New Beginning




I am currently writing this blog post sitting on my crumpled new bed sheets, while surrounded by various clutter and boxes filled to the brim with my personal possesions, recovering from a long and tiring day of moving to our new house and totally avoiding the chore of unpacking.

Considering the amount of packing, moving and lifting that we had to achieve in one day, the moving day actually went much better than I expected. We decided to do the moving ourselves instead of hiring removal men, so after a super early start to the day my family all had to muck in together to get the removal van loaded and transport our belongings to our new home. It was a looong 10 hour day of lifting which left me with sore muscles and an aching body but it feels worth it now after everything is done.

One of the down sides to moving house is that, unless you are a really organised person (which I wish I was but im really not), you never seem to be able to find anything that you need after moving because it is either still packed away in boxes or it has been placed somewhere else in the house so, for example, you end up looking in every cupboard in the kitchen just to find a plate! Also, it may seem weird, but does anyone else think that the smell of your house is something that makes it feel like your home? Walking into this house with it's new home smell makes it seem like someone else lives here, but its probably just me being odd haha.

It always feels weird to begin with living in a strange new house when I'm used to going home every day to the same old place and sleeping in a familiar bed. Although this new house is just a 5 minute drive from my old house, it is a totally different built up area opposed to more of a contryside environment where we used go live. To be honest it is quite sad leaving our old family home behind, but change is good and you have to look foward to the future, and I am excited to make a fresh new beggining here and hoping that, in the coming months, it will start to feel a lot more like home.



Wednesday in a nutshell


●  I am the sort of person that very rarely ever gets sick, but when i do it hits me really hard. Today I was finally able to spring out of my bed feeling refreshed after 3 days of coughing and sneezing while suffering from a bad case of man flu. I thought I had escaped being ill this year after managing to survive all winter without getting sick once..but nooo, just as the lovely weather starts I come down with a summer cold.




● Me and Dad spent the day working hard to finish decorating our new house before the big moving day tomorrow. As well as putting together awesome new furniture and a whole lot of heavy lifting, we also managed to successfully put up wallpaper in two of the bedrooms for the feature walls. Being a bit of a wallpapering rookie, I didn't realise how difficult it is cutting the paper to the right size and matching up the pattern, but after a lot of frustration and the occasional tea break, we were pleased with the end result. Not bad for a clumsy guy like me. ;) Being the most unorganised person ever, its safe to say that I am still running around like a headless chicken trying to sort out my endless amounts of possessions and getting packed, aaaah!



● With all the stress of moving and decorating, I have been relying heavily on music and reading to clear my mind of stress and relax. One of my favourite albums to listen to at the moment is The Vamps' Meet the Vamps I have only recently started listening to them and highly recommend checking them out!



I am currently enjoying reading The fault in our stars, written by the ever so talented John Green. Having heard so much positive feedback about the book from pretty much every review, I thought it was worth giving it a read. Being more of a fantasy/ sci-fi/ horror fan when it comes to books, I was actually really surprised how much I love reading it, mainly down to how well written the book is. There is such a powerful story line and a bit of something for everyone (love, comedy, sadness). The storyline really makes you reconsider the choices that you make, and appreciate how much you should make the most of life. Definitely worth a read.

6 Tips to motivate you out of bed





Being a teenager, I am used to thriving on a minimal amount of sleep after late nights and dreaded early mornings. A lack of beauty sleep makes it incredibly difficult to drag yourself out of the warm and comfortable mound of pillows and blankets that you and I like to call bed. A few weeks ago I began to research methods to make getting out of bed a little easier and was so impressed with the results that I just had to share the tips that helped me even on the most miserable of Monday mornings.


Music makes the world go round



If you are a music addict like me, then what better way to start the day than listening to your favourite song or album right? Music is my main source of motivation at any time of the day, but i find it especially effective early in the morning. A motivating song that gives you that warm, happy feeling inside will cause your body to release a pleasure hormone called dopamine, so you'll be up and dancing around in no time!


Down a pint



A refreshing glass of ice cold water first thing in the morning is a sure way to raise your metabolism, encouraging positivity, stopping dehydration and increasing concentration.


Midnight munchies




One of the reasons that you feel so exhausted first thing in the morning is that your body has had no energy for the whole time you have been sleeping. Eating an easy to digest snack (I usually go for a yoghurt or milk) just before bed will ensure you're body has enough fuel to prevent that groggy morning feeling. (Anything too heavy will be difficult to digest and will stop you from sleeping.)


Caffeine fix



All I can say is thank God for coffee! Whether I have been up late into the evening putting the finishing touches to an important essay the night before the deadline, or needed a little boost in the morning, coffee has always been there for me. Recently I have been trying to substitute coffee for green tea, which is such a brilliant metabolism boost, as well as reducing the risk of all sorts of diseases, including cancer and Alzheimers, and being amazing for your skin.




Get the blood flowing







A little bit of light exercise in the morning gets the endorphins in your body flowing, as well as keeping your body in top shape, and has really helped me to wake up and become more alert in the morning. Usually I start with a few sit ups to put off leaving the warmth of my bed for as long as possible, and the move on to a few sets of press ups before showering.


Last resort



Cold shower. I call this the last resort because it is not the most pleasant way to start the morning, but when all else fails this is a great way to shock your body into feeling alert and you will leave the shower feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day, if not a little bit chilly.

Hope this helped!

Recipe for a rainy day: Home-made ginger biscuits

                                                                                                                       

So, in my March favourites post I mentioned a delicious recipe for home-made ginger biscuits which I have enjoyed over the years. This recipe is so simple and will take up less than 20 minutes of your time, perfect for the novice baker!



You will only need 6 ingredients which can be found hiding in most household cupboards:

● 3 oz granulated sugar
● 3 oz margarine
● 6 oz flour
● 1 level tsp baking powder
● 2 tsp ground ginger
● 2 tbsp golden syrup

Firstly pre-heat your oven to 325 deg F or 160 deg C, so that it can be warming up while you prepare your biscuits.



Next measure out the granulated sugar & margarine and cream together with a trusty wooden spoon.






Add all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and ground ginger) and mix well.





Finally stir in the golden syrup, getting stuck in with your hands if needs be, until you are left with a ball of crumbly mixture.






Roll the mixture into evenly sized balls and place on a lightly greased baking tray, pressing down lightly with a fork (6-8 is a good amount to get out of this mixture).





Bake for 10-15 minutes until they are a golden brown colour.



Cool for a few minutes after removing biscuits from the oven, before moving to a wire tray. If you have a sweet tooth like me, feel free to sprinkle your biscuits with icing sugar to make them taste much more scrumptious. 

Then its time for my least favourite part, the dreaded washing up! :( but then you are free to enjoy your tasty home-made ginger biscuits. Happy baking!






















If any of you have any great baking recipes then I would love for you to leave the linl in the comments so that I can check it out :)






Baby Photos


Its not long now before I have to pack up all of my belongings and make a new start in a strange new house. As it gets closer to the moving day I am beginning to panic about just how much needs to be done. Today I made a start on sorting through the endless amounts of crap stashed in my cupboard, that I have hoarded over the years, and came across some rather old and dusty baby photos. I love finding old bits and pieces like drawings and photos which bring back such awesome memories of the good ol' days as a crazy kid.



This is by far my favourtie photo of me as a baby, enjoying my first ever Christmas.



Dinner time has always been my favourite part of the day!




Looking like a true fashion icon with my stripey top and dungarees. 


I think that I look rather like a train driver here, chilling in the sun with my sippy cup.


It makes me feel so nostalgic and happy looking through old photographs (even the reeeally embarrassing, cringey ones). It's so special having memories such as your first Christmas on camera, and always funny seeing how much your appearance & fashion sense have changed over the years. I cant believe these photos have been neglected at the back of my wardrobe all this time, definitely going to have to find a photo frame to keep them in.


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