Bullet Journal Inspiration.

Hello my lovelies! This week has flown by, and I’ve lost track of what day it is over and over again all week. Which led to today’s post! Bullet journal inspirations. I love organisation, lists and drawing; so why not start my own bullet journal?!

And since I’ve decided to start my own bullet journal I figured I’d properly begin it at the start of September to it’s a nice way to create the first page of my journal. Like I do with all projects I intend to start, I like to find myself some inspiration to get creative ideas flowing.

So, today that’s what I’m sharing with you! 12 different bullet journal spreads along with one I whipped up ready for next month that you can see to the right! (all credits go to those who created these beautiful journals/images).

1 . January.

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A post shared by plenty of plans | journal🌱 (@plentyofplans)

2 . February.

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3 . March.

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4 . April.

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A post shared by Reetta | she/her (@queenofhearts_journal)

5 . May.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Byiv4YcJCsr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

6 . June.

https://www.instagram.com/p/By7MzIeB8uv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

7 . July.

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A post shared by claudia joseph (@claudiajosephhh)

8 . August.

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A post shared by t i f f a n y 🌼 (@petitelano)

9 . September.

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10 . October.

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A post shared by •Brooke (@b.bulletjournal)

11 . November.

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A post shared by Guro & Tone (@bujoguto)

12 . December.

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A post shared by 𝐿𝑜𝑙𝑎 ☾ (@lolastarryart)

And those are some extremely pretty journal spreads that I found that’ve inspired me to start my own bullet journal! A few pages that I’d recommend you include in your journal:

• An important information page (your address, phone no., email, passwords etc.)
• Important re-occurring dates page – birthdays and anniversaries.
• Month title pages.
• Week spread pages.
• Anything else you want to document! (It could be a water tracking page, period tracker, well-being tips, holiday packing lists etc!)

Basically, include whatever you want in your bullet journal, the idea is that it’s a pretty way to document and keep track of your day to day or week to week. What I like is that you have free-rein to do whatever you want with them! All you need is a notebook/journal and a pen and you’re good to go.

And that is all from me today! I’m probably going to go and pick myself up yet another journal purely for the fact that I absolutely love stationary.. I’m not the only one who has hundreds of notebooks lying around just because they’re pretty right?

Let me know what month you like best! Do you keep a journal? Or do you call it a scrapbook? Plus, if you know of any cute stationary stores, let me know in the comments!

Have a great weekend my lovelies!

Love,

I Embraced My Natural Curls.

This week I’m telling you about a change I decided to start about 4 1/2 weeks ago. And it’s to do with my hair. Now, I’ve done a post about my hair journey before, and you can read that here! But recently I found something called ‘The Curly Girl Method’, and it’s said to be the best way to embrace your natural kinks, curls and waves, and apparently makes your hair healthy and teaches you how to properly manage your hair.

Before I get into what the curly girl method is and what’s involved, I’ll tell you a little about my relationship with my hair. For years and years and years I knew I had curly hair, and I know now that my natural hair is beautiful, but for the longest time I felt like having slightly messy curly hair with a bit of frizz wasn’t very attractive (except when someone else had it… typical!) and that straight and sleek is the only way my hair should be.

I guess it was something that I unfortunately learnt from lack of representation of people with natural hair! I mean, it wasn’t until Disney’s Brave that there was a princess with natural curly (and a bit unruly.. but fab) hair! And how long did that take? YEARS.

So what did I do for years? Well, yes you guessed it! I straightened the living daylights out of it. EVERY SINGLE DAY. And when I say every day, I mean for at least an hour, every day; whether I was going out or not! And then I realised my hair looked nice when I straightened and then curled it.. so that’s what I did. Sounds silly straightening your naturally curly hair to then curl it again doesn’t it?

Yeah, I thought it was ridiculous too. And then I luckily came across the Curly Girl method and I’m so so glad I did!

So.. What is the Curly Girl method exactly?

Well the basis of it is as follows:

• Products are free from sulfates
• Products are free from silicones
• Products are free from damaging alcohols
• No heat to be used on your hair
• Use a micro-fibre towel or t-shirt to dry your hair
• Dry hair on the lowest settings with a diffuser if not airdrying hair

That’s the general jist of it I think! I’m sure I do some things that aren’t entirely Curly Girl friendly but I’m still working on my routine with this new hair care adjustment.

My hair care routine used to be:

Washing my hair every other day with whatever shampoo and conditioner was on offer – and they always had sulfates, silicones and bad alcohols in (partly because I didn’t realise how bad they were!) and then dry it on the hottest heat on my hair dryer, then brush and straighten the hell out of it. To be honest it’s a miracle I still have hair on my head!!

My routine now goes like this: (And I now only wash my hair 1-2 times per week!)

1 . Wash with Curly Girl approved products – I’m currently washing once a week with a clarifying shampoo (to get rid of any build up from styling products) and then with the Noughty Wave Hello Curl Defining Shampoo on my second wash day.

2 . I then do what they call co-washing, which is basically washing your hair with conditioner, the one I’m currently using is the As I Am Coconut Co-Wash Cleansing Conditioner and I use this in the same way I use shampoo, and then after rinsing it out with cool water I apply more to the ends and lengths of my hair.

3 . I then scrunch out excess water.

4 . And then after all of that, I then apply my Cantu Shea Butter Curl Activator Cream to my hair and scrunch it in.

5 . Then wrap my hair in a ‘plop’ with a simple t shirt and leave my hair in that for about 5-10 minutes before I take my hair down.

6 . I then sort of organise my hair I guess? Haha my hair doesn’t necessarily part the same way everyday so I create my parting and then scrunch my curls with my t-shirt to remove more water.

7 . Then comes the mousse! I squirt a dollop of mousse into my hands, rub them together a little and scrunch that into my hair and curls.

8 . If my hair needs more volume at the roots (which it normally does since I have thin hair anyway..) I’ll add in some root clips around my hair part and hairline for about 30 minutes to an hour.

9 . When time’s short, I’ll then diffuse my hair upside down on the lowest settings; and if I’ve got time, I let my hair air dry!

10 . Once my hair’s dry, it then has what the curly haired community call a crunch or cast, which I then crunch out. If I want more volume at my roots I’ll fluff my hair out a bit and use my hair pick to lift my hair up and shake out, and voila! My hair is good to go!

And I know it sounds like way too much work, but in all honesty, applying all of these things actually takes less time than it did when I was straightening my hair! It’s only the air drying that takes a little longer.

And with my results I’m getting, that’s all the motivation I need to keep going! Oh, and the fact that when I’ve done all of this, my curls usually last about 3-4 days, which means waking up, shaking my hair out from my ‘pineapple’ (that’s how I sleep with my curls – scrunchie, silk or satin pillow case and pineapple hair) and about 5 minutes later, I’m usually good to go!

And if my curls are having a bad hair day, I just refresh them using a spray bottle with water and a small amount of conditioner in it and scrunch in some mousse! Simple as that!

I am still going through what they call the transition phase with my hair, in the sense that it’s going to be a while until my hair is really healthy again along with my curls remembering what to do after being washed!

Here’s before I started the curly girl method, when I straightened and then curled the life out of my hair:

Here’s my hair on my first wash day doing the curly girl method:

I know this just looks like a big mess, but I knew that going in to this, I would have to be prepared for my hair looking pretty bad for the first few washes, especially because I am still working out the best methods for washing, styling and drying my hair! Before it’d be a blitz with anything and then a load of heat damage.

Here’s my what my hair looked like for next few weeks:

And here’s my hair as of last week (fluffed out, day 3 hair and trying out new products):

There’s loads of different products out there for curly hair, and it just takes some time working out which ones work for you and your curl type, hair thickness and porosity! If you’re wondering about any of the more complicated stuff like hair porosity, hair protein etc, I highly suggest checking out Jannelle O’Shaughnessy Engels, Curly Susie and Alissa Evelyn‘s YouTubes! They are all curly girls themselves and have great channels devoted to curly hair!

So, what have I learn’t from going completely curly girl friendly?

For a start, I only wish I’d embraced my curls sooner! And I never would’ve thought it’d be this easy to completely stop using straighteners on my hair! I don’t miss them at all! Part of me still can’t quite believe I’ve managed to go all natural, and my hair has never felt so good!

If you’re wondering whether or not to try out the curly girl method of hair-care, I would totally recommend it! I will say, it will take a few months/years to get your hair to a good place where your curls don’t need as much help with products etc, depending on the current condition of your hair, but my hair has only just begun it’s curly journey and I can’t wait to continue my curly journey!

I heard a quote (can’t remember where from) which sums it up pretty perfectly:

“Frizz is just a curl waiting to happen.”

I’ll do a follow up post in a few months so you can see how much my hair has changed! Oh and if you’re wanting to start this hair transformation and aren’t sure what products are curly girl friendly, here’s an article I found helpful!

How do you like to have your hair? Have you gone natural before? Did you like it?

I know I do! haha. I might do a styling post in a few weeks, because I know that on day 3 and 4 hair (before it’s being washed) it can look a little crazy, and sometimes I just want my hair up and out of my face! Is that something you’d like? Let me know in the comments!!

Have a great week lovelies!

Love,

 

 

Sunshine Blogger Award

Happy Saturday my lovelies! This week I had the lovely surprise of being given the Sunshine Blogger Award by the very lovely Abbie! I love these posts, they bring the blogging community together and we all get to know more about on another.

Before I start this post, I just want to say, I’d definitely recommend reading Abbie’s Sunshine Blogger Award posts here! From her post I found out we share a love of Emily Blunt, people watching and we certainly share the same sentiment when it comes to running.. or lack of running.. haha! Abbie talks about all sorts on her blog and her writing is so engaging, so it was an honour being nominated by her for this!

So, the idea behind the sunshine award is to highlight and nominate bloggers that you believe spread positivity, kindness and that are, put simply, rays of sunshine!

The rules go like this:

• If you’ve been nominated, it means you’ve been given the award! So, congrats and well done!!
• You must thank the blogger that nominated you and link back to their blog or their original post.
• List the rules for this award and a snazzy logo or picture of it in your blog post.
• Answer the 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 more bloggers and set 11 fun questions for them to answer.

 

Onto my questions from the lovely Abbie:

1 . What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Funnily enough this is a piece of advice, or maybe you could call it a quote, from Stuart Little of all things! Every cloud has a silver lining. So I try and make at least one person smile a day, I love positivity and try my best to radiate it! And it’s a great reminder that if you can look on the brighter side, things do seem brighter!

2 . The strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?

As a fussy eater, this one isn’t strange at all, but I can’t think of anything strange I’ve eaten; I think I once ate a worm when I was tiny? Haha! But a few of my friends thought it was weird that I like cheese and apple sandwiches.. which isn’t weird at all I later found out from loads of people who eat them!

3 . If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what rule would you make?

Ooo hard one! I guess it’d have to be that everyone is treated equally! A girl can dream no? Now that I think about it, also that war and violence is never an option! I don’t mind being naïve with these sorts of things, because it helps me to stay positive!

4 . What is your favourite smell?

Freshly baked bread or cake, coffee, fresh and warm laundry along with oranges!

5 . What would be your dream meal? Including starters, main course, dessert and drinks?

For starters it’d have to be.. freshly baked bread with butter (can’t go wrong with a classic, right?). My main course would be a roast dinner, it’s my all time favourite meal and I could eat it 365 days a year easily! And for dessert it’d have to be a chocolate soufflé with pralines and cream ice cream, anything warm and chocolatey is just a dream for my sweet tooth! The drinks to top it all off would be a Disaronno and fresh orange juice; I asked a bar tender to recommend a drink for someone who like Disaronno and that’s what I was given.. trust me, it’s delicious!

6 . Who are your five dream dinner guests?

There’s too many people to pick from! Is it too cheesy to say the Fab Five from Netflix’s Queer Eye? Or it’d be Michelle Obama, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, James Corden and Chris Pratt. It’d be a pretty great dinner party if I say so myself.

7 . What film/book could you watch/read again and again and not get bored of it?

Legally Blonde has to have a mention here since I’m watching the first and second one for the fifth time in a row whilst I’m writing this.. and I am not sorry! It’s a great film about women breaking stereotypes in my opinion and is just such an easy breezy watch! And of course all of the Harry Potter books/films, I’m a huge potter head and am hoping to go back to the studio tours again next year!

8 . Do you believe in ghosts and the paranormal?

To this day I’m still on the fence! Part of me hopes there are ghosts and that the paranormal world does exist out of pure curiosity, but I’m a huge scaredy cat so part of me hopes not!

9 . If money and time weren’t a problem what skill would you like to learn?

Carpentry. I love creativity and I’m always thinking of ways to upcycle and change furniture, but sometimes my ideas are a bit too ambitious compared to my lack of skills with powers tools other than an electric drill! Haha!

10 . Are you a morning or a night person?

I used to be a morning person who would get up at 5AM EVERY DAMN MORNING. Then I became more of a night person.. but now I’m a bit in between and wake up around 7am! I love my bed and sleep a bit too much, so for me, an early night in is usually on the cards!

11 . Where would be your dream holiday destination?

There’s too many! I’d love to go to Canada though, I’ve not travelled too far away from the UK so Canada, America, China and Japan are on my bucket list!

 

Alright, so my questions are:

1. What’s your go-to self care tip?
2. What did you want to be when you were little?
3. If you play an instrument, which one? Or.. what instrument would you like to play?
4. Is there a quote you live by? If so, what is it?
5. If you could only eat one meal, three times a day for the rest of your life, what’d it be?
6. What’s one of your favourite childhood memories?
7. Why did you start blogging?
8. If you could step in the shoes of anyone for a day (like in Freaky Friday haha) who would it be?
9. What 3 words would you use to represent your personal style?
10. What gives you that extra spring in your step in the morning?
11. If you were stuck on an island, who would you want to be there with you?

 

My nominees are:

• Kim from Chimmyville
• Holly from Holzieloves
• Steph from Steph Loves
• Megan from Megan Elizabeth Lifestyle
• Emma from Believe In Bumble
• Finlay from Finlay Grace Allan
• Anna from Stralthy
• Han from lifewithhan
• Haziqa from Teller Of Tales
• Merrell-Ann from Trousseau Diaries
• Emma from Violetelm

And that’s just a small group of the amazing bloggers that deserve this award! Be sure to check them and their blogs out! You won’t regret it, trust me! Oh and if you share your Sunshine Blogger Award posts on twitter be sure to tag me @weightofmywrlds so I can retweet them and spread the love!

Being nominated for awards like these always bring a huge smile to my face and will keep me smiling for ages, and its a great motivation to keep improving and writing! What’s something little that brought a smile to your face in the last week? Let me know in the comments!!

Have a great weekend my lovelies, and Happy Easter!

Love,

I Found Out My Ancestry With 23 and Me.

It’s Mother’s Day this weekend! So a lot of us will be showering our mums with love and tending to their every need. When deciding what I wanted to write for today’s post, I stumbled between the idea of a mushy post about why I would be lucky if I turned out remotely like my mum or if I wrote about my ancestry that I found out recently with 23 and Me.

So, I’ve decided on a bit of both. My mum and I aren’t what you’d call super cuddly or expressive with our feelings when it comes to reminding each other what we like about one another, which is why I know my mum is cringing reading this right now just like me! Haha sorry mum, but I love ya.

It’s not that we don’t like expressing our feelings, we’ve just never been that way when it comes to talking about each other. And she’s more like a best friend than a mum, and we can tell each other anything (yes that does mean we can talk about emotional stuff, but that’s not us and that’s ok), honestly I don’t really know where I’d be without her. Also, can we just appreciate the fact that my mum, Lindsay, is incredible at encouraging me to wear whatever I want, and she could pull off wearing a bin bag and look great if she wanted too. Although here she’s rocking a neon green crop top (she hate’s this photo, and I can’t understand why, because she looks great! So make sure you show her some love in the comments!).

Right, that’s enough mushy stuff, onto why I wanted to find out my ancestry. Well, for years I have wondered what my heritage actually is, because I’d heard several stories from different family members and where I come from.

So naturally over the years I’ve become more and more curious about what’s true and what’s just a rumour! Which led me to buying a 23 and Me pack.

The entire process took about 3-4ish weeks, and that’s from receiving my box, sending it off and being sent my results. One thing I love about 23 and Me is that they update you and keep you informed about what is happening at every step towards getting your results.

So, what did I think my heritage was?

I was told by family members that they thought I could be:

• British
• French
• Something else I can’t remember..

What were my results?

Well, I found out a few things I wasn’t expecting! Here we go:

• 100% European, Northwestern European

Broken down into:

• 65.8% British and Irish – UK & Ireland
• 10.9% French and German – Germany & Netherlands
• 9.4% Scandinavian – Norway
• 13.9% Broadly Northwestern European

I’ll be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect from my results! I was just excited to see where I’m from, and finding out I’m more than British was a big shock to me; I have no idea where the Irish, Scandinavian, German or Netherlander (I don’t know if that’s the right way to put it) in me came from.

So once I found this out, I was able to see where/who in my ancestry timeline this DNA has come from.

This was so interesting to find out, and it also got me thinking, who in my family do I think could be part of a certain population. And I’ve since asked my family members that I’m close too, about what they know about their own ancestry and it’s sparked some really cool conversations!

I also paid to do the health reports from 23 and Me; so I got to find out about what my genetics say about my personality, appearance, carrier status, health risks, hobbies etc. To give you an idea of what a few things I found out (there’s about 5-7 reports when it comes to the health part so I’ll stick to a few very brief things):

• Likely to have blue or green eyes – That’s true, I have bright blue eyes.
• Likely to have lots of freckles – Also true, more so in summer!
• Likely to have lighter skin – True, and it’s no surprise now considering my heritage.
• I don’t have an athletes genetic makeup – so guess who’s not going to feel guilty about not enjoying exercise anymore….hahaha.

Here’s a few generations of the women in my family, featuring my incredible dad and nephew (we’re all a little nuts, but I love that about us!). So left to right we have my nephew and niece – such cheeky monkeys, my little sister, my parents, then below left is my granny and my great granny:

Now that I know more about my heritage, I am going to look further into my ancestry, and where I’m from. I also now feel like I know more about myself and why I am the way I am, because of my genetics. And it makes me want to go visit all of these amazing places I’m from even more now, because I have only been to Germany and I live in the UK!

To anyone wondering whether they should do something like this and find out about their genetic makeup, I’d highly recommend it,  especially if you’re unsure what your heritage is. I mean, I found out I’ve got 1,126 third, fourth and fifth cousins probably from a line in my 3rd set of great great grandparents!! And those are just the people who have already done a kit with 23 and Me, and they are from all over the globe! Maybe I’ll connect with them one day, who knows!

Family means the world to me, and I feel like I know mine a little better now. And I just want to thank all of the amazing women (and men, but you know.. it’s mother’s day) in my family for everything they have done and I want to wish them a very happy mothers day. You deserve everything!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you incredible mums, dads and other family members who are doing both roles out there. You’re so important and loved and I just want to remind you of that! Have a great weekend.

Love,

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

It’s just over 2 weeks until Mother’s Day 2019, so I thought it’d be a good time to put together my mother’s day gift guide! Even though I believe that you should show people how much you love and care for them all year round, it’s still nice to have a day to remember any loved ones who are no longer with us and show those who are, how much them mean to us.

I always feel that personal gifts are better, but sometimes it can be hard to find a gift that’s just right. So, lets get into it! (I decided to add links to gifts from notonthehighstreet.com and tk maxx because I personally like those sites for presents!)

1 . Food – Get your mum whatever her favourite treat is, it could be her favourite sweets, chocolate, takeaway or café treat! These cute biscuits can be found here!

2 . Jewellery – There’s loads of different pieces that you could get your mum, if your mum is a bracelet wearer, I suggest a simple bracelet which is symbolic of your relationship. Here’s the link to the bracelet pictured above for you to check out!

3 . Make it, or take her out for it. Breakfast – This is a traditional one, but you can’t really go wrong with this one, surprise your mum with breakfast in bed or take her out to a café that she has always wanted to go to or just loves going to!

4 . Flowers – If you’re mum likes getting flowers, why not buy her a bunch of her favourite kind with a new vase and if she isn’t a fan of getting flowers (or if she isn’t great at keeping them alive..) why not get her something that doesn’t require a load of attention, like succulents and cacti. Find this pretty vase set here!

5 . Personal photograph(s) – Get some of your mums favourite photos printed and framed, or go one step further and use some snaps you took in the past that she hasn’t seen and surprise her with them! If you’re looking for an idea on what to do with some photos, click here to find the copper plate above!

6 . Personalised glass or mug – If your mum is a gin and tonic lover, why not grab a pretty glass for her, and get her name or any inside jokes you have on it! Or if your mum is a tea drinker, get her a her own teapot and teacups! You can get the gin glass here!

7 . Handbag – My mum and I often go out shopping together, and from experience she always loves getting a new handbag, especially from Tk Maxx! This cute bag is from Tk Maxx and you can find it here.

8 . Treat your mum to a day doing whatever she wants – If you’re super stuck for ideas you can always ask her what she would like to do! It could be a spa day, relaxed day at home with her every need done for her or simply taking her out for lunch, the choice is theirs!!

9 . Things for your mum’s hobby/hobbies – My mum loves gardening, doing jigsaws, getting a massage, reading a good book and loads more, so why not get your mum something to do with her hobbies? Click here to check out the book subscription gift above!

10 . Smellies – As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found I enjoy getting smellies more and more, if your mum has a favourite brand for makeup, smellies or candles, you can’t go wrong in picking up some of them! This gift bag can be found here!

Those are just a few ideas for what you can get for your mum, and at the end of the day, it’s the thought that counts. Plus, I’m sure letting your mum know how much she means to you, how much you value her and everything she’s done for you will make her very happy.

If you’re still stuck for ideas, pay attention to what your mum has been liking, loving and needing over the next two weeks and use that to get something she’ll like. And if you’re beyond stuck, just ask her what she’d like to do! I’m sure she’ll be happy to tell you what she’d want to do, and sometimes that will actually allow you to get her exactly what she wants.

So, Happy Mother’s Day for two weeks time!! And thank you so much to all of the mums, granny’s and great grandmas out there for everything you do. Have a great weekend lovelies!!

Love,

*all images of gifts were taken from notonthehighstreet.com and tk maxx

1 Year Of Blogging.

Yesterday was my Blog’s first birthday/my Blogiversary!! I can’t quite believe that I’ve been blogging for a year already.. it’s gone so so fast! So in order to mark this occasion, I thought it’d be quite nice if we went for a trip down memory lane of the past year!

It’s safe to say that I’ve changed a lot in the last 12 months..

From February 2018 – 2019:

Now!

It’s amazing how much I’ve changed over the last year. And I think a lot of that is down to blogging, and how much blogging has helped me find myself and who I want to become. I’m now so much more confident than before and I’ve learnt to be apologetically myself within all of my perfect imperfections.

Since the start of my blog, I’ve managed to write 56 posts and I’ve enjoyed writing every single one. I can’t wait to write hundreds more and I’m so grateful to all of my subscribers for your support.

Instead of deciding which post/posts are my favourite for the year, I’ve decided to pick a favourite one for each month!

So, what’ve been my favourite posts over the last year?

February’18 :

• And So The Journey Begins… – After all, that’s where it all began!

March’18 :

• Going Minimalist – That transformation and clear out was so much fun, and I now clear out my stuff every three months and donate what I don’t need anymore!

April’18 :

• A Letter To My 10 Year Old Self – This one was hard but good to write, and I think this is a great way for anyone to reflect on their past.

May’18 :

• How I Lost 42lbs – Because this one is something I get asked a lot, so it was nice to explain how I lost my weight healthily.

June’18 :

• I Tried BoomBod For A Week – I loved this post, because I love testing out products so people know whether or not something does what it claims to do!

July’18 :

• Wedding Guest Outfits – I had a lot of fun picking out those outfits, and looking back on them makes picking out outfits for weddings so much easier.

August’18 :

• My Acne Journey – This one took a few months collecting photos, but it’s so nice to be able to see what a transformation my skin has been through.

September’18 :

• Giveaway Time! – I loved being able to send two of my lovely subscribers little gift boxes!

October’18 :

• Rainbow Cake Recipe – This post took a good few weeks to put together, purely for the fact that there were so many photos and instructions to write up and edit!

November’18 :

• Why I Started Blogging – Because it was nice to share with you all what made me begin blogging and what continues to motivate me.

December’18 :

• Why I’m Refusing To Make New Years Resolutions About My Body – This one was a super important one for me as new years resolutions are something I always made about my body.

January’19 :

• Body Positive Instagrams You Need To Follow – This one was a lot of fun to write, as I’m so glad I got to share all of those amazing positive accounts with you!

And then for February it has to be this post of course!!

For the next years coming I can’t wait to write more about fashion, going out, mental health, my life and everything lifestyle related.

I’m also thinking about the possibility of starting vlogging along with writing; what do you think about vlogging with blogging? Is that something you’d like to see from me? Let me know in the comments! (granted I may do it anyway, but it’d be nice to know if that’s something you’d like to see from me!).

I hope you liked today’s walk down memory lane with me my lovelies! This last year has been amazing, and that’s all thanks to you, my incredible subscribers and followers! Have a great weekend lovelies!!

Love,

Valentines Day Gifts

The first month of the year is coming to an end already, and you know what that means.. Valentines Day. Now, I personally think that we should all just show each other how much we love one another year round, but I get that Valentines is a nice way to make someone feel extra special.

I also think that Valentines Day is a day that we can all use as an excuse (even though we don’t need one..) to give ourselves some love, and remind ourselves of how amazing and special we are.

I know that a lot of us search for ‘Valentines gifts for…’ when it comes to finding a Valentines Day gift for our special someone, so I’ve done this gift guide in categories with gifts I would buy for my other half and of course what I would like myself! Both will include unisex, personal, DIY and funny gifts from different price ranges! (*all images taken from the websites linked and do not belong to me)

A lot of these gift ideas are the same for both sexes in my opinion but everyone knows what they like and have a idea of what their friend, partner or special person likes.

Valentines Day ‘Guy’de’ (get it haha):

1 . Personalised Jewellery.

You can get each piece of jewellery here – the letter necklaces, the minimalist bar necklaces and the personalised birthstone bracelet here.

2 . Watch.

You can grab the first, black watch here, the white one here and the rose gold one here!

3 . USB Mix Tape.

This is a DIY one, but you can buy the cassette tape with the memory stick here and the personalised memory stick here! This is one of my favourite ones, because it requires so much thought, ans we all know that it’s the thought that counts!

4 . The Five Senses.

This one is personal to who you’re buying for, which is why I love this one!

5 . Makeup Vouchers.

This one doesn’t need a photo, because we all know what gift cards look like! If you have a makeup lover, they will love this.

6 . Memory frame/box/bottle.

You can get the frame here, the bottle here and the memory box here.

7 . Breakfast in bed with a surprise day out.

Here’s a pretty breakfast for the photo for this one, because the day out is personal to the person, pick something they’ll not expect you to have picked that you know they’ll love!

8 . A personal piece of art or an inside joke made into a gift.

You can grab the ‘things I love about you’ piece here, the photo collage here and the wooden planisphere here!

 

Girls Guide to Valentines:

1 . Watch.

The first watch here is more pricey than the others, but you can grab it here, the silver watch here and the pocket watch here!

2 . USB Mix tape.

This is exactly the same as the mix tape from the ‘Guy’de’ so I will just leave the link for the cassette tape and USB here and the personalised memory stick here!

3 . Favourite Sweets Hamper.

You can grab the post box sweets here, the haribo and marshmallow tree here and the wonka inspired chocolate box here!

4 . The Five Senses.

This is the same idea as the one above, but with slightly different items!

5 . A new game, with snacks for a game day/night.

I don’t feel like this one needs a photo, because everyone has different game preferences! It doesn’t even have to be a game night, it could be binge watching your favourite series or movies!

6 . Remember when box – with funny and sweet memories handwritten memories.

Very similar to the other memory box one, but this one is with handwritten memories inside, ideally write as many as you can to fill the box or book or page! You can get the poster here, the box here and the book here.

7 . Wallet keepsakes – a photo of you together or even a cute saying or inside joke you have!

You can get the silver card with a map (it comes in other colours) here, the gold card (also in other colours) here and the photo with tiny letter here! I personally love the tiny love letter and photo one the most, and think its perfect for everyone; including if you’re getting it for yourself, because why not send yourself a reminder of how lovely you are!

8 . Surprise day out.

I won’t include a photo for this gift either purely because it’s very personal to every person! It doesn’t have to be an expensive day out, it could be so simple, why not a surprise picnic at lunch? Or even more romantic, bring blankets and candles and have a candle lit picnic!

Well, those are my ideas for Valentines Day gifts that you can get yourself or that special someone in your life! And although these are categorised, I think that you can get these for anyone in your life. It doesn’t matter if you have that special someone yet or not, you might not want a special someone in your life right now; it’s your choice and Valentines is a great day to show yourself some self love!

I know these are all gifts that cost money, but they also don’t have to! You can always use this gift guide as inspiration for gifts that you can make with things you probably have around the house! (the remember when memories are an easy one to do, along with the mix tape!) If you DIY any of these gifts let me know how it goes in the comments below, I always love reading and replying to them!

So have an amazing weekend and Valentines Day for the 14th my lovelies!

Love,

Birthday Reflections.

Thursday was my birthday!! Which means I ate cake, got pampered and did a bit of reflecting on what I want for the next year of my life. I guess it’s a little like new years resolutions but without the guilt if you break them. Reflecting on what I want for myself in the next months is something I’ve never really done before, but the time just feels right.

So, lets get into it!

1 . I am learning (and loving) how to be unapologetically myself.

2 . I want to wear whatever I want, no matter how wacky, weird or boring without fear of being judged, because my opinion is the only one that matters when it comes to my appearance!

How cute was my birthday outfit?! I love that jumper and accessories so much!

3 . Not feeling guilty for any food I eat or workouts that I don’t do.

4 . Be proud of myself for my little achievements.

5 . I want to schedule away at least one day a month for a selfcare day.

6 . Continue to push myself out of my comfort zone and try more new things.

7 . I want to read more books, I love reading but struggle to find stories I get sucked into, so I am on a mission to find some new books!

8 . Learning to love my hair when it’s natural and style it without heat.

9 . Continue blogging as it has brought me so much joy, and I love being creative!

10 . Giving people compliments when I like something about them, whether it’s a piece of clothing, their personality, attitude and/or anything really. It’s always nice bringing a smile to someone’s face, and you never know how much of a difference it can make to someone’s day.

Well, that’s what I’m going to be doing for this upcoming year, and I can’t wait to see what it’s going to throw at me! And I cant wait to see where I’m at in another years time.

So here’s to being another year older, wiser, happier and more comfortable in my own skin. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Love,

 

 

What Is Classed As Selfcare?

It’s #SelfcareWeek ! And it’s got me thinking, what do we actually think classes as selfcare? For me, I typically start thinking about face masks and bubble baths. And well yes that can be classed as selfcare; but as amazing as those things are, there are hundreds of other things you can do. And over the last few days, I’ve been partaking in a few of these myself.

The thought for this post came to me whilst I was walking home from the gym; it occurred to me that even though I think of lots of luxurious things as self-care, there are lots of small things I do for myself that make me feel good, and these count too.

Here’s a few things I’ve been doing for myself that aren’t always considered self-care:

• Going to the gym, and doing what I want there, if I don’t feel like doing the stair climber today, I just don’t do it and I refuse to feel guilty about it!)
• Buying myself a hot chocolate when walking home after going to the gym.
• Putting on my moisturizer.
• Listening to the Peptalk app (I highly recommend this one for when you’re commuting and walking anywhere, it’s a great motivational tool!)
• Watching videos by Glamour, Ladylike, As/Is and the Try Guys.
• Self Affirmations.
• Watching Nikkietutorials (believe it or not I watch Nikkie’s videos when I’m at the gym and they make me so happy!)
• Cleaning my room.
• Playing with makeup.
• Putting on makeup when I’m not going anywhere!
• Lighting scented candles.
• Having a bubble bath.
• Unfollowing any social media profiles that make me feel bad about myself.
• Watching my favourite films.
• Cooking my favourite food.
• Singing in the shower.
• Talking to friends.
• Finishing work ON TIME.
• Related to the above – not looking at work emails when I’m off work.
• Making myself a great breakfast.
• Blogging.
• Painting, drawing and being creative.
• Getting 7/8 hours sleep.
• Wearing thermal socks.
• Using a 99p face mask.
• Chatting to my sister.
• Seeing my Niece and Nephew on FaceTime reeking havoc in my sisters house.
• Driving round to look at Christmas Lights when they go up.
• Making myself a cup of tea.
• Meeting up with friends for a chat/food/movies (basically spending time with the important people in your life)
• Wearing my favourite clothes.

Honestly the list could go on and on. I love selfcare, sometimes I do still feel selfish or guilty for spending time on ourselves, but we really shouldn’t. We’re stuck with ourselves for life so we better take care of that person we see in the mirror.

And at the end of the day, if something makes you happy and feel good, it’s probably your own version of selfcare. We’re all different so it’s impossible to say that one thing will work for everyone; telling someone to go take a bubble bath to relax if they hate having baths is pretty pointless. It’s a personal thing.

Some of the things in my list you might not consider to be selfcare, but for me, they are. Just doing one small thing for yourself a day can make such a difference to your mood and wellbeing. And myself from a year ago would say something along the lines of “I’ll start next week or in the new year”, but that’s not how I think anymore, the time to start is now.

That’s all from me today, I’m off to go get myself a hot chocolate and sit in a blanket with a book. Have a great weekend lovelies! You’re all amazing!

Love,

P.S. The UK Blog Awards are now open for voting! It’d mean the world to me if you could vote for me my lovelies!! 

Why I Started Blogging

 

Hello my lovelies! I can’t believe we’re in November already!

So, I’ve been blogging for a few months now, and something I get asked quite often when people I know find out I have a blog is why did I start blogging? What pushed me into pursuing blogging for myself?

Well, this week I’m going to let you into the reasons what made me want to start theweightofmyworlds and what pushed me to actually going forward and creating/publishing my blog!

Part of the idea to start blogging came after reading many blogs and thinking about how amazing and fun they look to write. When the initial thought popped into my head to begin my own blog I thought maybe I should just treat it like a sort of journal or diary of my life? And then I thought back to doing English at school and never being amazing and doubted my ability to write.. however, even though I wasn’t great at the typical English lessons it did occur to me that I was pretty good at writing as if I were talking to people and doing some creative writing.

As you can imagine, all of these thoughts to start writing popped into my head as I were about to go to sleep (which is when I seem to get the most motivation to do stuff, am I the only one with this??). So, I decided to type the general idea into my phone reminders so it would pop up in the morning and actually remind me of last nights idea to start my blog, which it did.

For a few weeks after this I then put off beginning my blog because I still doubted myself a bit and I just needed that extra push. And that came in the form of my younger sister Phoebe.

Here’s my younger sister Phoebe, without her giving me one of my initial ideas to start blogging, I wouldn’t be where I am today!

Well believe it or not what pushed me into starting my own blog was when I thought of a project I wanted to do to help my sister as she was growing up (she’s growing up way too fast for my liking!). I wanted to create her a sort of ‘guide’ for everything that she’ll go through growing up and going through school. And then it occurred to me that that can become easily outdated and with technology moving forward so quickly that maybe I should just go for it and create my own blog that she can visit for advice and general life stuff.

Whilst all of this was swimming round in my head, a bit of a life re-adjustment (well I guess that’s what I would call it?) happened for me. That was the final push I needed to really kick start what you’re reading this on today!

The life adjustment that pushed me to start my own blog was that I began my own recovery journey from an eating disorder. I know, heavy stuff.. I’ll be brief (there’s previous posts about this you can find on here anyway) and I thought that writing my story and things that I go through would help me in that recovery. And that’s part of why my blog is called ‘The Weight Of My Worlds’.

Since beginning my blog it has allowed me to really own what I want to talk about. I love speaking up about body positivity, de-bunking fads that do no good to our mental health, talking about fashion, food, fun projects from Pinterest that are actually feasible.. telling you all about my weird, wonderful and down right funny life experiences and generally interacting with this amazing community that I have been welcomed into with open arms.

I was actually planning on writing this post for my blog’s one year anniversary, but I decided that what better time to talk about how far The Weight Of My Worlds and I have come than now. Reflecting on your achievements and what/who pushed you towards doing great things not only for yourself but others too is a great thing that we shouldn’t have to make a plan or schedule talking about it. Any time is a great time to celebrate your own victories! Especially the small ones, they all add up to great memories.

Why did you start blogging? What do you love about it? Let me know in the comments!

And with that my lovelies, that’s all from me today! Have a great weekend everyone!

Love,