We all love black. Let’s not deny it. And I love this black dress from missguided, it’s to the knee so you don’t need black tights and is flattering whilst being comfy. I paired with some patent courts, trench coat and my monogram Louis. I woken up late so didn’t have time to wash my rank gym hair but I actually think high neck dresses are more striking with your hair up?
As some of you may have read in one of my first posts, my cousin Vicki died earlier this year from an aggressive cancer, leaving a huge painful hole in our family. Vicki was an amazing, vibrant and inspiring person and I miss her so much, as many do. I struggle to go a few hours without doing something which reminds me directly of Vicki (she taught me a lot of make up techniques and I copied her on more than a few outfits and items of jewellery, so anyone who knows me can imagine how often I think of Vicki!)
Soon after we lost Vicki, her mother (Fiona), brother (Alex) and husband (CJ) set up a charity in her name to raise money to not only help in the fight against the evil disease but to also give comfort to the families suffering too. Cancer was a big part of Vickis life long before she was diagnosed, having lost her father (My lovely Uncle David) the year before and seeing her mother (My amazing Aunty Fiona) battle and beat it when Vicki was very young. Vicki wanted to help people with cancer and those who suffer from it, which is why Alex, Fiona and CJ called the charity ‘Victoria’s Promise’.
From day one of finding out that Vicki had cancer (I remember where I was standing, outside my trust law seminar at Uni) my best friends have been so supportive. They had all met Vicki not long before at my 21st and had got on with her so well, they knew how much I loved her and how devastated my family are to lose her. I would have struggled a lot more these last few months if I didn’t have them, and as if there support for me isn’t enough, they all decided to support Victoria’s Promise in a ‘Wolf Run’ they were signed up for, incredibly touching.
If anyone who reads this has a spare few pounds, we would love the support. I know that the world is saturated by charity events, runs, cake sales, badges, but to me this is very personal because it is about my family and my friends- and there is nothing more important.
If you have a few minutes, click the link below to have a read about the ‘Wolf Run’ and if you can, please donate.
http://victoriaspromise.com/dancing-wolves/
Hannah x
For Lent this year my housemates and I decided to all give something up. I’ve never successfully done it before. We all chose each others thing to give up. Mine is coffee. Noone thinks I will be able to do it as I’m a big coffee drinker but I am determined to prove to them and myself that I can. Mum is also giving up with me so we can enjoy a flat white together once its all over.
Lent started on March 5th so I am currently 5 days in with 35 to go. I am really missing my morning coffees which I’ve decided to replace with fresh mint tea. I didn’t want to replace with the teas I usually drink because I need something to fill the coffee void so I am currently drinking 2 mugs of fresh mint tea a day. I’ve also ordered a glass mug from Amazon to drink out of because this is how they serve it in Cote Brasserie which is where my love for fresh mint tea began.
So, for the next 35 days, fresh mint tea is the key to my heart until the time comes again when I can press the button on my nespresso machine guilt free.
Other members of the house have given up:
Sarah- Cheese
Hettie- Salt
Frankie- Pita bread (A weird one I know, but she eats it everyday)
What has everyone else given up?
Hannah x
On the 7th March 2014 my family and I journeyed to Windsor Castle for my Mum to be awarded her OBE (this is called an investiture).
I, like many, have never really known much about this process so I thought I’d do a little summary of our day and the lead up to it.
At the end of November Mum received an email saying she had been nominated and awarded an OBE for ‘Services to Entrepreneurship in Social and Digital Development’. This email was shortly followed by a letter in the post. Both instructed Mum not to tell anyone (with the exception of close family I suppose) until the official announcement on December 31st.
At midnight on December 31st the list of those awarded was published online in the ‘New Years Honours List’. There are loads of different types of awards. ‘OBE’ stands for ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire’.
Nearer the event we received invites. Mum was allowed to bring 3 guests, she chose her father and husband and then my brothers chose to let me come as the third guest (I was thrilled and am so grateful).
Now for the day, we left our house at 8.30am dressed in our finest clothes. Mum and I in dresses, heels and fascinators and the boys in mourning suits. We had a chauffeur driven car driven by a lovely man called John. We then collected Grandpa from his house and went on to Windsor.
We arrived in Windsor at about 9.20 and drove up the main gate towards the front of the Castle. We had our IDs and invites checked (the boys had to get out here) and went up to the Castle where we walked through the grounds into the front entrance.
We dropped our phones, cameras and coats off and walked towards the main room (it was called the ‘Waterloo’ room I think). Just before the main room Mum went off to the ‘recipients’ room where she was taught how to accept the award, when to courtesy etc. On our way into the room we were given an booklet each which gave us a run through of what to expect and had a list of everyone receiving an award and what it was for.
Dad, Grandpa and I sat in the main room and listened to the orchestra for about 30 minutes until a very well spoken gentleman came to the front of the room and gave us a run through of what to expect and what to do (stand when the Queen comes in and don’t clap at any point, ‘no matter how much you admire the recipient’). At 10.55 a group of 5 traditionally dressed men walked down the aisle and positioned themselves around the front. At 11 on the dot the Queen walked in accompanied by a few more men and the orchestra played the national anthem, the Queen then told us to sit.
The orchestra played throughout the ceremony. Each recipient came up one by one, curtsied or bowed, walked forward, spoke to the Queen for 30 secondsish, shook her hand, had their award attached, (more…)
Fake tanning has a really bad reputation. The words ‘fake tan’ and ‘orange’ pretty much always come together. The fact is, fake tan is the same as everything else, if it’s done right it can look really good.
A lot of people you know will fake tan and you probably won’t even know. You don’t have to look like you’re from Towie.
The best fake tan for an instant glow is the Rimmel ‘Sun Shimmer’ range. It’s available from Boots, Superdrug and pretty much every supermarket. It’s cheap (never going to cost more than £6.99) and it lasts for ages. Recently they have also made it water resistant so if you spill a drink on yourself or it starts raining you aren’t going to look like a leopard.
Buy the ‘matte’ fake tan, do not buy shimmer it will make you grey. If you have paler skin or want to just take the edge off your paleness buy light matte. If you want to look darker and like you’ve had a couple of weeks away, buy medium matte and if you want to be REALLY dark (I don’t recommend this one) buy dark matte.
Always look out for the blue writing that says ‘water resistant’. There is a non water resistant one but don’t buy it because it comes off far too easily.
To apply you will need: (more…)
Nearly 6 months since the launch, the iPhone 5s is old news. Within the next couple of months rumours about the ‘iPhone 6’ will start. Will it be a different shape? Will it have a better camera? Which colours will it come in?
From my experience with the iPhone 5s there are only 3 main differences to the iPhone 5
1. The fact that it comes in gold
2. The slow motion video camera
3. The finger sensor home button
Obviously, if you’re upgrading from the 4S or another phone, having the 5s is exciting. But was it a big enough jump from the 5 to warrant all the hype and excitement?
I just hope the 6 is a bit more of a change, as I’m due an upgrade in September
Best price I’ve found is available on Amazon here Apple iPhone 5S
Hannah x
The duo fibre is a circular brush made from a mixture of goat fibres and synthetic hairs. It is used for the application of powders and foundations and created a really even finish. It looks like this
I only started using the duo fibre brush in November as I always thought they were weird and pointless. A lady at the Mac counter in House of Fraser in Guildford explained to me that they are the best brushes for foundation application as the black bristles collect loads of product and the white bristles disperse it in a really quick and even way. I bought one along with a pot of studio tech foundation and I couldn’t live without the brush now.
I was just doing the standard about-to-fall-asleep-twitter-feed-check and came across this picture tweeted from Kim Kardashian asking the paparazzi to not photoshop her pictures. I assumed it was about her bootay as the world is more obsessed with that then poverty at the moment but I clicked on it and found this: (more…)
Anyone ever heard of Klout? Its a website which measures your online presence through your use of social media by giving you a score.
‘Join Klout to discover your influence and compare with others you may know.’ (Their words, not mine)
To be someone who is good at social media you want to have a score of above 40. It sounds like a useless site but it’s actually quite useful in working out whether a person or a brand is good online, which is important these days. It’s easy to do and quite addictive. My Dad is obsessed and get’s really excited when his points go up (he’s on 72 and I’d love someone to beat him)
I’m currently on 52, I’ve dropped down from 62 because my Twitter removed itself. Not happy.
Sign up, connect your networks and tell me your score 🙂
Hannah x
Tonight the girls and I watched Sweet Home Alabama and made pancakes. It’s one of my favourite films and it never gets old. If you haven’t watched it recently, its available on Netflix or probably by Google, and if you’ve never seen it, WATCH IT. It’s feel good and it’s difficult not to love. Reese Withoutaspoon plays her character ‘Melanie’ so well it makes you want to go to Alabama.
Watch it, love it, then tell me how much you loved it
Hannah x
PS. ‘Jake’ was the first TV person my two best friends, Emily and Alice, and I ever fancied. It was 2002, at age 9, you can’t not loveeeee him
Hannah Power 