Happy Things #29 // Honesty

Hello again, it's already Monday.

I share so much of my life, my opinions with you... Whoever you are, wherever you are in the world. Every Monday I post five happy things that will happen sometime during the week as a way of keeping my mental health on the positive side of life. However, the truth about having high functioning anxiety is that on the surface you look like you're coping when it reality you're breaking down inside.

Over the course of the last weekend I had one of the worst weekends in terms of my mental health for a long time. 

I couldn't sleep, purged on food... Cried constantly and spent hours looking at old friends online, missing them... Struggling to accept change. It's so incredibly difficult sometimes to be positive, regardless of how many lists of positivity you make. It's important to be honest, to be real about how you feel.

After a seriously bad weekend, I've woken up on Monday and survived Monday. I'm feeling much better, I'm ok. The reason behind this post that it's ok to slip up, to have a bad day, or week. But it's important to talk to someone, let anyone know how you feel. Try to move on. Life is hard, the path to happiness is never easy and it's something you have to constantly work at. This week I'm not writing a list, I want to live my life without sticking to a routine. Just for a week.

April Favourites

Hello again, another month has passed us all by which means it's time for another favourites post. April is also my birthday month, so some of these favourites were naturally birthday presents; I got the Britney and Vera Wang perfumes from my nana and my boyfriend, but I've been loving these books this month too; they're honestly the best books that I've read in a really long time, I recommend them to everyone, even if you're not a reader! The cover artworks are so beautiful too, definitely the nicest part of the images below. As you all know that I love perfumes, you won't be surprised to see several perfumes in my favourites, alongside my boyfriends aftershave which is literally heaven, it has the loveliest smell; I can always tell when he's been in a room by the smell of his aftershave and I love it! I've completely used up by Shower Glaze from the Zoella Beauty range, which I'm gutted about as it was a part of the Christmas collection so I doubt I'll be able to repurchase it... I love the gingerbread smell and how soft and creamy it feels on my skin, it was a surprise love as my skin is so sensitive I wasn't expecting it to react well to a non-sensitive shower gel, but it was actually really nourishing. I've also being relying on lip balm constantly since having an infected lip, as well as dry shampoo for those days when you need to give your hair a little bit of a boost. What have you guys been loving this month?

 

The Muse by Jessie Burton - Daisy Dream Blush by Marc Jacobs - Gingerbread Shower Glaze by Zoella Beauty - Baby Lip Valentines Fresh Pink by Maybelline

 

Midas Touch Highlighting Palette by Sleek - Blush Dry Shampoo by Batiste - Fortune Favours The Brave Eyeshadow Palette by MakeUp Revolution - Amor Amor In a Flash by Cacharel - Skinwear Limited Edition Aftershave by Ted Baker

 

iPod Nano 2nd Generation (Product) Red 8GB - Skullcandy in ear Headphones - A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman - Princess of Hearts by Vera Wang - Maui Fantasy by Britney Spears - Baby Lip Valentines Fresh Pink by Maybelline

 

Princess of Hearts by Vera Wang - Maui Fantasy by Britney Spears - Soft Matte Lip Cream in London by NYX - Pink Lip Balm by Ted Baker - The Age Rewind Eraser Eye Concealer in Light by Maybelline - The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara in Very Black by Maybelline

 

A month in instagram #10

Hello again; one of my favourite things to do every month is look through all of the photographs that I've taken and shared throughout the month. April is always a nice month for me as I love chocolate so Easter is always a good time of the year, but this year I spent the first few days of the month in Poland with my boyfriend, which was an automatically amazing start to the month as being on holiday always guarantees a good mood. One sad part to the month was one of my cats dying (she was thirteen) so I found some kitten photos of her to remind me how much time we spent together over the years. April is also my birthday month so if I'm honest I am usually a bit naughty food-wise during April; e.g. I seem to have a lot of treats, oops. I spent a lot of time during April exploring the world, both in Poland and in England and I honestly feel like the world is beautiful now. I want to see so many things, discover and photograph so many different places. I love Spring as a season and I've enjoyed spending a lot more time outside, enjoying views and seeing nature at its best. April for me represents the start of summer, the hope of nice weather and spending time with friends and family as the year starts to suddenly disappear as soon as April comes and goes. I'm excited for summer, I'm looking forward to many more memories being made and always enjoy sharing snippets of my life; blogging definitely pushes me to keep on the positive side of life!

 

 

 

 

Happy Things #17

 

1. I'm looking forward to the end of the week as it's my birthday as well as my weekend off. I'm planning to spend some time with my boyfriend, best friend and my family throughout the weekend, which will be nice.

2. I'm excited about only working three days this week, it makes the week feel so short compared to how the last few weeks have felt for me. In fact having five days feels like a mini holiday. I'm hoping to spend some time exploring the city.

3. I honestly can't believe that I've aged another year already, I have no idea how it's disappeared so fast; but here's to having a much better start to this year than last year was for me. I'm now looking towards what I want to achieve for the coming year.

4. I still haven't sorted out my gym membership so I'm literally planning to force myself to do that tomorrow and start making the effort to be happier, even if it means forcing myself to find the time to actually go to some classes like yoga or ballet.

5. I really want to keep up with my blog and try my best to improve my content and overall blog photography. I'm feeling so inspired by other bloggers and I'm planning to see through this hobby and continue enjoying getting more involved within the blogging community.

 

How I Found Happiness

 

I learnt to be confident 

Over the past year or so, I realised that I've always envied those people who come across as super confident, content individuals. When I thought back to School, University and even my working life I also realised that I was at my happiest point in my working life. It sounds crazy but I absolutely loved my work; I developed skills and friendships, I got promoted and I was confident and happy within myself. I'm not saying that every day was perfect because no one in this world has a perfect life. However, this was when it occurred to be that I was happy because I was confident. The reason that I was confident was because I learnt to fake it! I wasn't always right, in fact I was often wrong but I was never worried about what others thought of me and that was the key. During the past few months I changed jobs and I kept that lesson with me; even if you're nervous pretend you're not. The only thing holding yourself back is you.

I ditched the diet

I'm the first to admit that I'm not 100% happy with my body shape. I had an eating disorder growing up so I'm very aware of my body image but at the same time I've learnt not to dwell on it. The reason that I'm not a size 4 is because my body isn't supposed to be and that's ok. At one point I was doing my best to eat clean and stifle cravings, but that actually made me feel really rubbish. So I decided that if life is to be lived, I'll eat a cake, I'll have ice cream and I'll definitely chew down a nice greasy burger if I want to! I'm not saying that I eat bad food everyday, but I don't deprive myself of the things that I want anymore. After all, the naughtiest food tastes the best and looks the best on instagram so that's always a bonus too! I like going for catch ups with my best friend and eating good food and drink, which would be impossible if I didn't relax.

Restructured my friendship group

When you've been severely depressed to the point where you reach rock bottom, it sounds so typically cliché but you really do learn who your true friends are. Those who couldn't be bothered to make an effort with me, I stopped begging for effort and attention from. I don't even miss them as I have a much better group of friends right now; I've also rekindled some friendships that I needed to work on from university and school; people who I had really missed having in my life. Now I concentrate on those who were there for me at my worst and they're the ones who deserve to know me now that I'm feeling better. I understand that it's hard when you're not well but at the same time, when you're down you need support from those closest to you.

I engaged in a hobby

I actually started this blog back in 2013 and never really pushed myself to post regularly. However, at the suggestion of my boyfriend I decided to indulge in a hobby to keep my mind busy. So, I decided to get back into blogging and completely overhauled my blog last summer. I changed the the username and the layout and began to actually make an effort to post regularly. As I studied Fine Art at university, blogging is a fantastic way of using my creativity again. Instead of dwelling on negative thoughts, I started spending my time planning and writing blog posts instead which not only filled up my time but actually gave me something to focus on and see improvements from. The more I started posting, the more readers I got and I saw the benefits of making an effort gave me. Plus, I've enjoyed getting more involved within the blogging community, there are so many amazingly supportive people in this world.

I found love 

My boyfriend has honestly been the most supportive person in my life during the past year. I was thinking that no one old ever love me, that I didn't deserve anyone or anything, but he's changed all of that. He literally encourages me every step of the way to be more positive and life my life without any regrets, through being more confident and seeing friends more often. He's introduced me to a different way of life and I'm ever grateful to him for that. I never thought I'd see different parts of this world and now I've seen things that I had never imagined.

Ultimately, I found myself. From within myself I found my happiness.

 

April Moodboard

Hello again guys! Just a little disclaimer, none of these images are mine and I'm not pretending that they are in any way, shape or form! All of the images below were found through the power of Google image search, I used a variety of keywords and chose a variety of images that I really liked; for example Cambridge Satchel Company, Orla Kiely watch, Cath Kidston dress etc. This is how I found all of these images and if you do the same you'll find so many similar images available. The collages were made by me, to reflect the kinds of style and subjects that I'm loving at the moment. Many of these images are also viewable on other platforms such as instagram or Pinterest, I'm not using any of them for anything other than this appreciation post.

As soon as the season of Spring arrives, I like shopping around for pretty handbags and this year I've become obsessed with the across body sized Cambridge Satchels as they look so versatile, classic and lovely with any outfit, in any colour. One of the reasons why I love reading other blogs is gaining inspiration for my own looks and blog posts, I've definitely found the love of these bags from the blogging community, one of my favourite satchel looks comes from sophieetc and I adore every single one of the looks created by Rebecca on her blog aclotheshorse who I've featured at least twice in the range of collages below. One of my favourite ever brands is Cath Kidston and I've found so many beautiful vintage style designs on the blog featured on their website which suit all kinds of body shapes with their 1950s style flare cut. I definitely dress much more feminine in the warmer months, wearing dresses and accessorising much more than in the winter months. I'm looking forward to trying to make an effort and recording my outfit choices and posting them onto my blog as I enjoy seeing what others have worn on their blogs. 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Paper Towns

 

After reading The Fault In Our Stars, I had incredibly high hopes for Paper Towns. Overall the book was fairly slow, not boring but slow at times. Told from the perspective of an adolescent male, you would expect to be this fantastically gorgeous, confident young man. In reality, Q is reserved and enjoys routine in an almost extreme sense. That said, there is a stereotypical infatuation with one of the female characters. However, despite this standard male/female adolescent role play the characters are some more than that. Green has a way of making characters feel real, even if they have a specific gender role to play out. As this novel is centred around finishing school, growing up and discovering themselves. The novel feels focussed around the ideal of escapism that is so desirable to teenagers; there are a lot of stereotypical aspects to the storyline to begin with, but as you read on there are more aspects to the characters and you definitely realise that everyone is multi-faceted.

Some parts of the novel are pretty melodramatic, to say the least. I would put this down to teenage hormones flying around. That being said, I felt as though Green really reflected the mood swings that teenagers always seem to have, alongside a lot of overthinking. In short, one of the characters is incredibly self-adsorbed and does everything possible to ensure that she inadvertently ruins graduation for a whole group of teenagers. Margo is a character that's forever talked about, but one that, as a reader you never fully get the opportunity to understand. She leaves 'clues' to the main character, Q to find and attempt to solve after a mysterious disappearance. Although the disappearance was at the heart of the novel, I honestly felt like it was dragged out a lot, with a lot of teenage boy overthinking throughout. Margo was definitely made out to be some fantastically beautiful, unattainable being which ultimately emphasised how much a crush can affect someone. Margo is essentially the product of two very uninspiring parents who misunderstand creativity as rebellion, as well as having fake friends and ultimately a fake life.

Throughout the novel, you see Q mature a lot; changing from a fearful, repetitive, game playing 'geek', to a confident, spontaneous and ultimately intuitive individual. I never understood why he had such an obsession, such an dying love for Margo but I guess at eighteen that's how emotions work; alongside this, as a reader you also see his relationships with his friends develop during a short space of time, as well as how their relationships with girls develop. Hormones definitely play an avid part in growing up, as does beginning to understand sexuality and desire. Desire undeniably played a massive part throughout the novel, Q makes it clear she's been in love with Margo since they were children, only towards the end of the novel does the reader discover if those feelings are reciprocated. I have to say, I was thoroughly disappointed by the lack lustre ending; I felt as though there was so much drama, so much tension building up to that point and then it simply ended as quickly as it began.

There was so much potential in this book but it really didn't work for me, for a number of reasons. I liked each of the characters but they weren't written in depth enough for me, as a reader we only really got to know one character fully, which was Q and even then I would say there was room for more. There were many interesting ideas, but the story was generally bland, unfortunately. I would describe this book as being solely intent on the journey as opposed to the destination; the end result didn't live up to the excitement of the plans, the underlying childhood truama they experienced. From another perspective, I suppose you could say that the point of having such a lacklustre ending is that it correctly displays how adolescent feelings have a tendency to exaggerate the truth, to push the limits of authenticity. In short, Margo and Quentin were not these marvellous beings, they were simply human and learning how to grow up and I guess Green did an excellent job of showing this as his writing was fantastic as always, I just didn't love this novel as much as I'd hoped I would.

 

April Playlist!

 

1. Heartbreak Down - p!nk

2. Payphone - Maroon 5 (feat. Wiz Khalifa)

3. Treat You Better - Shawn Mendes

4. Stay - Zedd & Alessia Cara

5. Shine Ya Light - Rita Ora

6. Franklin - Paramore

7. Hotel Ceiling - Rixton

8. Helium - Sia

9. 22 - Taylor Swift

10. Helena - My Chemical Romance

11. City of Angels - 30 Seconds to Mars

12. Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus

13. I Don't Wanna Live Forever - Zayn & Taylor Swift

14. Breathe Me - Sia

15. This Is Me - Joe Jonas & Demi Lovato

 

MOTD: Smoky Eyes feat. Nude Lips

Hello again, sorry for the delay in posting this as this was actually a post that I meant to upload during my holiday in Poland but somehow it never really happened, oops. I actually have been wearing less make up recently, but when I really want to make an effort and look nice I do wear quite a bit. During the time spent in Poland with Piotr and his family, I wanted to look and feel nice so make up definitely made my skin look a lot nicer. I don't suffer with very spotty skin but it's not a flat colours, there's a lot of dry red patches which I like to colour correct whenever I want to look and feel flawless. None of the images below have been edited, so to show the power of the make up worn. To start I use the Maybelline Baby Skin Primer to prep the skin for the make up. Priced at £7.99, it's not only good value it makes my skin look poreless and smooth. After, I use the Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer in the shade ivory, which priced at £2.99 is very cheap but it's concealing power is fairly basic. I use this concealer as a base on top of the primer around my eyes and nose to set on top of the primer and preps for the bb cream I put on next.

My preferred base is the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC cream in the shade ivory which I love. It feels super light coverage wise, and does an excellent job of covering my uneven skin tone. I literally pour some into my palms and rub it on top of my skin with clean hands. The next step I take is using the Maybelline Age Rewind Eye Concealer in shade light (which is £7.99) I press the concealer into each of my under eye bags in a triangle shape and press into my nose and brow bone, as well as any spots. I use the Real Techniques concealer brush to blend it into my skin before using a RT expert face brush to set my full base with the Maybelline Matte Maker Mattifying Power in shade ivory all over my skin. It's my favourite powder and reasonably priced at £3.99 too. The next step I take is to contour my face using the Kate Moss for Rimmel Sculpting Palette in shade #002. (Priced at £6.99) I start by using the bronzing powder using a RT setting brush to place some colour under my cheekbones, along my jawline and across my forehead. I use a small brush as where I'm so pale I try not to over contour my face. Next, I use the blush from the same palette and another RT setting brush to gently brush it along the apples of my cheeks. Then, I blend in using an RT powder brush so that it looks more natural on the skin. The next step I take is to use the Sleek MakeUp Brow Kit in the shade light, using the powder to fill in my brows (with one of the brushes provided in the kit, which is £8.49) which are naturally quite thick and dark. 

 

 

 

 

I then use the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche La Palette Rose 2 to blend a natural pink matte shade into my crease before a shimmery pink toned eyeshadow over my lids as my skin is pink toned, so the pink complement the look well. The palette is £14.99 for 10 different shades, so extremely good value for money as they're super pigmented. Next, I use an MUA highlighter in the shade iridescent gold swept on my brow bone and on the tops of my cheeks, my Cupid's bow and along the bridge of my nose, using a RT setting brush. For £3, it's highlight is super blinding and packs in a lot of glitter onto my face. I do blend it in using a RT powder brush to make the glow look far more natural. I then go back in with the Sleek Brow Kit to fix my brows with the wax using a brush provided in the kit. This means the brows won't move and will look flawless throughout the day. I then use the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in the shade London (priced at £5.50) and put it onto my lips. It's such a gorgeous nude shade and makes the whole base of my face look much more natural and I adore this lip product so much, it glides on my lips.

Finally, I wanted to create a smoky eye but as I'm so pale, it made more sense to create a smoky eye using eyeliner. My preferred eyeliner is the L'Oreal Paris Super Slim Eyeliner in intense black and it's so easy to use, it's pen style nib flows along the lid and creates a lovely line. (It's the best I've used and only £6.99) It's blackness makes up for the light eyeshadow that creates a nice contrast to the nude lips. I used a black eyeliner pencil by MUA to fill in my waterline and pushed it a little underneath to add an extra smokiness for the bargain price of £1! Finally, I used the Maybelline Rocket Volum' Express mascara in very black which was £7.99 and it is an amazing mascara, it lengthens, separates and volumises my lashes so much and it really finished the whole look off nicely. This was my go to make up look throughout the holiday and I felt so feminine but fierce.

 

Happy Things #14

 

1. Today I fly back to London, which feels kind of bittersweet. I've missed London, but I know that when I'm in London I'll really miss Rzeszów. I'll miss not having to work and relaxing in general whilst spending time with my favourite person.

2. I'm working a lot this week, but after having ten days off I'm definitely up to the challenge and will secretly be counting down the days until my next day off, which won't be until next week, sadly. That said, I've made plans to meet up with my best friend soon so I have things to look forward to and help me get through this long week!

3. Last month was a really good month for me blogwise and I'm going to continue working hard at blogging and improving all areas of my blog. I want to improve my content and really push myself to get more active within the blogging community in terms of not only reading and liking other blogs, but also making comments and following more people on various social media networks.

4. After eating far, far too much whilst on holiday the time to change my bad habits is definitely now. If I'm completely honest with myself, I really need to start losing weight getting healthier for myself. As I'm not happy with myself at the moment... It was hard to hear, but Piotr is right and if I'm unhappy then only I can start to change myself. 

5. I want to focus on the good things and not fret over the not so good things. I'm slowly learning that time doesn't stand still and that life isn't limitless, like it feels when you're younger. As you get older, you realise that time is slipping away very quickly. This holiday has given me a lot of perspective on that; there's so many things that I want to do and see, although I'm still young time definitely isn't on anyone's side so I want to focus on happiness.

 

A month in instagram #9

Hello again; I've had a really good month throughout March both online and in life. My blog has had the most views it has ever had this month, which I'm so excited about as it means that my content is actually improving, rather than me simply dreaming about it. In terms of instagram I've finally reached over 500 followers, which is another really exciting thing for me. Spring finally arrived and I noticed such a positive difference in both the weather and my mood, but I admit that was most likely because I was due to go on holiday. I've had a really, really lovely holiday; it's been so relaxing and so nice to simply enjoy the company of my boyfriend and his family. I feel like I've seen much more of Poland than I did the first time that I visited and I've made an effort to take photos and make memories to look back on. I've definitely overeaten this month, but I have no regrets as it's been such a good month. Here's to having another great month in April! 💝

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sobień Castle, Poland

 

After liking Łańcut Castle, I guess Piotr decided that castles were a good place to visit and so en route back to Rzeszów from Lake Solina/Jezioro Solińskie in Bieszczady we drove to Sobień Castle, what can only really be described as a ruin. Just to start, I'm terrified of heights so I'm proud of somehow getting through a steep forestry path and up a ridiculous amount of wooden steps to the ruined castle. Once up the steps, the view was incredible and I wish we had got some more photographs of the lake and natural forestry surrounding the ruins as it was simply breathtaking, but we were concerned about disturbing a group of people sat closer to the ruins, which was a shame. The surrounding mountain range looks particularly impressive when looking around the castle walls. The castle itself is medieval and has royal roots, built to guard the merchant route along the river below in 1340. The weather yesterday was absolutely stunning, which made the ruins look even more interesting as the shining sun brought out some lovely shadows that made parts of the ruins look a little eerie. The castle was destroyed twice, during the 1400 and 1500s, which explains why what would've once been a fantastic display of Polish architecture came to be in such a state of disrepair. It was a definitely a surprise visit, as I knew we visiting Lake Solina but apparently this was a spur of the moment move by Piotr and I did enjoy it a lot but it just didn't compare to the incredible views that I'd seen earlier from by the lake. I feel like if I had seen the ruins first, I would've been more blown away by its beauty.

 

Solina Lake, Poland

So far, during this holiday my boyfriend has honestly taken me to the most beautiful places; growing up Poland was never high on my list of places to visit, I'll admit but having seen places that I'd hadn't even heard of my mind has definitely changed. I want to see so many more things that I'd never thought of before now... He drove us to Lake Solina which is surrounded by the Bieszczady mountain range. Piotr actually visited with his family in the summer of last year and he sent me some postcards of the views then and I do remember thinking I'd love to see it for myself one day. Well, somehow he knows me so well that he took me during this trip. It's not a natural river, it was created during the construction of the Solina Dam in 1968. It's actually the largest artificial lake in Poland and is home to some beautiful mountain scenery. We visited when it was out of season so it was more or less dead, with barely any stalls open, which was a good and a bad thing. It was lovely to have the place empty and ready to explore, but it was a shame to not use a cafe and get the whole experience. The water was a lovely clear blue and seemed to stretch on forever, surrounded my nature.

 

 

 

We've been lucky enough to have some gorgeous weather since we arrived, which for late march is simply amazing. Piotr attempted to show me how to bounce stones across the water but was completely unsuccessful... I'm too clumsy and not gentle enough to manage it, I literally throw a pebble and it goes smash into the water, oops. I loved simply walking around and enjoying the views and his company. It's so easy to feel positive about life when you're surrounded by views like these; it was so peaceful, calm, clean and clear. I've always liked nature, but it's very different to experience nature in places you've never been to before. Solina Lake has well and truly captured my heart, I'm dreaming of the day I can return and rediscover it's beauty alongside Piotr. It's a strange experience seeing everyone look confused as you speak in English, but I like it too as it's so nice to experience different cultures, including languages. I've definitely fallen in love with Poland 💗

 

Reading Lust List

 

Having recently rediscovered a childhood love of reading, I feel like the list of books that I want to read is literally growing to the point where I feel like I'm going insane. I work, I blog, I have other things to do yet all I seem to do is find another book that I'm desperate to read. I will never say that reading is a bad thing, as I learnt so much from reading. I watched a video the other day that directly confronted whether young girls actively gain confidence from reading and I would say that reading definitely gave me confidence growing up. Even at aged 6, I was way above the average in terms of my reading skills but this video stated that not enough books were about girls. More importantly, girls who weren't princesses or the like. They were focussing on females as the protagonists of a story. Females who wrote their own tales and trod through their own paths. In all honesty, my favourite books as a child were; The Harry Potter series, A Series of Unfortunate Events and Ballet Shoes. All of these books contained very strong female characters although I never really thought about this at the time. I came from a female dominated household and family to the extent that I was always told that I could be whatever and whoever I wanted to be, regardless of gender, age, etc. I don't think young girls reading about princesses is a negative things; I think the more important lesson here is that we, as a society encourage ANY child to read about whatever they're passionate about. As adults, we forget that we are constantly reading.

Whether that is reading signs, blogs, text messages, etc. We literally read constantly. I don't think it matters what people of any age (but particularly young children) read is what is important; the important thing is the keep teaching them a skill that will ultimately stay with them for life. At the moment my reading list is super full, yes. But I'm actually enjoying reading and getting my mind lost within a story. I have to be honest and say that my favourite books do tend to be those with a strong female lead, or in fact those with a strong lead, male or female. It should abou the content within a book, not about what gender a character is. As a reader, it's possible to learn from either gender in a positive way and a lack of female roles won't stop me reading, or from encouraging someone of any age to read. At one point I would only read Fantasy based fiction, due to my infinite love of the Harry Potter series. All that happened is that I ran out of stories to enjoy because I wasn't being open to anything and so it's important to simply encourage any kind of reading, not only one kind. Rant over!

Reasons To Stay Alive - Matt Haig

The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry

The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

The Muse - Jessie Burton

A Year of Marvellous Ways - Sarah Winman

 

Łańcut Castle, Poland

I feel like I've often mentioned that my boyfriend is from (and grew up in) Poland and that we visit sometimes. The first time that I travelled to Poland with Piotr we literally visited for a weekend and I felt like I saw so many things; this time we're visiting for ten days and I definitely feel like I didn't see much at all last time. He's not from the city of Łańcut but it's a close drive away. He knows me well enough to know that I love architecture and parks, having grown in Greenwich, London - which has arguably some of the most beautiful architecture and surrounding park views at least in London. I don't know the Polish language so it was hard to understand the information boards, but Łańcut Castle was very lovely to visit. Piotr drove us there and he loves driving so that was nice, it's relaxing watching him enjoy cruising along. Łańcut is actually close to the borders of Poland with Ukraine. The castle is rather huge and the architectural style is very different to British architecture so I loved it. I enjoy different cultures and seeing different places. I feel like it would be even more beautiful in summer, especially in the surrounding park a it has various statues and plants that can be seen from all areas of the vast land.

 

 

After the visit I had a google search to try and understand more of the history of Łańcut Castle, rather than simply enjoying its physical beauty. It's an originally sixteenth century set of buildings with surrounding park. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century the Duke and Duchess Lubomirski transformed the buildings based on a love of baroque architecture, which then transformed the castle into a palace. According to the internet, Łańcut Castle is one of the most famous aristocratic buildings in Poland which has become a museum full of art and stunning interior design. It has a long history and one that reflects the Polish culture of Pre World War Two; if any of you ever visit Poland, its definitely worth a visit. I definitely wild visit again in the summer months when the Parks are in full bloom. I also visited only the Parks, not the inside of the castle so I want to see inside too.

 

Happy Things #13

 

1. So for the next week I'm in Rzeszów, Poland where my boyfriend grew up. I like seeing his culture and spending time with him, especially now that we're not working together, it makes the time together really important to me.

2. A holiday is always a good excuse to eat and drink whatever you want, particularly with his mums amazing cooking skills... I swear all I do in Poland is eat! (Oops)

3. I worry a lot less when I'm in Poland, although I suspect that's most likely because I struggle to understand anything. Piotr's translating skills are pretty good, but I still struggle a lot with the language. I've been attempting to learn but it's a really hard language for me, I don't even know why, but it is.

4. Since making an effort my mood swings are a lot better and I've been having panic and anxiety attacks, but I think having Piotr by my side for the weekend and upcoming week is what truly made a difference to my mood; I really enjoy spending time with him and especially in his country.

5. So far I've seen quite a bit of the city but I do really love seeing it, every single time. It doesn't feel like a massive tourist place which is great as you can explore freely without millions of people around you. I'm looking forward to seeing more things and spending time with family, it's always nice to relax every so often.

 

The Boyfriend Tag

 

1. How long have you have you been together?

We've been together for six months, although it feels like longer as we've known each other longer than that and were talking a lot before starting to date. 

2. Where was your first date with each other?

The first time we met each other outside of work was a walk along the riverside and sat talking on a bench next to the London eye. We started to get to know each other a lot, he smokes and I don't and we both dislike being in the company of massive groups of people. Probably the most awkward part of the 'date' was seeing another couple having sex outside... We literally looked in the other direction and walked past. It was so, so awkward at the time but something we still laugh at in disbelief. It's not something you would expect to happen on a 'first date', but it made it memorable I guess. Actually the date was a couple of weeks before we started a relationship, so it obviously went well.

3. Where did you meet each other?

We actually met at work, I'm his boss and was told to make sure he was working properly during a busy period... It's safe to say that he didn't like me much as I spent the whole time standing and just opening a door for him to pass through. I let him to do all of the work, haha.

4. What was your first impression of each other?

I asked him and he doesn't remember... I remember thinking that he's very quiet, he doesn't speak much. Although I later found out he is actually quite shy unless he knows you fairly well, which would explain it.

5. What was your first kiss like?

It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing, he was smoking (like always) and I just leaned over and kissed him... he kissed me back, so it can't have been that bad, although he admitted after that he was really surprised as we weren't together at that time. He didn't complain though, so it must've been a good surprise haha.

6. Who said 'I love you' first?

I did, when he was taking me home on the night bus from work. Not the most romantic and he laughed me for saying it, before saying it back. Since then, we say it all the time.

7. When did you meet each others family?

He met my family towards the end of August and they loved him pretty quickly even though he's quite shy, and he moved in with me in October so they definitely liked him. I met his family in November when we went to Poland which was a bit scary as they don't actually speak English so it was a bit based on sight alone, but I got lots of hugs and a Christmas card, so I think it went well too. Everyone is pretty supportive of us, which is lovely.

8. When did you know you were in love?

I knew pretty quickly, although the test was when he went to Poland for three weeks in August and I missed him so much, and he missed me lots too. We were talking every single day that he was there by text and video calling more or less everyday, it was during those three weeks that we both realised that it was getting serious and not just a dating thing.

9. Do you argue, if so, what do you argue about?

We always argue about little things, like who will clean the room or who is hogging the bed or duvet. We rarely have big arguments but when we do it always ends up in tears and it's usually about the future and how we'll manage to build it together, such as talking about money.

10. What is the most common thing you guys do when seeing each other?

Well we live together so we see each other everyday, to be honest we usually watch YouTube videos, eat and just talk together. I like seeing his happy face if I wake him up and show him I've made breakfast that day.

11. Who wears the pants in the relationship?

Friends, family and workmates would say that it's me, but they're definitely wrong. Piotr does, I do listen to his opinions the majority of the time, although I guess most of the time we're fairly equal actually as he listens to me as well.

12. What do you love the most about your partner?

His constant love and support. I can be moody and stressy as hell when I'm having a bad day mental health wise, yet he always does his best to give his support even when I'm not the most grateful. He's also very funny and makes comments that cheer up a lot, just one comment or a hug can improve my mood a lot.

13. Do you ever get bored with each other?

Not really, we work together but different days and times and living together came quite naturally. I enjoy his company and I think he enjoys mine.

14. What is his/her bad and good habits?

He sleeps so much it's unreal... he can sleep at least 12 hours a day, easily. But that said, it's not the length of the sleep, it's the fast he can't sleep before 3am that so frustrating as I usually sleep at around 11pm so, as we share a room it can be a nightmare to fit in sleep. However, on a positive note I love how clean he is, he's constrantly brushing his teeth or in the shower which is a good thing as well as never forgetting his keys.

15. What is your boyfriend good and not good at?

He's very protective and looks after me really well; when I'm not feeling good he has this amazing habit of running to the local shop and buys me crisps, chocolate, magazines and other things he thinks will make me feel a bit better. Another time, he took me to work at 3am because he was worried I wouldn't be safe on the bus alone which was adorable too. I'm lucky. He's not a massive talker which can be difficult as I talk a lot, but he tries... Plus English isn't his native language so I appreciate that he even bothers aha.

16. What was the first thing you noticed about one another?

I noticed his voice, he has a really nice voice. He noticed my hair, apparently. 

17. What are your nicknames for one another?

This is going to sound so strange, but we don't actually have any nicknames for each other. We're not that kind of couple that saves each other as Love or honey or hubby with hearts in phones, we have our names. I guess I you could say that I call him a form of nickname as I call him 'Peter' the English version and not the Polish 'Piotr', but that's about all.

18. Do you inspire each other?

He inspires me to get better and want to better myself. He makes me want to get up in the mornings, go to work and want to build a future. 

19. Is your partner romantic, sweet, funny, serious or a mixture of all?

Piotr is a bit of a mix of all of those, he can be very romantic and sweet, with gestures of flowers, chocolates and attention but he can also be very funny too. He makes little sarcastic comments that never fail to make me laugh and always sends me Facebook messages with stupid memes and jokes for me to laugh at. Alongside that, he can also be serious and takes any problems or issues that I want to discuss seriously and always listens to me, even if he doesn't like what he hears.

20. Do you wish to stay with each other for a long time and do you see a future with one another? 

Yes, we've discussed the future a lot and it's something we're both excited and ready for. We live together already, so it's definitely a lasting relationship that will hopefully keep growing with time. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.