5 things about my cruise

I've just got back from a weeks cruise around the Canary Islands and Morocco. Here are a few little snippets from our week:

On the cruise I . . 

1. Went in a very bumpy 4x4 jeep in Morocco.

2. Stuffed myself silly on the first two days and felt ill. I obviously took it a bit slower on the food front for the rest of the week!


3. Watched performances each night by the AMAZING show team. They were so talented, I was very jealous.


4. Slept in a bunk that was incredibly hard to get in and out of. It was a mission and a half, once I was up there I didn't come down!


5. Visited the very beautiful capital city of Madeira, Funchal. Look how pretty the main streets are!

Recommended Recent Reads # 3 - Mistletoe Mansion

RRR#1 - About a Girl

RRR#2 - Sealed with a Kiss

I'm going to omit the description for this book as it is too long but click here if you wish to read it.

The gist of the story is this:

Kimmy finds herself  homeless after refusing to settle down with her boyfriend (and why should she, she's only 21!) and lands herself a job housesitting in a mansion next door to celebrity Melissa Winsford (like you do). The story involves cupcakes, ghosts and a fit handyman.

My opinion:

If I read my description i'd have bought this straight away but actually, the official blurb doesn't sound all that appealing to me. It was only the mention of mysterious ooccurrings that intrigued me. That and the 59p price tag.

In all honesty after starting this book I put it down (or whatever you call it when you're reading on a kindle) and didn't read again until a week later. The main character annoyed me. All this celebrity glitz, glamour and designer clothing she hankered for and the scenarios she imagined finding herself in with her celebrity neighbour. Eugh. 

BUT . . .

I did enjoy it once I got into the main story and it's always a good sign when you keep staying up longer for one more chapter . .  and one more chapter . . .

The ghostly happenings leave you wondering and the stuck-up witch (I don't swear but you can swap the W for another letter if you like) ;) living  next door does thaw and shows herself as a normal being in the end. Even Kimmy realises celebritydom is not all that.

A couple of mentions go to:

- Kimmy's a-ma-zing cake flavour combinations, Pina Colada surprises with Malibu flavoured buttercream and popping candy anyone?!

- Terry, a camp older golfing neighbour with eccentric outfits.

- Jess, Kimmy's best friend who has her head firmly out of the clouds and very much reminds me of her namesake in the Shopaholic books as Becky's sister.

- Lastly Luke, the token fit and mysterious male essential in any chick-lit, who provided this highlight-worthy quote:

'As long as you don't let your happiness become dependent on how much is in your bank account. Nothing wrong with aspirations as long as you're prepared to work hard for them and don't expect anyone else to hand them to you on a plate - that's what I reckon. Self-respect, a sense of achievement, everyone should aim for that.'

The price of this book is too good to turn down and despite my initial reservations, is a good Christmas or holiday (you don't need to wait until Christmas!) read to occupy yourself for a few days.

Anyone going to give this a go?

The Girl Online controversy

So I only heard about the whole controversy regarding Zoella's book, 'Girl Online', having been ghost-written a couple of hours ago. I've been trying to voice my opinion with others on twitter however 140 characters is not sufficient so here I am.

Now i've seen the deleted blog post from the apparent ghostwriter's blog, talking about a book she'd been asked to write in six weeks. Deleting it is is a little suspicious.
I also read a few tweets from a couple of people that said Zoella posted a picture of her with her ghostwriter a while back. So perhaps she has never denied it but I don't believe it has been widely known. It can't have been for the internet to have got so caught up in the story today.

I don't care if someone has their books ghost-written. Katie Price doesn't write her books. I've not read any of them but I still know that. Her fans still purchase.

I think it is the fact it was not disclosed more openly in the first instance.

The issue I have, is what Zoella and being a blogger stands for. In my opinion she is open, honest and natural. She talks about her anxiety openly and regularly goes without make-up in her vlogs. Blogs are also (though this in itself is a topic of regular debate recently) looked to for honest opinions and often favoured in the place of magazines. In my opinion, not being more upfront about the authorship of the book, is what I have a problem with and goes against who I see her as.

Maybe her management had a say in this, who knows. I'm not having a go at the girl, but perhaps       ' . . written in collaboration with . .'
would have been better for the front cover. I'm certain there would still have been just as many sales!

What is your opinion on this? Is it the same as mine?

A very brief trip: 4 hours in London

I've only visited London a handful of times so when I got the opportunity last weekend to go I jumped at it. My parents were working at a trade show in Reading with my Dad's shop so I caught a lift down with them Saturday morning. We left home very early at 4.30am and had a long day running the stall until the late afternoon. We were staying at a lovely hotel in Reading thanks to my discount for working with the hotel brand and we got to access the 'club lounge' for drinks and canapes before we went out for dinner. We've never had this before so we felt very posh!

I had quick walk into Reading town centre before dinner and managed to happen across loads of children teenagers getting pictures with Danny Mac and I *think* Carley Stenson who were there to help switch on the lights.

Back to get ready for dinner and a quick selfie in the bathroom mirror wearing my ebay leather jacket for the first time. (I actually bought it about 5 months ago but this was it's first outing). We went to a Chinese buffet which was delicious. The duck pancakes were AMAZING but I did overload myself on deserts and my Dad was shaking his head at my Mum and I as we almost had to roll ourselves out of the door!

I recently bought a bargain trio of Origin face masks from Boots and I brought the clay one with me to try that night. I didn't think it would come off that easily as I did leave it on a long time but surprisingly a wet flannel worked wonders.

The next day I left Mum and Dad at the show and I caught a train into London. Wow, the tube confuses me. I swear I always end up spending over £15 on it even though it should cap at the cost of a travelcard. When I have more time i'd love to do more by foot and bus but this was such a short visit I really didn't have the time to spend trying to figure that out.

I headed straight to the Tower of London. I knew they had started to dismantle the poppy exhibition but they had certainly got a move on. This was the view when I came out of the tube station! The front of the tower was still pretty much intact as you can see from my photo's.

Lets not forget the smaller parts of the display.

After working my way around the whole of the outside of the Tower, my next destination was to see Liberty and visit the Pixi store to purchase the famous 'Glow Tonic'. I hadn't seen Liberty before and to be honest, although it was all very upmarket I wasn't that impressed. I didn't however see all of the departments so I shall withhold full judgement!

Look how big the Liberty advent calendar is! 

The Pixi store was located just off this street below. It was actually a very clinical looking shop. I''d expected it to be quite cosy with more products, but the sales assistant was lovely, taking an interest in my visit to London. On the way to the tube station I spotted Topshop so did a very quick lipstick swatch all over my hand and came out with two berry/purple lipsticks.

After that it was time to go back to Paddington via Kensington/Notting Hill. One of the things I wanted to do whilst in London was visit a 'posh' borough. I quickly walked up Kensington high street and had a quick peek in this Jamie Oliver shop below. What you can see is a cookery school/demo area where children and their parents had booked to learn how to cook together. I think they were making a chocolate cake.

After that I meandered up some streets, wandering vaguley in the direction of the station. All the houses look like this there, it's all very Love Actually!

I was running out of time so I managed to hop on a bus to the train station. Turns out the buses aren't so hard to figure out. If they are all like that i'll be fine next time.

There were a couple more things on my list such as hiring a bike and visiting Hyde Park but I didn't have time. I had a great day though, even if the train back was rammed and I had to stand next to the door eating my Mcdonalds (classy). Next time must remember to reserve a seat!

Anywhere you think I should visit next time? I've hardly been anywhere in London so all suggestions welcome!