MUSIC: Mumford and Sons in Nottingham

There's something about going to a concert that always makes me incredibly nervous and excited at the same time. The amount of people in the venue always terrifies me, feeling trapped and like I can't get out is one of my biggest fears. That being said, I love going to gigs and having not been to a concert in a year and half, Mumford and Sons concert on Saturday night was a great way to get back into them.

Myself and Scott went to Nottingham on their first night of their tour and there is only one way to describe the entire concert and that's amazing. The two of us went standing as that's both of ours favourite way to watch a gig, it's easier to get involved in the atmosphere and I think you enjoy it more. They are by far the best band I've ever seen live without using gimmicks or lots of pyrotechnics they were simply themselves playing music to thousands of fans. They were entertaining and had the room singing, dancing and jumping around in support.

The gig began with support act, Jack Garratt. Now, I had never heard of him or listened to his music before that evening, that being said, I was completely blown away. It's always going to be tough for anyone to warm up the crowd for Mumford and Sons but he completely held his own. His music is quite different to anything that I've ever heard, there's no doubt that he has an incredible voice that's so versatile too. But he's managed to create his own style of music keeping it pop and current, with emotional ballad types of songs but with a beat that makes it up-tempo and get's an entire room moving. It was amazing watching him live as you could see how unique and how passionate he is about his music. He definitely stands out from everything else that you hear and is also like a one man band with everything he achieves on stage. He was incredible and I cannot wait for him to release his album. Jack Garratt is definitely one to look out for.

After an interval it was time for Mumford and Sons and they were as strong at the end as they were at the start. With simple lighting and nothing too much that distracts you from their performance it was wonderful watching the men perform. For me, 'Believe' had the most impact, telling the audience to use the torch on their phones or lighters looking around the arena and seeing thousands of lights it was a magical feeling for just one person amongst the crowd so how it felt for them must have been surreal. Within the arena itself they had these almost bauble like fairy lights hanging from the ceiling that in certain songs were lowered and lit up different colours and it made the room feel a lot smaller and cosier. It wasn't just myself who liked this touch as the couple next to us mentioned them being 'cool' and you kept seeing different people looking up at them all evening in awe. I think this helped with magical feeling and giving everyone in that room a sense of unity.

They performed a mixture of their older music as well as songs off of their latest, 'Wilder Mind' album which I really enjoyed. I like to have a mix especially with these guys with their earlier songs being more folk. Those songs had the crowd really going and half way through I turned around to Scott and said, 'Its closest to line dancing I'm ever going to get'. It really did have that feel to it.

As you would expect, the band themselves sounded perfect. Their voices were so strong and powerful, there were no moments where you couldn't hear them because the crowd was louder. Their performances were amazing even though they don't have fancy dance moves they just performed the crap out of each song and it works for them because they are amazing musicians and singers and have incredible songs. The interaction from the band and the audience was amazing too. With Marcus Mumford passing someone his beer and heading into the crowd himself, we were pretty close to him though not as  lucky as some, it just made the evening so special. They even bought out Jack Garratt within their set and performed 'Sweet Dreams' and together they sounded beautiful, capturing the eeriness perfectly.

Mumford and Sons are by far the best band I've ever seen live, even if you like their music but aren't a huge fan I would seriously recommend going and seeing them because I was expecting it to be good but their isn't enough words you can use to describe the atmosphere within that arena that night. I can't wait to go and see them again in the future and there is no doubt that I will see them over and over.

♥

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BEAUTY: La Roche-Posay Hydreane Light BB Cream

I usually stick to my normal foundation using Rimmel's Match Perfection - True Ivory everyday but I recently received the La Roche-Posay Hydreane Light BB Cream in a My Little Box and I fell in love with it. Once again, La Roche-Posay is a brand of been wanting to try for a little while now so I was more than happy to give this a try.

The colour match is perfect for my skin colouring, I am quite pale and so I have to be careful when foundations only come in light, medium and dark etc. However, this was lovely and blended really well. I applied this just using my fingers and found that it blended into my skin a lot better this way opposed to using a brush and blending it in. The BB cream felt really light on the skin and makes it look like you're not wearing makeup but also has a good coverage too. It also leaves your skin looking quite dewy and healthy. I would definitely recommend using a little bit of powder too.

If you're on the lookout for a new foundation and looking for something a little dewier and light, this is definitely one to test out. It's good coverage and looks really nice on the skin. It also has the benefits of a BB cream and I found that the cream is really moisturising on the skin, it doesn't cling to any dry patches, emphasising them in anyway. Furthermore, it has a SPF 15 too when many foundations do not include this.

What have you been loving foundation wise at the moment?

♥

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LIFE: Magic in Matlock

Its very rare that myself and Scott get to spend a full day together and so when we had a couple of days off together we decided to explore and make the most of it. We drove to a couple of  garden centres but we ended up in Matlock. I've been before but I only went to my sister-in-law's studio and a seamstress to have a dress fitted so I hadn't actually explored the town. I also took the opportunity to take a few little outfit shots.

Outfit: Coat - George / Jumper -  Topshop / Jeans - Topshop / Shoes - Primark  / Bag - ASOS

Shots were taken by both myself and Scott. 

♥

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LIFE: First Football Match

The other day I attended my first football match with my dad, brother and Scott. In all honesty I was there last hope as the four tickets had already been bought in the hope someone else could go but in the end couldn't, so I was there replacement. I'm not really football fan, I must admit. I do moan a lot when it's on TV but I am proud to say I do know the offside rule.

Anyway, the four of us made the two hour trip from home to Manchester to watch Manchester United against CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford and in all honesty I really enjoyed myself. There was a moment when I was panicky, suffering with social anxiety a stadium like Old Trafford doesn't really help. Me and my brother were sat waiting for Scott and my dad before the match and I felt a little claustrophobic and anxious but as soon as we were all together and the match started that all passed and I began to relax and enjoy myself. With a little bit of cheering thrown in there, the night was really nice and Man United won which was a bonus Here's a few pcitures that was taken whilst I was there.

I would say that if you struggle with anxiety but want to go to a concert or a football match or to a theatre, whatever it may be, go for it. There have been so many opportunities in the past that I gave up on because I was too nervous or worried I'd have a panic attack and the truth is 9/10 it isn't as bad as it may seem. Sure you may get a little anxious you may even have a full blown panic attack but you'd have tried, even if you only stay a minute it's a victory, in my opinion.

♥

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LIFE: A Day at Rufford Abbey

A few weeks ago now, myself and Scott decided to have a little adventure to Rufford Abbey to get to grips with my 'big camera' and get used to the settings. I bought my camera off of my sister-in-law who was a professional photographer about a year ago and whilst I loved it when I first got it, I had never gotten used to all the settings. Scott's a bit more tech-y than me and so we decided to go for a little adventure.

It was probably the last sunny day we've had, which is why we decided to make the most of it before all the winter coats and scarves came out to play. Both of us really love history, probably down to having an enthusiastic history teacher at school and so we thoroughly enjoyed our day. As well as us both liking to on walks around forests and seeing the wildlife (I love squirrels and woodland creatures).

Looking around Rufford Abbey itself was a little overwhelming, I always find places with a lot of history this way. I think it's amazing that buildings from hundreds of years ago still exist and I love learning about what happened at theses places. In the above picture you can see me reading about the reconstruction of the Abbey, and I was standing in front of what used to be a fireplace. It was a beautiful building with some gorgeous views. The gardens in particular were beautiful.

Before we had wandered around the Abbey itself we took a walk around the gardens surrounding it and took a few pictures of the wildlife. All the pictures featured were taken by Scott though I did point out a few shots to him such as the robin which you'll see below.

There was this creepy walkway that lead to the Ice House which you can see a little in the picture at the top, we both had pictures taken in front of it but it was quite dark so hard to capture a good shot. The black and green ducks were also gorgeous. Neither of us had ever seen a duck of this colouring before but they were so beautiful and had a lot of attention. It was a really lovely day and something we wish we could do more of. Maybe if we wrap up warm we can still visit every now and again.

If you life a bit of history and wildlife with some pretty views I would recommend visiting Rufford Abbey, there's a cafe and restaurant where you can get something to eat as well as a gift shop to pick up some souvenirs. it'd also be a really nice place if yo have kids to take them too.

♥

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