How I Can Tell It's Christmas

{ B l o g m a s :: day twenty-two }

❅ My Animal Crossing: New Leaf villagers are all wearing festive jumpers & keep dropping hints for Toy Day.
❅ We've got the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special on repeat.
❅ My little sister keeps randomly bursting into excited squeals / giggles when she remembers we're mere days away.
❅ Everyone is off of work / school and we're practically tripping over each other in our little house.

❅ Our dogs are wearing their Christmas knit jumpers out on our walks.
❅ The kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer are stuffed with food we're not allowed to eat.
❅ My mum keeps making mad dashes to the Pound shop for last-minute stocking fillers, batteries and snacks.
❅ Christmas songs are playing through speakers whilst I'm doing my weekly food shop.
❅ There's a palatable buzz in the air, tinged with equal amounts of stress and excitement.
❅ I've got my Christmas Day outfit washed and ready to go. (It's a bottle-green ASOS skater dress I found in a charity shop, if you're wondering)
❅ My dad keeps threatening to 'cancel Christmas' next year, the same way he has since my brother and I were tiny.

❅ I've uttered the word 'Blogmas' approximately 675483902 times within the past three weeks.
❅ Ditto 'Vlogmas'.
❅ My mum has been spending an hour every evening hand-making Christmas decorations for various friends and the school fayre.
❅ There's a cream lantern filled with baubles standing by my fire place.
❅ We've had the fire going every night for the past week.

❅ Yells of "GET OUT I'M WRAPPING YOUR PRESENTS" have become a daily occurrence.
❅ My Animal Crossing: New Leaf town is covered in snow.
❅ My bedside bookcase is covered in pretty cards from my blogging pals.
❅ My bedroom smells like Lush Christmas bath bombs, the scent coming from both my own collection and Luke's Christmas stocking.

How can you tell it's Christmas? Leave me your own little list in the comments ~

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Things I Need To Start Doing

{ B l o g m a s :: day seven }

Following on from last month's post sharing Things I Need To Stop Doing, I thought I'd write a little list of the things I need to start doing.

♥ Implementing a morning routine.
♥ Taking more personal photographs.
♥ Believing in myself.
♥ Saving more money than I spend.
♥ Leaving the house every day.
♥ Reciting positive affirmations that don't make me feel like a knob.
♥ Riding my bike once a week.
♥ Calling my Nan once a week.
♥ Getting into bed by 10.30pm.
♥ Turning off my social media notifications.
♥ Posting on Instagram more often.
♥ Feeling the fear & doing it anyway.

I'm seriously considering adding a number of these things onto my 2017 goals list as they're things I really feel I need to work on. Hopefully starting them now will make them easier to achieve next year ~

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Things I Need To Stop Doing

A little list of things that I need to stop doing.

Things To Do On A Down Day

I'm doing pretty well with my depression at the moment, but sometimes I just wake up and the entire world feels grey. I can liken the 'sensation' of depression to wearing a heavy dark uncomfortable fur jacket that pulls down at your shoulders and smothers you. Of course mentally it's a whole other story, but I do feel like my body is weighted by it, too. Sometimes it makes it impossible to do things, but here is a list of twenty-something things I do on days like today when the world just seems a little darker.

25 More Things About Me

Hello new readers & old! It's been a pretty little while since I penned an 'about me' post so today I thought I'd hit ya with a big ol' dose of facts to help you get to know me better. It's funny because my last one was back in 2014 and most of the facts don't apply to me anymore. Isn't it interesting how we change over time? ~

My September To-Do List



Happy September 1st!

3 New-To-Me Blogs

I've always been a sucker for a lifestyle blog. There's just something so special about getting a glimpse into the everyday life of someone else, I don't know, I find it oddly comforting. Whenever I'm feeling particularly anxious or overwhelmed I'll seek refuge in the archives of my favourite blogs (Daisybutter & Vivatramp being my most frequent visits) rather than lose myself in a TV show or movie. My list of favourites has always been particularly small, though, because as you know I'm a lover of the familiar and find it difficult to find new things to love. I've been making more of an effort recently, though, and am happy to report that I've discovered three new blogs that I adore!

Animal Crossing Problems

  

♥ When you decide to answer Harriet's questions honestly and end up with an ugly hairstyle for the day.

 

♥ When you scare away a Golden Stag on the island.

 

♥ When your favourite villager keeps asking to move away. (I'm looking at you, Melba.)

My Self-Care Book Collection

It's no secret that I love books, but what is surprising is the amount of time I'm investing into books that aren't fiction - and how rapidly my collection of non-fiction lifestyle-y books is growing. I've always found comfort in reading and I connect with written quotes a lot better than I do a verbal lecture. I think it's the writer in me that just has this passion for words and the ability to appreciate them on a deeper level. A lot of these books, I feel, are also replacing the need for emotional creativity that stopped for me when I left art therapy and I also find a lot of comfort in that, too. SO without further ado, allow me to walk you through my self-care book collection.

10 Easy Ways To Be Eco-Friendly

Waaaaay back in 2014 I wrote a post sharing 3 easy ways to be eco-friendly. At the time I was fairly new to the whole 'saving the planet' mentality but fast-forward two years and I feel I'm a lot more experienced and educated in ways to live a greener lifestyle. So today I'm upping the anti and am going to be sharing TEN easy ways to be eco-friendly! 

Little Comforts

Little things that comfort me when I'm feeling sad, tired and anxious.

Holding Luke's hand. Lying on my side in bed with Luna curled up RIGHT next to me. My little sister bringing me a glass of just-the-right-temperature water. Watching Sky Sports News with my dad. Wearing my onesie with the hood up, bear ears and all. Sitting with Luke on our bench in the woods. The sound of my cat Bailey meowing. Warm toast slathered in vegan butter and strawberry jam. Watching Luna play in the garden from my bedroom window. The sound of Luna purring. Reading my favourite blog, Daisybutter. Cosy yet vaguely stylish clothes that blanket me and protect me from the world. Lazy evenings on Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Quorn chicken nuggets and ketchup. The sound of my sister laughing. Surreal pink sunsets. Watching endless episodes of Hawaii Five 0 with my mum. Lush The Comforter bubble baths. Sitting RIGHT next to Luke on the sofa. My sister brushing my hair. Rereading an old favourite.

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Things I'd Like To Do This Week



Today, I come to you with a confession. This is something that I've been denying for what feels like my entire life but today I'm going to come clean: I hate to do lists. They make me feel overwhelmed, stressed and like I couldn't possibly have enough time to do all these the things that I 'have to do'. So today I'm going to try and put a little spin on the 'regular' to do list and share a list of things that I'd like to do instead. (Idk why but even the wording of that makes me feel a lot calmer.)

The Best Places To Buy Second-Hand Clothes

 

One of my 2016 goals is to purchase clothes on a 80-20 ratio: 20% new, 80% second-hand. I'm getting on really well so far - the only clothes I've bought new were featured in my recent Primark Haul and I have several fab new (to me) pieces in my wardrobe thanks to a few places that I'm going to list for you today!

Things To Achieve This Week



I don't think it's a secret that my anxiety is playing havoc with my life at the moment. It's like I've fallen back down every step I've taken over the past year or so, and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to do simple things like eating, taking a bath, sleeping led down and leaving the house. There seem to be some other underlying health issues that are contributing to my anxiety and until I get them sorted I kind of feel like I'm in limbo, just waiting around. In order to regain some control and some semblance of a normal day, I thought I'd jot down some goals for the rest of the week that I hope to achieve.

20 Festive Blog Photo Props

BLOGMAS DAY ELEVEN.

It's always fun to accessorise blog photos with props that are relevant to the time of year, whether that's by using confetti hearts on Valentines Day or conkers during Autumn. I've been playing around with using different festive things when taking my Blogmas photos recently, so today I thought I'd share with you some festive prop ideas for your own Christmassy blog posts!

Things To Do Before 2016

BLOGMAS DAY ONE.

Welcome to Blogmas 2015! I've been seriously debating about whether or not I was going to join in with Blogmas, but then I thought why the hell not? It's not like I value my free time or anything... I'm kidding! (kind of) So yes, this is just a little declaration to let you guys know that you'll be getting a blog post every single day from me from December 1st right up until Christmas! Not all of them are going to be centred around Christmas because 1. I'll probably have other stuff to talk about, 2. it'll probably get on your nerves and 3. I didn't want to alienate anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas. But yes. Anyway. Onto my to-do list.

Recently

 

Watching | I'm the kind of person that always has a million TV shows on the go. At the moment, I'm watching Pokémon Diamond & Pearl and am re-watching PLL from the beginning. Diamond & Pearl is possibly my favourite Pokémon season (aside from the original two) because I love Dawn! I think she's so adorable. Her Pokémon are some of my favourites too. I also love the introduction of the Pokémon Contests, they're much more entertaining to me than the usual battles. As far as PLL is concerned - I'm currently on Season 3 and Cece has just been introduced! It's so interesting to pick up on things that are relevant now that I know who she really is.

4 Ways To Support Your Favourite Blogger

Re-useable cotton pads: The Crocheting Chemist // Custom Illustration: Dorkface.

 

1. Follow Them On Bloglovin' Blogging isn't all about the numbers, but if your favourite blogger is trying to make it full-time then the number of followers they have on different platforms is really important to companies wanting to work with them. I'm SO guilty of not following blogs on Bloglovin', but it's usually because I always read their posts via Twitter. I now make a conscious effort to follow all of my favourites!

31 Things To Do Before October 31st



Last year I wrote a cute Christmassy post listing '25 Things To Do Before December 25th'and everyone seemed to really love it, so I'm back this year with a twist - I'm going to list 31 things to do before October 31st, which is Halloween! I find that as soon as Halloween is over everyone really gets into the Christmas spirit. Even the stores and supermarkets, as their Halloween stock gets slashed in price and all of the selection boxes and Christmas trinkets come out to play. I feel like Halloween/Bonfire night (it's a UK thing) are the last hurrahs of Autumn so here are some Autumnal things to do before then!

Things To Achieve This Week



I'm totally posting this here so that I'm held accountable.

 

 ♥ Participate in at least one blog chat.

 ♥ Complete one Wreck This Journal/Colouring page.

 ♥ Attempt to go out alone at least once.

 ♥ Comment on 3 blogs per day.

 ♥ Stop drinking chocolate milk (!) and start drinking water again.

 ♥ Refocus and re-motivate.

 ♥ Paint my nails.

 ♥ Watch one of episode of American Horror Story: Murder House (alone bc no one will watch it with me, sob)

 ♥ Write on at least 3 days.

♥ Finish reading Catching Fire & start Mockingjay.

 

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