Topshop's latest trends

You didn't think I was going to abandon Topshop all together did you? If you did, shame on you. Don't think that just because I don't currently work there that I didn't download the Topshop IPhone App or that I don't check out the website for the latest trends and pieces. I need to keep on top of my game for when I go back over Christmas and show them how it's done.

Demi Couture

Like the Rough Diamond collection. Demi Couture is inspired by the 60's boasting candy colours, embellishments and accessories which reflects the playfulness of that era. Key pieces include pussy bow blouses, baby doll dresses and Mary Janes to top it all off.



















New Puritan


Black, sophisticated and glamorous. New Puritan includes all the things I love and lust; lace, velvet and leather. Delicious.





















Snow Queen

The name says it all; icy blues, crystallised embellishments and faux fur create this magical wonderland with rosy cheeks & pale lips to complete the frostbitten feel.





















Abigail's Party

Were heading back to the 70's with nipped in waists, bell-bottom trousers and plunging necklines. So come on over to the tea party with finger foods, Abba hits and cocktails and join the party!





















The Outsiders

Here's an updated version on the trend the outsiders, just in case you'd forgotten it's a collection inspired by the great outdoors with jodhpurs, Aran knits, tweeds, sweater dresses and over-the-knee socks.

Hello blogging world, guess whose back...

Like the beginning of my last post, my life has been a complete non-stop whirlwind. And I've missed this blog to the moon and back.

RECAP.

Moved down to Kingston, my new home. And I love it. Minus my sickly coloured yellow walls in my room, my new home is close to perfection. My walls are covered in pages from Vogue and photos of my friends. And I love being in complete control of my life. I can choose what I eat and when I eat it, who I want to go out with, when I want to come home and with no one to tell me that I can't, no boyfriend and no family members shaking their fingers at me for smoking or drinking too much.

So, what have I been up to? I found out that I'm good at my course, at journalism, at writing. Really good. That's not coming from me by the way. The woman hardest to please in the world told me so. Her methods to make you work harder are to tour the room, loudly criticising your work in front of everyone. When it got to me, I shut my eyes and prayed she wouldn't obliterate any of the inner self confidence I had. She made it all way through the article, right down to the very last full stop without uttering a word. Until she said, "you can write." And that was all I needed. Since then I haven't looked back since.

Socially, I've met some amazing people and some very good friends, ones that have made me broaden my horizons, made me think differently about a lot of things and ones that have made me realise who I really am. I thought going to university would be a fresh start, to be whoever I wanted to be, reinvent myself. But I've learnt that I like myself just the way I am.

I've also got a job. I miss Topshop, to the extreme. I tried to get a part-time job there but there were a few thousand applicants and as much as I knew I was more than qualified to work there, I knew it was a sign I needed a new challenge, a change. Plus, I knew I could go back there over Christmas, which is now nearly only a month away. So, I decided the best place where I could combine fashion and modelling was Hollister. I managed to land myself a job as a model, which I was more than surprised at, if I'm completely honest.

In between studying, working and socialising, I now need to find the time to join and attend a gym and fit in this blog. Another piece of news is I had to get a new blog. It's for university and based on journalism, technology and the future. I can't say I enjoy writing it to say the least, especially as it's taken me away from writing about what I really enjoy, fashion. No worries, that blog I can finish in just over a month and this once again will be my main priority.

Oh, and I also reapplied for work experience in every single fashion magazine I could think of, so fingers crossed. Watch this space.

The Manic That Has Been The Last 6 Weeks

Ever since our plane touched down in England, my life has been a non stop whirlwind. Regarding work I'd been working almost every day. Why you may ask? Our store was one of only five others that were being remodelled. Exciting stuff, I know. It meant that the store was being turned upside down whilst builders, decorators, surveyors, brand managers and very important high rankers from the flagship store were in and out every minutes meaning we had to be on our very best behaviour. To top it all off, we also had model store and our mystery shopper plus the launch of the four new A/W10 trends.

Trend 1: Rough Diamond. Inspired by the 60's, this trend is filled with leopard print, camel colours, brogues & kitten heels, lots and lots of red, bows galore and complete with smokey eyes and backcombed hair.















Trend 2: Into the Wild. The name says it all; over sized knits, ragged faux fur, clogs & boots. But this trend has its own little twist. Into the Wild is all about mixing rough, over sized accessories with pretty pieces underneath - that's delicate dresses, crystal detailing and flowing fabric for that fairytale feel with tousled hair and crimson lips to finish.






















Trend 3: Dark Nouveau. My favourite trend as it is the complete opposite to how I usually dress; a miss match of grunge and glamour - consisting of every shade of black alongside greys, crimsons and deep purples, the main pieces include leather shorts, skirts & jackets, slouchy knits and sparkling jewellery with tattoo inspired prints and a lot of lace alongside a large dash of kohl.






















Last but not least, trend 4: The Ousiders. With similar pieces to that of Into the Wild, The Outsiders supports, well the whole outside look; plaid & tweed, a splash of fur, jodpurs and riding boots and again some oversized knits, anything remotely relating to the British countryside sums up this trend.





















So far, my A/W10 Wardrobe consists of a beige trench, leather jacket laced with fur, lace tights, military boots, black, grey & crimson nail vanish, oversized knitted cardigan, grey brogues, bow earrings, a leopard print coat, boots laced with fur, a black waitcoat with a lace back, a collection of vintage over the shoulder bags, leather shorts, a strapless lace dress, a huge supply of eyeliner and an embellished headband to top it all off. My wardrobe is almost complete.

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Outside of work, I attended two leaving dos which were thankfully more enjoyable than sad and also had to begin getting my things together for university. Away from work, I was busy out enjoying seeing my friends who were all finally back from their travels and there was also V festival.





















V festival was indescribable. Saturday was filled with sunshine, cider and the most amazing artists around. We managed to get through the gates at 12.05 and walked straight out onto the set of The Pretty Reckless which I'm glad I managed to catch as we watched the teen rock out in a teeny tiny dress complete with suspenders to one of current favourite tunes Make Me Wanna Die.

After grabbing a quick lunch of cheesy chips we headed over to see Passion Pit perform on the main stage, who were my new favourite up & coming band. Nothing beats hearing The Reeling, Little Secrets, Cuddle Fuddle and Sleepy Head performed live by Michael Angelakos, who bizarrely reminds me of Roy from the IT Crowd.

Next, we headed into the Virgin Union Tent to see another of my new favourites, Chew Lips. Why are they one of my favorites? They are currently in Topshop's playlist and although I should be fed up hearing them at work, in fact I love them even more. On an even sadder note I realised I knew every single lyric to every single song performed. Tigs, the singer of the group was most mesmerising to watch as she pulled out some crazy dance moves in her shimmery silver hot pants to Salt Air, Play Together, Solo, Slick and Karen.

Briefly stopping to top up on cider the next act we saw was Temper Trap. Certainly not a one hit wonder, Fadar was one of my top summer tunes, in my eyes better than Sweet Disposition. We then sprinted over to Ellie Goudling who was beyond sensational, was extremely surprised at her incredible drum solo. Running back and forward between tents we somehow managed to get just six rows from the front for Florence and the Machine, with a lot of pushing and shoving the view we had was fantastic and so was her performance. What I had been exceptionally surprised at was how good the bands and singers were live, but Florence topped every live performance of the day.

Thankfully we'd already had the pleasure of seeing Kings of Leon perform so didn't have to make the gruelling choice between them and David Guetta and we were beyond happy we got to see one of the most incredible sets I have ever experienced at V festival. The atmosphere at his set was like no other, and although in a tiny dress and jacket at ten that evening I should have been cold, there was no one in that crowd that wasn't sweating. Everyone was dancing, jumping and raving to the most outstanding hits; it was like being in an outside club and I didn't want it to end. The base, the lights, oh and the laser, firework exploding robots were the cherry on top of the performance.

Although I didn't want the day to end, I was so glad we heading home to our own comfy beds that night and not sleeping in a tent, as boring as that sounds, I knew I didn't want to wake up with a hangover after a short nights sleep on a lumpy ground. Bring on tomorrow.

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Today, we decided to take it a little easier. We sat in the sunshine with of cider and pizza slices and waited for Plan B, who started off with Faith SFX, an incredible beat boxer and ended with his old school song Charmaine. Just as it was starting to rain, we were thankful we were headed over to the Virgin Union tent for Eliza Doolittle's set. Not only were we right at the front, in the middle but I was also approached by a scout from Select models which made my day.

We went to see Jamie T next, who unfortunately we weren't too impressed with so headed over to see The Kooks, who are a classic favourite and thankfully didn't miss Naive and She Moves In Her Own Way.

We then rocked out to Calvin Harris before completing a toilet, food & drink stop and heading back to see the Prodigy. All I can say is I'm glad we didn't make it to the front. The audience were insane, no one knew whether it was rain, beer or worse that they were being covered in but no one cared. Everyone was completely smashed and bouncing off each other, it was the best way to end such an amazing weekend.

Day 14 - Home Sweet Home

Over night my feelings had turned to anger, and after shoving my clothes and bits & pieces into my suitcase I stormed down to talk to Nick about why he hadn't showed. As soon as I saw him in all his gorgeousness I couldn't feel angry and tried to hold it together as I walked up to him. He read me like a book and immediately ran towards me and held me tightly. As he asked 'where were you', I couldn't help feeling confused. He explained how he'd waited from just after nine until quarter to ten and thought I'd changed my mind about coming or was lost so he'd headed into town to see if I had lost my way but decided to head back in case I'd just been running late. We must have just missed each other within minutes and I soon found myself cheer up a little as I realised he hadn't stood me up. He gave me his email address and gave me one last hug and a kiss on the forehead and wished me a pleasant flight.

I spent the next hour or so sitting on the beach with my feet in the sea, listening to some sad but relaxing music. So, I hadn't had a holiday romance that I'd hoped for, maybe I should have 'gone for it' but at the end of the day he had a girlfriend and even if that night had gone well, maybe it would have been even harder to say goodbye. Now, what I wasn't looking forward to was exchanging the sun for rain, the beach and scuba diving for work and endless cocktails for coffee to get me through the day.

Leaving was difficult, no one likes to come home and thankfully I managed to sleep all the way home on the flight. Once touching down in England, we were welcomed with a heavy down poor of rain. We were home.

Day 13 - Last chance

I jumped out of bed this morning looking forward to the last day of the holiday, this time less nervous and more anticipating the day ahead spent with Nick. This was my now my third dive in two days and this mermaid was really getting the hang of it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Nick had no other divers for the day and today it was just me and him. Under the water, I lost myself again but this time Nick pointed out corals and fish he spotted, making me laugh several times which was difficult to control underwater.

After the mornings dive, I felt a huge wave of sadness, knowing that this time tomorrow I would be leaving for the airport and more so, a feeling of regret for not asking Nick out sooner, which crept in as he ran around the centre spraying me with a hose. As we showered out the back together, sounds more kinky than it was, he turned around and asked me if I wanted to go out with him that night. I calmly replied 'yeah, go for it' whilst inside my head I was screaming oh my God, finally! We agreed that tonight he would meet me in Playa Del Carmen at 9.30, after I enjoyed a final meal with my family, before he picked me up on his motorbike(!) and took me out to a few bars etc. He gave me a cheeky smile and a wink and said 'he'd show me a good time' which sounded more than promising.

Once out of sight I ran off down the beach to tell my family the good news, which my sister was extremely jealous about and I spent the remainder of the afternoon pampering myself and planning what to wear. Once at our last meal, I was way to overexcited and nervous to eat anything and made small talk whilst daydreaming over how the night would pan out. The journey was supposed to take just fifteen minutes so I headed down to the bus stop at 9.10 to wait for a bus which were supposed to appear every five minutes. It reached 9.15, then 9.20 and I was beginning to get into a bit of a panic as I didn't want to spend money for drinks on a cab, when finally the coletivo bus arrived which cost a mere $3. The only glitch in our arrangement was that I didn't have a phone to contact him if I got lost or late, but Nick explained it would be easy to see where to meet (a shoe store at the end of the bus station) and he'd wait all night for me if he had to, (I know, what a sweetheart.) The bus seemed to take forever as it stopped at every single stop along the way but I finally turned twenty minutes late and couldn't wait to run up to him and give him a huge apologetic hug.

Once off the bus, I wandered down to the end of the bus station to find a small alley with many closed down shops and a small shop selling shoes and belts. But Nick was nowhere to be seen. By now it was very, very dark and there were not many people around as the main strip was a ten minute walk in the opposite direction. Instead of waiting however, I decided that Nick couldn't have meant here as it seemed too isolated and headed off into the main town in hope I would see him on his motorbike. I soon realised, being a young, blonde female, alone in a foreign country was not a good idea, as men leered and shouted at me in the street. I soon started to panic, as I do as it was now an hour since we were supposed to meet up and it was the final straw when a Mexican man asked if I was a prostitute, the cheek of it! I sobbed, assuming I had been stood up and headed back to the hotel.

Crying my eyes out, I ran into my parents room and they hugged me whilst I explained what happened. They suggested I should have got his number beforehand and used a pay phone, which would have been a sensible idea but of course I had been too overexcited to think about that. My last night had been ruined and I went to bed feeling betrayed, hurt and embarrassed.

Day 12 - Under The Sea

Today I woke up full of excitement mixed with a bag of nerves, which I realise is ridiculous but that's just me. My sister on the other hand woke up very very ill; unfortunately she'd caught the bug I had just days before the holiday and let me tell you it was not pleasant. I felt a huge pang of guilt knowing she would be spending the last days of our holiday in bed so I brought her breakfast in bed & let her read my latest edition of Vogue, before I had. I know, I am such a good person. I however had lost my appetite due to intense butterflies-in-the-stomach syndrome and headed down to the PADI centre early. As I'd already watched the training video and practiced in the pool, I just had to get kitted out and was ready to jump on the boat. It was an extremely hot day and the group had been told they wouldn't need to wear wetsuits just a t-shirt, I hadn't been informed this at the training session, so Nick lent me his t-shirt which smelt of suntan lotion and aftershave. I spent the boat ride chatting away to him and found out his mother was actually a journalist herself which gave us ever more to talk about.

The ocean was deadly still and we were all hoping that this time we would see some amazing sea creatures as the group the previous day had seen whale sharks and a three foot moray eel. Once under the water I lost all track of time and felt like I was in my own world. This time I was so relaxed I could really enjoy being in the moment and not solely concentrate on just breathing, and that's when I spotted the turtle in amongst the coral, it was nothing like seeing it in a tank at Xcaret or when snorkeling, it swam so close to us and didn't seem to mind we were there at all. Just as we were coming up to the surface we also saw a school of barracudas. I wish I could have taken an underwater camera to show my family what I had seen that day.

As we exited the boat heading back to shore, I managed to slip on a rock and severely cut the bottom of my foot, but not to worry, Nick literally swept me off my feet and carried me the rest of the way. Having his hands wrapped around me and having his bare chest pressed against my body made me completely forget about my foot, in fact I was rather glad I slipped. After clearing up the cut and getting a plaster, Nick and I went to grab lunch before heading back to our next session. This time however there was a guy filming our 'experience' which you could buy afterwards. Nick held my hand and helped me back over the rocks and helped me back into the boat, one lady smiled at us and commented on what a cute couple we were and me and Nick exchanged an awkward glance and laughed.

This time, instead of staying by Nick's side went off to explore the corals and ended up lagging behind the group and that's when I spotted a giant sting ray only about a metre or so away from me. I froze, transfixed by this huge creature so close to me and could not think how to get the groups attention but I knew Nick would turn around soon enough to check up on me, which he did and the group soon gathered around. Once back on the surface, Nick's friend, one of the scuba diving instructor's filming, said how beautiful I moved under the water, like a mermaid, which made me smile. He sat and chatted to me for the remainder of the journey and asked, very loudly if I was single, which I replied, rather loudly too, 'yes' in which he winked at Nick who gave a cheeky smile back. I had to keep reminding myself that he was already seeing someone but this proved very difficult when he was so God damn flirty. Again Nick carried me over the rocks 'so I didn't hurt my foot again' and asked if I would like to go on a free scuba dive tomorrow, which of course I agreed to straight away. Tomorrow was going to be the best last day ever.

Day 11 - Chockablock

Today was one jam-packed day. After an early start, we jumped on our own private minibus complete with tour guide at hand and headed off into Riviera Maya. Our first destination was a typical Mayan home, which we were given a tour around. These types of things always make me feel not only grateful for what I have but also a little awkward, I understand that these families appreciate the help given from having tourists wander around their homes but I can't help feel I'm intruding but at least it makes people aware of how little others around the world have. Seeing how they live is a complete reality check; they sleep in hammocks, with mud floors and mosquito nets as curtains. For the rest of the day I didn't complain once. I bought some handmade bracelets from the children there, it was the least I could do.

We then headed to Coba; a large ruined city of the Mayan people. Here Eddie, our tour guide, who mum kept referring to as Ernie, took as around the ruins describing how the buildings were originally constructed and about the lives of the Mayan people. After taking many photos, he left us to trek 2 1/2 miles there and back to the Nohoch Mul Pyramid which is a total of 42 metres high, which you can climb using only a rope up the crumbling stairs. Being petrified of heights I climbed about three meters and freaked out and had to walk back down again. I heard the view was amazing but I knew I'd never make it back down if i reached the top.




Us beginning our journey up the Nohock Mul Pyramid, which I didn't make much further than this

By now it was around two in the afternoon and we were beginning to get hungry but our final destination before lunch was to a cenote. A centoe, meaning well, is a sinkhole and are found mainly in the Carribean. To get to this particular one, we had to climb down some rickety stairs into a hole underground and once we were down there it was breathtaking. The water was almost ice cold but thankfully there were rubber rings which we floated about in and took pictures.


My sister in a rubber ring in the cenote.
















The last part of our day was heading to a traditional Mexican restaurant where we were given endless nachos and fajitas before looking out over a giant lake, filled with crocodiles.

One back at the holiday, we had a long nap after a quick dip in the pool and went to the Cajun restaurant which was by far my favourite, with Cajun spiced steak, blackened catfish and gumbo, which i just had to try after remembering the scene in The Princess and the Frog. It was a perfect end to a perfect day. And tomorrow I had my scuba day to look forward to.

Day 10 - Going In For The Kill

After such a long, exhausting day yesterday, I had a lye in and then headed down to the beach. I could see Nick over at the PADI centre and spent the rest of the morning thinking of an excuse to go over there, seeing as the centre was a few minutes walk down the beach, I couldn't just saunter past in a bikini like 'ohh I was just passing by, what are you doing here?' Then, I found the perfect excuse. Book another diving session.

So, I did saunter over in my bikini to talk to him and he actually had remembered my name! I had a little flirt and asked about booking another session & he said he'd offer me two dives for $88, pretty good bargain, better than half price! So, I booked the dives for Sunday, two in one day, so I could get to know him for the whole day and hopefully pluck up the courage to actually ask him out for drinks.

I then spent the remainder of the afternoon regretting not asking him out when I saw him and instead got stupidly drunk, then heading back to the centre to ask him out. Yeah, I know, really clever. Fortunately, he wasn't there but I managed to slur a few words together and ask the girl that worked there if Nick was single and she said no...but that it wasn't serious. After waking up a few hours later on the beach, I found Evie and asked her what to do and she said, 'there's no point, you're going home in five days.' So much for holiday romance. She was probably right, to be fair he did have a girlfriend. God damn it, why did I buy more scuba lessons.

Day 9 - Xcaret

Waking up after a peculiar dream of turtles with six packs, it was only six in the morning and we were already up and getting ready for what was going to be a long day out...

After a 'hearty' breakfast we grabbed a load of buns, pastries and rolls for the journey and got a taxi to Xcaret. Xcaret is an Eco park and is filled with animals, shows & performances and activities and we had no idea how we were going to pack it all into one day.


















We began by checking out the monkeys, tapirs and jaguars and then onto a river tour and a walk around 'the jungle' discovering a mushroom farm and orchid house.



The beautiful river cruise

To get to the river cruise, we walked through the 'jungle' and then through some caves and came out into a secluded area with the sweet sounds of nothing but rippling water. Evie and I were lucky enough to get the front seats on the 'boat' which was similar to an extremely large gondola complete with our own gondolier and were transported into a world of paradise as we floated through caves and past wild animals.




Some of the weird and peculiar yet fascinating looking mushrooms







Breathtaking orchids

















We popped into the orchid house for a while to take a few snaps but the heat was unbearable. So we headed down somewhere cooler, to the bat caves. When I was younger, bats were my favourite animals, I'm unsure now to why that was but I think it was because they were so different to any other animal I'd ever seen.

After lunch by the beach we headed on to see the 'sea creatures.' There were dolphins, nurse sharks & their 'dead' eyes, manatees, sting rays and turtles.





My favourite animals














For the rest of the afternoon we went to the aquarium to escape the midday heat & I lost myself in amongst the breathtaking corals & alien looking fishes.





















As soon as the sun began to set, the shows began.









Safely on the ground, beginning their rain dance








We saw an amazing show 'the flying men' where these five Mexican men wearing traditional dress, performed a rain dance on top of a 40 foot pole, with no support but a rope around their ankles...the highlight of the show was when they threw themselves off the top of the pole & swung around upside down from their feet until they reached the ground, it really was breath-taking.

The next show was a horse show with men & women in beautiful costumes filled with music and 'dances.' The final show was the highlight of my day. It began with a walk to the 'theatre' and along the way there was music & more beautiful men & women in tribal costumes to set the scene for the show.




















Like many of the animals & shows at Xcaret, the finale was incredible & was filled with dances, songs but also a traditional game, like football, but where the ball is passed not by the feet, but by the hips, yes, the hips! To top it all off they also played tennis with a ball that was set on fire. Like I said, incredible.

Day 8 - The Day I Met The Man Of My Dreams

Today was the day of the dive and my sister & I were both so over excited as we'd heard that around these areas you were likely to see turtles, sting rays and even sharks (not looking forward to encountering the last one.) When we got to the PADI centre, I noticed someone out of the corner of my eye. A guy. I couldn't see him properly as his back was turned but I noticed he was about 6'4 and had a mess of blond surfer-style hair. I knew once he turned around he'd be unbelievable ugly or something so I didn't get my hopes up. Then he pulled his top up over his head and revealed a set of beautifully toned arms and a muscular, tanned back. Trying not to stare was exceptionally difficult but I remembered I was yet to see his face. Then he turned around. And I've never seen anyone so gorgeous, just standing there before my eyes. He had deep blue eyes, chiseled features and a stunning six pack. Looks wise he was my dream man.

Until now, I hadn't noticed anyone around, not one single guy that was actually remotely good looking. I'd been hoping for some sort of holiday romance, now was the first time I was single on holiday and looking for some beautiful guy to come and sweep me off my feet. But a week had already gone by and I was beginning to give up hope. To be honest, I hadn't actually seen many people similar to my age, whatsoever. There was supposed to be around 3,000 people staying here and I'd seen around maybe 40-50 people around the age 18-25 and it was beginning to get me down. As much as I was loving spending time with my family, Evie and I had expected to meet a big group of people to be hanging out & going out clubbing with. Everyone here were groups of older people or families with young children. And also honeymooners and people getting married, which wasn't remotely depressing seeing loved up couples everywhere...I was fine with being single, I enjoyed being free, able to do whatever I wanted, see whoever I wanted but it was lonely.

Anyway, back to The man. He smiled, a big white dazzling smile and then he spoke. He was American (no matter how ugly a guy is, if I hear an American accent escape their lips, they suddenly are twice as appealing.) 'Hey, you here for the dive?' Trying, to pull myself together I nodded. Turns out, he was our diving instructor and I had no idea how I was going to concentrate whilst training. Once he walked off to go set up the diving video, Evie and I exchanged glances, both saying oh my God have you ever seen a guy this good looking and were suddenly even more excited about scuba diving. After watching an outdated, over simplified video about the importance of safety under the water we got our scuba gear and headed to the pool.






Doing our practice dive in the pool







We were doing the dive with two other American guys who were about our age and seemed like pretty decent guys. When we got into the pool, the hottie introduced himself as Nick and paired himself up with me(!) for the half an hour practice session. To be honest, I didn't pay attention to half of what he was saying and pretty much just stared at him, not in a creepy way, honest. Then we were ready to head out to sea.

Not the best picture of him, but pretty damn good for having scuba gear on and wet hair.



Once out at sea, we threw ourselves backwards off the boat and went to descend. The sea was pretty rough that day and once we were under I couldn't see the bottom, all I could see was blue. For some reason I went into a bit of a panic and came back up. Nick calmed me down and said he'd go down with me, all I had to do was look into his eyes to keep calm. Well as soon as he said that I was more that fine, especially when he wrapped his legs around me until we touched the bottom. Once we were down there it was unreal, I felt as if I was floating and the whole sensation was surreal. Although the dive was 45 minutes it felt about 5 and soon we were ascending. Although we hadn't seen any majorly amazing sea creatures we did see a baby moray eel!

That night we had another restaurant booked at the Japanese, which I had most been looking forward to as they cook the food straight in front of you. Here we had an amazing meal and had a lovely chat with the couple sitting next to us. We had a long day and an early start ahead of us, so an early night was in need.

Day 7 - I Like Turtles

Today was an amazing day. We had a trial dive in the pool, just to check we were all OK to do scuba diving. Having done it before in Dominican Republic a few years back I couldn't wait to go out into the ocean, instead of a pool. My dad couldn't take part as he's asthmatic and had a collapsed lung from an accident years ago so he was pretty 'bummed' but me and Evie were seriously hyped. We headed up to the PADI centre to book the times for the dive tomorrow and chose 11.30, which would give us time to have a bit of a lye in, hit the gym and grab brunch before.

In the afternoon we went to Akumal, a place famous for seeing loggerhead turtles. Seeing as turtles are my second favourite animal (monkeys being the first) so I was pretty damn excited! Jumping into the water with our snorkels we were lucky enough to spot three turtles just a few feet from us.


















After what was turning into an amazing day, we headed to Playa Del Carmen again for some evening shopping. The shops over there are open until around 11, so it's just a bit nicer to shop when it's not boiling hot.


















The atmosphere in the town was amazing, as the sun was going down, the town was buzzing with people hitting the bars and clubs. We wandered around and found a bar that was set out like a jungle with palm trees and a waterfall and river running through the place, with swings as bar seats. Yes, swings. There were tons of boutique shops and little market stalls and was trying to look for some Mexican inspired jewellery but mainly found stalls selling knock offs and silver jewellery.


















I could have spent hours here and checked out some of the clubs, the Blue Parrot was supposed to be one of the best, but I refrained as scuba diving and hangover do not go well.

Day 6 - Hangover From Hell

Woke up at midday with only a minor headache and minimal waves of nausea, I grabbed a huge fry up and pancakes and felt better than fine. My sister on the other hand, was suffering from her first full blown hangover and had thrown up three times in the first hour of being awake. I left her with a large pint of water and headed off for a day of sunbathing at the beach to read my magazines.

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All the latest magazines are raging about the new AW10 trends. Most of it I love, some I'm not sure about and a few I'm staying as far away from as possible. So, what's in this season? The main trends are military, glamour goth & countryside (think jodhpurs, knitted over-the-knee socks, tweeds & plaid.) And what are the main pieces to wear? High waisted, flared smart trousers. Nice, would get a pair, if I worked in an office. Aviator jackets. I know I'm supposed to like them and everyone's going mad for them but I'm just not too sure. Hiking boots however I adore. Definitely getting some of those. Coats should be camel, capes or leopard print. I'd rather like one of each...but knowing I can't think I'll be picking the leopard print. Deep reds, purples and black. Gothic, not usually me but I like it. Military. No surprise there really but adore the military boots & leather shorts, already got myself some of those. Over sized, knitted jumpers, again got some of those when I got home. It bags are satchels, again really want one of those. Makeup is smokey eyes & red lipstick and hair should be back combed & in a beehive.

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After catching up with all the latest trends, I was in a brilliant mood. In the evening, we went to the Italian restaurant expecting an amazing selection of pizza and pasta, instead the pizza was worse than Dominos or Pizza Hut, how can you mess up a pizza that bad?! However, the resturant itself was beautiful, which made up for it, a little. Evie, wanting to gorge out on pizza after a night out, which seemed a perfect combination didn't do too well and retreated off to bed.

The Italian restaurant

Day 5 - Coco Bongo

We decided today was the day to try & pack in as many things at once, so we filled the day up with the gym, snorkeling, watched and sampled cocktail and cooking 'classes' which were merely members of the entertainment staff making food and drink and then handing them out for us to eat and drink. My sister and I also decided to give water aerobics a go. It was the most unusual aerobics lesson I have ever experienced. The class took place in the main pool, so those sunbathing and eating were free to watch us jump around in the water to the dance and house music blasted out of the speakers. This part of the class was normal. Then as the class was nearing to an end we were told to get into a circle & hold hands...then shout out your name, what you love about Mexico and give the person next to you a kiss on the cheek. A little odd but a good way to get to know people. We then had to massage each others backs...which is when it started feeling a little bit odd. Then the session ended in a game of paper planes. Like I said, the weirdest water aerobics class, ever.

Feeling exhausted from all the exercise today, we all went for a nap for a few hours in preparation for tonight. Being a Saturday night we had booked tickets at a club called Coco Bongo's. Being one of the best clubs around in Mexico, it was not to be missed. The club, owned by Jim Carrey(!) is inspired by the film, The Mask and is both a club and a show in one. We had heard it was a little cheesy, who doesn't love a bit of cheese, but also a lot of fun. We splashed out with all inclusive tickets, meaning no queue and 'free' drinks all night.



















We pre-drank at the hotel with dinner and headed over to the club in a taxi at 10 as the shows began at 11. We were a little apprehensive as my sister had to be over 18 and we heard you needed ID to get in, although it was easy to get her drinks in the hotel as I just had to order two and take one over to her, getting into a club would be a different matter. It wasn't. I didn't see one person get asked for ID and we lead straight in, with a welcome of a shot of tequila. When we arrived inside, the atmosphere was intense. There were people dancing on the bars, huge TV screens counting down to the start of the show and an incredible range of music being blared out.






Very over excited and very drunk, waiting for the show to begin.










We order as many drinks as we could carry and headed on down to the dance floor. Sad enough to say, my parents did actually join us on this night out, they were just there to watch the show however, so we left them for the night and arranged to meet up outside at 3. It being the first time my sister & I have gone out clubbing together, we went a little overboard with the free drinks. Soon the screen was flashing 10 seconds and the whole club began chanting. When it reached zero, all the lights went out and the music stopped playing, like we were in a black out. The screens were pulled back to reveal a stage where throughout the course of the night, different DJ's, bands and singers miming to well known songs such as Beyonce, Madonna etc performed, alongside flying acrobats and movie clips in between acts.






Mambo No. 5 Act







It was the craziest club I've ever been too and by far one of the best. Never knowing where to look, or what was coming next, with streamers, giant balloons and glow sticks being fired out throughout the night, alongside giant bubble machines and cold air to keep everyone cool. There was also a 'cage' at the front of the stage, where members of the 'audience' would be dragged up to when there were no performers to 'entertain' the crowds, meaning very very drunk girls, in very tiny dresses and short skirts dancing 'provocatively.' What the poor sods didn't realise is a jet of cold air was blasted up from the floor meaning the girls dresses were blown up for all to see, loosing any remaining dignity far behind. I have never seen so many thongs and ass cheeks in one night before.



















We were asked a few times, meaning pervy guys that worked there grabbing our hands and trying to lead us up the stairs to the main stage, to go and dance in the 'cage' but we weren't having any of it.

We went on dancing throughout the night to the best range of dance, trance and house music around, when the acts weren't on and mingled with different groups of people.





One of the amazing aerobatic acts









After a few too many experiences of hangovers on holiday and that a mixture of hangover and heat does not mix well, I stopped drinking around 1 and to make sure I could keep an eye on my little sister, who was a little worse for wear. By the end of the night, I was making her down pints of water instead of shots but she was long gone.

















The night was soon over & we were heading back to the hotel in a taxi. The journey took a little longer than expected, as we had to keep pulling over as my sister thought she was going to empty her drinks all over the cab driver. Luckily she didn't, until we reached the hotel. We finally collapsed in bed just after 5am after a very very good night.

Day 4 - Pure Relaxation

Slowly, getting used to the time difference, I had a lye in until 9! Today was a complete day of relaxation; I began reading my magazines on the beach, beginning with the cheaper, less-about-fashion ones such as Look, More, Cosmopolitan and Company. After a lovely lunch down on the beach my mum & I headed to the spa. When we arrived we were greeted with rippling water features and calming music alongside a glass of fresh pineapple juice. We were then told we could go on a water treatment experience costing only $10 each so we jumped at the chance!

The whole experience was lovely, relaxing and some of the time hilarious. For an hour and a half you were given a tour around the spa area whilst trying out the treatments, there was water bed jets, Jacuzzis, saunas, showers with different settings such as 'rain' or showers with different relaxing aromas, Turkish baths and finally a room where you lay on a water bed in the dark, with vibrating massage inside, with relaxing music and stars on the ceiling. Just as I was about to fall asleep we were taken outside a long a cobbled walkway through the 'jungle' onto a secluded beach where we had a half an hour massage which was the most amazing and relaxing experience ever.

After dressing up to the nines, well I wore a black maxi dress with expensive earrings, we had an amazing meal at the Steak House where the steak was cooked to perfection. I soon fell asleep after a few too many glasses of champagne feeling exceptionally full and happy.

Day 3 - Itinerary

Still struggling with the time difference, my family & I headed for a morning work out at the gym at 6am. Sounds mad waking up that early on vacation but to us it felt midday so really was not too bothered for once when the hours had yet to reach double digits. The gym was amazing, fully air conditioned, with tons of equipment, they even had a step up machine - my absolute favourite! The spa was just behind and after a good workout, I checked out what they had to offer. Everything was ridiculously expensive which was a shame as I'd wanted to get a facial and massage but with a slowly declining budget, I settled with a massage on the beach(!)

Today we had our induction to the hotel and Mexico with our Thomas Cook rep who told us all about what the hotel and the area had to offer. For once it wasn't a boring meeting that lasted hours and was a waste of time, for once I was really interested and we went on to book lots of excursions. On one of my top things to do whilst on holiday was scuba diving, so we popped into the PADI centre to pick up some brochures. It again was ridiculously expensive - to get your license it cost $450 for four dives, training and a test so I settled on a $99 45 minute dive. Very, very excited indeed!

For the afternoon, we got a Colectivo, which is a type of bus, down to a place called Yal-Ku. The bus system over in Mexico, is rather similar to ours but with a few differences. It's like a big van with 15 seats, you get on, shout when you reach your destination and pay when leaving and it's incredibly cheap. For us to travel from our hotel to Playa Del Carmen which was a twenty five minute taxi ride costing $25, a Coletivo bus costs a mere $3 per person. Bargain!

Anyway, more importantly, Yal-Ku. Yal-ku is a beautiful lagoon, ideal for snorkeling as it is chockablock with tons of different fish. It also has many different statues around the area, which is ideal for someone like my mum who is afraid of water(!) to entertain herself with.















Just a few of the many beautiful statues scattered around the lagoon from gods and goddesses to peasants, animals and dancers















Very much looking forward to my beach massage tomorrow and we have also book a place in the Steak house for dinner tomorrow night! This holiday couldn't get much better!

Day 2 - Time To Explore

Waking up after a nice ten hour sleep, I was feeling refreshed. And excited. I love arriving in a new place and exploring, seeing what the place has to offer. Throwing back the curtains I was thrilled to see it had finally stopped raining and the sun was slowly coming out from behind the clouds. Chucking on some clothes, we ventured out to get breakfast. The humidity hit us as soon as we opened the door, we were finally on holiday.

The hotel was beautiful; our apartments were right by the pool, surrounded by sun loungers and palm trees, complete with a pool bar and volleyball net. There was a restaurant just overlooking the pool with outside seating so we chose to sit outside in the sun and enjoy our first holiday breakfast. As soon as we sat down, we had waiters come and pour us fresh orange juice and coffee and then we were free to roam the breakfast buffet. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day; it can be hot, cold, savory or sweet and there's so much differentiation in one meal. My eyes lit up at the sight of all the choices. There was a range of fresh fruit including melon, mango, peaches and pears, endless choices of yogurts from peach and strawberry to banana and honey with oatmeal, a selection of breads, hams and cheeses, fresh pastries; donuts, cinnamon buns, pan o chocolats and countless brands of cereals. Then there was the hot food. Crepes, waffles and pancakes, sausages, bacon, eggs - scrambled, fried, boiled, cinnamon toast, baked bean, mushrooms, tomatoes. I just didn't know where to begin. So I had a bit of everything. I was certainly not fit to be seen in a bikini for a few hours.






One of the many pools, this one with a pool bar







All so full, we decided to look around the hotel at the other pools, restaurants and the entertainment programmes. We found a lazy river complete with rubber rings, another three pools, two more buffet restaurants, seven international restaurants including steak house, BBQ and grill, Mexican, Cajun, Creole, Italian, Japanese and Mediterranean - what didn't this place have! The entertainment programme was also amazing with Spanish lessons, cooking & cocktail classes, dancing lessons, yoga, bike rides and the chance to hire snorkeling gear and kayaks. How we were going to cram this all into two weeks was beyond me!

We grabbed lunch at the beach bar which had solely tacos and fajitas, my favourite, and spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the sea and lying in the sun. On the way back to our apartment, that's when we saw it. A lizard. About two feet long basking in the sun. We all began taking hundreds of pictures, when we saw another one a few metres along. Then another. No one else seemed to be paying them any attention, but we all found them so fascinating, how often do you see lizards just lying around?!

After a lovely dinner in the main buffet restaurant, my sister & I headed down to the lobby bar to try out the cocktail menu. We decided to slowly work our way through it, beginning with a mojito, then a caiparinha, a glass of champagne and an apple sour martini. Due to the time difference however, once the clock hit 11 we felt as if it was 5 in the morning and headed back to our room. Just outside our room, was a racoon. Having never seen one in real life, as Over The Hedge does not count, it was hard to control our suprise and excitement. And they were so friendly, happy enough to have its photo taken whilst it ate an entire plate of chicken wings. After ten minutes of watching tranfixed upon this poor creature we collapsed in bed.

What A Holiday

The last few weeks have been a gigantic whirlwind of sun, sand and cocktails. Now home, I'm suffering from post holiday blues; who wants to return back to their lives of work, rain and reality? So here's a great way of reminiscing by blogging about the best two weeks that I've had in a long, long time...

Day 1 - The longest day of my life

Waking up at 4am after just three hours sleep wasn't as difficult as I had speculated. After planning on getting an early night at 10pm, the excitement and anticipation of having a break from everyday life was enough to keep me awake for another three hours, filled with tossing and turning, thinking of the wonders of the ocean, the smell of suntan lotion and an endless supply of food and drink.






My sister Evie in amongst the suitcases





After jumping straight out of bed into the shower, shoving on a fashionable yet comfy ensemble for travelling in and popping my suitcase into the car, I was ready and raring to go. The two hour journey to Gatwick flew by as we all sat and nattered excitedly about what the next few weeks would bring and sang along to the songs on the radio. Leaving the car at a specified car park and taking the bus to the airport we were finally there.

I love everything about airports; the shops and restaurants, the hustle and bustle of people, the range of emotions on peoples faces - a mixture of stress, excitement, boredom, happiness...After checking in and thankfully managing to get seats altogether, there was security. As per usual, my mum wore what she referred to as her 'bling bling' with her whole assortment of bracelets, brooches, rings and necklaces all worn at once (to have more weight allowance in the suitcase for shoes - of course) and my dad's metal hip sent the metal detectors into a tizzy. Amazingly our flight was running on time and for once we didn't have hours and hours to sit around waiting so we headed off to Frankie and Bennys for breakfast as we do every year before vacation. As per usual I ordered my favourite - the full American breakfast - with crispy bacon, sausages, scrambled egg, baked beans, herb potatoes, a side order of toast and two American style pancakes on the side. Oh, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Just enough to last me a few hours into the plane journey until the Pringles, peanuts and chocolate fingers could be bought from the trolley. Anything but plane food.





In awe of the vending machine that produces ice cream. Not just any ice cream. Ben & Jerry's ice cream.





Suddenly we heard that our plane was now boarding and we scoffed down the rest of our breakfast and ran to the gate. We were over the moon that we were flying with Thomas Cook as for once there was a decent amount of leg room and a TV on the back of every seat. We were even more hyped with the choice of films - New Moon, The Blind Side, Avatar and The Princess And The Frog. Never before have I been so excited about a plane journey. We left our dad to listen to his IPod for the journey whilst my mum, sister and I wept to The Blind Side, laughed at the acting in New Moon and felt like children again watching the magical The Princess and The Frog. Amazingly the ten hour flight flew by and we soon found ourselves descending.




Looking very attractive and at our very best after the ten hour journey



Once we hit the runway though, everything changed. Stepping out into Mexico expecting sunshine we discovered torrential rain. Instead of an easy breezy, pick up our suitcases and get on the coach in twenty minutes, we had a two hour queue for security. Expecting a 45 minute transfer, the time crept from an hour, an hour and a half to just over two hours before reaching our hotel. Sleeping on the coach was a no-no, with the wonderful commentary we received for half that journey bellowed out through a microphone about how the weather may continue like this for the next three days, dampened our moods even more so.

We were thankful when we saw the sign Sirenis, the name of our hotel and soon found ourselves each equipped with our own personal bellboy each towing our suitcases behind us and a drink in hand on arrival. Another bummer was that we had expected my sister to have been given an adult wrist band as we had thought the drinking age in Mexico was 16. It was 18. Like I said, bummer. We were then escorted to a small golf cart style car which took us to our hotel room. When we opened the door we couldn't believe our eyes. The rooms were huge, modern and immaculate. With a jaccuzzi bath, 6 jet shower, fully furnished balcony and complimentry bathrobe and slippers we were in heaven.










After unpacking and feeling shattered yet starving, we headed down to the buffet restaurant. Too tierd to look around the hotel or to appreciate the food on our plates we ate and fell asleep in our individual queen size beds.

Fairwell

I have neglected my blog for the last few days but I have again been having an amazing time. With a friend returning for a few days from Brighton, visiting pubs & the town and packing for the holiday it's been pretty hectic. But once I'm back I am hoping to have some amazing photos to add to here.

Now, off to Mexico for just over two weeks. Over & out.

Sex On Fire

After having the most amazing last few days, my mind, body & soul feel exhausted after a friend's 19th birthday, eargasams from Kings of Leon, too much sun and cider...and pimms...and rose...and vodka. My body is in desperate need of a detox before a two week, all inclusive holiday. So here's off to the rooftop terrace for cocktails and champagne with the girls and then onto the pub. I do love the summer.

Here are the not most attractive or artistic photos you will ever see but ones that reflect the last few days. Enjoy.