Pretty Little Liars

Taking things OTT?

18:00

So after posting about PLL yesterday I have decided to rewatch all five seasons.
Not only that but I am going to note down every observation possible that might give us hints as to who A is.
Now I know in seasons 1 and 2 A is Mona...but I never actually went back to see if I could figure that out from watching the episodes.
After seasons 1 and 2 I know I am going to be nitpicking every tiny thing because if there are clues as to who A is after Mona in seasons 3-5 I have to find them...
I mean this really is my taking things to the extreme haha.
So far I have already rewatched the first episode and created two word documents to write notes in. The first one is on all the characters and the second document is just for the messages A sends.
Like I said I'm taking things to the extreme.
To be honest this is probably not healthy. But I don't have anything better to do with my free time and so this is what I'm doing. I've been debating on whether or not I should create a blog specifically for all my PLL findings but I don't know...I guess it depends on what I find.
I mean I can always post here but then I don't want this to be an overrun PLL blog...
Let me know if you'd be interested? Let me know if you think I'm crazy? Haha...
Here's sort of what I have so far...




Pretty Little Liars

PLL Season 5 Finale - WE KNOW WHO A IS

00:26

Oh my God.
I have no words.
Well I do have words. Just not coherent ones. If you guys would like to see my initial reaction to the big A reveal then please watch the video below...
*WARNING SPOILERS FROM BELOW THIS POINT*



So it's been a few days since I watched the episode and tonight I decided I would watch it again to talk about it.
I'm still pretty unsure of everything.
I mean I'm not actually one of those people that comes up with PLL theories. Which seems weird when you watch the show because I think everyone has their own theories from time to time about this show. I think it's gotten to the point where I just don't anymore because there's so many things in the show to consider when coming up with a half decent theory.
But I think it'll be a project for me over summer - rewatch PLL and try to connect the dots.
They say there are major hints in seasons 3-5 to the identity of A and I have yet to really pick up on any but I am seriously set on going through every episode again and trying to come up with a solution.
I'll probably blog about it.
Anyway...onto the actual episode.
On a whole I would say this is probably one of the best PLL episodes to date. I mean it was amazing and it was intense and it was just so...everything. I mean I don't really know how else to describe it I just loved it so much.
The big reveal was of course disappointing. I mean Charles DiLaurentis was worked out from the previous episodes when we discovered that Mona's random sentences were anagrams of Charles DiLaurentis. And when I say "we" I mean hardcore fans because I definitely didn't get Charles from those sentences haha.
However I feel like he's A.
I mean I like to believe he is because then we have a person who A could be. Plus he's keeping the girls in this house for a reason.
Yes there is always the chance he is doing this for someone of a higher power a.k.a Black Widow who is supposed to be Uber A. Like I really don't know how many of these people there can be.
But I did do a search and Big A - Charles - is different from Uber A.
Which means...Charles is like second in command.
I mean they said they'd reveal Big A. And they said at the end of the episode #CharlesIsA. Like I kind of take that to mean Charles is A.
People tend to think different but this is what I'm going with for now.
The real question is though who is Charles? We don't see his face but from the build of him and his height it is only assumed he is a male. However I have seen several posts who think it's actually a woman. I have no idea where that comes from.
I mean after I watched the episode the first time I went online to find out what everyone else's reactions were and not a lot of people were happy about this reveal. And every so often on Tumblr you would scroll past a post that said "WHO THE FUCK IS CHARLES?!" which I found quite funny because everyone else was posting serious theories and then you'd get one confused person haha.
A lot of people seemed to think Charles is a brand new person but I don't know why? I think because we haven't heard the name before everyone assumes it's a new person but apparently it is someone we've seen on the show before.
Which leads into this idea that Andrew is Charles. I don't believe this. I mean I believe Andrew is part of it but I don't think he's Charles. I mean clearly Andrew is part of it he was listening to Melissa's phone call to her parents. Which leads you to wonder why Melissa was calling...
I have also read theories that Charles wanted to be a girl but the DiLaurentis family wouldn't let him and so sent him to Radley and that would explain his obsession with dolls...
Some people don't think Charles is Jason's twin and that he's someone else entirely...
I kind of go along with the Jason twin thing. I mean that video shown in the nursery room place where Spencer gets approached with Charles suggests that Jason has a twin as these two boys are seen with Mrs D and a baby which we assume is Alison and her two brothers.
However watching it back I realised only one of the boys kisses the baby and the other one sort of stands by so maybe it's not what we think?
I mean all Mrs D says is "come over here and kiss your sister.."
OMG I just had this idea...
What if the baby Mrs D is holding is not Alison? What if it is BETHANY. What if one of the boys is Charles but it is Bethany's brother?! Who is to say that Mrs D and her family were there alone? What if they were with the Young family?!
Mind blown.
Not even kidding I kind of think that.
But then the pictures Mona is looking at in the room focus on the two boys...there is a connection. But I don't know what and it's driving me insane.
Like if they aren't twins what are they? Because they look extremely similar.
Also during the episode I had this idea that maybe Charles is someone's twin but it's not Jason and it's someone else like a girl. I kind of got this because there were two puppets in the room one a boy and one a girl so it's a bit far fetched but what if someone random like CeCe had a twin. I mean they said there was going to be a twin thing but not like the books and it's not 100% clear that it's Jason...
My head is hurting trying to think this through haha.
There are so many theories.
But the main focus is definitely on Charles.
However when I was searching for information on Charles people also suggested that the name is actually Rachel S and not Charles at all. But I definitely think it's Charles because the figure in the episode is male.
Out of all the characters on the show we have seen so far I have no idea who could be Charles. I mean I guess we have to start looking for characters of a similar height compared to Spencer...
Plus I was even trying to tell who it was by their hair? Like their hair was bothering me but then I was reading that it could have been a wig so that kind of rules that out.
I mean it's safe to say this whole thing is just a really big mystery. And if the show doesn't have a wonderful explanation of it I know everyone's going to be mad. Including me.
I mean I can't have this show turn into How I Met Your Mother...when we found out who the mother was but then found out she dies...and Robin goes AWOL and so does Barney and they don't even stay together...
Like that can't happen to this show.
I can't have a random person be A they have to be tied to the girls in some way...
There's just so much going on right now...
I don't even think this blog post makes sense.
So I think I'll leave it here haha. I mean I think I'm just typing whatever comes into my head and that doesn't always make sense and can seem disjointed. So yeah...
What do you guys think? Who is Charles? Is he the twin of Jason? Do you think someone else is A? What are your theories?
I am very interested to know.
Also if you want to find out who I thought was going to be revealed as A before the episode ended you can watch the video below...it's quite long but there was a lot of people to consider...


Apart from that I hope you liked this blog post, even if it was a bit unstructured and I will hopefully be back soon with more PLL theories...as we still have two more seasons to go and it can only start to make more sense from here...right?
~ Courtney x

Book Review

Love Tanya Book Review

17:24

Hey guys, so I'm here with another YouTuber book review. These books seem to be all I'm reading lately but I promise I will have some reviews of non-YouTuber books soon.

So Love Tanya is written by British YouTuber Tanya Burr and as always I am happy to hear when a YouTuber is releasing a book. I feel like it's a way to connect with them that more personal. Especially if they have written about themselves.
One thing I love the most about these books is that they are all different. While Grace's and Tanya's books both give advice they do it in very different ways and I love to see the YouTuber's personality come out through their writing.


When I was reading Tanya's book I felt like I was reading a fairy tale. There is something simple about her writing style and the tone she writes in that makes her life sound like a fairy tale. Especially in the chapter where she writes about her relationship with Jim.
That was probably my favourite chapter in the book because you can tell just how much Tanya loves Jim and how important he is in her life. I'm a total sucker for a sappy love story and Tanya and Jim's is definitely one of my favourites.


Jim and Tanya's relationship has always been one I have loved. Not only do they look amazing together but they way they work together and support each other is so adorable and I will definitely ship them forever. I wish them the best of luck with their future and their upcoming nuptials.


Anyway...sorry I let my inner fangirl/shipper get in the way there...
I really enjoyed learning more about Tanya's life before YouTube. I started watching her videos in August last year I felt like I didn't know her as well as other YouTubers, so this book was the perfect way to get to know her. Plus, who doesn't love photos of people when they were babies?


This book also contains a lot of Tanya's style and beauty tips which I appreciated a lot. Sometimes you don't want to sit through a 20 minute video to find the right makeup brush to use and this book explains it quite well.
I also learnt a lot about skin care through Tanya's book as she took us through her beauty routine. Sometimes in videos people may not give proper descriptions on how a product works with their skin but in the book Tanya was able to give a better insight into her favourite beauty products.
One section of the book I didn't actually read was the baking section however I don't think that is a section of the book you can read in one go. However I did flick through these pages and the photos make everything look amazing so I can't wait to get around to using these recipes in the future.
Another part of the book that went unused were the sections that Tanya left for us to write in. I know that they are there for us to write in but I feel like it's wrong to ruin such a beautiful book with my writing. Like I just can't bring myself to write in it so I have left these pages blank...I don't know if anyone else is like that or just me but I am sure you understand what I mean...


Another thing I really liked about this book were Tanya's "top ten.."s at the end of each chapter. Again it was another thing that allowed you to learn a little bit more about her and the things that she has a personal connection with. I know that when you watch YouTube videos you often miss things like that, especially if you don't watch every single video a person posts so it was nice to learn about the little things like what her favourite places are.
These were also great for learning tips and tricks that Tanya had for different aspects of your life. Some of her advice is quite simple but it is often the type of things people forget so I think it's nice to be reminded of them every once in a while.


Overall I think this book captures Tanya Burr perfectly as she discusses personal issues such as her anxiety, lighter topics such as beauty and baking and everything in between. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking to learn more about beauty, fashion, baking, dating and of course Tanya Burr herself.



TV

Goodbye Glee

18:02

So I just watched the last ever episode of Glee and I cried...
I didn't really think I would get this emotional about it. But when I look back I realise Glee has been a big part of my life. I haven't been around since the pilot episode, I got introduced to it about halfway through the first season and since then I've been in love with it.
I know the show has had it's ups and downs...there were times when the seasons weren't going so well and you kind of just wanted to give up with it all together but I am so glad I stuck with it. In the end it redeemed itself and made you remember why you loved Glee in the first place.
To be honest...I'm not really sure how to describe how I'm feeling, I'm just sort of all over the place. I mean I have literally grown up along side this show since it began in 2009 and I was about 12...it's been a long journey since then. And I think the show had a lot of important messages about equality and being who you are and I think that was one of the most important things to have when you are growing up...especially as a teenager.
I think having the show around definitely helped me become who I am and be more open minded to things because not everyone is going to be like you.
With so much diversity on the show there's at least one person you can relate to and that's really important especially if you are feeling alone. Glee was always a place where you felt like you belonged and I feel like I needed that sometimes because not everyone understands what you're going through.
So I guess this blog post is just my Thank You to the show. A thank you for everything because it's been such an amazing show to watch and I can't have imagined it being any better than it was.
It's been an incredible journey to watch and I know I'll never forget it. I know I'll still 9 times out of 10 choose the Glee version of a song over the original and I know I'll still think about Cory Monteith from time to time...I know that this is a show that will never get old for me. And I just hope it never gets old for anyone else either.
I mean I feel like there is so much more that I could say but I honestly don't know how to put it into words. I just think it's been an amazing show and that if you've ever felt like you didn't belong or that you were different it's the perfect show for you.
So goodbye Glee, thank you for everything, you made us laugh, you made us cry, you taught us some valuable life lessons and you will forever live on our hearts <3
~ Courtney x


Advice

#DearMe - A Letter to my Younger Self

22:23

I'm a little bit late with this since International Women's Day was yesterday and the YouTube campaign has stopped and everything but I have decided to take part anyway because it seems like such a great concept to me and it not only helps yourself but also helps many other people too. :)

Dear Me,
I have never been the best at giving advice but I think if I was going to advise anyone I think the best person would be to advise myself. So that's what I'm going to do.
The first thing I'd like to say to my younger self is that it's okay to want to spend time on your own. You might think it's weird when you get days when you don't want to talk to anyone and just want to shut yourself away and be invisible and that is okay. You are just not a people person. It's not anything to feel bad about and it is okay to turn down plans if you aren't feeling up to them. Your friends will understand, it's just that sometimes you just need to take the day to yourself and just be.
On the other side of that it is also okay to want to be heard. If you have an opinion don't be afraid to speak up and share it. Even if you are worried about people getting offended you have a right to say how you feel. Almost 99% of the time you say something someone is going to disagree but you just have to stand your ground and stay true to what you believe in. It is also important to be careful with the way you word things, while it's important to be heard it is also important to be mindful of other people. Don't go out of your way to purposely hurt someone with your words. Respect that they have a different opinion from yours.
Also stay away from the internet when you are angry. It is okay to rant when you are angry, it is okay to have negative thoughts from time to time but try not to share them with the world. I know I've always found comfort in sharing my thoughts online but if they are hurtful and rude I would keep them to myself. Spreading hatred online can only lead to trouble and you have no idea how the person you are aiming these things toward feels on the other side. 
It is also best not to indirect post about other people. You might be angry with someone about something and you think the best way to let them know you're angry is to talk about them indirectly. That's the opposite of what you should do. I know I've never liked confrontation but it is better to talk directly to the person you have an issue with rather than tell everyone else but that person. Having open communication with people can make relationships a lot easier and save a ton of drama.
I would also advise my younger self not to worry so much about other people. It is okay to care about your friends and worry about them from time to time but you can't force them to get help or change. So don't worry so much you put their needs before your own because this can have a negative effect on you too. All you can do is be there for your friends and give them advice but it is their choice whether to take the advice you give. The most you can do is do your best to help them but  you can't control what they do with their lives. So while you may not agree with everything they do, you should accept them for who they are and hope they will make the right choices for themselves.
It is also okay to let go of the past and the people in it. I know it's hard to let people out of your life but sometimes it's for the best. You shouldn't be holding onto people in your past if it is stopping you from living in the present. While yes, you have great memories with these people you have to accept that that's what they are, memories. You can always look back and enjoy the time you had with them but at the end of the day if things didn't work out it's okay to move on. It just takes time.
And the last piece of advice I would give to my younger self is be yourself. Don't be discouraged by people around you that don't like who you are. Don't let them influence how you live your life because they aren't the ones living it. Find what you love and do it. It is always best to stand out on your own rather than follow the crowd. Be proud to be different and embrace it. Because it's your life and you have to live it, no one else. So don't be ashamed of doing what you love, don't be embarrassed if you don't like what everyone else likes. As long as you're happy with your life, that's all that matters.
Love, Courtney x

And so there's my letter to my younger self. I am sure I would have so many more things to add but I think this covers a lot of it.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this advice I'd give to my younger self and that you can relate to it and it helps you in some way. I'd also love to know if you have any advice you would give to your younger self because I think even when we are older we still forget basic advice like this. Especially when you are still growing up like me...
Thanks so much for reading. :)
~ Courtney x