'Goodbye 2012..' | Resolutions & Plans for 2013

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

♥

 

I'm a day late wishing you all this, but I was hardly up to the task of blogging yesterday - my bed was all I needed. Being ill and having a hangover isn't a very healthy combination and I just thank the world that I'm not yet a member of the full time working world and have this day to stay in bed still and can recover fully! I welcomed the new year in by celebrating in Liverpool with my friends and had one of the best nights in a really long time. It was made extra special by the fact that my boyfriend was also in Liverpool with his friends and we were coincidentally in the same place when the clock struck midnight so I managed to get a new years kiss for the first time in 3 years!

 

So, we wave good bye to the year of 2012 - one of the best years that our country has had for a very long time, full of celebrations and reasons to be proud. A great year for sport, the Royal Family, and our country. 2012 was dominated by our hosting of the olympic games and our amazing success within the games, earning ourselves a total 65 medals, 29 of these being gold and finishing third in the medals table. Think Mo Farah, the Brownlee brothers, Ellie Simmonds, David Weir, Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray, Chris Hoy, Tom Daley, Bradley Wiggins, do you need me to say more?? Don't forget the Queen and James Bond jumping from the sky, and the Spice Girls performing at the closing ceremony. More celebrations during the Queen's Jubilee and of course it needs to be mentioned that Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their pregnancy this year too! Aw Royal Baby on the way! It's undeniable that all of this happiness and these celebrations brought us all together with 'pride' as a uniting factor.

 

image source: telegraph.co.uk

 

In beauty terms, 2012 was the year that everybody wanted Bioderma, Revlon Lip Butters, the Naked Palette, Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, Origins skin care and Moroccan Oil! What will 2013 bring for us all? I have no idea, except that I know for sure I'll be picking up a few of the Rimmel Apocalips as soon as they are released at the end of January - they're set to be a huge hit.

 

2012 was the year that I started my blog, and although I've only properly been doing it for 5 months now I can't really imagine not having a little space to write my thoughts and rambles on anymore! I absolutely love it and I am also really grateful for all of the support and love that I have received over the past few months too. I reached the 500 follower milestone on new years eve which was an absolutely brilliant way for my blog to end it's first year and it made me so happy! Thank you to everybody that follows. I've also come across some really amazing people this year, through blogging, and it's restored my faith that not all girls are nasty bitches! How come girls who blog are so much nicer than normal girls? Everybody is just so kind and supportive of each other, encouraging and praising things that other bloggers do and it's a really great thing to see and be a part of.

 

On a personal level, I would say that 2012 hasn't been that special for me and there has been no stand out events of excitement, which is a shame but it did have a lot to live up with 2011 being such a good year. 2011 was the year that most of my friends turned 18 so there was lots of parties and celebrations with the novelty of 'going out' still being relatively fresh, and for the most part we were still in Sixth Form with no worries or stresses, we had our amazing girls holiday to Kavos, and first year of university began in September. So, when 2012 is compared to a year as eventful as that of course it seems a lot more tame and kind of dull! Most of my friends have settled down now with long term boyfriends and full time jobs so we're just not the party animals that we used to be ..20 going on 70! I'd still say 2012 was good for me though, because although nothing stood out as making it amazing, there was also nothing negative that stands out either. I've had no major troubles, problems or hard times this year which makes me incredibly lucky and for the most part I've been extremely happy with life.

 

What more is there to need when you have health, love, happiness and a roof over your head?

 

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2013: It's compulsary to start all new years with a positive outlook and a brand new burst of motivation to make little changes to your life and make it the best that it can possibly be, and also to make yourself the best person that you can possibly be. I started to change my outlook on life towards the end of November and stopped saying 'no' to so many things and just tried to take more advantage of opportunities that come my way. I plan on keeping up this attitude to be a little bit more adventurous and just to 'do more'.

imagesource: weheartit

While browsing weheartit.com for motivational and inspirational images relevant to this post, I came across an adorable idea of having a jar at the beginning on the year and filling it with notes of the amazing things that have happened over 2013 and then emptying it out on new years eve to remind yourself of what's gone on throughout the year and all of the little moments of happiness that may have slipped your memory - I bet there'll be more than you think. I really want to do this, and I think I am going to find an empty jar as soon as I've posted this, but I just hope I don't fail on it by about March.

 

I'm not making any huge resolutions or long term plans as I'm more than content with how myself, and how my life is right now. I hope to continue smiling every day and be surrounded by my wonderful family, friends and boyfriend, stay positive and appreciate the little things in life. ♥

 

image source: weheartit

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Christmas 2012 & Gifts

 

Hello!

I hope you've all had a really wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the overload of festivity over the past couple of days - I know I have! I have definitely consumed enough alcohol, chocolate, turkey and pigs in blankets to be able to last me until Christmas 2013. I've been carrying a little food baby around with me all day today and had a total of 4 outfit changes last night in order to find something that hid my super bloated tummy! Damn all those Christmas puddings and fruit ciders.

 

I've been totally in two minds about the 'What I Got For Christmas' posts and was originally really keen to write one up myself . I have read every single one that I've seen so far and had a huge nosy on Instagram on Christmas afternoon of all the uploaded opened present pictures; I just find them really interesting to look at! But when I heard people saying it's bragging and nothing more than showing off how spoilt you are and that put me right off doing one! I don't want to be a braggy show off :( I doubt anybody intends it that way at all, and that's not the way I see it either, it's just any other haul post really isn't it? But little old me worries about judgement from others (even though I shouldn't) and thought that maybe instead I should just not mention anything at all and individually review each of the beauty items over time. In the end I settled on a compromise and I've just combined a quick Christmas recap and a really brief mention of the presents because most are beauty related and girly but I'll still be doing full reviews of all of them so keep your eyes peeled because there'll be exciting stuff coming up in future posts!

 

Christmas was a little different for our family this year and I was apprehensive in the run up to it all, fearing that as we weren't sticking to our usual traditions that it wouldn't feel like Christmas at all - but all my worrying was for nothing and Christmas Day and all of the surrounding days were just as lovely as usual! Christmas Eve was spent cosy infront of the fire watching The Grinch and Prince Caspian and eating chinese takeaway after I had pampered myself to the absolute extreme, before lying in bed for hours and hours being too excited to sleep (seriously, how old?!) and it felt like I'd only had my eyes closed for a second before my sister came bounding in dragging me up to open our presents at quarter past 7! After all presents had been opened and 'thank you's had been exchanged then the preparation for Christmas dinner began and this year we were hosting the family dinner at our house - it is usually at my grandparent's house and they have 14 of us round for dinner but they just didn't feel up to the stress of it this year!

 

It's rubbish quality but here's a picture of my mum's idea of funny.. dressing the four of us in matching Christmas jumpers from Primark! I kept mine on all day but nobody else did :(

 

..And my mum clearly gets her sense of humour from her own mother because here is the family Christmas present from our Gran.. make of it what you will!

 

I don't want to ramble on too much about my Christmas Day but after our yummy three course meal we wound down with cups of tea and plenty of family laughs and a couple more present exchanges and a dip in the hot tub! My boyfriend and my sister's boyfriend both came around in the evening and we had a buffet style tea and then even more present exchanges! Followed by more stuffing our faces with sweets and cider before lying in bed watching The Dark Knight Rises feeling 3 stone heavier!! Boxing Day.. same again! Huuge family meal but this time followed by a girls night out in town and I really enjoyed myself - today is recovery day though.

 

My 'main present' from my parents was a laptop that I got early because my old one died a slow and painful death back in October, and mostly from my relatives I received money and cheques which I've used for just one treat in the sales and that's a new YSL Touche Eclat, and all of the rest of the money will be put towards a 2013 summer holiday! The pictures below are my 'stocking fillers' and the presents I received from my sister, boyfriend and boyfriend's mum - Of course I'm a very lucky girl to have received all of these really lovely things and I'm very grateful and appreciate them all!

 

Zip Hoodie (Topshop) from John, Christmas Jumper (Primark) from my mum, Embellished Jumper (Dorothy Perkins) from John's family, Studded lace body (Primark) from my mum, Dress (Republic) from my sister.

Nail Varnishes - High Voltage and Razmatazz (Topshop) and Studded Phone Clutch (Urban Outfitters) from John, Lock and Key Charm (Pandora) from John, Desperate Housewives Season 8 from John, Lady Million EDP from John, Perfume Set from Grandma, Pandora Mirror from my mum, Next Jewellery from a friend of the family. 

Lee Stafford Argan Oil Gift Set from my mum, Ojon Rare Blend Oil from my mum, Moroccanoil from John, Philip Kingsley Conditioner and Elasticizer from my Nanna.
How exciting!! Beauty lovers dream!!

More stocking fillers; some from my mum and some from my sister. Chocolate and sweets, beauty bits; deodrant, moisturiser, eyelashes, candles, socks and PJs!

 Every year it seems the build up to Christmas is so huge and the day can sometimes not live up to it's enormous hype, but this year I didn't feel too excited in the countdown to the big day but I enjoyed myself 10x more - or atleast that's what it felt like but I'm sure I say that it was my 'best Christmas ever' every single year!

 

I've well and truly indulged myself in an excessive amount of food and drink, spent quality time with all of my family and had lots of fun nights out with my friends, and been spoilt with beautiful gifts!

I hope that Christmas was as good for all of you as it was for me!

♥ ♥ ♥