Spookly Dookly - Happy Halloween 2015!

Hi!!!

Somehow, we've already ended up at October 31st, and we all know what that means! Yes, that's right, it's Halloween! I for one am very excited as I do really enjoy Halloween and all the fun that goes along with it.
 

I for one love Halloween. I think that getting dressed up in costumes, carving pumpkins, seeing fireworks, watching Halloween-y films (I'm more your Addams Family kind of gal, than your horror and terror), catching up with friends and family and a whole host of other things, well, its just brilliant.

Whatever you are doing (if you celebrate Halloween) and whether or not you are more Team Spooky (with me) or Team Scary, I'd like to wish you a very Happy Halloween! and I hope you stay safe and have fun.

I hope that you liked this post and that you've got lots of lovely plans for a great Halloween.

Are you doing anything for Halloween? What are you going to dress up as? What is your favourite part of Halloween? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

See you all soon! 

Have a scarily good day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Spookly Dookly - Halloween - Last Minute Essentials and Ideas.

Hi!!!

Good morning everyone! I hope you're all having a good week so far! Today is a bit of a Halloween post and its one for those amongst you who haven't quite organised themselves yet.

I know the struggle. You spend the whole of October planning just how awesome your Halloween costume is going to be or trying to think of ideas and then, before you know it, you've run out of time and it's October 30th - or October 31st (it happens to the best of us) - and you're running around the shops like a headless chicken and throwing clothes around your bedroom trying to find a way of making them Halloween-y. There is a plus side, however, to me having been so horrendously badly organised for many years and that is that I can help you. I know what you need to do to salvage some of the awesome you had planned. Need my advice? Keep reading.

Advice for the "I know what I want to be - I just haven't sorted it out" people.

1. Write down a quick list of things that you would like to have for your costume and makeup.
2. Look around to see if there is anything you already own that you could use - old costumes, dresses that would look good with a cape, any makeup you already have that could be used to make you look spooky. Is there anything you could give the DIY treatment to?
3. Head down to your local supermarket, pound shop or maybe a fancy dress store (if there is one near you) and see what you can find. Charity shops can also be good if there is a specific thing you need - like a long dress, for example. Do you see anything that could look more like you wanted if you did some DIY?
4. Put all of the things you've gathered together and see how it all looks.
5. Do any of the DIY type things you may have thought of - and, if you doubt your skills, have a back-up plan.
6. Bear in mind that it may not turn out exactly like you wanted it to, but you can make it work - I believe in you!
7. Tah Dah!

Advice for the "I have no clue what to go as - why do I always leave it so late? (its October 31st and I need to leave my house in a couple of hours!)" people.

1. I've been this person, I won't judge you. You won't always have a spectacular idea in your head. Remember that this will turn out fine in the end and you'll have loads of fun.
2. If you have no form of costume and no time to go looking for one in the shops, my first piece of advice is look in your makeup bag (or if you don't have one, look in someone else's - having asked them first, of course) and start doing your face. Think spooky, mystical and/or out of the ordinary and use a whole host of colours - dark colours, colours that you'd never normally dream of putting together or colours that wouldn't normally go where you put them (like my fluorescent pink eyebrows from years back). Essentially, let your creative streak come to the foreground and have fun with it!
3. If you do have some form of costume (like an old one) then pop that on and do some makeup that goes with it or, if you prefer, opt for Step 2 and shake it all up a bit - it's Halloween, it doesn't have to look perfect.
4. Back to those of you who have not got any form of costume at all, look in your wardrobe for some dark clothes (or whatever colours would correspond with your makeup - creepy dolls may want lighter colours etc.). Pull out whatever you've got and try things on together in front of the mirror at home to see what looks best.
5. If you want, accessorize with anything that goes with your look.
6. See, you did it, you look fabulous - I knew that this would all work in then end!
7. Tah Dah!

Advice for you all!

1. It's all about having fun - bear that in mind - and I'm sure you'll all look great whatever you chose to do.
2. Don't feel bad about not having been prepared and sorting things out before now - it happens to the best of us!
3. Stay safe, have fun whatever you're getting up to and have a Happy Halloween!!!

I really hope that this has helped some of you guys out in some way, I know what it's like to have left it to the last minute, I know the panic, but hopefully some of that has been avoided with my advice.

What are you doing this Halloween? Have you found this advice useful or helpful? What are you going as for Halloween? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading, Happy Halloween!

Have an spooktacular day!

 

GingerSnaps xxx

Let's Make a Change - Charity Telethons - Stand Up To Cancer

Hi!!!

How have your weeks been? Good, I hope. Today I would like to have a little chat with you about Stand Up To Cancer, the telethon for which is, of course, tonight.

Stand Up To Cancer aims to find a cure for all types of cancers and in a world were so many people whose lives are/have been affected by or know someone else whose life has been affected by cancer, I think they are doing some utterly amazing work.

Stand Up To Cancer is providing us all with lots of entertaining programming tonight on Channel 4 - I for one am really looking forward to the Gogglebox Celebrity special - so do be sure to tune in and show your support with me.

If you are able to and are interested in donating then (HERE) is a link to the Stand Up To Cancer website so you can donate directly or maybe have a browse at some of their merchandise.

 

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and that you've all had lovely weeks.

Are you planning on tuning in or donating to Stand Up To Cancer? What part of the show are you looking forward to the most? Any comments or suggestions for future posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments, I love hearing from you guys.

Thank you for reading, have a lovely weekend.

Have a totally beautiful day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do! - Music - Let's Talk About... - Circa Waves.

Hi!!!

Oh, hey there! Happy October! So, I'm a big ol' music lover - as I am sure you know by now - and a something that always makes me happy are my newest musical discoveries. Sometimes they are artists that are just starting out, sometimes they are artists that I cannot believe I didn't know about before and have several albums to explore, sometimes they are current, sometimes from decades ago. Anyway, today I want to share a discovery I made a quite a few months ago now and that I am delighted I found.

Let's Talk About Circa Waves.

 

Circa Waves are relatively new (indie) kids on the block. They are a band from Liverpool with an incredibly cool sound.
They have that awesome indie disco thing going for them which means that their songs have the versatility to be danced to or to be sat and listened to which is always good.
If you are into fantastic, upbeat, guitar-heavy songs with a great music and lyrics (and who isn't?) and fancy listening to something new then I would highly recommend giving Circa Waves a listen.

Four of my favourite songs by Circa Waves:

• "T Shirt Weather" (LISTEN HERE)
• "Stuck In My Teeth" (LISTEN HERE)
• "My Love" (LISTEN HERE)
• "Fossils" (LISTEN HERE)

Three reasons to love Circa Waves:

• Their fantastic music and lyrics which make up their unique sound.
• I could honestly get lost in their songs and listen to them for ages which is always a good sign.
• The aesthetic of their music videos - might sound a bit odd, but for me, it can be make or break and in this case, it makes it.

 Two of things I would like:

• Their debut album, "Young Chasers", in actual CD form (FIND IT HERE)
• Tickets to their upcoming tour - who wants to join me? (FIND IT HERE)

One of my favourite interviews related to Circa Waves:

• This is one of the only ones I could find - Vevo Dscvr (WATCH IT HERE)

That is all I have to say to you today then, you lovely lot. I hope that you have enjoyed this and that maybe you've discovered something new through this post.

Are you a Circa Waves fan? Or have I brought them to your attention? What do you think of their music? Would you like to see more "Let's Talk About" posts? Any comments or suggestions for things in the future? Be sure to let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading, I'll see you soon!

 

Have the most fantastically brilliant day!

GingerSnaps xxx

 

I've Been Thinking... - Hey There, Autumn!

Hi!!!

Well, its well and truly autumn now and I couldn't be happier. I love autumn and so I thought I'd share some seasonal musings with you guys. I hope you like this post.

While sat on the bus by myself the other day, I was looking out of the window at all of the lovely things outside. I saw just how many leaves have turned to show shades of red, yellow, orange and purple and how many berries there are on shrubs everywhere. Everything looked so beautiful and I felt very lucky to be able to experience a time like autumn.

 

On top of this, I recently went blackberry and apple picking with my younger cousins and I had a great time. I still find it so fun and almost novel to carefully select apples and pluck them from their branches and to pick so many blackberries that the juice ends up all over my hands. Seeing everyone having such a lovely time - from the littlest being lifted up to reach the nicest looking apples to the grown ups sneaking a few berries from the tubs when they thought no one was looking - was wonderful.

 

Autumn is a brilliant season and I am so pleased its finally here - I'm sure it'll be loads of fun!

 

That's it for today then, you guys. Thank you for reading.

What are you most looking forward to about Autumn? What is your favourite season? Do you have any ideas or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments below.

See you guys very soon.

 

I hope you have a fantastic day!

 

GingerSnaps xxx

So, To Sum It All Up - Summer-y Summary.

Hi!!!

Well, September is upon us, as I'm sure you'll have noticed and I've been planning lots of posts for this Autumn season which made me think of doing a summary of the Summer for you all. Partly because I haven't done a summary in about a million years and also so that I can reflect on all the cool things I have done and feel ready for the new season.

Anyway, time to stop babbling - I hope you enjoy!!!

So, what happened this summer?

 



Birthday's!

 

I had a fantastic birthday this year and got to spend lots of time with my family and friends and enjoy lots of very nice birthday cake!

I was very lucky to get lots of lovely cards and wonderful gifts, too, and I am so grateful to everyone for making my birthday this year such a special one filled with the most wonderful things.

As well as my birthday, there was Elf Girl's birthday which was spent playing really old video games, eating Chinese food and watching some favourite films.
There was also my friend Lauren's birthday and  some family birthdays throughout July and August, too - you know who you are.
I hope everyone else had amazing birthdays, too.

 

To see a post I wrote about my birthday, click (ME).

For my post about Elf Girl's birthday, click (THIS) and to view her blog, click (THIS).

Special Occasions!

My blog turned two in June which I commemorated with reflections on how much things have changed and also with cupcakes, obviously.

I would just like to take another opportunity to say the biggest thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me and this blog. I truly hope that you'll be sticking around to see what is in store for the future.

If you're interested, my post about my blog's first birthday is (HERE).

Travelling...

I did some staycation travelling throughout the summer to some places I hadn't been to before and I had a lovely time.

As a little post birthday birthday celebration, we went to stay with my cousin P in Cambridge. I'd never been to Cambridge before and I got to do a bit of exploring while I was there as well as go and see two open air productions of Shakespeare plays - on our first night we went to see The Merry Wives of Windsor and on the second night we went to see Romeo and Juliet.
I had a great time - thanks for having us P.

I also had a holiday in Brighton with my lovely Auntie S and my Mom. I'd also never been to Brighton before. It was an awesome holiday, it was really sunny and we did such a variety of things like exploring castles, paddling and reading on the beach, walking along the seafront and going shopping and I have fallen in love with Brighton.

Posts to come soon on both of these things.

Getting Cultural...

I did lots of "Arts and Culture" type things as well over the summer.

I went to the Tiffany and Co "Fifth and 57th" installation at the Old Selfridges Hotel in London in July which was so, completely amazing and spent other parts of that day exploring the Summer Streets Event on Regent Street. That was a great day and we did so many cool things.

Later on in July, I went to see the RSC production of Othello, which was an incredible show that I was so impressed by. The cast were amazing and so was the set design, staging and everything else in between. It was extremely powerful.

Still theatrical but in a different genre was The Importance of Being Earnest which I went to see in June. It was hilarious and the cast was fantastic. It was a great evening and I cry-laughed lots. Oscar Wilde is one of my faves and I was very impressed.

Earlier this month, I went to the National Portrait Gallery's "Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon" exhibition was really interesting. I have always admired Audrey Hepburn and it was lovely to spend some time looking at her life in pictures.

To see my post about the "Fifth and 57th" installation, click (ME)

To check out my review of The Importance of Being Earnest, click (THIS)

Historical Things...

Many historical commemorative events and anniversaries took place over the summer, such as the 70th Anniversary of V.J Day.

As always, I hope you spent time reflecting and remembering all of the brave people involved in these things and/or the things they did.

Little Moments.

 

There were lots of lovely little moments over the summer that are so good to look back on.

 

Dancing with friends, barbecues with some of my favourite people, eating ice creams, walking in the park, going for picnics, paddling in the sea, exploring markets, discovering new songs and artists, watching movies in pyjamas, trying to steer rowing boats (unsuccessfully) with friends, waving to people on river boats, reading, going out for lovely meals and spending time with my family have all added up - amongst other things - to make a fantastic summer to look back on.

I always say that the little things add up and, looking back, I can honestly say that they do - thanks to everyone who was a part of it all. 

Songs of the Summer!

I enjoyed lots of songs over the summer, some of which I mentioned (HERE).

I can do a dedicated post for some of my other favourite songs of the summer, if you guys are interested. Be sure to let me know.

I think that's everything - apologies if I missed something out. I had such an amazing couple of months that I am very thankful for and I am excited to now see what Autumn will bring.

What did you get up to this summer? What do you think of what I did? Would you like a post on some of my other favourite songs from the past couple of months? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments.
That's your lot for today then, folks! Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again soon.

 

Have an exceptional day!

GingerSnaps xxx

 

Oh My Life! - Tales of My Life and Times - Roses, Wishes, Fairy Lights, Balloons, Candles and CAKE!



Hi!!!

So, before I begin, I would like to address the fact that I haven't blogged in about a hundred years - holidays, weekends away, visiting family and friends and good old fashioned bloggers block amongst other things can take the blame. I feel like summer is probably when I end up blogging the least, and I am so sorry about that but hopefully you've been spending lots of time outside enjoying the sunshine and so haven't been at your computer all that much to notice.

Anyways, today I wanted to talk to you about my birthday back in July and the kind of things I got up to. I hope that you enjoy and that you find this interesting...

Little Disclaimer: I am under no circumstances writing this as a way of "showing off" about what I did for my birthday or the kinds of things I received. I know that I am incredibly fortunate for everything that I have in my life. I am writing this because I find these types of posts interesting to read and to write and I hope that you enjoy this. xxx

 



I was born on the 24th of July and so that is, quite predictably, my birthday.

This year was a "milestone" kind of number and so it called for something extra special.

It has always been the case that I spend time on my birthday with my family and that we have a bit of a celebration-get together-meal-type thing (usually at my house) and this year was no different.
 

I woke up on the morning of my birthday to big silver number balloons and tonnes more pink and silver balloons dotted around the house from my lovely Mother - balloons are one of my favourite things and I was delighted.

 Somewhere along the line this year, I was bitten by the DIY bug and so I spent some free time making decorations to make everything lots more colourful and pretty and I spent the morning of my birthday hanging those up and cooking (because food, obviously).

Elf Girl came round to my house in the morning as well to say "happy birthday" and she also gave me a lovely card and gifts. She made a "birthday box" to put my presents in and every present was very thoughtful and creative (homemade presents are the best kind) and I absolutely loved everything - Thank you, Elf Girl!

I spent the afternoon getting ready.

 I put on one of my favourite dresses which has a 1950s silhouette and the most beautiful colours to it - it makes me feel like I'm going to a carnival in the 50s with all intentions of clearing the place of milkshakes and candyfloss.

I also put on my Chucks, because I didn't feel like wearing heels that day and Converse look good with dresses - it is an actual fact, let's not pretend it isn't.

 I then did my makeup which consisted of lots of rose and gold tones on the eyes and a peachy lip and popped a jewelled tiara/hairband on.

And then, somehow, the day had flown by and people were showing up at the door.

I had so, so much fun that evening. Lots and lots of birthday cake was eaten, photos were taken in the "photo booth" that I had DIYed (featuring handmade props and backdrop), fairy lights lit up the garden and party poppers scared the life out of everyone.
I was also lucky enough to get some super nice and special presents and cards off of my family as well as some money off one or two people as well.
 I am so, so fortunate to have received such beautiful things from everyone - big, huge thank you to everyone!!!!!

 

A few days after my birthday, Lauren came round for a catch up and she gave me a really cute Pop! Disney Vinyl of Princess Belle - I adore Disney and the Vinyl is so sweet, Belle now sits pride of place on the coffee table!

 

Also, a week or so before my birthday I met up with the other side of my family and ate homemade Pavlova that was covered in birthday candles and did cards and presents - all of which were very thoughtful, beautiful and will be well enjoyed - as well as going out for a rather fancy meal and I would just like to say a huge big thank you to everyone for that brilliant weekend.

 

I had the most amazing birthday in the world and I feel extremely lucky.

Thank you again to everyone for all the birthday wishes as well as the cards and gifts. Big love xxx

 

Well, I think that's everything, I hope that you have enjoyed reading this post today and that I'll see you again for my next post.

When is your birthday? What do you think the best part of birthdays is? Do you have any comments? Do you have any suggestions for future posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments.

I'll speak to you all soon, guys.

 

Have an utterly awesome day!

 

GingerSnaps xxx