A Sprinkle of Christmas Joy*

Christmas has always been my favourite time of year, I can't quite explain why but it just feels different y'ano? I almost certainly got it from my dad, growing up he was as giddy as any kid around Christmas, we'd have Christmas songs playing in the background and we'd have an unbelievable amount of food around, Quality Streets and Roses are still some of my favourites!

It's A Shower Thing.

Whenever we think of LUSH we probably think about the beautiful and wonderful smelling bath bombs, however I've fallen in love with so many other areas of the lush product range and my newest obsession is the shower gels.

The Riverside Sunday Roast Menu.

For anyone that knows me, a huge Sunday roast dinner with loads of veg and gravy is pretty much my favourite meal, I think I could happily eat it every single day. Although I'm not officially a real northerner, I think I secretly count as one because of my love for gravy and Yorkshire puddings, although between me and you, I suck at making them, I blame the oven!

So when I got invited to The Riverside to try out their new roast menu, I couldn't type back 'yes' quick enough. Nick and I drive past this place on our commute to work every single day and we always say we should go one day and of course that never quite happens, so it was nice to actually have a reason to properly go in and have a look at the place.

It's right next to the river, bet you could have already guessed that, huh? So it's got a really nice little scenic view and it has a pretty sizeable beer garden, which is always pretty full whenever we drive past on the way home! It's pretty sizeable inside too but when we arrived we were taken upstairs to a new function room, which is where all your Sunday roast dreams will come true.

After we'd sat down and settled we had a look at the menu, both Nick and I opted for beef, however I was a little disappointed that their was no chicken or turkey option, as I would have much preferred that. I did initially think that £10 for a roast was a little pricey but then when all the food started coming out it did seem like you got a lot of food for your money.

I really enjoyed the mixture of vegetables too, it wasn't your stereotypical roast potatoes and carrots, there was kale, broad beans and green beans along with roasted butternut squash, which I absolutely loved. Sometimes I really enjoy the veg on a roast more than anything else and I have to say I think this was true for this occasion. The Yorkshire puddings were also huge, they basically took up my entire plate, not that I was complaining!

The only thing I didn't like about the meal was the meat, like I said before I would have preferred to have chicken or turkey and the beef that Nick and I had ordered was a little tough and quite fatty, I honestly barely touched mine but I was pretty happy with the meal on the whole. Hopefully they'll have ironed out these little things before the launch early September!

I did like how they tried to be a bit different with the vegetables, I really like it when you get a cool little twist on a classic meal. They also do cover vegan and vegetarian options too for those that don't like meat, my friend Aimee had the nut roast and she said it was lovely!

Whats your favourite thing about sunday roasts? I honestly would love to know, I think a little blob of mint sauce really perfects it for me!

Entertainment of the Month July 2016.

I haven't actually watched as much TV as I normally would do this past month, I've been really putting a lot of time and effort into my blog, but I have to say what I have seen this past month has been probably some of the best entertainment I've seen so far this year. I have 3 things that immediately spring to mind for this post, so those will be the three I'll be focusing on today!

Stranger Things 2016.

The first of which is Stranger Things, a new Netflix original series that has been getting a lot of attention recently and deservedly so. I'm a lover of all things horror and creepy and when I saw the mini trailer pop up I was really intrigued. This series is about as close to perfection as you can probably get. Set in the 80's, a kid goes missing on his way home from staying at a friends and as they try to find him, a mystery unravels about the town they are in and strange things entail! The first thing I'd like to point out is how perfectly retro this is, everything about it screams the 80's, from the Stephen King-esque intro sequence, to the set designs and costumes, its honestly one of the most well crafted TV shows I've seen in a very long time. It also helps that the story and characters are well rounded enough to keep you glued to the screen wanting to know more, including a brilliant performance from Winona Ryder. No spoilers but I really hope this go onto a second series, because the ending was certainly set up with room for another season! I have never recommended a TV show as much as I have this one, so please give it a watch if you can!


The Fault In Our Stars 2014

I probably picked the wrong time to watch this, but I'd noticed this had gone up on Netflix recently and Nick was away on his stag do, so I decided to finally watch it. Big mistake. But not because this film is bad, but because this film is so beautifully sad that I cried for about 3 hours straight. This film is about two cancer patients who meet at a support group and fall hopelessly for each other. It has highs and lows, love, laughter, pain and suffering and complete and utter cryinginaballonyoursofa heartbreak, but I don't think I'll ever forget about this film. It's not very often you watch a film that really gets you so deep you continue to cry for about an hour after it's finished, but I'm so so happy I watched this film and I highly recommend you do too, maybe just bring a box of tissues, some chocolate and a blanket...you'll need it.


Mad Max: Fury Road 2015

I have never really heard much or seen much regarding the Mad Max series but I recently won a competition on Twitter and this came in the DVD bundle I received. Nick and I watched this on a Sunday afternoon with no expectations and I have to say I was really really impressed. As for the story, I was lost for most of it, for a good chunk at the beginning I had no idea what was going on, however the concept of the film is something I've never seen before. The attention to detail regarding the bizarre and clever things they do with the cars is unlike anything I'd seen before. I think I was completely wowed over during the desert thunderstorm scene, as it was so visually impressive. I heard there is another being filmed in this series and I'm very eager to watch it when it comes out. This one really did surprise me, but in a good way for a change, so that's nice!


Hopefully August will be jam packed with exciting new things to talk about, as I  plan on watching Finding Dory, Ghostbusters and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (by my favourites, The Lonely Island).

As always let me know what you think of the 3 things I've been loving and please feel free to send your viewing suggestions my way, I love any type of recommendations!

 

8 Things I Learnt From Re-Watching How I Met Your Mother.

I want to put my hands up here and say How I Met Your Mother is one of my favourite TV programmes and I've pretty much watched through the entire series 3-4 times. During the recent watch through I noticed/learnt a few things that I had never really paid attention to before, which is always interesting when you've seen something so many times!

01. Ted is pretty annoying.
There is always one character out of a group that you like the least and for me it's always Ted. He's really whiny and miserable and his whole life seems to revolve around getting 'the girl'. I understand that is pretty much the entire premise of the show but he doesn't need to be so smarmy about it.


02. Barney is brilliant.
Now I'm all against sexism and women being viewed as objects, but it's a TV show and Barney is hilarious. The writers are so creative with his character and Neil Patrick Harris plays the role perfectly. Who hasn't said 'Legendary' or 'Haaaaveeee you met Ted?'. Classics.


03. Lily Pad and Marsh Mellow are goals.
Some people probably find Lily and Marshal really cheesy and gross but I absolutely adore them. They're such a great couple together, they really work together as a team and truly love each other. Even when Lily does a runner one season we all knew she'd be back and everything will be back to gooey goodness. I wish I could get pancakes made for me every Sunday!


04. There is a whole season where Lily just disappears.
I think the actress Alyson Hannigan was pregnant for this season and she just wasn't it for some reason. I'd never noticed before but once you notice its so blatantly obvious. She's just not there or she's in the odd episode for about 3 minutes at a time and it just all looks really odd and Marshal doesn't seem to mention her being away or anything. Which leads me onto my next point..


05. Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smoulders are both heavily pregnant during Season 4. 
Again this is something you might not notice for the first couple of watches but once I noticed it, it was really hard to un-see it. Basically for the entire of Season 4 both actresses were heavily pregnant and the costume designers do a fab job of covering it up! Alyson is the more obvious of the two as she's so tiny and she suddenly wears very baggy clothes and things are very conveniently placed in front of her during shots! But look out for it if you've never noticed before!


06. The episode Barney sings about suits is my favourite.
Ever since I saw this episode it's always been my favourite. Anything kind of musical-esque wins my heart over and a comical song about suits? What's not to love, seriously. YouTube it.


07. The 'mothers' story is very short and sad.
After so much build up throughout the seasons, you do eventually meet the mother of Ted's children however she is a very brief part of the show and without spoilers, isn't around for very long. I feel like this is such a disappointment. You are just left wanting to get to know her a little better which is probably why they did it this way, but it certainly leave the viewers a little underwhelmed after 9 season of finding her.

08. The ending is very disappointing and predictable.
I was very disappointed with the ending to the TV show. It's also very predictable.. It's one of those things that was pretty much set up from the beginning of the show, I do wonder if they just ran out of ideas of what to do and just did a Lost and just went with the boring predictable option. The first time around watching the series I actually saw a spoiler for the ending accidentally and just stopped watching it because I was so disappointed but I soldiered through recently and was as disappointed as I expected I would be.


I hope you enjoyed this post, I always love writing these type of posts because watching TV series and talking about them is basically my favourite hobby.

Please let me know if you've noticed anything that I haven't! I love hearing peoples opinions on TV and film.




If you've enjoyed this post you might also enjoy the following;
8 Things I Learnt From Re-watching Sex and the City.
3 Disappointing Moments from the Harry Potter Series
7 Things I Learnt From Re-watching Twilight 

The Importance of Defining Your Own Terms of Success.

I've been listening to the Ladies who Lunch podcast a lot recently and one of the topics about jealousy and envy really stood out to me. One of the things Ingrid said was that everyone has their own definition of success so we shouldn't compare ourselves to other peoples versions of success.

This is such an important topic when it comes to life and relationships but today I want to talk about this in terms of blogging.

Entertainment of the Month June 2016

This months entertainment I'm going to mix a little with some music and a couple of video games, but as always I have plenty of TV loves that I just can't wait to talk about, so lets get straight into it!

To Highlight or Not To Highlight, That Is The Question.

It's pretty obvious that highlighting is a massive trend in the beauty world at the minute and in true Tarnya style I'm about 10 years behind with this trend. The main reserve I have about highlighting is that I normally like my makeup to be pretty matte because I get quite oily and I don't really like the 'dewy' look on me. So the idea of adding something to my face to make it look even more oily and shiny has been putting me off trying highlight.

However, I don't think I can truly judge a trend unless I try it out for myself. So I decided to pick up the new Sleek - Solstice highlighting palette and attempt to highlight everyday for 2 weeks and see what my feelings were like afterwards. 

Lisa Stickley FlowerCard Review.

I love flowers. They're so pretty, smell great and really brighten up a room. Whenever Nick buys me flowers it makes me so happy! As it's coming into summer (shocking I know with all the rain) our house has been crying out for a bit of greenery so when I got contacted and asked if I'd like to try a FlowerCard I was very intrigued. I'd never seen anything like it before and I really like the idea of these cards, so I decided to write a little review for you. 

7 Things I learnt From Rewatching Twilight

I've always been a Twilight fan, however shameful that might be to admit in my mid twenties but I read all the books as a teenager and got super into the films when they were released. I've not sat down and re watched them since back then and decided to do so with Nick after seeing them pop up on my Netflix. As always it was interesting to watch them with a fresh adult perspective.

Image source - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8cJfgsSLUEK11B29i_5yIQFjeEoCXsaElQr_TAVBXFjhAY7qtSbDcDbrEHLgnw6ud91EIKmVlw4AvFxRd0TATFebSnO1PpyDagjOzlvD007e_htQO6WliswItKSxxB6bW0BCLvM0wQQ/s1600/Twilight-movies-hd-wallpaper.jpg

01 Edward is kind of a bellend.
Back when I first read the books and watched the films, I was always on Team Edward but watching it as an adult, Edward is weird and stalkerish and controlling. He barely leaves Bella's side, he watches her sleep and kind of torments Bella by being super intense before dropping her like a hot potato. It's really not a healthy relationship.


02 The wedding is actually really beautiful.
I might be a little bias at the minute about weddings but the ceremony in the forest with all the fairy lights is really beautiful, I kind of wish I could do that! We just have to try and forgot about the fact she's about 17 and way to goey eyed about the whole thing...


03 Edward is about 100 years old but still doesn't know how to wear a condom.
It's all fun and games until someone gets pregnant on their first sexual encounter. I guess the 40 years of college education was lost on you huh Edward? Yes, I suppose being dead for however many years means you didn't expect there to be some swimmers hanging around but hey, guess you were wrong.


04 Jacob is a hot dog.
See what I did there? I am a 100% Team Jacob convert. He's so kind and caring and genuinely loves Bella for who she is but she's too goey eyed over cold meat that she seriously friend zones the poor guy. She even gets the nerve to get pissed when he falls hopelessly for her daughter, I mean, cut the poor guy some slack.


05 Vampires have great taste.
The Cullen's house is actually incredible, how does no-one in the little town question something weird is going on? How much money do they think doctors actually make?! Either way, the house is amazing, so is the furniture and they all have great style, not sure if I'm willing to trade my soul for it all though.


06 Turning into a vampire makes you look like a model.
I can't have been the only one that watched that scene and magically watched the full face of make up appear on her and think, damn, Bella a hottie. I wish when I woke up from my Friday night coma I looked this good on a Saturday morning.


07 The Cullens are a pretty sexy family. 
Do you think Carlisle went around picking the most attractive kids to join his #vampgang ? Seriously there isn't one of the family members that I wouldn't. For those that want to know my favourite, always has been and always will be Jasper, he's my bae.


If you can look past all the silly teen vibe of the films, they are actually quite fun to watch, however lame that makes me sound. I love re-watching things like this from an adults view point so I can poke fun at them for these kind of posts. If you've enjoyed reading this you'll probably enjoy 8 Things I learnt from rewatching Sex and the City and 3 Disappointing Moments from the Harry Potter Series. 


If you have any suggestion of TV or films you'd like me to watch for this type of post, please let me know in the comments. Also let me know if you noticed any silly things about Twilight that I didn't!

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Weekend Brunch with All Bar One.

Brunch is arguably the best meal of the day, mix that in with a Saturday lunch time and you've pretty much described the ideal start to a weekend. So as you can imagine, when All Bar One got in contact and said would I like to try their brunch menu, I jumped at the chance.

I'd been to All Bar One briefly before for a drink or two but I've never eaten food here before so I was very excited about trying it out.

To start with we ordered drinks, Nick opted for a hot chocolate which came with a little pot of smarties (smarties for breakfast, yes please!) and I decided to go for Mango and Passion-fruit juice, which was really fresh and tasty.

Next up was the fun bit, picking which food to devour. There is so much choice I couldn't decide between sweet and savoury which is a debate I have with myself pretty much everyday. Nick went for the full breakfast and I however went for sweet and opted for the pancakes with fruit, bacon and maple syrup.

Firstly Nick's full breakfast looked amazing and the plate was pretty clean by the end of it, so I'm sure that means he enjoyed it, I was tempted to have a little taster myself but I was so stuffed from my pancakes.

The pancakes were amazing, they were so fluffy! I love fluffy pancakes and I really should make them at home for myself. The pancakes came with banana, strawberries and blueberries and I added some bacon to balance out some of the sweetness. I've had bacon and pancakes before and it's the perfect combination, so I delved in. I have to say though that the portion size is huge, 3 pancakes for one person is a challenge, I could only manage 2 and even Nick had a sneaky little try.

I was really impressed with the food and the portion sizes, it kept both of us full until the evening. I also think the pricing is pretty good, we both had a drink and a main each and it was just under £20, which for the portion sizes I think is pretty good.

If I were to eat here again, I'd try the granola or the full English breakfast, although there were some really lovely egg options too!

What are your favourite things to eat for brunch??


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Entertainment Of The Month May 2016

This past month I've spent a lot of time catching up on the films I've wanted to watch since they came out but somehow never quite got around to seeing, it happens to all of us when adult life gets in the way. I've gone ahead and talked more in depth about 4 films this month that I felt were the most note worthy.

The Revenant (2015)

I had heard a lot of great things about this film and it was the film that finally got Leo his Oscar but I'm sad to say I found this film a little disappointing. Firstly I'd like to say that the cinematography in this film is stunning, every scene is beautiful and I cannot find fault with the visuals at all, it genuinely looked like the bear fight was real, however I found it really hard to connect with Leo's character and really feel for him. I'm usually a sucker for my emotions but I didn't have any real emotions for this film, which makes me really sad to say. I think I'll eventually rewatch this film alone without Nick (and not on an airplane) to see if that changes my opinion but for now, it was a very disappointing 3 hours of my life.


Pixels (2015)

This is a very Adam Sandler film with a typical hero formula but I'd heard such bad reviews about this one I wanted to make up my own mind. First thing I want to say is that I grew up loving video games and now am lucky enough to work in the video game industry, so my views might be a teeny bit bias but this film didn't deserve the awful reviews it got. It was very cheesy but what else would you expect from a Sandler film? The plot line was a little far fetched and the visuals were suitably impressive but overall I really enjoyed this. It helped it had two of my favourite actors in it, Josh Gad (Olaf) and Peter Dinkledge, they both always make me laugh. I wouldn't call this a must watch but it wasn't a complete waste of an hour or two.


Jungle book (2016)

I have to admit I haven't been the most enthusiastic about the live action reboots of the Disney films, I think it's because I have such a good memory of them from my childhood I'm scared of them being ruined, so I was quite cautious about seeing this. How very wrong I was. I absolutely loved Junglebook, it appeared a little darker than the originals which I actually quite liked about this, Disney films are quite dark and I thought that it was very well portrayed. The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the snake scene, something about Scarlet Johannsons voice as the snake didn't quite fit properly for me and seemed a little out of place but the casting for the other characters were pretty spot on. I loved the way each of the characters retained their eyes, looking into King Louis eyes was like looking into the face of Christopher Walken. I just hope I remain as pleasantly surprised with the other remakes, specially Beauty and the Beast which is my all time favourite.


Inside out (2015)

I've been meaning to watch this for absolutely ages and I have to say I think this film is perfect. The film follows the life of a little girl from birth but from the emotions in her head, the memories she creates and just generally growing up. I cried for pretty much the entirety of this film and it's such a beautiful and creative way to help children understand their emotions. It's films like this that makes me visualise sitting with my own kids, watching this and hoping it helps them understand themselves a little better. It just makes me feel like this film might one day help me and my kids be a little more honest and open with each other, which is pretty impressive to get from a film. I highly recommend you watch this, children or no children.


I have also watched a bunch of other stuff this month but I really felt like these were the ones worth discussing. I'm hoping next month will have a few new additions too as we plan on going to see the new Xmen Apocolypse film at the start of June and I'll be ticking a few films off my 'been meaning to watch for ages' list.

Besides TV and Film I've been listening to lots of Podcasts, I wrote about My Current Top 5 Favourite Podcasts here earlier this month, I really enjoy listening to them at work as it helps pass the time.

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My Current Top 5 Favourite Podcasts.

Up until about 6 months ago I only had a couple of Podcasts in my subscription list however recently my list has grown so much I struggle to listen to them all! Listening to something whilst working really helps me concentrate and zone out background noise and of course it also helps that they are funny and entertaining!

As I found these podcasts from various different places, I thought I'd bring them together in one post so I can tell you all about my current top 5 favourite podcasts.

01 My Dad Wrote A Porno.
I know this is an old one but I've only recently discovered it. This one is pretty self explanatory, someones dad wrote an erotic novel and he reads it out loud with his friends, much to his awkward amusement. This is really easy to listen to and probably shouldn't be listened to at work but it's been keeping me giggling to myself for hours.


02 A Cast of Kings - A Game of Thrones Podcast.
One of my favourite things in life is Game of Thrones and if watching it and chatting about it with anyone that will listen isn't enough, I like to listen to other people talking theories about it too. What's great about this, is that one of the hosts has read the books and one has only seen the TV show, so you get two different views points but without any spoilers. Listening to this on a Tuesday morning is almost as exciting as watching the show on Monday evenings.


03 Jules and Sarah The Podcast.
If you are looking for a pick me up kind of podcast this is perfect for you. Jules and Sarah are both northerners that now live in London but still love everything from up north. This has had me laughing out loud at my desk on multiple occasions and never fails to put a smile on my face. I even get a cheeky shout out at one point that quite literally made my month.


04 The Odd Pear.
When Jemma from Dorkface blog told everyone that she and her boyfriend Gary were starting a podcast I was so excited, I love supporting my fellow blogging ladies and I have to say I actually love this podcast. Each week they pick a topic to talk about and I've loved every single topic so far, from Harry Potter, 90's TV to chatting about serial killers, what's not to love?!


05 Guys We F****d.
This is certainly not safe for work but the pure honesty of this podcast is what I love. Two female comedians talk openly about the men they have slept with and get them on to discuss the encounters. If sex positivity is something you are cool with then this is something fun and interesting to listen to, it's mostly learning about people's lives with a dash of boning, standard.


As I listen to so many podcast I'm thinking about doing another list of podcasts I listen to that inspire and help me with my writing/blogging. There are some really great ones that really leave me feeling inspired and wanting to take on the world so keep your eyes peeled for that post very soon.

I hope you've heard of a couple of  new podcasts from this list and want to check them out, let me know if you listen or enjoy them. Or if you have any new recommendations please please please let me know in the comments because I'm open to a wide variety of topics and would love to add some new ones to my ever growing list!

Sunday Sit Down #8

Blog life.

After listening to a few blogging themed podcasts I've found recently, I've been really inspired and enthusiastic about writing. I've been jotting down all sorts of topics I want to cover here, most of which are very real and down to earth because I feel like I want to spend more time connecting with my viewers and tackling issues I'm passionate about in life. I really enjoy reading posts about real life issues and connecting a little more with another person and if I can do that for someone else, I'd be extremely happy and proud of my blog.

Another exciting front on the blog is that I've joined The City Girls team. The City Girls is run by my friend Holly over on Tea&Blush and she kindly asked me, Aimee and Becki to join the team to bring the events back to life later this year. We're all so very excited to join the team and get cogs turning behind the scenes, so please hang tight for some exciting things later in the year !



Personal life.

At the start of this month I took some big steps with my driving and finally went out on my own without anyone else in the car for the first time ever. I've been slowly getting back into driving and building up my confidence since Christmas and being able to finally go out of my own has felt really really great. The last thing I need to tackle is learning to drive on the motorway then I'll be free as a bird to tackle the roads of the world.

We also both enjoyed 10 days on holiday with Nicks family in Cyprus. This was a much needed holiday and the fact it was with family made it super relaxed with no pressure to go out every night, this meant I spent a lot of time chilling with Nick by the pool, reading books and spending some much needed time away from social media. I wrote two photo diary type posts about Cyprus which you can find Part 1 and Part 2 here. It really makes me want to travel more and explore the world, which I do plan on doing after we've got the big holiday of next year over, our honeymoon!

Then finally, we have more progress on the wedding front in May, which is always very exciting, but I'll be writing a post about that very soon. So keep your eyes peeled for that! I can't quite believe it's only 5 months away now, it seems to be equally flying by and dragging!

I'm off to drink lots of fruit tea in front of the telly and spend the day relaxing, ahhh sundays.

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When My Period Gots Me Feeling Low.

Today I am in the undeniable grip of my period.

Entertainment of The Month April 2016

April has flown by and I have to admit I haven't binge watched as much TV as normal, I know, what is wrong with me?! We've had some very brutal cliff hangers and the exciting return of an old favourites, with a dash of Podcasts this month, so lets get into it!

Beach Body Ready? Beach, Please!

With summer peeping it's head around the corner, the dreaded phrase 'Beach Body Ready' has reared it's ugly head already. As someone who is going on holiday next week, the pressure of being 'beach body ready' has been in the back of my mind for at least a few weeks now. I go through phases of trying not to eat so much to flip-reversing and eating a full bag of giant buttons all to myself...for breakfast... 

Jewellery Box Bracelet Review.

When Jewellery Box got in contact with me for a collaboration I was quite excited about trying some more jewellery. After looking through the very extensive website I decided to pick out a bracelet due to recently adding a great new ring to my collection.

If you've read my blog before you'll know I have really tiny wrists and fingers so finding jewellery that fits is quite difficult, I decided to go for a bracelet because they were so cute and although it might be too big, I can work with it or potentially use it as an ankle bracelet.

3 Disappointing moments from the Harry Potter series.

Last weekend Nick and I finally finished watching the Harry Potter series and as much as I friggin love it, there are some major things that disappoint me. As a point of reference Nick hadn't read all of the books or seen all of the films so we decided to watch through them all together. 

I guess I should put a spoiler warning here, but if you haven't watched Harry Potter by now you need a slap!

Firstly, it's a real shame that they never touch upon all the passion Hermione has for the welfare of house elves and magical creatures. This is quite a big thing for her character and actually becomes part of her job in the future and I think it's such a shame this isn't touched upon in the films. Could you imagine all the young kids learning about the welfare of animals and creatures through Harry Potter? I feel it's such a shame for the younger generation or none book readers to have missed out on.

Then next up is the heart wrenching moment you realise that Fred has died. At this point in the book I cried my little eyes out and was devastated that a Weasley had died, however in the film this moment doesn't get much air time at all. I was speaking to Nick about the film after it had finished to get his opinion on the ending and I mentioned how sad it was that Fred  had died and he said 'did he? I didn't even notice!'...my point exactly!! After thinking about it a little more, when Harry see's Fred's body it's kind of the defining moment that shit is real and he goes off to face Voldymort but it still feels like a really sad moment that has been skipped over drastically...besides the badass moment of course where Molly defeats Bellatrix Lestrange.

Then finally, my ultimate disappointment is the end scene or chapter of the book. It was kind of expected that we would want to find out what happened to the gang post Hogwarts, but for me, this last scene feels so rushed and cheesy. Firstly, the names that Harry & Ginny call their kids is just ridiculous and so predicable. Don't even get me started on the scene in the film where they are all meant to be 30+ and look about 16...they can animate amazing dragons but they can't make some kids look older?....I am disappoint. To me it feels like this bit was just tacked onto the end as a last thought and was done in the aim of pleasing the fans. I would rather have had something a little more in depth about their lives as something separate, but I guess one can always dream that another book had come out instead...

I still frikkin love Harry Potter despite it's flaws and I am very tempted to start watching through the films again already!

Let me know if anything about the films or books disappointed you! As I'd love to hear your thoughts.


If you enjoyed reading this post, why not check out my '8 Things I Learnt From Re-watching Sex and the City' post.

8 Things I learnt from re-watching Sex and the City.

I was given the Sex and the City boxset for Christmas and I couldn't wait to re-watch them in order and follow the story properly but when watching it I couldn't help but notice a few things.

1. They never cook!?

They have these beautiful homes that cost an absolute bomb yet they never cook or really spend time at home. What is with that?! Over 6 seasons that spans over 10? years not once do you see them cook. Are takeaways super cheap in New York or are they just super lazy?


2. Carrie's fashion sense is awful.
I'm not really sure how Carrie Bradshaw became this huge fashion icon, is it because she only buys high end clothing even if the clothes/shoes she buys are god-damn awful? In the last season she wears cargo shorts, heels and this big frilly pink top thing and it was seriously one of the most awful things I've ever seen.


3. For a programme about sex...they barely say the word.
So yes Samantha uses the most frank of words but for a programme about sex they often use the phrase 'making love' which is something I wasn't really expecting. I guess the underlying point of the film is that sex is great but it's infinite times better when you are in love with someone.


4. I am Miranda.
There is always one person you relate to the most in a TV show and it turns out I am Miranda. I'm not super girly, I'm all for the honest approach of no bullshit and she basically summed up everything I want from my wedding when she gets married. I just really get her. You don't need to be super into makeup and fashion or heels and you can still be sexy and I think Miranda does this well. (and no, I'm not secretly saying these things about myself, ha!)


5. Big is a prick.
There is no other way to say it, but he's a bell end. I'm all aboard the Aidan boat. He's a furniture designer with great taste, a cabin and a dog, oh and is crazy cute and loving...who wouldn't you want that? Carrie apparently...


6. Honesty is key.
There is an episode towards the end of the entire series where they ask a man on his opinion. 'Why didn't he call?'. The response, 'he's just not that into you'. It's almost ground breaking for multiple reasons, 1. Four intelligent and independent woman couldn't work this out for themselves 2. All they had to do was ask a man and 3. why do they even care? ha ha.
I think we can all learn a little from some honesty, if you aren't that into someone, save them and you a bunch of time and just tell them, don't beat around the bush (cringe).


7.Women are just as confusing as men.
Dating is a cruel and confusing game and it doesn't matter which side of the dating wall you are, that shit is confusing, no matter how many brunches you sit talking about it with your 3 gal pals.


8. Oh and they never take their make-up off before bed.
Nuff said.