05.02.18 - A better late than never 2017 favourites

On the 3rd of January, I posted a status on my Facebook stating...

'2018: A year for no time wasting'

This applied to a number of things in life, but the main thing this applied to was that I needed to kick start this blogging action and get back in gear. I also want to begin working in a job that I feel I can utilise my creative skills more. Don't get me wrong, working in a cafe and entertainment building is fun at times but I want to do something a little bigger. Therefore, this blog is an outlet for me where my creative ideas and words can be showcased. I've been a little slow getting it started since January, but now is the time for me to get rolling again.

ENOUGH BLAB. Lets start with what this blog post is all about...

💕 2017 FAVOURITES 💕

Another year (and a bit) has passed and I would like to share 12 things that I really enjoyed throughout 2017. So without further ado...

1. FAVOURITE BEAUTY PRODUCT OF 2017

- 'YES, PLEASE!' EYESHADOW PALETTE FROM COLOURPOP 🌅 -

'Yes, Please!' Pressed Powder Shadow Palette - $16 ColourPop (about £12)

I was visiting Zoe London's blog late last year, when I discovered a blog post 'The Ultimate Cheap Autumn Palette'. It was here that I found this palette, which I immediately fell in love with. Luckily the website had free worldwide shipping on orders over £30, so I took full advantage of this offer and purchased this palette along with another. As they were shipped from America, there was a shipping tax which I had to pay at the post office (about £16) but it was totally worth it. For a while I had been eyeing up the Urban Decay Heat palette and this was like a cheaper alternative. I'd been seeing a lot of bloggers and YouTubers rocking the warm sunset eyeshadow look with yellows, oranges and reds too, so I wanted to find that palette that would allow me to create that look. For a cheap palette, the shades are beautiful and long lasting. My favourite shades are Butter Cake, Spoiled, Chauffer, Louie and Mischeif. This palette is also cruelty free which is a big selling point for me as it means no animals had to suffer!

2. FAVOURITE CLOTHING ITEM OF 2017 

- RAINBOW SEQUIN BACKPACK FROM ASOS 🌈 -

ASOS Mini Festival Sequin Rainbow Backpack - £25 ASOS (Believe it is now out of stock!)

Whilst I was on the hunt for a backpack for Bestival, I came across this little fella. It's the perfect size for festivals and has a nostalgic 90's vibe. Inside, I could fit my Instax mini, a fold up pack a mac, purse and all the festival must haves such as tissues, wet wipes and hand sanitiser. I've been loving anything rainbow over the last year so this bag had my name written all over it (well, not literally). I'm going to take this little cutie with me to Download Festival this year so it will have it's second trip to a festival. 

3. FAVOURITE HOMEWARE ITEM OF 2017

- PEG BOARD FROM URBAN OUTFITTERS 📝 -

Peg Board (Originally from Urban Outfitters £15) - Here's one from £12.99 Firebox

Back in 2016 when I was hunting for Christmas presents, I of course decided to treat myself and purchase this peg board which I believe was on sale from Urban Outfitters. I have used this a number of times this year to note down special dates such as gigs, cinema visits, trips and holidays. I love the retro cinematic feel to this peg board. It reminds me of how they would display the current showing films at my closest cinema back in the late 90's. My current peg board displays the quote, 'You get what you give' as I believe that this quote applies to lots of things in life. This time last year I used it to display the oscar nominated films I was going to see in the cinema. I have to admit that this year, there are not so many amazing films that I want to see, apart from 'Ladybird' which is out at the end of this month. Urban Outfitters no longer sell the original one that I purchased, but the link above takes you to Firebox who are selling this exact one.

4. FAVOURITE ALBUM OF 2017

- QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - VILLAINS 💿 - 

Queens of The Stone Age - Villians CD £9.99 HMV

The excitement when I heard that one of my favourite bands were releasing a new album in 2017 was unreal. I wasn't sure what to think when I heard that Mark Ronson was the producer of this album, but he and the boys certainly delivered. I got to hear some of the songs from this album when I saw QOTSA live at the 02 Arena in November. This was a massive highlight for me during 2017 (you shall see this in my next favourite). My favourite tracks from the album are 'Fortress' and 'Head Like a Haunted House' which I did not hear at that gig. Hopefully, I'll get to hear those two songs when I see them again in June at Finsbury Park this year.

5. FAVOURITE GIG OF 2017

- METRONOMY @ 02 BRIXTON ACADEMY & QOTSA @ 02 ARENA 🎸 -

It was a hard decision between two gigs. This year, I managed to see a good handful of bands live including, Metallica at the 02, Justice at Brixton Academy, Enter Shikari at Slam Dunk and Little Dragon at Bestival. The two gigs I throughly enjoyed this year were Metronomy at 02 Academy Brixton in May and of course, Queens of The Stone Age at the 02 Arena in November. 

Before last year, I had never seen Metronomy live; it only took 10 years to get round to it! The setlist comprised of classic Metronomy tracks and new songs from their latest album 'Summer '08'. The only thing was that I had no one to share my experience with, as I don't really know anyone else that loves them as much as I do. Other than that, I had an AMAZING time!

Queens of the Stone age were spectacular also. I've only ever seen them once before this show. This was at Download festival back in 2013 after they released their album 'Like Clockwork'. It was great to finally see them at their own gig and hear more than 45 minutes of their music. I'm still shocked that Dom, the boyfriend and I, managed to stay front row for the whole thing without getting separated by the crazy crowd. The picture above is fairly blurry as I was literally sardined in. In the picture, it doesn't appear like they are on the stage at the 02 as I was so close! The picture makes it seem like I went to a smaller venue. It was a pleasure to be so close to Josh Homme once again.

6. FAVOURITE FILM OF 2017 

- LA LA LAND ✨💃 -

On the 8th of January was when I first watched this movie. Sad that I remember this date, I know! I loved the film so much that I saw it four times in the cinema. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are my favourite actors, so when I heard all about the film, I was super excited. I really enjoyed 'Whiplash' - a film also directed by Damien Chazelle, director of La La Land. Therefore, I had high hopes for the film. I probably had the music on repeat for a few months after its cinema release. I even saw it again in September at the Luna cinema at Hatfield House. Here is where I had my first outdoor cinema experience with my sister, Sophie! 

7. FAVOURITE TV SHOW OF 2017

- STRANGER THINGS 📺 -

I had Stranger things in my watch list on Netflix for a while and it was only at the start of 2017 that I began to watch it. I love the fact that the series was set in the 70's. The styling and music really made the series for me. I probably could of watched the series within a week, but I didn't want it to finish so I longed it out. However, the second series was powered through in just five days. I loved the series so much that I even dressed up as Eleven on Halloween. Topshop and Topman also released a Stranger Things collection of clothing during Halloween and I definitely had to pick up a piece. I grabbed a red raglan top from the Topman collection. The fit of the top is a little bulky round the shoulders, but when you tuck it into a pair of jeans, you loose the bulkiness. Hoping that the new series comes out by the end of this year, as I'm getting withdrawal symptoms! 

8. FAVOURITE GADGET OF 2017

- INSTAX MINI 8 📷 -

Instax Mini 9 (Instax Mini 8's are harder to get now because of the newer model) - £67.95 John Lewis

For a while, I had been eyeing up the Instax Mini to add to my camera collection. I already own the Instax Wide and a classic OneStep Polariod camera. I love the unpredictability of shooting on film and instant film. I love a happy accident in photography! Instant film is great because its so easily accessible. No need to print your image in a darkroom or edit it on the computer before it's printed. I love giving people a mini instax print out in their birthday or christmas card too. Another gadget I bought at the end of the year was the Instax Share printer. This means I can turn any image into a miniature instax print by using the app on my phone. I bought that so I can begin scrapbooking. I am a little gutted that if I had waited a few months after buying the instax mini 8, I could have got the instax mini 9, the newer model. It still creates the same pictures, so therefore I am still happy with my purchase.

9. FAVOURITE APP OF 2017

- POCKET CAMP 🦁 - 

As a kid, I never really played Animal Crossing much. My sister owned it on Nintendo DS and I remember playing it once or twice, but never fully appreciated it enough. A work colleague told me to give the new app 'Pocket Camp' a go. She mentioned it was very addictive and she was not wrong! I haven't been playing it as much as I did when I first got it, due to waiting for furniture to build which is the only issue I have with this game. It's definitely made me want to get the new Animal Crossing on DS though! At Christmas, I treated myself to a Nintendo 3DS and managed to find 'Animal Crossing: Wild World' on eBay at a bargain price. 'Animal Crossing: New Leaf' has just came back in stock in Argos this week, so I may purchase that on payday!

10. FAVOURITE RESTAURANT OF 2017

- FLAT IRON 🍴 -

During Summer, I met up with one of my besties for a catch up and some good food. She mentioned a place called Flat Iron and I was more than than happy to give it a go as I had never been before. I had heard many good things about the place, so I was excited to give it a go. There are only a handful of Flat Iron's dotted around London but unfortunately they don't take reservations. The first restaurant had an hour wait, so we decided to head to the other closest Flat Iron. This one had a 30 minute wait but said they could call us when the table was ready. The food was amazing and totally worth the wait. It was really cheap and they only had two things on the menu (the Flat Iron steak or the Flat Iron burger). You could add sides like fries or greens and pick a sauce, but in total the cost for a meal and a drink was under £20. This is an absolute bargain for a steak! I have to say, the steak isn't MASSIVE but it didn't leave me feeling uncomfortably full. I was just the right amount of full and even managed to squeeze in a little bit of dessert too.

11. FAVOURITE PLACE VISITED OF 2017
- AMSTERDAM 🌷 -

2017 was the year that Dom and I finally had a holiday away with just the two of us. Only took us 7 years to finally go somewhere together! Amsterdam was such a lovely and clean city with plenty of things to see and do. The only thing I would say is that you need to make sure if you're visiting, that you take more than enough money as 'Dam can be expensive. Think London but a little pricier. Dom was adamant that €200 each would be enough for 5 nights (he is a student though so I can see why). I went safe and took €700 just incase we wanted to eat somewhere nice or visit a museum. I came home with about €110 which was nice! It was so easy to get around and the people of Holland were friendly too. I could actually see myself living there!

12. FAVOURITE MEMORY OF 2017
- HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR IN SOUTHEND 🌞 -

There was one week during Summer last year, when the weather was roasting. I took the initiative to make the most of that week. The idea was to spend a day off visiting a British seaside town with Dom. Southend on Sea was perfect, as I know the area very well due to my Nan living there. My mum lived there for a few months also! It was just under a 2 hour train journey there. When we arrived, we found a sea front cafe and had some classic fish and chips. We then went and explored along the seafront. I couldn't walk too far out into the sea as my flip flops kept getting stuck to the sea bed, so I let Dom go off and do his thing. I would have walked barefoot, but the sand was all gloopy and mud like. After that, we walked down the pier and by the time we had got back from our walk, it was 7pm. We decided to call it a day and get the train back home. The weather was lovely and it was nice to visit Southend again, as I hadn't been in a while. Hoping for a day like this in 2018!

So there you have it, my twelve favourites of 2017! Let me know what your favourites were and if you agree with any of my choices. Still hunting for that future fellow Metronomy gig buddy!


Ciao bella!
Speak again soon

LCM xo