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‘Be the change that you want to see in the world.’ -Mahatma Gandhi
My Harry Potter Marathon ⚡
So, one good thing to come from being ‘locked down’ is that I can finally tick something off my bucket list, something I’ve wanted to do forever… a full Harry Potter marathon. All 8 films, back to back.
Lets do this.
26th April 2020 – 5.15am – 11.45pm
I popped my HP themed, comfy clothes on, made my self a HP themed breakfast 🤣 (Yet, I went all in!) And I made sure I had plenty of snacks for the duration, inc homemade flapjack 👌🏻
I made notes about my favourite parts of each film, as I watched, which I thought I would share here too.
Harry Potter and the Philosphers Stone
- Its just so sweet and (mostly) innocent and magical.
- Its our introduction to the magical world.
- That shot of Hogwarts over the lake, as the first years sail across in the little boats. The music, the panorama, the first shot of that magical place. Don’t tell me it doesn’t choke you up, because I wont believe you.
- Hagrid telling them everything he shouldn’t; ‘should not have said that’
- Christmas at Hogwarts ❤
- and just the general nostalgia it brings of when me and my twin sister used to play Harry Potter. A lot of it was focused on the first book. We made Daily Prophets and everything y’all! It was very serious.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- The Weasleys! And being introduced the magical yet so human and normal Burrow.
- Dobby!
- Ron freaking out because of the spiders; ‘Follow the spiders? Why couldn’t it be follow the butterflies?’
- The blind Basilisk- poor boy. (Disclaimer, no I’m not a Slytherin I just feel bad for the corrupted, injured creature)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
(Disclaimer: This is my least favourite film, sorry)
- Remus Lupin & Sirius Black
- The back story of the Marauders (Which is even better in the book… obv)
- Beaky, the little sweatheart.
- The time travel aspect is cool and clever.
- HERMIONE PUNCHES MALFOY (See, told you I’m not a Slytherin)
- But, as I said, not my favourite as the directorial change sees a lot of changes to this film that to me makes it stand out and not flow as well within the series, in terms of appearance and layout continuity, as others.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(One of my absolute favourites and the first one me and my twin sister went to see on our won 7 + times #sorrynotsorry)
- THE HAIR. If Harry Potter and the goblet of Fire was a Friends episode it would be; ‘The One where none had a haircut’.
- The Tasks!
- OH THE ANGST.
- That scene… any avid HP fans will totally get the crazy, hilarity of this…
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(Disclaimer…..)
The award for the worst character goes to…
‘Hate is a strong word, but I really, really, really don’t like you.’ (I also hate you Umbridge)
- Getting a little bit more of the Wizarding World history and back story via the Order of the Phoenix.
- Seeing inside the Ministry of Magic for the first time. What at set! #tilegoals
- Dumbledore’s (badass) Army
- Fred and Georges epic, ‘in your face bitch’ style exit from Hogwarts.
- My favourite quote courtesy of Kingsley Shacklebolt… ‘You may not like him, Minister, but you can’t deny, Dumbledore’s got style.’
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
- Finding out about the horcruxes. These are one of my favourite bits if the book. I love the Gaunt family history toooo (Suddenly Chapter One of the Goblet of Fire makes perfect sense, AM I RIGHT!!)
- Harry on Liquid luck is one of the best Harry Potter scenes, period.
- Aragog’s funeral, classic; ‘ Here lies Aragog, King of the Arachnids… His body will decaayyyyyyyy but his spirit will live onnnnnnn.’
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt1 & Pt2
They are basically just one REALLY long film because they are the same book.
- Part 2 is better than Part 1 (Just sayin’)
- Shit gets REALLLL DARK.
- My favourite parts of part one are them collecting the horcruxes.
- My favourite part of part two is most of it.
- I love Christmas at Godrics Hollow.
- The Battle of Hogwarts… ‘I’ve always wanted to do that spell’ (Badass Maggie G)
- ‘NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH.’
- And then there’s… FRED. HEDWIG. DOBBY. and so many others 😦
- 19 years later. I can still remember seeing this film so clearly in the cinema and when this came on I wanted to cry because the final line of the book….’All was well’ is awesome, they did it! But also, its the end.
- I just have to mention… The Harry & Hermione dancing in the tent scene… MEGA CRINGE, CAN’T WATCH. COVERS EYES. FAST FORWARDS. Ok, lets move on.
[FYI: Fave books 1 &7 Fave Films 1, 7 and 4]
Yay! I finally got it done. I’m so chuffed I finally managed to do this. You’ve got to make the most of the situation you are in. Nailed it.
Do you agree with my notes? (Be nice) Or have you got anything to add?
What are your favourite moments from the film?
Until Next Time,
Roseanne 🙂
The last year of my twenties… 2️⃣0️⃣’s❗
I actually started this post back in December 2019…
… I thought I would revisit it a week before my 29th birthday as this would of course see the start of ‘the last year of my twenties’… oh I would never have thought that this momentous year of my life would start how it has… lockdown, during a global pandemic, what a unpredictable and quite frankly shit turn of events.
But, I digress, there is still plenty of good in this world and lots to be thankful for. Lockdown, it turns out is a great time for reflection. So, what do I want to achieve in the last year of my 20s?
This list has changed slightly (due to the nature of the current situation) and I’m not 100% sure if some of these things will actually be achievable now, but that’s not important.
This is just something I wanted to document and I am in no way suggesting these are more important than the current situation. They are just things I have been thinking about for a few years, if they happen slightly after 30 or whatever is possible once the worlds been put back together, then so be it. As I said, it’s just something I wanted to reflect and document for myself.
Here’s my list:
- Learn to drive
- Learn to play the guitar
- Have a full Harry Potter marathon
- Find a better work/life balance
- Spend more time with my family
- Take more pictures of people.
- Be in more pictures!!
- Worry less (Good one 😂)
- Start writing a book.
🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
Until Next Time,
Roseanne 🙂
My Lockdown Faves
Its day 38 of social distancing for me and another 3 weeks of lockdown has been announced.
That being so, I thought I would share a few of my ‘Lockdown’ faves that have been keeping me going and keeping me sane during this crazy time.
I’m not posting these to show off all the lovely things I’ve been doing, trust me there have been plenty of very unproductive days too.
Lets take a look!
Books, Books, Books
This is my ultimate, favourite hobby anyway but it is so nice to have the time to finally indulge in it. I do a reading challenge on my blog anyway and my aim is to read two books a month… I read two books last week… and I got so stuck into them I couldn’t put them down.
I know this is such a luxury, especially without having dependents, I have lot more time for me, but I’m taking full advantage because we are unlikely (fingers crossed) to be in a similar situation again.
Plus, I get alot of enjoyment out of immersing myself into stories, its a great way for me to relax, feel happy and less anxious about the current COVID situation.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
I entirelly blame my friend Dan for this new obsession haha!
I was always a Harvest Moon gal, back in the day, and I loved playing that on my DS, so, whenever Animal crossing came out I never got it as they are quite similar games.
We’ve had a Switch for a little while and lockdown was the perfect time to get stuck into a game like Animal Crossing, and I have to say, I am really enjoying it. Its right up my street and its really getting me through the long days.
Plus, there’s a nice little community and me and my friend Dan have been playing together which is really nice when you are so disconnected (physically) from everybody at the moment.
TV
I have been re-watching Glee since it came onto Netflix in Oct/Nov time but I am very thankful for its familiarity and awesomeness right now. Its nice to be able to just pop it on and watch and enjoy something without having to think too much about it. The same goes for Friends too. I have also really been enjoying Disney + which we got at the start of lockdown, as well as Jamie’s ‘Keep calm and cook’ on program on channel 4. TV is probably one of the things I have been using the least but its great to have a few firm favourites to pop on if needed.
Learning Guitar
As part of my ‘Things I want to learn before I’m 30’ I started to learn to play the guitar just before Christmas. I didn’t really have the time to properly do it then so it was a bit of a non starter, However, since I started social distancing I have been able to focus on it and have made lots of progress so far.
My brother in Law showed me a subscription website that does online guitar lessons (Fender Play) and it is really good. I feel like I’m learning so much and really understanding the basics, creating a good basis to really learn the guitar.
I’m trying to take my time and enjoy the learning aspect of it as I often get a bit impatient and skip ahead. I’ve got plenty of time anyway!!
I’ve enjoyed learning guitar tab in my last few lessons and have been learning the Harry Potter theme tune (Of course!) as well as nursery rhymes to play for my nephews.
Enjoying the little things
Although this situation is less than ideal it is nice that the extra time and the restrictions have given way to a appreciation of the little things. Taking 5 minutes to sit and be calm, sitting in the sunshine and fresh air, journaling, listening to a podcast, having a relaxing bath…
We are often rushing through our days so being forced to slow down has really made me appreciate and enjoy them and they have become a great source of comfort and wellness in this strange time.
Yeah, we can do all of these things normally but maybe we will remember how they made us feel in lockdown and this will bring extra appreciation and comfort to them once we are back to ‘normal’ life.
I for one have enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air in particular… Being in a flat means we are stuck inside so I am really enjoying having the double doors ,in our lounge, the fresh air rolling in with the sunshine, at midday feels lovely.
Quizzes
At the start of the social distancing time it was my brother in laws birthday so we did a family skype quiz, which I wrote.
Since then we have made it our little Friday night activity, we take it in turns to write the quiz and the winners and/or losers choose a category for the next weeks quiz.
This has been really fun and its so nice to see all the fam.
Me and my twin sister Sarah have also been doing some online quizzes that people have been posting online and Youtube. We have done a couple of Harry Potter ones, a Disney one and a Gavin & Stacey one.
I’ve always loved a quiz so I’m quite enjoying all of these being available.
Video chats
What would we do if this wasn’t an option!! These have been a god send.
Its so nice to still be able to see peoples faces and chat! We are so lucky that there are so many different platforms to do this on too, I mean before this I only ever did the odd Whatsapp video call! Now its all skype, Zoom, Facebook, Houseparty and Whatsapp! Its all going on, but it is definalty the thing keeping me sane the most.
As I am a Learning support assistant in a Primary school (Reception) I have been doing phonics lessons for my nephews via Skype so that has been nice, I feel like I am helping them and I really miss my job so its nice to have that each morning.
Baking
I love baking so I am enjoying having a bit more time to just do some random baking if the fancy takes me. Usually its for an occasion so its more time pressured, so its nice to just be able to enjoy it.
Thank goodness there is lots of extra exercise content available otherwise Im sure my waistline wouldnt be enjoying it all haha.
So far I have made Two banana breads, double choc chip cookies, chocolate orange cookies and mini cheese scones! YUM!
Craft
I’ve always enjoyed crafting anway but obviously now that I have a bit of extra time I can do a few projects.
I have started making cards again recently and I am trying to make a big batch so that when I can actually start giving them/posting them again, I have a load ready to go.
I was thinking about co ordinating with mt birthday book to sort out how many I need for each month and then maybe make a few extras too.
I also bought a little scrapbooking project for me and Tim to do, on our wedding anniversary in June, as I pretty sure this will still be going on then!
I’m going to do a post on this so keep your eyes peeled for that. Its a really cute idea and I thought it would be nice to have something to do together. We have loads of random photos and bits and bobs from when we were dating.
We usually go away for our anniversary whether that be on the day or the nearest weekend so I thought it would be nice to still have something special to do, to mark the occasion.
Extra content
As I said , I am loving all the quizzes online, but also there is loads of extra content on online platforms too. PE with Joe Wicks, Cooking with Jamie Oliver, Instagram lives, video interviews, workouts, online parties, just loads of fun extra things that you can do whilst staying at home. Its been great!
Podcasts are amazng too. Any fellow Gleeks out there, check out Kevin & Jenna’s Showmance Podcast Glee Recap Edition. They are still putting them out remotely so these have been great to listen to each week.
What are your quarantine faves?
Stay safe and stay home!
Until next time,
Roseanne 🙂
Easter Weekend 2020 🐣
I hope you had a nice weekend, it probably wasn’t the weekend we all planned or thought it would be.
So, we actually have a few traditions that we usually do at Easter but obviously this years a bit different (for now)
But, lets not dwell on what would have/should have been… So, what did we do to make the Easter weekend fun and what traditions did we manage to uphold in lockdown?!
We opted for LOTR Monopoly as we haven’t played it for a while and Monopoly is the Queen of board games, so it’s the perfect choice.
Plus, this one is great as you move the one ring along so you can either play a manageable length game or go the long haul.
We also got together on Good Friday night (on Skype) as we have been since this began, to do our weekly quiz night so that was good to get together that way.
We also made the good old Easter tradition that is chocolate crispy cakes.
We made individual ones using shredded wheat, chocolate and Terry’s choc oranges mini eggs.
The large one was cornflakes, chocolate, cut up Creme eggs & lots of sprinkles.
Delicious!
As a family, on Easter Sunday we usually get together, exchange Easter eggs, do craft with the kids and have a chinese takeaway for dinner (I know, traditional Easter food 😂 but that’s just what we do, my Nana started it!)
It was nice to play games together, just me and Tim, watch some TV and have a few treats. (Well, quite a few treats but it’s one weekend aye!)
Plus, I had a nice video/call from my niece and nephews so that was lovely as I am missing them alot and I love to spoil them on special occasions like this. But, most of all I just love to give them a big hug and have some fun with them!
Let’s hope we’ll all be together again soon!
How did you get through the isolation Easter weekend?
Until next time,
Roseanne 🙂
My 2020 Reading Challenge: The First Quarter 📚
Hi Guys!
So, here is the first quarter of my Reading Challenge. Three months down. I have to say I didn’t think I would writing this post in ‘Lockdown’ during a global Pandemic, this is just insane.Maybe I’ll get a few more books read whilst this is going on?! Its such a crazy, scary time so its nice to be able to ‘escape’.I thought this picture was very apt.
January/February/March
So, what have I read…
Last Light: The Lucy Harwin series Book 3 by Helen Phifer
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (Halfway, but I’ll leave it on the list as its a biggun’)
The Secret Santa by Trish Harnetiaux
Struck by Lightening: The Carson Phillip’s Journals by Chris Colfer
I’ll Take New York by Miranda Dickinson
Stranger Than Fan Fiction by Chris Colfer
I have really enjoyed all of these books, especially ‘I’ll take New York’. Chris Colfer, who you may know from Glee, is a brilliant writer, his books are so well written, so easy to read and hilarious, which is why I’ve read two of them during this period. Well worth checking out.
I have bought a few new books to get me through the Isolation… my next book is called ‘The Silent Patient’ by Alex Michaelides.
I recommended this to a friend and she has already fisihed it. It even made her gasp with suprise (don’t you just love it when a book does that!?) So, Im looking forward to getting stuck into that.
Any recommendations are always welcome!
Until Next Time,
Stay safe everybody and stay at home!
Roseanne 🙂
Staying calm… 🧘🏼♀️
During this crazy time it’s so important to do what you can to stay calm, and this is so individual to you. Don’t worry what everybody else is doing.
& what a great opportunity to work on you, give yourself a bit of time. Give your home a bit of time, your kids some extra time… when does life every give us extra time!?
It may he scary but focus on what this time away, this distance could do for us and our families.
And just think how amazing all those little things we take for granted, will be when we can do them again!!
Maybe it will give us some perspective maybe we will enjoy all those mundane things a little bit more.
& remember to be kind to each other, help out where you can and spread some positivity during what is a very scary time, something we havnt (& hopefully never will again) experience in our life time.
🌈 Social Distancing 🌈
☆Keep busy, work if you can ✏
♡Read a book 📚
☆Binge Netflix/Iplayer 🖥
♡Exercise 💪🏻
☆Self care, nails, a nice hand cream, face mask, bath bomb 🧖🏼♀️
♡Journal 📕
☆Listen to a Podcast 🎧
♡De-Clutter 🧹
☆Write a letter 📄
♡Board games/Card games 🎲
☆DIY 🔨
♡Mindfulness Colouring 🖍
☆Yoga 🧘🏼♀️
♡Snacks! 🍫
☆Face time 📱
♡Blog
Here if you need anything guys 👋🏻
Until next time,
Roseanne 🙂
World Book Day 📚
As a child I always loved reading, but steadily, over the years it has grown to be my most favourite of hobbies.
And there is most definitly one book that I can attribute alot of that joy to…
As J.K Rowling so eloquently put it; ‘I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.’
Never has a story, characters, A LOCATION (because we all wanna be at Hogwarts, let’s be real) captured my imagine like the ones in Harry Potter.
…It’s the comfort of something you know so well… a constant, magical source of enjoyment, imagination, comfort and belonging that sometimes you can only get from immersing yourself in a wonderful story.
So, thanks J.K 👍🏻
& just remember; ‘The stories we love best do live in us forever, so whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.’ ⚡❤📚
So, if you havn’t recently, pick up a good book, go to your local library, start that one you’ve been meaning to for a while, read that childrens book they’ve asked you to read 100 times because you never know, it might just change your/their life… and if it doesnt you’ll still have a lovely time in the process.
Until next time,
Roseanne ⚡
The Body Shop Skincare 🧖🏼♀️
Something that I’ve wanted to address this year is my skincare.
I haven’t been very good at keeping on top of it, especially during the last half of 2019! But, I have finally got around to rectifying that.
I popped into The Body Shop as I have heard really good things about their skincare, I’m a big fan of the brand anyway, so I thought I would give them a try.
My skin has been quite dry recently so I was looking for something to add moisture, I was instantly drawn to their Vitamin E range.
With a bit of help (& thanks to a well timed 3 for 2 deal) I grabbed some bits from this and their Drops of Youth ranges.
Let’s take a look…
These are the two staples that I was looking for, a cream cleanser and a toner. Having these, at least, is a good shot at skincare (& your usual moisturiser of course)
As I said, I went for the Vitamin E range as this is great for adding moisture to your skin. Especially at this time of year, my skin is in much need of it.
I love that freshly cleansed feel with the added refreshment of a cold toner. It’s such a good feeling at the start of a new day and at the end of a long one!
& knowing you are adding moisture and comfort to your skin is great.
That’s why I also picked this up from that range…
This is their Vitamin E ‘Sink-in moisture sleeping mask’
This gives you an intense hydration boost to your skin, at night, which is when your skin needs that moisture and can take it in really well.
I must mention that this range is good for all skin types which is great 👍🏻
From their ‘Drops of youth’s’ range I picked up…
The ‘Youth liquid peel’ & ‘Youth Eye concentrate’.
The peel is very satisfying, as soon as you rub it onto your skin it starts to peel away the dead skin. It leaves your skin feeling super fresh.
The eye concentrate has a metal rollerball applicator which is so refreshing for under/around the eyes. It’s great if you wake up with puffy/sore eyes in the morning.
The final item that I got, as a little extra, since it was 3 for 2 (be rude not to) was their Himalayan charcoal purifying clay wash.
This is a lovely face wash that cleanses and purifies your skin. It also unclogs pores.
It leaves your skin feeling really clear, bright and much smoother.
This is a nice treat, to use every now and then, alongside the other products I picked up.
I am really enjoying using all of these products so far and I’m hoping my skin will thank me for it too… my skin is already feeling softer and my pores smoother.
Have you used any of these products?
What do you think?
Until next time,
Roseanne 🙂
Chocolate orange cupcakes!
Hey guys 👋🏻
So I haven’t done a recipe post for a while and what better way to start off a new year of baking than with these delights…
….chocolate orange cupcakes.I’ve used a BBC Good Food recipe because they always work out well for me.I slightly modified the recipe to make then orange as the recipe was for just plain chocolate cupcakes.Let’s take a look at the recipe. I’ll leave a link here and then you can see on the recipe below how I modified it.
•100g Plain Flour
•20g Cocoa Powder
•140g Caster Sugar
•1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
•40g Inslated Butter
•120ml milk
•1 egg
•Orange Extract
To decorate:
•Chocolate buttercream flavoured with melted chocolate orange or the orange extract.
•Chocolate orange segments
•Sprinkles
I hope you enjoyed this little recipe. Chocolate orange seems to be everywhere atm (I’m not complaining) so theres plenty of chocolate orange adornments to choose from.
I added sprinkles too because why not!!
I would usually use a piping bag but mine broke last time so I glhas to just spatula it on, so not quite a professional finish but so yummy.
Let me know if you give them a go .
Until next time,
Roseanne 🙂
Roseanne Byford 