Bridget Jones's Baby

Image from Pinterest

I was so so so nervous about seeing this, being super worried it would let the other two down, but my God was it good.

I was obviously disappointed from the first reports of this being made to a film that Hugh Grant would not be reprising his role as Daniel Cleaver. But then again, the screenwriters/producer found a way of including him anyway which was a fairly amusing way to start and finish the film!

It also took me a surprisingly short time to warm up to Patrick Dempsey's character. Although, is it just me or was his voice a tad off putting? It's like David Beckham all over again, attractive man, weird voice.

I loved the subtle modern updates that were added, especially the new choice of music at the beginning to replace Celine Dion's All By Myself. 

Renee Zelleweger obviously needs a mention as, yet again, her Bridget is flawless and hilarious and so relatable it's unreal. I know people were dubious about the way she'd look considering the amount of surgery she'd had, but honestly I barely noticed it at all. It's also still so surprising that that's not her actual accent!

Colin Firth's character was a little depressing this time. Given that poor Mark Darcy had been through a lot but still. I was rooting for him throughout as a loyal Bridget Jones fan, but the plot definitely had you wondering who she would end up with, if either.

The plot was great. It was funny and sweet and sad and grown up but also childish. Bridget's trusty three companions made their amusing if brief appearances, as did her nutty parents.

I couldn't recommend this film more to be honest. I can't wait to watch all three in a row over Christmas.

Loved it!

---

Rating: ★★★★★

Thoughts On Being Stubborn

What is the point in being stubborn?

I mean does it really do anyone any good?

adjective

• having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good reasons to do so
• difficult to move, remove, or cure

I've tried a lot in the past few months to not be as stubborn as I know I have been, but there are just some weeks that, no matter what, I will be horrifically difficult, so much so that I'm only causing myself problems in the process.

So why are we stubborn?

I find that, for me, being stubborn is actually resisting what I really want to do in my heart. But going against what I want to do is somehow showing that I'm strong, I don't depend on people, or that I've simply given up feeling like I do when I'm not being stubborn.

I have a feeling none of this is making even the slightest bit of sense.

But, for instance, of late I feel a lot like if people want to remain friends then they should contact me first for a change because I always seem to be the one to initiate. But then, should you really think like that if you want to remain friends with them?

One case of this is the fact that someone recently sort of is not in my life so much anymore and they haven't said a word since, yet they've contacted others. I mean maybe the others contacted them first and I'm just overthinking it, but I feel like they don't consider me a friend when I felt like we clearly were for the past year, so I don't know.

The other case is with Adeel. If he annoys me or I'm not getting enough of his attention I tend to be short with him to show that I'm annoyed instead of just telling him what's wrong. And then he gets annoyed and so on. It's stupid. I'm stupid.

I end up arguing with myself back and forth for weeks sometimes about whether or not I should quit being so stubborn and just own up to my mistakes or initiate the conversation.

And a lot of the time I do, but there's this one situation where I just haven't given in yet and I can't bring myself to change my mind otherwise.

Basically being stubborn does you no good in the long run and you should focus on trying to be a better person instead of hoping others will change.

At the end of the day if you're the nicest person you can be then it doesn't matter how others treat you because you've done all you can.

Sorry for the weird rant this week.

The Wise Man's Fear

By Patrick Rothfuss.

Narrated by Rupert Degas.

Image From Goodreads

[Sequel to the extraordinary THE NAME OF THE WIND, THE 

WISE MAN'S FEAR is the second instalment of this superb

fantasy trilogy from Patrick Rothfuss. This is the most exciting 

fantasy series since George R. R. Martin's A SONG OF ICE AND

FIRE, a must-read for all fans of HBO's GAME OF THRONES.

Picking up the tale of Kvothe Kingkiller once again, we follow

him into exile, into political intrigue, courtship, adventure, love

and magic... and further along the path that has turned Kvothe,

the mightiest magician of his age, a legend in his own time, into

Kote, the unassuming pub landlord.

Packed with as much magic, adventure and home-grown drama

as THE NAME OF THE WIND, this is a sequel in every way the

equal to its predecessor and a must-read for all fantasy fans.

Readable, engaging and gripping THE WISE MAN'S FEAR is the

biggest and the best new fantasy novel out there.]

I have a tonne of reviews to write up, so bear with me if there's not many lifestyle posts around!

I am falling more and more in love with these books. Patrick Rothfuss' writing is absolutely a-ma-zing.

There was a lot more action in this one compared to the first one, but, still, even the everyday mundane activities the book covered or the slower moments were made to be interesting yet again. 

I don't know how he does it. There's just something about the way that he writes that makes me feel so engaged, I love it. I could only ever hope to write to near his standard someday.

I still think Kvothe is a brilliant character. It was great to see him break away from the University for a bit, although this then lead to a lack of Sim and Will, but the new characters along his journey were also great. I especially enjoyed Kvothe's interactions with Tempi.

The villains were amplified upping the stakes a great deal. It was great to start off with his university rival again and then to progress onto darker, more powerful enemies on his travels.

I found the Fae aspect very interesting indeed. It shows the good and bad in people, no one is wholly good or bad but a mixture of both.

The fleeting on-off romance with Denna was both lovely and frustrating. You root for them so much but then a lot of things do end up getting in the way.

The twist at the end I did not see coming (and still am trying to understand if it was a twist or me just reading it the wrong way!), but I cannot wait for book three!! He needs to hurry up and finish writing it.

✌︎

The Legend of Tarzan

Image from Pinterest

I really need to start writing these film reviews up within a week of watching them even if I don't post them straight away 'cause I can barely remember any details, just my overall feeling towards them!

I know I was hesitant about this film because I adore the Disney version of Tarzan so much (in fact, I'd go as far to say it is my favourite Disney film full stop).

But I thought it had the potential to be good considering the cast, i.e. Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie.

But unfortunately, for me, this film didn't live up to the high standards I have from the Disney version or to any other films those two actors have been in before.

I thought it was very slow-paced and I found myself trying to fight off sleep which is unusual for me because I have a weird habit of once I've started something, I need to finish it no matter how bad it is.

I'm not saying it's a bad film, it just didn't have that much impact on me.

I enjoyed the way it was shot, the cinematography was beautiful. It did a wonderful job of portraying the century it was based in as well as the conflict between the culture of the Congo tribes and Victorian London.

Christoph Waltz, as always, did a fantastic job as the villain. I know he seems to have been typecast into the villains role, but it is for good reason as he does it so well.

I can't really remember Margot Robbie making much of an impact on me in this film except for her obvious beauty, that was all.

And Alexander Skarsgard, well, I loved him in True Blood, but I felt he was a little flat in this. Plus, is it just me or was he paler as Tarzan than he was when he was playing a vampire? Weird.

---

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

✌︎

The Infernal Devices: Book 2, Clockwork Prince

By Cassandra Clare.

So, everything seems to be falling apart in this house all at once. 

One of the hobs wouldn't turn off and because it's gas we had to turn the gas off completely so we had no hot water, heating or use of the cooker for one day. (The following day I pulled the dial off of the faulty one and straightened the metal piping so we could turn the gas back on without the worry of any gas leaking out. Sigh). 

The shower also decided all of a sudden, that within a minute of turning it on the whole bathroom would flood. So every morning I've been ramming towels into the gaps beneath the bath in some sort of vain hope that it would soak the worst of the waters up and mopping up the rest. 

After. every. damn. shower. 

Oh, and the mouse is back. That little critter made it's first appearance since the weather turned cooler so I couldn't sleep at all that night. Wonderful.

[In the magical underworld of Victorian London,
Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more
to Jem, while her longing for Will continues
to unsettle her. Could finding the Magister free
Will from his secrest and give Tessa the answers
to who she is and what she was born to do?]

I absolutely adored this book.

I don't know whether when I read the first one I was getting slightly bored by the samey-samey plots/characters/love triangles/YA in general. But this one sure changed my mind.

The development of characters and plot lines was brilliant. I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters more in-depth, especially Will and the Lightwood family.

I have to say, love triangles are annoying in most cases, but this one had me hooked! I can't figure out who I want Tessa to end up with. Jem is so caring and sweet, but Will is all bright eyes, sarcasm and charm. I was definitely surprised by the turn in events towards the end!

I'm still loving the era as well, it feels so authentic and interesting. Clare must've done so much research for her characters to have all the correct mannerisms and to describe London so well!

The mechanical creatures weren't in this one as much, nor the main villain (just mentioned), but the overall drama within a number of different families, revelations and lust was enough to satisfy me.

I really really can't wait to read the last one. I'm enjoying these more than The Mortal Instruments series!



✌︎

Anniversary Weekend, Sunborn Yacht, Day 2

So, let's not talk about the catastrophic events of the Election today shall we? I may not be a US citizen but Jesus Christ.

ANYWAY

We were on our way over to the O2 at the end of the last post to get some dinner and chill out, maybe see a movie.

But, little did we know how packed it would be. Should have guessed on a Friday night, but, well, we're silly.

A Mary J Blige concert happened to be on, the restaurants were packed and there weren't any good films on, so we headed back across the Emirates Cable Car and back to the hotel where we ended up ordering room service again and laying in bed watching The Intern!

Adeel ordered the steak and I actually ordered from the children's menu, chicken and chips! We were both a little disappointed in the size of the meats but the chips were so gooood.

The Intern was the perfect downtime movie as well, a feel good option with a great cast.

We crashed not long after that as we'd planned a busy few days ahead of us (and when I say we crashed, I mean he crashed and as per usual when I'm in a hotel I couldn't sleep).

I don't know what it is, I just cannot sleep in a hotel even though the bed was the comfiest bed I've ever been on. Humph.

It was okay, the next day breakfast certainly refuelled me!

I was going to opt for scrambled eggs and smoked salmon but I'm glad I didn't! We just ended up sharing their full english breakfast option which you could choose from the obvious ingredients of a traditional fry up but also cereals, yoghurt, pastries, meats, juice and tea!

I had smoked salmon, the tomato and mushrooms, some pastries and the frosties with the fruit yoghurt. It was amazing. Honestly. That yoghurt as well - to die for.

Fuelled and ready to go we headed into Stratford Westfield.

After a wander around Hugo Boss for Adeel, we watched Inferno as he's a big fan of The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons films. It was actually really good, so intense. I enjoyed it more than the other two!

Following that, we went to Wahaca again as we'd enjoyed it so much the first time (this was before they ended up shutting down around 9 branches due to a norovirus outbreak!!)

I actually took pictures this time of the interior and food, go me!

Adeel had his favourite dish again. The smokey chipotle chicken...

As  did I! The sweet potato and feta taquitos. This is amazing.

We  also went for some guacamole and chips.

And some grilled british steak tacos.

I went for the brilliant mohito again and Adeel had a passion fruit and hibiscus cooler.

Beautttttttt.

I was shattered after this though so we headed back to the hotel. I don't think we went out again, we chilled playing angry birds and didn't even get around to watching another film. We crashed late again but the clocks went back so an extra hour in bed!

We woke to this eery view

and ordered breakfast again. The same as before because it was so good.

A rather indulgent weekend but one I would definitely repeat!

The staff were wonderful and kind and very helpful, the room was quiet and clean, checkout was at 12 and their facilities aboard (room service included) was exceptional! Wish we could have tried out the restaurant and spa, but maybe next time...

Unfortunately this is the only photo I have of the outside of the boat as there were so many comic con goers outside! 

✌︎

Anniversary Weekend, Sunborn Yacht, Day 1

Let's talk about last weekend because this one has turned out to be a nightmare.

OhmyGod, last weekend ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

Me and Adeel celebrated 4 years together last Friday and it was just the most perfect weekend spent with him.

We both took the Friday and following Monday off for a long weekend together and during the week he'd told me (to my dismay initially, I like surprises!) what my gift was.

A two night stay on Sunborn Yacht 😍

Now, I've been dying to get away from this house for a very long time, especially because living in shared accommodation feels like you never have any alone time!

But when I'd heard Adeel booked this, my heart fluttered, I was so excited!

Privacy and alone time with my boy, couldn't ask for anything better.

The yacht is actually only a ten minute walk from my house, as it's right next to the Excel centre (it just so happened that Comic Con was on that weekend so costumed people were everywhere!)

It was still a pretty location though as Adeel managed to get a room with a river view. It was surprisingly quiet.

Anyway, to get onto the boat you have to call a lift and it'll take you up to the third floor where reception is.

The lift doors open up onto a beautiful open space with two staircases in the centre, a chandelier hanging in-between.

The reception and bar are to the right where we checked in and the rooms are to the left where we hastily proceeded to so we could check out our room.

It felt eerily like the Titanic as we made our way through the corridor, spying the staircases leading to other floors. But, no worries, this boat doesn't move!

Adeel used our keycard to get into the room, and voila, we were in heaven. Take a look at the room below.

Look at that bed. Absolute heaven considering my mattress in the house has springs sticking into my back!

TV, room service via tablet, balcony, ensuite, bath robes and slippers, complimentary water - it was amazing.

Check in was at three so we were starving. We ordered room service and got ourselves settled in.

Chicken Caesar salad for me...

Curry for him.

I have to say I polished mine off rather quickly and once we'd both finished we headed over to the O2 via the Emirates Cable Cars.

Be  sure to check out Wednesday's post to see how we got on. 

You don't want to miss the breakfast we ordered!

✌︎