Memories: The Script Live 2013

Hi everyone,

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend. I was so excited when I found out that The Script are doing a UK tour next year! It inspired me to look back at my experience of seeing them live at the V Festival 2013.

I would strongly recommend seeing them live at some point because they really get the audience involved and sound brilliant too (as always). They made 6 hours waiting in a field and having a sore throat for the next week totally worth it.

Enjoy the video. I've included 3 songs from their set  and If this is well received, I will strongly consider doing a second blog post. (There is a small amount of Hall of Fame also included cause the rest of that song footage sadly got lost).

Helpful links: 

Official site: http://www.thescriptmusic.com/gb/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thescript
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafVZzwtU8XUWbXGs4LYtdg
Their recent BBC Radio 1 live lounge appearance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dvd6CIOqQQ

*There is some obscene language during these performances*

Note: I filmed the whole video. I do not gain any profits. Used for entertainment purposes. The picture in this blog post is not mine and full rights go to the owner. 

I will see you next week with a new post.

Mcsophwar xoxo

Thoughtful Thursday

Hi everyone,

Seeing as this week is already in full swing, I thought It would be the perfect time for some reflection. In this post I'd like to include little things that you can do to help others on thoughtful Thursday (or any day in fact).

I hope you like this new style of post and I'd love to hear from you about what you've done to help others recently.

Little things take up a few minutes in your day but can really make a difference to others.

"It's not about your resources. It's about your resourcefulness"-Tony Robbins

Until writing this post I had never even heard of Tony Robbins but I found this quote to be very inspirational and easy to apply though it is about larger things rather than small gestures:

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you"- John Bunyan

There are a number of many ways that you could make someone smile today and it's made me think that I should be doing more because it is just so easy!

1- Cook your family/ friends/ partner their favourite dinner- It will allow them to relax for a while and show that you've thought about them.

2- Smile at someone today- A smile is infectious and it's hard to not smile back when someone smiles at you.

3-Hold doors open for others- Simple but polite.

4-Send someone you care about a lovely note- It could be anything from I hope you have a brilliant day to a list of things that you love about them. Your own words mean more than what you think.

5- Say Hello to friends that you haven't spoken to for a while and invite them to meet up with you or ring them- This may just cheer them up when they need it and they'll be grateful you've made the effort.

6-Volunteer for a charity or take part in fundraising- This can be harder for someone who lives an especially busy life or is short of money but offering your time or donating your old belongings to a Charity helps. You can even text to donate even £1 to charity. Do you need that expensive magazine this week or could you donate the money to someone less fortunate.

7-Bring cookies or something with you to work or school and pass them around.

8-If you've got a full trolley at a supermarket, let the person behind with only a couple of items go before you.

9-Make someone you care about a CD full of their favourite songs or a treat box with some of their favourite treats in.

10-Compliment someone.


   

Some inspirational/ thoughtful quotes:

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another"- Charles Dickens

"When we harm others we harm ourselves; when we help others we help ourselves" - Bryant McGill

"If you're not making someone else's life better, then you're wasting your time. Your life will become better by making other lives better" - Will Smith

Thanks so much for reading and I will post as soon as I can,

Mcsophwar xox

Non- Beauty Favourites

Hi everyone,

After a very busy week, I'm back (I've missed not be able to write a blog post twice a week). When I looked through my make-up collection this weekend, there was nothing I felt that was good enough for me to put into a favourites video. I've also included many beauty related posts such as What's in my weekend away make-up bag and Shop my stash.

As a lifestyle blog, I know that many people aren't interested in make-up and I'm sure we all have those days where the last thing we want to do is cover our faces in products.

Instead I decided to do a non- beauty favourites for the past few months and I really hope you enjoy it :)

1- Veggie Percy Pigs: 
http://www.marksandspencer.com/bright-pink-percy-piggy-bank/p/p60052276


At the end of August as many of you will know I went to Norwich for the Sundown Festival (Images and a vlog will be up shortly). I picked up these sweets at Marks and Spencer's after loving  them during my childhood. I made the decision to stop eating meat and similar products several weeks ago (I am reluctant to call myself vegetarian already) and I've found it very difficult to find sweets that are suitable for a vegetarian lifestyle. They were on offer at 2 for £1.50 and the same deal also applied to the Original Percy Pigs. They're great to put in your handbag or eat as a treat if you fancy something sweet tasting. If you're near a store I would recommend that you give them a try. 

Note: Veggie Percy Pigs are not suitable for vegan diets.

2-The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5rh7O4IDc0
http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/stephen+chbosky/the+perks+of+being+a+wallflower/6273971/

It is a story told by a 15 year old freshman named Charlie who has little friends and always felt a bit of an insider. The novel progresses with him explaining about his own struggles whilst trying to find a social group where he can feel as if he belongs. I don't want to give too much away but he does become friends with two seniors who help him to experience many things. If you haven't read this I would recommend it as an easy read. It's about 200 pages long so you could read it within a day, Sadly I don't have a photo of the book as I've given it back to the library I borrowed it from but I'm really looking forward to watching the film adaptation that I purchased a few weeks ago.

3- Company Magazine
http://www.company.co.uk/

When I was about thirteen, I started to become extremely interested in fashion and make- up. I wanted to find a magazine or book that I could buy that wasn't too large and 'grown up' for me but also not like the children's magazines that I felt that I had grown out of. This magazine is the perfect handbag size (A5) and has much more text and information than Vogue and Elle etc. The back page is usually an unlikely style icon for example a teapot and below it is a feature of brightly coloured clothing that you can buy to follow the style. I don't remember to buy this every month and it could also get quite expensive too, but you can read some things on their website and download the magazine on your iPhone if you're travelling. (I know this is a beauty type magazine but I hope it still counts as a non- beauty favourite)

4- The Very Best of The Stone Roses CD

I know they are not to everyone's taste especially as they are not in the 'current' music scene but I've been listening to this album non stop throughout the summer, What I love about music is how you can relate and interpret the music differently to another person. This album has many summer memories attached to it because It was always on repeat and I'm not fed up of it yet though it's not the type of music that I normally listen to.
The track listing:
1) I Wanna be Adored
2)She Bangs the Drums
3)Ten Storey Love Song
4)Waterfall
5)Made of Stone
6)Love Spreads
7)What the World is Waiting For
8)Sally Cinnamon
9)Fools Gold
10)Begging You
11)Elephant Stone
12)Breaking Into Heaven
13)One Love
14)This Is The One
15)I Am the Resurrection

5- The Script #3

The Script were absolutely amazing live when they played at the V Festival 2013. I've had this album for a long time but I've played it so much more since I download it onto my iPhone.
The track listing:
1)Good Ol Days
2)Six Degrees of Separation
3)Hall of Fame
4)If You Could See Me Now
5)Glowing
6)Give the Love Around
7)Broken Arrow
8)Kaleidoscope
9)No Words
10)Millionaires

6-Staedtler Triplus Fineliner (pack of 10)

This is my third pack after buying them again because I went back to Sixth Form at the beginning of September (I keep worrying that they will run out but none of them have yet). I think they cost around £6 and stockists include Amazon, Tesco and Asda. I used them whilst taking notes for revision as the tip of the pen is as thin as an ordinary writing pen and the colour doesn't smudge or show onto the other side of the page unlike felt tip or marker pens. You can buy the larger packs but this size is perfect for your school bag, office desk or locker. One criticism though is that you can't really write with the yellow pen as it would be very hard to read but it works brilliantly as a highlighter on documents with miniature font!

7-Gummy Bass Boost Headphones in Peach Pink
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Staedtler-Triplus-Fineliner-Pen-Pack/dp/B000SHSN04

I brought these for £10 from HMV and I've previously owned the green and purple ones, I often use these instead of the Iphone headphones as they don't break as easily. I wish I could find some of similar quality, that are long lasting but also have the skip and volume button on the cable.

Lastly I have to mention my favourite youtuber and blogger known as Essie Button! She runs a youtube channel and a blog but I've been mostly loving her vlog channel that features her boyfriend Aslan and their lovely greyhound Reggie, In August they went on a road trip and daily vlogged but also filmed their reunion with Reggie when they returned. Please check her out and subscribe because she is so funny and sweet. I'm sure you'll love her.

Her blog: http://www.essiebutton.com/
Her Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/essiebutton
Vlog Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/essiebuttonvlogs

I'm afraid that is it for my non- beauty favourites post. Please keep checking back as I am trying to post on a more regular basis.

Let me know what your favourites have been and any recommendations or comments that you have for future posts.

Thanks so much,

Mcsophwar xox

Note;I do not own or get profit from any links or pictures on this post that don't belong to me. They are used for entertainment purpose only. I use my own pictures where necessary. I am not sponsored.

Back to School: What helps me

Hi everyone,

In the UK, many students including me have returned to or started their A levels last week or this week. I have already done my AS level year and I thought I'd share a few tips that I found useful whilst studying.

Most of these points are generic and not specifically for people just taking A level qualifications.

Tip 1: Make the most of revision sites such as The Student Room where you can discuss almost anything with other students.

Using this website and others really helped me to find people who were studying the same subjects as me so that I could ask for or share study tips and advice. However, there are posts about pretty much anything so try not to get distracted.

Tip 2: Ask for help as you go along.

Please don't be scared to ask your teachers or friends for help. It is less stressful to go to your teacher after the lesson and ask them to explain the topic or the homework again than worrying about several topics during the lead up to exams because you never understood the concepts and learning them all at the last minute.

Tip 3: Don't be afraid to get something wrong or not get the grade you want first time.

It doesn't matter if you are in your first year of Secondary/ High school or studying for A levels, getting things wrong is the way you learn and can get the help you need. Practice makes perfect. Sometimes grading is very different from GCSE meaning your grades may be very low for one assignment but high for another. There's no need to panic

Tip 4: Read over your notes at the end of the week and check you understand everything you've studied.

Reading over your notes at the end of the day or the school week is really useful to refresh your mind for the next week or to help with any homework. We all have days where we think back to a lesson and struggle to fully remember what happened (I know i do). If something you've done confuses you, please ask for help.

Tip 5: Keep on top of your work load.

Leaving work to build up for a long time is very stressful and means you have to rush to finish tasks. If you can't complete your homework the day it is set, plan out your free time so that all your homework from the week is completed before the next week starts. This really helped me as you can start Mondays with a clean slate and only focus on what is given to you on that day, instead of still trying to work through the work you were set several days before.

Tip 6: Take regular breaks

Going out with your friends, watching your favourite television programme or just taking time away from school work to get enough sleep is vital. Working yourself too hard will make it hard for you to concentrate and you really won't enjoy yourself. It's all about balancing your time.

I hope this post was useful. Let me know what you'd like to see on my blog in the future.

Mcsophwar xox


Useful Links:
( I do not own any of these sites used below. I'm not sponsored neither do I receive any reward or recognition from any companies for linking their sites on my blog)

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/

https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education

Sundown Festival Day Two & Coming Home

Hello,

Sorry this post is a little late as Sunday was the last day of Sundown 2014 and I returned home on the Monday. I believe that the second day was the best though waiting for the major acts such as Ellie Goulding and John Newman was too long!

Back to what I said in the previous post, security was so good as police officers were there and removed those people that were causing trouble with the help of security.

Hotel Room View

I did try the vegetable burger from the vegetarian and vegan stand on Sunday (It was so yummy). I just found the whole festival experience at Sundown quite exciting but also relaxing. It was lovely to be at a festival that’s less crowded compared to larger ones like V Festival and Glastonbury and be with minimal internet for the few days I was away from home. I even enjoyed the egg free mayonnaise with my burger and the brick toilet building was bearable for most of the weekend.

On the way back, we stopped at Kings Lynn for some shopping and a spot of lunch. I’ve included a couple of pictures from the second day though my memory ran out before Ellie performed.

On the way back, we stopped at Kings Lynn for some shopping and a spot of lunch. I’ve included a couple of pictures from the second day though my memory ran out before Ellie performed.

Overall, I had a fantastic time and I would go again next year depending on who is performing. Although I don’t have the full festival experience by camping, I like to come back to a warm shower, a proper bed, television and electricity after a long day of fun.

Enjoy and my August Favourites will be posted very soon

Mcsophwar xox