Wicked UK Tour!

I was lucky enough to find last minute tickets to see Wicked this week and it was so good that I just had to blog about it! I first heard about the tour AGES ago and was very keen to see it as tickets were very expensive when I was in London. I forgot about it and when posts on Facebook starting creeping up about people going, I decided to look in to it again and managed to snag some tickets!

Now in all honestly, I did not really know much about Wicked. I knew that it was the prequel to the Wizard of Oz based on the two witches etc and after some googling, I learned a little more. I enjoyed the show more I think as the story progression was unexpected. If like me you're not too familiar with Wicked, it's focussed on the Wicked Witch and the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz who meet at a sorcery school and become unlikely friends. It then follows the pair as Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West) discovers her powers and ultimately becomes 'wicked'. It's a lovely story of friendship and how we perceive people.

I got our tickets three weeks or so before the show so the seats themselves were not brilliant. They were balcony seats which were very high but soon as I sit down, I'm fine with heights. For the money, the tickets were great as they let me see the show I otherwise would have missed out on. We were not that far from the front but being slightly to the side, our view was very restricted when they went to the front corner of the stage. The dragon prop at the top of the stage also restricted the view and quoting the lady next to us  'I couldn't even see her Defy Gravity!'.

The show itself was absolutely fantastic. It was such a high quality production to be performed outside of London. I've been to the West End and I would say it was just as good if not better than what I saw there. The performances though were the absolute highlight for me, particularly the leads. Emily Tierney played Glinda who was so brilliantly annoying that she was very likeable. Jacqueline Hughes however, was absolutely phenomenal as Elphaba. I have never heard such a powerful vocal live and her renditions 'The Wizard and I' and 'Defying Gravity' really showcased her talent. I didn't realise that she was the standby Elphaba until after the show so I really don't know how the principal can be any better!

I expected to enjoy the show but I really loved it. I think the brilliant performances made such a difference for me as they really absorbed you into the story. I will need to get listening to the soundtrack now!

Have you been to see Wicked before? I would love to hear from you if you have as every production is a different experience!

             

Spa Day

A slightly different post today as I wanted to share something that I did this week! I'm not long back from a few days away with my lovely flatmate from university where we visited a hotel for a spa day. I had never been to a proper spa before so it was something I was really excited about when we decided to book it. I really didn't know what to expect either. I was restricted on the photos I was able to take but I have a few snaps to share.

I didn't realise that we had actually booked our spa day at a four star hotel so it was a lovely place to spend the day. It was not overly expensive and the whole experience was brilliant value for money. We had full use of the leisure facilities for seven hours which included a gym, swimming pool, jacuzzi, a steam room and a sauna. The gym was the only area I managed to take a picture of as it was empty at the time and photography was prohibited in the other areas of the spa.

We started the day off using the gym and as expected, we didn't last very long! It didn't live up to the relaxing idea of a spa day but we wanted to make full use of the facilities. We did cycle 3 miles on the bikes though! The gym was really impressive and would be a great facility if you lived close by.

After some time in the gym and a stint in the pool, we sat down for Afternoon Tea. This was included in the price and was very enjoyable. We got to choose three sandwiches from a selection of five which was great as I have an allergy and I'm little bit fussy... We also had complimentary champagne with our lunch.

The selection of cakes were lovely, I didn't try them all but the scones were freshly baked so they tasted amazing! The big chocolate cupcake was also very good and I loved how it had lots of sprinkles!

We had our treatments booked in for the afternoon where we were taken through to a 'relaxation' type room to have hot stone massages. I was then left in the room on my own for my facial! I found this especially beneficial for me as my skin felt so clean afterwards and I could notice physical differences to my face. We then finished off the rest of the day with more time spent in the pool and jacuzzi! We met a lovely lady who we spent a good while to chatting to which was a really nice addition to our day as she was so friendly! I told her about my blog, so Teresa if you ever find this hello!

I hope you enjoyed this lifestyle post! I would love to hear if you have had a spa day experience in the comments?

Pitch Perfect 2

Last Friday night, I was off to the cinema to see the highly anticipated sequel to Pitch Perfect on it's release day! I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and it was much better than I expected as sequels are never usually as good as the first film. I honestly could not believe how my busy my local cinema was, the queue for tickets was all the way to the main door! I expected a crowd but not to the extent that I had to sit directly next to someone which I don't think has happened to me since Harry Potter! It's funny how there is like this unofficial cinema code that not only do you not sit next to someone in the screen, you leave at least a 2 seat gap.

I thought I'd share a few thoughts on the film to maybe encourage you to go if you just aren't convinced it's going to be as good as the first. One thing I would say was that it was far funnier than the first one in my opinion. I didn't see the first film in the cinema so I can't compare if it simply could of been the atmosphere as I feel like if the screen is full, more people are kind of like encouraging you to laugh more. There was a lady behind me that laughed hysterically at almost everything, I wouldn't say it was quite that funny but it does provide some good laughs. I would say that the storyline was better in the first film as in this one, I didn't think the plot was that interesting if I'm totally honest.  Don't get me wrong though, it was still a very enjoyable film.

The essential part of Pitch Perfect is the music and I really loved some of the song selection for this movie. The Riff Off was back again with some great tracks and some interesting new acapella groups! I also really enjoyed the Bella's performance at the end of the film, there was some brilliant music featured there and they even surprised the audience with an original song!

In terms of the cast, I think that Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy was as funny as ever in Pitch Perfect 2. There is a particularly brilliant scene when she completely brings it home with a solo when she discovers what she really wants in life, shall we say! I will say no more as it was definitely one of the funniest parts in the movie. Anna Kendrick's performance was brilliant yet again too as the film's protagonist, she never disappoints! I rather liked Hailee Steinfield's new addition to the Bellas too, she wasn't monumental as the new girl like Becca was in the first film but her song writing skills added nicely to the overall plot.

I won't say too much more about the movie as it really is worth going to see for yourself. If you are a fan of the first movie, you won't be disappointed. I even think this film could stand alone so it's worth checking out even if you are not overly familiar with the Pitch Perfect franchise. Let me know in the comments if you've seen the movie yet and what you think of it!

April Favourites

Another month another favourites post! I think these are probably one of my personally most anticipated posts of the month and then I struggle to actually think what my favourites were! I'm a bit late posting this sorry, it was just the way my posting schedule worked out and it was further pushed back by a busy week!

To say that Dance Moms has been a favourite of mine this month is a slight understatement... My sister wanted me to watch it a good while ago but I was a little put off by it's run time of 40 mins as shorter shows are better for binge watching. I watched one episode with her and I am HOOKED. It's honestly such addictive television. If you haven't heard of Dance Moms before it follows the Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh who take an elite team to competitions every episode. It's one of those shows that I feel that you're gonna love it or you'll think it is complete rubbish. I think it is a little put on for the cameras at times but the drama that happens in that little dance studio is something else. I absolutely love some of the things Abby Lee comes out with and the Mom's themselves are pretty funny too! If you watch any new show this week, I would definitely recommend this one!

I've got a homeware favourite this month and that's mason jars! I barely use an actual glass anymore as I've began to use these so much. I love being able to drink water/juice while holding a handle so I think that's why mason jars appeal to me. Every so often I'll drink juice out of a mug, maybe that's a little bit weird I don't know? The jars look super pretty with the proper lids and paper straws. These particular jars are by Kilner.

A snap of my own sims! 

I go through phases of being totally obsessed with the Sims then I won't play it for ages. Since buying my Macbook Pro, I was able to purchase The Sims 4 when it was released for Mac a few months  ago. It was hard to tell whether it would run on my old laptop so it wasn't worth the risk or the expense. I got two new add ons to the game last month, Get To Work and Outdoor Retreat. Get To Work is the first fully fledged expansion pack for The Sims 4 that allows you to take your sims to work with a much better gameplay experience The Sims 3 Ambitions expansion. For someone who has a ridiculous fear of all things medical, I rather enjoy playing as a doctor! On the flip side, the Outdoor Retreat pack allows you to take your sims camping out in the wilderness. I would say that it wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be but it's an interesting add on to the game.

I rather fancied a new foundation (not exactly needed) but I felt some days the foundations I was currently using could make me look a little orange as my skin is very pale. I considering investing into my first Mac product but the reviews were a bit inconsistent in how good their foundations were for dry/pale skin. After an awful lot of googling, I learned that Revlon's Colorstay foundation was just as good as Mac and lasts very well throughout the day. I also liked that they specifically catered for Normal/Dry Skin so I picked up this product in Ivory. I can honestly say I have never owned a foundation that matched my skin tone as perfectly as this does. It does make me look pale but I am pale anyway and least I don't have any foundation lines! It's not the cheapest at £12.49 and still shows up dry skin but I don't regret my purchase. It would be the perfect product if it came with a pump and I didn't need to pour it out of the bottle!

Finally my movie favourite in April was Home! I really wanted to see this film as I am a massive fan of The Big Bang Theory and Jim Parsons voiced the character of Oh. He did a phenomenal job voicing the film's main character and was exceptionally funny. It was very strange as Oh's voice sounded exactly like Sheldon's and it was quite hard to take seriously for that reason! For an animated feature it was very entertaining.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I'll be back very soon with my May Favourites!

2015 Met Gala

Now that the major awards season is now over, I really miss seeing all the different looks that my favourite celebrities wore to each event. Last night however, the Met Gala was held in NYC so I thought I would share some of my favourite dresses of the night! The theme for this year was 'China Through The Looking Glass' which is an interesting one for sure!

Carey Mulligan

Lorde

Selena Gomez

Dianna Agron

Jennifer Lawrence

Miranda Kerr

Sofia Vergara

Kara Mara

Georgia May Jagger

What were you favourite looks from this year's Met Ball?

Big Fashion Haul

Hi everyone, sorry I'm a little late in posting my last post of my series from last week. I had a very busy weekend! When I was away on our trip to see Nicki Minaj, we spent a lot of our time shopping and I thought I'd share my fashion purchases! I bought these things a while ago now so I not 100% accurate on the prices of the items. If they are wrong, it'll only be by £1 or £2! None of these items were expensive either (and I didn't need any of them...)

Primark - £6

I'm going to see Taylor Swift next month so this was a must have purchase to wear to the gig.
I just had to!
Primark - £4

Primark - £4

Primark - £4

I'm going on a Spa Day with my friend this month so had to get some swimwear!
Bikini Bag - Primark £2, Pink Bikini Top - Primark £4, Navy Bikini Top - Forever 21 £4 and Bikini Bottoms - Primark £3

I absolutely love owls so I picked these up without even hesitating!
Primark - £2.50

 Primark - £4

Skort - Primark £6

I hope you enjoyed this post, I'll be back with another two posts this week! My favourite dresses from last night's Met Gala and my April Favourites. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day wherever you are.