Blogging

BODYSHOP HAUL

Published on November 11, 2018November 7, 2018 by simplycarinaxo12 Comments

Good morning beautiful souls,

I recently purchased some new Bodyshop goods, products I haven’t tried before. I thought about doing a first impressions post, but then decided to try them out a little first before reviewing them. So without further ado, here’s what I thought:

Waterproof Mascara –

I’m going to be blunt – I hate it and definitely will not be repurchasing this again! Saying that I like the brush, it makes for a an easy application and creates good lash length. However the product itself leaves me with dark circles under my eyes quite quickly and removing it at the end of the day is practically impossible without ripping out half of my eyelashes!

Lipgloss –

I didn’t need a new lipgloss but this beautiful shimmery metallic rose tone just wanted to be bought haha. The application brush is a works really well and the lipgoss has a nice consistency and sparkle to it without being uber shiny and sticky which I hate.

Vitamin E Face Cream –

I’ve been really enjoying this face cream as it is nice and light and doesn’t feel like it clogs up your skin. The reason I picked this though is because it has an SPF 30. It’s important to remember to protect our skin from the UV rays in autumn and winter too when the sun and sunburn aren’t as obvious! I use this every morning and am very likely to repurchase!

Primer –

I’m going to admit I one of these people who doesn’t really pay much attention to primers, I mean I understand what they do, but as to whether my makeup is really smoother or stays on longer, I really couldn’t tell you. Saying that it does make the application process easier and does seem to soften and even out the skin well.

Have you tried any of these products?! I’d love to know 🙂

VEGAN CAMP OUT 2018

Published on August 26, 2018September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxo9 Comments

Good morning beautiful souls,

Last weekend I went on my first proper solo trip! I went camping, to a festival all by myself and I’m glad I did! I get huge travel anxiety so this was a big deal for me, but I coped! Woohoo! I didn’t have a panic attack and best of all I had great time and met some lovely people! The festival I was attending was the Vegan Camp Out Festival at Newark Showground. With this being a very new festival (only it’s 3rd year running) I’d say it’s still a learning curve for the organisers too, but considering the number of attendees more than doubled from last year, it went down super well, there were no major hiccups and everyone had a blast.

I departed lunchtime on Friday with far too much stuff (but hey I was only used to going camping with the car where you can chuck as much as you like on the back seat aha, so considering this I think I managed to reduce my camping kit considerably!). Jessica kindly helped me carry all my things to the train station and from there on I just about coped; luckily I had a direct train and once I arrived in Newark it was a just a taxi ride from the station to the showground and a little walk to the campsite.

It was soo windy when I arrived that being by myself and with a brand new tent (which I hadn’t practised putting up beforehand) I really struggled to set up camp. Luckily some kind stranger next to me asked if I needed any help and together with the tips of two passing guys who had a similar tent we eventually, after what felt like hours, managed to erect it although I was a bit dubious as to whether it would stay up with the way the wind was knocking it around. Once I had my sleeping mat rolled out and the fairy lights put up though I was very happy with my spacious but cosy home for the next 2 nights (I had a 4 person tent all to myself which was rather lovely I’m not going to lie).

Before going to the Vegan Camp Out I’d joined a Facebook group created for all the lone travellers, so that we could interact and arrange somewhere to all camp together. However I also knew that my experience would be ruined if I were to be kept awake all night by loud neighbours haha so I decided to camp in the designated Quiet area. I had been nervous about plonking my tent amidst strangers but before going I by chance ended up making friends with a lovely girl named Molly via Instagram. She was coming to the festival with her boyfriend and they decided to camp with me for which I was very grateful. About three hours after I got there Molly and her boyfriend Will finally arrived and set up camp next to me.

After settling in, we decided to check out some of the talks and went to listen to guitarist Jona Weinhofen’s personal vegan story, before ALF (Animal Liberation Front) founder Ronnie Lee took to stage and gave a very motivating speech about why we should not just be passive vegans but take to the streets and become activists. Having spent a good 9 year in prison himself for being an animal rights activist this guy’s passion for animals and their welfare is seriously inspiring!

Later in the evening I met up with Sam (a guy who’d messaged me from the Facebook lonelies group a day or two before the festival). We went to listen to the reggae legend that is Macka B and then sat down to chat the night away. Okay, okay you got me, we didn’t actually chat the night away. I mean I would have loved to, it was so lovely just chilling and chatting and Sam was super nice but I was literally yawing like every 2 mins come 12pm haha, so we called it a night.

The next day Molly, Will & I went to some more talks and workshops, including one by founder of the Carnisim Debunked website, which were all very informative and thought provoking. One of the talks held by Earthling Ed had such a huge crowd I only just managed to squeeze in at the back, but I’m glad I did – it was amazing hearing him talk in person, what a guy!!!

We treated ourselves for lunch and had some vegan pie & mash (I went for the mushroom one) which was so yummy and went off to listen to more talks such as by Peter Hammarstedt a Sea Shepherd Captain.

In the afternoon we decided we wanted to go to the screening of Dominion. Watching Dominion was so difficult, not everyone made it through the whole film. It was very harrowing to watch – it’s a stark & emotional reminder of why we as vegans do not eat animal produce! Hearing the cries of anguish from mothers and calves being separated, bearing witness to the thousands of animals repeatedly abused, watching as foxes are skinned alive for their fur, seeing baby chicks get conveyorbelted into a shredder just because they are male, having hidden cameras reveal the disgusting dirty & cramped conditions farmed animals live in….. the list of unnecessary, inhumane cruelty we inflict is truly endless, terrible and heart-breaking!

❤

PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE, START DOING SOME RESEARCH TO INFORM YOURSELVES MORE ON THE IMPACT ANIMAL AGRICULTURE HAS ON ANIMAL WELFARE, OUR EVNIRONMENT & OUR HEALTH! IT’S SUCH AND IMPORTANT TOPIC!

Here’s some sites to get you started:

Carnism Debunked – Plant Proof – Must Watch Informative Vegan Documentaries

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Well after a difficult afternoon, we went back to our tents to rest a little more before having dinner. I’d brought most of my food for the weekend with me (far too much in the end aha) and so I made an avocado salad sandwich but joined Molly and Will by the food stalls to treat myself to some vegan Churros for dessert. Annoyingly they ran out of chocolate sauce, 2 people in front of me?! Say what?! But they were just as tasty with just sugary cinnamon!

In the evening we went to see the last bit of Simon Amstell’s show on the main stage and have a good laugh. Molly and Will went back to their tent after this and I headed off to find Sam and hang out with him and some other lonelies grooving away to JME! After JME it was time for the afterparty, but I was pretty tired by then and knew I had an early enough start the next morning so I made my way back to my tent. Sam came back with me to my tent (I was forcing my leftover booze on him as I did so not want to have to carry it all the way home again aha) but instead of going back to the party straight away he stayed a while and we talked a bit more which was really nice as I felt like we’d just clicked really well. Eventually I did go to bed though and Sam went off to continue the party, well into the early hours of the morning apparently (I’m so glad I’d listened to myself and did not sleep in the lonelies area of the camp as this had apparently been the afterparty of the afterparty area where I would have got 0 sleep).

Anyway I woke the next day to a grey sky and chilli morning which made getting out of my toasty sleeping bag rather difficult. I had hoped both mornings to be up and awake to join in on the morning yoga sessions, but totally failed both mornings, preferring my cosy lie ins aha! But this morning I couldn’t lie in too long as our taxi was booked back to the station for 11.30am (following the horrendous queues for taxis to the festival we made sure to book on Saturday for Sunday, and I’m glad we did otherwise who knows how long we’d have had to wait!). I’d packed my things together quite quickly and was having my breakfast by the time Molly & Will woke up and in the end our tents were all dissembled quicker than I thought, which was good though because it meant we could still go to one of the morning talks before leaving. I was also a good call getting up earlier as it started to rain and so we just about had everything packed away before it got too wet!

Once we made it to the train station the last leg of my trip began as I had almost 4 hours to wait for my train home. It wasn’t too bad though, I read my book (The Handmaid’s Tale), drank coffee and before I knew it 4 hours had flown by and I was on my way home.

I apologise for this essay of a blog post, but I guess I’m not good at being short and precise aha, so you get the long winded ramblings of my weekend adventure! I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about what I got up to and might even be inspired to check out some of the links 🙂

MY FAVOURITE FRESH JUICE

Published on May 14, 2018March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo11 Comments

Good morning beautiful souls,

I hope you had a great weekend! I must apologise for not posting last night, I had a busy weekend and was busy socializing both evenings and thus didn’t get around to finishing a post. So I thought I’d recycle a post this morning as it’s an easy peasy recipe for a fresh yummy start to a new week.

Here goes, this is my absolute favourite fresh juice of all time. Sadly making fresh juice can be quite expensive sometimes, so this is a treat, however occasionally you can find reduced fruit so keep your eyes open and look in local fruit and veg shops too!

The drink – it’s nothing special, just freshly squeezed oranges, grapefruits and lime with a sprig of mint, but the combination is kinda amazing!

I would usually squeeze 3 oranges, 1 red grapefruit, 1 lime and garnish with a sprig of mint. I would also recommend popping the freshly squeezed juice in the fridge to chill before drinking or adding and ice cube or two – it is the most tasty and refreshing when cool!

Well I really hope you all make this because I’m obsessed with this juice aha. Do let me know if you try & enjoy it too!

THE VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD

Published on January 28, 2018January 28, 2018 by simplycarinaxo17 Comments

Hey there beautiful souls,

The other day I was nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by the lovely Sarah from Vintage Tea Rose – so firstly I’d like to say a big thank you to Sarah for nominating me! And secondly, if any of you don’t follow her already you should definitely go check out her beautiful blog!

RULES

Thank the person who gave you this award and link to their blog.
List 7 things about yourself.
Nominate 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award

7 THINGS ABOUT MYSELF

I am quarter German, quarter Austrian and half Northern Irish. I was born in Germany and lived the first 11 years of my life there; which means I am fluent in German, although admittedly somewhat rusty.
I have 16 piercings and 11 tattoos, here’s just a few:

If I could travel back in time I would choose to visit the roaring 20’s with all the fabulous music and dancing in all the speakeasies or I would go even further back to the times of Jane Austen in the regency era, the fashion and the accomplishments ladies had to have in those days are right up my street. They had to be musical, artistic, enjoy reading… I mean those are my main talents, so what’s not to like?! (and I know I know it was only the upper classes who had those privileges, but you know, one can still dream hehe )
I graduated with a BA in Fine Art in 2016 (if you’d like to see some more of my art click here or follow me on Instagram @carinaroxannenausnerart) I love working with many mediums from photography to painting, printmaking and mixed media.

I am pretty much the same height and shoe size as my mum and sister which is 5ft 2in & size 5 / 38
I have never travelled outside of Europe, something I mean to change as soon as I have saved up some dosh!
About 3 years ago I shaved all my hair off for the Macmillan charity. I went from beautiful long red hair to a level 2 buzz cut!

NOMINATIONS

Savanna from Rose Recast
Bradley from Brakinsop
Michelle from Plantiful Trail
Jasmin from UGHMANGO
Maria from What Is Maria
Rebecca from All Things Allatt
Angela from The Life Of Angela
Kat from KatX
Sarah from Sarah Aurora
Miggy from Kpop Khop

(Note: Yes I know there aren’t 15 nominations here, sorry guys! Hope you enjoyed this post though)

FAJITAS

Published on January 19, 2018March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo19 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

The other day I made vegan fajitas – it’s one of my favourite easy meals to make and so I thought I’d share my recipe with you – I hope you enjoy!

(serves 4-5 people)

Ingredients:

1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 red pepper
3 large tomatoes
1 chilli
1 can of kidney beans
Tofu (Instead of meat I use tofu, although I guess you could use vegan mince as well)
Fajita spices
Salad
Wraps

Method:

Chop up your onion, garlic, pepper, chilli and tomatoes
Drain the tofu and cut up, then marinate in the fajita spices. Tofu by itself is rather tasteless I feel, but marinate it in fajita spices and it changes everything.
Fry your onion and garlic in a little olive oil, once a little brown add the peppers and chilli. After 5 mins add the tomatoes and kidney beans
Wash the salad (I used Kale to fill the fajitas, but it is quite coarse so any other salad would work well too)
Fill your wraps (I recently discovered these amazing beetroot and spinach wraps in Tesco – I definitely recommend). Alternatively you can use romaine lettuce as a wrap which makes for a lighter fresh meal.

Now sit down and enjoy!

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MATE DATE AT THE BOHEMIAN

Published on January 12, 2018January 12, 2018 by simplycarinaxo1 Comment

Good evening beautiful souls,

On Wednesday I went to Newcastle to catch up with an old friend from uni. My friend Rachel was doing dry January and so we decided to meet up over lunch in Newcastle instead of over drinks as we usually would. I was excited to see what Newcastle had on offer regarding food because with my biggest new years resolution being to eat a vegan diet this was a great opportunity to try out a new restaurant I wouldn’t previously have given much thought. After some browsing I decided on The Bohemian which had great reviews. It took us a couple of minutes to find (google maps aren’t always helpful aha), but once we found it I realised I’d walked past it many times before as it was just past one of my favourite pubs in Newcastle, The Fourth. It has a cute vibe and is a mix of restaurant, bar and record shop. I didn’t look at the records this time round but will definitely have a browse next time I go!

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Once in and seated we were lucky to discover that The Bohemian was participating in the Newcastle restaurant week and so we got a special three course menu for £15, not a bad deal at all. After some deliberating (I’m actually glad we had a restricted menu as all the choices sounded so good) I went for the Shredded Peking Jackfruit, with hoi sin sauce, pancakes, spring onion and cucumber for starters, The ‘Greek’ Pizza for mains and the Cointreau and chocolate tart for dessert. Wow it felt like I was splashing out, I mean I never order three courses when I go out!

I really loved the starters, the peking jackfruit was ok on it’s own but wrapped up in the pancake with the spring onion and cucumber and dipped into the hoi sin sauce was an amazing combination!

The Greek pizza was also scrumptious; on what seemed like a homemade stone baked pizza base the vegan cheese was perfectly melted and flavours fantastic. Now I’ll admit vegan cheese can definitely taste different and isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the vegan mozzarella on the pizza tasted fab to me and I really enjoyed the pizza as it had been a while since I had a freshly made stone baked pizza.

After starters and mains I really was rather full, however I still managed to polish of my dessert! The chocolate tart served with a fruity sorbet was the perfect combination of light and tart with creamy and heavy chocolate – heaven.

So if you haven’t been able to guess – I would highly recommend The Bohemian in Newcastle. If you ever try out this restaurant do let me know what you think – I’d love to know!

Love Carina xo

BEST OF 2017

Published on January 5, 2018January 5, 2018 by simplycarinaxo9 Comments

Hey there beautiful souls,

I have seen a lot of these posts circulating and really wanted to write my own. This Christmas I wrote a letter to my friends and whilst updating them on what’s been going on in my life within the last year I realise how many wonderful events actually happened in 2017. I often allow the few bad spots to overshadow the good, but reminiscing has filled me with a happiness and positivity I now want carry into this new year. So anyway here are a few of my favourite events summed up through some photographs:

17799421_10212529640860481_5480807714145819332_n — A trip to the Peak District with my German bestie

18198771_10212801448815510_7413291190709253743_n — My best friend Emily’s Hen Do

20292931_10213687151477523_588975193652197366_n — Newcastle Pride with my work family

20994121_10213987839834544_3583880790755534946_n — Having my French friend Nadia and her fiance visit me!

24993467_10214883203738082_2673976222829125173_n — My best friends wedding ❤

21740111_10214153599538433_1203961689433127868_n — Lindisfarne Festival with Emily

Once Upon A Time themed Halloween Party at mine

24852303_10214833432373829_9023243599886223849_n — First Christmas in my own place

CHRISTMAS TAG!

Published on December 13, 2017December 21, 2017 by simplycarinaxo8 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

The other day I read a great Christmas tag post written by the beautiful Hollie from https://holliesblog854.wordpress.com. It oozed festive vibes and I immediately wanted to write this tag too and answer all these Christmasy questions for you; so without further ado, here is my Christmas Tag:

1. What’s your favourite Christmas Film?

Hmm, The Holiday is pretty high up there and Love Actually of course. Those are probably my favourite two.

2. Have you ever had a white Christmas?

Yes many!!! But not in a long time and I miss it soo much! For me Christmas just doesn’t feel complete without snow.

3. Where do you usually spend the holidays?

At home in Durham with my parents and sister.

4. What is your favourite Christmas song?

This one is so difficult, I don’t have a favourite Christmas song! I love all festive music; from having classics like ‘All I want for Christmas’, and ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ on repeat to belting out carols like ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ and ‘Once in Royal David’s City’, I just love nothing more than a good Christmas singsong! There isn’t really any festive music that I do not like apart from perhaps ‘Fairytale of New York’, that song just annoys me for some reason.

5. Do you open any Christmas presents on Christmas eve?

Yes, I open all my presents on Christmas Eve bar my stocking and one present from Santa. I was born in Germany and the German tradition is to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, however as my mother is from Northern Ireland, we also have Santa and stockings on Christmas day, so we kinda get the best from both worlds.

6. Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeers?

Dasher, Dancer, Comet and Blitzen, Prancer, Vixen, Rudolf… and I’m stuck aha, so nope, I can not name all of Santa’s reindeers.

7. Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

Real. Our family tree is always real!!! I love our Christmas tree tradition. We decorate ours with mostly natural objects like red apples, straw stars, wooden ornaments and candle like fairy lights.

Saying that, in my own house the tree is fake this year. My housemate Jessica and I got given the tree from our landlady and although I don’t think there’s anything better than having a real tree and fresh pine smell in the house at Christmas, I’m just glad to have a a tree at all, even if it’s fake, it’s way better than nothing.

8. What is your all-time favourite holiday food/sweet treat?

Hmm, I don’t have a specific favourite, but I love all the German treats like Lebkuchen and Stollen. Ooh and mince pies and mulled wine of course!

9. Be honest: do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better?

Ooh over the years definitely gift giving. I love nothing more that treating people and finding cute gifts for friends and family! Gift giving brings me a lot of joy!

10. What is the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I’m not sure, about ever but I got a huge wok last year and that was pretty awesome! I use it for almost everything I cook!

11. What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season?

Somewhere in Germany or Austria, somewhere with amazing Christmas markets and lot’s of snow and staying in a cute chalet with a real fire to cosy up next too whilst working my way through mountains of books and drinking copious amounts of tea.

12. Are you a pro-present wrapper, or do you fail miserably?

I can’t say that I am a pro, but I definitely don’t fail either!

13. When did you realise the truth about Santa?

The truth about Santa? What truth about Santa?!

14. Do you make New Years resolutions? Do you stick to them?

Of course I do, I mean don’t most people?! Aha now that is a different matter. Erm I try to stick to them and I usually do for a couple of months before things just go down hill and I fail miserably. But there is always another year and another chance to try!

15. What makes the holidays special for you?

Spending time with my family, especially now that I don’t live at home anymore and my sister is away at university. There aren’t that many chances for us all to get together, but our Christmas’ are always intimate affairs with just the four of us celebrating together, which I love. My fathers side of the family all live in Germany and my mothers side in Northern Ireland, so we don’t have big family Christmas’. I like it that way though and wouldn’t change it for the world. There is no big hassle worrying about seeing all the family over the holidays and having to cook for hoards of people or being in a chaotic noisy environment, it is just nice quiet, cosy and peaceful family time.

16. List your three favourite festive wintery activities:

Being crafty and decorating the house for Christmas, making wreaths, putting the tree up…
Baking Christmas treats
Ice skating

And that’s my Christmas Tag done. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you’d like to have a go at this tag then please do leave a comment below with a link to your post – I would love to read all of your answers!

Love Carina xo

CHRISTMAS HOMEWARE HAUL

Published on November 29, 2017November 29, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hey beautiful souls,

I have been so excited to share this blog post with you! I am obsessed with homeware and just love decorating the house, so of course I get very excited about Christmas and can’t wait to make the house all festive. I do have a rule though that Christmas decorations can’t go up until December, however as I am now currently in northern Ireland, I did make an exception to this rule and started a little early.

The milk bottle ghosts and pumpkins have been taken down and the Christmas candles and decorations are slowly being put up. Here are some of the Christmasy bit’s and bobs my housemate Jessica and I picked up on our trip to Newcastle the other week:

Star tealight holder £5 Wilkos – Red Display plate £1 Wilkos – Bath bomb £1 Wilkos – Candles £3 Primark – Room spray £3 Primark

Tealight holders £1.50 each Tiger – Cookie tin £3 Tiger – Napkins £1 Tiger

These are only the first few Christmasy decorations we bought and I can’t wait to buy some more bits and bobs, put the tree up and finish decorating the house! Have any of you started decorating yet??

Love Carina xo

HALLOWEEN MAKEUP TUTORIAL

Published on October 26, 2017October 26, 2017 by simplycarinaxo11 Comments

Good evening guys,

Halloween is one of my favourite times of year in part because I love dressing up and having some fun with face paint! So with only 5 days till the 31st here’s an easy skull inspired makeup look – hope you enjoy!

You will need:

White face paint – black face paint – a little dish of water – black liquid eye liner – black pencil eye liner – dark grey/black eye shadow – white eyeliner – black mascara – makeup brush – beauty blender/sponge

Fresh faced – make sure you have washed you face and moisturised it before you begin.

Start by wetting your makeup brush to dilute the white face paint and apply all over your face and down your neck. Use the beauty blender/sponge to pat out any brush strokes and blend the paint into you neck.

Next use the black face paint and apply similarly to your normal contour lines (as well as encircling your eyes in black) before blending in with your sponge. Tip – do one contour line at a time and blend in with sponge; if you paint on all the lines first they will dry very quickly and prove difficult to blend!

Once the basic contouring is done, keep layering on the colour till you have the depth you want before setting in with dark grey/black eye-shadow. Next grab your black liquid liner and paint on the nose bone or rather lack of and go on to blend your eyes into their dark surrounding with your pencil liner. Use it to fill in your eyelids and darken your waterline. Now it’s time to use your black mascara to define and darken your eyelashes.

And last but not least take your liquid liner again and draw on the stitched up mouth – start with the horizontal line before adding the smaller vertical lines. Remember to take the horizontal line all the way from right to left and over your lips not just from the corner of your lips outwards.