So what now?

So many of you are off to university this September I can imagine, and if you got into your preferred university on your desired course I think you owe yourself a pat on the back. 

University has always been a massive toss up for me, I don't have the best attention span/confidence so instead of trying and giving it ago, I just put it off. 

I think you need to find your neesh in life before you go getting yourself into thousands of pounds worth of dept, am I right? 

Its massive, especially over in the UK and other parts of the world to complete your A Levels and venture on into higher education. I think it's expected in most families now a days, and especially when you meet somebody new for the first time, more than likely one of their questions is going to be 'so what're you studying?'. 

There's a lot of pressure on the teens in our society these days unfortunately and I feel like university is something forced and pressured upon most rather than desired and wanted. 

Let's be honest with each other for a moment, we all have a reasonable opinion on why most teens go to university these days! The social life, duhhh!  

How many students across the UK leaving university with a degree of some sort go on to achieve their 'dream job' or something which ties in with their degree? 

Hmm.. Tough one! 

I'm 20 years old, I've studied a lot in my short 20 years and I've had more 'dreams' than you've had hot dinners. Each year since about 2005 the thought of my desired career has changed. My subject choices changed, my college courses were completed but I'd go back the following year and pick something else completely different. I started to think my family are thinking I'm just taking the p*** and I'm faffing around, and not achieving very much. 

- I'll hand it to them, that's partly true. At 20 it's only just dawned on me in the past few months what I want to do for the rest of my life, where I want to go and which career is the one I want to work my socks off to achieve. 

If you're not going to university this September don't beat yourself up, some people take a while longer to figure out their future, university isn't the be all and end all - just remember that. 

I don't believe in rushing into anything purely because it's expected. 

I believe if you aren't sure, don't jump. Take that time to figure out what you're really looking for, some of you may not want to go to university at all and shock horror - that's okay too. 

Your friends, family, cats or dogs, even the goldfish in the tank at the corner of your room should support you (hopefully) no matter what you decide to do with your life. 

You can't live your life to please others, otherwise you're never going to please yourself. 

Thank you for reading my short post, I promise more content will be coming - I've just had writers block over the past week (don't shoot me!). 

Take care my loves! 

TTFN 

xxx 

The perfect pamper evening

So it's the weekend, finally right? Whether you're staying in on your Saturday night with a glass of wine, take away and your loved ones or whether you're going to treat yourself on the Sunday - it's the end of the week or the start of the beginning of one for others, so treat yourself guys and dolls!

This is how my pamper evenings usually go down. I believe it's very important to have some 'you time', even if it's just for a few hours a week - it's incredibly important and crustal to just spend some time in your own company with your own thoughts! 

Firstly you're going to want to pick your fave beauty products that you want to use either before, during or after your bath! I love storing my beauty and bath items like this, it's so inexpensive and makes everything very easy and accessible! 

Now pick your goodies! I chose 'Space girl' bath bomb by Lush which is just INCREDIBLE it's very sweet and just hits the spot every time (highly recommend)! 

Then for my face mask I used 'Brazened honey' which is a new Lush product for me, my very good friend who works at Lush recommended for me. Once I've used it a few times I'll give you guys a full review! (This also smells and feels incredible)! 

Make yourself a fantastic drink to enjoy whilst you're relaxing in the bath. Hot chocolate is my favourite drink and so naturally I had to choose my spesh! Now, I encourage anybody to go for wine, vodka even.. Treat yourself and let yourself go (YOLO right?)!

Before you hop into your bath, get your sanctuary ready for when you get out and just want to relax. Get some reading materiel and your favourite pjs! I opted for my giraffe onesie because you can never go wrong can you?? 

Come on baby light my fire! Get them candles lit and make your atmosphere that little bit better! Please excuse the state of my Jo Malone candle, it's well loved and definitely needs replacing. This scent is my favourite: Sweet Almond and Macaroon. (If anybody needs a gift idea for myself, you can never go wrong with this). 

And last but not least, run your bath, put your bath bomb in (I always enjoy watching them fizz out) and just have some much needed you time.. And possibly a nap too! 

I was going to take photos afterwards of how much I was loving my pamper evening but unfortunately I got dragged out to go and watch Planet of the Apes, so make sure you're evening is completely free before you get dragged away from your pjs :(! 

I hope you enjoyed this post my loves. Let me know how your pamper evenings go and if you have any tips or products you think I should try out! 

As always - keep smiling! 

Until next time 

TTFN xxx

Keeping the fire burning...

 "Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you."-Oprah Winfrey

So recently I had a very good and close friend of mine open up a little bit about his current situation with his girlfriend, for obvious reasons I have to keep him anonymous - but the main 'problem' in their relationship right now is that she isn't happy with the lack of passion between the two of them.

Relationships are like a full time job, even for those who have found their soul mates struggle at the best of times. Unfortunately humans aren't robots who can be programmed to exactly what we like/want out of them. No body is a mind reader and there's times in EVERY relationship that the pair of you are going to mess up, even if it's over something as trivial as buying the wrong brand of beans; it doesn't take much to set someone off, especially if they've had a lot going on in their head recently. 

Back to my friend - so, like I mentioned he came to me with this problem and just to have a little bit of chat.
Now I've never been asked on advice for passion before, when he text me I was little stuck in answering, so I asked more questions whilst I had a good think of some advice I could possibly offer...

If you're struggling in a relationship right now, or you're trying to handle the same problem as this one here are my tips that I think could potentially help...

1. Show your love in small, adventurous ways - 
Everybody loves something spontaneous, especially women. I don't think I know anybody who wouldn't love to come home to a little note on their pillow, or hidden somewhere they're going to find it easily. Bring home something sentimental you know they're going to love, even if it's their favourite packet of sweets, cook dinner for them - something they've said they have felt like for ages but haven't got round to making. You'd be surprised how much of an impact the little gestures can make. 

2. Shake, shake, shake, shake, a' shaaaaake it! 
Who doesn't like to rock the boat a little bit some times?  You need to push through the 'I'm fed up' barrier that's going on right now. Try something new, take up an activity or hobby together. Even going for a day trip and having a picnic is something that gets you both out of the house. Go see a play, a comedy show or if it's on a tight budget - cook something brand new together, learn together and achieve together.

3. Be generous with your praise - 
This applies to both sides of the relationship. 'You look absolutely beautiful/handsome baby'. Now come on, who doesn't like to hear that? Feeling appreciated is one of the main keys in a relationship, especially if one of you isn't feeling so 'hot' so to speak. Even manners are a massive thing, saying 'thank you' or just offering a hug once they've done something for you is special. Acknowledge and value your partner, show them how much you appreciate them in your own unique ways - and I'm sure they'd be very grateful for it.

4. Create an intimate time - 
We all become so surrounded and drowned with technology and social media. It's easier these days to just text somebody something rather than discussing it in person. Something I've seen often in a relationship, is the two people sat their both on their phones and only communicating if they see something they feel the need to comment on, on Facebook. That is not healthy under any circumstances. 
Pack it in! Put your phones away in a draw or turn them off, either or.. And just enjoy each others company, put your favourite film on that has made you both laugh numerous times and cuddle up with a good drink and some goodies! It's going to do no harm to you or your social media status if you don't go on-line or post a status for one whole night! Cherish the time you get to spend together. Obviously I know it's healthy to have that balance, it's important to have your own space and your own time; but if this is becoming a regular problem and communication is starting to die down, rectify it whilst you still can. 

5. Communication: Clearly, honestly and frequently.
 My last 'tip'; I've probably mentioned this a thousand times already when I'm giving relationship advice, however I don't think there is anything more important than them 3 mini points. You can't get anywhere with that frog in your throat.. sorry I can't understand you properly! Clear that throat, know what you want to say and what the problem is or something you'd like to change, take a deep breath and go for it! You will feel so relived afterwards, there's nothing worse than something eating you up inside.
Honesty. Sorry I don't remember the last time lies worked in a relationship, do you? Honesty is MASSIVE, let me repeat M-A-S-S-I-V-E. How do you expect any relationship to work if it's build up on lies and manipulation? Nip that in the butt right now, honesty is the best policy and you might actually get somewhere if you tell the truth and you're honest with your partner.
Frequency. Don't let things build up inside, you owe it to yourself to let your feelings out and you owe the respect to them to share what you're feeling. If you don't frequently open up one day you're going to explode and that might just be that one push too far...

Thank you for reading, like I often say read this as myself talking to you over a coffee in a friendly way. Think about your situation and now put your best friend in your shoes, what would you say to them if their relationship is struggling? 

Respect yourself, don't just stick around if the flames gone out. You deserve the best, do you hear me? The absolute best lovely :)!

Until next time my loves,

TTFN xxx

'I have a dream...'

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” 
― Eleanor Roosevelt

So since I've had a lot of time to myself recently, I've been thinking about dreams. If you believe in all the Instagram quotes and the inspirational memes your best friend keeps sharing on Facebook, then your dream is just one moments clarity away from reality. Oh how it would be nice if the white words filtered against a typical hipster sunset background were true, wouldn't it?

If you're anything like myself right now, or you've had a lot of time to think things over recently then you've probably come to the conclusion that dreams are stupid.

For the longest time I've wanted to become a full time blogger, worker for a fashion magazine and even dip my toes into the pond of the whole 'YouTube world'. This is what I've wanted to do for so long, and I suppose I can give myself a small pat on the back since I have created a blog and kept up with frequent content as much as possible. *Pats back*.

For a long time I thought I'd grown out of this 'phase' of these dreams, I created a YouTube channel 23rd June 2009 - 6 years I've been trying to pluck up the courage to start doing what I wanted to do, and 6 years later I'm still on 4 subscribers. Now I'm only 20 years old, I often get told 'I'm still a baby' and since I look about 12 years old, that's not very hard to believe. But I like to think I've matured a lot in 6 years and I've got my shit together a little bit better... Emphasise on the 'little'. I think a lot of us think we've matured past these dreams that take up a lot of time, money, preparation and energy. But really, we keep dreaming... we just do it on a smaller less inspired scale.

"When I grow up I want to be a Princess who rides a multicoloured unicorn to princess school everyday and I want all my food to be covered in fairy dust so I can fly and go say hi to Peter, Wendy and the lost boys" -
Yeah, that's much more of a rational dream right there.

However when you're 5 years old and you've just been asked for the first time what you'd like to be when you grow up, nothing matters but everything is possible in that little imagination and you believe that you're going to get that multicoloured unicorn! But, adulthood is not the time to start giving up on your dreams, it's the time to honour and embrace them. But first you need to figure out what is worth inhabiting your 'dream space'. We need to dump the stupid, just brush it under the rug and make room for good, the golden, the jack pot baby!

Leave behind what distracts you from your goals. It's time to abandon the impossible. (It's hard I know, I'm still coming to terms with the fact I'm never going to get the chance to sing on stage with S club 7)!

When you abandon the impossible, you generally start to realise the unnecessary and the unwanted. Who wants the uptight girl who lives in a fantasy when you can have the girl who laughs about having whipped cream thrown in her face and lives in the real world of NOW.

These impossible dreams are a poor stand-ins for the real thing. They keep you fantasying rather than achieving and they negate the real value of all your efforts. You're worth a hell of a lot more than the inflated thought that's written in your dairy. Get shut of them.

Stop dreaming other peoples dreams, make your own happen. If you want 1,000,000 followers on Twitter or IG go hashtag every post until you can't physically move your fingers any more. You want that new car your friends daddy just brought for her? Go save your arse off (hard I know, but rewarding). If something isn't making you happy and you're just doing it because you've seen somebody else's happiness from what they've achieved and what they've had, stop being a sheep! It's time to become a Shepard!

True happiness is a deeper and more abiding experience than any of us are willing to admit most of the time. Let’s start seeking that kind of joy and let’s stop worrying about what everyone else is doing.

Who are you? What makes you happy? What are you doing when you feel the most fulfilled? Are you with your children? Are you creating? Career making? Cooking? Writing? Giving parking tickets? A mixture of a few things in different ratios?

Answer those questions and you’ll be closer to discovering what your souls been dreaming of than you've ever been.

Once you've got to know yourself that little bit better and you've figured out that little bit more about your hopes and your flaws. Embrace yourself and all your worth and make what you want to happen, HAPPEN! Whether it does take time, money and energy - you know that the outcome will be so rewarding that none of that will matter, because you've achieved your dream!!

I hope you've enjoyed this post, it's been one of my favourites to write! And until next time my loves; keep dreaming and keep smiling!

TTFN xxx

Being grateful

Where have I been? 

So some of you may or may not of realised that recently over the past week or so I've been quite MIA (missing in action) there were certain things happening in my life that didn't make me feel very inspired to put up a blog post and even though this blog was made for me as a personal outlet and somewhere to express myself, since I was posting practically every day I started to feel very pressured purely by myself to upload every day and make every new blog post better than the last. Which in a small sense isn't a bad thing to give yourself a push, everybody needs motivation and competition sometimes but in a healthy dose.

Like I said there have been things going on in my life which I don't really care to discuss on here very widely but it's made me realise how lucky I am to have what I have around me. 

Also touching on something which is such a controversial topic, I recently watched Tulisa's documentary after seeing so much discussion on social media websites about it, and I just want to give my two sents that she is one hell of a strong woman to have gone through what she has this past year and still come out fighting and tougher than ever is amazing. The people who are purely commenting on her looks and plastic surgery over the past year; quick reminder - somebody's looks don't make them a better person. It's their personality and what they have to offer. 'You look like a horse when you look down your nose like that'. 

Without going off on a tangent about Tulisa's life I just wanted to get my point across that we should be so grateful for what we have and what we're not personally suffering like others are around the world. Don't get me wrong, I know every family has their difficult times and at some point we will all have to grief and suffer, but stop for one minute and open your eyes and realise how blessed you are. For simple things such as clean water and food, the time you get to spend with your loved ones. 

I don't want this to become a patronising post and I'm not saying everybody is ungrateful, it just came to my attention recently that I am lucky even though I'm currently facing one of the worst times of my life.  So a bit of awknologement - Mum, Dad, Dani, Matt, Han, Vicki, Marcus and my girls.. If you're reading this I'm so grateful for each and everyone of you who has put a smile on my face numerous times. 

So what are you grateful for? 

I'm sure there's plenty. And just remember even if it's a shit day today, tomorrow is a new beginning.


I hope you have enjoyed this spontaneous post my loves. I'm going to try and get back into the swing of blogging more frequently and I know I mentioned in a previous post about uploading more 'fun' posts, I have a lot of beauty/fashion/décor/fun posts in mind they just need to be put together perfectly before they're uploaded. Also to the people wondering where my Vlog has vanished to - due to petty personal reasons it had to be taken down, if I had it my way it would be different, but that won't stop me as I still have ideas for future videos. 

I hope you're all well and having a lovely week. Happy Sunday, enjoy your roast! 

Until next time my loves - 

TTFN! xxx

Side note: I do plan on my content being more frequent again so if anybody has anything they would like me to post about, get in touch!