Thursday 31 March 2016

Liebster Award- Estellosaurus

Heya everyone! I hope you're all having a fantastic day. I was nominated for the Liebster Award by the wonderful Estelle over at Estellosaurus. She's awesome, has the most quirky and cool fashion sense (seriously, go check out her instagram to see some of the fabulous clothes she has!) and is such a lovely person. Thankyou for nominating me! :) 


I will expalin the rules of the Liebster Award at the end of this post. Estelle asked me 11 questions so here they are with my answers: 

(1) When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I have always loved animals and knew I wanted to work with them one day. When I was little, I wanted to be a vet but as I got older, I realised that I don't think I could deal with the emotional pressure of being a vet. My dream job is now to be a zoo keeper. 

(2) What was the last terrible book you read? Why was it terrible?

Hmm, I haven't read any terrible books for a while now. Probably the last set of books that I really didn't enjoy were the 50 Shades of Grey books. It was an okay read for some of the first book, but then it was terrible! I'd bought all of the books so it felt like a waste not to read them all but yeah, I really didn't like them. They were cheesy, so much of the book was ridiculous, and I feel like it masked an abusive, controlling relationship as BDSM, which is presenting the BDSM lifestyle in such a bad way. 

(3) If you could bring back one TV show that was cancelled or has ended, what would you bring back? 

When I was around 13 (in 2005), there are a show that aired for one season called Invasion. It was a sci-fi alien drama that was set in the US in the aftermath of a hurricane in a town in Florida in which aliens invaded and were living in the swamps, attacking the locals and taking over their bodies. I really enjoyed it, maybe I wouldn't now all these years later (I've just decided I'm gonna re-watch it) but it would be cool for it to be brought back. Does anyone else remember this?

(4) Summer or Winter? 

I prefer winter, but there's still so many things that I love about summer and I'm really looking forward to it this year!

(5) What did you have for dinner last night? 

Chicken fried rice from the Chinese takeaway :) 

(6) What's your favourite breakfast cereal?

Golden Grahams, Weetos and Honey Cheerios

(7) Cats or Dogs?

This is such a hard one to answer! In the past my answer would have been dogs right away, but a few years ago my neighbour got a cat and I absolutely fell in love with her  and since then, my love for cats has grown so much. I don't think I prefer either! I can't wait until I have my own place and I can get a dog and a cat. 

(8) A blog you would recommend? 

I would recommend Jenna's awesome blog, Princess Parasox

(9) Sum up your day in three words

Sunny, Anxiety, Slow 

(10) If you had to interview someone for a job, what one question would you ask them?

I'm not sure.... Do you like animals? because if not, we have a problem! haha

(11) What is the third word of your last text message? 

 'dear'

Here are my questions

(1) What's your favourite scent?
(2) List three things you love about Spring
(3) What's your favourite sweet snack?
(4) How many countries have you visited? List them.
(5) What's the last movie you watched at the cinema?
(6) Do you have a favourite breed of cat? If not, a favourite colour of cat?
(7) What are the cutest pair of socks you've ever owned? Describe them.
(8) What's your favourite game? (board game, video game, etc.)
(9) Name one thing on your to-do-list today
(10) Do you prefer tea or coffee?
(11) Name something you love about yourself

The bloggers that I nominate are: Jenna, Christie, Emily,Courtney & Nicole Marie


 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 The Liebster Award Rules

- Mention the blogger who nominated you and be sure to thank them and link back to their blog 

- Answer the 11 questions you were asked

-  Write 11 questions of your own

- Nominate 11 bloggers and let them know they've been nominated
 (oops, I know I didn't nominate 11! haha)

 

Thankyou for reading!
 
 
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Wednesday 30 March 2016

Kidney Choices Event

Today's post is about something a little different than my usual posts, but I've been wanting to start blogging more about what life is like living with chronic, invisible illness for a while now. One of the many reasons why I set up my blog was to create a place where I could talk openly about my health, connect with fellow spoonies and maybe help others by sharing my own experiences. On Saturday 12th March, I attended an NHS Kidney Choices Day event with my best friend and I wanted to share with you all some of the information from the event. It's taken me ages to get around to writing this post! My best friend has had a kidney condition all of her life which has progressed to chronic renal failure, and so we attended the event to learn more about the different treatment options available to patients and what the next step will be for her recovery. I hope this post is helpful and educational (it's going to be quite sciencey!), and I hope you enjoy reading. 


First off, how pretty are these flower cakes from the event? :) they were delicious, too! 

The event was held at the Tickled Trout Hotel in Preston, Lancashire, which is a lovely hotel. There was a room allocated for the event, filled with numerous stalls where you could talk to different professionals and charities. Attending the events were the British Kidney Patient Association, a selection of nurses to provide information on medication, dialysis and transplants, as well as dietary advice and practical demonstrations of the various machines used for dialysis treatment. It was a fantastic opportunity for patients to view the machines that they would be using and ask all of the questions they had about how they work, what the treatment entailed and what to expect when going through dialysis. The nurses were all very friendly and helpful, thoroughly answering all the questions we had. 

Before I discuss the different dialysis options that we learnt about at the event, I wanted to explain a little about how kidney failure affects the body and what dialysis is. The kidneys are vital organs that are responsible for removing waste products and excess water from the blood and making urine. They regulate levels of certain minerals in the body, such as potassium and sodium, and reabsorb any useful products. The kidney also makes important hormones, one of them maintains blood pressure. When the kidneys no longer work the way they are supposed to, they cannot perform these crucial functions and this is where dialysis comes in. Dialysis is also known as renal (kidney) replacement therapy, and what the treatment does is carry out the job of the kidneys by regulating nutrients and removing waste products from the blood via different types of machine. At the event, we were able to have a look at these machines and learn about how to use them. 

There are two different types of dialysis available, and the first stall we went to focused on peritoneal dialysis. The peritoneum or peritoneal sac is a massive membrane inside your abdomen that surrounds all of your vital organs and protects them; part of it also covers your organs and contains lots of nerves and blood vessels so nutrients, etc. can be passed to your organs. Peritoneal dialysis works by allowing fluids to be 'pumped' into the body and across the petritoneum so that they can be absorbed into the organs. The machine above is used for automated petrioneal dialysis (APD), which filters fluid into your blood whilst you sleep and is known as the APD machine (sorry that my photos are not the best quality). 

The big sac of fluid that can be seen above is filled with sterile solution that contains glucose and other important nutrients. The machine is connected via a tube to the patients abdomen and works for 8-10 hours whilst they are sleeping (but you can disconnect it briefly if you need to go to the toilet, etc.). If a patient opts for this dialysis treatment, a nurse will visit their home to show them how to properly use the machine.


The model in this photo shows where the catheter tube will be attached to the patient's abdomen, and this is where the APD machine is connected. The catheter can be neatly tucked up and dressing can be used to hold the tube close to your tummy so that you can't see it through your clothes. The nurses will provide you with information and products to keep the catheter clean. This method of dialysis is a very popular option; one of the reasons is because it can be used for people who work during the day.

Also attending the event were patients who were currently having dialysis and patients who had undergone a kidney transplant. Whilst we were talking to the nurse at this stall, she called over a man who had been on peritoneal dialysis for 6 months and he talked to us about how easy it was to use the machine and how much better he was feeling after starting the treatment. He gave us a tip about using the machine, that it could be quite noisy at night and that to solve this he paced the machine closer to the floor and it seemed to quiten the noise. My best friend and her parents were able to ask the man lots of questions and it was so helpful :) 


The other method of dialysis that is available to patients is haemodialysis, which involves filtering the patients blood through a machine. This machine does the same job as the kidneys, removing waste products from the blood, before pumping it back into the body. The machine is simply known as a dialysis machine, and patients must undergo treatment three times a week, lasting 4 hours per session, making this dialysis much more invasive and time-consuming. This type of dialysis is most commonly given to patients who are eldery, young or at a more serious stage of renal failure. It is also provided to patients who are soon to have transplants or more urgently have to begin treatment because it is quicker to organise and start than peritoneal dialysis. 

To have haemodialysis, patients must have a specific blood vessel created in their arm where the dialysis machine will be attached. This blood vessel is made by joining an artery to a vein and is known as an 'arteriovenus (AV) fistula' which allows blood to be taken out of the body and put back in via the same blood vessel. At the event, we listened to a talk given by a nurse about this machine and were shown an example of a fistula in a model arm, as well as the needle that would be used (seen on the table). The group listening to the talk was very small, meaning it was much easier to ask quesitons. Also listening was a man who was currently having haemodialysis and he very kindly allowed all of us to feel his arm where the fistula was situated. I wasn't expecting it to feel quite like it did, the blood was flowing fast through the area and my best friend described the feeling of it as 'popping candy' under the skin, it felt almost fizzy. It was a very interesting experience to feel it. Not all patients who receive this form of dialysis have a fistula created as sometimes they need to start treatment more urgently and instead have a tube inserted into their neck and treatment is given via a port (portacath) in their chest. 



As well as talking to some patients currently on dialysis, we also had the opportunity to talk to a man who has had a kidney transplant. He told us about how much his quality of life has improved since having his transplant, which was great for my friend to hear :) He also talked to us about the importance of taking the medication that is required to be taken for the rest of your life after the transplant to prevent your body rejecting the kidney, and about the preparation to have the transplant. Both the patient and the donor must have blood tests to identify their blood types and their lymphocyte antigen (HLA) type. Additionally, they must have health and fitness tests to check if they are fit enough to deal with the operation; these tests include an electrocardiogram and echocardiogram (both heart tests). We were also made aware of a scheme that people who are donating a kidney to their sibling/spouse/child/friend can opt into called the National Living Donor Kidney Sharing Scheme. This ensures that if your kidney is not a match for your loved one, a kidney could still be available via the scheme and your kidney would then go to another person waiting for a kidney, with your loved one in turn receiving a kidney. Again, it was really helpful to talk to this man about what life before and after a transplant will be like. 

Overall, I think the event was fantastic for providing information and resources to patients and their family/friends. It was great that the machines could be seen up close, and you could ask lots of questions and watch demonstrations. It was also incredibly useful being able to discuss treatment with people who have experienced it themselves and to medical professionals. It was a free event and refreshments were provided. I really liked how attentive the nurses were too; they made sure everyone was happy and comfortable, finding my best friend somewhere to sit down when she was tired. It was lovely to see how caring they were :) One thing that my best friend said would have been useful, is some younger people around our age to talk to who were going through dialysis/ who had had a transplant because we could have related more. If you or one of your friends or family members has renal failure, I recommend speaking to your local hospital about any uncoming events like this one. It really was a great and educational event. Thankyou to the NHS and all of the people who organised it!

Thankyou for reading! I know it was a very wordy post! 


Have you been to an event like this? Do you have a kidney condition, are on dialysis or have had a transplant? Any tips, advice or information would be very beneficial for my friend :) 

(The majority of information in this post has come from my own knowledge and my memory of the event, but some of the names of the machinery etc. were sourced on the NHS & Medical News Today website. The NHS choices image was sourced on google).  
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Monday 28 March 2016

Easter Lush Haul

I've been a busy bee today and I can't believe how quick the day has gone! I've been excited about showing everyone the lovely lush products I purchased a good few weeks ago. They are all really pretty, smell so good & I can't wait to start using them. I'm looking forward to seeing what lush will bring out next! I hope you all enjoy today's post :) 


I bought a selection of bath bombs and bubble bars that I'd spotted on instagram or that my friends had recommended. I love how colourful the Easter range is, and how many different shapes and styles they have in store. I especially love the flowers that decorate quite a few of their products and that some of them are egg-shaped! Have you spotted my little Easter sequins? They are so cute! I'm considering sprinkling them around my room. Just looking at them makes me smile! 


 The first item on my shopping list was the 'bunch of carrots'. I loved the unique design of these bubble bars, and I liked that they came in three different colours. I love how they are attached by string; they just look awesome. They contain a mixture of buchu oil, lemon oil and bergamot oil so they have a lovely citrusy smell to them, and I'm a big fan of citrus. The next bubble bar I wanted to grab before they sold out is the Ladybird. It was part of the Mother's Day range and it was just too cute not to buy. It smells really nice, a mixture of peppermint and geranium oil. It reminds me of the smell of my garden in summer as we always have lots of geranium flowers. I love how bright the red body of the ladybird is!


Another adorable lush product that I really loved was the Humpty Dumpty bathbomb. I mean look at it... It's got a bowtie and a massive cheerful smile! I love the blue and white colours and how big this bathbomb is, but I'm a little sad that mine doesn't have a bright yellow bowtie as is advertised. It's still awesome and I'm really interested to see what it will do once added to the bath. It's another citrus-fragranced product, containing bergamot oil and brazilian orange oil :) 


I ordered two items that are not part of the Easter range but were on my wishlist. I was recommended the Fizzbanger bath bomb by several of my friends so I thought it was about time I tried it for myself. I've seen a few photos of what it looks like in the bath so I'm really excited to use it, but I'm not a huge fan of the scent which is a combination of cinnamon leaf oil, ylang ylang oil, oak moss extract, petitgrain oil and cream of tartar... I think it's a bit strong. It also contains popping candy, which is great! I picked up an 'Elbow Grease' moisturising bar becasue I've heard so many good reviews about it, and I'm intrigued to see if it will brighten up my tattoo and help with my dry skin. 


The Fluffy Egg is my favourite item in this lush haul. It's so pretty, plus I'm lovin' the bright pink colour and zig-zag detail. It smells really sweet too, with a mild hint of citrus. I choose the Creamy Candy bubble bar mostly because of the name, and then I saw that vanilla and cocoa butter were some of ingredients, as well as almond oil. It just sounded so perfect for Easter and I LOVE vanilla (it's my favourite scent!). The description is 'bathing confectionery' which also makes it sound super sweet, and the little flower just completes it. 


 The final product I chose was the 'Pop in the Bath' bubble bar, purely because it had a big flower on it and it thought it looked lovely. It did have a little yellow piece in the centre of the flower, but it fell out and I have no idea where is it :D I love the shade of blue used on this bubble bar and again, it's ingredients is a selection of different citrus fruit oils: lemon, bergamot, mardarin and orange flower, so I'm going to be a very happy bunny using this in my bath. I'm very happy with all of the items I got; let me know if you'd like me to write some reviews for them :)

Thankyou for reading!


Have you bought any of the Lush Easter range? What's your favourite product? 

 
 
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1st Giveaway Winner!

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a great Easter Monday and enjoying devouring the rest of your Easter chocolate. I even had an Easter egg for breakfast! This is just a quick post to reveal the winner of my giveaway to celebrate my 100th blog post :) Thankyou to everyone who has been reading my blog for the last 6 months! You are all awesome  


Thankyou to the two of you that entered my mini giveaway :) I entered your names into a random name generator, and the winner is.... 



Congratulations Nat! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧

I hope you enjoy your prizes :) 


I'll be posting about my lovely Easter/Spring lush haul later today everyone so I hope my fellow lushies enjoy! 

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Sunday 27 March 2016

Easter Baking

I've had a great day today! I've been busy baking, decorating easter cookies with my niece and nephew and taking photographs for my next few posts. I've been listening to the soundtracks to my favourite musicals and Disney songs too and have had a good dance and sing along! Hope you've all had a wonderful day; tell me how you spent it in the comments :) I thought I'd share with you all the recipe for the Easter egg shortbread biscuits I made. Enjoy! 


What you'll need to make the Easter Egg shortbread biscuits: 

180g plain flour
125g butter (oops, I used margarine because we didn't have any butter)
55g caster sugar 
Icing sugar 
Any decorations you want to add to your biscuits 

How to make the biscuits

(1) Preheat to oven to 190C and grease a baking tray 
(2) Cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy
(3) Add the flour and mix into a smooth dough
(4) Squish the dough together into a ball and roll out onto a surface
(5) The dough should be rolled to around 1cm thickness
(6) Cut out whatever shapes you'd like. As it is Easter, I made egg shaped biscuits. I drew around an egg shaped item onto cardboard and made a 'template' to cut around.
(7) The recipe I used said before baking, pop the biscuits into the fridge for 20 minutes.
(8) Take out of the fridge and bake your biscuit for 15-20 minutes until they are a pale golden brown colour
(9) Leave your biscuits to cool before making the icing to decorate them
(10) Decorate them however you like. I decorated mine with Easter-themed sprinkles :) 


As you can see, I always end up doing a messy job of decorating baked goods but that's the fun of baking i guess haha I made the icing sugar too runny and it dripped everywhere!


It's my little tradition to make cornflake or rice crispy cakes every Easter. It doesn't feel like Easter unless I've made them. If you've never made them before, they are really simple to make :) All that you'll need is some chocolate, whatever cereal you like and decoration. The most popular decoration for these Easter treats are mini eggs, placed in the centre to resemble a nest. First melt your chocolate; once fully melted pour your cereal in and stir it until all the cereal is fully coated in chocolate. Spoon the mixture into paper cases and add any decoration. Pop into the fridge to set for around a hour, and enjoy :) 




I had an awesome day filled with baking and decorating biscuits, and my family enjoyed munching these cornflake cakes. I cannot believe that I haven't eaten any Easter eggs yet! I'm going to relax now that my family have gone home, catch up on reading everyone's blog posts and finally crack open my creme egg Easter egg :) 

Thankyou for reading!

 

Do you enjoy baking at Easter? Have you made anything today? What's your favourite Easter treat?

Have you seen my giveaway to celebrate my 100th blog post? 
There's only 3 hours left! (enter here)
 
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Saturday 26 March 2016

Easter Tsum Tsums

Yay! It's Easter tomorrow :) It's been so hard to resist devouring my Easter goodies today. Bring on tomorrow! I hope everyone has a lovely day filled with lots of chocolate and Easter themed cuteness! I've been really looking forward to showing you all these adorable Easter edition tsum tsums This is going to be quite a pic heavy post!


Just look how bloody cute they are! I could not resist buying this set as soon as I spotted it on the Disney website. I absolutely love that the characters are dressed in baby animal costumes! I love all the little details of their costumes... the material, the colours. It's such a wonderful set. 


The basket that the tsum tsums come in is really nice. It feels so so soft, and the colour scheme again is great. I love the green and white gingham material used for the lining of the basket and the matching bows on the handle of the basket. 


No Easter themed set is complete without Easter bunnies, and this Minnie & Mickey pair is so pretty!  I love that they've included the gingham in their costume design. I don't usually like the typical blue for a boy and pink for a girl design but I think it looks nice in this case. Another thing I love on these tsum tsums are their rosy red cheeks :)


Even better, they have super cute bunny tails! I'm just really impressed with these fantastic bunny tsum tsums, but I'm also bunny obsessed so that's to be expected! haha 



Another adorable baby animal needed in any Easter set is a lamb. It's so fluffy, and it reminds me a little of the sanrio character Piano (even though she's pink!). I really love the sky blue and white gingham material used for this Winnie the Pooh tsum tsum's bowtie and ears.Sky blue is one of my favourite colours.



The final tsum tsum in this set is Eeyore dressed as a chick. I like the scratty style appearance of this costume and the little tuft of 'fluff' on his head. His bowtie and the inside of his ears is made from lilac and white gingham, which goes well with the grey of his body. Even though this tsum tsum is really cute, it's my least favourite of the set. 


Overall, I'm really glad that I purchased this set and added it to my evergrowing tsum tsum collection. It's lovely and is beautifully coloured and so kawaii, and I'm looking forward to displaying them around my bedroom throughout Spring.

Thankyou for reading!


Which one of these tsum tsums is your favourite? Mine is Mickey :) 

 Love tsums tsums? Check out my other tsum tsum posts 
 
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Wednesday 23 March 2016

March Pop! in a Box


It's time to show you all which Pop! vinyl figure I received in this month's Pop in a Box! I'm really lovin' this new subscription; it's so exciting opening the box to discover which figure I've received. I definitely recommend subscribing if you want to grow your Pop! collection but cannot decide which ones you want to buy most. 


Yayy! I am SO HAPPY that I got Severus Snape :) he's always been my favourite character from Harry Potter (closely followed by Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger). I am impressed everytime I get a new Pop! figure by the quality of the detail that goes into each of them. I especially love Snape's hair, it makes him look so adorable! Also, how cute is his wand!? 



 I love the appearance of his robes, especially the navy blue colour of his 'shirt'. I also love the gathered effect they've used to replicate the look of a real robe! All of these little details perfect the overall look of the figure. The tiny buttons on his shirt just look awesome! I'm really glad that I've now got this fantastic Pop! in my collection :)


 The only problem with this figure is that there's a little mistake on his left sleeve; there's a tiny blob of beige paint that was used for his hands dotted just above the wrist. It's kind of annoying, but not very noticeable and doesn't change my opinions about how much I like this figure! Writing this post made me think about Alan Rickman and the amazing job he did as Snape. He was such an incredible actor and I was always very attracted to his voice :) I can't be the only one? Rest in Peace

Thankyou for reading!

♥ 

If you're a subscriber to Pop in a Box, which figure did you get this month? 

Who is your favourite Harry Potter character?  

 
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Tuesday 22 March 2016

What I've learnt in 6 months of blogging

Good evening everyone! I hope you've all had an awesome day. It feels so good to get back to blogging :) I can't believe I've been blogging now for 6 months; it's definitely true that the time flies by when you've having fun! Blogging has been great.... I've met so many lovely people and it's been wonderful reading about your interests and everyday lives. I have learnt a lot and I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on these in today's post. I hope you all enjoy reading


 What I've learnt in 6 months of blogging 

1.  I created my blog for many reasons but one of them was so that I'd have a place to talk more openly about my mental and physical health, and find a support network of people with whom I could chat with about things I've been struggling with and just the elements of life living with chronic illness. Since I started blogging, I've read so many great posts from others sharing their experiences of living with various health conditions and they have really helped me, especially on my hardest days, and reminded me that I am not alone and that I have lots of people I can now talk to. Have you heard of the Spoonie Speak twitter chat? I have found lots of support since I began joining in with this chat every Friday and each week there's a different topic. It's awesome, you should definitely check it out. 

2. I've learnt that as a whole, even though there is sometimes negativity, the blogging community is amazingly supportive! Bloggers are really encouraging and understanding when other bloggers post about sensitive or taboo topics, and I feel comfortable openly discussing things that would have made me a lot more anxious before I started blogging. It's lovely seeing other bloggers sharing the love and helping each other out. The Girl Gang is another fantastic support network set up for bloggers and anyone else who wants to join! I've also found that many bloggers identify as feminists, which is fantastic as I don't know too many people IRL that do and it's been fantastic to be surrounded by bloggers who have the same views as myself. Zusterschap is an awesome feminist blog that I really enjoy reading; it features posts on lots of different topics and it's just great!

3. There are so many different types of blogs, with a variety of themes and niches. There's a blog out there to suit every interest, and I think this is great! There are also blogs that don't fit a particular mold and include a mix of different topics. I love being able to read about everything, from beauty, to travel, to fashion, and I love that there's lots of bloggers that are interested in the same things as me! When I first set up my blog, I was worried that others wouldn't be interested in my posts, that they'd be boring or that my content wouldn't be as good as other blogs! I still have days when I worry about these things, but I have many awesome followers who love to read about my life and that makes me really happy

4. Blogging has made me into more of a shopaholic! Reading about so many fabulous products that other bloggers have purchased has made me want to buy something new every week! I especially blame instagram for this! haha :D

5.  I was hoping that blogging would help me with my confidence and social anxiety, and it really has made a big difference! It's been a combination of the wonderful support I've received from others, all the fantastic friends I've met and having the opportunity to share my experiences with mental health that have made me feel more comfortable expressing how I feel and being more open with my friends and family about things I'm struggling with. I still have a long way to go, but I really appreciate all of the kind comments I've received. They have helped me a lot, you guys are all amazing!

So far, blogging has been an incredible experience & I'm really looking forward to seeing what the future will bring. 

 
Thankyou again to everyone who reads my posts & follows me on social media!
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Monday 21 March 2016

Yay! 100th blog post!


Happy Spring everyone! I'm so glad that it's finally here; I cannot wait for sunny days when I can get outside with my camera and spend more time in the garden. This year has gone by so quickly, how is it already almost the end of March!? This month for me has been a hard one and I've been struggling with my mental and physical health a lot. I've been finding it extremely hard to get things done, some days it was impossible to even find the motivation to get out of bed. It was very stressful wanting to blog so much, but not being able to. I love my little blog; I really enjoy sharing snippets of my life and my interests with you all. I want to say thankyou to all of you for reading my blog, leaving comments and for just being awesome! Today's post is my 100th one and so I thought I'd do a little giveaway to celebrate this, as well as the fact that I've been blogging for 6 months now! I can't wait to see what the next 6 months will bring :) 


100th blog post giveaway

This is my first giveaway! Sorry that it's only small... I promise that my next one will be bigger! This giveaway is open to international entries and it's going to be running until Monday 28th March. If you win, you'll get....

- a box of milk chocolate pocky

- a one4all giftcard, that you can spend in so many stores, worth £10

- & 'Can Can' the tokidoki unicorno
 (I got this vinyl figure in a blindbox and since I'd already received it in a previous box, I've decided to give it away so the box I send to the winner will already have been opened).



a Rafflecopter giveaway

  
Good luck everyone! Thankyou for reading!

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Sunday 6 March 2016

20 Things I Love About Spring

Hi everyone! Yayy! I'm so happy that it's finally Spring Time. I haven't blogged for what feels like forever, sorry! I've been having a really hard time with my mental health lately and have been trying to focus on getting myself to a better place. I'm still not quite there yet, but I absolutely love blogging and I've missed it so much. So, here's my first post of March. I hope you all enjoy it


My Favourite Things about Spring 

1. Being surrounded by gorgeous nature

2. All the flowers that start to bloom, bright green buds and shoots popping up everywhere

3. Snowdrops, Daffodils, Crocuses and one of my favourite flowers, Bluebells. 

4. Adorable baby animals: lambs, chicks, bunnies.

5. April Showers (I love the rain!)

6. More daylight, less SAD

7. Nature photography is my thing, and there's so many great photo opportunities at this time of year!

8. Easter because ALL THE CHOCOLATE

9. All of the cute Easter themed products in the shops

10. Especially all of the rabbit themed things EVERYWHERE! 


 11. Spending more time sitting in the garden, drinking tea, reading and colouring in, cuddling my bunnies, listening to the sounds of nature, relaxing in the sun. I can't wait!

12. Pastel colours 

13. Lots of yummy fruit growing, especially berries *nom nom*

14. My bunnies can play out in the garden more, since the weather has improved. I can happily just sit and watch them playing and binkying for hours. 

15. Floral fashion 

16. More outdoor activities... going to the park, to the woods, picnics. 

17. Waking up to the sound of all the birds singing

18. I miss my university campus; it was so beautiful in the spring and I'll really miss going for walks around campus with my camera (that's where all the photography on the post came from). 

19. All of the insects start to appear, and I love photographing them. I also find them fascinating to watch. Does anyone else? haha

20. In Spring last year, I was handing in my dissertation after months of hard work, and when I reminisce about this time, it makes me proud of myself for getting through university despite my mental and physical health causing so many problems for me and graduating. 



Thankyou for reading!
I can't wait to write all of the posts I have planned for this month :) 
 
 
 
What are your favourite things about Spring? 
What are your best Spring Time memories? 


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