Accordion Potatoes

First exam down, two more to go!

Just a quick post today to say that I tried a new method of cooking potatoes the other day and they were so yummy. I got the recipe from A Beautiful Mess, which is a fantastic blog about everything homemade and DIY.

Source: A Beautiful Mess

The recipe was accordion potatoes (or hasselback potatoes) which was a delicious twist from the usual roasties. Super simple to prepare and looks great for dinner parties. Get the recipe here

Does anyone else do anything yummy or different with their potatoes?

H x

How to make a long distance relationship work

How I make a long distance relationship work? This is a question I get a lot.

To catch you up, my boyfriend and I live in different countries. It's not permanent, just for a year. I'm studying out in Malta, and he's working back home in England. We have been dating for over a year now, and met at university. He was completely supportive of my choice to come abroad, which made things that little bit easier when leaving home.

Source: Pinterest

So how do we keep our relationship going when we're over 1000 miles apart? Here are some of my thoughts and tips.

1. First of all, we'd been dating for a while before I moved away. This meant that we'd built up a lot of trust with each other. For me, this framework has been really important. I have pictures up on my wall of us together, each one a fun memory and a reminder of why I love him.

2. Skype has been a massive help. Thanks to this brilliant piece of technology, I can see and talk to my boyfriend pretty much whenever I want, via a webcam. I should mention that WhatsApp is also great, I can text home for free through our wifi.

3 .A good tip if you are going abroad is to keep busy. Luckily for me, even though I miss home, I'm not one to get homesick. I've been travelling before, so I guess I'm used to being away, and I've never really had a problem with homesickness. But my advice would be to keep busy. The busier you are, the more fun you'll have and the less you'll miss home. This way when you do Skype or talk to your boyfriend you'll have something fun to say. This is helpful for him as well, as he'll feel like part of your new adventure if you include him.

4. Surprise him. Something as small as sending a postcard lets him know that you're thinking about him.

Another helpful factor for me is that I'm not alone. One of my housemates also has a boyfriend back in England. Stacey wanted to pass on some of her experiences:

“My boyfriend and I officially got together mid-July, so more or less two months before I moved to Malta. We’d know each other from our first year at university and started ‘seeing’ each other half way through our second year. Moving to Malta was such a last minute plan, but as soon as it stated to become real, I told him about it. We weren't ‘boyfriend & girlfriend’ then, but knowing we were going to be living in different countries didn't scare him off. He supported my decision and he has been my rock ever since. We text (well, WhatsApp) every day – without fail, and Skype each other at least twice a week. Speaking to each other every day is so important, even if it’s just a text; it shows that you’re thinking about each other. Trust plays an essential role in any relationship, especially long distance ones. I trust my boyfriend more than anyone ever, and I know the feeling is mutual. And the one thing that keeps us going, is knowing that we are going to be seeing each other soon in the future, even though it does seem a while away, we always have something to look forward to together. ”

So I hope that was helpful, or at least interesting. Are any of you in a long distance relationship? If not, would you consider it?

H x

Essie: Thigh High

A quick post today (as most of mine will be over the next few weeks due to coursework deadlines and exam dates fast approaching), about one of my new nail varnishes I received this Christmas. It's an Essie one in the colour Thigh High.




I love this colour. It's a gorgeous cranberry colour that is perfect for winter. I know it's just a nail varnish, but when I'm wearing it I feel made up, even if I'm just chilling at home in jeans. Is it sad that a nail varnish has such an effect on me..hmmm..probably.

I really like Essie nail varnishes in general as the colours are just gorgeous, but they don't have the best lasting time on my nails for some reason. They aren't terrible, they just don't seem to last as long on my nails as other people rave about.

Does anyone else find this, or is it just me?

H x

Happy New Year (and a 'little' chat)

Happy New Year everyone and I hope you had a really good Christmas. I had a lovely time back at home with my family but sadly I was ill over new years so didn't get to see as many people as I was hoping to. Having said that I still feel like it was non-stop at home, but now I'm back in Malta (and the sun is shining! ..well for the moment at least) I can sit down, relax with a cuppa tea, and spend some time with my blog. Christmas is a family time and for me that meant a majority of my time was spent playing silly games and eating amazing food so my blog was pushed to the background. But now it's the new year and time to organise and throw myself back into the world of blogging.

This year I've decided I'm going to have a little shuffle around of my blog. When I first created Becoming Hugo it was just for me. No one was reading it, none of my friends or family new about it, it was just something I enjoyed doing for me. None of my friends have a blog, so it was just a tester to see if I enjoyed it. I can honestly say I love my blog. It's sounds silly and soppy but I'm very proud of it. Now some of my friends/family check it as a way of seeing how I'm doing abroad, and I've started gaining a few followers. This is boggling to me. That some people that I've never met might actually be interested or want to read what I write. Crazy!

However, I don't want to lose sight of what this blog means to me, and right now I think its a little disorganised and it is time for a new years change. Here are my ideas:

Interactive
I want to welcome my new readers by making my posts interactive. I'm going to try to reply to most of the comments that people leave and listen to any feedback or ideas suggested.

About Me
I want to create an about me section on my blog so people can find out a little more about it and maybe understand my blog better. I love reading about other people on their blogs (yes, I'm nosy like that) and I can't be the only person.

Content
Most of the blogs I read are beauty blogs (with a couple of fashion ones thrown in too) so in my mind I tried to follow that path too, but looking through my blog I can see I have a real mix of topics. I used to get a bit stressed about whether or not I'd posted enough 'beauty' posts rather than just posting what I wanted to talk about. So this year there's going to be a change. I'm still going to blog about reviews and products but there will be lifestyle posts thrown in too, all guilt free. I'm a real foodie and love to cook, so I might start a cooking feature or talk about recipes I like. Basically what I'm trying to say is that blogging is a big learning curve, and my blog hasn't quite found itself yet. But throughout this year I hope to find that out. I understand the things that I post might not be as interesting for some people to read, but if I'm passionate about what I'm writing then I hope that will show through.

So what do you think? Did you know exactly what you were going to blog about before you started? And has it changed at all since the beginning? 

H x

Twas the night before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!

H x

Tag: It's all about me

I'm back in England! It's cold, and I'm not used to it. But it is so lovely to be back.

Waiting at the bus stop, to go the airport back to England.

I thought I would put this tag post up today. I read it on some other blogs and loved seeing other people's answers so here are my thoughts, plus I'm tagging a few people too as I'd love to know some more about them.

I answered these questions on Thursday as I was packing to come home for Christmas.

So here goes...

Vital Statistics:

Me: Georgia

Nicknames: George, Georgie, G and H

Birthday: 4^th November

Place of Birth: London

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Male or Female: Female

Occupation: Student

Residence: At the moment, Malta

Screen Name: Becoming Hugo

Appearance:

Hair Colour: Brown

Hair Length: Longish

Eye colour: Dark Brown

Best Feature: Eyes

Height: 5ft 3"

Braces?: I had them when I was younger

Glasses?: Nope

Piercings?: Ears x3

Tattoos?: None

Righty or Lefty: Righty

Your 'Firsts':

First Best Friend: Lucy, she lived next door when we were babies and we grew up together

First Award: Errrrm..I got my first LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) award when I was about 10, I’m pretty proud of that actually

First Sport You Joined: Gymnastics. Does that count as a sport? If not then Netball

First Real Holiday: America

First Concert: All Saints, and I met the Spice Girls there, best day of my life!

First Love: My Daddy :)

Favourites:

Movie: Oh, this changes depending on what mood I’m in. But...I would have to say, my favourite comedy is ‘In Bruges’ and my favourite chick flick is ‘Easy A’

TV Show: Game of Thrones, it’s the only program I have ever got to the end of, and wanted to put back on again straight away

Colours: Purple and Green

Song: Georgia on my Mind by Ray Charles or Just the Way you are by Barry White

Sweets: I'm not a sweet person. Honestly, at a restaurant when everyone chooses a desert after the meal, I’ll order another started instead

Restaurant: I don’t have one. I love discovering new places to eat. I’m such a foodie!

Store: For clothes; Zara or Urban Outfitters

Book: This changes regularly, but I recently finished a book called ‘The Help’ and I really enjoyed that

Magazine: Company & Glamour

Shoes: If I could wear heels all day I would, but it’s just not practical

Currently:

Feeling: Excited, I get to see my family soon :)

Single or Taken: Taken

Eating: Nothing, but I am drinking a cup of tea

Typing: This

Online: Obviously! (I'm addicted)

Listening To: Nothing..I’m chatting to my housemates

Thinking About: Christmas

Wanting: The weather to not be too cold in England (fat chance!)

Watching: The amazing view from our balcony

Wearing: My PJ’s

Future:

Want Children?: Yes, but not any time soon

Want to be Married: If I can find someone willing to put up with my weirdness

Careers in Mind: Not sure yet

Where do you want to live?: I’d love to have a career in London, but after that, who knows

Have you ever:

Kissed a Stranger: hmmm, probably

Had Alcohol: Silly question...

Smoked: Doesn’t appeal to me

Ran Away From Home: Never

Broken a bone: Luckily no

Got an X-ray: Yes

Broken Someone's Heart: I hope not

Broke Up With Someone: Yes

Cried When Someone Died: Yes

Cried At School: Yes, mainly from giggling too much with my friends

Do You Believe In:

God: Nope

Miracles: Yes. Not in a spiritual way, but I’d like to think even the little things can be miracles

Love At First sight: Nope

Ghosts: Nope

Aliens: Surely we can’t be the only living things in this universe? But I don’t believe in the stereotypical aliens that leave crop circles and are green with odd shaped heads.

Soul Mates: Nope

Heaven: Nope

Hell: Nope

Kissing on The First Date: Sure

Yourself: Every day

So there it is. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'd like to tag:

British Beauty Geek
Seeking Serendipity
That's So Phoebe
A Little Beauty Spot
Raspberphobia
Bow Tied Beauty

If there is anyone else who would like to do this tag, I'd love for you to link it below for us all to read. Also, I have some reviews in the pipeline, so they should be up soon.

H x

P.S. A quick congratulations to my beautiful cousin who gave birth to a gorgeous little girl on Wednesday.

She is so tiny and perfect :) Also, I promise my eyebrows are even in real life, the lighting for this picture left me a little lop sided...

Christmas in Sliema

Every year I get super excited for Christmas, but this year I have found myself getting even more into the spirit. Maybe it's because I'm abroad, so it's mixed with excitement to go home and see my family. Or because pinterest/youtube/instagram are full to the brim of Christmas ideas and celebrations. Either way, I cannot wait!

I wanted to show you how the town where I am staying, Sliema, is celebrating Christmas, with Christmas lights and all things Christmassy :)

I hope everyone is having a good time, getting excited for Christmas. I've bought lots of presents for people, (but some are just so tricky to buy for). Have you bought all your presents yet, or do you end up leaving until the very last minute?

H x