Have you ever been so excited about something you can hardly breathe?

I started this blog with that feeling. Like everything I try to do, I always want it to succeed – I mean, that’s normal, right? No one ever starts anything with the intention of failing. So, when I decided to start Tiger Mint, I wanted to try everything, write about everything, and document every aspect of my life for you. And don’t get me wrong, that’s still my intention.

But I think I have to get it into my head that it’s not going to happen overnight (that’s what my lovely boyfriend reminded me when I started to get over-excited).

My DSLR was great – 10 years ago. (Although I was surprised to find that it’s still worth a similar price to how much I spent on it back then). But times and technology have changed, I told him. So, I had to get onboard and find something a little more high-tech.

I did lots of research on the best compact cameras for bloggers/vloggers; I read all the blog posts telling me which camera to buy and why, and I came across this beauty:

Canon Powershot G7 X Mark II Digital Camera

Oh my goodness, I was in love!

Everyone was raving about this camera. It had so many bells and whistles, and so many recommendations from bloggers and vloggers, I could hardly contain my excitement.

Some of them include:

20.1 megapixel back-illuminated 1-inch CMOS sensor

♥ This compact digital camera packs a punch in terms of quality, rivalling it’s larger DSLR brothers, and the CMOS sensor uses less power than other chips, so while you still get stunning photos, your battery will last longer.

Canon DIGIC 7 Image Processing & Intelligent Optical Image Stabilisation

♥ It processes everything quickly and powerfully, and if your hands shake like mine do sometimes when you’re taking a photo, it sorts it out for you.

24mm f/1.8-2.8 lens with 4.2x optical zoom

♥ Photographs can be taken up close, with out-of-focus backgrounds, and even in low-light situations. Images are high-quality whether printed, displayed on smartphones, laptops, tablets and 4K TVs.

Smart Auto and Hybrid Auto

♥ If you’re a camera newbie like me, the Canon can help you along the way, or it can take control of the settings – all you need to do is point and shoot. For more experienced photographers, there’s a full manual mode too

3-inch 1040k-dot touchscreen LCD

♥ The touchscreen on the back of the camera is amazingly clear and crisp, and you can touch it to focus on something specific when taking a shot. The touchscreen also tilts 180 degrees, so you can take selfies, group photos, and see yourself if you’re vlogging.

1080/60p Full HD video

♥ When taking videos with this camera, the quality is incredibly high – perfect for vlogging, but also having the benefit of images being of finer detail.

Dedicated Wi-Fi button

♥ You can connect your smart devices and apps to the camera, and share photos between them, and even remotely use the camera. The ones I’ve used so far are Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and email.

So, imagine my excitement when my boyfriend – after having to listen to me harping on about it – surprised me with an Amazon box! And yes, inside was the Canon G7 X!

Now, even though I am an affiliate for Amazon (meaning if you stumble across my Amazon links on my website and then happen to make a purchase, I get a commission), I’m afraid I cannot vouch for Amazon this time.

Why?

Because when I excitedly opened the box, I found multiple issues:

There was a ‘seal’, but inside, the camera had been used (no film on the screen, damaged plastic bags containing the camera and cables where someone had clearly opened it before Missing wrist strap and booklets Everything inside was in Chinese – even the text on the battery.

Alex was suspicious immediately.

I, on the other hand (blinded by my desire to get the camera up and running), nudged the worry from my mind and turned it on…

…only to find I was getting photos like this:

Basically, the Canon was faulty. The shutter got stuck every time it opened. So, all in all, we weren’t very happy about the purchase, and immediately made plans to send it back.

It was a shame and a disappointment. And this experience has made me question whether buying items like this on Amazon is wise. In the end, we went down to our local Jessops and found the camera there.

Canon G7 X Mark II

The service was excellent and they price-matched Amazon’s offer, which definitely cheered me up!

Serious photography started immediately…

…sort of.

Kervan Sofrasi, Turkish Restaurant, North London

The next day, I got to put my Canon G7 X through its paces when my boyfriend, his family and some of our friends went to have dinner at Kervan Sofrasi, a Turkish restaurant in North London.

They serve the most fantastic food – platters piled sky high with meat such as Koftas (chicken and lamb), ribs, kebabs (chicken and lamb), whole roasted quail, and chicken wings – all nestled on a bed of two different types of rice. It was delicious!

But seriously, if you’re around North London and looking for somewhere to eat, I definitely recommend this place. Parking can be a little tight on site, but there is an Asda next door, which allows 3 hours free parking.

Perfect!

A Tearful Goodbye

I hate goodbyes.

In fact, most people close to me will know I actively avoid them – even the regular ones where you have to leave a friend’s house at the end of the night. I don’t know what it is about them, but I’d rather sneak out and dodge the situation altogether.

So, when the day came to say goodbye to my best friend at work, I realised quickly that I’d kind of been sticking my head in the sand about it until then.

I was happy for her in the sense she was moving on to better things, but I was – and still am – completely and utterly devastated.

I’ve been at my current job for 6 years, and she had worked there for 19. So, every day, I had this wonderful woman to help me, talk to and confide in. She was – and still will be – the big sister I never had. I will miss her terribly.

And she even got gifts from our lovely customers, who were equally as sad to see her go 🙁

A wonderful Fortnum & Mason Wind-up Carousel Biscuit Tin!

So, all in all, this weekend had its highs and lows, happinesses and sadnesses, but I still got to be with the people I love.

I hope you all had a good weekend too!

Bring on the next one, I say!

Love,