My simple New Year's Resolutions.

Seeing as 2014 is nearly at its end I thought it would be a good idea to do a quick blog post with new year's resolutions. 

I'm not really the type of person who sets new year's resolutions, mainly because I never tend to stick with them. However I thought it would be a nice idea to think of a few simple resolutions that will be easy to stick to this year. Heres a few of my ideas which will hopefully get completed throughout 2015, and feel free to add these simply resolutions to your lists! 

• Learn to shrug things off more, and care less about the negatives whilst focusing on the positives. There's lots of positive and great things going on in my life and it is important to remember this when I'm feeling stressed or down. I generally need to just worry less. 

• Eat more fruit and veg and importantly drink more water. It may also be a good idea to reduce my sugar and salt intake. I currently have two sugars in my tea, maybe it is time to reduce that to one sugar. 

• Try to do more Yoga/ Pilates, and generally try to exercise more. Including taking the stairs instead of lifts, jogging and swimming more. I need to find a form of exercise that I will love to do and not have it feel like a chore. 

• Cook and bake more, and try different/new foods. My dad loves my lemon meringue pie so I should definitely make this again in the new year. It would also be a lovely idea to cook for my parents and boyfriend more too. 

• Clear out the clutter and mess from my room, including getting rid of old clothes that I no longer wear or fit into. This will then allow me to buy new nice clothes! 

• Give more compliments, especially to the people that I love. Everyone loves getting compliments and in turn it makes you feel good about yourself too, so I think this resolution is a great one to stick by.  

• Travel more! To different places in the UK and abroad for holidays, I also plan to visit Leeds and my university friends more in the new year. 

I hope my simple new year's resolutions are useful ideas for everyone, and I hope that you all have amazing New Year's whatever you may end up doing, whether it's partying or staying tucked up in a warm home. But more importantly I hope you all have a wonderful year in 2015! 

2014: My year...

I am a firm believer that it is always a great idea to take the time to reflect upon your year, to see both the high and low points. I have got to say that generally my year has been full of happy and celebratory moments, but it has not been without its stressful and tearful moments either. Graduating from University has definitely been on of the most significant points of my year, and covers both the high and low aspects for sure.
  



Graduating from the University of Leeds with a 2:1 in Psychology. This year I graduated from university with a 2.1 which I am so proud of! At the time I was so stressed due to all the exams and deadlines, but now looking back I wouldn't change it for the world, in fact I wish I was still in Leeds living with my best friends and enjoying my freedom. Hopefully one day I will return to Leeds again as it really is a fantastic city and I miss it so very much. Also my friends and I have thankfully taken the time to stay in touch and visit one another, for example my friends are coming to stay with me for New Years and I can't wait! My advice for people currently living away from home or at university; enjoy it! It won't last forever! 

My year with my boyfriend. I am so happy in my relationship with my boyfriend, of course we sometimes can fall out and fight but I wouldn't change our relationship ever. He is  so perfect and always extremely good to me, and truly makes me so happy. Hopefully sometime next year or soon we will be able to move into our own little home together or go travelling. Heres to many more happy years! 






I started a PGCE. This September I started a PGCE, and so far this is proved to be a big challenge! Nobody realises just how much hard work a PGCE is or teaching either! Hopefully in the end it will be worth it and I will be glad I made this decision. In the end at least it will be another goal I will have accomplished and something else to be proud of. 



Many Happy memories. This year has been filled with many happy memories that I will always remember, I have met some wonderful people but have also lost contact with some not so wonderful people... I have developed closer relationships with some amazing people too. I have had many lovely moments and days, including several amazing holidays with the ones that I love. This year I am slowly getting better at forgetting the negatives and trying to focus on the positive aspects of my life. I am also learning to stress a little less, which is definitely a big issue for me. Hopefully I will continue to progress and develop into a more happy-go-lucky kind of person. 

The Christmas Tag!

1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s?

I have several! I love The Grinch (Jim Carrey always makes me laugh), Elf (Same with Will Ferrell), and of course The Nightmare Before Christmas! I am a huge Tim Burton fan so this is definitely a must watch at Christmas! 

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Christmas morning! 

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

I love all my memories that involve my old dog Molly, she truly was a fantastic dog and always got so involved at Christmas, she just loved to be with all the family. Whenever we gave her presents she was always so excited and really enjoyed ripping them open to get her toy. 

Also, as a child my brother and I always used to open our stockings together before my parents had woken up, sharing our presents and chocolates with each other, this will always stick in my memory as a great memory with my brother.   

4. Favourite festive food?

I love Christmas trifle (in fact I always love trifle), I also love Christmas cake and mince pies, and all things sweet! I actually love my brussel sprouts too on my Christmas dinner (I'm weird I know...). 

5. Favourite Christmas gift ?

This is a hard one I always forget what gifts I get, but I always get lovely gifts off my family and boyfriend. 

6. Favourite Christmas scent?

I love the smells of gingerbread, cinnamon, satsumas always remind me of Christmas (used to get satsumas in my Christmas stocking), and obviously the Christmas tree smell! 

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
I usually go to Church with my mother and neighbours for the Christmas Carol service. My parents and I also go round to our neighbours for food and drinks. My Christmas Eve usually involves last minute wrapping too! 
8. What tops your tree?
I still live at home, so my parents usually have a very old angel (that we've had for about 24 years) at the top of our tree. 

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?
A pony or a puppy! I have a gorgeous pooch now, but obviously I'd still love a cute little puppy (or a Pennie puppy!)
10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?
Being with my family, wearing Christmas jumpers, getting people presents and generally the whole of December!  

Kemples had this Christmas tag over on her blog and I thought it would be a great idea to do my own! 

What do you love about Christmas? 

Weekend wishlist!

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight

Now that the weather is getting so cold it would be lovely to have a new fluffy hoody to wear around the house, and this Nightmare before Christmas hoody looks ideal! I looooooove anything related to this film, it is definitely one of my all time favourite Christmas and Halloween films so this hoody would get worn lots! 

I'm also eager to try some new Yankee Candles smells, and the Honey Glow and Christmas Cookie candles sound like they would simply smell amazing! As their not too badly priced either they will definitely be worth trying. I'm currently still loving my Salted Caramel Yankee Candle, but I'm always wanting new candles! The Christmas Cookie candle sounds like it would be the perfect smell to fill your house with whilst writing out Christmas cards or wrapping presents! 

I'm due some new slippers, I have a tendency to lose them or at least one of them making the other one pointless... So some new cosy slippers would be a great idea, either them or some big fluffy socks! 

I don't really know why but I just love this simple cushion, and feel like it would look fantastic in my room. I used to have a slinky black cat and it still feels weird not having her around this house, so although this is only a cushion it would be a nice reminder of how wonderful my old cat truly was. 

I have had several people telling me to get this Lush product and it smells so good, so I suppose I really should go out and buy it and see what all the hype is about... 

Suede shoes are my all time favourite, I literally cannot resist them! These wedges look like they would be so comfy and will go with so many outfits! I may just have to find a slightly cheaper version though. I currently have some cream wedges from clarks like these ones and they are just so comfy, I can wear them all day! I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for some black versions. 

Last but not least on my weekend wishlist is this gorgeous bag from River Island. I tend to always go for black bags but this brown bag looks lovely and would look perfect with some Winter outfits. The bag is also very well priced! 

Reunion time!

Last weekend I went to Birmingham to see my university friends. It was such a lovely catch up and was a perfect little break. We only arrived late friday night so only got just over a day or so together to catch up. 

What I loved about the little reunion was the fact that it felt like we hadn't really been apart, it was just like what it was like when we lived together. Sadly I hadn't seen my two friends since we left University in June, as we have all been so busy and also we graduated on different days so we couldn't meet up then either. It did remind me how much I miss living in Leeds with them both though! 

On Saturday we went into Birmingham to go round the German Christmas markets and round the different shops. Unfortunately I didn't buy much whilst I was there, which was definitely not the plan, as I can't seem to really shop when its busy or when I'm with other people. The only things I did buy were my Christmas cards for everyone, a new phone case and then a gingerbread heart for my boyfriend. My lovely friend also treated us to the yummy chocolate covered strawberries, which is definitely a must at the German Markets! Think a trip to the Manchester German markets will be needed to buy more presents and treats! The Birmingham markets were fairly similar to the Manchester ones, with the similar kind of stalls as well as similar food and drink. I really wanted to have a good look through Forever 21 whilst I was in Birmingham as I can spend a fortune whilst in there, but as soon as I walked in the shop I noticed that the queue was basically out the door, definitely a no go... ha. We basically shopped all day, only stopping for a Nandos and lovely Costa hot chocolate so by 7 o'clock we were ready to go home. 

On Saturday night we got some bottles of wine and watched The Fault in our Stars, I've read the book so I told them both to prepare for the tears, and of course we did all end up crying at the film. Sunday morning my other friend and I had both booked early trains/coaches home so we would be back in time to spend the rest of our Sunday doing work ha. When I got back to Preston I managed to do a bit of Christmas shopping, I got my boyfriends mum her presents and also my brothers girlfriends presents. Actually fairly prepared this year for once! 

It was a great trip and was fantastic to see a couple of my favourite people again, definitely think a day trip to Birmingham is needed again soon! 

This is the larger version of the cookie I bought my boyfriend. Next time i may have to get him one this big considering how fast he ate the other smaller one! 

Yummy yummy chocolate strawberries! 

The famous jelly bean Birmingham Bull! 

A brief catch up!

Bonfire Night.

Hey, so I've not been posting much lately sadly. I realise I am only a fairly new blogger on here but life has been so extremely hectic lately! I finished my undergraduate degree at university last July and have since gone on to start a PGCE teaching Secondary Science, which really is a massive hand full! I'm basically constantly doing work for university or planning lessons/ marking etc. So please excuse my lack of posts lately! 

Heres just a quick catch up on whats going on in my busy life at the moment...


I am teaching Science at a school in Blackpool and go to university once a week. I am still working as a safety steward at PNE FC when I can. I still go on lots of walks with my beautiful pooch Pennie and go to see my friends as often as I can. If I'm honest I havent really bought many beauty products lately as I've just been too busy to even really go look around shops! 

Heres my boyfriend and I at a Bonfire night last week enjoying the huge bonfire and firework display. 

Introducing Clown Pennie... This was on halloween.  

The other week on a long walk with my favourites I managed to find a leaf big enough to cover my face! 

Vampire and Invisible Man on Halloween. 

Show Girl Pennie again on Halloween... she loved dressing up really! (well she put up with it...) 

Pumpkin! 

For some reason it keeps making my eyes look scary on this photo, but thought I had to share it! I bought this wig for £1 from pound land! I actually look like a younger version of my aunt with this wig on too! I didn't end up wearing the wig out on a night out because I figured I'd just get too hot in it. 

So heres just a snippet of my life at the moment and I'll try to keep updating! 

K 

Lush Blogger Event!

Last Sunday myself and a few other bloggers attended a private blogger event at Lush Preston, the weather was horrible and miserable so unfortunately only a few of us could attend the event which was such a shame because of how fantastic the event actually was! Laura organised the event for us with Lush, and the amazing staff at Lush Preston really made the event great! 

The staff at Lush Preston supplied drinks and snacks for us and were really lovely, and they told us everything we needed to know about products and which products they love and would recommend. First we looked round the shop and got a load of free samples of all the different products we have always wanted to try, for example I got a free sample of D'fluff, Gold fun, various hand creams and some tooth tabs. I actually got that many free samples and also bought some of the products that my room currently smells like the Lush shop! I have only tried my sample of D'fluff so far this week and I've got to admit it smells so lovely and immediately leaves your skin feeling so smooth and soft, definitely a must have for shaving! 

We were then able to create our own Cinders bath bombs with some guidance from the staff, in fact they allowed us to make several of them! I am again yet to try my bath bomb but I'm sure it will be lovely and even a good gift to give to others.  

The event was a perfect chance to really get to know some of the Lush products, and I definitely came away from the event with a list of products I wanted to buy and try. The Christmas gift sets in Lush are also the perfect idea for gifts and I think I will be returning to treat some people this Christmas. 

It was such a lovely event, and the staff were amazing as always so a big thanks again for the event and for running such a great event! 

Hopefully another event will be hosted again at Lush Preston in the near future! 

So many lovely gift ideas for Christmas! 

Snowman Fun! Definitely a must have stocking filler or a perfect gift! 

A Perfect Walk With My Favourites.

I've had such a hectic and busy week so I haven't really had much spare time, especially not really any spare time to do some blogging sadly. However, this afternoon I made sure I got to go on a lovely long walk with my cocker spaniel and boyfriend to clear my head and get some well needed fresh air. Even though the weather was horrible and it was throwing it down all afternoon we still had a lovely walk through some woods. We went a walk round one of my favourite spots in the North West, Roddlesworth Reservoir. 

I have previously blogged about this walk and how amazing it is, which can be found here. I really cannot recommend this walk enough, I've shown some of our close friends and they now love it too! It is a fantastic place to walk with your dog or simply to go for a nice walk and a picnic. The walk can either last an hour or 4 hours its up to you how long you want to be out walking for! But today due to the horrid weather we only walked round for a couple of hours.

We park up next to a pub called Hare & Hounds on Bolton Road in Abbey Village, which is  (super) dog friendly and always provides excellent service, and the staff are always very welcoming and the pub has a cosy feel to it. We have only had some snacks from there but we are always happy with the food when we go in. Also I think its wonderful when pubs allow dogs into them, as it really makes you feel so welcome, and we are definitely more likely to go in. I really don't understand why more pubs don't do it! 

I really love just walking round woods with my cocker spaniel and boyfriend, and I love feeling like I am far away from civilisation and in the middle of nowhere. This walk is perfect for that! I also love that this walk is never too busy so you aren't constantly watching out for other people and other dogs. Like I said, I cannot recommend this walk enough. We walked round one of the reservoirs and through the woods and then went to the pub! Perfect Friday. 

Pennie enjoying the pub!