Tag Archives: positivity

February Focus

I tell you what, if you ever want January to go quickly, go on holiday. I’ve never been so shocked to find that we’re at the end of the month.

February is always a decent month in my eyes. Its just 4 little weeks that always seem to fly by, not to mention one of my favourite national holidays (I know its not a real holiday) Pancake day. Its just really manageable, y’know? And much like how I feel about Mondays, I always enjoy the fresh start that a new month brings, and having come back from an amazing holiday with a renewed sense of motivation and drive for the rest of the year, I’m bringing all that energy into February with some new goals and plans for the 4 weeks ahead.

Reorganised office

Towards the end of 2018 I was so caught up with finishing up Christmas orders and then making sure I had everything ready for our trip in January that I let my office get a little chaotic and a messy work space is not helping my productivity BUT I am already in the process of sorting it all out. I’ve got shelves that I still haven’t put up since moving in, so that’s first on the list and then I just want to streamline and tidy everything up so that I can take the rest of the year by storm.

House to-do list

In the last week Matthew and I have been trying to make a dent in the to-do list for the rest of the house – basically the stuff we’ve been putting off because its not vital – but there’s still quite a bit left to do and I’d really like to get through as much of it as we can while momentum is on our side.

Mini-goal weight

One of my New Years resolutions was to regain the body confidence that I lost in 2018, and for the first time in ages I’ve actually been successfully losing weight over the last few weeks. I’m already 5lbs down on what I weighed at the end of December, and although I know that the number on the scale isn’t everything, I’m also feeling so much better. I’m not following any particular plan, just eating better and hitting the gym as usual but I seem to be doing something right, and although I’m not going to divulge the number, I have a particular weight that I would like to hit by the end of Feb and I’m feeling pretty positive about getting there.

Work and save

If there’s any month that’s best for setting a spending ban, its February. January sales are over, there’s no more parties or presents to buy, and if nothing else, its shorter than every other month so you’ve got a better chance of sticking it out for 2-3 days less. So the plan is to get my head down and be too busy with work to spend any money, and just pray that I don’t stumble across anything that I’ll want to break the ban for!

Happy times and happy habits

With January being a bit of a blur for me, going into February I am ready to hunker down and get myself into a good routine with self care, positivity and life in general. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit, and I’ve got 28 to get it right, so let’s go February!

Are you up to much this coming month?

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
3 Comments

My 2019 Resolutions and Goals

The clock struck midnight, and just like that all the pumpkins in the world turned into carriages as we all become shiny new versions of ourselves in some weird reverse Cinderella story.

Ok, so that sounds a little weird, but honestly I do love a new year. It always brings so much hope and excitement for a bright new future, a new page to our life stories. And while the world is often divided between those who make resolutions and those who make fun of those who make resolutions, I am firmly the former. Even if they don’t stick for the whole of the year, the intentions are always good and I always love believing that I can do it.

So here they are, a bunch of things I hope to achieve in the coming 365 days, and even if they don’t, I’m gonna have a blast trying to make them happen:

Personal Resolutions

  • Choose happiness always – In the last few weeks I’ve been working on my happiness, and I think I’m going to get the hang of it this year, so stay tuned
  • Get my body confidence back – as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I left my body confidence back in 2017 which made 2018 a little bit sucky. I’m not about sucky in 2019, so I’m just gonna skip past the last year and work on getting it back.
  • Wake up earlier – I had this one last year as well, and it worked for the most part, but with the addition of a puppy to our household, mornings have become slightly more about cuddles in bed with Finn..
  • Enjoy cooking and baking again – I’ve always loved making food, but recently its become more of a necessary chore than something I’ve enjoyed doing, so I’m gonna get back on Pinterest and find some amazing food I’m excited to make again
  • Watch more movies and read more books – y’know, all the ones I keep saying I’ll watch/read and then never get round to or end up going back to ones I’ve seen/read before..

Fitness Goals

  • Complete the marathon – its the only one that I’ll be doing in my lifetime (I can already say that with some certainty) and by the end of next week it will be done, and then I can focus on the rest of my goals..
  • Get my 5K back below 30 minutes consistently – its been a little while since I’ve run a 5K in under 30 minutes as I’ve been fighting injuries and working towards other things, but once the marathon is done and dusted my focus will be back on shorter distances!
  • Reach 50 ParkRuns – considering I’ve been taking part in ParkRun for several years now, you’d think I would have hit this already, but I’m going into 2019 with a solid 30 runs under my belt, so let’s do this!
  • Set a new half marathon PB – nope, I’m not going to set myself a definitive target for this one, I just want to beat my current PB and even if that’s only by 10 seconds then its still a win for me.

Business Goals

  • Keep pushing my limits – this time last year I wrote in my 2018 resolutions that I wanted to learn to sew more things. Well, I did, and that’s exactly what turned my little side business into my full-time job, so let’s keep pushing.
  • Keep loving what I’m doing – being a full-time small business boss makes me so happy and I just can’t believe I get to do what I love every day, so I want to keep it that way!

Blog Goals

  • Make 2019 my best blogging year yet – last year I let my blog slip, and that was ok for my life at the time. I’m going to try and stay away from specific blog hope and targets, because I know that so many things can get in the way, but I just want to feel better about my blog and make it the fun outlet that I’ve always loved so much.
  • Reach 8K on Instagram – for 2018, I set myself the seemingly modest target of reaching 2500 from 1900, but with the algorithm as it is, that could have been impossible. I did, however, smash that, and I finished up 2018 just over 5000. This year, I’ve got my sights set a little higher but we’ll see how it goes..
  • More travel writing – Matthew wants to visit a new city every month in 2019, and I want to do more travel writing, so it was a match made in heaven, right?

Wow, when I sat down to write this I thought I’d only do a few for this year yet here we are 700 words later! I guess all I can say to that is that, cliche as it sounds, I’m so ready to make this year the best one ever. All the ingredients are there, I’ve just got to make something with them, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.

Happy 2019 everybody!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
4 Comments

10 Things Before 10am

Something that I, and many others, I expect, am more than often guilty of is focusing on all the things that I haven’t done or achieved, rather than celebrating all the things that I have done.

And d’you know what? It’s draining.

Whether it’s thinking about work or tasks that I haven’t done, or things in my life that I’ve left to achieve, it leaves a constant nagging feeling of negativity hanging over me, and quite honestly I’ve had enough of it.

So the other week I had quite a productive morning, and naturally as the millennial that I am, I tweeted about all the things that I had managed to do before 10am. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but then this week I found myself mentally taking stock of things I had done that morning and I had somewhat of an epiphany – I achieve so many more things than I don’t, I’ve just conditioned myself to overlook them all.

So I figured it’s time for a reconditioning, and that’s where the title of this post comes from. Every day, no matter how productive, or seemingly unproductive, my morning has been, I take a few minutes to stop and think of ten things that I have done or achieved. Sure, sometimes this list might be padded out with things like getting dressed, brushing my hair or drinking a glass of water, but all of these things count as successes, we just don’t tend to see them that way.

Today’s 10 for me are:

  1. Going for a 5 mile run
  2. Hitting 10,000 steps
  3. Washing my face properly with nice skincare products
  4. Eating a healthy breakfast
  5. Finishing up 2 skirt orders
  6. Scheduling my tweets for the day
  7. Writing this blog post
  8. Planned my meals for the day
  9. Brushed my hair
  10. Moisturised

Now obviously I’m not saying that you have to name ten things, or have to do it at 10am, that’s just what works for me and my schedule, but it’s just so nice to focus on something positive rather than letting that cloud of negativity float about.

I’m working a lot on creating a more positive mind-frame for myself, so watch this space!

4 Comments

Tackling Self Doubt

I think you’d have to be pretty damn confident to not ever suffer from just a smidgen of self doubt every now and then. Or this just might be how I, a severe lacker of confidence, feels about the matter. You tell me. Anyway..

Self doubt is that little voice in your head that pops up from time to time and tries to knock you down a peg or two (or a hundred) whenever you’re feeling good about yourself, or an aspect of your life; for me, the subjects that hit me hardest are related to my blog or my businesses. In fact, I’m so used to these little episodes now that at the same time as totally sucking, I know that they’re just a phase that will inevitably pass, but I’ve also started to develop my own little coping tactics for when that sinking feeling starts to take over.

Firstly, I vent

Self doubt is absolutely no good bottled up, so I tweet about it, or stick something on my Instagram story. It might look attention seeking to some, y’know, the whole ‘I feel like I’m rubbish at everything I do’ sorta thing, but I honestly am not fishing for any compliments when I do this, its just better out than in. Sometimes I don’t even vent publicly, and its a message to a friend, or a quick chat with someone, just to get it off my chest and out of my head, where otherwise I know it will fester into an endless pit of suckiness.

Then I take time out

Because a lot of my self doubt is about my small business, if I’m having a bit of a time of it, I step away, and its the same with my blog. Forcing something out doesn’t often lead to the best results, and sometimes stepping away gives you a chance to miss what you love, which motivates you to get back to it after a little bit of time. This doesn’t even have to be a vast amount of time; it can be as small as 10 minutes to go and get a drink or check your phone.

Next, I remind myself I am awesome

I don’t often compliment myself, but its always when I’m struck with self doubt that I find myself being nice to myself. Its a bit cliche but I give myself a proper pep talk and really hype myself up, but not to the point that I’m big headed, just enough to kick myself back into gear again and then I let my actions do the talking again.

And then I back it up with proof

Often, I need more than just the hype to really see my worth again, but I think that’s just because I’m a proof-liking person. So I pull up my Etsy sales, or my blog stats, or I look back at something to show how far I’ve come, and suddenly all the words I’ve been telling myself to make me feel better are actual truths, not just motivational rubbish.

Then, I can get back and smash it

I always like to come back fighting, so I get back to things with all guns blazing. Sometimes that means I have to fake a little bit of confidence, but as the old saying goes, you’ve gotta fake it ’til you make it, right?

And remember, just because you doubt yourself, doesn’t mean anyone else doubts you.

Self doubt is just that – yourself. These feelings can come and go and come back again over and over, but I bet through all this you’ve got your own little cheer squad who believe in you no matter what you think of yourself. These people will be your rock through these moments. Believe what they tell you.

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
2 Comments

My Best Self

I’ve been thinking about myself a lot recently, but not in a narcissistic sort of way. You see lately, I haven’t always been liking myself that much.

Its no secret that there is a lot going on in my life right now. Matthew and I have just bought our first house, and I am in the process of moving away from my home town, which has been massively drawn out as I’m still working my notice period in my current job. I’ve felt in a real state of limbo over the last few weeks, and honestly its been getting to me a bit. I feel so on top of certain aspects of my life, while simultaneously drowning in others, and this position has been messing with me more than anything else. To put it simply, I just haven’t felt like I’ve been my best self lately.

I’ve not been doing the things that make me happy. I love going to the gym in the morning, and normally that’s at least 4 times a week, but lately I’ve been struggling with managing twice a week due to just feeling overwhelmingly tired and unmotivated most mornings when my alarm goes off. There’s a little voice in my head that tells me I should go back to sleep instead of getting up, and it just keeps winning out.

I haven’t even been making an effort with my appearance lately. Makeup has been absolutely non-existent on my face, with the exception of a little eyebrow maintenance, and instead of dressing how I like dressing, I’ve just been throwing on whatever I can find, which primarily has been baggy, stretchy trousers and loose tops, and I tell myself that it’s more comfortable but I just end up feeling like a slob all day.

This just isn’t the me that I want to be. I’m losing confidence and it’s all my own doing – like another part of me is sabotaging everything that the good part of me is trying to do. I keep telling myself that it’s just a phase that I’m going through while everything is up in the air, and I just hope to god that that’s true and that it will all sort itself out very soon, but I’m not going to stand by and wait for it to happen; I’m making changes.

Sometimes it’s not always possible to be your best self, and that’s completely ok, but when it’s making you unhappy, you don’t have to just stand by and watch it spiral out of control. I’m going to do my best to by my best from today onwards.

3 Comments

Sixty Seconds of Self Care

With mental health awareness increasing by the day, self care is becoming an ever increasingly more important part of day to day life. Quite simply, self care is any act in which you do something to look after yourself, either physically or mentally.

Too often though, we think of self care as a bit of a big deal, and I know that I for one am guilty of ignoring self care with the excuse that I don’t have enough time, when in fact we should always be finding the time to make sure that we are happy. Self care doesn’t have to mean spending 2 hours in a bath with £20 worth of Lush products, it can be as simple as a minute here and there, and sometimes the smallest things can make a big difference to your day.

Here are a few self care practices that I’ve been doing lately that take no time at all:

  • Taking a little more time brushing my hair after washing it, rather than just enough to get any knots out
  • Instead of gulping down my hot chocolate while I’m trying to get work done, I’ve been stopping to sit back and enjoy it
  • At the end of each day, taking just a small amount of time to write down, or just think about all the good things that have happened that day
  • Sitting to eat breakfast, rather than standing
  • Using an in-shower moisturiser to keep my skin happy with minimal effort
  • Drinking at least one glass of water every two hours
  • Deciding what to wear to work the night before so I don’t have to rush around in the morning and feel cuter
  • Taking a little bit of time each morning to comment on Instagram posts instead of just liking, and also replying to comments on my own posts
  • Using my Fitbit’s ‘relax’ feature for breathing exercises before bed
  • Applying BioOil to my stretch marks after showering
  • Reminding myself why I love what I do when I’m feeling stressed about it
  • Retweeting cute animal videos to brighten up my (and others) timelines

These might seem like insignificant little acts, but just by doing them and knowing that I’m making a little effort towards looking after myself, they have been making a big difference!

Do you take time to look after yourself?

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
1 Comment

Proud Moments in February

And just like that, this weird baby month is coming to a close, but its actually been a pretty great one. Its been a while since I did a monthly reflections sort of post, mainly because I prefer to look forward at what’s to come, but February has brought me so many wonderful moments this year that I figured why not look back at some of the things that I’ve been so incredibly proud of this month, and celebrate myself for a change.

Approaching a brand and getting a response

For the first time in my 4+ years of blogging, I took the plunge and contacted a brand that I really wanted to work with. I had no expectations, other than assuming that I’d probably be ignored or shot down, but just sending the email gave me a little boost of confidence because I felt I’d written a great pitch. Well that boost was then completely skyrocketed as I not only got a response, but it came back to me the very next day, and it was the loveliest response I think I could have been sent. Despite not meeting their usual requirements for sponsored work, they said they thought my email was so personal and thought my blog was so bright and colourful that they wanted to send me something anyway, and I’ve been squealing ever since!

Launching the #HappiestFitbitClub

I’ve been sitting on the idea for this for over a year now, but a few weeks ago I put out some feelers on Twitter and Instagram and I got the most amazing response! Now I have over 30 lovely club members who participate every week in my challenges, and I’m blown away by how well everyone is doing. And not only has it been a good motivation for my members, its really challenging and motivating me, and I’m feeling so good because of it! Wanna join? Sign up here!

Getting out of my comfort zone with custom orders

One of my New Years resolutions was to push my sewing skills a bit more this year and get away from just making skirts and accessories. Well, I’ve had some pretty cool custom order requests this month and I’ve got to make some amazing things that have really challenged me, but I’ve had the most fun creating them and I think they’ve turned out so well! Here’s just one of my makes from this month:

Managing at least one meat free day every week

I didn’t doubt my ability to go meat free one day a week, but I did think I would very easily slip up accidentally, but nope! I’ve been enjoying all sorts of different meal options and doing my little bit to help.

Defeating the negative thoughts

I’ve mentioned a couple of times now that I’ve been struggling a lot recently with some pretty strong negative body thoughts, but I bought myself some new swimsuits for my upcoming Aulani trip and when trying them on I actually felt pretty good. Its slow progress, I still have some not-so-good days, but I’m getting my brain and body back to where it should be.

Insta-growing!

Call it luck, call it progress, call it completely random, but I’ve finally been seeing my follower count on Instagram steadily climbing – I’ve gained over 100 followers this month and the number doesn’t seem to be dropping back like it normally does, yay!

Have you had a lovely February, or are you ready for another month to start?

Twitter / Bloglovin/ Instagram
1 Comment

Hello February

Well if it wasn’t enough that we’re in 2018 now, we’re already into month 2, wowzers.. I’ve seen a lot of people on Twitter saying how January felt like it went on forever, and I felt that a little bit but I also have no idea where the time has gone.

It wasn’t the totally stellar beginning to the year that I hoped for; I’ve been ill quite a lot and my mental health has been quite up and down, especially in the last few weeks, plus my family got some bad news this month, so I’ve dropped off the high of the new year buzz a little, but now I’m ready for the fresh start that a new month brings. That said, January wasn’t all blue – we celebrated Matthew’s birthday, had a weekend away in Bath and I’ve been so happy with blogging and my small businesses this month, so I can’t complain about that!

I always think that February is such a funny little month, I mean, its only 2-3 days shorter than any other month but it seems that way. It just seems more manageable, y’know?

Well I plan on filling February with fun and positivity, and here are a few things I’m looking forward to..

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

I am FINALLY seeing The Cursed Child in London in a few weeks time, eek! I did read the book, so I know how the story goes down, but even that seems like so long ago now that I can’t remember every little detail, and I’m not going to refresh myself so I can experience it all on the stage.

Meat free days

With it being a little bit shorter, I thought this would be the perfect month to put myself to the challenge of doing at least one completely meat free day each week and expand my food repertoire with some more veggie options and dishes.

No more overtime

This Saturday is the last day of overtime I will be working for the foreseeable future, yay! This is despite having said the same thing every few weeks for the last 8-9 months, but this time I mean it because technically I left the job that I’ve been doing the overtime for two months ago, and its been causing me so much stress in the last few weeks that I’m just gonna put myself first and work normal days and normal hours from here on out.

More creations

I’ve launched a brand new product on my Etsy store today, and there are some fab deals and other new products that will also be appearing in the coming week or so, so stay tuned! January was an incredible month for sales and I’m so proud of that, so bring on another month!

Another Instagram milestone, maybe?

After what feels like the longest time trying to get there, I finally hit 2,000 followers on Instagram just under a week ago, and by some miracle I’m already up another 50 from there! I set myself a fairly modest, although still potentially unreachable goal of 2,500 for 2018, but if I keep going like this then maybe February will at least see me at 2,100..

Booking another Disney trip

I have no Disney park trips on the cards for 2018, but January 2019 is gonna be a good’un! DVC home resort rules means that we can book our stay at Disney’s Polynesian resort 11 months in advance, so hello booking time!

A big push for fundraising

On said 2019 Disney trip, I’ll be running my first full marathon, and I’ve decided that I might as well do something good with this madness, so I’ve set up a Just Giving page where you can sponsor me, with the money going to Cystic Fibrosis Trust, a charity very near and dear to me – even if you donate just £1 you can help me make a difference, and if you fancy it, click here.

Here’s to a great month!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
3 Comments

Things I Learned When I Tried To ‘Fit In’

I don’t think there’s a single day that I don’t see some tweet about how someone doesn’t feel like a ‘proper’ blogger because they don’t use a marble backdrop, rose gold props or whatever style is currently being conceived as a ‘typical’ blogger thing.

There’s a number of reasons that these sorts of comments bother me, and I’m not going to get into all of them now, but the biggest one for me is that people think that you have to conform to a particular style to be a blogger. Yes, there’s a bit of a stereotype and a lot of bloggers make jokes about being ‘basic’ or ‘cliche’ but the fact is, its just a popular style and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

In my early years of blogging, I didn’t know much about my own style, or even anyone else’s for that matter, but when I started to discover more of the blogosphere, I started to feel a little bit of a tug to replicate these pretty photos I was seeing all the popular bloggers post. I started brightening my photos, doing more flat-lays and I even made myself a fake marble backdrop. And what happened?

I never used the marble backdrop

After going to all the effort of making my backdrop, it has never actually graced the pages of this blog. I tried, but I realised that it just wasn’t my style and I didn’t want to compromise myself just to look like everyone else.

I discovered more topics that I like writing about

I created this blog original to just talk Disney, but now its so much more than that and I love it. I discovered that I actually really like writing about beauty, even though I never thought I’d be a beauty blogger, and I’ve learned that there are a million other things that I can use this platform of mine to discuss.

Flat-lays are a true art form

And one I have yet to master! You may look at a flat-lay and few products laid out on a nice backdrop but oh my gosh is it so much more? I have so much respect for the bloggers who nail them every damn time, and I aspire to be even half as good as them!

I like my own style, and I like not ‘fitting in’

So I don’t fit the so-called stereotypical blogger style, and I am 100% okay with that. I like bright and colourful and that is me. Blogging is all about being your own person and doing your own thing, and I have known that all along. And yes, I love rose gold and shiny beauty products, and I like marble and pastel and pretty stationary and anything else that makes me a ‘basic’ blogger, so sue me?

I guess what I’m trying to say is that you don’t have to be anything but yourself to be a blogger. A blogger is just someone who has a blog, simple. Love it? Own it.

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
Leave a comment

Things that Make Me Proud of Myself

I don’t know at what point in the development of society we started to focus more on our flaws than our strengths, but it almost seemed programmed into us these days. It almost seems easier to pick ourselves a part than it is to say nice things, and it feels like if you do look on the positive side of life and do build ourselves up, the fear is that it may look cocky or big-headed. Well that’s just not true.

I am definitely guilty of looking too hard at my flaws, and I think that part of me will always be that way, but there are some things that really do make me feel good about myself and my achievements, and d’you know what? I’m gonna shout about them a bit today.

When I wear an item of clothing that I made myself – or someone else does

When I was a kid all I ever wanted to do was create clothes, and now not only has it become a real hobby, but I’m even starting to make money out of my creations. I frequently wear stuff I’ve made to work and I actually love responding to ‘I love your skirt, where is it from?’ with ‘Oh I made it’.

This amazing feeling is doubled when I see someone else in something I’ve made!

Whenever I hit mile 12

In the last 2 years I have run 5 half marathons, and every single time I hit the 12 mile marker I can’t stop myself from shedding a little tear (or just having a minor cry to myself) because I can’t believe how far I’ve come – and I don’t just mean in that one run!

Being able to pay for something using money I’ve made from my small businesses

Most notably, my car’s MOT was paid for using money made from my Etsy store, as was a lot of the repair work needed. Its such an amazing feeling!

When I think about how much weight I used to lift

It wasn’t that long ago that I wouldn’t pick up a dumbbell more than about 3-kg, and now I don’t think I’d touch one that weighed less than double that. I am so much stronger than I ever thought I could be and that’s pretty amazing.

Comparing my blog stats

I get the same page views in a day now than I use to get in a whole month, and my blog is only growing. This little corner of the internet of mine brings me so much pride, and I still love every day when I can call myself a blogger.

Spread a little positivity, and tell me something that makes you proud of yourself!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
1 Comment

Room For Everyone

I think its safe to say that if you’re connected to the blogging world in any way, you’ve all read or at least heard of THAT interview by now. If you haven’t, here’s the Readers Digest version: a big influencer pretty much called out the whole blogging world for copying her, and said there’s no room for any more bloggers in the world.

Now all thats really happened as a result of this article is that she’s alienated a whole bunch of her following, made herself look bad, and united the rest of the blogging world against this idea, but its raised something that I’d like to share my thoughts on.

Whether you’re talking about the blogosphere, or the small business world, or just general friendships, nothing is mutually exclusive. Reading one blog doesn’t prevent you from reading another, buying from one shop doesn’t mean you can’t buy from another, and gaining a new friend doesn’t mean you have to drop one. The fact is, the more the merrier! It introduces diversity and different points of view; 50 bloggers could review the same product and no 2 posts would be identical. Hell its like saying that just because I already own a whole bunch of highlighters, I can’t buy another!

I design and make things which I sell on Etsy, but if I see something similar being sold by another store and I love it, I’m gonna buy it, because it means supporting someone else’s dream. If I see a blogger write a post that’s similar to one of mine, I’m gonna read it to compare opinions.

We need to stop this idea of competition, and welcome and support one another. The best bloggers are the one’s who engage with others, and I’m always grateful for every like, read and retweet. I’m always going to do my best to be supportive to others and give back to the community that has always been so kind to me.

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram

5 Comments

Taking Pride In My ‘Flaws’

Photography

So I was thinking, why is it we spend so much time concentrating on what we believe to be the negative aspects of ourselves? Whether its a quirk that the people around us have picked up on, or something that we overthink on a daily basis, we all have ‘those things’ that we internally cringe over. Well I’ve had enough of that.

Towards the end of last year, I wrote a post about putting positive spins on aspects of our lives that we frequently put down, and today I’m gonna share some of my personality traits that I’m gonna start owning, rather than seeing as a flaw.

I’m a know-it-all

I don’t know where it came from, but I’ve always had a ridiculously good memory for facts, figures and information, as well as totally useless things like what I wore to my year 5 school disco. My family have always had to put up with it, and they actually rely on it sometimes, but even the people I work with have started noticing, earning me the nickname of Sponge – I absorb and retain information like there’s no tomorrow.

This almost always works in my favour, but it can be annoying sometimes as I often worry about coming across as a ‘know-it-all’, but in reality, this is in no way a flaw. It meant I did well in school, helps me excel in my job and I’m also a pub quiz BOSS. Win win, I am Sponge.

I have a need to please people

I need to be liked, and I worry constantly that people don’t like me. I doubt I’m alone in this feeling, but here’s the thing: I actually think it makes me a better person. As a result of this, I’m always great at trying to cheer people up when they’re down, or throwing out compliments like sweets at Halloween, and I notice little details (and sponge them up), which mean I get to know people better.

I’m a sensitive soul

I’m really easily bothered by conflict, whether its directed at me or not. I hate seeing other people fall out, and sometimes I genuinely feel like that girl in Mean Girls who just wants to bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles. I’ve been told that it makes me naive, but there’s nothing naive about just wanting people to get along and be nice to one another – its idealistic, but I hope to God the world gets that way one day.

These are just a few things that I’m gonna start embracing. They are parts of my life and my personality, and regardless of how the rest of the world sees them, I’m gonna own it.

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
5 Comments

Things to Remember in 2017

Things to Remember in 2017

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you’ve survived the first week of 2017, wooo!

As we go further into the new year, I just wanted to give you a few gentle reminders in order to keep yourself feeling positive in your life adventures. You might want to write some of these down so you don’t forget..

You can have that treat

I don’t care how healthy you said you were going to be this year, go ahead and have that slice of cake, order that Chinese food, or take that day off from the gym. Maybe you were going to be better with money – there’s nothing wrong with buying yourself something nice occasionally. Just don’t let doing something nice for yourself turn into guilt.

No one is on the same path

Its so hard seeing those around you achieving things that you haven’t, but that doesn’t mean you’ve achieved any less. No two people’s lives are exactly the same, so there’s no point in making comparisons. You’ll get where you want to go and you’ll kick butt doing it.

Live for yourself

Do what you want to do. Put yourself first sometimes. Learn how to say no to things you don’t want to do. Don’t let anyone dull your sparkle. It’s your life, and whatever you want to do and however you want to do it is just that: entirely up to you.

You can’t predict this whole year

The unexpected happens, and there’s no way to plan for it. Don’t put pressure on yourself if things become out of reach, or if things don’t quite go to plan – your path is ever changing and that’s totally ok.

Listen to the positive stuff

Its so easy to concentrate on the negative things you hear or see, but its time to turn on that selective hearing and put on those rose-tinted glasses, and you’ll notice and appreciate all the nice things that are being said about you.

Everyone breaks their resolutions

I once broke a NY resolution in 2 hours. Yep.. I’m pretty sure they were made to be broken, so don’t worry about it.

I hope this year is great for everyone!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram

 

7 Comments

An Amazing Year of Achievements

Amazing 2016

2016 has not been an easy year for anyone. Its been full of all kinds of worldwide drama and negativity, but now I’m sat here looking back over it, the fact is, its really not been a terrible year.

So many amazing things have happened to me this year, which have made any troubles fade into the background, and while some may not be as major as others, here are some of the incredible things that have happened in my life.

  • I ran my first half marathon – and then my second and third..
  • I went on my first ever non-family Disney trip – my Disneyland Paris trip in April was the first time I’d ever been without my parents and sister!
  • I met some beautiful people – one of my New Years Resolutions was to get out and meet more of my Disney friends, and while I’ve not met everyone, everyone I have had a chance to hang out with have been amazing!
  • I flew solo – my trip to New Zealand in September was the first time I’ve ever got on a plane by myself – kinda threw myself in at the deep end!
  • I drove an automatic car – this one’s a little random, but I’ve never driven an automatic before, and I survived!
  • I stopped blogging for the sake of it – midway through this year, I decided to stop writing posts that I wasn’t 100% happy with. This meant I stopped a few of my old series that were becoming a chore to write, and freeing up more time for new content!
  • I’ve finally visited every Disney park in the world! – ticked the last two off the list with visits to Hong Kong and Shanghai this summer!
  • I hit some incredible blogging milestones – not only did this little blog of mine turn 3 this year, but its been the best year yet by miles! I’ve published just over 300 posts this year and smashed my follower goals on social media, and its so nice to see all these achievements after I’ve put my heart and soul into this blog all year.
  • I started a new business – its always slow progress at first, but I’ve loved creating The Happiest Fitness Co this year, and I have high hopes for the coming year!
  • I left my dead end job – I finally said goodbye to retail after just over 4 years, and found a job that has a lot more opportunities for me in the future
  • I started working full time and maintaining my blog – when I started my new job, one of my biggest worries was that I wouldn’t be able to keep writing as much as I was before, so I’m so proud of the fact that I can work full-time and still post 5/6 times a week!
  • I learned who my true friends are – 2016 has been the year that I’ve come to realise that you don’t have to see people every day for them to be your best and truest friends, and that life’s too short to carry deadweight negative people around
  • I started being creative again – I turned my sewing machine back on for the first time in almost a year, and getting back into making things has made me really happy!
  • I fell in love – it goes without saying that meeting Matthew this year has been the greatest blessing and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

I don’t think I’m sad to see the end of this year, but mainly because I’m so excited for 2017 and all the excitement and adventure I know will come with it. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a new year in a long time!

Fight the bad 2016 stigma and tell me some of the amazing things that have happened to you this year!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
4 Comments

Positivity Accounts You Need To Be Following

Positivity Accounts

I love Twitter. Its full of amazing people and interesting things, but its also notorious for being a little negative at times.

To combat this, positivity accounts have popped up, with the aim of bring more happiness and cheer to Twitter feeds, and I’ve made an effort to follow a lot of these as their posts always make me smile! Here are some of my faves

Happy Little Thought @HAPPYLTHOUGHT

HLT is the latest account that I’ve followed, but despite being fairly new to the Twittersphere, already seems to have made a huge difference! As well as posting lovely things, they also host a positivity chat, #HLTChat every Tuesday at 8pm 🙂

Positive Strawberry @posistrawberry

Just another super account, PS always posts happy thoughts and great motivation – it never fails to make me smile!

The Girl Gang @thegirlganghq

Founded by the ever-wonderful Jemma, The Girl Gang is just over a year old now and has united so many people in the Twitter world, and is always full of lovely, colourful happy things!

The Bun @APositiveBun

This account is full of happy vibes and self care tips – happy happy happy!

Positive Plant @succulent

More happiness and positivity all round!

There are tonnes of accounts out there, so go get following, and let me know if you have any favourites that I might want to follow!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
Leave a comment

A 7 Day Kindness Calendar

Kindness Calendar

I’m always looking for ways I can be a better person, and nothing makes me happier than when I can make other people smile.

With that in mind, I’ve put together a little schedule of the things I can do to spread some happiness online, and as much as possible I’ll be trying to stick to it, as well as doing extra things as and when!

As much as possible:

  • Try to cheer up anyone who’s upset
  • Wish people happy birthdays
  • Promote and support my friends
  • Be super nice to retail workers – especially at Christmas!
  • Put my change in charity pots

Every day:

  • Follow two new people on Twitter and Instagram
  • Retweet another blogger’s post
  • Compliment someone on their outfit
  • Like the first 10 photos on your Instagram feed, and comment on at least two
  • Retweet or share any post about a good cause or charity

Every other day:

  • Follow 3 new blogs on Bloglovin
  • Comment on two blog posts
  • Tell someone they’re pretty

Twice a week:

  • Share a small business
  • Randomly tweet someone something I love about them
  • Remind someone how awesome they are

Every week:

  • Treat someone at work to a coffee
  • Either do #FF or #SundayBlogShare tweets for at least 10 people

Join me and spread the positivity! What do you do?

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
Leave a comment

Putting a Positive Spin on Things

Positivity and happiness

I’ll be the first to admit that 9/10 times I’ll jump to the worst case scenario for any given situation faster than a rocket powered penguin. Yes, I stole that from the British Gas advert; I just love penguins. I digress.

To be honest, it’s just something I’m really good at. I like to think of it as preparation. I mean, if these ridiculous situations ever do come about then at least I thought about it ahead of time right? Ok, I might not have sorted a solution just yet, but in terms of the element of surprise, the ball is totally in my court.

^^ see what I did there? For a split second, I just convinced you (or at least I’m hoping so) that a quality of mine that the majority of people would consider to be a negative, or a flaw, if you will, was actually a strength. You see, I’m really good at that too.

I fall somewhere into the centre of a Venn diagram that has optimist, pessimist and realist circles, and while I think that that could be conceived as incredibly strange, I believe that to be totally normal. (Side note: I’m far from normal, and that’s ok). I guess whether the glass is full or empty, or any variation of the two, if I’m thirsty there are also plastic cups, bottles, mugs or just sticking my head under the tap if I really have to. I think what I’m trying to say is that I can always find solutions, or I can spin things in a way that will make me feel better if I can’t. And who doesn’t love spinning?

I’ve been thinking about a few of these situations recently; the ones that I’m yet to have a definitive solution for, and as I very much doubt I’m alone in some of these, I thought I’d share them. Here’s hoping they help someone!

I have no idea what I’m doing with my life.

Yep, I’m going straight in with the big’un. I am 22, and this hits home more than ever having just hit my 4th anniversary at the retail job that was meant to be a part-time sixth form/gap year job. The fact is for me, it’s got nothing to do with lack of direction; I frequently pull the line ‘oh I’m just trying to work things out, I’ve got plenty of time’. It works a treat when my parents friends or former teachers ask me what I’m up to now, but the truth is its a load of codswallop (I got the spelling of that right on the first attempt, woop!). There are a tonne of things I could do with my life, and better yet there are a few that stand out as things I would love to do with my life, and where I’m struggling is committing to just one. How on earth is that a bad thing?

Being single.

Ok, so this one isn’t true for me anymore, but trust me when I say I’ve done my time in this situation. For starters, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being single, and the 1+year between my previous relationship and my current one was the time when I truly discovered this. More than that, I discovered myself. I travelled, I made new friends, I became a stronger, more independent person, and none of these traits are going away now I’m in a relationship again. And as well as discovering more about myself, I discovered more about what I actually wanted from a relationship; instead of becoming that needy single girl who jumps at any chance, I actually took the time to think about dealmakers and breakers, and that too has shaped me.
Bonus point on this: why was I single? Because I was waiting for Mr Right to come up and smack me in the face. Fact is, sometimes you do need to go and put yourself out there; hit a few bars, download Tinder, whatever you want, just stop waiting around if you want to change your situation.

I still live at home.

And what? I’ll be the first to put my hand up and say that I love living at home. Yes I’d love to move out one day, and yes sometimes I wish that day was sooner than others, but my living situation is far from awful; I’d much rather be at home than in some god awful house share with people I have to leave passive aggressive notes for and end up living in my room because I can’t deal with awkward interaction. You know how most people have group chats with their housemates? Well so do I, they just happen to consist of my parents and sister, and I can tell you for a fact they contain just as many emojis as everyone else’s thank you very much.

How do you feel about things now? Better, I hope!

PS. I’m aware that I tend to ramble a lot in these sorts of posts. Truthfully speaking, my brain just whirrs away and my fingers tap to follow it and there’s not a whole lot of filtering going on. I think it best reflects me as a person, but I’d really love a bit of feedback on it if you want to drop me a comment!
Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
4 Comments

Blogger Respect


When having to put myself into a single blogging category, I go for the slight cop-out broad grouping of lifestyle blogger. Quite honestly, I feel like I ramble on about way too many different things to describe my blog more specifically, but I also don’t feel specialised enough on any of the topics I write about (apart from Disney obvs haha) to put myself into a group of people who really know what they’re talking about.

I have a huge respect for other bloggers, no matter what they write about, we’re all slogging away at the same thing in our own styles and at our own paces, and whether you’ve got 2 readers or 2,000, its still a huge deal to be putting yourself out there on the internet for the world to see, so I want to tell you all just how much I respect you.

Beauty bloggers – You guys are flawless, quite literally. I had mad respect for your skills because while I’m not awful with makeup, if you were to ask me to contour or tell you what kind of foundation to wear based on your skin type, you’d see a Lottie-shaped hole in the wall. Also I can’t imagine how much blogging must cost you!

Book bloggers – I’ve always loved reading, but dreaded the book reviews I’d have to write at school, so the fact that you lot can write these daily/weekly whatever absolutely marvels me – in a good way! You’re also always so passionate about reading and I think that’s such a wonderful thing.

Craft/DIY bloggers – Creative people are amazing; your ability to think of something in your head and be able to not only translate that into a physical thing, but also explain exactly how you did it so others can replicate it blows my mind! I love crafting, but I generally make one-off masterpieces that fail miserably when I attempt to replicate it, ha!

Fashion bloggers – How do you always look so good?! Like seriously, you’re all so stylish and you inspire so many people and I also love how while you’re all blogging fashion, there’s so much variety! I have so my respect for how much confidence you must have too!

Film/TV bloggers – I love seeing how passionate you lot are about your favourite films and shows. You also manage to see so much more than what everyone else does, truly analysing the underlying messages and hidden meanings in everything. I could never put together my thoughts as well as you do!

Fitness bloggers – I dabble in fitness writing, but you fit bunch are so inspiring! You’re healthy way of life and positive attitudes are so motivational – I wanna work out with you! Your blogs are always true extensions of your lives and the perseverance that you show day in, day out is something I really admire in you.

Food bloggers – Not only do you make food that makes me want to lick my screen, but you take amazing photos of your dishes, which takes real skill. Your ability to put together an incredible meal and make it look like its from a top rated restaurant, while using ingredients solely from Lidl is outstanding – hats off to the chef!

Parenting bloggers – SO MUCH RESPECT. I can barely hold my own life together while keeping up with blogging, but you do it while having little people to look after too?! You really open up your lives to your readers, and get pretty personal sometimes which must take so much courage and did I mention you’re all awesome parents!?

Pet bloggers – I love how much you guys love your pets. It makes me love your pets too, and restores my faith in humanity when I see animals so well cared for. You devote all your spare time to your little (or large!) bundles of fluff/scales/feathers and I think that’s adorable and you’re awesome.

Photography bloggers – A picture is worth a thousand words and your photos are amazing. I don’t think many people know just how much work can go into one photo, and how many decisions you have to make: what camera, which lense, how to frame the shot, is the lighting good enough? Quite frankly anyone that doesn’t use the Auto setting on their camera amazes me but you guys are adding so much beauty to the internet.

Student bloggers – Sure I have to fit blogging around a job, but I can’t imagine fitting it around university and coursework or dissertations or research etc – you’re incredible! You also always seem to have the best cost-cutting tips which I always find very helpful, and I always end up feeling incredibly proud when you get your results haha!

Travel bloggers – You get my wanderlust going crazy. I’m amazed at how you always find the most beautiful places, and inspire me to go places I’d never thought about before, and let’s be honest, its not exactly a cheap blog subject! Keep exploring guys, you rock!

and a bonus.. Vloggers – Not only am I massively jealous of how confident you must be to talk into a camera, but also the amount of patience you have for editing videos and understanding YouTube – something I’m totally useless at!

I know I’ve only covered a small handful of blogging niches, but all bloggers are amazing – don’t you forget it!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
6 Comments

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?

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
1 Comment

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!

DSC09876

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?

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
2 Comments

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°

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
Leave a comment

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..

DSCF0116edit2

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!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
4 Comments

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

SONY DSC

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!

SONY DSC

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

13.1

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

Leave a comment

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

1 Comment

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

Leave a comment

Happy September!

Happy September everyone! I can’t believe we’re here already – summer is over, my 21st birthday is right on the horizon, and we’re now finally in the month where I’ll be beginning my European adventure!

september.jpeg

And rather than reflecting back on the last month, I’m looking forward to some great times coming, and in order to have a totally positive and happy month, here are the 10 things I’m doing this month to boost myself:

1. Getting crazy organised

I’m a total organisation freak, and I love planning my time, writing to-do lists etc, and while it might seem kinda crazy, planning every detail of my life gives me total peace.

2. Goal of the week

The feeling of success is totally satisfying, I think everyone can agree on that, so to give myself a little boost, I’m starting to set a ‘goal’ for each week. Now we’re not talking anything major, it can be anything from finishing a book to clearing out my wardrobe to completing a blog post or project; just something that I want to get done.

3. Strict savings goals

With my upcoming trips to Europe and America, as well as keeping my future in mind, I’ve been setting myself some pretty strict savings and spending plans, and while sometimes it means I get annoyed with myself when I want to be frivolous, seeing my account balances go up and my spending going down is a pretty nice feeling.

4. Meal planning

Another organisation point, I’m making a real effort at the moment to plan my meals and snacks in an attempt to ensure I’m eating right. With all our training for Run Disney in January, and wanting to get generally fitter and healthier, the key is really in the planning.

5. Tough Mudder training

In a moment of madness, I agreed to join a team of people from work taking part in a Tough Mudder event at the end of the month, eek! I’m throwing myself into training because its getting so close and I’m totally terrified of some of the obstacles, but I know it will be a great experience!

6. Keeping a tidy room

(My mum will laugh at this) A tidy bedroom makes me feel totally at peace, and I’ve just spent the last week getting back on top of things after a slight lapse.. I’ve got new shelves up, I’ve reorganised my candles, and I’m starting the month with clean bedding, cos who doesn’t love fresh sheets!?

7. More sewing projects

In order to keep myself busy (and not spending money) I’m really getting back into sewing. I’ve got running costumes to make, cosplays to finish and plenty of other ideas to bring to reality, as well as a wardrobe full of my fabric hoard that I need to use!

8. More Twitter chats

I still consider myself a bit of a Twitter newbie, but I’m definitely getting there, and I recently took part in my first Twitter chat and I LOVED IT. I love chatting to other bloggers, and I’m finding chats to be so positive that I’m really looking forward to getting involved with lots more.

9. My Disney girls

For a bunch of girls I haven’t actually met yet, these girls make me so happy. I’m lucky enough to have ‘met’ so many amazing friends through Instagram and Twitter, all of which share my love of Disney, and its gone from occasional comments to Facebook chat and Whatsapp groups, and I really hope we get to all hang out some time soon because they’re fab.

10. EUROPEAN ROAD TRIP

YES. At the end of this month I’ll be departing on the first leg of my solo road trip around Europe! As well as a weekend in Disneyland Paris with the family for my 21st birthday, I’m gonna be hitting some amazing places in France, Switzerland, Germany and The Netherlands in a two-week extravaganza tour of cities, castles and countryside, and I’m so excited!

Such exciting times ahead, as well as a month packed with blog posts so bring it on!

What are you up to this September?

°o°

1 Comment