The Adventures of Amy

Hi Darlings,

If you've read my blog for a while, you might know that I have previously mentioned that every now and then I'd like to give a shout out to a new blogger, who I think deserves a few more followers than what she/he has.

This particular lady was in my English class at College, and I noticed that she was promoting her blog on Facebook. It has been popping up for a while and tonight I checked it out. 

Amy runs a lifestyle blog called the 'Adventures of Amy', her site is beautifully laid out and easy to navigate, and she has brilliant quality photos. As you all know I'm a sucker for a bit of a music post and I'm happy to see she has some music mixed in there, as well as a really personal writing style that frankly I thought was pretty darn lovely. 

She's been working hard on her blog and I know more than anyone how hard it can be to get it out there, so if I can help even just a little I thought why not?

Please go check her out?

Find her at http://theadventuresofamy2013.wordpress.com/

Have a wonderful evening lovelies,

Lea

x

TAG: Can you admit your weaknesses?

Hi lovelies,

I think in life that it's really important to get a handle on your strengths and weaknesses. Identifying what they are and working on them is a sure fire way to success. But how comfortable are we really with identifying these things? Is it bragging to say what your strengths are? Can we really admit to our weaknesses?

Strengths

• I am incredibly strong, I have been through a lot in my life and it has never broken me. I always get back up again. If you can think of a bad situation, a terrible situation, it's likely that it has happened to me. I must have really bad Karma from a previous life! 
• I'm very honest - I will never bitch about you behind your back. If I have a problem, I sit down and talk to you about it and come to a resolution. I don't believe that other people getting involved is ever the right way. People always know where they stand with me. 
• I will stand up for those who I love no matter what, even if I know they're wrong.
• I will stand up for a cause or an opinion that I believe in - even if people disagree with me.
• I'm quite patient with people, I can forgive.
• I believe that hard work gets you where you want to be - and it's something I live by.

Weaknesses

• I am incredibly strong. Sometimes with strength you become hardened; you lose some compassion for things which you don't deem to be a big deal. When in reality it is a big deal; it's a big deal to them. It's just not a big deal to you.  It's something that I work on daily and I am happy to report that I am getting much better. One of my closest friends has taught me a lot about compassion, and I'm eternally grateful to her. 
• I'm very honest - if I think your Poncho is hideous, I will say it. This is unfortunately also applicable to the girl who has taught me a lot about compassion. Evidently my compassion for ponchos has not developed. I know you're reading this, and know I love you darling, just not the poncho <3
• I stand up for my opinion - sometimes to the point of ridiculousness. I find it hard to back down.
• Sometimes I judge too quickly - this is a hard one to admit. Sometimes I make snap decisions and it's not fair. Again, it's something that I'm paying attention to, because I don't think it's justifiable to do that to people. 

In the world of blogging, people try to make out that their life is perfect. They are perfect people, with the perfect boyfriend/family, the perfect home, a glittering career. But nobody is perfect, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Can you admit to yours?

Lea

x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE. 

Image via weheartit.com

The John Lewis Christmas Advert

You really know it's nearing Christmas when the CocaCola Advert pops up on your screen, and John Lewis put out their yearly effort to melt out hearts.

This year, I think they've done better than ever, what do you think?

Lea

x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE. 

Franklin my dear, I do give a damn!

If you were to ask my friends to sum up me in a nutshell, they would say anything to do with beauty, cars - specifically classics, and soul music. I know this because I asked them a couple of days ago.

I'm the kind of girl who's always been the the odd one, I've never really followed the rest of the crowd. I know what I like and I'm very passionate about it. Soul has always been a huge part of me, I was raised on it and I honestly do believe that for soul music especially, being part of it brings you into a community, it's a lifestyle almost. I'd rather sit and listen to Smooth FM on a friday night with a bottle of wine than be out on the lash somewhere - that in itself has led a lot of people to think that I'm really odd, let me tell you!

So my point to all of this I suppose, is that I've always written whatever I fancied on here. I don't have a regiment, I've done everything from OOTD's to The Gay Post. And I hope, from that, you've all got to know me, from what I write, to the way I write it. But one of the biggest parts of my life, and my personality isn't shown to you (don't worry, I'm not going to start shoving classic cars in your face). So from time to time I'm going to share with you some of the soul music I'm listening to, and some of the events I go to.

I know this won't be for everyone, so feel free to completely ignore them. But, I'm always on the look out for other soul people out there. So if you do happen to be part of the community, whether it's Motown, Northern Soul, Funk, Old Soul or anything else in this world, get in touch!

So this time I'm going to leave you with Aretha Franklin - What A Fool Believes.

It's a real feel good song, and listen for the change at 3.55, blows me away at every time.

Have a great night everyone,

Lea 

x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway. You can find it HERE.

Hi everyone, long time no see!

I know, how bad have I been?

Unfortunately I have had one of the worst summers on record. I've had one bad thing after another, day in day out. I'm not going to go in to it, but I've just really needed some space and time to be around people I love, and the chance to get myself together. 

Today marks the start of my third and final year at Uni and I've decided that therefore the summer of bad luck has finished and it's only upwards from here! It's one of my best friends 21st birthdays today so we're all going out for a meal to Sapporo Tappenyaki in Manchester this evening and then on a big gay pub crawl back in Leeds once we're done! 

I have a few things to show you including a Lush haul so keep your eyes peeled :) 

I really hope you've all had a great summer and I'm so happy to be back blogging and involved again, I'm super motivated and really excited to get things going!

See you all soon!

Love Lea

x

Thank god it's over!

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry I disappeared again, but I promise it was with good reason.

I had an exam to sit yesterday, and once I came back from holiday it was full speed ahead with revision. In the end I spent the last 48 hours up almost constantly just sat revising with no breaks whatsoever. I slept for 3 hours one day, from 6am-9am and then kept going until 6am the next day (yesterday) when I slept for 1 (!) hour until 7. I then got up again and worked until 2 which was when my exam was and sat it for 3 hours. Needless to say I'm a bit shattered and I hope it paid off!

I still need to catch up on my sleep but last night has left me feeling so much better. I completely went off my food and ate half a lemon mousse in the last 30ish hours - I think I was too stressed to even eat haha! Well at least there's a small benefit in that I lost all 3 pounds of my holiday weight that I put on, within a week. I'm now 3 pounds off my goal weight so fingers crossed it'll happen quickly and not drag on :)

Megan is coming up today which I'm really looking forward to. She was looking after one of the rabbits for us while we were on holiday so she's bringing her back up to us :) At the moment one of my other friends is here, she came back to ours after the exam yesterday as she was a bit upset, so I think we're just going to chill out (I might even crack open a bottle of wine... which would work since she doesn't drink so all the more for me hehe!)

Have a great day everyone <3

Lea

x

A Lesbian Who Doesn't Like Gay Marriage?!

I'm so glad that my last post was received so well, your support and comments mean the world to me and I am so grateful for them. Just as I predicted, I lost followers, but I gained more than I lost, which was something I didn't expect. So hi to my newest followers, and thankyou for following me! It made my day! I also said that if I could help just 1 person then it would be worth it, and while I received quite a few emails, one in particular was worth it, even if I had ended up with 0 followers in the end <3

So the main question was about my beliefs on Gay Marriage, I think a lot of you were intrigued how someone who is gay could not support it. I think firstly I need to clarify that my wording was inaccurate; it's not that I don't support gay marriage in general, that was the wrong way for me to define it, it's that I don't support gay marriage personally.

Well that's confusing.

I know that doesn't make sense at first glance, but I'll try my best to explain it.

I understand that to a lot of gay people, being denied the right to Marry feels like a huge infringement on their human rights; who was Mr.Bigwig who legally defined marriage to say that it was just for a man and woman? Leviticus also says no haircuts, so why only listen to something that implies that marriage is not for same sex couples? The foundations that Marriage sit on are shaky at best and are under constant scrutiny. To some people, Marriage is incredibly important, for either personal or religious reasons, and for those people I understand why Gay Marriage is so important, and I support that fully.

However.

Religion is an area which I will discuss separately as that's a whole other issue, but in a nutshell, I don't believe that such an old text can be taken as concrete truth; it's outdated and non applicable to modern day life, if taken literally. (That is my own personal belief, I understand there are others who feel a different way and I respect your opinions). However, from the outset, it has been made pretty clear that marriage is for a man and a woman; it has never stated that it was for a man and a man or a woman and a woman. Likewise when laws were initially established, it was created as a union between a man and a woman; that was its function.

Well, I'm not with a man, I'm with a woman; therefore marriage is not for me. Civil Partnership was a pretty broken Olive Branch when it came to the promotion of equality between heterosexuals and homosexuals, but nonetheless, it's my Olive Branch.

Civil Partnership is a part of my identity, it is a symbol of my pride to be with a same sex partner. I am different, I am not 'normal' statistically, and I'm proud of that. It has taken me a long while to own it, but now that I do, I am comfortable with my label and I want others to know that. If a Marriage is defined as being for a man and a woman, then by my thinking, it isn't for me, because frankly, I don't fit into that category. Likewise, Civil Partnership is not for heterosexual couples, because they don't fit into that category. It's like letting men into the ladies loo; they just don't belong in there because they are inherently not part of that societal group.

My latter argument is slightly more controversial, so bear with me.

The LGBT population has been denied Marriage for such a long time, we have been persecuted and had our most basic human rights stripped many times throughout the course of history. It seems that Marriage is one of the final barriers, and we fight so hard for it.

The problem with that, is that the more we fight and the more that the authorities say no, the weaker we look, as they constantly maintain the power and the upper hand. From that exchange, the feelings of inequality are heightened, the feelings that we are less of a person than a heterosexual become increased. Why can they say no? Why won't they listen? Is it because I'm not good enough? And if that is not the case, then why do they have the power to deny us, and we have no power at all?

When you stop fighting for something, it shows that you don't care. It's like when you give up fighting to get your ex back, suddenly all the power they held has gone and they are left feeling deflated and powerless over you, as they no longer have that hold. You might not have your initial goal, but you have something different, but equal.

That is not to say that I believe that Civil Partnership is an equal to Marriage. As it stands there are some differences; they are few, but they do exist. The most poignant being the fact that there is no requirement for consummation (because they believe we cannot physically have a sexual relationship), and as a result, you cannot have a Civil Partnership severed as a result of adultery with another same sex person, as they do not recognise that it can happen.

To me, I would like to see the differences in Marriage and Civil Partnership cancelled out and a true equality placed across the board.

I would like to finish off by saying that my point of view on this is very controversial and people who are of my stance are few and far between. I know that Alex completely disagrees with me and wants to get married, but that is something we will have to find a compromise on.

I completely respect other peoples opinions on any subject, as there are too many in the world for only one to be right; some of you may strongly disagree with me, but that's okay.

I hope this has answered your questions <3

Lea

x

Images via weheartit.com

The Gay Post

Okay, here we go!

This is something that I've thought about doing for a while, but the timing has never seemed right, but with me now approaching 300 followers (whoa, could I just say, thankyou all so much!) I thought now was a good a time as ever. I have always been a little afraid of backlash from this, but over time I have realised that I have never been subject to homophobia on my blog, something I am very grateful of, and which I feel really reflects on the wonderful and open minded followers that you all are.

As most of you will know, I am in-fact gay. It's not something that I have ever hidden on my blog as I feel that I spent such a long time hiding it when I was younger, I don't ever want to do that again. However, I'm always conscious that I shouldn't constantly ram gay issues down peoples throats - you're not here to read about that, it's a beauty and lifestyle blog after all!

When I meet new people in real life and they find out that Alex is a woman, I almost always get a lot of questions. When people think of 'gay' women, there's a pre-conceived idea that I don't fit with, and people find it shocking and intriguing. Over the years I have also been a bit of a support system to some people who are coming to terms with a person who they are close to coming out of the closet; when they don't feel that they can ask that person questions, they come to me. I also know that there are a lot of people who have questions but are afraid to ask them for fear of upsetting that person, so they never ask, and never get their answers.

In light of this I have decided to put this out there and invite you to ask me anything that you might have a question about, whether it's about gay issues in general, or myself personally, as I'm always open to my followers getting to know me better. Please don't be afraid of offending me, as I have a very thick skin and I don't mind at all. If it's gay related, you can ask me whatever is on your mind.

I'm aware that some people won't like this post, and I may lose a few followers along the way, but I feel that for the benefit of even one person who has a burning question that they want to ask, it's worth it.

I thought I'd kick start things with a few bits of information about myself and gay issues in general.

• LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender - our symbol is the rainbow (amongst others).
• Some people don't like to be categorised, and some women reject the term 'lesbian' in favour of 'gay'. I personally used to dislike lesbian, but have since become much more accepting of the term. I still generally use gay though.
• I came out when I was 17, and had a very rough time. Things went very badly for me but have since improved greatly, and now things are fine.
• I had my first girlfriend when I was 15/16.
• I realised I was gay when I was 15.
• I have had 3 serious girlfriends.
• I am what is referred to as a 'femme' lesbian.
• I don't believe in gay marriage (I know this one is the shocker, it's for reasons you probably wouldn't expect)

I hope I haven't offended anyone with this post.

If you have a question that you feel is very personal or on a matter close to your heart, please feel free to email me at suchawonderfullife@hotmail.com.

Lea

x

I get the sweetest feeling!

(Kudos to you if you got the Jackie Wilson reference there :p)

I just spotted that a girl who I have followed for quite a long time now has mentioned me in a blog hop post. While I'm not part of the blog hop, I was so touched by it what I just had to put her out there and try to direct a couple more followers her way.

Her name is Louisa Mary and you can find her blog here.

I can honestly say that hers is one of the blogs that I always look out for popping up on my dashboard. She has a great mix of posts, and I especially enjoy her 'lifestyle' ones, like her recent Magaluf post. It's fun to read something other than a review on dry shampoo.

The bit that gets me is that I have never asked her to mention me, I didn't know it was coming, I have never emailed her personally even. She just picked me and did it. How lovely and selfless is that?

I often think how sad it is that most of the BIG Youtubers and bloggers don't use their status to help along the odd other person who they've stumbled across who they think perhaps deserves more followers than they have. I'm not talking about them publishing a Yellow Pages of all the blogs they love, just maybe the odd mention even if they are few and far between. I only ever seem to see them mentioning eachother...

So that's what makes this so special to me, that someone has gone out of their way to mention me, and to help me at the end of the day. That's a sign, to me, of a really beautiful person.

Go and check her out??

Lea

x

Traffic ruins everything!

I'm currently sat writing this in my study with my hair all gooped up from hair dye, (my roots were getting crazy!) I should have been on my way to Megan's to drop off the rabbit and then to go to The Trafford Centre in about 10 minutes.

However, there has apparently been an accident on the motorwat and it has taken Alex 2 and a half hours to go literally 4 miles, so it looks like I'm staying put for a while!

I'm hoping it'll clear up by around 12:30ish so I'll set off then...

Looks like it's odd jobs time then! Hair dyeing, painting toenails, cleaning the bathroom, oh how exciting!

What are you up to this morning? Have you been disrupted by the traffic around Leeds?

Lea

x

Image viaweheartit.com

Gucci's Autumn 2012 Makeup

I find these images really powerful, normally women who have the appearance of no eyebrows are not considered to be beautiful, but Gucci seems to have come together with a group of the most interestingly beautiful women I have seen in such a long time. Whether it's a beautiful hair colour, stand out eyes, or flawless porcelain skin, these women really have it.

What do you think?

Lea

x

Images taken from Google Images.

If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain..

What a day! At about 4pm I thought my shift was never going to end! Thankfully I'm at home at last and I'm celebrating finishing work before my holiday.

Alex is watching some Ab Fab special and I'm sipping on a Pina Colada and reading a new book. If I find it any good I'll let you know about it.

I hope you had a great day lovelies, I just want to say a more recent thankyou to you all for your lovely comments and also for following me, it really does mean such a lot :D

Lea

x

There's a storm on my radar, But I can still fly. Josephine.

Before you click off this page because it looks random, try it, its a couple of minutes, who knows you might like it.

Now I can't vouch for the video footage of this (the person who made it seems to have had a lovely time), but it's the best musical version without a doubt.

If you like Chris Rea I have a lot of respect for you.

Sometimes I feel like if you don't like mainstream music, or Dubstep/D&B, you're automatically weird.

Well - then I'm weird.

This is real music, layers of instruments, recorded in a studio, not from a computer. A voice that's natural talent, listen to the way he says Josephine towards the mid to end, the way the drum breaks in, the guitar, the e-piano. Perfection.

This is something you will find me listening to driving down the fast lane as the sun sets, or with a glass of wine on a Saturday night. This for me is living.

Lea

x

Okay, lets talk about who out there is 'fashionable'

Is this really fashion?

Hi girls! I'm now at the point of being so tired I've gone a tad hyper, so I thought I'd write this now since Alex and her brother are watching a film in the living room. I had a great day at work, I actually really enjoy it(!) but after this I'm going to attempt to wind down with having a bath with Lush's Ickle Baby Bot thrown in there to relax me!

BUT before I do that, there's another question I'd like to ask you all; it's something I've been pondering on for a while.

Does money = fashionable?

I follow quite a few fashion blogs now, although they aren't the main type of blog I look for when I'm on the hunt for new reading material. The thing is, I can't help but notice that the girls who are seen as the 'most fashionable' are the ones who seem to have £100+ to blow on a dress on a semi daily basis. Is that fashionable? I'm not so sure.

In my opinion (and it really is purely my opinion) someone who has a notion of matching colours (if that's even applicable that month) and who can follow what Vogue says to wear that month, is automatically fashionable. IF, and it's a big if, they have the money to constantly be out buying BCBG and Chanel. But is that right, or fair?

I don't think it is. I have so much admiration for the girls who go to charity shops or thrifting and step out a couple of days later having altered the clothing into something that makes them look drop dead stunning. Or the girls who scour the high-street for a bargain and come up smelling of roses.

That to me is fashionable, that's a woman who has her own vision, not someone elses. A woman who knows what she's doing and who she is, rather than following what she should be wearing.

But I'm sure I may be alone on this one. Are you team Chanel or team Charity shop? What are your thoughts? I'd love to know!

Lea

x

Image via weheartit.com

Guess who's back!

Image via weheartit.com

Since I've been away for a little while I thought I'd give you a little update, so it's nothing terribly exciting, but I've missed you all!!

-------------

Finally I have internet! I can't believe I've actually survived hehe, I thought I'd find it a lot more difficult than I have done. The only thing I really missed was blogging!

I'm super tired this morning, I was at work until 9:30 last night and then when I came in Alex and I went out running. Unfortunately when I came back I fell asleep on the sofa and was woken up by Alex at 12:30 when I had to jump in the shower and then get out and dry and straighten my hair because I had to be up again at 6:30am this morning! I also realised at about half 1 that I had to sort out my nail varnish and make it just a tad more subtle :p as we have someone coming in to work today from head office.

So I'm not actually skiving from work while I type this, I was up at 6:30 to be ready for a doctors appointment at 8. My short list of ailments includes migraines, and I mean bad ones. It runs in my family unfortunately and I've been finding it difficult to manage them in the past months. I'm on some new medication now though so fingers crossed! :D

All that's left to do this morning is finish up making my lunch (egg salad sandwiches) and get ready for work. Later on this afternoon I'll be left on my own for the first time, so if you happen to be chancing across YooMoo in the White Rose, be gentle on me haha :p.

Tonight Alex's brother is coming up to stay with us for the weekend, so that should be fun, but tomorrow I also have my family coming up for our first dinner party! I know what I'm doing for my starter and desert but I'm not sure yet about the main, any suggestions? Looks like tomorrow is going to be crazy, lots of cleaning and cooking and general domestic goddessedness!

I hope you've all been well while I've not been around, I'll be back to my normal posting more or less now :)

Lots of love,

Lea

x

Chipmunk Face...

Rice Pudding (low fat) with peaches. I've always loved this <3

I feel like death warmed up. It started yesterday at about 12ish but I thought I was just feeling a bit under the weather. Fast forward to this morning and I've had no sleep and glands like golf balls. Not pretty.

So I'm spending the day feeling sorry for myself with my favourite comfort foods and an L word Marathon.

Lea

x

Glitter Inspo!

On the theme of Glitter (from my last post) I thought I'd share some of my favourite glitter images with you!

I'm not an OTT fan of glitter but I think when it's done right it looks amazing!

Lea

x

Glittered Pigeon

Hi loveies, I just wanted to give you a heads up about my best girlfriend's new blog. She just started it and she's super excited, it would mean so much to me if you could nip over and check it out <3

It can be found here.

Thankyou so much, I know you'd make her day!

Lea

x

Nightmares and retail therapy

So last night did not go to plan.

I really respect my in-laws, but occasionally my soon to be mother in law makes less than polite comments. I don't actually think she knows she's doing it most of the time though so at least that's something.... At the end of the day I'm marrying Alex, not her parents, and as much as I would love to have a great relationship with them, I have to remember that.

Having said this, I did get a little upset last night (there's only so many comments a person can take!) and so, cue Daddy. Every girl needs their Daddy from time to time and I'm no exception. After an hour on the phone he had calmed me down, given me some good advice and cheered me up all in one go. Albeit his advice was quite passionate to say the least, it was quite akin to someone taking down a rebel force somewhere ha, but I know it's because he loves me and hates to see me upset.

His parting words to me were that he would leave me some money on my dressing table (they're going away to China and Japan, not Vietnam it turns out, on Friday) and that 'when all else fails, take the girls and go shopping, that'll cheer you up'. Bless him <3 He's kind of a Gok Wan at heart.

Now I'm not insinuating that he's left me his credit card to go wild with, I'm not that much of a Daddy's girl, and this is not a regular occurrence, in-fact it's a pretty rare occurrence. I never ask my parents for money, I've had a job since I was 12 until I started Uni and now I'll be doing freelance work hopefully, and there's always summer jobs. So he must have been feeling sorry for me!

Add all that to the fact that I had a pretty horrendous nightmare this morning which was kind of a cross between The Hunger Games and Never Let Me Go, and I think I'm going to take him up on his offer!! I'm going to grab my girlfriends and hit the Trafford Centre this weekend, even if it only ends up in a glass of wine and some dinner in Selfridges Food Hall it would be lovely <3 I'm going to put up a post after this of some of my current picks that I'm on the look out for when I do hit the Trafford.

Lea

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A great place to eat in Leeds - Oranaise

So I mentioned my parents are coming up to visit me tonight, and we decided to go out for dinner. I was thinking about where to go and decided on Oranaise, which is just down the road from Leeds Uni, towards Headingley. They do Moroccan food, so tajines, tapas, mezze platters and all kinds of yummy foods.

They do great felafel and their bombay potato's are amazing! They also do a great range of teas, so something to appeal to everyone! If you're ever in the vicinity I really recommend it! (They also do takeout, which has to be the healthiest takeaway food I've ever come across!)

Lea

x

(Images taken from Oranaise Website)