PROM 2014

You may have wondered where I had gone for a while as I haven't posted for a few weeks, but I'm back in action now and ready than ever! Last night was my Year 11 Leaver's Prom and I thought you might want to know what I was wearing etc. (I know I love looking at others' prom pictures!)

I was so nervous about the night and was constantly worried that I was going to fall flat on my face in my 4 inch heels (bearing in mind this was the second time I'd actually worn heels in my life) or the wind could catch the chiffon in my dress and flaunt my underwear! Luckily, everything went to plan and I was just left with throbbing feet at the end, but there are no surprises there!

I ordered my dress from Dylan Queen as they offered custom fit dresses and a huge selection to choose from. I know it's not the greatest of ideas to order expensive dresses online without trying them on and I was a little bit skeptical to start with. However, after reading tonnes, and tonnes of reviews I decided to go for it! When it arrived it fitted like a glove and looked absolutely stunning! 

My shoes were from John Lewis, with my dress being such a hard colour to match anything with, I thought silver shoes would be the way forward! Despite the heels constantly sinking into the grass during photos meaning I had to balance myself on the balls of my feet which was actually quite painful! I also had a mirrored silver clutch bag from eBay which isn't shown in this photo, in fact I'm not sure where it got too! 

Finally, I got my hair done by the lovely people at P-Kai in Peterborough, it looked so good when it was finished and backcombed and the curls are still in my hair now! I then topped everything off with a sterling silver circle pendant necklace from Accessorize.

I hope you all had/have lovely proms if you have one this year! 

xx

Wake up it's a Beautiful Morning

Breakfast is obviously the most important meal as it sets you off for your adventures that day. Though to be honest, I'm quite fussy when it comes to breakfast - If it's not a bowl of Lucky Charms it's either pancakes or granola and Greek yogurt that does it for me (yum!). I used to be a huge cereal fan but I don't really know what happened to that as I slowly stopped eating them. Pancakes are so quick and easy to whip up in the morning and take roughly 60 seconds to cook. I like to pour some golden syrup over mine with some chopped banana and blueberries!

Granola is another one of my breakfast favourites I would quite happily munch this for the rest of my life! To prepare this, all I do is dollop 3-4 tablespoons of natural Greek yogurt into a bowl, chop up some strawberries, blueberries and add some dried fruit, which in this case is raisins and cranberries, and sprinkle with granola! Voila! This particular granola is full of oats, fruit, pumpkin seeds, coconut and cranberry juice! It's so yummy and so healthy for you - what more could you ask for? 

I'd love to know what you eat for breakfast as I like trying out new things! Also, I'm looking forward to posting so much more on my blog as I have officially left secondary school! (Whoop, whoop partaaaay!) I also have lots of things lined up that I am excited to share with you! 

x

Benefit's Big Beautiful Eyes...

I must be one of the very few bloggers who have not go there hands on an Urban Decay Naked palette yet. I just feel there is no need to pay for one of them when I have my Big Beautiful Eyes contour kit from Benefit. Last year, I was lucky enough to receive this as a birthday present and it has seen me though since. Inside the palette it contains three neutral shadows and the Bo-ing concealer. It also comes with two brushes - one concealer brush, and a double-ended contour and liner brush which are really good quality.

As you can probably see, the Bo-ing concealer is way to dark for me as I'm as pale as anything! Unfortunately, the shade is 02 when I really need the lightest shade. The base shadow is the lightest shadow that you can see and it's sort of in between a matte and a shimmer shadow and a very similar dupe to All That Glitters from MAC. One up from that is the contour shadow used to define your eyes and use in the corner and the crease of your eyes. The contour shadow is a shimmery, light brown colour. Finally there is a matte, dark brown liner shadow which can also be used in your brows if you have dark eyebrows like mine.

All of these shadows are pretty and neutral enough to be used for everyday and I really recommend it if you don't want to spend too much on a bunch of shadows. You can pick it up from Boots, Selfridges etc. for around £25.50. Benefit, you have done it once again!

x

'Get To Know Me' - 25 Questions Tag

1. Do you have a middle name?
I do indeed, it's Louise but I hate it!

2. What was your favourite subject in school? 
I really, really like English and also Media Studies as I want to be a journalist when I'm older.

3. What's your favourite drink?
Hmmm..I can't help but indulge in a 'Raspberry & Roobios Tea' from M&S every now and again! 

4. What's your favourite song at the moment? 
When I'm not belting out the songs from Frozen, probably 'Extraordinary' by Clean Bandit or 'Tous les mêmes' by Stromae. 

5. What would you name your children?
If I have a girl, I like Fleur, Poppy or Felicity. Errrm..boys names I don't actually know! Probably something traditional.

6. Do you participate in any sports?
Not currently, I used to do gymnastics as a young child but stopped and went on to doing dance instead. I did it for 6 years up until I was 15 and had to stop because I was diagnosed with extreme exhaustion (oops!).

7. What's your favourite book?
Now, this is a difficult one! But it probably has to be 'The Great Gatsby' by Scott Fitzgerald followed by something like 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen. 

8. What's your favourite colour?
I think I have to do with pink or orange? I don't really have an explanation, they're just pretty! 

9. What's your favourite animal?
I'm a dog person, but I really like cute, fluffy rabbits too! 

10. What's your favourite perfume? 
'Daisy - Eau so Fresh' by Marc Jacobs I wear it literally everyday!

11. What's your favourite holiday?
I love Christmas - I mean, who doesn't? 

12. Have you graduated from High School? 
I'm guessing this is an American tag and High School there is a little different to the UK. But yes, I have left Secondary School in the UK and start Sixth Form in September.

13. Have you even been out of the country? 
Yes, I have several times! I've been to France 4 times, Finland, the USA and Dominican Republic! Next year I am off to Borneo, Malaysia for 4 weeks doing project work with Camps International which is so exciting!

14. Do you speak any other languages? 
Well, I speak English (of course), I'm pretty fluent in French now (my grammar is slightly off), I learnt a little bit of Chinese (Mandarin) and I'm currently learning to speak Malay for my expedition next year. I love learning languages! J'adore apprendre des langues! 我喜欢学习语言! Saya suka bahasa pembelajaran!

15. Do you have any siblings?
Yes,  I am the oldest but I have 2 brothers and a half-brother (aged 13, 11 and 3) and a half-sister (aged about 8 months now!).

16. What's your favourite store?
Topshop! Without a doubt!

17. What's your favourite restaurant?
Hmm...Prezzo or Carluccio's! Do I like Italian food?.....Sì!

18. Do you like school?
Yes, I love it! I love learning and I cannot wait to go to University!

19. Who are some of your favourite Youtubers?
I LOVE Zoella - who doesn't? Louise, Alfie, Naiomi, Tanya, Caspar, Joe, Louis....(all of those guys). I also really like Natoo, she's a French youtuber but she is très amusant! 

20. What's your favourite movie?
Haha, well, I don't really watch lots of movies but I like: Mean Girls, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (I also LOVE the book!) and all of the Disney classics (I am yet to still watch the Lion King as I have never watched it! Haha!)

21. What are some of your favourite TV shows?
I love all the American shows: Dance Moms, Toddlers & Tiaras, Say Yes to the Dress - you know what I mean!

22. PC or Mac?
I have a PC but I'm hoping to buy a Mac soon and I do prefer them!

23. What phone do you have?
I have an iPhone! Touch wood, I haven't dropped it yet!

24. How tall are you? 
I am 5'6 so I think that's fairly average? 

25. Any pets?
Not currently, I have had a hamster, 4 guinea pigs and a dog in the past but they all passed away. Except from the dog - we had an Alsatian and she started to get aggressive and attacking people and with me and my brother as very young children it wasn't safe to keep her! :-(   

Hopefully you fell like you know me a little more now! If you have any questions you would personally like to ask me, feel free to leave a comment below and I will send a reply! 

x

Chloe Cooks - Coconut Loaf

When it comes to baking, I like to stick to the basics. The throwing the ingredients together in one large bowl and then bunging it into the oven - 60 minutes later voilá! Anything to cuisine is just too difficult and it completely backfires for me. When I had my French exchange over we tried making macarons and they totally failed (most probably down to moi...)!

Anyway, seeing as I have so much time on my hands now that I have left school, I decided to do some baking. I baked a scrummy coconut loaf cake which tastes so good, plus coconut tastes so good!

You will need:

- 175g butter or margarine

- 175g caster sugar

- 3 eggs

-225g plain flour

- 1tsp baking powder

- 100g desiccated coconut

-2tbsp milk 

Step 1: Grease or line your baking tin with greaseproof paper - for this recipe I used a bread tin (is that what they're called?). Preheat your oven to 170°C/338°F/Gas mark 3-4

Step 2: In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a metal or wooden spoon.

Step 3: Gently beat in your eggs one at a time. If you prefer you can use an electric mixer or whisk - but here I just put my muscles to use!

Step 4: Once you have added all of your eggs to your mixture, using a sieve, sift the flour and the baking powder into the bowl and mix it until thick.

Step 5: Finally add your desiccated coconut into your mixture. If you want to add flavourings to your cake you can also do that now. I've seen several recipes that have included cinnamon into them, but I left that out because my family doesn't like it!

Step 6: Place your baking tray into the oven and cook for about an hour. To check if the cake is cooked place a wooden skewer into the centre; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. If the cake needs extra time but is browning too much, cover it in tin foil and continue to bake.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try out this recipe as I know several other bloggers have!

Chloe x

REVIEW - Sinful Colors Nail Polish

Hello my lovelies! This post has been a little delayed as I had to wait for my package from China to arrive containing my new nail wheels. Nail wheels really help for people like me with the most un-feminine hands ever created on the history of Earth! Anywho, before I go off on a tangent - here is what I've got to say about these polishes.

First of all, you may recognise this photo from my Instagram feed however this is the unedited version to give you an actual insight to the colours in pure daylight. Lets all just agree on how cute the bottles are though! Sinful Colors packaging is so good for the price of each bottle. Each bottle is priced roughly around £1.99 and you get a full 15ml of colour which is usually enough for 10 uses (using 2 coats each time). When you compare this to a brand such as OPI, priced at £7-8 per bottle, you wouldn't know any different if the polishes where exchanged into different bottles. 

These polishes are available at various online store but I picked mine up from Boots which you may have seen in my previous Boots haul post. Quite a lot of the time Boots also have a 3 for 2 offer on so you can pick one of these gems up for free - what more could you ask for? 

Left: Easy Going & Right: Glass Pink

The colours of these polishes are outstanding and the range they have available is endless. I really don't know what held me back from trying these before? On the left is 'Easy Going', a peachy pink which looks so lovely on (it also makes you look a little tan..) and recieved a few compliments when I wore it. The other is 'Glass Pink' a pearl shade with a tint of pink and lots of speckles of glitter. This shade is so girly and a great alternative to clear nail varnish or you just want a glittery top coat. Each polish lasts a fair time without chipping which is great! Believe it or not I actually hate painting my nails as I find it such a chore, however it looks pretty and more presentable when they are. 

Sorry, this was a quick post but it's all I have time for as I am off to my Sixth Form interview soon! Eeeek! Please feel free to leave a comment about anything or any Sinful Colors you own as I would love to hear what your thoughts on them are! 

Thank you for reading!

 Chloe 

xxx

Tweet me: @Chloe__Spencer (two underscores)

Follow me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/chloe_spencer

The Liebster Award

I recently won the 'Liebster Award' after being nominated by Paige  - thank you very much! I know you are supposed to write facts about yourself and this award, but right now I'd much prefer to just answer the questions (party pooper right here!)

1.If you had to belong to one of the districts in Hunger Games which one would it be and why?

Hmmm...preferably I'd like to avoid The Hunger Games at all costs and be in none of the twelve. But since you asked, the answer would probably be District 12 purely because in the first film it win! 

2. Cookies or Brownies?

Is there such thing as a 'Coonie' because I just can't decide!

3. Favourite Harry Potter character?

Definitely Hermione Granger! So many people have said that I look like Emma Watson but I fail to see any resemblance? 

4. Favourite bands/singers?

'The Lumineers', 'The XX', 'Adam Barnes', 'Bastille', and 'The Maccabees' are my all time favourites, however, I actually really like French music. My favourite French artists are 'Joyce Jonathan', 'Stromae' and 'Cœur de Pirate'.

5. Team delena or team stelena (Vampire Diaries)?

I can't really answer this because believe it or not, I have never once watched the 'Vampire Diaries'.

6.Gold or Silver?

Definitely gold - I feel it suits my skin tone and hair colour better! Don't ask why - it just does!

7.Winter birthday or Summer birthday?

Now as much as I would kill for a birthday in the summer, my birthday is actually in the winter as I am a December baby.

8.Favourite holiday?

I think it would have to be my visit to Florida in 2012. It was absolutely amazing and I would love to go back soon! However I also love my trips to Paris as I absolutely adore France. 

9.Would you rather change genders every time you sneezed or have extreme facial pain every time your coughed?

Errm...firstly what possessed this question? Though I think I'd have to say have extreme facial pain everytime I cough - only because I can't remember the last time I actually ever coughed? 

10.Favourite book?

Hands down 'The Great Gatsby' I could  read that book thousands of times and still experience escapism. 

11. And finally your signature scent, if you have found it yet?

I love Marc Jacobs Daisy - Eau So Fresh. The floral undertones and fruity accents smell so good and I could stick with it forever!

Once again, thank you Paige for giving me this award - I could only just accept it with nearly 200 followers (which can I say is CRAZY!) Unfortunately, I won't be passing on the award just yet as I haven't really looked at other people's blogs and if I have, they have already been given the award. 

Thanks for reading,

Chloe 

xxx

Tweet me: @Chloe__Spencer (two underscores)
Follow me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/chloe_spencer

What I Hope to Achieve in 2014

So, this is a bit of a belated blog-post but I wanted to share the things I hope to achieve this year. 

1. Get good GCSE grades - I am currently in my final year of school and taking all of my exams in May/June this year. To be honest I've turned into quite a "nerd" this year and have put my schoolwork before anything I do, so to get some As in my GCSEs would be amazing! 

2. Travel more - I have been extremely lucky to travel to several different countries at such a young age: Dominican Republic, United States of America, France and Finland. Though there are so many other places I want to go including places all over England. 

3. Become fluent in French - I really love learning new languages and I think French is a beautiful language. I've been learning it for over 5 years now and I'm still not fluent. However, I have started building friendships with 2 filles en France and we write letters and emails to each other in French (with a little help from Google Translate!). I really recommend this if you're trying to learn a new language! Bonne chance!  

4. Conquer the art of Teeline Shorthand - I am really interested in English and journalism and want to pursue it as a career. To learn Teeline shorthand at the age of sixteen would be an amazing achievement (though it is quite hard and I tend to start doodling instead). I want to learn shorthand now as it would take so much pressure off of myself at university.

  
5. Publish more blogposts on my Guardian page - Blogging for The Guardian is an amazing achievement in itself and I'm so chuffed I was able too. My first post got over 6,000 views in the first few hours and started a huge debate over social networking sites (oops!). However, I feel like I don't post enough on there. To think of more articles would be fab and it will really kick off my journalism career.

6. Interview an important/valued person - Now, this one is on the verge of becoming within my grasp. The principal at my school is a superb man; he had a meeting with our local MP and told him all about me. He told him all about me  blogging for The Guardian and carrying out interviews with teachers and pupils at our school. Our MP informed my principal that there was a very high chance that he could arrange an interview with a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons! So exciting! 

7. Reach 200 followers on this blog - This is a bit aspirational, but with a lot of hard work I think it would be possible! I hope to post a lot more frequently especially when my exams are out of the way! I'm currently at 19 followers so, only 181 to go! 

8. Stop worrying so much - I really dislike going places on my own and taking public transport on my own as I panic myself so much. Suffering from anxiety isn't the nicest thing in the world so I'd love to overcome some of it. It's horrible feeling so nervous all the time when nothing is even happening. 

I really wanted to get this post out of the way as I don't think it could have been any later and I hope you achieve what you want in 2014!

Chloe xxx

*pictures from weheartit.com