My Favourite Four: iPhone Apps

I can’t imagine my life without my iPhone. Maybe sad to admit but it is my main source of entertainment, my connection with many of my friends (who don’t live near me) and my companion on my many commutes. In this blog post, I am going to sum up my favourite four iPhone apps. All of them are FREE so download them yourself if you feel so inclined and let me know what you think!

Number One: Lucky Trip
One of the best concepts for an app I’ve come across recently. This app asks you to set a budget for a holiday and then does the rest for you, finding you flights and a hotel, then recommending a must-do attraction or landmark in the area for you to add to your itinerary. For example, I chose a budget of £350 and Lucky Trip picked 2 nights in Zagreb, Croatia for just £284. The recommended thing to do looks epic too – Rainbow spotting at Plitvice Lakes. I’m definitely going to look at taking a Lucky Trip next year as it’s a fantastic way to discover new destinations.

Number Two: P.Tracker
This one is for all the girls out there – a discrete app for you to track your monthly cycle. You can use as many of the features as you like, depending on how in-depth you want to be and you can also put it to good use as a fertility tracker too. I have used this app for over three years as my cycle can be slightly erratic and have found it to be super reliable and really easy to use.

Number Three: Pokemon GO
I can’t not put this one in. So many people were transported back to their childhoods this summer when Pokemon GO launched. If you haven’t played it, essentially it combines Pokemon with augmented reality so that you can hunt down Pokemon using your phone but in real life locations. I think my screenshot photos probably explain it better than that! This app encourages you to get out and explore, essentially tricking you into doing a lot of exercise as you track down as many types of Pokemon as you can – you gotta catch ’em all, after all!

Number Four: Breathe
I have to be honest. This is more of an app that I aspire to deem one of my favourites. Breathe contains a selection of meditation sequences to help you relax and find inner peace. My job can get super stressful and my blood pressure is often found to be higher than it should be so I think using this could be extremely beneficial. The few times I have found time to use this app, I have felt refreshed afterwards so it’s well worth setting aside a few minutes to download and sample. I am going to follow my own advice and start using this way more regularly!

The App Store has millions to choose from so I know there are so many apps I haven’t used which could make it onto a future list but these are my favourites for now. Help me out – what’s your must-have phone app?

Halloween Baking

This past weekend, I put my baking skills to good effect to create some Halloween themed cupcakes. I haven’t baked for a while as I always find it’s an activity you can only do when you are not rushed in order to fully enjoy it and I have been so busy lately. I have a full cupboard in my kitchen for my baking goodies (stencils, more cupcake cases than I will ever need and decorations galore)! I found two designs online, one for skeletons and one with spider webs, which I hoped to match with my own creations and I think I got pretty close. It did require multiple trips to different supermarkets to get all the ingredients (nowhere sells candy floss, apart from ASDA apparently) and I needed some Flipz pretzels too which proved elusive. These were finally found in a small Tesco Express.

I used a BBC Good Food recipe for the actual cupcakes, a yummy chocolate fudge flavour which was simple to make and baked beautifully, with the final result probably better described as muffins. For the icing, I used store brand white icing which came in tubes to allow easy piping. I could have made my own buttercream easily but I was keen to achieve a bright white topping to get the optimum effect with the decorations. Onto the decorations (undoubtedly the best bit) – marshmallows, icing pens, cake pop sticks, pretzels, candy floss and plastic spiders all contributed to the final decorative effect. Suitably themed cupcake cases were found in ASDA – you can order here.

I am so pleased with the final results and spent a good few minutes taking photos from multiple angles before allowing my family a taste! These cakes went down a storm at work too. The only downside with the decorations was that the candy floss, when exposed to air, shrunk considerably but this was quickly rectified by putting a whole lot more on the top! They tasted great and I have definitely earned myself some brownie points in the office.

I’m sure Christmas baking is in the not too distant future but for now, Happy Halloween and perhaps (if I’ve inspired you) happy Halloween baking too!

Birchbox Unboxing – October

Something I look forward to every month is my Birchbox. For those who don’t know, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box full of beauty products. You can set up your account profile (skin, hair, personal style etc.) and Birchbox will create your box based on your preferences. Each month has its own theme and whilst most of the items in the box are sample size, there is always at least one full size product included.

October’s theme was Astrology. I received the Fire box as I am a Sagittarius but there were also Earth, Water and Air boxes in the selection. Inside my Birchbox were six products…

1. Lord & Berry 20100 Maxi Matte Crayon Lipstick in Intimacy
Matte lips have definitely become fashionable this year and this colour was just perfect for my skin/hair colouring. In fact, it was just the shade I had been searching for so I was delighted to find this in my box. I have worn it multiple times already (the box arrived on the 6th). It is the full size version (rather than the sample sizes of the other items) but it’s not going to last long and I will definitely be buying another as well as exploring the rest of the Lord & Berry selection. Birchbox is great at introducing you to brands you haven’t heard of before and this is the perfect example of that.

2. The Ritual of Sakura Magic Touch Body Cream
Beautifully scented, this body cream is absorbs into the skin really well without leaving you feeling oily. I tried this out on my hands and found that they smelled amazing for a good few hours. I really need to get into the routine of using a body moisturiser but I’m quite lucky that my skin (aside from my face) always feels quite smooth. I’m sure that won’t last forever so I do need to find a good body cream to get myself into the habit of applying it after a shower. At £19.50 for the full size version, it might be a bit pricey for me as a starter body cream but I’ll definitely use up the sample!

3. Doux Me Pure Spring Mist
Right – when I first saw this, I have to say I thought it was ridiculous. They have canned water and they are now trying to tell me it’s some miracle beauty product! And want to charge me £16 for the privilege. Its selling points are that it includes uncontaminated water – I’d hope so! I hope all of my water is uncontaminated, quite frankly. Anyway, rant over. Deep breath. I have tried it out and…(drum roll, please), it does just feel like water on your face. It makes applying your moisturiser easier because of the hydration it provides but maybe just buy a flannel? Sorry Birchbox, this one’s not for me.

4. Whish Renewing Mud Mask
You have to skin patch test this first so from the outset, I’m expecting this to be powerful. It is recommended that you only leave it on for 15 to 30 seconds the first time you use it. Way to make you feel uneasy! I have sensitive skin at the best of times so I was super careful with this. I didn’t find it to be any better than a normal face mask but it does recommend you use it once or twice a week so maybe it needs consistent use to see results. I’ll probably use up the sample and then make a final judgement.

5. Number 4 Fluro5 Elixir Restore and Repair Oil
I gave this one a little go on my already dry hair, feeling a little sceptical that it would just make it greasy. But it definitely did add shine, it felt softer and I am looking forward to trying it with damp hair to get the full sleek effect.

6. Birchbox Eyebrow Brush
I have quite natural eyebrows – I tend to pluck them regularly but I don’t get them shaped by a professional or threaded like some of my friends. Maybe I should, but I think they look good as they are and I wouldn’t want to mess with them too much. As I have reddish brown hair (and the eyebrows to match), I struggle to find eyebrow products to match my colouring so I don’t use any currently. I probably won’t use the eyebrow brush religiously but I do find that the comb side is useful for separating your eyelashes before applying mascara. An added bonus in the box but nothing to get too excited about, for me.

Overall, for £12.95 (including postage), Birchbox is totally worth it. There are always going to be hit and miss products but the positives outweigh the potential duds and the value for money is always fantastic. I’m hoping to make a Birchbox unboxing a monthly thing on my blog. If you have Birchbox too, let me know what your favourite product of the month was in the comments below. If you’re keen to sign up, Groupon is advertising the discount code TAKE20 during checkout to save 20% off your first box.

Autumn Primark Haul

I am a BIG fan of Primark – I’m not sure I know a girl who isn’t. With Autumn definitely upon us now, I decided to find out what Primark has to offer us this season (as well as stock up on a couple of staple items) and this is what I found…

Star Jumper -£10

This is SO soft! I love the design and I love the grey and white which is really versatile. This was the first thing in the basket – There were other designs in the same fabric which I liked too. I just wish they had been in my size as I might have gone a bit jumper crazy. For the sake of my bank balance, maybe it’s better that there werent!

Khaki/gold glitter top -£5

This colour is great for me, with reddish brown hair. It’s a real Autumn colour too which I love. The fit around the neck is a bit different from other tops I own, which tend to be round neck or v-neck, and is dressy enough that you can wear it without needing to add jewellery too.

Jeans -£12

Skinny but stretch jeans are an incredible combination. Very comfy on the waistband but skinny in the leg (so you can match with boots or flats). I’m sure these will be worn a LOT this Autumn/Winter and I will certainly be heading back to Primark to pick them up in a few different colours.

Aztec print top – £3

This was in the sale and just too cute to resist. The pocket has an Aztec style design across the top which contrasts with the salmon pink colour of the rest of it. It’s a great top to put on for a casual outing where you don’t want to look like you’ve dressed up but you know you want more than just a t-shirt. It matched perfectly with a blue faux leather jacket I have so it’s a great addition to my wardrobe.

Shirt -£7

I’ve seen a couple of YouTubers rocking some shirts recently. This isn’t the type of thing I’d normally go for but I decided to go out of my comfort zone and try this out. The pattern includes ladybirds, pineapples and butterflies among other random things and is a smart casual option for when you’re not quite sure how dressy the occasion is.

Chelsea boots – £7

Saving the best find until last! For £7 (gasp!), these Chelsea boots are what you dream of when you enter Primark. What a find! And I’m pretty sure these were the last ones on the shelf in the Winchester store. I love Love LOVE the colour. They have a suede effect look and they go perfectly with skinny jeans. Amazing.

I also picked up a white vest top to go under the shirt for £2.50.

TOTAL: £46.50

Primark has not let me down with its Autumn/Winter collection. Thanks Primark! Let me know any special finds you’ve had recently and I may just find myself back in-store soon!

 

P.S. Whilst I was browsing the jewellery section (nothing of note there), I noticed that Primark are now doing make-up brushes which I’d be interested to try out. I only own a couple of make-up brushes as I blend my primer, concealer and foundation by hand but I would like to test their quality as maybe I’d be converted. That’s a future blog post idea sorted!

Game Review: Overcooked

Recently, I have found myself engrossed in a video game called Overcooked. The game places you in a restaurant kitchen, with tasks including chopping, cooking, serving and washing up all having to be co-ordinated to a very challenging time limit. There is some sort of story to the game involving onions and a very hangry monster but to be honest, just ignore that because the levels you play don’t have any relation to this initial (and frankly, a bit weird) story the game presents.

When I was younger, I absolutely loved to play Donkey Kong Country on my Super Nintendo (that makes me feel so old) and Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation. Another absolute favourite was Theme Hospital and of course, everyone was obsessed with The Sims. Overcooked could be considered a perfect combination of a real-life simulation (managing a professional kitchen) with the challenges and obstacles that Donkey Kong and Crash Bandicoot just loved to throw at you.

One level is set on a pirate ship deck and the swaying of the boat moves elements of the kitchen which means you have to switch your strategy every time in order to continue. We’ve had to try each level a couple of times before we can set a strategy to win three stars (the top award). Although you can proceed to the next level with just a one star award, we have made sure we hit three stars on each level before we carry on. I have been playing the game with my husband – there is an option for a single player game but I think it is probably most enjoyable as a team.

This game is sure to raise your blood pressure – it’s a little stressful and as the clock runs down, the music gets faster to hurry you along. I’ve definitely sworn a couple of times at my husband as we rush to complete the level. You lose points if you miss an order and get extra tips if you’re super quick with serving a dish. The stakes are high! But the excitement (and adrenaline rush) is worth it. It’s definitely a time warp – you spend hours of your evening trying to finish a level but you just don’t notice.

At the moment, we are on the third world and approximately the twelfth level and we will definitely carry on. I have a feeling that the levels we are now so happy to have finished will seem like the easiest tasks in the world once we move further along in the game. But I am up for the challenge. Watch out monster, these top chefs are coming for you!

 

Podcast Review: Undisclosed

Pretty much everyone was caught up in the wave of the Serial podcast in 2014. If you weren’t, where have you been?! Serial is the most listened to podcast ever and followed the case of Adnan Syed, who is currently in prison charged with the murder of his high-school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee in 1999. I say charged and not convicted because the power of the podcast really heightened interest in the case, led to some serious “armchair detecting” and some groundbreaking discoveries which have recently led to Adnan being granted a new trial. Many attribute this success to the power of Serial’s influence and it is fair to say it did play a huge part in shining a light on the case. Lesser known, however, and definitely the major player, was another podcast, spearheaded by Rabia Chaudry who has fought for Adnan’s freedom for almost two decades. Undisclosed.

Undisclosed delves deeper into investigating all elements of a case and covers the legal issues comprehensively. Any interest in the law will help you when listening to the podcast as it is detail-heavy but stay with me here. It is compelling. Rabia is joined by Susan Simpson, an associate at the Volkov Law Group and blogger at The View from LL2 and Colin Miller, a Law Professor at the University of South Carolina and blogger at the Evidence Prof blog. I am not going to cover the minute details of the case as it is so complicated and if you’re interested, surely the podcast will do the job better than I ever could. Suffice to say, some misconceptions from Serial which left many with uncertainty as to Adnan’s guilt, were completely resolved. I finished Serial with the conclusion that although i could not be 100% certain of Adnan’s innocence, I felt the court had not proved it beyond a reasonable doubt. But after episode one of Undisclosed, the ‘Oh my God’ moments had my mind made up. Every week after that, the revelations kept coming. In the end, the only thing confusing to me was how Adnan had ever been convicted.
I have to warn you, this podcast will infuriate you. How can police and prosecutors be so focussed on achieving a conviction that they ignore the redeeming factors in a defendant? How can it be so easy to frame someone and how can the legal system be so rigid that after so long, Adnan has only just seen movement in his case, a small step towards the freedom he has always deserved?

This is not entertainment. Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to the episodes; I enjoy the podcast greatly but sometimes you do find yourself forgetting that this is real. Then you remember – there is someone in prison right now; Hae lost her life. It’s not fiction. This realisation is often sobering. But I think it’s also why I like the podcast so much. There’s much more at stake. There’s real emotion there and there is also capacity for every listener to feel empowered to act, even if it’s just to share the podcast with others (and their outrage too).

A new season of Undisclosed is well underway and follows a brand new case. This one is so baffling but even more frustrating than Adnan’s. An almost impossible method of murder and so many other more viable suspects are involved in this case. How a conviction was ever achieved in this case is just incredible.

If I’ve intrigued you, get listening. I’ve found podcasts are great for the daily commute and they’re free so what are you waiting for?

Share your favourite podcasts with me below and let me know what you think about Undisclosed if you try it. I’d love to hear from you.

Review: Eat, Drink and Be

Located in Winchester city centre, at the top of the High Street, Eat, Drink and Be serves lots of cafe favourites. Sandwiches, toasties, soup and jacket potatoes are all on the menu, along with a selection of sweet treats.

It was a cool day so both my husband and I fancied something hot. Jacket potatoes it was! There were a number of toppings to pick from – I went for chilli and my husband chose sausages. My chilli was delicious and I heard no complaints from my husband either. I always find chilli con carne comforting and on top of a jacket potato, it’s a satisfying combination.

For dessert, we both had mini cinnamon buns. Pretty much every opportunity to enjoy a cinnamon bun will be taken in my family! I have almost an obsession with cinnamon and every time we go to IKEA, we pick up some frozen cinnamon buns. They are delicious! These cute little cinnamon buns were spiced with something else too, maybe Allspice? Either way, they were really tasty!

I think one of the things that impressed me the most about the cafe was how consistently they stuck with their bee theming. I know this has nothing to do with the actual purpose of the cafe (to serve good food and drink) but when a cafe already does that well, developing a strong brand is what takes it to the next level. Illustrations of bees adorned the walls and a large hive was built into the centre of the ceiling. Even their crockery is branded, which I think is such a nice touch. This may not be something that everyone else would notice or value about a cafe so apologies if this sounds weird! I think that working in marketing (PR, but still) is what makes me appreciate when a business has dedicated time and effort into building a strong brand.

I would definitely recommend this cafe and will be making a return visit in the future. If you find yourself in Winchester, why not give it a go?

Eat, Drink and Be is located in Walcot Place on the High Street (SO23 9AT) and is open every day (from 8am weekdays, 9am on Saturday and 10am on Sunday). Enjoy!

My Bucket List

I thought a bucket list would be a great first addition to this blog, giving you an insight into, me, Ellie, by reading about the things I most want to do in life (right now, anyway). I may come back and update this post in the future. Let’s get started!

1. Take a flight in a Hot air balloon – this is something I have always wanted to do, to see the world from above with a smooth, floating journey. The only thing I am nervous about is the landing – there’s only a basket to hold you after all and I am not at all sure I want to be unloaded very drastically. The experience would be incredible though so  think it will be more than worth it!

2. Live in America – I don’t know why I have such a fascination with America. Watching vlogs on YouTube providing an insight into American life are what I think first sparked the thought. Each state seems to have a slightly different culture. It’s probably why so many Americans have never left the country because their holiday options are so plentiful without having to. My husband would love to live in San Francisco because it is home to so many tech companies (he works in software development) and I think that California would be my first choice too. Great weather all year round is difficult to say no to!

3. Write and publish a novel – As it says on my About Me page, I have been thinking up plotlines and characters for a crime novel since I was about 12. I now have quite a solid picture of a novel in my head (and partly on paper) so this part of my list at least is underway. I think it might be a struggle to get on paper exactly what I’m dreaming of in my head but I will try my hardest as I think the story will enthrall lots of crime fiction fans. Trying not to oversell it here!

4. Go to Australia – I don’t know why but Australia holds such an attraction for me. I just need to get there at least once in my life!

5. Learn another language – I learnt French and Spanish to GCSE level but have lost most of that knowledge now through lack of practice! I’d either like to pick Spanish back up or maybe try something completely different and learn sign language. Languages are such an admirable skill so I’d like to think I’ll make time at some point to master one.

6. Start my own business; be my own boss – I think this is a dream for many but I definitely share it. I’d like to be able to direct my own ambitions and have the power to choose what I do and when. The good thing is that I have a business idea in mind and I am in the very beginning stages of exploring its potential. Hopefully one day soon this will become a reality.