THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY THIS WEEK #2

I thought I would continue on with my 'things that made me happy' post this week. I find that writing down all the things I'm grateful for in the week really helps me to keep positive and I just love making lists!

I posted the second picture on my instagram yesterday, it's pretty autumnal but it was so stormy and rainy and the little leaf blew right in my home whilst I was taking the picture!

Monday: Berry tones. I've been rooting through my make up and pulling out some berry and gold tones ready for autumn. Essie Bahama Mama is always a staple nail polish for me in autumn, Orly rage is a beautiful rose gold and I've just recently got MAC Rebel, which is the perfect shade of lipstick for autumn.

Tuesday: Restarting Harry Potter for the 10000053747 time.

Wednesday: Drooling over the amazing biscuits in Great British Bake off whilst consuming half a pack myself. 

Thursday: Tea tea and more tea. I've been really enjoying drinking cinnamon tea, peppermint and liquorice tea, chamomile tea and ginger tea especially whilst browsing the new Ikea catalogue.

Friday/Saturday: Me and Alex are planning to pop into town to run some errands, look at the new A/W pieces and possibly stop for a cheeky Wagamamas. Yasai Pad Thai or a Yasai Katsu Curry?! - decisions!

What has made you happy this week?

FIVE THINGS: I LIKE TO DO IN SUMMER

Although I'm not the biggest fan of summer, there are a few things I like to do to make the most of it! I love Lazy summer mornings, eating brunch and dining al fresco and painting my nails in hot coral pinks. Here are a few things I've tried to do this year:

1. Spend time at the beach: The cool sea breeze is always welcome on warm summer days, I love to dip my toes in the sea, collect pretty seashells, have picnics on the sand and skim stones!

2. Eat well: My diet consists of a lot of fresh fruit, ice cold smoothies made in my nutribullet and salads in the summer. I've been enjoying a cous cous and grilled halloumi salad for tea and strawberries with some Nutella if I want a treat!

3. Buy fresh flowers: I love being surrounded by fresh flowers during summer and so I always try to make sure that I have some for my desk. I've discovered peonies this summer and I'm absolutely in love with them. Unfortunately I think peony season is over now but I've loved having them on my desk!

4. Wear bright make up: My wardrobe consists of black and grey all year round but in the summer I love to wear bright lipsticks and nail polish. I've been wearing Essie Peach Daiquiri non stop on my nails and Revlon colourburst matte balm in Unapologetic on my lips. 

5. Stay cool and Hydrated: Adding lemon, frozen blueberries and cucumber to water is a great way to keep cool and hydrated in the summer. I always make sure to wear SPF and try to avoid the sun at the hottest points of the day!

What are your favourite things to do in Summer?

WB VIP Tour

For the past couple of months, my younger sister has been working as a tour guide on the WB VIP Tour. It wasn't until my parents came to visit that I finally saw her in action on one of her tours.  Needless to say, she was absolutely wonderful - super knowledgeable about the various shows and sets, providing us lots of fun and interesting facts; extremely accommodating to the whole group, making sure everyone got a chance to see what they wanted, ask any questions, and take lots of pictures; and of course very friendly, patient, and funny - loved some of her little jokes. My sister has always been a little shy around strangers so it was amazing to see her so comfortable leading a whole group of them!

Even though this was the first time having my sister as a guide, this was my second time doing the tour. I knew going into it that the guide asks you what are some of your favorite WB shows and then tries to cater the tour around what the group likes. 

One of my favorite shows/guilty pleasures is Hart of Dixie which I believe is the only CW show shot at the studio. My sister tells me very few people on her tours watch the show or even have heard it! As a result, she doesn't often get a chance to show the sets since as I said the tours are catered towards the group's tastes. With shooting starting for the show's third season, we were both very excited to see the sets! My sister was somehow able to show our group not just one Hart of Dixie set but two!! If you watch the show too, I'll try to not to spoil too much - but the sets have definitely changed! I can't wait to see what this next season has in store!

The other sets we got to walk through was The Big Bang Theory and Pretty Little Liars. It was so interesting to see how a sitcom is shot with a live audience. I can't believe they actually will shoot an entire episode in chronological order with the audience there for 6-10 or however many hours it takes. Compared to how it looks like on TV, the sets seem so SMALL! Also everything was covered up because at the time, contract negotiations were still going on and they hadn't started shooting anything so there wasn't too much to see but the main sets (Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, the stairway, etc) were recognizable. They also still had up the burned down comic book store from last season. Oh what I would give to be able to participate in one of these tapings! Sure they might be long, but at least they feed you (whoo pizza!) and you get to a chance to see TWO episodes before they air (not only the show being taped that day, but the previous shot episode as well so you have an idea of what's going on in the storyline)!

Hour long drama shows like Hart of Dixie and Pretty Little Liars are shot sooo differently! I don't watch PLL but it was still really neat to walk around the various school and character bedroom sets! Unfortunately, you can't take any pictures of the sets BUT you can take all the pictures you want of the outside lots. The above photo is the exterior of the Rosewood High School in Pretty Little Liars.

This blue house is used as Zoe Hart's (Rachel Bilson) medical practice in Hart of Dixie, Sookie's house in Gilmore Girls, James Dean's house in East of Eden, Boss Hog's house in the original Dukes of Hazzard series, and Jill's sorority house in Chuck. <-- thanks to my sister for refreshing me on these and many other facts while I wrote this post <3

The above is what they call a "tromploy" (not sure about that spelling...) but it's French for "to fool the eye" - our eyes see in 3D but the camera sees in 2D, therefore, if they paint a wall to look 3D then it'll actually look real on camera especially if it's in the background. Just thought that was pretty neat.

The above right is where the iconic upside-down Spiderman kiss was filmed. The above left shows the full alley which is called Tenement Alley. It's been used for several musical numbers such as "It's A Hard Knock Life" in Annie, "Sante Fe" in The Newsies with Christian Bale, and the "I Should Tell You" duet in the snow from Rent. That doorway with the red sign next to it the Alibi Room alley entrance from the TV show Shameless.

A highlight for many people is being able to see the original Central Perk set from Friends - you'll be shocked at how small it is! Not only do you get to see it, but you can take pictures sitting on the couch with your family and friends! Of course, we did this-- here are individual pics of me with my mom and dad. I know I have one with my sister too but can't seem to find it :(

If you happen to be in the LA area, I highly recommend you checking out this tour!

What are some of your favorite WB shows?

DATE NIGHT MAKE UP

Me and Alex rarely go on date nights, instead if we want to spend time together then we normally put our jammies on, make some chocolate covered popcorn and watch films, play lego games on his Xbox the or bake! When we do go out on a date night I like to make a bit of an effort, using luxurious items and some of my favourite products:

For my nails I love wearing Nails Inc Tate as it's such a lovely dark cherry red, it gives a touch of sophistication and lasts well on my nails.

For blusher, I'm normally drawn to Nars Orgasm. Probably one of the most well known blushers in the blogosphere, it's such a pretty golden peachy pink that gives a lovely flush of colour to your cheeks.

My favourite lipstick at the moment is Revlon Sultry Samba which is a bright cool toned matte pink. I like to pat a small amount of this onto my lips and rub it in to make a stain so that it's long lasting and a bit more subtle on the lips.

For highlighter I love MAC Soft & Gentle, it's probably my all time favourite champagne highlighter. It gives such a beautiful glow and you only need a small amount brushed on the top of your cheekbones and on the brow bone to really make your skin look luminous and glowing.

I always reach for MAC eyeshadows to wear on evenings out and I love to use my MAC Quad when I want to create a subtle date night look. I use Naked Lunch all over the eyelid and then Sable blended into the outer corner and under the eye to give a subtle smokey eye. The plum pearl in sable really helps to bring out the brown in my eyes whilst Naked lunch (a pretty champagne pink) really helps to brighten and open my eyes.

I then add some winged liner, my accessorize statement necklace and I'm ready to go!

What are your favourite date night products?

SUMMER NAILS

These have been my favourite nail polishes to wear this summer. Although I normally prefer to wear berry shades I've been really enjoying wearing brights on my fingers and toes this summer with dainty gold or silver rings!

Topshop Pool party is a lovely aqua blue/green. It takes at least two coats of pool party for it to become opaque on my nails but then lasts well. I love wearing this with dainty silver rings and it looks great with a tan.

Barry M Gelly Nail paint in Grapefruit is a high pigmented, glossy pink. I love the formula of these, I really need to get some more shades as they are so perfect for quick application, no need for a topcoat as they are so glossy and perfect in two coats.

Soigné Permission has such a lovely and luxurious bottle. It's a gorgeous bright, slightly burnt orange which I've been loving wearing on my toes.

Ciate Play Date is a warm coral pink, it's a great summery alternative to wearing a classic red and is such a bright and pretty colour!

Which is your favourite?

JULY'S CORAL FAVOURITES

Following the colour theme, these are my summery coral favourites!

Essie Cute As A Button: This is such a pretty coral pink nail polish and one of my all time favourites from Essie.

Benefit Coralista: I only own the small version of this in the Powda Wowza box but I love it. Coralista is a warm peach pink coral that gives a lovely summery flush of colour to your cheeks. I love wearing this in the summer as really makes my skin look radiant and glowing, it can be built up to intensify the colour or worn as a pretty sheer hint of colour to your cheeks.

Mac Melon Pigment: This is actually a rose gold peach colour but it can look like a light coral on the eyes. It's a stunning colour and one of the prettiest eyeshadows that I own. It blends so easily and would suit any eye colour, you can see swatches of it under my lower lash line here and on my lids here.

Loreal Dating Coral: I remember buying this after hearing so much hype around this shade, its quite a natural peach pink that has a glossy finish, you can layer it up or just have a sheer wash of colour, both look really pretty on the lips.

Revlon colorburst lipgloss in Peony: This is a lovely peachy pink lipgloss that doesn't feel sticky on the lips and has a pretty golden shimmer running through it. Perfect for subtle glossy lips and great if you want to wear bright colours on your eyes!

JUNES GREEN FAVOURITES/MAYS GOLD FAVOURITES/APRILS BLUE FAVOURITES/MARCH MINT FAVOURITES/FEBRUARYS ORANGE FAVOURITES/JANUARYS PINK FAVOURITES

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY THIS WEEK

Monday: Eating Granola with almond milk and fresh strawberries for breakfast.

Tuesday: National lipstick day. Debenhams celebrated national lipstick day on Tuesday with £5 off all lipsticks online. I may have hinted to Alex about the deal (it's our anniversary next week) fingers crossed for a Mac lipstick! 

Wednesday: Autumn drawing nearer. Is anyone else getting a little bit excited for crisp autumn mornings, wrapping up in scarves, cosy knits and drinking hot chocolates?

Also, I've been Playing with slightly darker shades of lipstick, this goes along with my excitement for Autumn. During rainy august days (I'm sure there'll be a few in the UK!) I'll wear shades like Revlon lip butter in Raspberry Pie and Revlon Wild Orchid (a similar colour to Mac Show Orchid).

Thursday: Harry Potter's Birthday. In the words of Hagrid's Cake "Happee Birthdae Harry!"

Friday: The launch of Chalk Kids. Stephanie is such a talented writer, photographer and such a lovely person, her new website Chalk kids has just launched today and It's such an amazing website full of lifestyle tips for families (although I'm not yet a mum and I absolutely love it!). I definitely want a teepee tent in my home now and the cacao granola recipe looks delicious! Stephanie kindly asked me to contribute towards the beauty section which I'm so excited about! Check out Stephanie's website here - Chalkkids.co.uk

- I've also been painting pinecones this week: Let them close (place them in cold water for a while) and then will spray them gold so that when they open again, the tips will be painted gold :)

What has made you happy this week?