20 things to do in your twenties!

My birthday is coming up soon and I'll be turning the grand old age of 20 (still young, I know) but as your 20s are known to be the years you are most fond of and the time to be selfish, I've put together a list of twenty things I think should be done before you have too many commitments and an excuse not to.

1. TRAVEL

This is a MUST, especially for those of you who have major wanderlust! The world is beautiful and should definitely be explored, either by yourself or with close ones.  

2. Road Trip! 

If this isn't the cliché Route 66, then travel your home country and learn to appreciate where you live. I love where I live (UK) and think it's really underrated as a travelling destination. 

3. Go out, stay in, do what you want and be selfish!

Once you're 20, you've left your teens and entered adulthood which means you are responsible for your own life, you choose what you want to eat and when you want to sleep. So go out if you want to and roll into work at some stupid time the following day, or stay in and curl up to Netflix and a glass of wine (or water, whatever). Just do what you enjoy before you have to think about someone other than yourself. 

4. Learn a new skill and master it. 

You literally have all the time in the world, so teach yourself something new! Maybe an instrument, language or craft? 

5. One last family holiday.

For old times sake. Before you're too busy to enjoy and appreciate your parents company. 

6. Girls/lads holiday.

While none of you have commitments, enjoy the freedom and each other's company!

7. Join a team or society.

What about a sports team, craft or music society? Wherever your interests lie. This way you can meet people who you otherwise may not and who share similar interests as you. 

8. Party all night! 

Before hangovers take days to subside.

9. Binge watch a television series.

While you have all this time to yourself, shamelessly binge on your netflix!

10. Experiment with hair colour and clothes style.

Because, why not? Find out what you love.

11. Enlighten yourself and keep learning! 

You may do most of your learning in your teens, but don't forget that your brain can still absorb information and you can never be over-educated!  

13. Spontaneous camp out with a group of friends.

Ditch your phones for a weekend and get back to nature with a group of friends! You'll find it can be really beautiful sleeping under the stars and refreshing to be away from technology for a time.

14.See some of the World's natural wonders.

Swim in a natural spring, get up early to view the sunrise or witness the aurora borealis and aurora australis.

15. Make mistakes, but learn from them. 

You're going to do stupid things and that's alright, just try not to make the same mistake twice.

16. Try something new. 

New foods, new drinks, new adventures, something you never thought you would do.

17. Treat yourself! 

Spend the money you've saved on something you've always wanted or recently been eyeing up!

18. Move out.

Live with friends or solo, you'll gain so much independence and learn a lot. 

Picture from houseandgarden.co.uk

19. Network.

You never know who you meet or what friends you'll make if you put yourself out there. These relationships could come in really handy later on in life.

20. Fall in love (even if just for a night). 

Wink, wink.

Hope this post has inspired you to make the most of your twenties! I'd love to know if you have any other ideas or recommendations?
Check out my Instagram here or check out my Pinterest for more inspo 

Visit Beth's profile on Pinterest.

Travel | Packing for a Summer Getaway

 Summer is the season for sunshine which, if you are living in the UK, usually means jetting away to a more tropical climate. If you are dreaming of hopping on a plane and topping up your tan, then have a look at a few of my tips for packing your suitcase suitable for all occasions abroad!

I'm lucky enough to be jetting off to Orlando, Florida tomorrow for my sister's 21st with my family for two weeks! I've been excitedly counting down the days, although amidst all of my university exams and moving out of my flat, I've left my packing to the last day, oops. 

I have been to Florida quite a few times before so am very familiar with the heat (and humidity) of the place, which doesn't bode well for someone with frizzy hair like me, and of course the theme parks (which you have to visit if you are going to Orlando!) which makes it easier for me to know what to pack.

Considering all of the above, I based what I packed on three things:
- Activities

- Comfort

- Occasions

and obviously I've taken the temperature into consideration.

The above are just a few outfits that I would wear on a daily basis. I've paired super comfy shoes (as I'll be doing a LOT of walking) with both crop and normal tops along with denim shorts, as it will be too hot to wear anything longer! (and obvs I want a tan). I've also added the option of a shirt and cardigan for extra warmth in case we go into an air conditioned restaurant, or if it gets cool at night (which honestly never happens. Yay!)

Accessories Jazz up the outfits, but aren't really suitable for major roller coasters as they'll most likely end up hitting me in the face and make for a hideous (although hilarious) photograph, so I'll probably be taking them on and off throughout the day. This is where a bag comes in REALLY handy, so don't forget one!    

I've packed more, versatile tops and a couple of skirts. The tops are all light-weight and can be paired with bottoms to either create a care-free and relaxed outfit, or a dressed-up outfit for the nights activities i.e. dining out. The same for the skirts; they are made from a heavier material but they are really comfy, colourful and cute, so I'm prepared to feel a little hotter wearing them, and they are also fine when wet as they wont chafe between your legs (lol, that word makes me laugh).  

One outfit I have brought specifically for 'dressing up' in is the outfit above. The tailored looking dress is a recent purchase from Topshop, and despite being quite a heavy material, it's perfect for the night. I've paired it with a statement necklace from Newlook, some gladiator sandals from White Stuff and a light-weight kimono, again, from Newlook.

The picture below shows the tailored dress from Topshop, a light-weight, floaty dress from TKMaxx, a thin maxi dress from Urban Outfitters and a cute, floral playsuit from Missguided. The last three are all really versatile outfits as the material is so thin and light. They will dry really easily and keep me cooler than some of my heavier pieces or clothing.  

Obviously I'll be taking swimwear, as I'll be hitting the water parks and we're staying in a villa with a pool, which is heavenly in their hot, hot climate! Both bikinis are from River Island.

I'll be taking makeup with me for my nights out, but I have narrowed down my options because I don't think it's necessary to take all of it. The weather will be so hot during the day that I will most likely sweat it off and I'll be wearing sunglasses which will help to cover up my bags and blood-shot eyes (from the chlorine, not alcohol. Cough..)

And there you go, that's all I'm taking clothes/makeup wise. Obviously I'll be taking other hygiene related products like deodorant, toothbrush etc.

To summarise I have packed:
- Comfy Shoes 

(Jelly Shoes, Roche Run Nike trainers and Gladiator Sandals) 

- Clothes for all occasions and suitable for the weather 
(Fancy meals, day-time wear, swim wear, night-wear)

- Accessories

(Sunglasses, necklaces and bracelets etc)

A good tip for jewellery is to place them in sealable, plastic bags so they don't tangle.

I hope this post helps, especially for you last minute kinda people!
Check out my Pinterest for some holiday destination inspo! 

Beth x

Follow Beth's board Wanderlust on Pinterest.

Made by me | Knitted Halter Neck Crop-Top

So this month I set myself the challenge of knitting my very own crop top. I have wanted to advance my skills technically within knitting for some time, but as I teach myself and have been busy with work and university I haven't really had the time or skill before now to do so. Seriously, if I was ever to pick up the knitting needles it would just be to knit ANOTHER hat, I've been knitting them so regularly that I could probably knit one in the dark. Just saying..

Anyway, I've been out shopping recently (after I finally finished my exams) and fell in love with all these knitted and crocheted crop tops/bralets/halternecks etc, but after looking at the prices of them I was a little put off; I knew I could make one for at least half the price and so I set myself the challenge.

I had bought some really beautiful coloured, blue yarn a couple of months ago and hadn't had a use for it up until I decided to knit my own top, it is really soft so I knew it would be perfect for wearing. 

I used 4.0mm straight needles and cast on 130 stitches (I'm a size 6/8 for tops as I have no boobs. cry)

I used a knit 2, purl 2 pattern until my stitches measured about 4cm and then proceeded to knit 1, purl 1 until that part of my work measured 15cm (so overall my work was 19cm). 

Obviously the length of your top depends on your own preference and personal measurements. I wanted my top to start just above my belly button.

Then I started to decrease my work, to create room for my arms. Here I would knit 2 together every third stitch, so I would use my usual pattern of knit 1 purl 1 and then knit 2 together, and then carry my pattern on. I did this until my work measured approximately 25cm accross. I then carried on knitting 1 and purling 1 until my work measured my overall desired length (around 30cm).

I put my work against my body to make sure it was the length I wanted and that it all looked alright, before I seamed the loose stitches at the top of my work together. Then I created a plaited, halter neck strap and attached that to my top. and finally seamed the back of my top together. 

The whole experience was a massive learning curve and took me about a week to finish (contributing about 3 or 4 hours a day as my hands begin to hurt when I knit for too long). I had nothing to guide me, I literally just used my knit and purl knowledge and guessed at what I was doing, so I'm extra proud that it worked out. Although there are things I would change, as it definitely isn't perfect and I am still altering my seaming on it, I'm determined to keep going until I have it right! 

I hope this helps any of you knitting novices, or anyone who wants to start knitting. It is super fun as you can literally make anything you want and you only really need to know the basics and have a bit of imagination! 

If you don't want to knit your own then here are a couple I love that you can buy online:

Vera Moda sleeveless knitted top, which you can buy from here.

Printed asymmetrical top from Zara. Clickable link here

I hope you enjoyed reading and feel inspired to make your own and get crafting! Check out my Pinterest board below for some crafty inspo
Beth x

Follow Beth Dallas's board Craft on Pinterest.

Travel | A long weekend in London

So I've not written a post for a while as I have been really busy with exams and moving out of Manchester, but now that I have finished my second year of uni, I've found a bit of time to talk about what I've been up to!

Recently I visited London with my boyfriend, Harry. I had been wanting to go for a while, and with both of us having time off we decided to book our tickets and go.

Before I begin, if you are reading this and considering going to London to do all of the 'touristy' things without a budget, like we did, then be prepared to spend a soul-crushingly large amount of money (unless you are already used to southern prices).. 

Harry and I stayed in The Wesley hotel, a two minute walk from Euston train station, it was a good hotel for what we wanted, having recently had a £3 million re-vamp the room was clean, comfortable and modern, with a large bathroom, although the room itself was a bit small; however we knew we wouldn't be spending much time in the hotel anyway. It was perfect for a long weekend. 

Friday | Euston, Piccadilly Circus and Soho.

We arrived early on a sunny Friday afternoon, dumped our bags in the hotel and then left to venture our surroundings. 

Cider Tap

Just 5 minutes walk away from the hotel, off of Euston road, was the 'Cider Tap' and the 'Beer Tap', basically two arches that doubled as bars, one serving beer and the other cider. We went into the cider bar for a quick drink, it was really quirky and relatively well priced, with a lot of different ciders on offer. I would definitely suggest going if you are nearby. 

Piccadilly Circus | Piccadilly Theatre

We walked from Euston to Piccadilly Circus, which took about 25 minutes and booked tickets for The Jersey Boys at Piccadilly Theater; we picked one of the cheaper options, but the lady who served us was nice enough to reserve our seats for one of the more expensive areas (which saved us a good £60). I would definitely recommend going to a theatre in Piccadilly Circus, there's always loads of shows on and it makes for such a memorable experience; keep in mind though, the price of the food and drink inside a theatre is REALLY expensive. If you are on a budget, I would suggest buying some snacks in a corner shop before hand. 

Food and Drink in Soho and Piccadilly Circus

We ate at Carbon in Soho, located on Brewer Street. The food was amazing and cheap, and reminded me of my holiday in Lisbon, Portugal (lots of sauce and meat, yum)! You can also take your food to go, so if you are going to the theater I'm sure you could buy food from Carbon first.

We then went to The Argylle, a pub located just a minute walk down the road from Carbon, it was really cheap (for London) and a very popular pub. There are a lot of pubs located around this area, making it an ideal area for a night out or pub crawl. 

Saturday | Leicester Square, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Southbank and Borough Market.

Leicester Square

Saturday we walked to Leicester Square, which is home to loads of quirky little cafes and restaurants. We visited The Garrick Arms, which had recently been re-decorated and looked really inviting. The breakfast menu had something to suit everyone and the waiters/barmen were really friendly and chatty. The portions set us up for a day of walking and the food was reasonably priced.

Buckingham Palace

We arrived at Buckingham Palace just in time to stumble across the changing of the guards, which was pretty cool and something that you should really take the time to see while you're there. There are beautiful parks to walk through surrounding the palace: St. James' Park and Green Park, which are very well maintained and manicured and beautiful on a sunny day. And if you're an architecture fan then you have to see the Palace!

Westminster

Here you can find Westminster Abbey, a beautiful, gothic church and again, if you appreciate architecture then you should definitely visit there. We also went to see Big Ben and the Houses of Commons/Palace of Westminster. 

Lambeth

We crossed over Westminster bridge (where a couple were having wedding photos taken!) and turned right at the end onto the embankment, where we walked for about 15 minutes until we came to a bar on a boat (known as Tamesis Dock); Harry really wanted to go into the boat bar, and it was really cool, like a tardis, so much bigger than what I initially thought it would be, although a little expensive but I think that's just because of the novelty of the place and well worth it really. 

Southbank/Southwark

After this we walked past the London Eye to Southbank/Southwark, where street food pop-up festivals were being held. Eventually we arrived at Borough Market (with a little help from Google Maps) and it was amazing! Food everywhere, bustling with people (although if you hate being packed like sardines, then maybe wait for a quieter time/day than Saturday.) I had fresh crab and harry ate oysters; we also went to The George Inn which was recommended to us by our waiter at The Garrick Arms, as it was one of the oldest pubs in London (I think), from the 17th century. 

 

Covent Garden 

There's a lot to be done in Covent Garden: Shopping, dining and drinking, and is home to some very quirky and popular shops/bars/restaurants with something for everyone, in an easy-to-navigate space. We were too late to go shopping, so we headed to Punch and Judy - a really popular although quite expensive bar. After here we ended up visiting a jazz bar, which cost £6 entry with a student card and £12 without. It had a 1920s feel, people were dressed up and seated at private tables, the experience was really unique and enjoyable, if you like music then I would recommend going.

Sunday | Trafalgar Square, Oxford Road and Covent Garden. 

Trafalgar Square

We ate in a nautical themed pub/restaurant called The Admiralty, which was super yummy! Generally well known for it's (VERY delicious) pies, happily reminding me of the North and it's traditional pie and mash. A must if you are in Trafalgar Square as it is quite reasonably priced and uniquely themed. 

Oxford Street

If you love shopping (or even if you don't) you have to go to Oxford street, the shops here literally have the best stock and the biggest shops, with something for everyone. Oxford Circus tube station is located here, which makes it really easy to carry a tonne of bags back to wherever you're staying, so don't worry about how you're going to carry all these bags around and carry on shopping! 

Covent Garden

 We booked a table at Joe Allens; it wasn't what we expected at all, located on a back street in Covent Garden we walked downstairs to a window-less room, but we were pleasantly surprised. It was quite busy and the food was very tasty, although the room was so dark I kept falling asleep. Next to Joe Allen's was a cocktail bar called Be At One, we happened to stumble in when it was 2 for 1, which meant I got 2 cocktails for £7.00 (yay).

Monday | Camden Market and Going Home. 

Monday, sadly, was our last day in London. We left our hotel at around 10am and headed to London Euston, hopping on the tube to Camden to make the most of the few hours we had left. 

The market was one big maze, and ideally I wouldn't have gone with a suitcase as all the paths were cobbled although the market was empty on Monday, so there wasn't the additional hassle of trying to push through a crowd of people. Not a lot of the stalls were open but those that were mainly sold bags, clothes or art; a lot of crafty things, so if you're interested in that then I would recommend a visit!  

Have you ever been to London? I'd love to know your favourite places to go in the City! Check out my Pinterest board below for more travel inspo!

Beth x

Follow Beth Dallas's board Wanderlust on Pinterest.

Beauty | Bobbi Brown Makeover

Harvey Nichols - Bobbi Brown - Manchester

As a very early birthday present, my mum thought it would be a nice idea to get a makeover at Bobbi Brown in Manchester. I'm not very well educated when it comes to makeup, or particularly concerned with buying only the 'best', which usually means the most expensive, but I have always been interested in having some sort of a beauty regime and I'm alright with splurging my money on makeup, once in a while. 

I booked the makeover two days in advance for the coming Friday, at the Bobbi Brown pop-up-store in Harvey Nichols; the ladies who worked there were great and rang me a day before the makeover just to make sure everything was still going ahead.

I decided to go for the 'ultimate makeup lesson' and my mum opted for the same but without foundation (she doesn't like to wear foundation, her skin's great anyway). I was seated and my makeover began as soon as I arrived. The makeup artists ask you questions before hand such as 'what is your daily beauty regime?' 'what makeup do you wear?' 'what would you like to learn from today?' I knew I wanted to find a foundation that was not only the closest match to my skin, but that was durable and would last me all day, and I also wanted to leave with a personalised beauty regime. I told  the lady (Wendy) who was doing my makeup all of this and she started from the very beginning: keeping your skin clean and worked all the way through to a full face of makeup. 

CLEANSING

I told Wendy that I use makeup wipes and then wash my face with water to clean off my makeup, apparently makeup wipes only drag your dead skin across your face and don't properly take off makeup and water doesn't really do anything. Wendy used a Cleansing Oil and Bobbi Brown Soap to clean my face and I could see and feel the difference, my skin felt a lot smoother and looked brighter and cleaner. Wendy then applied serum and moisturiser to my face, which left it feeling really soft. 

MAKEUP

Foundation

Wendy applied foundation first, trying three different foundations on my face (my cheek, forehead and chin), she picked the colour which closest matched my skin. She cleaned off the foundation and then applied the foundation which matched using a foundation brush, she said not to use your fingers to apply foundation as firstly, it's unhygienic and secondly she personally felt that you could get better coverage and a nicer finish using a brush.  

Concealer & Corrector.

After the foundation was applied Wendy applied eye cream under my eyes and then added correcter, which is pink to cancel out the blueness of bags under my eyes, she dabbed it in so that it blended into my foundation as well, then she applied concealer and set it with powder.  

Extras

Once the base of my makeup was applied, Wendy used powder to set the makeup, only applying it to my T-Zone as it is a bit oily and the rest of my face is dry so I didn't need powder on my cheeks. 

She also applied a small amount of bronzer to my face, to add a bit of definition, depth and colour, as well as some Shimmer Brick highlighter to my cheeks which gave me a dewy complexion. Wendy finally applied a cream blusher (because I have drier cheeks). She said the blusher colour should resemble how you look when your face is flushed. Wendy dabbed the blusher onto my cheeks and spread it using a blunt, thick brush.

Wendy also added eyeliner above my eyes, mascara and defined my eyebrows to finish off.

 I think the makeover was a great idea, my mum and myself had a great time. Our makeovers looked so natural; the makeup used felt really light on my skin and spread really evenly, and the ladies who gave us our makeover were so lovely and really easy to talk to.

The only downside to the day is that the makeup is SO expensive, I personally feel you could find very similar equivalents for a lot cheaper, but I decided to splurge on some of the items they used on me anyway.

    BEFORE

AFTER

Hope you enjoyed the read. I'd love to know what kind of makeup you use or your beauty regime? Do you use Bobbi Brown too, or do you swear by a different brand? 

The link to Bobbi Brown website is here