5 things I'd do differently if I were to start my blog again

I feel like I've been blogging a lot longer than I actually have, as I only started by blog in 2012, however blogging has changed a lot in that space of time.

Ten reasons why... staying in is so much better than going out

I remember as soon as I bought a new Glamour or Cosmo I used to head straight to the 'Hey it's ok...' section and the back pages that used to have 'Ten Reasons Why', or something along those lines. They were always my favourite out of the whole magazine.

Three free sites I used to update my blog

I'm never truly 100% happy with how my blog looks, but I think that's probably just a girl thing with never being happy with what we have and thinking everyone is 10000x better (which they so are.) But hey, today I thought I'd show you how I've made myself feel a bit better about my old blog.

My Chin up Chicken Routine

If your day has resonated a bit too well with the Daniel Powter song, then this is a routine made for you.

Sixteen things you think you need to be a beauty blogger (but you actually don't)

We're all, at least I know I am, guilty of falling into the beauty blogger cliche trap.

Things I've learnt whilst blogging

I've had this little blog here for over three years now, which is crazy because the longest I've ever really lasted at something you could call a hobby is about a year, with ballet being the shortest (I lasted two lessons and then stopped because I didn't like the fact my parents had to leave me there... abandonment issues, obvs!)

Fifteen things that will instantly make you happy

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Because who doesn't want to be happy all the live long day, eh?

Eleven reasons why periods are the worst

 

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Can you guess what time of the month it is that I'm writing this? TMI?

Thirteen things that make you feel like you have your life together

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1) When your underwear matches (preferbly with socks too!)

2) Freshly painted nails, that have no chips or smudges

3) A neatly written to do list that has everything crossed off

4) When your winged liner is even

5) Keeping your tights ladder free

6) Remembering to moisturise after you've had a shower

7) Being able to walk in a pair of heels (without looking like a pregnant duck)

8) Ticking that big task off of your to do list that you've been putting off for ages

9) Flossing, 'cause everyone knows good dental hygenie is important but a pain to maintain

10) Being able to cook a healthy meal that actually tastes good

11) Drinking over 2L of water a day, because hydration is important! (We'll forget it also gives you the bladder of a granny.)


12) Getting to the end of the month with money still in your bank account *sassy girl emoj*

13) Getting up early enough to have a proper breakfast

21 thoughts you have when you first set up a Twitter for your blog

1) OMG my follower count is going to go up so quickly.

2) I should probably make a blog post telling everyone I have Twitter so they follow me.

3) Actually maybe that's a bit desperate, let's add it to the end of my next blog post.

4) Why haven't I got a thousand followers yet?

5) Quick write something witty and brilliant so that everyone in the universe re-tweets it.

6) Oh, it only got one favourite... maybe I'm not as hilarious as I think.

7) No, that can't be true. People must just not get my humour.

8) This blog post hasn't been read by many people, I know I'll tweet it out.

9) How many times can I re-word this sentence so it looks like I'm tweeting something new?

10) Damn you one 141st character.

11) Oooo a #bbloggers chat. That's a great way to gain loads of new followers.

12) Ah, Twitter drama, how exciting.

13) Oh, another lot of Twitter drama, erm ok.

14) MORE Twitter drama, yawn.

15) I haven't tweeted all day. I wonder if people have missed me...

16) Why are other people's lives more exciting than mine? This is not fair.

17) How come when one person posts a picture of their cat it goes viral and they earn millions yet a picture of my cat is lucky to get a favourite?

18) No ones has commented, favourited or re-tweeted my selife, am I that ugly? Maybe the duck face pout to show off my new lipstick isn't that great...

19) I know, I'll post a picture of my new nail varnish, people eat that shit up

20) BOOTS HAUL

21) I wonder if I should set up an Instagram...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that....

The day you actually take time over your hair will be the day it pours down with rain and you forget your umbrella.

Doctors, Dentists and Hairdressers will all be running seriously behind schedule except for the one day you're slightly late.

The person on the street who wants you to stop for only a minute will keep you there for at least ten.

Putting your spare change in a charity collection box will make you feel 100x better about yourself.

There will always be two men in your life who will be there for you whenever; their names are Ben and Jerry.

The comfiest looking shoes are the ones that will give you a million blisters.

You often only buy magazines for the freebies.

For at least an hour after watching a YouTube video you'll narrate your life to yourself.

The one day you forget to do something at work is the day your boss (and their boss) ask to see it.

There is always one nail that takes longer to dry then others and ends up smudging all over your fingers, bed clothes and life.

As soon as you figure out what all the 'cool' lingo actually means, it won't be cool anymore.

Same goes for fashion trends, as soon as you decide you actually want a pair of flared jeans they will no longer be 'on trend'.

The one day you take your sunglasses out of your handbag will be the hottest day of the year so far and you'll be constantly squinting and cursing the extra lipstick you traded the sunglasses space for.

 On the day you leave the office early to get to an appointment there will be five cars broken down, 3 old ladies taking an hour to cross the road and an escaped deer from the local animal reservation.

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What do we really like, and what do others make us think we like?

 
I was recently watching an episode of Gilmore Girls and Lorelai was questioning whether she truly liked certain things, or whether it was just to rebel against her mother, and that got me thinking; what do I actually like, and do I just think I should like?

I've never been one of the 'popular' people in life, I've always been the type of person who looked in from the sidelines. I remember at school how I felt the need to bring my P.E kit in a Jane Norman carrier bag as that's what everyone else was doing. Forget the fact it would've been far more practical to get an actual bag that closed (how many times did you lose your socks as they fell out the bag huh?) and I always judged what I should wear to school by what others were wearing. There were certain types of trousers, skirts, jumpers etc that people wore and of course I didn't want to stand out, be different. 

I realise now that it was stupid, but it's how it was, and to be honest, kind of how it still is. However, now I find myself questioning things, and whether I actually like them or just think I should. 

Exhibit A) Clothes - so many clothes I want are because I've seen others wearing them. When I buy clothes I try to picture other people wearing them, see if they're on trend etc. Do I actually like the clothes or do I think others will like them?

Exhibit B) Travel - I've never thought much about travelling but since I see all these other bloggers posting their luxurious holidays it makes me think about going to new and exotic places too. Though, no one has sold me on Thailand yet, and I definitely still don't want to go hostel hopping.

Exhibit C) Blog Posts - This is the trickiest one. People always say write want you would want to read, however it's so difficult to also keep originality. Or at leas I think that. There are so many bloggers whose style I admire, but do I admire them because I like their style or because so many others do?

I also find myself questioning, would I still be like this if social media didn't exist? It's so easy to see the highlights of people's lives and want to live it yourself. Yes I realise people only share what they want others to see, but it's hard not to think that people have their lives so much more perfect than my own. (Don't get me wrong I love my life, it's great and I'm extremely happy, I'm being overly dramatic.) It's easy to follow these bloggers, vloggers and celebrities and see what they get up to, what they wear, where they go etc and want to emulate it yourself, but what if we couldn't see that? 

I'm still undecided on how I feel about all this, but I think the fact I'm questioning this is the start of something. Hopefully one day I'll be able to find the balance, and when I do, well, I expect you'll get another random blog post that doesn't make sense.

Lucky you.

17 things you learn when you work from home

 I'm now extremely lucky in the sense that I'm now able to work from home. Whilst I think my car misses all the one on one time we used to share together I'm totally loving it, so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on what life is like when you do actually work from home.

1) You'll begin to forget the last time you washed your hair.

-2) If you don't remind yourself to go outside you can not leave the house for days.

3) Days of the week all merge into one and it's only until others are in the house too that your realise it's the weekend.

4) You feel guilty not replying to emails at 8 o'clock at night 'cause you're already in bed.

5) Your new uniform will consist of leggings that haven't been washed for a few weeks and a hoodie that's three sizes too big for you.

6) Social media becomes your new best friend as there is always someone there to interact with.

7) Getting out of bed is even more difficult in the morning as you know you could actually stay there, but you also know you really shouldn't.

8) Procrastination becomes your second job.

9) You become weirdly obsessed with your neighbours and their coming and going.

10) If you have a pet, you will find yourself having numerous conversations with them each day.

11) When you do have to leave the house (ew) you spend a lot of time doing your hair and make-up because you can't remember the last time you did it, or remember what it's like to look at your face and not see dark circles and spots with freshly washed hair.

12) You'll sit down and try to find something to watch on TV on your lunch and then find yourself having your lunch at the same time each day to keep up to date with the series.

13) You feel sad when you think you've finished all your work for the day and can go enjoy Netflix when an email pops into your inbox.

14) Shoes feel like torture as they're not cosy slippers or fluffy socks and they're not being supported by soft carpet. Damn you pavement.

15)  Your food supplies will go down a lot faster.

16) Sometimes you'll find yourself singing out loud just to hear sounds, and it'll often be something weird like the theme tune to Bob the Builder.

17) You'll never want to leave the house again.

Postcard From: Paris

It's happened, I've been bitten by the Wanderlust bug. I have a list as long as my body of places I'd now like to visit, but as I've got car insurance to save for first, I thought I'd show you a few lots of my pictures from when I went to Paris at the end of November last year, and hopefully begin a new series of 'Postcard From' on my blog.

We went: Paris (22/11-25/11/14)

We stayed: Hotel Monceau Wagram

Our hotel was pretty nice actually. It wasn't too expensive and was just a short walk from the Arc De Triomphe and an even shorter walk from a Sephora. It was close to a metro stop, and the next stop along was a main station which meant travelling was easy. Staff were pleasant and friendly, the only thing I'd say is, don't bother having breakfast there, it's not worth the price.

 

We got there via the Eurostar, which was a first for me, however I can't believe how simple it was. I'd maybe look into getting a taxi to/from your hotel if you've got a lot of bags as trying to get the Metro with a tonne of bags is stressful. 

  

We found: 

1) There is hardly any supermarkets (that we could find), but tonnes of pharmacies. Great for stocking up on French skincare, not so great if you want some food.

2) You probably only need one 'carnet' ticket between two of you. We thought they'd be like an oyster card so asked for two and ended up with lots of Metro tickets. Just don't try to leave zone 2 with them, they won't work.

3) You can pretty much do all the main sites just by walking. On our first day we walked from the Arc De Triomphe to the Eiffel Tour, to Tour Montparnasse to Jardin du Luxemburg to Notre Dame, to the Pantheon with other sites thrown in along the way.

I really think that Paris may be one of my favourite cities, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back.

We finished our trip at the most magical place ever, but maybe I'll save that for a different post.