I Did What?!

Where Have You Been? I hear you cry.

Well it's true I've had a complete hiatus from blogging and I haven't really had any excuses really but what I can tell you is I've definitely spent this time wisely (or not so wisely some may argue after this post) 

If I've learnt anything growing up it's definitely that life is short, you never know how much time you have so why not make the days count ey? Whether it's planned events or a last minute booze-up, I can guarantee when we're old and grey, they are the memories we will cherish no matter how much we may regret them at the time. Which brings me to the theme of this post; Spontaneity.

Here are my top spontaneous/random moments so far (most of which actually include the same 2 friends; bad influences maybe?)

1. Travelling over an hour at night to get dessert.
Because noone wants just plain old ice-cream from a supermarket to satisfy their sweet tooth right? We decided to go from Minehead to Yeovil to go to Kaspa's dessert place. So I may have exaggerated a little, my friend is actually originally from Yeovil but a little drive around escalated into going to his hometown to get chocolate covered waffles and cookie dough. But this is just the start of our driving adventures ....

2. Deciding to travel to MANCHESTER the night before for a 'casual' day trip.
Yes .. Manchester, as in North of England, as in at least 4 hours away from where we live. We are surrounded by mainstream cities like Bristol, Birmingham, Plymouth, yet those just didn't tickle our fancy. Instead, we wanted somewhere different to go shopping (baring in mind we were all semi-broke at the time) so we thought it was the best option. Was it? Well, Trafford Centre is INSANE. I just wish I had longer to get my head around how massive this place was and explore properly, it was definitely a culture shock to the shopping centres we are used to. Also, the boys got some pretty decent suits for our upcoming awards night so all in all a successful trip. However, we did do one more thing whilst we were there ...

3. Getting our Nipples pierced whilst in Manchester.
Now, don't get me wrong, nipple piercings has always been something I said I'd love to get but it was one of those things where I didn't think I would actually go through with it. Well, after the tiniest bit of peer pressure and finding a studio at last minute on Google, we all decided to bite the bullet and get it done. Only the one mind, which I'm actually glad about because that trip home was painful! Seatbelts and sore nips are not a good combo boys and girls especially having to travel home 4 hours!

4. Booking + flying to Tenerife in less than a week.
I don't know if you've picked up on this or not but I do struggle with last minute plans at the best of times but a holiday with no notice spared gave me complete anxiety! This actually was back in January 2017 and my first holiday away without my parents which was a big deal to me. My good friend Katie literally texted me not suggesting but TELLING me we were going to go with our other pal Dan, and sent me the cost and details, at least someone had it planned out! And it was all because of a passing comment that we should get away somewhere. I never thought I'd ever have the courage to do that but it turned out to be exactly what we needed.

So the point I'm really getting at is, life is really short and although our credit cards take an absolute beating, often the most unexpected days, trips, moments are the ones we will remember in a few years time, not the ones where we are stuck in work, stuck with the same daily routine. So do something out of blue, you never know it could be the best thing you do this year.

Love Katie x

Online Friends.

Hello m'loves.

So, this post today is something very close to my heart aswell as i'm sure thousands of you out there; Online Friends.

Who remembers when they were younger before "proper" social media was invented we were taught not to talk to strangers, not to speak to anyone you don't know online etc. (although i must admit the awful days of "chat rooms" there were a few, lets say "interesting" individuals you came across.) but like everything technology has evolved! Facebook was invented to reconnect with your friends and family but the Holy Grail that is Twitter was basically created to interact with people you didn't know.

Think about it, Celebrities and aspiring musicians/artists/actors etc use Twitter as their primary source of gaining new fans to grow their following and success. To be honest, it's quite impossible to even remember life before it. How did we find out the latest gossip so fast? What did we use to vent? How did we know about events etc? It's very scary how pretty much everyone on this planet relies on the internet nowadays. And of course, by following your favourite people you're going to interact with other new strangers who share your interest from all over the world. For something potentially so dangerous, it's actually pretty amazing. 

Over the years I have been lucky enough to find friends across the globe from when i was a fan of The Wanted {y'know the other boyband that wasn't One Direction .. Glad You Came?} well with their growing success came growing fans and I was in this little bubble with so many my age who wouldn't judge me unlike my "real life" friends and we would gossip, laugh, cry together until the early hours of the morning, gushing about our love. 

Honestly, when I first got Twitter I never expected to be able to grow such a deep connection with someone over a computer and I have had many friends that have come and gone but each time was truly special and if you had the opportunity to meet, it would be the most emotional time you could experience. Thanks to everyone I've met online, I've had the chance to travel some of England, Ireland and Wales. I've gained experience and memories so to those who frown upon it, those who constantly undermined me and judged me for liking "a poxy band" it was the best decision of my life.

And here I am today. I may not be crazy over a boyband anymore or in any kind of fandom but at almost 21, I'm still meeting and befriending people everyday. With different lifestyles, different backgrounds it's so fascinating to me and right now I have Dublin to look forward to where I will see Soph who I met in 2011, I'm going on adventures with Charlotte {who lives near me BUT WE MET ON TWITTER} and my two current closest friends Jay and Sam who I met online, and we are all uncomfortably close to the point we share everything. 

And even more exciting news; I GOT TO MEET JAY YESTERDAY.

 

Never underestimate the power of the internet.

My word of advice is; Speak to Strangers! (But obviously be aware of creepy people lurking around.)

Love you all lots!

P.s. My photoshop is back up and running so I'm playing around with header ideas for each post, what do you think?

Katie x

My Goals for 2016

So we've survived it people, 2015 comes to an end tomorrow to make room for the madness that will soon hit us in 2016. A lot of me is so sad to see this year end I've had great memories; see my photo album post. Although it didn't start off great (I was unemployed for a while and was ill for 3 weeks after my 20th birthday) I started my new job in April and I've never felt happier in a place of work, we are all like a family. I've had ups and downs with my friends which has just made us realise how genuine our friendships are and I've met some incredible people along the way. I've had my heartbroken, I've had a fair share of breakdowns but the main thing I remind myself of is I'm alive. I'm here. Life is actually pretty great.

I didn't want this to be too lengthy but I have a feeling it will so if you want to stop reading just look at the picture above. This post is about my goals for 2016. Not resolutions because they are so easily broken and cliche. I wanted to make a list that will excite me when I tick off each one and won't get boring to do. So here goes;

Happiness

An easy, straightforward and ongoing goal. Well, I say easy it can be pretty difficult. Some days nobody can drag me down (NOBODY, NOBODY!)(sorry one direction moment) I'm happy and giggly and if i say so myself, funny. I actually light up other people's day but then I get dark days, I get anxiety, I worry, I get paranoid to the point where I argue with loved ones. But I just want that to change. I'm going to cleanse my mind and my surroundings so I just have positive vibes in this often dreary world we live in and appreciate what I have. As I said before; Life is pretty great.

To Celebrate My Best Friends' 21st

So myself and my two closest friends from school all have our birthdays within 2 weeks of eachother. One is 20th Jan, the other is 28th and then mine is 3rd February so we all tend to celebrate together, however my goal (see below) is to go away for my 21st and Becky is having a party so I'm going to ensure we all party that little bit too hard in honour of the 3 of us. We're all growing up, we've seen eachother's triumphs and losses and I'm hoping this stays for life.

To Go Somewhere Beautiful For My 21st

I always see people visit some amazing places for their birthday and this year I am determined to do this myself. My heart is set on a few days in Prague or Rome, somewhere with substance and history with the most amazing picturesque views. I have the week off, why not spoil myself ey?

Confidence

Over the years, my confidence has grown mountains but I still have a long way to go when it comes to believing in myself. But I want to put myself out there more, set my mind on something and achieve it, no setbacks, no doubts. That would be my proudest moment.

To Be More Healthy

A bit of a cliche, boring goal for you. I often look at the stuff I eat and it makes me want to go out and buy a bucket load of salad, fruit anf veg but no matter what, the motivation goes. And the word Gym? It's foreign to me and I honestly don't see how people have the energy or time to do it. It's not even to lose weight, to just have a bit of a detox to see if it re-energises me a bit. Small realistic changes.

To Visit My Best Friends Up and Down The Country

Because of the wonderful invention of the internet, I have been lucky enough to 'meet' some beautiful, amazing people I'm comfortable to call best friends. So I'd love to just go and spend some time with them this year. I have Sam from Middlesbrough, Jay from Southampton along with a few in London I've met at shows and meet-ups and even Soph from Dublin. Some quality time with my girls and boys in person instead of over the phone would literally be amazing.

To Do A Good Deed Everyday

Whether it's just a smile to make someone's morning, I think giving back to people is the best trait someone can have.

To Go To A Festival

As you know, I love music but I've never been to Glastonbury, V, Leeds, Download, Reading, nothing like that and I reckon the experience would be like no other. Although the lack of hygiene does panic me ever so slightly!

To Invest More Time With Friends And Family

It's not until it gets to Christmas that I realise I feel like I neglect my family and friends because of work or just because I don't text them once a day. So spending some more thought on them wont go a miss.

To Improve My Blog

Everyone has room for improvement so I want to make some personal goals for myself, because I enjoy blogging, I want others to enjoy my blogging too! New equipment, fresh ideas, collaborations with different companies, I just can't wait.

I hope you all have an amazing New Year, and I'll see you in 2016!!

Lots of love

Katie x

2015; The Year Of Memories

A couple of months ago, I decided I really wanted to own a photo album with memories of this past year. Lurking around my house are many photo albums from when I was younger, my siblings were younger and my parents were younger but with the new technology of Instagram, Facebook etc. owning a photo album with physical photos is unheard of. I know the trend of Polaroids are back in but I don't think anything beats flicking through an album.

You might be surprised that you literally cannot purchase a photo album ANYWHERE, unless its a wedding album or another occassion, there are just photo frames everywhere which was so frustrating so in the end was forced to find one online and I fell in love with this. 

I got it for around £5 on Ebay and it's perfect. It holds 200 photos, has lines to write captions/memories beside each photo and the cover is so pretty. My only qualm (i like that word) is that you can only put in your photos horizontal, meaning my selfies are sideways but I suppose it's the memory that counts!

I spent quite a bit of time out of Plymouth this year as well as spending time with my friends and working; I went to Cardiff for the X Factor tour with my sister, I made monthly trips to London with my good friend Charlotte before taking my mum on her first proper trip there in August (the original time we were stuck in a coach station all night because we missed the last bus) and I met up with very talented people along the way who I become very close with (some more than others) ... 

ANYWAY, this book is full of my favourite moments of these past 2 years that I can keep forever and look back on as well as adding more memories to come. It also shows how myself and alot of other things have changed already but I will always have those moments with me.

Courtesy of The Wanted and my favourite song;

The Memory Of Being Here With You, Is One I'm Gonna Take My Life Through, Cause Some Days Stay Gold Forever.

Katie x

Day 14 of #Blogmas | Writing Christmas Cards

Okay do firstly I'm going to start off by saying I'm SO sorry I didn't post yesterday, I've been working really long weekend shifts and my mind was elsewhere! Now that's out of the way ....

I've always had a thing about cards, I think it's the perfect opportunity to write something personal for someone. Whether it's a funny one, a beautiful wordy one or a blank one so you can do your own message, if I get given a card for Christmas or Birthday it tends to mean more to me than a gift.

If I'm on a budget I'm so guilty of buying cards from Card Factory because they are bargain prices but the quality isn't cheap, most of them are gorgeous and unique! But whether there is space to write in or not I always write a little personal message rather than just "To/ Bob, Love Katie" that's so pointless. I do tend to get carried away though, the message to my best friend was a page long but my excuse was the inside of the card was Grey okay? I think it's perfect too if you don't have time to buy a gift for them, words can be amazing. 
Oh god look at me sounding like a bloody English teacher poet!!

This year I thought I'd be different and buy my family cards from Funky Pigeon (because I got discount shh) I love these card making websites! Granted the choice is a tad limited but I don't know about you but if I saw my actual name or face on a card I'd get excited!

Then you get to neighbours, colleagues and others, you aren't that close to. I got this box of cards from Studio 24 for a great price! See when I was at school and had to write loads of cards I was OCD and separated them into piles of each design so not everyone has the same card ... But then I'd always have a favourite card so I'd give people I liked more that card and the worst looking one to the people who I reluctantly gave one to. 
Man I'm such a bitch haha!!

Do you have any Christmas card traditions?
Hopefully I'm not the only one!!

Merry Christmas!!

Katie x