VEDA Day 23 - Locked in my Bathroom

Hello there happy little people,

About a month ago I managed to get locked in my bathroom...

So I was going for a bath as usual and was (obviously) pulling the door shut so I could lock it. Now this should have already had me worried as when pulling the door I really had to yank it to manage to shut it to lock it. But as I didn't think anything of it, I locked the door and went for a lovely, cosy and enjoyable bath. 

However, when I finally finished all my bathing, I tried to pull open the door. Now normally I can just unlock and pull it open with one hand as it isn't a particularly sticky or heavy door to open. But today, I couldn't see to pull it open. After getting annoyed that it wasn't opening well I plonked down all my stuff (towel, iPod for my music, glasses, clothes etc) and tried again. But even with two hands, and pulling quite hard, I still couldn't manage to escape. I double checked I had actually unlocked the door fully and tried again. By this point my boyfriend, who, thankfully, was staying over, heard me pulling the handle and came to investigate. 

I explained what had happened and he told me to stand away from the door as he tried to push it free. He spent around 45 minutes going through an array of different techniques to get me out. He tried using his shoulder against it, kicking near the lock, unscrewing the handle, shimmying a screwdriver down the side of the door to push the catch back into the door. As he was pushing on the door, the small section of wall, around a foot wide, in between the door and the door into the cupboard in the bathroom (which houses the washing machine) began to bend. I honestly thought the wall was going to break. Eventually, he managed to burst into the bathroom and reassure me that I was now free. I genuinely thought I was going to have to stay in my bathroom and get let out by a fireman or something. 

So after all that palava, we went to bed. But, my mum came home late and went to pee after she got in (as you do when you return home from somewhere). Clearly she closed and locked the door. So after around five minutes I was awoken by her trying the door handle with no luck. Unfortunately, I had to wake up my boyfriend to help my mum escape too. It took far less time, still around 20 minutes though, to get her out as he had kinda got the knack of it by then. But without him we would have been completely trapped. 

Thank you my love :P

So the moral of this story is don't force something closed because you might end up getting trapped. And if you haven't got someone strong to bust you out, your'e gonna be stuck till someone realises and phones a fireman for you.

I hope you are having a lovely day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3264gV3vlQ

VEDA Day 22 - Earth Day

Hello there happy little people,

Happy Earth Day!

Today is April 22nd which marks the anniversary of the start of the modern environmental movement. For anyone who has no clue what Earth Day is I am going to give a little brief history.

The founder of Earth Day is Gaylord Nelson. After seeing just how much damage the oil spill in Santa Barbara, California caused Nelson wanted to make a change. At the time there was a very large student anti-war movement which inspired Nelson. He thought if he could gain the same passion towards environmental issues he would surely be able to make a difference. After promoting his new idea, he managed to have a demonstration on the 22nd of April of 20 million Americans. And since then Earth Day campaigns have been very successful. It even lead to the creation of The Environmental Protection Agency which allowed for Clean Air, Endangered Species and Clean Water acts to be passed.

Now what really gets me is how some people don't care. They don't care about the magnificent planet we have been so lucky with having the chance to live on. They don't care about other species purely because "They aren't as intelligent". They don't care about the rainforest and trees that we need to be able to breathe. How can you not care about the main thing that is keeping us alive, giving us life and has supplied us with everything we needed since we were tiny little micro-organisms.

I hate when I drive past fields and the edges are lined with crisp packets and plastic bags and bottles that people were too lazy to hold onto. It makes me so upset when the pavement is littered with cigarette buts, sweet wrappers and chewing gum because people didn't care enough to walk a couple of feet to a bin. And I have got mad and had arguments with friends when they have dropped litter on purpose because it is just such a lazy and horrific thing to do. I may be a little too passionate about it but because it is such a little, simple thing to fix and not do, it drives me crazy when people do it.

For me, the Earth is so incredibly important. My main goal in life is to travel and see the world. I know that everyone says that when they are young and, lets face it, it is quite unlikely to happen, but that is all I want to do. I'm not one whose goal is to get married, have kids, settle down, work day in day out. Maybe one day that will happen but what I want to do is to live. And for me, that means travelling. I want to see all the wonders of this planet, the northern lights, the mountains, the rainforest, the diversity of the animal kingdom. I think this planet is such a wonderful and gorgeous planet and most people will never have the opportunity to see it for themselves. My biggest passion is the world we live in and I find it so difficult to understand who wouldn't want to save such a beautiful place and all the beautiful things on it.

So if you are like me and want to help the world be a little bit nicer and allow our generations to live on it a little longer, here are a few things you could do to help:

• Eat a little less meat - Meat actually increases the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. In fact, it actually generates almost one fifth of greenhouses gases. This is increasing the rate of climate change (whether you believe its happening or not, it's certainly not helping the atmosphere) and it is actually more than what transport produces. Meat also uses a heck of a lot of water. It is estimated that the amount of water used is between 1,800 and 2,500 gallons of water just to go into a single pound of beef. And as if that wasn't enough, 50% of corn in America is used just on feeding the livestock. I know one campaign (not sure where or who it was started by) is Meatless Mondays. I know quite a few people who take part in this and it is pretty self explanatory. It is a great way to cut back on meat if you are fond of meat as it is only one day a week. Which doesn't sound a lot but when you add it up, it counts for a lot.  I, myself, don't eat red meat at all. This is partly due to its environmental issues, the slaughterhouse issues and the fact that actually, I don't like the taste very much. 
• Compost - Composting can be a fun way for kids to get involved in helping the planet a little and, to be honest, I would find it quite fun too. If you compost regularly you could actually decrease your waste by 25%. And if you don't think just that is reason enough, you can also get rid of (most) smelly food waste into your compost bin immediately. The kinds of things you can put in are categorised in two ways, Green Stuff and Brown Stuff. Green Stuff can include weeds, green leaves, grass cuttings, fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and tea leaves (which includes the tea bags they come in!). Brown Stuff can include dead leaves, dead plants or weeds, sawdust straw and hay (which is very useful if you own small animals like me) and old flowers. And at the end of it you have a fantasticly fertile compost you can use for growing pretty plants and maybe a tree or two around your garden.
• Use Plastic Less - Now as I already mentioned I have a strong passion against litter. The worst thing about plastic however is that it is not biodegradable. Instead of degrading like paper, wood or any other organic materials, plastic just breaks into smaller pieces as the years go by. This is extremely dangerous as animals can mistake small pieces of plastic as food and die from choking or digestion problems. The biggest issue is when it gets into the ocean as transparent or shiny pieces of plastic can be far easier to mistake as a fish. Every single year over 1 million birds and 100,000 marine animals die from eating the plastic. The ways you can help with this is to not use plastic bags as much. This is quite easily done in Scotland as they have just introduced a law that you have to charge customers 5p to buy a bag. Which doesn't sound that much but having to stop and be asked if you need a bag and have to pay for it, allows you to stop and think long enough to think about whether you really need a bag for what you are buying. I certainly haven't bought nearly the same amount of plastic bags I would have taken if they were free since that law has passed. Another very easy way to help this is to use re-usable bags such as canvas bags. I certainly do this but also they are far more useful. How many times has your plastic bag split when you have been carrying heavy things? In a canvas bag that is far less likely to happen and you can easily smoosh them into your school bag, hand bag, rucksack or whatever.

So even though those things seem small and quite meaningless, they are helping. You don't have to protest or do some crazy campaign to help. Just like I was saying last time, every little piece of the puzzle will add up to help a lot in the long run. 

I hope I have given you a few ideas on what you can do and have encouraged you to go and find out a little bit more about what you can do to help. 

I hope you are having a wonderful day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XweA07JB8RM

VEDA Day 21 - My Life is a Jigsaw Puzzle

Hello there happy little people,

A few months ago I bought a couple of posters by Candice (CandySomething on YouTube) and only now have I started to really think about what one of them mean.

In my video I got extremely side tracked and made no sense just rambling on. And I'm not promising this will be any better.

Basically why I think this appealed to me so much is that I always forget that in the end, everything will come together and sometimes it is difficult to see the big picture when you are staring at each individual piece trying to figure it all out from there.

The puzzle piece is a very important shape when comparing it to life. They are never perfect. The have outy bits and inny bits, they can have round and straight corners, they can be small and skinny or large and wide. But in the end, everything fits perfectly. Just like how life can throw you events or people with good and bad things, but in the end, everything will be fine.

If you imagine that each piece of "your puzzle" is a piece of your personality, things you have done in the past, events that have happened to you, people you meet, people who leave, things you stumble across while looking for something else. Now imagine how everything has shaped you to be you as you are now. Just like a puzzle every little thing, no matter if it was a plain brown piece you thought was uninteresting and unimportant, adds up to create the final completed puzzle. And sometimes its the plain boring little pieces that make up the majority of the puzzle and the exciting coloured parts are few in number. But that doesn't make any piece more or less important, it just means you need it all to be able to complete the puzzle.

Sometimes when you are doing a puzzle you can loose pieces. You might have them ready to match up with another as soon as you find it and then when you do, the original piece is gone. And sometimes you might not even know the piece exists yet, you haven't found it in the box yet and you are wondering what could be missing. But that is okay. You will find it one day. And if for some reason you can never find it, there are replacement pieces. Nothing is going to stop you from completing your puzzle. It is your puzzle and you are the only one who gets to choose how and when to complete it.

I know some people will believe that someone sets a path for us and our future is already planned. But the puzzle analogy can still work. Because the pieces of your puzzle are in the box, you just haven't got round to finding them and sorting them all out yet. Someone might have given you a puzzle to complete and you have to match up all the pieces.

For me I believe in chance. I would say luck but not in a superstitious "lucky pants" kind of way. I believe that everything is a domino effect. Or like the puzzle, once you have started matching pieces up, sometimes you go on a roll and you can suddenly find and see a load more places to put the pieces. If one thing didn't happen, another might of. For example, if I had chosen to go to a different high school I may not have ever found the most loveliest boyfriend I could ever dream of. 

When thinking along the puzzle analogy I ended up thinking of where "your puzzle" ends. But that really depends on what you are defining as "your puzzle". It could be something you are trying to learn, friendships or relationships with people or your whole life. Whether you are doing one massive puzzle or lots of little ones that will one day all match up with each other. To me I think it should be different periods of your life that in the end will all come together into one massive puzzle. 

I think the most important thing from the puzzle analogy is that we must always remember to take a step back and remind ourselves what the end goal is, just like when you are doing a jigsaw and you take a look at the photo it is meant to look like to get a rough idea of what to do. However, you can do a jigsaw without using the photo. You might not know what the big picture is actually going to look like in the end. You might just have a couple of pieces and the determination to make everything fit. In fact you might need to have a break from the puzzle and focus on other things for a while. And there is nothing wrong with any of that. It is all in the fun of doing the puzzle.

Okay I feel like I have rambled on again and I have kinda confused myself again.

Please let me know if you agree, disagree or even know what I'm on about. I would really appreciate it :)

I hope you are all having a fantastic day and no matter where you are in your puzzle I hope you complete it and you are happy with how you completed it,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqBag2OirPo

VEDA Day 19 - Get Ready With Me

Good morning happy little people,

So over the past couples of weeks I have been watching through old videos of other peoples and quite a few have done "Get Ready With Me" videos. So I thought I would give one a go. Also I'm still super busy so a simple video for a stressful day. I promise next week we will have some more communication.

As soon as I wake up in the morning I put on a moisturiser. The one I have always used is the Nivea Soft Refreshingly Soft Moisturising Cream. This both helps me wake up and feel more ready for the day. It is also very useful if I am going to be wearing make-up that day as it helps my concealer/foundation go on a lot smoother. After applying this I generally wait around 10-15mins to start doing anything else to my face.

Now unfortunately, my camera actually cut out as I was doing my eyeliner so that isn't included in my video. However I can tell you that I use a different eyeliner depending how rushed I am. If I am in a hurry I use one of two very cheap Technic eyeliners. This is mainly because they come off a lot easier and quicker if a mistake is made and the colour isn't quite as dark in them. If I have a little more time to spend I use a Miss Sporty Studio Lash Eyeliner. I actually need to get another of these as mine is on it last few legs. As I am doing my eyeliner I will apply a Nivea Hydro Care lipbalm to my lips. Again, this just makes lipstick go on smoother and of course it is important to moisturise your lips. The lipstick I decided on wearing is one of my absolute favourites. It is a Barry M lipstick in the colour Genie (502).  Now the fantastic thing about this is it is actually green in the tube, but when you put it on it reacts with your skin to cause a very pretty pink shade. I love this as I find that it takes a lot longer to rub or fade off and even when it does, it fades quite well.

For my face I use a Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation in the shade 100 Ivory. This is really great as it actually has Vitamin C in it to make your skin look and feel healthier. It also contains SPF 15 so for those particularly less cloudy days in Scotland, it can help my delicate pale skin be a bit more protected. I also really love the smell of this (is that weird?). I just use my fingers to pat on and blend into my face. I focus on the bags under my eyes, red patches around my nose and red on my chin and forehead as well as covering any spots or blemishes. Normally when I put this on it can look quite cakey to start with so I try to get it as even as I can before going over my whole face with a powder. I find that this really mattifies my face (which is what I'm going for) and evens out the colour. I use the Natural Collection Loose Powder in Neutral Translucent. If I need it I may add some concealer to just under my bottom lash line and inner corner of my eyes to give a bit more of a bright and awake boost to my face. I use a Miss Sporty Liquid Concealer. This also has vitamins E and C so I guess that must help make your face look more awake. It comes with an applicator brush that I use only to apply it onto my face and then I use my fingers again to blend it. I would tell you the shade I use but I have no clue. The label has faded since I bought it :P

For my mascara, it depends what look I'm going for. If I'm going more bold, which isn't very often, I will use Rimmel London Volume Lash Scandal Eyes Mascara. This goes on quite heavy so I apply carefully. The brush is far more bushy so doesn't separate your lashes as much. If I'm going for a more discreet look I will use Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Endless. This is purely because the brush is skinnier and more brush like so separates my lashes quite well. Again, I still have to apply carefully in case of clumps but generally its all right. I apply this to my top lashes and to the outer half of my lower lashes. For eyeliner on my water lines I use a Rimmel London Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in the shade 001 Jet Black. I apply this on my top water line and on the outer half of my bottom waterline to match the mascara. I have also recently been experimenting with applying a white Natural Collection Eye Liner to my inner half. Not quite sure if I will keep with this or not, I will try it a few more times and see what I think.

After finishing my make-up I go to sort my hair. I leave a conditioner in it overnight and tied up in a high ponytail to give me a little more volume to my curls. That is basically it for what I do to it. People always ask and seem to expect a really long complex answer but, nope, that is it. And if its a bit frizzy I will just run some water through it and some hair moisturiser so sort it. I switch between an Argan Oil one I picked up from Primark and R&B by LUSH. 

And I chose to wear one of my new little skirts from Primark and a royal blue vest camisole top to match which was also from Primark. I have a totally separate post all about them in my Mahoosive Haul if you want to know more about them.  

If you enjoyed this let me know. I hope you are having a fantastic day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qLiRl_6-pE

VEDA Day 18 - LUSHious Pamper Night

Hello there little happy people,

So tonights video is just a little quick video of a little LUSH pamper session I gave myself. Finishing coursework is pretty stressful so I decided to finally have a go with the free products (and one purchased) I got from LUSH after the Blogger/Vlogger event. So lets dive right in!

The first product I used was obviously the Golden Slumber bath ballistic. I have to say, as soon as I placed it in the water the smell of Lavender was quite strong. So if you are't a fan of Lavender I probably wouldn't suggest it. However, I am a massive fan of Lavender scents so for me it was bliss. As it had Lavender flowers and stalks in it, when the bath ballistic finally dissolved away, I was left with bits of foliage in my bath. Now generally I'm not one to complain about those kinds of things but having curly hair means I have to. Things get stuck in my birds nest all the time and if I'm washing it, I want all the fluff and dust out, I don't particularly want to be adding more grass to make me look like I've fallen into a haystack. So I had to be careful when cleaning my hair not to get too much stuck in it. Apart from that slight flaw, it made my skin feel very soft and smelt delicious. 

The next product I used was the Yummy Mummy shower gel. Now, to me anyway, when I smell it in the bottle compared to smelling it once it has lathered, is very different. In the bottle it is a very Lilacy-flowery but kind of musky scent (I could be all wrong as I'm terrible at describing scents) but once lathered up, to me anyway, it smells a lot more like honey or ginger. I love both smells but like I said, I did notice a difference. The shower gel did leave a fantastic smell on my skin though and lathered up quite nicely on my sponge thingie. So all in all I was happy with that. Let's face it you can't exactly get a bad shower gel :P

I then used the sugar scrub just as I was getting out of the bath but before I dried my legs. I only used it on my legs just so I could test to see how it worked for me. The instructions were to dip it in water and the sugar would start to dissolves so that it was gentler on the skin when used to ex-foliate. The more water you use, the gentler it would be. I had never used one of these before so I wasn't quite sure what to do. I think I managed to make my legs a little softer but who knows. Once I was finished with it I was then faced with a dilemma. It kept dissolving as the water seeped through the scrub so it has become a green sugary mess in bag it came in. I will try it again to see if I can get any better results.

And the final product I used was the BB Seaweed face mask. This was the product I was most looking forward to using. Taking advice from the lushies in Stirling after dabbing a dollop of the product on my fingers I lightly ran water over it to make it slightly easier to apply. This allowed for a bit more ex-foliation as I rubbed it onto my cheeks and face. After a ten minute wait the mask begins to harden slightly and I gently scrubbed it off with a face cloth and warm water, being sure to ex-foliate the required areas. This proved very successful as it left my face feeling fresh, clean and very soft. I also adore the smell of the BB Seaweed so smelling it for ten minutes was heaven. :)

All in all I was very happy with all the products (as per usual). Only a few little things here ad there but nothing major. Thanks again from the fantastic LUSH Stirling for putting on the event and being so generous in the favours. 

Hope you are having a wonderful day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_CKTqw_mw

VEDA Day 20 - My Shelves

Hello happy little people,

Todays video is another little quick one as I am finalising all my coursework this week so I am busy, busy, busy! But I thought what better way to get to know someone than having a peek at their shelves and see what you can find. So for this blog post I will take you on a written tour and explain all the things you will notice in the video.

So I began on the highest shelf of my bookcase. I have to stand on my bed to reach this so this shelf is more for decoration items. 

• The first thing you will see is a gorgeous drawing of a leopard I bought a few years ago from the Pittenweem Art Festival which I visited with my gran. 
• Next to that is a Bobblehead Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas. One of my good friends bought him for my birthday this year and I haven't dared to take him out his box yet. 
• Two little Christmas things are next to that. A heat changing mug where Rudolphs nose changes red when hot tea is in it and a little gingerbread house I haven't got round to eating yet.
• Behind those lives a painting a street artist did of my name in New York. My Dad brought it back for me and I have never found a suitable place to put it in my room. 
• The last things are fake flowers. Which seem odd but the white bouquet was my bouquet at my Dads wedding for being a bridesmaid and the coral coloured one was in my hair :)

The next shelf was a little more interesting as you got to see the kinds of books which were lined up. 

• The first ones are a few of my old Dr.Suess books which I was obsessed with as a child
• The majority of my shelf is taken up by my large collection of Michael Murpurgo books as I was (and still am) obsessed with his stories. The combination of the World Wars and Animals appeals to me greatly and they have never failed to give me a story worth remembering. I have to admit my all time favourite was either Running Wild or Born Free.
• Then I have a few "YA" novels which include a small collection of John Green, Robyn Schneider and Rainbow Rowell. 
• Next to these I move onto my series books. So far I have His Dark Materials, Lord of the Rings (including the Hobbit), The Chronicles of Narnia and my parcel style box full of my never read pretty Harry Potter books. Of course I have read Harry Potter but I never owned them. I borrowed them from the library. But when I was finished I desperately wanted my own copies so that was my Christmas present.
• And finally ontop of that I have my randomish novels - mainly by Neil Gaiman, Roy Gill and J.K Rowling.

On the third shelf down lives my fabulous CD player and all my CDs. I don't actually have that many as they are quite expensive but I do like to buy and own physical copies of things. Sitting next to my CD player I actually have a little Mozart bear my Mum brought me back from Vienna one year. I won't go through all the CDs I have as that would certainly be boring but to name a few; Fall Out Boy, McFly, The Beatles, My Chemical Romance play the main part in the collection.

I then moved onto my windowsill shelf. 

• Currently on it is an Aster plant which my boyfriend bought me for our 6 Month anniversary last year and a Fuchsia plant I bought myself last year also. 
• Next to these is my little Totoro which I got from a friend years and years ago and my stitch mug & Jack Skellington vinyl figure which I bought with my birthday money in Glasgow. 
• As I have two windows in my room I obviously have two windowsills. On the other is my tiny collection of 60s vehicles which includes two old VW beatles and one old VW campervan. 
• There is also a small tiger statue from a small village up in the Highlands and a Panda I bought from Dynamic Earth the last time I visited. 

And finally was a little peak at my bedside table. 

• I have a little wooden jewellery box where I put my earrings, kirbys and ring before I go to bed at night. 
• I also have two candle holders, one which doubles as a wax burner and the other, when a tea-light is inside, illuminates to show a polar bear pattern all the way around. I bought this at the German Market in Edinburgh last year with my boyfriend on our anniversary celebration so it always reminds me of that. 
• A ticket to see Dodie Clarke, Candice and Bribry is also still on my table as is a ticket to a Ceilidh I attended a while ago. 
• My lens cap was also sitting on the table when I filmed to make sure I didn't loose it.
• And finally the case to my iPod and headphones as to plug my iPod into my CD player I have to remove my case.

So I hope you enjoyed a little look into what things I have upon my shelves and if you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask! 

I Hope you are having a fantastic day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELf6I5hfVYE

VEDA Day 17 - Ollivanders

Hello there happy little people,

Today I bring you the story of how my wand chose me :3

So last October I had the luck to visit Orlando, Florida and visit The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. I had never been before so it was a fantastic new experience for me. I remember walking straight past the entrance to Diagon Alley in Universal first of all. The front is made up to look like London with Kings Cross Station to take you over to Islands of Adventure. We walked straight past the hidden(ish) way in but we eventually found it. And when we did, I fell in love.

It was just as I ever imagined. 

There were all sorts of shops all up and down two sides of Diagon Alley with almost every single one being a shop or an interactive area you could walk in/past. Things in the "shop windows" like the monster book of monsters move or pictures on posters wave as you pass. And in every shop, the people working there are in full character and sometimes cloaks and they are honestly the most friendliest people. But enough about Diagon Alley, I'm here to talk about my wand.

The group I was with weren't really that interested in shopping or looking around the Harry Potter World that intently so I was allowed to wander around by myself. But basically it was a rainy day and it began to rain so everyone began to scatter into little shops to seek cover. I had my little pac-a-mac with me and I'm used to the rain in Scotland so I was fine. I just began to wander in and out of all the little places to see what I could find. I ended up stumbling into this what seemed to be empty shop. I peeked around the corner and a man was standing at the end of this corridor. He noticed me and called me over saying "quick, quick, quick!". Then a small buzzer went off and he smiled at me. 

"I am afraid you just missed it, you'll have to wait for the next one now"

Wondering what he was on about I looked around the little corridor and realised on the walls were wands. Everywhere. I was in Ollivanders. I turned back to the man and said I didn't mind waiting. Now when he heard my accent his eyes widened. "You have an amazing accent! Where are you from? Scotland right? Do you live near Edinburrr? I went to Scotland last year and it's such a beautiful country. Really wanna visit the high lands to see the mountains there". He was so unbelievably excited by my vague Scottish accent (I don't think it's that Scottish). So he just began to have a happy conversation all about Scotland and was so interested by my accent. Eventually an assistant came up beside him and the man began to introduce me and tell him how amazing my accent was. Now while all this is happening a large queue of people had begun to form behind me waiting to go into Ollivanders. And finally he must of had some sign that Ollivander was ready for us as he bid us all farewell and good luck in the wands choosing us. But, before he could let us go in he had to assure the whole group that I had a fantastic Scottish accent. :P

We walked through the corridor and into a little room floor to ceiling stacked with wands of all descriptions. And at the top of the stairs was Ollivander. Although he looked far more like Yen Sid from the Disney Fantasia version of The Sorcerers Apprentice. And when we were all finally in he began to walk down and peered around the group. He then got to me and locked eyes with me. "What is your name young witch". I told him my name and then followed him so I was standing across from him at his desk. Now I had begun to realise that people were filming me and that I would have to participate well and be responsive and enthusiastic about it and not shy. The first thing he did was tell me about my personality. Tell me. Not ask. I have to admit it was quite weird how he was able to know so much about me. He could tell I loved animals. That I was a fond traveller and that I want to travel to lots of places. That I was a very patient, caring type of person. And I wasn't wearing any Hufflepuff to give him any clues either. But after confirming what I was like he began to hand me an array of different wands.

When he hands you wands he gets you to do a little magic spell to see how it works and if it has chosen me. One was to water his plant to make it grow but when I tried it the plant died. Oops. But when a wand finally chooses you it is magical. A very bright light illuminates you and when he asks you to test it all the spells work. My wand ended up being a Birch wand which was absolutely gorgeous. He handed me my wand in its box and let me leave the room before the rest of the group.

And as soon as I stepped out the room I was greeted my another member of staff who congratulated me on having my wand choose me and began to tell me all about the core, how springy it was, how large the wand was and all of its magical properties.

(Photo from http://wizardingworldpark.com/wizarding-world-wands/2010/07/13/)

(Photo from http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Birch)

But when it came down to it, it was around $40. Which I wasn't that willing to spend on a wand. I felt a little let down that after all of that the full price would still of had to be paid. I would have assumed at least a discount should be added. Even if it was an un-interactive version. Even just $10 or $15 off I would have thought about buying it. Now I slightly regret it as it would have been a great souvenir of having the wand that hand chosen me but still. If anyone wants to buy me one feel free :)

So instead of buying I just took a photo of it and with it. Thank you to the kind man who took photos of me being silly with my wand.

But bad bit aside, when I walked out from the experience section and into the main shop, all the people who were in my group smiled and started congratulating me on having my wand chosen too. And I felt very happy and special as I was the girl the wand had chosen and it was such a nice feeling.

I would highly suggests you make time in your visit to see Ollivander or even just to see Diagon Alley itself. Even if you don't like Harry Potter (you're weird, just kidding) it is just such a magical place it truly is another world.

I hope you are having a magical day ;)

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl8le1S-SBE

VEDA Day 16 - Soundtrack To My Life Tag

Hello my happy little people,

I know this is so soon after the last but I have another Tag to complete. This, is the Soundtrack To My Life Tag. 

I was tagged by Lauren (http://loserwhowins.blogspot.co.uk/) to do this tag and it was one of the most difficult tags I have ever done, ever! I used the music collection on my iPod to do this tag apart from the song I hate question. There is a bundle of fantastic songs that I adore that I couldn't mention in this tag but here are my answers anyway :)

Song you listen to when you're happy: 

This was a super difficult question as when I'm happy I love pretty much all upbeat songs. At the moment whenever I'm On Top Of The World by Imagine Dragons comes on I can't help but get up and dance along. Another one that I super loved last year was Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy by The Tams as that was what I spent my summer listening to after dyeing my hair bright purple.

Song you listen to when you're sad:

Most of the time when I'm sad I just flick on one of my more sombre 8tracks playlists and it will find nice easy listening songs that help me relax. However, picking songs from my iPod I chose Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day and Back To The Way We Were by Carrie Hope Fletcher. This is just because both are really great tunes and I like to sing along to them when I'm feeling down.

Song you wish to play at your wedding:

Again this was quite difficult as I am quite the romantic so there are quite a few songs I would love to play at my wedding but these two are a definite. The first is Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader as it was this so that I learnt to ChaCha to and whenever it plays I can't help but get up and give everyone a fabulous rendition of my ChaCha skills (honestly anywhere, anytime, ask anyone). The second is Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. This was actually my Dad and his wifes first dance when they got married last year and since then I have fallen completely in love with the song :3

Song you dance around your house to:

Again, quite a difficult one as I would happily dance around to the majority of the songs on my iPod. I ended up choosing Weightless by All Time Low and Shake It by Metro Station. This is purely because I can remember certain occasions where I would play them on repeat just so I could dance a little longer. Also the lyrics are quite relate able for me so I love belting them out :)

Song you play in your headphones when you are out:

I listen to music constantly. I really don't think I would be able to get by without it. Whenever I forget my headphones when I'm travelling I would be quite upset and annoyed as I really do love listening to it whenever I can. The first song I picked was Devil In Disguise by Elvis Presley as I was listening to my Elvis album yesterday and this is my favourite song. Also it always reminds me of Lilo and Stitch so whenever I listen to it I can just imagine Stitch dressed as Elvis playing this on his electric guitar. The other song I chose was Happy by Pharrell Williams because I played it constantly last summer when I was going places as it was really sunny and it was a really sunny song.

Song you listen to when you are angry:

I don't really have any particular songs that I listen to when I'm angry cause I don't really get angry. I get upset. But if I'm upset I sometimes like to listen to my Pierce The Veil album and my favourite song on the album is King For A Day so I'm gonna go for that. Another one that I thought fitted the question is I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy which is also one of my favourites.

Song you would like played at your funeral: 

I thought that this was a particularly strange question. I literally had no clue what to put for this so I decided to try to be funny. I ended up deciding on Dead! by My Chemical Romance and I'm Still Standing by Elton John. On a more serious note however, I'm going to add a third song. I chose A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes from Cinderella purely because the melody is just so sweet and even though its slightly upbeat, I thought it would be quite a nice one. 

Song that makes you loose it at a party:

Okay so this was an easy question. The other week I went to a ceilidh and after it was all finished and they began tidying everything away they just began to play a CD over the speakers and the first song on was Uptown Funk by Mike Ronson and everyone just stopped what they were doing and immediately began to dance along. So now everytime I hear it I can't help but boogie along. The other song is Where Did The Party Go by Fall Out Boy as I thought it fitted with this question so well and if I'm ever going out this is the song I get ready to.

Your karaoke song:

I have never actually done karaoke but I think it would be amazingly fun. Maybe a little drink first would settle my nerves however. The first song was easy to choose. Just Can't Wait To Be King from The Lion King. This is purely because my friend and I can sing both Zazu and Simba parts perfectly as a duet and it's just so fun to sing. The second was more difficult to choose as I would love to be able to karaoke to so many songs but I settled on Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison just because it is the latest song I learnt on Ukulele and I really love the song :)

Song you like to exercise to:

I don't really have any particular songs to exercise to (as I don't really exercise aha) but I remember being in P7 and as a class project we learnt a dance to Don't Stop Me Now by Queen so now whenever I hear it I can't help but attempt, and then fail, to remember our dance. The other song I picked was Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves as It just seemed quite upbeat and I could certainly imagine working out to it :P

The last song you listened to: 

For this question I just picked two songs from two albums I have been listening a lot recently as I have no idea what the last song I listened to would be as I'm constantly listening to music. I chose Uma Thurman by Fall Out Boy as it is one of my favourites from their new album. I also chose This Is The Life by Amy McDonald. I found her album in a CEX shop (trade in shop) for only £1 so I couldn't help but get it.

Song with the most memories:

This was another difficult question as every song has memories I think. It was really difficult to determine which had the "most" memories but I finally managed to decide on Circle Of Life from the Lion King. This is due to seeing it twice in theatre, in the cinema when it came out in 3D, having my boyfriend gargle it to me on holiday (I didn't manage to guess what it was, sorry dear) and so many other amazing memories to do with the Lion King in general. The second song I picked was Stacys Mom by Fountains of Wayne. This is because I can remember it coming out and it being on MTV or whatever music channel we had on our TV playing constantly. So I always remember being young when I hear it.

Song that makes you cry:

Songs don't generally make me cry unless I am already upset and then the lyrics of a song apply to me and I get emotional because it describes exactly how I'm feeling. I ended up choosing The Promise by Emma Blackery and Hazy by Rosi Golan. This is just because I can remember certain occasions where these songs have definitely made me cry.

Song that you hate the most:

So for this question I couldn't use my iPod songs as funnily enough, I like all the songs on my iPod. I had to do a bit of thinking but the first one was obvious. La La La by Naughty Boy. This is purely because the really annoying childs like lalala parts. The rest isn't actually that bad. Also the summer it came out I remember every Friday where I worked it would play constantly on the radio and it drove me insane. The second I chose Baby by Justin Bieber. More because when it originally came out everyone was singing it and it was really very annoying.

Your favourite song: 

This was obviously the most difficult question as there are so many songs I absolutley adore. However, I couldn't help but add a bit of MJ to the list. The artist I was ever really into and the first song I was ever properly obsessed with. Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson. The second song is an all time favourite for me, Bohemian Like You by The Dandy Warholes. Maybe because it is in Flushed Away, one of my favourite movies, or just how summery and upbeat it is but either way it has a spot on this list :)

I hope this wasn't too much of a boring post and I would love to know all your favourite songs! 

I am going to tag:

TheKingBeth - https://www.youtube.com/user/TheKingBeth

AidansVoice - https://www.youtube.com/user/AidensVoice

AbbieG - https://www.youtube.com/user/MrPigwigeon

Annd anyone else who wants to have a go! Although I am warning you, it is pretty difficult...

I hope you are all having a wonderful day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKg_j8G1HWQ

VEDA Day 15 - Woofie Wanders

Hello there happy little people,

Todays VEDA is a little video of a walk I recently went on with my pooches. But first, I shall introduce you all to the silly little pups themselves (I say pups but really they are anything but)!

First up is Moss.

Also known as Mossy, Mossy-poo, Scruffle-bum and Pup-dog. He is around 4 years young and we have had him around 3 years. We adopted him from Dogs Trust West Calder. We have dubbed his birthday to be April 1st as that was the first time we saw him at the shelter. He is a black and white Lurcher which is generally a cross between a greyhound or any other sighthound breed, with a pastoral dog, which are collies and other herding dogs. His biggest obsession is food.  He will do anything for any kind of food. He can currently do paw, beg, sit, lie down, and twirl in-between my legs. His other great love is mucky puddles and he will go out of his way to find them. His favourite way to sleep is completely upside down on his back with his tongue hanging out. He loves attention and hugs of all kinds and really is such a sweetheart.

Second of all is Bracken.

Also known as Brackie-boo and Fluffy. He will be around 7 and we have had him around 2 years. He is also a lurcher but he is a Saluki lurcher. We actually adopted him from a lurcher/sighthound rescue centre in Ireland. After getting Moss my mum became obsessed with looking at sighthound rescues online and so we began to think about getting a second dog. We decided it should be a female and smaller and possibly younger than Moss to prevent any arguments. And one night we saw this cutie and mum decided we should give him a home. So within the week everything had been set up and he was shipped over from Ireland especially for us. He is a bit more temperamental than Moss. He likes to be near people but isn't too fond of cuddles and kisses like Moss. His favourite thing is to chase bunnies as we found when we first got him. Also as he was straying for longer he is a bit more wary of other dogs. So now he has to be muzzled just in case and kept on the lead when walking. He loves to speak all the time and constantly makes happy little noises.

Anyway onto the walk itself. So I had never gone up to it but my mum had told me there is a big pond up the hill from where we live. So one day we decided to take the pups up to have a little look. It was safe to say that he thoroughly enjoyed the pond and jumped straight in when he was let off the lead. Mum and I originally thought he had seen a frog or something swimming in the pond as he seemed very interested in the water. However, he was actually chasing a baguette. The only things Moss has ever "killed and brought back" was a doughnut before this. So this was no surprise. He came bounding back out completely covered in mud. And then decided to shake himself right next to me. I was wearing my nice pair of pale blue jeans (which in hindsight was a bad idea when walking with Moss) so they went straight into the wash when I got back home. Moss himself also went straight into the wash. But his wash just consisted of dunking his paws into a bucket of warm soapy water and cleaning him off. Thankfully it was a nice sunny day so he dried off quite quickly.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day :)

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVBoYdw8g-E