Film Review: The Girl on the Train

As I'm sure many of you are aware, The Girl On The Train is currently out in cinemas but originated as a book written by Paula Hawkins. Now I myself haven't actually read the book, but after seeing the film, I am definitely going to invest in reading it!

Its the story of a woman called Rachel who everyday catches the train into New York. On her journey, she passes through the neighbourhood where she used to live with her husband Tom. But in present day, Tom is remarried and Rachel's alcoholic habits are becoming worse. 

During her journeys to and from work, becomes infatuated with Tom's neighbours, Scott and Megan Hipwell. She watches them everyday and wishes it was the life she had. She describes them as the perfect couple, with a perfect marriage. But when she sees Megan kissing another man on the balcony, in her drunken state, Rachel's idea of a 'perfect marriage' quickly goes out the window.

As the story unfolds, and Rachel struggles to remember what happened the night she got off the train, she becomes a suspect. But as you watch the events of Rachel's life unravel onscreen, all is not as it seems. 

The Girl on the Train, Rachel, is so brilliantly played by Emily Blunt and she captures just how difficult the life of an alcoholic can be. While watching, you can't help but feel completely sorry for this woman. A woman who lost everything, who even though she can't recall the events of that night, is determined she didn't have anything to do with the disappearance  of  the woman who she's been watching everyday for months. The story not only highlights the battles Rachel faces, but the demons of Megan Hipwell's past that haunt her everyday since she was 17 years old. And when you learn what happened all those years ago, you can't even begin to imagine how she has been coping with the tragedy that in some ways, ruined her life. 

This story shines a light on alcoholism, the result of affairs and what the two can do to a person and just how far someone is willing to go to cover up a mistake. It is a dark story with moments where you question is it possible for there to be a happy ending for Rachel? Will she ever escape her blackouts and drinking problem? Or will she remain as The Girl on the Train? 

I Moved House!

Hey guys!

So as you can probably guess by the title of this post, I moved house! As you may know, I go to uni in Aberystwyth in Wales, but me and mum originally lived in Kent. Now, if you live in the southeast, you will know that the traffic is an absolute nightmare! I mean there isn't a time when the M25 and the roads near the Dartford crossing aren't busy! So with mum working all over the place, getting to and from work for her is pure hell! And it was safe to say, she absolutely hated it! 

So after about ten months of weighing up the pros and cons, she made the executive decision to look for another job. Now she knew she wanted to move out of the southeast and away from the horrible traffic so she started looking for jobs up north but there just didn't seem to be anything. And then one day, a job popped up in would you believe it... Wales! So with the perfect job all we needed was the perfect house. Now it didn't bother me the thought of moving to Wales permanently as I live at uni for more of the year than I do at home. But still, I was super excited!

So off we set, looking at houses and bungalows all over Wales. Mum was more interested in bungalows which I wasn't so keen on. I didn't know how I felt about the lack of structural diversity, haha. But when we found THE ONE, it was all worth it. The new bungalow is beautiful! It has a large kitchen (which mum is so excited about as we've never had a kitchen as big, bless her), a gorgeous front room with so much space and a bath that you could disappear in - I mean its huge! The views from our back garden are stunning! Welsh countryside in every direction and the sea is only two miles away. What more could you want? And the best part, it is only 20 minutes away from uni so when I run out of food, I can just travel back home, for gorgeous home-cooked meals! Hahaha! 

The only thing that needs doing is decorative work, so personalising it to our taste which I am very excited about as I just love redecorating! I find it so much fun! We'll be getting new carpets and painting the walls, re-wallpapering and we're having a woodburning stove installed! So for those wintery nights, we can curl up with a film and be all nice and cosy! And the thing I am most excited about is we have ordered a huge corner sofa for the living room! One of those ones that you could just stay there curled up for days because its so comfy! I'll do an updated blog post on when its all complete, so stay tuned :) 

Mini Lush Haul

Hey guys!

Now one thing you should know about me is that I love baths! Seriously, as soon as Autumn hits, I have a bath at least once a week. And when its the Christmas holidays its even more often! 

For me, a good bath means having dimmed lights, bubbles, a bath bomb, candles, a cold glass of water with ice and either a good book or Netflix. Sometimes I'll even put in some bath salts to make it extra special.

There are many different brands out there that do bubble baths and the like but my favourite place of all time to get these products has got to be Lush! You've all heard of Lush, but just incase you haven't, its a company that sells freshly handmade cosmetics for your body and the bath. The products they sell range from bath bombs, bubble bars, moisturisers, exfoliants and even more. The list is never ending! What I really like about Lush is all their products are free from animal testing. And having studied animal welfare in my second year of university, seeing the pain animals go through when used for testing is absolutely horrific! So knowing that you can have a deeply relaxing bath using products that are free of animal testing makes it all the better! 

So the other day I had a girlie shopping day with my mum and of course we had to go into the Lush store! I only bought four things; one bubble bar and three bath ballistics, but I'm sure they will be gone by the end of the month, if not before! When you purchase a product from Lush, you have the option to have a label on each bag, telling you what is inside and the perfect way to use it. So without further ado, here are my purchases...

Brightside - bubble bar
This bright, triple orange-scented bubble bar is large enough for at least two baths. Crumble half a bar under a running tap to enjoy mountains of uplifting, zesty bubbles. 

This gorgeous orange bubble bar has a deeper citrus scent, that reminds me of an orange vineyard. It smells incredible! So good you could eat it (but don't do that obviously!) It leaves you with orange bath water and weightless bubbles. Its main ingredients are Sicilian Mandarin, Bergamot and Tangerine Oil, leaving you feeling refreshed. 

Dragon's Egg - bath ballistic

The scent of this is absolutely amazing! Its white in appearance with hints of colour that are on the inside. It smells like sherbet lemon sweeties and its main ingredients are Lemon Oil, Bergamot Oil, Jasmine Absolute and a touch of popping candy. The citrusy scent leaves you feeling relaxed and invigorated. 

Blackberry Bath Bomb - bath ballistic

 My first thought when I smelt this was floral and fruity with a slight woody smell. Its a gorgeous blue colour and its main ingredients are Frankincense Oil and Bergamot Oil. This bath bomb is good for relieving tension as Bergamot Oil is used in aromatherapy for nervous tension, depression and anxiety. The Frankincense Oil slows the breathing and induces a feeling of wellbeing.

Honey Bee - bath ballistic

This has a slightly deeper scent compared to the other bath ballistics and smells exactly like it says on the tin - honey. Its main ingredients are Rhassoul Mud - a clay mined near Morocco's Atlas Mountains (I looked that bit up on the Lush website haha), Honey and Aloe Vera. This trio of ingredients soothes and cleanses the skin leaving it feeling smooth and soft. 

Lush's description of a bath ballistic - 'run yourself the perfect temperature bath, get in, then take a moment to let go of the world outside your bathroom, before launching your ballistic into the water and watch it fizz away'.

Something I love about Lush is they bring out seasonal products. They have Halloween themed bath bombs, Easter bunnies, lightly scented products that represent  Spring/Summer perfectly, but my favourite time of year (which if you know me, will come as no surprise to you) is Christmas! The Lush Christmas range is incredible! They have so many new bath products shaped like Father Christmas, Snowmen, Christmas Trees and so many other Christmasy things. Its just amazing! And their scents... I cannot put into words just how heavenly the Christmas range smells. Its everything you imagine Christmas to smell of, but in your bath! I just don't know what to add to my basket when I'm either in the shop or on their website, as there is so many to choose from! I think its safe to say that I will be placing a rather large order closer to Christmas!

Any information I've included about the products in this blog post came from the Lush website and if you want more information on these products or to explore the wonders of Lush, just head on over to their website, https://uk.lush.com

I hope you liked this blog post and if you did, keep an eye out for my next post - whatever it may be!

Book Review: Everything, Everything

Hey guys!

So something you may not know about me is that I'm one of those people who absolutely loves a good book. If I find a book that just grips me right from the start, I will read it cover to cover in a matter of days.

So I thought it would be nice to share my thoughts on my latest read. 

The book is called Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon and is the story of a girl named Maddy who has an illness called SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency). In other words, she is severely allergic to the world and she hasn't been able to leave her house in 17 years. The only close relationships she has is with her mum and nurse Carla. Throughout the book, Nicola writes about the extremes that people will go to when in love and how it can drive you to do crazy things that you might never have done before you found it. She also explores how deep a mother's love is for her child and how that can lead to potentially disastrous consequences.

When a boy named Olly moves in next door with his family, Maddy's world is turned upside down and as a character, Olly is very interesting and I just instantly warmed to him. He's cool and slick, kind hearted and funny but his life isn't as perfect as it seems. As the story goes on, you find that he needs Maddy just as much as she needs him, as she provides almost a loop-hole for him to get away from his life, even if just for the brief time they are together. Throughout the story, you learn about Olly's family and the relationship he has with his father. My first impressions of the father were that he was controlling and intimidating, but as the story develops and Olly and Maddy spend more time together, you find out that his father has been battling his own demons for years. 

After creating their relationship online, Maddy's nurse Carla finally agrees to let Olly inside the house so they can meet face-to-face for the first time. It is in this moment that Maddy's life changes forever. In the book, Maddy has to battle her feelings for the boy she has grown to like and the guilt of lying to her mother about it. While reading the story you almost feel as if you're there with Maddy, as you can really feel her emotions when she thinks about Olly or when she has to lie to her mother. But with each visit bringing them closer, Maddy's feelings for Olly become stronger and as she watches the relationship between him and his father go from bad to worse, she makes a decision that could affect her life in more than one way.

The ending to this book was nothing I was expecting! I literally COULD NOT put it down. It was a real page turner. I felt like I wanted to speed read it so I could find out what happens, but of course I didn't as otherwise I would have missed the important details.

Nicola Yoon has written this book so beautifully as it contains little snippets of education, sketches that Maddy's drawn, pictures of her medical charts, emails sent back and forth with Olly and the brilliant writing makes you feel like you're there experiencing all these new things with Maddy. When reading the emails between Maddy and Olly it took me right back to when I had my first crush, the flirting and the witty banter you would have between you and it brought a smile to my face, as I could relate to these new feelings Maddy was encountering on a personal level.

I would highly recommend this book as I loved everything about it - the storyline, the way its written and how Maddy's experiences are communicated through illustrations and not just words. The book captures love in such a beautiful way and makes it seem timeless. From cover to cover, Nicola Yoon takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions - not just love, but the occasional heart wrenching scene, excitement, sadness and there are some real on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments in there to!

I know I will defiantly be reading this book again and I'm glad I chose it for my first book review. Hopefully, if you choose to read this book, you'll find it as thrilling and extraordinary as I did!

Amsterdam Adventures - Day 2

To kick start our second day in Amsterdam, we got up really early, 7am to be precise (way too early for my liking) and headed down for breakfast at 7.30am. I can honestly say, I have never seen a breakfast spread that was so amazing in my entire life! IT WAS INCREDIBLE! There was a cereal section, a bread section, a Tea and Coffee station, a fruit section, a pancake station, where they made them specially tailored to what you want, a juice station and a section just for hot food and that means the Dutch equivalent to a good old english fry-up ♥

After breakfast, we headed back to our hotel room to get ready for the day. We got up as early as we did because after yesterdays venture to the Anne Frank House and discovering the queue was miles long we decided it would be best to get there for when it opens at 9am So off we headed to the train station. Once we got to the Anne Frank house at 9.30am, there was still a queue but nowhere near as long as the day before. While waiting, a lady came round with a brochure of the museum and this was the prime opportunity for Chelsie to read up on Anne Frank, considering she thought she was married to Henry VIII (face palm moment). We were only waiting for half an hour and luckily it wasn't too cold. 

Once inside, we made our way through the house which had a lot of steps! We weren't allowed to take any videos or photographs as this would have ruined the privacy of the museum and the story behind it. Walking through the house, was eerie in way as everyone was completely silent. The amount of respect that you could feel was unbelievable. The only sounds you could hear were the footsteps of people walking from room to room and a video playing in each room describing part of the Frank's story. The stories were told by either friends or colleagues of Otto Frank (her father) and the Frank family. The museum or house used to be the factory that Otto Frank owned and when the time came, the Frank family had to hide in an Annex above the factory and could hardly move throughout the day out of fear from being heard from a worker below them. The annex was hidden behind a bookcase and when you reach this room in the museum, you are told the bookcase is the original that was there when the Franks went into hiding in 1941. The Franks went into hiding with the Van Pels family and there was a total of eight people hiding in the Annex. When walking through the rooms, it is astonishing that so many people were hiding out in a space that was so small. 

After leaving the Anne Frank house, we decided to continue our museum tour, but on a slightly different level. It was raining and we didn't have a clue where we were going, so we resulted to the trusty phone sat nav to find our way to the Red Light Secrets Museum. On route, myself and Chelsie very nearly got hit by a van and about three bikes but hey ho, its not a city experience until you've nearly been run over! 

The museum is also known as the Museum of Prostitution, so it gives you a tour of what its like to be a prostitute in the Red Light District. It was a very odd experience for me and Chelsie because its 'the norm' in Amsterdam, whereas in the UK it is illegal. There was a room where you could see what its like to sit in a window, looking out on the street and it was hilarious!

I vlogged the day so you can go over and check out the tour of the museum by the link below. We then reached a wall of confessions. Now this was very interesting. It contained a lot of confessions (funnily enough) of people's experiences in either the Red Light District or just life in general. Some of them were terrible and some were just down right hilarious! 

There was a photobooth where you could use props, like masks and feather boas, so of course we had to have a picture!

Once we left the museum, we had a little walk around before heading back. We stumbled across a drug museum. As in literally a museum about different drugs! We couldn't believe it. Something that is very common in Amsterdam, is many cafés aren't actually coffee cafés, but weed ones! The menu is a weed menu and you can choose which type you want. There are so many options! And you will be walking along the street and just get a huge waft of weed. Its just bizarre!

We then headed back to the hotel as it was absolutely chucking it down with rain. And we didn't really fancy walking around the rest of Amsterdam in the pouring rain :/

Once back in the warmth of our hotel room, we flicked the telly on and ordered pizza. It was lush! Then we had a nap and got ready to go back out to the Red Light District. We met two of Chelsie's friends and they walked with us as it could have been a little bit dodgy walking round by ourselves, plus the fact we didn't know where we were going! They gave us a tour of the district and told us stories about what they'd heard or had done themselves. 

As we were walking along the street, they took us into a building saying its only 2 euros. So in we went, not having a clue what it was and it turned out to be a peep show! Myself and Chelsie were not expecting that! Its safe to say, we didn't stay for very long after that haha. The funny thing is, when editing the vlog, I had actually filmed the outside of the Peep show building and it had 'Live Sex Show' in electric neon letters. Apparently we missed that on the way in, I must have filmed it but not have been looking haha!

These lights represent all the windows around the Red Light District. 

This is just the girls light, not the transgender lights, which have a purple light. 

After strolling the streets of the Red Light District, we headed home and had a well deserved sleep after a busy day. The next morning it was an early start again, as our flight was at 9.30am. We headed down for the heavenly breakfast, then it was off to catch a train to the airport to take us home. Once we landed in Stansted, we had lovely little Costa Coffee while waiting for my mum to pick us up. 

 Just a couple of selfies

Overall we had an amazing time and I think we will definitely be going back at some point, but maybe when the weather is a lot warmer!

Again, we've put together a little video our second day, we hope you like it :)

Because we had such an amazing time, we have decided we want another adventure. So our next travelling adventure is... 

...we are going interrailing! And we cannot wait! 15 days of sun, cities and lots of mishaps I'm sure! 

See you soon :)

A Country Stroll In The Sun

Here in Aber, you will often find that you experience all four seasons of the year in one week! For example, a few weeks ago, one day it was snowing and the next it was clear skies with gorgeous sun. So when the sun is shining, it is the perfect opportunity for myself and Chelsie to take little Mattie (her pony) out for a hack through the welsh hills.

We decided to take the three hour round trip up to the lake which sat at the top of a rather steep hill - which led me to discover that I have terrible cardio! We left the yard at about 11am with the sun shining and almost perfectly clear blue skies. 

One of my favourite things in the world is to hear nothing but the sound of a flowing river or stream and birds tweeting in the trees above. There's something so relaxing and therapeutic about the whole experience and walking in the fresh air with the sun shining gives you a chance to clear your head and just enjoy the moment. Sometimes its nice to get away from the busy hub of the town with all the cars and students and just enjoy the piece and quiet (plus the sound of hooves clacking along the floor). 

Even though the hills were rather steep, it makes it all worth it when you get to the top. the views are breathtaking and it reminds me why I chose Aber uni. And walking in the fresh air is a good cure for a hangover I've discovered!

Once back at the yard, it was safe to say that Mattie was in need of a bath! So myself and Chelsie gave her a luxury treatment with shampoo and conditioner to give her a gorgeous shine. Thank goodness it was a warm sunny day as we had to stand for about an hour to dry her off, with the help of some towels. Then to give Mattie that extra little sparkle, Chelsie but some baby oil (don't worry its horse friendly!) on her coat to make her dazzle. 

She got some carrots and apples because she was a good girl all day and well she's just so cute! It really was a lovely day out and as it turns out a really good hangover cure haha!

Amsterdam Adventures - Day 1

So for my first official post of 2016, I thought I would write about mine and Chelsie's adventures to Amsterdam last year. Now, admittedly, we did go at the end of November, so this post is way, way overdue, but the thought of writing it meant that it was truly over and that was too sad to face. Having said that, it was one of the best getaway breaks I think i've ever had and I think its safe to say that Chelsie agrees with me. So lets get on with it shall we?

The journey started with us leaving Aber on Friday as we decided we wanted a few days at home to relax before jetting off to Schiphol Airport on Sunday. We were only there for two days, so we knew we had to make the most of it. So at 3.45am on Sunday morning, the alarm went off and up we got to head to the airport to check in at 5.30am to fly at 7. It was still dark outside, so getting up was a struggle, well for me anyway (I'm definitely not a morning person). The flight was over in a second as me and Chelsie slept the whole way!

So we had arrived in Amsterdam! The next mission - finding train tickets. This was where we encountered our first problem. Now the self-help machines were not very helpful as they had a variety of tickets you could purchase, however none of them were what we wanted. So, instead we headed to the help desk and quickly discovered why you couldn't purchase them on the self-help machines. It was because those machines didn't sell them in the first place... Even though we had a little blip, it was quickly made up for. For three days, a transport pass that allowed you to use trains, trams, ferries and buses was only €25! Which was an incredible price! They also came attached to a map of the city with all the tram lines so we could see where we needed to go and how to get there. So we had successfully got our travel cards and we were off to find the train to take us to the station nearest to our hotel, which we didn't realise was closer to the airport than we thought.

 We nipped into Wetherspoons for some breakfast - Chelsie has a bacon and sausage sandwich

and I had mango with passionfruit and a coconut sorbet. It was delicious!

Once on the platform, I was amazed at the fact that the trains were two stories. I had never seen them before - other than in movies, so seeing one in person was pretty cool. Once we reached the station, we decided to walk to our hotel so we could get our bearings of where we were. The train station was only a 10 minute walk away from our hotel which was really handy. Somehow, me and Chelsie had managed to stay at our 4* hotel for two nights for only £50 each! You've gotta love Trivago deals! And it lived up to its rating, it was lovely. And the breakfast buffet - OH MY GOODNESS! I'll have to save that for later, but for now ill just say it was incredible! I think its safe to say, we'd be happy to stay there again. 

The reception of our hotel.

After getting the key to our room, we decided we wanted to go to the Anne Frank House so we hopped on the tram in what we thought was the right direction - turns out it wasn't. Instead we ended up in the museum square, but it wasn't all bad as we found the "IAMSTERDAM" sign. So we turned to our trusty phones for sat nav to find the way. When we got there the queue seemed to go on for miles so we headed for the sex museum instead which wasn't too far away. The first thing you see when you enter the museum is a statue of Venus (the greek goddess). Throughout the museum were statues, a variety of graphic images and artifacts from throughout the ages, and of course an entire section dedicated to Marilyn Monroe in the famous white dress standing over an air vent. Photography is allowed throughout the entire museum and there are plenty of photo opportunities to say the least. There are multiple rooms, each with its own theme and there are speakers on the wall that produce sounds of erotica which gives a sense of humour to the whole experience.

After visiting the sex museum, we stopped in a little cafe for a spot of lunch and the staff there were so friendly and really welcoming. After enjoying our soup and sandwiches we didn't want to do anything too strenuous, so we simply walked around the city centre, taking everything in. We popped in Forever21 because I was absolutely freezing and stupidly didn't pack a thick jumper, so I desperately needed to buy one. Then when walking across the city square, we stumbled across a busker, which at first we thought was Justin Bieber. Now before you think, "you thought you saw Justin Bieber?" in the sarcastic tone I know you are, bear with me. When listening to him, without seeing him, it genuinely sounded like it was Justin Bieber singing acoustically, so of course Chelsie wanted to investigate. It turns out, his name was Naeman Meier. He sung an acoustic version of Pitbull and Ke$ha's "Timber" which was actually really good. Quite a crowd had gathered around him to listen to him sing. After standing there for a while, we carried on wandering the city and by this point the light had disappeared and all the christmas lights had turned on. It all looked very beautiful. We then found some traditional clogs, big enough to stand in - which Chelsie thought were called crocs (and still does!) But it gets worse. After telling her they were called clogs, she kept getting confused between the two and ended up calling them crogs!! 

 

 

There were also a number of odd shops, including a rubber duck shop, that just

sold rubber ducks, a condom shop and a shop dedicated to Nutella!

We then called it a night and headed back to the hotel. It was about 4.30pm when we got in and it was safe to say, we were knackered - we didn't even order dinner! I fell asleep at 5pm and didn't wake up until the next morning so I had a lovely long sleep :)

Overall, our first day in Amsterdam was a success and before I fell asleep we managed to plan what we wanted to do the following day, so keep your eyes peeled for Day 2's post!

We've made a video of our time on Day 1, so if you want to watch it, I've linked it below - hope you like it :)