we're all going on a summer holiday

The date is August 15th, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, i can hear the laughter of the children next door, it is a beautiful summers day. What am i doing this fine day i hear you ask? I am sat in my room, freezing my bollacks off, wrapped in about 4 duvets, watching The Holiday and drinking about a gallon of water every hour because I feel like shit. Watching this film, it got me thinking about holidays. So that is what i'm going to talk to you about today! *woo*

1 of the only pictures of me from Barcelona

I love holidays. I love the idea that you can escape everyday life for one or two weeks ( 3 - 6 if you're lucky!) and go and discover somewhere new. My mum and dad feel the exact same about holidays as i do, so throughout my childhood my mum and dad made it their duty to take my family away from home to someplace new, for at least a week. Now we are far from rich so we hardly ever went anywhere fancy! I mean the first time i went abroad was when i was 10 and that was to the south of france in my aunties old converted barn house. We went every year though. Cornwall, Devon, Bath ( My favourite place ever!) Scotland, Wales, Ireland, London. We travelled all across Britain eventually we went to France and i managed a holiday to Barcelona with my bestfriends! (It was a school trip but it felt like a holiday with my friends!) So i have been extremely lucky in my childhood to go on Holiday and i am so grateful that i have had the chance to go as some people don't get the chance to go away. 

Me, My sister and brother at the Love
fountain in Bath

I do appreciate going to interesting and cultural places more than party and the kids club places. You know the holidays i mean! I love walking around cities, walking down streets of market stalls, eating new foods and getting a little bit lost. Bath is a beautiful city to go to. It is full of markets and historical places like the Roman baths and The cathedral is absolutely stunning. Barcelona was beautiful as well, me and my bestfriend wandered off from everyone else and walked around the market stalls, i loved it so much! i never got a chance to eat traditional spanish tapas while i was there as everyone else went to McDonalds so i didn't want to argue with everyone. I honestly would not enjoy myself one but if i went to anywhere like Gran Canaria or Benidorm, i am not slating them! i am just saying that there is no more culture left there (for me) and it feels a bit over run by Brits abroad! 

My bestfriend, Chloe, told me about her plan to visit Copenhagen as her first holiday, rather then go to a typical 18 year old brit holiday such as Ibitha and Magaluf. Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark and is a beautiful city. We have now planned that this will be our first holiday together. We checked flight costs and Bed and Breakfast prices and it all looks affordable! We checked all the tourist sights we could check out during the week we would stay. there is Tivoli gardens which is the worlds second oldest amusement park, it has live music playing everyday and they cook traditional danish food for you. (Brakken which is the oldest amusement park in the world is also in copenhagen!) Copenhagen zoo where there are tunnels that run through the polar bear attraction so you can see the polar bear swimming!, Of course we would have to see the Little mermaid statue! and i'd drag chloe along to look at Frederiksborg Palace. Also being the huge historical geek i am i would love to see the Viking ship memorial. Then to top it off there is Stroget and Christiania which are large shopping areas with lots of shops and market stall of artists and up and individual designers. 

My first holiday plans really excite me as it sounds amazing! It sounds like the perfect place to visit. I hope it would be the first holiday of many as i would also love to backpack around Europe, visit Africa, australia and Japan. Also i need to go to Disneyland! I have so many trips that i would love to do and it would be perfect if they all happened! I would like to go on a holiday with a group of people where we could drink and soak up a lot of sun, but maybe when i am a little older and not brand new to the holidaying without mum and dad game. If i was going on one of them holidays i would love to go to the greek island of Cos! 

Au revior! 

Making a bit of cash off of Ebay

I have mentioned before that i am very poor and a shopoholic. Being a shopoholic i have a stupid amount of clothes in my wardrobe, like it's shocking how many items i have! i don't even wear them all! i have decided i am going to sell on Ebay. I am a lover of Ebay and a frequent buyer so i thought.. why not!

I'm just a beginner in the Ebay game but I'm gonna tell you how I'm doing it. 

First of, i went through all my clothes, EVERY SINGLE ITEM, and asked these three questions;

'Do i like it?' - what's the point in having clothes if you don't even like it.

'Do i wear it?' - Yes i may love it, but if it is too small or too big i won't be able to wear it!

'Will i wear it?' - If it is a bit tight now, i might be able to lose some weight to fit into them but if they are a size 8 and I'm a size 12, i don't think my arse will be fitting into them jeans anytime soon.

After sorting them out, i look at the condition of the clothes, only the best conditioned items can be sold online as Ebay has strict rules on supplying the best. The best can be sold online, the rest you can either recycle at a clothes bank or donate to charity shops such as Oxfam and Bernados. 

You have now your clothes to sell. Sometimes by adding a quirk to them
will bump up the value. Such as baggy denim jeans are not in fashion and wouldn't be bought for much. By cutting them shorter making them into boyfriend shorts and maybe dip dying them. You can increase the value and sell them for £6 or £7. Thats what i have done and i have put them online for £6. 

I have dip dyed, bleach splattered and tie dyed the shorts i have in hope the value will be increased! There are so many sites telling you how to dye shorts and the instructions are easy to follow as well. You can go wild designing them! You can buy coloured dye and sew on badges, make these clothes interesting and one of a kind, the more unique they are, the more chance someone will want to buy them.

Once thats all done, you need to upload the product. Make sure you title the product right. Naming the product 'sexy indie tie dye shorts' will not gain the views you want but calling it 'women's Tie dye shorts size 14' will. Also the picture needs to be good. A clear picture showing the product. You can have 14 pictures uploaded for free. So take close up shots of the front, back and buttons. So the buyers can see as much as the product as they can.

It costs about 80p to put the item up but it will be worth it when you can get a profit! 

Im hoping to earn a little bit of cash from selling online and to get rid of a few clothes! 

If you decide to sell or make some unique clothes i would love to see them! Email me on rubyeleanorflanagan1996@gmail.com or comment a link to a picture! 

My third Midlife crisis and I'm only 16!

I have hit a bit of a midlife crisis at the tender age of 16 years. Unemployed, overweight and starting to spiral into debt as i owe a number of people ALOT of money because i have an unnecessary need to shop.

I have spent today watching chick flicks (6 in total), eating my weight in butter popcorn and rolling about on the un-hoovered floor walloping in the sorrows of what is my life. A little voice inside my head is screaming at me saying 'Shut up Ruby! you have the grades you need to get into college, you can still fit on a single seat on the bus and yes you owe over £50 but once you get a job you can fix that!' but that voice is being drowned out by an even louder voice 'WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH YOUR LIFE RUBY, HOW ARE YOU GONNA LIVE AND SURVIVE IN THE REAL WORLD!' The arguments that are going on inside my head are really distracting me from getting things done.
You see, for about 2 years now i have had a plan. I have had a plan for my future. I knew exactly what i wanted to do. I would go to college and study Photography, English Language, Sociology and Music. Pass all with A* and then go off to University to study Journalism. After that i would move to Minneapolis and live with my Auntie there. I would then hopefully gain an internship at a Magazine over in America and after a few years i would hopefully move to the Big apple at around 25 working as a music or fashion writer/editor for a big time magazine.
This is the best possible outcome of my life! I desperately want this to happen but today i finally realized that this probably won't happen? Life will throw things at me that will change the entire path for me. For example; My brother is an actor and planned to go to Central School of Speech and Drama in London. This is the top drama school in England and it is very hard to get in. My brother auditioned and tried his hardest but unfortunately didn't get in. He told us that he didn't want to go to any other drama school or university and his dream was to attend Central. This changed his entire path and is now taking a year out to build up his Acting CV. This new path is a 180' contrast from his plan this time 6 months ago! This scares me so much that plans  and expectations can change so fast.

What i'm trying to say and tell myself, is that i cannot plan my future to the exact second. I can plan tomorrow and at a push next week but i've got to remember that, life isn't easy and it will throw what it can to make journey challenging. It's hard for me to accept that as i am a control freak. I like knowing exact plans and what, when, where and how everything happens. Today i have vowed to myself that i will try and change my ways! Stop this unnecessary planning and stop worrying about the unnecessary plans and stop the stress from the unnecessary plans. What i'm going to do is sort myself out. Throw my crappy CV's at every shop going to get a job, stop pointless eating for eatings sake and lose a few pounds and slowly pay back the money i owe and stop the pointless buying!
I will survive my third midlife crisis!

Au revior!

p.s God i hope i'm not the only person who is life this!

50 Things i love!

I'm struggling to think of ideas to write about lately, so i have decided i'll let you know a bit about myself and post 50 things in my life that i love! Hope you enjoy this extremely boring post about me.

1. Friends and family - They mean the absolute world to me and i wouldn't know what i'd do without them!
2. Fun. - My all time favourite band, i love them so much. Jack Antonoff, Nate Ruess and Andrew Dost<3
3. Sitcoms! - Friends, How i met your mother, Big Bang theory, IT crowd, Scrubs, Father Ted!
4. Autumn and Winter - I love the cold weather when you can wear scarfs and coats and boots.
5. Going to the cinema
6. Shopping - As i've said before, i'm a shopaholic.
7. Coffee - i cannot live without my 8 cups of coffee in the day
8. Heartfilled and deep conversations
9. Henry Holland clothing
10. Doctor Who! - Best TV show ever!
11. BBC series Sherlock! - Benedict Cum-on-my-baps
12. Going on holiday
13. Taking pictures
14. Playing the violin -Played for 9 long years and i still love it!
15. Discovering new artists + songs
16. Reading good books!
17.Chinese food - I could live off chinese food, special chow mein is my favourite
18. Cats - I'm defiantly a cat lover!
19. Watching heart wrenching films and chick flicks
20. Market stalls
21. Ebay
22. Writing - I would love to have a future career in writing
23. Hot relaxing baths with candles - Perfection<3
24. Going cycling
25. Christmas! - The build up is probably the best bit
26. Company Magazine
27. Painting my nails
28. Seaside fish + chips
29. Going to concerts!! - It's the best seeing a great artist live!
30. Music in general - My ipod os my prized possession
31. The colours blue and green
32. Youtube - ive only recently started watching youtube and youtubers and i have become obsessed!
33. Big wooly jumpers
34. Pixar and Disney films - Monsters Inc + The Aristocats
35. MATT SMITH & BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH<3<3
36. Acoustic versions of songs
37. Going on long walks
38. Scented candles -
39. Open fires
40. Vimto!
41. Gatherings with close friends
42. Going to the beach
43. Holding hands and hugs! - Very soppy i know but arn't hugs just great!
44. Laughing fits! - Laughing until you cant breath or your stomach hurts
45. jewelry - No outfit is complete without some jewelry! I love wearing bracelets and rings
46. Pokemon - MY CHILDHOOD!
47. Tumblr - I spend a good 95% of my life on Tumblr
48. Sleeping after a long day!
49. Roadtrips! especially at night
50. Big Fluffy slipper socks

These are just 50 of the things that i love in my life, Hopefully you can relate to some of them!

BUCKET LIST!

If you ask anyone today 'do you have a bucket list?' a good 9/10 of them will say yes. If you don't already know a Bucket list is, it is a list of things you would like to do before 'kicking the bucket'/ joining Jesus + Whitney up at Heavens cocktail bar.
The aim with the list is to complete everything on it throughout your lifetime. You can put ANYTHING on their bucket list, it's up to you! It could be from climbing mount Everest to meeting Johnny Depp or even something as so small as talking to the old woman you see at the bus stop every day.

It's not a surprise to say i have a bucket list. I think they are so important to have! My mum has always said to me that she wants me to go and discover the world. She doesn't want me to settle down to early, find myself in a dead end job and live down the road from the house i grew up in. I am not saying thats the wrong thing to do! i know that is the wrong path for me personally to take.
 My mum has done so much her life and i love when she talks about her past and her adventures but she has many unfinished dreams which she cannot possibly do due to money problems and family life. She doesn't regret having me, my brother and sister, she loves her life and family, her dream now is for me, my brother and sister to spread out wings and fly!

This is the reason i have made the bucket list. I have wrote down all my dreams and aspirations for life, i look at this list and know these are all the things i need to do! I would love to finally settle down and tell my kids (Florence and Oscar - Yes i have already named my children. Don't judge!) of all the amazing things i did in my life and inspire them to do the same!

Well, after all my waffling on i believe i should now show you my bucket list! here it is;

Bucket List;

Live in a apartment in New York

Write a book & get it published

Meet 15 famous people 

Backpack across Europe

Busk in the street

Act like a American tourist in London

Sing in a karaoke bar

Visit every continent

Learn to skateboard/surf

Go skinny dipping in the sea

see everyone of my favourite artists/bands live

Go on a cruise around Iceland with mum

Have a friends marathon! watch every episode

Go to a festival

Go on a road trip down the west coast of America 

Travel the world

Be in a band

Play the academy in Manchester

Go to Paris with my boyfriend

Meet an Italian

Swim with dolphins

Go scuba diving 

Bungee Jump

Be on telly - DONE 4 O CLOCK CLUB ON CBBC

Be on the radio

Go on safari & ride a elephant

Get married on a beach

Go camping in yellow stone

Go to Canada & ski there

Learn to play guitar/ Piano

Climb a mountain

Go on a massive shopping spree, spend at least £150

Eat sushi in Japan

Go to the Olympics

Raise £300+ for diabetes UK

Get a tattoo

Go to Rio carnival

Buy a mo-ped

Dye my hair blonde

Watch a show on Broadway

Get dressed up to watch the rocky horror picture show

Have a one night stand

Learn a foreign language

Go to comic con!

Go to the doctor who convention - NOVEMBER 22-24TH 2013

See a Beatle live in concert

Go on holiday with my bestfriends

Have a holiday romance

 Stay in the ice hotel in Sweden

 See the northern lights

 Go to beach next to St Marten’s airport

 Walk over Golden Gate Bridge

 Visit Taj ma hal

 Meet all the members of FUN. 1/6 Met Nate Ruess!! 

 See FUN. At least 5 times live! Seen them once! just 4 more shows to go! 

 Go to a film premier

Well thats my list! it's not even finished yet, i am still adding and attempting to do. I would to be 86 and cross off the last box on the list, to sit there and reminisce on all the amazing and beautiful memories that i will have of my life. To smile at all of them knowing i had accomplished so much in the years i was on the earth. 

i really encourage you to have a Bucket list! So you, reading this now, go and open a word document and write everything and anything you would dream of doing! 

Remember;

"nothing is impossible, the word itself says I'm possible" - Audrey Hepburn

The pain and misery of Prom dress shopping..

The date today is the 2nd of March and my prom date is the 6th of June, this means i only have 3 months to get my prom dress!
If i'm honest, i really don't want to go to prom.
I hate getting dressed up! i am a total dunce when it comes to getting dressed up. I always look too casual.

i went into town to try on some dresses with my mum, just to see what styles suit me best. In the end i only tried on two dresses and i saw a few that were, okay. The first one i tried on was a blue, one shoulder dress. It was long to my ankles with see-throughy material from the knees down. It also had some material covering part of my arm, It was nice on the hanger! On me the dress looked horrible! I am 5'3 and a size 12 on my hips. I have a very clear pear shaped body. It really didn't suit my body shape. It looked quite frumpy around my belly and hips and made me look even smaller!

Avoiding that style of dress for definite!


The second dress i tried on was less 'prommy' i just picked it for the shape of the dress. It was fitted at the top and it poofed out from just above the waist. The dress dress length went half way down my shins. The top of the dress was a netting material and then had a white embroided  pattern. It also had netting over the skirt which added to the poofyness!
I quite liked the style of the dress! The pattern i didnt really like that much!

I didnt find a dress that i liked at all!
I'm going to manchester with my cousin Emily, who works as a stylist for the Karen Millen Designer!!!! Hopefully she can help find me a dress i like! If not, i don't have a clue what i'll do!

 Apologies for my face.

These dresses are from debenhams if you wanna know!

The Lumineers Gig! 19/2/2013

Not posted in a while because nothing has really happened to me! but i went to see the amazing Lumineers on Thursday and i think its worth writing about!

They played the Manchester Acadamy which is a smaller standing venue which was the perfect place for them to play! They are a band that depend on touring and playing for as many audiences as they can. they make their sets close and personal, they connect with the audience which means the smaller venues host their best shows.

Introduced by Wesley from the Lumineers, The support band was Langhorne Slim and the Law, i actually wouldn't even call them a support band. They weren't warming up the crowd for The Lumineers, it was their set and they smashed it! Langhorne Slim was so confident and exciting. He threw himself into his music and rocked the stage! Then to finish off his perfect set he invited the Lumineers onstage and they played together, they looked and sounded simply amazing. One of the best opening acts to a gig ive ever seen. Definitely a band i will be listening to in the future and definitely a band i recommend you to listen to.

The Lumineers came on shortly after and they did not disappoint! They opened up with Charlie Boy, it was Perfect. Wesley is a stunning and talented man with a beautiful voice! Its husky but fits perfectly to the folky/rock theme the Lumineers have on this album. They flowed through their setlist and then Wesley told the crowd 'To put your recording cameras away and just share this moment with them'  They then moved off the stage and in to the crowd. To the middle of the venue amongst us all and they sang an acoustic set of the incredible hit 'Ho Hey' The beauty of hearing the song sung by Hundreds was a once in a life time experience. Truly amazing! 

 A few of my favorite songs were Classy Girls, Stubborn Love, Ho Hey ( they sand it a second time, on stage, incase we couldn't hear it) and Big Parade, which they ended on. They sang some new songs and a Bob Dylan classic.
 These guys are not a stand up, sing and leave sort of group. Their presence onstage showed so clearly that they loved performing and music and that they wanted to share their music with everyone.


I also wanted to add, how well this band fits perfectly together Jeremiah Fraites and Neyla Pekarek left the stage at one point and Wesley Schultz sang a solo, then they returned and immediately gelled together again.

The finish off the show, they invited Langhorne Slim and The Law back on to again to finish the show with a bang! At the end of the songs they all hugged onstage and bowed together.

I can say again that the night was absolutely amazing, i band you should definitely see! I would love to see them again and i hope they stick around. Perfect Songs, Perfect Album, Perfect singing, Perfect Performance, Perfect band. Perfect Night.

fun. at the Grammys!

Hey Guys!
Last night was the 55th Annual Grammy Awards! and it was a good one!
For me, this Grammy awards was a special one, as my favourite band of all time, fun. was nominated for 6 awards! Which is absolutely fantastic.

I wanted to watch the awards live but unfortunatley as i live in Britain there was no livestream for me to watch. I had to settle for watching the live update blog on the Grammy website and i watched the Grammy tag on twitter/tumblr.

Anyway, i watched the red carpet build up on E! and it got me so excited! There was a few artists who i was fully supporting and desperatley wanted them to win an award, fun., mumford and sons and the lumineers were my top 3. (two of them got an award so i was chuffed!)

I think it was about two o clock when fun. won the first award. I sat on the edge of my seat, crossing everything i could, wishing so hard that they would win. Then when their name popped up on my laptop screen, i couldnt control myself! i jumped up and screamed and danced and cried for them! I was so happy that they won! We are young- Best song!

I was so proud of them, they had been working and touring for 12 years, 12 years with no recognation of their amazing work, so im so happy that their hard work has paid off and they are now a grammy winning band!
I thought it was adorable as they tried to name everyone who helped them over the years. They were so grateful for the awards and i hope they get more in the future.

The second award was the Best new artist, which is slightly incorrect as fun. was formed back in 2008 and aim and ignite was out 2010, but i dont care! its another award in the bag for fun. They beat out so many big and talented artists which is just incredible. I know i keep repeating myself but i am so proud of my boys!

Fun. also performed their hit single 'carry on' which again, was amazing. Nate sang note perfectly, 'hammer hands' Andrew Dost was perfection and Jack played the incredible guitar solo with skill. They performance was so dramatic with rain falling down and soaking them and a bright light rising behind them representing the sun shining through the rain.

Overall i thoght the Grammys was a spectactualer evening, and not just for fun. I will be watching the Grammy awards tonight on 4music just so i can see everything again! 

WELL DONE BOYS! 

First ever post!

Hello!
So ive entered the world of blogging! and this is my first ever post (milestone moment!)
My blog will be mostly about my life. The things i find interesting and that are worth talking about and the things i enjoy, Such as the music i like, the clothes i buy things like that!

Im hoping my blog will be interesting but lets just see how it goes!
Au revoir folks!