MY HOLIDAY READS

I'm going on holiday to the Maldives in about a week and a half, I am so damn excited and I can't wait to just relax and get lost in a few good books whilst totally chilling out. I have decided that I'm going to take four books with me, although I'm worried that I'm going to read them within the first couple of days and then I'll be stuck for reading material!

The first book I'm planning on taking is the wonderful Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. If you are a regular reader of my blog you'll probably know how much I love The Hunger Games. This is the last book in the trilogy and it is my favourite book of them all. A lot of people say that it's confusing but I think it is the perfect finish to the series.

Although I'm already a couple of chapters into this next book I'm going to talk about, I think it's going to be a very good read whilst I'm on holiday. I've wanted to read Wicked by Gregory Macguire for a while now and I finally ordered it a few weeks ago. You might of heard of the musical of the same name which has been running in London's West End for eight years. The musical is based on the book which retells the story of Elphaba who you may know from the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba is the Wicked Witch of the West and the book tells you a whole different side to the story of Oz and what happened before Dorothy.

I bought If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch purely as a spontaneous buy. I was in Waterstones with my mam and I was reading the blurb and noticed it featured someone with the same name as me so I decided to buy it. Don't get me wrong, the blurb drew me into buying the book swell. I'm excited to read this book because I don't know what the book is about so this will be a new experience for me as I've seen no reviews for it.

I am very excited about reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I don't know what it is that is making me excited to read this novel, I think it's the whole symbolism aspect, and it might also be the fact that it's based in Paris. I've heard this is a wonderful book and I can't wait to start it.

I am really excited to go on holiday now, even though I haven't even started to pack and I still need to buy a few things to put in my suitcase! I think I will get through a book just on the plane as I'll be travelling for a total of thirteen hours - but I'm sure the sun, sea and sand when I get to the Maldives will be worth the travel time.

What books are you taking on holiday this year?

HOW TO REVISE

I think I speak for everyone when I say that I hate revision. It is just so tedious. If you are in year 11, like me, you will feel my pain when I talk about these upcoming exams.

My first tip would be to condense the material. This always helps me as I find that I learn better when I read smaller amounts of information. I would much rather read a couple of bullet points in biology whilst revising anaerobic respiration than a whole page on it!

One of my teachers always tells my class to use different methods of displaying information when revising because your brain is more likely to remember information if you look at it at different ways. I think this is a really good tip, because there's nothing more frustrating than having to read pages of notes; mind maps are a good way of looking at notes because you can see a whole unit of small notes in a condensed form. If I'm trying to revise a certain process, (such as how a glacier is formed or how meiosis works), I find it useful making flow charts of each step.

Music can help me concentrate whilst I'm revising but I get really distracted if it has a lot of vocals in. I normally just play a playlist of instrumentals or piano covers on 8tracks. This really helps me get into the zone and I actually get my work done.

Another thing that really helps me revise is Quizlet. Quizlet is a website that contains lots of learning tools and it's really helpful for learning key terms. I have been using Quizlet in school for about 2 years now and it has helped me learn loads of key vocabulary in Spanish. Quizlet also comes in app form and you can download it from the App Store for iOS which is brilliant if you have an iPhone or iPad.

Good luck to everyone who is sitting exams in the near future, I hope these tips have helped you and I may or not have written this post as an attempt to get out of revision.

THE SLEEK RESTORER

A shampoo and conditioner combo I am absolutely loving at the minute is Garnier's Sleek Restorer range. My mam always seems to purchase new shampoos on a weekly basis so I was pretty impressed with her choice this time. I have been using the Sleek Restore shampoo and conditioner for about 2 weeks now and I am honestly so impressed with how it has helped my hair. As I have mentioned in previous posts, my hair is in need of a little bit of TLC so I am constantly on the look out for anything that combats dryness or frizziness.

I was really surprised to see that Garnier have brought out a haircare range as I have always associated Garnier with skincare related items. One of my favourite things in the range is the '1 Minute Treatment'. I love deep conditioners and I especially love this one! This has made my hair so soft and lovely, I love it so much. It contains coconut oil which is amazing for your hair, a lot of people swear by it for healthy and strong hair - those people are totally right. My favourite thing about this product is how you can actually feel it on your hair, it is quite heavy and you can actually notice when it's still on your hair which is a massive advantage. I actually look forward to washing my hair when I use this.

WANDERLUST

The definition for wanderlust is 'a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world.' This definition defines my feelings.

I visited Paris in December as a school trip and it really opened my eyes to how beautiful cities in Europe can be. I have been on holiday to lots of beach destinations in Spain such as Menorca and Majorca, you know what I mean.. the type of holidays where you spend a week just eating too much, drinking too much and getting too much sun, those holidays are always great but I am so intrigued by the idea of visiting cities. Paris was amazing, we spent four days there and I pretty much fell in love with the people, the architecture and the sights. It was my first time visiting France and it was so lovely, I definitely would go back.

If I had the opportunity in the future, I would love to go inter-railing through Europe. The idea of inter-railing is where you basically travel through Europe via train and all you take is a backpack that contains everything you need for the entire duration of your trip (also known as backpacking funnily enough). The only thing that makes me feel a little bit sick about the idea is the thought of having to stay in a hostel. As you may know, hostels are the most basic form of accommodation (In the one I stayed in when I went to Hungary it looked like a prison) but, saying that, around fifty percent of the time they're about ten times cheaper than a hotel. I'd totally be prepared to stay in a hostel if it meant I could spend 2 days in Amsterdam, whatever state it was in.

EARGASMS

I thought I would do a little bit of a different post today! I am going to talk about my favourite songs at the moment. This was a very hard decision to make, as I have a lot of favourite songs, and the list is always changing in some way, shape or form.

One song I am loving at the moment is A Drop In The Ocean by Ron Pope. I know this is a pretty old song but I discovered it about a week ago and I really like it. It is so cute and Pope's voice just makes it sweeter. I like the meaning behind it and it has some quite soppy lyrics like 'I was praying that you and me might end up together' but nevertheless, its a very nice song.

Secondly, The Wire by Haim is dominating my favourites. I literally love Haim, as you may know if you have read previous blog posts by me! They have such a funky 80s vibe to their songs, and they are all pretty gorgeous - which is a bonus. I listen to this song every day at the bus stop and it is definitely one of my most listened to songs. It's just so good!

Another oldie I've been loving is Cigarettes and Alcohol by Oasis. I'm actually listening to it whilst I'm typing this, so it fits in quite well. This song is so rock and roll, when I'm listening to it I can actually imagine the Gallagher brothers walking down a sunny camden street with sunglasses on, in slow mo. I'm not a massive fan of oasis and I only really know their mainstream stuff but I really like this song!

HELLO, HAIM

I actually cannot describe how much I love Haim. Haim are a american girl group that originate from Los Angeles and together they produce music that could make Jesus Christ shed actual tears of joy. 

Este, Danielle, and Alana are sisters that together produce the most wonderful harmonies that, combined with their rock-pop guitar playing, produce an addictive 80s like sound. I am addicted. My favourite song is either 'The Wire' which reminds me of a country song that has been mixed with a vintage synthesiser which also features a genius three part harmony or 'Falling' which makes me want to live in a John Hughes film, so '80s'.

Another thing that dazzles me about Haim is how ridiculously good their fashion sense is. Alana Haim (aka. Baby Haim) is my favourite style icon out of the three, with her kooky skirts and crop tops to her canvas t-shirts and jeans. The girl is a genius.

Baby Haim rocking a denim shirt.

I hope this post has brought you to love Haim as much as I do. I think the days are gone where girl groups have to fit into a certain stereotype as Este, Danielle and Alana prove.

BOOKS I WANT TO READ

I have recently developed a love for reading, as you will know if you read my post about the Hunger Games, and I have conjured a small list of books I really want to read. I thought I would take the opportunity to share this list with you!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Ever since I saw the advert for the film adaptation of this book in the cinema, I knew I wanted to read it. The Book Thief, which is set in world war two nazi ran Germany, tells the story of Leisel - who is sent to live with a foster family. I haven't read the full synopsis of the book since I want it to be totally unspoiled when I get to read it.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I have bought all three of the hunger games trilogy and I am currently 3/4 of the way through catching fire, once I have finished Catching Fire I will definitely be reading Mockingjay, which will mean I will have read all of the books, hopefully just in time for the first part of the film version of Mockingjay.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

This is a strange choice. I hate the Twilight saga, I think the films are OK but I really didn't enjoy the books - but I am really interested in reading the Host, which is by the author of the Twilight books. I quite like how the Host has a 'sci-fi' feel to it and I think I'll enjoy it!

Now all that I need is the money to buy these books.. I much prefer buying books on Amazon because they are so much cheaper!

I WANT TO BE ALEXA CHUNG

Alexa Chung. She has the most gorgeous hair, a sense of style that would make Carrie Bradshaw jealous and flawless skin. When I grow up, I want to be her, if only that were possible! She is not only the image of perfection but to add to her wide list of achievements; she has dated Alex Turner, she is best friends with super trendy Daisy Lowe, and has graced the cover of Vogue three times. If you're not extremely jealous of her by now, you should be.

 Alexa's fashion choices hold inspiration for the young, quirky and everyone in between.

I don't know which is more gorgeous, the backdrop of this photo, or Alexa.

One of my favourite things about Alexa Chung is her laid back style of hair and makeup, she makes a messy bun or a curly bob look so effortless and easy, and still looks picture perfect. Alexa normally keeps her everyday makeup very simple, with a slick of foundation, a dab of blush and obviously a swift flick of a liquid eyeliner. She is known for her trademark cat eye look and has even brought out a liquid liner for Eyeko which just confirms she knows her stuff. Alexa has always had her famous brown hair either shoulder length or shorter, and she has always looked incredible. Over the years she has stayed loyal to her one signature style of hair, normally keeping it wavy and sometimes rocking a bed head, however she has had many different colours of brown and experimented with ombre.

I could go on for hours complimenting Alexa but unfortunately, there is a limited amount of times I can rephrase my love for her school girl meets grandma style.