Travel Photo Diary: BORACAY, PHILIPPINES - what to do, what to eat and what to wear.

Boracay is a beautiful island in the Philippines in the province Aklan. It has powdery white beaches, clear blue waters and picture-perfect views. This tropical island is brimming with beauty everywhere and it is packed with tons of amazing activities. When I stepped onto the shore on the first day that I arrived on the beach I couldn't believe my eyes. I wanted to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming and alas I was not. It was a reality and I was in awe of the fact that God Himself knitted all that I saw before me with His marvellous creativity and in that moment I was so grateful to have the opportunity to witness my Master's glorious and creative mastery.

Getting There

The journey to Boracay started in Manila at Ninoy Aquino airport from there we took a plane with Cebu Pacific to Kalibo Airport. From Kalibo Airport we rode with Island Star Expree in a mini-van to catch a boat to Boracay. Although the journey seems like it is a lot of hassle to get to one place, the sites that you set your eyes on are worth it. 

Hotel

We booked our hotel on Booking.com and we booked Eurotel which was a minutes walkaway from the White Beach. It was very close to everywhere that we went and wanted to go however visually dim and not at all appealing was the colour scheme of the outside of the hotel the room was marvellous. The hotel was cheap to stay in and because we booked on Booking.com we were entitled to a free breakfast every morning however they only told us this on the fifth day we were there. 

Things To Do
On Boracay and other islands adjoining Boracay there are loads of activities to get stuck in on. The activities that I got involved with were parasailing, helmet diving, island hopping, buggy-driving, going on a cable car, snorkelling, flyfishing (not actual fishing) and simply swimming in the sea. I would definitely recommend asking your hotel to organise trips for you that way you avoid being ripped off by people in the street pretending that they are doing activities when in fact they are not. If you organise it with your hotel then you know whose responsible if something goes wrong. The tour guides are wonderful, hospitable and kind people that you should ultimately become friends with, they know what they are doing and will know all about the other activities that you can get involved in. 

For more activities click here.

Places to Eat

There are numerous places in Boracay to eat, you simply need to walk across the beachwalk and you'll find someone somewhere cooking. My family and I only ate out a few times in the week that we were there and I honestly can say no bad things about them. A particular restaurant that we went to was called Dos Mestizos selling wonderful Spanish food. Another restaurant that was quite possibly my favourite in terms of price and deliciousness was Mesa Filipino Moderne. Their portions are quite big and I would definitely recommend their paella. Other places we ate at were fast food restaurants particularly Andok's and Mang Inasal. Andok's has a fabulous Adobo and Mang Inasal has a exquisite barbecued chicken and rice.
All I would say concerning eating food on Boracay is to just try everything. Embrace their culture and cuisine!

What to Wear

My family and I went to Boracay in rainy season, clever, I know but surprisingly enough there were only about 3 or 4 days out of the seven when it rained. Upon arrival it was completely dark and warm and I was wearing a dress and light shirt and felt comfortable. Throughout the week I wore absolutely  no leggings or jeans what occupied my body was only shorts and tops with the occasional dress and skirt. I brought many a white top because they simply go with anything. 

If you were planning to go in rainy season I would bring a couple of cardigans or hoodies. If you don't I would invest in a mac or an umbrella. In the day time if I was doing water activities I would just wear my bikini and bring an extra top with me. In the day it can get really hot so a hat is essential and so is your suncream.

On my feet I wore flip flops, in particular a pair of flip flops that I bought from FitFlop. They do the comfiest slippers that gave me extra height and comfort when walking about everywhere. Aside from this I brought one pair of going out sandals to wear in the evenings. Another essential would also be bug spray.

For any more questions about my trip to Boracay comment below and maybe tell me about a wonderful holiday you went on :)

FASHION at The Oscars 2014!

Hey guys, 

I actually haven't yet had the chance to watch the full version of the Oscars however I have seen snippets such as Ellen's opening monologue, Pharrell's performance of "Happy" and although she was introduced by John Travolta as "Adele Dazeem" I have watched Idina Menzel's beautiful performance of "Let It Go", who cares if she choked at the end I think she did a beautiful job and I have appreciated her version more than I have Demi Lovato's  version over time which is saying something because your girl here has been a huge Demi Lovato fan since '08. 

So without furtherado let's take a moment to admire the beautiful beautiful fashion that these gorgeous starlets adorned our eyes with:

Amy Adams, Lupita Nyong'o and Sandra Bullock were all absolutely stunning in shades of blue on the night. Let's start with Lupita because she has been making some serious waves in the fashion world and with this beautiful dress she doesn't dissappoint in Prada, I think the plunging neckline looks gorgeous also the subtle chiffon pleats that flow out into a beautiful train looks incredible. This dress reminds me of Elsa's dress in Frozen and being in love with everything to do with Frozen, I am forever in love with this dress.

Amy Adams in Gucci had mixed reviews concerning the dress, I will agree to say that it wasn't my favourite and if anything a bit too plain however she still looks beautiful!

Sandra Bullock in a navy Alexander Mcqueen gown looked ravishing, I'm a huge fan of the sweet-heart neckline and the draping of the satin material simply complimented her elegance and grace.

Angelina Jolie dressed in an Ellie Saab gown looked beautiful in the sheer and nude-coloured gown. The golden shimmers look marvellous and she proves that you can rock long sleeved dresses to the Oscars! Topped with her smile she also carried herself with grace.

Anne Hathaway looks very rock-chic, if that's a thing, I'm not too sure whether it is but if it was - she would be its definition. With a halter neck and gem covered bust it was a combination that was very punk-rock, hats off to Anne Hathaway for bring rockstar glam to the red carpet this year!

Cate Blanchett in one of several nude gowns that hit this years red carpet but she is one the I believe stood out the most although others such as the Huffpost style would say this washes her out but I believe it makes her shine even more. In an Armani Prive gown. I think the gold detailing on her dress is gorgeous and the mesh detail underneath creates a beautiful look. Also impressive accessorising on her part especially those gorgeous drop earrings, this outfit is a wonderful well put-together outfit.

Don't you think it's genius that Kristin Chenoweth went to the Oscars, dressed as an Oscar? No doubt she rocked it with the beautiful three-dimensional geometric print on this golden beauty of a dress. Dressed in Cavalli armed with a beautiful golden clutch and winning smile, Chenoweth really pulled it out the bag with this gorgeous number! 

I love these two girls, not just because they were leading actresses in Frozen but because they are beautiful and extremely talented and blessed with gorgeous voices and impeccable style. First off, Idina Menzel on the left in Jade Green Vera Wang rocked it with the gorgeous layering of material, sweatheart neckline and gorgeous silver statement necklace.

Next, Kristin Bell in a corset mermaid style Cavalli gown really was the definition of stunning the layered bottom half of the dress, the train elongates the dress further and the perfect pairing of accessorys created a beautiful mermaid silhouette.

Those were a few of my favourites from the Oscars, additionally there's a lot more stars I could have involved her but these were the dresses I really wanted to write about, 

I hope you enjoyed this post guys,

God bless,

All my love,

Current Reads: Magazines (Company, Seventeen, Teen Vogue)

Hey guys, 

Today is a post about magazines, I don't know about you guys but I buy at least one magazine a month, I started reading tween magazines years ago like Mizz and Shout and then moving onto Sugar which hasn't hit shelves for at least a year, Sugar really was the only magazine that I bought every single month for at least 2 years. It was the perfect combination of humour and fashion as well as interviews with my favourite celebrities. Now, growing up I have moved on to magazines like Company and Glamour but it's still lovely to hang onto my inner tween self and buy Seventeen magazine and Teen Vogue every once in a while! Below I will have a short review of the magazines I have found myself reading so I hope you enjoy, I haven't really seen anyone do a post like this before but in saying that some bloggers may have already done this already if so I'm jumping on the band wagon and if not, I'm the driver.

MAGAZINES

SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE

This magazine started out in the USA and apparently it was the first teen magazine published in the US - I was surprised to find this out myself but apparently it has been running since September 1944, which is a heck of a long time and they have obviously done so well for themselves growing even better through the years.  It began as a publication geared towards inspiring teen girls to become role models in work and citizenship. Soon after its debut, Seventeen took a more fashion and romance-oriented approach in presenting their material, while still maintaining their model of promoting self-confidence in young women. It's one of my favourite magazines in terms of layout and fashion content and most importantly has articles that touch on pressing issues affecting our generation. Seventeen's total circulation in the year 2013 is 2,010,619 and is a monthly magazine. Here a few notable events that occurred in the magazine:

 1) Sylvia Plath submitted forty-five pieces to Seventeen before her first short story, "And Summer Will Not Come Again", was published in the August 1950 issue.

2) In 2010, writer Jamie Keiles conducted The Seventeen Magazine Project, a social experiment in which she followed the advice of Seventeen magazine for 30 days.

3) In the early 1980s, Whitney Houston appeared in Seventeen and became one of the first black women to grace the cover of the magazine.

4) In 2012, in response to reader protests against the magazine's altering of model photos, Seventeen pledged not to Photoshop model photos.

Here is one of my favourite pages in the magazine:

GLAMOUR

Another favourite of mine is Glamour although it is aimed for ladies older than me, I don't buy it as regularly as Seventeen or Teenvogue and Company it's more of a magazine that I buy when it's on offer for £2. Which isn't really a good enough reason to put it on my favourites list, I love reading all the way through it though when I get it, the articles are fun to read and they always have really long fashion and beauty related spreads.

Glamour magazine was also founded in the United States found by Conde Nast publications it was founded in 1939 and originally called Glamour of Hollywood. It targets women 18-49 with a median age of 33 years old and Glamour's total circulation as of June 2013 is 2,300,854 it's also a monthly magazine. Since 1980 the magazine has held an awards event called "Women of the Year" awards ceremony which recognises women in the public eye.

Here is one of my favourite fashion spreads in the most recent issue out on the shelves, gorgeously presented right?

COMPANY MAGAZINE

This is probably the magazine that I buy every month without fail, I love everything about it the content is great and it's filled with visual-exciting layouts. My favourite part of this magazine is the How I did it articles where women that have different careers such as being in the music industry, owning a cake shop or working in the fashion industry. This magazine was founded in the UK it celebrated their 30th birthday in 2008 and it's a monthly magazine focusing on fashion, celebrities and lifestyle magazine.

SET APART GIRL MAGAZINE

Founded by Leslie Ludy, this magazine is an online magazine and faith-based, it's filled with wonderful and uplifting articles as well as articles that tackle serious issues in a girls Christian life. It's worth the read and is great food for the soul plus it's FREE (for fweee) being an online magazine and all. I'll place their purpose of the magazine in their words:

The setapartgirl magazine exists for no other reason than to point young women to Jesus Christ! We pray that you will be encouraged, uplifted and strengthened in your pursuit of Him as you read the words contained within these pages. We are a simple team of Christ-followers who are far from the finished picture of set-apartness; but we share one thing in common…the desire to give our lives to Jesus Christ fully and completely without reserve. We pray this magazine will inspire you to become a “lily among thorns” in this generation, by His grace, and for His glory.

TEEN VOGUE

Did you guys ever watch The Hills, I got into this magazine after watching Lauren Conrad get an internship there, since then I waited to get my hands on a copy - I don't think they sold it in this country at that time. They then began selling it in WHSmith and I bought it there for a while but I think over the years it wore a hole in my purse pocket and there's only so many times I can ask my parents for enough pocket money for me to go out with my friends and to buy Sugar AND Teen Vogue. Recently they sell Teen Vogue in Tescoes and seeing as it's cheaper than Seventeen it's always the first I reach for out of the two - price does matter girls.

Teen Vogue began as a teen version of Vogue it focuses on fashion and celebrities and offers information about the latest entertainment and feature stories on current issues and events.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post, what magazines are you guys reading? And what are your opinions on these magazines?

All my love,

God bless,