5 Incredibly Last Minute and Totally Simple Halloween Costume Ideas


Well, shit. Halloween's here and you've totally forgotten about it/have no idea what the heck you're going to be. Here are 5 incredibly simple last minute ideas for you:

1. Tom Cruise in Risky Business



Even if you haven't exactly seen the film, you've totally seen this scene:


A button down shirt, a pair of tube socks, shorts for an inch of modesty and you're done.

2. Error 404 Page

Despite looking, cannot find source. If anyone knows, please let me know!

Oh crap, that party was today? Get a plain white T and write, "ERROR 404: Costume Not Found." Done.

3. Senior Citizen

Strap on your best sweater and long skirt combo, or your slippers and robe with curlers in your hair. Don't forget the copious pearls and smeared lipstick. Points if you add some temporary silver dye to your hair.

4. Grapes

Photo credit: here

Go to the Dollar Store or Poundland and get some purple or green balloons. Blow them up and stick them to your shirt. Just don't go near anyone else all night or you might scare the living crap out of them when one of them pops.

5. 50 Shades of Grey 

Photo credit: PopSugar


No, you don't have to go around doing bondage all night. Instead, pick up some shades of grey samples from your local hardware store and glue or pin them on a grey shirt. Bonus if you also paint your face various shades of grey.

What are you going to be this year?




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Win £75 to a London Bar of Your Choice and Celebrate the New Jelly Belly Candy Corn Cocktail


Halloween is just around the corner, and whether you're partying or running around with the kids, you deserve to unwind. To celebrate the UK's first candy corn cocktail in association with Jelly Belly, Late Night London is giving away a £75 bar tab to one lucky winner at the venue of your choice (from this list). Being a California girl, I couldn't pass up the chance to collaborate with one of my favorite home-state candies!

This is a pretty quick giveaway as here on the blog I have something extra special coming up on Monday and Tuesday (for everyone, not just those near London *hint hint*). But if you are planning to be in London or are local, this is an amazing prize.

Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway



-Winner will have one week to claim prize and 2 weeks in which to use at a venue of your choice before it becomes null and void.
-Must be 18 to enter (sorry! you gotta be legal!)
-Winner's entry will be cross-checked for validity
-Good luck!




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Unboxing the Pawsome Box PLUS Exclusive Discount


This is my dog, Eugene, just after his bath and getting pretty bloody excited for his favorite time of the month.

What time of the month is it, you ask? When one of his subscription boxes arrives!

This month, Euge was treated to the Pawsome Box, which contained the following goodies:



Can't have enough of these!




Giving his new shampoo a little sniffy sniff.


Eugene was interested in this little guy right away.



I believe this was his favorite...


"Oh my god, MOM. Stop taking pictures and let me have it." (Yes, he does have issues with his eyes that I am aware of and am taking care of.)


"Sweet victory."

Exclusive Discount

Interested in ordering a Pawsome Box to treat your little dude (or dudette)? Enter the code blg9b4vr at check out to get 25% off your first box.





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What It Takes to Be a Blogger or How Is Blogging a Full-Time Job?


At the moment, I am not a full-time blogger by any means. I am not sure it will ever be my full-time job without any other source of income, but as my followers grow, I can see why and how this becomes a full-time role the more time I put into it. This post is by no means complaining about the time it takes to blog--I absolutely love it.

 However, I keep hearing people question how blogging can actually be a full-time job and talking about how bloggers typically do nothing all day, so why can't they always be posting content.

I think it greatly depends on the blogger when it comes to the amount of commitments during the day (I feel like if you live near London, you're going to have a lot more stuff to do). But as blogging grows as an industry, so do the opportunities, meetings and people ready to work with bloggers.

Here are some of the realities of life as a blogger day-to-day:

Blogging is incredibly flexible, meaning you have to be self-motivated

I'm used to working in a self-motivated manner, which doesn't mean I don't sometimes struggle with it. However, working for yourself means that there is no one there micro-managing you or making sure you meet your deadlines. You're not going to get fired if you stop, but you may lose partnerships with brands or some of your readership. Unless you're a superstar, people will get frustrated if you stop updating for a long time or veer off your schedule without explanation. If you're really serious about blogging, it means you're going to have to create a schedule and keep to it.

You attend a lot of events as a blogger

Events are sometimes the most fun part of being a blogger as you get to meet other people and try new experiences you might not otherwise have done. However, this does eat up a significant portion of your week, especially if you live in London. Living outside of London means I have to turn down a lot of these events (though I do try to make it to as many as I can). But if you live in London, it's pretty much a constant thing, making that almost a full-time job in itself.

You're always in talks with brands

As brands develop awareness of the influence of bloggers and the benefits they receive from working with us, you'll find yourself answering phone calls and emails for 1-2 hours per day, vetting opportunities and deciding who to work with and what's involved. Sometimes this also involves negotiations, which can be a bit difficult if you're a newer blogger without an agent (yes, blogger agents are now a thing!). 

You're constantly creating content

Whether this is via Instagram, Snapchat (which I haven't been so great at...sorry guys), Twitter or your blog, there's always a social media channel to update. When you blog, you are kind of selling your own life as the product or the attraction to people, which can be kind of weird. This is especially weird for me when I'm feeling like crap from my lupus and in the past month or so, I haven't done too much that is terribly exciting. Since I spend most days working on something or other from home, I definitely feel the pressure to curate a more glamorous life than the one I'm living at the minute!

Sometimes you're doing secret projects

I've heard bloggers and YouTubers slammed in the past for not being on top of their daily content creation, however this can be due to the fact that a lot of times, we're working on secret projects that we're not allowed to divulge yet. These projects can be as minimal as a blog post to extremely time consuming. And since you're not allowed to tell anyone what it is, you can be stressed as hell and not be allowed to tell any of your followers why.

Balancing with Other Commitments 

Many bloggers are not blogging full-time, and instead are also working full-time with another job or students. This means some serious time management skills. I work 15 hours a week, am writing my PhD dissertation as well as blog, which altogether works out to likely more than 40 hours a week of work, even if it is all very flexible and mostly from home.

You have to love it

In order to do this job, you seriously have to love it. No bones about it. With other work from home jobs, there is often a reward such as payday or perhaps even a degree at the end of the tunnel. Not necessarily so with your blog. Most bloggers I have met seem to work for two years before they earn close to a full-time income, so if you go into blogging just to get the PR samples and earn money, you'll be sorely disappointed.

As you can see, although blogging as amazing, it can also suck up a lot of your time. It doesn't mean it isn't flexible or that you can't spend much of your day lazing around (I'm not going to lie, I do do that occasionally, but then work up a storm in the evening and at night), but you do have to account for the fact that it is actually a job. And increasingly, one people are taking more seriously!




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Motel One Manchester Review


Last week, I went up to Manchester for work and was booked into this unique hotel, Motel One, right by Manchester Piccadilly. Although I didn't get to see much of the sites of Manchester (ahem, they have a TACO BELL and I didn't even get to go, which was my main tourist goal, really), I did want to write up a review of Motel One--mainly because the lobby was so adorable.

The lobby itself was really the standout point. The room itself was clean, but there was nothing super special about it.




 (My stuff all in the way) 


The restaurant itself was really adorably decorated, although they don't seem to serve much food apart from breakfast. They definitely don't do room service, as there was no phone in the room! But it is still a really cute place to come down and get some work done, if necessary.

And then there was the room. It definitely wasn't luxury, but it was clean and comfortable, which is all you can really ask for on a night away from home. The television automatically played a video of a fire with the crackle sounds, that was actually pretty comforting and I didn't hate it. In fact, I kept it on while I slept at one point.






The location is pretty good as well as you're close to the train and not too far away from the city centre. Definitely a great stay on a budget.

Motel One- Manchester Piccadilly 
34 London Rd
Manchester
M1 2PF






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It's the Day of My Surgery (HOPEFULLY!)


EDITED on October 22 in the evening: The surgery did NOT go ahead today. So I will be waiting another couple of weeks in pain. 

You may (or may not) have known that I've been in pretty bad pain for almost a year and the quality of my life has severely decreased due to the constant pain. After two surgeries last year, and a fiasco in the hospital, I am going in for a third which will hopefully fix the problem--or at least temporarily abate it. They will also hopefully be able to survey and diagnose the problem.

This is happening today, so I may be a bit quiet on social media (but knowing me, not for long!), but I will likely be vlogging for those of you who read my blog because you also have lupus.

However, I may not be having surgery today because of insurance issues with the private hospital, so I am going in, sitting around and hoping for the best as I was advised. That's what happened with my appendectomy and I had my appendix out as the last patient of the day, so likely this will be the case!



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Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes (Pinterst Imperfect)


Today, I've got a great little cooking project for you, a micro twist on the pumpkin cupcakes from Brown Eyed Baker . I do suggest you skedaddle over there if you want to learn how to make the frosting, as I always just buy the vanilla Betty Crocker brand because 1) I'm lazy and 2) I think it tastes fantastic.

When I cook on the blog, I call it "Pinterest Imperfect" cooking because I am freaking good at baking, but presentation of anything I have to make with mine own hands has never really been my strong suit. As such, this is baking for those of you who want to make something delicious, but don't want your self-esteem crushed by the gorgeous and perfect photos of master bakers. My recipes will never turn out to be a visually stunning masterpiece, so take the pressure off yourself and bake some basic bitch fall treats.

While this recipe comes mostly from Brown Eyed Baker, I've added some of my own twists on it to adapt it both to cooking in the UK and, um, because I didn't actually have all of her ingredients. However, these bad boys still turned out fantastic, delectable and taste a lot like pumpkin pie. If you're an American, you might want to ditch the frosting all together and find some Cool Whip for these puppies.

All right, let's get our ingredients together for 12 of these bad boys. You'll need:


1 1/3 cups (or 200 grams) of all purpose flour
1 sachet bicarbonate of soda
A pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of mixed spices
3/4 of the can of canned pumpkin (in the UK, you can get Libby's at most stores now, often in the foreign foods section)
1/2 cup (or 110 grams) of granulated (caster) sugar
1/2 cup (or 88 grams) of dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (or 120ml) of vegetable oil
2 eggs

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees or 180 degrees Celsius (gas mark 4).  Line your cupcake tin with your cupcake liners

2) Mix together your flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and mixed spices.

3) In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin, brown sugar, caster/granulated sugar and vegetable oil. Crack in eggs on at a time, mixing well after each egg.

4) Pour the flour mixture into the pumpkin and sugar mixture in two batches, stirring well each time. Continue to stir the mixture until it is smooth.

5) Spoon the batter into each cupcake liner.

6) Bake for 16-24 minutes. Check on them after 16 minutes by putting a toothpick inside to see if it comes out clean. If it does, the cupcakes are reading.

7) Let cool completely before frosting.

Here are some pictures of my process just to make sure you're doing it right:


Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes






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Clothes Show Blogger Breakfast and Giveaway


The Clothes Show invited me to a blogger breakfast at the Sanderson Hotel in the heart of London, where they spoiled me (and other bloggers) with gifts from their sponsors including: NYX, Beau Belle, Alcatel One Touch, Maniere de Voir, Dressed by Lauren, Total Hair Experts and many more. Expect to see Instagram photos and blog posts about some of these amazing products in the next few weeks!

In addition to being showered with gifts and stuffed with an uh-may-zing breakfast, we were treated to a panel discussion about the upcoming Clothes Show with none other than Made in Chelsea's own Jamie Laing. Each person talked about his or her own expertise, as well as pumping us up for the clothes show in general.

If you're not sure what the Clothes Show is, it is a 5-day extravaganza where you can see emerging and established designers strut their stuff, purchase clothing and beauty items at a discount rate, see musical acts and even rub shoulders with a celebrity or two. Last year, Alfie Deyes, Fleur de Force and Jim Chapman all made appearances and it has been confirmed that YouTubers will be in attendance this year as well (though I am not sure whom).

Since I was so far back at the event and I wasn't able to see much, I didn't take any amazing photos, except for these little gems:




You can visit the Clothes Show's Facebook page for more pictures of the event. (Can you spot me?)

If you want to attend the Clothes Show, the bad news is that tickets are almost all gone. But you can go here to secure your spot. 

But, if you're keen on freebies, I'm giving away tickets for all day on Friday December 4 which includes seeing Jamie Laing, Joey Essex, Rae Morris, The Brit Pack and the Urban Voice Collective (and others yet to be confirmed).

Want a spot? Just enter below! I'll see you there!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

RULES:

Must be 18 to enter, 13 with parent's permission
Tickets do not include transport to and from event
Winner has 2 weeks to claim tickets before another winner is chosen
Ticket is valid on Friday December 4
Winner's entry will be verified
Winner is picked at random





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Taking on the Tiger at Tiger Tiger's Haymarket Kitchen


Tiger Tiger near Leicester Square, has completely revamped their menu and in celebration invited myself and several bloggers along to give it a whirl. The evening started off with this gorgeous Passion Fruit cocktail, which went down a little too smooth--but that's partly because I'm a bit of lightweight. (I'm so much of a lightweight that I was a little tipsy just after this one).

We were then given the signature Ultimate Tiger Meal with their Tiger Tower Burger, served with Jack Daniels, chips (or fries for my American readers) and coleslaw. This burger isn't just an ordinary burger though...its stacked. Like...stacked.



This gives a better view of it. Three battered onion rings, chicken breast, bacon, cheese, a beef patty and chilli sauce. I'm admittedly more of a picker, so this was difficult for me to finish, although it was delicious. It was one of those things where it feels like you're eating for days and you've barely scratched the surface.


For dessert, we were given these American pancakes with ice cream (sorry for the blurry photo, I was too wrapped up in my conversation with Sophie from Story of a Girl Who Lives Above Her Means). Although I had never had American pancakes with ice cream (for you non-Americans, that's not actually a thing--French or Dutch pancakes, totally. American, no), but it was pretty good, though I was absolutely stuffed full from my attempt at the burger.

If you book a table soon, you can get a complimentary cocktail or beer, so scurry on over!

Tiger Tiger's The Haymarket Kitchen
29 Haymarket
London
SW1Y 4SP



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