I turned my presets into Instagram filters

29 Mar 2021

I've been curating my presets that I use for all my imagery here on my blog, my Instagram and even for any photography jobs that I do and I've put so much work into them over the years to get them to be exactly what I want. With such a big shift in Instagram recently to using Reels I wanted to make sure that my feed was cohesive and decided that it was about time that I had a play around with Facebook's Spark AR to see what I could come up with and I finally did the thing. My presets are now available to use as filters for Instagram stories and reels!
girl holding phone showing instagram story filters

how to have a slow morning

25 Mar 2021

I fell in love with slow mornings while at university but since beginning to work from home I fell slightly out of love with them but recently I've really started to be intentional with my mornings again. Mornings are your time to shine and really get your day started with a bang. I. think there's a bit of a misconception that a slow morning is all about lying in but that is most definitely not the case. Here are some habits that I've added to my morning to help me achieve that slow morning feeling that I crave. Obviously, for you, you don't have to stick to these specifically, just find what works for you and just do what you enjoy and embrace that morning time feeling.
girl in il volo band tee sitting on bed

WAKE THE HECK UP

I know, I know, pressing that snooze button is so tempting - taking control of your day and saying 'no alarm, I will not wake up now' especially if like me, you like to set your alarm way before you need it solely for this very reason. I don't set my alarm obscenely early or anything. I use a smart alarm that tracks when I'm best suited to wake up and I have it set for between 7am and 7.30am. I start work at 9am so realistically I don't need to get up until 8.45am, especially since I'm just working from home, I can easily just roll out of bed grab some toast and settle down for the day, but rushing your mornings will lead to you feeling rushed all day. I used to be so good at this but when the pandemic hit my sleep schedule was the first thing to go out the window but I've started reclaiming this again. It can take some time to adjust but once you're in the routine your body will thank you!
black and white photo of girl in il volo band tee sitting on bed
latte in glass mug

Avoid your socials

The first thing that I always want to do in the morning is to check my social media accounts but when it's the last thing you do before you go to sleep and the first thing you do when you wake up that's when you start to become enslaved by it. Funnily enough, if you leave your phone alone for even ten minutes - all the same messages and updates will still be there! Instead of going straight to your phone, find something else that you can channel your energy into for a few moments before delving straight into the neverending stream of social media posts.
blonde haired girl reading blue devotional book

Shower in the morning

I recently read a book where the protagonist said she didn't like showers and I had never felt more seen - I'm the type of person who truly will forgo a shower for a day because I just can't be bothered with the hassle! I often just shower and wash my hair at night time because I really don't want to have to do it in the morning but carving time out of your morning to properly shower is a great way to slow down your mornings. The shower is also a great place to think and mentally go through your to-do list. I've actually found that the mornings that I wash my hair I actually have more time to get ready than the days I don't which even to me sounds like a lie but I think really taking your time to wake up and put your best foot forward for the day really helps to slow the time down.
black and white photos of glossier beauty products on floral bedding

Create a morning routine playlist

You know how in movies and tv shows, whenever someone wakes up and there's some music playing in the background - grab a hold of that. It may look unattainable but nothing makes you feel more like the main character than having a soundtrack for your life. It's up to you what kind of music you opt for, you might want something gentle to ease you into the day or you might want something upbeat that you can have a lil bop to in order to really boost your energy levels from the get-go. A slow morning doesn't have to mean a quiet morning!
black and white photo of girl with no makeup smiling and sitting on bed

Eat a proper breakfast

Having time to really just sit down and relax in the mornings is the ultimate goal of a slow morning and by carving out some time to actually have a proper breakfast has been great. I've been using this time to go through the stories on the YouVersion Bible app because I just think this is a really great way to start my day. It gets you in a good mindset and eliminates distractions by focusing on something while eating. I prefer this to watching tv because I often find myself just flicking through channels trying to find something to watch whenever this is right here! If devotionals aren't your thing you can find something else encouraging like a podcast or a TED talk.
latte in glass mug and blue devotional book sitting on floral betting
girl holding latte in glass mug wearing a white tshirt
I hope this post has given you some sort of idea of how to curate the slow morning feeling into your life. Are you a morning person or are you all too familiar with that snooze button. 

I Ordered A Mystery Bundle From Typo

19 Mar 2021

I'd seen Typo flying around and everything always looked so cute so I knew that I needed to make a purchase! If you're unfamiliar Typo is a stationery, gifts and lifestyle brand from Cotton On founded in Australia but now have a big presence in the UK. While scrolling through the website I stumbled across their mystery bundle selection. There are currently six different mystery bundles available ranging from 6 to 8 items and costing between £15 and £20. Their options for mystery bundles are Boredom Busters, Staying In, #StationeryAddicts, Getting Sh*t Done, Self Care, and See Ya 2020. I decided to order a Staying In Mystery bundle which consisted of 7 mystery items for £15 which I honestly thought sounded like an absolute bargain. It also came in like two days which was way quicker than I was expecting so the wait to discover what you'll receive isn't even agonising! So let's move on to the reason that you're all obviously here - what the heck was in my mystery bundle and was it worth the £15? 

Six Eurovision 2021 Songs You Need To Hear Immediately

15 Mar 2021

It's that time of the year again when I try to force you all to listen to Eurovision songs and become as obsessed with them as I am. It's a fun time to be my friend lets put it that way! I'll be honest, the day that they cancelled the contest last year was one of the worst days of 2020 for me. I genuinely cried I was so upset, trivial yes but after dedicating months of your life to something, to have it torn away from you was just a little emotional okay! I've done two of these posts before, way back in 2017 and then also last year. Eurovision has been such a huge part of my life for the longest time. I've been watching the contest every year since 2008 but I didn't start following the contest properly until 2016. I feel like people, especially in the UK, have a bit of preconception of what to expect with Eurovision so this post is really here to show that there really is no such thing as 'Eurovision Music' and that this contest, that a lot of people don't take seriously, is actually such a great source of music and so many great songs and artists come out of it every year. Arcade by Duncan Laurence, which you may know because it is currently in the UK charts, actually won the contest back in 2019! As usual, this isn't my personal top ten (I'll likely make a video on that at some point soon so keep your eyes peeled over on my youtube channel for that!) but just a few songs that I think have a universal appeal that people not familiar with the contest could find some enjoyment in. I've included a selection of different genres so hopefully, there's something that suits your tastes here. Also, enjoy me milking the use out of this t-shirt I bought when I went to the contest in 2018 because it gets wheeled out every year at every party.
girl smiling with bow in hair listening to music on airpods with eurovision t shirt

a few recent faves

9 Mar 2021

Oh hello, I'll be honest. This post is really just an excuse for me to use these photos that I took with my bouquet. I never get flowers so whenever these Bloom and Wild flowers turned up on my doorstep for my birthday I was so overwhelmed with joy, especially when they came from someone who I wasn't even expecting a gift from. I have a few exciting posts planned and in my drafts but I just didn't feel like these photos belonged with them so I guess they'll have to wait! I've been switching up the way I'm using imagery on my blog and I've had such good feedback from you all so I'm excited to keep creating. All this to say, this is just a favourites post and since I'm really not one for a monthly favourites post, this is just filled with some things I've been loving from the beginning of this year. My most recent favourites post was from December where I highlighted all of my faves from 2020 so I guess this post is a continuation from that so make sure to check it out while you're here.
girl in grey sweater and red lipstick holding bouquet of pink purple and white flowers