4 Christmas DIY Tricks To Keep On Trend And Save You Money.*

Christmas time is always an expensive time of year. If it's not trying to buy the perfect gifts, stocking up the cupboards with treats or picking out those new dresses for the work party it's trying to refresh the Christmas tree decorations to keep up with the latest interior trends. I've decided to put together a few little Christmas decoration tricks to help you keep up with the latest trends and save you money!

My Wedding Day Details.

On your wedding day, what they say really is true, it goes so quickly that everything is kind of a blur. Saying that sometimes it's the little things that really make the day special, they're little reminders of moments throughout the day. I wanted to share a few of my wedding day details that I loved about my day and what made it special for me. Those things that everyone else probably didn't notice but I absolutely loved.

Before I start I'd like to mention that the photography in this post is by my amazing wedding photographers Pour Toujours Photography. I could never have taken such amazing photos myself, so huge shout out to them!

My Favourite Etsy Shops: A Gift Guide.

I've used websites such as Etsy and Notonthehighstreet for a long time, I browse them frequently when looking for something unique, especially around Christmas or birthdays. As some of you know, earlier this year I opened my own Etsy store selling prints of my watercolour paintings of some cool Harry Potter and Disney inspired pieces. With all the hard work I've put in, I've really discovered a new found appreciation for those small businesses out there! I really wanted to share some amazing ones I love with you. I really hope you can show some support to these amazing ladies, as I can tell you now, every single purchase makes a huge difference.

A Few Little Blog Updates

Over the past month I've really got my blogging mojo back and I couldn't be happier about it. I genuinely really missed blogging during the wedding planning, I found it quite hard to find time to mentally relax enough to get the creative juices flowing. So, now that I have all my spare time freed up again I've thrown myself well and truly back into writing and planning! This also means I've finally done a few updates to my blog, so if you want to find out what happening around here, read on!

Let's Talk...

This is going to be different from my usual posts, although I like to write some personal things on my blog I never quite reveal the nitty gritty real stuff very often. But, like most people, sometimes writing about things feels therapeutic and really helps get some things off my chest. So as much as things are generally quite positive around here, I'd like to just have a chat about what's going on in my life right now.

A Sprinkle of Christmas Joy*

Christmas has always been my favourite time of year, I can't quite explain why but it just feels different y'ano? I almost certainly got it from my dad, growing up he was as giddy as any kid around Christmas, we'd have Christmas songs playing in the background and we'd have an unbelievable amount of food around, Quality Streets and Roses are still some of my favourites!

It's A Shower Thing.

Whenever we think of LUSH we probably think about the beautiful and wonderful smelling bath bombs, however I've fallen in love with so many other areas of the lush product range and my newest obsession is the shower gels.

Be At One Cocktail Masterclass.

Way back before the wedding madness took over, Nick and I were invited to Be At One in Sheffield for a cocktail masterclass. I'm not a huge drinker but I do enjoy a good cocktail, probably because they usually don't taste much like alcohol and I can satisfy my sweet tooth all in one handy glass.

The Contraceptive Implant: My Experience.

I've been on the pill for as long as I can remember. I went on it at an early age because my periods were so horrendously heavy and painful that the doctor recommended going on it to help. I suffered really badly with it, I remember going along with my mum to do the weekly food shopping and having to ring my dad to come pick me up because I was doubled over in so much period pain that I could hardly walk. I'd be in so much pain I'd feel intensely sick and tired and I'm my mood swings were pretty intense, but that could be all those teenage hormones!



As I headed further into my teens, I developed the normal teenager skin problems and the pill always helped with my spots, the pill was something I really did appreciate growing up because it worked so many wonders for me! Of course as I became sexually active it helped with that too. Taking a pill every single day didn't seem to bother me, I'd take it every morning before school/college/work and it never was a problem. I'm not quite sure when it was but at some point during my early twenties I just got really slack with taking my pill. When I was at university my timetable and schedule was so all over the place, especially with working at weekends too. A proper routine went out the window and so taking the pill at a set time everyday never really happened.

About 2 years ago I decided to stop taking the pill all together. This was a decision I didn't take lightly, firstly, I didn't want to get pregnant and secondly, it's quite inconvenient isn't it and condom are expensive. But I decided I wanted to give my body some time off from pumping it with hormones and see how I got on au natural.

It turns out being off the pill sucks. All those problems I had in my teens re-suffered pretty quickly. My periods were regular, but began getting really heavy and painful again, my mood swings were awful, I was covered in spots and I just generally felt awful. In between my periods I'd forget how bad they were but come the end of the month I was back feeling sick and grumpy like never before.

So, I decided to take a trip to the doctors and discuss the options. I'd heard good things about the contraceptive implant but for some reason it always felt like a big deal getting something put in my arm and I toyed with the idea for quite awhile. But after weighing up the different option I decided I needed something effective for birth control that I didn't have to worry about and 3 years is a long time to not worry about getting pregnant, so it felt like the best option for me.

I made an appointment to talk to my doctor and told her that I was 100% ready and before I knew it I was booked in for an appointment the next day. They went over the side effects thoroughly with me, making sure I wasn't just having the implant because I'd heard that I wouldn't have periods anymore, which did sound like a pro point for me but it was really about having a contraceptive that I didn't have to worry about missing one morning because I was busy. So I gave everything the thumbs up and was seen the next day.

The procedure was quite quick. They inject your arm to numb it, if I said this didn't hurt I'd be lying, needles of course almost always hurt in some way, it wasn't awful but it was okay. I didn't watch as she inserted the implant but she made me feel it once it was in place so that I could tell where it was, what it felt like and I can only assume to prove she had actually done it. Then before I knew it I was all bandaged up, leaflet in hand and sent on my way. Personally, my arm swelled up quite a lot and took a few days to calm down and become less painful. I had quite a big bruise but after it healed the incision scar is almost invisible and I barely even notice it's there. If I have a proper feel around I can find it and feel it but I have no real need to do that, except when I want to check it's still there occasionally ha ha!

As for my periods, I have to say they've been all over the place. Some months I have a full period, which for me is usually 4-5 days of bleeding. I've had a lot of spotting bleeding, sometimes it's just once on a day, sometimes it's a few days at a time but I certainly still have my monthly visitor. I'm sad to say I'm not one of those lucky people that haven't had a period since but I've also only had my implant for about 6 months and it can take quite awhile for it to settle. I haven't noticed any particular side effects, my mood swings were a little crazy to begin with but I'd also been off the pill for about a year before this, so having the extra hormones flying around was always going to be different at first.

My whole experience so far has been really positive, I'm really happy I've had the implant, I don't have to worry about getting pregnant for at least 3 years, which is helping with all the post-wedding baby questions! The only thing I'm not looking forward to it when it needs to be removed, although that's a long way away, I can imagine it's not as pleasant as having it put it! I think currently I'd be happy to have another put it after this one, I haven't had any negative reasons to not go ahead with it all again!

I know this post has been super long and rambley, but I hope in some way this post has helped some of you understand the contraceptive implant a bit more! If you have any questions or want to share your experience please let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear from you!

Hope & Anchor Launch.

Back at the end of September I was invited along to try out the menu from the launch of the new concept bar Hope & Anchor. I must admit I am a little late writing this post, I totally blame the madness of wedding planning on that one! I still wanted to share the experience with you guys as I thoroughly enjoyed the venue, not only did it have the seal of approval for interior design but the menu was also really good. I was brave enough to try things I wouldn't normally have done, which is always a good sign if you ask me!

10 Thoughts I've Had Since Getting Married.

Getting married was one of the happiest days of my life, I married my best friend in the entire world, the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with, go on adventures with and who I want by my side when life gets hard. Although we've only been married for 2 weeks now, there have been plenty of new and strange thoughts to process and I thought I'd share some of them with you, like the true blogger I am!

My Top 5 Comfort TV Shows.

We all know that someone that can binge watch a TV series or a film over and over and never seem to get bored of it. Well, I'm that person. Whenever I'm feeling sad or lonely I always turn to the screen for entertainment, a digital hug one might say. I have a few shows that I can watch on repeat and it always makes my day feel that little bit easier. If I'm away from home they give me comfort and reassurance, if I just need a huge cry to work something out of my system, then they'll be the go-to avenues to get the flood gates open with a mug of hot chocolate and work those emotions out. Netflix might just be my best friend...and I'm kinda okay with that.

We're Married!!!

As I'm sure some of you know, last weekend Nick and I finally tied the knot. We're officially husband and wife, yes that does feel weird to say and no, I don't think I'll get used to it anytime soon!



Everything they say about your wedding day going super fast is true, I can't believe it's been almost a week already, where the hell does time go? It's probably because ever since the morning after, flu hit me like a brick in the face and it's been a-bit of a daze since.

The ceremony venue was so lovely, all the flowers were hanging down and making this gorgeous little archway that framed us perfectly. All the windows let in so much light and it was all so pretty, I can't wait to see the photos!

Then the reception at The Chimney House in Sheffield was perfect, we trusted them completely with decorating the place and I honestly couldn't have imagined anything more perfect. I wouldn't have changed a thing. The food was incredible, we had pulled pork pie with mash and peas and it was probably one of the tastiest things I've ever eaten. Everything was candle lit and it made it so romantic and pretty. Doesn't it just look so dreamy?

We've been away for a couple of days to just relax and enjoy each others company until returning back to 'normal' life and it was so so lovely to spend some time alone. We rented a gorgeous little cottage near Bakewell so we went for nice pub lunches, little walks and relaxed watching copious amounts of TV and films.



I really want to write more about everything but until I've collected all my thoughts together for a post I just wanted to share a couple of my favourite images with you so far. I can't wait to get the images back from the photographers and share them with everyone!

It's been a wonderful and magical week and I can't wait to share some more of it with you.
I'm planning on going over the little details and bits that made it ours, like the shoes I wore, the perfume I chose and all the little bits and pieces that bring the whole day together.

I'm really looking forward to getting back into blogging now I have lots more free time!
Speak to you all soon,

Monday Babble.

After planning to do my monthly 'Sunday sit-down' post yesterday as a kind of round up and attempt to get back into blogging, I failed miserably. Instead I made brownies and spent the afternoon with my dad, which was so lovely and chilled and really what i've needed after a couple of weeks of feeling a bit shit.

If you've been following me on twitter recently, you'll have probably seen me talking about my mental health. I've never really struggled throughout my life with my mental health, but lately I've had so much going on that everything kind of got on top of me this past few weeks and i've been really struggling. I've felt like i've had someone sat on my chest, making it hard to breath and I almost work myself up until I feel like i'm going to have a panic attack. So this week I took the first step and booked myself in for a doctors appointment, just to talk to someone and figure out whats going on. This is probably the main reason for my lack of blogging recently, I just never felt like i had the time to blog when I have so much other stuff to do. I miss blogging hugely though and am constantly writing down blog post ideas in my notebook ready for my big return! But I do like doing these little posts to keep you in the loop and to know that I am still here, waiting to get back into it soon!

One of the main things I wanted to write a post about was my wedding, I've been trying to keep you guys updated with wedding posts but this past 2 months have whizzed by and I just haven't had the time to write something. So I'm planning on hopefully getting one of those out this week and letting you in on all the things going down!

As for everything else, I'm still chugging away behind the scenes for my Etsy shop, working on planning a Sheffield blogger event with The City Girls, and popping along to the odd blogging event when I have the time to venture out in the evenings. Lots of exciting things still going on which I'll be telling you about soon when I get a chance to write them up!

Then lastly, I'm pretty darn excited about the start of autumn. I know it's so cliche to be all about the autumn leaves and cold weather and hot chocolate but I honestly love autumn so much and I'm already excited about the dreaded 'c' word. Yep. I'm excited about CHRISTMAS..

So expect to see plenty of autumn themed posts coming your way soon! As I know I wont be able to control my excitement. I've already got the fairy lights up around my fireplace in the living room to make the evenings all cosy!

I hope to be seeing you much more frequently around here soon.

Get Date Night Box Review

When I saw the twitter handle for the @GetDateNight I was intrigued, I'm always on the look out for new things to do on date night and so this obviously appealed to me. When I saw that they tailor make a box for you and your partner with a surprise date night in it, I was immediately all aboard that train. Due to Nick and I getting married in less than 6 weeks (EEEK) we're pretty strapped for cash at the minute and anything new or fun to do together that isn't too expensive appeals to us massively right now, so I was over the moon when they wanted to do a collaboration!

We patiently waited a couple of days for our box to arrive and when it did we were really impressed with the box alone! It's black with the logo on the front and it looks really sophisticated and 'grown up'. Obviously I tore open the box sharpish to find out what was inside ours! We were first greeted with a sweet little note that said Tarnya and Nick on it, which is a lovely little touch and then we rummaged around inside to found out that ours was chocolate based. CHOCOLATE, PEOPLE! I'm a massive chocoholic and I was so redic happy that our box was based around chocolate.

In our box we had 4 different things to do. First of which was a taste test. We had a box of chocolates wrapped in different colours, there were two of each and a little score card. The test is to both try them and try and guess the flavours correctly. This was fun and all the chocolates tasted amazing! It was really funny to tell the difference between Nick and I's tastes. Nick is massive chilli head, so his taste buds are clearly half dead because he couldn't pick up any of the subtle flavours like I could. He couldn't even taste the chilli flavoured one! After checking out the score sheet we both failed pretty miserably with only 2 out of the 6, but we were pretty close on the others but couldn't quite pin point exactly what the flavours were.





The next thing in the box were 2 'hot chocolate spoons'. I've seen these were quite popular last year and never picked any up, so we were quite excited to try them. We both made ourselves one to snuggle up and watch TV together. I have to say I was a little disappointed, they took absolutely ages to melt into hot milk and we clearly used too much milk because it tasted only half of chocolate, but this wasn't the box's fault at all, I just wish there were clearer instructions on how much milk to use with the spoons was all!



Next up was a little box of dark, milk and white chocolate, I have to be honest and say that Nick and I just snacked on these really and ate them all in one sitting, hah! They tasted amazing though and were a nice 'pick me up' treat when we were both knackered from work one night.

Then lastly there was a bag of white chocolate buttons and a small bottle of champagne. We were instructed to melt the white chocolate and coat a wine glass with it so that you can "lick the chocolate and then taste the champagne" as it apparently changes the flavour of it. Now this sounded pretty cool but also, pretty impractical for us. We didn't have anything to melt down the chocolate with, never mind coat the glass, let it cool and then drink the champagne. So what we actually did was one Sunday afternoon, sit and eat the entire bag of buttons whilst drinking the champagne, close enough right? ha ha! I honestly don't really like champagne so this didn't really appeal to me anyway, but I was pretty happy with eating god knows how many calories in white chocolate!

I have to say with this box I wasn't hugely impressed, I love chocolate and I liked the little game to play, but there could have been something more to it, maybe another game or something to make it more interesting rather than just a weekend treat of eating chocolate together. That said I am still interested in getting another box to see what else they come up with! This is totally not sponsored but I am thinking about taking advantage of the 50% off the first box off when you sign up, just so I can have a second go at this. If that box isn't impressive then I wouldn't go back for a third but I honestly think the concept is quite cool and unique. If you are a couple that want to do something fun and new to spice up a date night then maybe this is the thing for you!

What are your thoughts? I'd love to know in the comments!

Ways In Which I Want To Improve Sweet Allure.

This post is something I've had in the pipeline for a little while but I felt with my last post, My Blogging Journey, it was only fitting that I followed on with this post about the things I'd like to improve on my blog.



First of all I'd like to go over a couple of things I'm really proud of around here and that is my content. I try really really hard to come up with original content for my blog, I like to stand out from the crowd and offer something a little bit different from the 'norm'. If I write a beauty review I always try to take a different twist on it, like with my 'to highlight or not to highlight' post and it's something I'm really proud of. Although this does mean from time to time content is delayed, as I'd rather wait and put out something I'm happy with, rather than churning it out for the sake of it, I do think when you come here you can find something a little different.

However the main downfall and probably my big weakness around here is my photography. I love photography but I just don't have the best equipment available to me at the moment to really give my blog that extra oomph. I am actively working on this behind the scenes, I'm squirrelling away money so that come the black Friday sales, I can buy myself a proper camera, some lenses and some blogging lights. This means I'll have everything I need to experiment and hopefully take my blog up a notch, plus it also means I'll have to go shopping for loads of blogging accessories, and this makes me very excited! A prime example is the photo on this blog post, why is it so blue!? Ugh.

The next concern I have with my blog at the minute is my schedule, I've blabbed on about it constantly but since starting my Etsy Shop I've been so crazy busy that I've had no real spare time to work on my blog, but this is something I'm really working on and I'm determined to get back to a 3 posts a week schedule. I didn't realise how much I missed writing until I made a return this past week or two and I'm excited to really get back into it. I've got plenty of things to talk about over the next few weeks, although do be warned, the week or two coming up to my wedding will be pretty sporadic on my blog, but that's pretty understandable!

Then lastly, I want to make much more of an effort to interact with people. I do try to reply to everything I get on twitter but I've been pretty useless at replying to blog comments. I ran a poll recently and a lot of people said they check back or expect a reply to blog comments, which I was quite surprised by, but it is something I've thought about since and will try to improve on. I find it hard to know when a blog comment needs a response? I'm sure I don't feel alone in this and I'd rather be honest with you guys, so this is me saying I will make more of an effort on that front!

I guess now I've told you guys about all of this I kind of have to stick to it? Balls.

My Blogging Journey.

When I read my friend Holly's post about why she started blogging, it really inspired me to talk about the reasons I started blogging, as I'm not really sure I've shared that here on my blog before.

About 2 years ago, I'd been in my job just over a year. Although the premise of video-game testing sounds like the best job in the world, but like with any job, it gets pretty repetitive and mundane after awhile and I started to feel really sad and uninspired.

I started trying to find ways to fulfil that need outside of work and I landed on going to the gym. I enjoyed the gym and it kicked started me losing the weight I wanted to lose, which was awesome. However I had started a little fitness blog along side my gym sessions, talking about how I felt, what work outs I was doing, how much weight I'd lost etc etc to help keep track of everything and I just found myself really enjoying writing it and reading other peoples journeys.

After the gym sessions fizzled out, not because I got bored as such but because I'd lost the weight I actually wanted to lose and felt quite happy with myself, but obviously my fitness blog kind of fizzle out with it and I started to slip back into being really bored and sad outside of work.

I ummed and ahhhed for quite awhile about starting a proper blog, I had no idea what to talk about, what to name it, how to go about being a 'blogger', until one day I took the plunge and SweetAllure happened. It started out for awhile being a beauty blog for people who was just getting into makeup AKA, me. I hadn't been into skincare or beauty for long and thought it'd be an interesting place to learn and grow, but after awhile I realised writing about one thing forever wasn't for me, I had so many other interests in life so why would I limit myself to one topic?

I slowly started introducing lifestyle and fashion posts and I just felt so much happier. It was keeping me occupied outside of work, thinking about topics and content, trying to take a none blurry photo and discovering the magical world of Twitter. I think becoming obsessed with Twitter and finding this HUGE community of bloggers was the turning point for me, before it was just a hobby but something changed and it became this huge drive and passion.

Talking to random people all over the world about everything to do with blogging was amazing and that was before I discovered 'Twitter Chats'. I remember just sitting on my sofa all weekend joining in chat after chat and talking to so many people about so many different things, it was just so new and interesting! I still do this when I get time and still love talking to new people about random stuff, it's the main reason I'm obsessed with Twitter.

After a few months I managed to somehow end up being invited along to a blogger meet up, where I met some people I still talk to now! It was so terrifying and bizarre but it was also pretty fucking awesome too. Before I knew it I was popping along to events and meets up all the time, meeting new people and making some amazing friends along the way.

I honestly could never have imagined the world that has been opened up to me from blogging. I've met so many amazing people in a city that I was so lonely in, I had no friends, no social life and writing about stuff on the internet changed that, how mental is that?!

I get invited to so many awesome places in Sheffield to try new menus or drink menus, check out awesome new venues that have opened up or try new products, it still blows my mind.

Even more recently, it's opened up another avenue for me with my artwork. I've always been creative, for as long as I can remember. Art was always my best subject in school, I'd sketch and paint or knit and cross stitch in my spare time. When I decided to share that artwork with you lovely lot, it just exploded. I really cannot explain how insane this last month or two has been on that front (and still is!). But I just don't know where I would be without all of this, writing, painting, events, meeting and talking to people, I'd still be sat being so sad and lonely crying to Nick that I just wanted some friends to talk to. But hey, guess what? those people are you. Every single last person that has spoken to me in real life, on twitter, in a blog post comment, it was every single one of you that lifted me out of a really sad hole that I thought I would never get out of.

So I want to say thank you. Thank you for being so fucking awesome, every single day. I hope I can always continue to carry on this wonderful journey with all of you as I change and grow as a blog and as a person! The support of the community has always been so amazing and I honestly wouldn't change it for the world.

I would genuinely love to hear your blogging story/journey, so please feel free comment below or tweet me a link to your blog post! (@sweet_allure)!

Advertisers Of The Month: September 2016.

Some of you might not know this but I've recently started providing ad space on my blog. I have and still do buy ad spaces on other peoples blogs whenever possible, it really is a great way to get your blog seen by new audiences and build relationships with other bloggers! I do think it's such a lovely way to support the bloggers you love too!

My first ever little advertiser is the lovely Kenzie. Now I want you to show him some big love, he's a new blogger around the block and we all know how hard it is to get started around here, so please give him a follow and check out his pages! It helps that he's super friendly and lovely too! 

Kenzieestyles.com is a fashion, beauty & Lifestyle blog set up in August 2016 it aims to provide mainly men's fashion, but will be mixed and also mainly produced based due to the fact I am obsessed with hair care products and deodorants.

Kenzieestyles has hopes of becoming a top male grooming/fashion blog, well I hope so anyhow. 

You can find Kenzie on all of his social media links below! 

Blog

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

Facebook

Bloglovin

Next up is my lovely friend Jessica! I've been speaking to Jess for awhile on twitter and she's so friendly and sweet! I love her blog, it's a mixture of health and fitness, beauty and home ware! So please head over and check her out, especially if you'd love to learn how to make a banging vegi chilli!

My name is Jessica, I am 28 and living in South Wales.

I started this blog as a way to share my thoughts & interests with like minded people - Focusing on beauty, fitness, fashion  & every day life.

You can find Jessica on all of her social media links below!

Blog

Twitter

Instagram

If anyone is interested in an advertising space for this or next month, please visit my advertising page or drop me an email at sweetalluree@gmail.com and we can discuss something!

The Riverside Sunday Roast Menu.

For anyone that knows me, a huge Sunday roast dinner with loads of veg and gravy is pretty much my favourite meal, I think I could happily eat it every single day. Although I'm not officially a real northerner, I think I secretly count as one because of my love for gravy and Yorkshire puddings, although between me and you, I suck at making them, I blame the oven!

So when I got invited to The Riverside to try out their new roast menu, I couldn't type back 'yes' quick enough. Nick and I drive past this place on our commute to work every single day and we always say we should go one day and of course that never quite happens, so it was nice to actually have a reason to properly go in and have a look at the place.

It's right next to the river, bet you could have already guessed that, huh? So it's got a really nice little scenic view and it has a pretty sizeable beer garden, which is always pretty full whenever we drive past on the way home! It's pretty sizeable inside too but when we arrived we were taken upstairs to a new function room, which is where all your Sunday roast dreams will come true.

After we'd sat down and settled we had a look at the menu, both Nick and I opted for beef, however I was a little disappointed that their was no chicken or turkey option, as I would have much preferred that. I did initially think that £10 for a roast was a little pricey but then when all the food started coming out it did seem like you got a lot of food for your money.

I really enjoyed the mixture of vegetables too, it wasn't your stereotypical roast potatoes and carrots, there was kale, broad beans and green beans along with roasted butternut squash, which I absolutely loved. Sometimes I really enjoy the veg on a roast more than anything else and I have to say I think this was true for this occasion. The Yorkshire puddings were also huge, they basically took up my entire plate, not that I was complaining!

The only thing I didn't like about the meal was the meat, like I said before I would have preferred to have chicken or turkey and the beef that Nick and I had ordered was a little tough and quite fatty, I honestly barely touched mine but I was pretty happy with the meal on the whole. Hopefully they'll have ironed out these little things before the launch early September!

I did like how they tried to be a bit different with the vegetables, I really like it when you get a cool little twist on a classic meal. They also do cover vegan and vegetarian options too for those that don't like meat, my friend Aimee had the nut roast and she said it was lovely!

Whats your favourite thing about sunday roasts? I honestly would love to know, I think a little blob of mint sauce really perfects it for me!

Meanwhile at Sweet Allure.

As you can probably tell by the absolute shambles that has been my schedule recently, you'll have noticed that I've not been on my best form regarding my blog! Ever since starting my art journal and the heart melting response I got from you lot, I decided to set up an Etsy Shop to sell my artwork as prints. It's been 2 weeks since that decision and it's been an absolute whirlwind since then.



Firstly, I've been blown away by the support and encouragement from my readers and my friends. It's been a 1000 times more successful than I ever thought it would be and because of this I've been pouring every bit of spare brain power and energy into getting that kick started and running. Not to mention just thoroughly enjoying being creative in a more visual form with my art. I love writing don't get me wrong but sometimes you just want to paint or draw! It also helps that I can sit and do painting whilst watching TV downstairs, whereas for writing I have a PC up in my office and it's no fun to hang around in there!

So this is basically just a post to let you know that I am aware of what is going on with the lack of content on my blog, it's something that has very much been on my mind and I wanted to let you know that full blogging schedule will resume shortly. I already have a bunch of post ideas lined up to talk about over the next few weeks, so once I've dusted off the keyboard and settled back into it, my 3 times a week schedule will be back in full force!

I have lots of exciting things happening in August to tell you about, from my hen do, the GirlGang Event and then my birthday, there is plenty of things going on in the background that I am very excited about, August really is the best month, except for maybe December...Christmas, duh!

I'm always hanging around on Twitter if you want to see what I'm up to! But thank you for your patience and I'll speak to you real soon,

My Bedroom Makeover Wishlist 2016.

We've been in our house for over a year now and slowely but surely we are going around the rooms and making things how we want them, it's taking longer than I thought, but with a wedding to plan it's currently sitting on the back burner. That doesn't mean however that I haven't got lots of ideas whizzing around my head for exactly how I want things to look and next on the list of things to finish is the bedroom. It's current just a white shell, with almost no personality in it whatsoever, however this does mean we have a great canvas to work on. So here are the thoughts and ideas I have planned for the main bedroom.

Entertainment of the Month July 2016.

I haven't actually watched as much TV as I normally would do this past month, I've been really putting a lot of time and effort into my blog, but I have to say what I have seen this past month has been probably some of the best entertainment I've seen so far this year. I have 3 things that immediately spring to mind for this post, so those will be the three I'll be focusing on today!

Stranger Things 2016.

The first of which is Stranger Things, a new Netflix original series that has been getting a lot of attention recently and deservedly so. I'm a lover of all things horror and creepy and when I saw the mini trailer pop up I was really intrigued. This series is about as close to perfection as you can probably get. Set in the 80's, a kid goes missing on his way home from staying at a friends and as they try to find him, a mystery unravels about the town they are in and strange things entail! The first thing I'd like to point out is how perfectly retro this is, everything about it screams the 80's, from the Stephen King-esque intro sequence, to the set designs and costumes, its honestly one of the most well crafted TV shows I've seen in a very long time. It also helps that the story and characters are well rounded enough to keep you glued to the screen wanting to know more, including a brilliant performance from Winona Ryder. No spoilers but I really hope this go onto a second series, because the ending was certainly set up with room for another season! I have never recommended a TV show as much as I have this one, so please give it a watch if you can!


The Fault In Our Stars 2014

I probably picked the wrong time to watch this, but I'd noticed this had gone up on Netflix recently and Nick was away on his stag do, so I decided to finally watch it. Big mistake. But not because this film is bad, but because this film is so beautifully sad that I cried for about 3 hours straight. This film is about two cancer patients who meet at a support group and fall hopelessly for each other. It has highs and lows, love, laughter, pain and suffering and complete and utter cryinginaballonyoursofa heartbreak, but I don't think I'll ever forget about this film. It's not very often you watch a film that really gets you so deep you continue to cry for about an hour after it's finished, but I'm so so happy I watched this film and I highly recommend you do too, maybe just bring a box of tissues, some chocolate and a blanket...you'll need it.


Mad Max: Fury Road 2015

I have never really heard much or seen much regarding the Mad Max series but I recently won a competition on Twitter and this came in the DVD bundle I received. Nick and I watched this on a Sunday afternoon with no expectations and I have to say I was really really impressed. As for the story, I was lost for most of it, for a good chunk at the beginning I had no idea what was going on, however the concept of the film is something I've never seen before. The attention to detail regarding the bizarre and clever things they do with the cars is unlike anything I'd seen before. I think I was completely wowed over during the desert thunderstorm scene, as it was so visually impressive. I heard there is another being filmed in this series and I'm very eager to watch it when it comes out. This one really did surprise me, but in a good way for a change, so that's nice!


Hopefully August will be jam packed with exciting new things to talk about, as I  plan on watching Finding Dory, Ghostbusters and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (by my favourites, The Lonely Island).

As always let me know what you think of the 3 things I've been loving and please feel free to send your viewing suggestions my way, I love any type of recommendations!

 

5 Things I Miss About Living In London.

I've not spoke much about my university days here on my blog, but for those that don't know I went to university in London and by London I mean Kingston Upon Thames, which is probably one of the most pretentiously named places I can think of. Kingston nested in the lovely commuter belt of south west London, with it's lovely riverside location, shopping and 15 minute fast trains into Waterloo it was the perfect place to be close to the centre but far enough out to enjoy it.

I absolutely loved it and on reflection didn't utilise the things on offer as much as I should have. So I thought I'd write a little post about the things I really miss about living in LDN town.

A Polaroid I took of the London Eye. 

1. There is always stuff to do for free.

Living where I did it was surrounded by amazing places to visit. Quite locally we had Hampton Court and it's beautiful grounds. Not to mention the Thames itself to walk up and down of at your leisure, but I was only a bus ride away from amazing places like Richmond, Richmond Park and Kew Bridge. Then of course you had the big smoke itself a train ride away with its endless museums and galleries, the south bank and countless landmarks. I really miss buying a travel card and heading into central with my friends and just exploring.


2. Shopping, all the shopping!

And with all the money you've saved from doing free activities, you can easily flutter it away with all of the amazing places to shop. Although I did love a good Oxford street visit every now and then, it was absolutely mental at all times or days, so you have to be in the mood. Although my favourite place in the world to visit is Liberty. Full of beautiful things at every glance, I honestly think it's my happy place. I'd spend hours looking through clothes, jewellery, fabrics, flowers, basically everything until I convinced myself I couldn't leave without buying something. I haven't been in forever and this makes me so very sad.


3. The variety of restaurants.

If you are a foodie, then there is nothing better than being in LDN. If you can think of something you want to eat, you can pretty much find it. Although some of the more popular places have you waiting around, there are always lots of hidden gems. One of my all time places to go for tea and cake was Drink.Shop.Do near Kings Cross Station. I discovered it randomly one day and went back countless time on date nights with my then b/f, meeting up with friends or just to chill by myself before catching the train. I highly recommend you stop by if you are in the area! LDN is covered in little gems like this and it's so much fun trying to find them!


4. The sense of freedom.

Being my first home away from home, I always feel really free and grown up when I visit LDN. I always feel this sense of confidence when I'm navigating the tube system like a pro and stomping around with the commuters at 6:30am (yes I was one of those drones for awhile too). But I guess I always felt a little like an impostor as I'm a northern girl through and through, but there is always something so exciting and thrilling about being in a bustling big city with unlimited possibilities.



5. Last, but not least, living close to my friends.

Since moving up north, the one thing I miss desperately is living close to my friends. By some strange happenstance my best friend moved down to the big smoke during my 3rd year of uni, so I got to see her all the time. Now I barely see her from month to month because travelling is expensive and we're both super busy. Most of my uni friends still live a stones throw away from our uni digs and it sucks not being able to see them as often as I would like. Booooooooooo.


Despite all of the lovely perks of living down south, there are also multiple other reasons I don't miss it, maybe I'll do a separate post on this some other time but the big one is money. I was renting a box room in a shitty area, I'm talking, fitted a bed and a chest of drawers and that's about it, for over £600 a month. Whereas up north I own a 4 bed house with a mortgage that is about the same price, it's just absolutely crazy trying to establish yourself as a young adult and living in LDN. My work eventually led me up here to Sheffield and I couldn't be happier but I do still enjoy a visit to LDN from time to time.

What things do you love about London? Do you have any secret little places you'd love to share?


 

The Old House: Summer 2016 Cocktail Menu

I've been to The Old House a couple of times for drinks and food and always really enjoyed it, the decor is lovely and the atmosphere is always really good, so when Nick and I was invited along to try out the new summer cocktail menu, I was intrigued to see what they had on offer!

When we arrived we had a browse of the new menu and straight away I noticed that they are music themed, alot of the names are music inspired which I thought was quite fun. Nick decided on a Disco Slushie 2000 which tasted exactly like skittles and really does look like a slushie, this was really good and I was glad we tried it because next time we find ourselves in there I will be trying it again! I decided to go for Only the Tobleronley which had so much stuff in it, but it was basically chocolatey, creamy, honey and coffee goodness. It didn't taste like a Toblerone like I imagined but it still tasted pretty good.

After we'd drank our first cocktails we were treated to a selection of food from the new summer menu, which I don't think is out yet, but it came out and so many people were looking round at our table, lets face it, the presentation was pretty impressive! I loved the slate cake tier, it looked really cool and made me think about buying one for home! tehe. There was everything from scotch eggs, quiche, pork pie, fish and chips and a little pot of pomegranate and mango salsa which was my absolute favourite, it was so fresh and tasty, I really need to eat more mango in salads!

Then to finish up we had another round of cocktails, of course! I went for a Passion Fruit Caipirinha which came with flaming passion fruit on top, which was pretty cool! This tasted so frikkin good, I love passion fruit and I love sweet things full stop so this was the perfect combo.

I was gutted we couldn't stay longer and try more of the cocktails but we were driving home so had to be good! I guess it means we'll just have to go back and try some more on a date night some time! I really thought all the cocktails were super tasty and the presentation was really good, they were all quite colourful and vibrant, which is exactly what you expect from a good cocktail.

The Old House is owned by the same people as The Forum, who put on a cocktail masterclass not long ago that I loved, we were invited to make a bunch of cocktails and learn a little more about the brewery, which was such a fun night! I really need to go back and try some more of the new menu, there was a chocolate orange one that has my name written all over it!

Note to self: drink more cocktails.

Have you tried the new menu? What's your favourite cocktail in general? I'd love to know in the comments so it gives me an excuse to go out try some more of your suggestions!

Creating A Positive Bedroom Environment*.

Hello ladies and gentlemen, you've probably come here because the title of this post says bedroom and I don't blame you, I would totally have clicked it too, having a nosy to see if sex is mentioned, well it's your lucky day! This post is quite a scary one for me to write but because of this reason I also think it's super important that I be brave and write about topics like this on my blog, because I want to be open and real on my little part of internet.

When I saw the campaign for bloggers to write about a positive bedroom environment I was initially put off and thought 'oh god what if my family or work colleagues read this?' but then I realised, this is exactly why I should be talking about this kind of thing, it needs to be something that can be talked about openly, free from judgement and negativity, so I put my name down. This post is basically going to be talking about my top tip for making a more comfortable and open bedroom environment possible and why I think it's important.

Sex. Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, have I said it enough in this post now to make it not weird yet? Good, so lets crack on.

Sex is completely normal, single, married, gay, straight, young or old, sex is a very normal and healthy part of life and relationships. It's certainly not like all the magical romantic scenes we see in the movies where it's raining and Ryan Gosling sweeps us off our feet and we make love in some gorgeous town house on some blankets, in fact sex can be kinda gross when you actually think about it. But what's important is that it's healthy to enjoy it and want to  have it.

It's all very normal to have problems in the bedroom, erectile dysfunction is very common, with a quarter of men under 40 suffering with it, so unlike what Rachel from Friends says, it is common, it can happen to any guy and it's not a big deal. Women can also suffer from problems just as often as men. It's very common and can be effected by so many things, from stress, anxiety, depression to medication, tiredness and alcohol, so many things effect our sexy time from time to time which is why it's so important to have an open mind in the bedroom.

My first tip is to talk about it. If you have a partner and you are worried or embarrassed about it, just talk about it, you shouldn't feel bad about something that you can't control. By talking to your partner, a friend, your parents, a doctor, it makes it so much easier to deal with. Being open about these things help get rid of the pressure around these topics, it helps your partner understand whats going on and talk through your worries or anxieties. I know when I'm having a problem, at work, in life or in the bedroom, talking to Nick about it makes me feel better, he's reassuring and understanding and it helps clear my head of all silly thoughts I was having, which hopefully means next time it'll be better knowing he understands.

It's also important to talk to a doctor if you are having persistent issues as there might be underlying problems that you need to have diagnosed but again a doctor is someone you should feel confident confiding in, they do not judge you, they just want to help. However you can buy sildenafil aka Viagra over the counter medicine for erectile dysfunction to help get things going in the trouser department if it's a one off occurrence. It might help you with the occasional problems and help gain some of you confidence back, but remember to always talk to a doctor if the problem persists.

This also goes without saying that if your partner/friend wants to talk about the problem with you then take time to listen, talking about personal topics can be scary and knowing they can talk openly about something that is embarrassing without judgement is really important. I am always here to listen to my friends problems and I would never judge them, it's so so important.

I just think it's really important we start talking about issues like this more openly and help to break down the stigma's we have around bedroom problems. It's very normal and more people might feel that way if it was talked about more often and not laughed at, even if it is one blog post at a time! 

If you take one thing from reading this post, just know that sex is awesome and by talking about and removing the stigmas and pressures around preforming in the bedroom, more people could be having great sex!



*This is in collaboration with Europharmacy, but all thoughts and opinions are always my own. I genuinely wanted to talk about these issues to help break down the stigmas around bedroom issues.