My Spanish Experience

Today's blogpost is a compilation of some of my favorite holiday snaps (completely unedited because i'm lazy) of my visit to Cadiz, Spain! as made obvious by many of my other posts, photography is a casual hobby of mine, and whilst I know I'm not brilliant at it I love sharing my photos with you guys.
So enjoy(?), get inspired and get your bum over to Cadiz, because it's one of the prettiest, interesting places I've visited in a while. 

The view from our apartments balcony

The Cadiz City Hall Square

One of Cadiz's many beaches at sunset

Us getting lost in the pretty (but confusing) old city streets

THE PRETTIEST APARTMENT I'VE EVER SEEN 

Day visit to Seville!

Seville Cathedral

Another Cadiz sunset

Strolling along the city walls of Cadiz

One of the beautiful white villages we visited

The view of the white village from the tower of an old castle

Me strutting it across the Cadiz Cathedral square

Me again, emerging from the sea in Tarifa after once again attempting to surf
(key word is definitely 'attempting') 

Summer Favourites

It might only be the beginning of July, but the UK has had some amazing summery weather over the past few months and I've already settled right into the summer vibe. I've made a collection of a few of the things I've been loving most whilst the suns been out, in the hope that you might need some inspiration yourself and find this helpful!

PASTEL NAILS. Subtle yet colourful, add a cute and girly twist to any outfit and any style.
Topshop- hide and seek.
Sinful Colours- Hazard.
Barry M- Prickly Pear.

BRIGHT LIPS. Add colour to anything to give it a bright and summery feel.
Kate Moss- 110.
I like this one especially because it's extremely bright and pigmented, and has a matte finish which I'm really liking at the moment! It's an orange, slightly off shade of red which gives a nice summery, floral twist to the classic 'red lips' look.

HIGHLIGHTER. Gives a pearly, radiant look which is enhanced in the sunlight, and looks even better with a nice tanned glow!
Benefit- High Beam.
I really like this one from benefit as it has a faint pink tint which adds to the pearly look, and is also rather long-lasting compared to others. It also comes with a a handy and easy to use applicator which many don't!

BODY MIST. Obviously, it's always good to smell nice all year round, but I like to go for a more natural, floral scent when the weather get's warmer.
Hollister- Malibu Beach & Silver Strand Beach body mists.

MOISTURIZER. With all of the tanning and sun exposure that comes with this time of year, It's super important to save your skin from drying out and regularly moisturizing!
Soap and Glory- the Righteous Butter & Butter yourself Moisture Lotion.
As most people do, I rave about every single Soap and Glory product there is on this earth. These two carry fresh and cooling scents and do the job brilliantly, even after one use my legs were left feeling soft and smooth the next morning. they also come in very generous sizes, and a little bit goes an extremely long way!

MUSIC. I don't know about you, but most of my summer is spent sunbathing, reading, or chilling with friends, and music is listened to every minute of everyday. There's always one album that becomes the main soundtrack to the holiday, and this year it's this one!
5 Seconds of Summer- 5 Seconds of Summer (self titled)
I've been behind this band for over a year now, and their debut album has been VERY long awaited. However, it was definitely worth the wait as this album is filled with upbeat, rocky songs and a lot of catchy chorus's to get stuck in your head. I 100% recommend purchasing if you're in need of some summer anthems!!

FACE MASKS. When the weather gets hotter, i begin to wear less and less make-up to allow the sun to fix up my face, help rid spots, and give me a nice natural glow. However, no make-up means no cover up, meaning I need to do all that I can to prevent those nasty break-outs.
Lush- Cupcake Face Mask.
This organic, natural, chocolate facemask by Lush is handmade specifically to help 'teenage skin' fight break-outs and un-block pores, and it works wonders! It smells delicious and gives your skin an immediate smoother and cleaner feel. Lush never disappoints!

GOLD. I've never been one for jewelry, but this summer I've found myself purchasing and wearing a lot of gold accessories. Rose Gold, in particular, is a great accessory for the summer months as it adds a warmth to your outifit, and is a slightly more boho, soft version to plain gold or silver. It can be dressed up or down depending on what you wear it with, and just adds a little more shine and sophistication to your casual, beachy look.
New Look- Watch & ring set
River Island- Necklace





Thank you for reading, please comment any other product suggestions that you've been enjoying recently as I would love to check them out! I hope you enjoyed, Ellie xo

Announcement

after about a year of not posting, I've decided to come back bigger and better than ever! Now that my GCSE's are over I have an amazingly long summer to fill, and restarting this blog is on my list of things I MUST do before September, so let's get started...

Music

I have a really weird taste in music that ranges from bubblegum-pop to hard indie rock, and I'll pretty much listen to anything. I thought today that I'd share some of my favorite artists and bands with you covering as many music genres I can think of. I love finding new music, so hopefully this will help you discover bands and new types of music you wouldn't usually go for. I don't know about you, but my playlist is a definite summer essential and I'll probably spend 99% of my 6 six weeks with my headphones in. So here goes...

(Highlighted ones are must-listens!)

Pop - One Direction
Iggy Azalea
Lorde

Indie Pop - The Vamps
McFly

Punk Rock - 5 Seconds Of Summer
The Stiff Dylans
All Time Low

Rock- Paramore
Blink 182
Tonight Alive
A Day to Remember
Arctic Monkeys
Fall Out Boy

Indie Rock - Imagine Dragons

Kodaline
Mumford & Sons
Of Monsters And Men
the Vaccines
Oasis
The 1975

Alternative - Biffy Clyro
Dog Is Dead
Little Comets
Vampire Weekend
Imagine Dragons
Alt-J
Coldplay
Of Monsters and Men

Singer/Songwriter - Ed Sheeran
Gabrielle Aplin
Paulo Nutini
Tom Odell
Passenger
Jake Bugg
Daughter
Andy Jordan

Electronica - Bastille
Marina & The Diamonds

Liebster Award

I have been nominated for a Liebster award by the gorgeous LovelyChubly so please go and check out her blog, I'm a little bit in love with it now.

If you're unsure as to what a Liebster award is, it's an award given to blogs with under 200 followers who you think deserve more recognition. Each nominee has to give 11 facts about themselves, answer 11 questions and tag the blogs who they would like to nominate.
So, here goes...

Facts About Me

I play guitar and piano.
I love travelling and visiting new places, I've been lucky enough to visit Europe, Africa and Asia and I plan on taking a gap year to backpack around the world!
I have an addiction to concerts, they're literally my favourite things to attend ever.
I can waste days watching youtube videos, back-to-back TV shows, and scrolling through tumblr.
My favourite make-up brand is Benefit.
I'm 5'3, and I always get picked on for my tiny feet.
My family are Irish but I live in England.
I used to suffer anxiety when I was younger but I've grown so much more confident thanks to my friends that I met when I started secondary school. It's been 4 years!
My favourite books are Looking For Alaska and (of course) Harry Potter.

Questions From LovelyChubly

 1.What is your most embarrassing moment?

Probably when I fell over on stage in a dance show last year

2. Why did you decide to start blogging?I'd always slightly considered it as I used to look up to bloggers like Zoella a lot, so when a couple of my friends created blogs I built up the confidence to make one myself.

3. Where is the once place in the world that you want to visit?New York, definitely

4. If you won the lottery, what would you do with your first million?I'd probably give some to charity, buy my parents a new house, put some away for Uni and travelling, and then treat myself to a camera and a mac so I can begin to take up film producing and photography! (And I'd definitely save some for concert tickets)

5. If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?Teleporting, I could just appear in the shower with Harry Styles or something.

6. What is your favourite band/singer?I could never decide on one, so here's a list.
McFly
The Vamps
5sos
Vampire Weekend
Kodaline
Ed Sheeran
One Direction
Bastille
Tom Odell
Mumford and Sons
Passenger

7. If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?Sneak backstage in concerts or celebrity hotel rooms heh.

8. What is your favourite movie?

Harry Potter, Son of Rambow, Life of Pi, or Despicable Me

9. If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?Mac n Cheese or pizza because they are my one true loves.

10. Do you collect anything?I have a box of concert tickets, but my CD collection is definitely my most prized.

11. What is your lifetime ambition?To see the world, and to get a career that I love and enjoy doing. You will never work a day in your life if you do what makes you happiest.

The Blogs That I Nominate

I'm going to admit now that I follow hardly any blogs with under 200 followers, and the ones I do have already been nominated for the Liebster awards. However, I'm going to mention them anyway so you can check them out.

Lucy
Frankie
Diana

My Questions

1. What is your hobby?
2. What is your all time favourite song?
3. What is your make-up essential?
4. Hot summer days or cold cosy evenings? Why?
5. Who is your biggest inspiration?
6. What's your biggest confession?
7. Describe yourself in 5 words.
8. Countries you have visited?
9. What is your favourite shop?
10. Biggest fear?
11. Why did you start blogging?

Comment below a link to your blog as I'd love to start following more, I'll take a look and then pick a few more nominees!

Weekend Away

Last weekend I went to visit my family in Exmouth, Devon. Sadly it was for a funeral, but it was really lovely and I had a lot of fun. The weather was also gorgeous, and thankfully the pretty seaside town wasn't at all busy so we spent a lot of time on the beach. I took a few photos so I thought I would share them with you! 

                                                 


                                             
                                                

Future Plans

This is just a quick post to tell you about everything I have to look forward to within the next year or so. Being bogged down with school work and exams hasn't put me in the best mood recently, so I thought I'd take some time to stop and think about everything that's coming up.

• In the summer holidays I'm off to Spain for a week of surfing and a week roaming around Barcelona. I'm completely in love with that city and I've always wanted to surf, so this should be an experience. 
• After the most stressful hour of my life, I managed to get 2 tickets too see McFly (one of my favourite bands- check them out) at the Royal Albert hall on September 21st, for their 10th anniversary celebration. Due to high demand me and my friends weren't able to all get tickets -sigh- but it should still be amazing! 
• I also decided, rather spontaneously, to buy some very cheap tickets to see Kodaline in Oxford on November the 9th, as I've recently been loving their EP. The tickets are still going so if you live nearby check them out, their sound is quite folky and alternative and I promise you'll love them. 
• I turn 16 in December which is incredibly exciting but also scary, I'm looking forward to the new freedom but not so much the exams. But I'll also be able to get a job, meaning more money to spend on pretty things, ooooooh.
• My parents have promised to try for Glastonbury tickets for next June- whether we'll be successful for not I don't know- but what I do know is that it will definitely be the most insane experience ever. I know I want to go at least once in my life. Fingers crossed!
• Luckily I have a pretty decent back-up plan if the likely happens and we fail on getting Glasto tickets. Reading Fest! I'll be 16 by then, meaning I can camp the weekend with my friends for both days of music. If the line-up is as good as this years, I'll be rolling on the floor in excitement. It's an alternative/rock festival normally including bands like Bastille, Imagine Dragons, and Green Day.
• And finally, I'll need to start applying for sixth-forms and colleges. The way it's looking at the moment, many of my friends will be going to different places to me, which will be pretty rubbish. However, I'm looking forward to a change, and it'll give me the opportunity to meet new people. 

This list turned out to be longer than I thought, racking my brain for future events made a few ones crop up that I hadn't even thought about yet. It's definitely put me in a better mood, although a couple seem slightly daunting. I've always been a fan of change though, and I can't wait to try new things. (This all sounds quite cheesy so I apologize for that.)