Resolutions...

30 Dec 2019

I've never really been one for new years resolutions, realistically if I'm not doing something now, deciding to do it in January isn't REALLY going to change my mind. I made resolutions last year and just didn't stick to them at all so I was apprehensive about doing the same thing this year. I thought for this post I'd go through last years resolutions and decide how well I fulfilled them and come up with a good list for 2020 by building on 2019s goals and putting it in a blog post and posting it on the internet keeps me accountable!


SHOP THE LOOK | Jeans: Mid Blue Kimomo (x) / Shoes: Puma Basket (x) / Backpack: Madlug (x)


Grow Online Following
I didn't grow my following that much this year but I've created a following that engages and enjoys what I have to post so I count that as a WIN! Obviously, the goal is still to grow my following more but having people actively engage and enjoy your content is all that creators want!

Will I stick with this goal in 2020?: Yes!!


Spend Time curating good online content
I think I did this one well, with Instagram so increasingly becoming a cause of stress and anxiety I wanted to be mindful about the content I was creating and not just sticking something up on Instagram for the sake of it, being open and honest online, say when I was struggling and not just post the highlights reel. 

Will I stick to this goal in 2020?: Yes


Read at least one book a month
This one I FAILED in all caps! It's funny because it's actually something I did with no problem in 2018, 2019 was just a really poor reading year for me and I'm planning on righting all of my reading wrongs this coming year!!

Will I stick to this goal in 2020?: Yes (and hopefully I'll actually do it this time)

Launch photography business
I did and I didn't, I put myself out there and got some paid gigs but I haven't officially launched anything yet... will this be the year I finally do it? Probably not because final year of uni is KICKING MY ASS but you never know what the new decade will bring!

Will I stick to this goal in 2020?: No, but I'm not ruling anything out!


Read entire Bible
Another one that fell flat on its face! I started out with the best of intentions I joined a bible reading group on Bible app but I inevitably got kicked out due in inactivity...oops. This is still something I want to do but I, unfortunately, don't think that 2020is the year for this either.

Will I stick to this goal in 2020?: No, but I bought a new year-long devotional so that is a new challenge for this coming year for me to stick to

Be more organised
I think I actually managed this one, I don't have anything to show for it, I bought a planner and didn't use it but I'm definitely more on top of my work so I guess I'd say I'm more organised than I was last year... maybe.

Will I stick to this goal in 2020?: This is a goal I'll have to stick to for the rest of my life because I am the princess of procrastination.



Some extra goals for 2020:

  • Eat less meat
  • Manage my money better
  • Pick up a language again

Do you make resolutions? If so what are your resolutions for 2020? Maybe it'll inspire me to try something new!


Festive Marble Wreath Cake

24 Dec 2019

Is Christmas Eve too last minute to post my favourite festive cake recipe? Probably, but I'm going to do it anyway! I baked this last night and it turned out so well I just had to share the recipe. This is a cake we've been making at our house for YEARS but I decided to switch it up a bit this year. 

Is the only reason I made this cake because of the cute little toadstool shaped cake toppers I got from Flying Tiger? 100% but that doesn't make it any less delicious!

Without further ado, here's the recipe for the Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Wreath Cake.

5 Ways I'm Spending Less Money

17 Dec 2019

A few months ago just after an impulse purchase of a new Dune bag from TK Maxx I suddenly came to the conclusion that I was running out of money and running out of money FAST. So I had to make some drastic changes to my budgeting and massively limited myself to the things I would purchase each week. So here are a few things that I've cut down on or completely cut out of my spending.



Eating Out
I can't tell you how tempting it is to just forgo making lunch in the morning and just buy something in uni but let me just say, uni food is pretty dang expensive! I've tried to limit myself to one meal out a week (if that) whether that be lunch or dinner. Not only is it saving me money from spending a fiver on lunch every day but it's also making me more proactive in making sure I have food in the house and also that I'm leaving myself enough time in the morning to prep everything. Solid lunch staples include, but are not limited to, wraps, salads and my personal favourite, last night's pasta! I also try to limit my spending on food I know I'm not going to use and try to limit myself to around £15 a week.

Avoiding sales (to an extent)
I'm a simple girl, I see sales, I will purchase but that is a TERRIBLE habit to be in. This is why TK Maxx is so dangerous for me because I'll see something that I really don't need but see that it's such good value that I just HAVE to purchase it. This is a particular issue whenever I miss my train because I then have an hour I can spend just browsing the local shops doing my best not to spend money that I don't have. I exceeded my own expectations though and didn't purchase a single thing in the Black Friday/ Cyber Monday sales and I think that may be a first! Not that sales are bad, they can be great for getting those things that you've been saving up for or planning to get for a long time, but don't use sales as an excuse to just purchase something because it's a bargain.


Staying in
It's a truth universally acknowledged that going out costs money. Find ways to keep yourself entertained at home, get involved in free activities, or if you're a uni student join some societies which will have ways to keep you entertained on a budget. Invite friends round and watch a movie, play some board games, or even just have a chat.

Rethink your subscriptions
Truly the saddest part of the month is when your subscription fees all get taken out of your bank account and suddenly you're a little less well off than you were before! If you're paying a subscription fee that you don't use regularly, cancel it! I pay my phone bill, my Adobe creative cloud subscription and my Spotify premium subscription (luckily for me my dad pays for netflix) all of which I use regularly and don't mind paying because I get the use out of them.

Don't be afraid to treat yo self...
But do it in moderation. As a student sometimes you just really need to treat yourself after a test or a long day of studying and that's totally okay, buy that chocolate or order that take out, you've deserved it! But if it becomes a regular thing it's not so much a treat anymore, rather a staple and it's just not as satisfying and ultimately just costs you more money!

What things have you cut out or cut back to help you save?

My Study Essentials

6 Nov 2019

With uni starting back I'm having less ad less time to focus on blogging, I was already starting to fall behind on notes by week 2! Here are my top items that I use to study and my study life would not be the same without!


Whitelines Paper

This is my biggest one! Whitelines paper is revolutionary and will genuinely change your study life! Not only do the white lines make everything easier to read and cause less strain on the eyes, they're also equipped with technology allowing you to create digital copies of all your notes that you can carry around with you on your phone.

Pastel Highlighters

I love my notes to be pretty, I can't help it, I'm a visual learner so if something is pretty I'm more likely to want to look at it and remember it. One way I do this is by using pastel highlighters. Mine are from Stabilo but they are available from lots of different places.


Planner

Not necessarily a study essential but an absolute essential for uni life. With timetables constantly changing it's important to keep on top of what classes you have each week. There are so many styles of planner available so make sure you find one that suits you best. I used to bullet journal but then had no time for the upkeep which completely defeated the purpose!

Coloured Pens (previous paid partnership)

Again as a visual learner, I like to add a pop of colour to things every so often. I use the Pentel EnerGel pens for this because they have such a vast range of colours and they are super great quality but any coloured pens will do the job!

What are your top study items?

tarte mystery bag: unboxing

28 Oct 2019

I'm a simple girl, I see makeup sales, I buy makeup. It's a vicious circle but a few weeks back tarte had a sale on and I definitely DID THE THING! The mystery bag (which cost me the grand total of £40) was purchased and on its way to me.

I've been slacking a lot on the old blog posting front lately because I'm so busy with uni so here's a rundown of what I got in my mystery bag along with some first impression reviews.



Mystery BAG
as it's a mystery bag, everything came along with a cute little makeup pouch which says 'never not busy' on the front which is the absolute TRUTH of a final year university student.


Stay Spray (Sample) (X)
I'm a die-hard Urban Decay all nighter setting spray type of gal so I was intrigued to see how this one compared. They're very different consistencies. The Tarte spray is a lot more liquidy than the urban decay spray which is an interesting change. It keeps my makeup on well though! I've just come home from a whole day at uni and it's still on my face!



Kitten Liner (X)
I was actually on the lookout for a new eyeliner and this one works so so well, it has the right applicator and just glides on very nicely. BIG FAN. Also, it has a little kitten head on the lid so what's not to love!

Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara (X)
It's nice, but it's not my favourite mascara I've ever used (hi too faced better than sex). It's lengthening, which as someone with naturally long lashes anyway, I don't really need so that's most likely why it didn't click with me. I did like it better on my lower lashes on my top lashes though. A good masacara, and in super cute packaging, but just not for me!


Tarteist Lip Paint (X)
Okay so if you know me you know that I love me some lipstick and ordinarily I'd go for a solid lipstick as supposed to a liquid lipstick but this liquid lipstick is EVERYTHING! I have the shade front row which is a really pretty dark mauve shade, which is one of my favourite lip colours! It goes on like a dream and is super long-lasting! A BIG WIN!


Rainforest of the Sea Palette Volume II (X)
When I pulled this out of the package I DIED! I've wanted this palette for so long I was STOKED. It's so pretty!! The colours are all neutrals and it's kind of similar to the tartelette in bloom which I already have but it's different enough to merit its own palette. It's not super-duper pigmented but I like that as it allows you to build up colours and keep it as natural as you want which is perfect for me for going to university.


Anyway, I'm a big big fan of all the products and definitely would purchase again even though it left me a little out of pocket I think it was worth it! Here's the finished look I did using all of my new products.


I also filmed a first impressions video if you want to take a look at that!




Have you used any Tarte products before? Let me know your thoughts!

Super Easy Scone Recipe

22 Oct 2019

I don't know about you but I bloody love the Great British Bake Off. I'm so excited for the final 2 weeks that I've been baking again! I made these scones last week and lots of you were asking for the recipe so here's a super easy scone recipe for y'all courtesy of a nice lady from church!


INGREDIENTS
500g Self Raising Flour
125g Butter
125g Caster Sugar
1 Egg
Natural Yoghurt
Optional: Cherries/Sultanas


1. Rub the butter into the flour

2. Add sugar 

3. Add dried fruit (if wanted)

4. Beat egg and add to mixture

5. Gradually add small amounts of yoghurt until dough is firm.

6. Roll on a floured board, cut into shapes and place on a baking tray

7. Bake at 180ºC for 10-15 minutes

8. Leave to cool on a wire rack



VOILA! Super easy, super delicious scones, best served warm with some butter MMMM! let me know if you make these I'd love to see your attempts! 

my enneagram and me: type 9

7 Oct 2019

This is basically just a personal waffley post mainly because I wanted an excuse to use the multitudes of pictures I took at the sunflower fields and haven't used yet but also because I've been thinking a lot about my enneagram lately and figured that there are definitely other people feeling the same way as me.


"TYPE NINE PROBLEMS AM I RIGHT!"

This is potentially my most used phrase. Hello, I'm Alice and I'm a type 9, also known as the peacemaker. Can my fellow type nines give me a whoop whoop! I'm not at all claiming to be some sort of enneagram expert and each enneagram type is distinct and different people express their type differently but this is just a few things that I notice in myself.


The Peacemaker, avoiding conflict is our big motivation but that can be both conflicts with each other, or with ourselves. This can manifest itself in many forms and as with everything, it can be in healthy doses and unhealthy doses. And at the minute I'm teetering on the edge of unhealthy so here's what I'm promising to do about it!


At their best type nines are at peace with themselves and able to form strong relationships with others, Deeply receptive, accepting, unselfconscious, emotionally stable and serene. Trusting of self and others, at ease with self and life, innocent and simple. Patient, unpretentious, good-natured, genuinely nice people who are generally optimistic, reassuring and supportive. Sounds great right?


However, as avoiders of conflicts, it can be very easy to diverge into less healthy levels. The second that a choice emerges, we tend to go with the flow and become much less peacemakers and much more just go-with-the-flow-ers. Saying yes to things just because offering an alternative would cause a very minor conflict to arise. We avoid asking for things so as not to inconvenience people and for lack of a better phrase 'keep the peace'.


This also leads to a lot of procrastination, and let me just tell you I am a MASTER procrastinator, I literally can't ride a bike because I procrastinated it too much as a child, start as you mean to go on I guess. 

This can occur with responsibilities but also with problems. Addressing the challenge at hand can sometimes seem too daunting a task so we just push them under the rug and think we'll deal with them later but hoarding up problems just leads to a multitude of problems to deal with at a later stage leading to overwhelming bouts of anxiety and stress.


I'm currently feeling very much stuck at a level of putting other people's plans and priorities above my own so that's something that I'm planning on working on this October. Making sure I'm doing things that I want to do and not things that other people want to do that I'm just going along with because I'm a go-with-the-flow-er, while also making sure that I'm being accommodating and positive about other people's ideas too.


If you don't know your enneagram type I'd definitely suggest looking into it, there's a test you can take to give you an idea. It's a great tool to use for your personal development and allows you to understand a little bit more about how you operate at healthy and unhealthy levels. 


Also definitely listen to Sleeping At Last's Enneagram EP because I guarantee that your song will give you ALL THE FEELS. I waited over a year for Nine but it was worth it!  



And if you know your enneagram type, drop it below because I'm nosy and love knowing people's types!                                                                   

just some random september picks

20 Sept 2019

Long time no post! After a summer of travelling and blogging A LOT I decided to take a little break so now I'm going back to the blogger roots with this post and decided to share a few things that I've been loving lately with a good old fashioned favourites post. This is a very eclectic mix of stuff because I'm notorious for liking too many things and liking too many things too quickly and seriously so without further ado let's get straight into this.

What I'm Watching
It's no lie that I'm a bit of a Netflix fan, actually, a LOT of a Netflix fan and particularly Spanish Netflix. Elite season 2! I've been waiting for this to drop. I was literally up at 8am for the drop ready to go and binge the HECK out of this show! It did not disappoint and I have many, MANY thoughts, (Which if you follow me on twitter you've probably read enough of SORRY!).



What I'm Reading
Before I even owned Red, White and Royal Blue I knew it was going to be my favourite book of the year and boy oh boy oh boy. Simon Vs The Homosapiens Agenda is one of my favourite books of all time and this book gave me a similar vibe. I LOVED. I've had a pretty terrible reading year this year but I absorbed this and deffo recommend.


What I'm Listening To
I have the strangest taste in music ever. I can go from acoustic, to rock to something obscure and Swedish and here's a selection of everything and in fairness, all I've really been listening to this month is Los Dias Raros by Vetusta Morla after it's exquisite use in Elite (yes sorry back onto Elite again). But my pick for this list is the New Maisie Peters BOP 'This Is On You'. I love everything Maisie puts out and this is no different. DEFFO recommend listening to all her stuff, she's the BEST!




What I'm Wearing
I recently finally picked up Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara and I AM OBSESSED. I'd seen people talking about it forever and was like 'surely a mascara can't be THAT good' I'm always wary about buying high-end makeup products because I know I'm going to end up loving them and ends up costing me more money but alas I love it!



RANDOM PICK
Back to uni means freshers and we had a board games night and It's rekindled my love of Monopoly Deal which I genuinely haven't picked up for years but is such a good game. I love board games and table games so if you know any good ones fire them my way!

What things have you been loving recently?

Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Uni

3 Sept 2019

It's September (honestly where did the summer go!) and that means two things schools are back and universities are ALMOST back. Thank goodness for long university holidays am I right? I'm going into my final year of university this year which is a scary scary old time but starting university for the first time can also be really scary so here are some tips of things I've learned in the past three years that I wish I knew when I started.

The backpack is the Mint Backpack from Madlug and is not owned, purely modelled for editorial use however I do own nine other Madlug backpacks.

No one cares what you look like
Your uni wardrobe can seem like a daunting task but in reality, for class, most people will turn up in sweats and a t-shirt with their hair up in a messy bun. I'm the anomaly that likes to dress up for every single occasion of my life and yes people have commented on my style in class but for the most part it's pretty much a non-event so don't stress too much about waking up at 6am to make yourself look presentable for 9am lectures because in reality nobody really cares.

Budget, budget, budget
Student life can be expensive and as someone who's just started life on their own, it can be really tricky to learn how to manage your money. I was fortunate enough that my dad is a debt coach and money management specialist and he gave me all the tricks on how to best manage money as a student. The one that saved me the most in first year was using cash, take out a select volume of cash for the week and try to limit yourself to only using it also using separate bank accounts to manage your direct debits, your spending money and your savings. I also definitely recommend checking out Monzo to help with managing your money. Sign up here* and get £5 automatically credited to your account. On the whole, don't blow your student loan in the first week on fresher's events because more than likely you'll need it more at a later stage when you've run out of money to pay your rent (raises hand that I'm most definitely guilty of this).
*Affiliate link- I'll also receive £5 for every referral 


Have fun
While you are predominantly there to study and get a degree, your uni years are some of the most formative years of your life and if you spend them all locked up in the library studying, chances are you'll regret it later. What I'm really saying is the FOMO is real! Yes work hard, but don't let your need to succeed and do well in class stop you from enjoying yourself.

Lectures will only get you so far...
but please go to lectures! Lectures are really beneficial to your understanding of the modules but in order to actually do well, you need to also do additional reading. Taking notes in lectures doesn't need to be immensely detailed but anything you think is useful or interesting is usually good to jot down and you can supplement your notes with independent reading and study later.

Not everyone will be 18

I felt like when I started university I was just expecting everyone in my class to be in the same stage of life as me but that's not necessarily the case. Yes, a lot of people will be fresh out of school but many people will also have taken gap years or even have worked for a number of years before pursuing a degree. Especially if you're older and starting uni for the first time, there may be an overwhelming number of 18-year-olds milling around but it's not like school and not everyone is the same age.

Pinterest Uni Rooms are a lie!
As you go to uni you'll be so ready to have your own space to design exactly how you want it and make it as Pinterest ready as possible but realistically, if you don't have a Pinterest room at home, you're not going to have a Pinterest room at uni. I'm so guilty of thinking I was suddenly going to be tidy and organised when I moved into my own space but that most definitely did not happen and the infamous floordrobe made its unwelcome return.

What is one thing you wish you knew before starting university? Or if you are just starting out what are you most excited about?

Feeling Myself With Pink Parcel

29 Aug 2019

Your period is a funny old time. I miss the early days when your period used to just be a slight inconvenience because now I always have the WORST cramps during the first few days but then they die away but I also have to suffer through really long periods. Oh, how I envy people who don't have to bleed for a week.

I recently received my August box from Pink Parcel which is a period subscription service which caters towards you by providing you with all the sanitary products you need as well as some goodies to keep you feeling yourself during that time of the month.


I received the product free of charge for review/content creation purposes but it retails at 3 different price points. 

The Needs: £5 a month
All the sanitary products that you'll need for the month, you get to choose your fem-care products between tampons or pads so it's catered towards your needs. You can schedule it to arrive when your period does. It works to you.

The Wants: £8 a month
Just a little box of goodies and pick-me-ups for you to treat yourself while you may not be feeling your best.

All Of It: £11 a month
All the needs and all the wants in one place. (this is the one I got)



What was in My August Box?
I'm a pad user, I have a love-hate relationship with tampons but it's predominantly hate, so I chose to receive pads as my fem-care product of choice, they even let me choose my favourite always pads with the wings! The fem-care I received was a little bag that says self love full of pads and liners, a box of night pads, and another box of pads.



For my wants box, I received: a milk hot chocolate spoon from Cocoba, a lip gloss from Floss, a hair mask from Mudmasky, a face mask from Minus 417 (which I'm most excited about because I love a face mask), a coffee bag from Lyons and an spf lip balm from Anatomicals and a makeup brush from Moonface.



If you want to sign up to Pink Parcel you can do it here!

Rwanda: My First Time in Africa

27 Aug 2019

Hello! I've spent ten days in Rwanda this August. If you don't know where that is, it's a tiny little country in the very centre of Africa (I say tiny but it's actually twice the size of Northern Ireland). I've travelled a lot around Europe but this was my first time ever venturing into Africa and similar to my Naples post I thought I'd do a little travel diary of this trip as well.

My Safari Experience

16 Aug 2019

I recently had my very first safari experience and it was pretty surreal. I thought I'd do a little write up about it and discuss my expectations and experience, pretty much because I have so many photos I want to post.



Surviving Long-haul

13 Aug 2019

Even for frequent travellers, long-haul flights can be a bit of an ordeal. I love flying but I'm so used to my quick little 45 minute flights to England and my 90-minute flights to Copenhagen that sometimes I forget that you can actually sit on a plane for 8 hours. 

My first long-haul flight was a 6-hour flight to Boston in 2017 and I was such a novice that I was so lost the whole time but I recently flew to Kigali in Rwanda and I've learned a few things so I thought I'd share my top tips to flying long-haul.


In-Flight Entertainment
One of the best things about long-haul is the in-flight entertainment. I always like to research what films are available on the airline before I go and I come ready with a little list of possibilities. On my Kigali flight, I managed to watch: The Hate U Give, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and Coco (and let me just tell you I SOBBED at Coco and I'm ashamed I hadn't seen it until now). Or you could always binge a Netflix series if none of the provided entertainment appeals to you.

Live for the snacks
I lied. The best part about long-haul is the snacks. I'm so used to flying EasyJet that I forget that all snacks are provided to you included in your ticket price! I missed out on free pretzels on my Boston flight because I thought I had to buy them. Nothing makes your face light up quite as much as the air-hostess walking towards you with the food trolley knowing you're getting treated to some top quality aeroplane grub. On my last flight, I had a creamy vegetable pasta served with a salad, cheese and crackers and some bread with a lemon muffin for dessert which was TOPS and then for mid-flight snack we had mozzarella and tomato sorrentina and an apple crumble muffin (which was also tops). You also get unlimited drinks orders so make the most of them!

Have a lil walkabout
Just because you're up in the air, it doesn't mean that you can't stretch your legs. Even if that's just to the toilet. Just make sure that the seatbelt sign isn't switched on!

Have a chat
Odds are that the person you're sitting beside is also going to be bored on said flight so don't be afraid to have a conversation with them, find out a bit about where they're from and why they're on the plane, the worst they can do is ignore you but at least try to engage a little.

Have a snooze
Nobody is going to judge you for going to sleep, that's the whole reason they provide pillows and blankets. I didn't sleep on my last flight because it was during the day and there was no time difference so I wanted to maintain my sleep schedule but if you're flying overnight I can guarantee that almost everyone else on the plane will be asleep.

Travelling is as stressful as you make it. So just relax and have a good time and the time will fly! (see what I did there). What's the longest flight that you've ever been on and how did you decide to put in the hours.

My Favourite Foreign Language Shows

9 Aug 2019

I have a problem. That problem; is a mild obsession with watching foreign tv shows. I can't tell you how many times I've been planning on watching a different show and then a random foreign show will pop up in my Netflix recommendations and suddenly I'm 3 episodes deep and I really need to go to sleep. So I thought I'd put this large waste of my time to use and give a list of my recommendations of foreign shows to watch.



SKAM
This is the show that started it all and is still my favourite show that I've ever watched. I've literally watched it start to finish 3 or 4 times. (I actually wrote a whole post on it hereIt's a Norwegian teen drama. It follows the lives of a single student attending a school in Oslo (there's a different main character in each season, so each season is different). You see everything from their perspective and the episodes were released in clip format throughout the week to then be compiled into one episode on Friday, so they all differ in length with som being under 20 minutes and some being almost an hour! It's actually been adapted into different languages but the OG Norwegian version will always be my favourite. This one isn't on any streaming services as it was web-based but if you dig around enough you can usually find it! 

ELITE (Netflix)
Another teen drama but this time it's a lot darker and it's also Spanish. There's been a murder in the most prestigious school in Spain and the police are trying to get the bottom of who was responsible. You get to see the interrogations of the main characters as well as seeing the whole unfolding of the murder and how it came to be.

HIGH SEAS (Netflix)
I've JUST finished this one and it's the absolute best thing I've ever watched. I've been trying to figure out how to sum it up and I think the best way is that it's like The Grand Budapest Hotel except in Spanish and on a cruise liner. It is literally just so good and I'm eagerly anticipating the second season.

QUICKSAND (Netflix)
Nothing quite says scandi-noir quite like a Swedish teen drama complete with murder. Maya is on trial for murdering her classmates in a school shooting. Yes, it is as dark as it sounds but yes it is also AMAZING. (I may have only watched this one because Felix Sandman was in it but minor details).

HOW TO SELL DRUGS ONLINE (FAST) (Netflix)
It sounds dodgy but all my favourite shows sound dodgy apparently. After his longterm girlfriend dumps him, a German boy and his friend accidentally end up running one of the largest drugs empires in the whole of Germany.

Do you enjoy foreign TV? If you have any other recommendations for me don't hesitate to throw them my way!

Anthems I'm Currently Proclaiming

6 Aug 2019

Every so often songs come into your life and they just speak exactly into how you're feeling. Those songs become the anthems for your life. The truths I find are the truths I like to proclaim, whenever I'm having a bit of a low day I just remember how powerful our God is and who He is and therefore who I am! I am chosen, I'm not forsaken, I'm a child of God. So here are three of the anthems that I'm currently proclaiming!



1. Here Again - Elevation Worship (x)
This was my original anthem and will forever be the anthem I choose to sing! I choose to say that not for a minute was I forsaken. I listened to Tauren Wells sing this having heard the song approximately 50 times before but preached on it in the middle and it spoke to me all over again. I even wrote down what he said because I loved it so so much. Honestly, this song will probably be the anthem for the rest of my life because it still continues to wreck me every single time!

2. Goodness of God- Bethel Music (x)
This is another one that came to me at just the right time. I was going through a bit of a rough patch with a whole load of things and I was just really drained but getting to join and proclaim that God's goodness was running after me and chasing me down every step of the way.

3. What A Beautiful Name - Hillsong Worship (x)
I first heard this song at Hillsong Copenhagen while I was there in 2016 so it always carries happy memories for me but how great that NOTHING can stand against the name of Jesus. All we need to do is proclaim his name and the darkness runs and flees.

What anthems are you currently singing over your life?

Adventures in Naples

3 Aug 2019

Travelling is always my absolute favourite thing to do, I love exploring new places and discovering different cultures. This Summer I headed to Italy with my family. So I decided to put a little itinerary together of what we got up to while in Naples, kind of as a diary for me and as some recommendations if you're planning on visiting.

I dyed my hair pink

21 Jul 2019

... or at least I tried to.

Every summer I always say, 'This is the year that I dye my hair pink', and every year without fail, I don't. Until this year.

Stargazer Cosmetics sent me over some of their Yummy Colour 4 colour hair strips (these ones) to try out so I thought that it was as good an opportunity as any to seize control of my dreams of pink hair for summer. I opted to use the pastel pack as I wanted a lighter shade of pink.




I enlisted the help of my friend who regularly dyes her hair and we sat in my room following all the instructions and everything appeared to be going well. You can even see from this photo that the pink was taking to my hair.




However, that was when the fun stopped. On the box, it says that the dye was supposed to last 5-15 washes depending on colouring. I hadn't pre-lightened my hair and that may have been the issue but as soon as I stepped in the shower after leaving it on my hair for longer than the allotted time. It all washed out IMMEDIATELY! I had to wave goodbye to my dreams of pink summer hair. I still have a couple of brighter colours left so I may have to try again but for right now I'm afraid I have to give this dye a thumbs down :( 

I'm sad because I love the concept and I really wanted to love them but unfortunately they just didn't work for me! 

Have you dyed your hair before? If so what colour and how did you like having funky hair?


Getting Thrifty With It

11 Jul 2019

I'm not going to lie to you, this post has been sitting in my drafts for MONTHS so I thought it was definitely time I finished it and got it posted, more for my own sanity than anything else but here goes.


I love a good thrift. I think my love of thrifting stemmed from the fact that I used to be a checkout operator in a local charity shop and when the store was quiet I would always take a look around to see if there were any bargains I could snatch up. I usually ended up with t-shirts, some jackets and mostly books but my most incredible thrift shop purchase to date (and probably ever again if we're being realistic) is this mustard yellow Zara puffer jacket (pictured below), which I managed to pick up for the bargain price of £2.25! I KNOW RIGHT!


Anyway, some people really struggle with thrifting and how to find good things when thrifting but the art lies in knowing where to look and as someone who has previously worked in a thrift store, I feel like I have a unique perspective. So here are my top thrifting tips!

Shop Around
When you're starting out, don't just limit yourself to one shop. Usually, if your community is anything like mine, you'll often find multiple thrift shops or charity shops in pretty close vicinity. So don't give up if you don't find anything you like in the first one you look in. Different shops will cater to different people, so someone else's favourite shop may not be yours and vice versa.

Frequent Visits
If you pop into the same shop often enough, chances are the staff will start to remember you and may be able to point out some stuff that they think you'll like or even keep some stuff back for you. While I worked at a charity shop, they got in a whole load of science textbooks and because they remembered that I studied Biomed, they kept them over for me and they just so happened to be my exact recommended reading for my course that year!

Don't limit yourself to one section
It's quite easy for things to get mixed up in thrift stores so the exact items you're looking for could be hiding among other sections. I can't tell you how many times I incorrectly labelled men's clothing as women's clothing and vice versa.

Give yourself time
Don't expect to just walk in and instantly find things you love. It can take a lot of hoaking about to find something so you may need longer than you expect to have a look at everything, even if the store seems small.

Don't be afraid to try things on
Thrifting is exactly the same as normal clothes shopping. Things can look good on the hanger but once you try it on it's a completely different story. Thrift stores typically have dressing rooms for a reason. Use Them! While it looks like a bargain, if you don't actually like it, it was just a waste of money!

Online Thrifting
While depop and poshmark have been around for ages my new favourite thing is an online thrift store called Thrift+ (check it here). Not only can you find preowned/preloved clothes but it also supports different charities through purchases so you get to be ethical and support charities. It's also super easy to navigate and they have a boutique section so  you can shop either high end or high street brands.

Do you like thrifting? If so what are your top tips and what is your best thrifting find to date? Let me know in the comments below!