When in Rome

Travelling is something that I, like many other people, see as a goal in life. I believe the purpose of life is to explore the world you've been birthed into (as cheesy as it sounds) and to also give back to the world and just contribute something whether it's small or big but I don't want to get all philosophical in this particular post.  

I could go on and on about the fact that I have so many interests that I want to explore and I probably will go on and on about it another time. 

But travelling is pretty much at the top of that list and anyone who follows me on Instagram (link is below and up there on the tab thingys) will know that I post a lot of pictures of Rome because it's the most recent place I've been to.

So I decided to write about it! 

I highly recommend anyone who loves history to go to Rome, because I think it's safe to say that there are plenty of historical sights to see and old buildings are a given. 

I mean, I saw the bloody Colosseum!

Historical artefacts aside, if you're a lover of Italian food (which I know I am) then there's no place like Rome because where else would you try Italian food other than the capital of Italy! (I quickly had to Google that one just to make sure I didn't sound like an idiot even though I was pretty sure)

I personally recommend you try out any of the many many gelato places where you can go wild with ice cream to your hearts content.

And while you're there, why not check out the world's smallest country which is literally takes minutes to get to on the metro.

 Vatican City is a beautiful place with even more breathtaking buildings And you never know, you may run into the Pope. Which I almost did.

If you're lazy like me then you can hop on a tour bus to see all the main landmarks and attractions. It was so easy and simple to just buy a day ticket, Hop on the bus and hop off whenever there was a site that interested you.

But what striked me the most was how beautiful and picture perfect the city looked, it's every amateur photographer's dream, whether it's the view from the park or at the highest point in Rome where you can see the entire city,  words can't describe how exquisite the views were.

The atmosphere in the streets and the squares was so vibrant during the day yet so chilled out in the evening and it felt so relaxing to be in both.

I'd love to go back one day,  but let's just carry on ticking off everywhere else first  ;)

CYA :D

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Everyday makeup

I am no makeup artist, but I thought I'd film a video on how I do my makeup everyday.

I really think I'm getting the hang of this. I mean look? I even made a decent thumbnail!

Be sure to comment, thumbs up and subscribe :D

CYA :D

My videos are a'ight

https://www.youtube.com/noreenkhanom

I post pictures of cool stuff (instagram):
https://instagram.com/noreenkhanom/

I sometimes post entertaining things (twitter):
https://twitter.com/NoreenKhanom

I talk about random things (blog):
http://noreenkhanom.blogspot.co.uk/

Brownies in a bowl

Well hey there internet!

Now, I LOVE all things dessert related! I would definitely pick something sweet over something savoury any day!

So when I was browsing the internet (as you do) I came across this concept of making a brownie in less than 5 minutes.

And as an impatient person with a sweet tooth I clicked that article right away!

It was like all of life’s wishes had been granted at once.

I know I know, not only am I incredibly late to the game but I'm guessing you're all probably sick of these variations of how to make mug brownie. Everyone and their mother has seen/made this but after looking at different recipes and trying out different methods I’ve combined bits of ofmany recipes I’ve found to create the perfect (in my opinion) brownie.

Warning: IT’S IN NO WAY HEALTHY AT ALL BUT MY GOODNESS IS IT DELICIOUS!

You will need:

4 Tablespoons Flour

4 Tablespoons Sugar

2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder (Note: don't use cocoa mix or quik, it shouldn't have any sugar) 

2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil (Don't use one with a strong flavour, e.g. olive, sesame, etc) 

1 tablespoon of nutella (or any generic hazelnut spread or in fact any spread of your choice ...maybe not marmite unless you're looking to really experiment with this) 

1 Tablespoon milk

Dash of salt

Ice cream (optional)

A Microwave

OH! and a mug!

1)      Place all your dry ingredients in the mug and mix until it looks like hot chocolate powder, like so:

2)      Add your vegetable oil and milk until all the ingredients have mixed together and you’ve got this thick gooey texture with no dry powder in it at all (check the bottom of the mug)

3)      Add a tablespoon of nutella (optional) into the middle of your mixture and let in sink in a bit.

4)      Place your mug in the microwave for about 50 seconds (depending on your microwave)

5)      Serve with ice cream on top if you want to and ENJOY!

The reason I made this post is because I like things that are efficient and easy.  Who doesn't? So coming across this was pretty cool.  I get to enjoy the deliciousness of baked stuff without actually baking!

And I'm no professional baker, I'm actually better at cooking than I am at baking because there have been many occasions where I've turned into a hot mess because things are not going right.

But I have a sweet tooth.  So I enjoy eating sweet baked goods more than cooked food.

Do you see my dilemma? 

So coming across these recipes online made me want to try again.

And for once it wasn't a total failure!

THANKS INTERNET!

Side note : after making this a couple of times I've realised that it's a lot less messier and easier if you make it in a bowl. 

So I technically should have called it 'A brownie in a bowl' I mean it even sounds better!

Oh well, I never claimed to be a professional at this.

Question of the day: Do you bake?  Or do you try to but somehow something goes wrong like me?

Comment below or tweet me @noreenkhanom

I post things about all sorts of shtuff here (Blog)

I express my feelings about things here (Twitter)

I reblog cool and pretty things here (Tumblr)

I post pretty and cool pictures here (Instagram)

CYA :D

Being a better you part 2: your body

Well hey there internet,

I have a large forehead
I don't like my hairline
I have a rather large bald patch in my eyebrow
I have dark circles that I just can't seem to get rid of
I don't like my nose at all
I don't like my chin
I don't like showing off my shoulders
I don't have a flat stomach
My outer thighs are quite big
I have these lumps and bumps from my waist down that you can only see if I was to wear anything tight which I don't really anyway but I still don't like them.

That was a  list of things about myself that I'm self conscious about.

So would it surprise you if I said I'm completely happy with myself?

Well I am.

It's hard to decide whether or not the media is making a difference on how young women feel about themselves.

In some ways it has, I'm going to use myself as an example. 

I'm only 17, so I practically grew up with the internet constantly by my side. I was brought up in a world where I was always told by family, friends and the internet that I shouldn't worry about my size  because I was fortunate enough to grow up in a society that was just starting to change their views about a woman and even a man's 'perfect shape.'

However, even in this day and age where there are loads of people in our society who are constantly encouraging the younger generation and pretty much everyone else to BE HAPPY WITH WHO YOU ARE! you still come across people who are incredibly self concious about themselves because they are comparing themselves to the celebrities who have probably gone through some horrific things just to change the way they look. 

Yes I do get self conscious about things, we all do and that's fine because that's who we are. 

 There isn't anyone in the world that would say "I love myself every single second of every day" because we all have times where we feel like poop and we all have things we don't like about ourselves.

But if you can say to yourself that none of that matters because YOU are happy with YOURSELF then you my friend have accepted yourself and can now live the rest of your life in peace knowing that you are perfectly fine the way you are.

You are wrong if you think that you will be accepted into a group of people if you look like and act like them because the truth is that you will not be accepted by anyone the way you want them to until you accept yourself first. 

And if that group of people still won't accept you then trust me they were not worth your time.

LISTEN TO ME!

 EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU OUT THERE IS AMAZING! YOU ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL AND  YOU ARE ALL FUCKING SEXY IN YOUR OWN SPECTACULAR WAY.

DON'T YOU DARE LISTEN TO ANYONE ELSE WHO TELLS YOU ANY DIFFERENT.

And it breaks my heart and makes me so sad whenever I come across pictures of slit wrists or people posting pictures saying "I wish I was skinny" or this stupid thigh gap thing. You and your body do not deserve to be tortured like that.

It does not matter if you have big boobs or small boobs or average boobs.

It doesn't matter whether you have an arse or not.

It DEFINITELY doesn't matter whether you are curvy or slim.

You are you. you're gorgeous and stunning and others will love you if you just learn to love yourself.

It's ok if you workout, it's ok if you don't workout. It's okay to do your best to achieve the body you want, just don't stress yourself out about it because you're fine the way are. Don't try to lose weight to be like the 'others' do it for yourself. 

I am aware that I am being a little bit contradicting because I'm saying to accept who you are but I'm also saying it's ok to change yourself. That's why this topic is a little complicated. But I'm going to try my best to summarise this in a few sentences.

If you want to/are working out because you want to slim down or get toned or to just generally feel fit and healthy then that's completely fine. In fact, I encourage people to become fit and healthy because it makes such a positive difference in your life. So long as you are doing it for the right reasons.  And if you don't want to workout then that's also fine. But don't, and I'm begging you not to, harm your body in any way for the sake of other people. and don't harm yourself full stop (will talk about this another time) 

Now ...I want you to do me favour. Do you think you can do it?

If you know someone in your life who ...shall we say...isn't confident with themselves then please send them this.

And if you are that person reading this then I know you're probably thinking "Why on earth should I listen to a 17 year old girl who probably cries because her celeb crush is 'so beautiful'"

Firstly, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE FEELS OK? I JUST... I CAN'T. (kidding...kinda)

Secondly, I know that I am no expert on any of this. But I am a young person just trying to make the world a better place and wants everyone to know how awesome they are.

And no I am not trying to suck up to anyone because who exactly am I sucking up to? this blog isn't aimed for a specific person.It's just me sharing my opinion and my message to the world.

And I would like it if you guys could share this too, 

Not because I want loads of people to view my blog (although that would be pretty cool) but because I want to help those who are struggling and I want to help them realise that they are awesome.

Question of the day: what is one thing you like about yourself? and your answer can not be 'nothing' it doesn't need to be a physical thing, maybe you are really creative or you like expressing yourself.

Comment below or tweet me @noreenkhanom

I post things about all sorts of shtuff here (Blog)

I express my feelings about things here (Twitter)

I reblog cool and pretty things here (Tumblr)

I post pretty and cool pictures here (Instagram)

CYA :D

Sundays... The sunday series part 1

Well hey there internet,

Ahh Sundays. A day where the world is lazy together ...

The thing about Sundays is that there's good things and bad things about it. 

The good things being that it's the weekend and no need to do to anything whatsoever and you can just laze around all day in your pyjamas etc

The bad things about Sunday tend to happen if you did not have a productive Saturday. 

You may be stressed about something you have to do by Monday. 

You may have a test on Monday and are panicking about it. 

You can't seem to psych yourself up for the week ahead because you just dread the long week. 

My advice is: Stop worrying.  

There is no point worrying about something that hasn't happened yet because you don't know what the world has in store for you. 

Take Sunday as a day to cut off from your responsibilities and just indulge into a day about yourself and mentally preparing for the week ahead. 

Focus on Sunday not Monday.  When Monday comes along then you can sort go ahead and plan out the week.  

The way I relax on Sundays? well I lounge about around the house pretty much the whole day. I pamper myself by having a bath and groom myself.

I do a couple of chores like vacuuming to make myself feel mentally good so I don't go crazy about being unproductive.

I workout to make my self feel physically good. 

I go browse on my phone and social media and watch YouTube videos that are funny or inspiring to make me feel emotionally good. 

And then in the evening I play some gentle music to help me settle down for the night. 

This is lush bath bomb.  They were made for Sundays. 

If you're not a bath person then a long shower is just as fine.  

This is called dragons egg. Although it seems like a big white ball once you drop it in it releases bursts of colour until you are left with a nice orange colour in the bath water along with a citrus scent that would have probably caught your nose by now. 

Hope you enjoyed part 1 of this sunday series

Question of the day : what do you do on Sundays? 

Comment below or tweet me @noreenkhanom 

CYA :D