The Travelling Bug!

Hello Friends! 

I hope all of you from the UK had a lovely bank holiday weekend, and those of you not from the UK...just a lovely weekend! 

Anyway, I am getting UBER excited at the moment because I'm off to the USA to work at a beautiful amazing summer camp in Missouri for the fourth summer in a row and I CANNOT WAIT. Although this summer after camp I'm not going travelling *cries hysterically*, it reminds me of some of the incredible places I've been lucky enough to visit! So I thought I'd share a few of them with you to add to your bucket lists (if they aren't already on there!) 

So without further ado....


1. Portofino, Italy

Portofino is without a doubt the most beautiful place I have ever visited! It's an Italian fishing village and it's picturesque views of the pastel-coloured buildings on the harbour front are just absolutely stunning. If you have lots and lots of money then you'll have the time of your life here shopping at Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Georgio Armani.... If you are like me you can just buy a souvenir t-shirt!!!! 

Anyway, it's a beautiful beautiful place to visit for a short amount of time - oh and just to make it even cooler Beyonce and Jay Z visited Portofino, and crashed a wedding. AWESOME. Although even Queen Bey herself will NOT show me up at my own wedding. Just sayin'....

 

2. Washington D.C., District of Columbia, USA.

I visited Washington D.C. this summer on a tour of the East Coast 
of America (I also went to Miami, Orlando, Boston & New York City!) 
and I totally fell in love with Washington!!! I loved doing all
of the typical touristy stuff: The Washington Monument (photo 1), The Capitol Building (photo 2) and obviously The White House (photo 3: HEY OBAMA!). 

I was so surprised at how beautiful and green D.C was, and I felt completely at home when I was there! I could so easily hop up and move over there *BYE COLD RAINY ENGLAND*.

Also, it's super fun because pretty much everything is FREE! The Smithsonian's (the museums) are free mostly, and so is the zoo which was tons and tons of fun! So YEAH I'd totally recommend visiting if you ever get the chance!




3. Israel. 

With Israel, I definitely could not choose one city. I've been to Israel three times and I have visited all the major cities including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Hertzliya, Eilat, Tzfat (where Kabbalah is from!), Haifa and many more! 

I know it gets a lot of bad press due to political issues, however that does not deny the fact that it is an absolutely gorgeous country which I LOVE. 

The country is so varied: Jerusalem is a beautiful, Holy city where you can visit the Western Wall (photo 1), Tel Aviv (photo 2) is incredibly cosmopolitan, and the beach is beautiful...and then you can travel down south to the Dead Sea: the lowest point on Earth, where you can cover yourself in mud and float in the deepest hypersaline lake in the world (aka...it's super salty you cannot splash because if that water gets in your eyes it is AGONY). 

I pray for peace in this beautiful country not only for the benefit of the rest of the world and the Israeli people, but so many citizens of Earth can go and visit such an incredibly beautiful varied country! 



4. Barcelona, Spain

This beautiful city I visited many years ago, and I am lucky enough to be going back again this summer for a few days with my girlies! Famous for Antoni Gaudi's architectural masterpieces, such as La Sagrada Familia (photo above), which is a stunning Cathedral inside and out, as well as Park Guell- which has the longest continuous bench in the world. 

ALSO the market in Las Ramblas (the shopping street) sells THE BEST FRUIT JUICES IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD AND I'M NOT EVEN EXAGGERATING! The juices are just stunning. If the architecture doesn't tickle your fancy, allow your taste buds to lead the way...all the way to the market! YUM!!!!!

Those are just a few of the amazing places I've visited and recommend that everyone should try and visit in their lifetime! Where do you have on your bucket list!? Let me know on the comments! A few places on mine are:

The Polynesian Islands (this is my Honeymoon plan: Future Husband take note)

Australia

New Zealand

Aruba

Hawaii 

Seattle

Las Vegas

San Francisco

Amsterdam 

Ireland

Iceland (to see the Northern Lights and the Blue Lagoon) 

Kenya (to go on Safari!) 

Santorini, Greece

Egypt

Niagara Falls

Canada 

AND MORE! I've definitely caught the travelling bug! 

Let me know where you guys want to visit, and maybe I'll add them to my bucket list! 

Love and Kisses,

Danielle xxx

April 2015 Favourites!

Hello Friends :)

After watching Zoella's April favourite products video on YouTube, I thought you guys might like to know the products that I am LOVING at the moment! I'm not paid to promote any of these products, they are just honestly products that I am currently using and I find work well for me!

The first product is Seventeen BB Magic Blemish Balm.

I am literally so obsessed with this product! I wanted a BB cream to wear whilst I was on holiday in Crete, and the fact that it said that it would 'improve skin within 4 weeks' was an added bonus: and it does exactly what it said on the tin (well...packet/box thing!). I wore it whilst sunbathing (because it has SPF 25) and I'm rather self-conscious about my acne scars and spots, and I did not burn which I 100% would if there was no SPF in it. It also improved my skin so much that at the moment I have stopped using foundation and I'm just applying this to my skin everyday! 

I used the shade 'light' (it only comes in two shades which is a bit of a bummer), and if you have very fair skin THE LIGHT WILL BE TOO DARK FOR YOU. It is just about right for me! It has a really good coverage, it's a little bit shiny and sticky so I like to put a powder such as Rimmel's Stay Matte on top, but I am IN LOVE with this item! I bought it for £6.99 from Boots, so it doesn't break the back either! My new go-to! 




Item number two is Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction Fragrance Mist.

I'm not usually a 'body mist' type of girl. I much prefer perfumes. However, my Chanel Chance perfume has nearly run out *weep* and as someone studying for a Masters degree I simply do not have enough money to buy another £50-80 perfume.

However, I won a goodie bag from my local Victoria's Secret store, and received three Pure Seduction items, including this body fragrance. It's described on their websites as: 

"A flirty, floral fragrance. Entice in Pure Seduction, a passionate romance of succulent red plum and sweet freesia. Experience the luxury of fragrance. Refreshing formula is infused with conditioning aloe vera and calming chamomile. Spray on for a sexy touch of scent."

...and this pretty much sums it up. It smells divine. It doesn't seem to last as long as some perfumes, however it's a really lovely spritzer which seems to energise me for the day... and I know I leave my flat smelling scrummy! If you don't like fruity or floral fragrances, then this one isn't for you...but if you do I'D CERTAINLY RECOMMEND IT! In the U.S. this retails for $14, and in the UK I believe it is around £8.99. So again, pretty cheap... and it lasts a really long time! I'll for sure be buying it again once it runs out! 




My third product of the month is Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm.

My lovely sister gave me this because she accidentally bought two of the same colour (lucky me!!) and as soon as I put it on my lips I fell in love! The colour that I have is #225 Sultry Sulfureuse. It's  a great colour to wear in the evening on a night out or dinner with friends, but it's also really great to wear during the day and just dress up what you're wearing! It's really pigmented and lasts for ages without needing to top it up. It's £7.99 at Boots and I just want to go and buy all of the colours because I love it so much!!!

Here is a photo of me wearing the lip crayon so you can see how it looks on actual lips!

My final product of the month is something for all of my fellow curly-haired pals: Garnier Fructis Style My Curl Perfecting Mousse.

As many girls with curls will agree, finding a mousse that suits your hair is the ultimate challenge. I finally feel like I've NEARLY hit the jackpot with this one. It doesn't leave my hair feeling stiff or sticky, but I don't agree that it holds defined curls for 24 hours (mine probably hold for about 8-12 which is why I said I've NEARLY hit the jackpot!). If you're budget-conscious like me then I think this is a pretty good purchase as it only costs £2.89 at Boots. 

Anyway, this is what my hair tends to look like after I've used it:

*NOTE* I say TENDS to look like because as many curlies know, curly hair tends to have a mind of its own and therefore looks different every single time. This is also after I have dried it using a diffuser on my hairdryer which is my normal routine.



WELL! Feel free to leave a comment and ask me any questions about these products, and I'll be more than happy to answer them! If there is anything you'd like me to write a blog about, again leave me a comment on here or on my instagram: DanielleToriT. Oh, and let me know if you're enjoying the blogs! I'll try and post as often as I can! 


Love you beautiful people! Have a great week! 


Danielle xxx

I'm Back (and bigger) than ever!

Well, well, well... It's been a long time blog!!

A lot has happened since I last blogged...I graduated from Canterbury Christ Church University with a First Class Degree in Early Childhood Studies with Film, Radio and TV Studies....

I moved to Nottingham to start a Masters degree in Person-Centred Experiential Counselling & Psychotherapy....

AND I posted a photo of myself in a bikini to Instagram and Twitter for a competition for SimplyBe (a plus size fashion line), which then got featured in an online article for the magazine Cosmopolitan.

Although I am much prouder of the prior accomplishments I mentioned, it's this final one that inspired me to begin blogging again! I always loved blogging, but just through a lack of time/energy/seemingly lack of people interested in my ramblings...I stopped.

But since this article was posted on Cosmopolitan's website, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of new followers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, comments/likes etc etc. and so I realised that I could actually reach a few more people than I could have before so HELLO BEAUTIFUL NEW FRIENDS! :D 

For those of you who haven't seen the article, here's is the link: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/news/a39560/anyone-can-look-hot-in-a-bikini/?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1440_173010938

The concept of fat or skinny shaming has been pretty active in the media recently. If the media comment on how there are too many skinny models and not enough 'normal' (notice my quotation marks around this term because I DO NOT agree with using that to describe people's bodies with) or curvy or plus size models around, people comment things like:

'What about those of us who are naturally skinny. We can't help how we look...'

Or when the media say this is a slim girl- This is what a bikini body is, people comment things such as:

'Slim doesn't equate a bikini body. If you have a body, and put on a bikini, then you have a bikini body!'

In fact... both of these comments are correct and ENTIRELY justifiable. Neither skinny or fat shaming is acceptable or kind for any woman (or man) to hear, and to be honest it seems totally unnecessary to me. 

The comments I read based on my bikini photo varied from 'You're Beautiful. Your confidence radiates, work that bikini you can wear what ever you want!'.... to... 'Keep clogging up your arteries fatty'. *And yes, the last one did hurt*. Yes...I'm overweight. No I don't eat 12 meals a day which consist of fried chicken and pizza. Yes I exercise 2-3 times a week and eat healthy meals.

The point is.... Everyone is beautiful. Everyone is responsible for their own body and doesn't need or deserve for someone else to tell them how to live their lives. Alongside that, everyone is completely justified to have their own opinion on whether they think someone of my size looks beautiful. I didn't post my photo because I think I'm beautiful. I posted the photo because I wanted to show other women that you don't have to be a size 6 like we see in many (not all!) magazines to wear what your heart desires. 

Whether you're a size 4 and have no boobs or butt, or whether you're a size 22 with love handles and cellulite, you don't deserve to have people telling you that you're ugly and shouldn't be allowed to post photos of your own will, or not be allowed to wear what you want. 

There are always going to be people that don't like how you look even if you think you look great. Hey! That's life! It's something that I struggle with on a regular basis. But I'm on a journey of accepting and understanding the way my body is. That doesn't mean I'm not trying to lose weight and tone up my body (because I am), but I'm doing it for me. Not for other people's perceptions of me. Just me. Little ol' Danielle. 

So I just want to reiterate that this blog post isn't about asking people to love my body for being fat. I'm asking you to applaud and celebrate each other for being who you are. Trolls will try and put you down (I've sat and read all of the comments from strangers on the cosmo article...ouchie)...but as long as you learn... try to learn to love yourself, it doesn't matter what the haters think.

And anyway...I think you're beautiful! And here is my bikini photo I've been talking about the whole time! 

Your challenge for tomorrow: Go and give two people a compliment. It doesn't matter what it's relating to. Just do it. You could make someone's day.

Have a good rest of your Sunday friends! Speak Soon! 

Danielle xx

Invisible Children: The REAL story

Waking up to see my facebook news feed bombarded with videos that my wonderful friends have been watching on The Guardian or some other website is something that I have become much accustomed to over the past few months. However, this morning, I could tell that something about this video was different. Something...serious (unlike the usual nonsense that many of my friends watch). 

I clicked on the link and watched a half an hour video about a man, Joseph Kony, whose organisation the LRA abduct children - making boys become child soldiers who are forced to murder their own parents, disfigure the faces of other children and murder many others, whilst the girls are forced into sex slavery. Honestly, I was moved. I watched the video in awe, making sure I was concentrating on it (like the voice over told me to), and was automatically drawn in by the the story of a young Ugandan man called Jacob. As soon as it ended, being the inquisitive person that I am, I went onto google and typed in Kony.

All the expected information came up:

KONY NEEDS TO BE STOPPED. ABDUCTING INNOCENT CHILDREN.

AWARENESS IS KEY TO BRINGING DOWN KONY.

EMPOWER YOURSELF - YOU CAN HELP END THIS WAR IN UGANDA. SAVE THE CHILDREN.

I kept looking, and I kept typing, and eventually I found some anti-invisible children campaign websites (I have to add they are not anti-Kony but anti the campaign), and I was completely in shock as to what I read next.


NB. These are not my views - these are the facts that I have discovered and therefore it is unbiased.


the facts.


1. In 2011, the 'STOP KONY' campaign raised $8.9 million. However, out of this money, only $2.8 million (31%) actually made it to the charity program. 

*Where did the rest of the money go?!*

Well...

- $1.7 million in US employee salaries

- $357,000 in film costs

- $850,000 in production costs

- $751,000 in computer equipment

- $244,000 in 'professional services'

- $1.07 million in travel expenses

- $400,000 in yearly office rent

- $16,000 in entertainment etc.

I know what are you are thinking... and trust me, I was not expecting that either.

2. Invisible Children SUPPORTS direct military intervention, and also supports the Ugandan Governments army and other military forces that have also been accused of rape and looting. 

Enough said there I think.

3. The USA have sent over multiple missions to kill or capture Joseph Kony, and not one of these has been successful - probably because his bodyguards are children and therefore trying to assassinate him will undoubtably put them in even more danger than they are already in (if physically possible). 

It cannot be denied that Joseph Kony is a seriously dangerous and evil man that needs to be stopped. Awareness for a situation as severe as this is extremely important, but changing your facebook profile picture or postering the town with things like the one above is not going to solve a thing. I don't think it's a bad thing as it's great for people to feel so strongly about a cause - however when it comes to giving money to the charity, that's when I'd draw the line. Supporting a company (yes, a company)that only 31% of their profits go to the targeted situation is not something that I or many other people can condone. 

Regardless of whether you guys think I'm being too heartless about the campaign, I really do hope that for the sake of those poor Ugandan children we stop for a moment and think about how grateful we should be for the lives that we lead in a country where acts like these are not present.

Anyway, I'd love to hear any comments about how you all feel about the Kony 2012 Innocent Children campaign - and that my friends don't hate me too much for writing this blog!

I hope this gives you all something to think about. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and this is mine!

Love, Kisses (and prayers!!) xoxx

Woah! That Nearly Killed Me!

So tonight, as I walked home in the bitter Canterbury supposed 'spring' air, my friend and I somehow got onto the topic of near death experiences. As someone who leads a pretty standard, boring and generally risk-free life, I quickly assumed that I didn't have anything that even slightly resembled a near death experience...but the more and more I thought about it, I sort of realised that I do!


Firstly, in my life I have fainted about 3 times. The first time was when I was about 2 or 3 years old, and I was jumping on my bed with my next door neighbour who is 3 years older than me. Now this is where it gets slightly hazy for my mum and us both - I either 'fell off' or was pushed off of the bed, hit my head on the way down and fainted. Apparently, my mum panicked (as all mothers of 2 year olds do when their normally particularly talkative child suddenly appears lifeless), and almost phoned an ambulance when little old me woke up and acted as if I'd received a tiny bump on the head and moved along! 


The next time was pretty simple. I was about 5 years old and in a moment of hysteria (okay, I was crying probably about my mum refusing to let me watch Sooty, Barney or Tots TV for the hundredth time that day), when I slipped off of a chair, hit the back of my head and fainted. All I needed this time was to be taken outside for a bit of fresh air and I was right as rain! Oh, and the third time? Yeah I don't remember that one....!


And the final time - and hopefully the LAST time, I was walking my dog with my mum and sister a few years ago. As we were crossing the road, a woman got out of her car to post a letter, left the keys in the ignition and a guy jumped in, drove off, mounted the pavement and almost hit my family and I. Scary times, huh?!


Ok... so I suppose that most of these situations probably don't seem very major or 'near life death experiencey' compared to things that has happened in other peoples' lives... but I tend to over exaggerate things a tiiiiiny bit...so I hope no one gets offended by my sort of 'near death experiences'.


Anyway, a slightly morbid post I suppose - but I did watch a film last night to feed my obsession with Meryl Streep: 'The Hours', which kind of explains why I had death on my mind - cheerful I KNOW!

Honestly, I wasn't all that impressed with the film. I read a short synopsis on imbd before watching it, and all I could gather was:

1. Nicole Kidman wears a ridiculously realistic prosthetic nose which makes it almost impossible for the first half an hour of the film to even realise that it actually is Nicole Kidman portraying Virginia Woolf.
2. All three of the protagonists experience suicide in some way in the film - happy happy HAPPY film.
3. All three of the protagonists also have certain lesbian encounters (which seeing as my favourite film is 'Rent' I didn't think I'd have a problem with.
4. Nicole Kidman won an Oscar for her role in it.

From reading this information, I really thought I'd find this film (as a film student, of course) interesting. Unfortunately not.

I'm not going to ruin the film for anyone who wants to watch it, but sadly I only give it 2/5 stars and don't really recommend it to anyone! *Sorry Stephen Daldry!*

Hope you've all had a wonderful day - and sorry for the long blog! Post again soon! :) xoxx

Joining the blogging world!

Hi! I'm new to the blogging world, so I better start off by introducing myself!

My name is Danielle Victoria Trainis. I'm 19 years young and studying Early Childhood Studies with Film, Radio and Television Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University. Originally from North West London (hence the blog name!), but loving Canterbury with all my heart!

Anyway, thought I'd get the ball rolling! My intention is blogging about interesting things that happen in my life - but I'm sure I'll come to find that my life really isn't all that interesting and nobody wants to know about me. SO I'll probably end up blogging about irrelevant nonsense that you people may laugh at. 

Who knows. Anyway, ENJOY! Love and Kisses! xoxx