Tag: blogger

I’ve Been Hiding My Face!

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I've Been Hiding My Face

Me on a good day!

 

If you follow me on Instagram you might have noticed something. I like a good selfie when I feel good. I’ll show a new lipstick, hairstyle etc. But recently I’ve been shying away from the camera or at least I’ve been trying to hide a certain part in particular.

In the past few months, I have struggled with my skin and, it’s really impacted my confidence. I was piling on foundation to go to interviews and go to work. I was thinking of ways to cover the bottom of my face in pictures. This was completely new territory for me and I wanted to hide, I’d never had acne before!

I often try and promote body positivity, loving yourself and the like, but I also want to be honest. Of course, I have hang-ups about my body, who doesn’t. This was different though. I couldn’t work out why this kept happening and the spots growing and growing across my face. I hadn’t really dealt with it in my teenage years.

I spent so long trying to work out the cause and how it had changed so suddenly and taken my confidence with it. I’ve managed to get it down to a few potential factors, hormone changes due to a change in contraceptive and stress from losing my job being the main two.

After I’d gotten a new job and was feeling a little better I started thinking about all the time I spent putting makeup on. All the time I spent worrying about my skin and what other people thought I decided I’d had enough. I wanted to let my skin breathe. So I stopped wearing makeup to work and you know what? The world didn’t implode. I know can you believe it?

I’d got so caught up in my appearance I forgot that I wasn’t going to work or seeing friends because of my looks. I didn’t get hired for clear skin; I got hired for what I can do. I’m still self-conscious about my skin, but I’m working on it because there is so much more to life.

How do you feel about your skin? Is it something that you worry about? Let me know in the comments below!

10 things I’d tell 11 year old me

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Do you remember being 11? While most of us were pretty disappointed we didn’t get our Hogwarts letters, there was something pretty big going on for all of us, we were about to enter the zoo that is Secondary School. There’s a lot I wish I could go back and tell that scared kid because like it or not, it changed each and every one of us. Some for the better, others maybe not so much.

I had a think about things that I would tell myself, things I wish I could have known that might have made things a little easier. So here are my 10, don’t forget to let me know yours in the comments below!

Don’t be afraid of standing up for yourself.

I was bullied a lot as a kid, it was bad at the age of 11 but it continued. I didn’t want to get into trouble so a lot of the time I just took it. I wish I hadn’t.

You and your body are beautiful.

Ah Puberty, there’s nothing like it to destroy your confidence. This was the start of me worrying about my body. Was my stomach flat enough? Were my boobs going to be big enough? Why did my hair get so gross even when I washed it? Was my deodorant good enough?

This is when I started to doubt it and I wish I hadn’t because it takes YEARS to undo, I’m still working on it!

Don’t panic about not having any friends on the first day of school, you’ll find your friends.

I was petrified no one would like me when I got to secondary school. Little did I know I’d meet the best person in my life there a few years later…

Being nice will get you further than being a bitch, those girls won’t understand that for a long time.

BUT being too nice will get you walked on, it’s a thin line.

Don’t be embarrassed about being smart, keep reading, it’s going to help you a lot later on!

I got mercilessly teased as a kid for reading a lot…I was the 11-year-old reading Victoria Beckhams autobiography because I wanted to know more about her and had gotten through all of the Jacqueline Wilson novels the previous year. Don’t be ashamed of being smart!

Play with your sister as much as possible, she’ll grow up quicker than you think.

Having a sister that is nearly 7 years younger than me I wish I’d appreciated the time she was always at home. Now she’s 16 and off working, meeting friends and doing other things cherish the time!

Everything will happen for a reason.

The good, the bad, the ugly. Every damn thing happens for a reason and that’s what I believe.

There’s going to be some really shitty times ahead, but you’re going to get through them and it’s going to make you stronger.

My teenage years were really tough and sometimes I’m in awe that I managed what I did. But, I’m here, I’m still going.

Think about the future, you can’t do anything about the past.

This is something I’m still working on. It’s easy to get stuck in the past, think about who hurt you and where things went wrong but it won’t help you.

You’re going to grow up to be pretty awesome.

You’re pretty cool, kid.

 

What would you tell your 11-year-old self? Let me know in the comments below.

Book Review: Bad Girls With Perfect Faces – Lyn Weingarten

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How far would you go to protect your best friend?

All Sasha wants to do is protect Xavier from Ivy, from what she can do, but how far is she willing to go? Posing as a guy online to lure Ivy away is just the start…

Going in I feel I need to say that this novel gets dark pretty quickly, but it’s definitely what was needed. From this, it creates a brilliant atmosphere for the rest of the novel. It has darkness, intrigue and while at times there is some cliché moments, particularly in the beginning this evolves throughout the novel.

I wanted to start by saying that I didn’t particularly find any of these characters likeable and for that, I give Weingarten full credit. I found each of the characters to be quite selfish and while they claimed that their actions were out of love, it appeared to be more about themselves rather than anything.

The novel looks at the dangers of a life online, who someone is really speaking to as well as what relationships mean. Told in multiple points of view throughout, you can clearly see the motivations of the characters and what they hide from themselves and each other.

Overall I gave this 3 stars. While I enjoyed the novel, I was able to guess quite a few of the plot twists that were coming up. I don’t know if that’s just because I’ve read a lot of thrillers or it’s a reflection of the novel. Saying that I did still enjoy the novel and would love to see another on what the characters lives were like 10 years later if they were to meet again. So, not my favourite Weingarten novel, but I’d still recommend it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and author for this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Homeowner Dreams www.chloemetzger.com

Homeowner Dreams

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There was once a time when owning a home was a milestone that the majority of people reached. It was a milestone of growing up, something you did before starting a family. When my Mum and Dad bought their house in 1996, this was the case, they’d never even had to rent before. Skip forward more than 20 years and meet me, their eldest child, and part of generation rent.

Think back to when you’d ask people what they would do if they won the lottery. Buy flash cars, luxury holidays etc. Now, say you won 20K on the lottery, in the South East of England that might get you a deposit for a small house. Not the whole house, just a deposit on a house. This is what young people like us are facing.

Will Young People Ever Be Able To Afford Their Own Homes?

The majority of you reading this are in the same position, the prospect of being able to save enough to merely put down a deposit on a house is more than most 20-somethings make in a year in their area. But, don’t forget people think if we bought fewer sandwiches, we could make the sacrifices to find that money…I’m not kidding that’s a genuine article I’ve linked to.

I don’t know when, or how, owning a home became something seemingly unachievable for most young people. While some are able to live at home until they are in their mid-twenties and save, that is not the case for the majority of us. That and we want our own space, not to live with our parents until we’re between 25 & 30. I don’t go on expensive holidays, I don’t drive an expensive car (I saved for 3 years while at uni for my current car), I take lunch with me most days but I am still paying almost double a mortgage to live in a 1 bedroom flat.

While my partner and I try and work out how we will be able to manage to try to scrape together money to put towards our own home, the prospects look increasingly bleak. A lack of affordable housing and sky-high deposit payments are just the tip of the iceberg. We’re told to give up any luxury, move out of certain places where it’s cheaper etc, this is completely ignoring the issues at hand. Most of which centre around greed.

I know this might have come across as a rant but, truly, this is a post born out of frustration. It doesn’t matter how good you are with money, we’re going back to a state of working people missing out. If you are able to get help from wealthy relatives, you might make it. Although for the average person Homeowner dreams have become just that, dreams.

What are your thoughts on becoming a Homeowner? Have you managed? Let me know in the comments below!

Music Growing Up With Paramore

Growing Up With Paramore

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Friday night I was lucky enough to go and see Paramore for the fourth time. I’ve been a Paramore fan since I was 13 years old and coincidentally since I met Ali, but Paramore isn’t about just that.

I think everyone has a band or artist that impacts their life, for me that was, and still is, Paramore. Hayley talked a lot on stage about how the band and fans have grown up together and it made me think, a lot about what the band meant to me. If I’m honest, I got a bit emotional.

When I was that 13-year-old who first heard Riot I was just getting into my own identity and working out, as a teenager, who I was. A friend recommended this band, Paramore. I loved it and I loved the lead singer she was short, a redhead with a big voice. She was everything  I wanted to be.

I listened to Riot on repeat and I met a boy that I really liked. I waited for Brand New Eyes to come out and it was like nothing I’d ever listen to. I fell in love with each and every song and they made sense. Brand New Eyes came out in 2009, it was around this time I was struggling with Depression, it hit me hard and that album got me through, The Only Exception became ‘our song’.

 

Couple Paramore 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018

When Zac and Josh left the band, I was devastated, I thought the band I loved was over. And then the singles came out, and then ‘Paramore’. At first, I didn’t get it, it seemed petty, it didn’t measure up to Brand New Eyes, all of these thoughts went through my mind. Then my band broke up, I was leaving for uni and the unknown. Suddenly it all made sense. The lyrics, the music it all made sense. My heart soared and it felt like the music held me together for the next few years.

Then another album and another part of my life, ‘After Laughter’. I’d graduated I was an ‘adult’ now but things weren’t going to plan. The single ‘Hard Times’ was released on the 19th April and it seemed to be the perfect thing for me, I’d lost my job 2 weeks earlier and graduate life wasn’t great. I listened to that song obsessively, again the tracks made me feel a little less alone, a little more capable. Then the album came out and ‘Rose Coloured Boy’ and ‘Fake Happy’ became my anthems.

Hayley was right the other night when she said we’re not the same people we were when ‘Riot’ was released and ‘Misery Business’ was all I listened to on repeat. I felt so many emotions watching. I was proud of this band and proud of myself for overcoming so much shit in the past 10 years and still being able to smile.

This might be fangirling, might be OTT but I really feel like I owe Paramore.

What band is it for you?

My Top Posts of 2017!

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We only have 1 whole day left of 2017, what?! I’m torn, the last 2 months feel like they’ve gone so quickly. At the end of the year, I always love to see what you guys have read most and what’s done well, what blogger doesn’t?

So I wanted to share with you my top 10 most read posts of 2017! Here we go.

 

10. Harry Potter Haul – Primark Has Done It Again…

I’m shocked that this is still in my top 10 and has been since I first posted it in 2015. This is when Primark first started doing a lot of Harry Potter stuff. If you liked this post keep your eyes peeled in the new year…

9. Taking Chances and Making Calls

This was my first steps in taking my life into my own hands after losing a job back in April.

8. Book Review: Fully Functioning Human (Almost) by Melanie Murphey 

I love watching Melanie Murphey on YouTube and so do a lot of you! She’s sweet, funny and this is a helpful book. This is my only book review to make it into the top 10 and I’m glad it’s this one.

7. My Boyfriend’s Leaving Me For Two Months?! 

This year Ali went away on tour for 2 months, the longest we’ve been apart. This was the start of me talking about going long distance, I’m really glad I talked about it to get through the tougher times.

6.  Dealing With The Unexpected

A post I wrote in response to being fired, which turned out to be a good thing.

5. The Truth About Being in a Long-Term Relationship 

Next year Ali and I will have been together for 10 years! So I did what I normally do, I decided to write about it.

4. Sunday Seven: The Businesses You Don’t Know About But Should 

Back in April I was lucky enough to visit Dolly’s Vintage Fair and feature some of the wonderful small businesses that were there!

3. Feminist Friday… with Jess Willby 

And on to my Feminist Friday series, Jess wrote about how Feminism is bigger than just us as individuals and how we need to work together to achieve. It was an absolutely inspiring post.

2. To The People Who Stole From My Boyfriend 

It’s been a very up and down year, in August while Ali had a great time working festivals, someone decided that they wanted to steal from him. It was pretty shitty and frustrating (the stolen rucksack has never been found). This was an open letter to those who stole from him.

1. Typo Haul

Aaaaand at number 1 is my haul from Typo. This is a really cool shop and one I only found this year on a visit to Kingston. There are some beautiful things in this shop!

 

What were your favourite posts that YOU wrote this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Blogmas Day 24: A Christmas Message

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I may not be the Queen, but I’m still going to give a Christmas message. Fun fact my Dad always watches the Christmas Speech, every year 3pm usually while we’re eating. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Tomorrow is Christmas day. At the time I’ve posted this I’ll be in my PJs, watching a Santa tracker online and feeling very weird about the fact that it is the first year Ali and I are in our own home for Christmas Eve. It’s so weird.

Christmas, we are told, is a time for joy and happiness and family. For many of us, it is all these things. But what if it’s not? Some people have to go to work on Christmas, some are alone, some are dealing with some pretty heavy stuff. This is the thing, just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean life stops, I wish it did.

So, I’m just putting it out there Christmas doesn’t need to be perfect. If, for you, this Christmas has to be just another day then so be it. We put so much pressure on ourselves all the time and it sucks! I’ve been really poorly at Christmas before and the pressure made it worse.

Really, what I’m trying to say is make Christmas what you want or can make it. We don’t all need to have the same day, the same time.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or, simply, I hope you have a good day.

 

Blogmas Day 23: A Blogmas Round Up!

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While Blogmas officially ends tomorrow with my Christmas message (hey, the Queen gets one!) I wanted to do a round-up of Blogmas 2017. I’m not going to lie, it was tough doing a post every single day when I work full time but I enjoyed seeing the responses. Will I do it again next year? Possibly but I’ll do a lot more planning! If you want to catch up you can find all of my Blogmas posts below!

Blogmas Day 1: Welcome to Blogmas!

Blogmas Day 2: My Christmas Playlist

Blogmas Day 3: Shopping with Small Businesses this Christmas

Blogmas Day 4: Last Minute Gifts for the feminist in your life

Blogmas Day 5: Christmas Q & A with Adell & Nate

Blogmas Day 6: Costa Hot Chocolates Ranked!

Blogmas Day 7: Book Review – Trumps Christmas Carol – Lucien Young

Blogmas Day 8: Christmas Wishlist

Blogmas Day 9: How to Stay on Budget at Christmas!

Blogmas Day 10: Books to Give this Christmas

Blogmas Day 11: Christmas Q & A with Vikki & Zoe 

Blogmas Day 12: First Christmas in Our Own Home!

Blogmas Day 13: Holly Jolly Xmas Tag

Blogmas Day 14: Book Review – Christmas Poetry by Wendy Cope

Blogmas Day 15: Looking after your mental health in the holidays

Blogmas Day 16: Christmas Q & A with Midnight Madness and AllLadyA

Blogmas Day 17: Our Little Christmas Tree!

Blogmas Day 18: My Favourite Christmas Films!

Blogmas Day 19: Christmas Eve Traditions

Blogmas Day 20: Would You Rather – Christmas Edition 

Blogmas Day 21: Christmas Throwbacks

Blogmas Day 22: Books I read in 2017… so far

 

What’s been your favourite part of Blogmas? Let me know in the comments below!

Blogmas Day 15: How to stay mentally healthy during the holidays!

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Christmas is fun but it can also be really stressful! At Christmas time we want to go, go, go. We feel we need to go shopping for gifts, see friends and family, go to events, look our best and prepare for the big day.  In short, it can be a lot of pressure on anyone, so when you have a mental illness can be very overwhelming and it’s so easy to struggle during the holidays, here are my tips to stay healthy.

Take time for yourself

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the festivities and everything that ‘needs’ to be done that we often forget to take some time to ourselves! It’s important to be able to wind down and switch off no matter what time of year it is.

Get enough rest

It can be absolutely exhausting to live with a mental illness on a day to day basis, add to that seeing friends and family, going out to join in with events, trying to match the excitement of others. It’s important that no matter what you still get enough rest. It’s so important to prioritise you rest and sleeping habits.

Decide what is a priority for you 

Expectations can be really high at Christmas and if,  like me, you’re a bit of a people pleaser it can be hard to say no. I’ve needed to tell myself, firmly, that I can say no and I need to look at my priorities. My priority is seeing my family, close friends and making sure I use the time I have to recharge my batteries. That’s the priority.

Take the pressure off! 

Banish the ‘should’, you do you over the holidays. I’m not going out on New Years Eve to any pubs or parties. I’m going to spend the night in my own home and go and see my family are a good sleep. I’m going to not have something on every single day and try to go with the flow.

See the day how you need to

For some people they want Christmas to be a day filled with family and that’s what’s important. For others, it’s just another day. Do what’s right for you.

Blogmas Day 13: The Holly Jolly Christmas Tag 2017

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Of course, I was going to do a tag in Blogmas! What do you take me for?! I found this over on the wonderful Liberty Joy blog! Definitely, check Becky out and give her a follow!

1. Favourite Christmas Movie?

Has to be Love Actually, it’s my all-time favourite.
2. Are you on the Naughty list or the Nice list?

Pretty sure I’m on the nice list, everyone’s allowed a few slip-ups, right?

3. Show us an embarrassing Christmas photo.

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Might as well embarrass my sister too!

4. Have you ever had a White Christmas?

I’ve seen it snow on Christmas but not settle!

5. Do you start your Christmas shopping on Black Friday or wait until the last minute?

If I have the money I start even earlier than that!

6. If you could be in any Christmas movie what would it be?

Elf, I feel I’m an appropriate size.

8. Name all of Santa’s reindeer.

Rudolph, Dancer, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid…Damn it.

9. When does your family put up your Christmas tree and who decorates it?

The first weekend of December at Mum and Dads. It’s mine and Ali’s first Christmas at our own flat and it was also up on the first weekend of December!

10. Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

100% fake. Not here for pine needles all over the floor.

12. Peeking at gifts or be surprised?

I like to feel the gifts and try to guess…whoops.

13. Show us your ugly Christmas sweater if you have one.

I refuse to wear ugly jumpers.

14. If you could be under the mistletoe with anyone who would it be?

I feel like I should say my boyfriend but I wouldn’t say no to Eddie Redmayne…

15. Does your family have a special holiday recipe you like to help make?

Haha, no.

16. Are you a pro-present wrapper, or do you fail miserably?

I am absolutely awful at gift wrapping.

17. Have you ever gone Christmas carolling?

Nope, personally, I find it a little weird just to knock on someone’s door like hey I’m going to sing at you right now.

18. What tops your tree?

Right now just fairy lights! Mum has a light up Tinkerbell though!

19. Do you make New Years Resolutions? Do you stick to them?

I don’t! January is so dark and miserable there’s no fun in starting something new then!

20. You have been granted one Christmas wish…what will it be?

….A puppy?!

 

Don’t forget to tag me in your own Holly Jolly Christmas Tags!