I'm moving from England to China

Way back when in 2010 when my hair looked like this



and I was still at school, I went on a ten day trip to China with my mum and sister to visit my brother.
During my short stay China had made a serious impression on me and I wanted to get back as soon as I could, to work, to study I didn't care! I briefly looked into studying at a University in Hong Kong when deciding on universities aged 18, but didn't pursue it beyond looking at their website, I suppose I got daunted by the thought of moving out for the first time without the thought of moving to an entirely foreign country!

So despite this, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wanted to get back and an opportunity arose when my current University offers an integrated placement year into the degree, where I could essentially do anything that I wanted, as long as it was a form of skilled, challenging work!
In November 2013 an opening came about that I fell for, and by January my job for 12 months in China had been confirmed!

I have a one way flight booked and a visa tucked neatly into my passport, I begin work in July and arrive in China a few days before to settle in.

I may be sounding all casual and blah-say about this whole thing when writing it down, but since December I've spent many nights wide awake staring at the ceiling, so fizzy with excitement that I cannot sleep. I thought that I would feel a lot of fear and anxiety by now, but that hasn't set in yet, perhaps it doesn't feel real, perhaps I'll collapse under those feelings a week, or night before I leave, or when I start having to say goodbye gradually to friends and family.

What does all this mean for my blog and YouTube?

Well, I hear that there are some pretty strict rules on accessing all that out there, it extends to Facebook, Spotify, Netflix, so I have no idea what my life will consist of in my spare time? Perhaps I'll go outside? Get some hobbies? Who knows?
For now I have around a month to prepare before I get out there, in the mean time I will be filming videos like a crazy person to pre schedule to upload, preparing blog posts, in between packing and spending as much time in the real world, being able to savour using English and have other people understand me!

I've also heard mutterings of being able to 'get around' such restrictions, I'm hoping frantically that they will materialise into something without like, breaking the law!

Crazy travel snack!

I've not been in one place for very long periods of time over Easter break, so I thought I'd share with you my favourite travel snack!

Croutons!
...not so much the vitamin water- I like the brand Vitamin Waters 'Vitamin water' this was Marks and Spencers own brand and it turned out to be not so good...

Anyway- onto the actual snack!

I like croutons because they're a little more filling than crisps and the flavour is much nicer- plus I lvoe crunchy crisps and croutons are sooooo crunchy (which was less fun when everyone around me was totally silent and I felt like everyone could hear me crunching!)

But of course, all deliciousness comes at a cost so don't be fooled into thinking that these are a 'healthy alternative' they are not, they're made with oil and they do have salt in them and a punnett of grapes would of course be much better for you, but sometimes we're craving something a lil savoury and crunchy!

Homesicky sick!

It seems you either suffer from it or you don't
It's not like car sick
or flu sick
It's home sick
It does not just ache in your belly, but in your heart too.

Sometimes we're not even sure what we're missing, often there's nothing out of the ordinary going on back at home, but you simply want to be 'there'

I get this too- adults get it, kids get it, everyone inbetween can get home sick now and again, and the only cure is to just 'be' at home.

I get it when I spend a lot of time travelling, I'm about to head to Canterbury, Brighton and then Birmingham for Easter so I'm sure I'll get struck with a little 'home sick' then!

So for now I'm absorbing the little things I might miss, like having all my makeup and books to hand, my bath, my bed.
If I'm staying somewhere different for a while, before I leave my house, I put fresh sheets on the bed as something to look foward to come home to and somewhere lovely and clean to come back to!

Dreaming of homely home with you
And sharing lots of 'homey' love!

Everyone's doing 'it'!

"Everyone's doing 'it' don't 'cha know?"

Why of course I'm talking about holidays-

Everyone is going on holiday or booking them right about now

-So here's my dream holiday breakdown, and then I want to see yours:

We could refresh ourselves in the underwater hotel in Figi

Float up to the surface and through Hawaii!

Stop off for lunch in the Phillippines

Then watch the sunset in Thailand!

In our imagination- flight times, jet lag or any other boundaries are non existant!

Writing from my room, but dreaming of sand between my toes!

Mummifying Makeup

How should I travel with my makeup?
Travelling with makeup is an art in it's own right! It's not easy to lug potions and lotions of every consistancy, formula and texture in every kind of screw cap, pump and squeezy bottle imaginable half way across the country or world unscathed.
However, it is of course possible with the right know how- and it certainly doesn't involve spending hundreds on special cases and containers to put everything in.
All you need is:

A roll of cling film!


The cling film trick certainly was not invented by me- but I've no idea where I learnt it as I've been doing it forever and I wonder if I just picked it up through trial and error!

Here's a quick video breakdown of how to prevent arriving with a case full of sticky, gloopy, lotion and bronzer and blusher and foundation infused mess, and half your makeup being washed down the drain before you've even put it on:



Of course, to guarantee your makeup survives the journey is going to need a little more than just cling film but to go through it all- well! That's a lot of ground to cover in a quick tip video! But certainly something I'll continue to touch upon to ensure we all learn a thing or two about travelling with our makeup!

Cakes can be art too!

My beautiful friend makes to most incredible cakes, they are so delicious and cute- with iddy bitty icing detail so perfect it looks like it's been modeled from clay.

The most amazing part is that she's had no professional training, she just taught herself!

But she has oodles of talent and creativity, I hate having to cut into beautiful cakes like these...

I love the detail on the motorbikes- that would be so fiddly and need such a steady hand!

My favourite part of these is the iddy bitty rubber ducks! They're so cute, and the ruffly icing- I never saw ruffles in icing before!

I love how this compiles so many of Gagas looks, with a little icing version of her shaking her hiney!

Does this remind anyone else of a real life Farmville! The perfect little rows of cabbage and the white picket fence, so dreamy!

I sure hope these pictures made your day a little sweeter! Personally, it's gotten me hungry for cake...

Which ones your favourite? Mine is the last one, the perfect garden!

I'm packing!

Probably one of my most least favourite things to do! I find it near on impossible to effectively gather everything I'll need for a week, into a limited space.
I've decided these are my top space saving tips!
-Bring one pair of versatile shoes (mine are my little ankle boots with a buckle, can be dressed up or down)
-Do not bring every makeup brush, I can double up uses for some if i think about it especially with eye shadow blending brushes
-Do not bring every eyeshadow, a neutral pallette can be adapted for night time, just add more of the dark colour and blend etc
-Do not bring every ring and necklace I own

...that's all I've got!

Here's a little peek at what I'm packing:

Clothes! Trying to strategiacally organise..

Magical Pink suitcase, unfortunately it doesn't sparkle in real life, but I had you thinking it did didn't I!?

Hair supplies, a few rings and a charm bracelet

Makeup! The complete essentials and only one lip colour! Body Shops Lip Tint

My makeup bag I've got to fit it all into! I love this thing because it's wipe clean fabric and there's sure to be an explosion somewhere along the way...

I maybe dislike packing mostly because then the morning of when you're leaving you think 'oh I need that hairbrush' then you remember 'oh darn it's in my bag' and have to use a awful comb you found in a drawer.
Then on the way to where you're heading you're sat there thinking 'Have i got everything?' 'I'm sure I forgot something'
I remember one time I forgot a headband, and I thought this would be no big deal- it turned out to be so irritating to not have one to wash my face at night time, and holding my hair back just got it all wet!
I still need to pack leggings, pjs, work, camera, pressed powder makeup (goes in a smaller bag that I carry to stop it from breaking or getting crushed in the pan in a big bag)
I'm still waiting for some stuff to get out the wash so it can be ready and I leave tomorrow!

Throughout this week uploading videos won't be possible, but.... I'll have captured lots of fun footage to put up the following week and of course I'll be blogging every day still.

Hope you enjoyed packing with me!