When I Grow Up - Page 16

Review of the Rose and Crown in Dunton Green

Review of the Rose and Crown restaurant in Dunton Green, Sevenoaks, Kent

February 9, 2018

There is a fundamental problem about going to visit my parents, and that is that the dog has to sleep in our bedroom. If he doesn’t he ends up scratching the door or waking everyone up whining, so instead I suffer with the noise he makes while he sleeps. Imagine something like a cross between an elephant and a sea-lion snoring whilst dreaming of mating, and you’ve almost got the level of noise our beloved Loki makes at night. (And day for that matter. Whenever he’s asleep basically.) So I admit, I was in somewhat of a tired daze the day we went to the Rose and Crown pub restaurant in Dunton Green to celebrate Dad’s birthday. However, I do remember the essentials well enough to write a little review….

How to wear your party outfits through winter

February 1, 2018

Now I’ll be honest here, I only had one Christmas party to go to last year, and really that was more of a small get-together than a party! However, I do have a few items in my wardrobe I was thinking about, and if you’re little miss socialite, I have some ideas that may help you make the most of those dresses you bought for the party season…

Being demoted back to work-experience girl by YouTube

January 18, 2018

I’ve been showing up to work at YouTube for close to three years now on a part-time basis. I didn’t start doing it for the money and I didn’t expect to get paid to begin with. I did it for the chance to get my name out there and reach people who might be interested in reading my blog or purchasing clothing from Threads of a Fairytale and hopefully entertain everyone along the way. I didn’t realise quite how much of my life it was going to consume. Each video takes a minimum of two hours to edit; and the longer ones such as travel vlogs; well that can be up to ten hours. It’s a lonely hard slog. Filming can take anything from half an hour for a quick sit-down and chat video (plus the time it takes to put on make-up, tidy up around me and sort out lighting) to several hours over a period of weeks for the more in-depth ones. Then there’s the head-space vlogging takes up – working out how you’re going to tell the story of your day; remembering all the little transition shots; giving a good blend of talking and showing; making sure there’s a comfortable mix of slow and fast pace to the video etc. It was a joy to get to the point where YouTube started to pay me a little money – maybe enough to get the bus to work and go halves on a coffee once a week. It’s not much at all, but it’s a little recognition of how hard you’re working and you start to see a little opportunity – a glimmer of hope that there might be some financial reward for your efforts. And then I received an e-mail from YouTube this morning telling me they are going to take this away…..

Choosing a word to live by in 2018

January 12, 2018

I’ve heard of this erm…what would you call it?…A theory? A challenge? An idea? I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve heard of this thing before, where you choose a word to guide you for the coming year. It’s a word you go to if you’re stuck; not sure which decision or choice to make; to inspire you; to basically help you out when you’re not sure where to turn or what to do. I’ve previously thought this wasn’t really an idea for me – I’m too haphazard and never really know where I’m heading or what is going to be important to me in the months ahead. However, this December I took part in the Instagram challenge set by Emily Quinton at Makelight, in which she set us the task to plan our word for 2018. Surprisingly, it didn’t take me long to think of mine…

In memory of a lost friend

December 31, 2017

Only last week we talked about her – I joked that Jude had to become friends with her daughter again just so I could reconnect with her Mum! I thought that we were more than just Mum-friends – we went ice-skating and held gloved hands round the rink. I remember her hugs so vividly. They were not polite, brief, pat-on-the back sort-of hugs; they were long, lingering, squashed and intimate. I miss those hugs…..

The red Christmas party dress

December 23, 2017

Red is the colour of choice for this season anyway, so what better time of year than Christmas to embrace the fashion? I bought this red dress from the Jameela Jamil collection at Simply Be back in spring, but sadly the event I bought it for was cancelled, and I’ve been waiting for the opportune time to fetch it out of my wardrobe! Christmas is practically upon us, and I think this red dress could not be more perfect for the celebrations! Pillar-box red is a colour that suits everyone, so don’t be a wallflower in black this holiday – get out the dress you know you’ve been wanting to wear!….

How to shop at Craft Fairs – Advice and 10 Dos and Don’ts

December 8, 2017

Christmas is on its way! You may start to see more posters going up at the school/church/town hall/community centre etc for craft fairs. It’s the perfect chance to support local people, businesses and the event, which is usually for charity or raising funds for a community group, but before you go, please read this…..

How to go to a blogging event as a shy introvert. My Next Blogger Network event experience

December 5, 2017

I recently went to the Next Blogger Network event in Shoreditch in London, and I’ll be honest, it’s one of the most scary things for me I’ve ever done! The week leading up to the event was spent either putting it to the back of my mind and pretending it wasn’t happening, or feeling so worried I got a massive ulcer on the inside of my cheek! However, I knew once I’d forked out the money for the train fare, I would have to go, so I went ahead and did that first so I couldn’t change my mind! In the end, I feel it was a very successful day and I’ve come away from the event feeling very proud of myself and ready to go out and find another blogging event to go to! Here’s how I managed it…..

How to make a simple beautiful rustic advent calendar

November 27, 2017

I don’t know about you, but I’ve really struggled to find nice (and affordable) advent calendars in the shops this year. I haven’t seen any from Cadbury at all in Tescos, so I don’t know if there’s a general shift away from the chocolate advent calendar, or whether there’s just a short supply in my area. Anyway, it doesn’t matter too much to me, because I’d already planned on making a rustic pretty advent calendar for my kids. (By the way – this last point is a “blogger lie” ie. I made it last year, but was too late to write a blog post about it!) This one is pretty quick and easy to make, and is really effective….

How to style red velvet trousers

November 22, 2017

I’m covering two of autumn / winter 2017 fashion trends here: velvet, and red! These are actually two of my favourite things, so I was pretty chuffed to find them both together in these trousers from Joe Browns. I went very casual with this outfit, but as velvet is really a luxurious fabric, you could also style them up to be really smart. I could swap my old battered converse for a pair of heeled boots and there you have your day to night outfit sorted!….

A review of the Tarte Tarteist Amazonian Clay eyeshadow palette

November 14, 2017

I am constantly on the hunt for a matte eyeshadow palette, and if I see one, I will probably buy it! I honestly don’t know why they aren’t more popular, because I just cannot get on with an ordinary eye shadow! I had a little splurge on make-up a couple of years ago and talked about my issues with the No7 eyeshadows and the Maybelline eyeshadows that I bought. They simply do not look good on me and the pigmentation is rubbish. I decided it was about time I stopped faffing about with mid-range High Street make-up and actually spend some money….

How to take control of all your photographs

November 6, 2017

About this time last year, I worked with a company called Printerpix – it’s one of those online places that print your photos on all manner of gifts as well as your standard prints. I actually had two photo books printed by them and was very pleased with the quality and ease of use of the website. My parents recently came to stay, and I produced my most recent one for them to have a look at, and Mum asked if I had seen her Italy holiday photos yet. I hadn’t; and I knew it would mean squashing up next to her while going through all her photography files on her small laptop. It got me thinking how strange it is that in a time when we are taking more photos than we ever have done before; we’re actually getting far less printed. They remain a fleeting post on Facebook or Instagram, but are rarely printed and displayed or treasured in a large and heavy book. Has our old family tradition of passing around the photo album at Christmas or after a Sunday roast been lost?….

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