My first experience of the Glasgow Film Festival

Last week I was invited along to the Glasgow Film Festival by ScotRail to enjoy a secret screening of The Lost Boys. Despite being an avid movie-lover ( a black Cinecard definitely accounts for serious movie buff status!) I've surprisingly never attended the GFF so was excited to experience all that it has to offer. If I'm honest, I’d never even heard of The Lost Boys before let alone seen it and I have this weird thing where I don’t like watching 'old' movies unless I grew up with them but given the circumstances I was willing to switch it up for the day. The ‘secret screening' aspect however really appealed to me - I've been an admirer of the Secret Cinema for years now so was excited to see where we'd end up.

After convincing my bestie to join me, we headed up to the Glasgow Film Theatre, sweeties in tow, to discover a sea of The Lost Boys fans eagerly waiting to board coaches to our secret location. Before setting off, a gang of motorbikes appeared, revving their bikes to create smoke clouds before leading the buses away. We weren’t entirely sure what this was all about at this point but everyone else seemed pretty excited by it so we went along with it.

I anticipated that we'd drive five minutes up the road to our destination but fifteen minutes later we were at least ten miles down the motorway and any ideas I had about location were out the window. Soon a big wheel appeared in the distance and the whispering of guesses began to take over the bus - we were headed to M&Ds theme park. The screening was set up inside a lavish marquee with an onsite bar, comic book stand and face painting area. We were also given passes to enjoy various rides in the theme park. With an hour to spare, Jill and I took our chances at one of the less scary rides before grabbing food and getting a few snaps on the carousel - before we knew it the screening was about to begin.

Led by a talk from the head of the GFF and a comic book creator it was obvious everyone was BUZZING about the movie beginning. Fast forward an hour and a half, the movie was ending to a roar of clapping and cheers (myself and Jill included).

I can honestly say this was one of my favourite movie experiences ever. Not only did I actually like the movie (which was surprisingly really funny) but the atmosphere of the crowd so made it special. The audience cheered and clapped throughout. Laughter was anticipated at each funny line and a few fans were even singing along to the soundtrack. The excitement from everyone was contagious.

Dropped back at the GFT, Jill and I walked down to Central Station to catch the train home. With the movie over, everything now started to make sense: motorbikes were a key part of the movie and it was set on a fairground. Missing posters that were dotted around the venue appeared in the movie and two of the main characters worked in a comic book store. I’m now suitably impressed by the attention to detail.

ScotRail is the official sponsor of this year's Glasgow Film Festival Audience Award. Running until Sunday (26 February) there's still plenty to see so be sure to check out what's coming up - https://www.scotrail.co.uk/filmfestival.

A very special Monday

Okay, let me start off by apologising for my lack of presence here on my blog. I don't want to hit you with excuses but there just happens to be a few small things that have got in the way of me blogging over the last month. 1. it's Summa time and well, I've pretty much turned into a social butterfly. Every week is jam packed with plans - not like I'm complaining but it certainly leaves less time for blogging. 2. It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and well, extra work is a no no throughout birthday week. I absolutely love blogging but it definitely feels like a part time job and something I don't like to rush. 3. I've been suffering from a burst of writers block. I honestly have whipped the laptop out on a few occasions but when it came to putting thoughts to keyboard nothing was flowing. So there you have it - three very acceptable excuses for my temporary departure.

Now onto the post. You may be wondering what this 'very special Monday' is all about so lets get started. A few Monday's ago I had a half day from work to see Rihanna at Hampden later that evening. While at home getting ready for the concert I received a phone call from one of my colleagues. Thinking it was a work-related question I un-enthusiastically answered the phone to a conversation I really did not expect. It went something like:

Me: "Hi, is everything okay?"
Colleague: "Have you checked your emails recently?"
Me: "No, what's happened?"
Colleague: "Well, basically, you've won a competition with Sheerluxe..."
Me: "WHAT?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!"
Colleague: "Yes - you've won an Hermes bracelet and £500 to spend on a website."
Me: *screams with excitement* "Aghhhhhhhh. OMG ARE YOU  KIDDING ME ON. XPOE&$BDKF*T£$NF%NFWF*@DQY"$"FBSOSCS"
Colleague: *Laughing* "The girl has emailed you. Check your emails."

And off I go with the biggest grin on my face. I couldn't even really remember what the competition was or what the bracelet looked like but I was excited to say the least. After going back and forth with the lovely team at Sheerluxe it was confirmed that I had won one hell of a package! Not only did I win this lovely leather and rose gold bracelet but I also won a years supply of Biscuiteers boxes. These biscuits are to die for and are going to help me out massively with present gifting over the year. See pictures below (sorry they're just iPhone snaps!). I also won £500 worth of GHD products. So for the first time in my life I'm the proud owner of a very lovely white straightening iron. As well as a hair dryer, curling wand and an abundance of hair products to ensure I never have a bad hair day again. I also won a £500 voucher to spend on SpaBreaks.com - so if you have any spa recommendations I'd love to hear them! And finally, £500 to spend on the pre-owned designer website, Vestiaire Collective. I've already spent my voucher on a very exciting purchase that I'll share on the blog shortly. I think it's actually due for delivery tomorrow. EEEK.

I'm honestly still in shock that I won such an amazing prize. I feel like a very lucky girl indeed. Since winning my prize I think every single one of my friends has signed up to Sheerluxe and entered every one of its competitions. LOL. But honestly, if you've haven't signed up to the websites daily newsletter, do it! I've spoken about it here on the blog before because it honestly is my favourite website. If you want inspiration for fashion, beauty, food, and lifestyle then Sheerluxe will provide this daily to your inbox at around 11am everyday. I swear I've not been paid to promote this, I genuinely just LOVE it.

 One Biscuiteers box for myself - and of course I chose the 'Fashion Box'.

One for my little cousin and her future husband. AKA 'The Future Mr & Mrs O'Brien', just in case you can't read that icing. This is the wedding bells box. 

The 'Anniversary box' for my sister and her husband to celebrate two beautiful years of marriage together! 

It feels good to be back and I promise I won't be gone for as long next time.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday, whatever you're doing. I'm having a relaxing morning before I need to pick up The Boy from a drop off point following an alcohol infused stag weekend in Dublin. I'm guessing it will be a movie and munchies evening for us. No complaints here!

Happy Sunday lovelies.

XoXo

Monochrome

A few weeks ago, The Boy and I headed up North to visit our favourite double-daters for a weekend of countryside fun. After arriving late on Friday evening, we enjoyed a chilled night to ensure we were fully rested for a day of food, drink and dancing on the Saturday. With my cousin and her boyfriend moving down to Glasgow in a few months (FINALLY!), we took the opportunity to go for high tea at Muckrach Country House Hotel – something my cousin has always wanted to try.

With the sun splitting in the sky, we got dolled up for a sophisticated afternoon of teeny tiny sandwiches and fizzy liquid (AKA prosecco). I won’t go into too much depth about the hotel as I’m working on a ‘what to do’ style post for a weekend in Aviemore, so more on that soon. But what I will say is that we had a brilliant afternoon catching some rays and well, catching up.

Before we left we had an impromptu shoot to share our outfits with you all, here on the blog. Normally outfit shooting for me is a lonely affair so it was nice to have someone by my side for a change. We honestly didn’t plan the monochrome look, it just kind of happened. Great minds eh…..

I am wearing:

Top and blazer - H&M 

Skirt - Primark 

Boots - Primark

Bag - Love Moschino

Sunglasses - a prezzie all the way from New Zealand

Naomi is wearing:

Top and boots - Primark 

Shorts - Topshop Boutique

Bag - River Island

Sunglasses - Miu Miu

I hope you liked seeing two people’s outfits as opposed to one. I personally love all of the double blogs that are kicking about the blogosphere atm.

XoXo

Seeking Sunrise

Setting my alarm for 3:45am you’d be right to presume I was either 1. jetting off to a tropical island, 2. on a VERY early shift at work or 3. just darn crazy. And well my friends, I have to say I believe most will think 3 is best suited to this story. The reason I was actually rising before the birds were chirping was in search of a sunrise. 

Let’s just say I have this thing for sunrises. In fact, I have a thing for that big yellow ball in general. I’m basically obsessed with everything the sun brings into my life. Warmth on my skin, BBQs in the garden, day trips to the beach, happy faces EVERYWHERE and of course picturesque sunsets. But one aspect of the sun that I rarely get to enjoy is the sunrise. Not because I love lazy mornings in my bed (quite the contrary actually) but because most people around me love a lie in. So after much persuasion I managed to convince my bed-loving boyfriend to join me in an early morning adventure to catch the sunrise.

After throwing on our clothes, and a quick brush of the teeth, we were on the road to Loch Lomond. We thought we might’ve missed the beginning of the sunrise but after choosing a spot on the loch that was surrounded by hills, we had plenty of time to spare. Before we knew it the sun was peering above the hills, instantly warming up the pretty baltic morning (I swear, it was about 2 degrees!). We then walked along the pier and really soaked up our surroundings before returning home for a warm breakfast in bed.  

I love how the images turned out and think they really capture the magic of a peaceful morning. This isn’t my typical style of blog post but I really loved trying to capture beautiful pictures as opposed to just an outfit or event.  

I really love the pictures and hope you do too so let me know if you would like to see more of this style of post.

It looks like the sun is beginning to peek through the clouds for another scorcher of a day in Glasgow. I seriously can't get over how lucky we've been with the weather over the last two weeks. It just makes ALL the difference. Long may it continue!

Happy sunny Saturday folks!

XoXo

For the love of jeans (and chocolate)

Happy Easter everyone! If your weekend has been anything like mine I'm sure it's been fuelled with delicious food, Cadbury's chocolate eggs and one too many glasses of wine. I love long weekends and even more so when everyone is in a celebratory / happy mood. I've tried to make the most of every day so far, kicking off my long weekend with a visit to The Lifestyle Lab for the Debenhams Beauty and Bellini's night. I honestly had such a lovely evening catching up with some of my favourite blogging ladies. I don't think we actually left until near enough 11pm! I will share a few snaps of the event along with what we got in the fabulous goody bag in my next post. Sneak peek - I've actually discovered a new favourite beauty product that I've been wearing religiously since. But again, more on that next time.

On Friday my friend Danielle and I hired bikes at Strathclyde Park for a little light but fun exercise before returning to mine for some wine and food. Not letting the chilly wind hault our plans, we lit a fire pit, grabbed a few blankets and enjoyed a glass of wine (or three) out the back. This is the first time this year that I've sat out in my back garden and I couldn't have been happier. I really want to adopt the Danish way of living and embrace the outdoors more, no matter what the weather. If you're wondering at all what I'm rambling on about check out this article in Stylist.

On Saturday The Boy and I went along to my friends Tessa's lovely house warming and then on Sunday it was a chocolate breakfast, Sunday roast and movie kind-of-day.

I've fell madly in love with this pair of jeans from Monki. The shape and relaxed style of them have left me struggling to take them off lately. They're amazing to dress up and dress down. I actually wore these to the house-warming on Saturday with a pair of lacy heels and cut out shoulder top. I don't normally share evening or 'fancy' outfits on my blog but if this is something you would like to see let me know!

Top: H&M (similar)

Jeans: Monki (from ASOS)

Blazer: H&M (similar)

Bag / Belt: Moschino (similar)

Trainers: Converse

Initial rings: Astrid and Miyu

The sun is shinning, my tummy is rumbling and it's time for brekky. Have a lovely bank holiday Monday everyone. 

XoXo

Some me time

In my day to day life, I'm surrounded by people at almost every hour of the day. I love being in the company of my loved ones more than anything in this world but occasionally I crave a little alone time - you know, just a wee hour here or there to walk around the house naked... JOKES! Don't worry there's no Rachael Green naked strutting going on at the Ahmad/Reid household.  What I really spend my time doing is painting my nails, listening to music, scrolling Insta and reading a magazine. So when The Boy told me he was going to Liverpool for a few days of work I decided to request a holiday, pack my bags and follow him down south. Woop.

There's nothing better than a new set of PJs to set you off for a weekend of, well lets face it, slobbin! I'm quite picky when it comes to choosing my sleeping attire - they have to first and foremost be comfy AF. This is actually a general rule for everything I wear in life.... sucking in your stomach for nine hours of the day is not my idea of fun. If it ain't comfy I ain't wearing it! Secondly, they need to be pretty - when I'm not looking my best I want something that will act as a good distraction from my shockingly pale face and scruffy hair. Finally, they need to be cheap because who wants to spend lotsa $$$ on something they sleep in.

I've recently become obsessed with silk pyjamas, I personally thing they look so chic on. Plus, you probably wouldn't think it but they're actually really cosy and for a cold blooded soul like myself this is essential. I couldn't believe my eyes when I spied this pair in Primark the other day. Silky, cute pattern and at a bargain price of £9, I was sold.

I've completely fallen in love with Liverpool. I think I can go as far as saying it's my favourite city outside of Glasgow. We're staying at The Hilton at Albert Docks and I would highly recommend staying here if you ever visit the city- it's the perfect location.

It's our last day here and my schedule is wide open so if you have any recommendations of where I should take my little booty today I would love to hear them?


XoXo