travel

Here Comes the Sun

31 August 2016

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden
During the bank holiday Monday in the UK, we experienced something incredibly rare: good weather. I certainly wasn’t expecting anything too amazing, especially for the North – but it was actually sunny all day! I’m still in shock. As the weather was on our side, my friends and I decided to experience one of Yorkshire’s most beautiful National Trust parks and visited Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden in Ripon. It’s stunningly beautiful, especially with the sunlight highlighting the best of the nature.
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden is a park I’ve never visited before, but was excited to visit somewhere new, even if it meant walking for five hours. It was great to just spend time with friends, just hanging out for free. One of the best features of the park is not just the enormous lake and beautiful gardens, but the herds of deer that freely roam the area. I live in a quiet village so I’ve seen the occasional deer before, but usually just one and from the distance. In Ripon, I saw about thirty at once and there’s really nothing more exciting than seeing such remarkable animals in their natural habitat.


I don’t consider myself a big nature outdoor-sy person, I’m the first to run from the sight of a bee and cry if there’s a spider in my eyeline – but I really enjoyed the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Gardens. From watching swans fly across the lake, to purchasing the best ice cream cone I’ve ever had, to walking through the river and trying not to fall; there’s something for everyone. People of all ages can walk around, and there’s dogs everywhere! The highlight of the day was definitely seeing deer close-up, as well as spending a great day in the sun.


What did you get up to over the bank holiday?

Totally Thrifted

21 August 2016

Alton, UK
I recently spent a whole day at Alton Towers, also known as my favourite place on Earth, and I always want to wear something comfortable but inexpensive as I'm the one girl that loses a jacket (or a shoe) whenever I go anywhere. I managed to put together an entire outfit (minus the accessories) from thrift shopping and I have to talk about how much I'm falling in love with it. 

I haven't bought too many things from thrift shops in the past because I never grew up shopping in them, and would always go on shopping trips to the enormous centres in the nearest city, which usually don't include local charity and thrift shops. I actually live in a tiny village in West Yorkshire, and there are charity shops everywhere; and as you know, charities are my life. Literally. I hear a lot of bloggers talk about thrifting and I decided it's time to really make the plunge, digging around in those shops is a lot like shopping in TK Maxx, it takes time and real dedication - there's so much stuff!
Alton is pretty far from where I live, so number one thing was a comfy outfit. To get there I had to set off at 06:00, not my favourite time of the day, but as a new-found morning person it's not the worst. I knew I would sleep in the car because heat + nice tunes + rocking motion = Anika asleep. I wanted to wear jeans on the trip because I absolutely loathe leggings and cropped or really short tops and I had already fallen in love with this poppy-printed cotton tank top I'm wearing. Black jeans are my new go-to, so of course, I looked in twelve thrift and charity shops until I found some! The ones I got were some vintage super-stretch jeans (sadly the label is faded) but I'm so glad the colour is still there! For me, that shows the great quality.
My hoodie was a little too big, but that's ideal for me as oversized clothing is my total weakness. Comfort is number one for rollercoasters so a cosy grey number is perfect! The weather always varies, we're in the UK, what else is going to happen? So I needed something I could tie around my waist or stuff in my bag when the sun decided to appear. Luckily it did make a small appearance and brightened the day. There's only one water ride left at Alton Towers (BOO!) and it's still likely you end up drenched. Although there's always that one person who never gets wet and I need to figure out their method because I'm the complete opposite. Anyway, I knew a cotton zip-up would dry off quickly, especially if the sun is out, and it happens to pair with the rest of my outfit pretty well!
Overall, I'm loving thrift shopping, it could be my new thing! Have you every thrifted? What did you get?

Blogging at an Event | My Three Essentials

16 May 2016

Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
I recently attended the Live at Leeds Festival thanks to The Blogger Programme and The Zeitgeist Agency and enjoyed the whole day. However, it mean I needed to be prepared as the festival is held in a number of venues in Leeds and I’d be on the go all day. This gave the idea to create a blog post on three essentials for blogging at an event or on the go!

A NOTEBOOK
I mentioned in a previous post that I struggle to concentrate and get stuff done unless I write down what needs to be completed. For a blogging event, I like to take note of opening and closing times, as well as the names and numbers of important people. When going to the Live at Leeds event, there were certain artists I really wanted to see at different places across the city centre, so I noted down where I needed to be and when. It’s common that events will have brands sponsoring or gifting items, so noting down the names of those brands and even the Twitter and Instagram handles to mention them online.

A CAMERA + LENS
Bringing a camera is an obvious essential, but if I can squeeze in another lens, I always try to do so. Depending on the job, you could bring different types of cameras to produce different types of photos. Or, you could be like me and super protective over expensive equipment and chose to bring the less expensive camera! For Live at Leeds I brought my Pentax K-S2 camera, but the Canon 1000D is always a great option for taking clear photos and capturing the right shot. If there’s an event where I can’t bring such a big camera, my iPhone 6s camera works well too. It’s great to be able capture a photo and post it straight onto my social media accounts.

ACCESSORIES + MAKEUP
Attending an event usually means an OOTD photoshoot, and I always like to touch up just before to ensure I like remotely presentable for the blog post! Makeup is a crucial must-have for most places I go, and I hate forgetting the extra tube of eyeliner or another powder pack. For accessories, I like to bring anything that will make my outfit a little better or has a shimmer. I don’t think I’ve ever said no to diamonds ;) Live at Leeds resulting in spending some time in the sun, so I brought along my Bloc Eyewear sunglasses* and Dixi “Born a Bad Seed” ring* to add to my look.

What are your top three essentials?

My City Festival Essentials | Win Free Tickets

13 April 2016

Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
On Saturday 30th April 2016, Live At Leeds Festival will arrive and I cannot wait. One of my bucket list items for 2016 was to attend a huge music festival and Live At Leeds is the perfect event. Live At Leeds is held annually across a variety of venues in Leeds and always has an incredibly amazing line-up. It’s a great way to see the acts you love as well as discover new performers to fall in love with. The festival celebrates local bands as well as established artists and I’m so excited to attend. Jess Glynne is one of my favourite UK artists and I can't wait to see her live; it's also going to be amazing watching The Boxer Revellion, Will Joseph Cook, Loz Campbell and Tiggs Da Author perform!
See the line up below:
Of course, with every event I attend, I have essentials. And there are plenty of essential needed for Live At Leeds.

A Good Camera
Taking your iPhone and an enormous DSLR camera is always a nice idea, but can end up in damaged equipment. One of the best thing about festivals is the atmosphere, and Live At Leeds always has an amazing and enthusiastic atmosphere – so lugging around a heavy camera isn’t the most sensible idea. However, it is important to get extraordinary photos so you can look back on such a fun event. When on the go at a city festival like Live At Leeds, a disposable camera or smaller digital reflex camera is definitely one of my essentials.

Appropriate shoes
There’s nothing worse than wearing shoes that will cause pure pain all night. It’s a pointless pursuit, especially when a music festival is in more than one venue and in such a busy and exciting city. As Live At Leeds is not just a stand-still festival, there’s plenty and walking and exploring to do and so much the city can offer. It’s really important to wear your favourite shoes, but shoes that will stay intact and won’t take away from the experience by clouding fun memories with bruises and blisters.

Mini everything
I usually like to freshen up half way through the night because I'm slightly vain, so bringing smaller beauty items and even a miniature perfume bottle is vital. Carrying around a huge rucksack full of all your April beauty favourites is not the way to go, the more compact the better. If you’re a bit of a hygiene freak like me, why not pack an extra bottle of anti-bacterial or one of those Dettol sprays that are in tiny bottles? Lipstick is also a huge essential for me, as you can never have too much lipstick.

Cash. Plenty of cash.
Whenever I go out, I avoid paying with my card. I just prefer being able to pay for something quickly at a bar or counter, without having to pull out my debit card and remember my pin (which I always forget). Honestly, I don’t like using my card for anything, and there’s absolutely no chance you’ll catch me using a contactless payment card machine – I don’t trust them! Having change in a little coin purse or wallet is really handy and less of a hassle.

Tickets!
Obviously, it’s hard to get into a city festival, or any festival without a ticket. I’m so excited to be able to offer all my readers and followers the opportunity to winfree tickets to Live At Leeds 2016! There’s not long left, so head over to The Blogger Programme’s Facebook Page (or click this link) and enter for the chance to win some free tickets. There are 6 ways to enter and you don’t need a Facebook account to be able to enter. Woohoo!

My UK Bucket List

24 January 2016

I may have my own blogging bucket list, and then a personal, ever-expanding bucket list, but I've also created a bucket list specifically linked to the United Kingdom. It's the place I was born, the place I wake up to every day and a great place to explore. This list could also contain a few ideas for those overseas who plan of taking a trip across the pond.
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