So... I went to Italy

I apologise for not writing much recently, but I've been a little busy - in Italy!

I got back very late yesterday after having spent 5 days in Rome and Sorrento with my school on a geography trip. I don't think I stopped going at all over those 5 days - I've just been in bed all day rebooting (and also because I am lazy!).

I have decided that over the next few days I am going to upload posts about each day, almost like a diary. It is more for me, so that I can have a record of all the memories, and I don't whether it will be something that you're interested in at all - but tough because I'm doing it anyway!

I also have A LOT of photos - so expect to be thoroughly bored of ancient Roman monuments!

See you soon!

An obsession with stars

I don't know what it is, but recently I have just had the hugest obsession with stars.

I just love looking at pictures of them and reading dreamy Pinterest quotes about them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not lugging my telescope to the top of a mountain each night to stargaze, but I am just really enjoying appreciating them.

(Although, I am not enjoying them so much when I have to learn about their life cycles for possibly one of the most horrible physics tests ever invented)

I think that I just find them very calming. Although I don't live in a particularly built up area, there still aren't that many you can see because of all the light pollution, so most of the time I just have to make to with my imagination. But it still relaxes me when I'm stressed. I think that it's something to do with the fact that many of the stars we look at have been around for billions and billions of years. They've never changed, they have remained constant throughout that time. They've seen everything, maybe even the birth of this planet. They're so huge and massive, it kind of helps to put everything in perspective.

There's that saying, people who have their heads in the clouds. I've always thought myself one of these people, but recently I've had my head in the stars, not the clouds. I have many different beliefs about the stars. I think that they may be loved ones we've lost, watching over us, or maybe our hopes and dreams, scattered across the sky for us to see everyday so that we never forget them. As I write this, I'm reminded of that bit in Lion King, where they are all saying their theories about stars, and Simba was told many years before that the great kings of the past look down on them from the stars. Who knows, maybe that's an option too.

I am a Christian, and everyone knows how important the star is in the birth of Jesus - the thing that guides everyone to the new born King, so I suppose stars are also very special to me in that spiritual kind of way.

I also love that saying that you should shoot for the moon, and even if you miss, you'll land amongst the stars. Personally, I think that landing amongst the stars is much better than the moon - on the moon all you can eat is cheese, but with the stars, you can eat stardust.

I'm also a huge fan of astrology. Since I was young, I've always been fascinated by the planets and the solar system (again, I've got to say that has kind of worn off with exam revision) and I would love some way to connect with the stars a bit more. I'm thinking that as I redo my room, I completely deck the whole place out in fairy light and glow in the dark stars, and I might also invest in one of those night light star projector thingys from Amazon. I'll keep you up to date with that!

I have also just created a new board on my Pinterest account (which you should definitely all follow) on stars, so I would recommend having a look at that. My name is Gabriella Hope. I'm also posting lots of cheesy quotes and time lapses on Instagram, so you should have a look at that - my username is gabriella_hope.

Is there anything that you're obsessed with in a similar way? Or do you also love stars? How do you incorporate them into your life? Let me know!

See you soon!

P.s. You're never too old to wish upon a star - go on, do it now.

Magic Items That Don't Make Sense - no.2

I really enjoyed writing my post on why invisibility cloaks don't make sense, so I decided to do another, and ruin a whole load of other sci fi for people.

Today I'm going to be talking about time travel.

The idea that you can be taken forward or backwards in time (normally to change something) is, to me, completely absurd. First of all, there is no such thing as being stationary in time. We are always moving forward, the clock is constantly ticking, so by going forward in time, we are only speeding up the process, and we cannot go back to the present, because the present has changed and moved on.

Second of all, I want to point out the fatal flaw made by all time travel plots in any movie, television show or book ever made. When a person travels through time to change something and succeed in doing so, that thing has been changed when they return to the present, meaning that they had no reason to go back in time and change it in the first place. And if they had no reason to go back in time to change it, they never would've gone back in time to change it, so it never would've been changed! I don't know if that makes any sense, so let me give you an example. If a person (let's call them Joe) were to go back in time to stop himself breaking up with someone else (let's call them Jane), when Joe returns to the present, he never would've broken up with Jane, so would never have needed to go back in time to stop himself from doing it. And so, when Joe doesn't go back in time (because he has no need to) he never stops himself, and so he  breaks up with Jane regardless.

And lastly, what is with all the different methods of time travel? Science fiction really needs to get its act together and agree on one set method of time travel (preferably one that makes sense) so we don't all keep getting confused by the Time Turners in Harry Potter and the magical portals in Once Upon A Time and the time machine from Time Machine and the Tardis from Doctor Who. I mean seriously, get it together, because I can't keep up with all this!

I hope you enjoyed this, because I certainly enjoy picking apart the foundations of science fiction and the things that people love - it's great fun! However, I really think that all I've done is once again prove how much time I have in my life!

Let me know if there are any magical items that you don't think make sense and why, because I'd like to make a little series out of these!

See you soon!

Instagram account!

A while ago I started a little ol' Instagram account, but I've never actually used it. 

But that changes now.

I am going to do my best to post photos regularly, especially when I have posted over here, so that you guys can always be in the loop and know what's going on.

So, I'm basically saying go follow me cause it's going to be awesome!

My name is: gabriella_hope 

I can't wait to see you over there!

Italy Shorts, Shoes and Sunglasses haul

I am very excited at the moment because in just under two weeks time, I will be going to Italy with my school, as a part of the geography syllabus (but a very nice part!)

The time seems to have flown, it still feels like it should be months away, but it's not - it's very very soon! Which is sadly a little unfortunate when you realise that you're in desperate need of shorts, shoes and sunglasses.

So, yesterday I went with my mum and had a little ol' shopping trip, and thought you'd might like to take a peek!

First of all I bought this dress. I wasn't really supposed to, because it was meant to be a focused mission for just the things that I needed, but I thought it was just sooo pretty. I already have too many white summer dresses, so this can just be added to my ever growing collection, and I'm sure that I will enjoy wearing it in Italy. I really like the lace up bits at the side, it allows for a bit more adjustment in a the sizing, which I think is really good, and I just love the pattern! I bought it from H and M for £14.99.

Also from H and M, I bought three pairs of shorts. Tight little denim shorts really don't suit me, so I am very chuffed that these floaty baggy shorts are quite big at the moment - and H and M had a huge range! Yay!

So first of all I bought these shorts which have the flappy bits over the top of the main shorts - I don't know what the proper name is, but you all know what I mean! It has this really pretty chintz kind of pattern, which reminds me of blue China plates, the kind that grandmas have. H and M have actually got a whole range of this really pretty plate pattern, it's so lovely - I just want it all!!! It then also has all of these Pom Poms along the hem, which unfortunately aren't attached on very strongly, but are so pretty!!! It was £12.99, so the most expensive of my shorts, but i definitely think it was worth it! 

The next pair of shorts that I bought were these really pretty baggy splatter style shorts. When I tried them on, I was amazed because they are so comfy, they felt like pyjama shorts! They look like someone has just come along and splattered the shorts with paint, which I think is really cool! The only thing I will say about them is that they look black and white but it's actually more of a cream, which means it's really annoying to wear white with. These were £7.99.

The last pair of shoes that I bought are these cute little sandals. Again, I thought that they would go with everything and would just be really nice to wear down to the beach or around the hotel. These were the most expensive because the uppers are made from real leather! I didn't realise Primark even knew what that was! They were still only £8, so it wasn't really breaking the bank.

The last pair of shorts that I bought from H and M are these Aztec patterned black and white ones. These are slightly more silky to feel than the others that I bought, and I just really liked the triangle pattern. I think that these will just go with every single white strappy top I own (and believe me, I own A LOT!) and I am looking forward to wearing them. They were also £7.99.

Then I went to Primark. No more explanation is needed.

I realised at this point that every single pair of shorts I own (and I now own 6) and every single skirt I own is patterned, which isn't very helpful when you also have a lot of patterned tops. So I decided that I should just give in and buy a pair of classic denim shorts. These were only £5, and they are actually surprisingly comfortable, and I think that they will be nice to throw on. Although, I've got to say, the shorts in Primark were all gone, clearly a lot of people had been in looking for them. It was a genuine fight to the death for this pair.

However, my main reason for going to Primark wasn't for more shorts, but for summery shoes. I've got to say that shoes really are an area where I let myself down. I don't have very many pairs at all. I always seem to forget to buy shoes whenever I go on a big shopping trip, so I had to really focus in order to remember them this time.

First of all, I bought these converse style high tops. I have bought so many pairs of these over the years. I always wear them to absolute death when there is no sole left, and I might as well just be going barefoot. So I purchased a new pair in light blue. I actually went on a walk to try and wear these in before going to Italy, but I ended up with large blisters *sad face*. Looks like I'm going to have to wear them in a lot more before I go away. However, they are the only shoes I ever wear and they are only £7!

Next I bought these really pretty suedette ballet pumps. I thought that they would look really nice in the evening with a cute little dress, and that they would just go with everything. I really like the fact that they have all these cut outs, hopefully it will help to keep me cool in Italy! I also really liked the gold studs, I just love em! And they were only £6!

The last pair of shoes that I bought are these cute little sandals. Again, I thought that they would go with everything and would just be really nice to wear down to the beach or around the hotel. These were the most expensive because the uppers are made from real leather! I didn't realise Primark even knew what that was! They were still only £8, so it wasn't really breaking the bank.

I then had a very good time at the sunglasses stand!

I bought this pair of mint glasses. If I'm honest, I don't really know why I bought these because I don't own a single piece of mint clothing, so these are going to go with nothing. However, they were only £1, and quite funky, so you can't go wrong!

I also bought a plain brown pair, (I've bought a lot of brown!) because they will just go with absolutely everything. They were also £1, but they feel like they might break at any moment - which I suppose they might!



So that is my little summer shopping trip! I am really looking forward to Italy, and I can guarantee that it will be all I'm going to be talking about over the next few weeks!

See you soon!

Topshop Summer Wish List

A week ago, I uploaded a Boohoo summer wish list of all the things that I have been loving from Boohoo. There was a request made for a similar style of post to be made but of the things that I've been loving in Topshop. So, I had a most wonderful time on the Topshop app, enjoying everything that it could offer. Sadly, there isn't anyway I can afford anything - but I enjoy the dreaming! So here is my Topshop summer wish list!

I just love everything Topshop has - believe me, it was very difficult to narrow it down for this list. My absolute favourites are the flowery jeans, the striped body and the dotty skirt. Ah, if only... *sigh*

Let me know if you want me to do more of these, I would like to do a whole range of shops!

See you soon!

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

For the first book in my book challenge, I had to read a book that I own but haven't read, so I chose to read We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach. I bought this back around Christmas, because I thought that it looked quite interesting but I've just been very busy and haven't gotten around to it.

Unfortunately, the past few days I haven't been very well, so I have been in bed and on the sofa all day, which isn't that bad because I just alternated between watching Friends and reading this book, meaning that I finished it in 2 days.

This book is sooo gripping. It is about our world, where we only have two months to live before an asteroid hits, that will destroy the world. There is 2/3 chance that the asteroid will hit, and when it does, everyone will die. It follows 4 teenagers from completely different groups, backgrounds, and seemingly different futures, and how the end of the world affects each of them, and brings them together.

I've always thought that if I found out I only had two months left to live, I would go bungee jumping and skydiving, and everything that I've always wanted to do. But this book... I was really surprised, and I guess shocked by how horribly realistic civilisation is described to be.

When it's the end of the world and people have nothing to loose, I hadn't ever thought about how the rates of crime, violence, vandalism, and drug abuse would rocket. There is one point in the book where it says:

"How many neighbours would finally go ahead and shoot the yipping Chihuahua that had been keeping them awake every night? Or, come to think of it, why not just shoot the inconsiderate neighbour who wouldn't keep his damn dog in the house?"

I don't know why, but this part really spoke to me, as a metaphor for everything that would happen in the world. If people have nothing to loose, they have nothing to fear, but then also nothing to gain - something that really wouldn't be a problem in this situation.

I feel like a really good word to describe this book would be haunting. It sticks in your mind and makes you think about things a lot more deeply, then you perhaps would've before - the way that the above quote has stuck in mine.

One thing that I did really like about this book, and that I thought was quite unique, was that it was split in to 10 sections (like chapters) but they were going in descending order, like a countdown to the end of the world. I really think that this helped to build the suspense, because you really want to finish the book and find out what happens, but at the same time, you're slightly terrified about what will happen at the end of the countdown, and want it to go as slow as possible.

But my absolute favourite thing about this book is the descriptions. Without trying to make this sound too much like an English essay, they were absolutely amazing. Some of the images that are created are so incredible and real, it isn't just like you're there, but that you're part of it, like someone cares that you see and understand and appreciate everything that is going on.

The end (don't worry, no spoilers!) I kind of hate. Not because it's bad, but because it's a cliff-hanger, and they really annoy me, because I just want to know what happens - part of the reason why it has stuck in my head so much more. But it is satisfying in a way, despite being quite sad.

I don't think that this book is suitable for younger readers, as it has a lot of drug, alcohol and sex abuse, as well as being really quite graphic in places. It isn't my usual type of book, but I'm really glad I read it, because I did enjoy it. It is quite a heavy read, I wouldn't go for it if you just want something light to unwind to, but other then that, I would really recommend it!

For my next book challenge book, I have to choose a book that was made into a movie. I was going to read The Notebook, and I would like to at some point, but I think that I'm going to read The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I have seen the movie a couple of times and really like it, so I am looking forward to reading the book!

See you soon!

Magic Items That Don't Make Sense - no.1

I always consider myself very much apart of the magical world - I am no muggle! But I also think that I'm quite logical and sometimes, I just don't understand some of these magical items, because they just don't make sense. So I thought I'd tell you all about how they don't make sense and crush your dreams and entire belief system. Enjoy!

Today I'm going to be talking about invisibility cloaks.

I just don't get them.

They are cloaks, that make the wearer invisible.

First of all, they aren't actually cloaks. Cloaks are things that you tie around your neck and fall to the ground, to keep you warm or dry. This isn't the case with invisibility cloaks, as they must go over the head, making them more invisibility blankets.

Next, when do they become invisible? Because when you're holding it, folded up or something, it isn't invisible. If it were, you would never be able to find it! It only becomes invisible once it is on you as a cloak. Does this mean that it needs human touch in order turn it invisible? Because if it does then all of the parts that don't touch your body, like the flaps and folds of cloak down by your feet wouldn't be invisible. And that would just be weird if you saw some cloak flaps walking along.

Next, I don't understand how something can just become invisible. I mean, does it only work on humans, or can anything be made invisible? And at what point does something turn invisible? If I were holding an apple or something and then put my hand with the apple under an invisibility cloak, at what point would it become invisible?

If there was a hole in the cloak, and someone was under it, would that mean that they whole cloak wouldn't work? Or would it just mean that a person would have to look straight into the hole to see everything inside? Would they even see everything inside? And when flying on a broomstick with an invisibility cloak over you, would someone be able to see you if they were directly under you and looked up?

And that leads me onto my next point. The inside of invisibility cloaks - are they invisible too? Or is there just a nice checked lining or something? Is the cloak reversible? Or would it just be that if you were in a hurry and put the cloak on the wrong way round it would just act as a normal cloak instead of making the wearer invisible?

So there are a few of my thoughts on invisibility cloaks, and how they don't make sense to me. I hope that now you've read this, you begin to question things a little more. However, I don't think that I've really accomplished anything today besides showing you how little I have going on in my life in order for me to think of all this!

See you soon!

Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2-in-1 Wash and Mask

Today I'm going to be talking about one of my new absolute favourite things ever: the Neutrogena Wash and Mask.

I started using this a little before Easter, as my previous face wash had run out (much to my great disappointment). I saw it and thought it looked quite interesting, because I've never really seen anything like it before. 

Since using it, my skin has cleared up soooo much. Being a teenager, I have spots sprouting up everywhere on my face, which probably isn't helped by my thick layers of makeup, but this has made such an improvement to my skin. I also had a bit of a makeup detox during the Easter holidays which no doubt helped as well, but since I've been back at school I've been wearing a lot less makeup, simply because I don't need to! Many of my friends have also been complimenting me on the improvement of my skin, and you know, who doesn't like compliments?

I use it as a wash everyday in the shower by squirting a little bit on my hand, and running under the shower for a second. I then just lather it in my hands, rub it on my face and wash it off straight away. It feels nice, and always leaves my skin with a very clean smooth feel.

I have only used it as a mask twice, and it is meant to help unclog pores, as appose to reducing spots like the wash. I can't say that it is as effective as the wash, but I haven't really used it enough to give fair criticism.

So, incase you hadn't noticed, I really really like this, and I really recommend you go and buy this - it is so worth it for like £3! I only have one tiny little criticism and that is that it doesn't have a particularly nice smell. I know that isn't really the point of it, but it would just make it a little more luxurious if it had a nice strawberry smell or something.

See you soon!

Taking on the book challenge

I love to read. I always have and always will. When I was younger, I would read so much I would be reading 6 books at a time, and my book bag was always heavier than anyone else's. I wouldn't be able to sleep unless I read before, and diving into a book would always bring me joy and tranquillity. My parents even used to buy me books as rewards for academic achievements in school - we called it Emergency In The Bookshop!

But now that I'm older, and I have had so much more work and have become addicted to so many more TV shows, and just have a lot of other stuff in my life, I really don't read much (or at all) anymore. This makes me so sad, because I know that 10 year old me would never have believed that I would ever be without a book.

I also don't have a good taste in books. If I'm going to read, it will be a romance, that is predictable and always the same. Don't get me wrong, I love those books, but I really want to expand my love for reading once again.

So while I was searching on Pinterest, I came across a reading challenge that actually seemed doable. Normally, I find that reading challenges are full of books that I wouldn't ever read and wouldn't enjoy, or are just too long, but I thought that this one looked quite good!

I don't know how long this is going to go on for, I will not set myself a time limit because that will just make me feel under pressure and I want reading to become something I love once more, and not something that I do because I promised I would finish this number of books in this number of days.

So, I am going to start with a book that I own but haven't read. This is quite easy for me, because I have A LOT of books that I own but haven't read (which is a real shame). So after some serious consolidation, I think that the first book that I am going to read is We All Looked Up, by Tommy Wallach.

Hopefully I'll be able to write a review on each of these books that I read, but I am going to reiterate that I want this to be something that I love, not something that I do because I have to!

I am really looking forward to this, and I think that it I going to be the start of me loving reading again - I have really missed it! I would love it if you started the book challenge as well - it would be really nice if we could do it together, and swap our tales of all the books we've read and loved! Let me know in the comments!

See you soon!

Does music affect the way you run?

As you may or may not know, I have recently been running everyday in the evening, and that has given me time to ponder some important things.

I always listen to music when I run, I just find it dull otherwise. However, today when I was running, I was wondering whether it actually made any difference to how I run.

Now believe me, I do not run fast or far - I'm really not a sporty person - but I do have a few favourite songs to listen to when I am running.

At the moment, I am loving Radioactive (Imagine Dragons), Demons (also Imagine Dragons), On Top of the World (once again, Imagine Dragons), Stitches (Shawn Mendes), 7 Years (Lukas Graham), Little Lion Man (Mumford & Sons) and just generally songs like that.

However, I don't have a specific playlist for running, so I just put my music on shuffle, meaning that quite often something most unrunnyish comes on, like A Thousand Years (Christina Perry) or The A Team (Ed Sheeran). And I always wonder when these types of songs come on whether they will affect the way I run in any way at all.

You see, I think that they do. I have recently invested in a running album (Now That's What I Call Running 2015 - cause I'm that up to date) which is just basically an album filled with pumpy high beat songs and tunes. I think that when I am given a beat and a rhythm to run to, I will work harder to ensure that I stay in time to that, and don't slow or stop. This is something that you don't get with a slow relaxing type of song.

I did a little bit of research on the world wide web, and according to that it is very hard to monitor the effects of music, because everybody is different.

However, it does seem that music often acts of more of a distraction than an incentive. But it seems to me that when you have no distraction (and you don't particularly enjoy running, like me) all you can do is run and think about how you are not enjoying yourself - which seems like something that will just hold you back. When you are listening to music, and you have something else to focus and concentrate on, then surely the time will pass a lot quicker?

This website did also say that the louder and faster your music is, the faster most people appear to run (although this can be quite unsafe when running across roads and around vehicles). An actual quote of findings from the website says that:

"One study found that listening to high-tempo music for a 10-minute warm-up enables better performance in high-intensity exercise, even when there’s no music playing during the actual trial period."

So... music does help!

I don't really know if you got anything out of this, I feel like I just rambled about my terrible music taste most of the time. I'm not going to stop listening to music when I run because I would just get too bored (plus, I just spent £9.99 on my running album, so I need to get the most out of it!).

Maybe you learnt something, maybe you didn't but never mind. Be sure to leave something in the comments - what do you think about music?

See you soon!