Showing posts with label The Mortal Instruments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Mortal Instruments. Show all posts

Sunday, 13 March 2016

Non Beauty Favourites! | February 2016

Hey guys!

This weeks post is going to be my non beauty favourites for the month of February! I did a video for my beauty favourites on my YouTube channel so I will leave that video below if you're interested. Now I know we're already half way into March but I didn't want to do this post until my Beauty favourites had gone up on my YouTube channel so that's why this post is a bit late!



These are more like favourites from both January and February but I didn't want to do a January favourites because I had only just done my yearly favourites and I wouldn't have enough things to talk about. So I just decided to group the two months together but I've called this post my February favourites to save confusion! Also don't judge me because all of my non beauty favourites for these two months seems to be either a drink or a TV program!

We'll start with the TV programs because that's more interesting! :) Don't worry I'm not going to give away any spoilers! 

Making a Murderer

I was a bit late to jump on the Making a Murderer bandwagon but I'm so glad I did! I was completely hooked like most people have been who have watched this program, although I think it does help if you are interested in crime programs/documentaries or just the criminal justice system in general. This was definitely right up my street having studied law and criminology at university.

It basically follows the story of Steven Avery, you may have heard of him but I hadn't until watching this show, and he is wrongfully convicted of a crime in which he spends 18 years in prison. On his release he tries to seek compensation against authorities for the 18 years imprisonment but while this is happening things take a turn for the worse against Steven Avery, but I'm not going to say anymore because I will spoil the program!

It is a TV program but because it is a true story it feels more like a documentary, which I know sounds a bit boring but so much happens in the story that it always keeps you interested. However because so much happens it can be really easy to get lost and it's quite possible that if you leave the room for one minute and come back you may not have a clue what's going on. So it isn't really a TV program that you can just put on in the background - you really have to concentrate so you don't miss anything. If you're into crime programs I would definitely recommend giving this TV show a go!   

Narcos

Unlike Making a Murderer I was VERY late to jump on the Narcos bandwagon! Narcos is based on the story of Pablo Escabar who is the head of a huge drug cartel in Columbia. As I am not familiar with the story of Pablo Escarbar I'm not sure how much of the show actually happened and what is made up for entertainment purposes. So unlike Making a Murderer this show feels more like a TV show than a documentary, that's why I can't be sure how much of it is actually true. 

The story follows the mass production of cocaine in Columbia and how this drug was introduced into America - mainly Miami. I think the show mainly concentrates on the corruption of authoritative figures and the rivalry between the drug gangs in Columbia. It's still along the same lines as Making a Murderer because it's a crime TV show but this show is definitely more for entertainment purposes than Making a Murderer. However a word of warning - I would say that 60% or more of this show has subtitles, but don't let this put you off because it's an amazing show!    

Shadowhunters

I spoke about how much I love The Mortal Instruments book series and how I was excited for the TV show based on these books in my yearly favourites blog post. The books have become one of my favourite young adult books and I was so disappointed by the film, so my initial thought was that the TV series couldn't be any worse than the film. Well I'll admit the TV series didn't start off brilliantly - everything just seemed stiff if that makes sense, but it's been slowly getting better week by week and now I'm really into it! So it's definitely a lot better than the film!

Like all things based on books it doesn't exactly follow what happens and things that happened in the second book have already happened in the series so it doesn't follow the first book and I thought it would seeing as it's the first series. So I don't know what to say about this TV show because we're in the middle of the series and as it's not really following the books I don't want to say anything that could be a spoiler. But what I can say is that if you like the young adult genre and TV shows such as The Vampire Diaries then I really think you'll love this show!  

Deadpool - not a TV program but basically still in the same category!

This is a Marvel film but it definitely isn't your typical Marvel film. Now I love Marvel films, there isn't really one I truly dislike but they can tend to be a bit repetitive and I'm not saying that is a bad thing but it's just nice to have a change sometimes. And Deadpool is definitely that change! It's just completely different, it's definitely a lot more darker and violent and it has a lot more humor, a lot of sarcastic humor. I even liked the way that Deadpool (the character) makes fun of Marvel films and talks to the audience as if he's not in a film - I know that sounds weird and a bit cheesy but trust me it's not. 

However it still does have the typical superhero storyline - boy meets girl, they fall in love, girl gets taken by the bad guys and so on. But the acting and the way it has been filmed just makes it feel so different and fresh. So if you like superhero/Marvel films I definitely think you'll like this film, and I also think Deadpool will appeal to a wider audience who do not necessarily gravitate towards the traditional superhero film.  

Now onto my other favourites which have all been drinks, and if you didn't know I'm obsessed with coffee!

Almond Latte - This isn't a special drink, it's just almond syrup, but I've only recently discovered this syrup on the Starbucks menu - they never used to list the syrups on the menu but now they do so that's how I discovered it. So I'm not sure if this is new or old but it's permanent which is obviously a good thing. Just imagine marzipan and coffee mixed together and that's what this taste like - complete heaven!

Vanilla Bean Macchiato - This is also from Starbucks but I'm almost 100% certain that this is a limited edition drink because they came out with limited edition versions of the classic caramel macchiato last year. They did a vanilla macchiato last year and I wasn't really a fan but this one is vanilla bean - I don't know how it can be much different but it is! To me it's that perfect sweet coffee drink without it being too sweet and it's amazing hot or cold. I just wish they would make this a permanent coffee!


Hot Chocolate with a shot of caramel syrup - I'm not the biggest fan of hot chocolate, it always seems like a good idea but it just never seems to be as nice as the thought of hot chocolate. Over Christmas Starbucks and Costa came out with their Christmas versions of the hot chocolates and I'll admit they were amazing and they always seemed to have some sort of caramel syrup in them. So I decided because the Christmas hot chocolates were limited edition I was going to order a hot chocolate with a shot of caramel syrup and see what its like. OMG it tasted just like the Christmas hot chocolates! So if you loved the Christmas hot chocolates Starbucks and Costa were doing order a hot chocolate with a shot of syrup in it and hopefully it'll be just as amazing!

That's all of my non beauty favourites and hopefully next month there will be more of a variety! :)

Thanks for reading!!

Danielle xoxo

Sunday, 10 January 2016

Non Beauty Favourites of 2015!

Hey Guys!

Last week I did my Beauty Favourites of 2015, but I do like things other than beauty products so I thought I should do my non beauty favourites of 2015! There was definitely more non beauty things I was loving this year but I have narrowed it down to my top 10 favourites as I did last week.

1. Yankee Candles

2015 was definitely the year I discovered candles! If I'm being completely honest before this year I hated candles, I didn't really see the point in them. They never had a strong smell and they would always just make me choke. I still think it's hard to find cheaper candles that have a strong smell and make the room/house smell of the scent of the candle. Then I discovered Yankee Candles, at first it was definitely hard to spend that amount of money on a candle - I was use to spending a maximum of £4 and Yankee candles can be £22! But I can definitely say it was worth it! I live in a flat and one Yankee candle makes the whole flat smell amazing! Yankee candle also have a cheaper range called Simply Home and I think they are just as good as the normal ones. I highly recommend these candles and these are the current ones I own - I know they are all from the Christmas range but they're my favourite ones!


2. Minions

What can I say about Minions? I'm obsessed! Literally! I have a Minion diary, canvas, slippers, pajamas, teddies, Tic-Tac's, mug, phone case and I even have a Minion picture stuck on my MAC! If you've ever watched the Despicable Me films or Minions and you don't find them adorable I don't know what's wrong with you! And if you've never seen any of the films go watch them right now! If anyone is interested Dave is my favourite Minion :)


3. Lipstick Tower

I'm not sure whether Lipstick Tower is the actual name but that's what I'm calling it. I've wanted one of these for so long and then my best friend got this for me for my birthday. I was over the moon!! She's definitely psychic because I've never mentioned that I wanted one, and it's also in white so it goes with my beauty room! Lipstick is my favourite makeup product so I love having all of my lipsticks on view. I also get into ruts and use the same lipsticks so having them all on display makes it easier for me remember what lipsticks I have so I can use them all.


4. Canon 750D camera

There's not much to say about this because it's quite a boring favourite. It's one of those things that you overlook because you use it so often that you don't really notice it and you take it for granted but if it was gone you would feel lost without. I use this camera nearly every day for either filming my YouTube videos or taking photos. Before this I was using my iPhone to film videos and take photos and that's why this camera is a favourite of mine because it has improved the quality of my videos and photos so much! Looking back I don't know how I filmed videos with my iPhone. I'm not going to go into all of the technical reasons of why this camera is amazing and why I love it because we'd be here all day, but I actually couldn't function anymore without this camera and it is hands down one of the best things I got this year! Sorry it's only a photo of the box but I'm taking the photo with the camera haha!

5. The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones

This book definitely didn't come out this year, I'm not sure when it did but I can't believe it has taken me so long to find this series of books! It wasn't what I was expecting, I think I was expecting more of a dystopian novel - like Divergent or The Hunger Games, but this falls more into fantasy and sci-fi. It would definitely be classed as a young adult book which is my favourite genre, so if you like this genre The Mortal Instruments series is a must read for you. You may have seen the film, I saw the film for the first time this year as well, but don't let that put you off reading the book because let's be honest the film was terrible. This book is amazing and I'm currently reading the second one which is just as good. Also Shadowhunters, which is the TV show for this series, starts next week and I'm so excited!!


6. Pretty Little Liars

I've watched Pretty Little Liars for a few years now so this isn't a favourite I 'discovered' this year but I just think this was the year PLL really stepped up it's game. We also found out who A was this year! Don't worry, I'm not going to say who it is just in case you don't know. I still don't believe that person is A though! After the season ended this year I went back and watched PLL from the beginning again, I even made my boyfriend watch it with me haha! He doesn't like to admit he loves it but he does! This show isn't your average teenage girl programme, well maybe the first season is, but after that the show can get quite dark and definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. Seriously this is one of my all time favourite TV shows and I really recommend you check it out if you haven't already!

7. Justin Bieber - Purpose

Do I even need to say anymore? Who didn't become a belieber this year?

8. Beyonce - Made in America & Global Citizens Festival

THE QUEEN RETURNED!! Can you tell I'm in the Beyhive? So I may be a little bit biased with this favourite but come on she was ***FLAWLESS!! Too much? Beyhive you understand haha! I waited up until a ridiculous hour in the morning to watch Beyonce in these festivals because obviously I'm in the UK and she was performing in America. And can we mention the Crazy in Love remix intro she gave us! OMG! I could pretty much talk about Beyonce all day but I'll leave it at ALL HAIL QUEEN BEY! :)

9. Wagamama

I'm not sure if this restaurant is worldwide but if you live in the UK I'm sure you've heard of it. It has been around for ages and I don't know why it had taken me so long to go but my first visit was in January 2015 and I have loved it all year. I even took my Dad and my Nan to Wagamama and they love it as well! It's Japanese food and what I love about this restaurant is that the food is so fresh and tasty but also a lot of the meals are healthy. I think it's so hard to find restaurants that offer healthy food that tastes good at the same time. I mean the food tastes that good it tastes unhealthy - if that makes sense haha!

10. YouTube

I don't feel like this favourites post would be complete unless YouTube was one of my favourites. This is simply because I started my YouTube channel in 2015 and I can't believe it's been 6 months since I posted my first video! I wanted a YouTube channel for about 18 months before I posted my first video and sometimes I still can't believe I got the courage to actually start my channel, because believe me posting your first video is quite nerve racking! However starting my channel has been one of the best decisions of my life so how could YouTube not be a favourite of mine!

I hope you enjoyed finding out what my non beauty favourites of 2015 were!

Danielle xoxo