A Year Review | 2013

First of all,  I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and even if you didn't, I hope you are looking forward to 2014!

My Christmas was eventful to say the least. You see, I live in Southern England where the day before Christmas eve (or Christmas eve eve as I call it) we had an abnormally big storm. I know places like America get massive storms regularly but England is a boring little country, so when a storm comes along, It's one of the most exciting things to happen that month. 

But this storm knocked out all the power on christmas eve, and made a ginormous tree tilt towards my house! With no power and a possibility of death,  me and my family camped out in the living room, whilst playing headbandz (which is a game where someone writes something on a piece of paper and then puts it on your head, and with yes or no answer questions you have to guess what they wrote.) Luckily, we got our power back for christmas and I can say that christmas 2013 was one of the nicest I have ever had. 

I really hope you all had an equally as nice christmas, and that you were all safe x 

Now that's all of the way, can I just say wow - 2013 is almost over! How did that happen?! I swear it was only January like two months ago?

  2014 will be the year I leave school, the year I go to college and I suspect I will be a lot happier in college. But, 2013 wasn't that bad of a year. Obviously, I have had my up's and down's but so many good things have happened this year, and I really hope it has been a good year for all of you too. 

The Great & Wonderful year of 2013:

     ♥ I went to 5 concerts: The Script, The Midnight Beast, Bastille twice, and Imagine Dragons. I                             really love concerts, they make me so happy.
     ♥ I met Stefan Abingdon from The Midnight Beast!
     ♥ I also met Dan & Phil at BBC Radio One (here is the blog post) 
     ♥ I started this blog on the 6th of January!! I don't regret a thing, and almost a year, 11,000 views and          38 followers later, I am still writing useless things that nobody really cares about, but it's  fun. 
     ♥ I went to Harry Potter World In London! (It is expensive but 100% worth it if you are a                      potterhead)
     ♥ I had a lovely birthday out in London!
     ♥ Me and my family had a lovely day out in Arundel Castle.
     ♥ Me and my friends had a lovely day out in Brighton.
     ♥ Me, Holly , Lauren A, Lauren Tye & Alicia completed our Duke of Edinburgh expedition, which            involved walking 23km TWICE. It was horrible and I wouldn't do it again, but I had good company which made the struggle of walking with 10kg on your back a hell of a lot better. 

Overall, 2013 has definitely been one of THE best years of my life and I hope 2014 is equally as great!

This has been my first year of blogging, and I am so excited to continue it through the years. I can't wait to see what it will be like in 2 years time, whether it will grow or die. I can't wait to write more useless blog posts, and I really hope you will accompany me on this journey!

I didn't write this blog post to boast, I simply wanted to talk about my year and I am just as interested in yours! What did you achieve? where did you go? Let me know If you want :) 

Happy New Year!

~Thank you for reading~

Christmas!!

Hello everyone, so If you can't tell by the sudden chirpiness of the general public, the Christmas lights, and Micheal Buble's Christmas album being sold everywhere suddenly, IT'S CHRISTMAS! (well almost) 

I may be 15, but at heart when it comes to Christmas I am still 5. I literally love everything about Christmas- the food, the tree, the presents and so much more. But this year, I have really gotten into the Christmas spirit. 

An example of extreme Christmas spirit syndrome would be that recently, I have been going to bed at like 7:oo pm, just so I can read a lovely Christmas book  in bed, wearing my Christmas reindeer pyjamas, with a hot chocolate and a candle! If you are stressed, that is definitely a very festive way to de-stress and relax!

Seeing as I am so into Christmas this year, I thought it would be nice to capture it, and so I have took some Christmas photos which I would love to share with you! 

So grab a festive drink , a festive song, (my favourite is 'Baby Please Come Home') and 'ave a browse!

These tree decorations are truly the cutest little things, especially the gingerbread man decoration attached to a little heart aw!

I decided to be creative and add bows to the tree - it's actually really simple, just tie a bow around a branch of your Christmas tree with festive ribbon.

 Whilst looking for Christmas decorations, I found this really nice candle called "Mistletoe Kiss" by Bath Cosmetics, which has a fresh yet festive smell, it smells of cinnamon with a slight hint of orange. However, it doesn't smell like you would imagine it to with that description, but it smells nice... (wow A* for candle description Carys, well done)

My little Christmas book! If i'm honest, I picked up this book because I saw 'John Green' on the front cover, and that enough sold it for me! Let me know if you want a book review of it :) 

Well we are so so close to Christmas, it's mentally in touching distance! 

I hope you all have a beautiful Christmas and New Year, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, then I still hope you have a nice relaxing break :) 

(Here is my favourite Christmas song by the Christmas legend Micheal Buble - what's our favourite festive song?)

Thank you for readingggg!!

P.S (Here is a fun game ((well not fun but entertaining i guess)) you could go back all the way through this post and count how many times I say 'Christmas' - the title does count...oh how fun my blog posts are, I even include a little game for you! anyway off your pop and get counting haha)

My Worst Trait | Jealousy

Jealously: the feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages.

Jealously is such an ugly trait, because it can literally control your life. Unfortunately, I can get extremely jealous very easily, which is the number one thing I would change about myself. It destroys me so much, but the feeling that actually gets me really upset is when I think "That would never happen to me" because that one saying, that one repetitive statement that spirals my mind makes me feel absolutely melancholy. This is because for some reason every time I get jealous, I get in that mind set that it wouldn't happen to me because I'm me, but I'm no different to others who all thought the same.

There is a word called 'Sonder' which means 

"the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as our own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk." 

(credit to obscure sorrows)

We all live lives as real and vivid as your own, we all experience feelings, from ecstatic to depression, excitement to jealously. It's never just an individual feeling, everyone at some point felt the same thing, everyone at some point thought that 'it would never happen to me', but if it happened to them, it must happen to you at some point. 

Good things do happen to other people, but they also happen to us too. Like the picture says, Jealously is when you count someone else's blessings instead of your own. No matter what your life is like, I can guarantee something has made you happy in your life before, whether it was just momentarily or it really made you giddy. Something has made you feel happy that you are you, that you are the person experiencing this moment, and that is a blessing. 

We all get in this mind shape that other people have the best thing, that the memories or possessions we own don't scale up to the items or memories we desire. but of course they do. If they didn't, why would we call them our memories or possessions? to give things or simple imaginary scenes of the past such a high name must mean that they are precious to us. If we gave them to another person they would be worthless, because they don't mean anything to anybody else.

We focus on all the negatives in our life but don't concentrate on what we do have, subconsciously we take everything for granted. We all have so much to be happy for & I definitely need to keep telling myself this.

How to deal with jealously:
♥  Be happy for them, you would want them to be happy for you if something good happened to you.

♥  Don't make them feel bad for it, nobody should be made to feel bad because of their happiness.

♥  Appreciate that they most likely deserve it, for just being a nice person or if going through a hard time
(I know it's annoying that some people get everything when they don't deserve it as much as others, but be the bigger person and be happy for them. If they are only telling you to make you jealous, don't be mean about it but just acknowledge this and be happy for them.)

♥ Don't push them away, even if it does hurt you, you need to remember they most likely didn't have any bad intentions.
(If they did, then read the previous point and  be the better person)

♥  Turn your jealously into motivation, Jealously is just a word for "I want that", so why not get it? Believe me, I understand that that is easier said than done, but motivate yourself to do whatever makes you happy.
The one thing I have learnt is never try and predict life. There is no reason good things won't happen to you.

♥ Don't disrepct what they are proud of because you're jealous, try not to be like "oh that's not that awesome that you can paint really well" or "pft you met that band I really like? pft that's not that cool or amazing" because it will make them feel worthless and probably lonely, and nobody  is completely worthless, we all mean something to someone. 

♥  You may think "I need that more" or " I deserve that more" and don't feel bad about that, because it's humans nature to fend for ourselves so you would obviously want the best for yourself.

♥ Don't sweat it, good things will happen!

So to conclude, don't over-think why you didn't get that cool top or whatever, because you have a lot to be happy about. Yes you may not have that cool top, but why not go out and find a different cool top? Also, consider what you have & don't lose hope. Chances are, it's not the end of the world, just breathe and put on your favourite song.

~Thanks for reading~

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Time To Be Nosy

• Hello everyone!! Woah, how long has it been? I actually hate the fact that I haven't posted for almost a month, everything just got so hectic and it's about to get even more, but I needed to post, so here are some questions from tumblr that I thought I would answer! Feel free to answer them yourself! (if you do, leave me a link to the post!)


1.When did your last hug take place? 
Today actually, I think it was with my mum :) 
2.Are you a jealous person? 
Extremely - I hate it about myself. 
3.Are you tired right now?
Tired would actually be an understatement, so yes haha. 
4.Do you chew on your straws? 
Yes! Who doesn't?! I sometimes do it if I'm out somewhere with people I'm not yet comfortable with, as a way of comfort. 
5.Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? 
Nooooo, I'm the type of person who needs their sleep in order to function. Plus, when I get overtired I get extremely grumpy, so I think so the best of my friends & family, I should make sure that I never stay awake for 48 hours aha 
6.What should you be doing right now? 
Doing homework, but even the thought of it is stressing me out... 
7.Are you a heavy sleeper? 
I would say I'm an average sleeper, I sleep heavy enough to not get woken by house sounds, but I sleep light enough to know when to get up. 
8.Are you mad at someone right now? 
um, I think mad is a strong word, I just get frustrated easily at things,not just directly people. 
9.Do you believe in love? 
As cheesy as it is, yes absolutely. I believe that everyone has someone for them out there, someone who will make you happy whenever you see them & will be there for when you're sad. I wouldn't say that the purpose of life is to find love, but I do think it exists. 
10.What makes you laugh no matter what? 
Funnily enough, I find silly little things more funny than comedians - it could literally be an picture or a funny story that will set me off. I think I prefer these like that but they are unplanned for, like when someone falls over (as long as they laugh to) I can't help but laugh, but with comedians all the jokes are rehearsed and they don't have that randomness about it. 
11.Who was the last person you talked to? 
My mum again - I can't remember why but I'm pretty sure it was just something like "Can I have a cup of tea" 
12.Will you get married?
I can't predict that, but I hope so one day (preferably to a band member) 
13.When was the last time you smiled? 
I smile all the time, even when I'm sad. I'm smiling whilst writing this actually. 
14.Does anyone like you? 
This is a bad question because how would I know, but based on the fact that I regularly embarrass myself & my school uniform is unflattering to say the least, probably not. 
15.Who was the first person you talked to today? 
My mum haha. 
16.Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? 
Probably my closest friends - I can trust them with anything. 
17.What are you NOT looking forward to? 
EXAMS! I'm dreading the exam season, I could barely handle one exam within the space of two weeks let alone 6 within the space of a week oh my god...also growing up, I see why Peter Pan ran away to Neverland ahah 
18.What ARE you looking forward to? 
Summer In The City, Concerts, Seeing Lee Evans live, Christmas, My Birthday, Leaving School... I also look forward to little things like listening to music after school, I always make sure i have something to look forward to otherwise I have no motivation. 
19.Do you plan on moving out within the next year? 
Absolutely not! I'm only 15! I don't even plan on moving out until the year after next, or the year after that, or the year after that, or the year after that etc 
20.Are you a forgiving person? 
Yes - which is probably a bad thing in most situations. I forgive people for doing something wrong even If i don't want to, but If i can tell that they are giving an sincere apology or are generally nice 99%, then yes I will forgive them because I would like them to do the same for me if I ever offended someone. But sometimes, I forgive people who don't even apologise or aren't nice, purely because I can't be bothered with the fuss of being in a strop. 
21.How many TRUE friends do you have? 
Probably about 4, but only time will tell. 
22.What’s the last thing you put in your mouth? 
Garlic Bread - mmmmmmm 
23.Who was the last person you drove with? 
My dad, see I wish I could be like "my best friends because we went on a road trip" but you have probably figured out by now that my life isn't that interesting. 
24.How late did you stay up last night and why? 
10:30, because we had a day off today but I was still tired so I decided to go to bed before 2 am for once. 
25.If you could move somewhere else, would you? 
Temporarily yes, I'd love to live in a different country for a while but I know I will always come back to where I live now. 
26.Who was the last person you took a picture of? 
Myself on Holly's phone, a left her a pleasant picture or me that wasn't so pleasant ahah. 
27.Can you live a day without TV? 
Yes, TV is soooo bad nowadays, you can only watch Come Dine With Me or Four Weddings on most channels. There are only a handful of GOOD Tv shows. 
28.When was the last time you were extremely disappointed? 
I regularly get extremely disappointed mostly over little things, but the last time I was really dissapointed was when I walked out of my English exam thinking "there goes my predicted A* in English" ooo that was a terrible exam... 
29.Three names you go by.. 
Carys (my actual name) 
CCarysm_ (my twitter name) 
Caribou (My nickname my family gave me) 
30.Are you currently in a relationship? 
No, and I'm ok with that because it's my fault for having extremely high standards thanks to band members. 
31.What is your all-time favorite romance movie? 
I haven't really watched many, but obviously something like Romeo and Juliet or Titanic because Leonardo DiCaprio is my favourite actor...although both films end sadly but they still make me feel fuzzy inside. 
32.Do you believe that everyone has a soul-mate? 
Yes - everyone seems to marry if they want to. Like, I see some couples and think "they are meant for each-other" so yes I do. 
33.What’s your current problem? 
I want to travel and go out and live my life but I can't because of money issues and obviously Education as apparently it's more superior to happiness. 
34.Your thoughts of long distance relationships? 
Nothing's impossible - you just have to trust that person enough and think is it worth it, if they make you happy then I don't see the harm in trying. You do what they say "Distance only makes the heart grow fonder". 
35.How many kids do you want to have? 
At the most 3, at the least 2. I want a boy first, then a girl but I'm not too fussed.




Thank you for reading! I hope you at least mildly enjoyed it :)
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• 
  

Where have you been?

Hello! wow, it seems like every post i'm apologising for not posting...lets just say juggling year 11,twitter, revision, youtube, upcoming exams, tumblr AND blogging is a bit stressful, however I shall try and post at least once a week :)

Ok so now that I have explained my whereabouts, I can cleverly link it to this post by saying, it's not about where I have been, it's about where I'm going.

There are so so many different places in the world I want to visit and as soon as I can, I am determined to visit them all.

*not in order*

1. Mykonos Town, Mykonos

Mykono is a greek island and it honestly looks like my dream place, so that's a must! (and apparently there is cats wandering around everywhere - a bonus) It just looks so peaceful and relaxed. Of course, it is well known for 'the gays' (who I don't have a problem with for the record, well not in a bad way... I actually really love gay people, there is this cashier called Ryan is my local Lush store, and he is the most funniest and overall awesome person I have ever met!... am I going on a tangent here?) however that is in a different part of mykonos, I think this town is more of a holiday destination.

2. Venice,Italy

 This looks heavenly! So much culture and beauty, it just looks perfect. My parents went to Venice as a day trip whilst they were on a honeymoon in Austria, and 18 years later they still say "you MUST go on a gondola" bless 'em...

3. Paris, France

 Traditional Macarons. 

The love bridge, when a couple add a padlock to the bridge to lock their love if you will, how adorable. I have actually been to France twice, but I the only reason I went to Paris is to visit Disneyland haha, I would still go there now but I would definitely make it a priority to visit places like the Eiffel tower and this bridge :)

[Thanks you Zoella for the photo]

4. Kitzbuhel, Austria

Speaking of Austria, this is actually where my parents went and they said it was incredible! It looks absolutely gorgeous! I'd love to visit here in the Christmas session, it must be breath-taking.  

5. American Roadtrip

Lets be honest here... who doesn't what to do this? you might think 'no' but can you imagine visiting New York, Florida, California, Buffalo and all the other states in one lifetime? I just feel that once I have travelled around America, I would have accomplished something.

Well, at least I can dream! one day I will visit these places...where do you want to you or where have you been around the world?

~Thanks for reading~

Bastille Live!

Hello everyone! I am so sorry that I haven't wrote a decent post in ages, school has just been so stressful at the moment but now I thought would be a perfect time to chat:)

So yesterday (Wednesday) Me, Holly and Lauren went to see Bastille live again! This was my second time seeing them so I knew what dreams were about to come true, but this was the first time Lauren was to see Bastille, So I was slightly excited just thinking about the look on her face when they start playing...

So yesterday after school, us three busily rushed off to go and get changed so we could head to Portsmouth, where we were seeing Bastille as fast as we could, and with a quick Maccy'Ds stop, we arrived at the venue at 4:45. At the time, we were thinking "ah you know, the queue is going to be massive but it will still be a great gig" but when we arrived, there were only about 12 people in front of us! We hurriedly joined the queue and stayed there for 2 hours, before we rushed into the main hall where we grabbed barrier front spots! I can now say that I have been barrier front at a bastille concert!

The support acts were extremely good! you can see the band's name below :) 

Within 10 minutes of Bastille's hour long set, Dan Smith (the singer) had already spotted me and pointed at me!! Then later on, he saw me and Lauren dancing and laughed whilst raising his eyebrows at us, then when I was getting some water he was watching me which made me drop the water (oops). Also later on, he came over and sang the lyric "Hold my hands" to me and we both smiled...I am one lucky girl! Despite all this, Will (The guitarist) was lovely and kept glancing at me and my friends! I then got to hug Woody when he leaned into the crowd :')

I have to say, Bastille are one of the best bands anyone can say live! For example, during their song "flaws" Dan dissapeared off the stage and appeared on the top balcony, so all the fans up there got to hug him and see him up close which I thought was very thoughtful! 

As I am writing this now, I am smiling so hard that my cheeks are hurting! Definately shall be seeing these boys again for the 3rd time :)

Tour name: Bad Blood

Support Acts: Bipolar Sunshine & To kill a king 

 Me and Lauren :) (Lauren's on the left)

 Holly, Lauren & Me in that order :)

 To kill a king

 To Kill a king

 To kill a king

 Thank you for reading!

Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat

Recently, my life has kind of been a blur of revision, college applications and youtube. It's been so long since I last just sat down and thought "I have nothing to do". I constantly have homework to do, or fill out that college application that has to be in by the end of this month. It's SO overwhelming that I am in my final year of school... I still remember when I was just about to start Junior School... WHERE DID THE TIME GO?! Now i'm filling in form after form for colleges and starting to note down my final exam dates! 

Although this year is at least a school term shorter because I'm in year 11, I think it's going to feel double as long due to all the work! I'm really not looking forward to exams and the stress of them! I mean, it's only, what 4 weeks into the school term? and I'm already stressed...All I can say is thank god for youtube and music!! The only way to destress is to listen to your favourite band and watch some good youtube video's (I recommend Tanya Burr doing people's make-up videos on DailyMix...for some reason they are extremely relaxing)

Although I can't wait to leave school, I will always miss these primary school days haha

 ^Me and Holly on the last day of year 6 aw (don't even ask about my hair ok)^

Do you like these type of posts? just general sit down posts?

~Thank you for reading~

Bourjois Paris Colour Boost review | Orange punch

"With its melting formula, Color Boost leaves a radiant veil of colour on the lips with just enough shine and moisture to enhance each shade."

As you probably already know, recently Bourjois Paris released a new line of lip crayons called "Colour Boost" and as far as I know, they have been extremely successful with make-up artists and the general public. You may wonder why this is because to some people,they do just look like a child's 'Crayola' crayon, but I think it's because of the 4 bold shades they come in, they are very exclusive and unique when applied. They come in the shades of Orange Punch (the one in the photo, a beautiful orange that gives a healthy glow) Peach on the Beach (which is a subtle yet sweet pink), Fuschia Libre (a very vibrant and strong Fuschia) and Red Sunrise (which is very similar to Fuchia Libre, but a little more restricted in colour and reserved)

Also, they are said to include 10 hours of hydration, a SPF of 15 and waterproof color, 3 in 1! what a treat...

I recently purchased one of these in  'Orange Punch' to see what all the hype was about. At first, I wasn't sure about it and I didn't really see why everyone couldn't stop talk about it, but after the first use I knew exactly what made it so different. The colouring in this is so unique! It has like a well pigmented under layer to give a natural glow rather then a fluorescent fake colour, however it can be built up for a more bolder colour. (not a bright orange but a subtle shade) and then they top layer is like the finishing touch that gives the orange glow. They've built this as if they're building a house: A base structure and then some decoration on top, which I find works really well.
Bourjois also claim that it has "10 hour hydration" which I wouldn't go to that extent, but I would say that it definitely lasts a lot longer than a lipstick & it is extremely hydrating, but after about 5 hours I would say the moisture is gone.
What I also really like about this product is that it is so easy to apply because of the shape of the crayon, it just makes it easier and saves more time when you're in a rush. 
I seem to think that this product is a nice medium between lipsticks and lip-balms as it has the colourings of a lipstick but texture & hydration of a lip-balm, If they released more naturally shades, these would be perfect for school!
I used to stay quite far away from any glossy lip products as I used to think that they were sticky and generally looked slightly tacky on me, but thanks to these I have released that glossy doesn't have to be tacky and it can be moisturising, but not sticky
They only thing I would say is that they are slightly over-priced, but my lack of make-up experience is to blame! For all I know £7.99 could be a great price! Ah well, I will gain experience over time!
I am planning on purchasing "Peach on the beach", as soon as I can get my hands on one! They are literally sold out everywhere, I guess it's a popular colour...
Do you have any shades? Let me know :)

~Thanks for reading~
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DofE experience!

I'm back from DofE!It was hard, tiring and physically painful but I still managed to return home with a smile on my face.If you don't know what DofE is, basically DofE stands for Duke of Edinburgh. It's a programme all about navigating in the wild, you know without a parent and just basically learning to explore. It also looks really good on your CV and there are three different heights you can complete it to: Bronze,Sliver and Gold. Bronze is what I did, where you camp for one night and walk for two. Sliver is where you camp for 2 nights and walk for 3, and I think Gold is camp for 3 nights and walk for 4, but I'm not going further than Bronze!

You may think "woah why not go on to sliver that sounds great" well I would go on to sliver if it wasn't for 10kg bags and 32km of walking and that was just Bronze! I'm really not sporty so this was hard for me, but overall I had a great time with my friends and barely getting lost.

Our aim work was "Where's Carys", so you can play this game!

One of my favourites haha

This was at like 9 in the morning 

Apparently I looked like Gollum

 We just got to the top of a VERY big hill!

 This was at 8 am on the last day, we wanted to get home as quickly as possible.

I was in a silly mood ok 
*Credit goes to Miss Lauren Tye for the fabulous photos*

So this was my DofE, It was fun but I am extremely glad to be home! 

Have you done DofE or anything similar?

~Thanks for reading~

Sorry!

Hello everyone! First off, I am so sorry for the lack of posts recently, I have been ridiculously busy with exams, mentoring and DofE related things...yeah you can tell I'm back at school! I literally feel like I've been on my feet for the past week and I haven't had a proper time to sit down with a cup of tea and write a blog post! I hope you can understand, I haven't been deliberately not posting! So how has everyone been? *waits for you to respond* oooh right, sounds fun!  

So, I have my Duke of Edinburgh final this weekend, which incase you don't is a course which you can do alongside exams where it tests your mapping, teamwork and camping skills. It also means walking for a minimum of 6 hours with 10kg on your back for 2 days, which is not fun. The only fun thing is being with your friends, however it can get nasty if 5 girls are stress, tire and lost...the point is that it is meant to look very good on your CV.

I thought I would show you some practice expedition photos, and after the weekend I'll show you the real thing!

We're ready to hike!! From Left to Right: Lauren A, Lauren T, Alicia, Me, Holly.

The Lauren's!

We had an aim of the journey and ours was "wheres carys"...It was like where's wally but I'm the wally.

We just reached the top of a VERY big hill!

Me and Lauren in a field 

Where's Carys? ((the leaf makes it look like I have my middle finger up but I can assure you I don't))

Well this has been nice having a little catch up! 

~Thanks for reading~

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