Category Archives: personal

Why I Stopped Watching Pretty Little Liars

Why I Stopped Watching Pretty Little Liars

I was late to the Pretty Little Liars obsession, having only started watching it about 18 months ago. I was instantly hooked, as I think most people are, and blew threw episode after episode in quick succession.

And then I started losing sleep.

No, not because I was staying up until the stupid hours of the morning watching Netflix, as most people would suspect, but I slowly realised that the show was affecting me detrimentally, and only recently have I discovered exactly why.

I have always felt like I absorb feelings and emotions from things going on around me; not only do I cry at basically any moment during most films, but I also get particularly stressed watching stressful situations on tv, and it turns out I’m not alone in this. I am an empath.

During the start of PLL, this worked in my favour. I became intrigued and excited as the girls set out to discover what was going on in Rosewood, I got caught up in the girls’ relationships and wanted to keep watching as they became pro-active in investigated the disappearance of Alison and schemed about the true identity of A. I felt a particular affinity with Spencer (also Troian Bellisario is STUNNING like how is she 30?!), and as her curiosity peaked, so did mine.

However, getting swept up in the episodes was affecting me. I was struggling to sleep through the night after particularly eventful episodes and scenes were leaking into my dreams, and I started to put this down to the show. In order to compromise, I started only watching episodes during the day, instead of directly before bed, and this helped a little, but as the series went by and the plots became more twisted and stories became more dangerous, I was still experiencing problems, so I took breaks – only watching an episode a day, or watching a few episodes then taking a week away etc.

And that’s where I am now, on a break that has lasted months. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve watched any episodes this year. I’m midway through season 5, and every now and then I think about going back to it, but the thought of it still makes me a little nervous, which drives me a little crazy because I feel so behind!

I have, however, managed to avoid all spoilers of what’s to come, which I think it pretty impressive considering the show is on about season 7 now (is this right?) and I know that there have been a lot of big revelations – I just don’t know what they are, ha! Occasionally I see ‘#PLL’ in a tweet and I just scroll straight on past..

Is anyone else an empath? I’d love to hear from you!

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PS. If you drop a spoiler on me I will cry. Be kind.

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Ways I Fail as a Girl

I don’t know whether it was the massive tomboy stage I went through as a child, or the fact that I work on a team of all guys, but sometimes I feel like I really fail as a girl.

Ways I Fail as a Girl

This is weird, because I have a lot of girlish tendencies, but I guess no one’s perfect, and what’s the point of having imperfections if you can’t take the mick out of yourself for them, right?

I ladder 99% of tights on their first wear

I’ve actually given up buying nice tights, because I can guarantee the second I drop £10 on a pair they’ll get a ladder just looking at me.

I can’t do heels

I get major green monster syndrome when I see people kicking butt in heels all day without the need for blister plasters or 3 days of recovery afterwards!

I never buy perfume

It kinda just feels like an unnecessary expense, especially seeing as I work somewhere that I can only describe as dirty and smelly, so I’ll generally ask for it as birthday/Christmas presents if I’m in need.

My hair game is weak

A morning brush is pretty much all my hair will get in a day aside from washing. This is partially to do with the fact that I have very well behaved hair that doesn’t require much care and attention, but primarily due to laziness..

I use phrases like ‘sweating balls’ and ‘MATE’

I blame this entirely on my team at work. I’m definitely just considered to be ‘one of the guys’ and am treated as such, which I don’t mind in the slightest but it has done interesting things to my vocabulary.

I rarely enjoy going out to shop

Every now and then I’ll go out on a shopping trip, but I’m a serial online shopper. Next day delivery, no judgemental sales assistants and being able to do it in my onesie? Yes please.

I only watched The Notebook for the first time this year

Nicholas Sparks doesn’t do a whole lot for me. I’ve never read any of his books, and I’ve only seen a handful of the films based on them, and d’you know what? I didn’t really cry at any of them..

I never carry painkillers

Rookie mistake; I’m forever the person that has to ask around for paracetamol.

I’m not ladylike in the slightest

I’m clumsy, I spill things and I fart, soz..

Anyone else fail?

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Not So Long Distance..

Read back on this story here


So you know how just over 2 months ago I was crazy enough to dive into a long distance relationship with a guy I’d only been on two dates with? Well that’s nothing compared to what I’ve done now..

Guys, I’m going to New Zealand. A week today.

Now I will admit that this wasn’t as spontaneous as I just made it sound; I booked the tickets a few weeks ago after weeks of pleading with my boss to give me the time off work, so it was a little bit orchestrated, but by my standards its way last minute! It will also be a relatively short trip (stupid work!) as despite being gone for 9 days, two days are lost in travelling, but a week is better than nothing, and I think if I had to go another two months my head might just explode! Eeeekk!

But a little closer to home, it really doesn’t feel like a whole month since I wrote the last instalment of this tale; the time has flown by!

As well as around 35 hours (yes, I did the math) of FaceTime and FaceTime audio – that’s just in the last month – we also had a cute little Whataspp movie date where we watched Mulan together, which was just something a little bit different and fun, plus its one of Matthew’s favourite Disney films!

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This month has been really difficult for me at times, but its been so much easier knowing that even from the other side of the world, Matthew is there for me through it all, and now I’m just so excited to be able to be there with him, even if just for a week.

Wish me luck guys!

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It’s ok

SONY DSC

This week has been a real rollercoaster.

I know as a blogger I can choose what aspects of my life I share on here, and on Twitter and Instagram, and I can always try to keep up a positive appearance, but sometimes life isn’t all pastel stationery and new lipstick, and I think that sometimes we need to drop the stigma that comes with sharing our life struggles.

It doesn’t make us ‘moaners’ and it doesn’t make us weak, it makes us human. And d’you know what? Humans weren’t designed for solitary lives; we’re pack creatures, stronger in numbers, and sharing the load when we struggle is a means of survival. But I’m not here to talk evolution today.

The word broken has been thrown around a few too many times for my liking this week. I have a real issue with this word because it implies that something can affect us so much that we don’t feel like we exist as our best selves, and nothing should ever make us feel this way. But it does.

The thing about being broken, is that you aren’t alone. That’s when your pack are there for you. No matter how broken you think you may be, there will always be someone with a bottle of superglue collecting up those broken pieces, who’ll hug you til you’re squeezed back together. These are the people who love you no matter what. Even if you believe you’re irreparable, there will be those in your life who see you as perfect.

I don’t wish the feeling on anyone, but I just want to break this stereotypical belief that struggling should be done in silence. You are allowed to talk about anything you want to talk about, and you should never have to apologise for feeling the way you do. Find those golden people in your lives – the ones with the superglue – and let them help you, however you need them to.

Your life doesn’t need to be Instagram-perfect. You just need to be you.

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Teenage Things I Never Grew Out Of

I’m not the only one still clinging to my younger years, am I?

I think our teen years are where we make a lot of choices that have defined the person we are today, whether it be the bad ones that we’ve become stronger from, or the good ones that have brought us to where we are today, and whether they were good or bad, the past can’t be changed and we can only look forward.

Me, aged 15

Me, aged 15

Going forward, however, we tend to bring our best (or at least favourite) things from the past, and there are certain aspects of my teenage life that I have never grown out of while transitioning into my twenties. (Side note: I’ve never felt so old than just now referring to myself as ‘in my twenties’ WHAT)

Pop punk

From the time I discovered my love of bands like You Me At Six, All Time Low and Mayday Parade, I basically lived in my own music bubble of only listening to ‘alt’ stuff that the other girls in my class had never heard of. I had no idea who was in the charts or what was playing on the radio – all that mattered to me was keeping my iPod filled with the latest from Lostprophets and Paramore, because omg Hayley Williams, and while these days I’m a lot more varied in my taste, I still love crashing around to loud electric guitar rhythms.

Plugging in

On a similar note, as a teenager I was rarely found without at least one headphone in; every car journey, break time, I even went through a phase of sleeping with them in! To this day I struggle to get out of bed without putting music into my ears; its like my equivalent of coffee, and I love dancing around the house in the morning.

Blue eyeliner

While I look back at a lot of my makeup mistakes from my teen years – hello Dream Matte Mousse foundation in a shade much more orange than my face – the decision to start wearing blue eyeliner is one I love my younger self for. Ok, I might have overused it a bit at times, but its become my signature thing.

Mirror selfies

Seven years ago I was taking them on a little digital camera because phone camera quality was poor, and it would be me and my girlfriends crammed in front of a mirror in New Look or Primark. Nowadays, my iPhone sees a lot of bathroom mirrors, but many of the same faces.

Cheesy noughties teen movies

Yes I still occasionally binge on Princess Diaries and A Cinderella Story and no, I don’t really care if you think that’s sad..

Talking in emojis

Remember back in the old MSN days where you’d save so many damn emoticons that every sentence you typed would have an accidental weird sparkly thing in the middle of it? Well I still tend to use emojis in practically every conversation, but they’re a little less tacky these days.

Would I go back and re-live my teens? Probably not.. But I think I turned out alright, don’t you?

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A Month of Long Distance

Read the first part of this story here

On the day my last post went live, Matthew asked me to officially be his girlfriend, making today a somewhat bittersweet one month anniversary; a month of being together, when we’ve spent the whole time apart.


Girlfriend – now that’s a job role I’m really good at. And trust me, its a lot easier saying ‘my boyfriend is working in New Zealand’ than ‘oh, I’m just waiting around for some guy I’ve been on two dates with’. That being said, I don’t think he was ever just some guy..

I can’t pretend for a second we’re like any other couple reaching their first month; instead of living in the moment, we’re looking forward to the day we don’t have 11,500 miles between us. In many ways though, we’re totally normal. I love hearing about his day and we keep each other up late texting and wind each other up.. I keep wanting to write that its easy but it isn’t. We miss each other every day and some days its a real struggle, but we’re still there for each other through it all and he never fails to make me smile, even when I’m letting the world get to me.

All I can say is thank god for technology. I can’t imagine doing this without it; I think Dear John would have been a much different story if Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum had Skype. Thank you Whatsapp, thank you FaceTime, thank you Snapchat. There’s not a day we don’t use at least one of these. We’ve got into a good routine now: I try and take more late shifts at work because morning here/evening there is when we generally get the most time, but we make all the time we can.

I actually feel like this first month has flown by, probably helped by spending two weeks in China to keep me distracted! We’re halfway to the halfway point – that sounds better than 3 months to go, right? What’s more important though is that we’re both in this for the long haul. A month ago I had no regrets, and that stands true today.

On a little side note, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who commented on the last post. I had so many kind words from people who have been through similar situations, and people supporting me and it means so much!

Three months to go!

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My Thoughts on Not Going to University

With my Facebook news feed full of classic ‘dissertation hand in!’ photos from all my school friends, it serves as a reminder that 3 years ago (or just over, actually!) I made the decision not to apply to university, and that decision has really defined my life up to this point.

Not Going to University

Quite honestly, its not something I’ve really given that much thought up until recent months, and I just wanted to write today about how I feel on the matter. A lot of people see university as a rite of passage, an experience that has to be had, but I want to compare my potential university life to the life I’ve had instead.

Making friends

People always say that university is where you’ll meet your future bridesmaids/wingman/soul mate, but I genuinely believe that I’ve made more friends, and possibly truer friends through the wonders of social media, and I can’t imagine what life would be like without them now. Plus, I’m super awkward and introverted 90% of the time, so I doubt I’ll have been much of a social butterfly at uni!

On the other hand, I do feel like I lost a few people through not going to university. I found my last year of sixth form quite trying; while my friends did a good job of pretending that me not going to uni wasn’t a big deal, I was left out of so many conversations about accommodation nightmares and lecture timetables, and even though I promised to visit everyone, for the first two years, I hardly even spoke to my school friends, let alone seeing them, and its really only been in the last year that I’ve reached out to them again.

Life experience

Sure, I haven’t had a year studying abroad or worked in a fascinating placement, but I’ve done some pretty incredible things in the last three years. I spent two weeks driving around Europe by myself, I’ve run two half marathons and completed a Tough Mudder! I’ve progressed at work, I’ve been accepted for credit cards and got health insurance. And yes, I haven’t moved out, but that means I’ve been able to start saving for a mortgage and other important grown up things!

Family

By not moving away, its meant I’ve been able to stay close and up to date with my family. I pick my cousins up from school one day a week and take them to their swimming lessons, I get to watch them in their school plays and dance shows and I’ve been able to watch them grow up into proper little people, even if I’ll always remember nightmare baby-sitting! It also meant that I got to be there when my grandad got sick, and getting to spend as much time with him as possible before he passed away is something that I could never replace with a university experience.

Confidence

I’ve never told anyone this, but I knew three years ago that university would drive what little confidence I had back then right out of me. I probably would have turned into a ball of anxiety and imploded in a corner somewhere. And ok I may not be the most confident person in the world at times, but I’ve come a hell of a long way in the last few years and that needs some recognition. (I would never have been able to publish this post 2 years ago)

Independence

Yes I live at home still, but independence takes more forms than just moving out. I saved up and bought a new (second hand) car – my dream car too – and that in itself has been a huge factor in my independence. I’ve changed from a person who would never sit in a cafe by myself to someone who now frequently travels by myself, whether it be a day trip to London or getting the Eurostar to Disneyland Paris.

So just to summarise, I guess you can probably see that I really don’t regret my decision. Sure, I have days were I feel under-qualified and my day job is uninspiring, but I wouldn’t change any part of my life up til this point because its made me the person I am today.

I also want to do a little shoutout to the people reading this who may be in the university decision making process. I get the pressure, I get the confusion, and I’m in no way saying that I don’t believe in going to university; for some people its necessary, some people want the experience, and some people like the security that gaining a degree can give you. I just want you to know that you’re not alone in your thoughts, and you shouldn’t let the general belief of ‘you must go to university’ be the only reason you make the decision you do.

I’d love to hear about your university decisions and how you feel about them, drop me a comment!

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30 Little Things That Make Me Happy

Sometimes life gets you down. It happens to everyone, and its ok; no one’s life is Instagram-perfect.

When we have these little moments, its important to focus on the little things in life that put smiles on our faces, even if we don’t realise it. If it ever feels like the world isn’t on your side, take a few minutes to sit and write down a few of these, and you’ll be amazed how many things there are to be grateful for.

Little Things

Here’s mine:

  • Scented candles
  • Cheese and crackers
  • Gerbera daisies
  • Tsum tsums
  • Lip balm
  • Pretty sunsets
  • Cute animal videos
  • Fairy lights
  • Red skittles
  • Hair bows
  • Blue eyeliner
  • Good morning texts
  • Drinking from mugs
  • New notebooks
  • Disney trip planning
  • Clean sheets
  • Collecting eggs from my chickens
  • Retweets
  • Getting post
  • Peach iced tea
  • Pop tarts
  • Custard
  • Next day delivery
  • Walking to the gym
  • Dancing in the kitchen
  • Hand-writing lists
  • Nail varnish
  • Oreos
  • Disney movies
  • Fabric shopping

What’s on your list?

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Adult Things I’m Actually Good At

Three years ago I left sixth form with a handful of A-Levels, the memories of my GCSEs, and a brain full of crazy ideas for what my life was going to be like now I was a proper grown-up throwing myself into the adult world.

Kikki K Planner

Well we all know that nothing can prepare you for that, right?

Sure I could write essays on psychology studies and perform a perfect chemical titration, but if you’d asked me mortgages work I would have quickly hidden behind a pile of stuffed toys and declared I was never growing up EVER.

Ok, so I’m still not 100% certain on some things, but recently I have been feeling like a slightly more competent adult, having become pretty good at a few important things.

Budgeting and Saving

This is something I’d consider to be one of my greatest skills; very rarely do I find myself scraping payday to payday, and when I do its probably because I’m saving for something super important. Generally speaking, if I want something, I will do whatever it takes to make it work, whether it be working 40+ hours or putting myself on a total spending ban.

Paying off my credit cards

So having three credit cards really makes me feel like an adult; its a little scary. Admittedly, two of them are joint, so I only really have two different accounts, but in over a year I have never missed a payment or amounted any interest that could negatively affect my credit score.

Food shopping

I like to think I’m pretty good at doing the food shop; I generally think in meals rather than just food, and my love of writing lists really comes in handy! Plus, being prepared tends to prevent panic buying and overspending.

Making appointments

Dentist, opticians, car MOT, chiropractor.. I like to make sure I’ve got everything booked in with plenty of advance warning!

Having a phone voice

While most people, including myself, dread phone calls from unknown numbers, I’ve always been pretty good at the polite phone voice that adults put on. My particular favourite is when someone asks to speak to *insert name here* and the response is ‘speaking!’.

Buying homeware

Ok so I still live at home but that doesn’t mean I don’t love going to IKEA or spending hours on Pinterest thinking about my future living space..

Are you good at being a grown up?

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How and Why I Changed My Name

Wearing a name badge as part of my uniform at work means that without fail, I’ll get asked daily ‘what an unusual name, what’s it short for?’, which are swiftly followed by ‘oh, just Lottie, really?’. I’m so used to it now, but as a lot of people have asked me about this recently, I just thought I’d shed some light on the deal with my name.

RunDisney race bibs

I have always only ever been referred to as Lottie. In fact, there’s a home video of me as a baby in the hospital on the day I was born where my mum calls me Charlotte, and I think that’s possibly the last time she ever did. But yes, my birth certificate does state my full name as Charlotte Louise Martin.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the name Charlotte. I know lots of them and I don’t dislike their name at all, its just never been my name. I have always been Lottie, have never identified as anything else. Throughout primary school, it was known that I was always Lottie, and it wasn’t until secondary school that the whole ‘full name’ thing started to really bother me.

For starters, there were two other Charlottes in my class. It was, in fact, the 4th most popular girls name in the year I was born, so that was always going to happen, but that didn’t bother me at all. What I didn’t like was having to explain to every teacher of every subject in every year why I never responded to my name when the register was called. MY NAME IS LOTTIE, MR GIBBS. Honestly, you could shout Charlotte in my directed a hundred times and I wouldn’t even realise you were talking to me; its like calling a dog by the wrong name – no response.

It just wasn’t my name. I always knew that I would eventually ditch it, although I think a lot of my friends never believed I would go through with it, but after turning 18, I decided it was time to bite the bullet.

Changing it was actually super straight forward, would you believe I actually bought it through Wowcher or Groupon or something?! It was done through UK Deed Poll, and was as simple as filling out a quick form online, then having the official document signed with a witness, and it was done. Lottie Louise Martin.

The hard part was changing everything else!

As well as the obvious things like passport, drivers licence and bank details, I also had to inform my employer, doctors surgery, dentist, opticians, Paypal, credit card companies etc. Some changes were easier to make than others; my passport and drivers licence required sending off my official document and including a return address envelope for it to be sent back, while my bank just took a photocopy of my document and checking it against my new driving licence. You can actually purchase official copies of the original document, should you need them for filing against lots of things, but I’ve managed to get by with just the original – although its a little worn now!

So that’s me. I still get asked on a daily basis what my name is short for, and I still get all sorts of comments for it, but that’s been my life for almost 22 years (except, y’know, when I was too young to realise or care) and its just something I’ve learnt to put up with. What’s in a name, and all that jazz..

I hope you found this post interesting, I’d love to hear from anyone who’s been through something similar so drop me a comment!

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10 Things I Do When I Drink Too Much

Today’s post is brought to you by half a jug of Pimms. Will I regret it later? We’ll see..


I’m just gonna start of by saying that I really don’t drink much these days; I might have a bottle of Koppaberg at a bbq with friends, but I pretty much never drink at home and I usual drive when I go out so I’ve turned myself into quite the lightweight over the years. This Pimms, however, is really good, and I’ll admit I had a coke with a splash of raspberry vodka before I started on the pitcher so this is quite out of character.

You’ll notice that my ability to spell correctly and use proper punctuation is unwavering though, and I think that’s a sign of a former grammar school girl. Other things I do when I’ve had a few too many..

Pee a lot

Everyone knows the deal with this right? Once you’ve been once, you set off a chain reaction of peeing frequently throughout the night. I like to tell people about this little fact too.

Get louder

I don’t even have to be in a club with loud music, my volume just generally increases

Make up words

We all do this right? Half an hour ago I coined the term ‘cakey-cookie’

Carb load

When I was 18, cheesy chips from the kebab shop next to Walkabout was my jam, but bread and pasta do the job nicely too

Solve a crisis

I’m full of answers when I’ve had a drink or two. They span from fixing someone’s zip to creating a solution for world peace.

Take too many photos

Normally on Snapchat, so at least the evidence disappears after a short amount of time, but occasionally they appear on Facebook..

Tell people how much of a lightweight I am

I feel like reminding people of this fact makes it more acceptable for me to be in whatever state I’m in. Oh, and I’ll tell them I don’t do this often either.

Disappear for lengths of time

I once locked myself in the bathroom at a friends house because I had hiccups

Be clumsy without realising it

I’m the sort of person that knocks something over, then is surprised by it falling because I didn’t realise it had anything to do with me.

Take off my shoes

If I wear heels, which is basically something I save for the work Christmas party each year and that’s it, at some point they will come off and they won’t go back on. I’m older and wiser now, so generally there’s a pair of roll up flats in my handbag.

Do you do any of these?

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Second Date to Long Distance Relationship?

Having been single for well over a year now, I would never for a second claim myself to be a dating/relationship blogger, and I’m kinda way out of my comfort zone writing this, but here goes..


So its a classic 21st century romance: boy swipes girl, girl swipes boy, and both hope desperately that the other turns out to be normal, or at least as crazy as the other – as all the best couples are. I think it goes without saying: I’m the girl.

Now I’m not gonna go into a huge amount of detail, but we hit it off pretty much straight away, and within days of initial contact we had gone from talking for an hour to texting til 1am and it was clear that a date would be on the cards pretty soon, although I made him ask me properly of course! A date was set, and then we were hit with a bit of a rubbish bombshell: his work would be transferring him to New Zealand for 4 months..

Effective the following week.

Suddenly the prospect of a summer romance seemed way off the cards, and it seemed like the universe was totally against us, but I couldn’t deny the little voice in my head telling me that I shouldn’t be giving up hope just yet; I mean, I really liked him. With the first date proving a huge success, it seemed impossible at that point that we could go the next 4 months without seeing each other again, so I drove to meet him one more time before his flight. The thought of having to say goodbye was totally terrifying, but it completely dissolved the moment we saw each other, and instead I was filled with hope.

I don’t know how many people would transition from a second date to committing to 4 months of long distance without question, but I’ve always been one to jump into things feet first, and honestly I’m completely confident with the decision. The way I see it is that this is an amazing opportunity for him, and I truly want him to enjoy it to the fullest.


So here we are. Well, I’m here, and he’s there, and has been for almost a week now. Despite a bit of a tough transition, we’re slowly but surely getting into a routine and being able to FaceTime at the weekend was so nice!

Now this post isn’t just for storytelling purposes; its the beginning of something. I’m essentially going to be logging our experience: the highs and lows, how we cope, and the ways we stay connected despite 11,000+ miles and an 11 hour time difference, and if our story can help anyone else going through a similar situation then its gonna be worth it.

If you’ve ever done long distance, drop me a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

(Oh, and cos I know some of you will be dying to know, yes he loves Disney!)

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Things I’m So Grateful For This Week

I am just a bundle of happy thoughts this week! Like can’t stop smiling, bouncing around kinda happy, and I’m loving it!

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I won’t go into all the nitty gritty details, but while I’m happy as a clam, I thought I’d share just a few of the things that I’m feeling particularly grateful for this week! Plus, with the result of the EU referendum today, I think its important that everyone tries to find something positive in today.

Wifi on planes

Remember the days when you couldn’t even have your phone on during a flight? Now we’re basically actively encouraged to use them! And no, I haven’t gone on a trip without telling you, I’m grateful for being able to keep in touch with a certain someone on a long haul flight!

Girly group chats

I’m always so grateful for my amazing girlfriends, and group chats can be the most loving, supportive environments!

Workplace banter

I’ve gone through a few tough months at work recently, but I’m so happy I work with such a funny group of guys who not only put up with my crazy girl moments but can also make me laugh no end sometimes.

Online shopping

After a stupidly stressful tsum tsum release last week, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens tsum tsum release this week was an absolute breeze! I also snagged some beauties from my Asos saved list in the sale, yay!

Talking Disney

Being able to share my love for Disney always makes me so happy, and whether its telling my parents some crazy WDW wait time or discussing upcoming trips with my friends, it never fails to cheer me up!

Good things happening to good people

Whenever I hear good news from a person I love, it fills me with warm fuzzy feelings that are just the best!

What are you grateful for right now?

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Some Fun Facts About My Dad

Happy Father’s Day everyone!


Because I know quite a few of my regular readers and Twitter buddies are big fans of my adventures with my dad, I thought I’d share a few fun little tidbits about the man himself!

1. He took me to my first concert

2. One time, KitKat retweeted him

3. A YouTube video he posted of a train once has over 17,500 views

4. He has more pairs of hotel slippers than I can count

5. He’s never broken a bone

6. Chocolate chip cat shaped scones are his speciality

7. He’s met a lot of celebrities in weird places

8. He shares his birthday with Mickey Mouse

9. He grows his own chillies, and makes a mean sweet chilli sauce

10. In the last year, he’s run two half marathons, and a Tough Mudder obstacle race

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Tell me something interesting about your dad in the comments!

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Hello Friday Freedom

Hi! I hope you’re sitting comfortably, because I’m gonna ramble a little bit today.

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If you regularly read this little blog of mine, firstly I love you, but more importantly, you’ll know that Friday is the day that I post my Friday Favourite Five. You may have also noticed that recently those weekly posts have become a little lack lustre, and if I’m being 100% honest, its because I’ve been finding having to write them a bit of a chore. Its my only weekly series, and coming up with something different every week is a challenge, but while each week they’re different, in terms of layout they’re pretty much the same post every week and I’m feeling restricted.

I take a lot of pride in creating great content, and they feel a lot like a cop out used to fill blank space, and I don’t want to ruin the blog I’m so proud of with posts that feel a little cheap.

Now this doesn’t mean to say I don’t like my FFF posts; its actually probably my longest running series since it began around this time last year and I’m kinda proud of that, so you might still find one cropping up every now and then (I actually have one planned for next week!), but I want a little more freedom to write what I want, when I want to write it.

So what will you be seeing more of with this extra day a week?

Well, I definitely want to be writing more non-Disney travel posts. I’m hoping to spend as much of this summer as possible exploring more of the UK, so I’ll be sharing more of those adventures, as well as going into my own travel archives, so to speak, and writing about some of my previous trips and experiences.

I’m also loving writing some of my more stupid posts – the confessions posts and Buzzfeed style relatable posts where I try to be funny and if nothing else I laugh at my own jokes, and at the total other end of the spectrum, I want to throw a few more serious pieces into the mix. OOH and outfit posts! I’m fully aware of being a walking contradiction.

Thanks for listening to my little vent today, I really hope these changes are received well! 

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Summer 2016 Bucket List

One thing about not being at school anymore (I mean, its only been 3 years..) is that I don’t have a proper defined ‘summer’ anymore. Having 6-8 weeks set aside for me to do summer things every year made planning so much easier, but now I’m in the grown-up world, I have to squeeze fun in between shifts and other commitments.

Summer Bucket List

I do love a good bucket list though, and other than my job getting in the way, I really hope I can tick as many things off this list as I can by September!

  • Get my Disney girls to Bournemouth for a beach day – I’ve been promising to organise something, and I plan to see it through!
  • Visit more of the UK – there are so many places I’d love to see, and now I’m such a confident driver it seems like the perfect time!
  • Read more – I’ve got a reading list as long as my arm, and I’ve hardly touched it..
  • Spend time with my friends who have been away at uni – some of my friends I haven’t seen in 2/3 years, and with everyone graduating soon, we’re due a good catch up.
  • See as much of Bournemouth Air Festival as I can – I missed all of it because of work last year, waa
  • Have a picnic in the New Forest – sometimes I forget that I have such a beautiful countryside right on my doorstep!
  • Do more blogging from the garden – I’ve written some of my favourite posts in the sunshine, and hello Vitamin D!
  • Go back to Oxygen Freejumping – I had such a blast at the Airborne Fitness class, I’m dying to get back there for a fun bounce!
  • Go camping (even if its just a night!) – I have such a cute tent, it seems a shame to not use it!
  • Swim in the sea – I’m ashamed to say I normally just paddle..
  • Go to an outdoor cinema – we’ve just got one in Bournemouth, although I’d love to get to a Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House!
  • Beach yoga – you know, the sort you’d do at 5am when no one else is around to see you looking like an idiot..
  • Ride my bike – I’m a little terrified of riding my bike on the roads (I’m super clumsy) but it would be nice to get it out of the garage
  • Go to Moors Valley and do Go Ape – I used to love high ropes, but its been such a long time since I’ve been there!
  • Visit the penguins at Bournemouth Oceanarium – PENGUINS
  • Visit Warner Brothers Studios London – I went in the first year it opened, but so much has been added now and I’m craving butterbeer!
  • Watch fireworks – I mean, it’ll hardly be Wishes at WDW, but fireworks are a mandatory summer activity, right?
  • Find a new job – I’d really love to find a more fulfilling job, retail is crushing my soul a little
  • Make my own ice-cream – I’ve only done this once before and it didn’t go too well, so here’s to round 2!
  • Go on a first date – when I originally planned this post, this point was meant to be ‘go on a second date’, but life got in the way a little bit last week and the first date had to be reschuduled, and because I know the guy in question will be reading this, I wanna make him sweat just a little bit over when it’ll actually happen 😉

As well as work, I’ve obviously also got to fit all of this around my China/Hong Kong trip next month (eeek!), but I think I stand a pretty good chance, and I love a challenge! Do you think I can do it?

What’s on your summer bucket list?

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My Blogging Confessions

A little while back I wrote my Disney Confessions, and I had so much fun doing it that I thought I’d confess to more stuff, this time as a blogger!

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1. I have never scheduled a tweet

Blogging 101 failed. Every single annoying promo tweet you see was actually typed out by me at the time and I hit the tweet button. I keep meaning to look into scheduling – I’ll have to for when I’m away in July! – but its not a priority for me right now!

2. I’m a little bit terrified of chats

Other than the Disney Blogger Chat on a Thursday night, I’m always just a little bit too shy to join in with other chats! I went through a period of doing some, but at the moment I’m struggling to find the time or confidence..

3. My marble background is grossly underused

For starters, its actually sticky back plastic on a piece of Contiboard, but actually I’m really not a huge fan of it! It works so beautifully for some blogs, but I’m more into bold and colourful tones!

4. I do 90% of my blogging under a blanket on my sofa

And probably wearing pyjamas. We all do that though, right?

5. Most of my photos are unedited

When I do edit them, its on a free bit of software that I’ve used for about 6 years because I’m too scared to try anything else

6. I don’t subscribe on YouTube

Quite honestly, I hardly ever use YouTube. When I see my favourite vloggers post new videos, I’ll watch them, but I’m not subscribed to any of them and I’m not even sure I have a proper YT account. I will, however, always share your pleas for subscribers!

7. I don’t have, or see the point of Facebook pages for my blog

I see Facebook and Twitter as very different things. I think Twitter is for promoting yourself, and Facebook is for keeping up with friends, and all I ever see is people complaining about how few likes they get on their Facebook page. Really, I would never read a blog I loved and think ‘oh wow, I must go and find their Facebook page’..

8. I bulk-shoot a tonne of photos for Instagram when the sun is out

Y’know, just in case it goes away and never comes back. Typically I’ll take maybe like 10-15 photos and save them for days when I don’t have anything better to post.

9. I don’t use spreadsheets

I see so many super-organised bloggers sharing their tips on blog-planning using spreadsheets and colour codes and I’m just sat here with a notebook and a pencil, ticking things off as I go..

10. I fangirl a little when amazing bloggers respond to me on Twitter

Even if they just like my tweet, its enough for me. Bloggers be amazing.

Got anything to confess?

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A Promise to my Disney Friends

How many times do I say it? I love my Disney friends.

The internet has brought me close to so many amazing people that I would have never been lucky enough to meet otherwise, and today’s post is really just about sharing how much you guys mean to me.

As a Disney friend, I forever promise..

  • To always be a patient photographer for when you need me to take all those well thought out castle shots and character poses
  • To never make fun of the embarrassing thing you said when you were fangirling in the presence of your Disney prince crush
  • To sit for however long it takes to get a perfect parade viewing spot
  • I will always appreciate the amount of time spent not only choosing your park oufits, but also coordinating all the accessories and finding the perfect pair of Mickey ears to match
  • I will only call you out on the weirdest of your Disney character crushes (Robin Hood, really?)
  • To always scream as loud as you during parades
  • I will always be up for watching Disney movies, and I will always sing along if you need me to
  • To never make a big deal when something Disney makes you cry, probably because I’ll be crying too
  • To never judge the food eaten in Disney parks, whether you’ve eaten your entire body weight every meal, or lived off churros the whole time
  • I will be prepared to wake up at whatever time necessary to get to the parks
  • Whenever possible, if you need someone to run away to Disney with, I will be there.

°o°

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A-Z of Me! Part 2!

In case you missed part 1, catch up here!

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N is for notebooks! I have a million notebooks, and I use every single one of them. In fact, at any given time I probably have at least two notebooks within arms reach.

O is for October baby! October 3rd, if you want to mark your calendars..

P is for Pinterest! I love Pinterest, but if I use it after a certain time in the evening, it will make me fall asleep, ha!

Q is for quizzes! I’m a wizz, full of useless general knowledge.

R is for right! Right handed, right side of the bed, always have to be right.. 😉

S is for savoury! I prefer savoury over sweet 9 times out of 10!

T is for Taekwondo! Although I had to give it up a few years ago, I did Taekwondo for 10 years and am a black belt!

U is for umm! Used WAY too much in every day conversation..

V is for vet! The first job I ever wanted as a kid.

W is for woof! Although we don’t have them anymore, I grew up with two dachshunds who I loved!

X is for x-ray! (because what else, right?) Fun fact, an x-ray of my teeth is actually published in a primary science teaching guide!

Y is for yellow! My favourite colour, can you tell?

Z is for zzz! I love sleep, and absolutely cannot function without it. Also, if I need it, I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere and there’s no stopping me; cinemas, public transport..

So that’s a little bit of an insight into me! Some of them were way harder than I expected..

If you wanna give it a go, be sure to drop me a comment with your link!

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What I did in my week off

Today marks the last of six days of annual leave I’ve taken from work, and I thought it would be kinda fun to share with you what I did with all this marvellous free time!

What I Did In My Week Off

Swimming

While I love my gym, it doesn’t have a swimming pool, so I thought that having all this extra time, I’d make advantage of the free 7 day pass that I had to my dad’s gym so that I could go for a swim every morning. Its been ages since I’ve been swimming properly and quite honestly I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed it, and also how good it is for you!

Adventures with friends

As soon as I booked the time off work, one of my top priorities was planning a day in London to see Chelsea and Sarah, and we had such a nice day! Ok, so we might have spent almost 4 hours in Wagamama and consumed a lot of cookies, but that was exactly what I needed.

Working!

Despite being away from the day job, I’ve been sorting out a bunch of new designs for The Happiest Fitness Co, including the t-shirt design for the Frying Pan 5K – have you signed up yet?

Blogging

I didn’t get to write as much as I thought if I’m honest, writer’s block has been coming and going all week so I’m not as ahead of the game as I thought I could get this week. Fortunately, I’m pretty good at finding the time for blogging day to day, so I’m not too worried!

A whole lotta nothing!

In reality, I haven’t done nearly as much as I thought I would get done this week. We’ve still got workmen in the house every day finishing our bathroom, so that’s been a bit of a hindrance (especially as I’m still having to go to the gym for a shower), and in an attempt to stay out of their way I’ve spent an awful lot of time just watching tv and movies! I did also see Captain America: Civil War at the cinema, which I really enjoyed, and I went out to lunch one day; I think doing nothing is part of having time off work though, right?

And now I have to go back to work tomorrow, waa 😦

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A-Z of Me! Part 1

First up, I didn’t come up with this idea myself; I read a post by someone who had copied it from someone who had copied it from someone.. I just thought it was such a cute idea, and thought it would be a fun way to share a little bit more about myself with my lovely readers!

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The concept is simple, for each letter of the alphabet, I’ll be sharing a relevant fun fact/part of my life/little insight into me, yay! I’m kicking off with A-M..

A is for ASOS! I’d say at least half of my wardrobe was bought from ASOS.

B is for birthday! I used to be obsessed with my birthday, and then after one kinda rubbish year I stopped caring about it that much. It is, however, still a really big deal because I share my birthday with my youngest cousin, and I always want her to have the most magical day!

C is for chickens! I have 8, and I love them all.

D is for Disney! I don’t think this one needs explaining..

E is for Ellie Goulding! She’s my absolute idol in so many ways.

F is for flowers! My favourite are gerbera daisies 🙂

G is for green tea! Specifically matcha green tea, I drink it every morning.

H is for half marathons! I spent the whole of last year training for RunDisney, and have run two already this year, with at least two more to go this year, eek!

I is for IKEA! I love going to Ikea, and any excuse for a trip is a good one.

J is for Jess! My best friend.

K is for ketchup! I can pretty much eat ketchup with anything, and I’m not even sorry..

L is for Lottie! I’ve always been Lottie to everyone I know, but I was actually christened Charlotte. While I have absolutely nothing against the name, it just never felt like my name, and after years of waiting to do it, I officially changed it to Lottie when I turned 18.

M is for musicals! I love them, I could spend forever going to see West End shows.

Well that’s half of me! Stay tuned for the second installment..

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How to Say Bye to Negative Vibes

We all have those occasional (and sometimes not so occasional) moments of self-doubt and bad feelings about things in life, be it grades, blog stats, who’s snapchat story is more interesting than who’s..

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Now I’m usually one to let these things get to me, but in the last month or so I realised that I’m done feeling crap about myself, and rather than being the sort of person that gives in to silly life niggles, I’m striving to become one of those girls that people look at and think ‘wow, she’s got such a great attitude!’.

Turn jealousy into motivation

Instead of looking at someone else’s accomplishments and feeling sucky about your own, turn those jealous thoughts into drive to better yourself. Love another blogger’s photography? Don’t hate them, get working on your own!

Do something to make yourself excited

Worried about starting a new job? Go out and buy yourself some new stationery. Whatever it is that’s making you feel uncomfortable, find some little bonus that you can get out of it, and live for that. It could be something to look forward to once you’ve done it, or something that you do in preparation for it, but it’ll make the whole thing seem a lot better.

Don’t make enemies of people you don’t know

I used to follow this girl on Twitter, because lots of my friend did, and while I didn’t really know anything about her other than what I saw her post, I found myself kinda disliking her. So what did I do? I made the effort to talk to her, and she turned out to be so lovely! I think what I’m trying to say is instead of jumping to conclusions about people, take time to get to know them; don’t waste energy hating people that you could easily be friends with.

If you can’t do anything about it, stop worrying

Some things in life are simply out of our control, and once you accept that, you’ll find yourself feeling a lot less stressed. Now this doesn’t mean to say you should ever ‘settle’, it just means you can’t make that lemonade when the universe gave you strawberries. Get some cream instead.

Surround yourself with positive people

When you’re around people who project happiness, you’re gonna pick up on those good vibes. Don’t let anyone put you down or make you feel worse about your life; you rock!

Stop comparing yourself

There is no one else in the world like you, so there’s no point comparing yourself to others! This is even more important when you only know people through social media; everyone posts their best bits online!

Just remember, you’re never fully dressed without a smile!

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FRIENDS Quotes That Are True To My Life

We all love FRIENDS, right?

I think a big part of the beauty of the show is that, despite the fact that its a totally made up story and no one in New York lives their lives like that, we all feel like the characters are living out big moments in our lives, and we can 100% relate to them. Well, this might be just me, but here are some quotes that hit the mark bang on..

‘I’m not good at advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?’

Unlike Chandler, I can give advice, but I’m much better at the sarcasm

‘Joey doesn’t share food’

Neither does Lottie..

‘I was so focused on being mad at you, I forgot what I was mad about’

I don’t think I’m the only person who’s been guilty of this before, am I?

‘Well maybe I got a little upset, and maybe I told them where they could go’

Working in retail, it’s a real struggle sometimes to make sure I only do this in my head..

‘No uterus, no opinion’

I’m the only girl in my team at work, and the guys never get it.

‘Welcome to the real world, it sucks! You’re gonna love it’

I went straight from school into the real world after choosing the non-university path of life, so I’m looking forward to my friends graduating this year and getting thrown in the deep end!

‘Oh I wish I could, but I don’t want to’

Me every time someone suggests a night out. How about sleep instead?

‘I make jokes when I’m uncomfortable’

Guilty..

This is only a handful of some of the golden lines from the show that I relate to WAY too much, but I’m sure we’ve all got some, haven’t we?

What are your favourites?

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Introducing The Happiest Fitness Co

I have one major ‘issue’ in life, and that is that I’m never one to settle, and I call it an ‘issue’ because I don’t believe for a second that anyone should ever consider ambition to be a flaw.

For me, my ambition is fairly simple: no never have to work for anyone but myself. Even as a child, I never wanted a job that I wasn’t in charge of; when I wanted to be a vet, it was in my own practice, and even after I set up my cake business, when I got a job in another shop for experience, it was tainted with the fact that I was still answering to someone else. So of course right now, in the middle of an existential life crisis (WHAT DO I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE?), my current day job is becoming less and less appealing by the minute.

BUT this post isn’t for me to moan about my job, its a happy post to announce.. I’m going into business again!

The Happiest Fitness Co

I’m taking my love of Disney and fitness, adding some of my creative skills and today sees the official launch of The Happiest Fitness Co!

I’m going to be offering a line of Disney inspired workout clothes (the first items of which will hopefully be available next week!) and organising virtual events, like the Frying Pan 5K which is already open for registration! Its pretty safe to say that I’m super excited!!

Want to be the first to hear about our exciting updates? Follow @happiestfitness on Twitter and @thehappiestfitnessco on Instagram!

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Somewhat Profound Realisations of the Week

Do you ever have those weeks were you seem to spot a deeper meaning in everything you do? Well I’ve just had one of those. I’ve had some really deep and meaningful thoughts, and I thought you guys might like to hear them!

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Monday – I don’t need to apologise for things that aren’t my fault

So you might have seen me talk about this on Twitter, but here’s the reader’s digest version: I had the shift from hell on Monday, ending up in tears on more than one occasion, and after calming down on my lunch break, I had planned on apologising to my co-workers for my behaviour, but then it hit me – had I not been put in such a bad situation, I would not have ended up in the state I was, and I didn’t need to say sorry for that. It was a great moment for me.

Tuesday – It only takes one moron to create a traffic jam

Ok, this one is metaphorical and literal, and yes, I was the moron who ran out of petrol on a dual-carriageway during morning rush hour, but it got me thinking about the small things that can have big consequences. My little Fiat 500 blocking one lane of traffic due to me thinking I could make it through the day with nothing in the tank probably made a lot of people late to work or school (including myself and my mum who had to come rescue me), but in the same way, when someone doesn’t think about the consequences of their actions, someone else could suffer.

Wednesday – I can wear whatever I like to the gym

Getting ready for my usual Wednesday morning gym session, and as I pulled a semi-boring pink t-shirt from my drawer, I noticed the new Fabletics sports bra that I put away for a day when I felt confident enough to wear it, and I decided that day was today. And d’you know what happened? I walked into the gym and I felt good about myself. Everyone around me was too busy focusing on their own workouts to care about what I was wearing, and if anyone was staring, it was cos I was kicking butt with my kettlebell routine and not because of what I was wearing.

Thursday – Everything great starts with baby steps

Following on from yesterday’s gym session, I got out of bed with the achy shoulders that generally come the morning after. I stood in front of the mirror and attempted to raise my arms above my head – oowww – and as I turned a little, I’ll admit my jaw dropped a little as I noticed (for the first time properly) just how toned my back is now, and it dawned on me that had I not decided to join this one particular class at my gym, almost 2 years ago now, I wouldn’t have met and become such good friends with Steph, the personal trainer who has helped me so much ever since, and I wouldn’t be looking like this!

Friday – People always work better when they feel appreciated

You may have realised by now that my life basically revolves around work and the gym. This week has been a particularly tough one for my whole team at work; our new store manager pretty much bullies our whole department and is forcing us through some changes – that won’t improve our sales like he thinks it will, but I won’t get into it all.. – and we all just feel totally poo. The result? None of us are feeling particularly motivated to do our jobs right now. One day, when I’ve left my yucky retail job behind me and am ruling the world, I will endeavour to ensure my staff never feel underappreciated.

Saturday – Even bunnies can become cops

Basically, anyone can kick butt. Go see Zootropolis/topia. Girl power.

How’s your week been?

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I’m Still Running!

I’m feeling particularly chatty this month, can you tell?

I really love my blog as it is right now, but there’s one thing I actually really miss from my blog this year, and that’s writing about running. Last year, posting weekly about my RunDisney training became such a huge part of my blog because running was such a huge part of my life, and with the races being all the way back in January now (doesn’t that seem forever ago?), not writing about running has kinda meant its all taken a little bit of a back burner position in my life, so I just wanna write a little update to share what I’ve been up to in the last two months, and what’s going to be happening this year.

Coming back to regular training from the races was, to be perfectly honest, a bit of a let down. Not in the sense that we weren’t doing well, but when you go from running around Orlando, Anaheim and the Disney parks then come home to regular road-running, the scenery just doesn’t quite compare.

But we did it. A day or two after we touched back down on UK soil we had to face the dreaded recovery run. There’s never anything spectacular to say about recovery running; it feels like hard work, but its that hard work you have to put in so you don’t seize up into a big ball of retired runner. Then, my body’s jetlag response kicked in. FUN FACT ABOUT ME: jet lag makes me physically ill, and that put me out of action for what should have been our first ParkRun of the year. What a start, right?

Once I got over that, we got back into our semi-regular running routine, but really, my heart wasn’t in it. If you kept up with our 2015 training updates, you may have noticed that every few months I would lose my pep and get a little frustrated, and this would really just be me going through a funk of getting wound up with anything from the weather to the routes we were running, and this was starting to descend on me again. I was getting bored of running down to the beach and back, and I was getting really fed up of the mud that was taking over our ParkRun route, not to mention being ill, and all of this was accumulating into negativity on my end. Dad also went back to working away instead of at home, so with him having less opportunity to run with me, I was finding too many excuses to not go out.

Then something happened. I remembered that running is a big part of me, and that I didn’t want to hate it, and something clicked in my head. So we decided to give our local ParkRun a little bit of time off, instead visiting our second closest course a go; its much flatter and involves no mud, yay! I also started going back to my old schedule of running in the week – Tuesdays and Thursdays – but going solo to improve my independent running.

I’m setting myself a new training plan. At the moment, we’ve not got any long races booked until September, so I’ve got time to train back up to those distances, so for now I’m going to be working a bit more on speed over shorter distances, bringing up my 5K and 10K PB. Yes, this has an advantage for races, but it does wonder for my self-esteem and motivation.

So I’m back to running 2-3 times a week, one fast pace/short distance, one longer distance and a Parkrun on Saturdays if I’m not working. I’ve also already completed three virtual runs this year, yay!

Do you wanna here more about my running?

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My Healthy Habits Box

You might remember that in my January haul post I promised you a review of the Happy Healthy Habits Box from Kikki K, so here it is!

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While Kikki K sells some of the most beautiful stationery I’ve laid eyes on, they place a lot of emphasis on wellbeing -they even run workshops on it! – and that is what this box is all about.

The box itself contains 6 mini books – Gratitude Journal, Habits Journal, Happiness Journal, Mindfulness Journal, Goals Journal and 101 Dreams Journal – a mini weekly habits pad, a sheet of quotes sticks and 4 quote cards, as well as habits activity book.

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Gratitude Journal – this is for writing down the things in your life that you’re grateful and why, and helps you to appreciate life’s little moments

Habits Journal – using this little book, you can look at your habits and evaluate what habits you’d like to change or stop, and even think about new habits you might want to bring into your life. I think this is my favourite of the mini books because it really made me look at myself and change my way of thinking about certain aspects of my life

Happiness Journal – in this book you can write down what makes you happy and why, and also what makes you unhappy and why. Looking into why certain things make you feel the way they do is a real eye-opener, and really helps your habits change!

Mindfulness Journal – this is a way of making you stop and think about how you’re really feeling. Sure, you might think you just feel good/bad/whatever, but in reality, you may have many different emotions and feelings that all add up, and taking the time to think about it can help you improve these feelings.

Goals Journal – this journal is about more than just setting goals. Its about looking at the reason behind your goals, the steps you need to take in order to reach your goal, the deadlines for these changes, and also rewarding your achievements

101 Dreams Journal – write down all your dreams, big or small. Once they’re on paper, you’re one step closer to make your dreams a reality.

Mini Good Habits Notepad – this is like a mini post-it note of positivity! Each week, I choose which habits I want to reward each week – I use my habits journal to decide! – then every day I check them off when I’ve done them. Being able to physically check off a good habit is great for my self esteem, and the desire for that tick makes me more motivated to achieve my good habits. At the end of the week, I get a little reward for a full house of ticks!

I’ve been using the box for a month now, and I can honestly say that its totally changed the way I look at a lot of things. Yes, at first I felt a little silly writing down some of my goals and dreams, but actually its helped so much, and not only am I improving my habits, I’m making sure I’m putting myself and my happiness first – its actually the reason I re-wrote my New Years Resolutions a few weeks back!

Do you have any habits you’d like to change?

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Am I an adult now?

Later on this year, I’m finally gonna be able to understand how Taylor Swift feels. 22..

I mean, I’ve been an official adult for over 3 years now, and an even more official adult for almost six months, but seriously guys, does it ever really sink in?

I have, however, already done some things this year that have made me feel like a bit of a grown up, so does that make me an adult now?

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I bought health insurance

Ok, so I definitely don’t think I’m adult enough to get life insurance just yet, but I did decide in January that having health insurance would benefit me. Being blind as a bat since I was six, plus with all the injuries I sustain from running and inheriting the family bad ankles, knees, back etc, putting money aside each month for treatment actually does make sense. I’m now with Simply Health, and bought it through Top Cashback to get £42 back, as well as there being an offer for the first two months free, hello savings!

I threw out my underwear

I started the year by chucking out pretty much all of my underwear and buying new stuff. I’m not gonna lie, it was time. I kept one or two bras and the odd pair of pants that were fairly recently bought, but everything else went – all the poorly fitting push-ups and anything with holes or exhausted elastic. In doing so, I made the grown up discovery that the underwear my younger self thought was the best really wasn’t; sometimes comfort and support comes from undies you never thought about.

Saving money for my car

I’m super lucky to have my dream car already: a sunshine yellow Fiat 500, bought second hand two years ago. While in relatively good nick, she does need a few things doing, and while I haven’t got round to getting them fixed just yet, I have been putting money into my savings to cover the costs of the work.

I didn’t cry at a pet’s death

After coming back from America, I decided it was finally time for me to replace my beloved hamster Flynn who I lost back in October. Unfortunately, I chose a psycho hamster who didn’t cope with the stress of moving very well and sadly passed away after two weeks. Normally I’d have taken one look at the poor thing, burst into tears and called my mum to come and remove it, but not this time; I carefully scooped it up and dealt with it tear free.

Now where’s my medal?

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My Disney Confessions

Jumping on the Disney blogger bandwagon of confessing some of my more shameful secrets for my fellow fangirls in the hopes they don’t disown me and make me give back my Mickey ears..

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I’ll start with just 10, and see if I’m still standing once this is all over, ha!

1. I don’t like Dole Whip – in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever had one!

2. I really don’t see the point or appeal of collecting pins. Trading is kinda cool, but they’re so much money and they really serve no purpose..

3. Although I’ve done it before, I would never choose to stay offsite unless I was really broke. I just like being fully surrounded by the magic.

4. I’d rather be alone in the parks than drag around people who don’t want to be there. Embrace the magic y’all!

5. I’d rather watch parades than fireworks.

6. I hate it when Disney release merchandise WAY before a film comes out, and purposefully will not buy any until I’ve seen the film. I’m looking at you, Tsum Tsums..

7. I wish I could do Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach, but I know I’ll never have the nerve to do it!

8. I like Haunted Mansion, but I don’t get why so many people are obsessed with it. I guess I just don’t like spooky things..

9. I don’t see the appeal of Gaston – I mean I’d like to meet him one day, but I won’t queue for ages or fangirl over him.

10. Although they’re great in Florida heat, I don’t think I could ever spend an entire day at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. It just feels like a waste of a day..

Ok well that’s me.. What are your confessions?

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NEW New Years Resolutions

Tomorrow is March. MARCH.

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We’re already two months down this year, and in classic form, I’m looking back at my January New Years Resolutions and wondering what I’ve managed to achieve so far this year, and for a change, I’m pretty happy with where I am.

In the last few weeks though, I’ve been taking a bit more time to think about myself; improving my mindfulness, habits and general thought processes, and I’ve decided to make some new resolutions, which are a little more about me and my happiness.

Be more creative

I’ve always been a creative person, even if its not in the classic sense, and creativity makes me feel good, so whether it be spending my lunch break with a colouring book or taking more pretty photos for Instagram, I’m welcoming it. I’ve even started being more creative with my weekly organisation, and I love it!

Take more time for myself

Last year I took a pretty huge independent step going on holiday by myself, and it taught me that me time is totally ok and that I don’t always need company to enjoy myself. I spend so much time at work surrounded by people and helping others that its ok for me to take time out.

Improve myself in little ways

I always want to be my best self, and while going back to school holds no interest for me, I want to learn new things, even if its just something small like a new cooking technique, or something a little bigger like an online course; I’m planning on learning something new every week.

Keep dreaming

I have so many thoughts, ideas and dreams, but I’m also my own worst enemy when it comes to shooting them down, so I’m going to stop seeing all my dreams as ‘pipe dreams’. Anything is possible if you just believe!

Be positive and share it

I can often jump to worst case scenarios, but I’ve had enough of that! I’m going to be working on thinking more positively and sharing this positivity with those around me. Watch out guys, I’m gonna be throwing all sorts of happiness your way!

Be more open to change

Whether I like it or not, change is a part of life, and I’m working on being ok with that. I used to hate cheesecake and now I think its delicious, and if all change is like that then I’m cool with it!

Are you sticking to your New Years Resolutions, or are you rethinking like me?

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Ta-Dah!

I was just typing good morning when I noticed the time, so good afternoon!

What do you think of this new look then?

Personally, I’m obsessed. I think it reflects me as a person so much better in all its yellow glory, and my new header from the amazing Jemma from Dorkface just brings it all together so well, eek!

As I said at the beginning of the year, you’re still going to be seeing a lot of the same stuff around here – a huge helping of Disney, with a side of lifestyle, travel, food and fitness, and if I do say so myself, I’ve got some really fun stuff lined up!

So take a look around, get yourself used to the new layout because I want everyone to love it as much as I do!

Have a great weekend!

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My Disney Trip Haul!

I’m home, I’m jet-lagged, and something I always hate about coming home from holidays is the dreaded unpacking of the suitcase, am I right?

What made it a little more bearable for me today though was knowing that my case was full of Disney goodies, and who doesn’t love a good haul post?!

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Now a fair amount of this is RunDisney stuff, so that’s where I’ll begin!

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To start off, our medals and race shirts were all included in the entry fee; for the 5k it was just a regular cotton t-shirt, and the 10k, 2 halfs and Rebel Challenge shirts were all long sleeved performance tops. The medals are all 100% awesome, and pretty chunky – weighing just under a kilo for all six!

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As well as our free shirts, we picked up a few extra goodies at the RunDisney expos. To surprise Dad, I had pre-ordered the limited edition WDW race weekend jackets for both of us, and we both ended up wearing them for the majority of the rest of our trip because they were so nice and warm! We also got a Coast to Coast shirt each, because you only get a medal for completing it, and also the Rebel Challenge ‘I did it!’ t-shirts, which also had a map of the courses we ran on the back, then I got a couple of headbands – two WDW half marathon ones and a Rebel Challenge.

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If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I was pretty desperate for a pair of the limited release New Balance trainers, so of course I was super psyched to get my hands on a pair of the Red Carpet Minnie Mouse ones, which also came with a pair of gold shoelaces and clip on bows.

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I was pretty restrained in only buying two mugs, (I had my eye on quite a few!) but Chip was top on my list, and I fell in love with the pastel Disneyland beauty. Obviously I bought the first Cogsworth I found because I had to bring him home with me, although I discovered mine is missing his pendulum yesterday when I unwrapped him, so fingers crossed the lovely Disney team with magic up a new one for me!

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I’m a huge collector of Vinylmations, and somehow came home with 9, oops! I did get two of them at Disney’s Character Warehouse, the outlet store, for only $3 each so that was a bonus.

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Isn’t my new BB-8 dress amazing?! Its by Her Universe, but was sold all over the parks and Disney Springs, and I’m obsessed. I actually wore it to Hollywood Studios one day, and bumped into some Stormtroopers, totally panicked and said ‘this isn’t the droid you’re looking for’..

And lastly, I was really lucky to finally meet the lovely Maggie from Elephant and Mouse, who was staying in the same resort as us and was kind enough to meet me with an order of ears so I didn’t have to pay international shipping! I got two different fluffy Donald Duck pairs, and a pretty purple galaxy pair. She makes incredible ears, so go and visit her Etsy shop here!

Oh, and not forgetting this cutie!

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We came home with a family set!

Are you heading to Disney anytime soon?

°o°

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My New Years Wishes

Today we say goodbye to 2015, and I know I cannot be the only person who is a little bit in shock that this year is over already.

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It is, of course, also that time we all starting thinking about what we want to achieve in the coming year, set our goals and make our resolutions, so here are a few of mine!

– Keep on my healthy path and drink more water

2015 has really been the year I started taking my health and fitness much more seriously, and I really want to ramp that up going in 2016 with a better diet, more training and drinking more water

– Read more

Earlier in the year I wrote my 5 before 25 goals, one of which included reading a bunch of great books, and so far I’ve only read one, so I definitely need to up my game!

– Worry and stress less

I’m the first to admit that I am obsessive, anxious and overly emotional at times, and can really flip out when I’m worried, stressed or upset by something, and I really hate being that person so I’ve decided that 2016 is the year I’m gonna learn to let things to and spend more time appreciating the good things in life. Positivity my friends!

– Have more adventures and spend more time outdoors

Going on my birthday road trip was such an incredible adventure that I really want to spend more time having adventures, whether they be close to home or a little further out!

– Donate and raise more money for charity

I’ve always loved raising money for charity, but I feel my 2015 game has been fairly poor so I’d like to make up for that in the new year.

– Meet my Disney girls

The last year has been made so much more special by my new friendships with some amazing girls who share my love for all things Disney, and while I’ve been friends with some of them for over a year now, I’ve never met them! 2016 will change that.

You might have read yesterday that I’m also setting myself a rather enormous challenge for 2016, which encompasses a few of my resolutions.. My 1000 Mile Challenge!

What are your New Years Resolutions?

xoxo

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My Christmas Haul!

Well happy Boxing Day everyone! Did we all have a lovely day yesterday?!

Christmas is my absolute favourite day of the year, so when its all over its always a little sad, but Boxing Day is still a good day as (well at least for our family) its the day you get to collect all your presents together and admire them, and it always makes me feel incredibly grateful for my amazing family!

But you guys want to know what I got, right?

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Quite the pile, right? I’ve been super lucky!

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If you read my Christmas wishlist post, you’ll see some familiar items!

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A rock cushion? Nope, its my new little troll friend in his alternative form, and I love it! I can’t wait to use him as a travel pillow when we go to Disney next month!

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INFLATABLE BAYMAX (he’s a bath pillow really)

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At first I thought I was above the trend, but actually I fell in love with adult colouring books, and I got three!

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Peanut butter. Nuff said.

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There’s a little pile of Lush goodies there, and some amazing Finding Nemo pyjamas, as well as Maximus and a Nanoblock Neuschwanstein.

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A late addition to my Christmas list was the Magnitone Barefaced, and I’m really excited to start using it, my skin needs some major TLC in 2016! It came with a cute little travel pouch, and because Mum ordered it from FeelUnique, while they were running a promotion, I also got a free shower holder for it!

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And the present that I genuinely squealed opening: this adorable Minnie Mouse hat which my sister had bought (without my knowing!) in Disneyland Paris in October! I had been regretting not buying it while we were out there, and I haven’t really taken it off since!

There’s a few bits from Fabletics (which I picked out in the Black Friday sale, ha!), add a few little stocking fillers, chocolate etc and that’s my haul!

What did you get for Christmas?

xoxo

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Reindeer Lovin’

Considering just how much I love Christmas, I’m a little surprised that I haven’t written more Christmas posts this last month, but I’ll admit I’ve been really looking forward to this one: my Christmas outfit!

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I’ve basically lived in this outfit through December, but I’m still obsessed with it. Would you believe I bought this jumper back in July?! Well I did. I found it in the Missguided sale, I think I paid £2.50 for it, and its been waiting patiently in my wardrobe for Christmas to come around. I love it! Its super soft and despite being a crop top, surprisingly warm; I like to think of it as my non-ugly Christmas jumper!

The skirt is also an old favourite from Missguided, I fell in love with the cute little cloud print, and to Christmas the outfit up, my favourite plaid shirt from h&m.

What will you be wearing for Christmas?

xoxo

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100 Days of Happy: 63-83

Hello Saturday! Another three weeks have past since I last wrote about my 100 happy days challenge, this is my penultimate update and quite honestly I don’t know where the time has gone.. I’ve not taken many pictures (again), and this last week especially has been a little bit of a struggle at times, but writing this is once again making me concentrate on all the good things that have happened in the last few weeks:

– Preparing for Christmas is my favourite thing ever

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Shopping for presents, decorating the house, playing Christmas music, wrapping and writing Christmas cards, its all 100% my forte in life. Santa should employ me as an elf and I would be amazing at it.

– Our Disney trip is now so close!

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We’ve got corral info, everything on my to-do list is ticked, all that’s really left is to pack!

– I hit 10,000 views!

I’m so completely overwhelmed that on Wednesday, this little ol’ blog of mine reached the whopping total of 10,000 views, how crazy is that?! Big love and hugs for everyone who made this happen, your support is everything to me!

– I had a magical day in London with my beautiful friend Chelsea

After way too long I finally got to spend a whole day hanging out in a Christmassy London with one of the loveliest girls ever! We ate pizza and cookies and went to two different Disney stores and it was all pretty awesome.

– Disney Secret Santa is ticking along nicely

Lots of people have already received their gifts, and apart from a few delays in a few places, everyone’s still keeping up the Christmas spirit!

– One Christmas party down, one tonight!

I had my work Christmas party last Sunday, which was a great nice of festivity, and tonight I’m heading out with my department for a meal and a few drinks!

– Dad and I finally completed a half marathon distance

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It is done, and we’re now totally ready for January (so long as my knee sorts itself out!)

– Christmas cards!

Since I left school, I’ve not really had many Christmas cards, so this year’s bunch from my lovely girlies has been a real treat!

– STAR WARS

Today I am finally (I know its only been out for two days but it feels like eternity) seeing the new Star Wars film! Don’t worry, you won’t see any spoilers from me!

Sometimes you just gotta keep smiling!

xoxo

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The ‘If I Could..’ Tag

I was inspired by Danielle‘s perfect responses to the ‘If I Could..’ Tag, and she suggested that I gave it a go myself, so I thought why not!?

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If I could live anywhere:

I really love Bournemouth, and I don’t think I could really picture myself living anywhere else, but I guess it would be kinda cool to live in Orlando or Anaheim if I had to choose somewhere else.

If I could have any home:

I really picture myself in a modern build house, with lots of light and space and quite an open floor plan. I’d love a big kitchen and a sewing/craft room, ha!

If I could have any garden:

I’d love a big garden, I’d love to be able to continue keeping chickens, and maybe a dog or cat so plenty of space would be welcome! I wouldn’t want anything too fancy or difficult to maintain, grass space, and an area to grow vegetables, and maybe an awesome tree for climbing!

If I could be on holiday right now:

All I can think about right now is my upcoming Disney trip, so if we could just fast forward a few weeks that would be fab! I’m looking forward to Disneyland California the most!

If I could have any job:

I’m still on the path to my dream job: I’m a cake decorator and would love to open a cake shop with tea-rooms because it would mean I could do what I love every day, and would also be able to put time into my blog and other hobbies, as well as making lots of people really happy!

If I could have any talent:

I’d love to be able to draw and do graphic design. I can draw a few things, and am creative in plenty of other ways, but I’ve always wished I could translate what I see in my head to paper.

If I could live any day again:

I don’t know if I would want to relive a good day again, or go back and change a bad day, but I must be pretty lucky because no day in particular stands out for me! Why look back?

I tag Amy, Shawnee, Lizi and Sammie, and anyone else who fancies it! Can’t wait to hear everyone’s responses!

xoxo

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Disney’s Wartime/Package Era Tag

This is the 2nd of Amy‘s Disney Era Tags, and for me I feel its the most underrated era: the wartime/package era!

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For starters, most people haven’t heard of half of the films, which is sad, and those who have often discredit them for being made up of shorts of, or claim they’re not ‘real classics’.

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 So here goes!

Any unseen films?

Only The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad, although it may be I watched it as a kid and can’t remember!

What is your favourite film of the era?

Fun and Fancy Free, I love the Mickey and the Beanstalk story!

What is your least favourite film of the era?

Make Mine Music – to me it doesn’t quite fit in with the others.

Who is your favourite main character?

Donald in The Three Caballeros

Who is your favourite villain?

The Giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk

Who is your favourite sidekick?

If he counts as a sidekick, Jose Carioca!

What is your favourite song of the era?

Say It With A Slap from Fun and Fancy Free!

What do you consider to be the most underrated film of the era?

Saludos Amigos – I think a lot of people forget about it, or think its the same as The Three Caballeros, which gets more publicity.

What is your favourite thing about this era?

The comedy value; all of these films were created for the viewers entertainment, and there’s a lot of fun parts to these films!

What do you least enjoy about this era?

I wish they were better known, and I kind of wish they were longer in length.

°o°

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Decking the Halls

The first weekend of December is always the most special for a little Christmas elf like myself because in our house its tree time! In one short weekend, our house transforms from an everyday home to a wonderland of fairy lights, glitter, sparkle and Christmas cheer!

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Pride of place in our hallway is the Christmas tree, but while many people opt for colour schemes, or at least some sort of order to their decorations, we have a mismatched tree of memories. Every time we go somewhere, we buy a tree decoration, so our tree reflects our family to a tee, while it may be the nightmare of Christmas perfectionists! Of course, at least half our decorations are Disney!

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Next to the tree is my Christmas grotto, filling the remaining space under the stairs, and the threading of our (now fairly raggedy) holly tinsel up the banisters is a long-standing tradition in our house!

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And all the free-standing creatures..

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We always hang decorations from the ceiling in our dining room, and this year Mum and Dad bought these gorgeous glass balloons which I’m obsessed with!

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And another new addition from Disneyland Paris this year!

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I’ll be sharing more Christmas decorations on my Instagram account, mainly because I could take up several blog posts with all the photos I could take!

Is your house looking nice and festive?

xoxo

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The Love/Hate Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Sam over at The Belle Jar to do this tagged, originally inspired by another lovely lady, Danielle from Underland to Wonderland!

Aim of the game is simple – I have to name 10 things I love, and 10 things I hate, just a fun way for you to get to know a little big more about me! Lets do this..

Love:

1. Being part of such a great community of bloggers and Disney lovers

2. The feeling of finishing a really great run or workout

3. Christmas, especially giving presents!

4. Finishing a crossword, sad but true!

5. Planning and organising

6. Getting post!

7. Long hot showers – I don’t like baths

8. Meeting targets and goals

9. Clean sheet night!

10. Egg fried rice – I could just eat that forever!

Hate:

1. Cyclists on the pavement – if you want road users to respect you, you have to follow road laws yourself!

2. Foods that mix savoury and sweet concepts – savoury pancakes, cheesecake etc

3. When great things happen for people who don’t deserve it, or don’t even care

4. People who think they’re too good for others

5. Constant negativity and judgement

6. Tomatoes – I love everything tomato based, but actual tomatoes are weird

7. Being unable to sleep

8. Losing or wasting money

9. Bad drivers – not indicating, being in the wrong lane, cutting people off, using phones etc..

10. Rude customers – staff are only ever there to help, so treat them decently!

I tag Amy, Lizi, Shawnee, Kimberley and Sophie, and if anyone else wants to give it a go, drop me links!

xoxo

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My Christmas Wishlist

If it isn’t already abundantly clear, I love Christmas. Well, who doesn’t really?!

And in these modern times, I’m sure Santa spends more time checking blog wishlists than he does reading physical letters! So here’s mine:

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1. Reversible Troll soft toy from The Disney Store

I’m totally obsessed with this little guy, I think he’d make the best travel pillow for my trip in January!

2. Lets Do Lunch business card holder from Kate Spade

Simple and elegant, this makes my inner business-woman very happy!

3. Duff Bakes cookbook from Amazon, among other sellers

Ever since the first time I watched an episode of Ace of Cakes, I have worshipped Duff, and now he’s released a book, I need it in my life!

4. Honey I Washed My Hair shampoo bar from Lush

I love Lush, but as I’m not a bath person, its their haircare and shower products that do it for me! I had a shampoo bar years back and loved it, so definitely up for trying another one.

5. Best Day Ever raglan shirt from Happily Ever Tees

I’ve discovered these guys on Instagram and I’m dying to wear this shirt in the parks in January!

6. Crown ring from Applelatte on Etsy

I’m a huge fan of this store on Etsy, they make amazingly pretty jewellery, and this ring in the rose gold colour is beautiful!

7. Funko Pop Maximus from Amazon, among other sellers

When the Tangled collection was released recently I rushed to get Rapunzel, so now I just need this little cutie!

8. Red Converse All Star High Tops

My shoe collection is pretty much 90% Converses, and I’m not even ashamed of that, so if Santa could bring me red high tops in a size 6, they’ll be much appreciated for my January Disney trip!

9. Sugar Daddy-O solid conditioner from Lush

Another hair product – I can’t live with dirty hair, and I like to believe maybe a solid conditioner will reduce the amount of bottles I get through!

Are you asking Father Christmas for anything special this year?

°o°

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100 Days of Happy: 42-62

Happy Saturday everyone! Another 3 weeks have been and gone, and I’m here to update you all on my 100 day challenge!

These last few weeks I’ve been much better with photo updates on Instagram, although I still haven’t posted everyday, but it does mean I can share more happy thoughts today!

I’ve discovered the art of packing healthy lunchboxes to take to work with me!

The release of medal designs for Star Wars weekend has got me so excited for our upcoming events!

I treated myself to a Yankee Candle advent calendar!

I had the most fun guest-hosting the #DisneyBloggersChat! It was a huge success and announcing my Secret Santa has generated so much buzz!

A surprise parcel of this necklace made by a lovely friend of mine and sent to me by another lovely friend of mine!

I had a bit of a shopping spree for new gym/running clothes and got some amazing bargains!

We hit the 50 day mark, and the 40 day mark too!

The prettiest fabric EVER arrived and I can’t wait to create with it!

I made my dad a giant KitKat..

And I made him a caterpillar cake!

We shot our Lego family Christmas card!

My Baymax hat arrived!

A new fitness toy!

As well as all this, I’ve booked coach tickets to go and visit a very dear friend in London during my week off in December, I’ve hit some pretty awesome blogging goals and I’m feeling so blessed to have all my lovely Disney/blogger friends supporting me at the moment!

I’m also so happy that Christmas is sneaking up, and that also means Disney is creeping ever closer, and everything is falling into place!

Share your happy thoughts guys!

xoxo

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Blogger Interview Tag

Thank you to Danielle for tagging me in the Blogger Interview Tag, its a great way for me to share a little bit more about myself and the motive behind my blogging!

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How did you get into blogging?

When we booked our 2014 Disney World holiday, I started researching ways to make the trip even more special, and I discovered that there is a whole world of Disney bloggers out there, and they inspired me! Plus, after spending the amount of time I did preparing for my time in the most magical place on Earth, I figured I might as well share my secrets in the hopes that others can enjoy it as much as I do!

What advice would you give to a blogger just starting out?

Do it for yourself; you’re not gonna become huge overnight, it takes time and effort, and if you don’t love doing it, you never will.

Also, become part of the community. Bloggers are great people, and blogging isn’t a competition, so make friends and have fun!

What would be your dream campaign?

I think this depends entirely on what is meant by ‘campaign’.. If we’re talking brands, obviously I’d love to get involved with Disney, or RunDisney, or anything Disney related really! But realistically, there are loads of great brands that I’d love to be able to work with: Asos, Lush, Barry M, Fabletics, I could go on..

Alternatively, if its not about charity campaigns, Children in Need and Parkinson’s UK are two hugely important charities to me, so the opportunity to raise funds and awareness on their behalf would always be welcome!

Do you have a plan for your blog?

Yes and no. I love my blog so much, and its growing so much which is amazing. I’m currently playing around with the idea of a slight rebrand for 2016, but its still just a vague plan, and nothing’s set in stone right now. One thing’s for sure, I will be blogging!

What do you think about rankings?

I like numbers, especially when they’re good ones! I check my blog stats daily, but its not a contest for me – every view, every visitor and every follower makes my day. I see stats as marks of my improvement, not medals.

I tag Amy, Lizi and Shawnee, and if anyone else wants to share their answers, drop me a link! 🙂

xoxo

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100 Days of Happy: 21-41

Doesn’t time fly on the run up to the end of the year?!

I can’t believe its been 3 weeks since I wrote my first update on my 100 days of happy challenge, and I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been slacking a little on the photo side recently, so to change things up a little, I’m just going to share some of the great things that have happened in these last few weeks that have kept a smile on my face!

• Halloween pumpkin carving!

• Catching up on Once Upon a Time, and starting a new Netflix addiction: Gossip Girl

• I’ve been back at my sewing machine running up some new creations, and toying once again with opening an Etsy shop

• Completing Blogtober, and my views are booming, yay!

• My Disney girls forever make me happy, and the initial success of my planned Secret Santa

• We hit another Disney countdown milestone, and are now under the 60 day mark!

• Storming ahead on my Christmas shopping (and being almost done, don’t hate me for being keen)

• Being past Halloween, I can properly get into the Christmas spirit, YAAYYY

So I’ll be continuing on my happy little challenge, and TRYING to remember to take and post more photos so that when I catch up with you next! In the meantime, keep smiling!

xoxo

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RunDisney 2016: 10 Weeks to go!

Well after last week, I was hoping to be able to come back this week with an upbeat post announcing that we’ve had a great week and I’m finally back into my stride with this whole running business after my trip, but I’m afraid its not been a fairytale week..

Weather in Bournemouth this week has been all over the place, and Tuesday was especially horrible, so Dad and I decided that instead of skipping out on a run, or getting soaked to the skin in the rain, we would head down to the gym and do our regular 45 minute training run on the treadmills instead. In theory, it was a great idea; no rain or wind to hold us back, the ability to maintain and control consistent speeds.. The reality though is that it was practically tropical there, surrounded by loads of hot, sweaty people, and for us as road-runners, running on a treadmill is painfully dull, and also a completely different running experience.

Not too far into this run, we decided to cut it from 45 minutes to a 5k distance, which essentially cut it down to 30 minutes. Running on a treadmill is hard work when you’re used to roads, the impact is totally different and you have less control over yourself, and all of that combined really takes it out of you. There’s also no moving air to cool you down, and we felt it! Thinking nothing of it, the week carried on..

The plan for the weekend was another mini-rebel challenge, to prepare us for the real deal in January. With work schedules as they were, we made the decision to skip the second training run of the week, and do our consecutive runs on Friday and Saturday, 5 miles and 9 miles, but following Tuesday’s treadmill run, Wednesday came with bad news for me: the pain in my back that I had suffered a little in Europe had returned.

Still in pain Thursday and Friday, we decided to call off the 5 miles, and compromise with a 10k early Saturday morning, as Dad was heading up to the Rugby World Cup final. I felt fine, and we set off fine, but it wasn’t too long (about 3k, in fact) before the pain set back in, and we were forced to turn home. Doing so meant that we did about 6k in around 45 minutes, which in all fairness isn’t too bad in any case, but I just felt rubbish; I still haven’t got back to my usual standard and now I’m injured, and just feeling further and further from where I was before I went away.

And that’s really all I’ve got for this week. I’ve got a chiropractor appointment booked for tomorrow morning, but right now I just feel a bit pants, and all I want to do it getting running again..

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My Disneyland Paris Haul

Oh goody, goodies!

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What is a Disney trip with a fabulous haul of park merch? For me, souvenir shopping is one of my favourite parts of any trip, and being the over-preparer that I am, I always plan ahead; making sure I have room in my case to bring stuff home, and also doing a little bit of research on what I might want to look out for!

I was fairly restrained on this trip, mainly due to a tight-ish budget, but I knew I wanted to commemorate the visit with some special goodies, so here they are!

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First up, two things I didn’t actually pay for! When we checked into the hotel for our stay, and the CM found out it was my birthday, he wrote out a ‘Touch of Magic’ voucher so both me and my sister could choose a pin each, it was so sweet! I’m not a pin collector like many Disney fans, but these two caught my eye, and Hannah wasn’t fussed so she let me have them both!

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While I might not be a pin collector, I do have a big Vinylmation collection, so seeing a new collection in the parks always gets me excited! The Peter Pan collection looked fab – there wasn’t a single one I didn’t like – and I got this little cutie: Michael!

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I’d been eyeing up this candle holder on the Disney Store website, and being in the Halloween shop in the parks seemed like the perfect time to buy it!

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Ok, so this is another thing I didn’t buy, it was actually a surprise extra birthday present from Mum and Dad, but they were for sale in the Lego Store in Disney Village, and I love him!

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Isn’t this mini carousel sweet? It’s a little musical piece, which plays the Its a Small World song as it turns, and I couldn’t resist it.

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Last but not least is Lumiere! I saw these in WDW last year and resisted, but now they’re available in DLP, it seemed almost too perfect to buy him in Paris.

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°o°

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Disneyland Paris: This or That Tag

So the lovely Lizi tagged me in her Disneyland Paris: This or That challenge, and now I’m back from my trip, I’m finally getting round to my response! I went to Disneyland Paris a lot as a kid, but all before I was 6/7, so I have very few memories of those visits, so this is primarily based on my birthday trip, and as I hope to visit a few more times in the coming year or so, these may change, but for now..

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Disneyland Park or Walt Disney Studios Park?

Disneyland 100%, you just can’t beat that magic!

It’s a Small World or Peter Pans Flight

I may be the only person in the world, but I love It’s a Small World, cheesy and catchy as it may be

Hotel Cheyenne or Hotel Santa Fe?

I don’t think I’ve stayed at either, but I like the Cars theme at Santa Fe.

Cable Car Bake Shop or Market House Deli?

Cable Car Bake Shop is just a little bit prettier in my eyes

Crush Coaster or RC Racer?

Crush Coaster. It blew me away when I tried it for the first time on my last trip!

Halloween or Christmas?

Christmas, although I did love the Halloween buzz during my last visit

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Star Tours or Buzz?

I don’t really think you can beat a good Buzz!

Animagique or Cinemagique?

I love them both, I really do, but I think it has to be Animagique

Le Carrousel de Lancelot or Le Pays de Contes de Fees?

Oh I love carousels, no competition there!

Flying Carpets over Agrabah or Orbitron?

I’ve actually never been on Orbitron! And being on a flying carpet is pretty cool..

Sequoia Lodge or Newport Bay?

Newport Bay. It reminds me so much of The Boardwalk in Disney World which is one of my favourite places ever!

Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups or Dumbo the Flying Elephant?

Dumbo takes it for me, I can’t stomach tea cups so well these days!

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Pizzeria Bella Notte or Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost?

I’ve not been to either, but I think Colonel Hathi’s because Bella Notte is just a little out of the way of everything.

Swing into Spring or Frozen Summer Fun?

I’ve never been in the parks for either of these, but I think Swing into Spring is just so much prettier.

Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains or Les Voyages de Pinocchio?

I think it has to be Pinocchio, Snow White is just a little too creepy for my liking

Alice’s Curious Labyrinth or La Cabane des Robinson treehouse?

Treehouse for sure, I love this views from the top

Liberty Arcade or Discovery Arcade?

Liberty has Casey’s, I think we have a winner!

Fantasyland or Frontierland?

Fantasyland is really where the magic happens in my eyes

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Pirates of the Caribbean or Phantom Manor?

Pirates of the Caribbean will always hold a special place in my heart

Cowboy Cookout or Au Chalet de la Marionette?

Chalet de la Marionette is more my kind of food

Space Mountain or Hollywood Tower of Terror?

Oooh.. Space Mountain. I have a love/hate relationship with Tower of Terror!

Big Thunder Mountain or Indiana Jones?

For Disneyland Paris, it’s Big Thunder Mountain, but probably the other way round for Disneyland California

Inventions or Auberge de Cendrillon?

Um, Auberge has princesses..?

Disney Fashion or Disney Gallery?

Disney Gallery – I love Disney artwork!

Discoveryland or Adventureland?

Discoveryland has some of my favourite rides, and I always end up getting a little bit lost in Adventureland so..

Cafe Hyperion or The Lucky Nugget Saloon?

Not been to either, but I’ve always wanted to eat at Lucky Nugget!

La Gallerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant or La Taniere du Dragon?

As nice as the dragon is to visit, the castle is pure Disney Magic!

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Annette’s Diner or Planet Hollywood?

I’ve never eaten at Annette’s, so I have to choose Planet Hollywood, but that may change!

°o°

I tag Danielle, who in my eyes is queen of all things DLP, and if anyone else wants to give it a go, drop me your links!

xo

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Travelling Solo

The most common questions I’ve had when people have asked about my recent European road trip are all to do with the fact that I did it by myself. There have been a lot of ‘weren’t you scared?’ and ‘didn’t you get lonely?’ and ‘but you didn’t really do it all by yourself, did you?’, so today I just want to talk a little bit about what it was really like.

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Firstly, with the exception of my birthday weekend in Disneyland Paris, and my last day, yes, I was 100% unaccompanied on my travels. I did all the planning and all the driving and all the adventuring by myself, and that was exactly how I had planned it. Not only was it about doing it for myself, but being alone also gave me so much more flexibility in terms of being able to go wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted. It also meant I only had myself to worry about; if anything had gone wrong, I wouldn’t have to stress about the safety of another person, or have another person stressing around me to make things worse.

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Now it also meant I was a lot more efficient. I’m a fast walker, and don’t tend to hang around too much, so not having anyone around to slow me down resulted in me spending a lot less time on certain things: museums, general wandering around etc, so I found myself travelling through places a lot quicker than I had intended. When I had planned the trip, I thought I would easily be able to fill days just ambling around towns, taking in sights etc – which I could do in some places, but not everywhere – so I quickly had to change strategies, instead spending more time (and money) on museums and other attractions. I also had to change my own mindframe a little; slowing my walking pace, learning to enjoy sitting in cafes and keeping my brain a little busier at times.

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Yes, I did feel nervous and a little scared at times, but this always went away. I’m a hugely anxious person at the best of times, so rocking up to motels late at night or parking in side streets did have me a little worried, but for me it was a huge comfort having my car. Not only was it a home comfort having my own car instead of some rental, but it also meant that if for any reason I had felt unsafe anywhere, I could have just upped and moved onto the next place, and if something really awful had happened, I could have just driven home.

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Lonely? Sure, a little bit sometimes. It was especially bad the day or two after my family left, but I kept in contact with a lot of people while I was away; I texted my mum pretty much every day, and had Facebook and Whatsapp to keep up with friends in the evenings when I had wifi. The truth of the matter, though, is that I’m quite happy with just myself for company, and I knew that when I planned the trip. Generally, I kept my day packed with activities, then enjoyed peaceful evenings of reading and writing, or watching cheesy local television!

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As for the driving, it was actually considerably easier than I thought it would be. I maybe even enjoyed it! Before this trip I’d never driven more than maybe 2 hours in one go, yet I threw myself in at the deep end with 3+ hour drives most days. Car time pretty much meant singing along loudly to CDs and conversations with my satnav, while forever keeping a close eye on my petrol gauge! I could not have done the trip without a satnav, even though I did buy a regular atlas too, and the truth of the matter is that driving was probably when my brain was most pre-occupied, and I had some incredible views!

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But really the greatest part of doing this trip solo was the feeling of empowerment, not just during the trip, but also going back into real life. At times, I felt like I could do anything, and the cool thing was, I could! I changed my plans a few times, ate what I wanted, went where I wanted, even if at times it meant worrying about my budget a little. I found places I loved, sometimes completely by accident, and I could enjoy and appreciate them without needing the approval of others to do so.

Part of me still can’t believe I really did it, and I’m so proud of myself for it. (And I don’t feel silly about feeling proud of myself). I’ve come home with new found confidence, and a whole new perspective, and I would 100% recommend doing something like this to anyone, at least once in your life. You’ll discover the world, and discover yourself.

Adventure is out there!

xo

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100 Days of Happy: 1-20

Can you believe its been 20 days since I kicked off my 100 days of happy challenge?

Its been great; I think the hardest part has been choosing just one moment from each day to showcase, but here’s how I’ve got on so far:

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1. An early birthday present from my sister: princess Lego!

2. My slightly wonky, but beautiful birthday cake

3. Leaving for Europe!

4. Watching the sunset over Mont St Michel from my hotel room

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5. Reaching 500 Instagram followers

6. Getting a ‘touch of magic’ voucher from a cast member for my birthday

7. Looking out over my kingdom at DLP

8. Petit France in Strasbourg

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9. Feeding monkeys!

10. Eating sweets and catching up with my mum from France

11. A perfect afternoon in Geneva

12. Disneybounding as Ariel at Chateau de Chillon!

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13. The beautiful Neuschwanstein castle

14. Frankfurters in Frankfurt!

15. The comfiest bed

16. Belgian waffles!

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17. Because Starbucks never spell my name right!

18. Mini pancakes in Delft with Dad

19. Coming home to my Disneyland Paris goodies!

20. Getting back to running, with a new member of the family Parkrun squad!

You can keep up with my daily happy moments on Instagram, and I’ll catch up with you guys in about another 20 days!

xo

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Lottie Does Europe: There and Back Again

Well good readers, thus ends my grand adventure in the great wide somewhere. This post is coming to you from somewhere along the journey home; my dad came out to meet me in Amsterdam this morning, so he’s the one driving at the moment!

As the title might suggest, I’m really feeling a whole lot like Bilbo Baggins right now. I’ve been on a truly life changing adventure, there was even a dragon at one point, but I’m also really looking forward to coming home, and a bit of normality.

If you’d told the person I was a year ago that I’d make this trip, I probably would have laughed in your face. An adventure, sure, but two weeks completely by myself? Yeah right. I was the person that wouldn’t sit in a cafe or restaurant by myself, let alone go on a road trip through several different countries!

As for today, after Dad met me in the city we drove to a small town called Delft to have a little look around and grabbed some lunch before heading to the ferry. We were basically the last ones to get onto the ferry due to running a little late, but it meant no waiting around so that was a bonus really. The ferry journey was long, but it had an onboard cinema, so we went to watch Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and also The Martian, which took us pretty much up til we docked in Harwich, and now it’s just a case of back to Bournemouth!

No pictures today as its a late one and I’m using my phone data to post this, but normality resumes tomorrow, after I’ve had a bit of a lie in!
Really glad to be home 🙂

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