red.

As it's 2017 soon (about an hour and a half away where I am) I of course have to repaint my nails and start the year with a new colour.

I asked my mum what colour she thought I should go into 2017 with and she said a positive colour. I added it should be powerful and passionate to represent giving 2017 our all to make it good after 2016. So we both immediately agreed on red, it just seemed like the perfect colour to enter the new year with.

So I've decided to make the colour of 2017 red. To me, it just perfectly sums up what I want to be in 2017. People are saying we should be hopeful for this year and whilst I agree that we need to be positive and have hope, we also need to take action and make 2017 amazing.

I hope 2017 is gentle and kind to you to make it just that bit easier on you. Now, let's do this. Let's give 2017 our all. Bring it the fuck on.

Goodbye

:)

Also note to self: don't write blog posts this late at night listening to EXO. You're too distracted and tired to make a proper coherent point.

summer holidays : a reflection

At the start of the summer holidays I wrote this post about how I really didn't want to waste this summer and listed some things I wanted to do throughout my time off. So I'm going to reflect on that post and write about what I did end up doing!

• Relax and watch some TV - I definitely did this one. I didn't actually watch quite as many shows as I was expecting but it was still a fair amount.

• Tidy my room. Like REALLY tidy it. - Oh hey look I actually did this one! I can't say my brother was too pleased about me forcing him to move his boxes out of my room but I'm certainly happy with the outcome. Having floor space is really nice 10/10 would recommend.

• Write more blog posts. - 31 blog posts in August. I think I can safely say I did this one and I am so happy that I did.

• Write more fanfiction. - I unfortunately did not do this one. I do miss the community though.

• Buy some more plants. - I can happily say that I am one miniature cactus and one succulent better off now! I did also get rid of an old plant that was completely dead when I cleared out my room. House plants are so great. Although I think I may have accidentally got a bit overenthusiastic with my current ones and waterlogged them. Fingers crossed that they pull through!

• Listen to more music. - I think I did this. Maybe not to the extent I was thinking when I first wrote the blog post but I did listen to more stuff from artists that I already knew I enjoyed; not quite so much listening to new artists but I did kinda do this one.

• Learn stuff! - Whilst I never got around to watching those Crash Course series I did learn how to knit! I've really been enjoying knitting although I do need to do it again as I haven't for a little while. Whoops! I have also been researching more stuff about cruelty free brands and the supplements I need being the fussy vegetarian I am.

• Volunteer!!! - That's another one I can check off! I volunteered twice a week at a charity shop throughout July and August and whilst it wasn't always the most interesting of things and there was someone there I wasn't a massive fan of, I'm still glad I got that experience and also helped charity at the same time. I'd definitely recommend doing some volunteering if you can! After volunteering in one, I have realised that charity shops really do need all the help they can get. I want to write a whole blog post about this so this is all I'll say for now.

• Play some more Animal Crossing New Leaf - I never got around to playing ACNL exactly but I did finally start Pokemon Alpha Sapphire so I guess that's something?

So I think I can conclude that I did get off my lazy ass and did some of the things I wanted to! And I'm glad I did. It's nice to reflect on that summer and think of the things I did, the times I went out with my family and friends, my volunteering and of course all the amazing TV shows I watched and not just sadly think about the fact that I did nothing.

As well as that, I actually got my life organised and did all my school work that I was supposed to, started making lists and just basically got my life in order which, trust me when I say, this has made school 3000x easier and it's only been a week. I want to buy some folders and things too tomorrow which will also hopefully help some more but honestly it's so amazing to feel organised and productive and it wasn't easy for me to start so I'm sure you can do it too!

That was my summer holiday! Feel free to tell me all about yours if you like! I have come to the conclusion that if I act like I'm just talking to myself in these posts then nobody will ever interact with me so please do feel free to tell me about it, even if you think it's the most boring thing ever.

Goodbye

:)

august favourites!

HAPPY SEPTEMBER EVERYONE!!!

I am SO excited for autumn! And very happy that summer is ending and it's finally cooling down a bit. I'm already wearing thick tights, dresses and cardigans and you can't stop me! I normally go by astronomical seasons meaning autumn begins for me on September 22nd this year but meteorological seasons say autumn has already begun so might as well make the most of it.

September has come very quickly this year and I'm kind of scared that it's coming up rapidly towards the end of 2016 but I'm just going to try and enjoy the build up to October when it really gets autumn-y.

I haven't really done a proper monthly favourites post in ages and I want to try and make them an actual monthly thing as they're some of my favourite youtube videos and they're lots of fun to write as I enjoy rambling about things I like.

ALSO I went over 900 pageviews??? That is crazy I seriously still don't really believe people read my posts.

TV

Skins - My brother convinced me to watch this with him because he loves it and now I love it. It's essentially a drama about kids during their 2 years doing A-Levels so every 2 seasons new characters are introduced. It's a really interesting layout but we're only on season 2 so I don't really know if I like it or not! It's also quite a strange show at points and most episodes I find myself thinking "what on earth" at least once.
My favourite characters are (of course) Sid and Cassie and I also adore Chris, Maxxie and Posh Kenneth is just brilliant. And I love Peter Capaldi, Danny Dyer and Shane Richie so I loved them all in it! I thought what they did with Danny Dyer was hilarious as he's normally a "big, hard man" so having him in the role he was in was too funny to me.

Bojack Horseman - I am a broken girl after watching this show. I'd already seen the last episode of season 3 when my brother had it on but it hit me just as hard this time. I was just covered in goosebumps.
It's a strange show and I'm not sure how to describe the premise but it's basically an anthropomorphic horse actor who was on a big show in the 90s is now struggling to get back on his feet. I'm still baffled by how incredible it was and its ability to go from hilarious to leaving me on the verge of tears in just a few minutes. For example, season 2 episode 8 is pure hilarity but season 2 episode 10 just hits you.
I love all the characters so much, they're each unique, hilarious and brilliant in their own ways.
It deals with some really difficult and hard topics whilst still leaving you laughing your head off and I couldn't recommend it highly enough.
I'm already watching it again with my mum this time as she wanted to watch it and I still love it just as much!

Films

Zootopia/Zootropolis - I don't watch films a whole lot but I still can't get over how amazing this film was. It's about a rabbit called Judy Hopps who becomes the first rabbit police officer and has to prove herself but holy crap it's so good! My mum doesn't normally like animated films but even she adored it.
I'm not even sure what to say about it apart from: go and watch it please! I don't want to set your expectations too high but I did love it and would 100% recommend it, it's quickly become one of my favourite Disney films.
I've wanted a tsum tsum for so long and I finally got one and it was Bellwether and I love it SO MUCH.
This is kind of a spoiler so if you haven't seen it maybe don't read this but I LOVED the scene with the sloths in the DMV it was so hilarious and I was laughing my head off.

Finding Dory - I wrote a whole blog post on this so I won't go into it too much but I thought they did a great job with this sequel and to sum it up it felt nostalgic of the first film but it still felt new and like its own film and I really did love it.

Paranorman - this was on E4 or something the other day and since I've been meaning to watch it for a while I decided to and I was not disappointed. There were a few times where I got a bit distracted but overall I just enjoyed it a lot. If you're like me and love films like Coraline I don't really doubt that you'll love this film too. It's funny and clever and entertaining and definitely got me into a Halloween mood too early and I just loved it.

Music

Hunky Dory by David Bowie - I don't really know how to talk about music but this one's definitely a good album. I'm a big fan of David Bowie's slightly strange sound so I loved this. And I'd have to say my favourite songs are probably of course Life on Mars?, Kooks and Oh! You Pretty Things.

Folie a Deux by Fall Out Boy - Have you seen that Tumblr post that says "true love is the album you played on repeat for a month"? Well that was Folie a Deux. I don't think I've ever played an album so much in a short space of time ever in my entire life and even especially asked for this particular CD for my birthday (as I normally just write a massive list and my mum will just buy some things from it). I don't think I could choose a definitive favourite song but currently I'm loving She's My Winona, Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet and 20 Dollar Nose Bleed (thanks for the really long song names, Fall Out Boy).

YouTubers

Mimei Land - I love Mimei and her other channel too but I've just especially just been loving her more vloggy videos recently. They're so pretty and interesting and beautifully edited and I couldn't recommend them highly enough. They're also really nice and relaxing to watch and put me in such a good mood.

ITheMasterOfDooMI - If you've seen Akidearest's Q&A videos then you may recognise Doom's amazing voice. He basically just makes hilarious short lil' gaming videos and has a very nice voice so if you like funny gaming videos commentated by a person with a nice voice then subscribe to Doom! (Or Cryaotic y'know I'm not your mother although I do love Cry a lot too)

simply_kenna - I'm pretty sure she popped up in my recommended and the pretty thumbnail drew me in. Her videos are so beautiful and aesthetic-y and if you love autumn then I have little doubt you won't enjoy her channel. She's so relaxing to watch and I would be lying if I said I haven't been binge watching her videos throughout August.

Other

Rookie - Rookie is an online magazine that writes about a whole load of stuff including loads of things about growing up with advice and things like that. I always forget about the existence of Rookie but every few months will come back to it and binge read it like there's no tomorrow. It just really helps with not feeling alone and is very nice to read.

Button - This is a strange one but for my birthday I got this Attack on Titan themed alpaca on amazon and it is so adorable. I named it "Button" and I love him so much I take him everywhere with me and he's just SO CUTE! I got a blue one but they don't seem to have the blue ones anymore? But the other colours look really nice too so it's cool. But you have no idea how tempted I am to buy them all in all the different colours they have because they're just my favourite things.

Barry M Showgirl Extra Lengthening Mascara - I've been wanting a new mascara for a while and this one is both cruelty free and affordable so of course I bought it! It just makes my lashes look really nice and I'm normally awful with mascara but I've been finding the wand on this one so easy to use. I just think it's amazing and for £4.99 I am very happy with this purchase.


And that's everything! Thank you for reading this blog post and I'll see you in the next one.

Goodbye :)

a BEDA reflection

As you probably know, throughout August I posted a blog post every single day (aside from my birthday but I posted 2 the day after to make up for that). It was a goal I set myself and I'm so happy that I managed to see it through!

There were days when I really just didn't want to write a blog post and those ones aren't very good but I still wrote something 31 times in August and I'm so proud of myself for that.

I'd been feeling uninspired for writing blog posts beforehand and just didn't really want to but on August 31st I was thinking to myself how much I was gonna miss writing every day! I know I won't be able to keep it up when school starts again in a few days so I'll quit when I'm ahead.

The aim of BEDA was to get me inspired to write more blog posts and bring my love for it back and it's definitely done that. I now find myself thinking "oooh that would make a great blog post!" at least once a day and I have some ideas for upcoming posts! I don't really have enough time to write all the posts I want to now! When I was away visiting my aunt I had to stop myself from writing blog posts as I was itching too but wanted to spend at least a few days away from it.

So yeah, I got a lot out of BEDA and I'm very happy I did it. I can look back on August and not just think "oh I did nothing" because I did something I enjoy every day (also I did some volunteering in a charity shop which I also want to write about). I'm also now close to 900 blog views which is crazy-I still hardly believe people actually read my posts? Are you real? Are people actually reading this? I also had hardly any blog posts up but now I'm proud that I have almost 50. Because I had so little before I felt stressed writing them and that they all had to be perfect and original and interesting but I'm more relaxed now.

I'm not as stressed about writing amazing blog posts with a solid idea and feel like I can post a lot more than previously where I wanted all my blog posts to be like my early ones. The thing is that's just not sustainable for me and there are so many more things I want to and can write about post-BEDA. As well as that I now how documentation of some amazing days I had in August and wrote some blog posts that I'd wanted to write for a while too!

Whilst I look at individual blog posts and can pick them apart or know that if it weren't BEDA I wouldn't have posted them, that doesn't really matter and I'm pleased with what I did.

Overall, I'm so happy I did BEDA and I would say to you to try and challenge yourself to do something every single day for a month. Maybe when you have holiday time or whatever but just setting yourself that goal could make you so much more motivated to do that thing and you'll be happier because you're doing something that you love!

Oh, and happy September everyone! I'm so hyped for it to be autumn - I've already got out the thick tights and dresses!

Goodbye

:)

my pets are competing

If you read my post on my cats then you'll know Tango has kidney problems and has had teeth problems and has basically cost us lots at the vets this year. As well as that, if you read my post on my rabbit then you'll know Maisie recently fell ill and also cost lots of money (I'm very happy to say she is much better now though). Well my other cat Rory has been perfect so far aside from his arthritis acting up a little bit once or twice and it seems he was upset he hadn't got any attention since he is now sleeping next to me with an infected cut and one of those cones on his head.

Yesterday whilst me, my mum and brother were out bowling for my birthday, my dad (who had to go to work) called us to say he was limping again. We thought it might be his arthritis and he would be better by the next day.

When we got home we found he was limping worse that he ever had before and seemed to be in a lot of pain. But since he can be a little bitch it was very hard to look at him to check what's up. We eventually found what looked like a cut on his biggest paw pad so today he went to the vets and they said that it looked infected.

There was a choice of either putting the cone collar thing on him to stop him licking it (because his rough tongue was making it worse) or bandaging it up but we expecting he'd get the bandage off and it's good to let the cut breathe. So he now has a cone around his head and he is not a happy bunny (or cat I suppose) and keeps trying to get it off (it's quite heartbreaking to watch but it's best for him). It looked like he was getting stressed so I put him on my bed to try and calm him and he seems much happier now which is very good. He even dozed off for a while!

So he has to go back to the vets on Monday and might have to have a little stitch in his paw if it doesn't heal itself. We also have to try and get medicine down him which is always fun (especially as he is a bugger and it look me, my mum and brother 10 minutes to get him in the pet carrier earlier). He has an injured paw and has been limping loads but when it came to then he had no problem running off!

So now all of the family pets have cost plenty of money this year at the vets! I'm sure Tango is still winning (seriously teeth surgery costs so fucking much. I guess it depends how many they have out but it was triple digits), she is a sickly cat (British blues are apparently known for that which we probably should have known before we got her but oh well she's worth it) but the other pets seem to be pretty determined to have loads spent on them too so who knows (please don't make us spend any more pets).

Me, my mum and brother were actually meant to be going to visit my aunt from today but we've had to postpone that until tomorrow! My dad's gonna have fun trying to get the medicine down Rory by himself until we get back(!)

Goodbye

:)

me at 16

(This was meant to go up yesterday on my actual birthday so I know I've kind of failed BEDA but I let myself off because it was my birthday and I'll try and put 2 posts up today!)

Fairly recently Savannah Brown did this video which was a small collection of things she is/enjoys today so I thought since I turned 16 yesterday I'd do something like that too so I can look back on it and see how much I change.

Favourite colour: Yellow

Pokemon GO team (important right now): Instinct

Pokemon GO level: 11

Favourite TV show: Community

Other TV shows I'm enjoying as of late: Gravity Falls, RuPaul's Drag Race, Bojack Horseman, Veep, Skins and the ones in this post

Anime/manga I'm enjoying: Attack on Titan, No Game No Life, Food Wars season 2 and the ones in this post also

Game I'm currently playing: (finally) Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

Current make-up I use: Barry M foundation*, concealer* and mascara*, Avon powder and Superdrug lipbalm* or Natural Collections bright red lipstick in shade "crimson" (trying to go cruelty free, the cruelty free products here are marked with *)

Current favourite clothing items: Any oversized top, jeans, a hoodie and high tops to sum it up but I especially love my David Bowie and Community Time tops.

Last film I watched: Zootopia (which I LOVED)

Bands/Artists I'm enjoying: Fall Out Boy, David Bowie, Panic! at the Disco, Muse, Paramore, EXO, BTS, HEIZE, Childish Gambino, Hayley Kiyoko, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Songs I'm enjoying: I tried to compile it into a Spotify playlist but there are so many more songs

Hobbies: I'm really lame so knitting, watching shows, listening to music and reading manga is all that comes to mind

Favourite food: This is so hard but I might have to say just plain cheese pizza and garlic bread. Also really loving pringles.

Relationship status (oooooooh): Single All I need is my pets

Favourite animals: Dragons, cats, rabbits, dinosaurs, pugs and so many more I love animals

Food eating status (I can't think of how to phrase this): Vegetarian

Favourite films: Zootopia, Mean Girls, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Howl's Moving Castle, The Incredibles, Bridge to Terabithia, Wreck-It-Ralph, Ratatouille, Whiplash, Big Hero 6, 21/22 Jump Street

Piercings/tattoos: No tattoos, only earlobe piercings but I really want a cartilage piercing

I might add more to this if I think of any but only soon after this as I want it to capture who I am right now.

Goodbye

:)

getting "old"

Tomorrow is my 16th birthday and since I've never been too great with growing up (I cried at midnight on  my 15th birthday) I'm kind of not excited.

But at the same time I am. Honestly I kind of love getting presents (and giving them but it's just nice to get things you've really wanted sometimes - I'm obviously extremely grateful for all of this) and we're going bowling and I adore bowling.

So yeah I am pretty excited but at the same time I'm just dreading growing up. The thought of having to go out and work almost every single day of my life in a job I possibly hate terrifies me and I don't know how so many adults do it every day. I also feel like I'm suddenly more responsible even though I'll still only be 16 which isn't very old (I can apparently pilot a para-glider though!). Also I'm not really looking forward to going back to school. I've been doing the summer work I got set for A-Levels and it's already stressing me out so I'm not sure how I'll deal with it for 2 years.

I just want to be young. I'd like to have the brain I have now as I like being able to learn and understand more things than I did when I was younger but I just want to be 5 and be able to run around with a bubble wand without people secretly judging me and I don't want to have to be scared about my future and what the fuck I'm gonna do.

I know people older than me are probably thinking "you have nothing to worry about" but that's not going to stop me worrying. I know I'll likely look back on this and think that I was just being silly but that doesn't make it any less scary. Because I am really scared.

So yeah, tomorrow I'm gonna smile and eat pancakes and pizza and enjoy bowling with my family and try and forget the fact that I'm just edging closer to working every day of my life until I inevitably die.

Goodbye

:)