More Than Beauty | A Day At London Zoo!

Hello everyone! 

Today's post is a lifestyle one - I love doing these.

I went to London Zoo a few weeks back, at the end of August and I had a really good time. I've never actually been to a Zoo before so it was good seeing all the animals as I'm a huge animal lover! I don't think I had a favourite part of the Zoo as the whole day was brilliant, but I'll go through some things that I loved in a bit...

I can't compare London Zoo to any other Zoo, purely because this is my first time but I thought the Zoo was really well laid out and we could find everything really easy using the map. I really liked how the Zoo was in categories like 'Aquarium' and 'African Animals' because this made it easy to find each section.

I thought the Zoo was really tidy aswell - ofcourse there's no litter because it's bad for the animals but I liked how tidy the different sections were and how well the animals get looked after. I wanted to take them home at the end of the day! 

While I was on my way to the Zoo I knew instantly I wanted to see the water animals. I absolutely love them - I love Otters, Seals, Penguins and ofcourse the coral reefs at the Aquarium section.
On the day I went I didn't make it to the certain section in time to see the Penguins being fed and I didn't see any seals; but, the adorable otters and penguins made up for that! 

The otters are so adorable with their whiskers and I loved the way the penguins dived in after eachother in the pool. You could tell the penguins were well looked after because the water was so clean and they have lovely surroundings to play with. I loved the way there was a window to watch them at the bottom of the pool. I was so fascinated with watching them!

In the 'African section' there was alsorts of animals - the ones that I couldn't wait to see! Giraffes, Zebras, Okapis and some sort of 'fighter dog' which, infact, are really cute..even though they're probably not like the ones you live with at home.....

I love the Giraffes in the Africa section. They're so funny to watch and their tongues are HILARIOUS! They're so long! QUICK FACT - Giraffes tongues are so long and they stop sunburn! I wonder how that works....

I think the funniest but of the day was watching the monkeys. I LOVE the gorillas and they're so alike to us - I loved watching them eat...it's like watching a human!

I loved the smaller monkeys too, I couldn't stop laughing at them. I loved watching one monkey select the food he wanted to eat, he had a plate of celery, carrots and potatoes and he was choosing what he wanted to try next....so adorable!

There were many other animals there but I just thought I'd share some of my favourites with you. I hope you enjoyed reading my Zoo Day out - have you ever visited the Zoo?:-)

lots of love,

XO

More Than Beauty | A Day In London: The Shard

 Hello there gorgeous!
Today, I'm in the mood for a ramble. So it's a lifestyle post type of day!
Late August I went to London *yay for London!* and me and Dad visited The Shard. I'm so not a big fan of heights - I get dizzy climbing the stairs! But, I was fine on the London Eye and I was perfectly fine on this, thankfully.

We arrived at the Shard around 10.30 which was the time of our viewing, the staff are so lovely and there's a lot of them on the main floor! We got our bags checked, photos taken etc just before we went up.
After we got our bags checked, we went straight into the lift which takes around 10 seconds from floor 1 to floor 68 - crazy! On floor 68 is the first viewing platform, but it's enclosed. You feel no rain, no wind, no nothing - it's like standing in your bedroom window but 68 floors in the air!
I loved the view but on the day I went it was misty which was a shame but we're going on a sunny day again anyway. I got plenty of photos so I'm happy with that.
There was a lot of room to walk round, very calm and very thought out.

After spending around 40 minutes on floor 68, we headed up the stairs to floor 72, which is the open air one. It's partly open air and you do feel some wind, rain and the heat if the sun is out. Luckily it stopped showering when I went up there so it was only slightly breezy not cold, not hot, not rainy. This is obviously higher up than 68 so it was a bit more misty than the below floor but luckily, the mist started to clear and I managed to get some clearer pictures. 

On The Shard you see all the views such as The Wash at the North Sea (about 1 hour and a half from my house!) you see the Gherkin and all the big buildings near there. You should see Canary Wharf and the London Eye (which I could slightly see) and you can see other landmarks like Buck Palace and the Tower Of London. I seriously recommend visiting the Shard as it's actually quite inexpensive (£40 for me and Dad) and you have as long as you like up there. The photo possibilities are endless and ofcourse, you can be a tourist for the day and have a brilliant experience. 

 ________________________________

After the Shard, we obviously stayed in London as it was only 12.30pm and we had plenty of other things to do. We walked along the Southbank which I've never actually done, I usually walk along the Embankment (near the London Eye) but never walk past the Southbank. We passed the ITV Studios, they had a few stalls and they also had a little 'Beano magazine' exhibition on too, which my Dad loved from his younger days! Haha.

After the Shard it rained all afternoon. It stopped about 6pm but my feet were wet all day. I luckily had my umbrella so I was ok!
We visited Kensington Palace and had a cuppa with Kate;-), we visited the Orangery at the palace too which was great, so many beautiful flowers are there!

After that we got the bus outside and went past Hyde Park, Green Park and into a very rainy Oxford Street. I didn't actually make any purchases in London so I skipped Oxford Street for the first time ever!

After that we just strolled about, we went into Hamleys and didn't manage to see Dexter Koh of Big Brother fame, even though he was in the exact bit we were at the same time!
I've never been to Hamley's but it's great, my childhood came rushing back!
After Hamleys I was famished! so we went and had out very first Subway - very tasty I must say. I now have big cravings for Krispy Kremes and Subway - thanks London.

All in all, it was a brilliant day! In a few posts time I'll be sharing my London Zoo day out with you, which I attended the week after the Shard. I hope you enjoy these lifestyle posts, I love sharing my life with you all!

XO

*if you're wondering, my top and blazer is from Primark, my necklace was a gift and my bracelet is from BHS but was a gift too. My very first OOTD!*

More Than Beauty | Be Positive | Chatty Post

 Good evening beautifuls!

It's the start of the week, so we should all be thinking positive and have a positive outlook on the week.

Today, I'm doing a completely different post which is a bit out of my depth. I've never done a post like this before so it's a bit different but I like different.. I like interacting with my followers and letting you all know how I'm feeling and what's happening in my life at the moment.

Today's post is all about positivity. The past few days I've been on such a high and in such a good mood because I've been invited to a job interview at the Perfume Shop, which I'm so made up about and happy about. If I manage to get it, this will be my first paid job... something I really need right now.

But, there's always something that gets in the way of a positive situation. On every positive you always count the negative and that's something I've been doing during Sunday night and during today. 

I'm such a pessimist and although I always like to see the best in situations and people, I do have a habit of saying 'but what if this happens'. I think that's the side of me I don't like. I'm very happy about my job interview and I'm so proud of myself but I keep viewing the bad sides 'what if I mess up','what if they don't like me','what if I end up disliking the job'... I just wish there were no negatives in the things we do.

I'm not sure where this post is really going but I just wanted to stress about how positive we should all be in life. We should all try and get the negatives out of our lives and focus on every good thing that happens. Take all the positives - in a few years time you'll laugh at all the things you worried about and isn't it better to say 'I'm glad I done that instead of worrying and letting the negatives take over' I know that's what I'll say!

Sometimes, people don't like other people to be happy. They don't like to give into temptation and say 'well done' and I find that people can make a positive a negative sometimes. I find that, occasionally, we should all take time out to focus on us and forget what other people have to say on a positive situation and if they want to turn a positive into a negative then I find that we should just ignore them until they wise up to reality.. noone should make you feel like you can enjoy something that you're proud or happy of.

I hope you enjoyed this post - it wasn't really structured today, just a bit of a chat I suppose.

My interview is tomorrow and although I'm really excited I'm also very nervous. Thanks to the lovely girls on twitter that have said Good Luck, you wouldn't believe how happy that makes me!

Thanks for reading lovelies, I'll leave you with a quote!

all quotes are from weheartit.com. I can remove if they belong to you.

Lots of love,

XO

More Than Beauty | A Day At The Fruit Farm

Hello beautifuls! 
Sorry today's post is so late - I've not been in the best of moods tonight and I had a 45 minute nosebleed so it wasn't the most ideal thing to have blogged with...

Today I have another More Than Beauty post and I think these have become my favourite posts to do! I love sharing my days outs with you all and I really hope you enjoy reading them. Today's post is a day at the fruit farm. I went with the parents on Saturday afternoon and it was a really good day. 
The fruit farm is just a little out of Peterborough, in the Hundingdon district and I really love having a bikeride up there. 

I love bikeriding there because you pass a lot of small, quirky houses and everywhere's a lot quieter than home..even though it's not that far away! There's a lovely little villiage there with a post office and a pub. Somewhere to make the day of!

 Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the actual village, or the fruit farm but I managed to take quite a few of the fruit and things like that. We picked strawberries and raspberries. I absolutely love these fruits, they're my favourites!
There were many of them and there were a lot of people there picking them. 

When we finished picking the fruit, there were a few owls and falcons on display. I absolutely loved them - arn't they gorgeous! They have such detail and I knew they'd make a fabulous photo. While we sat near the birds, we had a bite to eat!

On the way back, I saw some goats roaming round a field and you know me, I always have to take a million pictures of animals - I love them!

The pictures above are the fruits I picked. Don't the Rasps & Strawbs look delish?!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend,

Have a great week

Lots of love,

Zofia xo

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Whats In My Bag & Purse?

Hiya girls!

Today I'm doing a 'Whats In My Bag' post. I never really do these as I personally don't find them interesting but I know many of you do find them interesting and my bag was packed to the brim so while I was emptying it, I decided to do a post. 

My bag doesn't contain any interesting items but it cures the nosiness doesn't it, so off we go!

My Nikon Camera I don't use this for my blog or Youtube, I used it to blog with at the start but now I have an upgraded one. I might use this for vlogging, though. It's a really good, inexpensive camera so I'd recommend it to anyone.

Emirates Airline Boaring Pass | London When I was in London a few months back, my first trip of this year, me and Dad decided to go on the Cable Car. It was really good and if you're visiting London I think it's something you could do with cheaper funds! It has good views and is much cheaper than the London eye. It costs around £4 so it's a bit of fun for cheap!

iPod Touch I use this everyday. Mine's slightly cracked now, but doesn't everyone's get like that?! I only use mine for social networking, music and photos. I hardly use any apps! I'd love the iPhone and I might even do a 'Whats On My iPod' post!

A Typical Tissue Definitely not exciting, but I just use this to pat my makeup when I'm feeling a bit oily. So I always keep a tissue in my bag for makeup purposes. 

A Pen I always love noting things down. I know that the iPod has a notes section but I always remember to check paper for reminders, with the notes app I always forget! So a pen is always handy for on the move. Cures train journey boredom, too!

Train Tickets These are obviously London train tickets - Ahhh, I love London! 

Glasses Wiper I used to wear glasses, but not anymore. I always keep one of these spare to wipe my camera lens. It works and doesn't smear the glass! Especially if you're like me and you've misplaced the camera cap..oops. Sorry Dad!

In my purse I basically have nothing. I keep a few cards, like my Superdrug and Boots one and I keep some vouchers, like Boots vouchers for a few pennies off! I have no money which is ever so lame but I do have the bank of Dad which comes in handy sometimes!

My purse is 'Fiorelli' or something along those lines, from TKMaxx and I bought it 2 years ago so it may not be in there anymore.

I hope you enjoyed this post, it's not exactly one of my best one's but like I say, some people really enjoy these!

Do you always have clutter in your bag after a day out?!

Lots of love xo

More Than Beauty | A Bikeride Through The Countryside!

Hello everyone!
Yesterdays post was meant to be a 'Face Of The Day' but I wasn't in to blog and I haven't worn any makeup in a week because of the hot weather. So in a few days time I'll pop up that post, but for now I've decided to do another 'More Than Beauty ' post!

Summer is all about getting out and about. I prefer to go out and about when the sun starts going down and the weather gets a bit cooler. I'm sitting out in the garden now actually, writing a few blog posts, and I'm absolutely boiling!

As the weather is beautiful, me and dad decided to go on a bikeride. I love going on bike rides and although I complain that there's nowhere to go in the city I live in, there's actually many places to bike to. We decided to go to a place called 'Castor' which is about 5/6 miles from where I live. We biked through a place called 'Ferry Meadows' which is a summer hotspot to sit and picnic in. We saw a few 'plane gliders' with people on them and there were a few people having picnic's and fishing too.

We left at about 6.30pm and got home at 9.40pm so I suppose from home to Castor took around an hour and a half, maybe?
I've never actually biked to Castor before, so it was new for me and I always love going to new places. Castor is a really pretty place with 2 small shops and plenty of pubs! There's no hustle and bustle like there is where I live so it was a bit different!
When we arrived at Castor we saw a beautiful house which is pictured above. It was such a big house and when I saw it, I was instantly jealous! 

In Castor, we saw plenty of animals in the fields. Near the big house, I saw some cows grazing on the grass and as we biked back through Castor, there were some adorable lambs in a small field, also grazing on the grass! I'm so glad I managed to get a few pictures!

Then, when we biked through Castor, the way we came, we ended up back in Ferry Meadows. We went the normal way home, the way that we usually walk the dog. On the way back there were horses in the field so I managed to take some snaps of them, too!
When we were biking through Ferry Meadows to get home, it was 9pm. The sun was going down and it was like a huge orange ball. The suns massive! I managed to get pictures of each time it went down so that was handy - the pictures look beautiful!

I had a really good evening and when this post goes up, I'm actually on a bikeride along the River! I hope you enjoyed this post, I love sharing my days out with you all!

I hope you're all enjoying the hot weather and ice creams!

Speak to you all soon,

Zofia xo

More Than Beauty | A Day At The Beach!

Hello beautiful's!

On Saturday, I went to the beach. The sun was shining and me and dad decided to go along on the train. We bought the tickets on Friday afternoon and while I fainted in the heat at the train station *I seriously did*, I managed to survive 'till Saturday!

We arrived at around 10 am - we would have arrived earlier but the 7:27 train was cancelled, so I wasn't too happy about that, but everything turned out okay in the end, we didn't lose any time out of the day. We went to Skegness, I like Skeggy, there's much more than Yarmouth!

On the train, I had snacks and listened to a few songs on my iPod. I always love train journeys, even if I do go by the same places everytime!

When we got there, I looked in a few shops and picked a few things up. I'll be hauling them soon, so keep an eye out! 

Then we went on the beach and played with the beach ball and a few beach games. We did that for most of the day so I don't really have much to post!

During the day we had slush puppies, chips, ice creams and plenty of rubbish foods! We went on the 2p machines - unfortunately, I didn't win anything but it was fun anyway. We went in the sea which was remarkably warm and we watched the donkeys go up and down.

I had a really good day and I'm happy the sun shined and it was really hot. Plans for this weekend have been made and I think I'll be visiting Skeggy again!

If you're from the UK, how have you been enjoying the hot weather?

Hope you've all been enjoying yourselves!

x

More Than Beauty | London 29 June

Hello everyone!

Today I'm doing a different post, I've decided to plan some lifestyle posts and here's the first one! I went to London yesterday and I always take pictures for my everyday picture taking but I decided to take some extra special ones for you beauties!

But, before we start, can I ask a huuuuugggeeeee favour and ask for you all to follow me on bloglovin' - remember to click the 'Little Miss Prada xo' link - the second one. It would mean a lot and would help, considering the Google follower application ends tomorrow which isn't a good help but if you enjoy my posts/blog etc then I would really appreciate it - thanks! 

Okay, so first, we went to Borough Market, which is in Borough, Southwark -  (right near the tube, too!)
I've only been to Borough market twice, this time and the last time I went to London, in April. There were different things there this time, than there was last time and I think I enjoyed it this time a lot more because there were so many fruits and vegetables! The pictures above look so summery and bright and fresh, don't they?! I just want to chop them all up and sit on a beach somewhere haha!
I really like Borough Market and if you're interested in food and cooking, I suggest you go! I don't think I'd buy things because London prices are a bit on the silly side but I love looking round and drooling at the fruits!

Next, we stopped off at Canary Wharf to get the DLR to Greenwich. While we stopped at Canary Wharf, I snapped a few pictures of the office blocks, which, by the way, do NOT look as good in the day as they do at night which is a major meh moment, but hey, London is beautiful 24/7!
Also, at Canary Wharf, we looked round the shopping center which I never knew existed - it's really big and they have a Space NK and Nails Inc and Bobbi Brown so take a visit! I had my first Krispy Kreme doughnut there - how nice?! I seriously neeeeeed more of them and I'm considering the 'dozen collection' LOL. I had the cookie topped one, by the way...

Then, we went to Greenwich! We got off at the Cutty Sark tube station, because we wanted to see the 'Cutty Sark' ship and I wanted to get a few pictures. It's as big as I thought and seemed to be a good tourist destination so maybe, if you're looking to fill your London trip, you could visit here! After my picture taking, we went under a tunnel - UNDER the thames - and ended up at 'Island Gardens'. Island Gardens is ever so pretty, with good views and I'd never been there before. I ate my doughnut in the Island Gardens park and enjoyed the views! ..I also painted my nails and took a picture of a few pooches, while I sat there, to..
After we went to Stratford - I picked up some things - I'll haul them!

So, here's an awkward picture of an OOTD and me scoffing a doughnut, woo!

Then, we popped off to Tower Bridge. We always visit Tower Bridge because it's always lovely in the summer and I can get a few pictures - this time, we went on a Boat! 

The boat trip was really good, £9 adults, £4.50 for children. I really enjoyed it and the boat guide named out all the bridges we passed and all the landmarks we passed on the way. We saw the London Eye, Cleopatra's needle, OXO tower, London Bridge and more! i think it was well worth the money and the first time I'd been on a boat. The boat was spacious, friendly and I think if you're a boat sick type of person, you'd still enjoy it because I couldn't really feel us 'bobbing up and down' and I'm the type of person to get travel sick! 

There was some sort of event happening where Tower Bridge was - I have no idea what it was but children were participating in archery and things like that! Typical summer!

Next, Embankment!

We walked over the Westminster bridge (I've done a tour, but what's the exact name?!) and then walked along the Embankment. I always do that, every London trip, so yesterday was no exeption! Every summer, June - September, there's a few rides and things going along on the Embankment and that's really nice when the sun's shining and I obviously got a few pictures! The London Dungeon ques were HUGE - I hope you weren't in the que waiting!

Along the way, I got a Flake Mcflurry which was needed - the weather was boiling!
On the Embankment there was a man picking people to do these pose/freezeframe type things. I was really impressed and they look real. 

Next, we walked up the Mall! For anyone that doesn't know, the mall is a loooong road/path leading to the Queens house, Buckingham Palace! We walked up the Mall to go to Green Park and have a few snacks. I had a seeded panini filled with Quorn bacon, lettuce and tomatoes! I also saw a limo leaving the mall - did I miss Queenie?!

We also saw the soldiers change over, I managed to take some pictures of that, also.

While I walked through Green Park, I felt the weather get so warmer and it was already warm but woah I managed to tan even easier while not noticing!

I really love Hyde Park. I've only recently started to go to Hyde Park and have been on a 'Boris Bike' 3 times now! Yesterday, we went on the Boris bikes and went round the serpentine around 4 times which took 1 hour. I love using the bikes and having a moan about the people that don't stay on the right path, LOL.
Hyde Park seems like a brill place to have a picnic and enjoy a day out. Unfortunately, I've only been on a bike round Hyde Park and not been able to take a seat on the park area, but next time, I will!

After Hyde Park we walked through Belgravia. I've never been through Belgravia before, considering there's nothing there, but I needed a drink and there was a convenience store so I popped in and picked up some Pink lemonade!

On the way through Belgravia, I saw the most beautiful houses and this gorgeous car! So posh, darlings!;-)

I also passed a Louboutin store which I nearly died of exitement from - I could have passed out on the street! Obviously, I don't own any 'Loubs' but, I'm a fan of all the styles and they're a girls ultimate dream, arn't they? ..so I had to take a picture and wish for a winning Lotto ticket!

We then went to Covent Garden and I had some crisps and watched the world go by. I didn't manage to take any pictures but I suggest visiting Covent Garden, I love it!

After Covent Garden, I went to Oxford Street - No pictures but there will be a haul soon enough. I picked up mostly beauty bits and something from Stratford which was a top. 

After Oxford Street I went to Leicester Square, Piccadilly, Chinatown and places around there. It was around 8/9pm now and so there wasn't many places we needed to visit but I still plodded along with sore feet!

Until around 1am I walked about and took a few more pictures. I saw Hayley Cropper from Corrie which, obvs, wasa highlight;-).
I then caught the last train home and got back at 2am - Mcdonalds in hand, ofcourse! 
I had a brilliant day and London is a big love for me. I can't wait to go back and do it alllll over again. I hope you enjoyed my lifestyle post and don't forget to follow via bloglovin because, if not, you'll never get to catch up with my latest posts because you'll all be unfollowed without bloglovin:-(

Sorry this post is late, it's taken me 4 hours to create with love and attention and a bit of Big Brother UK interrupting! But apart from that,

Thanks for reading,

Hope you had a good weekend!