Film Review: If I Stay

Wow! Where do I begin? When this film was released in the cinema I'd heard a lot of good reviews, but hadn't really spent the time to research into what it was. I got The Fault in Our Stars DVD for Christmas and as I was skipping through the trailers before it started one came up that caught my eye, and I stood in the middle of my living room fixed to the TV until it ended. I instantly went and ordered the DVD so I could watch it. I'm so pleased I did.

The film follows Mia, a high school girl with an amazing musical talent. She meets Adam, a high school senior with a promising music career ahead of him, and they fall into an amazing relationship. Before you get the chance to learn much about Mia's life, family, and relationship, there's a serious car crash which Mia and her family are involved in.

The story follows Mia in the aftermath of the crash. She's stuck in limbo as she watches her family being taken to the hospital, fighting for their lives, debating whether she should stay on Earth or move into the light. As it progresses you get to learn a lot more about Mia, her life, her relationships, and how everyone around her feels at the thought of loosing her.

The cast is perfect for this film. Mia and Adam have amazing chemistry, and their lives come across as so ordinary and normal. Their lives and relationship could be happening to any normal teenager.

I'm struggling to find the words to express how amazing this film is. It is so emotional, I cried throughout, I'm left feeling a bit empty in side, but I would quite happily press play on the DVD remote and watch it all over again.

It is, without a doubt, one of the best films I ever seen.

Sarah x

Post Exam Shopping Haul

To celebrate passing my latest CIMA exam I took myself on a little trip around town and decided to treat myself to a few new purchases.

Shoes - Debenhams £20

These shoes caught my eye with their lovely pattern. My mum described it as animal print, I thought of it more as an aztec pattern. Either way, they look lovely. I'm hoping they'll be comfortable too.

Bare Foot Lotion and Cream - £3 each

I love love love love these products. They smell gorgeous! After only a few uses I can definitely see the benefit of these. Hoping to post a review very soon.

Smashbox Makeup - £17 to £28

After it was pointed out to me that my face was becoming very shiny from my makeup, I've been on the hunt for new makeup, particularly a new foundation, that would stop the shininess. Since reading Dominique's Smashbox Liquid Halo Foundation Review at the weekend, I decided to pay a visit to the Smashbox counter in Boots and see what they had to offer.

From chatting to the helpful assistant and testing out a few different products, I came away with the Liquid Halo Foundation, BB Cream Concealer and Finishing Powder. Lets see how well I get on with these!

MUA Eyeshadow Palette and Bronzer - £1 to £4

I've heard a lot of good things about MUA, and not wanting to spend a lot of money on eyeshadow, I decided it was time to give this brand a go. The palette has a perfect range of light shades that are going to be perfect for every day, or for nights out. The bronzer, was a complete spur of the moment purchase, but for a £1 I can't really go wrong.

I may have gone a little overboard celebrating passing just this one exam....when I'm finally qualified I dread to think how much I'll spend as a celebration.

Sarah x

Happy 1st Birthday!

I can't believe my blog is 1 year old today! What a year it's been. A lot has happened, and a lot has changed in the past 12 months, but I'm proud to say that me and my blog are still together.

When I started my blog, I had no idea of what I wanted my blog to be like when it turned one year old...being honest I didn't think I'd still be here one year on. I've tried blogging in the past and never stuck it out for more than a month or two, so being a year old is a big achievement.

I wanted somewhere to just write down my thoughts and experiences so that someone out there in the world might stumble across them and learn from them. Whether that has happened or not, I don't know, but it has given me a different way to express myself and helped a few people keep up to date on what's happening in my life.

Blogging has helped me learn a lot about myself, but one thing in particularly. I've always known that I'm very self-conscious, and try my hardest not to upset people with the things I do, but I didn't how much I thought about this until I tried to write something I knew the whole world could see. I spent way too much time thinking about what the person reading it might think...I'm even doing it now...this is the third draft of this post you're now reading. This time next year, I don't want to be thinking the same.

For 2015, my blog development plan is to:

• Move to my own blog domain
• Keep up with regular posts - 1 a week ideally
• Remember to take more pictures when I'm out and about
• Stop overthinking what I'm writing

Here's to still being here this time next year!

Sarah x