My lovely break in Spain!

Sorry for the lack of posts on here lately, I've seriously missed blogging but I seem to have so little time recently. I've just come back from a family holiday to Spain and I had such an amazing time. We stayed in Sabinillas which is a gorgeous seaside town and the weather couldn't of been better. I can't say I got a tan or anything but it was so nice to get away from the dull weather in Dublin and relax on the beach with the sun shining. In Ireland we never get the chance to wear shorts in September (unless you wear thick tights under them that is), I'm so glad I picked up a couple pairs of shorts from the Accessorize Sale. I went for a tribal print as I knew I was bringing a lot of plain band t shirts with me and it would make the full outfit a bit more holiday appropriate. I pretty much always wear tights (even with dresses) as I have a scar on my leg from a bad fall from when I was younger so I was a bit nervous about my milk bottle legs being on show. That was short lived and I didn't care too much once I realised how hot it was in Spain at the time. The weather was in the high twenties everyday which is a change to the weather we have in Ireland. It was the first family holiday I've been on since I was a teen, I was unsure if it was going to get the time of work but I was so glad I did in the end.

Casares

 Gibraltar

My week was spent chilling and sightseeing (you probably gathered that already) with my family. My highlight of my trip was going to Gibraltar, I've never seen anything like it. We had to walk across a airport runway to get in which you don't see everyday I guess. Everything was unbelievably cheap, that said I didn't buy much whilst I was there. I found a MAC counter and bought two of their new release paint pots that I was eyeing up online lately. My brother on the other hand did well and picked up Dr Dre Beat headphones for €150 which he was really chuffed with. I even spotted a couple of monkies which were super cute. I'm not going to lie I didn't get too close as I was a little scared of them, thank god for good camera lens.

Puerto de la Duquesa

Tarifa

 I didn't buy too much whilst I was in Spain which I was a pretty surprised with. I'm going to put up a little holiday haul soon to show you guys what I bought but it won't be huge trust me. I took a little break from Slimming World while I was on holiday and treated myself. We went out for family dinners every evening so it was hard to find stuff that I actually liked on the menu. I wouldn't say I scrapped my healthy eating routine completely as there was so many options on the menu, I had the yummiest Tuna salad at a beachside restaurant one of the days, it was so nice to munch away on my dinner while looking at the waves come in. There was a lovely pizzeria beside our apartment and they did the nicest bruschetta I've ever tasted. I don't eat bread anymore since I started Slimming World so getting one of them was a huge treat. I put up a couple of pictures on Instagram during the week, as us bloggers tend to do! You can check them out here, I'm really new to the whole Instagram thing and I didn't know what all the fuss was about but I love it!

I didn't do too much reading on my holiday like I thought I would. I've nearly finished The Devil Wears Prada which I'm loving. It was a great holiday read and I literally only have another 100 pages to go. Paddy actually bought me this and the sequel while we were in London in June so at least I don't have to rush out and buy that once I finish. While we're on that note Paddy and I are hopefully heading away on holidays in November to Paris. It's not set in stone yet but we've wanted to go for a while but we are both super busy with work. He's been interning for the past few months so it will be nice to get away somewhere. I've been to Paris before, it was actually one of the last family holidays I went on. I remember loving it, we stayed in one of the hotels in Disneyland and it couldn't of been better. I actually have a picture of my brother and I from that holiday in my room and it's crazy to see how different we look but I guess it was ten years ago now.

I went back to work on Monday and it's seriously like I never left. What is that about going on holidays? I'm already looking forward to planning my next holiday! I really enjoy doing these sort of posts as they are so nice to look back on and relive all the adventures through pictures. I really hope you guys enjoyed this post too.

Laura<3

What I've been Reading: Clockwork Angel By Cassandra Clare

Lately I've gotten back into reading. When I was younger I was such a bookworm, I always had my head in a book. I wouldn't say I leaned towards any specific genre as I do read just about anything. I used to love Jacqueline Wilson growing up and I was lucky enough to meet her when she visited my Primary School. I'm sure I have a signed copy of her book, Vicky Angel floating around my room somewhere. I was such a huge fan, I loved everything from fun writing style to the gorgeous illustrations by Nick Sharratt. Now a couple of years down the line I have a Kindle (wouldn't of thought something like this would ever exist back in the 90's) and I have to say I still prefer physical books. For me, nothing beats cracking the spine of a real book and looking at much loved titles on my bookshelf. I do like my Kindle but I have to admit I still pop into my favourite book shop (Hodges & Figgis) often to pick up the latest releases. Over the Summer I haven't had a lot of time to kick back, relax and read a good book. That said I have managed to read a couple on the go, my favourite of the bunch has to be Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.

I hadn't heard too much about this series before I was given this book by a friend over the Summer. Clockwork Angel is the prequel to the Mortal Instruments series and Book One of The Infernal Devices series. The City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments has been made into a movie featuring Lily Collins and Robert Sheehan. I went to see it recently with Paddy and we both really enjoyed it. It  did think it was pretty scary though. Reading the blurb on the back of Clockwork Angel, I immediately thought this was another Twilight, I thought wrong. The main character in the book is Tessa Gray, an American who arrives in England to live with her brother. From the outset her world is turned upside down when she discovers that everything she's known about her life thus far isn't what it seems. She's introduced to London's Downworld were lots of supernatural dwellers exist. After seeking shelter with Shadowhunters, a clan that keeps humanes (humans) safe from demons, Tessa delves further into their world and what she discovers she may not be ready for. I'm terrible for ruining the ending of movies so I don't want to give too much of this book away.

Clockwork Angel is written really well and you actually get sucked into Tessa's World. There are tonnes of supernatural creatures in the book which may seem like overkill after Twilight but that's certainly not an issue here. There's so many twists and turns in Clockwork Angel, I seriously couldn't put it down. I brought it in my bag everywhere and being nearly 500 pages long, it wasn't the most practical book to carry around. My favourite character from the book is Will. He's mysterious and from the get go I was always wondering what his story was. I'm guessing I'll have to pick up the other books in the series to find out more. I'm glad I hadn't heard of these books when they first came out as I probably would of had to wait an age for the next installment. I don't have to worry now as there are tonnes to keep me going. I would recommend Clockwork Angel to anyone who is looking for a new read. This one is page turner so you get into it pretty quick. I'm really looking forward to picking up the other books in the series soon, I'm already trying to guess what happens next.

As always I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this post. I'd love to take a new direction with All-Made-Up-21 and add something different, maybe book reviews could be the way to go. I'm actually going to be ordering some books from Amazon today for my holidays so I'd love to hear some of your favourite reads! I'm heading to Spain for a week so I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to chill out in the Sun and read lots over there.

Laura<3