The jury's out...

I first got introduced to Les Mis by my parents when I was about 8 years old. They went to see it before I was born and often played the album from the West End production at dinner. My sister and I soon knew the words to the songs even though we'd never seen it. I have to admit that although it was fun as an 8 year old to sing along to the album, I wasn't all that keen to actually see the show. All I knew was it was set in France, about a revolution and that my Dad fell asleep when he went to see it.

It wasn't until I was in Sixth Form that I actually got to see the show and the predominant reason for me going was because Nick Jonas was staring in it for a few weeks (shallow I know!) As it so happens, I fell in love with the show and it has become one of my all time favourite musicals. I've seen quite a few musicals over the years due to my interest in dance but never seen one like Les Mis. It's not the typical all singing, all dancing show that you often get but actually quite sad, it definitely gets to you emotionally! If you ever get the chance to see it, I could not recommend it highly enough. It's just one of those things you have to see.

When I heard about the film version that was being made, I wasn't really sure what to think. Today, I watched the teaser trailer for the first time.

After watching the trailer several times, I'm still unsure of what to make of the film. At first all I could think about was that nothing would live up to the west end show but the more I watch the short clip, the more I like it. Nothing will beat seeing people perform the show live but I think the film may actually not be that bad. Fingers crossed it isn't a massive disappointment!


As A Blonde. ♥

Pretty in pink...

I didn't actually wear this outfit today but I did wear it this weekend when the family and I visited my Aunt and Uncle. What with the weather being so glorious, it was the perfect time for me to wear my bargain £6 dress from Primark that I bought a few weeks back. I originally intended to just wear it as a beach dress but thought with a cropped vest top underneath it, I could get away with wearing it as a casual summer dress. 

They had the dress in quite a few colours but being the bit of a girly girl that I am, I naturally opted for pink! I really like the detailed top and feel very summery when I wear this dress. The ear cuff is from Topshop and I bought it when I was still back at uni as I fell in love with the feather especially the burnt orange colour :) I'm not really a tattoo kind of person (I'm too much of a wimp) but if I ever did get one, I think it would definitely have to be a feather design.

Fingers crossed this weather holds out because I'm loving it. Although. it does make me want to go on holiday! 

As A Blonde. ♥

Surprise, surprise...

Yesterday, Ben took me on a surprise day out for our 18 month anniversary. All he told me was that I had to be at his house and ready to go by 9.30am! We had the best day, I couldn't have asked for anything better :)

We started the day by having brunch in a lovely restaurant in Blackheath then as the weather was so gorgeous, we walked up the hill to Greenwich Park. I love this park as it reminds me of my childhood and cycling there with my family and spending the day playing with my sister. We walked to the observatory so that we could look at the view of London and to see how the Olympic preparations are coming along.

We then headed to the newly refurbished Cutty Sark and the down to the River Thames so that we could get a clipper to the London Eye. I've never been on a Thames Clipper before but it is a really lovely way of getting into the capital if you're not in a rush and if the weather is good. It's basically a river taxi and took us 45mins to get from Greenwich to the Southbank which in the glorious sunshine was lovely. You get brilliant views of London landmarks on your journey and is well worth the £4 that is cost us!

As another part of the day, Ben took me to Hyde Park and we hired a pedalo. It was so much fun being on the water and just chilling in the afternoon sun. I was slightly paranoid I was going to drop my camera in the water though! 

For the final and main part of the day, we went to see a show called "Cantina" which was showing as part of the events that are happening at the Southbank. The performance was a sort of quirky circus act. We were directed into a old fashioned circus tent and sat in the round surrounding a small raised stage and tightrope. The show was amazing!! One of the women walked on the tightrope in platform heels - I have absolutely no idea how she did it! All the performers were incredible, they were so powerful and so skilled. If any of you get the chance to go to London, you should definitely see the show, I think it's on until September. 

As A Blonde. ♥

Baking in the sun...

So today Ben and I got a bit bored just sitting in the sun and decided to do some baking (as you do!). The other week I was flicking through the tv channels and ended up watching Saturday Cookbook on ITV as they were making chocolatey desserts :) One of the chefs made a brownie sundae and the brownies looked delicious so we had a go at making them today. We both don't like the cherries or nuts that were in the original recipe so altered it to our taste.

We also made a 'Summer Smoothie' in the new blender we bought at the weekend. They tasted sooo good :) To make it, we mixed a banana, a handful of frozen raspberries, some fat-free natural yogurt, some apple juice, a handful of ice and a tablespoon of honey. Nothing beats a refreshing fruit smoothie in the great summer sun!

Hope everyone is enjoying the good weather that's finally decided to grace us with our presence. England in the sunshine is beautiful :) 

As A Blonde. ♥

Bit of a weakness...

So it appears that I have a bit of a weakness for Barry M nail varnishes. I just love them! My collection just gets bigger and bigger but I can't seem to stop buying them. I love the pastel colours they have like Peach Melba, Mint Green and Berry Ice Cream :) I've even got my eye on a new one at the moment, it's a glittery pink that I can only seem to find in Superdrug! I think I've worn Barry M practically everyday for the last 3 years! It's definitely part of my daily essentials. 

There's a few other things that I recently can't live without. I only got No 7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream  last weekend and I am already obsessed with it! I've been trying to find a moisturiser that isn't too greasy and this literally is the most perfect cream. It comes in three different types depending on your skin type so I went for the middle one as my face isn't really too dry or too oily, just in need of some tender loving care now that winter is over. It goes on really nicely and doesn't leave you feeling like you've just slapped a layer of junk on your face! It also smells nice too which is a bonus :) I've found that it's provided a really good base for my make up too. I use a powder foundation so if my skin is dry then it's really noticeable that my skin doesn't look smooth. This cream made my skin smooth and soft from practically the first time I used it, I'll definitely be buying it again :)

John Frieda 3 Day Straight Spray
No 7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream
Daisy by Marc Jacobs perfume
Barry M nail varnish
Vaseline

A staple that is always in my handbag is Vaseline. It is a must have for me as I hate having dry lips. I'm also not a massive lipstick/lipgloss wearer so I love Vaseline's Rosy Lips as it has a slight pink tint to it. It adds a bit of colour without being too over the top which suits the minimal make up look that I have going on a the moment. 


Are there any must haves you can't live without? Discovered anything new recently that you now love?


As A Blonde. ♥

Here goes...

So I've been wanting to do some sort of outfit post for a while now but never really had the guts to do it but today I thought what the hell! This is what I wore to meet up with my friend Lauren for lunch today as she was back from uni revising for her exams. We had a lovely catch up reminiscing about our time at school and how quickly the 2 years since we left have gone! 

Cardie: H&M  Shirt: New Look  Jeans: Topshop

 I've been looking for a new pair of jeans for a while now and found these at the weekend. I've never gone for high waisted trousers before but I fell in love with these when I tried them on!  I love that new clothes feeling and think I'll definitely be wearing these jeans all the time :)

As A Blonde. ♥

And so summer begins...

These last few weeks have been pretty busy, I've finished my 2nd year of Uni, had Summer Ball and packed my stuff up to come home. Summer Ball was brilliant, although I'm a little disappointed that the photos haven't come out great. It was so nice to be able to get all dressed up even if it was really cold. Dancing to S Club 3 had to be a highlight haha. It brought back so many memories of Primary School and how I used to make up dances to all their songs! 

Today was a bit of a special day as The Queen and Prince Philip came to my home town as part of The Jubilee Celebrations. It was great to feel the sense of community and even though it was raining so many people came out to see her :) I have to admit, I was so distracted by taking photos that I forgot to take a proper look at her!! But never mind, I was still there celebrating the milestone and will be able to tell my children all about it in the future. I'm looking forward to the street party my boyfriend's road is having on 3rd June. Fingers crossed the weather improves! 

As A Blonde. ♥