WATFORD, EATING OUT AND WAITING - Weekly Diary 1

This week started by visiting family. Family I haven't seen since about the age of 6. You know one of the best parts? My mum drove 350 miles on the motorway - this was a huge achievement for her, she's absolutely petrified of the motorway but did it! I am such a proud daughter. This trip down to Watford was worth it just for that! Aaaaaaand...we stayed in a hotel (Travelodge) which, by the way, have the best beds in the world! For some reason, my family seems to be cursed with the 'no sleep' bug and yet we slept like babies!

Now I can only tell you that the family we went to see are a lot better than we expected for the most part so we can stop panicking ourselves now, but it was so lovely to see them. All I could remember of my great auntie was us playing with a balloon in the living room and now I can actually put a face to the memory. Not only that but I got to meet the new addition to the family and guys, I can't even explain how adorable she is! 

Anyway...the second picture there is the pub we went to for lunch - The Essex Arms I think it was called. I swear, if you're ever in Watford, go and try their grilled chicken with their BBQ sauce. It was the bomb! Whenever I cook grilled chicken, it comes out rather dry but theirs' was to die for. Bear in mind I am 1) a very picky eater, especially when it comes to my BBQ sauce and 2) I'm currently trying to make healthier food choices. Can't beat a well rounded meal, especially for £8.99 for a three course meal.

Oh and as you can see above, I found out where my training is being held. PORTUGAL! None of us in the group had even dreamed it would be Portugal but I guess we should expect to be surprised in the future! Honestly, we expected Spain or Turkey (they are the usual destinations) but no, completely out of the blue! Thankfully I managed to find my work shoes...talk about shoe hell! If you know me then you'll understand my dilemma, but if not, try finding plain black leather court shoes with a heel between the heights of 2-2½ inches, which can't have any stitching that isn't relevant to the make of the shoe in a women's size 9! If you hadn't realised...its not an easy task haha! Plus, I'm technically not suppose to wear any heels because I broke my foot a while ago. Anyway, I suppose that's all for this week. 

I hope you've had a lovely week, feel free to share in the comments. 

See you soon for weekly diary no.2!

CHANGES

I'm very sorry for not posting, however this is due to some drastic changes that are or will be happening in the near future...one of which is the style of my blog.

Over the past couple of months I have lost my passion for blogging and due to that, I've lost my connection to a lot of you too. This is down to not writing about what I love, what I want to write about but focusing on what others want to see and that isn't why I started my blog, I started blogging so that I can look back on it in the future and it be a little bit of a life journal, something to be proud of and remember my past by. That is why it's changing.

Every week I will be posting a 'weekly diary' including what that week has been like. What I've achieved and most common at the moment, what I didn't achieve. For example, in the upcoming post I will most likely write a little about how I've been shopping like a mad woman getting ready for when I move away for work (there will also be a post with what's happening in regards to that). I'm hoping that a lot of you will still be reading this and looking forward to the new post, but for those of you who aren't, I completely understand. You didn't expect this change, just like I didn't expect to make it but this is what's best for me. Over the next few months, my life will be changing on the daily and I want to be able to remember that while enjoying the way I do that.

I want to start documenting things like trying new foods or getting a new tattoo...or even just the fact that I miss my family.

I hope for those of you who do read this, you understand and continue this journey with me. 

See you soon for the first weekly diary. 

BIGGEST FEAR IN THE WORLD

I thought I'd do a bit of a random post instead of what I have been posting because I feel like I've lost my passion a little bit and this post is helping with that a lot! 

Okay so until a couple of years ago, I always thought my biggest fear was spiders. I mean, come on, I know that they can't hurt you here in the UK but there's just something about them. I don't know if it's the fact that they can hang in mid air, the amount of legs they have or simply the way that they look but they terrify me. More recently, I thought that the only thing that could scare me more was the dentist...ironically I'm at the dentist today (probably back home by the time you're reading this). I haven't had the best experiences with my teeth - one chipped and filled in, a nerve pulled out and one tooth extracted so I think you might be able to understand why I get a little scared when it comes to the appointment. However, although these are two of my biggest fears, my worst has got to be the following:

Losing some of the only people who have proven that they will always be there for me and who truly love me. 

The three of us have been through so much it's unbelievable that we survived it...and yet we did. We beat the odds - don't ask me how because I don't know but I'm so grateful that we did. One thought, one conversation about my parents dying and I burst into tears. I don't like the fact that I can imagine it, I don't like what I see. I think this comes from the fact that I've lost a lot of people and all from the same demon - cancer. It worries me - quite understandably I think. If you're this close to somebody you'll know how I feel. Anyway, I can't talk about that too much because like I said, I'll burst into tears.

What is truely your biggest fear? 

Are you afraid of the same things?

Let me know!

I hope you enjoyed today's post!

I'll see you soon for another. In the mean time, be happy and smile from ear to ear!

Allie x

NEW YEAR...NEW ME?

Personally, I don't believe in the whole 'dieting' come January. If you want to change your ways then do it when you're ready, not by the calendar. However, this year it just so happened that January was the time I was ready for my change.

What you see above is only some of the chocolate I have left from Christmas and this is sitting in my wardrobe (I don't trust it to be anywhere else the way I'm craving!). I've always been a 'big' child and as I grew up we noticed a pattern. Whatever my age was, that was my weight so basically I put on a stone every year. 12 years old = 12 stone. 15 years old = 15 stone and I'm now nearly 19 and guess what...I'm nearly 19 stone. Well, I was until now. 

Last Monday (4th January 2016) I decided that enough was enough and that I wanted to be healthy. I want to feel and look healthier. Now, I swear that my eating is an addiction but every addiction can be broken and so since then, I have been eating only fresh, home cooked meals. No processed food, no junk food and absolutely no chocolate or crisps (they are my two weaknesses). You may be wondering 'but why now' and honestly, I have absolutely no idea. Nothing shocked me into doing this, I haven't had some medical problem arise or anything like that, I just feel ready.

Until now, I didn't really understand what a home cooked meal was. For years, I've pretty much lived off of frozen food like chicken steaks in bread crumbs, pizza, things like that and I didn't understand how you could make a meal without those types of foods. Something just clicked. I can see myself continuing this journey in the future and it making a difference to my life whereas before it was just a fad. 

One thing I will say is that this is not a new year's resolution because personally, I don't know about you guys but, I never stick to them. Plus, that label just doesn't seem to give this lifestyle change the credit that it deserves. I am extremely proud of how far I have come in the past week, it's truly unbelievable. If that wasn't enough, I have lost about 5lb's already (I know it comes off quickly at first but I can still get excited about it, right?). I wanted to share this part of my life with you all and in a way, tell you that eventually, you'll get to the right mindset for whatever you want to do, whether that's changing your lifestyle or quitting smoking or even improving your blog and putting more time into it. The time will come.

I hope you're having a great day, please feel free to comment down below or tweet me!

I'll see you soon for another post. 

Allie x

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

I, like many others, am one of those people who plan to change some nasty habits in the new year and this year is no different so I thought I'd share my main resolution!

Can you tell what it is yet? Skin care.
Last year, I was terrible to my skin and didn't give it the care it needed but this year will be different and that has already started as I'm writing this. I am determined to get my skin up to scratch this year and hopefully looking and feeling a hell of a lot better!
So what am I doing differently? Everything! I've changed the soap I'm using, the exfoliator that I'm using, I'm actually moisturising and I'm using the face masks that I got for Christmas!

This isn't your typical new year's resolution but there will be a post next week talking about something you may be more familiar with!
So right now I'm asking for your help. What tips have you got for great, healthy skin?

I hope you are having a great day and a brilliant start to the new year!

Allie x

WHAT I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS

I wanted to post this in the new year because, for me, that's what Christmas is all about. Not only are you spending time with family and friends but you're preparing yourself for the year to come so I thought I'd share a few of the things I was treated with for Christmas!

The biggest present I'll be sharing with you is the love2shop vouchers. I will admit that I knew about these from the very beginning so it came as no shock on Christmas morning, however the thought behind them was amazing. Honestly, I've always complained about being given vouchers or gift cards because you're limited to where you can spend them but you can spend these in lots of places! New Look, Peacocks, T J Hughes, Mothercare and the list goes on and on. No matter what you want to go shopping for, there's bound to be somewhere to spend these vouchers. 

As shown in a previous post linked here, I adore the wax melts from Yankee Candle and so I was given a new one for Christmas! These are the perfect gift, especially if you know what scents the other person likes. In the past, I have steered away from purchasing candles for other people because I didn't want to get the wrong scent, however you can't really go wrong with these. If the receiver doesn't enjoy the scent, they can always pass it on to somebody who will. Plus, who doesn't have that one candle that's decorative?

Nail polishes. I don't think I need to say any more really. I was given 3 nail polishes and a nail hardener. Let me tell you, I have been looking for a cheap nail hardener for ages and just couldn't force myself to spend money on something so trivial so when I opened this up, I was happily surprised! These polishes are some very bright colours and so these won't be on my nails regularly, however I'm so glad to have these in my collection! 

My scarf. I have been looking for a decent black and red, tartan like scarf for absolutely ages and I couldn't find one (I'm very picky!) but I found this in New Look and immediately added it to my wishlist. I mean, it's simply beautiful. 

Lastly, I was given a huge cracker filled with face masks. I wish I could have shown you the packaging but it got thrown away in all of the Christmas chaos! These were definitely one of my favourite presents. I've been talking for ages about how I could improve my skin and these should hopefully do the trick! They are all different and have different purposes like exfoliating and moisturising.

I'd just like to stress that I do realise how lucky I am and I am extremely grateful. This is in no way bragging, I just wanted to share some of the presents that I was lucky enough to receive.

I hope you enjoyed today's post and had a fantastic Christmas. 

What did you all receive for Christmas? Leave a comment down below and share! :)

Allie x

END OF THE YEAR

As of next week, I will have been posting on my blog for 7 months! It's been a very rocky ride and I will completely admit that at times, posting hasn't been regular. I personally feel that I've come a very long way and so I thought that I'd share some of those moments with you!

    

The first picture is my rock. Sound strange? You clearly don't know the love that a dog can give. This little one gives the best cuddles, is there if you need a cry and doesn't answer back, what more could you ask for? Plus, when you happen to find yourself talking to...thin air, she makes a brilliant cover! Not only that, but this photo was the one that re-sparked my interest in photography. 

Second - this was the last post before I changed my background. You could consider it a cliché or just a bit of a stereotype for us bloggers but I completely see why it's so popular! My photos are of much higher quality. I can edit my photos, I can not edit my photos and either way, they're still up to scratch! Also, these three lipsticks were the only three products that I bought myself the whole time I was at university so they just have a little place in my heart. You know the feeling...when you save and purchase that one thing that you've had your eye on, it just makes it that bit more special.

And third - my lifesaver. As simple as three candles can be, this post changed everything for me. For a long time, I lost my passion for blogging and for some reason, this brought me back. Call it scent-imental or just place crazy but it fixed me. As well, I became Christmassy! The run up to Christmas so far has been rough to say the least but things are now looking up and this was the start of the good run!

I hope you're having a wonderful day, enjoyed today's post and are looking forward to Christmas. Stay tuned for more of blogmas!

Allie x