Why Autumn Is My Favourite Season

Summer used to be my favourite season when I was at school, purely for the Summer holidays. Summer in the UK is over the months of June, July and August and the school Summer holidays are 6 weeks of July and August. This obviously meant 6 weeks of free time, sleeping in, going on mini breaks and sleepovers on weeknights. However, I have always hated the sun. I hate feeling too hot and not being able to do anything about it. I would never wear a dress, I didn't even own dresses between the ages of 12 and 18. I did own a lot of jackets and jumpers though so I was always warm in Winter.
I think the reason Autumn wasn't my favourite when I was younger was because it was the time when school started again and you have to get back into a routine. After a 6 week break there is homework every night and 7am starts 5 days a week. I wouldn't look forward to it and I wouldn't enjoy it.

I'm 24 now, I haven't been in education for a while and Autumn has been my favourite for the past few years. It's a welcome break from the heat of Summer but it's not too cold outside. I find Winter can leave you with a cold nose and chapped lips and you start to want to stay indoors, but Autumn is nicer.
I love going for walks in the afternoon while it's still light but also being outside in the early evening as the sun is setting.

I love the different colours the leaves change and that it completely changes the way parks look. I find oranges, reds and browns scattered on the ground a lot nicer to look at than just green grass.

I love being able to wear lots of layers, I find it hard to choose which clothes to wear because I have so many, so in Autumn I can wear a few at once! I also love being able to wear scarves and gloves.

There are three main events that I love in Autumn. The first is Halloween of course. Dressing up and watching a horror film with a takeaway is one of my favourite things to do.

The second is Bonfire Night, possibly my favourite night of the whole year. I get to wear all of my layers and watch fireworks and light sparklers.

The third is Christmas shopping. All of the shops start stocking festive products and I start writing my Christmas list and buying things for other people. The Manchester Christmas markets are one of my favourite Christmas traditions.

There is also, of course, my fiancees birthday in November! I love being able to spend the day with her and watch her open presents.

Spring is a close second favourite, because it includes Easter and my birthday and the weather is similar to Autumn, but there is a lot more green!

What's your favourite season? What do you most look forward to in Autumn?

#YouTubeSITC 2015

I went to Summer in the City with Kirsty last weekend.
We stayed in a hotel Thursday to Monday and SITC was Friday to Sunday. And it was so good. We took notes in every panel and we learnt so much and have so many new ideas for our joint YouTube account. Including buying a lava lamp for our new setup (and also because who doesn't need a lava lamp in their life).
We took a lot of photos after I was taught how to put my camera on manual setting with the correct ISO, aperture, shutter speed etc. And a lot of videos with better settings too which Kirsty is currently editing into a vlog.

If you have a YouTube channel and want to learn more about it, or if you're thinking about setting one up then I definitely recommend watching the Summer in the City panels which should be going on their YouTube. I think they filmed most, if not all of them. They really helped us out.

These are some of our photos from the day, including when we met the SacconeJolys who I am a huge fan of and were so nice in person.

Leave your youtube links in the comments and I will check them out!

Our day in Gloucester

Last Summer, I went with Kirsty and my mum to visit my brother's family in Exeter. On the way back we stayed in a hotel in Gloucester, which is about halfway between Manchester and Exeter. The next day we explored Gloucester cathedral and some of the shops and we fell in love with the town. Since then we have pretty much decided we would like to live there one day, but would obviously have to explore it more for that to be likely. And, more importantly, we have found our dream wedding venue is nearby!
This Summer we went back to Exeter and of course stayed over in Gloucester again. We didn't go in the cathedral this time or explore shops because we had a Treasure Trail to do! That was a lot of fun and allowed us to explore the town a bit more, but we did miss out a whole page of clues at one point and got extremely confused.
I didn't take many photos because we were mainly walking around a lot, but the photos I did get I love. So here they are!

Do you have a dream city to live in? Or even a favourite place you love to take photographs of?
Let me know in the comments!

Knowsley Safari Park

I went to Knowsley Safari Park in June with mum, dad and Kirsty. I have been a few times before but it was Kirsty's first time so I was extra excited. I was in charge of photography and Kirsty was in charge of videoing.
It was a hot day so we drove round with the aircon on, and passed a few cars that had broke down and were waiting to be rescued.

You're allowed to drive around as many times as you want and then get out at the end of the safari to see the giraffes, elephants, capybara and other smaller animals. There's also a sealion show which I remembered from when I was younger and is always my favourite part of the day!
For dinner I had chips and cheese and Kirsty had a hotdog. It was so nice.
We got a compass keyring each from the giftshop and a cup to share.

 

What's your favourite animal? Have you ever been to a safari?

I'd love to read about any trips you have been on recently!

Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter - Manchester Book Signing

I am a huuuge fan of Louise/A Sprinkle of Glitter and was so excited when I saw that she had a book coming out. I held off on pre-ordering in the hope that there would be a book tour and there was.
I went to the Manchester book signing on Friday 3rd July and was so nervous.
Kirsty came with me but she couldn't stay in the queue because she didn't have a ticket.

I was given a Waterstones wristband and we were in the queue outside the shop for almost 2 hours. We asked if we could have the book to read in the queue but we weren't allowed them until we got inside which was sooo annoying because it felt like I had already waited forever to read it.
When Louise arrived the staff let people into the shop in groups of 10 to get their books and posters and join the inside queue.
I was expecting Louise to be towards the back of the shop so I started reading the book and walking slowly.

Two pages in I looked up and could see her, 4 people in front of me. I didn't know what to do! I just closed my book and looked around anywhere but at Louise because I was so nervous.
The girl in front of me was talking to Louise for a while so I completely panicked and was trying to come up with something cool to say and then all of a sudden there I am, handing her my book!
She complimented my hair and my 'sparkly Disney tshirt' which made me so happy. I chose my outfit especially to meet her and had it ironed a few minutes before leaving. It felt really nice that she had something personal to say to everyone. It felt like she really cared and wanted to get to know us all.
It made me feel so good for the rest of the day.

I didn't manage to say anything back to Louise apart from 'Thank You'. And as I was walking away she said 'I hope you enjoy the book!' I was worried that I had left too soon and she wasn't done talking but I have since seen YouTube videos of other people meeting her and she has done the same with them so I feel less bad and more just like she loves us all too much to say goodbye!
Also she signed my book with a pink sharpie <3

 I could have easily read this book in a day because it was so easy to read and so hard to put down. But the pages are so well designed and the whole book is so beautiful that I spent extra long on each page and it took me 5 days to finish it.
I have taken so much from it, all positive.
I have purchased skincare products and learnt about reasons for bullying and how to spread kindness.
I have laughed out loud at first dates and bought ingredients for chocolate pizza.
This book is now on my dressing table and I'm sure I will re-read it every time I need a pick me up.

So thank you Louise, and the rest of your team who helped to make this book possible. You have made me feel happy and confident just in time for Summer.

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Also, whilst Kirsty was waiting for me she found our teen book club reviews! It feels so good to have our reviews of some of our favourite books on the shelves of a real book shop.
So, of course we took photos to remember forever.

Have you been to any book signings?
What's your favourite book?
I would love to get some book recommendations to please let me know in the comments,
thanks for reading!