1 Year Of Blogging Highlights

18.28 in 1, 2015, blogging, fashion, highlights, of, Paid, summer, wishlist, year

Well lets start off by saying hello. How have you all been? Its been a while since I sat down to write a blog post, its actually been just over a month - wow! 

As many of you probably know, it has been exam season and, as June is beginning to come to an end, so many students are skipping around in celebration of exams ending (or you may be crawling from exhaustion). I decided, around the beginning of May, that I wouldnt be blogging as much - so instead of doing 2 posts a week, I only did one. But, as I increased my revision I began finding that I wasnt getting much time to relax and de-stress.  For this reason, I decided to put blogging to the side for a while.

It may have also seemed that I kind of vanished of the Internet a little. I still read a few blog posts here and there but I really didnt do as much commenting as Id like to. I stopped taking part in blogger chats, because Im a major procrastinator and they would have been too distracting. Yes I still liked instagram photos and favorited tweets, but I wasnt really putting things up myself or having conversations etc, and Im not going to lie but I felt like I was no longer in the blogging community. 

But anyway...

My last exam was on the 19th of June and, as of today, my coursework is finished which means that I have officially finished sixth form. I did think about getting straight back into blogging after my last exam, but I felt like I needed a week were I didnt have anything to do at home (it was very nice, but felt so strange and I felt guilty for just lying there watching netflix). 

But then the other day, I realised the 26th June marks 1 year since my first blog post went up! 1 whole year (Yes technically I didnt blog for a month, but I havent given up). So, to mark one year of blogging, I decided to choose some of my favourite posts that Ive written. I am proud of them all, but these ones are a few that stand out.

Oh Time...

Give A Special Gift

7 Annoying Problems When Wearing Glasses

3 Course Meal For 1 For Under £5

A Little Message | Being The Best At Everything

Vegetable Noodle Soup

Looking through my posts got me thinking, and I decided to pick out a few of my favourites from the blogs I read. So I went through my long list of saved posts on Bloglovin and chose I few that I really enjoyed reading. I decided not to include any recipes otherwise the list would be very, very long.

25 Things All Girls Secretly Do - Hannah Gale

Six Ways To Love Your Body More - Hayley-Eszti

7 Things To Remember When People Knock You Down - Britton Loves

Behind The Scenes Of An Introvert - Wander To Wonder

5 Secrets To Success - A Beautiful Mess

My Acne Story - Alicia Deyes Writes

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Summer Fashion Wishlist 2015

14.08 in 11, 2015, and, fashion, Paid, revision, summer, tips, tricks, wishlist

In the past, during summer time, I havent really been too bothered about what Im wearing, purely because of the fact that I didnt have a clue what to wear other than the same standard things. Im one of those people who when I find something I like, it sticks! Not in the sense that I have a favourite outfit which I wear at least once a week. Nope. I take it to the next level and I literally become like a cartoon character (never looking different). Need an example? Well, lets just say I wore pigtails everyday for about 3 years. Oh and we mustnt forget the wonderful cropped jeans, carefully folded down white knee high socks and silver ballet shoes that were my staple around the same time (I was about 11, dont judge).

Over the years, I have gotten much better at changing things up. Those cropped jeans are long gone, but Ive noticed that leggings seem to have taken their place. I understand that some people dislike the standard black leggings, but they are so comfy so Im happy. 

But, I have been wanting to slip my legs into more jeans, preferably ones that are stretchy and comfy, which is why Ive added some topshop jeans to the list. Yes, I know Im late to the whole topshop jean hype, well Im not technically part of it yet as I havent purchased any, but I plan to. 

I also need to step out of my comfort zone in the shoe area, instead of converse day in day out. Personally, Im not a fan of getting my feet out on display but I love these 2 pairs of shoes as they appear to still keep most of the foot covered. 

Fun fact: I own no jewellery other than a tub of earrings. That needs to change and I have been loving the look of dainty necklaces for a while now.

As I have browsed for these items over a few days, I didnt realise that I mainly chose dark coloured things even though this is meant to be a summer wishlist. Well, my mum does say I suit dark colours more, so Id look pretty good wearing these...Id hope.

1. Topshop Black Ripped Joni Jeans £38

2. Miss Guided Gretta Shirt Dress Paisley £28

3. Miss Guided Red Scarf Shirt Dress £28

4. Miss Selfridge Petites Floral Pinny Dress £35

5. Miss Selfridge Jungle High Neck Cami £18

6. ASOS Swing Dress with Cold Shoulder & Flared Sleeve & Lace Trim £22

7. New Look Blue Diamond Print Slim Leg Trousers £17.99

8. ASOS Petite Playsuit with Kimono Sleeve £35

9. ASOS River Island High Neck Swing Dress £30

10. ASOS Mardy Gladiator Tbar Shoes £20

11.Miss Selfridge Ditsy Triangle Necklace £5

12. Office Limelight High Vamp Loafer £65

P.s I know I mentioned that Im pretty rubbish with fashion on twitter the other day, but I seem to be able to pick out nice items but then its putting them together in an outfit and styling things which is my struggle. Anyone else like this?

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Autumn Wishlist

07.03 in autumn, blackberries, mmmm, Paid, wishlist

After looking in my wardrobe the other day and not really getting any sense of excitement about wearing any specific outfit, I thought it was a sign that I may need to purchase a few new things for the Autumn months. So a few hours were spent looking for some great items and styles and Ive put together a small wishlist of things I hope to pick up.

(The links to the websites are below the pictures).

Leather Boots

I fell in love with this pair of boots! Theyre from Zara, and  from the childrens section (yay for having size 4/5 feet). I have been wanting a simple versatile pair of boots for a while and loved the style of Chelsea boots.

Floral overlay dress

The next items is a dress from Topshop. I originally came across this dress whilst watching livinlikelindseys vlog and I think thats when the decision that I wanted this dress was made. I love the green khaki colour and I think it would be perfect for Autumn. But I also love the fact it looks like a separate top and skirt.

                                    Sleeveless blouse                                                      Cable-knit jumper

I currently dont own anything that is of a mustard yellow colour, but suddenly this year Ive felt a weird need for something of the colour to be in my wardrobe for autumn. These 2 items are from H&M, I think both items would be easy and comfortable to wear. Firstly the blouse could be worn simply with some skinny jeans, boots, a big cardigan and knitted scarf. Jumpers seem to be a weakness of mine and I always find myself drawn to them more than anything else. I would personally wear this jumper with a white collar, leggings and boots.

Biker coat

I would love a coat of this style in my wardrobe, its a bit more dressy than the ones I already own. Sometimes you just want to look a bit more fancy. This coat is from H&M and also comes in a grey colour - but Im a bit indecisive on which colour Id go for. Ive also seen similar versions while passing Primark, but as they dont have a shopping website I couldnt find those coats.

Flippy skirt in maroon

I currently only own one skirt. Shocking, I know! So Id love to expand my collection and I think autumn is the best season to wear skirts. Simply pair them with a cute comfy jumper, tights, and boots and youre set to go. This skirt from urban outfitters is perfect, he colour is a popular colour for the season!

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Peanut Butter Date Bites Healthy Delicious Snack

20.33 in autumn, bites, butter, date, delicious, healthy, Paid, peanut, snack, wishlist

Ive been super busy recently, with not only returning to college (and forgetting the amount of work I constantly have) but attending university open days practically every weekend - Ill hopefully write a blog post on this topic in the near future. 

With all the rushing around and trying to work hard from the beginning of the year, I have found myself hungrier than usual and snacking more frequently. So I needed something I could turn to that would satisfy me in-between meals. This is definitely the thing!

I cannot even begin to express how amazing these taste! Now, I can sometimes find dates a bit sickly sweet, but paired with the peanut butter, it balances out the sweetness perfectly. Surprisingly, just 1 or 2 of these bites is enough to fill you up! The best thing about them, as they are baked, is that you can pop them in a food bag and take them on the go with you. 

However, you can pop them in the fridge and enjoy them as a fudge like snack, so maybe split your batch when you first make them and see what your preference is. 

Soft, chewy cake like goodness with the added extra crunch from the walnuts and seeds, these bites are by far my new favourite snack (and hopefully yours too).

Ingredients

Yields around 19 small bites

• 1 1/2 - 2 cups of pitted dates
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/4 cup walnuts (crushed)
• 1/8 cup of pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, sunflower seeds etc
• 1-2 tbsp of non-dairy milk (to help loosen the dates if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°c and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Place your dates in a bowl and cover with hot water, leave to soften for 20-30 minutes.

3. Drain the water and place the dates into a blender or food processor and blitz until they become a smooth consistency, if needed add a drop of milk to help loosen and soften the dates.

4. Next, transfer the date mixture into a bowl and mix in the peanut butter.

5. Then fold in your walnuts and seed(s) of choice.

6. Gradually pour in your oats and combine thoroughly.

7. With your hands, roll the mixture into balls of your preferred size (I make mine around the size of a tsp) and place them onto the baking tray. If you are deciding to split the batch and refrigerate some, follow the same steps and place the bites onto a separate baking tray, also lined with greaseproof paper and pop them in the fridge. They are best when left for over 4 hours. 

8. Finally, pop the bites for baking in the oven for around 7-10 minutes or until firm to touch (leave them for another few minutes if you make them slightly bigger). Once baked, leave to cool then enjoy!

Printable recipe card

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