Cake

Who doesn’t love cake?

One of my besties Georgia and I got together after AGES of not seeing each other and we made some super good looking and tasting cake. 

Here’s what we did. 

Okay so we actually cheated a little bit and used a Betty Crocker cake mix and before this attempt I had never used a box cake before! I was so happy with how easy to follow the instructions were and how great the cake tasted. (Although I think it was down to the bakers that made the cake taste so good but I’m biased)

This was all the ingredients that we needed! 

• The actual boxed cake
• Eggs
• Vegetable oil (we used olive oil)

We also went full out and bought some caramel cake centre which is just like a salted caramel flavoured syrup (it’s amazing) which you squeeze into the centre of the cake. We also got dinosaur patterned cupcake cases, a piping bag set, and some ready made butter cream which we didn’t end up using. 

I’m not entirely sure of the exact measurements but they’re all on the back of the box. If you fancy making cakes from scratch, I made a post a few months ago which you can find on my blog. 

Georgia helped me out by taking loads (and I mean LOADS) of photos of me, and she also helped me to decorate them as she’s very artistic. 

Once we had all the cake cases filled, we actually still had a lot of the mixture left over so we made another big cake which we didn’t actually do anything with, as my brothers like just plain cake. 

So off those went into the oven and then it was time to make the icing. I wasn’t particularly keen on the taste of the icing that we bought so we made our own with icing sugar, butter, and cocoa powder. 

Before we actually iced the cakes we had to wait for them to cool. This is important because otherwise the icing will melt and slide off. 

There they are in all their glory. 

So first thing we did to decorate was to fill the cupcakes with the caramel centre. 

This was so easy to do as the caramel centre came in a squeezy package with an easy to use nozzle. Literally all we had to do was push it into the cake and squeeze. 

Once they were filled, we iced. Now this took a few attempts to get right, but when we got them right, we got them RIGHT!

Some of them looked amazing, but again we left some plain for my brothers. 

This one here is showing off Georgia’s artistic abilities, apparently it is me. 

The final products! 

Honestly they tasted as good as they looked! 

They didn’t last very long which in my eyes is a win! 

Let me know if I’ve inspired you to make some sweet treats. 

Catch you soon,

Em x

Is LGBT wrong?

So as you may or may not know, I work as a waitress in a restaurant. My job description doesn’t actually include listening to customer’s conversations, but you know sometimes you accidentally over hear things? This is what happened. 

So it was towards the end of service and the restaurant was getting quieter. I was just clearing a table when I hear a family talking about boyfriends and girlfriends. Now this family consisted of a Dad, a sister and a brother. The brother was about 12 years old and it was the dad and sister talking to this boy about girlfriends. The conversation went something along the lines of;

‘So have you got a girlfriend yet?’

‘Nooooo’

‘Come on you must do, what’s her name’

‘I don’t have a girlfriend’ 

And so on. 

Now, I was like fair enough, just a family teasing a boy, having a bit of fun. But the next topic of conversation is the point to this post. 

The dad actually said, ‘Well who says you need a girlfriend, what about a boyfriend?’

And this boy, being only young, says (very loudly)

‘What? No! That’s so weird I’d never have a boyfriend! Gay people are weird!’

Okay first of all gay people are not weird, they’re perfectly normal. 

So what I’m trying to get across here is, why are kids STILL told that being gay is ‘weird’?! I’ll admit, when I was younger I used to say things like ‘that’s so gay!’ Or ‘stop being gay’ which I know can be fairly offensive to gay people. 

What people don’t realise is when something is maybe slightly stupid or strange and the phrase ‘that’s so gay’ is used, you are actually implying that gay people are stupid or strange. One can’t simply stop being gay! I get that maybe younger kids don’t realise this, which is why something needs to be changed. 

Children need to be taught from a younger age that being gay is okay. It’s actually more than okay. It’s just as okay as being straight, bisexual, transgender, the list goes on. Especially in this day and age where gay marriage is becoming legal in more and more countries. I know lots of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, transgender (etc) as we have an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community in my college which is run by students. I attended one of their meetings, even though I am straight and let me tell you now, it’s so interesting. You would be so surprised which people are involved in the worldwide LGBT community! People like Miley Cyrus have actually made a massive impact on the community. 

Obviously people are entitled to their own opinions, and I know that certain religions still don’t accept any of this, I just wanted to make my point clear. 

My point is, people (not just children, any age) need to be properly educated on this subject matter, because it can get pretty sensitive!

Please if you are part of the LGBT community leave me a comment, and PLEASE don’t be afraid to be you! 

If you’d like to chat in private you can dm me on Instagram or Twitter (@emsomersetblog) or email me (emsomerset@gmail.com)

Catch you soon, 

Em x

New York City

Hi folks!

It’s been a sweet minute since I’ve posted on here, but last week marked 1 year since I started my blog!! Go me!

Not the point of this post but I wanted to put that out there. 

Last week I went on a trip to Bridgwater.

Joking

I went to bridgwater then to NEW BLOODY YORK!!!

New York, New York was where I was from the 5th – 10th February 2017. I posted a few photos on my Instagram (emsomersetblog) (shameless plug) and someone asked for a post about my trip so here it is!! I’ll take you through a quick description of each day and show you a crap tonne of photos. You ready?

Day 1 – Getting there. 

We set off for Heathrow airport at 10 am from my college which is 3.5 hours away from London. 

I’ll be honest, with my crazy friends around me it definitely didn’t feel like that long! 

Of course, since I live in England, I had to get the plane across the water. This was a grand 7 hours and 37 minute long flight, and I have to say, 7 hours of movies was not a bad way to spend my time! We arrived in NY at about 9 pm. 

Day 2 – Everything in one day. 

So we started our Monday off with exploring Times Square. Our hotel was actually in Times Square so we always had a great view of everything that was going on. 

Being a musical theatre geek I got a little bit excited when I saw this sign…

Even in the day time, Times Square was so alive, all the billboards where amazing to look at!

But we didn’t have a lot of time to marvel at the beautiful scene, we got straight on that subway and headed towards the Statue of Liberty. 

This was my first ever experience on a subway but I think it was alright. I was scared about getting my bag stolen but it was safely on my shoulder and definitely wasn’t going anywhere!

Between the subway and the ferry, there was a short walk through battery park, which in an urban sort of way was very beautiful! 

The weather was so nice on this day which was just a cherry on top!

So next was to board the boat. 

I. Hate. Boats. 

I shit you not I was so scared the whole time, so close to having a panic attack, but I kept it in! And I’m glad I did because it meant that I was able to enjoy the views!

When we actually got to Liberty island, I couldn’t help but take a dancy photo in front of her. 

Continuing on with the action packed day, we got the ferry back to main land and went to Broadway Dance Centre for a really great workshop!

The lady who taught us was so insane and her choreography was amazing!

Straight after this we headed to the Empire State Building…and let me just tell you now…wow. The views were so breath taking there’s not really a lot I can say about this. Just…

Day 3 – Slightly less of everything in one day. 

Tuesday started off with THE BEST BREAKFAST EVER! I kid you not. Look at these pancakes. 

I would honestly move to America just to have Applebee’s pancakes every damn day!

But again, the fun didn’t stop at breakfast, we went to Nola Dance Studios for a musical theatre workshop. And the teacher…HOT DAMN! She was crazy. How does one person have so much energy?! 

We also went on a walking tour on Tuesday. So. Many. Steps. 

We went to grand central station, the crysler building, and the Rockefeller centre. W o w. 

After the walking tour, it was time for dinner and a broadway show. A small group of us went to Bubba Gump’s Shrimp – 100% recommend it! The staff and the food was amazing! 

The show we went to see was Paramour by Cirque de Soleil. 

The acrobatics in this show are seriously out of this world. 

Day 4 – My personal favourite. 

Wednesday had a somber start. We visited the 9/11 memorial. The pools where the towers stood were so breathtaking to look at. I was stood speechless for so long. 

After viewing these we went inside the museum. And let me tell you now. It’s not a place where you can take selfies and chat to your friends. 

I’m not much of a crier but this place had me in tears. The events of the 11th September hold a special place in my family so I cherished every second of being on this site. 

Some of the exhibitions in the museum we weren’t allowed to take photos of but here are a few I managed to get. 

After this start to the day, we headed to Radio City Music Hall and had a stage door tour. Wow radio city! From the outside you wouldn’t expect it to be as amazing as it is! 

The tour took us all around back stage, front of house, into the auditorium and we even met a rockette!

Okay. Brace yourself. If you do not know who Alvin Ailey is, google him. Watch YouTube videos. We attended and Alvin Ailey dance class. Oh. My. God. 

There was definitely not enough hours in the day while we were there!

We took a trip to Central Park, which is what I had been waiting for the whole trip!

The scenery there was stunning, the views were beautiful, and we even walked past Trump Towers. 

Whilst in Central Park, we went ice skating! I absolutely love ice skating so I was very happy about this part of the week. I had to teach a few how to do it but overall I think everybody enjoyed it!

Now the end of the day means a meal. We went to a diner called Stardust. But this is no ordinary diner, because the wait staff break out into song. It was great! Especially as we were a group of performing arts students, this was definitely the place for us!

Day 5 – The last day

So day 5 was the day we were heading home. But of course, you can’t go to New York City and not go shopping. We had pancakes for breakfast and then we’re set free to roam New York and shop for 4 hours. 

But it wasn’t really that simple. Snow. Snow everywhere. I don’t actually have any photos of the snow because it was just so crazy. It was literally a blizzard, I had never seen anything like it. 

Nonetheless, shopping was amazing! If you’d like a haul post of everything I bought in New York let me know, I would be more than happy to do one for you!

Thursday also meant home time. But not that simply. The blizzard meant that over 3,000 flights out of JFK airport were cancelled. And so we sat in the airport for 6 hours waiting for our flight. 

The flight itself wasn’t all that bad, it was fairly smooth and only 6 hours long! I slept the whole time apart from to be  woken up for meals. 

I can’t put into words how amazing this trip was and how grateful I am to my parents for paying for me to go there! I definitely recommend it to anybody!

Nice to see you all again,

Em x

2017 Q&A

Well well well. 2017! Didn’t last year fly by? Honestly I’m shocked we’re all still here after the world ended in 2012 but never mind about that. 

So here I am in my bed, ill (shock). Note: don’t eat out of date bacon; it gives you food poinoning. (Speaking from experience (right now))

But alas, life goes on. 

And so do Q&A’s so here is one for you! 

I asked you in my last post to send me some questions for this post so here are the answers to them. 

What was your favourite moment of 2016?

It’s so difficult to simply pick one moment out of 366 days full of moments, but a truly unforgettable day in 2016 was my year 11 prom. It was such a beautiful experience and one of the very few times I get to get all glammed up! 

What one thing do you regret doing in 2016 and how will you make sure not to do it again in 2017?

I regret letting myself get into toxic relationships. Although some of these started in 2015, they did carry on into last year. Last year I completely changed and told all the people who were making me feel like crap to eff off and I became close (or even closer) with some very amazing people. It’s because of these people that I now know there is no chance of me getting into the wrong position within relationships this year. 

Who is one person you can tell anything to?

Of course I speak to my parents about everything, but that’s the obvious. But one person who I literally can’t go a day without speaking is my best friend Jordan. She made a post a long time ago and called herself ‘Jo’. We’ve been inseparable for about 7 years now and it’s got to the point where I think she can actually read my mind! Needless to say, I know she’s always there for me. 

What have you learnt from 2016?

Similar to 2 questions ago, I learnt to stick with the ones I love. I learnt to laugh when things are shit, I learnt that it’s okay to cry. 

What is one place you really want to go?

100% top of my bucket list is to go to New York City…oh yeah guess who’s going to New York in February? THIS CHICK! Be ready for 100s of photos!

Have you seen yourself change in 2016, if so was it good or bad?

I’ve seen myself mature a lot in 2016, and I’m very happy with the way that I’m starting 2017. Great friends, great attitude, great internet friends and a great family. 

Thank you for your questions. 

I wish you all the luck in the world for 2017!

Em x

2017

Happy new year! 

I hope you all had a lovely relaxing time over the holiday period… I certainly did!

I was thinking I want to kick start 2017 with a Q&A! I haven’t done one of these for a really long time but I love reading them so I thought I would do one for you. 

Leave me some questions ready for a post shortly to come! 

Thank you all again for a great 2016!

Em x

2016 In Review

Wow what a year! 

2016 has been such a crazy rollercoaster for me, and I know that it has been for many other people. 

From passing all my GCSEs to brexit, I can safely say that I’m more than happy for this year to be over and to start fresh and new in 2017. 

I know that every year people say that they want to ‘be a better me’ next year, but I’m honestly 100% determined to make 2017 the best year ever (so far) for me. 

But let’s talk about 2016. 

I started the year in a great way with all of my best friends and family by my side. I had the ‘perfect’ boyfriend who made me happy every single day. Also in January, after having awfully crooked teeth for my whole life, I FINALLY got braces after 5 years of waiting! If you want to know more about this, click here for a lovely in depth story about my jaw, mouth and braces. 

January was the kick up the bum that I needed to start revision for my exams and to concentrate more on things that matter, such as dance, school, my health and my social life. 

February wasn’t so grand. 

Remember that ‘perfect’ relationship I just mentioned? Sadly that came to an end at the start of February. But never fear. The boy and I are still friends, we just came to the mutual decision that we didn’t want to be more than friends. It was tough but I had all my amazing friends and family to help me through it! I’m still forever grateful for that time. 

But things did start to look up. Because in February I started a blog called Em Somerset with the hopes of making some more internet friends and for writing things that I believe in. I can’t believe I’ve been in the blogosphere for almost a year and I’m so excited to see what the new year holds. 

Skipping ahead to April, I took part in a 5k charity run for the local hospice, with 2 of my fabulous friends! We raised over £150 for the charity, so thank you to everyone who donated and cheered us on!

At the end of April I took me first GCSE exam! My final drama exam took place on the 28th and I can safely say, to this day i am still so very proud of myself and everyone in the drama classes at my school. Everyone’s performances were absolutely stunning. I recieved an A* from this exam, which as you can probably guess I was extatic about! I wrote a post dedicated to this so you can click here to read it. 

Rolling on into May, I took a trip to my mum’s hometown of Brighton for a bridesmaid’s dress fitting. Brighton is one of my favourite places to be with such a lovely atmosphere. Even though I live in a seaside town, I am so in love with the feeling that I get from being sat on the pebbled beach, looking out to sea. 

May also meant the sad ending of normal school life. This was a big step, as we had spent 12 years of our lives in the school system. Safe to say it was an emotional day for everyone! 

This photo is of me and my brothers on my First and last days in school. 

So as some of you may know, I used to be an gymnast. And in June I had the privilege of attending another competition as a coach! All of the gymnasts bought home many titles and medals. I remember being so proud of all my gymnasts who I had coached for a very long time!

June held another very exciting day…prom!

A wonderful day, a wonderful evening, surrounded by the people who I spent five years with and the people who shaped me into the person I am today. 

Another very exciting thing happened on prom day; my good friend Toni SHAVED HER HAIR! Like…all of it. Gone. 30 inches to none in the space of 5 minutes. No this wasn’t A recreation of Britney’s 2007 meltdown, she did it for charity. And she did it in style, raising over £1500 for PAPYRUS prevention of young suicide. As you may know this charity is near and dear so I’m so proud of her for doing this. She also sent her hair off to be made into wigs for young children with cancer. 

In July my uncle got married. I was a bridesmaid for my new auntie. It was such an incredible day and I had so much fun. It was emotional at times (as weddings generally are) and it was definitely one of the best days of 2016! 

August means summer holidays! 

Even though I officially finished school in June, I went to the homeland of Lanzarote for a much needed break in the sun. 

I loved spending the days on the beach, chilling out, eating, drinking and just generally having a great time. 

September marked the start of a new journey for me. I began studying A levels at Bridgwater College. Even though I am very serious about my A levels, it’s honestly the most fun within education that I’ve ever had. My closest friends all go to the same college which means I get to spend lots of time with them. If you’re debating college at all, I 100% recommend it. 

Jumping ahead to November. Birthday month. 

November is the month where I am broke because most of my friends have their birthdays in this month. As do I. 

I turned 17 this year which means driving, which is quite a horrific thought, considering I’m still a child at heart…

December meant Vlogmas. 

Now, I have some explaining to do. 

I worked so hard over the Vlogmas period to film and bring out a new Vlog every day, but due to negative feedback I removed the posts. I was so gutted to do this but I felt they weren’t up to a great standard anyway so sadly they are not up anymore. But hey, what can you do?

Christmas also occurred in December (funnily enough) and I was able to spend the whole day surrounded by my family. I had such a lovely day, which included eating twice my body weight in Christmas dinner, and receiving some much appreciated gifts. 

All in all 2016 was a decent year, and here I sit on the final day of the year. Writing my final post for 2016. Thank you all so so so much for helping get me through this year, I’m very grateful for all the support I have recieved! I wish you all a 2017 full of health and happiness. 

Have a great new year!

Catch you soon,

Em x

What Anxiety Feels Like

There’s a misconception that anxious people are antisocial, short-fused or over-dramatic. But they’re most likely processing everything around them so intensely that they can’t handle a lot of questions, people or heavy information all at once. Anxiety is when you feel everything.

From the outside, it’s easy to think that somebody’s got it all figured out. Because my hair is curled and my cheeks are deliberately flushed, I must not have a care in the world. It’s debilitating. Imagine having unwanted acid in your stomach. Burning and eating away at the emptiness and taking away any feeling of hunger. A tight knot that can’t be untwisted.

They assume that if they can’t see it…then its not really there.

As if pain doesn’t exist if you’re not slung in a cast, or bleeding, or walking with a limp.

But we learn how to smile. How to grin and bear it. Because nobody likes to talk about the tough stuff.

I have anxiety.

My mind is on fire. Overthinking and over analyzing every little, irrelevant thing. My thoughts are running wild in a million different directions, bumping into each other along the way. My brain is on fire. My blood is boiling. My veins are working so fast they’re blurry.

The constant pounding heartbeat in my ears is deafening. It sounds like a spastic drum-line. Like listening to a broken white noise machine.

I don’t even realise that I’m grinding my teeth or cracking my knuckles. Or twisting my ring around my finger time and time again.

I don’t make eye contact. Not because I’m not listening but because I’m listening to myself. My own voice screaming inside my head. Telling me I’m wrong. Or that I could be wrong. Do I really want to speak to him? Is she going to laugh at me if I say that?

I gnaw the inside of my cheek as if the answer lies between my teeth and my gums.

It feels like I’m moving too fast for the meer 60 seconds they allow into a minute.

It’s like a math equation, I can’t carry the 1 and find the answer to the problem, because most of the time there is no problem.

Some days are okay.

Some days are worse.

But they’re just days.

And I’ve got plenty more where they came from.

Autumn tag with AllOfMeBeauty

Hello my darlings! It’s officially autumn, and officially my favourite time of year! Today Sareena and I are bringing you the Autumn Tag! Check out her post here and make sure you follow her beautiful blog!

1. What signifies the start of Autumn for you?

For me, it has to be when all the trees turn gorgeous shades of red, yellow and brown! When leaves litter the ground in the brisk cold air, it’s perfect for instagram! 

2. What is your favourite Fall scent?

This is an interesting one because I’ve recently got into scented candles, after being frightened of fire my whole life. But I bought a candle that smells and looks so amazing illuminating my room, the scent is Cinnamon and Apple. 

3. What is you favourite Autumn colour?

All year round one of my favourite colours is dark red/burgundy, and this time of year gives me all the more reason to wear the colour! Even my braces are dark red!

4. What is your favourite Fall drink?

CINNAMON LATTE

5. What TV show, new or old are you looking forward to this Fall?

I think everyone from England will agree with me here, I’m a Celeb is my all time fave Autumn TV show!

6. What is your favorite Fall fashion trend?

I’m so obsessed with scarves and blanket wraps right now! They’re always so cosy and keep me warm on the long bus journeys to and from college. I must have about 15 scarves/blankets in my collection now, I’m obsessed!

7. What is your favourite frugal Autumn activity?

Honestly my favourite frugal activity is to snuggle up on the sofa with my duvet, a cup of tea and my cat and watch movies. Can’t be beaten. 

8. Are you a bigger fan of Thanksgiving or Halloween?

As I’m from Britain we don’t actually celebrate Thanksgiving here, so by default I’m a massive fan of Halloween. However I do love the idea of eating as much roast dinner as possible! 

So there you go. I LOVE this tag, it’s such a great way to get into the spirit of the colder weather! If you’re reading this, you’re tagged so get those answers flowing. 

I hope that everybody who celebrated it had a great thanks giving! 

See you soon, 

Em x

Birthdays

November is a very busy month for birthdays! It starts with 2 of my best friends, then my brother, then another best friend, then my own. 

So as I am typing this, on 20th November 2016, I have been 17 years old for 11 hours and 21 minutes! And even though it’s only early, it’s already been an amazing day! 

I’m going to drop some photos from today at the end of this post, and I hope you all enjoy them! 

I’m sorry for not posting as much as I’d like to over the past few weeks/months, college has been so crazy! Crazy, but enjoyable. When people say that GCSE to A level is a big jump, they’re not lying! It seriously takes so much out of you, from a 7:55 am bus, to 4 A levels, to returning home at 6, dance, work, blog, it’s difficult to juggle everything. But you know what? Now i’m settled into college I have a great routine that I’ve gotten into and hopefully that means I’ll have more me time where I can sit and chill out or chat to you guys! Time like that is important to me so i’m glad that I’m finally in a position where I can have sufficient ‘me time’ every day! Especially with christmas coming, I can’t wait to embark on some lovely, christmassy adventures with you all! 

I also wanted to say thank you all for being so patient with me, I know that other bloggers have also neglected their blogs slightly as school/college have started, and if you’re one of those people; don’t panic! We’re all still here in the blogosphere and we all still love reading your content! Even though I’ve been absent, I still read, like and comment on you guys’ posts! So bare with, everything will be back to normal soon!

Enjoy the birthday photos!

With love,

Em x

A Look Back

Hi everyone!

As you may or may not know, Billy Elliot the Musical is currently touring the country! The show had been in the Victoria Palace Theatre for 11 fabulous years and I’m so happy that I can finally go and watch the magnificent show after being in it a few years ago!

So this is a bit of a throwback post including photos from when I was in the show! I’ve been told that I have changed a lot and back then i looked like a mega egg…so see if you can spot me!

These three photos are from my personal favourite number, ‘Shine’. It included a crazy fast (maybe 30-40 second) rush to the dressing room, change out of dull colours into pink with massive feather fans! (in the first photo I am in the front row in a turquoise coloured t-shirt) 

Learning how to spot in the number ‘Solidarity’. 

Even though I’ve been in it, the many times that I’ve heard the ending, the lines, the numbers…I’ve never seen it! 

Let me know if you’ve seen it, I was a part of the cast from December 2010 to August 2011.

“Like electricity, sparks inside of me, and I’m free…I’m free.”

Em x