I'M GOING TO HONG KONG!

Hi Everybody!

If you've read all about me on this blog you will know that since I am eurasian and I have lived in 2 countries I have 4 homes in total, and one of those homes is Hong Kong. I was born there and I lived there for seven years. For Chinese New Year my family is going back there for three or four days and I'm going to Disney Land and Ocean Park (because I'm finally brave enough to try and ride the mine train!) So I'm very excited to see my friends again and just revisit the places that I loved when I was little.

However, we are also going back to Taiwan (which is where I am half from) and we're visiting Sun Moon Lake, which is a beautiful place I have to admit but is not my thing. I am more of a city person and will always be, but my parents are not, so since I get to go to Hong Kong and do city girl things, I agreed that I would go with my mum to Sun Moon Lake for three days, so I guess it's fair in it's own way. 

In chinese customs you're supposed to have new clothes, hair, shoes and new everything for Chinese New Year, so we're also getting haircuts in Taiwan, because it's the only place where my mum is satisfied with her cut! I'm thinking on maybe getting highlights. Wondering if I should get lighter (blondey-brown) colours in my hair because I've got dark brown hair with a slight purple-y tint, I was also thinking of getting auburn highlights as I think they look very pretty, and also because I'm a huge fan of the Mortal Instruments (go Clary!) 

Hope you all have an amazing Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, whatever you celebrate. See you soon. And sorry about posting 2 times in one day, I just had to :)

Image Credits:

www.parkviewholdings.com

www.cntraveller.com

www.chinahighlights.com

How to Clean your Tangle Teezer

If I haven't mentioned this before, then I have to now...

I LOVE TANGLE TEEZERS SO MUCH. They have changed my life so much and I have never heard a bad review about them. To buy one go to their website by clicking here.

The only problem is that over time, a lot of hair builds up in your Tangle Teezer. So I did some research and I found a way to clean out your Tangle Teezer.

I found it on The Glitter Detector, which is a wonderful blog and everyone should definitely check it out. 

Step 1 or What You Will Need:

A Vacuum (mine is a Phillips 12.0V Car Vacuum, but any will do), Shower Gel/Cream or shampoo, your Tangle Teezer and an old toothbrush.

Step 2

Take your vacuum and carefully place it over a section of teeth/bottom of the brush, and repeat this a few times. You may not see that much improvement, but you can get rid of the dirt/hair later.

Step 3

Take your Tangle Teezer and place it under the tap and rinse it for 10 seconds, and then apply your shower gel or shampoo and spread it evenly over the brush, and rub it in with your fingers. 

Step 4

Put your Tangle Teezer under the tap and rinse it out thoroughly for about 2-3 minutes.

Step 5

Now we're going to remove all of the dirt/hair that has accumulated over time in your Tangle Teezer, so we're going to take your toothbrush and Tangle Teezer and turn the tap on, while rinsing the brush, use the toothbrush to scrub out all of the hair, don't worry about it bending the teeth as the bristles on the toothbrush will prevent them from bending.

Now your Tangle Teezer looks like it came straight out of the box!

TIP:

If you have a Compact Styler like mine, then I suggest that you shake out the water that has accumulated inside the brush as the water enters it easily as it has a hole.

For more Tangle Teezer related posts, keep yourself updated with Tripalis.

Natalie :)

My Current Favourites

Hello Everyone :)

So I've decided to post a new favourites post, as it is now 2014 and so I would just like to show you some things that I found in December and in the past couple weeks of the new year. No reviews, just a rating out of /5 and a sentence on WHY I LOVE IT.

1. Toni&Guy's Casual Collection

4/5 - I love this collection as it actually works really well, smells really nice, and has a positive thing going on.

Sea Salt Texturising Spray

2. Louder - R5

5/5 - R5 is my favourite band of all time, and Louder is definitely one of the best albums I have ever owned.

Image from Wikipedia

3. Wild Heart by The Vamps

5/5 - Love this song! Discovered it a couple days ago and it's just been on loop the entire time!

Istanbul MUST EATS

Okay, so a couple of my friends have already been to Istanbul and I heard so many good things about it, but the sentence I heard the most definitely was: "The food is SO GOOD!!"

Which, I found out, is very very true. If you are like me, and not very interested in historical sights then you can just sit at a local restaurant or café and just have a snack, my mum really loved a café called Simit Sarayi so I think you should definitely check that out.
So here goes...

My Top 5 Istanbul MUST EATS!

1. Baklava - This dessert is simply delicious. Thin phyllo pastry pieces layered carefully with soft syrup and classic walnuts. This is my all time favourite turkish dessert. It's just so delicious, but you have to be careful, as it gets very addictive! 
2. Apple Tea (Elma Çay) - Apple Tea is basically like warm apple juice. I know I probably let you down after the Baklava, but really, it's amazing. I liked the sugar cubes (or lumps whatever you want to call them) that came with the tea, as I just watched Catching Fire 2 months ago and always reminds me of Finnick (thumbs up to all the HG fans :D). 

Apple Tea

3. Andana Kebab
I only ate one kebab on the trip, but when I did, it was REALLY good. I am usually opposed to eating lamb as I don't believe in slaughtering baby animals, or any animals (yet I still eat meat....) really. But when I tried the kebab my mum ordered it was really really good.  Highly recommended. The best place we found with kebabs was the Buhara '93 just off the Hippodrome.

4. Turkish Thin-Crusted Pizza
In Buhara '93 the nice waiter forgot to bring dad's soup, so he brought over a dish that looked sort of like a pizza, but it wasn't baked and it had such a thin crust it was unbelievable. Nevertheless, it was delicious, so we decided to share it with you :)

5. Simit
As I mentioned above, my mum absolutely loved Simits while we were in Istanbul, we were constantly stopping at Simit Sarayi to buy more. Just go over to the café and order a                                                                    simit with yellow cheese. We recommend it :)

So that's it! Hope you enjoyed it! Opening up a new beauty section on the blog soon for people who aren't into travelling and food (but how could you not be ??) so stay posted for that!

Istanbul Sights

We were in Istanbul for four days, and during that period of time we visited the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Suliman the Great Mosque, The Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, Spice Market, The Basilica Cistern, a Whirling Dervish performance, many local restaurants and a 2 hour cruise along the Bosphorus.
But I'm only going to mention the sights that you really will want to see, if you don't want to waste any time in Istanbul.
________________________

1. Hagia Sophia

 The Hagia Sophia is probably the biggest, most historical and prestigious sight in Istanbul. Inside the museum you will find grand pillars and stone walls and floors that caving inwards, with murals and frescoes everywhere.
Chandeliers dangle from the dome that has the illusion that it is "floating" along the windows.
The Hagia Sophia is an interesting sight for those who are interested in history as it was built as a church and then converted into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire.
I also recommend people who like photography to visit the museum.
But if you aren't too interested in either of those things why not go just because you don't want to miss out on Turkey's most famous sight, or just give it a miss if you like, I bet your children will be very happy, unless they enjoy history themselves.




2. Basilica Cistern

This was the most beautiful sight, for me.
The cistern is located just off the road next to the Hagia Sophia, and only takes about 20-30 minutes, so feel free to wander over after visiting the museum.
Once you get underground you will find a dark room with dozens and dozens of pillars all lined up neatly in rows with lights to illuminate them, a small pool of water stretched across the cistern and koi fish swimming around, waiting to be fed.
If you wander to the back, you will see two big pillars with Medusa's head beneath them. One is sideways and the other upside down, me being a huge lover of the Greek Gods and tales I was really excited to see the heads as I thought they were real until I realised they were stone (does that mean she turned herself to stone ?).
NOT A MISS in Istanbul. Beautiful, and you come out with amazing photos.
Go visit it!


3. The Topkapi Palace

We visited the Topkapi Palace on one of the most pleasant days we had in Istanbul.
I think that the palace is like the Hagia Sophia, it's very much like a museum, and is more for people who like history, but if you are interested in photography, then visit the Harem, as it is a small building off the side of the main palace that is very quaint yet grand at the same time.
It is great for photography, especially when it's a good day!

The main palace however is basically just text and displays that showcase things like robes, jewellery, weapons and all the royal luxuries that the Sultans had.
Visit if you love history!






4.  Mosques - Suliman the Great and the Blue Mosque

All three of us found that even though all the mosques in Istanbul are beautiful, they are all the same.
After visiting two or three you will see what I am talking about.
The mosques (again) are very good for photography, with the chandeliers, domes, carpeted floors and frescoes.
As we visited in winter, dressing modestly was not a problem as everyone was in coats, long warm pants and boots. But in the summer it's probably ten times harder (and hotter) to wear long pants and a headscarf.









Will be posting about the FOOD (the real business!) soon!

DIY Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hi everyone :)

Before we left to Istanbul I actually made a batch of red velvet cupcakes, and I really wanted to post something about them but I didn't have time. So now that I've got a spare moment or two, I decided to show you them :)
The recipe I used was Martha Stewart's and I think it's really quite good, though I didn't put in as much red food colouring as she said to, because it's bad for you, so my cupcakes aren't super red.
For the frosting recipe click here.

So yeah, just wanted to share those with you. I am a huge fan of R5, and I actually made a cupcake for them, except I don't seem to have a photo. Great. Oh well.