Phuket - Things to do

Second instalment, holiday blues are strroonngg right now. It's been 3 weeks, I can't believe it! I just want to go back esp as Manchester is freezing right now! In this post I thought I would talk about what we got up to in Phuket! 

1. Day trip to Phi Phi Islands & Maya bay - This was our first day trip, we went snorkelling around some of the islands - there were 3 stops in total. The boat wasn't huge and it was pretty cramped and uncomfortable to be honest but they did have snacks and food for everyone, though there wasn't much choice. The first island was pretty touristy so they had shops and a bar available and the snorkelling was nice. We paid 1200 Baht for this. 

2. Canoeing trip to James bond island - this was my favourite of the two day trips! We paid around 1200 baht for this trip and it was just stunning, the islands were amazing and you went on the canoes twice with a guy steering you round, The first place we went in this cave which had insanely love ceilings, some crazy green glowing light and a statue of Buddha that had formed out of water dripping. The second trip we went through a kind of tunnel and came out at the most stunning scene a kind of alcove, I'm not sure how to describe it but we were surrounded by rock and plants with the sun coming from above. Then we came out into a stunning view of giant rocks coming out the water - randomly though there were two chickens just chilling there ahahaaa! The boat wasn't too cramped and they provided some delicious food and drinks for us all. I even jumped off the boat whiiich did take quite a bit of convincing as I am seriously scared of heights. Same as the first boat trip we got a deal where we paid 1200 Baht.

3. Bangla Road - this is the party road, full of bars, strip clubs and all sorts! Be prepared for some sights but all in all this road had some really good bars - we passed on all the ping pong shows. A LOT of live bands who were more than willing to play any requests and were all so lovely. We had a little bar crawl and loved them all! Just off Bangla road to the right are some restaurants and I really recommend No. 5 ( yes that's it's name) - Just get the Pad Thai! 

4. Patong beach - The beach is stunning and you can get umbrellas and seats for around £150 per umbrella. They have people coming round with water and fruit you can buy and there are even beach view massages and jet ski's for hire. The beach at sunset is beaaautiful. Just behind are heaps of shops as well! 5. Simon Cabaret - you will see this advertised everywhere and it was really good. The set production was insane and so were the costumes, They did an array of english, Thai and even Russian dances. There was one lady who did an insane rendition of 'single ladies' and a crazy bigger lady who was hilaairious coming into the crowd and striking fear in most of the men that she was coming for a kiss! ahaaa. All of a sudden the beginning of cell block tango came on and I was buzzzin, me and my friends had all gone to see chicago live a few years back and we all love it...but then... IT WAS THE DISNEY VERSION. oh my god. YASSS. At the end of the show you can pay to have pictures with them all, be careful as they can easily con you into paying a little more by getting more people in the photo or a friend but it was all good fun so I would really recommend this. If you have been to Phuket let me know where you recommend to go!  Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Phuket - Places to stay

Here comes the first instalment on my Thailand series - I can't beleive it's been a week! I have such blues :( - but I thought I would start with where to stay, I had the opportunity to stay in 3 hotels while I was in Phuket so I thought I would give you the low down on them all. 

1. Aspery Hotel - This was the first hotel I stayed in, I pretty much booked it because it had a rooftop infinity pool overlooking the sea...or so I thought, since the picture had been taken a new hotel popped up slightly blocking the view from the pool but the poolside did have 3 tiers so you could still get that sea view. The room itself was really nice, tv, double bed, really nice bathroom - so I was pretty chuffed with it! The hotel is about a 3 minute walk from Patong beach and has some 7/11s close by. It's also a 10-15 minute walk to Bangla road ( I have a post on this coming in a few days!) The hotel itself also has a mini spa which has got decent prices and I had a Thai massage there which was really good ( even though I got stood on by a giant Thai lady!! it was 200 Baht) - it also has a restaurant on the ground floor and the staff were really lovely and helpful. I arrived several hours before check in and they took 15 minutes to get the room ready and even upgraded me! The hotel was £54 for two days(£13.5 for one person if you are a pair) which I think is a really decent price for the location and quality of the hotel. 

2. Wyndham sea pearl resort- oh my god. this hotel - it's what dreams are made of. This hotel is stunning, honestly, it's got amazing views of the mountains and the sea. Our suite had a Jacuzzi for each room and then a 2 minute walk away was a pool between our block. The rooms and overall decor throughout the hotel was just stunning. The breakfast here was really decent as well! The only slight downside to this hotel is that it is a little bit of a mooch from town so you aren't able to walk anywhere but tuk tuks were 200 Baht during the day and sometimes 200-300 a night which isn't heaps. The hotel itself has a spa and it does offer some discounts on activities but we did find that a lot of things were cheaper outside of the hotel - esp getting a taxi to the airport. The prices for this hotel varies on what style of room you book and the pool/jacuzzi situation but for 1 night between 2 for a jacuzzi it was £69 - so around £34.50 each. -  I honestly think it's worth it though!! Even if you only do it a couple of nights!

3. Sira Grande hotel - this one I stayed in last and of all of them it was my least favourite. It was a decent room, the bed was huuuuge it fit 3 of us comfortably but the shower leaked all over the floor which wasn't great. The pool was stunning and was really lovely,it also had a mini gym on top if you want to stick to your fitness on holiday. The location is good though, it's a 5 minute walk from the Robinson mall and around 5-10 minute walk to Bangla road as well. I  got 2 nights for £48 and one night for £53 which didn't make sense! It was still a decent hotel but if I was going back I probably wouldn't stay here again as I enjoyed the other two so much more!  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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5 things I couldn't live without

We all have those things in life that make it just that little bit better so here's 5 things I couldn't live without. 1. My cat Harry, okay... so this may sound super lame but I am an absolute cat lady. If I didn't have this little ball of fur harassing me for fuss or food all day then I would most likely go a bit mad. 2. Eyeliner, when people get asked what they want to take to a desert island in those magazine things I always read mascara and I'm like...hello!?!... eyeliner!! I can't go without it, it just makes my face that little more acceptable. One day I was a bit tired ( I say a bit but...) and I thought oh you know I don't look so bad without eyeliner and went to work and at around 12 o'clock I realised my mistake and safe to say that never happened again.  3. My bike, okay so technically I have lived without this for the last 4 months while it needed to get fixed but having to get the bus to work has been so draining. I feel like when I can drive myself to work or town I have a whole new lease on life!  4. Music, this is probably there for everyone let's be honest but going to gigs and festivals makes the days go that little bit quicker and that little easier to bear ( and who doesn't feel better when they dance like a right dick to Taylor Swift?....)  5. Friends. I couldn't live without these guys - they have gotten me through some pretty tough times. I'm not bragging but I have some pretty awesome friends!  What's some of the things you can't live without?! Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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My festival tips.

Since festival season is coming up ( have I mentioned this?...)  I thought I would share a couple of tips.  1) pot noodles - This may sound random but if you are festivalling on a budget get some cheap pot noodles and just pay a pound for hot water at any of the coffee places.  Also pringles will be your best friends. 2) DO NOT wear a playsuit - okay so this may sound even more random then the first tip but...hear me out okay? I'll tell you TWO reasons why playsuits and festivals are a no go. 1- you will be queueing for a toilet, I tell you, 80% chance you will have to queue which may or may not ( depending on your bladder) leave you doing a little wee dance and then... a miracle - a loo! and you have to spend the next 5 minutes doing a wee dance while trying to get yourself out of said playsuit. it's not fun. My next reason also depends on the festival your going to, how long it's been going on for and how often they clean the toilets. Sounds grim? you have no idea. Toilets at festivals can get into some absolute states ( for all of your sakes I won't go into this) but lets be honest you don't really want to touch any part of this toilet let along having to hold all your outfit so it doesn't touch anything either, it's just awkward....and your testing fate. If you insist on a playsuit I'd recommend risking it on the first day when toilets are at their cleanest.  3) Caprisuns. Okay, so all of these are starting to sound pretty random... but if you are wearing items of loose clothing there is potential to sneak in some booze. Empty out a screw cap caprisun and fill it with your drink of choice and ladies don't forget to find a male security guard, most of the time they aren't allowed to touch you up and check for things. ( I say most of the time) 4) Wine bags. Another option is to belt a wine bag to yourself..... make sure you are wearing a baggy dress and something like a raincoat over the top.  5) ALWAYS make sure you have tissue, take some small packets of tissues, if you've forgotten just steal some from the toilet first time you go because chances are you ain't gonna see any again! And don't forget the sanitiser!  6) got a long walk from the car to the festival? See if you and your mates can invest in a cart or a sled to help drag all those heavy items.  7) use clothes as a pillow. it can get chilly at night so always take a jumper just incase, at night you can wrap some clothes up in a small laundry bag and use this as a pillow if you don't have the space or arms to bring one with you.  8) okay so this isn't nessecarily one of my tips but last year after Glastonbury a friend of mine booked in a spa nearby overnight on the day the festival ended. So 1) she didn't have to do the long drive straight away and 2) she got a back massage which is perfect after going a week without your bed! I am absolutely stealing this tip hope some of these help!  Let me know your little tips! Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Lifestyle: 14/03/2015 NW blogger meet up

Taken from Liv

The only photo I remembered to take - on my phone!

This saturday I got to go to my second blogger meet up which had been in the pipline since around January time! I wasn't as nervous as last time 1) because I already knew Gemma and 2) because a lot of us had been chatting in a FB chat so I already knew I was going to get along with these girls just fine and 3) last time I turned up late in a room of strangers I was welcomed so nicely.  The event was held at Kabinett in Liverpool which is a stunning little bar, I am in LOVE with the decor and they played such an amazing album( I had to ask the bartender what album it was - turns out it was a spotify playlist of acoustic covers!). Being the ever professional blogger - I left my SD card at home so I'm sorry about the lack of pictures! We each got a cake each ( From Hello and...) which was delicious and everyone grabbed a drink and started chatting, we were pretty much laughing from the word go! Admittedly I didn't get to chat to everyone so hopefully I'll get to chat to them all soon! Though I spent quite a bit of time falling in love with Carrie's life and shop Junkbox ( Where I got a lovely t shirt from). There was also a lovely girl from Natalie Roche who was testing out some of their amazing products on the girls. Later on we held a raffle to help raise some money for two charities - We raised £80 in total( for freshfields and claire's house) - I won a lovely candle from ArranAromatics and also a jar of coconut oil from Lucy Bee - which I can't wait to use for some hairmasks!

At the event we got a goody bag filled with so much! I couldn't believe it! so many companies have been so kind and generous! Beauty, food, stationary - allsorts! ( some of the food maaaay have got eaten before the pictures were taken....#sorrynotsorry). I got a little crazy excited about the stabilo pens and the busyb stationary...I'm just a bit of a stationary freak. There is just so much here to mention, I am going to do a few separate posts on products so keep an eye out for them in the next 6 weeks!

We also got a gorgeous little goody bag from Utility( which had a pineapple car freshner which I am SO excited to put in my little brum when I get it!) and Natalie Roche which had some amazingly soft brushes and products to test!  Afterward we went to Las Iguanas in Lpool One where we didn't get the best service from the staff ( though the manager was lovely and made up for it) we did have some delicious food. It was such an amazing day - my throat hurts from laughing, I can't wait to see these girls again!  To see some amazing photo's of the event check out Hannah who captured it beautifully! Ciao x  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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9 Tips and tricks to help with your blog design

New Year New Blog....look...

So you may notice a slightly different looking blog appearing over the last few weeks...

Part of my resolutions was to work harder at my blog and while I did like the way it looked I felt it could look a lot better and it didn't really reflect me personally, which I believe all blogs should and I have so many visions for how this blog will look. I thought I would take advantage of my time at home lazying about to start implementing some of these changes - perfect time for new year!

I've been looking all over the net for tutorials to help me sort the look out and thought I would share some I used here in case anyone was thinking the same and wanted to update their blog for the new year - or just in general!

Here are some super easy tutorials(believe me they are easy because I am USELESS at this stuff):

1, Adding Social Media buttons to your blog by hopeful honey

2. Centering the blog title and date by her & Nicole

3. Customise your 'newer' 'home' and ' older' links by pursuit of felicity

4. How to make your footer transparent by Ruby

5. top ten DIY blog tips by Joyful Life ( this was by far the most useful of them all!)

6. How to remove the grey from your header/sidebar pics by beautiful solutions

7. how to get rid of unwanted titles in the sidebar also by beautiful solutions

8. Get rid of the dotted lines between home and older tabs by Ruby ( Same Ruby newer blog! - it also gets rid of a dashed line I never even noticed before!)

9. How to add follow me links & picture to your signature by Jemma at Dorkface. There is going to be some html here, whenever I have HTML problems I ALWAYS go to Jem, she is an absolute queen at it and is so helpful and patient when I am always getting it wrong! ( go and tell her to start doing html tutorials!)

You need to go to: Settings -> posts and comments -> post template - ADD.

the past this ( don't forget to add your links!) ( if you don't want a picture don't add the first line(like me))

<center><img alt="post signature"src="YOUR LINK TO PIC HERE" /></center><p><br>

<center>Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)<p><br>

<a href="YOUR LINK HERE"><u>Bloglovin</u></a> - <a href="YOUR LINK HERE"><u>Twitter</u></a> - <a href="YOUR LINK HERE"><u>Instagram</u></a> - <a href="YOUR LINK HERE"><u>Pinterest</u></a> - <a href="YOUR LINK HERE"><u>Facebook</u></a></center>

Let me know if these help!If you know any great tutorials let me know!

Ciao xo

Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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