You're a Wizard Harry!

On day 2 of our London trip, we went on a tour of the Harry Potter Studios.  We took the bus from Watford Junction which took us straight to the studios.  When you start the tour, you watch a short video which ends on an image of the Great Hall doors.  The screen then slides up and reveals the REAL Great Hall doors!!

Inside the Great Hall, you can see many costumes such as uniforms and teachers' outfits.  I was surprised as to how small it actually was! 

The rest of the tour was unguided and we got to go around it at our own pace.  The next room has a lot of small sets scattered around and the mirror of erised, Dumbledore's office, the potions classroom and Hagrid's bike amongst other things.

The tour then carried on outside where you're able to taste the famous Butter Beer, take a seat in the car, go on the knight bus, see Privet Drive and at the time we went, we were able to see the owls which played Hedwig.

The tour carried on back indoors where all of the characters were shown including the make up, prosthetics, wigs and masks.  We ventured on to Diagon Alley and saw Flourish and Blotts, Olivanders, the Owlery, Gringotts, and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

The tour finished on a high when we turned round the last corner to see a huge model of the whole of Hogwarts.  The model was so intricate and had every little detail on it and made it seem so real. It was a fantastic way to end the tour!

We then had to go through the shop to get to the exit and I bought a chocolate frog and some Berty Bott's every flavour beans.  We also had lots of fun looking at the many different wands, robes, broomsticks and soft toys.

It was a fantastic trip and I'm so glad I've finally gone and visited.  I'd definitely recommend it to anyone and is a great trip for the Harry Potter geeks amongst us!

Amy x

Hey, I'm Vloggin' Here!

For those of you who know me well, you will know that I am an avid YouTube watcher.  I tend to watch mostly beauty channels (Zoella, Sprinkle of Glitter, BeyondBeautyStar to name a few), along with vloggers, fitness workouts (Blogilates) and the YouTube Boyband members (PointlessBlog, ThatcherJoe, Jim Chapman, Marcus Butler and Caspar).  At the end of 2013, I was searching for weightloss videos and stumbled across the ShayLoss channel.  It is a channel dedicated to a guy called Shay who was losing weight, and documenting his journey as he goes, and I was instantly hooked.  He managed to lose 100lbs over 2 years by simply eating healthier and exercising more.  I was totally inspired and wanted to learn more about his lifestyle, and that's when I found his main channel, The Shaytards.  

The Shaytards consist of Shay, his wife Colette, and their 5 kids, and together they are the most loving, funniest and inspiring family.  They daily vlogged for 5 years straight, and since watching the first vlog, I became obsessed.  Every night, I found myself waiting up to watch the latest vlog when it went live to see what the Shaytards had been up to that day, and to hear what wise and inspiring words Shay had to say.  Shay is one of them people who can just brighten up your day instantly; he is funny, silly, a great father and husband, and also inspiring and encouraging.  Having an insight into his life has led me to feel like I'm a part of his family even though I don't know them personally, and I enjoy experiencing new adventures and celebrating achievements with them.  Their children are the most well-behaved, yet silly and loving children I have ever seen and they make me want to have a big family in the future.  I used to think I just wanted 2 kids, but now I'm not so sure... 

The Shaytards are now a prominent feature in my life and I just can't stop talking about them (to some of my friends dismay!).  To most people, it probably seems weird to watch a family going about their lives and getting enjoyment out of it, but I absolutely love it.  They cheer me up when I am down, make me laugh and smile, and make me feel like part of the family.  I am so grateful to them and their choice to share their life with everyone, and they give me hope and assurance that life can be good and filled with happiness, laughter and smiles.  If you haven't already, you should definitely check out their channel and go and subscribe!

“You choose if you’re happy or not in life. You do. It is all up to you. Do not let the outside stimulus affect your reaction. If somebody says something, does something, or if something happens that you can’t control, don’t freak out about it. I’m going to make the choice to be in charge of my life and this is the way I’m going to live, happy.” - Shay Carl

Amy x

(I do not claim to own any gifs/pictures on this post)

My Valentine

Hey everyone!

This is kinda awkward because I have no followers yet as I've just set up this blog so I'm probably speaking to myself!  I've been reading Zoella's and Sprinkle of Glitter's blogs for a few months now and they have inspired me to start up my own blog.  I'm not the best at writing so bare with me! 

This first post is going to be all about my boyfriend, Michael.  Seemed fitting since it is Valentines day after all! I know a lot of people are against Valentines day and believe you should show how much you love your significant other every single day, but I'm a sucker for it and can't resist buying gifts and a card for my boyfriend.

This is my boyfriend:

We have been together since the 6th January 2013 and it's been the best year of my life.  I've found it a massive struggle being in a long distance relationship but it is definitely worth it.  The times we do have together are more special and cherished.

Apart from the daily 'love you' texts at night, I rarely tell him how much I truely am grateful for him.  I love the way he treats me, how he skypes me for hours when I'm feeling down even though he hates skype, how he'll sit and watch my choice of film with me, how he cuddles me til I fall asleep and the fact that he puts up with my mood swings and still loves me.  

We had to have an early Valentines day as we can't see each other on the day as he works and I'm at university.  We had a nice meal and then went to see The Awkward Moment which is a great RomCom, highly recommend it (especially to all you Zac Efron fans out there!).  We had a great night and I love just spending time with him, even if we aren't doing anything special.

He is truely a gem and I don't know what I'd do without him.  He is my rock, my best friend, my boyfriend and my soul mate and I love him to pieces.

What is everyone doing for Valentines day? Let me know :)

Love, Amy