TAG // Dreams

Hey guys!

I decided to do another tag today, because it's relevant to my life at the moment as I have actually started to remember my dreams more and more recently. So, here is the dream tag. Enjoy!
I also have a few posts scheduled for this weekend, as I'm heading to Blackpool this weekend for a family do and to meet some family I've never met before, so that should be fun and I will possibly do a blog post about it next week :D so, I hope you enjoy! I tag anyone who thinks this tag sounds interesting, like I did 

Do you dream?

Yes, I do dream :) not every night, but at least once a week

What did you dream about last night?
I dreamt that I cried tiny pennies when my crush told me he was in love with someone else, and then I tore up his All Time Low backstage pass and turned into a unicorn...

How many dreams do you usually remember?

I usually have a few dreams in a night when I do dream, so I usually remember most of one and bits and pieces of the others, if I remember anything at all!

Do you have a dream journal?

Not a dream journal as such, but I keep a notebook next to my bed so I can write stuff down if I remember it and I have random bits and pieces jotted down in the notes on my phone too :)

How often do you have nightmares?

More often than I'd like to. Maybe a couple of times a month recently.

Do you lucid dream?
I do not, but it seems like it'd be pretty amazing to experience at least once! (not that I know how to lucid dream, but I'd love to be able to)

Do you dream in colour?

Yes, I don't think I've ever really dreamt in black and white...the occasional nightmare is in black and white, but not my happier dreams

Do you dream in first person?

Most of the time I do, yeah, but occasionally it won't be!

Do you have recurring dreams?
Very rarely, but there's been a few occasions when my dreams haven't finished one night and then they have some kind of conclusion at some point after that and then they're recurring.

Have you ever had deja vu?
Of course! Hasn't everyone?

Music/Scent Evoked Memories!

Hey guys!

You know when you're walking past a shop, or even just sitting at home watching tv, and a song comes on and instantly transports you back in your mind to a specific time, place or memory?

The other day, I was watching tv and randomly channel hopping, and suddenly some music caught my attention - I couldn't place it for a few seconds, and when I did it made me laugh because it reminded me of a sketch on my favourite radio show. Every time I hear Money On My Mind, it makes me laugh because of remembering my favourite YouTuber singing it really badly, and it just makes me giggle every time.

There are also some songs that make me smile because of the memories attached - there's a certain My Chemical Romance song, for example, that makes me remember being about 15 and staying at my friends for the weekend with my group of best friends back then, all lying on his bed and singing while they did my hair and makeup - for some reason, I used to be the one they made over, haha, I don't know whether to be flattered or offended. Bands such as Green Day and You Me At Six also remind me of being in my teens and going to concerts all the time, and hanging out with my friends at the weekends and also after school sometimes - I remember I used to listen to Green Day while I was getting changed out of my school uniform on the bus on my way to meet my friends after school, and one summer me and a group of people who used to be my best friends spent the whole summer at one girl's house, chatting, watching videos and learning how to play Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day on guitar. When I was at college, I was meant to sing Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana as one of my projects, but it hurt my voice too much so I had to change groups and sing something else instead, but whenever Smells Like Teen Spirit comes on, it always reminds me of hanging out with my closest friend on my course and just chatting and working together.

Also, the song that currently reminds me of my best friend is probably either Rather Be by Clean Bandit or Oath by Cher Lloyd because they're constantly on when we're around each other or listening to our favourite radio show, and also Oath is about best friends and having a good time together so it sums us up perfectly!

Unfortunately, there are also songs that now hold sadder memories for me, and now I can no longer listen to them because of the memories attached. The main example that springs to mind for me is Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley - I was listening to it when my dad called me to tell me that my grandad had passed away, so every single time I hear it now, it makes me want to cry - it's got to the stage where I have to leave the room or cover my ears if that song comes on.

It's not just with music, either - even things like smells can remind you of people and places. For example, the smell of Brut reminds me of a band I used to see all the time because their lead guitarist used to use it so it's all I used to be able to smell when I hugged him. Likewise, the smell of vanilla always reminds me of baking with my mum, and her letting me lick the spoon clean of batter, and the smell of chinese food always reminds me of going shopping in London with my friends and spending hours on end just wandering Camden and Oxford Street, buying random things.

So, do you also have smells and sounds that remind you of certain people?

DAY OUT // Westfield

Hey guys!

So, on Wednesday I met up with my lovely best friend Lisa for a slightly belated birthday celebration, and because I hadn't been in ages, we decided to go to Westfield in Stratford! 

There's so many exits to the station that we couldn't actually find each other at first (I was at one exit, she was at another, so we were like WHERE ARE YOU?!) but then eventually we found each other so that was cool. My dad was also in Stratford that afternoon, briefly, so we met up with him for a bit too, and decided on going to Nandos because none of us had eaten and we were starving! Me and Lisa decided to do wing roulette, as well as getting a chicken breast in pitta, and my dad went for half a chicken. Wing roulette was so much fun - I definitely would recommend it to everyone - and I won because I ate more of the wings than Lisa did, but she had the hottest wing - I still won though ;) and I'm still waiting for my prize of sending a tweet off her twitter (the forfeit we decided on for whoever lost)

After lunch, my dad left, and me and Lisa decided to just wander around the shops. First stop was Paperchase - which is always a bad idea when you're me - and I ended up leaving with a desk planner/calendar/to do list thing (as I'm rather disorganised a lot of the time) as well as some Paris stickers (I love pretty much everything to do with Paris), a blue unicorn and an owl tin (which I now use to keep my antihistamines in!) Lisa also got a unicorn, but hers is purple, and we decided to call them Dannicorn and Philnicorn! We also went to Primark, and I got a vest top and an adorable French Bulldog tote bag which is probably one of my new favourite things. A woman was standing outside a shop handing out fake flowers scented with incense, and she gave us one each - when we walked past again a bit later, Lisa pointed out that they were selling them from 3 for £1. 

We eventually decided to stop and get bubble tea - I'd never tried it before, so I really wanted to because I've heard nothing but good things about it, and Lisa wanted it because she really likes it - so we settled into an awesome little blue booth (even the bulb was blue!) and we both ordered a vanilla bubble tea. In all honesty, I'm not sure whether it was the bubbles or the drink, but something left a weird taste in my mouth, so I wasn't too sure about it, but I am definitely going to try it again!

We also went to Boots - pretty much my all time favourite place in the world apart from Paperchase - and spent a while in there smelling perfumes and testing makeup. One of the best things I found was the matte top coat by Barry M - simply paint it on top of any nail polish you are wearing, and it will mattify it! I've been looking for an affordable one for ages, so I had to buy one! I was also debating on the Genie lip paint, but decided against it even though it went a gorgeous corally pink on me.

After we left each other, I remembered there was a Boots at Waterloo, so I popped into there while I was waiting for a train, and they had the Genie lip paint again, so I tried it on again and just had to buy it, as well as some drinks for the journey home.

So, that was my day - we had an awesome catch up, plus she loved all her presents and the card I made for her, so that made me happy too! Did you all have a good weekend/run up to the weekend too? Do you have any other matte top coat recommendations?

 Philnicorn (the blue one) Dannicorn (the purple one) and vanilla bubble tea <3

 The remains of Wing Roulette at Nandos - I claimed my victory with my lemon and herb flag thing!

Animal Crossing // One Year Of Kittyton!

Hey guys!
So, if you know me in person or follow me on twitter (@amyhavok if you want to) you will probably know that I really love a game called Animal Crossing New Leaf - if you didn't, it's basically a game where you're the mayor of a town, and your neighbours (who are animals, hence the name Animal Crossing) suggest projects to you, and you can do jobs for them and pay off your mortgage to get a bigger house, and generally just improve your town - you can even set ordinances, such as the beautiful town or the night owl, so you can have some control over what time your shops are open, having less weeds and dead flowers, etc.

I got my copy on the 13th June, so I'm doing this post to celebrate a year of Kittyton (my town) because I like seeing how it's changed from when I first made it.

When I got my copy, it was a day or two before it was released in general, as I pre-ordered it, so I didn't know that when you first start, there is a choice of 4 random layouts that you can choose from for your town (yes, you even have some say in your layout!) so I basically just chose the first map because I didn't want to fill in all my details again, and I just wanted to get started playing! You also have to answer some questions when you begin, which determines what your face will look like, and I didn't look that up beforehand either but luckily I ended up with an okay face that I could live with! When the train pulled into Kittyton station, I was greeted by Isabelle - your assistant - and three out of 5 of your starting villagers - I can't remember exactly who mine were now, but I think it was Bianca, Maelle, Cally, Drift and Cole. Once I'd decided where I wanted my house, and Tom Nook gave me a tent to live in until I paid my down payment, I went round my town looking at everything and meeting all of my villagers, as well as collecting seashells and fruit to sell at the recycling shop in town, Retail - the different layouts also have the shop, town hall, plaza and river in different places, which I didn't know until later on. There was also a tree planting ceremony at the town plaza, which is basically the main square in your town where events are usually held, and all my animals attended, as it was basically my initiation ceremony as mayor as well.

As mayor, your first couple of days are spent trying to raise your approval rating to 100%, so that you can get the town development permit so you can start projects in your town to add things such as benches, bridges and more - more things are unlocked as you play more, as the villagers in your town will suggest projects to you, so don't worry if you don't like some of the things you start with, as eventually you will get nicer things suggested to you! Once I got mine, the first thing I decided to build was the campsite, as sometimes you will have a random villager camping in your town, and if you have space in your town you can invite them to move it - you can have up to 10 villagers at a time, and the least number you can have is 8 once you've started your town. Villagers are always moving in and out, and you can tell them to stay or go, depending whether you want them to stay or not, if you get there in time - they will usually give you 5 days notice, so be careful that you check every day, or every other day, to make sure someone you like isn't going to leave with no notice.

So yeah, I won't bore you with much more writing, but you can unlock badges by doing things such as writing lots of letters, saving lots of bells (the currency on Animal Crossing) and playing a lot - there are gold, silver and bronze medals for each category. If you spend enough money in the shops on Main Street - the high street, which is located just over the crossing next to the station, at the top of your town - you can unlock bigger and better shops with more stock, as well as improving your museum - if you manage to expand it once, you will eventually be able to unlock the cafe project, which I personally adore! You can also expand your house more every time you pay off your current mortgage, and there are many different exteriors and bits and pieces you can get for your house too - for example, my house exterior is all mermaid themed, but you can get lots of different things, including fences, doors and mailboxes. Once you have paid off your mortgage completely, you can also change the exterior to a cottage, castle, zen house and more, and if you complete room theme challenges you can also unlock all of the golden exterior items.

If you get bored, you can talk to your villagers, who will give you random jobs to do, such as deliver presents to other villagers, catch them fish/bugs, or sometimes they will invite you to theirs or invite themselves to your house! You can also go fishing and bug hunting for fun, and you will need to do this anyway if you want to fill up your museum. There are also small crosses on the ground every day, and if you get a shovel you can dig these up - they will either be fossils (which you can get identified at the museum) pitfalls (which you will fall down if you're not careful) or gyroids, which mainly appear after it has been raining/snowing - if you put them in your house, they will all move and make different sounds, depending on which gyroid it is.

The more you play, the bigger the tree you planted on your first day will grow, and eventually it will grow big enough for you to sit on the edge - when this happens, you can sit on it and the history of your town will scroll across the screen, so you can see when your villagers moved in, when your town started, when projects were completed and more.

There is so much more you can do, but I feel like I've rambled on enough for now - if you'd like to know anything else, please leave a comment below, and I will answer some more questions if you have any! I'm gonna finish off with some pictures of my town and an assortment of the projects I currently have, as well as pictures of my current villagers! Do any of you play Animal Crossing too, or has this post inspired you to buy it too?

 Bell and instrument shelter projects and a perfect peach tree

 Campsite, crossbred cosmos and a trash can/my town hall in the background

 My current path (I change it a lot) and fairytale clock project

 Hot spring project

 Flower clock project and refurbished fairytale train station, plus azalea bushes

 Flower arch project in front of my campsite

 Illuminated heart project, and some perfect peaches

 Stone tablet project

 Lighthouse, trash can and lots of flowers

 My house - castle and mermaid exteriors

 Modern police station and my secondary character's house

 Perfect peaches next to normal peaches - perfect peaches are rarer

 Finishing a project - the ceremony outside the station

 The Roost cafe

 Zen garden project and a waterfall

 Water well, my fruit tree orchard and a bit of Retail

 Sitting on my massive town tree

 Standing on the zen bridge with Fang

 Windmill project

 Sprites of my villagers

 My map

Charity Shops - Trash Or Treasure?

Hey guys!

I've always wondered what it is about vintage shops and charity shops that seems to make so many people so reluctant to shop in them, and make them feel uncomfortable even talking about them. From a young age, my mum has been taking me charity/antique shopping with her, and I have grown up learning how to haggle (which you cannot do in charity shops, mainly at car boot sales and antique fairs), and how to distinguish the good from the bad, finding many a hidden gem along the way. So, why do some people look so shocked when I tell them the cute top I'm wearing is from a charity or vintage shop, or my shoes? Sometimes they even look shocked when I tell them the book I'm reading is from a charity shop, or some of my furniture. I remember once at work, I told one of my co-workers that my mum worked in one, and he was shocked and pretty much slagged them off right in front of me, saying he'd never shop in them because he feels the clothes are dirty - which is a common misconception - and that everything was in bad condition - also a misconception, as charity shops do not put out anything that is in bad or unsellable condition!

Of course, a lot of stuff that gets donated to charity shops is in really bad condition, or cannot be used, so a lot of stuff may have to be sorted through and sometimes repaired, but it's very rare that you will find something shoddy in a charity or vintage shop, as they check everything thoroughly, especially clothing. Sometimes, you will even find some designer clothing and accessories in charity shops if you search hard enough, and they will of course be a fraction of the price AND if you buy it, it will be going to a good cause as well - it's a win win situation really!

Over the years, I have got many wonderful things from charity shops - from my favourite pair of flat ankle boots (they were unworn, my size and in pristine condition, and only cost £3 - who could turn that down?) to some beautiful vintage glass perfume bottles, to an amazing chest of drawers! I think a large part of the reason I'm so comfortable buying things from charity shops and being in them is that my mum has always been an avid supporter of various charities, and has worked in and managed several local charity shops in my life. From china dolls to books, when I was younger I used to love looking round at all the pretty, unusual things, and to this day I still love it when I find an amazing bargain. I'm lucky enough that my mum knows a reasonable amount about antiques and what's worth what, so when she's with me I know that I'll be in safe hands. Once, for example, she found some beads which the volunteers at her shop were going to throw away (at the moment she is the manager of a small charity shop down the road from us, and she is doing an amazing job, quite frankly), but she had an inkling about them, so brought them home and looked them up - her hunch paid off, and she ended up auctioning them for the charity and brought in a significant amount for them, so you never know what you may find - from first edition books to furniture in perfect condition, and you may even spy some designer clothes! A good example of this is one of my most recent finds - I got a pair of pretty much brand new MBT trainers for £30, when they retail for around £170 new, and they're in pristine condition.

I once wore something I'd purchased from a charity shop when I was going to a gig, and someone told me they liked my top and asked where I'd got it from - when I said the name of the charity shop, she looked shocked, then slightly disgustedly she asked me why I'd want to buy something from there, and said that they all smell like old ladies and that you never know if someone died in them or not. Firstly, things in charity and vintage shops are often washed before they get taken in, and if something is disgusting or in bad condition, they will often refuse to accept it or not put it out. Secondly, if you're that worried that someone died in it, then you can always wash it again before you wear it - I always wash clothes from a charity shop before I wear them, as it helps to soften them up more too. Most of the clothes I have bought in charity shops are brand new and unworn, often with the tags still attached, so I know I'm getting an absolute bargain!

So throw away any misconceptions you may have, and give it a go - you never know what weird and wonderful treasures you might find!

TAG // Cheesy Friends!

Hey guys!

So I decided to do something a little bit different today :) I found an interesting tag online, and decided to do it with my best friend - so, here is the cheesy friends tag!

Her - L

me - A

I hope you enjoy it - let me know below if you do and I will do some more tags soon!

1 - how and when did you meet?
L - I met Amy on 14th June 2010 at a music video for the band Room 94 at Brixton Academy. I remember randomly speaking to Amy while we were at the filming, then we kept in touch via facebook/twitter and as time went on we spoke more and more and ended up being best friends. :)

A - pretty much that, haha. We met at a video shoot, then started talking more and more and got closer and closer and now we're best friends :D and I wouldn't change it for the world!
 

2 - describe your best friend in 3 words?
L - Awesome, Caring and Unique

A - Fabulous, Weird and Loyal 

 
 3 - what is your favourite type of cheese?
L - Cheddar

A - Mozzerella
 

4 - if you could go anywhere in the world together, where would you go?
L - Probably Paris because we've been spoken about how we'd both like to go there! 

A - I second Paris, and also we have spoken about a road trip around America as well so that'd be awesome! :D
 

 5 - what is your favourite time of day to eat cheese?
L - Lunch or Dinner! Definitely not for breakfast... 

A - I disagree, it's nice for breakfast if you're having an omelette or something but I do like it most for dinner!
 

6 - who takes longer to get ready in the morning?
L - Definitely Amy. I'm done in about 2 minutes ;)

A - haha, yeah...definitely me. I am not a morning person at all so I take forever to wake up and get ready, whoops! :')
 

7 - what is your favourite recipe that involves cheese?
L - I literally have no idea. Cheesecake?;)

A - MACARONI CHEESE!!
 

8 - do you have anything matching?
L - We have matching phones now, although they're different colours. We've also got the same t-shirt (Dan and Phil! Our favourite Youtubers), and I bought Amy a present that I also got for myself because I really liked it and I thought having something the same would be cute! 

A - The present Lisa mentioned, we both have the same iPhone but mine is white (with Pokemon covers, oh yeah!) and hers is blue. We have such different taste that we don't really have a lot of matching things, I'm more girly than she is :D we once spoke about matching tattoos but that hasn't happened yet!
 

9 - what is their favourite song?
L - I'm annoyed at myself that I can't remember, though I know it's from the band AFI, and she also likes Fresh Start Fever, Be Who You Are & Carpe Diem from You Me At Six's new album Cavalier Youth (sorry, I think I've missed one out!), and there's a few others as well! I hope I'm right. :D 

A - At the moment, she loves Cold Night by You Me At Six, Little Things by One Direction and Do It All Over Again by Elyar Fox :D
 

10 - what is your favourite animal and does it like cheese?
L - My favourite animal are Meerkats. I'm not actually sure if they like cheese. I'm going to search it on google... *goes to look on Wikipedia*. I don't think they do eat cheese... 

A - I love pugs! I don't think that pugs eat cheese do they? Hmm...
 

11 - what's your friend's favourite tv show?
L - I believe Amy likes Hollyoaks. She likes Friday Download as well! 

A - Friday Download and All Over The Place!
 

12 - what is something weird you eat together other than cheese?
L - Something weird....we usually just eat chocolate, sweets, chicken, hot dogs and prawn crackers together. I don't know if that's classed as weird?! 

A - I don't think anything we eat is really that weird, although I think I did have sushi once and Lisa gave me weird looks because she doesn't like sushi and I love it :)
 

13 - if you could only eat one cheese for the rest if your life, what would you choose?
L - Cheddar! As mentioned further up I'd say it's my favourite. I haven't really tried any different ones actually...

A - Cheddar seems to be the most diverse cheese, so I'm gonna go for that <3 I hate cheese with fruit in it and also mouldy cheese apart from brie!
 

14 - best and worst thing about living far apart?
L - The best thing is that it makes it more special when we get to meet up, especially if it's been ages since the last time.
The worst thing is that sometimes you just want somebody close by to go and visit regularly. Sometimes spontaneous visits are the best and it'd be nice to know there is someone there when you need cheering up!! 

A - The best thing is that I usually get a whole weekend with her when I do see her, and we constantly chat via texts so it's good because we can still keep up to date with everything that's happening in the other's life.

The worst thing is, I miss her silly amounts because I'd love to see her more often and just do stuff like go window shopping, but I can't :(
 

What's In My Makeup Bag // EVERY DAY

Hey guys!
I love watching videos on "What's In My Bag?" and "What's In My Makeup Bag?" so I decided to do a small blog post on what I usually wear day to day! Bear in mind that I usually do more when I go out, so I may end up doing another post in the future with more stuff included :D

DISCLAIMER - THIS WAS ALL EITHER GIVEN TO ME AS A PRESENT OR PURCHASED WITH MY OWN MONEY. I AM NOT BEING SPONSORED BY ANYONE TO MAKE THIS POST, I JUST FELT LIKE MAKING IT!

So, without any further ado, let's go!

 This is my every day makeup bag - I don't wear an awful lot of makeup, so I don't really need a very big one, and I find that this one seems to fit in most of my bags comfortably.

 As for a mirror, this is just a cheap one that I picked up from Primark as an impulse buy last year - I needed a new, slimline mirror, and this one did the trick! One side is magnified as well, so it's  very useful and it looks nice.

 I'm pretty sure everyone has tweezers in their makeup bag for plucking the occasional stray hair, and these are just a generic brand I think. I loathe plucking my eyebrows, and luckily mine aren't too bad, so these don't get used *that* often...

 I've tried a LOT of different pencil eyeliners over the years - I started wearing it when I was 12 or 13, so it's been nearly a decade - and every single time, I end up going back to the Rimmel Soft Kohl eyeliner pencil! It doesn't irritate my eyes, it stays on for an extremely long time, and it's got a nice texture!

 This was actually a christmas present off my mum - I keep trying out different felt tip liquid eyeliners, as my old Benefit one sadly dried up and I just cannot use gel or brushy eyeliner - and this one fits the bill! You can do either thick or thin lines, and it's a gorgeous deep inky black, which stays put for a very long time without fading - I can even go to gigs and my eyeliner is the only thing that is still perfectly intact! I think this will be my favourite for a long time!

 I first found out about the Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms from various beauty YouTubers I watch, and I was really excited when they came to the UK - I was staying with my aunt at the time, and me and my cousin excitedly went out and purchased one each - and I was not disappointed. These have been my saviour during the weird weather recently - they're hydrating, and leave your lips feeling soft and smooth - and they don't smell too overwhelming like some other ones I've tried do. My favourite one, Mint Fresh, also leaves a pleasant tingling sensation on your lips!

 I was recommended this ages ago now, as I seem to get puffy eyes a lot and massive dark circles - my sleeping pattern is really messed up, and it shows a lot around my eyes. This little beauty is amazing - so good, in fact, that I keep one in the fridge too! It has a ball applicator, and you simply roll it on under and around your eyes as and when you need it - it contains caffeine and vitamin b, to help brighten up your eyes, and is cooling to decrease puffiness. A lifesaver in the mornings and after a long day!

Finally, my favourite lipgloss, and the only one I've ever really liked - I got this Smashbox lipgross one christmas off my aunt, and I am not a lipgloss person but I tried the darker shade and was smitten! They're called Peep/Show, but it doesn't actually specify which side is which colour...anyway, it makes your lips look glossy but not too wet, and it's not really sticky like other ones I've tried in the past and hated.

So there we go - my every day makeup essentials! What do you guys think - what's your every day makeup that you can't live without? Leave a comment telling me below, as 1. I'm nosy and 2. I always like getting recommendations!