A month in Instagram - August

 

I'm not usually a massive fan of summer due my lack of ability to handle the heat (my pale skin literally feels like it's burning up even though I never tan or burn...) as I don't sweat much I just seem to feel excessively hot instead. But I've actually enjoyed this summer more than I expected to. I've spent a lot of time with friends and really concentrated on enjoying myself more than I usually would. The first half of the month I got some postcards from Poland from my boyfriend, took my dog for many walks along the river and took my mama to Birdland for her birthday. I also indulged in a Starbucks and some ice-cream to cool down in the hot weather.

During the second half of the month I spent time with my boyfriend for his birthday and went on even more walks with the dog. (Might as well enjoy the nice sunset views whilst the weather is decent at that time). I attended a jewellery workshop and found more pleasant places to walk along; I've realised that where I live is a very instagrammable place... As well as that my insta-addiction is unlikely to wane any time soon, I think it's a great way to explore someone's life visually, as for me it's like a diary of where I've been or who I'm with at one time. I'm looking forward to September as Autumn is my favourite season and spending more time enjoying life with friends.

 

Finding Tranquility

 

One the things that I truly love to do is go for a walk along the riverside. Part of me wishes that I lived by the sea, as there is something so calming about hearing the waves crashing along the seafront and feeling sand pressed underneath your feet. However, back to reality; I live within 5 minutes of a river, so it's the closest to the sea I will get whilst living in London!

I enjoy walking my puppy along the river, hearing the water crash and fall against the barriers and watch her tony self love life, running along and investigating anything she sees. I also like to walk alone sometimes as well, stumbling alone and reassessing my life. I always worry that I forget to think about myself, or take the time to simply evaluate what's going on in my life. I guess we all have a tendency to forgot about ourselves and concentrate on other people. I've realised that I'm constantly tired and so I need to make an effort to take some time out for myself, and spend more time with friends. Walking along the river puts me in an incredibly positive mood and makes me have more energy.

The definition of tranquility is the quality or state of being calm, and is synonymous with other word such as peaceful, restful and serenity. Walking around and seeing a mix of natural and man made sights is relaxing and definitely brings me to the tranquil state I crave. Sometimes I find that putting in headphones and listening to gentle music helps me to relax more and feel more at peace with myself, especially if I have a lot of decisions to make as decisions are never easy. Sorry for a slightly random post; I suppose what I was trying to say was always ensure you give some love to yourself in order to find some happiness as the journey to happiness is almost always a complicated one. Until next time :)

A month in Instagram - July

As I've said before, I'm just a little bit addicted to Instagram... I studied Fine Art at university so I've always been more of a visual person anyway, but I like how you can just see something and not need to read a caption, or even include a caption in a post. July was actually a really good month for me, I saw my godson who doesn't live nearby (I cherish every minute that I spend with that little man), received a ridiculous amount of flowers from my boyfriend and went on several bus journeys at various times of the day.

I also realised that I hate using my iPhone for music so rediscovered an old iPod video, which has the best sound quality... Sometimes older is better, a little nostalgia never hurt anyone :) I spent my bus journeys listening to so many different genres and enjoying dabbling in old favourites like Muse, My Chemical Romance and Panic! at The Disco feeling 14 years old again. I like going for walks near where I live and took some photographs of the views in different lights and shared my favourites (there's secretly still an art student inside me, haha) and took a couple of selfies, one with makeup and one without. I'm learning to be ok with how I look and not wear so much makeup that it's a mask which has actually helped my skin a lot, it's a lot less blotchy than before.

I also shared some photos of friends, of my boyfriend and my Izabela, so is sadly leaving work but I'm sure we will keep in touch ❤️ it's strange how the people that you work with become so close to you, like family almost. So that was my July in a series of very random snapshots, but good memories all the same :)

Jo's Hen Sleepover Weekend!

This blogpost is a little different, I suddenly realised the other day how terrible I am at managing to post when I'm at work or university and so I'm trying to force myself to find time whenever I can! Last weekend, I attended a Hen Party Sleepover as my friend Jo's house in Farnham, Surrey along with 3 other bridesmaids (2 weren't able to make it) and had an amazing weekend off work as well as a banging headache for a few days! ;)

Therefore, how better to begin a weekend in the country than with a garden picnic?!

As the photographs demonstrate, we had strawberries/raspberries and cream, fruitshoots, coca-cola, fanta… As well as muller corners and doughnuts and chocolate… Perfect for a weekend off the diet! They have SUCH A LARGE GARDEN! Messy, but beautiful, it even had a steam, which for me as a Londoner is just unbelievable, ugh I'm jealous, except the lovely couple are moving to London very very VERY SOON! I adore the photo of the Bride-To-Be and teenage Sister-In-Law, it just is so so so so cute and really emphasises the feel of the whole weekend. Fleur is an adorable girl and really beautiful, Jo has found herself a good family there ha!

…Finally the other two maids arrived after getting stuck someone on the motorway, so we all had a bit of a selfie moment, as you can see, the weather is simply crazily hot at the moment, and the attic room didn't do much for the heat… In fact I think it was even hotter inside than out, but hey. Various games were played and sensible me decided to wear a white lace dress and sparkly silver heels to get in the mood to watch Frozen although I eventually missed it by falling asleep after having a few! Fleur and I wanted some chips and they were lovely but considering they were supposed to be a large portion, not enough and more like a small/child's portion from where I come from - rant over!

As the theme of the wedding itself is Rainbows, the rainbow balloons was a fabulous idea too, Rebekah should definitely become a Party Planner, never mind a vet! Overall the weekend was successful and it was great to meet the only maid I didn't know from years ago and spend some time with my favourite blushing Bride-To-Be; now I'm really geared up for the wedding as I can't make the next Hen as I'm working (boo hoo hooooooo) and fingers crossed I'll document the wedding on my blog too! Hope you enjoyed this post and stay tuned, Rach x x x

Summer Loving!

Hello everyone, apologies it has been a while once again since my last post! This features an element of my love/hate relationship with summer. I love the flowers and my garden but at the same time the humidity consistently gets to me and I'm simply one of those people that gets really flustered and overheated. These photographs were all taken in my garden, of my garden and featuring my baby dog Star...!

For the hot weather I can't help but dig out a pair of cool hippy pants in varying colours and patterns and a plain black or white t-shirt for a relaxed look. Make-up wise, I do rely on concealer, eyebrow pencil, blusher, eyeliner, mascara and an SPF lipstick for a bit of coverage and obviously sunglasses are a must. I bought these lovely Birkenstocks at a bargain price from my local TKMaxx and I was a convert literally straightaway, I love the bright pop of colour too, and they are study and stylish. Although this outfit isn't the most beautiful or stylish, I felt really confident, cool and comfortable in it, and for me, that's what summer dressing is really about.

I do appreciate a beautiful flower/plant although I must admit I'm not keen on the long watering/caring for plants at the end of the day but its annoying seeing Star rip up/play with/eat various plants that my nana grows! Talking of my nana, she made me these gorgeous camera earrings for my 21st birthday and I've worn them so so often ever since, they seem to work with everything and add a bit of my personality to everything I wear, they're a little quirky too which I adore. Do any of you have a specific piece of jewellery or outfit you immediately run to when you need a quick inspiration fix? Let me what you thought of this post via the comments too! See you soon, Rach x x x

[Sunglasses - ASOS; Crop T-Shirt - ASOS Petite; Hippy Pants - Doodah at Greenbelt Festival; Sandals - Birkenstocks @ TKMaxx; Leather Bracelet - Pandora; Earrings - Handmade by my nana.]