Winter Wonderland Tag // BLOGMAS DAY ELEVEN

I didn't have a relevant photo so this one of the fairy lights on my bed will have to do.

I'm back today with another tag post. I haven't seen this one before so I thought I would give it a go. I'm not going to tag anyone (I don't think anyone does any more anyway) but feel free to do the tag and link me when it's posted!

1. What do you like best about winter? 

The thing I like best about the winter is cosying up with jumpers and blankets on the sofa and watching films with a hot chocolate. It seems so much more acceptable to go home and change straight into your pyjamas as well in winter (I still do this in summer though).

2. Scarves or Beanies? 

I don’t really wear either but I have just recently bought a bobble hat. It looks ridiculous on me because I have a small head but it does a good job at keeping me warm.

3. What's your favourite holiday movie? 

I’m not actually sure what my favourite one is! I did do a post of my top Christmas films though so check that out for a better idea!

4. Favourite winter nail polish?

I haven’t actually painted my nails in such a long time (apart from my toes which are always painted red). But I would say a really dark purple or red. Barry M is my favourite brand so probably one of theirs.

5. Favourite Starbucks Holiday Drink? 

I’ve never bought a drink from Starbucks. I am more of a Costa girl myself. I don’t really try any holiday drinks but I do love a good hot chocolate. 

6. What are your top 3 winter essentials? 

Jumpers, fleece lined leggings (thank you Primark) and hand cream.

7. Name one item on your wish list this year. 

I am desperate for an Instax camera! However I don’t actually need anything other than money which is what I need every year. I did write up a wishlist post that you can see here

8. Favourite holiday song? 

The Pogues – Fairytale of New York. I just love it!

9. Are you going Black Friday shopping this year? 

I had a little look but I didn’t really buy anything. There was nothing that really grabbed my attention; I just bought normal price things like baubles and wrapping paper.

10. Must have winter lip product?

My trusty Vaseline. I get horrible dry lips so I tend to use a scrub and Vaseline but I’m not sure if it makes that much of a difference. 

11. Will you be rocking an ugly Christmas sweater this year? 

Yes I will. Mine has bells on so it will annoy everyone, including me but I actually really love it. It’s the first year I’ve actually got a Christmas jumper so I’m going to make the most of it. In fact, I’m wearing it now! I wrote a post on my favourite Christmas jumpers if you are still looking for one to buy.

12. Have you ever had a white Christmas where you live? 

Yes we have but only when I was small. We haven’t had snow on Christmas day for a few years which I’m happy about because now I’m older it’s just an inconvenience when I have to travel!

13. Favourite winter candle scent? 

My favourite that I have smelt this year is Christmas Eve by Yankee Candle. I love love love it. I haven’t bought it yet though; I’m hoping it makes its way under my Christmas tree one way or another though. I do love Cranberry Ice by Yankee Candle as well. I got that as a gift last year so every time I smell it; it makes me think of Christmas.

14. How will you be celebrating this holiday? 

Really differently to normal because we’re having extra people over for dinner. We normally wake up at around 6am (which I do not appreciate) and then go open our presents, then get dressed and wait for my grandad to come over. We have dinner at about 1pm and then just spend the afternoon either playing games or watching a DVD.

So there we have another Christmas tag! I do love a good tag post, let me know if you have completed this one so I can have a read of your answers!

The Liebster Award

This is actually the second time I have been nominated for this award but I deleted the original post when I restarted my blog earlier this year. I was really happy to be nominated again, this time by the lovely Hera from Hello Hera.

The rules this time round seem to differ slightly to the original one I was tagged in but I will adhere to the rules stated in Hera’s post. 

So here are the rules:

1) Post the award on your blog

2) Thank the blogger who awarded you and provide a link to their blog

3) Write 11 random facts about yourself

4) Nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers

5) Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who presented you with the award

6) Ask 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer.

It all seems very focussed on the number 11! So let’s get started.

11 Random Facts About Me

1) I used to be left handed before I was hospitalised with pneumonia when I was two years old, the doctors assumed I preferred my right hand and placed the splint and drip on my left hand. I had to learn to use my right hand for everything during my stay and now I am right handed. Weird!

2) Following my recent holiday to Greece (June 2014, photo’s here) I seem to have caught the travel bug and after never having flown before, I now want to fly everywhere and visit everywhere!

3) I study Film Production Technology and Staffordshire University and I think I regret this decision a lot. Not the decision to go to university, just the decision of which course to study. Choose wisely!

4) I rarely wear make-up (except mascara, eye liner and lipstick on a night out) and I desperately want to change this. I just need someone to help me pick products and shades that suit me, and then show me how to apply it!

5) I am the second child of 4 children and would say I am the most spoilt, not by my parents necessarily but by everyone in my life. I’m not complaining though!

6) I am allergic to cats but I wouldn’t like them anyway even if I wasn’t. I am not an animal lover at all. Except for one special little bug in my life, my hamster (I think there’s a question about pets below so more on him later).

7) I once scored 100% on an essay I wrote the night before the deadline and thought for sure I’d failed.

8) I am far better at written assignments than practical ones which is why the third year of my degree scares me as, although there is a lot of writing involved, there is a LOT of practical work to go with it which I am just no good at.

9) I am still quite new to the blogging world and would love some blogging friends in my area! I live in Stafford, Staffordshire so anyone from around there send me a tweet!

10) I have recently become obsessed with youtube and spend most of the day watching vlogs, hauls and my favourites get ready with me videos!

11) (This writing facts about myself is really hard…) I have naturally ginger hair but much prefer it when it’s dyed purple. However, I have had to stop dying my hair in an effort to grow it to a much longer length. It’s a very slow process!

That was very tough! All my facts are quite long winded too, sorry guys! Now onto the questions Hera asked.

Hera's Questions 

What was the last thing you ate? – the last thing I ate was a homemade cupcake I made yesterday. My boyfriend brought it up to me whilst I was having a lie down due to a migraine, the little cutie.

Long nails or short nails? – I love the look of long nails more so than short but every time my nails grow long the snap off at work. I would say middle length nails are best though!

What time is it right now? – The time is 00.56am Friday 15^th August (although by the time this goes live it will be a very different time altogether!)

When was the last time you went on holiday and where? – Ooo I didn’t realise this would be a question! The last time I went on holiday was June 22d 2014 when I went to Thassos, Greece for two weeks and spent my 21^st birthday there too. Just my luck to spend my birthday in a country that doesn’t celebrate birthday’s though.

Favourite Disney film? – Has to be Cinderella doesn’t it! I used to watch it every single day when I was younger, and also played one of the ugly sisters in an assembly in primary school.

Any pets? – Yes! Just the one, my lovely little Russian Dwarf Hamster Humbug! I love him so much, he’s just the cutest!

How long have you been blogging for? – Well, I have been blogging in total for over a year now but I recently decided my nail blog just wasn’t enough to fill my interests so I deleted everything and started again with the blog I’m writing now. I feel so much happier now that I am not contained to just one niche and I am able to write all the things I want to.

How long was your longest break from blogging? Hours? Days? Etc. – My longest break has to be a few months as I was stuck with where I wanted my blog to go. I didn’t want to start a new blog and lose interest again if it didn’t work out how I wanted so I took a few months to sort out where I wanted it to go before starting up again.

What colour is your hair? – Natural redhead.

Favourite scent/smell? – Ooo, this is a tough one! My Flirty Alice perfume is one of my favourite smells but then my boyfriend’s Hugo Boss aftershave is pretty nice too! And the smell of Christmas, the wrapping paper, new things, food. I think its Christmas. Christmas is my favourite smell!

Your biggest achievement? – That’s a tough one! I really don’t know this one at all. Nothing is coming to my mind as something I have achieved but I’m sure there’s lots of things! I can’t answer this one, sorry!

My questions to those I am about to nominate are:

1) How long have you been blogging?

2) Who was your inspiration for starting a blog/what was the reason you started blogging?

3) Where in the world would you most like to visit?

4) Do you have any pets?

5) What is your favourite colour?

6) What was your most favourite blog post you have ever written?

7) (This one isn't really a question but I thought I would stick it in anyway) Check out my Favourite Memories for Alzheimers post and write one of your own!

8) How many siblings do you have?

9) Do your friends and family know about your blog?

10) If you could guest post on any blog, which would it be and why?

11) What is your favourite food?

These were all very random questions but just go with it! Next up are my nominees. I haven’t actually got 11 people to nominate, I have 4 so if you want to take part then go ahead and say I nominated you!

S.H.A.Random

The Kats Paws

Rachel Brennan Life

Vohn's Vittles

25 Things To Do This Summer

Floating around the blogosphere is a new tag – ’25 things to do this summer’. I’ve seen this featured on Gemma’s blog Sunshine On A Cloudy Day and Beth’s blog Bethany Worrall and although I haven’t exactly been tagged myself, it’s something I really wanted to take part in. So here goes. My 25 things to do this summer are:

1) Finish writing my diary of my holiday to Thassos and create a scrapbook to go with it.

2) Have a girl’s night with my friends either in town or at my house when I move in.

3) Go to Alton Towers with Jordan, Shan and Sam

4) Get my hair cut

5) Spend the day with my mum

6) Have a games night with Jordan

7) Make a list of 100 facts about me (and publish here)

8) Go swimming

9) Visit Wales for the day and explore a new place

10) Revisit Warwick Castle on a sunny day and take better photo’s

11) Have a weekend away (maybe York?)

12) Spend a day baking and decorating buns!

13)Buy a slow cooker

14) Go for a picnic in the park

15) Feed the ducks

16) Go shopping in London

17) Read at least 10 books

18) Buy a play pen for my Russian Dwarf Hamster Humbug

19) Go on a few bike rides with Jordan

20) Plan/book our New Year’s holiday

21) Plan/book our Christmas shopping trip to Liverpool

22) Learn to cook something new

23) Hold a giveaway on my blog

24) Start my savings again

25) Organise my new bedroom!

You may recognise some of these things from my 101 in 1001 list, but what better time to tick some off than this summer? Have you written a list? I’m not going to tag anyone since I wasn’t tagged myself but if you want to get involved then please do!

Also, check out my post on raising awareness for the Alzheimer’s Society and see if you can help!

The Self Love Tag

Hey guys, I recently restarted my blog up after a long break of not posting and I have decided to switch things up a bit. I’ve changed the name and URL of my blog to be more of a ‘free’ blog in terms of the posts I write. I will be doing personal, wish lists, lifestyle, nail art, film and maybe some beauty posts thrown in there too. I need this to be a space to write what I want to write, not necessarily fit into any specific genre.

So with that I am going to fill in this self-love tag I saw a while back. I haven’t been tagged necessarily and I can’t remember where I saved it from but I thought I’d give it a go regardless. Here goes!

The rules are as follows:
Answer all of the below questions in a blog post.
Then nominate other bloggers to do the tag.

1. What does Self-love mean to you?
Self-love has the obvious meaning of loving yourself but I also think it means accepting who you are and what you are. If you don’t like something about yourself and you can change it, then why haven’t you? If you don’t like something about yourself and you can’t change it then there’s no point worrying about it. Accept yourself and realise you are you for a reason.

2. What is your favourite way to pamper yourself?
I love settling down with a book, hot chocolate and a face mask! Time to myself means a lot as I have a lot of stuff to do with working part time and also being in university full time with a boyfriend on the side. It’s a lot to take on and it’s good to have some me time! I also love painting my nails, I always feel better with nice nails!

Using Soap and Glory face mask

3. What are your three favourite hobbies/ pass times that make your soul feel on fire?

I love reading! I’ll read anything and everything. I can spend all day curled up in my bed with a bar of chocolate and a good book! As I mentioned in the question above, I love painting my nails too! I like to get creative and this is a simple thing that gets my creativity flowing. My third hobby I would say is writing. I write short stories sometimes and hide them in notebooks no one will ever read. It’s nice to get them written down without anyone having to see them.

4. What movie always puts you in a good mood when you’re not in the greatest mood?
I don’t really have a specific film if I’m honest. My preferences change day to day but you can bet anything I’ll fall asleep regardless of what I put on!

5. Who do you trust SO MUCH that you would easily believe in anything and everything they said?

I don’t know if I trust someone that much, but I believe my boyfriend most of the time because he always checks his sources when he finds something out! Literally, any article he sees if it sounds not 100% true he’ll check it out.

6. What quote totally motivates you?

I don’t know if it’s a quote or where it comes from but ‘nothing is impossible’ I think is a good thing to stick by. You just have to try your best at everything you do and then you will get the results you deserve.

7. When was the last time you took yourself on a date? What did you do?
This would have to be never, I don’t really do things by myself as I get anxious but if I were to take myself on a date it would probably be just to the cinema to watch a film. It wouldn’t be anywhere for a long time as I don’t like being out and about on my own, I’d prefer to have someone with me.

8. What make-up or beauty product makes you feel like a million bucks?

Lip products! I always have Vaseline, Babylips (Cherry), the Barry M green lipstick or my newest Rimmel lip crayon on me at all times. (Lipstick and lip crayon for nights out mostly).

Me and Jordan (boyfriend) at the SU Cops and Robbers fancy dress night.

9. What is the last thing you did for someone else that made you feel amazing?

I have been helping the people I live with with their university assignments a lot recently. It’s really geeky but I love Harvard referencing so I’ve been helping them understand it and checking they’ve done it properly. I love it, what can I say!

10. Do you feel comfortable with and without make-up on? Why?
I feel comfortable without make up more times than with. I don’t like wearing it through the day, only special occasions if I’m going out somewhere or on a Friday or Tuesday night when I go out with my friends. I feel comfortable wearing it too though, don’t get me wrong, I just think that I don’t need it to be comfortable with my appearance.

11. What piece of advice would you give a child about to grow up with the pressures of today’s media and its crushing expectations?
Just be comfortable and confident in your own skin because no matter what you do someone will put you down. As long as you are happy with you, no one else matters.

12. What song puts you in a good mood every time?
Don Broco – Thug Workout

Wiley – Can you hear me

Hadouken – Get Smashed Gate Crash

Those are probably the three songs that put me in an instant happy mood! (Too indecisive to just pick one, sorry guys!)

13. What is the best advice someone gave you or you realized about life?
If they’re bitching to you, they’re bitching about you. People always love to talk about other people.

14. Who makes you giggle like a giggle monster?
No one specific, but when you make me laugh, I will laugh until it’s not funny anymore and then laugh some more. There’s no stopping me when something has tickled me.

15. What is something about society that bugs you that you wish didn’t?

A lot of things bug me that I wish didn’t. But mostly I suppose people getting in other people’s business. Just leave people to live their lives and you live yours. I mean, I wish it didn’t happen but I suppose I will settle for it just not annoying me anymore.

16. What is one of your favourite things to do on the weekends?
I like to go on day trips to places I’ve never been before and explore! I recently went to Warwick Castle for the first time (blog post to come) and it really was a great day out! Also one day last year I went on a spur of the moment trip to Liverpool. It's such a lovely city and I loved being by the water!

Boat in the Dock's at Liverpool

17. What is something you’re really proud of that you’ve done?
I’m really proud of an essay I wrote in my first year of university. It was a logbook based on one of my favourite films Moonrise Kingdom. I got 100% which my lecturer said is the only 100% he’s ever given out in the 7 years he’s been teaching. It made me think, if I can do that, I can do anything!

18. What is one of your favourite memories with one of your friends?
One of my favourite memories is with my mum (does this count?). We went to York for 3 days for my 18^th birthday and it really was such a lovely mini break. It was nice to spend some time just me and my mum as we never get that time together, especially not now I live 100 miles away! Unfortunately I cannot find a single picture from the trip of me and my mum together!

On a walk around the walls that surround York.

19. What advice would you give someone who needs a boost in confidence?

That you can do anything you set your mind too. Work really hard and it will pay off!

20. Lastly, how do you plan on investing in self-love?
I plan on taking more of my own advice and accepting the things I cannot change about myself. I’m working on the things I can change so I guess I’m half way there. I need to take more me time and concentrate on what makes me happy rather than trying to please everyone else.

If you made it through that then you deserve a prize!

The three people I tag are:

Kayleigh from Couture Girl

Danniella from Famous in Japan

Sophia from Tattooed Tealady

Thanks for reading! If you do this tag, leave your links below! I’d love to read more responses!