Weekend away: London

I spent all of Friday wishing my lessons at sixth form would go quicker, because after my last lesson my mum and I caught the train down to London. I've been a handful of times, and recently went with my politics class in January but was very excited to be going back. We met my sister off her train from Bristol and made our way to out hotel. We stayed in the Travel Lodge at Covent Garden which was great as there was a tube station 5 minutes away and was very central.

We did a lot of walking around, going for breakfast and then exploring Covent Gardens on Saturday morning, which was really nice because we got there for before the rest of London had woken up so it was very quiet. Then we walked to Trafalgar square and marvelled at the street performers (how do they manage to levitate with nothing to support them?!) before going to St James Park for lunch as it was warm enough to eat outside. It felt like summer. After a spot of sun bathing we headed down The Mall to Buckingham Palace. By this point we were a bit weary so went to the Tate for tea and scones and a much needed sit down. The evening involved just as much walking (my feet were aching by this point) as we went to Leicester Square to pick up cinema tickets and then to find some tea-we went to GBK which was lovely as always. We then went to the cinema before catching a very busy tube back to the hotel and collapsing exhausted.

Sunday was more relaxed-we went to the British Museum and got lunch before going to Hyde park and then getting our trains home. I love London because its so different to where I live, which is a small rural town. There's so many people and so much going on, yet some areas are still quiet and don't feel like a capital city. The architecture is also beautiful, with so many lovely old buildings. I find it very tiring though and am always pleased to go home. Hopefully we'll be going back soon!

Helen x

Snowy Snaps

I live in the North East, where there's been a bit of snow recently (yay). There wasn't much in the town where I live so a couple of weekends ago we ventured up the dale in search of more. We found lots, so I thought I'd share with you some wintery photos.

Helen x 

Book of the Month

I'm a regular reader of the Guardian and usually the first thing I do is turn to the beauty section to read Sali Hughes' weekly column which I love, and so I was very happy when I finally got my hands on her book- Pretty Honest. It's £22 (though cheaper on Amazon-you can get it here)

It's a good thick book packed with sensible, straight forward tips and advice on everything from salon etiquette to acne. All the sections are written in Sali's characteristic no-nonsense style, which I love, and all are genuinely useful. I particularly enjoyed the sections on daily skincare routine, foundation and Teen beauty-all very relevant and well thought out. There's some lovely photos in it, but its mainly just good solid advice. I read it cover to cover, irritating my family by continuously saying 'Sali says…' and then quoting some new fact I'd learnt. I'm now dipping in and out, picking it up before heading to Boots so I know what ingredients to avoid in skincare for oily skin, or what blush she recommends. It truly is a Beauty Bible. I love it-can you tell?

Helen x

Back to the '50's: Record Players and the vinyl to play on them

You know those presents people receive, which are partly your present too? Well, that’s what happened with the record player my dad got last Christmas. He'd unearthed his record player from his youth along with stacks of vinyl and for a while was able to relive his teenage years very loudly. Then it broke and for a while the house was peaceful, until the new one appeared under the tree.

Also under the tree was some vinyl of my own (my dad and I don't have exactly the same music taste, though I do love many of his records). I was very happy to be able to play Mumford and Sons in LP form at last. My friend also got a record player recently, so I thought I'd do an appreciation post of sorts. Below are links to devices on the lower end of the price spectrum (so you still have money left over to splurge on all your new music) and some of the many artists who release in vinyl.

5 of the best Record Players under £70

•  GPO Stylo 3 Speed Stand Alone Turntable
•   Crosley Cruiser Briefcase Style Turntable
•  PylePro Retro Turntable    
• ION Duo Deck Turntable  
•  Steepletone Stereo Record Player 

 5 artists who release in vinyl

• Young the Giant 
•   One Direction (yup, that surprised me too)
•  Taylor Swift
•  Two Door Cinema Club
•  Bombay Bicycle Club