This is a list of those shows and/or movies you should be binge watching during the lockdown- which has now been extended to 9th of May!
I know it’s hard to get into doing anything at the moment, believe me, even with working from home I find it hard to do much after. So that’s why we created a list of what we both want to watch- even if the other person has no interest in watching it the other one must or forfeit a program or movie from their own list.
We have a list of 10 shows and 10 movies to get you through this, so whatever your poison, something should catch your eye.
If TV Shows are you thing:
Gossip Girl
4 in a Bed
Gravity Falls
The Mandalorian
The Grand Tour
Brooklyn Nine Nine
Ru Paul’s Drag Race
The Office (US)
Modern Family
Hell’s Kitchen (or anything thats got Gordon Ramsey in!)
But if you’re more of a film geek, look no further:
Ocean’s 8-13
The Terminator
Legend
Pirates of the Carribean
Star Wars
Kingsman: Secret Service
Fight Club
She’s the Man
17 Again
What Happened in Vegas
Let me know if there are any films or TV shows you recommend!
OR whether you and your partner have used this trick to help get through lockdown as peacefully as possible!
IMPORTANT: These movies and TV shows can be found across Netflix, Sky, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus. Therefore depending on what streaming service you use you could find mixed results.
So, here you are self isolating. Maybe its because you are classed as vulnerable or have someone in your family who is? Or maybe you haven’t got work due to the Coronavirus so are being selfless?
Whatever reason you are doing this -Well done you!
As a thank you I have put together a self-isolation list of things to keep you occupied in this time!
Hopefully you can find something in this for you to do.
THE LIST
Draw
Paint
Colour
Sudoku
Word searches
Write a blog
Update your LinkedIn
Write back to those emails you’ve been putting off
Think about what you want to do in the future – Is the job your in really where you want to be? If not, look into some other jobs you can apply for.
Read! Yes that list of books you haven’t read!
Binge watch some TV shows (Blog post on that coming soon!)
Walk your dog (remember the 2 metre social distancing rule)
Clear out your wardrobe
Play with your dog/cat etc
Paint your room/house
Tidy your room
Tidy the garden – its a mess from winter so theres gonna be stuff to do!
Make a playlist to listen to
Complete a puzzle
Play with an old toy
Sort out the attic
Find a hobby? Knitting, Sewing, cooking, baking etc
This is something I have a lot of experience in as I am on my 4th pair of clip in hair extensions.
Firstly you should make sure your extensions are real human hair and not fake.
Personally, I found this way better but some people prefer to use a bath or sink.
Firstly I put my hair extensions onto a bottoms hanger, like this:
After your hair is secure on the hanger, this may take clipping you hair into other pieces.
Now find somewhere to hang them, I have hung mine on side of the shower.
Rinse your hair thoroughly in warm water making sure you turn the hanger around to get to the back of the hair.
After rinsing, put on your shampoo of your choice, for blonde hair I use Touch of Silver shampoo.
Put the shampoo through the hair, rubbing it in well making sure you don’t pull the extensions from the hanger. Turn the hanger around and repeat.
Rinse the shampoo out on both sides. And proceed with your conditioner, using fluid motions. It is best to comb through your hair while the extensions have the conditioner on. However, do not put your fingers through them as they turn out clumpy.
Rinse out the conditioner with your warm water and then rinse with cold water to close the hair so it will have less split ends.
Your hair should now look like this:
Air drying is how I prefer to dry my extensions.
If it is a nice day i do recommend putting your extensions out on the line, however if the day isn’t that good you can either:
A) Separate the hair and put them on a towel.
B) Hang them out on a hook or a door handle.
You should not wash your clip in extensions regularly, but instead every 6-8 weeks otherwise the extensions become frail.
After air drying my extensions for 12 hours, they are ready to do as you wish with.
Although, if you are drying your extensions with a hair dryer then I urge you to use heat protectant spray, this is the one I use:
It’s Schwarzkopf Heat Protection Spray and can be found in places like Home Bargains and Savers.
Another tip I have is using oils to keep your extensions feeling smooth and looking natural.
Last year, after graduating, me and my boyfriend, Mac, thought it would be different to go on a city break.
But instead of just going to one Italian city we decided to make a 10 day holiday out of the experience.
We decided on going to 4 different places in Italy:
Pisa
Lucca
Florence
Rome
We spent 1 night in Pisa and Lucca each, then 4 nights in Florence and Rome.
So I’m here to tell you what to do in Italy, and what not to do!
Rooms and Flights
Since we didn’t go to one specific place, we bought our flights and rooms separately. Therefore, cutting down on costs as much as possible and having the freedom to do what we wanted and stay where we wanted to.
PISA
In Pisa, we stayed in an Airbnb a 2 minute walk away from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, so close that we could actually see the tower from our window.
The airbnb in Pisa was small, compact and had very little in terms of necessities. It was an old fashioned studio, with a dodgy sh
ower – but cheap enough that for 1 night you’d cope!
LUCCA
In Luca, we stayed in an Airbnb ground floor 1 bedroom flat. The flat itself was gorgeous with high ceilings but mordernised beautifully with the character of the building. The flat was within the walls of the city itself, which made it a lot easier to get around. The Lucca flat was another airbnb with a great and attentive host who offered us to a drink after food.
FLORENCE
In Florence, we stayed a stones throw away from the Boboli Gardens in another Airbnb. However, this flat was by far the worst! The problem with the flat wasn’t the fact it was on the top floor, or even the placement, because it was a lovely area. But instead started within the first doors. The first doors to our flat lead into another flat as well, and the smell coming from the other flat was nothing less than gross!! After finally getting into our flat (it has 5 deadbolt locks!!) we were immediately disappointed. The layout was narrow, with only 2 lights working in the entire place- both on opposite sides of the flat. The kitchen didn’t have anything working properly, and the living and dining rooms were so small that not me and my boyfriend could pass each other at once! The bathroom was by far the worst- with barely any hot water, having to hold the shower for each other, no toilet roll left for us and the insects.
To say we were happy to only sleep and change in there was an understatement!!
ROME
What a beautiful place! The Airbnb we had in Rome, really was quite similar to that in Lucca. With a friendly host and a clean and modern design the studio flat wasn’t one we wanted to leave. Although the flat was closer to the Vatican rather than the other side of Rome, it was easily accessible to transport and had great bars surrounding it! Not to mention the the shower was a gift from God himself – with a strong hot setting that came from it felt like every angle!
What to do?
In Pisa:
Leaning Tower of Pisa – which looks amazing!! But sadly there were no places left to climb when we got there
The Baptistery – a beautiful piece of art, although old, it gives an insight to what used to go on.
Campo Santo – basically a fancy indoor cemetery, which is so well looked after its amazing to think of the age of some of the graves there.
Walk along the River Arno – We had to walk over this river on the way to the train station, and the amount of on goings such as dances and stall surrounding it really brings it to life.
Museo dell’Opera del Duomo – with stone art from so long ago, the museum is still family friendly and offers a great insight to the leaning tower etc across the road.
In Lucca:
Lucca Cathedral/ Torre delle Ore – Get ready for more of these, this was so gorgeous, with everything set up for a church mass, it looked amazing. Not to mention the bell tower gave a fantastic view of the whole city – even though it was ridiculously high and I might’ve cried!
Piazza dell Anfiteatro- a square full of bustling local restaurants and cafes, set with green shuttered houses and entertainment perfect to go with any meal!
City Walls- stretching 4km in length around the entire city, the walls are suitable to walk or bike around with amazing views of both inside and outside the city.
San Michele in Foro – a 13th century church set with strong column and amazing art work.
Guinigi Tower – Now, this was shut for work when we went but i would’ve loved to see this roman-gothic creation up close.
In Florence:
Ponte Vecchio- This bridge crosses over the river Arno and is famous for having shops built into the sides. With most of the shops being jewellers or art galleries you might want to save before you getting your hands on a piece or two!
Uffizi Palace and Gallery – considered to be one of the most important gallery’s in the world, and it shows. With a huge collection of art from the renaissance ranging from Raphael and Da Vinci.
Palazzo Pitti – One of the largest museums in Italy, once owned by royalty. The palace is a maze of rooms all decorated differently with a range of renaissance paintings and furniture. The Jupiter room, painted by Raphael, depicts different roman gods in situations.
Boboli Gardens – Behind the castle these gardens span 45 thousand square metres. With statues scattered throughout the gardens and old trees to shade you from the sun, this is the perfect place to relax while still being in the centre of Florence.
Baptistery of St. John – If you want to see the inside of this amazing place- please book in advance!! We didn’t get a chance to go inside, but the outside completed in the 19th century is breathtaking marble.
In Rome:
Colosseum- One of the most iconic roman landmarks constructed between 70-80AD. This is where the roman used to hold games, gladiator tournaments and other forms of entertainment, all headed by the roman emperor. The remains of what was don’t get the full picture across but give a strong appreciation of what happened.
St Peter’s Square- Framed by two huge sets of colonnades, the ‘square’ holds many columns of various religious figures as well as previous popes. The iconic St Peter’s Basilica stands at the far end, with chairs in front set out for papal ceremonies. We used this as a starting point before exploring the Vatican.
Trevi Fountain- The fountain depicts the Roman God Oceanus riding his chariot which is being pulled by Tritons and taming several Hippocamps. Created by Nicola Salvi, it is on of the most decorated fountains in the world.
Vatican Museums/ Sistine Chapel – The Vatican is a city state in the centre of Rome that holds over 70.000 pieces of art in all its museums. The Sistine Chapel has one of the most beautifully decorated ceilings in the world, done by Michael Angelo. With the Vatican being split into separate levels I would advice not planning anything else for that day because the amount to look at is phenomenal.
Roman Forum – The forum shows ruins of multiple temples including Roman Gods: Saturn, Titus and Vesta and the Arch of Severus. The ruins depict the once centre of the roman public and political lifestyles.
What to Wear
As I’ve only been in September, I will focus on that season. Although, some of the rules would be consistence for summer and winter.
My go-to outfit in terms of the bigger churches and the Vatican.
Since I was travelling between different city’s I didn’t have much luggage.
So here is a list of must needed clothing items for your trip:
Pair of shorts
A maxi/midi dress
a short dress
a maxi/midi skirt
strappy top
a top that covers your shoulders
a scarf
flowy trousers
Most of the clothes that you bring, if you are limited in space, make sure that they are versatile for both the day and the night, or at least pair up with another item of clothing rather than just one.
WARNING: There is a rule in the churches, especially the Vatican, that your knees at least must be covered, and so must your shoulders. So make sure if your taking your boyfriend that he knows to take something other than shorts!
How to travel
We travelled mainly by trains between the cities we visited. Using great transport apps,
Omio and Trainline. The app gave us the various times of the trains and the best prices. And let me tell you, if you are used to trains like Transport for Wales or something like that- these trains are a dream!! The space on them was amazing not to mention the toilet doors actually locked and were clean! (I know!! I freaked out too!!)
We trains weren’t able to get us to where we wanted, we used the underground (in Rome) or a taxi (in Pisa) which were both really easy to find and understand!
However, we mainly walked where we wanted, as everything is quite close to one another, well when your in the same city- Pisa and Lucca aren’t close silly!
We also used a great app called ‘Musement’ which can be used as a city guide, a safe booking site and a way to discover great attractions in your area.
Have any questions or any places you’d add? Leave a comment!
Now before I start this, I should probably mention:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT JOB.
There’s always something that gets in the way. But here’s a few tips to make sure the first job you get isn’t your least favourite and that those who employed you did it for the best.
Here are some questions you should ask yourself to ensure you will get the best job you can!
What do/did you enjoy studying?
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Have any of your friends jobs fascinated you?
What job adverts have attracted you?
Why have those adverts attracted you?
-The pay?
-The boss?
-The environment?
-The specifications?
Of all your previous jobs or placements, which did you enjoy the most?
What do you enjoy talking about?
If all careers paid the same, what would you do?
If you could do any job for a day, what would you do?
Now, if you answered these and know what you want to do, then ask whats stopping you?
-Location?
-Pay?
-Lack of jobs?
-Environment?
Tips:
Research the job before hand
-Work environment
-Work load
-Turnover in employees
Now, I was given Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson a few days ago by my boyfriends mother as she’s a huge reader like me and thought I would like it.
And to be honest, she wasn’t wrong. It is a good book I guess- but here’s a little about it and my opinions before you go and read it!
If you don’t want spoilers- this is your official warning not to read on!
This is a love story. Where a young girl, Maddy, who is around 18 has a life that is controlled by routine due to her younger sister, Bee, having autism making Maddy and her mother have to care for her constantly.
This is one thing I really enjoyed about this book as not in many story lines do they make time to make a well rounded disabled character who is loved and put first.
The other part of this story line includes Albert, who works at the stables that Bee starts going to who falls instantly for Maddy.
Albert has had a hard time with his family due to being recognised as a constant disappointment to his father and brother. Therefore, when he meets Maddy he gets a chance to see what a true family is like and how much they care for one another.
Now this book is said to be for fans of fault in out stars, which makes sense with the love that can only go so far due to Alberts need to get out of the way of his family mixed with Maddy’s need to stay at home and care for her sister.
Now for the bad points. This book was very stereotypical and had me rolling my eyes throughout because of how 2 dimensional the characters are.
The thing that makes the characters 2D is the fact they don’t really act or speak in a sense that is much like teenagers I’ve seen- and now this might be due to the fact this book is based in America whereas I am British, but surely some things would cross over?
There is a certain something relatable in both characters but neither is pushed hard enough to actually make a connection. Therefore, this makes the book have a sense of disconnect between the reader and the characters.
And the ending was so very unrealistic much like certain points in the rest of the book which made the book very difficult to read.
The worst part of the ending you ask? Is that most of the drama is off the page and only mentioned in past tense making it hard to have that emotional connection to what happened. But even so, the last 100 pages of the book ended up being those with the most emotion being shown from the characters themselves even though these aren’t being connected to the reader.
I do believe that if this book connected the reader with the characters more and showed more emotion from the characters throughout that this book could’ve been a lot better than the rating it will receive from me.
Let me know what you think of ‘Differently Normal’ in the comments!
THRILL- ❗️Lacking.
INTEREST-🦴 – Dry and nothing to keep you going.
READING-🦑 Shockingly easy to read- the ink is basically still wet by the time you’re done.
So to celebrate the ending of my internship and the start of the easter holidays last week, I decided to make fudge for Easter!
My decision to make fudge came after I tried fudge made by Casey in work, so after i couldn’t stop thinking of it, she sent me the recipe. And I think this recipe is so good I had to share on my blog!
The recipe is actually by Annie’s Norms, a real, honest, baking expert! So if you don’t trust me, trust her!
So here is Annie’s crazy fudge recipe!
What you’ll need:
14oz (400g) white chocolate
1tbspbutter
9 oz (250g) Mini Eggs
14oz(397g) tin of condensed milk
2tspvanilla extract
Recipe:
Line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with foil and wipe over with butter.
Before opening the mini eggs, beat with a rolling pin until you have mini egg rubble. Big and small pieces are fine.
Break the white chocolate up into a saucepan and add in the condensed milk.
Place over a low heat and stir until all the chocolate is melted and you have a smooth, thick consistency. Pull it from the heat as soon as you have this consistency.
Add in the vanilla extract and butter and stir until well combined and the butter is melted.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes before adding 3/4 of the mini egg rubble. Stir until combined and the mini eggs are coated in the fudge mixture and then tip into the tin.
Smooth over before sprinkling the remaining mini egg rubble over the top. Leave to cool for 30 mins before placing in the fridge to set for around 3 and a half hours.
Once set, lift out the foil from the pan, place on a cutting board and slice.
Fudge will keep in an airtight container, in the fridge for 5 days.
I’m not an athletic person.
I know this might be shock, but its true.
I genuinely cannot run, and definitely cannot do half the stuff they do in the Olympics.
My main source of exercise is probably walking, and used to be swimming when I had time – and believe me, it took up a lot of time- Friday evenings, Monday evenings and both Saturday and Sunday training as well with a possible tournament.
So on Monday I decided to try out a spin classes with my friend. And believe me when I tell you its not fun.
I went in picturing something like the side to side music video where people are in lines, having fun etc.
My friend pictured the scene from Bridget Jones with flashing lights and good music to keep you happy.
This is not at all what it was like.
The seats are too small for any human arse.
The pedal straps are not made for someone with small size 3 feet.
And the instructor kept trying to kill us by turning up the resistance.
Ok, so maybe this wasn’t the best idea for me and my friend since she has reactive arthritis and I have some identified knee problems that haven’t been diagnosed yet. So, definitely not the class we should’ve taken.
But we were determined and excited to try something new.
The instructor wasn’t encouraging or didn’t teach us how to work the bikes or the best position to sit in to not achieve deep dark bruises on your arse checks. And didn’t check to make sure our feet were tightly in the shoe slot so a foot didn’t come out and get attacked by a rogue pedal that bruises your whole leg. Even though he knew we were new and had never been to these classes before.
Basically, what im trying to say is:
Spin is the devil
It isn’t like what they show on tv
It sucks
And the bruises last days!
Me and my friend are never going to spin again, but instead sticking to Aerobics, where its cheaper and you work every part of your body and there’s a great instructor who actually joins in with the class as well as pushing you to do your best correctly so you don’t hurt yourself.
Have any of you ever been to spin? Did you have a bad a time as us? Let me know in the comments >
x
Shann
So on the 31st of March I turned the big 21! And as scary as it was, spending the day surrounded by my friends, boyfriend and family was amazing.
Turning 21 was a big deal for me as I still think of myself as a young teen who’s no responsibility- how unrealistic.
After spending over a week at the rip old age of 21 I’m feeling fat and gross, which has made me create myself a birthday resolution to tone up and feel better about myself.
Going to the gym isn’t something I’ve ever been partially happy about, as i even hated PE in school. But now that I’ve bought a gym membership- £22.50! Ridiculous- I will be pushing myself to go since I’ve paid for it in advance.
Its not a big deal getting older, a part from leaving university, which I’ll be doing next year. And having to go into the ‘grown up world’ and become a proper adult who has to go to work and buy or rent a house. Those things are hella scary! I’m not ready to be a proper adult who has to do taxes and other boring stuff.
For my birthday I wanted a family affair mixed with my friends where I could see people I haven’t in ages and bond. Which is exactly what happened when we went to City Mazes Escape Rooms in Cardiff. With boys vs girls, each in 2 different rooms which are both 5 star difficulty, it was a real eye opener to see how everyone connected and worked. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Now if you need some ideas for what you want for your birthday or what you could get someone else- keep reading.
Here are some thing I bought that could hopefully give you guys some ideas for birthday presents.
Harry Potter Wizards Chess
A Clogau Ring
A picture book of me and my sister
A Fjallraven Kranken bag
And a mess of 21 things from one of my friends.
The thing i loved the most about these presents were that they all have parts of me in them, like my obsession with Harry Potter and my love of welsh gold. As well as personal touches like my sister making a book that is full of pictures of me and her throughout our lives. The 21 presents thing is a great idea for a friend as it requires a lot of thinking about what your friend would love which would include small things like socks to a bracelet that is more personal.
Now, iIhope you all know im not by any means bragging, but giving ideas for what you could have if your stuck on birthday presents, or what you could give to a friend.
So I’ve noticed I’ve mostly been posting about reviews, so this week I thought i’d change it up a little bit.
So, here is my very special brownie recipe.
What you’ll need:
200 g of Dark Chocolate (Preferably, but milk chocolate works too).
100g (4oz) Soft Butter
250g (9oz) Caster Sugar
4 Large eggs
1tsp Vanilla Essence
60g (2.5oz) Plain Flour
60g (2.5oz) Cocoa Powder
You’ll also need:
15cm Brownie Tin
Mixing Bowl
Saucepan
Heatproof Bowl
Method:
Step1.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas mark 4. Break the chocolate into small pieces and put into heatproof bowl to melt gently.
Step 2.
Remove bowl from heat and leave to cool.
Step 3.
Put the butter and sugar into the mixing bowl and beat until fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, beating well after each. Beat in the vanilla essence.
Step 4.
Spoon the cold melted chocolate into the mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and blend.
Step 5.
When combined, spoon the mixture into the greased brownie tin and spread evenly.
Step 6.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the mixture in firm to touch but still fudgy when you put a knife into it. The chocolate will continue to cook slightly for a few minutes after coming out of the oven.
Step 7.
Leave the brownies to cool completely before cutting into pieces.
Storage:
You should store the brownies in an airtight container and eat within 4 days.
How to eat:
Microwave for 10 seconds and serve with cream or ice-cream, or both!
Hope you enjoy them as much as my family and friends do!
Tell me how you’re turned out in the comments below!
Slice of Shann 