Tag: self love

Cute Outfits And New Purchases.

Cute Outfits And New Purchases.

by Victoria ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello my loves, I hope you’re having a fabulous July so far! This month I finally got my last few assignments signed off for my level 4 in digital marketing which I’ve been looking forward to for what feels like the longest time. And now that my college work is all finished, I’ve got something new to look forward to – a trip away at the beginning of August! So, to prep for my little trip away next month I started having a think about all of the cute outfits I could bring along with me; which brings me to today post, some of my current favourite outfits and new purchases!

Over the last year and a half I’ve expanded my wardrobe and style so so much and that’s because I finally found the most essential item you need in your wardrobe..

CONFIDENCE!!

It sounds cheesy I know, but it’s true, having confidence and feeling great makes anything look good. Just over a year ago I was so self-conscious about how I looked and continually put my body down, and since then I’ve been on a huge self-love journey and I’m happy to say that 9 days out of 10 I have a good body love day, and on the day that I’m not feeling as great about my body as usual, I still accept my body and thank it for what it does for me.

So, now that you know that confidence is the best item in your wardrobe, here’s some cute outfits that I love to wear that I wouldn’t dream of wearing before! A lot of my favourite crop tops are from Shein because your girl is on a budget, but I’ve also got some really cute trousers and other pieces from sustainable brands like Lucy and Yak.

(Just an FYI – I’m not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned in this post but I’ve included the links to each item so you can find them easily if you wanted to get yourself any of the pieces below!)

First up we’ve got some super cute crop tops from Shein. The first four pictured are a similar shape which I found comfy and surprisingly supportive for bigger chested people (I’m an E cup for reference in case you’re wanting to pick any of these tops up) and then the two gingham tops are backless – strappy back tops which are very supportive because you can adjust the straps as you wish.

Next up we’ve got some more crop tops from Shein and two from Pretty Little Thing, the first four are Shein and the last two are Pretty Little Thing. The Shein ones are just super comfy and crop tops paired with comfy high waisted jeans and trousers are now an everyday go-to for me, and the other two are super cute for dressing up or down. I especially love the blue and white corset top because it looks so nice tucked into my jeans and gives you a really nice shape whilst still being super comfy to wear so it’s great for going out to drinks and dinner because it’s still comfy after you’ve eaten!

You know when you love a print so much that you want everything in it? Yeah, that’s how I felt when I saw this green spongebob-esk print so naturally I got it in 3 different tops! Each one is so cute and makes me feel fab everytime I wear them. (These are also Shein!).

Onto dresses! If you know me well, you know I’m not really a dress kind of gal, mainly because I always feel like I’m going to flash everyone and I struggle to find ones that I like on me due to being petite (length is usually an issue), but after buying these on a whim to continue getting out of my comfort zone I found that the different shapes and lengths these dresses are look great on! The first two are Shein and the last one is Pretty Little Thing. My personal favourite out of these three is the second one because it’s extremely supportive for big chests and is fitted in all the right places, oh and it’s lined!!

Next up we’ve got my collection of gorgeous trousers and dungarees from Lucy and Yak! They are one of my all time favourite clothing brands because not only do all their clothes fit and feel super comfortable, they’re also a smaller business who are all about sustainable clothing! And do I even need to mention how beautiful their prints are?!? And also if you were wondering, the blue mom jeans featured in my other outfits are also from Lucy and Yak and they are the comfiest best fitting jeans I’ve every bought – they’re actually high waisted rather than high rise so they sit at just the right place. The clothes are a bit pricier than other brands but 1000% worth it in my mind!

Finally we’ve got some cycle shorts and tee’s combos! I always though I couldn’t pull off the cute bike shorts and tee combos, but after debating it I bought some and now I’ve managed to gather a collection of around 8 pairs of cute patterned/coloured shorts with tee’s that look really cute with them (they’re currently in the wash but I’ve got a blue gingham pair, lilac gingham pair, black and white checked pair, pink pair, two black pairs and the two shown below). My personal favourite of these is the green gingham outfit because it’s just so cute! All of my cycle short outfits make me feel so badass and as a bonus they’re incredibly comfy!! Plus these are perfect for these really hot days where you just want to be comfy. And plus plus, you don’t get chub rub with cycle shorts!! (The Bambi tee is H&M, the green gingham shorts and cherry shorts are Asos and the Coca Cola tee is Primark!).

And that’s all of my cute outfits that I’ve got to show you for today! Maybe in a future post I’ll give you a rundown of all the cute outfits I decide to take with me on my upcoming trip away so you can see how I plan on packing for a week away in the UK during Summer (I’m pretty much 100% sure I’ll be over-packing so it’ll be interesting to see if I can keep my packing light!).

What’s your favourite piece or outfit from today’s post? Let me know in the comments below!

And remember, it doesn’t really matter what you’re wearing as long as you feel good. Your opinion about yourself is what matters, so go out, treat the world as your runway and wear what makes you feel good.

Have a fab day my lovelies!

Love,

Victoria Signature
Cute Outfits and New Purchases Pin

25 Things I Want To Do Before I Turn 30.

25 Things I Want To Do Before I Turn 30.

by Victoria ♥ 1 Comment

Happy Saturday my lovelies! This past weekend I turned 25 and got to join the quarantine birthday gang. Since I couldn’t (and still can’t) go out or do anything for my birthday I decided to chill out with a slice of cake, low-alcohol wine and an episode of the Great Pottery Throwdown; which honestly is probably how I would’ve ended my birthday anyway being an introvert and little old lady at heart.

One of my Christmas presents was a gratitude journal so I’ve also been reflecting on what I’m grateful for, what lessons I’ve learnt over the last 25 years and I’ve also decided to make a list of things I want to do before I turn 30.

Things I’m grateful for are:

  • My body for getting me where I am today – even though I live with chronic pain, I’m grateful for what my body allows me to do.
  • My imagination and creativity.
  • My family and friends.
  • My job – it’s honestly the best job I’ve ever had and that’s not only because I love me work family but I also love making an impact in the mental health and addiction sector.
  • My newfound ability to not care what others think of how I look.
  • Finding witchcraft.
  • Music – it helps me find motivation, brings me joy and always helps me unwind.
  • For finding myself again over the last year.

So, onto the 25 things I want to do before I turn 30 (in no particular order):

A Selfie of Vickie in a sweatervest, turtle kneck with curly hair.
Birthday Selfie! (Still baby-faced as ever)

Go to pride in London – I wanted to go last year but obviously due to covid we couldn’t, so hopefully by 2022 we can have an in person pride!

Buy my own home – at the moment I’m living at home with my family and saving up for a deposit so I can get a mortgage in a year or two.

Have a full diagnosis of my chronic back pain – if you didn’t know already, I’m a spoonie and have been going back and forth for over 4 years trying to find out what causing my back pain (you can read more about it here!).

Travel somewhere by myself – you always hear about these transformational travels people go on and I want to experience that!

Get a new car – mine happens to be slowly deteriorating on my driveway at the moment..but I’m also not going anywhere so it’s pointless replacing it until we can go out again.

Learn another language well enough to be able to actually have some form of simple conversation with others – I’m currently learning Spanish with the trusty ‘ole Duolingo.

Go to one of the sleepovers at the Natural History museum!

Get two more tattoos – a big one of peonies and another of a robin.

Learn how to code – I’m already learning this and know a decent amount, but it’s always good to keep learning and I want to be able to remember all of the different codes without needing to triple check them.

Take a fitness/dance class without feeling self-conscious – when I say that I look like a robot who has two left feet I’m not exaggerating.

Try throwing pottery – I’ve just never had the opportunity to do and love sculpting with clay in general.

Take a full life drawing course – I’ve dipped in and out of life drawing lessons over the years and I always absolutely loved them so I want to make them a regular thing when we can all meet up again.

Join or form a book club – I just need to read more to be honest and when I find a book I love I read it in about 4 days and then can’t find a book I like for ages.

Learn how to animate – I’ve made a start on this already by learning how to do basic animations in procreate but I want to get better at it!

Fully understand how taxes and all the other finance stuff works that we should’ve been taught in school.

Have a decent amount of money saved for emergencies.

Design and sew an entire outfit – I love the Great British Sewing Bee and I have an A-Level in textiles but I never give myself the proper amount of time to actually finishing sewing projects.

Sell some of my art – I’ve made art all my life and been too scared to actually sell it even when people say it’s great, so I think it’s about time I actually believe it when people say they would buy my work.

Have a solid morning and night routine.

Make more friends – I have less than 3 friends outside of my work family so I really need to learn how to make friends as an adult. If anyone knows how to do this please tell me hahaha.

Get better at swimming – I am an extremely weak swimmer.

Try more food – I’ve been a fussy eater all my life and I’m slowly getting better. Progress is still progress no matter how small.

Grow my hair as long as I can stand it now that it’s healthy – and then maybe I’ll shave it again and donate it for charity? Who knows?!

Do something that scares me.

Learn to stand up for myself when a boundary is crossed.

And those are my 25 things I want to do over the next 5 years. One of the biggest things on that list is getting my own place, and I can’t wait for the time when that happens, not only because it’ll be my own place, but also because I love interior design and can’t wait to decorate and make the place my own. Another thing I can’t wait to do is go to pride because it’s just such an uplifting time filled with celebration, community and love and to be there in person will be amazing.

You may have noticed that there are two things I’ve missed from my list that people my age are quite likely to include which is getting married and having kids. Well, I’m currently single, and believe it or not over the last year I’ve realised that I don’t actually mind being by myself; that doesn’t mean there aren’t days when I feel lonely, it just means that I’m fine with being by myself if that’s what happens in the end. And on the kids front, I’ve always imagined myself having kids one day, in fact when I was younger I thought I’d have kids by the time I’m 25, but as time has gone one I’ve realised that I’ll just have kids when I’m ready instead of putting a proper timescale on it. And if I do end up not having the ability to have children by myself for whatever reason (whether it’s because I’m by myself or if I’m in a relationship and it’s not possible) then I’ll either adopt, get a donor or foster.

It’s funny to me how much I’ve changed over the last year. I used to think that I needed to have so many big life events happen before 25 or before 28 and I would put stupid time frames on events you haven’t always got control of; and that was because I kept seeing people on social media my age having kids, getting married and buying their own places already. But what I completely forgot is that photo of house keys or engagement ring isn’t the entire story, and the majority of people feel like they’re behind. I’ve also realised that I’ve actually done a hell of a lot in the time I’ve been on earth, and I’m pretty proud of what I’ve achieved so far!

So here’s to year 25 and whatever it shall bring!

Have a great weekend my loves!

Love,

Victoria Signature

25 Things I Want To Do Before 30.
Before i Turn 30.
Self Worth And Self Love.

Self Worth And Self Love.

by Victoria ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello my lovelies! We’re one month away from Summer being over, and there’s only 134 days left of the year, and I’ve been doing some reflecting. You see, a lot has happened for me over this last year; and that’s not including the shit show that 2020 has been for the world. Other than 2020 throwing everything at us, this year has been a big year for me in terms of personal growth and transformation.

To list a few of the big things that’ve happened this year for me:

  • I left an 8 year relationship.
  • I came out as Pansexual to everyone I know.
  • I finally started looking after my body and actively changing my thought process around my appearance.
  • I finally started looking after my skin.
  • I’ve started dating.
  • I’ve been running my own freelance business for 10 months.
  • I shaved my head.
  • I made myself a priority.
  • I finally found out what has been causing my chronic back pain for the last 4 years.

Basically, I’ve had a lot going on these past months. And I think I’m finally beginning to realise what I want for myself, and I’ve certainly finally started seeing my own self worth.

This hasn’t been like a light bulb thing for me, it’s been something that I’ve been working on for a long time and has been something I’ve also wanted to write about for a long time too. And the reasoning behind me only just writing this now is because I’m in a place of self acceptance and self love; it always seemed like a weird idea to me to want to write a post about self love and self worth, because there’s still certain things I wouldn’t mind changing about myself, so how on earth could I preach to others about loving yourself if I still had some things that I’d like to change?

But then I remembered that the fact that I’m aware of that and on this journey of self love and knowing my worth is just proof that I’m human and we all have days where we’d change something if we could.

Bottom line though: I’m in a place of acceptance and neutrality with who I am, most days I love myself, and there’s days when I’m just not feeling it, and both are ok and valid.

Loving yourself and who you’re becoming is not big headed or selfish, but being happy with who you are, knowing your worth and not feeling like you need to change to meet someone elses view on what you should or shouldn’t look/speak/act like. Just being comfortable being yourself.

I haven’t spoken a lot about my break up from my long term relationship at the start of the year, but part of the reason why that ended was because I started to realise that I had changed who I was to fit someone else’s ideals and I felt guilty for being myself! I also didn’t really know what I wanted in my future anymore, so it was time to go out and find myself again. And, after 6 months, I now have a very strong idea of what I want for my future, who I am and my worth.

One of the other big things that has helped me change my view of myself was shaving my head. I’ve always wanted to shave my head, and it’s honestly the most liberating thing I’ve ever done; it forced me to start looking at how I see my own beauty, because my hair has always been a security blanket, so without it, I had to start seeing myself in a new light. In this new, badass, give no fucks what others think about my appearance sort of way. And since then, that’s kind of been my motto when it comes to how I look!

Another thing that I now live by is just being completely unapologetically myself. Loving yourself and knowing your worth isn’t being vain or thinking that you’re above everyone else; it’s simply knowing that you’re pretty amazing, and worthy of happiness and great things.

So what are some tips for building up your self love and self worth?

Know your worth photo.
  • Tell yourself one nice thing about yourself every day. (cheesy I know, but after doing this for a while things’ll start to sink in)
  • If you struggle with body positivity, I highly recommend the 30 day nude challenge. Now, I know how that sounds, but it’s simply taking a photo of yourself every single day (you don’t have to send them to anyone – they’re for your eyes only), without filters or trying to suck in or change your shape can really help you realise that your body is beautiful as it is, and you don’t need to change it to be some instagram model lookalike. I did this challenge myself and it’s made me appreciate how my body looks and now I see it in a completely new positive light, rather than something to be ashamed or embarrassed of. Also, you’ll see how your pictures change over the course of the 30 days, they usually seem better and better and that’s because you start feeling more confident which in return radiates from your photos!
  • Wear clothes that make you happy.
  • Do something out of your comfort zone. It hasn’t got to be anything big, just something that makes you nervous or anxious, so you can prove to yourself how strong you actually are.
  • Acknowledge that you aren’t going to love everything about yourself every single day, and that’s ok.
  • Date yourself. You know that warm fuzzy feeling you get when someone treats you? Well did you know that you can give yourself that same feeling by treating yourself that way others do? Something I’m doing is dating myself, so every week or so I’ll take myself out on a date (or have a home date – you know, coronavirus and all that) and I’ll show myself a little love!
  • Have boundaries. Learn to say no every now and again. I’m super guilty of saying yes and agreeing to do things when I may not have the time or just might not want to, so something I’m working on is actually saying no when I need to. You don’t have to be rude or anything, just simply saying “sorry, I’ve got too much on at the moment” or “No, sorry” will do the job, and having those boundaries in place will help you not only have more time to get what you need to get done, but also you’ll learn that saying no does not make you a bad person.
  • Do something that makes you feel good. Whether that’s singing, dancing, drawing, reading, watching a movie, working out, do what makes you happy.

And those are my self love and self worth tips! How are you doing with your self love journey? I think self love is an ongoing journey for most of us, and it’s important to celebrate ourselves and the little victories we have! What’s your most recent achievement? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, as you may have guessed, over the last few weeks a lot has been happening in my life, so for the new few months posts might be fortnightly, but once everything has settled down my posting schedule will be back to normal again!

Have a great bank holiday my lovelies! Love,

Victoria Blog Signature
Self worth and self love pin

My Favourite Outfits.

My Favourite Outfits.

by Victoria ♥ 1 Comment

Hello my lovelies! I hope you’ve been finding some time to relax and look after yourselves this week. This week I’m starting off today’s post a bit differently to how I normally would; and that’s because there are some important things that need to be said before we continue with my usual positive post for the week.

As we all know, protests are going on across the globe as police brutality and racism against the black community has not stopped and we as human beings need to actively be anti-racist. Too many lives have been taken and continue to be taken because of the colour of someone’s skin. Enough is enough. We cannot stand here and accept this. We will not.

I CAN'T BREATHE
Say their names. #BlackLivesMatter

To all of the black community:

I am not black, but I see you.

I am not black, but I hear you.

I am not black, but I mourn with you.

I am not black, but I will fight for you.

#BlackLivesMatter

I have white privilege, and that means that I cannot begin to understand the fear and pain the black community must go through every single day. Having white privilege also means that I can use my platform and privilege to help stop these injustices that are happening everyday.

If you can please go to blacklivesmatter.com and find out about your local peaceful protests and how you can do your part by donating to BlackLivesMatter, to bail funds, to Stand Up Against Racism, sign as many petitions as you can and educate yourself on your privilege and ensure that we are all more than just not being racist. We must be anti-racist.

Together we will have justice. If you’re going to protests please stay safe, here are some resources you can use to stay safe and support what is right. And to anyone who will say ‘All lives matter’ to this, yes, you’re right, all lives matter, and THAT is why black lives matter. You don’t truly believe that all lives matter until you are standing up for black lives, saying all lives matter right now is taking away from the voices who need to be heard, the black lives that need our help. And if you still don’t understand, watch this video which explains it perfectly:

I’m doing my part to stop the brutality that black people go through on a daily basis and I hope you will too.

Naturally because of everything that is going on at the moment we need to find time to look after ourselves. We must continue to fight and in order to do so, please look after yourselves, even if that’s just by making sure you’re carrying milk and water with you to protests and wearing your masks.

These times are hard and it can be hard to find a smile with everything going on (understandably and rightly so). So something I’ve been doing is wearing outfits that make me smile. And so, to hopefully give you at least five minutes of positivity today I’m going to be sharing them with you!

First up we’ve got some cute mom jean shorts with a black tee! I paired these with these amazing alien earrings and tiny black sunglasses which are just a complete vibe and I love them!

Next up we have this adorable check smock dress that I picked up from Tesco and it is just so comfy and I love that kind of grungy look you get when you pair a cute dress with black boots. Plus, since this is a smock dress, it’s super flown and perfect for those hotter days!

We’ve then got this button down cardigan paired with mom jeans I picked up from Tesco (F&F jeans are the best jeans and no one can convince me otherwise!) and some zebra print slip ons with rainbow heart hoops! I wasn’t sure how I wanted to wear this cardi at first but it’s so versatile that it goes with nearly everything! I chose to wear this cardigan by itself without a bra or top underneath because for one, it’s hot at the moment, and two – because why not!

Here’s that cute cardigan again, but this time I’ve put it with these incredible trousers I got from ASOS!

These trousers are so comfy because they’re high waisted, have little buckles on each side and on the ankles so you can adjust them and they are just plain (or rather not plain haha) adorable! And I think putting these with a simple black turtle neck (also ASOS) is such a cute look. I decided to accessories with black books for a grunge look and had to put my super cute iced coffee earrings with it to tie it all together! It’s one of my favourite looks of all, I just wish it was a little colder so I can wear it without overheating!

Next up is my cute all pink outfit. The variety in my style always makes me laugh, one second I can be seen in a super smart look, the next a grungy one, then super intimidating and then super soft. It all depends on my mood for the day. And this outfit is what I like to gravitate towards on those days where I want to wear pink and be all stereotypically cutesy! So, here I’ve got these baby pink cargo joggers with a checked pink crop top; and sometimes I like to add a white tee that I’ve cropped myself and add a white beanie to top it all off.

Here’s a smart, feminine and classy look that I love so much. Especially when I add the slim black sunglasses. Black mom jeans are comfy, look smart and are warm for those breezy days. I picked up the cardigan from ASOS (like a lot of these haha not sponsored, but it could be – ASOS.. I doubt you’re reading this but if you are, feel free to hit me up!) which has a nice 90’s vibe because of the black tiny ruffle trim which is cute by itself or open with a cute crop top and then I decided on these black flats that I’ve had for way over 5 years but have hardly ever worn, and I don’t know why I haven’t because they’re so unique and class up any outfit!

Last but certainly not least, we have one of my all time favourite looks. It’s certainly not cold enough for this outfit but I love it so much I had to include it. Here we’ve got an oversized grey SuperDry jumper with a black skort and black tights and boots. Oh, and of course I had to have the statement black sunnies make an appearance too. This look makes me feel so cute and I cant help but have happy vibes when I wear it. Plus, can we just appreciate how absolutely adorable this skort is!

And those are my favourite outfits! My style really does depend on how I’m feeling and what I want my mood for the day to be. If I’m feeling artsy and it’s chilly I’ll probably go for something like the tartan trousers, and if I’m feeling like I want to be effortless then I might go for the black mom jeans – cream cardi combo and if I’m feeling like I want to be cutesy then I might wear any of my dungarees or my pink cargo joggers.

Basically I wear what I want, when I want. And the motto I stand by when it comes to getting dressed and style is that you should wear what makes you happy, feel beautiful, confident and like you.

Love who you are and embrace yourself. Anything you wear will look good if you feel good.

Well, that’s it from me for today! What are your favourite outfits? How would you describe your style? Mines definitely eclectic! Let me know yours in the comments or tag me in your looks on insta @theweightofmyworlds!

Stay safe out there and love yourself.

Love,

My Favourite Outfits Pin
Taking Some Me Time.

Taking Some Me Time.

by Victoria ♥ 3 Comments

Happy Saturday my lovelies! This week we’re talking me-time. Self-care. Down-Time. Whatever you like to call it, I’m letting you into how I like to make time for myself.

We all have stressful days here and there, and we all deal with them in different ways, so this week I’m hoping to either give you some ideas on how you can make time for yourself. Or this’ll just be a healthy reminder of some of the small things you’re already doing without realising it’s something you do to make yourself feel good as self-care.

Self-care is often perceived as a bubble bath and a face mask in my eyes, and don’t get me wrong, those’re definitely I like to do to relax too, but there’s loads of other small things I do for some me-time.

So, enough blabbering from me, here’s what I like to do!

Get an early nights sleep.

Good night sleep

Who doesn’t like staying in bed? If we love having lay-ins so much why not go to bed earlier and have longer in bed? I struggle to actually stay in bed once I’ve woken up – which is usually around 7 without my alarm so going to bed earlier let’s me have at least an extra hour in bed without feeling like I’ve wasted the next day.

Spending time on my hair.

hair care

Ever since I decided I wasn’t going to straighten my natural curls and waves anymore, I started taking care of my hair in a way that I have never done before. Before I’d brush it like mad, hate the frizz and straighten it everyday all whilst using sulfates and silicones on my hair damaging it. Whereas now I do bi-weekly protein and moisture hair masks, use more natural hair products and I avoid using heat at all costs. It takes more time than before, but I like to listen to my favourite music and spend that time in the moment, relaxing.

Organising my things.

organisation

I love a tidy room. And I’ve learnt overtime that when I begin to see mess piling up in my room it’s a sign that mental health is taking a dip. So I then take time to get everything organised and make sure that I do spend some more time doing things that make me feel good(in other words, what’s on this list!).

Taking a bubble bath.

Bubble Bath

It’s a classic I know, but I won’t deny that I enjoy a big bubble bath with candles, Netflix on my laptop and a nice cold drink. There’s not much else to say about that one!

Listening to my body.

snacks in bed

This is new to me. Something you may or may not know about me is that I struggle with back problems (I’ll do a post about it all at some point!), and for me that means that I’m near enough in some form of constant pain. Sucks I know, but life goes on! Because I’m often in pain, over time I stopped listening to what my body needs and then suffering because of it. So recently I’m trying to actually listen to how my body is feeling and if I’m struggling then I give myself permission to simply stay home in my bed with snacks.

Doing my physio exercises.

physio

Leading on from my last one, when I’m in pain that can be an indicator that I should try doing some more of my physio exercises to try and ease my pain. Plus, this helps me in the long run, and it’s time well spent since it then make the next day a bit easier on my body!

Reading a good book.

book

Who doesn’t like to curl up somewhere cosy with a good book? I’m currently reading ‘Happy Fat’ by Sofie Hagen and I’m loving it. It’s all about loving yourself, how society continues to spread fat phobic messages (whether we’re aware of it or not) and why you should stop hating your body.

Making myself a cup of tea.

reading

If you’ve been here since the start of  ‘The Weight Of My Worlds’ then you’ll know that I’m a bit of a tea addict.. which is why I’ve recently switch to exclusively decaf tea! And I try to stay mindful when I’m making my tea and of course I just love a good cuppa. Bonus points if it’s in a super cute mug like this!

Watching old TV series’ that I love.

Although disputed, I love old TV series that are no longer in circulation or that came out years ago, in particular crime/CSI style shows like Bones, Castle, NCIS, CSI and so many more. That doesn’t make me weird does it? Well.. I don’t care anyway haha it’s great television.

Spending time on my hobbies.

Drawing

I have a long long list of hobbies, most of them creative. So I like to spend time drawing, painting, sculpting, up-cycling, sewing, playing the piano and interior design. I can’t count how many times I’ve redone my room in some way, in fact, I’m actually re-painting mine as we speak!

Styling clothes.

  • outfit
  • outfit
  • outfit

You look good when you feel good, right? I certainly do. Plus I was known for changing my outfit multiple times a day when I was younger, but what can I say, I like to change things up! I wear different styles depending on my mood and creating and styling clothes based on that is always fun.

And that’s it from me! Those are some of the things that I like to do when I’m needing some me-time. There’s more, but I think we’d be here for quite some time! It’s important to make some time for yourself, because you matter and self-care is NOT selfish.

What do you like to do when you need time for yourself? Did you get some new ideas from here? Or did you not realise you might already be practising some self-care without realising it? Let me know in the comments!

Might I suggest spending some time this bank holiday for yourself? Have a good one my lovelies!

Love,

Victoria Blog Signature
me time selfcare pin
I Embraced My Natural Curls.

I Embraced My Natural Curls.

by Victoria ♥ 4 Comments

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.

Straight Hair

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.

Curly Girl hair roots

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!

root hair comb
root hair comb

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:

Straight Hair
Curled hair

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

Curly Girl Day 1
Curly Girl Day 1
Curly Girl Day 1

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:

Curly Girl hair 2
Curly Girl hair 2
Curly Girl hair 2

Curly Girl hair 3
Curly Girl hair 3

Curly Girl hair 4
Curly Girl hair 4
Curly Girl hair 4

Curly Girl hair 5
Curly Girl hair 5
Curly Girl hair 5

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

Curly Girl hair
Curly Girl hair

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,

Victoria Blog Signature

 

 

I Hate My Belly, So I Got My Belly Button Pierced.

I Hate My Belly, So I Got My Belly Button Pierced.

by Victoria ♥ 8 Comments

Hello my lovelies!! It’s Saturday again, and you know what that means… blog post! And this week I’m talking about something I never thought I’d do. As an experiment I decided to get my belly button pierced in order to learn to love my stomach.Belly button

I’ve wouldn’t say I’ve had a love-hate relationship with my stomach. It’s pretty much always been more of a hate-hate relationship. And it wasn’t until recently, when I was having a chat with my mum about my relationship with my body image that she told me about how having her belly button pierced years ago that it’s helped her to love her stomach.

It’s funny to me to think that my mum has issues with her stomach, because she looks incredible, and I can’t see any flaws with her stomach, she’s had 4 kids and still looks amazing!! She told me that when she got her belly button pierced, it made her focus go to the piercing, and not all of the little things she thought were flaws. And voila, she now doesn’t hate her stomach!

Also, I would just like to add in here, you haven’t got to have a flat stomach to have a naval piercing that looks great. They look great on anyone, especially if you have confidence! So don’t think that you shouldn’t get a piercing because you haven’t necessarily seen a photo anyone of someone with your body type with one, because that’s what I thought. And guess what? I was wrong!

So.. After umming and ahhing over whether or not I like belly button piercings and whether or not I would look good with one (I don’t know why I tried to work out if it would look good on me.. as someone who doesn’t like her belly, in my mind, of course I wouldn’t suit it!); I decided that I should just do it!

After all, what’s the worst that could happen? I could hate my stomach still, or I could love it! Lucky for me, it was the latter.

One thing I will say is that if you do decide to go and get a piercing or any kind of body modification, please do your research! I personally watched the video below and spoke to lots of people who had it done and checked out reviews from tattoo and piercing shops. Once I’d done all of that, I felt a lot better about getting pierced because I knew what I was getting myself into!

Pre-warning: if you’re a little squeamish, skip past the video!

It’s been a week now since I got my stomach pierced and safe to say, I absolutely LOVE it! And for those out there wondering if it hurt, I won’t lie, it did; but it only hurt for the few seconds it was being done and after that I didn’t feel any pain.

Two things I would recommend if you ever get a naval piercing is to one – make sure you’re cleaning it well (I used rock salt water twice a day) and to wear loose clothes around your stomach or wear crop tops whilst it’s healing! For me this meant for the past week I’ve been living in leggings and oversized tops during the work day and then crop tops when I’m home; which I’m not mad at because I love oversized stuff!

So, here’s what my belly looks like now! And as you can see from my face in these, I feel great about my stomach now and am loving my body a lot more than before!!

img_7093
My Belly Button Piercing
My Belly Button Piercing
My Belly Button Piercing

It’ll be a few more weeks until I can change the jewellery, but I’ll probably keep it in a lot longer before I change it to be safe! But I am looking forward to some warmer weather so I can go out in more crop tops and not freeze! Here’s some new crop tops I bought recently:

Yellow Crop Top
White Crop Top
Blue Crop Top
Barbie Crop Top

Since having my piercing I have found a new love for crop tops, as I am now not worried about my stomach showing and having to constantly pull my top down! I understand that some people might say that I should just accept and love my stomach the way it is, without a piercing, but I just needed that little extra something to give me a hand. And that’s okay.

Moral of the story, love your body, we’re all on our own journey’s to loving ourselves and being positive about our bodies is a great step. All of those little things that you think are flaws, really aren’t! They are just part of how your body is telling your life story and that’s a beautiful thing.

Well, that’s it from me for today! Have you got any piercings? What about your belly button? Or has this made you think about getting yours done? Let me know in the comments, I always love interacting with you! Have a great week lovelies!!

Love,

Victoria Blog Signature

Why I’m Refusing To Make New Years Resolutions About My Body.

Why I’m Refusing To Make New Years Resolutions About My Body.

by Victoria ♥ 8 Comments

Hello my lovelies! I hope you have all had a happy Christmas and a very peaceful few days in the lead up to the end of the year! And of course, because we’re coming up to the New Year, New Years resolutions are popping up all over the place.

Which brings me to this post. For as long as I can remember, I have made New Years resolutions each year; and EVERY SINGLE ONE has been about how my body looks and my weight. It’s always along the lines of: I will lose weight, I will drop a dress size, I will change my body, I will go to the gym 6 times a week, I will stop eating certain foods etc. etc. etc.

This year I REFUSE to make a resolution about changing my body.

Now, some of you who are subscribed to my blog will know that I have spoken out about my body image issues and having suffered with Anorexia (see my previous post about it here!). Well, this past year I have been lucky enough to get some help and support and I am happy to announce that I am in recovery!

Writing this post came from seeing everyone’s resolutions on social media, with the majority of them being about their bodies and how they want them to look; and before I started my recovery journey, mine would have been like that too. I started thinking about what I want for the new year ahead and for the first time in.. well forever, I don’t know what my resolution should be if it isn’t about my appearance.

Here’s why I’m refusing to make my new years resolutions about my body:

  • My body does NOT need to change to be beautiful. It already is.
  • Resolving to eat less food/calories is stupid, food is fuel and we need energy to do all the amazing things we want to accomplish.
  • Food is not ‘good’ or ‘bad’ it’s just food.
  • Taking up less space does NOT mean I am a better human being.
  • Losing weight does not solve all your problems.
  • Spending hours in the gym trying to make my body into something it’s naturally not supposed to be is useless. And boring!

Here’s when it’s okay to make a new years resolution about your body:

  • Deciding to get help with a medical condition or something you’ve been struggling with.
  • Deciding to love your body.
  • Resolving to develop a healthy relationship with food and exercise. And no I don’t mean deciding to go on a so-called ‘healthy’ diet that makes you hate yourself and feel guilty for eating!!

So, because I am not making any resolutions to do with changing my body here are some resolutions that I AM making:

  • Riding my bike to work instead of driving so I become more confident in cycling. (I just got my first bike this Christmas!)
  • Read more.
  • Continue writing my blog, it’s by far one of the best things I decided to do this past year and I absolutely love it!
  • Learning to love my body more for everything it is and does.
  • Wearing clothes that I feel comfortable and confident in, regardless of what other people think.
  • Raise some money for charity. (you can check out my JustGiving page for MIND here if you want to!)

Those are just a few of my many resolutions for the new year; and I just want to share with you how much I truly appreciate every single one of you for reading, commenting, liking and interacting with me on here. You have made my year so happy and I can’t thank you enough for all of your support! What’re your new years resolutions? Let me know if the comments!!

I hope you all have a great New Years Eve and a very Happy New Year! Love,

Victoria Blog Signature

P.S. Thank you for voting for me and all of the other amazing bloggers nominated in the UKBloggerAwards!!

What Is Classed As Selfcare?

What Is Classed As Selfcare?

by Victoria ♥ 3 Comments

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,

Victoria Blog Signature

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!! 

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