Thoughts | 2016 Bucket List

Hello one and all and welcome to the end of the grand old year that has been 2015! I hope you have an ever so lovely start to the brand new year and I do hope 2016 is kind to every single one of you. 

Regular readers will already be aware that I am in the process of completing a 101 in 1001 challenge and - whilst I can assure you that this is still a work in process, I thought it would be a good idea to choose a number of those goals for completion of the next year. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that I will indeed manage to complete even more of the noted tasks and trials than I have scheduled for this particular year, but for now I feel like this is a good goal. And any excuse for another good tick list hey?
 

1. See more of the UK

2. Spend a Weekend Away with Friends

3. Go to Clothes Show Live

4. See a Comedy Show

5. Visit The Warner Brothers Studio Tour

6. Watch Les Miserables in the West End

7. Attend a Blogging Event

8. Go on the Jack the Ripper Walking Tour

9. Read all of the books on my To-Read in 2016 List

10. Complete more Pinterest-inspired DIY Projects

11. Watch 50 new films

12. Refurbish a Car Boot Sale Find

13. Try Zumba

14. Take Vitamins Religiously

15. Complete a Juice Cleanse

16. Do the Race for Life

17. Pass my A-Levels

18. Learn to Drive

19. Complete a Wreck This Journal

20. Have A Harry Potter Movie Marathon

 

 What are you hoping to achieve in the grand old year that is 2016?

Books | To Read in 2016

It's completely fair to say that my 'To Read in 2015' challenge failed with a capital F and a cherry on the top. I aspired to read a collection of 60 titles, predominantly from the Young Adult genre, but actually managed a grand total of 5 of the books from that specified selection. Of course I did manage to get my nose into a fair few more books over the course of the year, but in regards to my specifically chosen list I did absolutely appallingly. I'm the kind of person to walk into a charity shop or a book shop and come out with an arm full of new books to add to my already out of control to-read pile, so I simply didn't get round to ordering these specific titles.

 

So I've decided to get myself the challenge again. To make it ever so slightly easier I'm going to cut the total number of titles down to 52; that's one book a week for the entirety of twenty-sixteen. A fair few of the 55 books that were carelessly abandoned during last years challenge will be making a reappearance alongside a handful of new beauties that have caught my eye in recent months.

I aim to review as many of these little beauties as possible as and when I get my nose in them when the new year comes round. If any of these titles particularly takes your fancy, let me know and I'll make sure that it makes the cut.

Have you planned your reading list for the new year?

Lifestyle | Five Happy Things #1

In an attempt to encourage a more positive outlook on life, I've decided to start my own little Five Happy Things Project, to share with you, every so often, what things are keeping my spirits up as of late. And what better time to start than when festive cheer is rife?

Here's what has made me happy recently:

1. Catching Up With A Good Book
For me the winter months are when my inner bookworm truly comes out to play and I've been thoroughly enjoying getting my nose into more titles. I've had a rather extensive list of books I aimed to get my hands on over the past year but sadly this list has had to be pushed forward to 2016 as I've been well and truly lacking in reading time recently (ever so slightly off topic but you will be able to have a peek at my "To Read in 2016" list at some point in the coming weeks; keep your eyes peeled). I made my first library trip of the past few months earlier in the week and picked up a range of books that I've been obsessing over so far, so expect a review or two in the not so distant future.

2. Surprise Texts
It's always nice when someone takes time out of their day to send you a little text to let you know they're thinking about you. Recently I was lucky enough to have a lovely individual send me an impromptu message just to check how I was following a rather tough day and it really made me smile knowing that someone cared enough to ask, particularly someone who I wouldn't expect to.

3. Pyjamas
I'm a little embarrassed to admit just how much time I have spent in my pyjamas this past week. Primark do some wonderful little bedtime beauties; enough said.

4. The Michalak Family Vlogs
Oh how I do love this little family. Their weekly vlogs are normally the highlight of my Sunday evenings (they make the perfect partner to a warm mug of hot chocolate following a long shift at work) and now I'm really rather loving watching their Vlogmas videos. I really struggle to understand how they do not have a billion and one more subscribers; their videos are the definition of perfection (although I do have to admit that watching their adorable son Grayson grow up is making me ever so slightly broody - but let's just keep that between us).

If you have never been blessed with the viewing of one of their vlogs, you can find them here. Enjoy.

5. Movie Nights
When it's rather freezing outside there truly is nothing better than watching a good film on Netflix (particularly something festive at this time of year; Love Actually I'm looking at you) whilst all snuggled up in bed with a pair of cosy pyjamas and a hot chocolate in hand.

And to spread some joy I thought it would be a lovely idea to share with you a handful of the posts by fellow bloggers that have taken my liking recently:

1. "My 2015 in Theatre" by Ellie at Little Ellie Mae

2. "Why It's Okay To Unfollow" by Megan at Lazy Thoughts

3. "2016 Travel Bucket List" by Hannah at Hannah Heartss

4. "How To Survive Christmas Without Getting Stressed" by Asia at Asia Jade

5. "Inspirational Living: Random Acts of Kindness" by Della at Della Loves Nutella

 

What has made you happy recently?

Blogmas | Festive Teen Bloggers Meet Up

After opening the thirteenth door of my advent calender, I hopped on a train down to London for a festive teen bloggers shindig. There really is nothing I love more than catching up with the blogging girlies for a natter, a shop and a bite to eat, so the meet up was the perfect way to wrap up the year in style.

Although our numbers decreased on the day due to that pesky winter cough and cold stealing all the bloggers away, I couldn't have asked for a lovelier bunch of girls to spend the day with. It was a lovely blend of old chums and new faces, but soon enough we were all chatting like we'd known each other forever.

The festive celebrations began at 12:30 when we met at Starbucks in Covent Garden. Our plan was to sit down and have a nice cuppa (or a hot chocolate in the case of us non tea drinkers) and a natter but we didn't really factor in just how busy London can get, so it was virtually impossible to find enough chairs to cater for us all, so we ended up starting our shopping earlier. After spending far too much time and money in the likes of Boots, The Body Shop and MAC, we headed on over to our lunch location Zizzi's.

Zizzi's is one of my favourite restaurants to go to for a bite to eat, and there really is something for everybody on the menu. I had the lasagna and shared a side with one or two of the girls, followed by a 'Chocolate Melt' dessert which was simply heavenly. During our lunch we played a festive game of pass the parcel of sorts, and took part in a secret santa  box swap. I recieved a lovely selection of bits and pieces from Asia, all of which I will be featuring on here at some point.

After the meal, Tori, Becca and I had a mooch around some of the other shops Covent Garden has on offer, admiring (and photographing) all the stunning festive window displays on the way. Expect a post in the not so distant future dedicated to just how beautiful London is at Christmas.

I was oh so lucky to be able to work with a selection of lovely beauty brands to put together a festive goodie bag for each attendee. It was my little christmas gift to them, as they all deserve a special something for working so hard on their blogs this year (of course, all of the other bloggers in the land deserve something too but I don't have the magical present-delivering powers Santa has, so I was only able to treat those who were there on the day). I'm going to be dedicating a post to the goodie bags (with a full review of each product coming in due course) so keep your eyes peeled over the next few days.

I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to attend the meet up. It was lovely to see you all, and I really hope I'll be able to see you very soon.

Attendees:

Tori

Bea

Becca

Asia

Merraf

Chloe

Lauren

What christmas adventures have you been having?

P.S: I'm considering hosting a third teen bloggers meet up sometime around easter (late march/early april) time, so if you'd be interested in attending, let me know so I can have an idea of how many people would be up for it. x

December | Festive Pins Of Interest

My oh my, hasn't it been a fair while since I've done a Pins of Interest post? Despite the halt in posts, I can assure you there has been no halt in my pinterest activities. Pinterest is still my one true love in the app world and I can easily spend hours on end scrolling through my feed and repinning anything and everything that takes my fancy. Today I thought I'd take the opportunity to give you a little glimpse into some of the things that have caught my eye over the last month whilst I've been pinning away.

Recently I've been pinning a lot of lovely and festive images, to help me get into the Christmas spirit and to provide me with a bit of inspiration for snaps to take over the season. This year more than ever I've been loving a good festive wrapping picture, as I truly do love taking the time and effort to get everything all wrapped up and looking lovely. I've also been a massive fan of Christmassy home pins that can provide me with a little bit of inspiration for getting my bedroom ready for the festive season.

Are you a fellow pinterest geek? Make sure to leave me your details so I can have a nosey.