New Site!

Hello all! We will no longer be posting on this blog for various reasons.
We now have a new and improved blog, make sure to check it out:
hannashirogsblog.wordpress.com
All posts will shortly be taken down from this site.
Hanna & Shirog

SHIROG TURNS SIXTEEN!

On 28 December, 2015, I turned 16. lately I've been going through what Dan Howell would call an 'Existential crisis' which is why this post is so late!

I've celebrated my birthday twice if you will but this post is going to outline everything that went down on the 28th it's self. I am blessed with the world's greatest best friend *aware of the cheesiness but doesn't care* who planned a whole day of surprise activities. 

Our first stop was the BBC Public Space in the Mail Box here in Birmingham. The best way to describe it is that it wasn't as big as we thought. We wanted MORE! Don't get me wrong, it was great and we had an awesome time but the tour literally lasted for 5 minutes.

This looks like a good OOTD picture doesn't it? Well as long as we are here let's go through it... I did not know what to wear because as I mentioned earlier, I had no clue to what we were going to do for the whole day! I was told by Hanna to wear something comfortable and what's more comfortable than jumpers and skinny jeans. I of course had to wear my black boots that I am obsessed with!  

While waiting for one of our friends, we sat on a colouring table and I'm clearly the next artist of the year. :p

It was at this point that a friend of mine handed me a book titled 'Blogging For Dummies'. I just thought that it was relevant :D

Our next stop was Botanical Gardens! We walked for what feels like miles ^.^

(no I don't know what I was thinking)

Hanna's choice of restaurant was AMAZING! It was the perfect way to end the night! 

You know when you've been kind of looking forward to your birthday and you set some sort of expectation. You know that it's just a normal day to the rest of the world but it's YOUR BIRTHDAY! So some years go by and that feeling of 'woooo yahhhsss it's ma birthday' is not there. This year that feeling has defiantly been satisfied. It's great!   

Shirog <3

For All The MUSIC LOVERS Out There! | 2015

"Music is the strongest form of magic." - Marilyn Manson

It's that time of the year today where we talk about some of the biggest hits of 2015 as the year has come to a close. I know I might be like two weeks late in posting this but hey, better late than never right? And as always last years post will be linked HERE.

10 OF THE BIGGEST POP SONGS OF 2015:

1. Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
2. Sorry - Justin Bieber
3. The Hills - The Weeknd
4. Bad Blood - Taylor Swift
5. Hello - Adele
6. Lean On - Major Lazer & DJ Snake
7. Hotline Bling - Drake
8. Focus - Ariana Grande
9. Want To Want Me - Jason Derulo
10. Cheerleader - OMI

20 OF THE BIGGEST POP ARTISTS OF 2015:

1. JUSTIN BIEBER
2. THE WEEKND
3. TAYLOR SWIFT
4. DEMI LOVATO
5. ARIANA GRANDE
6. SELENA GOMEZ
7. DRAKE
8. ED SHEERAN
9. SHAWN MENDES
10. ADELE
11. COLDPLAY
12. JASON DERULO
13. ELLE KING
14. MAROON 5
15. JAMES BAY
16. TORI KELLY
17. CHARLIE PUTH
18. MEGHAN TRAINOR
19. BEYONCE
20. TWENTY ONE PILOTS

FEMALE ARTISTS:

Throughout 2015, I can't even begin to explain how many amazing female artists have released such amazing, successful music for example Adele with 'Hello' or Taylor Swift with 'Blank Space. But I thought instead of talking about the artists that are already big and have made a name for themselves in the music industry, I'm going to talk about someone who is considered a beginner in this field but has already had her first single become a success...HAILEE STEINFELD. She has been playing around with music since the mere age of 12. She is now 19 and has only recently been signed to an actual record label. Since she is an actress, this is understandable as she has starred in many things over the years keeping herself busy with big films like 'Pitch Perfect 2' and 'Romeo and Juliet', etc... Now she finally decided to branch out and create music with her first single being 'Love Myself' receiving over 60 million views on YouTube and mainly positive feedback from critics. Steinfeld's debut EP is titled Haiz, the nickname used by her fans, she commented saying "it would feel like, one, they named it; and two, it was my gift to them." Yes, she may not have been the biggest female artist of 2015 but I believe she did pretty well and I think she is one to look out for in 2o16.

MALE ARTISTS:

During 2015, there have been many amazing people come out with songs for example, Justin Bieber with 'Sorry' or Charlie Puth with 'Marvin Gaye' but I felt that there was one artist that truly deserved to be recognised for his amazing talents this year and that was ED SHEERAN! He has always moved people with his quirky songs and very laid back vibe. Ed had gone from busking on the streets to performing at some of the biggest venues known to man. As for his singles throughout 2015, he started off the year with continuing his single 'Thinking Out Loud' and then went on to collaborate with Rudimental on 'Bloodstream' and then mesmerising everyone with his next single 'Photograph' which received over 142 million views. Not only this but he also hosted the 2015 EMA's along with Ruby Rose and he made a very good host as everyone enjoyed the show. The artist was said to be worth £35 million pounds in 2015 alone clearly showing just how successful he has become. All Sheeran needs is a guitar and his voice to captivate an entire audience which honestly can't be said for a lot of  artists which is why I believe he is the best and biggest male artist of 2015.

BIGGEST SONG:

After much deliberating and contemplating, I have reached the decision that the biggest song of 2015 was.....(drum roll please).....UPTOWN FUNK by MARK RONSON FEAT. BRUNO MARS. Even though this song came out in November 2014 I think it can still count as a song from 2015 as it came out so late towards the end of the year and it gained massive success in 2015, so why not?! With the video itself recieving over 1.2 billion views and being nominated for countless awards, the success speaks for itself. It's catchy beat created by Mark Ronson and stunning vocals done by Bruno Mars makes it the perfect song for people; whether you're aged 5 or 55, to jam out to. 

MY PLAYLIST:

(This isn't going to be all of the songs I listened to in 2015, just a few of my favs)

1. All My Friends - Snakehips ft Tinashe, Chance the rapper
2. Say Nada - Shakka, JME
3. The Hills - The Weeknd
4. Sugar - Robin Schulz ft. Francesco Yates
5. Adventure Of  A Lifetime - Coldplay
6. Ex's & Oh's - Elle King
7. Drop In The Ocean - OMI, AaronChupa
8. Runnin' (Lose It All) - Naughty Boy ft. Beyonce
9. Want To Want Me - Jason Derulo
10. How Deep Is Your Love - Calvin Harris, Disciples
11. What Do You Mean - Justin Bieber
12. Let It Go - James Bay
13. Ditmas - Mumford & Sons
14. Bills - Lunchmoney Lewis
15. Never Forget You - Zara Larsson

And with that, this post comes to an end. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed reading; make sure to comment below your thoughts and if there's anything you'd change?

I hope everyone has an amazaaangg year ahead and do make sure to enjoy every moment as it comes!

Hanna XD

Enjoying The Beauty Of Pakistan | Hanna XD

Hello everyone! Today I wanted to share something that I really enjoyed with you...sightseeing in Pakistan. I know that may sound weird to some because when people think of Pakistan, they don't believe that it can actually have nice places to go, they think of it as a dump and fair enough. Some places within the country are but some places also aren't. So here's a few pictures from my sightseeing experience. Enjoy!

I honestly wish I could've gotten more pictures to share with you of the entire day but I was just taken aback by the beauty of some of these places that I didn't think to be in blogger mode at the time.

Here are a few pictures from near the village where I live that I thought would be nice for you guys to see:

Thank you for reading!
Hanna XD

Boat Trip On The River Nile

I like Summer... I want it back... Only half a year left...

Hello, today I thought that I would share with you my experience of riding a boat on the River Nile! It was great! The people were nice, I enjoyed it. 

From the boat, we were able to see farmers working and it looked like a page from a storybook so excuse me for not snapping these moments. I really like these pictures and I really want to work on them. I think they would look great afterwards. 

Thank-you For Reading <3

OUR AIRPORT EXPERIENCE - Emirates VS Saudi Airlines

The Good...The Bad...And The Ugly is everything we experienced whilst on our travels back in summer with our Airlines.

Hey guys! This is in no way an official review, it's just us sharing our opinions and thoughts about how it all went and how they treated us, in other words our airport experience. Just to let you know Hanna went with Emirates and Shirog travelled with Saudi Airlines.

SERVICE

SHIROG

Not going to lie, I had a pretty $h!% experience! I don't know if it's the staff that were working there or a cultural thing but they were damn rude and disrespectful.

Let's start with the security check as soon as we got off the plane. Okay, I get that they want to keep their country safe or whatever but I repeat WE JUST GOT OFF THE PLANE! Obviously, there was strict security checks before we got on the plane so what do you really think changed in the 7 hours we spent sleeping?

The security checks were gender divided which I thought was kind of sexist but I understand that it's a strict religious country and that's not my complaint. Adding that the men are only asked to walk through a metal detector while the women were asked to walk into a room to get a full body check -which sounds dodgy if you ask me. Now this is a valid complaint. Can we also acknowledge the rude man behind the desk (who's job is to basically to stare at the screen showing what's in the bags)? He got into a verbal argument with my mother who was actually really tempted to report him but we were only spending an hour in Jedda Airport.

We got the WiFi which we appreciated. I know that we didn't spend too long but we NEED the internet!

This next complaint is so ridiculous that you might start laughing. As soon as the gate opened we were in line so that should make our lives easier and avoid the human traffic, right? The man behind the desk wasn't the politest, he sounded impatient in the way he spoke and I kid you not when  I say that he sometimes didn't even use words with a customer he just pointed! Anyway, it was our turn now (as a family) he looks at our passports and then calls another guy over which we didn't get because so many people prior to us had European passports too so I guess that wasn't the issue here. The other guy took ALL of our passports and just leaves (we are told nothing about what the issue was at this point), we were just told to take a seat. after everybody else boarded and we were still sat down confused and at this point worried that we are going to miss our flight. A couple of minutes later a staff member shows up and starts questioning us like no other. Questions about where we lived and our occupations. The whole time I was thinking like dude we are going back home, chill even if we were to be a harm to anybody just let us go back to our house and why do you give a damn shouldn't this questioning be when we enter your country not when we are leaving. So after the questioning session was over we were allowed to move along with our day. Just a little note, do you really think that a mother and her five young children a threat to any other human?

Another incident that really stuck with me is when I walked up to the information desk and asked about our flight time. The man behind the desk wasn't helpful at all, he was sat with his elbows on the table hands on head (think about yourself sitting in English class and it's last lesson). He literally looked at me, still in his position, and said 'not yet'.

I don't know if I ever want to take Saudi Airlines EVER again.

HANNA

For me, this was an absolute bliss. It was all so easy and just so swift that it probably only took less than twenty minutes to get through security checks and luggage, etc...It was all so convenient and everyone was helpful which made it all a lot easier. And again, boarding the flight was so calm and simple because they would call you through section by section example A would go first then B... There truly wasn't even that much of a rush especially for the amount of people boarding the plane. I must say, Emirates service was impeccable.

FOOD

SHIROG

This may surprise many but I LOVE aeroplane food, I love how its divided into compartments, there's just something pleasing about it all. Can we also mention the fact that it's served in white plates, I can't explain it but this makes me trust that it's safe to eat. To conclude, if I was asked 'review Saudi Airlines' food?' I would reply with 'I didn't feel weird eating it.

HANNA

When it comes to aeroplane food, I usually have a very strong dislike towards it even before trying it. I'm used to the food not looking very pleasant in appearance but also not tasting the best either. It's probably one of the things I dread the most when it comes to travelling so I honestly didn't have very high expectations.

However, much to my amazement, I was quite pleasantly surprised I must admit. Yes, it may not have been a five course meal but for aeroplane food, Emirates really went the extra mile. They had nice rice with curry and other bits and bobs whilst going there like fruits, etc...and it actually tasted GOOD! It started off with a starter which was bread and fruits and then went on to the main course and lastly ending with a desert after collecting in the trays...ICE CREAM which was a lovely surprise.

So all in all, I was rather happy with the entirety of the meal. :)

STAFF

SHIROG

All staff on the plane were great except that one guy. He was almost ordering the passengers to do what he says. That I understand they had a staff shortage as they were doing bag checks at the doors so the whole thing was a mess. I guess the service standards are different in Saudi.

HANNA

I am a very honest person so you must believe me when I tell you that the majority of the staff that I had interactions with were sooooo nice!! They were all smartly dressed in their uniforms with pride, it was smiles and laughter all around when talking to them. I couldn't believe how polite they all were even when people were rushing and everything was becoming a bit hectic.

If I had to pick out a couple of things that I wasn't too happy with would probably be when we were on the aeroplane about halfway through the flight, one of the cabin crew hit the trolley/cart thing on my foot and it actually hurt. I don't know if she purposely did it and then smugly walked by without saying sorry or if it was a genuine accident and she didn't realise but either way, it still hurt.
Also on our journey back, I can't remember what I had specifically asked one of the cabin crew but all I remember was getting the rudest response back and then her giving me a dirty and walking away like nothing happened. But besides that, most of them were very helping and welcoming.

AEROPLANE

SHIROG

Saudi aeroplanes are great. Lots of leg room but I'm really short so... The seats were comfortable and they provided you with a tiny pillow and a blanket. These planes even have a prayer room! One thing that I really appreciated was all safety instructions were in both Arabic and English. I'm not sure if that's a legal requirement but I'm glad they did.

HANNA

Now we come on to the actual aeroplane itself, and I must say it was frigging goood!! I barely realised how quickly like 7/8 hours went by on one of the flights. It was all very clean which is something that should be expected (I'd be worried if it wasn't). On the seats, they had a fresh pair of headphones, a clean blanket and a back pillow just waiting for me which was great! And can I just comment on how soft the back pillow was like DAMN!!

I was actually very surprised at the wide selection of shows, movies and even music that they had on the TV's. It was suitable for all ages and would most likely fit anyone's taste. So whether you're into Disney films, comedy shows or even classical music they had it all. However, the actual sound quality coming from the headphones wasn't amazing and was quite crappy at times but overall, it could've been a lot worse, You could still understand what they were saying which is the important thing!

I know this may be slightly off-topic but I just have to mention it; there was a man sitting behind me and every bloody time he would open his bloody mouth it sounded as if he was shouting like dude chill...the...heck...down! It actually got quite annoying after a while but thankfully after a little bit, he did stop talking (or should I say shouting) and just watched stuff on his screen. But he wasn't as annoying as a woman on the next flight that decided she was going to move her seat right back so she can get comfortable and leave me with no room whatsoever and she didn't want to budge. I eventually had to ask her to move it a little forward to which she reluctantly agreed because honestly, there is something seriously wrong if you're so much into a persons personal space and you don't even realise.

Thank You For Reading! Hanna XD and Shirog <3

What's in my carry on? | #SummerWithSHARandom

Hello! What's the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about summer? For you it might be relaxation, food, family or even nothing but for me it's travel and thankfully this summer my family and I are going on a little trip. So why not share with my lovely readers what I carried with me on the plane? Hopefully you'll  find this helpful...

My makeup bag
Wallet
Instead of carrying a heavy laptop I recommend tiny tablet like mine.

And that concludes everything... hope you enjoyed and tell me what would you take in your carry on?

Shirog <3