Month by Numbers: Ice, ice, baby

7 favourites...

1.) I left on a jet plane and hopped over to Iceland and it was unlike anyone I'd ever been on holiday.

The sunshine was swapped for snowy mountain-tops and bikinis were out while thermals were in. 

We galloped around geysers, went chasing after waterfalls and soaked our troubles away in the Blue Lagoon.

I came back feel uber-zen and my soul feeling as happy as Larry.
(and skint. very skint. Reykjavik is expensive y'all.)

2.) But you know what doesn't cost a thing? Love. 

So when my lil' nephew ran and threw his arms around me when I arrived for a surprise visit, boy did my 

heart feel all warm and fuzzy.

Oh, and when he told me he likes me visiting and wants me to come back on a sunny day? 

Well, I'm done. No emotions left in me cus he's taken them all.

3.) Perks of my jobs are one of the best things about my job and this month has been particularly brilliant.

First thing's first is the opening of a new gaming bar. Four Quarters in Peckham is filled with old arcade games

and holds a special place in my heart. So when they invited me to the opening of their new bar, for a night

of beer, burgers and video games, well how could a girl refuse?

Also, I won Street Fighter, and my girl Chun Li came out with this, on International Women's Day nonetheless.

Jumping for joy like chocolate frog that I'm drunk off butterbeer on Diagon Alley 🔮✨#forbiddenforest #WBTourLondon #harrypotter #HP #diagonalley #london #boomerang #gif #instavideo #instavid #video

A post shared by Amy Lo 🐚 (@amylo92) on Mar 28, 2017 at 1:39pm PDT

4.) Secondly, a night to galavant around the Harry Potter studios while I chomp on canapes and sip on bubbly?

Erm, YES PLEASE. I got invited to the opening of the new forbidden forest at the studios, and despite having 

been before, going after hours with booze somehow seems more mischievous. 

5.) Last, but not least, the third perk was a night to run around Thorpe Park like a bunch of school kids. 

And free beers, which I didn't take full advantage of because I didn't want to embarrass myself on rides!

I haven't been on a rollercoaster in about 10 years, and I used to get my kick out of them, and I'm proud 

to say that after some initial nervous-ness, I still bloody love them (and love to swear on them it seems...)

The Last Thing on my Mind when I went on a Steps night out was that actual @officialsteps would turn up to Stomp all night. Pretty sure I turned a Deeper Shade of Blue from excitement as 8-year-old me was SHOOK 😱💃🏻🌟 @middletonhadley @welovepopclub @lisascottlee1 @fayetozersmith @princessclarabella @ianhwatkins #deepershadeofblue #videocollage #video #collage #nightout #weekend #instavid #steps #90s #london #vsco #vscocam

A post shared by Amy Lo 🐚 (@amylo92) on Mar 12, 2017 at 5:03am PDT

6.) Steps was one my favourite bands growing up, so when they reunited and released a new single that 

was everything I wanted to be and more, I was all over it. 

(Groups looking to have a reunion - THAT'S how it's done. Don't try and be 'relevant'. Don't lose your identity!)

So when me and friend went to a Steps themed night out, expecting an evening of fun and silly dancing,

and lo and behold, the actual band decided to show up!

We were excited to say the least.

7.) On March 22nd, an attack happened in Westminster and people were killed and injured.

I never thought I would see the city that I'm living in, trending on social media as people prayed for us.

My heart was breaking, and this happens all to much all over the world, all the time sadly. 

It's always horrific, always shocking. But when it's happening to London, to your home...

But I couldn't be prouder to be British and live in London. While the media were scaremongering and 

portraying to the rest of the world that we were stopped with few, in actual fact, mere hours after the 

awful event, the Westminster tube stop was open and running again.

Our Shaun of the Dead 'let's go to the Winchester' spirit will never be beaten. 

5 tweets....

1.) Woman next to me on the train has a bottle of wine in handbag, listening to Streisand & whipped out a
cheese toastie. She knows how to LIVE 

2.) Back in the day I would've already started drinking & putting my lashes on for a night out.

Now, I've just cleaned the house & made a tea 

3.) Papa Lo just fed some Pringles cus I've painted my nails and they're still wet. My dad's a babe 

4.) Brother laughed that I have feminist badge on my jacket. C'mon bro, get with the programme, this has 

been the situation for years now! 

5.) It actually felt like spring today! I'm happy as my natural comfy state is in sunnies (which @anna_tabs 

points out is a Mariah statement ) 

3 songs...

1.) Little Mix - Beep Beep

This is just pop-tastic, fantastic. Makes me feel like I'm a Pink Lady in Grease and about to break out 

into a synchronised doo-wop dance routine.

2.) Gavin James - I Don't Know Why

This makes me feel SO excited about summer and when Gavin goes all falsetto to sing the leading lines,

boy does it give me goosepimples.

3.) Sigala - Only One 

If Gavin James' song makes me think of summer in a chilled on the beach, watching the sunset kinda way. 

Then Sigala makes me think of summer in a 'opps, I accidentally got drunk by day-drinking in a beer

garden all day' kind of way. Very mad. Very excitable. Very happy.

It's the golden labrador of songs.

Month by Numbers: gals & good times

7 favourites...

1.) One of the reasons I love my job so much is because of the people. So when there's a chance to drink and be merry with said people, that's time well spent, especially when that day is Valentines Gal-entines Day. A day of love spent with my loves!
 And you can beat anytime that the Bella Babes are out on the town, there's bond to be prosecco, espresso martinis, Instagrams on fleek, laughing in unison and hazy memories the next day.

2.) Continuing on my bid to see more of the country I live in, I headed to Oxford to spend some time with some of my favourite uni babes, and Oxford just happens to be the same distance for all of us to travel. We ate, we drank, we wondered around feeling uber-British and we climbed up a castle in the rain. Time. Well. Spent.

3.) I got my bake on this month y'all. Because when you need to bake a surprise cake for your bff's birthday, only a chocolate cake with Nutella frosting and a peanut butter glaze will do. Oh, and covered in gold stars and glitter of course. 

And would you just LOOK at this bad boy! Not only is it the first time I've ever made a swiss roll (hence some cracks on it...don't worry, just throw some glitter on it, that's what I do for everything else in life anyway), but it's drench in motherflipping emojis. You're welcome. 

4.) If you know me in any capacity, you'll know how much I love Adele. She's gotten me over heartbreaks and gotten me into sassy 'over you' mode. She's hilarious, engaging, has ALL the emotions and let's not even get started on her voice. 

So when she won Best Album at the Grammys and said she couldn't accept her award because she though Beyonce deserved it, and then shared her award with her Cady Heron outta Mean Girls style? Well, my love for her just went up another level. 

5.) After nearly 3 years of living in London, I finally got round to seeing some of the iconic sights. And all it took was for a London newbie to move into town so I could use the excuse to show them around. Lizzie was in the royal house and Big Ben was chiming. 

6.) And on the flipside of all the London tourist sights is all the greenery that the big smoke has to offer. Some Sheffield huns came down to visit and we spent all day just meandering around Hampstead Heath, coo-ed at all the doggos, sang Disney songs, and the sun even came out for the occasion. 

7.) Social media is fucking great. Not a surprising statement to make from this millennial here, I know. But there I was, scrolling away, and then came across someone sharing some pretty badass t-shirts, and as a slogan tee obsessive, I clicked on it straight away. But they were so much more than a sassy slogan tee. Lolli, aka Girl Stole London, is the genius behind these tees, and also the babe that is kicking cancer in the tits. She writes about her battle in a really honest, real and hilarious way in which her personality really shines. As someone who's seen their loved one go through cancer, it can be scary and you can have fear instilled into you constantly and it's refreshing to hear about it from a down-to-earth and logical way (read more here boo).

So if you love a slogan tee as much as I do, get one from here, look great with 25% of proceeds going toward Breast Cancer Haven, do a great thing while doing so.

5 tweets...

1.) Work wifey @anna_tabs: "I'm looking at houses to buy" 

Me: "...I'm looking for lace0up bodysuits to buy" 

2.) Woman in the office: 'you always wear nice clothes, I have wardrobe envy!' Girl, I've been curating that shit all my life 

3.) I'm wearing a mini-skirt & the lipliner is ON...I think I'm over the worst of the illness guys! 

4.) Booking a Jacqueline Wilson event & drinking honey & lemon, while in my boxing kit listening to Skepta...I'm multi-faceted ok 

5.) Finished a double page health & diet feature at work, just in time for cake o'clock 

3 songs...

1.) Katy Perry - Chained to the Rhythm

This pop bish is back y'all, and doing what she does best. Good, ol' pop, but this time with an important message to say along with the catchy tune.

2.) DJ Khaled, Beyonce & Jay-Z - Shining

All the swag you could ask for to accompany you on your morning commute.

3.) Starley - Call On Me

This makes me so ready for summer, WHERE ARE THOU?!

Month by Numbers: fireworks & festivities

7 favourites...

1.) Never mind winter is coming Jon Snow, winter is well and truly here. And yes that means i'm shivering to deathwhile waiting for my train (but then immediately boiling when i get on it), but it also means steaming hot drinks, hibernating under blanket and all the autumnal boots, hats and dark lipsticks that you could wish for.

2.) One of my favourite nights of the year is Bonfire Night. It's just an everning to feel all snuggled up and always feels like  the start of the festive season with the cold air, massive scarves and mulled wine. And this year, I made my way up north to Manchester and was huddled around the bonfire with some of my favourite girls, drinking mulled wine and 'ooh-ing' and 'ahh-ing' at al lthe pretty bonfires. We spent the whole weekend basically doing nothing nad it was bliss. We chatted the world to rights on everythng from ironing and feminism, to fluffy jumpers and our hopes and dreams, all while sipping on Baileys hot chocolate covered in a mountain of marshmallows. YUM.

3.) Someone came into my life as if it was a British romcom from the 90s starring Hugh Grant. We met on the tube (I KNOW) and things were ticking along. I knew he wasn't for life, but he was nice enough and our time spent together was fun enough for, well, now. I'm an eternal optimist and forever want to see the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt. But sadly, this came person proved me and my glass-half-full nature wrong and came out of it as soon as they came in. I can forgive busy schedules, I can forgive you not a fan of my emojis, but i can't forgive rude-ness. Nop. Boy, BYE.

Thanks @bellaitaliarestaurants for teaching me how to make my favourite food: fresh blooming pasta! Also thanks for feeding me ALL the carbs - I'm one happy & full lil piggy 🍝🐽🇭🇺 #cooking #foodstagram #instafood #italian #foodporn #food #pasta #instavid #video #collage #london #vsco #vscocam

A video posted by Amy Lo 🐚 (@amylo92) on Nov 10, 2016 at 5:22am PST

4.) There are few things in life that I love more than food and carbs in particular. So when Bella Italia asked me if I wanted to taste their new menu and also learn to cook some of the dishes and how to make fresh pasta myself, I was there quicker than Wilde E.Coyote trying to catch Road Runner. I rolled out dough, tossed some pasta and ate so much delicious Italian food, puddings and wine that I almost needed to be rolled home.

5.) What better way to get into the festive spirit than ice skating outside the tower of London! but of course, because it's England, it's never long until it rains and ruins all the fun. But fear not, when the ice rink turns into a slippery hazard, there's an ice bar and a tour of the Tower to indulge in. Learning abotu the Tower of London made me feel like I was on a school and also like I know nothing about the city I live in as I soaked up and was equally creeped out and fascinated by all the history. 

6.) I went to a few screenings this month which including the magical Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the fabulous E! series on Mariah Carey. But a big tick in my book for very different reasons, but the fact that at the Mariah screening there were diva-appropriate pink cocktails and a gold glittery photobooth that had a wind machine kinda was just like being in a diva playground.

One of the most talented, humble & fun people I've seen live. It was a pleasure dancing along to you @jackgarratt 💃🏻🎉🎸 #london #livemusic #live #gig #confetti #lights #music #collage #video #instavid #videocollage #vsco #vscocam

A video posted by Amy Lo 🐚 (@amylo92) on Nov 24, 2016 at 12:24am PST

7.) Jack Garratt is some kind of musical genius. Him, drums, a sound baord and some back up singers and it was was of the most engaging gigs I've been to. And the best thing is despite absolutely killing it on the scene, he's still got so much genuine excitment, creativity and adorable disbelief that he gets to do what he gets to do as living, and I think we can all afford to be a bit more Jack Garratt in our jobs.

5 tweets...
1.) In an attempt to drown my sorrows, I went to the vending machine & it dished out 2 of my selected treat. World's not COMPLETELY broken then
2.) Reading stories w/my nephew this moring & he stopped to say 'Amy, I'm having fun with you!' HEART. MELTED.

3.) When you see a photo of young Trump & have the awful realisation that your ex looks like him (key word here being EX )

4.) I'm singing Colours of the Wind at the top of my lungs while dancing around my room in my underwear....what about you?

5.) "The pièce de résistance was the hash brown" - an actual thing I said. (And I meant it. It was a pork belly & hash brown quesillda guys!)

3 songs....
1.)  Sexual - Neiked ft.Dyo

Not to get TMI but this song is as it suggests, a lil bit sexual. ALSO, how does she hit those high notes? Believe me, I've tried in the shower, and I can tell you it does NOT sound the same.

2.) Pour some sugar on me - Def Leppard


For some reason I was a bit obsessed with this song when I was about 15 and although I'm not sure why, my god do I applaud teenage me. It makes me want to do knee slides on a bar countertop in a Coyote Ugly style, and whips my hair into a backcombed mess.

3.) After the afterparty - Charli XCX

This is kinda a bit Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl, as in you can imagine it being played at some prom and everyone chanting along with it. And I enjoy that bubblegum pop goodness immensely.

Until next time,

A.x

Month by Numbers: N64, night moves & namaste

7 favourites...

1.) October has basically been intervals os being jam-packed busy with plans, and then being a lazy coach potato. One day i might get the perfect balance instead of going from one extreme to another, but for now, this is what my life looks like.

2.) What better way to spend get over the hump in the middle of the week than go bake the biggest cake you ever did see, and being taught to do so by a past Bake-Off winner. It felt my ateries clogging up with diabetes as I was making the chocolate and sweets covered doubled up monster, but my-god was it worth it. Drinking bubbly and icing chocolate fingers on a cake with your buddy. What a great British evening eh!

3.) For my birthday, my flatmates got this yoga-loving bear a trip to do yoga while overlooking the city of London at the top of the Shard. So at the crack of dawn, I headed out into a crisp and quiet central London and my god, the early morning was more than worth it. I spent an hour just contemplating the big ol' city while stretching every limb. I left feeling refreshed and relaxed - just the R&R this bear needed in the midst of the London hubbub.

4.) Growing up with 2 older brothers meant I was a bit of a game freak. You might not of guessed what with the fluffy lilac bag and sparkly skirts, but throw a Nintendo controller my way and i'm a happy bunny. So a bar where you can play arcade and videos games - old and new - until your heart's content? I'm running there quicker than a a blue shell flying through Mario Kart. And with such a fab place, it was hardly surprising that it was busy and filled to the brim with people having a ball. So when it came to time for me and my friend Thea wanting to play some old school N64, we made some gaming buddies. They scoffed with pity as they offered me the character of Princess Peach and picked 50cc for our benefit. Cue me whopping their asses on Mario Kart and Thea thrashing them on SNES Street Fighter. If that isn't girl power, well, then I don't know what is.

5.) And now onto night out of a completely different calibre. For my gorgeous friend Chez's birthday. I went for the nicest pre-drinks of sushi and Prosecco (come a long way since the days of Apple Sourz and Dominoes!) before heading to Piano Works which was THE most fun! With a live piano band taking centre stage, there's no set list, the crowd hopped up on tequila shots and beer request all the songs and they just kill it each and every single time. Form Outkast and Gangsta's Paradise to All About That Bass and Spice Girls and everyone is just having a ball.

6.) Having a couple of days of holiday left to use up at work, I used up some for a long weekend to go back home for some peace and quiet from the city life. Life and work and all that's in between is so damn tiring - being an adult is tough y'all! So sometimes you just need to go back to your hometown, to your parents and just sleep, be fed and spend afternoons chasing your nephew from a field of pumpkins. Feel like a new woman after that long weekend! That is, until I got back to London and hopped on the tube...

7.) I love a theme so it's unsurprising that I love Halloween. Our house was covered in cobwebs, we were splattering blood (fake, of course) all over my flatmate's wedding dress ("Zombie bride? An ex-wife" - name that film!) After going my fave babe Ariel fora friend's birthday before, i've been desperate to go as Ursula for Halloween and finally did it. There was purple in my face, white in my hair and gin in my tummy. Which I'm pretty sure is why I felt like a poor unfortunate soul the next morning...

5 tweets...

1.) Life as the youngest person in the office: my editor just asked me if I new what a jukebox was

2.) Sat here with my carrots and hummus before sacking that in and cutting myself a fuck-off massive slice of cake
3.) People need to go on more 'mate-dates' cus @delphinechui & I went from social media buddies to IRL friends  #LevelUp 
4.) Just had Diet Coke moment: Hot moving guy came into our female filled office. Tried to be cool, strut by. Fell into a door intstead..
5.) Haven't seen my aunt for a while and she just said 'have you said thank you to your mum & dad for making you so beautiful?...WHAT?!? 

3 songs...

1.) I am a fully-fledged feminist through and through so when H&M released this bomb-dope ad showing what it REALLY means to be a lady, i was all on board. Being a lady doesn’t just mean swanning around mansions and swishing their dresses in fields. They also get on the tube and love to chow down on meals.  Oh, and that babe that is Lion Babe’s cover of a Tom Jones classic encompasses this perfectly. 

2.) Little Mix are one of the only and best girl bands around at the moment. Watching them perform and sing sassy lil’ songs as a something makes me feel the same kind of girl power that  I felt when I was throwing peace signs to Spice Girls in my bedroom. And when it comes to break-up songs, there’s the ones that you just want to sob to as you drown in your bottle of wine, but after that, you need something feisty and this is that. When you need to say to your ex, ‘yeah it’s nice what we had and yeah i was sad for a bit, but i’m so much better than ok now so cheers for that.’

3.) This is just one of those songs that make you want to ditch just plain ol’ walking all together and stut like you own the place. I find a new one of these songs ever so often, but sadly my grounds for strutting around is just the the northern line on the London underground, which usually is accompanied with mice , At lease this song makes it feel more glam than that eh? 

March: pink-filled days & lovers haze

March means the beginning of Spring, which is perfect to wear ALL the fun clothes, including but not limited to dungarees with orange polka-dots, and, dungarees (yes, again - are you even suprised?) with metallic pink shoes.

Not that the weather or other seasons have stopped me from silly style before. You're talking to the girl who notoriously chooses fashion over function here.

But even when there's been drizzly days and gloomy moods, it's been consoled by the comfort of slouchy jumpsuits and kick-ass monochrome. CK straps AND Adidas stripes? Oh, I am being spoilt...

Who knew this Sport Spice would be making an appearance on here eh?

And when I do have to go into work and face being a real life, I can be safe in the knowledge of knowing that I actually can pull of being a real adult with a shirt on and everything. Well, apart from the laser gun phone case..

Let's face it though, we all know that a low-cut wrap around shirt covered in stars is much more my speed. Especially when covered with multiple necklaces and my hair dipped in candy cotton pink.

But whether it's stars or hearts splattered all over me, one thing's for sure. I'm a lover and not a fighter. A girl power choker dripping in 90s nostalgia, or a perfectly on-point pin reminding people: 'don't be a dick' should do the trick of letting you know that.

But if they haven't clued you up on how filled up with love I am as a person, then the amount of pink I own from nails to shoes and fluffy creature-d keyrings will. That colour is da bomb anyway.

If ever my Jigglypuff-esque gets trampled on by the weight of the world, then I just need to pop on my ice-cream coloured feather gilet, and fly away to the suburbs for a bit - revealing in the countryside and sauntering around old manors. 

 And if there's bubbly too? Well, that's just a bonus.

Oh and if you're in need for a quick fix of joy and happiness? Get yourself to a braid bar and get your hair done. 

You'll feel like a princess. And a sassy one at that.

Until next time,

A.x