Unfortunately, when I looked at this product, I was very judgmental and instantly thought that I wouldn't like it because it looked like a product for my mum or grandma. I think this was because it had the mature name of 'Somerset Meadow' and was from the brand Crabtree & Evelyn. Now this was wrong and I very much take it back because I actually really like this product. It seems very luxurious, smells lovely and is perfect for the upcoming colder months when your hands can become dry and chapped. The scent of this is very floral, as the name would suggest ('meadow'), which I don't usually like but it's not too strong and there's a mixture of other fragrances in there as well. I really like this and I can't wait to start using it properly!

I'm going to say instantly that this product is probably not one that I will be keeping, purely for it's 'flavour' scent. It's super fresh and is actually very nice, but not one I particularly want to slather all over my body. However, this is actually my mum's favourite flavour of ice cream and so I'm sure she would absolutely love this. Now the actual product seems lovely - super creamy and not too thick (unlike the body shop's offerings which take an absolute age to sink in!). It's a shame I probably won't be keeping it because it seems like a really wonderful cream to moisturise your dry skin with (in winter the skin on my legs becomes so dry and cracked so this would be a great fix for that!). However, I'm definitely going to go and check out some of the other scents as there's a mango one and a coconut one!

Illamasqua is a brand that I really like but of which don't actually own many products. They always come out with the most amazing collections featuring incredible colours and ideas. They really never fail to amaze me but whether I would be able to pull off any of the products, is another question... Therefore, I'm really happy to have received this pencil which can be used on the lips, eyes and brows (questionable because even if you have ginger/red hair, this orange is a little too bright...), as it's not something I would have picked out but means I can give something pretty daring a go. A quick swatch on the back of my hand shows that it's super pigmented and I can't wait to see what it looks like both on the eyes and on the lips.

Since being signed up with Glossybox, I have received an absolute abundance of perfume samples and so I'm getting a little tired of them now. However, I do love a good perfume and so having a sample to test before buying the full bottle is always handy. Plus, they're great to carry around in your handbag. This particular sample is from Yves Rocher who are a brand I actually 'met' through Glossybox. In a previous box I received a lipstick from this brand and whilst I am still yet to properly try it, it does look lovely. 'So Elixir' is a very strong, floral and feminine fragrance. It's definitely a perfume you'd wear on a date or a night out to create a seductive feel. It's also a really long lasting scent as even after I've put the lid back on the bottle, I can still smell it!

Essie is such a popular nail varnish brand that it baffles me I still haven't tried any of its offerings. I constantly hear positive reviews and I have passed the stand in Boots a number of times, picking up various colours but always putting them back down. I really don't know why though because they are amazing! I've only painted one nail with this colour and I'm already in love! The consistency is wonderful and the brush is the perfect length and width! I'm really happy with the colour I received as well. It's a gorgeous baby pink with holographic shimmer running through it which can be seen on further inspection. It really is a fab nail varnish and I can't wait to write a full review on it!

So that's it for this glossybox! I think there was some great products in here with 3 that I can't wait to try out some more and 2 that I'm unsure about. However, it must be remembered that that is what you sign up for when joining Glossybox - not every box will be full of products that you absolutely love.

MUSINGS...
Now I want to apologise for my absence recently. I feel like I haven't really given any updates since I returned home from Seville. Last week was spent working and sorting a lot of stuff out at home. I also went out 4 nights in a row making me super tired during the day and ultra busy which meant I barely had any time to blog.

Yesterday I actually started my shopping for university. I did the obligatory Ikea shop and things really started to become real. It hadn't properly kicked in yet that next week I will be moving away to another city, to a new and unfamiliar environment, living in my own flat with people I barely know. It's going to be a very scary but exciting experience. I'm looking forward to moving in and settling in but it's a bit stressful at the moment. I still have quite a lot to get so my obsession with lists will be coming in very handy! Last night I went to a friend's party too for a really chilled and enjoyable night.

Today I had what I think was my last shift at work which was a little sad but again, hasn't really kicked in yet. I'm still going to visit when I come home to visit my parents and at Christmas but I'll miss everyone I work with! Tonight two of my friend's took me out for dinner as one of them missed my ultra early birthday celebrations on Friday. It was super sweet of them and yet another enjoyable night!

I am now very tired and looking forward to my wonderful lie in tomorrow! Ta ta for now!

SEVILLE; day three

Sunday was our last full day in Seville and possibly the best because it was the big day! We woke up a little earlier than Saturday because we wanted to at least explore the city for the last time before we'd have to get ready for the wedding. As we knew we probably wouldn't have time to wait to get into an attraction, my dad suggested that we walk down to the river, along it and then back up to the hotel through the back streets. Up for anything, my mum and I agreed. So we headed off and away from the old city that we'd come to know and into the more modern parts of Seville...

After a wonderful walk, we decided that we should head back to the room to start to get ready for the wedding and also pack as the celebrations would be heading late into the night and we wouldn't have time when we got back and before we headed home.

Now I'm not going to post loads of pictures here of the wedding or write loads about it because it was a really special day/night with a wonderful group of people that I think should be kept just between us. I just don't feel right either as it's not my wedding to publicise (sorry if this is annoying for anyone as i know it was the main point of this trip but i think my reasons are acceptable).  I will show you, however, some pictures I snapped on my iPhone from around the venue as it was simply gorgeous!

I also thought I could show you some pictures to do with the food we had at the wedding which was absolutely delicious! We were first presented with a selection of 60 different appetisers ranging from small bowls of guacamole to a tin of octopus (i passed on this one but my dad said it was lovely) to pick and choose at whilst having drinks and welcoming the newly weds! Once we'd moved to the main dining area we were presented with a fantastic menu of 3 courses. You could either pick the meat option or the vegetarian option and because I hadn't specified in time, I got a mixture (the vegetarian starter and meat main). Unfortunately the starter wasn't to my liking but the main was lovely! I'd never had steak before and whilst I probably wouldn't pick it again, it was a great first time! Now the pudding, was on a whole other level. I had the chocolate option from the menu and it was incredible. The hot chocolate sauce caused the round chocolate sphere melt slowly as you mixed it with the chocolate base - as I said, a whole other level of chocolatey-ness.

one of the appetisers - a mini burger with sesame seeds and all!

the gorgeous wedding cake which was red velvet!

So that's it for the Seville posts. After the wedding we just went back to the hotel before having to get up early and make the long journey home. I hope you've enjoyed reading these posts as I've really enjoyed writing them for you and sharing my trip with you. I really did have an amazing time there and I can't wait to return!