The Clogs Craze and Why I'm Here For It

23 May 2019

Okay, so I can't be the only one who's seen everybody on their Instagram feed trodding about in the cutest little wooden clogs ever and been like I NEED A PAIR! If you are that person I GOTCHUUU COVERED with the latest clogs lowdown and some things you're deffo gonna need to know before you make that purchase!

If you don't already know, Scondi style is my absolute favourite thing so I JUMPED at the chance to buy myself a pair of authentic Swedish clogs, I recently ordered a pair of (wait for it) Highwood Taupe on Brown Brown Base from 'Lotta from Stockholm' (these ones) but there are so many brands about depending on your budget! Swedish Hasbeens is definitely the most popular, but Lotta's are a great lower budget alternative and just as good in quality. Now here's the three big questions. Style, Comfort, Practicality!

Style
So as you can see from the photos everywhere clogs are CUTE, and they come in a whole load of cute styles. The ones that I have are the Highwood, closed toe version but here's a selection of other ones that I like! (all from Lotta)

Fit
If you're not sure on sizing, aka like me you have size 5 1/2 (UK) feet but bordering on a 6, I can't comment on all of the different brands but Lotta's are very true to size. I got a size 6 and they fit perfectly, a 5 would definitely have been too small, but with clogs, it's really important that they fit you properly so if you're really not sure, have a look at their sizing guide and it'll put you right.

Comfort/Practicality
This is the biggy! I'm a big comfort over style person so when I buy shoes I have to be sure that they're going to be comfortable and practical for everyday use, hence why I pretty much live in trainers! Now as heels go these are super comfy and functional, I wore these all day for work and had no issues whatsoever. However, there is a dark undertone of clogs, that I found out the hard way, and that my friends, is the buckling of the ankles. I have a very quick walking pace and have notoriously bad walking posture (think pregnant woman meets mother duck) so buckle in for story time... 

I was casually (well more like briskly) walking to church on Sunday morning, the roads were quiet and there was barely anyone about (which was a good thing) when suddenly my ankle buckled and I fell flat on my ass in the middle of the street and honestly lowkey thought I was about to die but nothing was bruised except for my pride and then the same darn thing proceeds to happen just a few metres farther down, this all happened only a couple of hundred metres from my house and I'd already fallen TWICE! What did this teach me? (Clearly, nothing because I'm still wearing them and recommending them to people but just making sure you know the dangers before you go ahead unlike me). I managed to make it the whole rest of the way to church without falling and even wore them to the airport later that day, and walking around Bradford the next week. But they've actually improved my walking before I have to be so so careful and conscious about how I'm walking and where I'm placing my feet. But the main thing I've realised is that cute clogs were not built for Belfast streets, city centre streets maybe, but definitely not the inner city streets where I live with their uneven pavements. I haven't fallen (or buckled) since that time on Sunday morning but it's really shaken me so now I walk about really aware that I could fall at any minute.

IN CONCLUSION: Clogs are cute but are definitely NOT appropriate footwear for everyday wear around inner cities with uneven pavements. If you live somewhere with nice flat and even pavements (uphill is also weirdly good) then these are perfect to walk about in, literally, the difference between flat surfaces and uneven pavements is STAGGERING! Despite my injuries, I still definitely recommend getting a pair of these if you're after a new pair of cute shoes, but please please please be aware of the formidable buckling ankles!! 

How to Host the Best Eurovision Party of All Time

17 May 2019

It's my favourite day of the year again, truly, there is no day better than the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. I love Eurovision so much that my friends even threw me a Eurovision themed birthday party for my 21st. This time last year I was in Portugal sitting in the Altice Arena watching Semi Final one live in front of my very eyes and it's up there with one of the most incredible moments of my life.



I may love Eurovision a tad more than the average person but one of my favourite things to do on final day is invite all of my non-eurofan friends round to my house and force them to take the contest seriously, which is, in fact, a lot more fun than it sounds. This year's party has been months in the making but even if you've only got a day you can still host a great Eurovision Party, even if it's just you and a few friends. 

I give a lot of tips on here but I've been doing this for years so this is probably the one thing you can trust me on the most. EUROPE'S LIVING A CELEBRATION.

Food
Nothing screams a party more than food, so get yourselves some food from different countries represented in the final. Here's a checklist to get you started!

Music
Set the atmosphere, before the show kicks off you may want to play some of this year's entries which can all be found in this Spotify playlist below, or if you'd prefer to keep it a surprise Spotify also has some other playlists with some old school Eurovision Bangers sure to get the party started!

Scorecards
The biggest part of my Eurovision parties is making everyone rank their top 10 songs and then I compile the whole thing together to get our overall party leaderboard. (Last year Ireland won and it had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that we are Irish). To make this easier for you, Here is a link where you can download the Scorecards that I've made for my Party this year and are free for you to use for your respective parties!


Sweepstakes
I personally don't like doing sweepstakes because I'd rather have people support the songs they actually like not just because they want to win but sweepstakes can be a fun way to get people to root for countries, especially if you throw in a nice prize for them.

Costume
Why not come in costume? Give each of your guests a different country and get them to dress up in suitable attire from that country or take it a step further and come in full-blown Verka Seduchka tribute wear.


Hopefully, that's given you some fun ideas of how to host the Eurovision party of dreams. If you had a party, let me know how you got on, let me know your favourites or just yell at me down below about all things Eurovision!