Instagram Giveaway!

Hello again guys; this is a short little extra blog post! I recently won a giveaway by the lovely Lauren (link) on Instagram and it honestly made my week! I had been tempted to do a giveaway myself for quite a while, so I suppose it is about time, seeing as I’ve not done one before. Today I started a declutter of all of my make up (and room in general, god it was a MESS!) so I decided to do a giveaway for another person. Pictured above are all of the items that the winner will receive, free of any charge and none of the items have been used, as I’m a massive hoarder and it was time to bite the bullet and give an excess things to a new home. The rules are to follow my Instagram (link) account, like the above photo and tag the handles of two friends for an extra entry. UK ONLY, the winner will be picked at random and announced over on my account Saturday April 7 at 6pm. If this is something that you’re interested in, follow my Instagram link to enter, good luck! 🍀

Happy Things #30

1. So this weekend I spent some with my best friend and I feel so much better about so many of the things that have been stressing me out recently. It's always good to get out of work and the house, switch up a routine and just allow yourself to relax. Seeing her has really cheered me up and has made me ready to face the week.

2. I've got a long week this week, I'm working six days but I'm feeling quite strong after having quite a bad week last week. I can do this and I'm ready for it; somehow I've rediscovered my positive frame of mind and I'm loving it.

3. Later on this week I'm going out with some work friends for the first time and I'm really looking forward to it; I'm actually proud of how well I've managed to start a new job and keep positive to the point that I've actually forged some good friendships. I'm so excited to get to know them better and actually spend some time with them outside of work.

4. I'm so happy with how my blog is going right now, I feel like I've started to understand what I want to get from blogging and the kind of posts that I love to read from others and create myself. I've started to join a lot more conversations within the blogging community and I'm really loving getting to know other bloggers and getting inspiration from them.

5. Today I reached 1,000 followers and I'm super excited by that; I've also got over 1k on instagram so I feel like I'm starting to see some results for my blogging efforts. I've never blogged for a career or money, I blog for myself so I'm ecstatic to have reached a goal that I made for myself at the very start of my blog around a year ago, much sooner than I expected!

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.

Happy Things #28

1. My boyfriend has this amazing habit of gifting me with flowers on a regular basis; this flowers pictured above were given to me on our one year anniversary. Two weeks later an they're still going strong, I love it whenever I see flowers around the house as they make me think of him so that always makes me happy at the end of a stressful day.

2. Over the past few months I've learnt that not every day will be the best day of your life and that it's ok to not always feel your best. Blogging has definitely become a huge part of my life, not only because I enjoy it, but also because I feel like the blogging community is super supportive and I love being involved in twitter chats and other social media as it's a great way to get to know other bloggers with similar interests.

3. Last week I got my nose pierced with a friend after wanting it for literally years; I've always loved piercings and I've definitely caught the bug again. It was more painful than I expected and in all honestly it's pretty sore... But even so, I love it and I wouldn't be surprised if I end up goin back for more piercings in the next few months.

4. I'm super excited for you guys to see the blog posts that I have planned for this month; I'm just feeling so inspired and creative at the moment and I really want to improve my content. I'm definitely my own worst critic, but that's ok. I've got so many posts in the pipeline, so stay tuned as I'll be posting regularly this month to make up for the shambles that was the end of June as I was so ill. 

5. I feel really positive about this week and that feels absolutely amazing. Fingers crossed it'll end up being a great week!

Happy Things #27

1. I've been quite ill the past couple of weeks, so it's nice to finally feel better enough to blog again. I've missed some posts, (like this one which should've been posted yesterday) but that's fine, it's how life is. I really needed to rest.

2. I've got a doctors appointment at last, so fingers crossed I'll be able to find out why I've been feeling so ill, as although I'm feeling better I'm still not feeling great. Hopefully I'll be back to normal by the end of this week and therefore back to blogging more regularly.

3. Honestly, all I've wanted to do is sleep, so I haven't been reading or blogging half as much as I usually do, or would like to; this week I'm planning to blog more than I have been, as it has really become my main hobby and therefore a big part of my life.

4. Today I'm going to a restaurant with Piotr, which will be nice as we're both working a lot this week; it's hard to see each other when you're working in different places with different schedules so it's always nice to spend some time together.

5. I've been taking my dog for lots of walks to get some fresh air and I've been really enjoying watching the sunset in the evenings with her. When we walk I like taking photos of the skies.

Happy Things #26

 

1. Monday is always my least favourite day of the week, but once again I've managed to survive with minimal hassle and stress. That's a sign of the start of a good week. 

2. Yesterday I spent the day with my boyfriend and we went out to dinner; little things like that put a big smile on my face. I'm looking forward to a week of work and play, spending time with the people closest to me. 

3. As much as I'm not a huge fan of this heat, I want to enjoy walks by the river, feeling the breeze. I love the sound of water crashing around, so sunset walks are the perfect way to see the river creating small splashes and waves and watch the world go by.

4. This week I finally booked a visit to Harry Potter World with a couple of my work mates and I'm so excited; it looks amazing and I can't wait to go, honestly. I actually think my inner child will cry upon arrival. It's not for a few months, but it's an exciting thing to book regardless. 

5. Last week I was pretty disorganised with my blog, so this week I want to concentrate on it and make sure that I'm posting as regularly as I want to, with good content. I want to start scheduling posts so that I don't fall behind.

 

Happy Things #25 // Life Update

 

Every Monday, I try to start the week off by listing five things (however small) that are positive and will make my mental health keep upwards, rather than downwards. For literally 24 weeks, I've done a post like this every single week and on the whole, it has really kept my mind in perspective. The issue with having mental health issues is that you're constantly in recovery, there's no magic wand that means that everything is forgotten and you'll never have to worry again; I've definitely learnt that the hard way.

For the past couple of weeks I've definitely been struggling more than I have for a while. I'm telling myself that this is ok, that I can work my way back up. I want to discover my life more, I want to keep on my happy plane and focus on myself, what I want to achieve, but ultimately it's hard to be positive all of the time. I need to motivate myself to keep getting better. I need to remember that finding five happy things every Monday keeps me sane and ready to fight the world.

- - - - -

1. This week I have a lovely weekend planned, as well as the Saturday and the Sunday off from work. I'm going to spend time with Piotr and enjoy the long summer days, maybe sit in a pub garden, eat good food and enjoy simply watching time pass with my favourite person.

2. Blogging has become a part of my life in so many ways now, I have so many post ideas and things that I want to achieve. So far, June has been my most successful month in terms of blogging; views, engaging with other bloggers and my content.

3. Piotr bought me these roses the other day and I love watching them bloom. He buys me flowers often, but each time I always feel so happy whenever I see them in their vase around the house. There's something beautiful about receiving flowers as a gift and I'm lucky to have a boyfriend who knows how much I love them and spoils me with various bouquets.

4. This time last year was probably my lowest in terms of mental health and I can't quite believe how far I've come; I'm so excited to see how well I'll be this time next year. By taking on the world a week at a time, I've found a way of keeping in control of my health and finding myself again. I need to remind myself of how strong I can be.

5. June is actually one of my favourite months of the year now, thanks to Piotr changing my outlook on life; I hadn't realised how quickly this month and actually this year is disappearing right under my nose. I'm learning to embrace change, to embrace time passing and most of all, embrace life.

 

 

Happy Things #24

 

1. I had a fantastic weekend with my best friend on the Saturday evening and I spent the day with my boyfriend on Sunday, which was a nice surprise. After a good weekend, I'm all ready for the long day that is Monday (Monday shifts aren't my favourite haha). Although I'm not a huge fan of hot weather, I'm loving the longer evenings; it's nice to go on a walk at 10pm without needing street lamps.

2. So I decided to take a massive risk and dye my hair pink. I've always wanted to have a cool hair colour over the past couple of years but I was never really brave enough. But over the past year, I've really grown in confidence so I decided to do it! I actually like it, so I'll be doing it again I think. Eek.

3. If I'm being 100% honest with myself, I'm not feeling amazingly positive at the moment. I try my absolute best to be, but sometimes it can be hard. Blogging is a huge part of my life now, it definitely helps to keep my mind positive, especially through sitting and working out what is positive at the start of each week. I would recommend to anyone, just sit and take some time out to remind yourself of what is good about your life. 

4. So far, I've been quite good at changing my diet for the better. I've been making small steps by eating more salads, yoghurt and crisp breads. I'm trying to not force myself to eat less, or feel like I crave food. I'm slowly learning that everything needs to be done in moderation, including diet. Fingers crossed, I'll keep it up throughout this week.

5. This week, I'm planning to read a lot and hopefully spent a lot of time on my blog. I want to take some blog photographs and start really planning out my content a little more, by scheduling posts and having a set schedule throughout the week, rather than simply posting whenever I feel like it.

 

Happy Things #23

 

1. After working six days in a row, it's finally time for a day off tomorrow. I'm definitely going to make pancakes for breakfast as they make any day automatically amazing! I'm planning to chill out and watch a film later in the day.

2. I've made plans to catch up with my best friend on Saturday and I'm super excited as it's been too long! I love a good dinner and chatty evening out with her, I'm going to be in such a good mood afterwards and it's something to really look forward to.

3. Another week, another hope of finally sorting out a gym membership. I really, really want to start getting fit; it's not even about weight, it's about feeling healthy and good about myself.

4. I'm going to try and make my way through some of my reading list as it's become so long it's actually a joke... Literally, there's over 20 books waiting to be read; spread out all over my room, oops.

5. I want to keep up posting regularly on my blog, as blogging has been fantastic for my mental health and it's genuinely a lovely hobby. I've really enjoyed blogging for the past year and it's something I want to continue doing; I've been working hard on improving my content, so hopefully you guys will like my new posts too.

 

Happy Things #22

 

1. The first day of this week is a bank holiday Monday, so naturally I'm super happy about that as it means a day off for me; I'm still getting my head around getting them off now as I never have done before. I've got no plans, but sometimes it's nice to just chill out and recharge your batteries.

2. To start off a good week I've had a cheeky plate of pancakes for brunch, which has completely broken my attempt at a diet but that's ok. Pancakes always make me feel happy and a bank holiday is the best excuse to have a bit of a day off the diet (which isn't going that well anyway).

3. I've got a long week at work this week, but I'm planning to get through it by reading and blogging to empty my mind of any stress that will inevitably come out of me towards the end of the week. 

4. Although I'm not the biggest fan of the hot weather as the heat makes me feel a bit overwhelmed, but I do like the sunnier, longer days that come with summer. During the week I'm going to try and go on several walks down by the river as it really calms me down and empties my mind of any stress. It's so important to take some time out and have some me time every so often.

5. My mental health is definitely doing fairly well at the moment, actually much better than it's been for several years. I think I've finally found some ways to try and combat the bad thoughts with little rituals that really work for me. Taking life a step at a time has really helped and I'm looking forward to enjoying the rest of the year now.

 

Happy Things #21

 

1. So I've made plans to see my best friend at the weekend, which is always a pleasure. It's lovely to have that person who you can rely on and can effortlessly cheer you up.

2. My reading list is literally growing every single day; it's keeping me busy and is a fantastic way of keeping my mind in a positive place. I'm learning that the more I use distractions, such as reading, my mind feels much more at ease with life. It's a good feeling.

3. This is a very strange contribution to this list of positivity, but I'm actually really happy with how my eyebrows are looking at the moment. After years of overplucking I think I've finally found the perfect medium between too thin and too bushy, which is exciting.

4. I've got a lot of blog posts planned and I'm excited to see them posted over the next week; blogging is such a good hobby and it's really changed my life over the past year. I'm getting more involved with the blogging community and I'm enjoying it so much.

5. The weather seems to indicate that summer is definitely on its way; the blue skies, the sun... I'm enjoying the nicer weather as my mood definitely improves when the weather is lovely.

 

Happy Things #20

 

1. So, as of today I'm starting with a #MondayMotivation feel; I've started a diet... Which is a massive step for me, as I've avoided dieting for a long time. It's nothing drastic, but I'm trying to eat more healthily and not fill my body with crap food all the time. I'm planning to eat more fruit and vegetables as a positive change to my dietary habits.

2. I'm planning to finish my current read this week, so that I can post another book review and attempt to make my way through my absolutely massive book list (I swear it grows longer every week).

3. My gym membership seems to be taking its life to go through, so whilst I wait I have decided take Scarlett for more walks as that's a super simple and easy way to fit in some excerise and keep my dog happy too. Although she hates the rain, so hopefully the weather will improve soonish!

4. I've got some time off to look forward to in the summer which is lovely; I cannot explain how nice it is to have a job that pays you when you want or need a holiday! Even if it's just chilling out at home, I'm so excited to have some time off in the coming months.

5. I have so many more blog posts planned out and ready to write this week, fingers crossed they'll be ready for publishing later on in the week. I'm really enjoying blogging at the moment, it's definitely the best hobby that I could've started. I'm loving getting to know other bloggers too!

 

Happy Things #19

 

1. So I had a nice (unexpected) weekend spent with my boyfriend and his family; it's always enjoyable to do things outside of the ordinary and be a bit sociable. It put me in a good mood for the start of the this week.

2. I've got this weekend off so it's likely I'll be seeing my best friend so that's always a catch up to look forward to. Plus, we always eat good food and get to know how each other's lives are getting along.

3. I finished a book today, which is always a good thing as it means I have a new blog post to write and I get to decide what I want to read next, which is something that I'm really enjoying, sad as that is.

4. The new bed and mattress is super comfortable and so spacious, I absolutely love it! It feels like I'm the princess and the pea; I definitely recommend investing in a new bed as it's the best decision I've made in a while.

5. I'm desperately praying that the weather improves during this week, I'm still wearing my winter parka, which seems completely mad as it's May already, I'm dreaming of a nice summer but we'll see soon enough I suppose.

 

Happy Things #18

 

1. I'm enjoying the start of May as a bank holiday is always a welcome start to the week; it really makes Monday bearable and gets me in a good mood for the rest of the week as with my current job I'm able to have bank holidays off, which is amazing.

2. Tonight I had dinner and a catch up with my best friend, which is always great and puts my mind in a positive place. Good food and good company is forever lovely and Amanda never fails to make me feel relaxed and much better about my life.

3. Here's to a four day working week! Fingers crossed I will have a new bed and mattress tomorrow, which is super exciting as that fingers crossed that will mean that I'll get a good nights sleep for the first time in a few weeks.

4. The flowers shown in the photograph above are starting to bloom and I love watching them grow; in fact I just love getting any kind of flowers as they're so aesthetically pleasing and make the world seem much more colourful.

5. As my gym membership still isn't ready, I'm going to try and be good in the sense that I'm planning to try running again; I got really into running a couple of years back before I got lazy and I think it's a good place to start whilst I wait for the gym membership to go through.

 

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.

 

Happy Things #16

 

1. So, these posts are all about finding happiness in the smallest of places. This week I've woken up with a sore throat and a horrible cough. However, I'm grateful that I do have today off due to the bank holiday, which means it's recovery time. Hello, bed. I've missed you.

2. Over the past week or so, I've realised that however much I want to be thinner, prettier etc. these things will not directly contribute to my overall happiness; I'm finding happiness in doing things, planning things. Planning doesn't always see itself through, but setting goals isn't a bad thing.

3. Fingers crossed that this week will be the week that my gym membership finally goes through! I've recently found it that the membership I've applied for includes classes so I'm looking forward to trying out yoga or getting back into dancing. I loved dancing for around fourteen years so it would be lovely to rekindle that love for something.

4. I'm going to start painting my nails again, everything about my hands looks nicer with pretty nails. I don't have the biggest nail varnish collection, but it's cheaper than getting false nails. Plus, I like reading a book whilst my nails are dying so it's a good way to read more, too. My reading list is growing longer and longer by the day, oops.

5. I won all of £3 on a scratch card yesterday. As well as 6 chicken nuggets on McDonald's monopoly. Sometimes the smallest of wins makes you feel a little more positive in what can be a hard world.

 

Happy Things #15

 

1. I'm looking forward to the weekend, I've got 5 days off and I'm seeing my best friend for a good old catch up, which is always exciting. I've had a bad start to the week as my cat was super unwell and unfortunately didn't get better, so it's nice to have something positive to think about doing.

2. I'm in love with this sunny, warm weather at the moment. I'm not a fan of sunbathing at all, but I do enjoy the days being longer and the blossoms growing around the trees. I love going for walks in this weather.

3. Fingers crossed my gym membership will be active by the end of the week so I'll finally be able to start trying to improve my health. I want to exercise my mind and body, I'm hoping this will really help my mental health and keep me positive.

4. I'm enjoying the book I'm reading the at moment, hopefully I'll finish it this week and write a book review on it. It feels like it's been a while since I've read and written a book review and I've actually missed reading and letting my mind travel to another place.

5. So ready for a day off, as I've worked six days in a row now, I want to just sit back and relax. I'm ready for some quality time with my family and boyfriend, I'm planning to watch Paper Towns and Fantastic Beasts sometime during this week.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Happy Things #12

 

1. This week I'm only working three days, so I'm planning to spend some time with my family, dye my hair, watch television and most likely read a few books and magazines before the weekend.

2. This weekend, Piotr and I are going to get on a plane (argh help me!) to Poland and spend some together as well as with his family, which will be nice. I like seeing where he grew up and understanding more about him as well as having some time to relax and not have to overthink. It's strange how being in a country where most people don't speak your language is actually rather comforting, I feel like I don't have to force conversation or worry about anything.

3. This week I'm going to be good and try and pack what I want to take to Poland fairly early on in the week so that I don't stress nearer to the time as the flight is at an awkward time of the day.

4. Going to try and organise my life a bit thug double checking that my gym membership is confirmed and getting a boarding pass sorted... Oh the fun times of being an adult! 

5. I'm trying to keep onto a positive plane this week and try to be less moody. I'm having some real issues with my mood swings right now so my focus is going to be on that area of my mental health. Feeling so up and down isn't great and it's not helping me in my everyday life so it's something that I definitely want to improve on.