Monthly Archives: December 2019

Harry Potter Studio Tour Sold Out? I Can Help

So this is for all of you potterheads out there! I am an avid Harry Potter fan and this was my absolute must-go destination on this trip. Word of advice: book three months in advance to secure your date. These tickets sell out fast and if you don’t act quickly, you will lose them and you might have to pay double to amount with a tour group. If you realize that your tickets have sold out, don’t fret. I can help you and give you tips on getting the best deal.

Tip #1: If you see that your dates are sold out, don’t scramble and start looking for tour bus + ticket combinations. Those can set you back around £50 per person and it’s really not worth it.

Tip #2: Be flexible! Don’t have a single day when you MUST go to Harry Potter Studios. (If you do, there’s still a chance you can get those tickets). It’s much easier to get tickets if you are able to move your schedule around to fit it in.

Tip #3: Check in daily for tickets on the official website. That is where you’re going to get the best price. Tickets that aren’t sold by the tour websites are put back on sale 6 days before the visit date around 01:00 GMT . I was actually able to snag tickets during my layover in Iceland (06:00 GMT) which was exactly 6 days before the day the ticket specified. 

I hope these tip help you get those tickets and you enjoy the magical world of Harry Potter!

Peer Review #2

Hi Carolina! I will be reviewing your blog today called “Its Carolina”. My review is categorized in the following design decisions you have made for your blog. 


Theme and Customizations

I am really loving the theme you chose, all pink and subtle. The use of shades of pink really tells me you know your way with design moreover, the pictures your chose fit perfectly with your theme. You even edited them to match the overall design of your website. You mentioned in your “About” page how you love “drawing, reading, eating, traveling and photographing”. What caught me by surprise was the integration of all your favorite things in your bio actually in your blogs and mini fun assignment, it is a complete package. You customized your blog according to your personality, which makes your blog fun to read for example the use of emojis and symbols to express the way you feel throughout your blogs. Hence, giving your website a cute edge to it along with the use of pink theme.  


Typography

The style and appearance are really nice in your website, the fonts that you used compliment your overall theme. An article I read talks about using typography that connotes emotions as the fonts “play a hand in conveying the message you want to send your readers” (Bernazzani, 2018). Looking at your blog I liked how your website typography is soft and smooth and the rest of the blog is in a clean and eligible font. 


Layout

My favorite part about your layout is that it is symmetrical and organized making it easier to navigate my way around your blog. I like how your layout is enlarged, which not only makes it easier to read but covers any extra white space. You also put a small tab on the side, facing upward, that takes you back to the top and I thought that was pretty cool. I had one suggestion regarding your featured image, if you could center them it would make it more symmetrical. 


Social media integration

Your decision to choose Instagram as your main platform was a smart choice as even through your blogs you have shared all your photography. One of my suggestions would be maybe looking at how many pictures you are incorporating in your posts cause too many seem to clutter the page, I say this because you already have all of the pictures featured on Instagram. 


Site structure and usability

I honestly love the side menu in your website, especially the tags and how they are in different fonts makes your layout interactive and organized as clicking on the tags take me straight to your blog posts. The way you have categorized your blog post into “story & experience” and “local delicacy” makes it easier for me to navigate what I am in the mood to read. You provide your blogs with the address further enticing me to pack my bags and go right now haha. I find it one of the best ways to attract audience. The main menu is neat and really organized, the tabs indicate exactly where the content is located. 


Overall Carolina, it was great reviewing your website! I hope you visit more places I can’t wait to see more places you suggest.

Paris Outfit Guide

Some of you may know from my Instagram but I was just in Paris with some of my friends. I was super stressed out before I went because I wanted to make sure I had the perfect Paris outfits. I didn’t want to look like a slob while everyone else looked like they could walk in Paris Fashion Week if they needed to. I was there for 10 days but I didn’t get a picture in every outfit, so I will be showing you a few that I managed to capture!

Outfit 1: Versailles

Shirt: Aritzia

Blazer: Aritzia

Pants: Agolde

Belt: Gucci

Shoes: Dr Martens

Purse: Gucci

Outfit 2: Day at the gardens

Sweater: Autumn Cashmere

Coat: Aritzia

Pants: Aritzia

Purse: Gucci

Outfit 3: Shopping

Sweatshirt: Acne Studios

Pants: Aritzia

Shoes: Air Force 1

Purse: Givenchy

Outfit 4: Mirror pics

Top: Aritzia

Pants: Agolde

These were some of the outfits that I wore in Paris! Keep an eye out for a “What to do in Paris” post. I had so much fun on this trip and am so grateful to experience this with my friends!

xx

sofia

Christmas Gift Guide For Him

So Christmas is right around the corner and some people are probably really stressing out with gift ideas. Gifts are hard, but I got to admit…I’m a really good gift giver and gift thinker. I’m going to come up with some ideas for you to get your man if you’re having a hard time finding something.

Personally, my boyfriend is super hard to shop for. He doesn’t tell me what he wants and if he finds something he likes, he typically buys it for himself so it’s so difficult finding something.

I have a gift guide for valentines 2019 so you could also get anything from that post as well, but I’m going to try to change the items up!

A man always needs a good tie. There are many places to buy a tie and I have found it to be really easy to find nice ties for super cheap as well! If you look at The Bay, Simons, Holts and even Nordstroms

Men can always use more hair products (especially since sometimes they don’t know they need it). You can really get any hair gel at his barber. Ask any of the guys cutting hair because honestly idk which one’s are the best, the barbers know better!

An experience is always a safe bet! No matter what it is, a massage, a trip, a special dinner, an event that he wants to go to… he will love all of them.

Anything Lululemon is a safe bet. They could always use more comfortable clothing and workout gear. If you don’t know what to get him exactly, get a gift card because he will always be able to find something here.

If your boyfriend is anything like mine, then he would LOVE receiving video games as a gift. Honestly, I don’t know anything about video games so you would straight up have to just ask him which ones he wants. If you don’t want to ask, the only advice I can give you is to get the newest sports one (they seem to love those ones)!

Boys are very tricky to shop for, but if you get him any of these gifts I can assure you, you will be the best girlfriend ever!!

xx

sofia

Where have I been?

Hello, again beautiful people!

Its been a very long time since I’ve last posted and I honestly don’t have that good of an explanation as to why. Summer began and I just got super busy hanging out with my friends and family, travelling and just relaxing. School started up again and I also was working full time so I had a lot on my plate and I just couldn’t keep up with blogging as well.

I am back and I am going to try to get a blog post up once every week…if not more! I am excited to start writing again and sharing everything with you guys again!

xx

Sofia

How Did I Start Doing Makeup?

I was around 15 years old when I developed a liking to makeup, obviously, I started doing it because I had low self-esteem and I used makeup to aid with it. I started buying really cheap makeup, like 1-5 dollars an item. I remember I felt like a beauty guru, despite my makeup looking really bad, but it was fun to do it.

I never left my house without makeup, it didn’t matter the occasion, school, grocery shopping, going for tortillas, any occasion if I had to leave my house, I had to put something on. Whenever I didn’t have anything on I felt anxious and ugly, and I kinda hated the idea that products were needed to make me feel beautiful.

At the age of 19 or so, I felt the same about me, and I had to do my makeup every time before going to class, or going out to the mall. It was so tiring sometimes, but I felt I needed it because I felt ugly.

Then I turn 20, I started to think about it, and it was sad, that I needed products to make me feel beautiful, but at the same time, I was in love with makeup as a creative expression, I didn’t want to renounce to makeup, so slowly I started seeing makeup as an aid of my creative form of art to express myself, rather than a mask.

Since then, I started doing it because I loved it, I love creating colourful looks and adding a hella of colour into it. And I don’t see myself stoping sny time soon.

Week 13: Process Post

Overall, this was an interesting experience, creating a website and posting for 4 months or so. I did not mind it at all. After creating this website I revived the passion that I had for publishing and makeup. Like I mentioned in my essay #2, I was ashamed of this topic due to all the existing drama and because I always been criticized for it. But after reading Jesse Thorn’s experience and getting comments from my peers. I started to enjoy it again.

Jesse Thorn advises doing and using your passion to keep going. To be honest, I am not that invested in the makeup section of my blog, I am really invested in Story Time and I see myself publishing more stories.