Big Changes!

Hey people!

How you doing??

So I'm moving to live in England in less then two weeks. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

This has got to be the most exciting, scary most life changing this I have ever done in my 19 years of life!

So y'all are thinking, what is there to do in England huh?

Good Question! I hope to find the answer for that one day!

Just kidding! Here's the three reasons I'm moving to England!

1.  TO HAVE FUN! 

I'm 19 years old, Single and I have my whole future ahead of me! I'm always worrying about what my next step is (or what my next 5 steps are- I pretty much have the next 3 years of my life planed out :/). This is the best time for me to just enjoy myself, and life! I pretty much planed the next five months of my life to be unplanned (does that even make sense?!). Sure I'll try to get a job as soon as possible, but making money is not my main purpose in the next five months. The main purpose is to just enjoy myself and see where life takes me. I'll try as many new things as possible. Kinda like Jim Carrey in 'Yes Man' but a bit more realistic!

and obviously after the five months I'll keep having fun, The difference is I have no idea what I'll be doing for the next five months, but from January I start working!

2. WRITE, WRITE, WRITE

Yes, I know it sounds cheesey, girl from the small town moving to the big city, trying to pursue her dream of becoming a writer! I think they even made a movie about that- or 10!

But I figured, sure its cheesey and very movie plot like. But what the hell! I wanna become a writer, and what better place to do it then in England on my year off? 

All my friends laugh at me for actually moving to pursue my dream of becoming a writer, but while theyre laughing I'm trying!

So like it says in the title,I'm gonna write my ass off, start my writing portfolio, apply to as many craigslist writing gigs as possible and become the wrtier I want to be. I am aware this isn't going to be easy, but nothing worthwhile is!

3. Being independent!

I don't have much to say about this one, it's pretty self explanatory!

Did I mention I was excited? Because I am, Very much. To tell you the truth, I don't know what I'm more excited about moving to England to start my new life journey or the fact that I get to shop in Primark (hahaha! just kidding!....not really) 

So do any of you have any big changes in your life right now, if so I'd love to hear! Do you have any advice for people like me moving to a foreign country? 

I wanna finish this post with a song that has been on replay mode on my iPod for the past week

 Passion Pit- Take a Walk

Frightened Rabbit

I have a new obsession, and they're name is 'Frightened Rabbit'.

 Funny enough I discovered this band while watching a wedding video online. Why was I watching stranger's wedding video you ask? No, it's not because I'm planning my future wedding (that would be weird, first I need to find a fella). I was actually helping my soon to be sister in law (AKA my brother's fiancé) with research for their wedding. Anyways, so there I was, watching a really cute couple get married and all I could notice was the song in the background.

 It had a really nice melody to it which reminded me of Mumford and Sons. The lyrics were just as great, talking about being 'old fashioned and going back to how things used to be'. After I was finished watching the video, I just had to find out who was behind that song. The first thing I did was log onto YouTube and type the words "old old fashioned", luckily for me I found the song plus the name of the band.

Let me tell you something, this band is pretty much the best discovery I have made since Bon Iver.

 If you like indie music that has a hint of country to it, then you will love them!

 Although to me they sound as if they're from southern U.S, they are actually from Scotland, which makes them 10X better in my opinion!

So here's what you need to know about them:

They're from Scotland-

They were formed in 2003-

-Their names are Scott Hutchison, Billy Kennedy, Andy Monaghan, Grant Hutchison and Gordon Skene.

-The name of the band came from Scott's mother. She used to call him 'frightened rabbit' due to his shyness

Scott and Grant are brothers (isn't that cute?)-

If you're interested in really, and I mean REALLY good music, then you should defiantly check them out!

 I recommend you starting with "The Midnight Organ Fight", which is their second album.

My three favorite songs from the album are:

KeepYourself Warm- I love everything about this song! The melody, the lyrics, the double entendre's, the fact the he isn't afraid to say the word FUCK! It's just a great song!

OldOld Fashioned- So I said above this song is what got me hooked on Frightened Rabbit. It's 

a really great song talking about getting back to the basics!

TheModern Leper- This song opens the album, and introduces you to Frightened Rabbit and their sound. Yet again another amazing song from them!

   

   

            

Top 4 Acne Fighting Foods!

Unfortunately for me I have been "blessed" with the acne gene!
I have gone through every oil-free soap, every face mask and every gel possible!! 
And let me tell you something...if you got the acne gene you can be sure that none of the above will work!
So after trying everything I have decided to try the 'you are what you eat' method. 
Finally something that works!!
Now I'm not going to lie to you, my skin is still FAR FAR AWAY from perfect. I still have scarring and the occasional spot here and there. But ever since trying these next 4 acne fighting foods my skin has improved SO much.
So here they are my go to acne fighting foods!!

Green tea:

Green tea is not only super yummy and all around healthy for your body, it is also filled with tons of antioxidants! These antioxidants are super powerful and attack the free radicals in your body that cause breackouts!

Water:

Any foods that are high with water content are super great for your skin. Foods like watermelon, cucumber, parsley, romaine lettuce and of course (although not a food)...WATER! Keeping hydrated is the best way to flush ant toxins in your body, which includes the ones on your skin.

Beta Carotene:

Beta carotene changes to Vitamin A once its in the body. It boosts the benefit of selenium to the skin. Some of the foods that are rich in beta carotene are carrots, sweet potatoes and oranges. Pretty much any fruit or vegetable the is yellow or orange.

Vitamin E:

Foods such as soy beans, almonds, eggs and olive oil. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that is best known for it healing benefits. Vitamin E helps the skin to heal from acne damage, scaring and it also helps reduce inflammation.

So there they are, my fab 4

Yummy sugar cinnamon prezel bites!

These small prezel bites are delish!!
They are so easy to make, and you probably have all of the ingredients already in your kitchen!

You will need:
-1 1/2 cups of warm water
-1 tablespoon of sugar
-2 teaspoons of sea salt
-4 1/2 cups of flour
-56 grams of butter (melted)
-10 cups of water (for boiling in a pot)
-2/3 cup of baking soda
-1 egg yolk
-1 table spoon of water
-1/4 cup of sugar
-2 tablespoons for cinnamon

How you make it:
1.In a large bowl combine together water, sugar and sea salt. Add the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and the butter and mix until combined (if the mixture appears to be wet, just slowly add more flour).

2. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and smear it with a bit of vegetable oil. Put the dough back into the bowl, smear it with the oil in the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. let the bowl sit in a warm (not to warm!) place for about 50-55 minutes until it has doubled its size.

3. Preheat the oven to 232 degrees C. (around 450 degrees F.) and prepare baking sheets on baking pans.

4. In a large pot, bring water to boil and add the baking soda (be careful, it might splatter).

5. Divide the dough in 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a snake. Using either a sharpe knife or the hands, cut the dough into 1" pieces (optional: you could make them into balls).

6. Whisk together the egg yolk and the 1 tbsp of water, set aside. Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, set aside. Boil the dough balls for about 30-45 seconds. Remove the balls with a slotted spoon, and transfer them onto a plate with paper towels, let cool for about 30 seconds. Transfer the balls from the plate onto the prepared baking sheet.

7. Brush the egg wash over the dough balls and using a teaspoon sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mix on top (or you can use sea salt). Bake in oven for 15 minutes.

and vollah, yummy and super ADDICTING sweet and salty prezel bites!



Recipe via the ginger cook

1.

Hello there!

Welcome to Live, Love and Sparkles!!
Here you can enjoy the finest things in life...yummy food, crafty diy's, great music and of course sparkles!

I hope you have a nice time here!
you're always welcome to come back!!

smiles and giggles!!
-n