How to Survive a Breakup in 6 Steps

One thing that most of us girls will experience in their young adult life is a serious dumping. The kind that you thought would never happen and that you never saw coming, but was inevitable when you asked the simple question, "where do I stand?". 

This seems to have become a recurring trend for me recently and it ends in the same way each time. Nevertheless, each time is still different. Each time you feel differently about the person you were dating. Maybe you never really saw a true future for the two of you but it was nice to feel wanted. Or maybe you thought you had found your soulmate but he thought the two of you were completely incompatible. It doesn't matter if you dated for two weeks, two months, or two years, how you feel about the end of the relationship should be embraced (for a small period of time).

Here I have contrived a Step-by-Step guide of how I have (or am trying to) overcome the end of my relationship: 

Step 1:

The first minute you split, whether you broke up with them or they broke it off with you, let your emotions out. There and then. It may not be wise to burst into tears over dinner or whatever, but then again it isn't necessarily wise to dump someone over dinner. Or anywhere in public for that matter. 

For me, I've always been dumped by a message. Which isn't as bad as it sounds actually. This way, I am in the comfort of my own home and he doesn't have to see me breakdown in front of him. (Score!) But after my last split, I didn't feel the urge to cry or throw my phone across the room straight away, I kind of knew it was going to happen and honestly, his excuse or reasoning was kind of shabby and I didn't believe it. But it definitely helps to cry for maybe ten minutes if you need it when in the moment. If you are out in public, try to excuse yourself to the bathroom to compose yourself so you can go back out there fighting. You got it girl! (*wink face emoji*)

Step 2:

After you have gotten the 'in the moment' tears or emotions out the way, you can focus on the next thing you are probably asking yourself. WHY?! So he may have given a reason or not in letting you go and it's definitely okay to look into it or ask him about it. One time I was dumped by a guy, he didn't tell me why, he just told me in a text that he didn't see anything serious was going to come of our relationship and didn't see it going anywhere. Which personally I think is quite an excuse for a couple whose age adds up to 40. Nonetheless, I didn't pry because I didn't really feel a 'spiritual' connection or whatever and I wasn't that into him by the point he ended things. My last 'breakup' though was much more informative for me. He told how he didn't think we had much in common (total bullshit if you ask me) and had been in a relationship before that which was similar. And now all I have to say to him is all these questions that start with WHY? Like, why did you not tell me for so long? Why did you deceive me and let me fall in love with you and treat me the way you did if it wasn't going anywhere? Why did you do all these things to just leave?

You maybe feeling the same way and asking yourself these same questions because all we want to know is the truth. I feel like I didn't even get that. Anyway, my point is for step two, is that if you feel like you can talk about these issues with your partner (or ex-partner should I say :/) because you are mature enough to then you should do it because it might be able to aid you. It can help you get a clearer understanding of why the two of you never worked out and you might even be able to overcome these issues and be together again in the future. 

Step 3:

You know when your friends hear about your relationship ending, and they say something along the lines of, "We should go out!" or "Let's get drunk tonight, that'll make you feel better" or even if it's purely innocent like "I'll come over and check you're okay", you don't have to do ANY of those things. Honestly, you may feel like you want to hit the club in a couple of days, a week, or even a month from now which is a good thing (and something I discuss more in Step 4) but for now, like right now, you probably want to be alone. If you're like me, you will want to bury yourself in blankets and spend your time with the two most important men in your life, Ben & Jerry.

You're gonna watch the whole Sex and the City boxset in a day, listen to the complete Taylor Swift discography and bake brownies all afternoon. You will need a day like this. But I have to be honest with you, only make this ONE day. (Or two if you really need it). Refrain from making it last up to a week because it will slowly become a routine which will not help your lifestyle. But do make sure you do a duvet day, a day to completely indulge yourself and to love yourself. Take a bath, buy some new makeup or those new jeans you've been eyeing up all week, watch Titanic or Moulin Rouge on repeat and eat an entire apple pie for breakfast. 

Step 4:

Like I said, be careful not to indulge yourself for the rest of your life and become a hermit. You will need to get out of your blanket nest eventually and start concentrating your energy on people who make time for you. This is where the Single Girls Night Out becomes a routine Friday night into town. If you drink, this is gonna help you. Trust me. You will have probably found that you didn't drink as heavily when you were dating so when you go out with the gals, you are going to get drunk much more rapidly. And heavily. As long as your friends are there to help you into the cab afterwards, it should be a good night out. Mostly because you won't remember much. But remember that spending time with your friends doesn't necessarily mean getting wasted every weekend. You may find that even a window shopping trip into town is just as refreshing, or going to get your brows done was a weight lifted. Your friends will try and help you to be 'you' again, as in the fun you who didn't cry in a ball of pillows every night because a boy never loved her. 

Step 5:

Spend time with your family. I find that my mum is the most inspirational woman to me in the world so when it comes to 'sad me' due to the fault of a man, my mum is there to get me through. If you don't live with your 'rents anymore then go pay your family a visit, take a day off work and surprise them because they will be more than happy to see you. Most of the time I don't have to tell my mum what's up, all I need is a hug from her and I immediately feel uplifted. If you're not so much a mummy's girl then I'm sure your dad might be of some help. Though he could end up at your ex's front door with an air rifle.

Step 6:

This sort of follows on from Step 3 however rather than indulging yourself in luxury with chocolate and alcohol, you should take the next step to 'self help'. These kind of things will help you to explore your own mind and to free yourself of your anxieties for a while. You can take a trip by yourself, maybe just drive to the beach and read a book, or even book a flight to Thailand. Things like meditating, yoga, pilates and exercise help you to become a better person, physically and mentally. You're more than likely to feel much more positive in your mind and body after taking up some kind of work out or meditation within a couple of weeks. Plus this is something that you can do even after you've moved on and it also helps to combat other stresses in your life, like if you are moving home or grieving, or in the future with pre-wedding or prenatal nerves. This is the most important time to focus on you, being you, improving you, for you. (Very 'Eat Pray Love'.) 

Blog As I Go Tutorial!

So I don't know if this is an actual thing but I thought I would blog what I'm doing and using makeup wise as I did it! This is 100% real life time trust me it is currently exactly 3pm on Wednesday 3rd Sep 14 so let's see how long this takes!

First I'm going to start by priming my t zone with this - (L'Oréal Nude Magique Blur Cream in light to medium skin)

Next I'll be applying L'Oréal Infallible foundation in the shade 140 golden beige - this shade is a bit too dark but is perfect with a tan. Plus this foundation is perfect for staying all day and honestly is 24H like it says!

After that I'm using my Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer to highlight under the eyes, down the bridge of my nose and to conceal any imperfections.

To set my face I'm using my Natural Collection Loose Powder in Neutral Translucent - this is perfect to keeping your base staying flawless all day and gives you a natural matte finish.

Then I just filled in my brows with my beloved elf Eyebrow Kit in dark :)

Next I bronzed my face with the Bronzing Summer Glow Kit by 17 and  contoured my cheeks and nose with Nars Laguna.

For my eyes I used the Sleek Au Naturel palette and placed the 2nd greyish shade all over my lid. I then placed the 5th shade which is a peachy orange into the crease. I darkened up the outer v on each eye by placing the warm brown shade there with a small fluffy brush by Estee Lauder. Using the same brush I placed the almost black shade on the outer V also and blended it all together with a clean fluffy brush from eBay (these eBay/china brushes are soooo good and incredibly cheap so I'll leave a link below if I can find them). 

Next I used my eyeko skinny liner to add a small wing which makes the black shadows draw into the centre of the eye without looking too heavy. Next i used my new favourite mascara - the volume million lashes so couture by L'Oréal. 

For my blush I used Benefits Coralista with a Real Techniques duo fibre face brush in order for the product to be applied more sparsely. I used the same brush to apply my highlight which was the MUA Undress Your Skin shimmer highlighter. For my lips I used Revlon Super Lustrous Matte lipstick in Smoked Peach 013.

MAKEUP BRUSHES: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-Pcs-Professional-Makeup-Brushes-Set-Makeup-Brushes-Kit-Free-Draw-String-Makeup-Bag/1836599605.html

I was stupid and forgot to take a selfie so you could see the finished product... the one photo that actually matters... well... if you create this look I'd love to see the different ways it came out haha! just respond with a photo :)

Thanks again!

Melissa xoxo

My Summer In Photos!

I'm thinking of making my blog a bit more universal as now I'm working between 5-7 days a week it can be difficult to think of new ideas specific to beauty or health that are quick for me to do. 

Plus, to make my blog attract more of a universal audience, I decided to include lifestyle and day to day posts, starting with this one! So over the summer I haven't gone on holiday like most people do but have had a lot planned in terms of days out etc! 

So this is my summer so far (22nd June - 13th August) in photos!

Click to view larger

LOVE IS SO SHORT, FORGETTING IS SO LONG (Tuesday 11th March, 2014 @ 20:48 GMT)

The first time you see someone you had history with, whether it be a previous partner or your first love or your no-longer best friend, the first time you see them once things ended can be painful. You have banished them from your mind, you have taken all the strength in your bones to remove them from your heart, you have spent weeks, months, years trying to mend whatever masterpiece that was broken. You tried your absolute best to live without them and then, you see them. Maybe on your bus on your way to school, when you are at lunch with a friend, or maybe you saw them on their way to work across the street. You spent such little time appreciating them and their ideas, thoughts, memories so why does it seem to take forever trying to erase them? The love that you shared was over in a blink of an eye, and now you spend the next six months trying to forget. But you can’t try to forget people or those memories. No matter how much time you spent together, it will take however long it takes to move on and you will move on, just at your own pace not anyone else’s. Not when your friends say, “Get up, we’re going out, we’re gonna find you someone, stop moping around.” Your time won’t fly by or heal anything, and it will leave you with many questions unanswered. The hardest part of it is knowing you can’t change what happened and that maybe they are happy and maybe you’re pretending to be okay.

HOW DO YOU MOVE ON? (Sunday 29th June, 2014 @ 19:17 GMT)

“You left in October. We haven’t talked in over ten months. We bumped into each other that Saturday night about 6 weeks ago. We made eye contact. I kept trying to distract myself by ordering drinks from the bar or going to the bathroom. For half a minute we stood next to each other on the dance floor alone and watched each other before I distracted myself again. Every once in a while I like to check in to see how you are. I would ask you but I don’t know how. I check your social media. Whenever I scroll I see some things that make me teary eyed or overemotional. I saw you had posted a quote that read, “If you’re not gonna marry her, take your hands off another man’s future”. I applied it to myself when I read it. If I was not willing to make a move or to talk to you after ten months when I should have, I should not hold on to you as if I am a ghost haunting a loved one. I cannot expect you to love me at all if I cannot even speak words to you that have no meaning. If I cannot even make small talk when we are a foot away from one another; just the two of us, after the laughs and memories I have of you and I, I do not deserve to hold you in my mind. I am letting you go. Not because I do not love you. It is because I neglected to ever show you. And you deserve every inch of a declaration of love because you are so honest and warm-heartedly beautiful that it sends saltwater drops from my eyes to my cheek when I see you post that you wish for someone to hold.” 

This is taken from my writing blog - mondexwriting

(plus this is superrrrrr personal and I feel quite vulnerable actually posting this on here so it may come down from this blog if I don't feel comfortable with it being so public)

My Handbag Essentials!

This week on the blog I thought I would share with you my handbag essentials! Currently the bag I am using is my beloved Bestillini bag (TKMaxx) which is like my child. I filmed a 'What's In My Bag?' video about a week ago when I got this bag HOWEVER you all probably know the situation with videos at the moment (they just ain't happening) so if that ever goes up then it will be très similar to this post but this can be a little preview for you :)

                           

In the photo I carry these 9 essentials with me almost everywhere - whenever I take a handbag or bag, all these things go in there, obviously besibes my clutch when I'm out for the night because I'm sure I won't need sunglasses or my diary...

So below is what I carry on a regular basis when I'm running errands, including a box of ibuprofen (or paracetamol as I get headaches frequently), body spray (gots to be keeping freshly scented am I right ladies), my keys (der), my glass (I need to see things sometimes), my sunglasses (I actually don't know why these go in every bag with me - I want to get the most out of my sunnies but it's England come on I should replace these with a brollie).

I also have there my little pink diary - I bought this just after the year began as I wanted to be more organised and I use it all the time I don't know how I could have lived previously without one and I didn't think I would actually stick to using it (thought I would resort to my phone) but nope I record all plans, events and deadlines in there and it has saved my life. I've got my lady essentials (of course) in my little purple tin courtesy of BodyForm (never know what is gonna happen, expect the unexpected and all that jazz) and in my Beatles tin (which my ma got my yonks ago for Christmas) I keep chewing gum. The story behind this is that I bought one of those Extra gum boxes, the little cardboard ones, but in my bag they just get squashed and gum is flying around everywhere so I popped them in this little tin which I had been trying to find a use for since I got it. I also helps to keep my gum fresh as it's a metal tin.

Lastly, I can't go absolutely anywhere without my purse! (who goes somewhere without their purse) This is my new Prada purse :) (it excites me very much) I love a big purse because I like everything in one place - I've got hella loyalty cards and receipts and coupons going on in there I can't be keeping a tiny wallet for all that crap.

                                     

Thanks for reading! Melissa xoxo

WHAT IF THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY CAME BACK? (Tuesday 29th April, 2014 @ 14:39 GMT)

In the film, "Letters to Juliet", Amanda Seyfried's character, Sophie writes an incredible letter that begins, "'What' and ‘if’are two words as nonthreatening as words come. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life".

If how you felt back then was so powerful then who is to say it isn't now. "What if...?" Maybe he got away when you turned your back for a split second and took his chance to run. Maybe they slipped through your fingers. Like when your hands are so numb that you can't control them anymore. You can't grip onto things as tightly as you used to and these things that you once held so strongly go crashing to the floor, straight through the gaps in your cowardly fingers and you don't feel a thing. 

If he ever came back, what's to say that he won't get away again? I'll have to wear gloves next time to stop myself from losing grip. I know I will try everything in my power to prevent it from plummeting at my feet. Maybe he'll find an escape again. He can find your biggest flaw and use it against you. He'll squeeze me so hard I'll have no choice but to suffocate. What if he never intended to leave me at all, but to just leave where we were for a while? What if his intentions were never clear? What if he wants to come back but can't? What if he already has and I was too busy or I wasn't around to see what was going on? What is he wants me back in his life just as much as I need him? I'll probably never know the answers to these questions but these kinds of thoughts bring you the worst kind of pain. It's like there's something squeezing you from the inside but you can't physically feel it. There's no purple bruise that you can label with a time and date, no battle scar with an in-depth historical notation. You just have your thoughts that you have neglected to share with anyone but the moon and stars.

What if the one who got away, came back? What does this even mean?! Is it asking what your reaction would be if you saw them again for the first time? Is it asking what your relationship with them would amount to this time? Is it asking if you would ever accept them back in your life? Just for reference, I never used to believe in second chances. I believed that people would either have their shot and that's all you need if it's something you really wanted. But maybe you ran out of time, or something was holding you back? Maybe God really wants the best for you or you needed to take it slowly. So maybe some people deserve second chances and I hope I get mine. I hope he comes back.

WHY REGRET SOMETHING YOU ONCE WANTED? (Thursday 24th April, 2014 @ 21:57 GMT)

A chilling concept to which I do not know the answer to, despite being in the situation myself. The theories surrounding it are that people change their minds and that's perfectly okay. But is it still okay if we mess around with other's feelings? My intentions were once honest and true yet no one saw them that way except myself. As after the situation unfolded, just like origami, I could see the creases and dents that I had made and even though the predicted end product may have looked so beautiful to me, whether is it a paper swan or a relationship, once unraveled to its truest form, it's not how it was in the beginning. That piece of paper isn't as beautiful as you thought it would turn out to be. After all, it is a piece of paper. 

So does it make you a bad person to regret something you wanted once upon a time? Certainly not. Mine personally stemmed from this attraction I had to someone. (I must highlight that I was oddly attracted to him but did not find him attractive). So I saw it fit to make myself feel better when I started conversation with him and be around him which ended up being the two of us within a group of all our friends on a night out. Long story short, he took advantage of both states we were in (i.e. drunkards) as he made his move. After a few (and very brief) text conversations and long pauses of me trying to avoid him afterwards, he declares his undying love for me (lol jk) which unnaturally, I became quiet angry at as I didn't understand what the hell was going on. In present times, we are on polite greetings basis and have been pretty much ever since. Nonetheless, I'm quite sure he is over his mild heartbreak but honestly what am I supposed to do in a situation like that? Am I to be with a guy who I would only get off with when I had one too many Disaronno's, just to please him? Noooooooooo. That's not what my feminist goals tell me. What makes it that much worse is while I was with him I was half regretting the whole situation and half drunk out of my mind that I was actually enjoying myself. Because making out when you are drunk is fun (that is why everyone is doing it on nights out, I mean, come on). I did have a mild sense of pride though. I had pulled a guy who I actually liked. I had succeeded. I was adequately chuffed with myself and also upset when I pictured someone else while I was kissing him. (Never cool, Melissa). But that story is for a different time. 

Even looking back, that is what I wanted but I was never grateful or happy. I felt awful for feeling that way. I took myself too seriously. Turns out, he takes himself even more seriously. And there you have it. Just because at the time it seems like a good idea or it's what you wanted, it doesn't mean it's always going to be that way. Obviously the desired route to find this information out would have been to just have found out first hand without people getting shot in the firing line but what's done is done and everyone now is okay so that's that. 

True Encounters 'Series'!

Back in April of this year I started to answer 'philosophical' (if you will) questions from my own points of view and experiences and I really enjoyed it actually... until I started to run out of questions that were suitable enough and had something for me to write about that I actually knew or had experience of.
I really want to start doing it again as I feel that those really demonstrated the kind of writing that I adore. So I thought I would just explain what I was to be doing before I jumped straight into it as these posts or articles are something really quite different than the usual beauty blog posts etc. So from now on, I will be publishing these posts under the 'True Encounters' label on this blog for you to easily access.
As I said I already started writing these back in April so a couple are already written and are scheduled to go up very very soon! I hopefully aim to publish these articles at least once a week*, with the first, titled 'WHY REGRET SOMETHING YOU ONCE WANTED?', going live tomorrow at 12pm GMT. Hope you enjoy something a little different!

 

*I have decided to post one a week, going live every Sunday at 10am GMT!

How to... Flavoured waters!

Today I made these super refreshing drinks that are less boring that chilled water bottles - water with (sometimes) a literal twist! I made two types, one for the people with more sour tastes and one for others who prefer summer fruit berry flavours.

Step 1.

Grab your favourite water bottles (empty of course!) - I prefer vitamin water bottles at the moment as the other ones I use are evian ones (the 75cl bottles with the flip lids) and the necks aren't large enough to place fruit etc in them and these vitamin water bottles are just the right size and height to fit a straw in comfortably as well.

Step 2. 

With the summer fruits water, take some summer fruit berries, here I used redcurrants, blackcurrants and raspberries and filled the bottle about a third of the way with the berries. You can either use fresh or frozen, I used frozen though. 

For the sour water, I sliced apple into thin slices about 1mm thick and then placed them into the bottle. I used about 8 slices of Apple on average.

Step 3.

Next you may want to add other flavours to your drink. For the summer berries water, I poured a bit of purple grape juice over the fruit - about the same amount of milk you would pour into a cup of tea for instance. For the sour water, I used golden grapefruit juice but you might want to try lemon juice, orange juice for a sweeter taste or even apple juice to intensify the sour apple flavours. At this point you may also wish to add spices if you want to experiment with flavours too, such as cinnamon sticks, mint or basil.

Step 4. 

Fill the rest of the bottle up with water for both drinks. You can either place them in the freezer for two hours (two hours is a good time as it allows the water to freeze over but not completely so it is still drinkable but ice cold) for a refreshing chilled beverage or if you have more time, place them in the fridge overnight so the water really absorbs the flavours of the fruit for longer. 

Step 5. 

Take them out of the fridge/freezer and you are ready to drink up! With the frozen water, I found that adding the straw helps as it allows you to stir the ice around and it saves you from getting an ice cold mouth from drinking straight from the bottle. 

Sex and the City

As we are all quite aware, Sex and the City is one of those good old 90s TV shows that makes us all warm inside and the thing about it is that this show tends to make us feel more confident about our sexuality and just being ourselves... well it does for me anyway!

Being more open about our sexualities was definitely one of the top criteria in the 90s, especially in the US which is shown in shows like this one and Friends. And of course, the focus on women's open sexuality is displayed in how the characters are dressed and their experiences. So why am I talking about this? I think it needs a renaissance, a rebirth, if you will. There are many morals of Sex and the City which I have recently rediscovered after watching reruns of the show endlessly on my laptop. These morals definitely were the New Year's resolutions of many New York women come the new millenium and personally they need to be reinvented and reestablished to younger women and girls. 

This is a perfect example of what should be a message to young women. In a relationship, your feelings should go both ways - both of you should want to be with each other just as much as the next person. I'm not saying that thirteen year old girls should start watching this show, (we don't want them to get any ideas) but as far as the fashion, friends and fun in the six season show goes, it's definitely one for the books when you enter the 'real-world' of relationships. 

But it doesn't just cut it there, the show provides certain proof that being single isn't the end of the world. The first video still occurs when Carrie admits to Aidan (season four, I believe) at best friend, Charlotte's first wedding that she cheated on him with the infamous Mr Big and he leaves her. At this exact point, Carrie narrates how that despite the dreaded that she had done, her friends are still there and still love her no matter what, something we all need to remember. 

Sex and the City is also the master of two successful blockbusters, where the quote above is shown, which I find quite empowering. Being a New York woman, Carrie Bradshaw would immediately fit in as the type of girl who devours diets, design and desire. But none of the four main characters immediately define themselves as the 'keep skinny' type, the type of woman who might desire to be thin by excessively dieting and restricting what they eat. And I love it. Just as much as I love food myself. 

I find Sex and the City such an empowering show that makes me feel comfortable in my own clothes. The empowerment I feel stems from the ability to be liberate with what I wear, as in to say that fashion isn't about sticking with trends but the capacity to wear what you want to, and to wear it with confidence, and I 100% agree that this show does that for me. 

Thanks for reading, (I know this is a little different but I really felt like writing this okay, don't hate me). Hope you enjoyed and tell me what you think please! 

Melissa, xoxo

How To... Heart Shaped Chocolate-Chip Pancakes!

I have to admit these were seemingly hard to make and I probably made it a lot more difficult for myself than I needed to but this is the step by step guide to exactly how I got the pancakes shown in the picture.

Firstly I used a basic pancake recipe from our very old and very well-used Delia Smith recipe book which requires;
*2 eggs
*A milk-water solution of 350ml of water and 250ml of semi-skimmed milk (I actually used fat free/skimmed)
*4oz of plain flour
*2 tablespoons of butter (again I used margarine - Flora light to be exact) + an extra bit for cooking the mixture
*A pinch of salt (if ya feel like it)

( I apologise for the mix of metric and imperial units there)
Basically I sieved the flour, making sure the sieve was held high so that the flour could get air easily. Then once sifted, I made a small well in the centre of the flour to crack the eggs into. Once the eggs were in, I stirred the mixture in the bowl, gradually, pouring in the milk-water solution as I was mixing. This then becomes really running once all the milk-water solution is in and looks more recognisable as pancake batter. Next, I melted the 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan and added to the mixture so it was ready to be cooked and stirred in half a bag of cooking chocolate chips (about 50g give or take). Then I got out my heart shaped metal cookie cutter and placed it in the pan and poured the batter in to it so there was a thin layer of batter covering the base of the heart shape, about 2mm thick - this is important because if it s too thin, the pancake will produce air bubbles and if it's too thin, it will burn on one side and be difficult to lip over if the batter on top is still runny. But once you feel that one side is cooked (it normally just hardens up around the edges) then flip if over, still inside the cutter and normally the pancake will just fall through the heart shape, however I had some trouble with this as the batter got stuck to the underside of the cutter but it's easy enough to just poke the pancake through so it can cook on the other side. Once done, dress with your favourite sweet things, maybe some squirty cream and chocolate sauce? But the fact that these have chocolate chips in them means you don't have to excess on those sweet accessories for your pancake!

I know I could of done some of these things a whole lot easier, for example, instead of pouring the batter into the heart, I could have literally just used the cutter to cut out heart shapes from a regular pancake. And when mixing the chocolate chips into the batter because I found that the chocolate melts and leaves on side of the pancake covered in burned chocolate and the other all neatly finished. So instead it maybe suggested that you might want to add a teaspoon of chips to the pancake once it is in the pan but it actually hasn't started cooking yet, when it's still runny.

Hope you enjoy this quick little recipe! If you like these kinds of lifestyle and cooking posts, just let me know by leaving a comment below and what kind of foods/recipes you have in mind or you would like me to show you. If you have made these sweet treats yourself and have used the alternative methods please let me know by hashtagging your photos with #cookingwithmel* on twitter and instagram!

*I use this hashtag when I show the internet what wonderful things I am cooking and it can get a bit chaotic/weird at times I apologise greatly

Thanks for reading!
Melissa xoxo

Where I've Been/My Week (and a bit) In A Nutshell

Hello everyone! This week has been a crazy 7 days so I haven't been totally up to date with posting on here so I thought I'd brief you, especially if you follow me on twitter (@melissanye) as you may be completely out of the blue about what I've been up to.

On Thursday I ventured to the Old Bailey, or the Central Criminal Court in London which sits some of the most famous cases in Britain from around London and Greater London. It is such an historical building, with glass still embedded in the walls from when an two car bombs were planted outside the grand entrance by the IRA (Irish Republican Army) back in 1973. Plus it used to be a prison, which was new information to me, which was fascinating and we had a private tour before sitting in on a trial too which was cool.

Last Friday (21st March), I went to see Kodaline at O2 Academy Brixton, which is a lovely venue and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing, honestly one of the best bands in terms of crowd atmosphere at gigs, everyone was singing along, knew the words and was waving their arms. So if you like Kodaline's stuff, you'll love it even more if you buy tickets for one of their gigs - tickets are cheap too! If you haven't heard of Kodaline then checkout their debut album, "In A Perfect World".

Saturday after was were it went slowly downhill as during the day it was fine but if you follow me on twitter, you may know that I had an eventful night...! On Saturday, I met work friends at the pub to pre-drink (prink loool) for someone's birthday at work before a couple of us headed out to a nightclub and well, I got up to somethings I may not necessarily be proud of. Anyway, long story short, I got a lot of crap for it and grief the next day at work and I felt like I needed to set the records straight but it all turned out to be an overly exaggerated emotional experience for me as proven on Sunday evening when I bailed on quiz night at work. The next day was spent at school before heading straight to work, such fun.

On Tuesday I went to a conference on sociology exam practice - very VERY insightful. It was hosted by Keith Trobe, chief examiner for AQA Sociology and who also wrote the commonly used textbook for our course with other associates. Afterwards, I enjoyed my first Nando's (can you believe) when our small group got back into town (the conference was in Horsham, about 45 minute train journey) and I fell in love, which I find quite funny because I don't even eat chicken, I am vegetarian... Then me and my sister went to see Nina Nesbitt (who I am listening to now as I write this) - we bought tickets on the train home from Kodaline on the Friday prior, when we found out that James Bay, who supported Kodaline with Amber Run was also supporting Nina. The night was fab besides the girl in front of me who thought she was at an effing club and wouldn't stop bloody booty popping into me like no you're probably 16. But on the plus side, me and my sister met James Bay!! Listen to Nina's debut album too, called "Peroxide" :)

Wednesday I literally did nothing besides afternoon classes. Thursday I had morning classes and afterwards, to of my friends who had come home for Easter break from uni met me and we went for lunch down probably my favourite little cafe in my village, called Milano's. We stayed there for at least two hours before I headed home, showered and got ready to go out clubbing AGAIN. I have never been out twice in the space of a week but the club was soooooo dead, they had one room open and there was hardly anyone out that night and I hated it, I hate that club it just gets worse every time I go. I stayed at my friend's house when we got back and I left hers around 2pm on Friday, stopped off at Sainsbury's on the way back before going home and watching Sex and the City for the rest of the night while eating brie and grape sandwiches. Then I get a text reminding me that I was going to a friend's as she arrived from uni that day too - so I went to hers and saw her which was nice as her family is so huge but lovely and they are all caring and funny, like those big families that you see in those feel good films.

And now today is Saturday, and I have been asked if I want to go out AGAIN and I feel like I might because I want to cry at how bad each time I've been to that club has been and I want to go to improve the reputation that club has on me now, and to improve my reputation as I am not a desperate hoe. Anyway, if I do end up out tonight you will probably hear about it on twitter and I apologise in advance if more photos of me end up on the internet.

Thanks GUYS XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

(P.S. What I have learnt this week is that romance isn't dead, ain't that right Carrie? - I literally watched this episode below and realised that, especially with the week I had)

NOT BEAUTY RELATED - I GOT MY FIRST UNIVERSITY OFFER!

If my emails were coming through on my phone like they normally do then I would have realised at yesterday at quarter to five in the afternoon that I had received my first university offer!

I checked my emails about 20 minutes ago when I realised that I strangely hadn't received any emails today so I logged on to find a good 95 emails stacked into my Yahoo! account when I scrolled to see the email from UCAS to say that their had been a status update in my application (which means anything from "you have a reply [offer/no offer]", "you have an interview" or "your application has been withdrawn").

When you log into Track, the first thing you see is a list of your university choices and their status. All the choices are in a random order but stay in the same order so usually for me, Manchester Metropolitan is at the top but since there is now a little purple status bar that says "You have received decisions from 1 out of 5 choices" to at which point I almost died. But thank God, I scrolled a bit further and saw that the University of Derby has given me a conditional offer!

I am so excited to get my first offer seeing as everyone else has already heard something from their choices but I haven't despite sending my application off over 3 weeks ago! But yes I am so excited for this course and although Derby isn't my first choice I am so happy (and about time something came through too!).

Orange Sherbet Shake!

I kinda made this cool shake/cream based frappe that I thought I would share with you as it's kind of a bit different!

Some inspiration came from the Mandarin Sherbet Shake (I think that's what its called!) available on the TGi's menu - but funnily enough I didn't use oranges or sherbet (or cointreau either haha!)

Firstly I used about 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream which I put in the blender along with a (peeled) easy peeler (basically mini satsumas or clementines). Don't worry you only need one easy peeler for a venti mug!

Secondly I used a handful of walnut pieces and broke them up a bit more before placing in the blender with the ice cream and satsuma.

Then I turned the bad boy on and let it work its magic for about half a minute. At this point it was a bit too runny and not thick like a shake should be so I found some natural fat free fromage frais and put one heaped dollop in before blending again and voilà! There you have an orange and tangy shake!

I was quite happy with the flavour of mine but you may find it not sweet enough for you - try adding a spoonful of honey or even sherbet if you have any! Or for a healthier option, replace the ice cream with frozen yoghurt.

Let me know how yours turned out or if you liked it by leaving me a comment below or mention me in your tweets or instagram pictures of your shake!

Thank you so much for reading and take care! XOXO