SUMMER UPDATE // a year in the waiting

WALT DISNEY WORLD, ORLANDO, FL

This holiday was last July, where has that time gone?! My laziness/ lack of dedication to blogging has meant this post has been a year in the waiting, literally. The drafted, unfinished version has sat in my pages for over a year and FINALLY I have both finished and published it, hoorah.

Most definitely a family vacation which I will cherish forever! So many great memories were made during the 17days we were in Orlando, FL and this post is soley dedicated to it. 

The photo above is from Main Street USA in Disney's Magic Kingdom. Disney was a huge part of my childhood and so this place truly did feel special to me! Experiencing the Magic and wonders of Disney World was amazing - this photo does not do the place justice. 

The whole time we were there we had absolutely beautiful weather, despite it being rainy season and having the odd thunder storm, temperatures still reached mid 30s almost every single day! Most days we headed to the numerous different theme parks which Orlando has to offer, including Disney, Universal, Sea World etc. But we did have a few other 'relaxing' days spend on a sun longer round the pool, soaking up the sun rays. 

We headed to more or less every theme park within the time we had there, but Disney I think got the most visits out of them all, of course! Here is myself on the right sporting my trusty dungarees, my brother, Zach, on the left with Kayley and the mouse behind the all of the magic, Mickey! This may be a return visit to Orlando and Disney World for us and we may have been between 17 and 20 years old at the time but we couldn't resist having photos with the characters, especially Mickey!!

Anybody who knows me, knows how much I cherish this photo and this moment spent at Discovery Cove swimming with dolphins. Since my first trip to Sea World in FL when I was around 3 years old dolphins have been and I think will be forever more my favourite animal. I even went to the lengths of having my bedroom redecorated and covered in dolphins when I was about 8, I have no shame haha. If I remember correctly this particular dolphin was named Dolly and was the sweetest thing! If you're ever in Orlando and are a bit of a water baby like myself then head over to Discovery Cove for a truly great experience!

Ride after ride after ride and we loved it! Just look at those faces!! Except my mums maybe (top left). She ensures us she enjoys going on rides, however her face always seems to suggest otherwise haha. And this is one of the better photos of her! This particular photo was shot on the Rockin' Rollocaoster, a ride based on the band Aerosmith and hence plays their songs as you zoom round at a rate of nots. Who wouldn't find that fun?!

This is just one out of the many photos I took of sunsets! It doesn't get much better than this right? Leaving via ferry boat after an amazing day spent at Disney World and having a view like this. Just beautiful, and call me cringey but being there and experiencing the atmosphere is truly magical! Disney without a doubt has a very special feeling for me.

There are hundreds more photos of this amazing holiday but this post would go on forever!! All I can really say is if you ever get a chance to go to Orlando and do the theme parks, grab it with both hands and make the most of it!

SUMMER

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Evening guys and gals, this is simply a Summer appreciation Blog post (!) since today was officially my first day of my 6 week summer break. 6 weeks does't sound anywhere near as long as it used to when I was younger!! It's going to absolutely fly by and before I know it I'll be back at Sixth form for my final year (Arghh!). So I've decided and agreed (with myself) that I'm going to make the most out of this Summer! I won't let a day go past without doing something productive, even if that means hitting the gym or (cry) doing homework.

Today was such a nice start to my Summer! Me and my gallies headed down to our local park for a cute picnic/ sunbathe. We ended up spending about 6 hours in the same spot enjoying soaking up the sun and chatting about everything! Despite me putting sun cream on though I still managed to burn my poor back, oopsie.

And now I'm none stop for the next four days before we go on our family holiday to Orlando, Florida - cannot wait for that!! Don't worry, I'm gonna be a full on tourist taking snaps and I'll do PLENTY of posts. So just a quick run down of my busy schedule, not to bore you;
Saturday - Thorpe Park then a party
Sunday - Shopping with my brother Zach, then a BBQ
Monday - Shopping with friend Molly, driving lesson and take out night with friends
Tuesday - Gym then PACKING
Wednesday - HOLIDAY!

So I hope you've got plenty of good plans for the summer too

Alton Alton Towers Baby

If you hadn't guessed from the title, Yep! Yesterday I went to Alton Towers Resort AND had a bloody amazing time!

Just arrived and raring to go! (I'm 5th in from the right btw)

For our Year 12 end of year rewards trip, we all voted to be at school for 5am and do a four hour coach trip to get to Alton Towers. Call us crazy! It was an absolutely axhausting day but despite the VERY early wake up call and the long journey, it most definitely was worth it. Being not officially the school summer holiday period yet meant it wasn't overwhelmingly busy so we managed to get on so many of the crazy rides and really get to enjoy the day.

You know what they say, 'Suns out, Guns out' and we all definitely made the most of the weather. It felt so hot yesterday, almost as if we were in a foreign country! But we certainly weren't complaining - the sun only added to our already fab day out! And with our legs out walking around in the sunshine for hours we all managed to catch a bit of a tan too! Hoorah!

We are all hanging up there somewhere!

We headed straight to AIR as soon as we got there and had no queue at all - such a great way to start. I've always loved air, the unique rollercoaster is such a thrill, you feel like you're flying (well I do anyway). We then made our way round the park, doing all the big rollercaoster and also some of the smaller - but not any less scary - rides too! My favourite of the day is Alton Towers new ride for 2013; The Smiler. We queued for about an hour so were all hoping it would be worth it. And Yes it was! The Smiler is the longest ride in the park, almost 3 minutes long. It has soo many loops and you spend the majority of the ride upside down or VERY high up from the ground!

After consuming my own body weight in junk food and allowing the blood to rush to my head many times throughout the day, it was 6pm and time to all head back to the bus! Just enough time for one last photo!

Tanned but shattered after a long day out!

If you haven't been to Alton Towers before then start saving and definitely put it on your bucket list, such a good theme park with so much to do, even if you're not a huge fun of giant rollercoasters!
Four more days of school and then my summer can really start! This was another great pre-summer outing though! And definitely a good one to give me a flavour of what Disney World will be like in a few weeks time! Ahhh!

Have you been to Alton Towers or Disney World? What did you think?

It's a blacked-out blur!

I'm back guys! Hope you haven't felt too deprived from my blog posts!

I've been crazy busy recently and just had THE best weekend in such a long time!
Friday started off fabulously with an extra long lay in bed as 4/5 of my lessons had been cancelled, meaning I didn't have to be in school until about half 1. Then friday night! My best friend Tori had a hot tub gathering with around 20 people. Drinks were flowing rather quickly and lets just say the rest of the night is my inspiration for today blog title...

Here's a dodgy selfie of what I wore.

Bikini - New Look

Jumper - Joe Browns(old)

Denim shorts - MOTO Topshop

What I do remember was hilarious and such good fun! Good job I had no plans for Saturday though. I spent the majority of the day recovering on the sofa watching a marathon of Keeping up with the Kardashians! Sadly there aren't any photos from Friday night though :( well, none appropriate for my blog anyway!

Then Saturday evening was time for round 2 as I had another party to attend. My good old pal Taylor had a little celebration for Summer - what a great excuse for a party! The weather had warmed up so out came the summer clothes too. Although a little drama, overall another very good night (considerably more sober too).

Em, Amelia, Tay and Me!

*What I'm wearing*

Crop top - Boohoo

Skirt - Topshop

Belt - New Look

Necklace - New Look(old)

Then to top of this weekend, Sunday's weather was b-e-a-utiful! 26 degrees and sunny in fact. I headed up to a local boutique called Lauren Cole. My friend Amelia (photoed above) works in there and she was holding a summer/blog party with 10% all stock. She asked people to model the stores clothes for her blog, here's what she put me in.

What do you think?

So not too bad for your average weekend. I just cannot wait for summer even more now! 14 more days of school left, and counting...

What I'd wear to a FESTIVAL 

So festival season is finally upon us, is anyone else as excited as I am?!

Well to let out some of my excitement, bearing in mind I still have 57 days until I pack my tent and head to my local V festival, I've decided to start outfit planning. Maybe a little early? But I'd rather be an eager beaver than running round the day before trying to find my festival outfit (that's what happened last year!). 

So in August I will be heading to Chelmsford's V Festival for a weekend packed of camping (Red camp of course!), drinking, partying and music! This four day party will need some clothes to go with it so below are some outfits I have put together which I love and would feel comfortable wearing to a festival.

Outfit 1. This top is from Topshop and is a beautiful cream lace crop top. Great price and great quality and looks great worn with these dungarees from Boohoo. I searched around before purchasing these because there are many slightly different styles/ patterns of dungaree. These came up on top and I particularly like the minor detail along the pocket. It took me awhile to come round but now I love jelly shoes. I think they are a great alternative summer shoe and worn with these cute frilly socks from Topshop definitely benefit this look. Jelly shoes are on my 'Next to buy list'. Ray Bans are great but aren't the most logical to take with you to a festival. My bargain shades from Boohoo will do me fine - mentioned in a previous blog here. To complete this outfit and to add a sprig of colour wear this floral headband from Topshop.

From last years experience I learnt that Friday was a very long (but good) day! I left home about 7am in order to get to Hylands park and get a good tent pitch. By 6/7pm everyone starts heading into the arena for the DJ set. Last year I couldn't but this year I'll be able to get changed and freshen up slightly (with plenty of wet wipes and deodorant) before partying into the night!

Outfit 2. I already own this complete look although sadly my wellies are not Hunters. I wish they were but I couldn't quite bring myself to fork out that much money for a pair of wellingtons. However, Hunter do currently have a 30% off sale so I may have to take a look! I got my knee high socks from Primark last summer just in case I ruined or lost them. Luckily neither happened so they'll be coming with me again. This top is a tad pricey but beautiful and from Miss Selfridge. You may be thinking it's not exactly festival wear but you can't blame a girl for liking a bit of glam! For the Friday evening I think this'll be just about acceptable haha. Black chiffon shorts you can find in many shops, I got mine from Forever 21 and they're so comfortable and flattering. They are high waisted too so will go perfectly with this beaded crop top.

Outfit 3. Hungover from the night before, throw on some shorts, a top and your wellies and you're pretty much good to go! These shorts are my new babies and are from the MOTO range at Topshop. This tops is also Topshop and it's fluorescent colour will give you that well needed lease of life. This gold bangle again from Topshop and will add just the right amount of accessories without getting irritating. Headband , wellies and socks the same as before. 

Outfit 4. The most girly outfit and pretty much all from Topshop (can anyone guess my favourite shop?). I have this skirt and it's so lovely and summery. Team it with this White crop top and statement necklace. To add a tad more colour purchase a bunny scrunchy (Ebay) which will allow you to rock the pony tail - by Sunday your hair won't be in the nicest state so probably best to tie it up and out of the way. Complete the outfit with the frilly socks and jelly shoes again or if the weather hasn't been too pleasant maybe bring out the wellies for another showing.

Outfit 5. The sexiest outfit don't you think? Monday morning feeling rough as ever and probably not looking your best either. Throw on some jogging bottoms and a comfy hoodie (which will also come in handy when it's chilly in the evenings). Slip on a pair of flip flops and hide away behind your sunnies ready to head home. These flip flops are from Havaianas, loungewear from Topshop and Sunglasses as above.

So I hope I've inspired you to start thinking about what you're going to wear to a festival or maybe just this summer. I've failed my objective and actually just made myself even more excited to go to V!

Are you going to a festival this summer?

xx Natalie

Heating up

Today's or should I say this afternoon/ evenings weather has been beautiful. The sun has (finally) made a reappearance in England. And in Billericay we had highs of 27 degrees Celsius, believe it or not!

As nice as this is I no longer wish for it to stay because nine times out of ten England is unable to fulfil this. Very sad I know, but I'd rather face the facts then be disappointed! So this rarity of the sun shining has made my mind travel to faraway places where the sun is much more guaranteed and they do actually experience this season known as Summer! Wouldn't that be nice?

First on my list is the stunning Caribbean island, Cuba. Mainly because my Mum has a friend who originated from there and she has mentioned that she'd love for us to go there with her one day. This means there is actually a slight possibility that I will get to visit this beautiful island. What a dream that'd be!

 The next place which sprung to mind was Sardinia. Another island but this particular one is just off of the Italian mainland, so not too far away from us, a 3 hour flight I would imagine? I've been to Italy before and I loved it. The language, the culture, the food! Everything was fabulous and I can imagine Sardinia being pretty similar but with some more spectacular beaches since it's an island. Not sure if that's true but definitely what I imagine it to be.

Malaysia seems rather amazing too right? Look how clear the sea is. This photo does make me think of Madagascar 1 though, when they all first arrive on the island, just me? hahaa

Finally, Bora Bora. This picture is just... WOW! Definitely a place on my wish list to visit. I reckon it'd be the most perfect honeymoon destination. It looks so peaceful and the idea of staying in one of those huts in the sea makes me want to pack my bag and go right away!

So I hope I haven't made you too depressed when you read this whilst sitting in your bedroom. You're not the only one who wishes they were on holiday right now!

Would you like to go to any of these places?

Time for me to head back to the world of UCAS and Uni applications now, not as exciting as it first seems I can assure you!

xx Natalie

Go Ape!

Had THE best day yesterday with my most favourite girls in the world! Cringin'ell but I do have the bestest friends I could ask for.

To celebrate my birthday in pure style I took my friends to Go Ape! High ropes and Zip wires 20 metres high in the trees. Definitely scary at times but we had such a laugh and was so fun to spend the day doing something active with my girls.

 All harnessed up and ready to hit the high ropes! We're all looking gorgeous with our hair up preparing to dangle from the trees...

 So only a little high! This isn't even the highest point and I could already feel butterfly's in my stomach!

 Awh cringey/cute group photo whilst up on the platforms. New advertisment photo for the Go Ape! website??!!

 Doing it Tarzan style - launching ourselves towards a wall of rope!

 We finally made it! Felt quite nice to have our feet on solid ground after all that.

Cheeseeeeeee!

So all in all a fab day out! I would definitely recommend doing Go Ape! if you haven't before - maybe not if you don't like heights though.

xx Natalie

Build me up buttercup

Hooray fellow bloggers! My exams are well and truly officially finished, for this year at least!!! Couldn't be happier today - being able to relax plus this beautiful weather is just so so perfect!

Just realised I haven't done a birthday related post! So thought I'd give you a brief rundown now. Not quite as nice as today but the weather certainly wasn't anything to complain about last Friday. The sun was shining for me, so me and my beautiful mum took my favourite bundle of fluff over to our local meadow. Look at all those pretty buttercups, the dog was definitely enjoying herself! Dog walking, driving lesson and a night out; a pretty decent birthday if I may say so myself.

Now back to today! 21 degrees Celsius calls for a sleeveless cropped shirt and some new sunnies I think. Black wayfarer style sunglasses - everyones go to pair of shades. Mine are from Boohoo.com for only £5! Only a smidgen of the Ray Ban price tag but from a distance look just as good! Well good enough aha!

My shirt is from Newlook.com and was one of my birthday presents so I'm not too sure on the price. New Look are never that pricey so I imagine for the quality of the item it was pretty reasonable! Denim style but light and summer since it's actually cotton and the cute white dots give it that girly edge. 

We are still in England so I wasn't quite ready to brave shorts quite yet so I teamed my shirt with cropped white jeans. These ones are from dorothyperkins.co.uk which I got in the sale a few years a go. So comfy though, I'd definitely recommend jeans from there!

lots of love

xx Natalie

Minnie Mini

Guess who's got a their own car?!?!

That's right, ME! Gosh I still can't quite believe it. My all time dream car as well. A super cute Mini One, not to mention her being bang on trend with her monochrome look hahaa.

I've been super busy over the past few days; my birthday, driving lessons, exams, I've finally found some down time to write my latest blog! I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms!

So here she is - my absolute pride and joy! Everyone meet my baby, Minnie the Mini. She's so beautiful and now I'm even more desperate than before to get driving lessons under my belt and pass my driving test. Freedom to drive for the summer would be absolutely perfect! (Get real though Nat! I've only had 2 lessons so far). I do seem to be getting the hang of it though so fingers crossed it won't take me too long!

Are any of you learning to drive at the moment?

xx Natalie

Little bit of Sunshine

This weekend the sun has been shining! Makes a change after all the rain we've had recently and especially nice since it's bank holiday weekend! I decided to make the most of the morning sun and sat outside whilst I devoured my bowl of Rice Krispies. I couldn't resist taking a shot of the sun to share with you guys!

Yesterday I had a lovely day with my family. My grandparents and Aunt and Uncle all came over to celebrate my lovely Nan's 79th Birthday! We went to the Royal Tiger in South Hanningfield to enjoy a served buffet of Indian and Thai food. I definitely had myself a food baby once we'd finished our meal!

This is what I wore; Missguided Acid wash Skater dress (Shown in a previous blog here)
                                        New Look Flower Necklace
                                        Sandals purchased in Australia - similar here
I also curled my hair using GHD straighteners and wore slightly more make-up then usual. In particular, Bright Pink lip stick and Liquid Black eye-liner.

Hope you're enjoying the sun - What have you got up to this Bank holiday weekend?

xx Natalie

Summer Dream

 In my ideal world Summer here in England definitely would have started by now! And it would be warm and sunny the whole time with never the need to carry an umbrella or a jacket with you in May - just in case. 

Here is a selection of summer clothes and accessories I've chosen from Topshop. If I was rich then these items would most definitely already be in my wardrobe! And I would be wearing them everyday in our lovely weather.

Keep Dreaming - Although I am going to Florida in July for 18 days so maybe I will splash out and buy a few of the pieces shown below to wear whilst I'm away!

All items can be found on the Topshop website.

Happy Summer shopping!

xx Natalie

I haven't posted in a few days so a quick apology from me! I've been bombarded with school work as I now have under a week until my first exam! *freak out*

But I thought I'd have a quick look on my blog, just to see how things were - not that I was expecting anything. But horray I was pleasantly surprised. I have gained my first follower! I realise how sad this is but for me I'm very excited. There is at least one person out there reading and (shockingly) liking my posts! Thank you!!!

Also tonight I finally made a full revision timetable and don't worry I have allowed myself a fair share of revision breaks. And I will use them wisely by updating my blog with new posts. I can't promise they'll be any good since my brain will be mashed full of revision but I will try my best.

With all this nice weather we've been having lately it's made me think about summer! So I intend to do a post dedicated to Summer and also a Festival post.

xx Natalie

Happy May!

Hi guys and gals, Happy 1st of May!

Today has been such a lovely day so thought I would share it with all of you! Hope you've had a great start to the best month of the year. Of course the countdown has now begun - only 30 days left until my birthday, until I turn 17 and until I can legally learn to drive!!!! Excitement doesn't quite cover it if I'm honest!

So today here in Essex we had perfect spring weather. It was lovely blue skies and sunny but there was also a cool breeze. Definitely got my daily dose of Vitamin D today and it's definitely had positive effects. Ok so school was pretty average but being able to sit outside in the sun at lunch does make it slightly more bearable, starting early on my summer tan - why not?! 

Acid wash skater dress - £15.99 - missguided.co.uk

I wore a really lovely dress from missguided.co.uk It's skater style so fashionable but also very comfortable - perfect for school! (my sixth form don't have uniform btw) It wasn't that warm so I did wear it with black tights unlike the photo. I also wore black ankle boots from Miss KG I bought in republic at the beginning of winter and a light blue denim jacket I got from New Look a few years back. Perfect spring outfit!

Cannot wait for this in the summer!

Talking of summer I can't quite believe how quickly it's coming around! Not long to go and I seriously need to get my summer bod sorted! As corny as it sounds it's true - everybody wants to look and feel good in a Bikini! So with this is mind I chose to have salad for lunch, so proud of myself! I also had a banana when I got in from school and even went for a jog! Ok so I went with my friend and we spent most the time gossiping and walking but it still counts as exercise right? haha!


So May isn't all good, especially if you're in year 11/12/13. The dreaded exams are looming around the corner. I've got under two weeks until mine start now, only a tad scary! My mocks exams haven't gone too horrifically so fingers crossed I'll do alright in the real ones.

But in between exams we do have half term and of course the 31st of May which is my birthday :) cannot wait to start driving lessons and get on the road in my baby! I haven't got her yet but she's so beautiful and I'm seriously so excited! I've been beyond lucky and got a mini one. Literally my dream car, I couldn't be happier! She's black with chequered roof and wing mirrors and white racing stripes. As soon as I've got her I'm sure I will do an overly excited post dedicated to my mini! But until then you and I will have to wait!

xx Natalie