Top 5 British YouTube Vloggers | LIFE

Hello!

"Be it beauty videos, or a weekly vlog, there's something about her that it so calming"

YouTube has become quite the sensation. Actually, sometimes I totally prefer watching a few videos to watching TV - and I'm sure I'm not the only one!

Watching vlogs is basically reality TV, but on a more down-to-earth, personal level. It's quite amazing how much a vlog can brighten a day, and it also is something many look forward to on an everyday basis! I can absolutely see how it's a positive environment to be a part of, and we all need a little wind-down time in our day.

So, to add to the ever growing list of vloggers you may have in your subscription list, or even to possibly get you to start a subscription list, here are my top 5 YouTube vloggers that I like to watch. 

Actually, seeing as British YouTubers are totally a thing, I thought I'd keep this list as featuring British vloggers only - otherwise there's no way I'd be able to round it down to just 5!

image source: 1/2/3/4/5/6
" I'm all for someone who's light hearted and not too serious - and if you're up for that too, you'll like his vlogs!"

In order clockwise starting from top left, is:

Jim Chapman: youtube.com/EveryDayJim

The thing with Jim, is that he's so down to earth! I like his main channel video's too and the vlogs are just like an extension to that! He's super fashionable too and it's just a good time when you watch his vlogs.

Joe Sugg: youtube.com/ThatcherJoeVlogs

The reason I think Joe's videos are fun are simply because of the witty things he comes up with. I remember in his L.A. vlogs there was a squirrel in their front garden area which he named Cedric the Squirrel, long story short, the squirrel in our garden is now officially called Susan the Squirrel (I'll show you her one day!). 

Okay, that anecdote didn't tell you much, but all in all, his randomness makes him funny. I'm all for someone who's light hearted and not too serious - and if you're up for that too, you'll like his vlogs!

Gabriella Lindley: youtube.com/PlanetGabb

She's a newbie in my books. That doesn't mean I don't like her as much as the others. In fact, I really enjoy watching her vlogs. She's living in Brighton and now has a cute little kitty! She also has the 'I don't really care what the world thinks, I'll do what I want' attitude, and I couldn't agree with her more! 

Anna Gardner: youtube.com/ViviannaDoesMakeup

I love watching Anna. Be it beauty videos, or a weekly vlog, there's something about her that it so calming. She's a great influence and seems like an amazing person to have as a bestie! Either way, she's one I couldn't not include in a British YouTuber roundup.

Lily Pebbles: youtube.com/LilyPebbles

I feel like Anna and Lily go hand-in-hand. They're often seen in each other's vlogs and if you're subscribed to one, you're likely to be subscribed to the other. It's fun to see the adventures she goes on and it's lovely to get some places-to-go-in-London recommendations! From one Londoner to another! 

You may just love these new finds, or you may have already be subscribed to them all. 

Either way, if you're a YouTube fan I'd love to know which YouTubers you'd choose as your Top 5?

Blogger Spring Gift Swap | LIFE

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"there was some nail polish, which we can never get enough of,"

Being part of the blogging community is amazing! Not only being a blogger, but being a reader has so many benefits too. You get a sneak peak into someone else's life (let's face it: we're all a little nosy) and it's good to check reviews of stuff before you go ahead and purchase.

This post, however, is the evidence of the benefits of meeting people from the community. Adele from adelesmith.co.uk organised this little Spring Gift Swap. I received my end of the swap and sent it off too. I thought I'd show you what my wonderful Swap-pee sent me.

My 'swap-pee' as we have now called it, was Emily from recipesandreviews.co.uk. I've got to hand it to her, the packaging was absolutely gorgeous! I love a bit of pink and you can only guess my excitement when I opened the package.

"maybe made you feel a little more Spring-festive.. "

Inside, Emily has individually packaged each item with a few easter chocolates! It was so cute!

If you follow my instagram, you'd know about the scrapbook. Emily also knew about it and kindly sent over some washi tape! Along with that, there was some nail polish, which we can never get enough of, and stationary! It was so thoughtful of her.

"awesome community we are lucky to have"

Overall, it was a super fun thing to do, and a nice way to connect in the community!
Hopefully this has somewhat reminded you of the awesome community we are lucky to have, and maybe made you feel a little more Spring-festive.. like these posts haven't done enough of that!

Nonetheless, I hope you have a lovely day, and tell me:
What is one thing you'd put in a gift swap inspired by Spring?

The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling | Books

Hello!

You may have seen this picture somewhere (i.e. Instagram) which hugely hinted at this post coming your way. Since then, I have debated whether or not this should be written. Also since then, another book has been started being read. Let me tell you, it's completely different to the one pictured above!

Well, as we're mentioning all the things that have happened since I started reading The Casual Vacancy, I'll just throw in there that this book has been the inspiration of a new show on BBC called 'The Casual Vacancy'!

For the record, I watched the first episode of that show and was not a fan. It is completely different to how I imagined it would be. To be honest, when I was reading this, I did imagine it to be a bit like EastEnders. You know, with the whole 'peaking into people's lives all over the town and their lives all intertwine, and everyone knows each other' kind of thing, yet I thought it was more 'posh' than they portrayed it in the show. Let me just say: I don't like EastEnders and I didn't like this book.

The reason I picked it up? It's got J.K.Rowling as the author, and as much as I love Harry Potter books, it's the fact that I absolutely adored The Cuckoo's Calling that made me want to pick up this one. It is nowhere near the standard of The Cuckoo's Calling. I feel like it took forever to get the ball rolling in terms of the storyline itself, heck, the ball was never rolling! It was a totally stationary ball.

I do like J.K.Rowling's writing style, which again wasn't too bad in this book, but just when you're getting into a character, it changes and another character is the main story. There are a million characters and it's so difficult to get your head around it - especially if you're not into the (practically non-existent) story line. Maybe that's why it didn't grab my attention, as there was just too much going on.

Long story short, just when you think J.K.Rowling never disappoints (after reading this book by her), she disappoints!

Have you read any other books by J.K.Rowling that may redeem her in my eyes? 

Afternoon Tea at No. 12 Bloomsbury, London

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"To our surprise, it tasted like a pizza in a sandwich!"

Afternoon tea is the perfect way to spend a day off, with people you'd like to sit with for 3 hours and talk until the cows come home! What's more, when it's raining outside, afternoon tea tastes just that much better!

Tea is known for the British, and London has a million and one places for you to enjoy it! We went with this place: Number Twelve, Bloomsbury. Based in the heart of London, with wonderful buildings giving that true admiration of British culture. Although the pillars pictured above has nothing to do the tea itself, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a snap and take a moment for architecture!

"next thing you know it's super bitter and not chocolate-y at all!"

The café itself is actually quite the opposite of traditional English. It is quite modern, contemporary should I say, and gives off a clean, fresh vibe. It's quite beautiful and there's such open-ness about it - possibly due to the beautiful high ceilings and crisp white accents.

The tables were spacious and the tea menu decent. I say decent because at first we were going to give Darjeeling a shot, as it was on the back of the menu, and then they say, "well, we only have certain teas available, shown on the inside cover of the menu". This did not include Darjeeling so we went for the good ol' English Breakfast and Ceylon. Ceylon was a nice tea, but it wouldn't be one I'd order again. Darjeeling is next on the hit list!

"We weren't left out to dry before they gave us our teas"

In terms of the cutlery, which I didn't think I'd mention today, it was beautiful! I love big cups, and this cup was big and it had a fancy contemporary design! What more could I ask for? Although my ideal cup would be the same volume but taller instead of wide - okay that was tmi! Continuing with this, the knives and forks were incredibly light! It was lovely.
I still find it incredibly weird to write about the cup and knives and forks, but it had to be thrown in there! ;)

The sandwiches were super yummy! What we did was have the ones we thought would be the not-so-nice ones first - which was the tomato one. To our surprise, it tasted like a pizza in a sandwich! Absolutely delightful!

As for the treats dish - there were scones, scones with raisins, tarts and two sets of dense bread/cake type of things with dried fruit in them. The dried fruit things were not that great. In fact, one of them looked like a chocolate brownie, so we saved it to last - next thing you know it's super bitter and not chocolate-y at all!

To top it all off, the scones were served with the most delicious blackberry jam (as well as strawberry jam and clotted cream). All of this served in the most interesting cake tray ever!

"when it's raining outside, afternoon tea tastes just that much better!"

Another great thing, which is quite important in any place you go, is the staff. They were lovely, efficient and super friendly! We weren't left out to dry before they gave us our teas and tray of goodies. They came fairly quickly and overall, pretty satisfied!

A great place to visit if in London and fancy some contemporary Afternoon Tea! Without a doubt an upgrade from last time and definitely one that upped the standards of Afternoon Tea.

What is your favourite type of tea, have you given Darjeeling a go?

One Direction FOUR: Music

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" songs you'd want to listen to when you're in the car on a rainy day and looking out the window as though you're in a movie"

With a new year (I'm probably going to start every post in January with that opening!), new music is called for. Is it really? No, probably not, but what can go wrong - other than being totally addicted to it and having to listen to it 24/7!

Well, I've never really been a huge, die-hard fan of 1D, until now. Literally, the most recent album, Four, has been on repeat. After listening to the Four album playlist on YouTube about a million times, I decided it was time to add it to the iTunes playlist - and I never looked back!

My top 3 favourites from the album are: "Fool's Gold", "Night Changes" and "Ready to Run". Special mention to "18" too.
*Click on the titles to be directed to a download link.

The album is great because it's quite relaxing. Like, it has the type of songs you'd want to listen to when you're in the car on a rainy day and looking out the window as though you're in a movie - catch my drift?

So, if you're looking for a couple of songs to add to your playlist, don't let any stereotype of 1D stop you. Their music is great and that's all that matters!

Tell me, are you a 1D fan? If so, what's your favourite song?

Afternoon Tea in London: The Knightsbridge Garden Hotel

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"I was a little disappointed as all they really needed was to stock up on the Twinings"

Living in London my whole life and never gone out for 'Afternoon Tea' - a disgrace? Quite possibly. Well, this is no longer a valid statement as last weekend, I did go out for Afternoon Tea and I can honestly say, I'd do it again.

"a pleasant mix of sweet and savoury to mix and match, and not get too sick of the same flavour"

Take the train to Knightsbridge and a mere 5 minutes walk later, pass the beautiful buildings and a huge poster of Cara Delevingne on the wall of Burberry, you see a white shop which looks calm around the hustle and bustle of the christmas shoppers on the high street. You enter into a room of utter silence. The wooden floors give a natural vibe and the monochrome outfits of the waiters suggest an ordered environment. After being taken to the room, you choose your table and are given an option: Champagne or Juice. From the picture above you can tell, I chose the latter.

"a cake stand with food and a cup of tea - alongside chatting with good company, it was a great day"

The juice tasted something poured out of a Tesco Value carton - not exactly the best thing in the world, but that's okay. The main beverage of the day was the tea, of course. Given a tea menu and asked to make a selection - I didn't know what to choose. Going with a friend meant you could choose and share more than one type of tea, as each order meant an entire teapot of the flavour. She went with English Breakfast and I felt something a little different: How about the Pomegranate White Tea, I asked. A little while later the waitress returned and said they're out. I was a little disappointed as all they really needed was to stock up on the Twinings tea bags, as that is what they used. Earl Grey it is, then, I responded. 

"jam and butter on the side of the scones was a nice touch"

Out came the cake stand with one layer of sandwiches, one of cakes and bakes, and of course a layer of the traditional scones. It was nice to share as it meant getting a bit of everything without having to finish it all and be extremely full! There was a pleasant mix of sweet and savoury to mix and match, and not get too sick of the same flavour. My favourite of them all was the brownie - dense and full of flavour. 

"never gone out for 'Afternoon Tea' - a disgrace? Quite possibly."

A nice little table on the side, with a view of the high street, a cake stand with food and a cup of tea - alongside chatting with good company, it was a great day. Overall, it was pretty simple, with regular service to see if there was anything else we wanted, and the atmosphere being calm, relaxing and just lovely.

"I did go out for Afternoon Tea and I can honestly say, I'd do it again"

Unfortunately my earl grey tasted extremely lemony, possibly because the previous tea in the teapot must have been lemon flavoured and not washed off properly. That tea was undrinkable, but due to an entire teapot being given with each order, we shared the English Breakfast, with still some to spare.
The jam and butter on the side of the scones was a nice touch, meaning we didn't have to ask for anything more.

On the whole, a lovely experience, a relaxing atmosphere and a nice area in London. Although I wouldn't go to the same place again, simply to visit new places. Would I go out for Afternoon Tea again? Most definitely!

Tell me, is Afternoon Tea something you formally have everyday, or do you grab a quick snack if you feel a bit peckish?