DIY Smoothie

Ingredients
1 frozen banana
Half of a raspberry and cranberry yogurt
A small glass of semi-skimmed milk
Five strawberries (plus one for decoration)

Step by Step

• Put the frozen banana in the blender and blend it for 30 seconds so it starts to soften.
• Add in the milk and blend again to avoid every item being blended except from the banana (doing it in stages gives the banana more time to blend).
• Add the strawberries and the yogurt and blend blend blend!
• Pour into a glass and pop in a straw. Add a berry onto the side of the glass for decoration!

I hope you like this recipe - its pretty basic and self explanatory but I really like the addition of the yogurt into this smoothie to give it extra flavour. It's also really healthy, which is an obvious bonus!

What's your favourite smoothie?
Stay beautiful!
Emily xoxo

Goodbye 16

Hey guys!
I think I'll probably schedule this post for the 8th, since that's the day of my actual birthday. I'm turning 17 this year, and I thought it was only right to do a post of my favourite photos from 16!

Prom 2014

Betsy Lane Summer Meet Up

 



Hands down my most loved summer photo.

 

Barcelona

 

Christmas with my favourite people.

 

(P.S. This looks like a ski trip but it

was actually just a field trip to a

mountain.)

 

Ft. Cocktails

I'm genuinely quite sorry to see 16 go - it was an amazing year with all of my favourite people and I feel like I really came out of my shell in the latter months. Farewell 16 you will be missed, but bring on 17!

What was your favourite sweet sixteen memory?

Emily xoxo

100 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Disneyland
2. Those multi-pack mini boxes of cereal
3. Beach walks
4. Bubble baths
5. Whipped cream straight from the can
6. Unexpected texts from people that I miss
7. Blogging
8. Opening my stocking at 3am on Christmas morning and then going back to sleep
9. Picnics
10. My cat coming to cuddle me when I wake up
11. Short queues
12. Being able to open a jam jar
13. In a similar theme, being able to reach tall things
14. Finding a great shampoo
15. Fireplaces
16. Red Lipstick
17. Hotel fresh orange juice
18. The ability to sit in comfortable silence with someone
19. Guessing the next song to come on shuffle
20. Taylor Swift
21. Double beds with lots of blankets
22. That butterfly feeling
23. New book smell
24. Waking up before eight
25. Badminton
26. Polaroid pictures
27. Seeing my cousins
28. Getting an idea for a song/poem/story/blog post
29. Iced Coffee with gingerbread syrup from Costa
30. Hole punching paper exactly in the middle
31. Laughing with a friend and realising how lucky you are to have them
32. Sitting with my back against a radiator
33. Shopping
34. To-Do-Lists
35. Being invited to go somewhere
36. Genuine compliments
37. The sound of heavy rain when I'm tucked in bed
38. The anticipation of a whole new album to listen to
39. Encores at concerts
40. Mini Golf
41. Clear nights when you can see the stars
42. Spare change
43. Clothes labels that aren't itchy
44. Picking out a gift for someone that you know they'll love, and then watching them open it
45. Automatically getting onto the wifi at a friend's house
46. Fuzzy socks
47. White roses and Calla lilies
48. Chandelier style lighting
49. Season finales
50. Paris
51. Birthday cake frosting
52. Satisfactory selfies
53. Getting a spontaneous piercing
54. Thinking its later than it actually is, and then realising
55. The snuffle noise that guineas pigs make
56. Fairy lights
57. Mason jars
58. Arriving at the station right on time to catch a train
59. Hot tub adventures
60. Pina Coladas
61. Learning a new chord on my guitar
62. Old home movies
63. Forehead kisses
64. The first page of a new notebook
65. Productive days
66. Marathons of Friends/One Tree Hill/Pretty Little Liars/Grey's Anatomy/Gossip Girl
67. Watching a firework display
68. Catching someone's eye across the room
69. Late night conversations
70. Reading my horoscope (I know, I know)
71. "Five more minutes" sleep
72. Birthday cards with puns on the front of them
73. Surprise reductions when you take an item to the checkout
74. Supermarkets
75. A hug from exactly the right person
76. Mashed potato from Nandos
77. My onesie
78. Pep talks
79. People that turn up right on time
80. Remembering to take my keys, and therefore, not being locked out
81. Long train journeys with my iPod
82. Days when I like what I'm wearing
83. Vivid dreams
84. Confetti
85. Quiet nights in with the fire on and a good book
86. Nights out and the opportunity to do fancy make up
87. Dance parties
88. Letting go of things that make you feel sad
89. When paper has just come out of the printer and it still feels warm
90. Crunchy leaves in Autumn
91. Breakfast for dinner
92. Getting winged eyeliner right on the first try
93. Sincere apologies
94. Glitter gel pens
95. Being right (yes, I am that girl)
96. Looking back at all my old concert and movie tickets
97. Falling asleep quickly
98. When people remember little things that I told them ages ago
99. Making someone laugh
100. Thinking of all the things on this list

I really enjoyed making this list you know! I think sometimes its really beneficial to remember all of the things that make you happy, because it takes away from whatever sadness you may be feeling. I didn't even realise that I had this many things to be thankful for!
What little things make you happy? Did any of them happen today? (For me, 5, 10, 28, 35 and 75 happened today!)
Emily xoxo

Easter OOTD

 

Dress - New Look

Tights - Urban Outfitters

Shirt - Forever 21

Boots - New Look

 

First of all, I hope you had a lovely Easter Sunday filled with family, and of course, chocolate! I personally spent the day chilling with family and friends and casually eating my body weight in mini eggs. Second of all, I apologise for the sub-par photo quality, this is an iPhone photo because I simply didn't have time to set everything up for a full OOTD shoot.

How did you spend your Easter? And if you don't celebrate, what did you do anyway?

Stay beautiful!

Emily xoxo

Wanderlust

Hola!
We all have that list right? The list of places we'd love to visit if we could? Lately, to fall asleep I've been listing in my head all the places and cultures I'd like to experience. I narrowed it down to my top five for you guys...

1. Paris, France
Okay, so I've been to Paris loads of times. It's my favourite place in the world, and I can't wait for the summer after I finish college, when I plan on spending a LOT of time there. There's something about the serenity, and the people (and the macarons) that I just adore. The little coffee shops in the morning, reading a book with a hot chocolate as the city wakes up and comes to life. There are some places in life that I guess make you feel safe - Paris is that place for me.

2. Nashville, The US
Country music and cowboy boots. Who wouldn't want to visit the place where these two things were born? Nashville has always been a place I've wanted to travel to, for a number of reasons. I think I'd find it pretty easy to hand my heart to the city where the country twang was born.

3. Verona, Italy
Italy is one of my favourite countries without a doubt. I think the country has a laid back, romantic vibe that you cant help but enjoy. Some of my favourite memories have been made in Italy, and although I'd enjoy visiting anywhere in the country, I think I'd most love to visit Verona, the home of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

4. NYC, The US
New York City. I imagine the streets to feel so alive, and the shopping scene to be amazing. Fashion fascinates me, and I think the variety of style in New York would be enough to give me inspiration for years. The general buzz of the city draws me in, and I know that its a place I'll have to travel to before I die.

5. Singapore, Asia
I can't really explain why I'd like to go here. I've never travelled to anywhere in Asia, so I definitely feel like I have to take a trip somewhere in Asia at some point in my life. I've heard great things about the atmosphere and culture in Singapore, so why not start there?

Where do you want to visit most?
Emily xoxo

Marchy Faves

Hi guys - I can't believe we're in April already, that's so crazy!
I didn't really use any new products this month, which is why I included a couple of fashion items into my march favourites.

 

Okay, so my first favourite for the month of March is the Vo5 Nourish My Shine heat protectant. It's oil based, to add moisture to your hair (great for ombre) and smells SO good - I spent like 25% of the day just casually smelling my hair. When I use heat after applying this, I can hear it sizzle, which sounds scary but actually just means that the protectant is doing its job well.

 

My second favourite is the 'Fashion Nails' from Primark. These nails are super cheap and pretty, and for the price you pay I think they're amazing! They stay on for days, and Primark do so many designs that I'd say its impossible for you to not find a set that you like. I have to file them down though, as I prefer my nails to be shorter. 

 

Last month I joined the craze a little late (as I do with everything in life) - chokers. I'm not a fan of the tattoo style chokers, but this black velvet one from Amazon, and this diamante choker from New Look are two that I really enjoy wearing. I think I might put up a post on how I style these, because I think sometimes the premise of a piece such as the choker can sound quite intimidating.



 

This pair of heels from New Look are so so gorgeous. I'm not much of a heel wearer (I probably should be, I need the height) because I struggle to find pairs that are genuinely comfortable and easy-ish to walk in, but since this pair has a platform and a chunky heel, it ticks both of the required boxes! I wore these last night and my feet only started to hurt about five and a half hours in, so I'd say that was a success.

 

What have you been loving lately?

Emily xoxo

Dear April

Thank God March is over. I am fully ready to embrace April with open arms, because it is first of all my second favourite month (after December of course) and because I had gotten really freaking tired of March. It wasn't a great month for a lot of reasons, and although I know that this month will be hard as well, I feel in a better position to tackle it. I've compiled a list of the things I want to do in April, whether it be something I want to tick off my to do list, or something I just want to keep in mind.

1. Read again. I don't care if I only get through one book, I'm just tired of not reading and I WILL make time for it.
2. Change the batteries in my clock - it's been stuck at 9:36 for weeks now and it's starting to get me down.
3. If something is on my mind, I need to tell someone. Bottling everything up has only ever made it worse.
4. Turn 17. (This one's pretty easy as there's not much I can do to stop it!)
5. Surround myself with people that care. I need to stop wasting time on people that don't care, if people want to be in my life, they'll make the effort.
6. Take a walk on the beach - and maybe do an OOTD whilst I'm there!
7. Revise for my AS levels. Boring, but I need to do it.
8. Take each 24 hours as they come. Things are going to get better, and I need to stop thinking of the future as this overwhelming abyss, when it really isn't that scary.
9. Find a regular-ish sleeping pattern.
10. Watch at least two more seasons of Gossip Girl (Chuck and Blair are life. That is all.)

What's on your to do list this month?
Stay beautiful!
Emily xoxo
10.