lavenderhopeblog

Lavender here, now every now and again, we all will have a day where we haven't planned anything. These days can often be boring if you have nothing to do, so I decided to compile a list of things that you can do on a lazy day. 

1) My first suggestion is to do some baking. Find a recipe online for your favourite food: This could be anything from pancakes, to cupcakes. The selections are endless. Baking is not only fun to do, but you also get a tasty reward to eat at the end.

2) Another thing that you could do, is to clear out your wardrobe. I know that my wardrobe is half-full of clothes that I never wear. To give some extra space in your wardrobe, why not get rid of some of those old clothes. A good way to do this is to donate them to your local charity shop.

3) Be creative! Everyone is different. We all have different talents and skills. So if you're good at art, paint a picture; if you're good at writing, why not start a blog or write a poem; and finally, if you like music, you could try writing a song. 

4) Go on a bike ride! A bike ride is a great way to get fitter, without putting in too much effort. They can be a great way to explore your area as well. Try cycling to somewhere that you've never been to before - you could take a friend or a sibling with you. 

5) Watch a movie. Now this may seem like a bit of an obvious one, but it's a great way to pass the time. You could watch an old movie or buy a new one! Take a look at my top 5 movies to get some suggestions. 

Let me know if you try out any of those things on your lazy day, and if not, then what did you get up to?

Lots of love

Lavender xxx

Hi guys, another quick entry here, but I just wanted to mention my social media accounts. I have made a facebook account for my blog to help to promote it. Make sure you check it out to see all the links to my blog posts and get regular updates from me, Lavender Hope. xxx

Hey guys

So for today's entry, I thought i'd do a little bit of something I am very good at. Complaining. Now don't get me wrong, I think that Netflix is great. It means that I can binge watch my favourite shows whenever I like and wherever I like. However, there are some things about Netflix that get on my nerves and I'm going to list a few of them. 

First things first, if you've ever been to another country and tried to watch Netflix, say when you were on holiday, then you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm not sure if this accounts for all countries, but certainly the two most recent places I've visited, Sicily and Lanzerote. I found that there was a wider selection of shows and movies in those countries than in the UK, such as Arrow and Under the Dome, which cannot be viewed here. I think that Netflix should make all these shows available for every country!

Another thing that bugs me is that Netflix doesn't have all the seaons of certain TV shows on it. For example Teen Wolf, only has 2 seasons on UK Netflix, yet I think there are at least 5 or 6 seasons that have been aired. 

I don't know if this is just a fault with my TV, but occasionally Netflix won't let me watch it as it says that, 'Too many people are trying to use this account,' or something along those lines. I don't see how this can be the case seeing as we haven't given anyone else our Netflix password. This usually doesn't last any longer than a few hours though. 

I find that Netflix is generally better for TV shows than movies. I can spend hours binge watching shows, however when I come to look for a good movie for me and my friends to watch on a sleepover, it isn't easy. As well as this, Netflix doesn't have one of the most popular shows in the world on it: and I think that we can all guess what that is. Although I myself am not a fan of Game of Thrones, It puzzles me as to why it's not on there. 

Ok I'm going to stop with the negativity for the moment, as I also have a lot of good things to say about Netflix. (Hence why a lot of my blog posts are about it!) 

I've just finished Season One of the series 'Zoo,' and will be writing an entry on it shortly. Let me know if you enjoyed reading this and if you agree or disagree with any of my points. 

Lots of love

Lavender xxx

Hello again, it's me Lavender back with another entry. This time, I'm going to be talking about my top five movies, and if you know me, film and television is a passion of mine. I want to keep this intro short today and get right into the list. I'd also like to mention that my list changes all the time, and that these five are at the top just at the moment. If you ask me again in a months time, I'm sure there'll be five completely different films at the top xD. Let me know in the comments if you agree with my list and if you'd like 'My top five TV shows,' to be my next entry. I may write full reviews on some of these films in the future if I have time.

5) The shallows - So I was very excited about seeing this Blake Lively movie for the first time at the cinema the other day (sadly, I didn't book so was stuck in the front row), but I enjoyed it even so. It's a thriller/horror, basically a modern day Jaws. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting it to be, as it had a few jump scares, which I'm not too keen of. Despite this, Blake's performance was incredible, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time wondering if she was going to get eaten by the shark or not xD.

4) Never let me go - So I'd say that this one is a less well known film, in the dystopian genre (one of my favourites). It is about a boarding school where children get sent to give up their vital organs, ultimately leading to their deaths. I'm not going to say too much about it, but the plot was so original, like nothing I've ever seen before. I rarely cry in films, but this one left me in tears by the end. I'd thoroughly recommend it. 

3)  About time - This film is another time travel movie, but it is a mixture of pretty much all the genres. There's romance, drama, thrills, comedy and much more all packed into one film. And plus it has stars from two of the biggest films of all time, Harry Potter and Mean Girls. What's not to love?

2) The lovely bones - So this classic is basically a murder mystery with a twist, the story is told from the perspective of the murder victim, who despartely wants to find her killer inorder to gain peace. The music and performances in this film are stunning, and of-course it's going to be good as it was directed by the one and only Peter Jackson.

1) Nerve - So my number one was an obvious choice. It's a film that's recently come out at the cinema, and I'm sure most of you will have heard of it, called Nerve. I went to see this with a friend the other day, I actually managed to get two free tickets, which was nice as i'm completely and utterly broke at the minute. The film is about a game called, Nerve, where players complete dares for money. It stars Emma Roberts, who I love after I watched her in Scream Queens (can't wait for season two!) Take a look at the poster below and watch the trailer if you're interested. 

I hope you enjoyed this entry, let me know if you'd like more film and TV reviews, as I love writing them. Have a great day everyone, lots of love,

Lavender xxx

Hello again and I'm finally back after my week away in Sicily. I had a great time and am now here to tell you all about my adventures, which as you will have read from the title, included climing a volcano! Well, climbing might not be the most accurate word... but it sounds more impressive if I say that. So the day started off with an hour long coach journey to the volcano - which I have to say wasn't the highlight of the trip. When we got there, the first thing I noticed was the smoke coming out of the top of the volcano, which immediately alarmed my younger sister who thought that the volcano was erupting and that we were all about to come to a grisly end. After assuring her that we were going to survive the trip, we began the ascent up the volcano. First things first, we got into a cable cart. After watching the movie Frozen (and no, not the Disney animated musical, the horror movie), I was a little weary at first. - If you've seen the movie then you'll know what I'm talking about. To sum it up, three students get trapped on a ski lift (similar thing) and have to jump down to survive, I'm not going to spoil the movie for you but some of the characters don't have the most pleasant of deaths. Anyway, after again telling myself and my sister that the cable cart was not going to break or fall off the wire, I began to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Despite this, I couldn't quite help being reminded of my geography gcse days, when we studied Volcanos, days I wouldn't mind forgetting. When we got off the cable cart, a jeep took us to the top of the volcano. Sadly we couldn't get close enough to peer into the crater at the top, although you could if you chose to walk right up there. If you know me however, I'm not the most sporty of people and for obvious reasons, Volcano's aren't exactly flat, so I chose to look at it from a distance. We did however see some people who were climbing the whole volcano from bottom to top, which was very impressive as that's not an easy task. I'll insert a picture of the volcano below. The temperatures up there were also surprisingly warm, despite beforehand being told to bring a warm jacket as it would be cold at the top. Obviously it would depend on the day that you went up, but on the particular day that we did, we were fortunate enough to have good weather and the sky was clear of clouds which meant we got a good view of the island below us. I'd recommend the tour to anyone thinking about doing it, however it is a bit on the expensive side for what it is and the time that you get to spend up there. And if you're looking for a challenge or training for an event, then maybe climbing it would be for you! Let me know in the comments if you've ever done this excursion up Etna or if you're thinking about it. 

Lots of love

Lavender xx

Hello lovely people of the internet. Now this is just going to be a quick one to tell you all that I'm going on holiday and so won't be able to post for a week or so. (Apologises, I have mentioned this in a previous blog post). To make up for this, I've written three entries today, so go and check those out if you haven't already. Another apology for the lack of content on the blog - in a couple of weeks there will be much more. I wish you all a good week and I'll tell you all about what I got up to on my holiday when I get back. 

Lots of love

Lavender xxx

Hello there again lovely people of the internet (third entry of the day xD).

So I'm going to keep the intro quick and get right into this entry. Before I go away on holiday, I thought that i had to talk a bit about a new show that i've been watching called Reign. I say new, but I am on season 2... Binge watching is a bad habit of mine. Anyway, the show centres around the lives of Mary Queen of Scotts and her husband Francis. If this doesn't make you watch the show, I don't know what will. Just look at Toby Regebo who plays Francis on the show:

Before judging the show (if historical dramas aren't your thing), just give it a try. It is one of the most beautiful shows I have seen, what with the costumes and the brilliantly chosen modern music, despite it being a period drama. 

You'll fall in love instantly with the relationship Mary and Francis have, and will love, laugh and cry along with them. And of-course, the show is on the CW, who seem to only air the best shows. I'm pretty sure I watched 10 episodes of this in one day yesterday, which is an all time record. (I was cramming them in before I go on holiday because I won't be able to watch any while I'm away... come on that's a reasonable excuse. I would rate this show **** four (and a half) stars. If you like Game of Thrones, i can see similar aspects to it, however Reign has a lot less gore and sex in it, and I personally prefer it. I'm sorry to disappoint but there most probably won't be a future review of Game of Thrones, as unlike half of the country, I wasn't too keen on it. I just found the first season a bit long winded and dull, so stopped before I could watch anymore.

As usual, I love getting comments or emails from readers to let me know if you like the blog or not, so don't hesitate to do that

Lots of love

Lavender xxx

Hello lovely people of the internet. I'm back again with yet another entry! Now this is going to be the first in a series of many entitled, 'TV and Movie Reviews.' Now other than writing, this is a big part of my life (as it is to most teenage girls). I have a passion for film and television, hence why I took film studies for AS. I wanted to incorporate this aspect into my blog and I thought, what better way that to write reviews on my favourite films and shows. 

Now the show I will be focussing on today is Scream - and no, I'm not talking about the 1996 Horror/slasher film. I am in-fact talking about the 2015 TV show that can be watched on Netflix that is loosely based around the film franchise. It follows a similar plot - a masked serial killer targeting their victims, however the tv show focusses on entirely different characters and location. 

So here's a basic overview of the show: (Don't worry, no spoilers... yet).

'After a cyber-bullying incident results in a brutal murder, the shocking violence stirs up memories of a killing spree from the past that has haunted some, intrigued others and maybe just inspired a new killer. A group of teens — with two old friends struggling to reconnect at its heart — become lovers, enemies, suspects, targets and victims of an assassin who’s out for blood.'

Ok so I have to admit, to do the show justice I did just find the above on wikia. If that's still not making much sense to you, then basically imagine this guy killing off a group of the 'popular kids,' at school. Cliche yes, but the writers managed to make the storylines gripping - you're constantly on the edge of your seat wanting to find out who the killer could possibly be.

I would rate the show ***** five stars, and yes it is scary (don't be fooled by the start of season 1, it does get scarier), very gruesome in parts, but it's the horror genre so I guess that's to be expected. The soundtrack is beautifully haunting and helps to keep the suspense, leading to the shock reveal at the end of season 1. The killer turns out to be someone you'd never even have suspected. Season 2 is basically a repeat of the first season (it all happens again, as it turns out the first killer had an accomplice), but even so, there is never a boring moment with this show. 

I do have to say that for most of the 'scarier' scenes, I am hiding behind a pillow with the sound turned down low (yes i'm a wimp!) There is one fault with the show however - surely if you were being stalked by a serial killer, for a long period of time, you'd just move out of the bloody area. Better to lose your home than your life. As well as this, the characters seem to get over each loss pretty quickly and are constantly walking into obvious danger unafraid, despite knowing that there's a mad man on the loose, out to get them! 

Overall though, this has got to be one of my favourite shows (although that's not really saying much as I have a long list of favourite shows)! If you watch Scream then leave me a comment to let me know if you like it and agree with my thoughts on it, and if you don't watch it, then i'd thoroughly recommend you to give it a try. 

Anyway, that's all from me for now, so lots of love

Lavender xxx

Hello lovely people of the internet, and if you haven't read my intro on the home page (which i strongly advise you do), then let me introduce myself. My name is Lavender Hope. So i wasn't really sure what to write about in my first entry, but I came to the conclusion that all you readers at home don't know very much about me. I'm not going to go into too much detail right at this moment (that will come in later blog posts - although clearly not personal details, like where I live. I don't want any murderers hunting me down and killing me xD). What is it with me and long intros... I promise they won't all be this long. 

So why I decided to start a blog? 

The answer to that is simple really. I love writing. As I'm sure that many other bloggers do, hence the reason they are writing for pleasure. I started writing at a young age - mostly stories about fairy's and mermaids, witches and wizards. (Yes I believed in those sorts of things at the age of 6). I was a very imaginative young child, although I don't think I'm going to comment on how good the writing style at that age was, or now is. Oh on that note, please excuse any mistakes I make, I will repeat myself YET AGAIN, this is my first time doing this sort of thing. As I grew older I turned to script writing instead and have finished a couple of projects that I hope to get made into films some time in the future. I also tried my hand at writing a full length novel, although was unsuccesful as I gave up half way through my exams - but I do plan on starting another some time soon, and completeing it this time. I want to take this hobby of mine furthur and hope to get into journalism after university and hopefully can also become a professional screen play writer as well if things work out the way I want them to. 

Who inspired me to start a blog?

I guess one person in particular inspired me to start this blog. It was after I met a blogger, who you may or may not have heard of, called Rosie (aka Cider with Rosie). She was giving a talk about blogging which really caught my interest. If just an ordinary person who had a passion for writing, such as herself, could create such a successful blog, then maybe, just maybe, I could too. Well I guess only time will tell. (Please help me to get my blog seen by sharing this website with your friends and family - it would be much appreciated). 

On a final note, I just wanted to mention that I'm going to try and post regularly, although next week will be an exception as I'm going away (and am not bringing my laptop.) I hope you enjoyed this entry and let me know what sort of things you'd like to read about more in the future. 

Lots of love

Lavender xxx