We're going on an adventure!

On a quiet, lonely evening I'm the type of person who looks through their gallery on their phone....which made me realise the perfect subject to write about on my return to this blog - my gorgeous birthday trip to Edinburgh with my boyfriend Ryan!

Edinburgh was a place I had always wanted to visit, with it's rich history, good food, great alcohol and vibrant spirit - a trip together to celebrate my 19th birthday in November was the perfect idea! I was even brave enough to leave the planning of the entire trip to Ryan to come up with, to all who know us both; this was a bold move on both parts....but he pulled it off amazingly!

As we had not long started new jobs when we booked the trip we set ourselves a strict budget to stick to for travel and acomodation; therefore travelling there by train was out of the window immediately as the cost of a single one-way ticket was almost double the price we managed to find a castle-view room at the Hilton for 3 nights for (!!!!) 

Flying is not a strong point for me and the flight times we could find were rubbish....so we were left with a ROAD TRIP!

For me, this was a fun and exciting idea - spending 4-6 hours at the side of my best friend on our first real 'road trip' singing away and helping him by controlling the sat nav and map - this was going to be one of my favourite moments of the whole trip!!!! For Ryan it went more along the lines of *oh no, 4-6 hours stuck in a confined space with the most irritating person I know, I have to concentrate and drive the whole time whilst she talks and sings to me relentlessly, she is awful to travel with and to say she was going to take Geography if she had gone to uni; she can't read maps and can't work a satnav...*

The drive turned out to be indeed one of the most fun parts of the trip, if not a little stressful due to our satnav and phone batteries cutting out the second we crossed the Scottish border, car trouble (wheel brushes SUCK on Astras) and getting lost in the centre of Edinburgh...

We fought big time over directions, music, how many hashbrowns a person should have from McDonalds at 6am (is 5 really too much?), stopping to pee and other road users....but we also laughed big time and the views were INCREDIBLE

Once we had finally somehow arrived at the hotel in one piece, we parked up in long-stay (we didn't need the car at any time during our stay) and were right on time for check-in! As an employee of a popular hotel brand, my expectations for the hotel, room and customer service were very high, (I would have stayed in a hotel from my brand; however their Edinburgh site had not yet opened at this point so we stayed at the Hilton Double Tree) and we were not disappointed! Arriving to warm smiles, a warm lobby and warm cookies - we were made to feel like the most important people to arrive that week and shown to our room - again; warm and gorgeous!

We had a view of the castle and the quaint traditional town-houses of Bread street, the room felt like we were the first people to ever stay and was decorated to a standard that even Mr Perfect was impressed with (seriously!!!) - dark, moody and calm.

After 6 and a half hours of driving all we wanted to do was shower and nap, it was 2pm so we did just that. Once clean and refreshed we headed out to explore the city just as the sun set. Edinburgh is easily conquered on foot, apart from in new boots....as I found out the hard way - meaning a well earned stop for Pizza was more than necessary...

On our walk back to the hotel, we found a gem of a bar/restaurant/cafe aptly named 'Ryan's' which was lit up beautifully - visiting Edinburgh around Christmas is a MUST if you haven't already. You will fall in love with the whole city immediately....we certainly did...

We decided breakfast here the next morning would be a good idea - and we were right! The inside of the place is good enough reason to visit!


The next day I was woken up by an excited Ryan who told me our plans for the day consisted of more exploring, lots of food and lots of SHOPPING so I was up and ready like a shot! Edinburgh is brilliant for shopping, especially close to Christmas, everyone is busy and excited. It is packed everywhere you turn but you never feel panicked (for me - that's saying something!) And there is every type of shop you could need or want, from high street, to department and independant. One of my favourite things about Edinburgh is that the modern elements of the city have been developed to fit into the traditional and historical buildings rather than covering them. They take care of their history and restore older buildings (inside and out) - the result is really quite beautiful. A prime example of this is Scotland's oldest department store: Jenners..

Once we had shopped till we dropped (and drank our weight in hot chocolate) we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner....and we looked a little something like this:

(Dress is the Abbey Clancy range at Matalan - cheap and beaut, can't go wrong)

I was then surprised with dinner at the gormet steak restaurant; Kyloe.
Hands down best steak we have ever had. Restaurant itself was stunning too; candle lit and with views right across Edinbrurgh city centre and the beautiful castle.
Beef dripping chips go down a treat with fine wine (classy)


The next day was our last full day of the trip and luckily for us the Christmas market opened this day too!
We spent a lazy morning watching rubbish on the tv in bed and then headed off to visit the castle, which, when it's mind-numbingly cold, feels like an absolute TREK.
Views aren't too shabby though...

After that it was a wander through the back streets that we hadn't yet searched, dinner at the cutest TGI Friday's ever (a tradition wherever we go as our first date was at a TGI's) and spotting a cheeky pub

And then it was Christmas Market time!

A huge hot chocolate and a nut cracker decroration purchased later, it began to fall darker and so we went skating together on the out door rink (no photos taken....for fear of falling)

Then Ryan was mean and dragged me on the big wheel...I'm petrified of heights so the smile you see took a little bit of force but you could see right across Edinburgh with it all lit up....turned out to be one of my most favourite parts of the trip...

                                                                                                                     
Following this - we had planned on another meal out and even got all dressed up for the occasion...


However the weather took a turn for the worst and we decided completely against it...instead we stayed in (still dressed up to the nines) sat in bed watching movies and ordered a HUGE room service and a bottle of bubbly....it was the perfect end to the trip!

We fell in love with the place and we are desperate to go back again at some point! I would so recommend to go!!!!

Sorry for this blog being so long in length and for how long it took me to blog again too! 'Oh-My Emily-Rose' is certainly back in business now though - I have so much planned for this year that I want to share!

Watch this space as always - thankyou if you got all the way down to this part of the post without falling asleep! 

Lots of love, Emily-Rose xoxo

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Fave instagrammer of the week

I follow some of the most beautiful people on instagram. 

From their hair, to their makeup, to their clothes, their work out routines - I follow like the nosey bugger I am watching intently for a bit of inspiration. 

This week I had a good look through an instagram account that I had been following for a while who posts cute outfits that are mainly based around her beloved Timberland boots. 

@ammish 

I don't know quite why I love them so much, maybe it's the layout, maybe it's because I know it would never suit me and my thighs, maybe it's knowing I will never afford a pair of Timberland's myself...

Get following her - she sings too, with a UKULELE (even better!)

Lots of love, Emily-Rose xoxo

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'English Rose' - Simple Kind To Skin - product review

Now as a small disclaimer - this post is purely because for the first time in as long as I can remember - I have a bit of confidence in the skin I am in. 

I have very pale (and I mean very, pale.) sensitive skin. I always have and I always will - it's the skin I am in forever. I am so pale you can see every vein on my hands, wrists, feet, legs, neck, chin etc - it's almost see through. My beautiful mother has a condition called vitiligo and her non-pigmented skin 'patches' are darker than my natural skin - which she finds hilarious by the way.

Now you may be thinking ''so what - lots of people are pale'' and yes you are right, but me and my mum have our theories that my pale-ness may be some form of relation to vitiligo.. but all over, this is further spurred by the large patch of 'normal pigment' on my right thigh. I burn in the sun almost instantly and have to wear factor 50+ even on some days in winter as even the sun's reflection on the snow along with the cold winds can cause my skin to redden angrily. And don't even get me started on the effect rain has...

Holiday's are a nightmare - my skin flares up in a violent heat rash and burns to a crisp no matter how careful I am. Any sort of 'tan' you may see is most definitely from a bottle. 

*WARNING - MINGING HEAT RASH FEET FROM RHODES PHOTO BELOW*

Mmm Ryan's a lucky boy! He was so concerned about this!

Sadly the worst part of the heat rash is still on my left ankle - over a month after returning from our holiday..

The skin on my face is the most sensitive - I had blisters around my hair line from the skin burning within a day or two of reaching Rhodes. I have to wear a minimum of factor 20 foundation on top of my usual suncream and now have to invest in expensive brands after multiple reactions. Bye bye bank balance my precious but dwindling little baby. 

As much as I would like not to wear any foundation at all, like I said - my veins are painfully visable and I have very strange colouration differences - plus the foundation provides that extra bit of protection too! 

I have to admit however that up until the last year or so, I was awful when it came to removing makeup and looking after the fragile skin underneath.. I used to use nothing but a single face wipe to get rid of the muck, causing me to break out from blocked pores and a build up on the areas I didn't quite get to! 

So something had to give and I had to force myself to spend a few extra pennies and a few extra minutes to treat my skin...

I knew I couldn't just walk in to a shop and pick up any random scrub, cleanser, toner and moisturiser. It would have to be a sensitive skin brand. The first name that jumped to mind was 'Simple', although I had heard mixed reviews about it causing more harm than good to some users - but I gave it a shot anyway and I cannot believe how much difference it makes!!! 

 Currently I use the following products, but aim to get more, they even do shampoo now which would be perfect for me - you still have skin on your scalp, mine still happens to be just as sensitive! Plus they have a new extra-sensitive Derma range which sounds amazingly gentle! 

Simple - Kind To Skin - Smoothing Facial Scrub - £3.29

Simple - Kind To Skin - Purifying Cleansing Lotion - £3.29

Simple - Kind To Skin - Soothing Facial Toner - £3.29 

(strangely found on the cleanser page of the simple website...and not on the toner page...interesting) 

Simple - Kind To Skin - Replenishing Rich Moisturiser - £3.99 

I am not being paid to say any of this. I will just let you all know that. All product details are simply found on their website and prices are as of Tesco at the time of this post. I have no contact with anyone at Simple, but I simply cannot get over how much better I feel in my skin! It is incredibly soft and smooth and healthy. There are no longer mystery bobbles on my forehead, my red rashes are no more, I have had no reactions what so ever and a lot of the products are spf 15 which is a big *WIN WIN* for me! There are no artificial perfumes, dyes or harsh chemicals, so only using ingredients that are safe for skin, DAMN RIGHT!

I simply (haha no pun intented honestly!) use as intended once I have removed the main body of my make up with my usual face wipes, although I'm tempted to buy the Simple wipes too - and apply as little pressure as possible when using the scrub to prevent any damage to my face. I'm also very careful to avoid my eyes - I'm looking to purchase the eye makeup remover as I am a bugger for getting makeup or products in my eyes and cursing myself!! 

I would never usually show my bare face to anyone - but with the change I have experienced, the no-make up selfie that went alongside my donation for cancer research some time ago was less traumatic than I first thought...so thank you Simple!

Do you have any skin care tips? I am constantly learning!! 

Lots of love, Emily-Rose xoxo

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Rhodes BABY

As you may remember me mentioning in a previous post - me and my boyfriend Ryan booked a holiday to Rhodes to celebrate our first anniversary together. I wrote about the fears I had for something going wrong and I wrote about the excitement I had, especially for the hotel we had booked.

If you can't already tell - we are back alive and kicking, with only a few minor things going wrong, but definitely feeling the holiday blues as the night draws in... 

So as we sit here looking at our holiday photos for the billionth time - I thought I would post a quick blog review on Rhodes, Faliraki and most importantly The Kouros Exclusive - which I have to say, blew us away. 

For all you normal humans who aren't totally obsessed with Geography like me - Rhodes is an island located off the coast of Greece in the Aegean sea. It is northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens and just off the coast of Turkey. Shaped like a spear head, it is actually only 1,400 square kilometres in total. It only has one airport - so you're pretty set for getting there.

Faliraki (as you can see from the above) is situated on the North East coast of Rhodes. It used to be very popular for 'party holidays' back in the day - think Magaluf or Malia now, but way more wild (seriously) - it has now died right down after the locals and governing body in Faliraki got fed up of the tourist's behaviour and demanded things changed. These days it still has a lot of bars, clubs. shops and restaurants and a 'strip' designed to cater for tourists (and there are still a lot of lads and girls holidays out for a wild time) but is clean, tidy and really pleasant - even at night. 

The beach is spotless, with a stunning clear blue sea, delicious restaurants where you can eat whilst the sun sets and quite possibly the hottest sand I have ever experienced in my life - it was brilliant to see everyone walk, well - sprint, from their sun loungers to the sea to avoid burning their soles. And there are numerous hidden jewells such as Anthony Quinn Bay with it's deep emerald water - only accessible by boat or by trekking on foot for a while. We were lucky enough to get on board a diving boat that dropped us off on a mini cruise around these coves - meaning we could dive/snorkel in each one and experience the secluded beauty. 

We stayed in the most wonderful hotel - The Kouros Exclusive. They made us so incredibly welcome right from the second we arrived, with advice on where to go and visit and how to get there, what food and drink to try, surprise cocktails and best of all.....the treat of being upgraded to two suites during the week as they got wind of our anniversary. 

Each night we went and had cocktails on the terrace next to the pool as you can see from the photo just above before we either had dinner there (the food is so fresh it's to die for) or went for a wander in the town to have a look at whatever took our fancy. We never stayed out too late as we didn't want to run into the drunken groups - so we headed home to top-up the after sun each night and either sit out on our cushion or watch a film in English (with greek subtitles) on the tv with a glass of wine. 

Faliraki has it's own water park - which is either a short bus or taxi ride away - the taxi's are extortionate unless you demand the meter to be used, so make sure if you do go - make sure you ask for the meter to be switched on before you ask for your destination so you don't get ripped off. Anyway, the water park was one of the best days we had - and we bumped into some friend's of mine from college - of all the places and 2000 miles from home there they were! We got ridiculously burnt and scared ourselves silly - but it was soooo much fun and I would recommend it to anyone! 

We also managed to fit in a visit to Rodos - the capital 'city' of Rhodes which is entirely walled, with hundreds and hundreds of Taverna's, stalls and gelatto shops - vivid colours and flavours every where you turned. There are also really interesting ruins that you can climb to get a great view of the stunning water there - although they smell of wee..
We also dreamt of fame and fortune whilst we looked at all of the yachts docked in the bay...

All in all - we fell in love with the entire place and will be returning as soon as possible to enjoy the parts we simply didn't have the time to get around to doing - but I would recommend going 100000000%

Where else do you recommend going on holiday to?

Lots of love, Emily-Rose xoxo

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