Telly Obsession: Orange Is the New Black

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

( Image found at: https://www.facebook.com/OITNB )

A couple of weeks ago, after watching episode 9 ('Blood Money') of Breaking Bad on Netflix, I sat slumped across my bed, feeling gutted that I had to wait another week to watch the next installment of my favourite tv series. In true Netflix style, something random started playing all of a sudden and instead of getting up to turn it off, like I normally would - I found myself intrigued by what I was seeing.

It was the promotional trailer for a new Netflix original series called Orange Is the New Black. After watching this trailer, I decided to give the series a whirl and before I knew it, I found myself binge-watching episodes everyday until the ungodly hour of 4AM.

I would describe Orange Is the New Black as an American version of the UK hit show Bad Girls, only slightly less harrowing and a lot funnier.

OITNB follows the life of Piper Chapman, who is uprooted from her 'normal' happy life with her fiance, Larry Bloom, when she is summoned to serve a 15 month sentence for a crime she committed in her earlier life. The series focuses on her time in prison and the trials and tribulations she faces when trying to 'fit in' with her fellow inmates and earn their respect. Piper makes some friends straight away such as Nicky Nichols and Lorna Morello, but others prove harder to connect with, and Piper finds herself out of her depths when trying to build friendships with them. In another unexpected twist, Piper finds herself face to face with her ex lesbian lover, Alex Vause, who is also serving time in the same prison. Alex was the reason for Piper's arrest, as they were both involved in an international drug smuggling scheme, and therefore Piper is initially raging when she sees her. However, over the course of the series, sparks fly chemistry-wise and the two find themselves seeking solace in each other.

What I personally love about this programme is the complexity of it. While Piper Chapman is the main character, and we follow her story, we also get to know the personalities of other characters within the prison. You will find yourself loving even the scariest of characters as you are shown their background and upbringing in a series of flashbacks which show the reason for each inmates arrest. My personal favourite characters are Tasha 'Taystee' Jefferson and Nicky Nichols. Yet I find myself enjoying the crazy and slightly scary characters of Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren and god-fearing Tiffany 'Pennsatucky' Doggett.

While Orange Is the New Black has some fantastically funny moments, it also explores themes like rape, drug addiction and homelessness in a realistic manner through its clever intertwining stories and flashbacks. Each character tells a different story but when stripped back, many of them are very similar. Because of this, the series also contains inner morals and values which become apparent when a character has a lesson to be learnt.

OITNB is one of those programmes you will be glued to. I found it impossible to watch just one episode and am now lost after finishing series one. While no date has been set for series two yet, it has been reported that Netflix commissioned a second series before the first had even aired, and we can expect this sometime in 2014.

I would seriously encourage anyone who is a fan of dramedies to give this show a chance. Even the opening theme 'You've Got Time' by Regina Spektor is incredibly catchy and will be stuck in your head for days. Get yourself a Netflix account - or borrow a friends like I do - and get watching the first series, I guarantee that by the end, you will be itching to watch the second!

My long weekend in Scarborough

Last Summer, I spent five days visiting one of my best friends, Jade, in her hometown of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, (blog post here) and I had so much fun that I decided to visit her again this year.

Scarborough is my absolute favourite seaside town, don't ask me why, but I just love it! And for some reason, everytime I visit Jade, we get lucky weather-wise and therefore get to do loads of fun things. I stayed with Jade from Thursday to Monday and we did something different everyday.

My chosen journey soundtrack, High State - Tear the World Apart (buy it here), Scarborough's South beach looking from St Nicholas Gardens and one of my favourite things about Scarborough - a lemon twist ice cream from Harbour Bar

On the Friday, we went to Whitby, another quaint little seaside town in North Yorkshire. Whitby is well-known for its intriguing sights such as Whitby Abbey, but also for its cute little boutique shops selling everything from seaside souvenirs, Whitby Jet jewellery, confectionery and even home-wares. I hadn't visited Whitby since I was a little kid and my family used to go on Sunday day trips, so it was really nice to come back and reminisce.

A steam train on the way into Whitby, holiday makers enjoying the Sun on Whitby beach and the entrance to Whitby Harbour

Friday night was the highlight for me, because we got to see McFly at Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Anyone who knows me will know I'm a massive McFly fangirl (or Galaxy Defender for any fellow fangirls/boys) and have been for 10 years since they first got together. I've seen them so many times, but never at a venue quite like the Scarborough OAT which is situated outside, and features tiered seating and a lake/pond in front of the stage. Its a really unique venue but I really like it, as you can see perfectly from anywhere in the arena and its incredibly easy to get up and get a drink from the bar at anytime, while still enjoying the gig. The gig wasn't my absolute favourite one that I've been to but its the first time I've been slightly intoxicated at a McFly show and therefore made for a very interesting night! McFly played a fantastic set as always, even though they were only on for a short period of time compared to most shows and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

McFly doing what they do best and me and Jade in front of the stage loving every minute of it!

On Saturday I was feeling a little fragile following Friday night's events, but it was nothing a bit of breakfast and some fresh air couldn't sort out. After coming back to life a little bit, we went to a beautiful waterfall called Falling Foss situated in the North Yorkshire Moors national park. We had a walk through the forest and saw the waterfall which was beautiful but the highlight was Falling Foss tea-gardens. The tea-garden is a small cafe situated in the gardens of a cottage in the heart of the forest, with lots of outdoor tables and seats and a small cabin which serves tea, coffee and freshly-baked cakes. The garden is beautiful and has lots of activities for kids such as a wooden play area and giant jenga. With it being hidden in the depths of the forest, many people probably aren't aware that it exists but anyone who visits should spread the word because it is such a pretty place to sit and take in the surroundings with a warming cup of tea.

The two pictures I did manage to get of Falling Foss

On Sunday we stayed indoors and recuperated while Jade did some university work and I watched trashy telly, accompanied by a beautiful Sunday roast made by Jade's mum - just what we needed after an exciting weekend!

Before I left to catch my train back to Huddersfield on Monday, we hit the beach for a few hours. We indulged in some of our favourite seaside traditions - spending too much money on 2p slot machines, a massive plate of fish and chips from the best fish and chip cafe in Scarborough - The Harbour View Cafe, and my final Harbour Bar ice-cream of the weekend. The perfect end to a perfect weekend.

A couple of snaps from my final day: Scarborough Spa bridge, boats in the Harbour, Scarborough Lighthouse and the best prize in any 2p machine ever - Fun Snaps!

Is there such a thing as shopaholics anonymous?!

During July, I spent the whole month flitting between work and an empty flat. I had no exciting plans, no money and I was in dire need of human conversation with someone other than a customer. The month seemed to drag on forever and I couldn't wait for it to end so that I could look forward to all the fun plans ahead for me in the following month.

Now we are 2 weeks into August and as predicted, I have been rushed off my feet! I have been to Leeds, Manchester and of course in and out of Huddersfield which is where I live. I have met up with friends, seen a lot more of my boyfriend and just genuinely had a lot more fun already this month. One of the things I have been doing a lot of, is shopping. So much so, that I am now ridiculously skint and worried that I may have an addiction to buying things! With this in mind, I decided to show off some of the things I have been buying lately.

Most of these items have already been worn, so I'll do my best to remember the prices, or at least give a rough idea.

This first outfit is something I wore to my boyfriend's gig in Manchester earlier this week. The top is a simple black lace crop top which was around £5 from Primark. I was thrilled to find this, because I recently bought a similar one from Topshop and had to return it, as it was too tight and didn't fit nicely. This top however, is a great alternative for a fraction of the price. The leather look skater skirt was also from Primark at around £5 - a complete bargain when most places are selling them for £15 upwards. To finish off the outfit, I wanted some flatforms and luckily I managed to find these little bargains in Primark for £12. They are black with a suede/velvet feel, and have a dainty little ankle strap, which takes emphasis away from the chunky platform. I am in love with these shoes as they are so comfortable and will go with any outfit. Flatforms are great if you are useless in heels and can only cope with a wedge, like me. I just know these will be my go-to 'going out' shoe from now on.

The next item I bought from Primark is pretty basic but I am so in love with it, that I bought 3! (ooops!) It is simply an oversized batwing sleeved jumper, in a marl purple colour. The reason I bought 3 of these is because they are incredibly comfortable and look great over a pair of plain black leggings. They were an absolute steal at £5 each and have a lovely fitting, which comes lower at the back and sits slightly off the shoulder.

The next item is from an ebay shop called punk-never-dies which sells a wide range of band t-shirts, vests and dresses. They stock loads of artists and bands from Justin Bieber to Alice Cooper, so if you're into music of any kind, you might just find something to suit your tastes. As you can see, I bought a Black Sabbath vest as I recently became quite a fan of theirs after seeing them live at Download Festival last year. My boyfriend has loved them for years and my mum is also a fan, so after being converted myself, I decided to buy this vest ready for when I see them again in December. (Super excited!)

In keeping with the music theme, I also visited one of my favourite stores - Pulp. I always love having a browse at all the alternative clothes in this store, but rarely buy anything as I'm always skint! However, this time they had an offer on any 2 band t-shirts for £25, which I thought was fantastic, because some places sell one for that price. So me and my boyfriend took full advantage of the offer; me with this Metallica tee and him with a rather obscene Johnny Cash one. We got two t-shirts that we both love for only £12.50 each - bargain!

The next top I bought was again, from Primark. I saw this and shoved it straight in my basket because I just thought it was really cool! A tiger's face on a galaxy style background - whats not to love?! I also love the cutout back on this vest and it was only £6 so I didn't even think twice about buying it.

Apologies for how creased this blouse is! I have worn it to death over the last week! This isn't something I would normally buy but for some reason I just love it. It looks really vintage and 80s, but it was actually from Primark. It was £10 which in comparison to some of the other Primark things I have bought, is a bit more expensive, but I have probably got my moneys worth out of it already!

This lacy shrug is from Primark and was £6. I picked it up because I thought it was a nice alternative to a cardigan on a night out or just to put with a nice dress. I love how floaty and wide the sleeves on it are. Plus its lightweight enough to fit in my bag if I'm out and don't want to wear it. Primark had a few other nice shrugs in other styles so its worth having a look even if lace is not your thing.

Finally something not from Primark! These are both from Urban Outfitters, which is one of my favourite shops. I actually did quite well buying these two as they came to less than £25 with student discount and I am notoriously known among my friends for my Urban Outfitters sprees. The vest is a pinky purple colour with a cool pattern and is quite small and lightweight, perfect for Summer. It was only £12 which is really cheap for UO. The necklace was quite expensive at £14, but its a turquoise turtle for the love of God! I love turtles and I'd been eyeing this up for quite a while so I had to have it!

The final thing I'm going to post is possibly my favourite. It is considerably more girly than all the other things I've bought lately but its so pretty, and fits so nicely that I just love it. I saw this on Facebook by a page called Bows Boutique which I was unaware that I had 'liked' so it was more than a pleasant surprise when this came up on my timeline. The print on the dress is really nice and Summery. The actual dress itself is also really flattering. It is a skater style dress, and also has a little padding on the bust area which is great for me. I haven't had the opportunity to wear this out yet but I can't wait til I do as its beautiful.



After writing this post its suddenly very obvious why I am so poor at the minute! This is not even half of the things I have bought lately but I would be writing this forever if I featured everything.

There are also a few things I have bought which I'm not too sure on, so there could be another Ebay session very soon!

Hopefully its not just me that can be this reckless when it comes to shopping!

Big kid with a passion for being creative? Look no further...

After being given a £100 Amazon voucher earlier this year, I had a bit of a crazy moment and for some bizarre reason, wasted it all on things that wouldn't be out of place in a ten year olds bedroom. For example, a lifetime supply of Fun Snaps, Lego Creationary and the focus of this post, a Wreck This Journal.

Wreck This Journal is a book created by Keri Smith. The book is kind of like an activity book, in that there are instructions on each page and you are meant to interpret the instructions in whatever creative way you wish. When I first came across this on Amazon, I decided to search for it in YouTube to get an idea of some of the instructions and how people had interpreted them and was pleased to find videos of people flicking through their own completed books. After I'd seen some of the cool things people had done on each page, I decided to forget about the fact that I'm actually 21 and not 10 and buy one.

When it arrived I felt like a kid at Christmas and was glued to it for about a week, where I just sat in the corner of the living room surrounded by pens, pencils, paints, PVA, and random things I had collected around the flat. Two of my flatmates study arty, creative subjects at uni and are always sat painting or drawing and I get incredibly jealous that my course only allows me to write essays and not do anything quite as Art Attack-esque. So for this reason, I was super excited to do this journal because it meant I could finally join in! (And it gave me something else to procrastinate with, when I was meant to be doing assignments...)

I've had my Wreck This Journal for a few months and have finished a few pages in it but there are still many left to do. However, I thought I would share some of my pages and talk about the journal on my blog because personally, I don't think enough people know about this book and I would've loved something like this as a kid.

So here are a few of the pages I've done, and please bare in mind, I cannot draw to save my life and to be honest, had I given the book to my 6 year old sister, she probably would've done a better job, but I've had a blast doing it so I don't care!

I cant wait until its finished and I can do this bit!

After seeing how excited I was about my journal, my flatmates also went on to buy similar books from Keri Smith's range such as Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes and The Pocket Scavenger. I also bought another of her books entitled This Is Not A Book, which is similar to Wreck This Journal but with a different spin.

Page from This Is Not A Book

These books are a great gift idea for any creative child, or anyone who is a big kid at heart like me. They would also be a great activity for the summer holidays, when struggling to find things to occupy them, and will be fun to look at in years to come. Wreck This Journal and all the other books I have mentioned are available on Amazon for less than £10 each, so grab a bargain and have some fun with it!

Recent Cosmetics Haul and Review! Barry M, Rimmel, Revlon & Lime Crime

I've been somewhat AWOL for the last couple of months in terms of blogging. This is down to a number of reasons such as university assignments, my job, enjoying time with friends and a simple lack of anything interesting to write about!

However, once again its Summer, which means my flatmates have deserted me for a few months and in between working and spending time with my boyfriend, I find myself EXTREMELY bored. Therefore, I have vowed to try and keep up with this and write a few blogs over the next few weeks/months. At least then I will have spent my time off doing something slightly productive and also when I go back to uni in September, I won't be a complete writing spazz because I haven't entertained a keyboard in months.

So here goes!

_____________________________________________________

Small Cosmetics Haul and Review:

Me and Boots haven't been the best of friends lately as I stupidly lost my Advantage Card a few months ago and therefore stopped going in on a daily basis (probably for the best!). However, I have been in on a few occasions accompanying friends and instead of walking out with a basket-full of cosmetics each time, I have just bought the odd item here and there, so I thought I would start my new blogging lease of life with a review of the products I've purchased!

The few cosmetics I have recently purchased

First up - nail polishes:

The first polish I bought was Rimmel Lasting Finish in 700 (Block Your Green). It is a vibrant greeny blue colour, perfect for Summer nails, and as part of Rimmel's Lasting Finish collection, it glides on easy enough and takes no more than two coats to achieve a good, solid colour coating. The picture below doesn't really do the colour justice (I really need to invest in a camera!), it isn't as teal as the image makes out. It is impossible to capture the exact colour but it has more of a green undertone and just screams Summertime.

Rimmel Lasting Finish in 700 (Block Your Green)

The nail polish is a great consistency and goes on your nails in the exact same colour you see in the bottle (unlike many!). As a lover of black and red nails, it is unusual for me to wear bright colourful shades but this is one that I definitely don't mind wearing. However if I had to say one bad thing about this particular polish, it would be that it is a nightmare for staining, so you really need a base coat underneath. I was channeling The Hulk for a few days after removing the polish, as it stained the tops of my fingers really bad and wouldn't come out of my nails for a while either. All in all a great purchase at the measly price of £2.99, and I will continue to wear it over the Summer months regardless!

The second polish I purchased has fast become my absolute favourite. I was already smitten with Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paints, as you can tell from my earlier posts, but after buying another in the shade Blood

Orange, I am truly, madly in love.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Blood Orange

Even though the name suggests it is an orange shade, it is actually a really vampish deep but bright red. And I adore the colour so much, it is now my go-to red nail polish. Like all the other Gelly Hi-Shine polishes, this is good to go in two coats and I personally don't even bother with a base or top coat as it doesn't stain and the finish you get with these polishes is phenomenally shiny. I can see this polish being used up very soon and I will most definitely be re-purchasing it, as they are only £3.99 yet leave you with a perfect salon finish.

Onto the lipsticks:

As well as nail varnishes, I have recently become a bit obsessed with lipsticks too. The first two I picked up were from the new Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede range. I bought two shades, Backstage and Trendsetter.

Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede - L: Backstage, R: Trendsetter

Backstage is very much my colour, as I am really into dark lipsticks and this is a mahogany/plum shade. Trendsetter on the otherhand is quite girly for me, as it is a red shade with pinkish undertones, however I also really like this shade on myself. 

Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede swatched on the back of my hand, L: Trendsetter, R: Backstage

As someone who accidently rubs off her lipstick all the time, I actually found that both lipsticks stayed on for quite a long time, even in the sun and whilst eating and drinking. Not only this but they were quite moisturising, and had a nice feel, in that they weren't too dry or too wet but you could tell that they were still on your lips, which is good for me, because it indicates whether or not I need to reapply. Which in this case I didn't. I got both these products when they very first burst into Boots and I think (but I could be wrong) that they were on offer for £6.99 but recently are around £8, which is a little pricey for a lipstick but I personally love them and think its worth it.

Last but not least, I watched a few Youtube videos about the Lime Crime Velvetines lip glosses and was intrigued to try one of them out for myself. I purchased Lime Crime Velvetines in Red Velvet from an online seller, as I think it is an American brand (?), for around £15, which is a lot, but I felt the need to invest.

Lime Crime Velvetines in Red Velvet

Before even opening the product, I fell in love with the packaging, because it was so girly and pretty, so major kudos for that one, Lime Crime. Now, I'm not a fan of lip glosses as they tend to be a bit girly for me and I don't like the stickiness of them, however this one is extremely different to any other. The promise of Lime Crime Velvetines is that while they are technically a lip gloss as they come in the form of a wand and are shiny and extremely pigmented, once they have actually dried to your lips, they are completely matte.

Has all the traits of a lip gloss but actually dry on completely matte

I had been trying to find a specific deep vivid red for quite some time in Boots and Superdrug but can never come across one that suits my skin tone, so thats why, I opted to try out this offering from Lime Crime.

Beautiful red shade

I love the colour, it is exactly what I'd been looking for, however I personally couldn't get to grips with the consistency and application of this product. Because initially it goes on very shiny and extremely pigmented, you have to take great care applying it, and for someone with really small lips, this proved quite a task and it didn't suit me personally at all, which is a massive shame. If you have fuller lips and don't have any difficulty applying lipsticks/glosses with care then this would probably be a great investment, however if you're like me, unfortunately this one can afford to be overlooked.

And there you have it, my recent cosmetics purchases.

I did not expect this to be so long, but I hope I have given any cosmetics lovers out there a fair and decent review of each product.

I have also just finished uploading a few bits and bats to ebay (everything from games, dvds to clothes) so take a look at my items and see if anything takes your fancy: ebay: terri-leigh123

And I hereby pledge to do some more posts in the coming weeks and not leave my blog unattended for too long this time!

Adios! :)