Hi guys!
ok so today we're talking books! Since we're both students (which automatically equals us being broke the majority of the time) one of our favourite pass times is reading!
We both have our individual tastes in books but we love swapping books and reading something the other one loves!
Abby:
I'm currently reading: F is for Fugitive, by Sue Grafton
So, this is the sixth book in the Kinsey Milhone series. A series which (funnily enough) focuses around Kinsey Milhone, a private investigator based in Santa Theresa, California. What's different though is that all of the series take place in the 1980's, meaning that the work she does is proper investigative work - therefore you don't have to be a technology genius to understand what is going on.
This series is one of my favourites, and I discovered it about 4 years ago in Spain when I had run out of books whilst in a villa in the middle of no where. Thank fully there was a bookcase, which, low and behold contained 'C is for Corpse', my first Grafton book. The way I would describe them is almost a toned down James Bond, and Grafton actually writes a lot like Flemming. The beauty of which is that everything is described in a poetic like way.
F is for Fugitive focusses on Bailey, a man convicted of the murder of Jean Timberlake when he was younger. Only he escaped prison and laid low for many year until now, when a simple case of mistaken identity brings him to the Police's attention. Kinsey is consequently drafted in by Bailey's father to try and prove his innocence - whether she succeeds or not I am yet to discover.
Summer recommendation: Heat Wave, by Richard Castle (and then the rest of the Nikki Heat series)
Anyone familiar with the ABC TV show Castle, will recognise the name of this author. That is because, the fictional character 'Richard Castle' and the author of this series is one and the same. In fact, it's all based around the show it's self. To anyone who does not know what I'm currently rambling on about, Castle is a show which focuses on the New York Police department, and the team of Kate Beckett. Richard Castle is an award winning crime novelist who, thanks to his connections, gets to shadow Beckett on cases in order to research his new book. The new book is about a Police detective Nikki Heat - yep, you got it, these are the books he writes in the show.
Most people will write them off, thinking they're just the standard copy cat style, but don't. This is one of the whitty-est series around, and I highly recommend it.
The light hearted style is perfect for some poolside reading or garden lounging.
Shanice:
I am currently reading: the Gone series by Michael Grant. This is comprised of 6 books all set in the fictional small American town of Perdido Beach.The basic plot is that everyone 15 and over disappears and the whole area is trapped in an impenetrable energy barrier. Due to this everywhere erupts into chaos and when kids start developing powers things take a dark turn. It is a science fiction series with a little bit of horror thrown into the mix.
I discovered this series while I was very ill. I couldn't physically move out of my bed for a good week, so I laid and read all six books in one week! I also had periods of hallucination during this time because I was so ill, mixed with reading these books, was very odd! Although this is not to put anyone off, it was a very very funny and strange experience!
I am re-reading this series because it is just SO great! With so many unexpected twists and it taking a turn for the dark side it's something I could read over and over again! It is immensely popular series worldwide and I'll be shocked if you haven't heard of it!
Summer recommendation: The Hunger Games. By Suzanne Collins. This is without a doubt one of the best book series I have ever read. I can not put into words how much I love these books. The films are amazing but they don't do any justice to the books. I know personally so many people that have hated reading, and they've tried these books and just can't put them down!
These books are perfect for the summer. You can pick them up and put them down and pick them up again and remember exactly what happened because it's such an easy read. I lovelovelove books like that!
So let us know if you've read any of these books, if you love them or hate them, or if you've got any that you'll think we'll love!
Shabs x
Monday 26 May 2014
Tuesday 13 May 2014
Wading through exam stress.
Bonjour to all of you vagabond beauties!
So, today's post marks the beginning if exams. And, as of 11:10 this morning, shabs had their first AS exam - Abby had French speaking. Now, everyone has to deal with this abhorrent period at one point or another in their life. Whether it be for their SATs, GCSEs or Alevels in England, highers in Scotland or any other type of exam - each one of them is a month or two of stress and pressure none of us will ever forget.
With that in mind, this post goes out to give a little bit of reassurance to you all. A shout out to say do your best, because your best is amazing. But sometimes, even knowing you've done your best does not ease the stress. Thus, we've collated a list of our top tips to survive the next month or two of sports halls, ticking clocks, single desks, sleepless nights and enough ink to bathe in.
Tip #1; Music
It's like a tranquilly escapism from the real world, where words are beautiful and colours swim aimlessly around your mind. It lets you forget what you're worried about, and calms you down. So, the one things that got me through my GCSEs and will get me through my Alevels and no doubt my degree, is music. Pick a CD, one which you love, and always will do. But don't pick one which has songs which get stuck in your head - trust me, the result is that you find you spend your whole exam singing the song in your head instead of doing your exam. Abby's choice of CD? Bon Jovi's, Have a Nice Day.
Tip #2; Relax
Sometimes, most of the time, we all get so caught up in the fear and nerves that come with exams, and so pent up that we should be realising that spew never actually take a deep breath. I'm not saying never revise, we all know that will do more harm than good, as you'd end up being disappointed with your final result! But one night a week take some time off, (and read our blog). The night after an exam, take a shower, curl up in bed, and just forget about the stress. A rule I have? (That Shanice doesn't because she works until stupid times in the morning and then cries all of the next day) Never work past 19:30-20:00, by that time your mind is so tired that nothing even manages to go in.
Tip #3; Make the effort
This may be the strangest of all of these points, but it's true. On the day of an exam, make an effort, do your makeup, style your air, wear something pretty. Firstly, in the morning that's when you worry, and if your mind is occupied by applying makeup or braiding your hair then you have less time to panic. But secondly, if you look good on the outside then you feel good, you feel confident. That confidence is contagious, and so when you get in that exam, it's still there, and before you know it you're halfway through the exam.
Tip #4; Make the effort
This time we're talking about revision. Blahblahblah I know, but it is THE most important thing to do if you really want to achieve the grades you know you can! The best way to do this is to find a revision technique that suits you, usually the sillier the better! Many of my friends have key points from their subject on post-it notes stuck in the silliest places they can think of! Or you could use the simple but effective 'look, cover, write, check'. No matter what you chose putting work into something is the only way you'll get anything back. Can you imagine how boring life would be if, as they say, everything was handed to you on a plate?
Tip #5; This is not the end.
And by this we mean if you do these exams, and you don't get what you want then it is not the end of everything. You can usually retake them, and even if you can't there will be different routes of entry to what you want to do. There are always options. Remembering this will reduce the stress, and reducing stress is the best way forward!
Voila! They may be nothing outrageous, and not quite what all our teachers and tutors tell us to do, but they're what we do. These are the Shabs suggestions, not scientific, just why works for us, and if they work for you, then that'll make our day.
Good luck our remarkable readers,
-Shabs
So, today's post marks the beginning if exams. And, as of 11:10 this morning, shabs had their first AS exam - Abby had French speaking. Now, everyone has to deal with this abhorrent period at one point or another in their life. Whether it be for their SATs, GCSEs or Alevels in England, highers in Scotland or any other type of exam - each one of them is a month or two of stress and pressure none of us will ever forget.
With that in mind, this post goes out to give a little bit of reassurance to you all. A shout out to say do your best, because your best is amazing. But sometimes, even knowing you've done your best does not ease the stress. Thus, we've collated a list of our top tips to survive the next month or two of sports halls, ticking clocks, single desks, sleepless nights and enough ink to bathe in.
Tip #1; Music
It's like a tranquilly escapism from the real world, where words are beautiful and colours swim aimlessly around your mind. It lets you forget what you're worried about, and calms you down. So, the one things that got me through my GCSEs and will get me through my Alevels and no doubt my degree, is music. Pick a CD, one which you love, and always will do. But don't pick one which has songs which get stuck in your head - trust me, the result is that you find you spend your whole exam singing the song in your head instead of doing your exam. Abby's choice of CD? Bon Jovi's, Have a Nice Day.
Tip #2; Relax
Sometimes, most of the time, we all get so caught up in the fear and nerves that come with exams, and so pent up that we should be realising that spew never actually take a deep breath. I'm not saying never revise, we all know that will do more harm than good, as you'd end up being disappointed with your final result! But one night a week take some time off, (and read our blog). The night after an exam, take a shower, curl up in bed, and just forget about the stress. A rule I have? (That Shanice doesn't because she works until stupid times in the morning and then cries all of the next day) Never work past 19:30-20:00, by that time your mind is so tired that nothing even manages to go in.
Tip #3; Make the effort
This may be the strangest of all of these points, but it's true. On the day of an exam, make an effort, do your makeup, style your air, wear something pretty. Firstly, in the morning that's when you worry, and if your mind is occupied by applying makeup or braiding your hair then you have less time to panic. But secondly, if you look good on the outside then you feel good, you feel confident. That confidence is contagious, and so when you get in that exam, it's still there, and before you know it you're halfway through the exam.
Tip #4; Make the effort
This time we're talking about revision. Blahblahblah I know, but it is THE most important thing to do if you really want to achieve the grades you know you can! The best way to do this is to find a revision technique that suits you, usually the sillier the better! Many of my friends have key points from their subject on post-it notes stuck in the silliest places they can think of! Or you could use the simple but effective 'look, cover, write, check'. No matter what you chose putting work into something is the only way you'll get anything back. Can you imagine how boring life would be if, as they say, everything was handed to you on a plate?
Tip #5; This is not the end.
And by this we mean if you do these exams, and you don't get what you want then it is not the end of everything. You can usually retake them, and even if you can't there will be different routes of entry to what you want to do. There are always options. Remembering this will reduce the stress, and reducing stress is the best way forward!
Voila! They may be nothing outrageous, and not quite what all our teachers and tutors tell us to do, but they're what we do. These are the Shabs suggestions, not scientific, just why works for us, and if they work for you, then that'll make our day.
Good luck our remarkable readers,
-Shabs
Monday 5 May 2014
Face Day!
Hello to all of you awesome wanderers of the world wide web!
This is officially the first blog post which was not solely constructed via text or Skype, so some might call it a step forward in our blogging career - we found it quite hard work! But, it was completely worth it as you will soon find out . . .
So Shabs finally met up today!
And with the aim of making our faces look a little bit better, we got down to sorting our skin out, and then ruining all our hard work by putting makeup all over it (something we only realised after we'd finished)!
Here's our day in pictures!
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Makeup (as pictured above)-
Abby:
Shanice:
This is officially the first blog post which was not solely constructed via text or Skype, so some might call it a step forward in our blogging career - we found it quite hard work! But, it was completely worth it as you will soon find out . . .
So Shabs finally met up today!
And with the aim of making our faces look a little bit better, we got down to sorting our skin out, and then ruining all our hard work by putting makeup all over it (something we only realised after we'd finished)!
Here's our day in pictures!
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| We decided to steam our faces using boiling water. |
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| It wasn't as glamorous as we thought it would be,and how people manage to stay like this for 10 minutes is absolutely absurd. |
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| We found it was really hard to breath! Hence why we did this for about 6 minutes. |
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| Looking like tomatoes, but with really clean skin! |
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| We then decided to remove our blackheads! (Read the instructions fully first,because we didn't, and ended up wearing them for nearly half an hour!) |
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| So cold and sticky! |
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| This was the weirdest feeling ever because they go hard, and you can't laugh, which when you both look like idiots with plasters on your face is ridiculously hard! |
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| Next step, clay mask! Something Abby had never done before. |
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| Our skin is as clean as its ever going to get. It is also really smooth! |
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| The products we used at the beginning of the post to help our skin (more information below) |
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| The products used after the face mask. (more information below) |
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| What we cleaned our faces with prior to all of this maddness! Clinique cleanser is Shanice's, Clearasil face wash is Abby's! |
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| We had to stop for a snack break! (we discovered pop corn is a lot of help when trying to remedy your skin) |
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| Now onto makeup! This is Abbys. |
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| This is Shanice's. |
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| The final result! |
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| Neither of us are very good at taking serious photos. |
Products used in the pictures above:
T-zone, clear out face pore strip.
Balance snake venom clay mask.
Regen moisturizing cream.
Clearasil daily Gel Wash.
Simple kind to skin hydrating light moisturiser.
Makeup (as pictured above)-
Abby:
- Real Techniques powder brush.
- Body Shop blusher brush.
- MUA pressed powder foundation.
- Giordani Gold bronzing pearls.
- NYC Cover Stick concealer.
- NYC 'show time' volumizing mascara.
- Rimmel exaggerate eyeliner.
- Avon Moonbeam lipstick.
Shanice:
- Real Techniques Expert Face brush.
- Maxfactor 3in1 facefinity foundation.
- Scandaleyes Lycraflex mascara.
- Rimmel moisture renew Salone Plum lipstick.
And here we, we successfully made it through our first beauty blog post without either of us having an allergic reaction or breaking something. Thank you all for reading.
-Shabs
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