Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's 2020, what the heck? When did that happen?! I hope you all had a lovely festive period and spent a lot of time with your loved ones. I find the time between Christmas and New Year is very good fore some self reflection.

I've always loved a New Year Resolution although maybe I see them slightly differently the older I'm getting; they always used to be 'LOSE WEIGHT' or 'GET FIT' or 'EAT LESS CHOCOLATE' etc and although none of those resolutions are bad if that's what you want to do, I always found them far too vague which in turn made me see them as intimidating and unattainable.

This year I've decided to set some more realistic and achievable goals and also define some new habits I'd like to start this year and I thought in case anyone needed any inspiration I'd share them with you today.

• Eat clean more often - It's slowly dawning on me that I need to be kinder to my body. That means less processed food that contains, well, who knows what in it?! Don't get me wrong, I can't eat clean all day everyday as I love the odd treat now and then but I'm definitely going to make better choices when I can which

• Attend 5 gym classes a week - I'm currently a member of a fantastic fitness club in my local area which is run by one lady - Jo - who holds 9 classes a week including Zumba, Full Body Workout, Barre, AbsTastic and Clubbercise at our local gym. I joined last Jan and I still try to make a few classes a week now but my 2020 goal is to attend 5 each week.

• Take multivitamins DAILY - I've already failed at this one so far but that's only because I can't actually find the multivitamins I pruchased a month or so ago *eye roll* so I need to get to Holland and Barratt and treat myself to some new ones before I can get going. This one's pretty important for me though as I don't really eat any fresh fruit so am missing out on some vital vits! 

• Keep up my daily skincare routine - Since Christmas I've treated myself to some new beauty products and tools to really up my game in 2020 (it's not difficult seeing as my 2019 game was a make-up wipe...) I've bought a jade and rose quartz roller/gua-sha set and am loving using these day and night along with my new Homedics Facial Cleanser. I want to make sure that I keep this up as i'm a week or so in and already seeing a difference in my skin!

• Have more structure/routine - When I told my boyfriend about this goal he panicked but that's coming from him, someone who had practically ZERO routine before we got together. I reassured him though that it was my goal and he didn't have to join in. However, I want to ensure I'm getting 8 hours of sleep each night, making more time in the mornings so I'm not rushing or late for work, keeping the house tidy (putting something away after using it). Basically just having my shit together a little more. 

• Say yes less - By this I mean, stop doing so much stuff that I don't want to do or being worried to say 'nah, I'm good thanks'. Even something as little as staying up late when really I want to just go to bed at 10pm and get a good night's sleep before work or turning down an invite to a party when I'd rather have some time to myself to relax and unwind. The only pressure that's on me to please everyone else is the pressure I put on myself!

What are your goals and resolutions for 2020, I'd love to know! Comment below or find me on social media over on Instagram @laurenefell

How We Decorate For Christmas

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! Oh how I blooming love Christmas-time, I love the food, I love the family time and I reaaaally love putting up our Christmas decorations.

I reigned myself in this year (slightly) because last year I had the decorations up during the last week of November - please don't judge me, it was my first time having my own living room to decorate and the creative freedom was just too much for me, I couldn't contain myself! This year I held out until the weekend of the 1st December and thought I'd share with you some of the decorations I put up to get us in the festive spirit!

Our tree is an artificial one from Notcutts Garden Centre. When I lived at home with my parents we often got a real tree each year however to be more environmentally friendly both my Mum and I have purchased an artificial tree each which will hopefully last us for a good few years. As we have a slightly unconventionally shaped living room we opted for a taller, narrower tree but i still love how full and realistic it looks.

When it comes to tree decorations I am ALL about the sentiment. 80% of the decorations on our tree are ones from my family home which my Mum kindly donated to us when we had our first Christmas in this house last year. We've always had the same decorations on our family Christmas tree for as long as I've been alive so it's really special to now have some of those on our tree. 

I've purchased a few more decorations too and our tree is super personal to us with Sandy Claws making an appearance along with some personalised baubles. I love decorations with a difference as you can see I have a few brussel sprout decorations along with owls, birds, a llama and a sloth. Like i said, unconventional!

This year I'm very spoilt with three different advent calendars. We have a large fabric one which was a gift from my parents and they've very kindly put chocs in each pocket! I also have a Cadbury calendar (a time old tradition which I simply refuse to break) and a L'Occitane Advent Calendar which was a present from Rob. Honestly one of my favourite things about December is waking up and remembering my advent calendar's need opening - it gets me through the morning before work!

I hope you've enjoyed taking a little look through the keyhole into our festive living room, I will be sharing more photos over on my Instagram @laurenefell as we go through the month of December and I would love to see photos of your Christmas decs so please follow and tag me in your pics! 

When Life Interupts...

It's been a crazy few weeks. If you checked my planner you'd see all the blog posts & content I had planned for the last couple of weeks and unfortunately I've not been able to get one post written or uploaded, why? Well, life happened!

I love my blog and I love creating content but it is a very nice distraction from the trials and tribulations that life can throw at you and unfortunately I just wasn't able to distract myself this time, I was needed at home and I was more than happy to let a few blog posts slip by in order to be supportive when I needed to be.

A week-long trip to Center Parcs with Rob and my family was meant to inspire a lot of content for the blog but in reality I very much needed it as a break from my phone and I just needed to spend time with my loved ones, to recharge and rejuvenate a little.

I'm hoping I will get the chance to visit Center Parcs again soon in order to create the content and share with you what an amazing place it was, we got up to so much including archery and falconry.

I'm already back on it though and I'm looking to create some great content over the next couple of weeks including a brand post with Big Potato Games (because if Autumn/Winter aren't board game seasons then WHAT ARE?!).

Apologies for going quiet over the last couple of weeks but I'm sure all of you can understand - thanks for sticking with me and keep an eye out for some awesome content coming your way!

xo Lauren

Clean Eating Peanut Butter Energy Balls

This post features products kindly gifted by  BuyWholeFoodsOnline.co.uk - these are marked with an asterisk (*). 

There's always this tricky amount of time between finishing work around 5pm and starting my gym classes around 6ish where I need to fuel up for my gym class but also definitely dont have time to prepare or cook anything remotely substantial - that's where my beloved peanut butter energy balls come into it!

These lil guys are ridiculously easy and quick to throw together (and even more ridiculously easy to eat because they're so delicious). They're the perfect fix for some protein and energy before doing any exercise or just when you want a snack throughout the day. 

Ingredients (makes 12 balls):

• 85g creamy/smooth peanut butter
• 60g dark chocolate chips (or milk, whichever you prefer)
• 128g oats
• 60g chia or Organic Shelled Hemp seeds* (i've used 30g of each in this recipe)
• 2 tablespoons of Raw Wild Flower Bulgarian Honey* - I can't tell you how GOOD this smells.
• optional: handful of dried fruits (I was kindly sent some Dried Cranberries* but left them out this time round to keep the size of the balls smaller!)

How To Make Them:

• Place all the ingredients in a bowl (told you it was easy) and stir well to mix them together. 
• Place the mix in the fridge for 15-20 minutes so they're easier to roll. 
• Roll the mixture into 12 bites (or however you want to make depending on the size you want 'em) and store them in the fridge until you're ready to scoff them!

Benefits of Hemp Seeds:

I've added Organic Shelled Hemp Seeds* to this recipe because they're just so damn nutritious for you and these are a few reasons why:

• great source of protein
• high in fibre
• full of vitamins and minerals including magnesium (which will make our bodies very happy!)
• rich in fatty acids

About BuyWholeFoodsOnline

One of the things I love about BWFO (besides their HUGE selection of organic and whole foods obvs) is that at heart they are a family-run business start from really humble beginnings with founders and cousins Arthur and Joe setting up shop in their shed!

Having outgrown each warehouse and location they moved to due to the growing success of the business they finally settled in a whopping 25,000 square foot warehouse in Ramsgate in 2016 and that's where they've been ever since!

Hello Fresh: The Pros & Cons

Years after the rest of the world have tried it, we finally decided to give Hello Fresh a go, hurrah! Or maybe not so hurrah? I have majorly mixed feelings about Hello Fresh after giving our first recipe a go earlier this week and thought I'd share my thoughts with you all and basically just weigh up the pros and cons of Hello Fresh.

So for those who don't know, Hello Fresh is a recipe subscription box which sends you 5 pre-packaged fresh meals in all the right measurements and amounts for you to cook yourself by following their simple instruction card.

We definitely had a mixed experience with our first Hello Fresh box and I wanted to share my thoughts on the Pro's and Cons of ordering from Hello Fresh.

CON: It's quite pricey for what it is

Not to start off on a negative note but this is one of the main reasons why we decided to try Hello Fresh, to save money on our weekly shop. The good news (which, sorry, doesn't warrant its' own PRO bullet point) is that you can get lots of discount codes online for your first box but after that it comes in at around £41.99 for five meals, so that's not including weekends for us. When we thought about what we'd need to add onto our 5 meals (things like treats, snacks, lunches etc) it didn't make our weekly spend any less overall.

PRO: The recipe cards are simple to follow so everyone can have a go

We take it in turns cooking in our house but it does mean that there are certain meals that we've nailed individually and have become our signature dishes so we don't share the recipes for these and as I'm out quite a few nights a week I have to plan meals for our weekly shop that Rob is confident at cooking whilst I'm out. With Hello Fresh anyone can grab the ingredients and pick up the easy-to-follow card so no worries about having to leave instructions or being restricted on what you can plan for meals.

CON: If there are ingredients missing you could be stuffed

We tried the loaded beef mexican wedges recipe last night and it turned out delicious - thankfully that's because I had a carton of passata and some garlic granules in the cupboard because the package was missing the passata and a garlic clove. If i'd not had any passata in then we'd not have been able to make that recipe at all so that's slightly frustrating. As someone who likes to plan and prep I find it a little tricky to put my food shop/plan in someone else's hands!

PRO: There are lot of different boxes to choose from 

Whether you're vegetarian, trying to stick to a high-protein diet, cooking for 4 or cooking for children Hello Fresh offer a wide selection of boxes and they even offer a quick-cook box with recipes that take 20 minutes or less to prep and cook which can be great if you're in a a hurry each evening!

CONS: The recipes aren't low-fat enough for us 

This will of course differ from person to person but recently we've been loving Slimming World recipes and although soured cream and full fat cheddar tastes real good I know in the long run it's not going to be much good for my waistline!

Personally, I don't think that we'll stick to Hello Fresh going forward, it's been great to give it a go and experience it and the meals have been delicious but I think for us planning our meals and doing a weekly shop each week is just easier for us and cheaper in the long run!

If you're thinking of giving Hello Fresh a go then have a google for some discount codes, some are offering 50% off so this is the perfect opportunity to trial it out!

A Day Out At Warwick Castle

Whilst I was having a browse through my emails on Saturday morning, one from Wowcher popped up that caught my eye, 48% off Warwick Castle tickets - erm, don't mind if i do!

I haven't visited the castle for years! I went once as a child on the way back from Alton Towers to break up the journey down South and loved it, I'm a big history buff and have always particularly enjoyed the gruesome side of a medieval castle, those people were savage.

I snapped up two tickets and we headed up on Sunday. The vouchers from Wowcher were fantastic, instead of £30pp we paid just over £15pp which was a whopping discount and they were valid everyday from July until October 2019, including summer hols and weekends which is very rare for a discount ticket usually!

We arrived shortly after 11am and parking was a little way from the entrance, there is disabled parking much closer but the main overflow car park is around a 20 minute walk from entrance, fine for us as two adults but something to bear in mind if you have little ones in tow! The car park also costs £6, you can purchase a token at the entrance/exit or you can pay by card at the barrier.

I Tried £1 Contact Lenses!

I've been a contact lens wearer for years now, I needed glasses in secondary school and after a year or so of losing/breaking them my Mum took me to the opticians to try out contacts lenses. I was both excited and terrified of the prospect; yes, I'd be able to see without glasses BUT would they get lost in my eyeball forever, is there a chance I'd put them in and never get them out again?!

My worries partially came to fruition when the optician put me in my first pair of lenses, wow, it was amazing and off I trotted home so pleased with myself until I tried to take them out later that day and couldn't. I had to go back to the opticians so she could actually get them out of my eyes. Despite this I persisted and now all these years later I'm still a daily contact lens wearer.

The only downside to this is the price of the freaking things. Around 10 years ago my optician changed my contact lenses due to my eyes feeling super prickly and dry and alas, she put me onto the most expensive variety on offer which set me back a whopping £44 each month - for something disposable that gets lobbed in the bin every night, I know!

So over the last few months I've been on the hunt for a cheaper alternative for lenses and came across Hubble. I'd seen all the ads on Instagram and thought you know what, for £1 I'll give it a go.

Saving For A House: Our Plan

It's quite a daunting thought to commit to saving for a house, initially we were both a little overwhelmed by the prospect of maybe not having holidays or being able to splash out over the next few years but as we continue to fork out thousands each month for rent and utilities it was a no-brainer, we desperately want a place to call our own!

We're in the very early stages of saving but I did a lot of research on the best ways for us to save and looked into all the options available to us so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and findings you with incase you're in a similar position or hope to be in the future.

Nellie Tries Pure Pet Food

Since we rehomed Nellie at the end of 2018 we've had a hard time getting her to kick some of the habits she'd picked up as a stray before she was handed into Cat's Protection, part of this process included finding a really high quality cat food for her to fill her up and give her all the nutrients she needed to put on a little weight and stay healthy. She would meow, meow and then meow some more at us almost as soon as she'd finished her breakfast or dinner and after ruling anything like worms out at the vet a quick Google told us it could be that she's just not getting filled up - what, after four sachets a day?!

How To Start A Healthy Routine

It didn't really dawn on me that my routine was out of whack until I'd lived with my boyfriend for around six months. Before then, I'd always lived with my parents (with the exception of an 8-month stint in a 1 bedroom flat a few years ago when I thought I could afford to live alone - spoiler, I couldn't.)

Before we moved in together my boyfriend lived just over an hour from me so the location we moved to was half-way between us and a completely new town to both of us. I'd visited once before we moved here and it definitely took a while for me to realise that I wasn't adjusting as easily as I'd hoped and that's not because I don't love living where we do or that I don't enjoy living with my boyfriend because I really do, I think it was just because it turned my life upside down.

Routine helps with feeling settled when you might otherwise feel a little out of your comfort zone and it can really be a great tool for managing your mental health. I want to share what I've done to carve out a new routine for myself and also what I'd like to do over the coming months myself - hopefully some of this helps.

5. HEALTHY EATING & DRINKING
It's a bit of a no-brainer that to start a new healthy routine you'd need to eat healthier and cut down on alcohol which is proven to have a very negative effect on mental health. Now, I am not a fruit or veg girl, it's terrible I know but I struggle to get my 5-a-day in (heck, I struggle with 5-a-week) but that doesn't mean you can't still eat well. I've cut out junk food and most processed foods and I stick very loosely to a Slimming World plan to give my diet some structure; in all honesty we love so many SW recipes and snacks so it's not difficult. Following a healthy living plan will become part of your daily routine and you'll start to form new eating habits in no time.

4. WORKOUT REGULARLY
Making exercise a part of your routine will take feeling good about yourself to a new level. As I was completely new to the area we moved to I was keen to join a new gym so that I'd be able to get into a new fitness routine...the only problem is I hate the gym and really didn't enjoy it. I stopped going and got into a bit of a rut about working out, I was in desperate need of finding some form of exercise that I enjoyed. Luckily I stumbled across an amazing fitness instructor who runs 8 different classes a week in a school hall only 5 minutes from our house - it couldn't have worked out better.

I now do Barre, Pound, Fight, Zumba, Clubbercise and a Full Body Workout class each and every week. It's probably my favourite part of my new routine as through these classes I've met some wonderful women and it's really made our new area start to feel like home. It also makes me appreciate the 3x days I get off from classes each week!

3. START A NEW HABIT
One way to make your routine interesting it to start doing something completely new and different. When your surroundings and circumstances change it can feel like the easiest thing to do is to revert back to your old routine to make everything feel somewhat normal again but it's probably the best opportunity to take up a new hobby. I started practicing yoga and blogging again and have tried to make both of these activities part of my routine. Why not start reading more or incorporating a daily walk into your routine?

2. TRY AND STICK TO A BEDTIME
I know bedtime sounds like it's for 5-year-old's but I think it's a really important part of a daily routine and definitely one that I've not nailed myself yet and still struggle with. Sleep is crazy important for mental health, it's the one time a day we can give our brains and bodies a rest and ensuring we get enough sleep is really important. I always try and turn off the telly each evening at 10pm, my boyfriend will usually watch something on his iPad for a further 20-25 minutes whilst I get ready for bed and then I'm in bed by 10:30pm at the latest. The problem is we then sit in bed and watch silly YouTube videos for a while or we'll play with the cat or end up chatting about something or other. It can be 11:30pm or even midnight before we go to sleep and then we're both up again at 6:30/7am for work. I'm slowly starting to realise I'm just not getting enough hours.

To correct this, I'm going to start switching off from 10pm onwards so that means limiting the time on my phone and not putting the television on in the bedroom before we go to sleep. I also want to start reading more and winding down before bed. One of our worst habits is my boyfriend going on Reddit or me going on social media then going to bed and going 'oh my god did you hear this story about that guy that did this? Look at this video! Look at this gif!' etc.

1. HAVE A MORNING ROUTINE MAPPED OUT
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous tip and because I haven't got the night routine figured out I haven't really got my morning one sorted yet but that doesn't mean I don't have good intentions set out.

If you've had a good night's sleep it's very likely that getting up earlier will be easier, that's just science (maybe?). I was actually doing really well in the new year and I'd get up half an hour earlier,  do ten minutes of yoga whilst the cat ate her breakfast, then I'd sort my breakfast, lunch and snacks out for work before getting ready. This meant I wasn't rushing round the house like a mad woman, I'd had a morning stretch and I was never late for work and that's all down to getting up just half an hour earlier.

If you suss out your evening/night routine and get enough sleep, setting your alarm for half an hour earlier the next day will only have a positive affect on your day and that's what I'm intending to try out this week!

A New Start

For so long I've been trying to think of reader-friendly blog posts to write; whether they be about my hair care routine, somewhere we visited at the weekend or home decor tips I just didn't feel like my heart was into it. It seemed forced and false when what is really filling up my head each day are much more mundane matters (not that I don't love a hair care flat-lay, so no disrespect intended).

I want to write a post and not have to worry about the word count or taking the perfect picture for a blog header because I want to start writing posts for me. I want to tell stories from my life and I want to write to share my experience of dealing with anxiety or trying to stick to my Slimming World diet. There are so many days where I feel like writing about those things but worry they won't be interesting to read...then I ask myself well, who cares? This blog has my name on it and it's my small space on the internet so I need to use it for my benefit; as an outlet for my thoughts and feelings - whatever they may be!

Don't get me wrong, I will 100% be sharing my hair care routine at some point because it's only taken me 20+ years to find one that actually works for me but I also want to share other snippets of my life that aren't as picture perfect.

So that's what this post is all about, it's me refreshing and resetting the purpose of this blog and I am super excited for what's to come!

24 HOURS IN PARIS

If you were reading my blog just over a year ago you'd remember that I travelled to Paris with my best friend for a girly weekend away in the city. I also mentioned in my post that unfortunately we happened to be in the centre of Paris on the night of the awful terror attacks on the Bataclan theatre, the Stade de France and nearby cafe's and restaurants.

Despite it being a rather tense, worrying day/night holed up in our hotel room watching everything unfold on the telly and then having to leave first thing the next day, Paris was one of the most beautiful places I'd visited and still remains top of my list of cities to visit (again) and I wanted to share with you the things I would love to see and do this time round if I was given just 24 hours in the city of luurrve,

NOTRE DAME

This was top of my list of things to see when in Paris, even above the good old Eiffel Tower and the main reason I want to visit is yep, you guessed it, the Disney movie. We crossed a bridge on our first day in the city last year  - the old padlock bridge to be precise - when we were just exploring, making a list of things to do during the weekend and I saw Notre Dame towering over the Paris skyline and just felt so excited and giddy. I'm all about that gothic architecture and seeing the Gargoyles in real life is definitely on my bucket list, even if they don't sing or dance much to my disappointment.

THE CATACOMBS

I'm a sucker when it comes to all thing eerie and creepy and I don't think it can get much creepier than ancient tunnels which run underneath the streets of Paris and holds the remains of more than six million people, can it? The endless rumours of weird goings on and ghostly sightings down in the tunnels makes it one of the most interesting and fascinating locations on my Paris to-do list.

THE LOUVRE

This was another spot that we wandered along to and mentally added it to our sightseeing list in Paris. I've never been a massive art gallery fan despite having a love for all things design, weird I know, but the Louvre is just a must-see mainly due to a few of these classics: Mona Lisa, Liberty Leading the People and Nymph and Satyr just to name a few. I also don't know if you've seen Passport to Paris with Mary-Kate and Ashley but that's also another reason for wanting to see a gallery.

FOOD

Of course, there's only 24 hours in the day and along with wanting to see classics such as the Eiffel Tower and my faves above there's only one other thing to do on a city break and that is to eat and drink until you can't eat or drink any more. One of my favourite things about the city was the amount of quiet, narrow alleyways which contained some of the cutest looking cafe's and restaurants. I'd make it my mission next time round to stop at multiple for a different course, finishing up with a Nutella crepe of course because I am one classy mademoiselle. 

Which city would you love to visit if you had only 24 hours?!

HOW TO GET BACK ON THE WORKOUT WAGON

Now this is a story all about how...I fell off the wagon and stopped eating healthy or going to the gym. You know that classic tale? Well it happened, the last few months were stressful as heck, I went to America and ate my body-weight in mac and cheese for fourteen days straight (no regrets though my friends, no regrets) and now it is nearly December and I am not yet ready to let myself go entirely for the festive season.

It's time to get back on the wagon and get my arse into gear (and a size or two smaller hopefully) and there are a few ways I've discovered - because yes I've fallen off the wagon before, it happens because life gets in the way ands ometimes when you're not feeling too good dragging yourself to the gym or slicing up an avocado does not appeal and the thought alone drives you into the arms of a bargain bucket .Speaking from experience here.

MAKE YOUR WORKOUTS/GYM TIME ENJOYABLE

So recently I moved out of home, into my own flat in a nearby town and had to quit the gym I loved (yes I just put gym and love in the same sentence, i know, who am i) and join a gym down the road from my new flat. Now the gym I joined was tiny, there were hardly any staff around and to put it plainly, I despised it so obviously ultimately I stopped going. Now I am moving back home (because rent sucks, rent sucks oh and rent sucks) and I am rejoining my fave gym again. 

Long story short, you won't work out if you don't enjoy the space you're working out in or the workouts you're doing. I am obsessed right now with the instagram account for the New York gym DOGPOUND - it's where Taylor Swift and the Victoria Secret girls work out and it's full of inspiration as far as workouts are concerned. I've made a note of them all and I'll be adding them into my workout routine for sure. 

INSPIRE YOURSELF WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD

I have Pinterested (hello Oxford Dictionary, please make that a verb) the crappola out of recipes and meal ideas lately, it's been the holy grail for making me excited to eat better. After pinning a thousand and one recipes to my board I'll make a shopping list & meal plan for a week with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas. I did even not realise until I looked into it how many exciting things could be done with a sweet potato and of course it instantly dispelled the myth about eating healthy meaning all you could do was knaw on salads day in day out. 

DITCH THE 'DIET'

I used to be a sucker for this one, even recently I tried out Slimming World which did help me lose some weight but after I fell off the wagon and was ready to hop back on I decided that SW wasn't the path I was going to take. I understand how it works for a lot of people but personally for me it was limiting in the sense that it stopped me from having food that I knew wasn't bad for me like avocado (sorry, this post is not sponsored by the great gods of avocado it's just cropped up a lot) and I didn't want to feel like I couldn't eat something, I never want to feel like that. 

Diets like Slimming World do provide you with tools and keys to help when it comes to ditching their plan and going it on your own though which I will give them full credit for. However, diets that include cutting our carbs and such are just not great in the long-term, you need to think of the way you eat as a lifestyle choice and not a diet. 

Getting back on the wagon can be hard, especially if you've been off a while but there's never a bad time to get back on. What are your tips for getting back on track after a break?

4 THRILLERS ON MY READING LIST THIS WINTER

When it's freezing and dark outside, all I want to do is make myself a cup of tea and curl up on the sofa with a good book (yes I am intact an 80-year-old woman). Of course, me being me it has to be a thriller, something grizzly, creepy and exciting is a must cos you know, six years of watching The Walking Dead has really upped my standards when it comes to gore and horror so it takes a lot to creep me out.

Luckily, this perfect little foursome of novels fits the bill. My weird, worryingly morbid bill. Over the next week or so I'm going to be working my way through these beauties and of course sharing my thoughts with you about each one individually. I've just finished The Widow in a 24-hour sesh as it was SO good I couldn't put it down, literally, I was stirring pasta sauce over the hob with one hand and had the book in the other! 

Here's a little blurb about each one to get you interested and stay tuned for more on these as I work my way through them!

WHAT WORKING FOR A MAGAZINE IS REALLY LIKE

I don't want to mislead you lovely folk so I should probably start this post by saying no, sadly I did not work for Vogue or Cosmopolitan so if you're looking for some Devil Wears Prada goss then you won't find it here. However, I did work for a UK gossip/entertainment/beauty/fashion magazine, you know the kind that usually featured a TOWIE celeb or Kimmy K on the cover.

I worked at this magazine for a year as a junior designer and was taken on before that as an Art Intern for approx 6 months and it was such a crazy experience. I've always wanted to work for a magazine ever since I fell in love with Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port from The Hills. Get me a cute headband, sit me in front of an iMac and I am all yours! Of course now my life is super different and I wouldn't change that for anything but let me share with you just what working in publishing was like...

A LESSON IN SELF-LOVE

I'm my own worst enemy 99.9% of the time, if not 100% of the time. I think I've learnt more about myself and changed in more ways during the course of 2016 than I have any other year.

Now let me stop being so vague and mysterious, what I'm talking about is learning to love yourself. We all want to stop judging ourselves when we look in the mirror and to not care about things we can't change but hello, those things make us the perfectly deranged, crazy, wonderful people that we are and it's not about eradicating those qualities but about learning to have full control over them.

THE PERFECT WINTER WALK: KEW GARDENS

It may sound as though I'm 25 going on 85 but I am a sucker for a Sunday morning stroll. I'm lucky enough to live close to some incredible lakes, gardens and country houses and when I woke up this morning to blue-skies and sunshine it was a majority decision in our household to bundle up and head out for a nice winter walk.

We opted for Kew Gardens which is home to Royal Botanic Gardens (a fancy word for lots of gorgeous trees, plants and greenhouses) just outside of London. During the winter which is classed as Nov 1st onwards entry is £10 including a donation to Gift Aid and you definitely get fantastic value for money here, it makes such a great day out.

There's plenty to do here (as well as of course just wandering aimlessly around and just taking in the gorgeous scenery) including a Treetop Walkway which gives an awesome birds-eye-view of the park a giant badger sett and amazing indoor greenhouses and buildings to explore.

It was the perfect opportunity to take some photos and if you live nearby then I would 100% recommend taking a trip here as it makes for a perfect backdrop for blog photos.

WHY I STOPPED BLOGGING AND WHY I'M STARTING AGAIN

Well hi blog. It's been almost a year and it's easy to figure that out because the last post I wrote was my 2015 highlights, oops!

2016 has been a bit of a bugger if I'm honest, I haven't really liked it one bit and I'll be rather glad to see the back of it in a couple of month's time that's for sure! I know often these posts can be apologetic but this one isn't. Life has simply got in the way and to say that I put this blog on the back burner is an understatement, it wasn't on the burner at all, heck it wasn't even in the kitchen.

Whenever life has settled down a little I thought about coming back to post and then I was always hit with a realisation that there wasn't much I wanted to blog about. I felt as though my content wasn't 'me' enough and that I'd rather not post at all than post a half-arsed beauty product review that I didn't really care about one bit.

I want to write about things that I love, like my obsession for The Walking Dead, my passion for books and reading, city breaks and days out. Of course I still love clothes and I still love beauty products and make-up and all of that malarky and when I find something I genuinely love then I will feature it but I don't want those things to be the sole focus of my ramblings anymore as that's just not who I am.

So this is my comeback to my blog and I hope you all can forgive me for the amount I'm going to talk about zombies.

2015 : MY BEST BITS (WITH A TWIST)

Well, I'm going to get all cliche up in here but blimey this year has gone quick hasn't it?! All in all 2015 has been a really good year for me; I've been to some awesome places, seen some incredible things and most importantly...been hooked on some bloody great tv shows. No, seriously, 2015 has been the year of the boxset binge for me!

Without taking myself too seriously and getting too sentimental I thought I'd share my best bits with you but the only difference is, well, this is me we're talking about so they're not your standard reminiscent anecdotes, nope, they're a bit strange - like me!

In 2015...I Fell Back In Love With Daniel Radcliffe
Cue Take That and Lulu because the fire is well and truly re-lit, my friends. I've always been a huge DanRad fan and anyone who knew me when i was fourteen can vouch for this. There's always been a place in my heart for DR and this year, with the release of The Gamechangers (I mean, my FAVE actor in a movie about my FAVE video game, I could've exploded), What If and Victor Frankenstein, I could just feel the feels coming back!

The great news is that in 2016 Daniel is starring in Now You See Me 2 which is the sequel to one of my all-time favourites movies so the chances of me copying and pasting this paragraph into next year's best bits are extremely likely...

In 2015...I Somehow Got Lucky And Attended Two Movie Premieres
One of my favourite things about 2015 has to be attending the London premieres of the two movies that completely made my year and despite the movies being bloody amazing the best thing was being able to take one of my best friends to each screening. I was lucky enough to get invited to the premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingly Part II and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (I do love a sequel, me) and I couldn't be more grateful that I had the chance to attend.

In 2015...I Explored The Big Apple & The City Of Lights For The First Time
I'm a girl of habit so for me, spending a lot of money on trips to new places always makes me think twice because what if i get there and I don't like it?! Luckily, this year I said 'screw it' and jetted off to New York City in January and then Paris in November and you know what, I'm so glad I did. Despite getting caught in the historic snow storm in NYC and then being in Paris for the terrible terror attacks I still fell head over heels in love with each city and can't wait to return to both to wander the streets and explore some more.

In 2015...I Finally Understood The Victoria Secret Hype
I love pizza and pizza loves me. That's why I'll never look like a VS model and also why in the past I've grumbled at the thought of watching stunningly beautiful women strut their stuff down a catwalk in underwear sets that cost more than i'll earn in a lifetime. BUT NOT THIS YEAR. This year, I finally got it. I sat down (after eating a burger and fries cos you know, I gotta do me still) and watched the VS Fashion Show in awe and even gained a big old girl crush on Gigi Hadid. I also feel hugely inspired in the new year to kick my butt into gear and start eating right and working out more so only good things came of my VS Fashion Show experience so that'll teach me won't it?

In 2015...I Turned Into An Old Lady
This year I've truly felt like I'm 24 going on 74 because I've hibernated 90% of the time and have absolutely no regrets at all. My favourite evenings are the ones spent in comfortable clothes with minimal makeup on and the company of my friends and family. Today for example, the last Saturday before Christmas I happily spent with my best friend in London watching Thomas Brodie-Sangster in a play before heading home, putting my new PJs on and curling up on the sofa beside the Christmas tree watching the Strictly final. PURE BLISS.

In 2015...My Blog Began
It feels like I've been posting here for much longer but I only started this blog earlier this year in April. I'm so, so glad I did because this blog gives me so much enjoyment and I hope you all enjoy reading and visiting just as much.

I hope your 2015 has been amazing and incredible and i want to hear all about the awesome things that you've been up to so leave me a comment below and let me know what your favourite thing about the last year has been for you!

10 REASONS WHY CHRISTMAS AS KIDS WAS SO GREAT

As soon as the decorations go up in this house I always get hit with a wave of nostalgia and *feels* because I'm still spending Christmas in my childhood home so there are familiar decorations and traditions all over the place. It also gets me thinking about all the reasons why Christmas was so incredibly awesome when you're a child and still believe in Father Christmas so I thought I'd share my favourites with you!

• You didn't have to contribute to putting any of the decorations up, the tree just suddenly appeared and the stockings were hanging over the fireplace and it was all so magical. Well, until you go to touch a bauble and your mum's spider sense tingles from another room and she tells you that you move or touch anything on the tree at your own peril. 

• It was so exciting to get the Argos catalogue out so you could narrow down your list to Santa but apparently November 1st was too soon to sit on the sofa folding down pages and circling toys that you wanted...


• Picking a multipack of Christmas cards for your entire class at school then making the really difficult decision of which card design to give to which person and finally posting them in the little red post-box left in reception area just in time for handing-out day.


• You were never picked as Mary in the Nativity play but it was okay because a) you made the best Angel Gabriel anyone's ever seen and b) the chosen Mary kept messing up her lines and crying into the cardboard manger.


• Nothing felt as good as waking up in the night for the 2453rd time to see it was finally 4:30am which meant in half an hour it was going to be reasonably acceptable to wake up your siblings and run into your parents bedroom for the stocking-opening ceremony.


• Receiving a 'Bang On The Door' set of smellies from a girl in your class that you'd spoken to once throughout the year and pretending you'd left theirs at home before your mum rushes out last minute to One Stop to get them a box of celebrations.


• The magic of coming downstairs in the morning to see Rudolph had taken a bite of the carrot and the brandy and mince pie had vanished and a note from Father Christmas thanking you, yes, you personally, for the treats.


• Being completely and utterly amazed by that one fish cracker present. You know the one, the little flimsy paper fish that can sum up your whole personality and entire life achievements depending on the way it curls in the palm of your hand. 'The tails curled up. I'm jealous? Do it again on the other hand.'


• When your parents did that thing where they pretend like you haven't got much or Father Christmas forgot to bring you the one thing you really wanted and then Nan and Grandad come round and bam there's the Cabbage Patch Kid doll that you circled in marker pen thirty times in the Argos catalogue.


• Finally, the best thing about being a kid at Christmas has to be that first peek around the living room door in the dark and seeing presents before practically screaming at your parents that 'HE'S BEEN! HE'S BEEN!!'

Can you relate to any of these? I would LOVE to hear your Christmas memories so feel free to share in the comments below and we can reminisce together.