What's on my Pandora bracelet?

Carrying on with the theme from my previous post, I thought it would be...interesting? if that's the right word, to show you what's on my Pandora bracelet.

Now one of the things I should actually tell you, is that I actually never wanted a Pandora bracelet. I thought they were far too expensive, and I could never ever see myself wearing one. I've always wanted a "proper" charm bracelet. I remember my Nan having one when I was little, like a proper gold one full of charms, but I've not seen it in a while so I think she might be storing it away! This is something that my partner openly knew, however one day he caught me browsing the rings on their website. Low and behold, the next day he produced this square box, which I instantly knew it's contents.

Upon opening the box, there it was, a beautifully perfect silver bracelet, with 4 charms on it. I sat there thinking wow, this instantly must have cost around £200!...and I wasn't wrong. Now I know previously I said I never actually wanted a Pandora bracelet but my god I instantly fell in love with this. It was the right size to fit my wrist and the charms my partner had picked out were gorgeous!

Moving forward two years, this bracelet is nearly full, and I mean I can literally fit about 2 more charms on there, 4 if they are small. I've had presents from family, my partner, as well as purchasing some for myself. So what does my bracelet actually look like?

This isn't the best picture in the world, but it's the best I can do. For some reason the lighting in my house is atrocious today! As you can see, the bracelet is quite full! It's also getting kinda heavy to wear. Since I've had this bracelet, it's certainly stretched due to the weight of the charms on there. 

I won't list charm by charm, but I totalled my bracelet to be worth around £400, give or take. Considering I didn't want one, that's not bad going haha! I'm not sure if I'd ever have another one, as I feel like a lot of thought has gone into this bracelet. Also, as stupid as this sounds, each charm has it's own personal meaning to me too. I feel like if I ever had a second bracelet, it'd just be an easy option for presents for people to get me, which isn't something I want. I know that sounds selfish, but the ones I have at the minute mean a lot to me. 

This is such a random post, I realise. But I fancied doing something different, I've been writing up the start of a series I'm going to be doing and needed a bit of a break from it! It'll be posted soon, possibly later today, so keep your eyes peeled! 

x

What's on my Nokia Lumia 930?

After nosing around YouTube and a couple of blogs (standard evening for me...) I've noticed that a lot of people are doing "What's on my" (iphone, windows phone) etc. I thought I'd do my little piece! 

I've had my Nokia Lumia 930 since November 2014 and I absolutely love it. I made the switch from Apple to Android to Windows over a couple of years. I was very skeptical at first as I'd heard a lot of negative reviews and about Windows phones and remember the very old version of Windows phones (and hating it...) but I thought I'd give one a go - they can't be that bad can they?! I mean, how much has technology advanced in the last couple of years? 

I'd done a lot of research on this phone before signing my life away to a phone contract, after much debate of "I'm never having a contract phone again" and "I want this phone" etc...I decided to get the Lumia 930 as I liked the way it felt, it's nice chunky phone which means I don't feel like I'm going to break it. It's got a bright, vivid screen and it's also a nice size too.

First thing I'd like to say, with the new Windows phones, I love the amount you can personalise them. I've got my phone perfectly synced with my laptop now so I can keep everything up to date! You can also choose to have large or small tiles, meaning I can have as many or as little apps on my homescreen as I like, but not having to worry as there's a whole other screen with a list of apps. (I hope that makes sense!) 

Okay so let's get into it - what's on my phone? 

I've got my 3 mains apps that I use on the first row - phone, people and messages. Normally when I unlock my phone screen, I check the time which is at the top right hand corner. It's perfect having these apps here as it's easily noticeable if I've had a missed call or a message come through. 

On the second row, I've got the calendar, Cortana and also Whatsapp. I don't really use the calendar app on my phone as I always have my filofax in my handbag. Cortana is brilliant, it's almost like a personal assistant who is also your best friend. Again, this is another app which you are able to personalise to suit your needs - Cortana remembers my work location and is always telling me the quickest route home to avoid traffic, I can store shopping lists, it can also remind me to get petrol when I go near a petrol station. I know a lot of people don't like this app but personally, I use it quite a lot. Whatsapp is another app I use a lot as I use it when I don't have signal (which is actually very frequent around where I live...) or if I want to send picture messages to someone. 

Third row -  I've got a couple more apps as I've resized them. I've got a small battery app (which I can set to power saver mode with 1 click) and a small store app. The largest tile is my Photo app, where I've chosen a static photo to have as a background (this was a rose that was in my parent's garden which was absolutely beautiful!). Next to this I've got my Instagram app and also my OneDrive app which is set to automatically back up all of my documents from my phone to my laptop. This is an absolutely life saver as I normally forget to do send documents to myself! 

Fourth row - Alarm app, settings app, Halifax app and also a group folder. This folder contains 4 different apps (media apps basically) which are as follows: video player, FM radio, Music player and also MixRadio which is absolutely amazing for the days I forget my ipod! Next to the group folder I have my Camera app and next to that is my Internet explorer. Yes, Internet Explorer...and it's actually alright on my phone! I use Microsoft Edge on my computer and the two again stay linked together which is also quite helpful for when I'm on the go and can't take my laptop with me. 

Fifth row - News app, Weather app and also my emails. 

The thing I love about my Windows phone is that I can personalise this homescreen to suit exactly what I need. You can make the apps smaller, larger, group folders etc. At the moment, this layout suits my needs perfectly. No doubt I'll change it again in the future, maybe even the colour scheme. 

If you would like to read in depth reviews about the Nokia Lumia 930, there's a whole bunch of articles out there showing different view points, pros and cons. I'm pretty certain that if this phone is still in perfect condition when my contract is up, I'll get a PAYG sim and use it afterwards. 

This is a bit of a random and mishmash post but I felt like Windows phones have a bit of a negative review at the moment, I just want to break the trend a little! 

♥

I changed my hair!

Guess who's back, back again? Philly's back, tell a friend! (If you want to...or not, it's cool.)
So! I've been umming and ahhing about changing my hair since...well, when haven't I wanted to change my hair as soon as I've already changed it?!
I've had a side fringe now for around..oh god, since I was about 13, so nearly 10 years! Throughout that time period I've had it short, thick, thin, grown out, you name it, my fringe has probably done it. I've always wanted a long, thick, full fringe for as long as I can remember, but I've got a really big cowslick right in the middle of my parting, meaning any sort of flat hairstyle just does. not. work. on my hair, hence the side fringe! I've tried it once before when my hair was shorter than my shoulders, which made my face look super chubby and it just didn't suit me.
Fast forward about 6 years and my hair is now halfway down my back (probably more if I measured it properly) and it's been several different colours throughout that time. I've finally settled on the thought that I'm going to be a redhead for life (hence taking the plunge for henna dye again, I'll do another post on that! besides, no amount of "ginger skin" can fool people!) but I also had a desire to change my fringe. I last had it cut in September 2014 and as you can imagine, it'd grown out horrifically since then! I basically had a long flop of hair, which in all honesty just looked really silly. It would never stay straight, it'd somehow get really greasy easily and it was just really, really f*ing annoying. Girls and guys, you know my hair problems are real.

You can sorta see the long flop here...sigh!

My sister was up from London for the weekend and I had the usual "you need at least 5 inches off your hair" discussion with my family - no, I don't by the way! -  she actually approached me asking if I wanted my fringe cut (she is in fact a fully qualified hairdresser - it's great having someone who cuts it how you want it!). Now seemed like a better time than ever to get that full fringe chopped in. So, I sat in the chair, closed my eyes and as she uttered the words "I'm not an expert in full fringes so bear with me" - I hoped for the best. It's only hair right? It'll grow back, I may own shares in bobby pins to clip it back whilst it grows again but hey, who cares.
Turns out, she cut it perfect and guess what, I absolutely love it.

I went to check it out in the mirror and instantly fell in love with my new thick full fringe! Now my hair is long, it suits my face SO much better, it looks great whether I wear my hair up or down.
If you're thinking of changing your hair and you're not quite sure whether to take the plunge or not, just do it. It's hair, it grows back! If you'd of said that to me years ago, I'd of been sat in my room crying, wishing my life away until my hair grew back. Sure, I've had my share of disasters (albeit AFTER I was a hair model for my sister whilst she was training, I thought I was the biz with that brown hair dye, which horribly turned black!) but honestly, it really does grow back or you can strip colour out and start again. You can pin a short fringe back or style it slightly differently.
It's not the end of the world, just rock that new hairstyle in your own way.

♥

32 Questions

Hi guys! 

I thought I'd come back and do a post today of some random questions I've plucked up, so here we go!

1) Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?

We don't have a wardrobe in our bedroom, morelike a build in wardrobe with voile curtains to cover it, so I don't really have a choice but to have them closed unless I want it looking all messy! 

2) Do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels?

No - I'm very particular with my hair care and I can't really say I stay in a lot of hotels! 

3) Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in our out?

Regardless of the time of the year, I always sleep with my feet out off the covers but I have to make sure my shoulders are covered. I know, I'm weird. This doesn't fare well with my partner as he cannot stay still when he's asleep! 

4) Have you ever stolen a street sign?

No! I am not a thief haha

5) Do you cut out coupons and then never use them?

No! I'm actually really good at using coupons if I ever get them. 

6) Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?

Attacked by a bear, bees are my biggest fear. 

7) Do you always smile for pictures?

I don't like other people taking my photo but I don't mind taking my own photo - maybe it's because I have control over how I look! I always find I look really awkward when other people take my photo regardless of if I smile or not! 

8) Do you ever count your steps when you walk?

No, I can't say that I do!

9) Have you ever peed in the woods?

I don't actually think I've had a tinkle in the woods...however I have done in a field haha!

10) Do you still watch cartoons?

If Family Guy or American Dad count then yes, if not then no!

11) Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?

Probably somewhere where no one would think it would be buried, so probably my hometown!

12) What do you drink with dinner?

Either water or squash, I don't really drink alcohol and I can't drink cows milk.

13) What do you dip a chicken nugget in?

Oh see this is a difficult one - if I cook them at home it's normally tomato sauce or if I buy them from McDonalds it's normally BBQ sauce.

14) What movies could you watch over and over and still love?

Shawshank Redemption, I never ever get bored of that film! 

15) Were you ever a Brownie?

Hell yeh I was! Although I didn't last long haha. 

16) Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?

No. I really am not confident enough to do that.

17) Can you change the oil in your car?

Yes! Well, I don't know if I could do it on my new car but my previous cars I've been able to.

18) Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?

Nope - I've been driving for 5 years and I've potentially sped on every journey I've been on and never been caught! 

19) Afraid of heights?

If I had a choice, I wouldn't be at any height which causes me to feel uncomfortable haha. I prefer my feet on firm ground!

20) Do you sing in the car?

Yeh, especially when I'm on my own I really go for it! However if I'm in the car with my partner he just tends to look at me like "Why."

21) Is Christmas stressful?

Eh, it depends. I'm normally on top of stuff when it comes to Christmas so I don't really let it get to me! 

22) Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?

I've always wanted to be a Midwife and still want to be, but I don't know if I have the patience or funds to actually support myself to get to that stage.

23) Do you believe in ghosts?

I actually do, I love anything supernatural.

24) The first concert you ever went to?

The Killers in Birmingham when Sam's Town came out - absolutely amazing concert. After that I went to see Bon Jovi, which still remains as the best day of my life ever, even to this day!

25) Asda, Tesco or Sainsburys?

None! I actually only shop at Lidl...I get my petrol from Sainsburys though.

26) Nike or Adidas?

That's a tough one because I don't really wear either of these clothing brands. Whichever is more affordable!

27) Can you curl your tongue?

No, I was born tongue tied and had it cut when I was 15, so I can do very little with my tongue!

28) Have you ever cried because you were so happy?

I cried when my Nephew was born, I really felt an overwhelming sense of love because I took my sister to most of her scans and clothes shopping when she was pregnant. I dunno, that little boy means the world to me and I'm definitely an over protective Aunty! 

29) The last concert you saw?

Bon Jovi - best. day. ever.

30) Can you swim well?

I haven't swam in that many years I genuinely would not be able to answer this honestly. I actually have a bit of a fear of swimming, I don't like the thought of drowning.

31) Can you knit or crochet?

I can crochet a lot lot lot better than I can knit!

32) Are you a dog person or a cat person?

Cat person. I always have been more of a cat person, I don't know why! 

I know this was a bit of a random post but I just fancied doing something a little different today. Till next time! 

♥

Getting back into crochet.

Crochet has been a huge love of mine for around 6 years now, but recently it's taken a bit of a back seat as I needed a bit of a break from it (all that crochet action caused some serious thumb ache!). As with many things, my obsession with Youtube has sparked my creative side and I really want to get back into crocheting again.

Honestly, I really want to make a shawl. Call me old, call me a granny, but whatever. I'll have a kickass handmade shawl, made by me. I'm forever trying to find a cardigan when I'm cold or even a hoodie but I thought this would be perfect because it could double up as a scarf in the cold winter months. 

I went to my local Hobbycraft to have a look around their wool section, as I frequently get updates saying they have offers on! I knew I wanted something darkish, something grey as this would  I also knew that I wanted to use Aran wool as it's normally quite soft. Low and behold, I stumbled across something that was actually perfect! 

The wool cost me £10.00 which I actually thing is a bargain - considering most cardigans cost around £10-15 and don't last that long with me anyway! It's so soft, it feels lovely. And it's just the right shade of grey. 

Also, can I just take a moment to talk about my crochet hooks? My sister bought me this case FULL of coloured crochet hooks from Vegas a couple of years ago and they are amazing. They're metal, but not too uncomfortable to work with. It also came with a really handy pair of folding scissors which I keep attached to the zip. I actually forgot to take a photo of the outside of this case but it's bright fuchsia pink! My favourite colour ever. 

The reason I want to get back into crochet is because I want something productive to do in the evenings. I'm sick of coming home from work (or not even working as of late...) and going straight onto my computer, spending several hours on my computer and then going to bed. I literally feel as if I'm wasting my evenings and having nothing to show for it. 

I'm going to make this my weekly project and will do updates on this to keep you all posted - lets see how long this takes me!


EDIT: I actually finished this 5 days after starting it! Here's the finished project:

♥

Me and my skin.

This post has been inspired by a video I stumbled across on Youtube by My Pale Skin (link to video) and it really got me thinking about the journey I've been on with my skin. 

My skin is something I've always had a love-hate relationship with. One day it'll be smooth, matte and look amazing, the next I can be an utter grease ball and have flaky skin. I've always felt self conscious of my skin as I'm quite freckly on my arms and face and have been on a never ending battle to find a foundation which covers the freckles on my face. 

After looking through some old photos not so long ago, I realised how different my skin is now to when I was a teenager. I stumbled across a photo of myself I took when I was around 17, now to look at this you'd think okay..your skin isn't that bad, but trust me, under that foundation I was hiding a multitude of marks. When I look back at this photo, I realise how self conscious I was as a teenager, and how much this has effected me right up until this day. And I now realise how much it shouldn't have done. 

Throughout my teenage years, I went from pillar to post with my acne. One day I'd feel confident enough to go out without foundation on as my skin had cleared a little more, other days I would sit and re-do my foundation 2-3 times before I even left the house because I didn't think it looked right. I frequently wore long sleeved tops to cover my arms or wore 3/4 sleeves because I hated how my freckles looked, despite people telling me that they're nothing to be ashamed of and that actually they're a sign of "beauty". I also remember at one point, I wanted to give up because nothing I used or wore made me feel any better.

Fast forward 5 years and I'm now in my early 20's (22 to be exact!) and it's a completely different story. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not fully there yet. I still have the odd breakout, my skin is still very much so going through phases of being greasy, dry, freckly, spotty. I also have a lot more red pigmentation in my skin now then I did back then. But I now know how to manage it better. It's amazing after 5 years how much different I feel. I go out a lot more often without makeup on now, and if anything my freckles are more noticeable now than they were back then. My face no longer bothers me, if I get a spot I think hey, it'll go, it might leave a scar but I now know how to tackle it, should I need to. 

Another thing I've always worried about throughout my teenage years and into my 20's is stretch marks. The skin on the rest of my body is very very fair, so any little mark stands out like a sore thumb. I've always had stretch marks on the sides of my boobs and the very tops of my thighs, but I've always worried about getting stretch marks on any other part of my body. My stomach mainly, as I've always been extremely self conscious of this area and if anything, I've done everything in my power to stop getting stretch marks and it's worked.

However, all of this changed when I had my appendix out last August. 

This is the first photo I've taken of my stomach since last year (apart from the day after I had my appendix out to show my sister my scars) and it honestly makes me feel so sad looking at this. 

Before anyone asks, I haven't lost a substantial amount of weight, nor have I put it on. This all started appearing around 2 months after having my appendix out. I don't have any words to describe what it feels like for me to look at this photo, and to post it on the internet. I remember showing someone these because I didn't know what products to use to make them fade and the words uttered out of their mouth have stayed with me since. "You look as if you've had a baby, or you might as well have done with those". 

To me, this has knocked me back so much. As I said previously, I'm really not bothered by my face any more but this? This gets me down every single day and I don't know what to do about it. They're deep, they're red, they're itchy and they're sore. I hated my stomach to begin with and this just tops it off really. 

I know stretch marks fade with time and a lot of you might be thinking "well how many people actually see your stomach..." but that's not the point. I know they're there and I don't know when they'll go. 

Having my appendix out has really left a mental scar for me, one that I'd rather forget. These stretch marks are a daily reminder for me of what I went through, how scared I was and how helpless I felt. The doctors told me that I'd only have a tiny scar on my stomach, which is actually slap bang in the middle of that huge stretch mark on the left side of my stomach. Now I'm left with these. Yes it upsets me and in fact it's upset me writing this post, but I need to get to grips with having them and learn how to love them, because they're here to stay. 

This post is to just remind myself that although I may not have the perfect skin, I just need to be a little bit more grateful for the skin that I do have. 

Do you have any skin imperfections, if so what are they and how do you deal with them?

♥

MeLuna menstrual cup review.

I thought I'd do something a little different for this post. If you have been reading my blog for a few months, you'll remember that I created a post about different types of menstrual products available, other than regular towels and tampons. (Click here to read)

Let me start off my saying if periods or period products freak you out, you might just want to go ahead and click that back button. I'm going to get right into the nitty gritty of this stuff! 

After becoming more aware of the products available in the "RUMP" market, I decided hey, what the hell, lets give them a go. I purchased my first ever cloth pad and menstrual cup from Feminine Wear (link) and couldn't wait to receive my package. It arrived around 3 days after ordering, which is extremely fast service and the lady who sent my package was an absolute delight to speak to. 

I ordered a small MeLuna and also a pantyliner pad as I never really tend to have heavy periods (if anything they're always like spotting!) and low and behold, my period started literally the day after receiving the products - talk about timing! I was so excited (I don't know if that's the right word..) to try these products out, so firstly, I had a good read through all of the information I'd received with my menstrual cup. (I'll do a separate post on the pad, as I also plan on getting more!)

Im not sure if you can read the information on the leaflet, but these are actually really helpful to have at hand if needs be. The first foldout leaflet is basically giving you information on why cups are beneficial, how to insert and remove your cup, different types of folds and also how to clean and maintain after using. Also, the bright yellow sticker is Feminine Wear's contact details, but the website is already bookmarked for future purchases!

The second little card that I received is a period calendar, something I've never really thought about doing before if I'm being honest! The front side of the card has a couple of illustrations on different folds, the back being the calendar. 

So, what does this cup look like, you may be asking? 

Yes, this is my actual menstrual cup. That's been inside me (...oh.) with menstrual blood inside it. As you can see...it hasn't stained at all, which is something I was really worried about (hence getting purple, darker colour means less staining right?!).

The first thing I want to say is the first time you try these out, don't be discouraged if it doesn't open fully the first time or it doesn't feel right, it took me a couple of attempts to get the rim to open fully and to sit right. However when I did, it felt like nothing was there at all. Luckily, I'd managed to get it to fit right without any leakages for my first period, which is something I was really happy about.

 Now let's compare how I feel using this, with how I felt using tampons. I've used tampons on and off since I was about 17 and have always found them to be so uncomfortable in a number of ways. They always leave me feeling a little "dry" down there once I've taken them out, something I've never really gotten used to over time. Also, I'm constantly aware that I have a tampon in, the string dangling down and also the feeling of the tampon inside of me. Now before you even say "well it probably wasn't in right then"...they have been, I've been using them for years so I think I know how to put a tampon in! However, my first period using my menstrual cup was the most comfortable I've ever had, purely for the fact I knew I didn't have to worry about changing/emptying this as often as I would do with a tampon. 

The one thing that did worry me is the capacity - I've never really been able to judge just how much menstrual fluid I lose. I know it's not something you really think about, but I've always been curious to see. This little thing didn't feel like it'd be enough (even for spotting!) but my god - was I wrong. I'd say the first and second days are the heaviest of my "period" - I use that term lightly as I said previously, they only tend to be like heavy spotting not actual period flow - but when I came to change this after a full day at work, I had barely even filled the cup. You could argue that it wasn't a heavy day, you could argue that I could have started then stopped my period but when I have bad cramping, I know it'll be a heavy period (which I had at the start of this!). 

I'm not going to pretend like this doesn't come without it's flaws  - it's very weird to get used to at first and yes, it does take a bit of practice inserting, and removing for that matter. Loosening the suction in order to remove the cup is one of the strangest sensations I've ever experienced, as was removing the cup and disposing of my "fluid". Actually no, disposing wasn't that bad as you literally tip it down the toilet, there's no trying to fit it back in packaging or wrapping it up in toilet paper like there is with a tampon! However, I do feel like if you were out and about, doing this in public toilets could be a little more difficult, unless you either use a disabled toilet (if you have access) with a sink in it, or you have a bottle of water to rinse the cup out with before reinserting. I have read that you can wipe it over with toilet paper but I'm really not keen on that in case it leaves fibres on the cup!

My honest opinion? I actually really like this. I never thought I'd say it. It's definitely something I'm going to continue to use, as this is the most comfortable period I've ever had. I'm not even saying that either, my cramps seem to had settled a lot quicker and my period (for what I can see) seemed a little lighter, but that could be down to the fact I didn't have to change or empty my cup that often as you can leave them in for longer unlike tampons. 

If you're thinking of giving them a go, there's plenty of range out there to suit all budgets. I'm going to have a look into getting a slightly larger cup as I feel like this is only suitable for me if I'm having a light day, I wouldn't be able to use it if I had a full blown period. Don't be put off if things go wrong the first time, it's all about learning to get it in right and putting your mind at ease. Although these are quite different and definitely have created a divided opinion, they surely are something to keep in mind if you want to explore different options whilst on your period. 

♥