2013 Favourites

*Start singing that song from The Sound Of Music*

Like every year, 2013 has had its ups and its downs (...happy to say a lot more ups this year!), but I thought I'd share some of my favourite things from this year before it ends...so here goes!

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I'm not much of a reader but I have discovered a love for John Green's books (...slowly making my way through them all!). So far I have read: 'Paper Towns', 'Looking For Alaska' and my favourite one, 'The Fault In Our Stars' (can not wait till the film comes out in 2014!)

Another book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading was 'Billy and Me' by Giovanna Fletcher...if anyone asks me for a suggestion of something to read, this will be the one I recommend! 

(If you would like to know more about either of these books or anything else I have enjoyed reading, I might write a post about them)

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I have become obsessed with Yo! Sushi. When one first came to where I live I was put off because I didn't like raw fish but after going once, it is now one of my favourite places to go for lunch! 

I picked these up when I went to France in the summer...and I will be bringing a lot back home we we go again next summer! I would have used my own photo but to be frank...they were gone before I thought to take a picture!

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In 2013 I was lucky enough to go to a number of gigs, these included Plan B and The X Factor Live Tour.

As a member of Girl Guiding, I also went to the Tartan Gig which is a gig held every two years in Glasgow for Girl Guides and members of Senior Section. In the past the line up has consisted the likes of The Wanted, Scouting For Girls, Alesha Dixon and Pixie Lott...this year there was: The LUMINITES (from Britain's Got Talent) , Gabrielle Aplin, Amy MacDonald, Rewind (an up and coming Scottish boyband), Stooshe, Conor Maynard and Little Mix headlined. Conor Maynard got everyone jumping around (and I mean everyone...including the slightly older leaders that were there) and the Little Mix girls just stole the show! I was also really excited to see what the were wearing as I love that styles of all the Little Mix girls...even though we weren't front row, I still saw Perrie's ring!! 

(Paige's photo taken on a Coolpix L810 digital camera)

Another gig I was lucky to go to was Jessie J: Alive. I was supposed to see her in March but she postponed it to October so I saw her with my nest friend the day after my 16th birthday. She is such an inspirational woman and such a positive role model for so many people, after the experience of seeing her live and listening to what she has to say to all her fans; it's made me try t learn to be positive in all situations and believe in my self.

(Photo from Jessie J's website)

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My most expensive make-up purchase was Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara...trust me, it was worth it!

Another product I fell in love with was Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint' in Lychee. I've heard a few people say they dislike this product whereas I adore it! (and I can get away with it at school!!)

I hardly ever wear bracelets, but this year I invested in a charm bracelet and now I wear it whenever I can (apart from at school...stupid rules)

This is the link to the one I bought.

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I started watching more youtuber's videos, which made me get an account on Bloglovin' so I could read Zoe (Zoella), Louise (Sprinkle of Glitter) and Tanya (Tanya Burr)'s blogs. And it was because of Louise that I got an account on Pinterest (at first I didn't really understand it...but now I'm obsessed!). As I got an Iphone for my 16th birthday, I could finally get Instagram! 

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Last summer my family and I went to the South of France, we went to a few markets but mainly stayed by the pool at our villa. We we're lucky enough to be there the week 'Le Tour de France' passed through!

(My photo)

Another place I was lucky to go to was Morocco on a school trip. My school took 24 pupils away to the North West coast of Africa for a weeks surfing in a place called Taghazout. It was an amazing experience...but I still can't surf and I got ill on the last day and missed out jumping off rocks in a valley (you better feel sorry for me ;P) 

(Collection of my photos)

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What have been your favourite things about 2013?

(all photos are from Google unless stated otherwise)

Self- Harm

I know this is quite a serious and personal issue to talk about but I though it was relevant as I've read so many stories and know a handful of people who have suffered from self-harm. It is an issue that needs to be addressed as more people turn to it as an escape.

(Note: All of the information was found online, I have not quoted anyone's personal experiences as that would be out of order and unfair to them)

So what is self-harm exactly? Self harm is the process of harming you body or mind on purpose. It is a way of expressing feelings and distress, a way of coping with life. It can be describes as the ‘inner scream’ because it’s something that can’t be put into words or thoughts, a source of communication, a cry for help.

It isn't attention seeking or a joke. Anything can trigger someone to hurt themselves; stress, struggle, traumas, abuse, anger, depression, isolation, loneliness, neglect or thoughts and feeling like not being good enough or having low-self esteem. Although many people don’t know the exact reasoning for their self harm or why the start, they just know it’s their way of coping with the pain they’re suffering.

Today, 3 in 4 teenagers don’t know where to turn to talk about their problem, so they keep self-harm a secret from everyone; teachers, family, friends, everyone because they’re scared and worried of what others will think of them. 

 It’s shown that girls are more likely to self harm, but this doesn't means that boys don’t, as the years pass the numbers of boys beginning to harm themselves are doubling.

And as the numbers are increasing more and more people are trying to do things about it, to open up to those who self-harm by creating support pages on social media sites and creating projects such as The Butterfly Project.

Other ways of supporting people who self-harm involve writing things like ‘Love’, ‘Keep Fighting’ and ‘Stay Strong’ on your wrists, American star Demi Lovato recently admitting her struggles with self-harm and now has a tattoo to remind herself to stay strong and keep fighting because things do get better. 

Another clever project I discovered whilst researching, is The Semicolon Project. Drawing a semicolon on the wrist because a semicolon represents that the author could have ended the sentence but didn’t. The author is the self-harmer and the sentence is their life.

Next time you see someone with scars or hear a story about someone; just stop...it's not fair to judge them.

(picture taken from Google)

Self-injury awareness day is on the 1^st of March.

If you suffer from self-harm, there are people who can help you, here are some useful websites that might help:

Selfharm.co.uk

Mind

Childline

NHS

Weekend Away

Last weekend, my family along with three other families, went for a weekend away at Burgie House.

We all traveled down on the Friday night, arriving at the house in shock at the size of the building (think Downton Abbey) complete with numerous stuffed animal heads and birds!!

 After unpacking and exploring the house, all the little people decided to play a game of hide and seek(...the house was perfect place for that!) and the men went downstairs to the billiard room to play a game of snooker.

On Saturday, once all 20 of us were awake, we went for a stroll along Findhorn beach...queue artsy pictures

Later that morning we were joined by five seals that decided to go for a swim, here are two I managed to get a snap of before they disappeared beneath the surface.

That evening, one of the dads had prepared a quiz to entertain us all...my team were the quiz champions!

Sunday was another a chilled day at the beach before a traditional roast dinner in the dining hall, somehow all the teenagers had been pushed into being servants for that meal. After an hour chilling and packing; my dad, another dad and I had to say goodbye and return home as they had work on Monday and I had school, all the other little people had Monday and Tuesday off school so they all stayed an extra day with the mums.

I enjoyed the weekend away as it was an escape from the pressure of school and work. I can definitely see us returning there!

Introduction to me

So basically I didn’t really know what to do for my first blog post, so after looking through the bloggers I follow posts I came across a question tag on Zoe’s blog (http://www.zoella.co.uk) and decided to copy it, though I have altered it and taken away some questions...

Me... 

What is your name?

Esmee

Do you have any siblings? 

Yep, two younger sisters

How old are you?

16 and my birthday is on the 20^th October

What's your height? 

Errmm...5ft5” I think

Do you have any pets? 

A dog called Rafa

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? 

Watching youtube videos, chilling with friends, going shopping

What do you do? 

Still in school and not yet been able to get a part time job

What is your dream job? 

Something in the design industry 

What did you take for your GCSE'S 

I live in Scotland so I’m doing Nat 5 and Intermediate 2

Do you make good grades? 

Haven’t sat any exams yet

What is your ethnicity? 

Just British

Do you want to get married later on in life? 

At some point every girl has dreamed of her perfect day, so yeah I would like to get married one day

Do you have any phobias? 

Spiders...sort of, and people throwing up...that makes me panic 

Have you ever had a near death experience? 

Not that im aware of or remember

Have you ever broken a bone?

Yep, my wrist playing football

Do you get mad easily?

Ahahah I think people I know will say i do

Where have you been on holiday & where was the best?

If I was to list everywhere we'd be here for aaaaages :P Florida was good, we went there for my 13th birthday

Favourite childhood memory?

I don't think i could pick one in particular, but most of them were when I was living in Trinidad

Beauty/Shopping... 

Heels or flats? 

Flats during the day, heels for occasions

Where do you buy most of your clothes from? 

New Look and Primark

Favourite Shop? 

New Look

Favourite drugstore makeup brand? 

Maybelline or Rimmel

Favourite nail polish? 

Barry M nail varnish

What was your first makeup item? 

Probably a No7 mascara from a set mum got

If you had your own makeup line what would you call it? 

ezzlepops

What are you into the most, if you HAD to choose one..Jewellery, Makeup, Shoes, Clothes? 

clothes...or hats, I have quite an obsession with beanies

At what age did you start wearing makeup? 

Erm 13 I think, but that was only a bit of mascara and lipgloss...and I went through an awful stage of wearing eyeliner on my lower lid

Lipgloss or mascara? 

I can’t choose

What’s your worst shopping habit? 

Buying things I’ll only wear once

How do you take care of your hair? 

Wash it every two days, try to use as little hair products as possible which is sometimes hard to do because I have wavy/curly hair and it never behaves, I don’t need to worry about over straightening it because it takes forever to straighten so I only do that for occasions

What’s the colour of your natural hair & highlights? 

Light brown/ash colour but since then over the years I've had blonde, caramel, red and darkish brown highlights put in

What are your views on plastic surgery? 

I don’t have a problem with it, though I would never get anything done

Do you bite your nails?

Nope

Other/Random 

If you could know the date you were going to die, would you want to know? 

Yeah because I could complete the things I want to do before I die

Which five male celebs would be on your "list"? 

Zac Efron, Alfie Deyes and Joe Sugg (the youtubers), Sam Callahan and Tom Fletcher

If you only had 24 hours to live how would you spend it? 

Go to Disneyland Florida with everyone I love

Do you have a favourite book? 

John Green books

Do you watch any American tv, if so what is your favourite? 

I don’t really follow American series, but I like that Real Housewives series and I used to watch Glee all the time

What is your favourite type of sandwich? 

BLT

What is your favourite reality tv show? 

I love reality tv, The X Factor, Big Brother, I'm A Celebrity

What website do you visit the most besides youtube, blogger & facebook? 

Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter

Who is your favourite blogger and vlogger?

That’s a hard one! I don’t have a favourite; I love the British youtube crew, Sawyer Hartman and Tyler Oakley

Who is your favourite makeup guru? 

Tanya Burr or Zoe Sugg

Do you like photography?  

Love photography, can’t wait to buy my new camera!

What is your favourite Disney film? 

Winnie the Pooh or Peter Pan

What’s your favourite dessert? 

Sticky Toffee pudding or coconut ice-cream

Do you like swimming?  

I used to be part of my local squad, I did enjoy it but I didn’t like getting up super early in the mornings

What's your favourite movie? 

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Wild Child, Pitch Perfect

Do you like cookies? 

Yes! Millie’s Cookies are the best!

If you could move anywhere, where would it be?  

Florida or LA

Savoury or sweet?   

Depends

Favourite flower?  

White roses

Favourite colour? 

Purple, pink or baby blue

Do you drink energy drinks? 

No, they give me a sore stomach and make me feel sick

Do you drink coffee? 

Nope, but I do like coffee flavoured stuff

If you could have a dinner party with 5 celebrities, dead or alive, who would you invite? 

Jamie Oliver (can’t stand him but he would make good food for us), Jack Whitehall, And & Dec (they’ll count as one), Michelle Keegan and Jo Brand

I haven't really decided what my blog will be about or when I'm gonna post on it...so it'll probably just be whenever about whatever :P

Feel free to follow my Instagram and Twitter

Instagram: ezzlepops

Twitter: @lilmissezzieb




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