I’m Back!

Hello! Apologies for my hiatus but I’ve finally decided to get back to blogging. I don’t really have an excuse for my lack of posts I’ve just been a bit busy.

So what’s new? Well in my previous posts I was excited to be performing in an upcoming songs concert with my theatre group, that was a couple of months ago now and it went really well, I only had one near death experience when I tripped over a chair and ended up going head over heels but that’s good for my standards (if any casting directors are reading this, just ignore that previous statement.)

So now it’s onward and upwards onto our next show which is ‘Annie’ I opted to just audition for an ensemble part for this one, as I am neither a middle aged woman or an eleven year old girl. I did toy with the idea of auditioning for’Sandy’ after my previous experience playing a Gorilla in Cabaret but apparently they’ve already booked a professional ‘Sandy’ dog for that part, who knew that was an actual dog profession.

Lastly, the most exciting update in my life right now is that I’m going to University. I took the plunge and decided to apply this year (or 4 weeks ago to be more exact). Now I didn’t expect to get in as I was so late at applying but I guess a joint BA in Drama Studies/Media Communications isn’t the most popular of courses, as a couple of days later I received an email informing me that I had an unconditional offer. So now I’m just running around  trying to get everything sorted before September and trying to get my head around the fact that I’m actually going. It’s just a massive relief off my shoulders to finally feel like my future’s a little more mapped out for me and I no longer have a million different career options floating around my head, now I just have about 10 but hopefully I’ll narrow those options down after a few years at Uni.

Anyway, that’s pretty much everything I need to update you with, so I’ll end this post here. Feel free to request any future blog posts in the comments!

Love Aimee xo

April Wishlist

Pinch, punch, first day of the month!  My March wishlist seemed to be quite popular so I’ve decided to do one on the first of every month now. So here’s a few items that I’ve spotted online recently that I’d love to add to my wardrobe, although my wardrobe is on the verge of collapse so I don’t think it would appreciate the gesture!

Miss Selfridge Flower Print Skater Dress – £45

Spring has supposedly sprung, although you wouldn’t know it from looking outside. I’m going to remain hopeful though which is why my first item on my wishlist is this adorable skater dress. I’m definitely a dress kind of girl and anything floral is a bonus so this caught my eye straight away. I love the light blue colour paired with the pink blossoms (that is blossom right?) this would be perfect to wear on a special occasion such as a wedding or a summer party but I’m sure I’d find a reason to wear it on a normal day out too!

 

Topshop Tall Moto Washed Black Leigh Jeans – £38

Jean shopping is serious business for me, it is an absolute nightmare trying to find a pair that fits me perfectly, unfortunately my beloved pair of black jeans are getting incredibly worn out and I fear an embarrassing tear down the back seam is imminent. It took me so long to find the perfect pair and I ended up purchasing them at the massive Topshop on Oxford Street in London so naturally I’m only going to replace them with the same pair, now I’ve just got to hope they have my size!

 

BooHoo Katherine Oversized Jumper – £12

I do love a good jumper and I’ve been really wanting a plain jumper like this one that I can chuck on and style with accessories and for £12 this is a bargain. I always seem to forget about Boohoo.com but after seeing an advert for them last night I thought I’d check them out and they do have some really nice clothing items for sale, I’m definitely going to be checking them out more often and I might just have to treat myself to this jumper.

 

 

 

Urban Outfitters Detachable Borg Collar Parka – £45

I bought a waterproof parka 5 years ago and I still have it now, I think it’s safe to say it’s probably about time I buy a new one, especially in preparation for those pesky April showers *cue Bambi flashback* . Now I would never even bother looking for a coat in Urban Outfitters because I’m lucky if I can even afford a pair of socks but this parka is on sale with 50% off so I’m definitely going to be umming and ahhing over this one tonight with my debit card in hand. I love the detachable collar feature, it’s very unusual and adds a bit of style to your look even when you have to do your coat up!

 

 

ASOS Halter Dress in Floral Print – £25

Okay, okay it’s another dress but can you blame me? I just love this daisy print and the back is cross over halter neck style which adds a really cute touch to it, you could pair this with a cardigan for a comfy spring day look, or dress it up with a leather jacket and some heels for a special occasion. This is definitely a spring must have and I’m pretty sure it’s going to become another dress that I add to my collection, someone stop me!

 

 

Primark Grey Reese’s Pajama Top – £5

When I saw this, I had to take a sharp inhale of breath. If you’ve come from my YouTube channel you’ll know how much of a fan I am of Reese’s peanut butter cups, I honestly should be their spokesperson. So when I spotted these on the Primark website I knew we were destined to be together, thank goodness my city has recently opened a Primark because first thing tomorrow I’m going to be hopping in my car to go and buy these, they have matching bottoms too. Now I’m craving peanut butter….

 

 

Anyway that’s the end of my April Wishlist, let me know what’s on your wishlist this month, thanks for reading as always!

Love Aimee xo

 

 

Teaching myself how to cook!

I’ll be the first to admit I’m a terrible cook, my signature dish is scrambled eggs and even that’s a triumph for me when I make it without burning it or sometimes even myself. I’ve decided it’s time for me to change though and I’m going to teach myself how to cook. Yesterday I felt very productive so I had a quick browse online and found a recipe for chicken katsu curry and after a quick trip down the shops for ingredients I started cooking and surprisingly I didn’t end up in A&E and even more surprisingly it tasted really, really good! So now I’ve caught the cooking bug and I’m determined to one day be one of those people who can taste food and think “Oh it need’s more salt” rather than tasting something and praying that I haven’t given myself food poisoning. Maybe I’ll even be able to start posting my own recipes on my blog one day but for now I think I’ll stick with the basics!

Love Aimee xo

Tyler Oakley: ‘Snervous’ Review

I was having one of those moments yesterday where I was scrolling through Netflix for what felt like an hour trying to decide on what I wanted to watch, it got to the point where I was trying to decide between watching The Rugrats Movie or a documentary about an alleged murderer but then in the corner of my eye I saw that Netflix had recently uploaded Tyler Oakley’s documentary ‘Snervous’ which I was keen to watch when it was released last year but decided against buying it as I’ve placed myself under ‘Financial Lockdown’ until I get a new job.

Anyway for those of you out of the loop Tyler Oakley is a successful Youtuber with almost 8 million subscribers, I’ve been a fan of Tyler for years, not one of those screaming/crying/stalking kind of fans but I enjoy his videos and personality and I love all the work he’s done for charities most notably The Trevor Project which he’s raised a staggering amount of money for over the past couple of years. Last year Tyler released a book called ‘Binge’ which is written in a memoir style and after reading and posting a review of it on my channel, Tyler ended up watching it and leaving me a lovely comment both on Twitter and YouTube (Okay, maybe I did squeal a little bit when that happened) so I thought it was only right for me to review his documentary too.

So Snervous follows Tyler behind the scenes on his world wide slumber party tour, the documentary starts off with him packing his suitcase with the help of his best friend Korey Kuhl, Korey and Tyler met at university and it just so happened to be the same day that Tyler started his Youtube channel and ever since then they’ve been inseparable. It’s lovely to see their friendship throughout the film and as Korey is also employed as Tyler’s assistant it’s interesting to see how they balance between work and friendship.

As the tour progresses you really get to see a side of Tyler that he doesn’t show in his videos, that being anxiety and anger, it’s clear that Tyler likes to be in control of situations and on two occasions in the film his control slips and you can see how uncomfortable he gets when things don’t go to plan, I personally quite liked to see him displaying these emotions not because I enjoy seeing people upset but because it shows the audience that he is only human and the personality he portrays on camera is just one part of him. You even see him cry when he’s discussing what his loved ones think about his career which is an emotion he’s never displayed publicly before.

Halfway through the tour he has a break and returns home to see his family, he takes the camera crew to his old school and work places and you get to meet a few people that have been a big influence in his life such as his mum Jackie, his choir teacher and even his biological dad who he’s had quite a tough relationship with.

Overall I really enjoyed Snervous, it’s a relatively no holds barrred documentary although I do feel like he is still slightly guarded at some points which is understandable as it’s hard to ignore a camera crew that is following you around. I think it is a great follow up to Binge which he definitely didn’t hold back on when writing and you get to put faces to names from some of the stories featured in it, I also love the interviews with fans as you get to see the excitement on their faces and hear about how Tyler has influenced them. If I was a professional movie reviewer I would give it 4/5 stars.

Thanks for reading if you want me to review another movie, book or anything else let me know!

Love Aimee xo

Why did the toad cross the road?

To get to the other side of course! No really, this isn’t a joke. Every year an annual toad migration takes place on my street and a group of toads move from a pond on one side of my road to a different pond on the other side of my road, what’s the point you may ask? I don’t know you’d have to ask them. So without fail, each year one end of my road is shut and a team of volunteer toad assistants help the little amphibians complete their voyage, I have considered volunteering myself but then I remember that I am in fact scared of toads and anything that can jump onto my face for the matter and I don’t think having ‘Lollypop Lady for Toads’ on my C.V will be much use.

Unfortunately this year the annual toad migration clashed with some road works taking place on the other end of my road so I was trapped in my house for a week. I mean it doesn’t really make much difference to me because I’m the equivalent to a tortoise, I’d much rather stay in my shell than have to deal with socialising, as long as my shell has WiFi I’ll be happy as Larry, unfortunately my WiFi just so happened to go down on this same day too so I wasn’t showing any similarities to Larry on this occasion. As well as having no WiFi I also had no phone service so I basically felt like Piper when she got sent to solitary confinement in OITNB. This ended up going on for 5 days but it actually made me realise how much of my life I dedicate to the internet and it turned out to be a learning experience for me, I baked, (using a cake mix obviously) I visited my grandma, I went to the shops in my village, I actually spoke to my sister face to face instead of texting her from our separate bedrooms and most importantly I felt much less anxious than usual, for once I didn’t worry about how many subscribers I was gaining, or a hate comment somebody had written to me, or comparing myself to other YouTuber’s, it really felt like my mind was being de-cluttered. Now I’m not saying that I’m ever going to quit the internet but now I’ve realised that my worth isn’t defined by the number next to my Youtube name or the opinion of one person that has never met me.So all in all I guess this was a good week after all, except for day 3 of solitary confinement when a pipe burst and water started dripping through the ceiling and it took 11 hours for a plumber to come and save us but apart from that it was all good.

I just read this back and laughed at how this was all caused by a bunch of toads, so thanks toads, who know maybe I’ll help you out next year as long as you promise not to jump in my face.

Love Aimee xo

The Secret Garden

Today I went to visit my great uncle, I hadn’t been to his house for over ten years and had fond memories of playing hide and seek in his large country cottage or performing an ear piercing tune on his piano but one of my fondest memories of his house was his garden. I had always loved the children’s book ‘The Secret Garden’ and to me his garden was the equivalent to the one described in it, to me it was magical. It had a hidden passage way going all round the side of it with an array of different flowers in all different colours, there were stepping stones that I made sure I jumped across adamant that if I stepped on the mud I’d get eaten by a creature that hid in it, I’d run further on down the path, stopping briefly to say hello to the resident caterpillar, then onto a a patch of flowers which had pods of seeds which I’d break open and sprinkle everywhere and then finally I’d get to a rabbit hutch which housed Harry the friendly rabbit. I’d run around and around the garden until I became hungry and went inside for biscuits. One day I was convinced I saw a fairy although looking back now it was definitely more like a dragonfly.

After all these years I was excited to revisit the place that held so many of my favourite childhood memories, it felt odd driving myself there instead of peering out the window trying to catch a glimpse of the ghost that haunted the nearby ‘Sally in the Woods.’ Driving up to the cottage the memories returned and it looked exactly how I remembered it, the inside was the same too and the only difference was a new member of the family, Merlin the Jack Russell. After a catch up over tea we headed out to the garden, the magical garden. I was excited to see the place that had been engraved into my memory for so long but it was different, this wonderful garden was now alot smaller than I imagined and the secret pathway going around the side of it was actually just a path surrounding a lawn with a few plant pots and bushes dotted along it. It was a strange feeling to be somewhere that as a 4 foot, 8 year old girl I’d used my imagination to create a wonderful scene of flowers and fairies and magic but in reality as a now 5’9″ 21 year old I was just standing in a plain old garden. It really goes to show how wonderful a child’s imagination is, something that should be encouraged and not stifled by parents, teachers or guardians because those memories that you create as a child will be treasured all the way into adult hood

‘Imagination has no age and dreams are forever’ – Walt Disney

Love Aimee xo

How I make my Youtube Videos

When I first started making Youtube videos I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I was filming my videos with an old camera in my window and using a toilet roll as a tripod, what a professional! Since then I’ve kind of taught myself as I went along and I’m still learning things every day but I thought I’d write a blog post today about my current process of making a video in hopes that it will help out any budding Youtubers.

First things first, my camera. The camera I currently use is a Canon 700D with an 18-55mm lens. At the time of buying it, it had not long been brought out but still a year later I love it and I’m not looking at buying a newer one anytime soon, I believe in using something until it’s broken, luckily for me I never had a Nokia phone because if I did I’d probably still have it now! Anyways I think the camera is perfect for any budding photographer/ Youtuber, the picture quality is stunning and with the right lighting equipment so is the video.

 

Talking of lighting I use this for my videos, it is a small light but I swear to god it is as bright as the sun. It is a Neewer LED308 light that I purchased from Amazon for £40. I needed something small because my room is basically Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs and this is exactly what I was looking for, it slots in to the top of your camera at the perfect angle to avoid shadowing and it has a button at the back to make the light dimmer or brighter and add yellow or white light. The only down side to it is the battery is huge and really heavy so it’s very difficult to use without a tripod.

 

When I purchased my camera it came with a free tripod which I was pleased with and I’ve had no problems with, it is the Velbon EF-51 and it’s height range is fantastic.

I also use an 8GB high definition SD card which I wouldn’t recommend as it can only film about 20 minutes of video and with the amount of mistakes and retakes I have to do when I film videos I often have to stop halfway through to upload the videos onto my laptop to free up space.

 

When it comes to editing my videos I originally used Windows Movie Maker which is great for beginners and basic editing but it can be rather glitchy and slow. I now use CyberLink Power Director 14 Ultra which I really like, it has all the features I need for even my most technically difficult videos but it is still simple and fast to use. When choosing a video editor most companies allow a months free trial which I definitely recommend using.

For making my thumbnail I use a free website online called PicMonkey, it is a fantastic website to use for thumbnails. I always use the design option and start with a blank canvas sized 1280 x 720 and I go from there, I’ve actually signed up to their premium version which is about £20 a year to unlock all the fonts and extra features but mainly just because I wanted to use the cool fire effect.

 

Anyway that’s a basic overview of the equipment and tools I use for posting a video, if you want an in depth post about how to edit, or how to make a thumbnail, endscreen, banner etc. just let me know! Thanks for reading,

Love Aimee xo

 

 

January Favourites

So it’s finally the first of February today and was it just me or did it feel like January went on for a decade? With the month dragging on I came across a fair few products that managed to cheer me up through the gloomy weather and I thought I’d share them with you, so here I present my January Favourites:

Blush Cable Knit Pom Beanie -Miss Selfridge £12

It’s a necessity for everybody to have a wooly hat although three might be overdoing it a bit (oops!) but when I saw this hat I couldn’t say no, I love the dusky pink colour of it and it’s longer than other hats I own so the pom pom flops to the back of your head rather than sticking up at the top and making you look like an elf. It’s available online and in stores now.

UrbanEars Pink Headphones – RRP £50/Sale £15

Urban Outfitters is famous for being incredibly overpriced but I love to have a little mooch around there every now and then and I’ve got to give it to them, their sales can be extremely good which is where I came across these headphones. At the time I was in dire need of some new ones, my current earphones had teeth marks in them from the time my cat decided to eat them, so when I saw that these had £35 knocked off of them I didn’t hesitate to buy them. Now I’ve never heard of the UrbanEars brand before so I was pleasantly surprised when I tried them out, they are actually very good. They’re comfy and although they weren’t advertised as noise cancelling there’s been numerous occasions when my mum has been talking to me in the car and I’ve been staring ahead blankly, contemplating life whilst listening to an Adele ballad. They’re no longer available on the Urban Outfitters website but you can find them on their company website here.

Ghost Deep Night Eau De Toilette – Boots £34

I’ve been using the same perfume for years (Emporio Armani She) and thought it was about time for a change, so when I found out Boots was doing a 50% off perfume deal I was straight in there, basket at the ready. I’m not a fan of floral smelling perfumes they just smell too sickly sweet for me, I much prefer vanilla based perfumes which is exactly what this one is. As described on the Boots website this is an oriental vanilla scent with notes of Apricot, Peach, Wood, Musk and Rose. I’m going to be honest with you, when I smell a perfume I don’t really try and distinguish the contents of it, either I like it or I don’t and I definitely like this smell and with the half price offer making it £16 it went straight in my basket.

Snowflake Cookie Yankee Candle – £8.99

It’s not very often I get the urge to consume a candle but this is an exception. This is one of Yankee Candles limited edition Christmas scents, it comes out every year around October/November although you can probably find it on eBay during the rest of the year and honestly it is the best thing I’ve ever smelt, imagine a pot filled with cookie dough, butter icing and happiness and you’re on the right track, it is heavenly and a must buy for any candle lover. It’s currently out of stock on their website but keep an eye out for them on eBay or Amazon.

Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Liner – Boots £5.29

This month I decided to give liquid liner a try and I’ve grown quite fond of it so much so that I feel naked if I leave the house without it on. I’ve been using Rimmel’s Glam Eyes Liner which I purchased from Boots and thus far I’ve had no occasions where I’ve come home looking like a Panda which is an important factor when it comes to eyeliner, it’s easy to apply, not clumpy and quick drying so I give it an Aimee seal of approval.

Oakland California Sweatshirt – Topshop £26

If I could wear this jumper ever day, I would. I’d wear it to bed, I’d wear it to work, I’d wear it to my wedding. It’s it’s so cosy and comfortable and fits perfectly. I always struggle finding a jumper that’s not too baggy but long enough in the sleeves as I’m quite tall. It looks really cute paired with some black jeans, boots and a wooly hat (see above) it’s the perfect outfit for a chilly winters day. Unfortunately Topshop has changed the print and it now say ‘Reveil Au Paradis’ on it but i’m sure it’s just at cosy and comfy.

 

Anyway that’s it for my first monthly favourites blog post, I hope you enjoyed reading it, let me know what your favourite products of January were so I can check them out! Thanks for reading,

Love Aimee xo

 

 

And so it begins…

So it’s 1:30am and apparently the perfect time to start a blog, although this doesn’t come as a surprise to me as I usually get the motivation to do things in the middle of the night, last night for example I decided to take up Yoga, so there I was in my living room at 2am practicing the downward dog pose, it’s safe to say it didn’t end well and my career as a yoga instructor was rather short lived. In all seriousness though I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a blog for a while, I started my YouTube channel almost two years ago and never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined it would become as successful as it is now, it’s quickly become my passion and has helped me grow as a person but I’ve always loved writing. Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of being an author and to this day I still have a collection of little stories written on post-it notes that I stole from my Nan’s house when I was 5 (sorry Nan). I’ve always been incredibly shy and up until I was about 12 years old I barely uttered a word to anyone at school besides from a handful of my closest friends, even to this day I feel incredibly uncomfortable talking to new people but when it came to writing my thoughts and feelings down it’s always felt natural and kind of therapeutic in a way which is why I wanted to start a blog, alot of my viewers have been requesting that I start making vlogs and I’ve even got a channel ready and waiting for me to start posting on but try as I might I just can’t summon the courage to vlog in public so instead of beating myself up over it I thought of the next best thing, I’ll make a blog!

So let’s get into the specifics of what you might expect to see on here:

• Day to Day diary entries – When I say day to day I don’t mean every day, I don’t want to bore you with posts saying ‘Today I spent 8 hours watching repeat episodes of Come Dine with Me’ but I want you to be able to find out a little more about who I really am, not just the girl who gets incredibly excited at the prospect of eating a peanut butter cup.
• Fashion and Lifestyle – I never really mentioned this on YouTube but I’m quite a lover of clothes not that I can afford any right now but we all love to window shop don’t we? So you can probably expect posts about my favourite products I’ve found during my hours spent adding things into my online shopping basket and then emptying it all when I see the price.
• God knows what else – If you’ve come from my YouTube channel then you know I’m not good at sticking to a certain genre of videos and no doubt this blog is going to be the same, don’t be surprised if I write a post about how much I love dogs (spoiler – it’s alot) or why I have a strange phobia of statues but hopefully it’ll never get boring on here.

Anyway I guess that’s all for my first post, how did I do? Is this what blogging is? Here’s to a new adventure! Thanks for reading,

Love Aimee xo