Saturday 31 December 2011

25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 11. What would you see in the mirror of Erised?

I think I'd have my own business.  Probably a cute little tea room and bookshop.  Somewhere cosy for people to hang out when they're shopping.


And I'd live on a farm with my Welsh Cob, Shetland pony and a donkey.


If you'd like to find out more about this challenge then click here!



Friday 30 December 2011

25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 10. If you had the choice, which Hallow would you choose?

I think it'd have to be the invisibility cloak.

I don't really want all of the power the elder wand would give me, too much responsibility.  The resurrection stone would be nice for a bit but nothing can really bring people back from the dead.

If you want to find out more about this challenge then click here!



25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 9. Favourite Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?

If your favourite isn't Lupin then there's something wrong.


I always loved his lesson in the third book and I absolutely loved how JK Rowling described his exam.  It sounded like so much fun!!

If you want to learn more about this challenge then click here!



Monday 19 December 2011

When will I blog regularly?!

It's probably not bothering any of you but it's bothering me!

I suck at keeping a schedule for this blog...  Although it might help if the last week and a half hadn't been spent at university more than my house.  I'm not even exaggerating.

And then the second I stop working, I mean literally about half an hour after I finished an essay, I get tiny chicken disease!!!

The hell!  Tiny chickens get out of my head now please!




25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 8. Severus Snape - good guy who did bad? Or bad guy who did good?

Oh err wow...  I don't think he was ever just a bad or a good guy.


I mean it's hard to decipher how something could be so black and white.  I don't think anyone is just good or bad,  people are just varying shades of grey to me.

When it comes down to it though he stuck to his morals and protected those he loved, and for that he's earned my respect.

If you want to find out more about the 25 Day Harry Potter Challenge then click here!



Sunday 18 December 2011

25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 7. You've graduated Hogwarts, passed your NEWTS, now what?

Oh gosh!!!  Well I think now I'd either get a job at Flourish and Blotts or Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley.


Either that or I'd become Hagrid's apprentice and help him look after all the creatures in the grounds of Hogwarts and help teach classes!  That would be so much fun!

If you want to find out more about the 25 Day Harry Potter Challenge click here!



Saturday 3 December 2011

Christmas is coming!

It's December now so I can officially start getting excited about Christmas!!!! Yay!!!

To celebrate I decided to make myself a little Christmassy beverage.

Christmas Hot Chocolate



Ingredients
Hot Chocolate
1/4tsp Ground ginger
1/4tsp Ground cinnamon
1/4tsp Ground nutmeg
1/4tsp Ground cloves

Method
This is so simple a monkey could do it.  All you need to do is put in however much hot chocolate powder the packet says.  Add the spices and then proceed to make your hot chocolate how your normally do!  It's wonderfully warming and is cheaper than going out to Costa or Starbucks.
For extra Christmas cheer add some marshmallows and whipped cream!  Scrumptious!




25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 6. Favourite movie?

I think my favourite movie is actually Half Blood Prince.  Deathly Hallows is amazing but it's incredibly upsetting!  I can't watch it without blubbing like a baby (in both parts).


I remember crying with laughter the first time I watched this film in the cinema.  Dumbledore with his knitting patterns, Ron being drugged with the love potion, Cormac McLaggen throwing up on Snape's shoes.  It's so much more light hearted than films 5 and 7 whilst still retaining that dark edge.

My favourite part has to be when Harry and Luna are on the way to Slughorn's Christmas party and she says she's never been to that part of the castle whilst awake at least.  She sleep walks so she wears shoes to bed.  I'm not sure why but I find Luna just hilarious!

If you want to find out more about the 25 Day Harry Potter Challenge then click here!



Friday 2 December 2011

25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 5. What's your wand made of? What's the core?

I'm going to tell you what Pottermore gave me as my wand as, to me, it seems to fit me perfectly.


Okay so my wand is 10 inches long, red oak with a unicorn hair core.  Here's some explanations from Pottermore and Mr Ollivander.

"Red Oak
You will often hear the ignorant say that red oak is an infallible sign of its owner’s hot temper. In fact, the true match for a red oak wand is possessed of unusually fast reactions, making it a perfect duelling wand. Less common than English oak, I have found that its ideal master is light of touch, quick-witted and adaptable, often the creator of distinctive, trademark spells, and a good man or woman to have beside one in a fight. Red oak wands are, in my opinion, among the most handsome."


"Unicorn Hair
Unicorn Hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages.  Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts.  They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard.
Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair my 'die' and need replacing."


If you want to find out more about the 25 Day Harry Potter Challenge then click here!




Thursday 1 December 2011

25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 4. Favourite Harry Potter pick up line?

I know there are loads of pickup lines floating out in the internet but I'm going to pick one straight from the book, when Ron needed a date for the Yule Ball, simply because it amused me so much!


"Hermione.  Neville's right, you are a girl...well, you could come with one of us!"

Ron knows how to please the ladies!

If you want to find out more about the 25 Day Harry Potter Challenge then click here!



Wednesday 30 November 2011

25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 3. What's your Quidditich position?

I DON'T WANT ONE.  Probably the only Harry Potter fan who doesn't.  I have a very bad fear of heights so the thought of Quidditch makes my stomach do somersaults.  I don't want any chance of ever being able to fall 50 feet to the ground off a floating stick.  No thanks.


I'll stick to cheering them on from the stands.  Wearing a Luna-esque badger hat for my fellow Hufflepuffs, complete with snuffly nose!

If you want to find out more about the 25 Day Harry Potter Challenge then click here!



Tuesday 29 November 2011

25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 2. If you could take any class that they offer at Hogwarts, what would it be?

This is so easy for me, it would definitely be Care of Magical Creatures.  I'm a very animal loving person anyway and those were always my favourite lessons to read about.  Learning about nifflers, bowtruckles, blast ended skrewts, flobberworms, hippogriffs and unicorns just sounds like so much fun!


If you've not already read it then I suggest you read Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.  It's really interesting!  The fact that all of this came out of J.K. Rowling's mind is incredible.

If you want to find out more about the 25 Day Harry Potter Challenge then click here!



Monday 28 November 2011

25 Day Harry Potter Challenge - 1. Favourtie book?


The Goblet of Fire is by far my favourite book.  It's the book I always turn to if I want a bit of nostalgia and it's the book I've read most out of my entire collection.

It's the book where everything changes.  Plus Sirius features most in this book, without dying, so that's definitely a plus!  I also love how much there is about the house elves in the book.  The films just weren't the same without Winky and Dobby.

"Book Four's a very very VERY important book.  Something very important happens in Book Four.  But also, it's literally a central book.  It's almost the heart of the series, and it's pivotal." - J. K. Rowling

If you want to find out more about the 25 Day Harry Potter Challenge then click here!



My next challenge will be...

*Drum roll........................*


Yeahhh HARRY FREAKING POTTER!

I saw this over on Rachael's blog and just knew instantly that it had to be the next challenge I did.  I love everything Harry Potter.  EVERYTHING.  If I could go to Hogwarts I would actually kill to be able to go there.  I am obsessed.

I might even have a Harry Potter playlist on my iTunes.  Yup.  Total fangirl.

So anyway!  This is my challenge I will be starting this week.  Hopefully this one won't take me 3 months to complete.



Sunday 27 November 2011

80th post.

Wow...  I could practically make a book out of all my ramblings.  Though I don't think anyone would buy the ramblings of a mad student who likes Harry Potter too much.  Ah well!

I've been thinking a lot lately about the people surrounding me.  All big characters with something different to say, thrusting their supposed originality and uniqueness in your face.  That's what you get for going to art school I guess.

(Emos, hipsters, rockers.  You're all as bad as each other!  Source)

Six years ago I was 15, studying for GCSEs and obsessed with everything and anything typically "rock". The music, bands, image, the whole thing.  I'd have killed to have a group of friends who I thought looked cool.  Looking back this all seems so utterly ridiculous to me now.  Right now at university I'm surrounded by those kind of people who I wanted to be friends with back then.  They're not all I thought they were.  In fact most of their attitudes suck, big time.

I'm obviously making a massive generalisation here and basically saying that anyone who looks typically rockerish has a bad attitude.  If you have an ounce of brain left in your head then you'll know that clearly this isn't true.  What I have found in my personal experience though is that the ones who turn to that sort of music and have that kind of image tend to have deep personal problems.  And not always ones you want to know about.

Obviously there is always the exception to that rule.  Enter one of my closest friends Jodie.


She's a goth.  Yes she wears lots of dark colours.  No she is not depressed.  At all.  Would a depressed person do an interpretive fly dance?  Complete with buzzing sound effects?  Or speak in a hilarious Russian accent?  She's probably one of the silliest and happiest people I've ever met.  Which is why I love her!!!  A fit of giggles is never far away when I spend time with Jodie.  For instance, we recently went to see a production of the Mikado at uni.  Jodie had never encountered the Mikado before, it's really quite racist and bizarre, and in the car journey home she came to the conclusion that "IT'S ALL FUCKING TITS AND POO!".  This will mean nothing to you if you don't know the Mikado so check out the Wikipedia page please before you think it's something kinkier than it actually is!

Anyway that's basically what's been going on in my head recently.  I'm going to stop talking about it and how much I love Jodie because I don't want her head getting too big to fit through doors.



30 Day Challenge - 29. A picture of yourself AND 30. What has changed this month and what you hope will happen next month.


That picture is me at graduation!  I get to do it twice because I'm special!  (Also because I did a foundation degree then a top up... Technicalities.)  Anyways there I am in all my glory and silly hatness.  I've honestly never felt so ridiculous, those robes have so much fabric in them, they kept slipping off and I felt like I was walking round with a table on my head.  It was all good fun though!

And now on to the last point!  Which I can't really do seeing as this has taken me 3 months to finish instead of 30 days....  I'll just go with what has changed whilst I've been doing this challenge.

So the first thing that changed was I became a 3rd year and decided what I'm going to focus on this year!!  Go me!!!  I also graduated (see picture above!).  However I have felt a little less confident in myself recently.  That tends to happen when 2 of your tutors practically accuse you of bullying just because one of your close friends isn't doing exactly what they want her to.  Oh well I'm sure I'll be back to myself in no time!

Ok now what I hope will happen next month.  Well firstly I hope that the 2 shows I have go well!  Secondly I hope we get snow on Christmas and that I have a lovely time with all my family.

That's it for this challenge!  I'm going to start another one on Monday, and hopefully finish it properly this time.

If you'd like to find out more about the 30 Day Challenge then click here!



Saturday 26 November 2011

30 Day Challenge - 28. The month you were happiest this year and why.

Right so seeing as this challenge has dragged on for way longer than 30 days (because I suck, sorry!) I'm just going to get these last 3 posts out of the way tonight so I can move on to something new!

So I'd have to say the month I was happiest this year was probably August.  My 21st birthday was at the beginning of the month and my wonderful boyfriend took me out for an awesome day in Keswick.  We went horse riding in the morning and then spent the rest of the day wandering around Keswick.  We also took a lovely boat ride on Ullswater!  (See video montage below! The song used is Queen of the Surface Streets by DeVotchKa)


I was also able to spend some time with my Granny in August.  I'd not seen her for months so it was really lovely, especially as it was her 80th!

August was also the month when I had my Harry Potter week, always a good thing!  If you want to read more about it then I suggest you read this post.

If you'd like to find out more about the 30 Day Challenge then click here!



Thursday 24 November 2011

30 Day Challenge - 27. Talk about your siblings.

Erm... I have none.  I'm an only child!  I can't really say much else so I'll just move on.

So it's around a month until Christmas now so I thought I'd start getting in the spirit by making my layout a little more festive!  Hope you like it!


If you fancy getting in the Christmas mood then check out my gingerbread biscuit recipe I posted last year.  It's the yummiest gingerbread I've ever eaten!  This year I'm planning on posting a last minute Christmas cake recipe.  I made it for my bf's parents last year and they loved it so I hope you do too!

If you want to find out more about the 30 Day Challenge then click here!



Thursday 17 November 2011

Giveaway at Island Girl Insights

My friend Rachael is having a giveaway over at Island Girl Insights!


Enter the giveaway and you get the chance to win a Vaseline Lips tin (including Original, Rosy Lips, Cocoa Butter and Aloe Vera), two pairs of snuggly winter socks, all 5 Models Own Beetlejuice Polishes, a MAC Lipstick of your choice AND some chocolates!  What more could you want from a giveaway?!

Head over to her post and enter the contest by clicking here!  Good luck!



30 Day Challenge - 26. Your religious beliefs.

Ok so this isn't really the 30 day challenge any more seeing as I started this in September and it's now November...  Sorry!!  But I will persevere til the end!

I've been putting off writing this one for a bit because religion is always a tricky subject.  I've never been particularly religious myself but I do love going to churches, cathedrals and places of worship like that I always find fascinating.


As for the practise of religion itself, I'm not so sure about that.  I don't have anything against the basis of the religions themselves, but there's always that one extremist view.  I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable believing in something that someone else has interpreted in a way which could hurt other people.


For now I'm just content dipping into religion occasionally and being more of an observer.  Although I can't deny that I do love the carol concerts at the cathedral at Christmas time.  It's not Christmas without a good sing song!


All pictures were taken at Carlisle Cathedral.  If you're ever in the city you should take a look inside, it's beautiful!

If you want to find out more about the 30 Day Challenge then click here!



Friday 28 October 2011

Mini rant

Why am I so hungry today?

Seriously whenever I eat something I'm hungry again about 30 minutes later.  What is wrong with meee?!

Possibly because I've had Come Dine with Me on in the background while I've been working.  Although I'm not sure why that food is making me hungry, it's not always the most appetising of things.

Anyway in the last 3 episodes I've watched there's been one thing that has really annoyed me.  That is people calling a tart, a torte.

Torte, believe it or not, is not just a fancy word for tart.  A tart is a pastry case filled with something delicious.


A torte is a CAKE.  It's a special kind of cake though.  It has no fat in it and little to no flour.  The reason it rises is because you separate the eggs and beat lots of air into the egg whites.


A famous version of a torte is the Austrian Sachertorte.  It's on my list of things to try baking in the future so you'll probably get to see the aftermath of that sometime soon!


It's basically just a lot of chocolate.  The cake itself is chocolate.  This is then covered in a layer of apricot jam and beautifully smooth and glossy chocolate ganache.  The final touch is a decoration in melted milk chocolate, this usually spells the word "Sacher".

Sounds delicious, no?



Monday 24 October 2011

30 Day Challenge - 25. 10 ways to win your heart.

1.  Take me horse riding.  Even better, buy me a pony!


2.  Make me a nice cup of tea.


3.  Bring me chocolate.


4.  Take me to bookshops and not mind when I spend hours looking at the books and end up with a pile of about 10 that I want to buy.


5.  Let me buy crazy cooking things even if it's just because they're pink.  Or yellow.  Or basically just any colour other than "metal" or "wood".


6.  Patch me up when I do silly things and hurt myself.


7.  Make me a yummy meal.


8.  Let me watch you play video games and shout things.  Especially when it's a game I won't play myself because it's too scary.


9.  Go on random walks with me in the countryside.


10.  Give me lots and lots of cuddles!




If you want to find out more about the 30 Day Challenge click here!



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...