The Rocket Summer

You can listen to The Rocket Summer's new EP here.
'Every If And Every Why' is already my favourite and I really like 'Peace Come Over You'...have a listen and let me know what you think.

Follow The Rocket Summer on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

I guess this is growing up.

I've been thinking about moving out for a while now and I've decided that after Christmas, I'm finally going to go through with it. I'm going to have to save loads and as much as I don't want to live on my own, I'm just going to have to brave it. I'm not getting any younger and I think its time I found my own feet.

Saying that, does anyone have any tips or advice for me? I'd appreciate it!

I had the most amazing breakfast today! Porridge with a drizzle of syrup, blueberries, apple, banana and cinnamon. It was so good. Already excited about tomorrow's breakfast! Can't decide whether to have cinnamon and raisin or cherry and coconut...decisions, decisions!

Needless to say, I'm feeling quite a bit better now, so you can expect a lot more from my blog!
Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to blog about and I'll see what I can do.

I'm embracing my inner child today and watching The Care Bears Movie.

X-Factor

So, tonight was the first live show!
Did you enjoy it?
I was impressed with Mary, Aiden, One Direction, Nicolo and Paije.
Nicolo will always be my favourite though, his accent is beautiful. Paije reminds me of Keenan from 'Keenan & Kel'.

Mayday Parade/The Maine

It's almost a week since I saw Mayday Parade & The Maine and I'm missing them epic amounts already!
I must admit, I'd heard a few of The Maine's songs but I was more interested in bassist Garrett Nickelsen than the music. They were great live and their banter reminded me of an early Blink-182, which is never a bad thing! My favourite song from their set was "Girls Do What They Want".

Mayday Parade performed second and I'm now in love with Jeremy Lenzo. 'Miserable At Best' will always be my favourite song of theirs because it means a lot to me, but 'Three Cheers For Five Years' was pretty amazing too! Brooks has such good stage presence and his hair is epic.

Apparently the bands will be back next year and I'm crossing everything I physically can that they'll come to Newcastle again.

As I said in a previous post, I'm tucked up in bed watching a DVD.
I have a large collection of DVDs, but I watch them so much I get bored of them, so today I dug out an old favourite; Annie.
This is probably one of my favourite bits of the movie, I hope you like it too :)
I'm going to make myself some parsnip, butternut squash and ginger soup... I'm sure that will have me feeling right as rain in no time.

McFLY - Shine A Light

I've loved this song for a little while now. Here is the official video for McFLY's 'Shine A Light'. Enjoy!

Sorry...

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I've been crazy busy with work and now I'm poorly.
I'm tucked up in bed with my duvet and a DVD at the moment so I thought I'd catch up and post some new entries.

Yankee Candles

Mmm! I was buying supplies for Christmas (I really need to take a photo of the cupboard full of stuff I already have, you'll be amazed!) and I came across these little beauties. The vanilla one smells like the most delicious cupcake ever and the cookie one is divine, it definitely smells like Christmas with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. I'll be using these on Christmas Eve I think, the cookie one will be used when I make cookies and mince pies for Santa with my niece and the cupcake one will be saved for my Christmas Eve 'Cocktails & Canapés' party. For now though, they're packed away in the Christmas cupboard making me smile every time I open the door and catch a whiff.

Manglaze review!

I was so excited when this turned in the post this morning! Not only did it arrive earlier than anticipated (estimated delivery was 2-3 weeks but it turned up in 10 days!) but it was very well packaged to ensure there were no breakages.

After unscrewing the lid and taking out the brush, it looked like any other nail varnish. It had the same consistency and the same glossy colour. However, upon application it turned out to be so much more! As I painted my nails I could see all the tiny bits of glitter that gave the nail varnish something more. It dried after a few seconds and I could actually see it drying (which I think is definitely a bonus! I'm forever smudging my nail varnish, thinking it was dry). I did like the overall finish, but I think its going to take some getting used to...Its strange looking at a beautiful colour nail varnish that isn't glossy.

This is getting a huge thumbs up from me!

On Wednesday night I went to see Futures at Newcastle Academy.
I first saw them in May when they supported Kids In Glass Houses at Newcastle Uni and they were pretty good.
So glad I got the chance to see them again though, headlining a tour obviously works well for them!
I was a little bit disappointed that their set wasn't very long, but the fact that they promised to hang around in the lobby to say "hi" afterwards definitely scores them some cool points. Unfortunately, I had to leave straight away so I didn't get to see them. Nice work boys, hope to see you again soon!

More favourite things...

I came home from the shops after getting soaked, had a nice hot bath and put some warm pyjamas on, then I curled up on the sofa to watch UP with a biiiig mug of home made soup. Heaven!

Quick Vegetable Soup

I love home made soup and after getting soaked in the torrential rain on my way home from the shop, I decided to make this soup really quickly while my bath was running.

(You can use any frozen vegetables, but I'd just bought these so I thought i'd try them.)

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen vegetables

1 large onion

2 stock cubes (vegetable or chicken)

0.5tsp chilli powder

Salt and pepper

Water

1) Fill a kettle with water and boil.
2) Empty the bag of vegetables into a saucepan with one chopped onion and 2 crumbled stock cubes.
3) Cover with water and bring to the boil, then cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
4) Once the vegetables are soft, you can blend with a hand blender.
5) Add the chilli and season to taste.

It's as simple as that!

McFLY Super City!

McFLY Super City goes live in 25 minutes!
ARE YOU READY?

These are a few of my favourite things...

Of course, there are plenty of things I could add to the list...

1) Lie ins
2) The feeling of crisp autumn air.
3) The butterflies you get when you see someone you like.
4) When someone buys you a present or flowers, just because.
5) The look on your best friends face when you turn up on their doorstep after travelling hundreds of miles, just to see them.

What are your favourite things?

Karen Gillan

Wow, this photo of Karen Gillan is beautiful! I love her hair and her dress is gorgeous, especially with the clutch and those heels.

What are you wearing today?

Add a comment describing your outfit (or better still, add a picture!).
I'll pick the nicest and the winner gets a prize*. Simple.

* There must be at least 10 entries, or the competition will be cancelled.

Feedback?

What do you think of my blog?
It would be great if you could leave a comment telling me what you like, what you don't like, what you want more of, what new things you'd like to see...

Chocolate cupcakes with orange cream frosting

So here it is, eventually!

Ingredients:
100g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
140g caster sugar
1.5tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter (room temperature)
120ml whole milk
1 egg
0.25tsp vanilla extract
Zest and juice of 1 orange
300ml double cream
50g icing sugar

1) Preheat oven to gas mark 3

2) Put the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl and beat until you get a sandy consistancy and everything is combined. It should look like this;

3) Whisk the egg, milk and vanilla together in a separate bowl, then slowly pour half into the flour mixture. Beat to combine and get rid of any lumps. Don't over mix.

4) Fill a muffin tray with paper cases.

5) Fill each one about two thirds full.

6) Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

7) Take another bowl and pour in the double cream. Whisk gently until it starts to thicken, then sift in the icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tablespoon of the orange juice. 

TIP: If you over-whip the cream, just add a drop more (or some milk) and mix it through gently.

8) Enjoy!

The Biggest Loser Season 8 Finale

I'm watching the Finale of season 8 right now and I felt that I needed to write a post about it.

Over the last few months this show has really inspired me to try even harder to lose weight. I've been on a diet for as long as I can remember but I always find a way to mess it up...this show has inspired me to do things I would have never dared try before. I've learnt that exercise is as crucial as the calorie intake so I make sure I do at least 30 minutes every day and if I have to take an extra 15 minutes to make a healthy dinner while my family choose a less healthy option, then  I will.

In the last month I’ve lost 15lbs, making my total loss 94lbs and although it was my hard work that made that happen, I couldn’t have done it without Biggest Loser Club.

Its inspirational to watch these people work their arses off at the gym for 6 hours a day. They’re normal people like you and I, they have families, they face struggles every day, but they know they need to change their lives and that is exactly what they do. Watching the final weigh in and seeing how much they’ve all lost and how different they look is just amazing. It just goes to show that it can be done and anybody can do it, you just have to take the first step.

My sister is really supportive of me, but something she always asks is “What will be enough? When will you be happy?”. I don’t really have an answer to that… I don’t have a ‘goal weight’ because I don’t think the guidelines for ‘healthy weight’ are very realistic, but I know that once I’m a healthy size and I’m comfortable with my body, I’ll be happy.

The one thing I do know is that I don’t want to end up like Tracey. As far as I’m concerned, she’s taken it way too far.

A huge congratulations to Danny Cahill though, not only did he win the $250,000 prize (and free surgery to remove his excess skin), but after losing 239lbs he is the shows Biggest Loser to date. Well done Danny.

McFLY Super City!

Oh. My. Gosh. This is EPIC.The graphics for the actual trailer are excellent, I can't wait to see the site in full! They were right when they said this is something that has never been seen before. I bet the points scheme was Tom's idea, not only the brains of the band, but how fit is he looking?! Its nice to see a band actually giving back to their fans like this, I mean, just by buying some CDs and posting on their message boards you can save up enough points to see them sound check or get a phone call from them.
So, what do you think? Who's room will you be visiting? ;)
P.S. Did you hear "Shine A Light" being played in the background? Love that song.

    

Rose McGowan Appreciation Post!

I had the afternoon off today so I decided to be lazy and wrap myself up in a blanket on the sofa watching TV. Coming down with a cold is never good, but nothing a hoodie, soup and a blanket can't sort out.
Anyway, I was watching Charmed which brings back some memories, and my old girl crush on Rose McGowan seems to have reappeared. So, here are some photos. She has such a classic beauty and body shape...something Katy Perry-esque...Enjoy!

I love this dress, it's so cute! 

This is probably my favourite picture of Rose at the moment.